Chapter 71 - Conspiring with Everyone

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon came to see me.

He used to wait near my quarters with his great saber planted in the ground, but lately he came straight to wherever I was. If I was home, he visited me there; if I was in my office, as I was today, he came to the office.

I'm your elder, so you should come to me. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon had never had that sort of authoritarian attitude. He came when he wanted to come and left when he wanted to leave.

“Have you heard that the Western Illusion Formation's third disciple has become the Wind Heaven Cult Leader's disciple?”

“Yes, I have.”

“You arranged that, didn't you?”

“Why do you assume I'm responsible whenever something new happens?”

“So you weren't?”

“Well, I was.”

With an air of having known it all along, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon raised his voice.

“What on earth are you plotting with the Wind Heaven Cult Leader?”

“Plotting? That makes it sound far grander than it is. I'm simply helping him.”

“You really mean to let the Wind Heaven Cult expand into the Central Plains?”

“Is that not allowed?”

His expression turned serious.

“Can you handle the consequences?”

“If you mean the Wind Heaven Cult, don't I have you? If you won't fight the Demon Supremes, at least take on the Wind Heaven Cult Leader for me.”

“You mustn't underestimate him. He may have practically been dragged here to the Cult, but he leads the martial world beyond the frontiers. If those martial artists run wild, the Central Plains will become a sea of blood.”

He was serious, and I took his advice to heart.

“I'll remember that.”

Thinking of what a formidable man the Wind Heaven Cult Leader was naturally brought the shackled man to mind. He was the one controlling and guiding that formidable leader.

“But why Cheong Seon?”

“She was easy to move.”

“Can she become a Demon Supreme?”

“As I see it, there's little to choose between the first and third disciples. Whichever of them succeeds, it will take quite some time to become a proper Demon Supreme.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon nodded, as though he agreed on that point, at least.

“So you should train Investigator Seo well, too.”

“Tell him to stop dreaming.”

“I'm the one dreaming. Investigator Seo has no such dreams.”

“Stop meddling in other people's affairs and tend to your own.”

As he was about to rise, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon noticed the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk wrapped around my wrist.

“What's that?”

“I wear it for style.”

“You got it from the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, didn't you?”

He had immediately recognized that it was no ordinary material.

“What makes you think so?”

“I've never seen it before, and you wouldn't help the Wind Heaven Cult Leader without getting something in return.”

“Wouldn't it be rather mercenary to expect a reward every time I help someone?”

“So? You didn't take anything?”

“I did.”

“You mercenary brat!”

I laughed, and he shook his head as though I was beyond help.

“This is supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk.”

“Ah! So this is it.”

“I knew you'd have heard of it.”

“This is my first time seeing it in person.”

“Shall I cut you a piece?”

I made to unwind the silk wrapped around my sword's hilt right then and there.

“No need. It doesn't suit this old body.”

“Shouldn't you wear it precisely because your body's old?”

“Don't bother.”

He had neither an authoritarian streak nor any greed for possessions. At times like this, I thought that the man who enjoyed reading poetry might truly be who he was at heart.

“Did you get anything else besides that?”

“A Blood God Pill, too.”

I was honest with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon. I always had been, and I intended to remain so whenever possible. I believed that honesty would be the key to opening his heart completely.

“A Blood God Pill?”

Perhaps I had mentioned it too casually, because it took him a little time to register what I meant.

His expression changed in this order: What was a Blood God Pill again? A Blood God Pill? Huh? Surely not that Blood God Pill? Holy shit! A Blood God Pill?

He sprang to his feet in astonishment.

“The finest elixir beyond the frontiers?”

“Yes.”

“The Wind Heaven Cult Leader gave you that?”

He was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a moment.

“Where is it?”

“In my stomach.”

“Good heavens! Your internal energy must surpass mine now.”

I merely smiled. Even before taking the Blood God Pill, the Demon Essence Pill and the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven had given me enough internal energy to rival the Demon Supremes. Now that I had taken the Blood God Pill as well, I would overwhelm them in internal energy.

“Don't worry. You're still my left wing.”

“Hmph! Now that you've received an elixir more potent than the Divine Pill Beyond Heaven, and supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk besides, you'll tear off that left wing of yours.”

“My left wing is part of my body. I can't replace it. Tear it off, and I'll die.”

“As I told you before, if the body dies, the wing will fly off to find a new one.”

“I hope you find a better body.”

We traded the words as jokes, but his expression had softened somewhere along the way.

“You weren't jealous just now, were you?”

“Jealous? Nonsense! I'm keeping him in check. This makes it clear that he can't lay claim to my place just because he gave you a few sacred relics.”

“Quite clear.”

“I'm really leaving now. Get back to work.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon rose. As he was about to leave, he suddenly spoke.

“I... wouldn't mind being a dragonfly's wing.”

He meant that I could have several wings.

His words brought a lump to my throat. How could I ever neglect a man with such an accepting heart?

Just as he was about to leave, a subordinate entered to announce another visitor.

“The Single Flower Sword Supreme is here.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked startled at the news.

“Did you invite her to meet me?”

“How can you ask that when you dropped in unannounced?”

Flustered, he opened the window. I stopped him from leaving through it.

“That would be most undignified.”

“She won't like seeing me.”

His relationship with the Single Flower Sword Supreme still left him awkward and uneasy.

“What does that matter? Since when have you worried so much about what other people think?”

He stood by the window deliberating for a moment, then returned to his seat.

Meanwhile, the Single Flower Sword Supreme entered. This time, she was the one startled to see him in my office.

