Chapter 245 - He Will Play with the Bloodshed

For a moment, the Poison King was speechless. Blinking, he asked,

“Did you just ask me to play with you? With the Demonic Buddha, no less?”

“That's right.”

The Poison King pressed his palm to Geom Mugeuk's forehead, checking for a fever.

“This is a side effect of the Heavenly Qi Pill.”

He even took Mugeuk's wrist to check his pulse.

“Is taking one day off to have fun really this difficult for you?”

The Poison King tried to flee through the back door, but Mugeuk blocked his path.

“You don't have to feel so pressured. I'll be there too.”

“I'd rather you asked me to go bark on the training grounds again. Why on earth are you doing this?”

“I want a day off. And I'd like to have some fun with you, Poison King. Let's kill two birds with one stone and spend the day together.”

As the Poison King sighed, Sang Seon announced from outside that the Demonic Buddha had arrived. With a look that cursed Mugeuk without a word, the Poison King went out.

“What an honored guest.”

“Have you been well?”

The two exchanged courteous greetings. Nothing remained of the Poison King's earlier attempts to flee because he found the Demonic Buddha so uncomfortable. He welcomed his guest with all the dignity of a Demon Supreme, as though nothing had happened.

“This is your first visit to the Thousand-Poison Forest, isn't it?”

“It is. I saw some magnificent scenery on my way here.”

“There are many even better spots.”

In fact, the Poison King had never visited the Demonic Buddha's Golden Buddha Temple either. He so enjoyed secluding himself in the Thousand-Poison Forest that he had no occasion to visit the other Demon Supremes' residences.

Once they had finished exchanging greetings, the Demonic Buddha looked at Mugeuk.

“Second Young Master, so you were here.”

He spoke as though he had come without knowing Mugeuk was there. His acting was quite good. Although Mugeuk knew perfectly well that he had come because of him, he answered the performance with one of his own.

“I knew it! We must have a connection, Demonic Buddha, to run into each other even here.”

“So it seems.”

“Seeing how happy I am to see you, all the time we've spent together lately must not have been in vain.”

Even with the Poison King beside him, Mugeuk expressed his feelings without hesitation.

“Won't that leave the Poison King feeling slighted?”

The Poison King interjected,

“Why would I feel slighted?”

“Is there anyone in the Cult who doesn't know of your special friendship?”

He meant their barking together on the training grounds.

The Poison King shook his head at Mugeuk.

“I've been through all manner of strange things since meeting the Second Young Master.”

He immediately followed that with a sound transmission to Mugeuk.

—And this is the strangest of all!

Mugeuk turned his head, pretending not to hear.

With the greetings concluded, the Poison King led the Demonic Buddha to the Thousand-Poison Gate's reception pavilion.

“Now, come on up.”

It resembled a raised field hut, and its harmony with the surrounding scenery gave it a lovely atmosphere. Visitors were so rare that it normally went unused, but Sang Seon always kept it clean.

One of them looked unnaturally young, and another was unnaturally small. With Mugeuk there as well, it was a truly unusual gathering.

“Did you successfully settle the matter you left the Cult to attend to?”

“Thanks to your concern, I did.”

The conversation faltered, leaving a brief silence.

The Demonic Buddha met a great many people, but even he felt awkward here. He rarely interacted with the Poison King, and he simply could not get used to that youthful appearance. Of course, the other man might well feel the same when looking at him.

A sound transmission from the Poison King flew to Mugeuk.

—I already feel like I can't breathe, and you want us to have fun? A duel to the death would be more entertaining.

Fortunately, Sang Seon's arrival with tea refreshed the atmosphere.

“This tea is excellent!”

Mugeuk drank at ease, but the Demonic Buddha merely fiddled with his cup without bringing it to his lips. Had one of his subordinates drunk tea here as casually as Mugeuk, he would have thundered at him. Drinking tea served by the Poison King? You imbecile! You might as well die by my hand! That was how deeply everyone feared the Poison King.

“To be honest, I came today because of the Second Young Master.”

The Demonic Buddha glanced at Mugeuk before continuing.

“I heard he was here and came to visit. Lately, I've become quite absorbed in the pleasure of spending time with him.”

Mugeuk could clearly feel that the Demonic Buddha was no longer the man he had been. He was showing a new side of himself, like someone staking everything on his dealings with Mugeuk. Such candor was unlike him.

“I'm curious. What do you usually discuss when you meet the Second Young Master, Poison King?”

The Poison King replied,

“Today, I called him over to do some cleaning.”

The Demonic Buddha gave a startled twitch. He thought the Poison King was expressing displeasure at his question.

“I seem to have said something discourteous for no reason.”

Mugeuk interjected,

“I really did clean.”

He spoke to the startled Demonic Buddha as though airing a grievance.

