Chapter 39: This Is How You Do It

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon waited for me at our usual spot as I returned from my meeting with the Flower Sword Supreme.

"What did that vixen have to say?" he asked. The Flower Sword Supreme had clearly put him on edge.

"She told me to cut ties with you, Elder."

"Just as I thought! What did I tell you? I knew it, didn't I? Did she give a reason?"

"She said you and I have different ideals, Lord Blood Heaven Blade Demon. That you're too… free-spirited, Elder."

"Bullshit." A cold demonic qi swirled from his body.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Naturally, I have to side with whoever offers the better deal."

"What?"

I deliberately provoked the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. "You have to weigh your options when you can. Wouldn't you do the same, Elder?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon couldn't get angry. He would have done the same thing himself.

"For now, you have the upper hand, Elder. Surely she won't offer something better than the Cheonoe Shindan?"

"She might. She's the type to do anything if it means ruining me."

"Why did your relationship with the Flower Sword Supreme turn so sour, anyway?"

After a moment's pause, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said, "Does a person need a reason to hate someone?"

I knew the reason.

They were two people with reasons to trust no one. They were villains, if you had to call them that, with a lust for power so great they would be offended to be second to anyone.

"Would you like a drink? If you go back now, won't you just feel conflicted and bitter?"

"What do you take me for?"

"Composure? I don't think that's a virtue. When you're upset, you should be upset. When you're in a bad mood, you should talk it out. Come on, let's go. I'll buy you a drink today."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then flicked his body and shot off. "I'll be waiting in the Demon Village," he said, vanishing into the distance.

That old man and his temper.

He had clearly changed since the first time he came and poked me in the ribs.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon waited for me in front of the Alluring Inn, which Jo Cheonbae ran.

"I thought you'd be at the brothel."

"I hate places with women."

"That's unexpected."

"Unexpected? Why? Do I look like a womanizer?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that your late brother was fond of brothels."

"You're ruining the taste of the drink. Drop the talk about that bastard."

"……"

I had brought it up on purpose. I wanted to keep the wound in his heart from festering. Not that it seemed particularly necessary for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

As we took our seats in the Alluring Inn, I asked, "Why did you choose this tavern of all places?"

"They opened a Sanzu River Hall Branch across the street."

It seemed he had seen it while passing by and decided to stop here.

"Be careful. If you go around hitting people on the street for no reason, even you, Elder, will be dragged in by me."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon gave me a look of disbelief at my joke.

Jo Cheonbae greeted us warmly. "Welcome, Director."

"It's been a while."

"It's an honor to have you visit again."

"I come because the drinks and food are good."

As Jo Cheonbae took our order and disappeared toward the kitchen, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke. "You're needlessly kind."

"Is there anything wrong with being kind?"

"If you let yourself be swayed by sentiment, you're bound to mess things up. Let's take that innkeeper as an example. Will the food come out better when you're kind like this? Or when you threaten to kill him if it tastes bad? In that respect, the First Young Lord has an advantage over you."

"Certainly, the ruthless have an easier time in a world filled with killing intent."

"It's not too late."

"Even so, I won't be getting on that carriage of ruthlessness."

"The reason?"

"Because I believe the food coming out now will taste better if it was made happily while whistling, rather than made while trembling in fear."

"Someday, that man will use your kindness to ask for and demand bigger things. If you don't grant them, he'll criticize and curse you. That's what humans are."

"Someday, that man will return something greater because of this small kindness I've shown. Perhaps he might even save my life because of it. That's also what humans are."

"We'll see about that."

We drank together.

"Actually, I think you're more emotional than I am, Elder."

"How did you block my blade with those eyes of yours? You're not just misjudging me, you're completely wrong."

I think I judged him correctly. Throughout this whole process of getting entangled with me, he has expended a lot of emotion. Even now, he was pouring out his feelings in a conversation he had never had in his life.

"Since we're on the subject, I have one more thing to say. From now on, you'll have to manage your Blade Fiends and disciples. Otherwise, they'll keep clashing with the Sanzu River Hall."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon slowly raised his head and stared at me coldly. "You're getting more and more arrogant."

