Chapter 100: The Jianghu Never Sleeps

TL: FoodieMonster007

The carriage continued its journey toward an unknown destination.

I wonder where the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon will go first?

I knew about the major incidents that occurred after he left the cult, but I didn't know the finer details. I had no idea where he would go first or who he would meet.

Someone must have gotten on his nerves during the past two years. Is he on his way to kill that person?

Or will he rent out an entire brothel and throw a wild party?

Perhaps he'll kill someone and then go to a brothel.

Just then, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon suddenly asked a question.

"Why did that bodyguard become your heart?"

The question was unexpected. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon normally wouldn't ask about a mere bodyguard, but he showed interest because I cared for her.

"My bodyguard is alive, so I made her my heart."

"Then is the Second Young Lord dead right now?"

I stared at him intently.

"Are we alive?"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon seemed flustered. I smiled and added, "She's also pretty."

"You've got a peculiar taste."

"She's the prettiest in my eyes."

"Before we return to the cult, I'll have to raise our Second Young Lord's standards for women."

"Maybe I'll be the one to show you."

I wish Seo Daeryong were here.

Detective Seo, could you have ever imagined that I'd be discussing my taste in women with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon? This is what the future is like.

Just then, Green Mask's voice called from the driver's seat.

"We'll stop for a meal in the village."

From the first day of our journey, we had eaten our meals separately, two by two. Sometimes we ate at different inns, and other times the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon would get a separate room.

Today was no different. I finished my meal with Lee Ahn and left the inn. At the end of the street, I saw some Black Faction thugs harassing a merchant.

I pretended not to see them and turned toward the carriage. Then, someone spoke from behind me.

"So you're just going to pretend you didn't see that."

It was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. He had just finished his meal at the inn across the street.

"Was your justice just for show, to become the successor?"

I laughed at his mockery.

"I do have a pretentious side."

"I like that very much. This is how people should be. Pretending to be good is such a headache."

We looked at each other and laughed.

As we walked toward the carriage, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon asked, "Second Young Lord, why do you hate evil so much?"

"But I just pretended not to see evil and walked past."

"Aren't you just leaving because if you clumsily deal with one or two of those thugs, the merchants will face retaliation?"

He had read my thoughts exactly.

If I'm going to intervene, I have to uproot the problem completely. I don't have the luxury to do that right now.

"This journey is about seeing the Smiling Demon's world, after all."

"I don't like hearing you say that thugs like them are my world."

"It's a misunderstanding."

"Then let's clear up this misunderstanding before we go."

He glanced at Green Mask, giving an order. Green Mask strode toward the Black Faction thugs.

Since he had heard our conversation, Green Mask would clean up everything, including their leader. Of course, a new Black Faction group would soon take their place.

I gestured for Lee Ahn to go with him. She moved quickly.

"I'll go with him."

Lee Ahn followed behind Green Mask.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon leaped onto the carriage roof and sat down.

"This is the perfect spot to watch."

I also leaped up and sat next to him.

"Did you have a good meal?"

"I just grabbed a bite."

"Watching you on this journey, it seems you don't eat well."

"I find no pleasure in eating."

"Is it because of the mask?"

A hint of displeasure flickered across him. Talk of the mask always made him flinch, but I brought it up without hesitation.

To make him take it off, I have to drag the mythologized mask into reality.

"I've never liked eating."

"It's probably because of the mask. When you take it off, I'll treat you to an amazing meal."

For the first time, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon tilted his head. I read an emotion in the eyes behind his mask's eyeholes. His eyes seemed to ask what I was, and what gave me the right to grate on his nerves so much.

Just then, a scream echoed from the distance.

Our gazes turned toward Lee Ahn and Green Mask. The two had thoroughly beaten the Black Faction thugs and were now leading them somewhere.

Watching them, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon commented, "Second Young Lord, you said it before, didn't you? The only time evil is cool is when it's suppressing other evil. So? Am I cool right now?"

"You are."

"Then why don't I feel good about it?"

