Chapter 34 - Rather Than Facing One Tiger

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon entered Heavenly Demon Hall. Walking slowly along the Path of Blood, he stopped at the end of the carpet.

“Have you been well?”

He greeted Geom Ujin with a respectful bow.

“Quite well, thanks to you. And yourself?”

“Your son has kept me rather busy lately.”

Geom Ujin smiled faintly.

“Now that the boy is grown, he no longer does as I wish.”

“Hahaha. Is there something even you cannot do, Cult Leader?”

“Don't they say that Heaven gives us children to show us that life does not go as we wish? You would understand if you had a child yourself.”

“A child of mine may be growing up somewhere even now.”

Geom Ujin laughed. He was warmer and more friendly than when he dealt with Geom Mugeuk. Had Geom Mugeuk seen him, he would certainly have said, “You ought to smile that broadly at your own son!”

After these light pleasantries, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon casually brought up Geom Mugeuk.

“He may not do as you wish, but the Second Young Master has been distinguishing himself within the Cult lately.”

“Isn't that your handiwork?”

Indeed, Geom Mugeuk had gained so much popularity through his entanglements with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon that it was fair to say so.

“The Second Young Master is your handiwork, Cult Leader. Only now have I discovered what a fine creation he is.”

Geom Ujin did not deny it. In any sense, it was not unpleasant to believe that he stood behind his son's accomplishments.

“He is still an immature boy.”

“Sometimes I think back to when I was his age. If the Second Young Master is immature, then I ought to be called a worm.”

“You think far too highly of that immature boy.”

“You were the first to think so highly of him, Cult Leader.”

He was referring to Geom Mugeuk's appointment as Pavilion Master of Yellow Springs Pavilion. Whatever reasons might be offered, it had been an extraordinary appointment.

“That brings me to what I wished to say. I would like to make the Second Young Master into an even finer creation.”

“If you take a hand, it would be a rare stroke of fortune for my second son.”

“You flatter me.”

“Proceed as you see fit.”

“Thank you.”

At the end of their conversation, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon cautiously broached the purpose of his visit.

“Since you are giving your permission, would you lend your full support?”

“What do you mean?”

“Allow the appointment of the Demon Army commander to proceed as I intend.”

He was asking that Jang Ho be appointed commander in accordance with his recommendation.

Silence fell for a moment. The two men looked at one another without any change in their expressions. Geom Ujin broke the silence first.

“That appointment will be difficult.”

“It is also what the Second Young Master wants.”

“As you yourself said, I have given my second son ample support. I must consider my eldest as well.”

“Raising my disciples has taught me something. When supporting someone, you must commit yourself fully to just one of them. I have earned much criticism for failing to do so.”

“I will be fine. Unlike you, with your generous nature, I kill everyone who speaks ill of me.”

Their gazes met in the air. They shared enough years together to understand each other's intentions from a look alone. The longer those years, the more awkward the silence at such a moment became.

“Is there anything else you wish to say?”

At the Heavenly Demon's dismissal, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon pressed no further. He knew well that this was not a man who readily changed a decision once he had made it. Another approach was needed.

“I will see you again another time.”

“Indeed.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon turned and left. His expression remained hard all the way down the Path of Blood.

'Why weigh the balance this late in the game? Once you back someone, you ought to back him to the end. Tsk!'

* * *

“The Cult Leader seems to care more about the First Young Master than you.”

The moment the Blood Heaven Saber Demon saw me, he began trying to drive a wedge between Father and me.

“He seemed to have the First Young Master in mind as his successor.”

When he had a weakness himself, he tried to unsettle the other party first. The old man's political maneuvering really was infuriating.

“I think we make a poor match.”

“What do you mean?”

“If I fall behind my brother, you should at least make up for what I lack...”

“Are you saying I am inadequate?”

“I'm saying you're somewhat disappointing.”

Instead of getting angry, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon tried to soothe me.

“Listen, Second Young Master. Making Jang Ho commander of the Demon Army was impossible from the outset.”

“You've given up already?”

“There is no need to cling to something that cannot be done.”

“You acted so high and mighty when you couldn't even manage this much?”

“This much? High and mighty?”

I began to provoke him further now that his temper was rising.

“You were the one who offered to be my backer.”

“And you were the one who pestered me like a child to do something impossible.”

“Then you should have refused at the time. You shouldn't have recommended Jang Ho the next day. Weren't you hoping it might work?”

I drew a long line at the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's feet.

“You once told me that this was how far the Cult Leader's regard for you extended. I trusted that line...”

I drew another line, less than half as long.

“But wasn't this the true extent of the line between you and Father?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon could not refute me. What would have happened if I hadn't visited Father and made my own request? Would Father have granted the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's request?

“If Father refused, you should have pressed him further. Had it been me, I would have made certain it happened.”

“Then give it a try.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn't you mock me for being unable to manage even this much? You should be able to do it easily, then.”

“What will you do if I ask Father and achieve it without any trouble?”

“Go ahead. It will probably only backfire.”

He seemed certain that, having refused his request, Father would never grant his son's. At times like this, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon showed how well he knew Father.

“Are you proposing a wager?”

“A wager? Fine. Let's do it. If you fail as well, you will become my water without another word of complaint. No more demanding food to go with the drink, either.”

