Chapter 216 - Are You Afraid of the Wicked Laughing Demon?

At dawn the next day, a carriage slipped quietly out of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Inside were Geom Mugeuk, the Wicked Laughing Demon, and the Poison King.

Two men watched it depart from a distance: the Heavenly Demon, Geom Ujin, and his chief strategist, Sima Myeong.

“I believe it is time I stepped down as chief strategist.”

When Geom Ujin looked at him questioningly, Sima Myeong gave a self-deprecating smile.

“I never imagined the Second Young Master would make the Poison King bark at the main training ground. I knew he was extraordinary, but I did not expect him to break down even the Poison King’s defenses.”

Geom Ujin nodded.

“Neither did I.”

“And there was one more shock. Even so, I never expected you to authorize this undertaking, Cult Leader.”

“What could I do? I had given my word.”

Sima Myeong knew Geom Ujin did not break his promises. Precisely for that reason, he should have refused outright from the beginning. Instead, he had left an opening in the form of the Poison King.

‘Could you have expected this outcome, Cult Leader?’

Sima Myeong thought he might have. Whenever Geom Mugeuk was involved, he could never fathom Geom Ujin’s mind.

“Give my second son full access to our intelligence for the duration of this undertaking.”

“Yes. Heaven-Reaching Pavilion will provide him with thorough support.”

“And prepare for any contingencies.”

There were two particularly grave contingencies: the mission might succeed, only for the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon’s responsibility for Yelü Han’s death to be exposed; or Geom Mugeuk and the two Demon Supremes might fail to kill him and find themselves in danger.

Either would have serious repercussions. The Unorthodox Alliance would not be able to wage war against the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, but it would demand appropriate compensation. Refusing that demand could drive it to join forces with the Orthodox Martial Alliance. The death or serious injury of Geom Mugeuk or the Demon Supremes would be an equally grave problem.

How could Geom Ujin not know all this? Yet he had granted permission nonetheless.

‘Do you perhaps want this undertaking to destabilize Murim?’

Sima Myeong knew Geom Ujin would someday draw his sword against Murim. It suddenly occurred to him that he might intend to make this undertaking the starting point.

At any rate, one thing was certain. The Demon Supremes were not the only ones who had changed. Though he could not put his finger on how, the Heavenly Demon had clearly changed as well. The mere fact that they stood here together watching a carriage that ordinarily would never have departed was proof enough.

‘Second Young Master, be sure to succeed and return.’

And that wind of change was blowing not only through the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, but toward Murim as well.

* * *

Seo Daeryong was driving the carriage.

When I had visited him last night and told him he needed to leave with me tomorrow, his first response had been to protest.

[“No! What dangerous place are you planning to drag me to this time?”]

[“It’s nothing much. You just need to drive a carriage. Run a few errands afterward.”]

[“That makes it sound even more suspicious! It reeks of danger.”]

[“You mean adventure. Growth, too. And memories.”]

[“Put all those together and you get danger. I’m sorry, but I’m not going! Winning the Young Dragon Tournament was enough adventure for my entire life. Didn’t I tell you I planned to spend the rest of my days boasting about that?”]

[“It has to be you.”]

[“With all the demonic martial artists in the Cult?”]

[“My fate, the Cult’s fate, and Murim’s fate hang on this undertaking. I need someone I can trust to keep the secret until his dying day. At least there won’t be any wicked women trying to seduce you.”]

[“There you go, hitting a sore spot again.”]

What finally moved him was this:

[“We’re going to deal with that incident.”]

All trace of humor vanished from Seo Daeryong’s face.

[“Then of course I have to go.”]

And so he came to the carriage this morning, determined to punish whoever was behind the incident.

“But why take a carriage? Why don’t the two of us use lightness arts?”

“Because it’s not just the two of us.”

“What?”

Seo Daeryong glanced inside the carriage and jumped in alarm. He dragged me away from it before whispering,

“Why are those two in the carriage?”

“Because they’re coming along to help me, of course.”

“You never said the carriage I’d be driving would have the Wicked Laughing Demon and the Poison King in it! Tell me everything. Who on earth is the enemy?”

“Yelü Han.”

Seo Daeryong blinked for a moment, then asked,

“I only know one Yelü Han... It’s not him, is it? Come on, that’s a pretty extreme joke. Hurry up and tell me it’s not him.”

Just as he wheeled around to flee, I said,

“You can tell that child yourself. Tell him we avenged his family.”

Seo Daeryong turned back. Shoulders drooping, he walked toward the driver’s seat.

“How am I supposed to refuse when you put it that way?”