“Did you think I became friends with the Demon Supremes just by flapping my lips? I work incredibly hard too.”

If he had truly gone so far as to clean, his claim of exhaustion could not have been merely a ploy.

“Even so, be more selective about the work you do.”

He did not add, You may become the Heavenly Demon. His own goal, after all, was to prevent that from happening.

Another awkward silence followed. Put another way, his remark meant the Poison King had been indiscriminate about the work he assigned.

Still, the Poison King did not express his displeasure to the Demonic Buddha. He could direct it at Mugeuk instead.

—Did you hear that? Those uncomfortable remarks of his? How am I supposed to have fun with him?

—He means no harm. You know that, don't you?

—I don't even know how to have fun alone. How am I supposed to do it with someone else?

But was he the only one? Neither Mugeuk nor the Demonic Buddha had ever spent their lives playing. That was precisely why Mugeuk wanted to enjoy some time with them. Opportunities like this did not come often.

—Why don't you start by showing us around the Thousand-Poison Forest?

No sooner had Mugeuk's sound transmission ended than the Poison King addressed the Demonic Buddha.

“Since you've come all this way, let me show you around the Thousand-Poison Forest.”

The Demonic Buddha was about to say he would see it on his next visit, but Mugeuk sprang to his feet first.

“Let's go. It'll be fun.”

And so the Poison King led them into the Thousand-Poison Forest.

The forest was vast and dense. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, they reached a splendid bamboo grove with a walking path laid through it.

“Oh, I didn't know this place was here.”

Even Mugeuk had never come this way before. Beyond the bamboo grove stood an enormous tree that must have lived a thousand years, and beyond it lay a field filled with nameless flowers in full bloom.

Enchanted by the beautiful scenery, the three walked slowly onward.

Even the Demonic Buddha, initially reluctant, gradually fell under the spell of the forest's scenery. Again and again, he exclaimed, “How lovely.”

“Be careful.”

A brightly colored snake flicked its tongue from a tree.

“That's a hundred-spotted snake. Its venom is so potent that without an antidote, even a master wouldn't survive a day.”

Mugeuk thought the Poison King must have named that snake too.

He asked about the poisonous plants, insects, and snakes they saw along the way, and the Poison King enthusiastically explained them.

The Demonic Buddha thought Mugeuk was doing it to please the Poison King.

'I have to give him credit for his diligence, at least.'

Yet Mugeuk asked about far too many things for that to be the whole explanation. The Poison King told him everything he knew, and Mugeuk listened with the utmost seriousness.

Then the Demonic Buddha remarked,

“You're very curious, Second Young Master.”

“How many chances does a person get in life to hear about poisons directly from the Poison King?”

Mugeuk was indeed committing as much of the Poison King's explanation to memory as possible.

His own immunity to all poisons made it irrelevant to him, but who knew who else might be poisoned?

The Demonic Buddha listened alongside him. He was always the one teaching, but for the first time in a long while, he learned all manner of new things. There was pleasure in learning.

After walking for quite some time, they reached a valley with a cascading waterfall.

ROOOOAR.

They decided to rest there for a while.

“I'm hot, so I'm going for a swim.”

Mugeuk stripped off his upper garments, tossed them aside, and plunged into the water with a splash.

“It's nice that one never gets bored with the Second Young Master around.”

The Poison King nodded at the Demonic Buddha's remark. If Mugeuk's absence had left him merely bored, that would have been a blessing. Instead, this moment was an ordeal.

The Poison King was wondering whether he ought to jump into the water too when the Demonic Buddha brought up the succession.

“I acknowledge that momentum is shifting toward the Second Young Master. That is why the First Young Master absolutely needs your support.”

The Demonic Buddha intended to use this opportunity to secure the Poison King's official support for the First Young Master.

“But there's no knowing whether the First Young Master or the Second Young Master would make the better Cult Leader, is there?”

Seeing the Poison King nod, he continued.

“There are times when the Second Young Master frightens me. I wonder whether that strange fervor of his might draw even Murim into it.”

The Poison King, who had only been listening, suddenly spoke.

“Would that be wrong?”

“Not wrong, exactly, but...”

“I think we ought to worry not about this fervor, but about its absence.”

Awkward though the Poison King felt, he said what he had to say with conviction.

The Demonic Buddha, on the other hand, felt disconcerted at having his sore spot struck. He had always wished the First Young Master possessed even a little of Mugeuk's fervor.

The Poison King looked toward Mugeuk. Having swum beneath the waterfall, Mugeuk was shouting. It was impossible to tell whether it felt good or hurt.

“I consider the Second Young Master better suited to becoming the Heavenly Demon.”

The Demonic Buddha was taken aback. The Poison King had chosen Mugeuk.