"You're the arrogant one, Elder."

"What?"

"Aren't you looking down on our Cult and my father? 'It's me, I'm the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. What does it matter what my disciples do?' Isn't that what you're thinking?"

"……"

The table shattered. The liquor bottle and food dishes crashed to the floor and broke.

"You're too insolent. Sometimes I really want to beat you to death." Glaring at me, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon shouted at the innocent Jo Cheonbae. "What are you standing there staring at? Bring a new table and more liquor and food!"

"This isn't how you handle this. This is how you do it." I stood and moved to the table next to us.

Then I placed some money on the table. "My apologies. This money should be enough to cover the broken things and your lost sales for today."

Jo Cheonbae waved his hands, refusing the money. "It's fine. It's really fine."

"I'm not fine with it. Please take it, and set a new table for us here. One that's groaning with food."

"……"

Taking the money, Jo Cheonbae scurried back to the kitchen.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon scowled deeply. "You're telling me to do something like that?"

"If you don't want to do it, then you shouldn't break things."

"Are you trying to teach a Demon Supreme how to do good deeds right now?"

"The demonic path I intend to establish doesn't involve smashing up inns just because you're in a bad mood."

"You… just what are you!"

"Stop shouting and come sit over here."

In the end, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sat down at the table where I had moved. "Insolent bastard. You're definitely a madman!"

He glared at me, then said coldly, "If you betray me, I'll kill you."

Jo Cheonbae, who was bringing new liquor, flinched in surprise. He quickly pretended not to have heard, placing the bottle and cups down before returning to the kitchen.

I filled a new cup to the brim with liquor and gave it to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. "Were you serious about what you just said?"

"Yes, I was serious."

"Then pledge your loyalty to me with all your heart. That threat you just made is the kind you can make in that situation. When you've been truly loyal, only to be betrayed and abandoned, that's when you can plunge a sword into your master's heart."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon couldn't refute it.

I filled my own cup and held it out for a toast.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon scoffed and drank alone. Although our cups didn't clash, I heard them clinking in my heart.

A person entered the Flower Sword Supreme's thatched cottage. It was her right-hand man, Sa Woojong.

"The Second Young Lord is currently meeting with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and drinking."

The Flower Sword Supreme, who stood with her back turned, said nothing.

"He's an arrogant bastard."

Only then did the Flower Sword Supreme turn and glare coldly at Sa Woojong. Sa Woojong lowered his head. "I apologize."

"Watch your mouth. There's nothing more vulgar than speaking carelessly about someone behind their back."

"I'll keep that in mind from now on."

Sa Woojong had deliberately insulted Geom Mugeuk, knowing the Sword Supreme would get angry. He believed he was expressing the emotions she couldn't show on the surface.

Sa Woojong believed he was a special existence to the Sword Supreme. Although she spoke formally even to the gatekeeper, she only ever spoke casually to him. He was special.

"He's not the Second Young Lord I knew."

In the few short months since the duel tournament, the storm Geom Mugeuk had stirred up was growing larger and larger.

"Even so, it's just a tempest in a teacup."

Sa Woojong underestimated Geom Mugeuk, but the Flower Sword Supreme's thoughts were different.

"What if that teacup is large enough to hold the entire murim? That greedy old man offered the Cheonoe Shindan. It's the same as offering his everything. The Blade Demon must have seen the potential for a successor in the Second Young Lord."

"Did you also see potential in the Second Young Lord, Sword Supreme?"

Geom Mugeuk had certainly shown an unexpected side. However, it wasn't to the extent that she would give him miracle herbs like the Cheonoe Shindan.

That's why it was irritating. She wondered if the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had seen something she hadn't. That she couldn't see what that damn old man saw? Her pride was wounded, and she was annoyed.

"You should rest for today. I've prepared a new person."

The Flower Sword Supreme stared coldly at Sa Woojong and seemed about to say something. Her lips started to move but ultimately didn't utter a word.