I knew he was only making a fuss. He might be frightened, but he was not the sort of man to sit out something like this.

He would want to avenge the child, and above all, this was a journey with me. The last time he had left the Cult with me, he had become the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s disciple and won the Young Dragon Tournament.

I needed Seo Daeryong for this undertaking. This carriage alone was reason enough. If I had been driving, the Wicked Laughing Demon and the Poison King would have sat inside in truly suffocating silence.

After exchanging greetings when they first boarded, the two had not spoken a single word. They really were not close at all.

I had expected as much from the start. Nor did I deliberately try to bring them closer. If an opportunity arose, they would become friends. Otherwise, the return journey would be just as chilly.

“I’ve received all the current intelligence on them from Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. More will be coming as well.”

Though I had not told the two of them, Hidden Moon, led by Go Wol and the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, was also actively gathering intelligence for this undertaking. Those two had agreed to join us on site and help.

“We’re heading to where Ji Saeng, the Golden Pig who created Immortal Debt, is based. I’ll explain the plan once we arrive.”

“We will follow your wishes, Second Young Master.”

At the Wicked Laughing Demon’s courteous reply, the Poison King cast a glance my way. He seemed to want to say something, but was holding back because the Wicked Laughing Demon was there.

“Let me ask you one thing. Why does the Wicked Laughing Demon like you so much?” he asked through sound transmission.

“Why are you using sound transmission instead of speaking aloud?”

“I’m not close to him. How am I supposed to ask him that? ‘Does he have something on you? Why are you so nice to him?’”

“I won’t answer if you use sound transmission. Be a man and just ask!”

The Poison King turned toward the window.

The Wicked Laughing Demon noticed that he had sent me a sound transmission and looked at me. I smiled and gave him a nod. Even a simple exchange of glances like this made me happy. Astonishingly enough, it really did.

The Poison King asked about something other than the Wicked Laughing Demon.

“Will a plan you don’t have now magically appear when we arrive?”

“A strategist who isn’t here now will be there when we arrive.”

“A strategist? Strategist Sima?”

The Poison King did not know that Go Wol and the Wind Heaven Cult Leader had joined my side.

“No. I have a strategist of my own.”

“You already have a strategist?”

“You need one to survive this harsh world of Murim. Everyone has a strategist who can’t play Go, don’t they?”

The Poison King looked utterly baffled. Normally, he would have had something harsh to say at a moment like this, but he seemed to be holding back because of the Wicked Laughing Demon. Having these two together had its advantages.

“Are you afraid of the Laughing Demon?” I asked through sound transmission.

I had expected him to tell me not to be ridiculous.

“Of course I am. Aren’t you? Just looking at that mask makes my heart tremble.”

That was an unexpected answer. I had never imagined the Poison King would be so afraid of the Wicked Laughing Demon.

“Right now, he’s probably trembling at the sight of your poison pouches,” I transmitted.

“Not a chance. That man isn’t afraid of death.”

I had not known he thought of the Wicked Laughing Demon that way, either.

“What about you?”

“I’m afraid of dying. So afraid I wouldn’t even leave the Thousand-Poison Forest, remember?”

Was he afraid of dying? Or of killing?

Instead of asking what I wanted to ask, I posed a different question.

“How does it feel to leave the Cult after so long?”

The Poison King looked out at the scenery passing beyond the carriage.

“How does it feel? I used to roam the Central Plains until I was sick of it.”

“You did?”

“Did you think I earned the title of Poison King in the Thousand-Poison Forest? In my youth, I traveled all over the Central Plains in search of poisonous substances.”

Why, then, had he shut himself away in the Thousand-Poison Forest?

But I did not ask. Someday, when we grew close enough to open our hearts to each other, I would learn naturally. I would hear it on the day I revealed my immunity to all poisons.

It happened then.

With a frantic neigh from the horses, the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

Ordinary people would have been thrown forward and slammed into the front, but Demon Supremes were Demon Supremes. Both remained calmly in their seats.

From the driver’s seat, Seo Daeryong spoke urgently.

“I’m sorry! A deer suddenly sprang out of the bushes by the road.”

“Since we’ve stopped, let’s take a break. The horses seem startled, too.”

I climbed out with the two Demon Supremes.

Seo Daeryong bowed to them, apologizing again.

The Wicked Laughing Demon, whom he feared most, might have been thrown forward and struck the front seat. What if the impact had broken even a corner of his mask? Perhaps Seo Daeryong was imagining just that, because his face was deathly pale.

To ease his nerves, I formally introduced him.