“You? You didn't arrange this on purpose, did you?”

I smiled at her.

“How can you two be so alike? How could I arrange a meeting when I didn't know when either of you would come? Neither of you sent word beforehand. If you want to complain, take it up with the one above.”

As I spoke, I looked at the sky outside the window.

I didn't need to say, Isn't this all fate? They both understood what I meant.

I would have gladly arranged a meeting between them myself. Seeing them encounter each other so naturally, I wondered whether Heaven really was arranging their reconciliation.

“Please, sit down.”

The Single Flower Sword Supreme sat opposite the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

“What brings you here, Senior?”

“I came to tell you something.”

At that, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon rose.

“I'll leave you to talk. I should go.”

“It's something you can hear as well.”

She must have felt uncomfortable in his company. The fact that she asked him to stay meant that the matter concerned all of us and was important enough to warrant it. What she revealed proved that to be true.

“The Demonic Buddha came to see me with a request.”

“What request?”

“He asked me to support Yang Do, the first of the Soul-Seizing Demon's two disciples.”

Choosing a new Demon Supreme fell entirely under the authority of the Eight Demon Supremes. If one died without naming a successor, the remaining Demon Supremes nominated and selected the next one. In short, a candidate needed the support of more than half of them to take the position.

“You said something before, didn't you? That, as your sparring partner, you hoped I would support someone on our side.”

“You remembered.”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon, however, wondered what we were talking about.

“Sparring partners? What does that mean?”

“A few things happened.”

“You're conspiring with everyone except me.”

“How could I? You're my very first wing.”

This time, the Single Flower Sword Supreme asked,

“A wing?”

“He is my left wing. And I'm desperately searching for a right wing at the moment.”

I deliberately stared straight at her. Reading my wish for her to become my right wing, she swiftly changed the subject.

“So? Who are you supporting?”

“Cheong Seon.”

“Somehow, I thought you would. I expected you to disagree with the Demonic Buddha. Very well. I'll support Cheong Seon, too.”

Even setting aside her relationship with the Demonic Buddha, going against another Demon Supreme's request would be a considerable burden. Yet she was willing to support me without hesitation.

She was looking out for me, too. Her insistence that the Blood Heaven Saber Demon hear this with us made that clear. This was a matter in which I needed both their help.

“Thank you.”

I was truly grateful to her, just as I had been for her help with Sa Ujong the other day.

'All right, Senior. Let's be sparring partners for life.'

She hadn't even asked why I had chosen Cheong Seon. That was how much she trusted me.

Then the Blood Heaven Saber Demon asked me,

“But that only gives you our two votes, doesn't it? Have you secured any others?”

To place Cheong Seon in the position, I needed four votes from the seven Demon Supremes.

“Not yet.”

“What will you do?”

I addressed them both respectfully.

“Please persuade just one person each. I ask this favor of you.”

“What do we gain if Cheong Seon becomes a Demon Supreme?”

I answered his question with an unabashed smile.

“I stand to gain more than either of you.”

“I should be the one gaining!”

“What's good for me is good for you.”

Of course, he was merely bantering. He intended to grant my request all along.

The Single Flower Sword Supreme, on the other hand, readily agreed.

“I'll try to persuade the other Demon Supremes for you. If things go well, at least one of them will cast a vote for Cheong Seon.”

It suddenly occurred to me that her kindness might not be solely for the sake of our sparring. Her favor was too great for that alone to explain it.

Looking at her, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon spoke with a sulky expression.

“You make me look like I have nothing to offer.”

He had meant it as a way to ease the awkwardness between them, but she retorted with a perfectly serious face.

“Haven't you always had nothing to offer?”

His expression instantly hardened. The pleasant atmosphere chilled in a flash.

Their gazes collided in midair. They fought with their eyes, neither giving an inch.

Rather than intervene, I gave them plenty of time to spend their emotions. This process needed to repeat itself. They weren't going to kill each other, after all.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon was the first to look away. The Single Flower Sword Supreme, victorious in their staring contest, snorted. Thankfully, it was taking less and less time for their clashes to subside.

I smiled at her and expressed my gratitude.

“Thank you for telling me about the Demonic Buddha. And I'm even more grateful that you're willing to persuade the other Demon Supremes. I'll never forget this kindness, Senior.”

“Kindness? Don't make so much of it. I'll see you next time.”

She returned my smile and was the first to leave the office.

Soon after she left, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon rose as well.

“I'll be going, too.”

Between the sacred relics I had received from the Wind Heaven Cult Leader and my talk of being sparring partners with the Single Flower Sword Supreme, he might well have felt bothered. Yet he showed none of it.

“You will always come first with me.”

“Fine words. Nothing more.”

When I smiled sheepishly, he gave a small chuckle too.

“The Sword Supreme may have left full of confidence, but persuading another Demon Supreme won't be easy. The Demonic Buddha's side will be working hard, too.”

“Please help me as well.”

“Will I be any use when the other Demon Supremes are shunning me?”

Despite his words, the sight of his back as he left was more reassuring than anyone else's.

If each of them persuaded just one person, our side would have four votes. Even I found it difficult to predict how this would turn out.

I decided simply to trust them. Both the Saber Demon and the Sword Supreme had spent decades as Demon Supremes. I trusted the lives they had lived.

In any event, they were undertaking a difficult task for my sake. I couldn't simply hand the fruits of their efforts to the Wind Heaven Cult Leader for nothing.

I headed to his quarters. This time, however, my goal wasn't a sacred relic. I intended to make the first move toward obtaining something more precious than any relic.