“And if I succeed?”

“I will give you what you want.”

“Whatever I want?”

“Is there something you want?”

After considering for a moment, I told him.

“Obtain an elixir for me. One better than a Demon Essence Pill, at the very least.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon gave a startled twitch. I knew exactly what kind of surprise this was.

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to obtain an elixir better than a Demon Essence Pill?”

“That's precisely why I'm making it my condition. Since we've agreed to be in the same boat, isn't my growing stronger the same as you growing stronger?”

There was a reason I had asked the Blood Heaven Saber Demon for an elixir.

I knew he had one.

He possessed the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven, an elixir of unparalleled rarity that granted more internal energy than a Demon Essence Pill.

In my previous life, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had given it to my brother when he entered a full-fledged alliance with him. It had also come to light then that he had kept the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven for many years without taking it.

That pill was the very reason I had steered him into this wager.

“You can't make Jang Ho commander, and you can't obtain an elixir for me. I don't see why I should join hands with you.”

“Fine. If you put Jang Ho in the commander's seat, I will obtain an elixir for you.”

“That's a promise.”

I drew the Black Demon Sword and held it out. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon struck my sword with the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber, knocking it aside.

CLANG!

That clear ringing sound was our pledge. A promise made with our signature weapons carried far greater binding force than words.

As always, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon shot into the air and vanished into the distance.

If I won the wager, he would keep his promise. After all, the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven was something he had prepared for a successor.

If I could take the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven after the Demon Essence Pill I had already consumed, I would not lose a fight against a Demon Supreme for lack of internal energy.

And I knew how to win this wager.

* * *

I went to the office of Grand Strategist Sima Myeong.

Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, where he worked, served as the Cult's brain. All information concerning Murim gathered here to be sorted. Only a tiny fraction passed through Sima Myeong to reach Father.

Though I couldn't be certain, I was probably the subject of a considerable portion of the information sent from Heaven-Reaching Pavilion to Heavenly Demon Hall these days.

Security was stringent from the pavilion entrance all the way to Sima Myeong's office—more stringent even than at Heavenly Demon Hall. That indicated how important a role Heaven-Reaching Pavilion played in the Cult. It also housed the strategists who did the thinking, so they needed to be guarded all the more thoroughly.

When I entered the chief strategist's office, Sima Myeong was working amid heaps of documents. So many were piled on his desk that they obscured his face.

One might think his job consisted merely of offering Father a few words of advice at his side, but the chief strategist's real work was a battle with paperwork. Hundreds of dispatches arrived every day from all across the Central Plains. He spent his entire day reading and rereading them, separating information to discard from information to retain.

Knowing that all too well, I could serve as Pavilion Master of Yellow Springs Pavilion, but never as master of Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.

Sima Myeong rose from his desk and greeted me warmly.

“What brings you here? Come, please sit over here.”

I sat across from him at a table. A subordinate soon brought tea, as though they had been waiting for us.

“I hope it suits your taste. We have only one kind of tea here.”

“It has a wonderful aroma.”

I took a sip and looked around. As befitted the workplace of the Cult's finest intellect, books of every description lined the shelves on all sides.

“I hear that whenever the Cult's martial artists gather these days, all they talk about is Yellow Springs Pavilion.”

“Aren't they busy cursing us?”

“Of course not. I hear it is nothing but praise.”

I knew public opinion of Yellow Springs Pavilion better than he did. As many people were beginning to oppose our pledge to enforce the law fairly as were enthusiastic about it.

Having lived as they pleased until now, they would feel an unwarranted unease. What if I get arrested too? That would be their worry. I needed to establish firm discipline before that mood spread.

“But what brings you here?”

“There is something I'd like to ask you, Strategist.”

“Please go ahead.”

“What do you think of Jang Ho?”

“I consider him a fine martial artist. He has the makings of an excellent leader for the Demon Army.”

Sima Myeong would already know that I was behind this recommendation—that I intended to put Jang Ho in the commander's seat.

“Then what are his chances of becoming commander?”

“To be frank, less than ten percent.”

“Even with the Saber Demon's recommendation?”

“The Cult Leader has rejected that recommendation.”

That must have been where the figure of ten percent came from. The real answer was that it was impossible; courtesy had turned it into ten percent.

“What if Father changes his mind?”

“Then it would naturally be possible. But that will not be easy. As you know, the Cult Leader does not reverse a decision without grounds to justify it.”

“I'm well aware of that.”

He had made that decision at my request in the first place. I had no intention of asking him to reverse it again without justification.

I needed to give him grounds to change his decision. This was what I had prepared.

“What about this? What if we secured another Demon Supreme's recommendation in addition to the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's?”

“Two Demon Supremes recommending the same person at once? It would be unprecedented... but if that happened, Jang Ho would certainly have a chance of becoming commander. It would give the Cult Leader grounds to change his mind as well. But can it be done?”

With the Blood Heaven Saber Demon already involved, persuading another Demon Supreme to step forward and recommend Jang Ho would be far from easy.

“I'll have to try. Sometimes, wouldn't facing two tigers at once be easier than facing just one?”

“I should think it would be harder.”

That was why there had to be this prerequisite—to prevent the unfortunate outcome of having my arms and legs torn off at the same time.

“What if those two tigers hated each other with a passion?”