Chapter 139: Punishment for the Cowardly Drunkard!

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Drunken Demon was sleeping, dead drunk. He had drunk so much that he didn't even notice my arrival.

"The Drunken Demon, the Drunken Demon!"

I called his name repeatedly, but he didn't wake up. In these moments, he was just a hopeless drunk.

I lifted the Drunken Demon and hurled him into the lake.

SPLASH!

I waited for a while, but the Drunken Demon did not surface from the water.

"I really can't deal with this!"

I jumped into the lake after him.

The Drunken Demon had sunk to the bottom of the lake like a corpse. I pulled him back to the surface.

"Snap out of it!"

The Drunken Demon opened his eyes and finally recognized me.

"Second Young Lord?"

I climbed onto the boat first. The Drunken Demon stayed in the water, floating on his back and staring at the sky.

"Aren't you coming up?"

"I'm staying here."

"Are you some rebellious youth? I can't stand to watch. I only put up with it because you're handsome."

"Stop staring at my handsome face and give me some liquor."

"Are you going to show me the divine skill of drinking while lying in the water? Which of the Drunken Demon's martial arts is this?"

When I didn't give him the liquor, the Drunken Demon held out his hand. A bottle from the ferry flew to him with telekinesis. He drank it while lying down.

"The rumors are true, aren't they?"

The Drunken Demon didn't answer.

"What on earth happened?"

The Drunken Demon swam away from the boat on his back, as if he didn't want to answer.

I rowed after him.

"I told you to reconcile, and now you're having a duel? You're basically picking a fight with me, aren't you? Get out here. Let's have a go."

"It's not my fault. It's that old man's. He threw away the liquor I gave him as a gift. He did it right in the front yard for everyone to see."

The Drunken Demon must have noticed the discarded liquor with his sensitive nose. The whole thing was wrong from the start.

"And do you know what that old man said to me after that?"

The Drunken Demon sat up. He laid an empty liquor bottle on its side in the water and sat on it. Neither the bottle nor the Drunken Demon sank.

"He asked if I enjoyed escaping reality by getting drunk and called me the most pathetic of all the Demon Supremes. So I asked him if there weren't Seniors who escape reality without even being drunk. I asked him who was more pathetic."

"You're not children, but you both act the same. So mature."

"He started it!"

"So?"

"I was going to end it there, but then he just had to make a comparison."

"With the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, I presume."

The Drunken Demon nodded and perfectly imitated the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's voice.

"You're worse than the mask-wearer. The mask-wearer only hides his face, not his heart."

The impression was so good that if you closed your eyes, you would think the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was speaking right there.

"How dare he compare me! And to someone like the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon! I almost blew my top."

"And so?"

"What do you mean, 'and so'? I was pissed, so I retorted. I said I was better than some timid man who suffers his whole life over one woman."

I shook my head, thinking he was hopeless.

"You didn't just touch a taboo. You ripped it wide open."

"So that old man's a dragon's scale, and I'm what, a fish scale? He touched mine first!"

SPLASH! The Drunken Demon plunged back into the water. He must have gone to the bottom, because he came up after a long while.

I asked him as he poked just his head above the surface.

"Just go and apologize. If he curses at you, just take it. He won't insist on fighting if you go that far."

"I don't want to. If anyone should apologize, it's him."

"Then you'll have to fight."

"I don't want to do that either!"

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know either."

The Drunken Demon started swimming away again. I didn't chase him. Instead, I rowed in the opposite direction. Then, the Drunken Demon turned and swam after me.

"The reason I don't want to fight the Blade Demon is because of you."

"Because of me?"

Unexpected words flowed from his mouth.

"Because if he fights me, the Blade Demon you like so much will die."

I left him with his serious expression and rowed faster.

"I don't believe a drunk man's words."

The Drunken Demon's voice called from behind me.

"He'll die, I tell you!"

"I get it, so sober up and wait. I'm going to see Elder Blade Demon. If you're still drunk when I get back, you'll die by my hand!"

After leaving the Great Drunken Forest, I went straight to find the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was training again today. His techniques were rougher and more aggressive than usual. The atmosphere alone felt like the eve of a decisive battle.

"Why are you training so hard just to catch one drunkard?"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon sheathed his blade and sat on a rock in the yard. His entire body was drenched in sweat.

"What happens if you break the unwritten rule that Demon Supremes don't fight each other?"

"Nothing happens."

"You mean there are no sanctions?"

"That's right."

"Then why hasn't the unwritten rule been broken?"

"Because they know one person will surely die. The probability of dying is high, and even if your opponent doesn't kill you, the loser's life as a Demon Supreme is over. Who would follow a leader who lost to another Demon Supreme?"

"And you're going to duel, knowing that?"

"Why? Are you worried I'll be kicked out of my position as a Demon Supreme?"

