Chapter 93 - Villains Understand Each Other

Instead of returning to his own quarters, the Demonic Buddha went to see Geom Muyang again. After meeting Geom Mugeuk, he wanted another look at Muyang. He felt he would not be able to sleep otherwise.

"Welcome."

As always, Muyang was upright and courteous. They had parted only a short while ago, so ordinarily he should have asked why the Demonic Buddha had come back. But Muyang rarely revealed personal curiosity or emotion—so rarely that one might wonder whether he felt compelled to behave that way to become the Heavenly Demon.

That distance had never felt more pronounced than it did today, but the Demonic Buddha was not someone to be shaken by such things.

"The Second Young Master came to see me."

"Mugeuk did?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Muyang did not ask what they had discussed. He merely nodded once.

"Why don't you ask? Why he came, or what we talked about?"

"There is no need. I trust you, sir."

The Demonic Buddha felt he had been right to come.

'Yes, this is how the First Young Master has always been. Blunt and lacking in sensitivity, but genuine to the core. Yes, I should trust him too. This is how I let it all go.'

He tried to release all his pent-up feelings. Muyang's visit to the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, his offer to make the Blood Heaven Saber Demon the First Demon Supreme—he brushed it all aside.

"Then get some rest."

The Demonic Buddha rose. If only it had ended there. If only Muyang had simply left him to dispose of the lingering dregs of those emotions on his own.

Muyang spoke behind him.

"I offered the Blood Heaven Saber Demon the position of First Demon Supreme to win him over."

The Demonic Buddha flinched and stopped.

'Why now, of all times? Why now? You said nothing when I so desperately wanted to hear it. Why say this after I tell you I've met Geom Mugeuk?'

Afraid his sinking spirits would show on his face, he did not turn around immediately.

Behind him, Muyang spoke again.

"Once I become the Heavenly Demon, the position of First Demon Supreme will naturally be yours."

The Demonic Buddha was angry. He felt that Muyang had taken him for granted all this time, only to hastily offer this reassurance now that Geom Mugeuk might win him over.

'Why make me think this way? Didn't you say you trusted me?'

He tried to understand it as only human, but that did not make it hurt any less.

'First Young Master, weren't you the one who dismissed your brother? Weren't you so confident that Mugeuk was nothing?'

Yet he could not get angry. He himself had gone so far as to enlist the Twin Fiends of Yunnan to show Muyang how much Geom Mugeuk had changed.

Yes, your brother is someone you must be this wary of.

But that wariness need not have extended to distrust of him...

Forcing a smile, the Demonic Buddha turned around.

"Of course. I knew you would."

"I'm concerned you may misunderstand my intentions, since I'm saying this just after you've met my brother."

Ah, he should not have said that either. Otherwise, the Demonic Buddha could have forced himself to believe it was coincidence, or thoughtlessness, or simply his own misunderstanding.

"What is there to misunderstand? I'm only grateful that you value me so highly."

"Of course I do. There is no need to thank me."

"Then I shall take my leave."

With a courteous farewell, the Demonic Buddha left Muyang's quarters.

Tonight there was not even moonlight. By the time he had walked the dark road alone back to his own quarters, the Demonic Buddha had settled his thoughts.

'It's because he is still young. If he were as perfect as the Second Young Master, what would he need me for? The First Young Master, with his weaknesses, is better than that wily Second Young Master. I need only look after him properly.'

His loyalty to Geom Muyang shone as brightly as the radiance emanating from his body.

* * *

The Single Flower Sword Supreme came to see me in my office at Yellow Springs Pavilion.

"Here. A gift for you."

She held out a pot of flowers in full bloom.

"Thank you. They're lovely."

I placed the pot by the window.

As we exchanged a few words about the flowers, Seo Daeryong came in with tea. Feeling mischievous, I addressed him gravely.

"From now on, Investigator Seo, those flowers are your responsibility when I'm not here. They're a special gift from the Sword Supreme. You know what will happen if you let them die, don't you?"

Had we been alone, he would have come out with all sorts of gloomy yet amusing remarks. With the Single Flower Sword Supreme present, however, he obediently said yes and left. Though they had accompanied me together on my earlier visit to the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, he still found her terribly intimidating.

"I hope I haven't come at a busy time."

"Not at all. The investigators do the work. I just slack off."

There were far too many documents piled on my desk for that claim to hold up. Yellow Springs Pavilion certainly had plenty to do. No matter how many villains we locked up, more kept appearing. Perhaps the number of villains was fixed from the outset. I had even begun to wonder whether each vacancy was automatically filled.

But however busy it kept me, the work at Yellow Springs Pavilion was as important as becoming the successor. I bore the task of a lifetime—killing Hwa Mugi—but I was also living in this era.

"My brother visited you too, didn't he, Senior?"

I had correctly guessed the reason for her visit today.

"Yes, he did."

"My brother certainly keeps busy."

"That's why he's so popular."

I nodded in acknowledgment. He had been cruel and underhanded with me, but he presented a different face to the outside world. He had none of the arrogance or complacency of someone who thought he deserved to succeed simply because he was the First Young Master. He did plenty of thinking and scheming, and above all, he was diligent.

"I know plenty of people like him."

"The First Young Master is a good fit for the Cult. He has a reassuring air about him, as though he would lead us well if we entrusted it to him."

"And me?"

"You don't fit at all. You make us anxious, wondering where on earth you might lead us. Yet when I see how popular you are despite that..."

After a pause, the Single Flower Sword Supreme continued.

"It makes me think there is hope for us too."

"What kind of hope?"

"Hope that the new Demonic Path you spoke of might actually take shape."

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me."

