Chapter 38 - I'm Going to Fleece Them

I practiced my martial arts at the training grounds until late.

Training was the most important thing for me right now. The moment I lost to Hwa Mugi, everything I was building would become a complete waste of effort, no matter how valuable or admirable it had been.

Whenever training became too exhausting, I would imagine dying at Hwa Mugi's hands because I was just one quarter-hour short of training. Of course, that wouldn't realistically happen, but such a despairing thought was quite useful for overcoming laziness.

Fortunately, today's training was the most satisfying I had done since my regression.

Pure, mighty internal power surged through my dantian. My moves had grown more powerful, and my speed had increased.

My internal energy had now reached a level where I could fight the Demon Supremes to the death. For someone my age, it was a degree of power no one would believe.

'It's still not enough.'

I needed to accumulate more. When it came to internal energy, the more the better.

My continued training had brought considerable progress in Wind God's Four Steps. Someday I would hit a wall, but at this early stage, I felt myself improving every time I performed it.

The more I practiced Wind God's Four Steps, the more I was seized by the desire to fight. It constantly stirred my fighting spirit.

'Be patient. The time will come when I can reveal you to the world without restraint.'

When I finished a round of Wind God's Four Steps, someone spoke behind me.

"Your internal power has grown again."

Startled, I turned to find Father standing there.

"You really are uncanny."

Both in appearing behind me without a sound and in recognizing that my internal energy had increased simply by watching my moves.

I told him honestly.

"I received the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven from the Blood Heaven Saber Demon."

This was a major development, yet Father showed no particular surprise.

"Why aren't you surprised?"

"Didn't you say there was something you could obtain from him?"

"But it was the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven, of all things!"

"I knew the Saber Demon had it."

I was stunned. Surely the Blood Heaven Saber Demon hadn't told anyone about it?

"How did you know?"

His next words were even more shocking than the fact that he had known.

"Because I gave it to him long ago."

"Good heavens! You're the one who gave it to him?"

I suddenly recalled the Blood Heaven Saber Demon drawing lines on the floor as he insisted he was closer to Father than I was. This confirmed that the two had once been on very good terms.

"What did you stake on your wager with him?"

"Myself."

"The Saber Demon made quite a losing bargain."

"I'm only just getting started. I intend to thoroughly fleece the Eight Demon Supremes."

In the past, Father would have dismissed that as nonsense, but he said nothing.

"Why are you just listening?"

"Because I think you might actually do it."

"You're finally recognizing my true worth."

"Why do you hate the Demon Supremes so much?"

"When I look at them, I hear imaginary voices. 'Hey, you want to become the Heavenly Demon, don't you? But what can you do? You can only become the Heavenly Demon if we support you. Shall I be your backer? Is that what you want? Then try to get on my good side.'"

"Are you sure that isn't a persecution complex?"

"It might be. Either way, I don't like it."

I had no intention of fighting this battle alone. I would be fighting it alongside Father, so at least where the Eight Demon Supremes were concerned, I told him how I truly felt. Whatever happened with my other relationships, I couldn't afford to let my relationship with Father become tangled.

"Keep training."

As Father turned to leave, I thanked him.

"Thank you for appointing Jang Ho as Demon Army commander."

"It wasn't for your sake. It was because two Demon Supremes recommended him."

I called to him once more.

"Father."

He answered without turning around.

"What is it?"

"I'm going to be happy."

For a moment, I sensed a faint tremor in his back. He must not have expected those words.

"I believe that only if I'm happy can the people around me be happy, and the Cult as well."

Before Father could say anything, I beat him to it.

"Cheap sentimentality that's sure to get me killed, isn't it?"

"As long as you know."

As he opened the door to leave, he added one more remark.

"If you intend to walk this path, don't even think about happiness."

Before he could close the door, I called out loudly.

"No. I'll walk that path and still be happy."

The door slammed shut, as though declaring that dream impossible.

I understood Father's aversion to the word happiness. Both of us had lived lives far removed from it.

We had regarded happiness as a refuge for losers.

But Father, having lived as long as I have, I've found that living happily is just as difficult as striving to achieve a goal.

... No, perhaps it's even harder than a life spent doing nothing but chasing success. Perhaps success was what we fled into, Father.

* * *

The Single Flower Sword Supreme was certainly different from the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

Having helped make Jang Ho the Demon Army commander, she could easily have rushed over to claim credit, yet there was no word from her at all.

'She wants me to come to her.'

That alone showed how much she valued dignity and honor. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, by contrast, put his emotions first. When he was angry, he had to come running over and explode before he could feel satisfied.

I bought a bottle of fine liquor and went to visit the Single Flower Sword Supreme.

She was tending the flower garden in her cottage courtyard.

"The flowers are lovely."

"They say flowers grow more beautiful as you age. Though that is still a long way off for you, Second Young Master."

She wouldn't know that, with even greater age, those too became a bother.

"Thank you sincerely for your help. I brought some liquor as a token of my gratitude."

"Thank you for the gift, but I don't touch alcohol. I gave it up long ago."

"Oh, did you? My apologies."

"It's quite all right."

In truth, I had known that, but I had deliberately bought liquor to avoid giving the impression that I knew her too well. It might seem excessive, but I had to do whatever I could. Small things accumulated to form a relationship.

"I was taught that a favor should always be repaid. Is there anything you would like?"

