Chapter 233 - It Would Be Strange If It Were Easy

As Bi Sain ate at the inn, a voice reached him through sound transmission.

“Eat a little variety. You always seem to order that same dish.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s message, Bi Sain replied with an incredulous expression.

“Now you intend to meddle with my tastes, too?”

“I’m looking after your health. I’ve always been something of a busybody.”

“I’m truly glad you don’t belong to the unorthodox factions.”

“Don’t worry. Everyone says I seem like someone from the orthodox factions, not the unorthodox ones.”

After that light exchange of jokes, Geom Mugeuk revealed why he had come today.

“The Divine Sword of Five Thunders’ birthday is in two days. I intend to deal with all of them that day.”

Bi Sain’s chopsticks stopped, and intense emotion flickered across his face. At last, the event that would change his destiny was only two days away.

“Are you sure you should tell me all this?”

“At least in this matter, you’re on our side.”

“What if I change my mind and tell Yelü Han everything? Or accidentally let it slip to someone?”

“I trust myself. I would never have joined hands with a fool like that in the first place.”

The corner of Bi Sain’s mouth twisted slightly. To an onlooker, he might have seemed to be grimacing at bad food, but he was smiling.

He said to Geom Mugeuk, “Let’s meet at the cliff tonight.”

“All right.”

His expression suggested he had something to say.

* * *

That night, I arrived early at the cliff and waited.

Once tonight was over, it would be the eve of our decisive battle. This time, even I felt nervous and jittery.

“I don’t know why seeing your back always makes me want to shove you off.”

At Bi Sain’s voice behind me, I turned with a smile.

“That’s because you’ve got so much pent-up anger.”

“Is there a way to live as the Unorthodox Alliance’s successor without building up anger?”

“When that happens, getting thoroughly drunk with the Drunken Demon and swimming around a lake helps a little. Do you have anyone to drink with?”

“I don’t much care for drinking.”

“Reading with the Saber Demon is nice, too.”

“I like books even less. But the Saber Demon reads?”

“Or I sometimes spar with the Sword Supreme.”

“Do you think there are only one or two people who would use a sparring match to try to kill me?”

“How about traveling with the Laughing Demon?”

“I have no one to travel with.”

“How about late-night martial arts training with the Fist Demon?”

“Listening to you is making me even angrier! Are you boasting about how close you are to the Demon Supremes?”

“You believe me? I thought you’d assume I made it all up.”

Bi Sain answered, “Knowing you... I can imagine you being close to all of them.”

Surprisingly, he believed every word.

“There’s a way to ease your anger.”

As he looked at me curiously, I smiled and said, “Come have some fun with me!”

“!”

“Once this is over, if your anger builds up so much you can’t stand it anymore, come find me. Let’s go enjoy ourselves.”

Bi Sain’s eyes trembled slightly. In the past, he would have immediately asked if I was insane, but now he said nothing.

Perhaps he wanted to say, “Let’s do that!” I had always sensed loneliness in him.

“No.”

Rejecting me flatly, Bi Sain took several sheets of paper from inside his clothes.

“This is why I asked to see you.”

What he handed me was a secret dossier on the Divine Sword of Five Thunders.

It detailed not only his martial arts but where he had been born, how he had grown up, and whom he had fought, where, and for what reasons.

“I don’t know whether this will help, but read it just in case.”

“Thank you. It will be a great help.”

Bi Sain stared at me.

For a moment, he seemed to wrestle with whether to speak. Finally, he said, “Once this is over, we may not have time for a conversation like this, so I’ll tell you now. Lately... I’ve been thinking about my unorthodox path.”

My question about what his unorthodox path was must have lodged deep in his heart. Perhaps telling me that was the real reason he had asked to meet today.

Before hearing my answer, he turned and strode away.

“I look forward to the day I hear about your unorthodox path.”

Disappearing into the darkness, Bi Sain replied, “Just don’t die before then.”

* * *

The day before the Divine Sword of Five Thunders’ birthday, Geom Mugeuk scouted his residence.

Nothing had yet been established about how many people were inside the estate or who lived there. Thorough preparations were necessary if tomorrow’s operation was to go safely. Even with such preparations, unforeseen factors arose endlessly.