“He is Elder Saber Demon’s chief disciple. He is currently learning the Elder’s exclusive martial arts.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon showed no surprise, perhaps because he already knew, but the Poison King was startled.

“The Saber Demon’s disciple?”

Apparently, he had not expected this small, slight man to be the next Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

I gave Seo Daeryong an additional boost.

“He’s also my right-hand man.”

The Poison King looked at me, his eyes asking, Your right-hand man, too? I answered emphatically.

“Having him around is a great reassurance.”

The Poison King turned his gaze back to Seo Daeryong. Naturally, the pressure on Seo Daeryong increased a hundredfold.

“You are far too kind.”

He bowed courteously. At the same time, a sound transmission came flying at me.

“Stop! Please don’t make the Demon Supremes notice me! Just pretend I don’t exist!”

When he raised his head, I smiled and said,

“He also won the Young Dragon Tournament, where the finest promising young martial artists of the orthodox factions compete.”

Watching him curse me with his eyes to make me stop, I made sure to finish properly.

“In the distant future, you’ll meet him again at a gathering of the Demon Supremes.”

Having given up completely, Seo Daeryong gazed at the sky and smiled with a look of perfect detachment. Now that I had finished teasing him, it was time to go.

“Shall we be off?”

We boarded the carriage again.

Seo Daeryong, who had been driving so merrily earlier, now handled the carriage with the caution of a novice driver. He was afraid he might have to stop abruptly again.

I called loudly toward the driver’s seat.

“If you go this slowly, you’ll have to swap places with me. Want to sit in here?”

The next instant, the carriage began racing at a furious speed.

* * *

The carriage drove on and on.

To leave as few traces as possible, we camped instead of stopping in villages. When the wine and prepared dishes we had brought ran out, I hunted and cooked meals myself for the Demon Supremes.

Tasting my cooking for the first time, the Poison King marveled that I seemed to be good at everything.

We continued our journey until we reached the region where Ji Saeng the Golden Pig was based.

Go Wol and the Wind Heaven Cult Leader welcomed us at the safe house there.

Seeing the Wind Heaven Cult Leader alongside Go Wol, the Poison King questioned me through sound transmission.

“Why is the Wind Heaven Cult Leader here?”

“He has a special bond with my strategist.”

“I heard he had left his position as cult leader. So you were the reason.”

“Why do you keep using sound transmission? Just speak openly. ‘Wind Heaven Cult Leader, what are you doing here?’ What could the great Poison King possibly be afraid of?”

“It’s not fear. It’s awkwardness.”

“But barking in front of all those people was fine? And standing confidently before my father was fine, too?”

“Those were things I had to do. I’m uncomfortable around all these people.”

Even so, this was a moment when I felt our relationship had grown. He was being honest with me about those feelings.

After letting the two Demon Supremes settle into their respective rooms, I met privately with Go Wol.

“You are remarkable. To think you even moved the Poison King’s heart.”

“What moved them was less loyalty to me than goodwill or curiosity.”

“I believe that goodwill may prove more powerful than loyalty.”

“I hope so.”

I considered my relationships with the Demon Supremes to be only beginning.

Becoming truly close to someone is difficult. But maintaining that closeness is harder still. Once the novelty and interest of a new acquaintance fade, boredom and disappointment inevitably creep into the space they leave behind. I still had a long way to go with the Demon Supremes.

“This undertaking requires greater care than anything else.”

He understood its gravity better than anyone.

“Given your abilities and those of the Demon Supremes, Young Master, eliminating the four subordinates will not be difficult. The problem is leaving no trace of the Cult’s involvement in their deaths, and ensuring that their deaths do not put Yelü Han on his guard.”

Go Wol seemed to have already given the matter a great deal of thought.

“We’ll follow your plan.”

I was not saying that simply to please him. I intended to follow his instructions to the letter. How do you develop a good strategist? Simple. Follow his plan and make it succeed. The greater his confidence grew, the better his next plan would be. I would only need to improvise wherever events deviated from it.

“Our first target, Ji Saeng, is attempting to establish a new Immortal Debt operation. He recently found someone to put in charge of it.”

This was why killing underlings all day long accomplished nothing. Only by eliminating Ji Saeng, who had tasted the wealth Immortal Debt could bring, would Immortal Debt itself disappear.

With the expression of a man whose plan was already settled, Go Wol said,

“They say a man chasing a deer cannot see the mountain. In the end, it will be his own greed that kills him.”

Guessing his plan, I smiled.

“Then we should teach this fellow so fond of immortals that there are evil immortals among them, too.”