"It must be because it feels like a piece of your own flesh is being torn away."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed at my joke, then asked the same question again.

"Why do you hate evil so much?"

He had asked twice, so I had to give him an answer. I paused briefly before I spoke.

"Some people, while walking down a path, go out of their way to push the person in front of them off a cliff. If they want to get ahead, they could just walk faster and pass them. I'm not saying they should help someone who collapsed from exhaustion. They could just go on their own way, so why push them? When I see people like that, I want to push them too. So I'm going to push them all off."

"Then you must want to push me, too."

The two eyes behind his mask's eyeholes gleamed coldly.

I wonder how many people the Smiling Demon has pushed into misfortune throughout his life.

I smiled at him.

"So please try not to walk in front of me."

"Then should I stand behind the Second Young Lord?"

"Then let's walk side by side. I don't think it's a bad idea to walk with the tension of knowing either of us could push the other at any moment."

This is exactly the relationship I want with him.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed out loud.

"Excellent. You'd make a fine traveling companion, Second Young Lord."

A short while later, Lee Ahn and Green Mask returned to the carriage. They had finished their work and carried the faint scent of blood.

Lee Ahn's eyes trembled slightly as she looked up at us sitting side by side on the carriage roof. No matter how much she trusted me, she couldn't easily shake off her fear of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

The carriage started moving again.

After several days of travel, the carriage arrived at a manor. A man was waiting in the courtyard.

I put on the white mask from my waist and followed the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon out of the carriage.

I'll reveal my face after I assess the situation.

"It has been a long time, Demon Supreme."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon nodded, his eyes cold.

I remember who this man is.

He was the tycoon of Guizhou, Lim Ho.

Guizhou was originally the region under the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's charge.

The Eight Demon Supremes were each responsible for businesses in their assigned regions. They involved themselves in or directly managed all sorts of profitable enterprises like Trading Companies, escort agencies, smithies, brothels, and taverns. Even the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, who seemed to spend his days leisurely reading books, had a region he was responsible for.

Lim Ho owned the Big Tiger Trading Company, which represented Guizhou. He was also an ardent supporter of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

"You seem to have lost some weight."

Lim Ho bowed his head at the blunt remark.

"I have lost some weight recently. Thank you so much for noticing."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon patted his shoulder once in encouragement.

"Thank you."

Lim Ho was both afraid and grateful.

Just then, Lee Ahn sent me a telepathic message.

[Did you see him just pat his shoulder? Not slap his cheek or crush his shoulder? I thought he was a different person.]

[If the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon were just the crazed killing fiend from the rumors, he'd never have become one of the Eight Demon Supremes. Watch carefully how he treats and handles people. It will surely help you manage the Ghost Shadow Squad in the future, whether as a lesson or a cautionary tale.]

[Yes, Young Master.]

There are many faces behind that mask. Some are faces I've seen before, and new ones will emerge from meeting me now.

Lim Ho asked the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, "Will you dine first?"

"It's fine. Let's see the Commanders first."

"Yes, then please come this way."

Lim Ho didn't ask a single thing about me. He must have guessed I wasn't an ordinary subordinate since I got out of the carriage with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, but he didn't dare ask for an introduction. That alone showed how much Lim Ho feared him.

Of course, that didn't mean Lim Ho lacked guts or was a coward. He ran a Trading Company in partnership with the Demonic Cult. Among merchants, he might as well have been the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon himself.

Lim Ho guided us to the main hall.

About twenty people waited inside. They were all individuals who ran Trading Companies, large and small, here in Guizhou.

When the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon entered, they all prostrated themselves in a deep bow.

"We greet the great Demon Supreme."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon sat in the seat of honor.

One of the prostrated Trading Company owners stood and went before the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. He respectfully presented a ledger to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. It seemed to be a ritual they always performed whenever the Smiling Demon visited.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon slowly flipped through the ledger.

Watching this, Lee Ahn sent another telepathic message.

[I didn't know the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon could read a ledger.]

[He can't.]