She spun around and went inside the cottage.

Sa Woojong's expression as he watched her back was incredibly complex, but his gaze was fervent.

Once inside the cottage, she operated a secret device. The floor opened up to reveal a secret passage.

She descended into the passage. It grew pitch-black the further she went, but she descended with a familiarity that suggested she had done this many times before.

A long corridor stretched out underground. She walked to the end of it, opened the door, and went inside.

The inside was a lavishly decorated bedroom. A young man sitting on a large bed shot to his feet.

The Flower Sword Supreme walked slowly to a vanity with a large bronze mirror and sat down. The young man's eyes, reflected in the mirror, were filled with fear.

The Flower Sword Supreme spoke gently to the young man in the mirror. "It's alright, take off your clothes first."

After my drinking session with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon ended, I stopped by Lee Ahn's training ground on my way back. The sweltering energy I felt from inside told me how diligently she was training.

She moved about the training ground in her heavy body, dripping with sweat. It was grueling training that pushed her to her limits, but not a single one of her movements was wasted.

Watching her, I feel the time has come to pass on a new martial art to her.

"Ah! You're here, Young Master?"

"You seem to be training hard these days."

"How did you know?"

"It looks like you've lost some weight."

"Really?"

Even though she knew it wasn't true, Lee Ahn beamed. Perhaps because the topic of weight came up, she asked a question she had been saving. "Young Master. Was what you said before true? That you can fix my side effects."

Knowing Lee Ahn's personality, how much must she have agonized before asking this? She must have worried over and over about how I would react if I answered, 'I was just kidding'.

Even if the person who taught her the Self-Petrification Art had told her the side effects could never be removed, she still couldn't help but ask.

"Can you really fix it?"

It was the first time I had seen her so nervous.

"I can fix it."

"Really?"

The time had come to tell her the truth. "I know a sorcery that can eliminate the side effects of the Self-Petrification Art."

It was a method I discovered while wandering the Central Plains for ingredients for a grand technique. I was determined to restore her original body if I ever regressed. Thinking about it now, my past life wasn't just a desolate path for revenge.

"What kind of procedure is it?"

"It's a grand technique called the Poison Self-Purification Art."

"…The Poison Self-Purification Art?" She repeated the words several times before asking again. "How did you learn it?"

"That's a secret. You know, right? There are many secrets to keep when it comes to martial arts."

"Yes. I know. I know." Her voice trembled throughout our conversation.

"You could perform the procedure now, then."

"I could."

"But why aren't you doing it?"

"It's a very dangerous and difficult procedure, and I don't know what variables might arise. That's why I'm going to do it when my martial arts skills are much higher than they are now."

"Ah! So there really was a cure!" Her face filled with joy.

"You'll have to risk your life. I don't know what might happen during the procedure. Can you still do it?"

"……"

There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her answer.

"This is disappointing."

"Huh? Did I make a mistake?"

"I thought you would say something like, 'If I were to die, I wouldn't be able to protect you, Young Master, so I won't undergo the procedure'."

It was my joke to preempt that possibility.

"You told me to live my own life, didn't you?" she said, then smiled brightly, as if it had all been a joke.

I know now. That expression was her true self.

Her true heart, suppressed by loyalty and responsibility, that natural heart any person would have… I want to help her find that heart.

"Lee Ahn."

"Yes, Young Master."

"Is there anywhere in the Central Plains you'd like to visit?"

"No, there isn't."

She had spent her whole life looking only at me, so she probably never got to properly see any place she went.

"Let's go on a tour of the Central Plains together later."

"Really?"

"Yes. Let's go to every famous spot and see every magnificent view. I'll let you taste all the famous dishes. I know quite a few places."

"Is that a promise?"

"You have to promise, too."

"What?"

"That you won't abandon me then."

"Me, abandon you, Young Master? That would never happen, not even if the heavens and the earth were to split apart."

We'll see if you still say that when you become the world's number one beauty and every man in the world adores you.

"We'll see about that."