The estate was small and neat.

Its location was ingenious: in a straight line, it could be reached from the Unorthodox Alliance’s headquarters in an instant, but anyone traveling on foot or by carriage had to take a long, winding route through the forest.

It was also hidden so deep in the woods that, unless someone told them there was a road and a house there, even people who passed nearby every day would be surprised and ask, “There was a house there?”

Geom Mugeuk climbed a towering tree overlooking the estate.

He soared up to that height and landed on a branch without so much as a whisper of wind. The slender branch merely swayed gently, without breaking.

From there, he began his qi emission.

Several strands of qi passed over the wall. The qi emission he had learned from his father on their first hunt shone at moments like this. From too far away for an opponent to detect his presence, he could send these long, thin strands out like scouts.

He detected someone in the estate’s courtyard.

Using the Divine Eye Procedure, Geom Mugeuk examined the person, who appeared to be a servant attending to the Divine Sword of Five Thunders and doing chores around the estate.

He detected another presence near the kitchen. Judging from the energy and movements he sensed, this person was also elderly and untrained in martial arts. It seemed likely to be an old woman who prepared the meals.

His qi roamed throughout the estate. With no one else present, it appeared those two were the ones attending to the Divine Sword of Five Thunders.

Geom Mugeuk’s qi entered the building. After passing through the corridor and reaching the innermost room, he sensed a powerful presence.

‘It’s the Divine Sword of Five Thunders!’

He did not push his luck. For now, confirming the man’s presence was enough. He quietly withdrew the qi he had emitted.

At the very moment he was drawing back the last of his qi, the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art activated, sensing danger.

An instant later!

TAP.

The next instant, a man stood on the branch Geom Mugeuk had occupied. Appearing suddenly, he had shot across the air and landed on that slender branch. His lightness skill had truly reached an extraordinary level. Geom Mugeuk was already beneath the tree.

After scanning his surroundings, the man looked down beneath the tree. Geom Mugeuk was on the opposite side of the massive trunk, hidden from sight.

The man swiftly turned to inspect the ground behind the tree as well.

Once again, Geom Mugeuk stood on the opposite side. Though both men moved rapidly, neither made a sound. Both were employing exquisite movement skills.

The man tilted his head slightly, then leaped away and landed in the distant estate.

He entered the building where the Divine Sword of Five Thunders was.

Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened as he watched.

He had no idea when or where this man had appeared, but the man had sensed his qi as he withdrew it and flown here, to its source. Exceptional senses, coupled with high-level lightness skill.

‘He’s no ordinary expert.’

Unfortunately, he had not gotten a proper look at the man’s face. That was how fast his opponent had moved.

Geom Mugeuk, too, quietly vanished.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yelü Han sat alone at a large table in a spacious hall, eating.

Cha Hwan entered carrying a box.

“The gift for the Divine Sword of Five Thunders has arrived.”

Yelü Han gestured for him to bring it closer. Cha Hwan approached with the box, every movement cautious.

He opened it a short distance from Yelü Han. A fragrant scent wafted out.

“It’s ten-thousand-year snow ginseng.”

Ten-thousand-year snow ginseng was said to be difficult to obtain even for a thousand gold pieces.

In the end, Cha Hwan could not hold back what was on his mind.

“This is far too precious to give away as a gift.”

Every year, they gave the Divine Sword of Five Thunders a valuable birthday present. But never before had they given him anything as precious as this ten-thousand-year snow ginseng.

Yelü Han showed no anger at his complaint. It was precisely this frankness that made him keep Cha Hwan by his side.

“A special birthday calls for a special gift.”

“Of course, but...”

“He’s worth the money.”

“Yes, sir.”

Unable to voice any further objections, Cha Hwan carefully closed the box and placed it on the table.

‘Then what on earth will you give that old man for his hundredth birthday?’ The words rose to his throat, but he could not bring himself to utter them.

“Will you go in person tomorrow?”

Yelü Han nodded.

“Given the current situation, perhaps it would be better to send only the gift this time?”

After a moment’s thought, Yelü Han said, “I have to go. Otherwise, I’ll invest ten-thousand-year snow ginseng only to get cursed for it. But this time, we’ll go at a slightly different hour.”