"……"

[Green Mask, standing behind him, is relaying the contents via telepathy. He's the smartest and best at calculations in the Valley of Evil. That's also why he's his right-hand man.]

[Ah, I see.]

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon not only asked about the ledgers but was also well-versed in the personal affairs of the Trading Company owners. He apologized for not attending a son's wedding and offered condolences to someone who had suffered a loss.

[So Green Mask tells him all these things too.]

[No, this is something the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon remembers from the reports he's received.]

[Really? He remembers all that and says those things? The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon?]

I had realized one thing in my past life.

True villains are meticulous.

It's not a statement that can be generalized, but the great villains I had experienced were meticulous. They had good observation skills and good memories.

On the other hand, the Masters of the orthodox sects I had met were not meticulous. They were also quick to forget. They considered it a natural trait of a Manor Master who valued grand causes, but I thought they had already lost to the villains right there. A lofty cause, as intangible as a floating cloud, cannot defeat the meticulousness of counting on one's fingers.

Meanwhile, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon finished his brief meetings with each Trading Company owner.

The Trading Company owners were terrified of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, yet they were also moved that he remembered and mentioned details of their daily lives.

[This short meeting, which they must have every year, will keep those people in line for ten, twenty years. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon smiled and asked about their families, so how could they dare betray him?]

[That's terrifying.]

[Yes, this is what's terrifying about him.]

After the greetings ended, Lim Ho stepped forward as their representative to report.

"As you have seen, our income has decreased significantly over the past two years. The reason is the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company."

The Hundred Prosperities Trading Company, newly established in Guizhou, grew faster than any other Trading Company. Behind it was the active support of the Evil Alliance.

This all started because of the incident where the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon massacred the Evil Alliance martial artists.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult did not officially apologize or compensate the Evil Alliance for the incident. Instead, they placated the Evil Alliance by placing the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon under restriction.

However, the Evil Alliance felt that was not enough.

As a form of retaliation, the Evil Alliance established the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's territory and was brazenly siphoning off his income.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was being punished by the Heavenly Demon, so he couldn't start a fight. For the past two years, he could only watch as they expanded their territory. Meanwhile, the dissatisfaction of his affiliated Trading Companies only grew.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon seemed well aware of the problem, as he didn't mention it separately.

"Now that I can move personally, don't worry too much."

Only then did the faces of the Trading Company owners brighten with joy.

With those words, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon ended the meeting. He knew better than anyone that such gatherings become targets for enemies. Meetings should be secret and brief.

After boarding the carriage, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon spoke to Green Mask.

"We're going to the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company."

"……"

The carriage began to move.

I casually remarked to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, "You were quite kind to the Trading Company owners. I thought you were the Affectionate Smiling Demon, not the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon."

"Aren't they the ones who make money for me? They're people who will earn me much more money if I just say one nice thing, so why would I treat them coldly?"

His words were a stark contrast to the Black Faction thugs who just robbed merchants and caused trouble.

This is what a true villain is like. Someone who strangles their opponent with a smile, making them suffer continuously in a pleasant atmosphere.

"Their very name is wrong. It must be the 'Hundred Punishments' from the saying 'punish one to warn a hundred,' right? I plan to go to the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company and show them why I earned the alias 'extreme evil'."

When I showed no reaction, he spoke again.

"Aren't you worried? Do you think I can't kill them all? Are you thinking, 'His restriction was just lifted, surely he won't kill anyone'?"

"No. I can feel that the Smiling Demon is very angry right now. The air inside the carriage is already different."

"But why aren't you stopping me? If an incident breaks out at the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company, the Second Young Lord will have to take responsibility, won't you?"

"Smiling Demon, please stop the carriage. Calm down and let's go somewhere else."

"I refuse."

"I knew you'd say that. That's why I've been constantly wondering. How should I stop you?"

"You'll have to think hard."

With those words, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon leaned back in the carriage and closed his eyes.

I sighed deliberately for him to hear, but my gaze out the carriage window was perfectly calm. The night was deep, but the jianghu was not asleep.