"But don't forget. Many in the Cult still dislike change. And many believe evil is both our strength and our essence."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Anyway, with the First Young Master moving so swiftly, are you simply going to watch?"

"Aside from you and the Saber Demon, Senior, I don't know the other Demon Supremes well. I don't know whom to bring over to our side."

Curious to hear her thoughts, I played ignorant. Then she said something unexpected.

"Do you know who voted for Cheong Seon besides me and the Saber Demon when we chose the Soul-Seizing Demon? The one the Saber Demon persuaded."

"No. He never told me."

"Shall I tell you?"

As a rule, matters and decisions among the Demon Supremes were kept strictly secret from outsiders. She was about to break that rule for me.

"Are you allowed to tell me?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"I thought I'd try living a little and breaking some rules myself."

She smiled. How could anyone say she was only halfway won over now?

"The truth is, I'm rigid and inflexible. If there is an established rule, I'm reluctant to break it. If I have an appointment, I have to arrive early. When someone misunderstands me, it bothers me so much I can't sleep. I worry about plenty of things I needn't worry about, and I'm sensitive to what the world thinks of me. An exhausting temperament, in all sorts of ways."

"Isn't that exhausting temperament what earned you your reputation, Senior?"

The Single Flower Sword Supreme smiled bitterly.

"In some respects, perhaps. At any rate, I intend to be more flexible now. What's wrong with breaking a few rules? If it helps you, that alone makes it worthwhile."

"Was there something that changed your mind?"

"Perhaps I'm getting old, because I keep looking back on my life. I regret this and regret that—a life full of regrets of every sort. But this is what I regret most."

SHING!

She smoothly drew her sword and gazed at its blade.

"I devoted my life to making sure no one could break this sword. In exchange, my life grew just as rigid."

Lifting her gaze from the sword to me, she said,

"I deeply regret having lived so inflexibly."

I could feel her genuine remorse.

I spoke gently, as though comforting her.

"You're hurt because it feels as though no one appreciates the life you've led, aren't you? You've lived with such meticulous discipline, yet you feel no one truly recognizes it. Everyone else muddles along just fine, and you wonder whether you alone were being foolish."

Surprise crossed the Single Flower Sword Supreme's face.

"How do you understand my heart so well?"

Because I had felt that way myself at least once.

"It's because I respect you so much, Senior."

She broke into a broad smile.

"Yes, I should tell you. With someone who understands me so well and respects me, why should I keep it hidden over a mere rule? The one who voted in favor was the Wicked Laughing Demon."

Her words startled me.

"Surprising, isn't it?"

"Yes. Isn't the Wicked Laughing Demon on my brother's side?"

"He is."

I had not expected that. His siding with us was surprising enough; that the Blood Heaven Saber Demon had persuaded him was even more so.

The Single Flower Sword Supreme interpreted it this way.

"They're both villains. They must have understood each other."

I chuckled, but she was serious.

"I might not have told you if it were anyone else, but the Wicked Laughing Demon is involved. He isn't someone to take lightly. And the Saber Demon might have some ulterior motive."

Smiling, I asked,

"Do you hate the Saber Demon that much?"

"I don't hate him. Hatred implies some intense emotion. I merely dislike him a little."

Determinedly pushing the Saber Demon out of her life, she rose.

"Well, I'll be going now."

"Thank you for the important information."

"Consider it a gift from your sparring partner."

As she was about to leave, Seo Daeryong was standing in the hallway with a bottle of water for the flowers. It was his attempt to make a good impression on the Single Flower Sword Supreme. The trouble was that mentioning the Saber Demon had left her a little touchy.

To Seo Daeryong—who was now, in her eyes, the villainous Saber Demon's disciple rather than an investigator of Yellow Springs Pavilion—she said coldly,

"Those are my most cherished flowers. If they were to die through someone's carelessness, I would be very, very sad."

Once she had left, Seo Daeryong looked ready to cry.

"I'm now the third-most-important thing in this office. From now on, those flowers are named Second-in-Command."

Laughing at his self-deprecating banter, I walked out of the office.

"Where are you going?"

"To see the Wicked Laughing Demon."

"Gah! How can you say something so terrifying as casually as saying you're going to lunch?"

"Are you afraid of him?"

His eyes wide with surprise, Seo Daeryong asked,

"Aren't you? Of all the Cult's Demon Supremes, he frightens me the most."

"Didn't you say the Soul-Seizing Demon frightened you most before?"

"He's dead now."

"Why is the Wicked Laughing Demon frightening? Because of the 'Wicked' part?"

"Haven't you heard? They say he's truly terrifying when he's angry."

"I'm frightening when I'm angry too. Though I think you might be the scariest of all."

"Leave me out of it, please. When I'm angry, I swallow it on my own. My dream is to live without anything to get angry about. That was the sort of person I was..."

We both knew he had changed quite a bit by now, so we looked at each other and chuckled.

"Are you really not scared?"

"Why would I be scared to visit someone funny?"

"Someone funny?"

"He's the Laughing Demon, isn't he?"

Overshadowed by the 'Wicked' at the front, people often forgot he was the Laughing Demon. Seo Daeryong was no exception.

"I doubt it means laughing. Peel that word off, and underneath you'll find 'burning people to death,' 'tearing people to death,' 'bursting people to death,' or something like that. Gah! You're not planning to bring him over to our side, are you? Please tell me you aren't."

"Are you afraid of having him as an enemy, or as an ally?"

"Obviously... Even so, not the Wicked Laughing Demon!"

Though I had spoken that way before leaving, I knew better than anyone that the Wicked Laughing Demon could never be an ally.

Even so, I was going to see him so that, though he would not be an ally, he would not be an enemy either.