Still tending her flowers, she spoke in a gentle voice.

"You would do well to sever your ties with the Saber Demon."

Just as the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had predicted, that was the price she named.

"May I ask why?"

"Because the Saber Demon is far removed from the ideals you pursue."

"Forgive the impertinent question, but do you know what my ideals are?"

"I hear you said you would make the Cult a place of strict order and discipline. The Saber Demon hates being bound by rules more than anyone. You will clash with him often."

The Single Flower Sword Supreme probably expected her persuasion to work. She had an abundance of pride in herself. In particular, she considered herself so much better than the Saber Demon that there was no comparison.

"I'm sorry, Senior, but I don't think I can do as you say."

She gave a slight start.

"Why not?"

"Because the elder Saber Demon gave me an extraordinary gift."

Normally, I wouldn't have mentioned the gift. But I intended to let her know that I had received the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven.

I intended to make the Single Flower Sword Supreme my ally, along with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

Their relationship was so terrible that, in some ways, they might actually be easier to handle. Above all, their emotions would erupt in one way or another, allowing me to learn what sort of people they were more quickly and with greater certainty.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon as my Left Emissary, and the Single Flower Sword Supreme as my Right Emissary.

They would be the strongest Left and Right Emissaries in Murim's history: saber on the left, sword on the right. With those two at my sides, I intended to seize the rest of the Eight Demon Supremes by the hair and shake them about.

"What sort of gift?"

"It was a personal gift, so I'm reluctant to say."

"I thought our relationship had reached the point where we could discuss such things. Was I mistaken?"

"Ah, this puts me in a difficult position."

I pretended to consider it for a moment, then spoke as though I had no choice.

"Since you've done me such a great favor, Sword Supreme, I'll tell you. The elder gave me the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven."

"What?"

She stopped tending the flowers and turned toward me. Her composure and lofty grace shattered in an instant.

"He truly gave you the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven?"

The Single Flower Sword Supreme seemed unable to believe that the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had given it to me. She was even more shocked than I had expected.

"Where is the pill now?"

"I've already taken it. But why are you so surprised?"

"The Saber Demon is a greedy man by nature. How could I not be surprised that he gave you something so precious?"

"He must have decided I was more precious than the pill."

I said it as a joke, but the Single Flower Sword Supreme didn't laugh. She must have believed it was true.

"Thank you for your help. If you ever need my assistance, please send word. I'll see you another time."

I gave her a courteous farewell and was about to leave when the Sword Supreme called softly to me.

"Second Young Master."

When I turned back, she asked,

"What sort of man is the Saber Demon, in your eyes?"

"Eccentric, violent, and willful. I disliked him at first, but the more we met, the more I warmed to him."

"Not because he gave you the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven?"

"I can't deny that. Who wouldn't be pleased? It is the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven, after all."

"It's merely an elixir."

"And that mere elixir was something I desperately needed."

She was doing everything she could to sever my relationship with the Saber Demon.

"If you want my help in the future, cut your ties with him. The Saber Demon is not the answer."

"Then prove it."

"Prove what?"

I gazed at her for a moment before answering.

"That you would be more helpful to me than the elder Saber Demon, Senior."

The Single Flower Sword Supreme's expression hardened slightly.

"Was all that talk of enforcing discipline and establishing justice in the Cult nonsense?"

"The elder Saber Demon gave me the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven. I'll need a justification if I'm to cut ties with him."

"Isn't the ideal of serving the Cult justification enough?"

I gave a faint scoff, making no attempt to hide it.

"Dreams, ideals, loyalty... I despise people who use such things to win the hearts of their subordinates and juniors for nothing."

At that moment, the Sword Supreme grew angry, and I saw her true face.

Her gaze turned cold, revealing a stark desolation.

Her eyes felt like a barren desert.

Where I had seen blazing flames in the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's eyes, I sensed a terrible thirst in hers. The contrast with her gentle demeanor made that bleakness all the more striking.

It was hindsight, of course... but now I thought I understood for certain.

Why she had been the first to act after Hwa Mugi forced the Cult to seal its gates. Why her ambitions had been more impatient than those of the other Eight Demon Supremes. She must have needed something, anything, to fill that desolation.

Normally, I would have hung up the whip after using it and started preparing a carrot. But I didn't.

"I don't know what you think of me, Senior, but I'm preparing for a great undertaking. I'll have to meet many people and make many decisions. I don't have the confidence to judge exactly what is right and wrong every time. So show me something I can judge easily."

I held out my hand to her.

"Place something in this hand more precious than the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven the elder Saber Demon gave me."

The Saber Demon wasn't the answer? Nothing could be further from the truth. It had to be the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. That was precisely why she was so shaken. Why she was asking this question.

"Second Young Master, what do you want?"

I closed the hand I had extended toward her. I didn't ask her to help me. It wasn't time yet.

"Nothing at the moment."

To her, it would sound like this:

I'm fine. I already have the Saber Demon.

Saying I wanted nothing would make her even more impatient. Had I simply demanded something, she could have responded rationally.

"Then I'll see you again another time. I won't forget the favor you've done me."

After a courteous farewell, I left the cottage.

When I looked back after walking for some time, she was still standing in the same spot, staring at me.

Facing that blazing gaze, I bowed once more before continuing on my way.

Yes, keep simmering like that.

The cooking could only begin once the water boiled.