Cha Hwan bowed respectfully.

“I’ll make the arrangements.”

“And summon the Three Evils.”

Cha Hwan flinched. As always, their names alone sent a chill through a person’s heart.

“Then I can rest easy.”

After Cha Hwan left, Yelü Han reopened the box containing the ten-thousand-year snow ginseng.

He gazed down at it in silence. What martial artist could resist with ten-thousand-year snow ginseng right before their eyes?

Yelü Han picked it up and opened his mouth wide.

But he only pretended to swallow it in one bite, then put the snow ginseng back in the box and closed it.

He would not devour ten-thousand-year snow ginseng. By holding back, again and again, he would devour something greater.

* * *

I returned straight to our lodgings.

The Wicked Laughing Demon, Go Wol, and the Wind Heaven Cult Leader were waiting for me to finish scouting and return.

“How did it go?”

At Go Wol’s question, I let out a small sigh.

“I nearly got caught.”

All three were startled.

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader said, “It seems that wicked old bastard hasn’t spent all those years merely living in idle luxury.”

“It wasn’t him.”

“It wasn’t?”

“I’m not sure whether the man was a visitor or someone who had been guarding him all along, but his martial arts were far from ordinary.”

Someone occurred to the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

“Could it have been Yelü Han?”

Go Wol answered, “No. Yelü Han still hasn’t taken a single step outside the Unorthodox Alliance.”

“Not Yelü Han? Then was it the Blood-Wheel Calamity?”

Once again, Go Wol shook his head at the cult leader’s question.

“The Blood-Wheel Calamity is known to be on poor terms with the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. It’s unlikely they would meet alone.”

I agreed.

“I didn’t get a close look, but he wasn’t as old as the Blood-Wheel Calamity.”

This was not a good development. If that expert had come to celebrate the birthday, he would remain at the estate tomorrow. We had one more expert to contend with.

Naturally, worry spread across Go Wol’s face.

“Didn’t we expect there might be someone else there from the start?”

“Yes, we did. But if someone came today, couldn’t another new expert arrive tomorrow? Frankly, I’m worried.”

“Strategist Go. Strategists draw up excellent plans, but unexpected situations like this arise in the field. This will be a valuable experience for you, too.”

“I’d rather not gain that experience in an operation against Yelü Han and the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. Especially when you’re the one carrying it out, Young Master. Shouldn’t we at least know who he is?”

I looked at the Wicked Laughing Demon. He had listened in silence until now, and said matter-of-factly, “Would knowing who he is change anything?”

This was the true nature of the man known as the Wicked Laughing Demon. Even if I had discovered ten experts today instead of one, he would have said the same thing.

His words cut cleanly through the situation.

“You’re right.”

I smiled at him. What made me smile was the same thing that dwelled in his eyes. Fighting spirit boiled up from deep within my chest. Yes, what did it matter who was there, or how many?

HUMMMM!

Reading my heart, the Black Demon Sword gave a long, resonant hum. As the sword sounded of its own accord, everyone looked toward it. When I gripped its hilt, it fell silent.

“We’re turning the Divine Sword of Five Thunders’ birthday into the anniversary of his death. And we’re putting Yelü Han on that boat to the afterlife with him... It would be stranger if this were easy.”

I made the final decision.

“We proceed as planned.”

* * *

At dawn the next day, I went to see the Wicked Laughing Demon before we departed.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, I untied the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk wrapped around my sword hilt and gave him half. He knew very well what it was.

“Wrap it over your heart.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“There’s more than enough for both of us.”

“Then wrap yourself in two layers!”

“I can’t. It would hamper my movements. Besides, I’ll be wearing the Ghost-Guard Robe over it.”

Knowing I would never give up, the Wicked Laughing Demon accepted it.

“I’ll return it after the fight.”

“Of course you will. That’s precious stuff.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon laughed brightly.

Right there, we wrapped the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk over our hearts and around our abdomens.

With all our preparations complete, I drew the Black Demon Sword.

As though he had been waiting for it, the Wicked Laughing Demon lightly flicked its blade with a finger.