“Being stronger in martial arts or more eloquent doesn't make someone a better Heavenly Demon, does it?”

“That isn't why. I see something in the Second Young Master.”

“What do you see?”

Watching Mugeuk make a great fuss as he sat beneath the waterfall, the Poison King said,

“Our destiny.”

The Poison King acknowledged that his fondness for his own private world left him poor at understanding other people's feelings.

Yet he felt it. The more he watched Mugeuk, the more he sensed some enormous destiny approaching them.

He believed he sensed it precisely because he had spent so much time in a world of his own—something the Demonic Buddha, entangled in countless relationships, could never see.

“You've fallen for the Second Young Master's intentions. You've been taken in by his tricks and schemes.”

“If he were that sort of person, what he asked me today would have been to persuade you.”

“Then what did he ask?”

“He asked that the three of us have fun together today.”

“!”

At that moment, a thought struck the Demonic Buddha. Ah, defeating the Second Young Master would not be easy. How was he supposed to beat a lunatic like this? The confidence he had possessed at the outset shriveled.

“If the Second Young Master becomes the Heavenly Demon, it could bring a storm of bloodshed instead.”

“He'll be playing with that storm of bloodshed.”

The Demonic Buddha said no more. He could sense that the Poison King's resolve was firm.

'This won't be easy.'

Unless he could change the Poison King's mind, the only Demon Supremes supporting the First Young Master were himself and the Fist Demon. And the Fist Demon's support was only halfhearted.

Just then, Mugeuk, who had been imitating a martial artist training beneath the waterfall, swam toward them.

“Did you see my waterfall training? It felt as though I'd become a martial artist dreaming of revenge through grueling training...”

Before hearing him out, the Poison King rose.

“There's still more to see. Let's go.”

The Demonic Buddha sprang up too and followed him.

Climbing out of the water, Mugeuk shouted,

“Why? Did I do something wrong? Wait for me! Let me dry my clothes first!”

He'd told them to take a rest. Apparently, they had managed to have an important conversation in that brief interval. Well, how could people who had never played in their lives find it easy to start? It was fortunate enough if they didn't fight.

WHOOOOSH!

As he walked, Mugeuk released blazing yang qi. Steam rose in wisps, and his clothes began drying in an instant.

* * *

I was grateful to the Poison King.

He was doing his best to honor my request. Otherwise, he would never have made this suggestion.

“Let's make a wager.”

The mention of a wager caught the Demonic Buddha's interest. He was curious about its nature, and he was highly competitive and fond of wagers in their own right.

“What sort of wager?”

“There's a poisonous plant in this forest called seven-life grass, with leaves split into seven lobes and purple fruit. Let's see who finds it first.”

“Wouldn't that put us at too much of a disadvantage? You know this terrain inside out.”

“I don't know where the seven-life grass grows either. I know for certain it's here, but perhaps it isn't fated to meet me, because I haven't been able to find it.”

Since he was unlikely to lie about something like this, the Demonic Buddha asked another question.

“A wager ought to have a prize.”

While the two considered it, I spoke.

“The next time we're free, the losers can treat whoever finds it first to a lavish round of drinks at Merry Life Tavern.”

The Poison King and the Demonic Buddha nodded. Competitive spirit burned in the Demonic Buddha's eyes. To him, at least, this meant more than a wager over drinks.

“Very well. Let's do it.”

And so we roamed in search of seven-life grass.

Even after a lengthy search, it proved difficult to find. I searched using even the enhanced sight granted by the New Eye Procedure, but found nothing.

“I found it!”

The one who found the seven-life grass was the Demonic Buddha, who had crisscrossed the forest with his small body.

The Poison King and I rushed to him using our lightness arts.

“Is this it?”

“Oh! Yes! This is seven-life grass.”

The Poison King looked genuinely moved.

“To think you've found something so precious. You truly have a gift for gathering spirit herbs. Let's try that other forest together sometime.”

As he spoke, the Poison King carefully dug up the seven-life grass. He lavished such care on it that I asked, suspecting the unthinkable,

“You didn't propose the wager because you needed seven-life grass, did you?”

The Poison King's back twitched as he dug.

Tucking the seven-life grass protectively into his robes, he addressed the Demonic Buddha.

“Let's come out and have fun again on your next visit. You're welcome anytime!”

He offered what sounded like a farewell, then sprang away.

And just like that, he was gone.

As the Poison King disappeared into the distance, the Demonic Buddha looked at me, his eyes asking, What on earth just happened?

“We've been had! He recruited us as herb gatherers!”

The Demonic Buddha took my remark as a joke, although I might have meant it seriously.

“He must have found our company very uncomfortable.”

Far away, the Poison King glanced back at me.

His eyes said, I had a good time. I'm off now.

And...

I've done all I can. Now it's your turn.