"You've lived your whole life as a Demon Supreme. It won't be easy to live as an ordinary cult member."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon then said something unexpected.

"Do I look like a fool who would risk his position as a Demon Supreme over that insidious bastard?"

"Then why are you trying to fight?"

"It's for you."

Coincidentally, both men claimed they were acting for my sake. One refused to fight for me, while the other insisted on fighting for me.

"The reason he was suddenly acting friendly toward me was obviously because of you. You must have told him to reconcile, right? I knew that and provoked him on purpose."

"I heard the Drunken Demon mentioned the Sword Supreme Senior."

"What's the big deal? Everyone thinks the Sword Supreme is my great weakness, but that's not the case. In fact, at my age, one can even use their weaknesses."

"So you're saying you challenged him intentionally, not out of anger."

"That's right. I thought you could use this confrontation. When a problem like this arises, you naturally intervene. Wouldn't it be easier for you to use him then?"

"You thought that far ahead?"

"Did I misjudge?"

"No. You did well."

"On this matter, I'll follow your will. If you tell me to fight, I'll fight. If you tell me not to, I won't. This fight isn't my fight. It's yours."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had seen the essence of this matter. I was the one who tried to make them reconcile, and I was the one trying to mediate now. The Blade Demon had understood from the beginning that this was an issue between me and the Drunken Demon. He had probably even predicted that I would come to him like this.

"Don't expect me to reconcile with him. However, I understand that you need him. If it were anyone else, I would have stopped them, but you might be able to handle that insidious bastard. I've decided to trust you, not the Drunken Demon. So use this opportunity to get a firm grip on him."

A thought suddenly struck me.

I must not lose any fight from now on. How can I possibly lose when I have someone like this by my side, fighting for me?

So many things I wanted to say to him came to mind, but I swallowed them all.

"Thank you so much."

I bowed politely. As I turned to leave, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke softly from behind me.

"You have to earn the cost of the restorative medicine I made for you."

You're earning the cost of miracle herbs, not just restorative medicine.

"It seems you didn't want to die."

The Drunken Demon had sobered up and changed into new clothes. He was waiting in the Drunken Dream Palace.

"What did that old man say? I'm sure you took his side."

"What Elder Blade Demon said isn't important."

"What? Why? Did he curse me out again? He did, didn't he?"

"Because this is a matter between you and me, the Drunken Demon. This all happened because I asked you to reconcile with Elder Blade Demon, right?"

"I tried."

"This incident made me realize something. Reconciling the two of you is impossible. This problem is strictly between you and me, the Drunken Demon. We have to resolve it ourselves."

"How do you propose we resolve it?"

I placed the bottle of liquor I had brought on the table in front of him.

The Drunken Demon asked in surprise.

"You want to resolve it with liquor?"

"Let's drink until we drop. Who needs side dishes?"

The Drunken Demon stared at me blankly, then burst into laughter. It was the heartiest laugh I had heard from him since we met.

"Good, this is it! This is why I like you, Second Young Lord!"

The Drunken Demon called for Yeo Bin.

"Bring liquor! Bring all the liquor I've been saving!"

I began drinking with the Drunken Demon. This drinking session was like my first duel with Father, where I fought without restrictions. I had always drunk carefully, trying not to make mistakes, but today, I just drank. I returned to my mercenary days, when I lived lost in alcohol.

"You drink so well. How have you held back all this time?"

"There can't be two Drunken Demons in our Cult, can there?"

The Drunken Demon laughed heartily at my words. He was ecstatic that I drank with such determination.

Drinking in this pavilion had a different charm than drinking on the ferry. The Drunken Demon told all sorts of stories, from tales of meeting women in his youth to badmouthing the other Demon Supremes.

I also spoke freely, telling stories about my older brother bullying me as a child and about Father. We gradually got drunker.

I drank spiritedly, but my tolerance couldn't match the Drunken Demon's. He drank twice as much as I did.

"Ah, now I get it. I see why you jump in there, the Drunken Demon."

I jumped into the lake too. I felt more alive after swimming a lap and getting out.

"That lake is my side dish."

"I'll be drinking slowly from now on."

"Stop drinking. You've already had a lot."

"You know what? The coolest thing about you, the Drunken Demon, is that you don't force people to drink."

"What am I supposed to do if that's the coolest thing about me?"

"What do you mean? That's incredibly cool. It's the Drunken Demon not forcing drinks, which makes it truly cool. Ah, I'm getting drunk."

I flopped onto my back. The Drunken Demon didn't scold my rudeness. He kept drinking, and I lay there listening to his stories. Some might not have endured it. The Drunken Demon boasted an incredible amount, but I didn't find it bothersome. To be honest, it was fun.

As we were drinking, I made a proposal.

"Shall we have an arm wrestle?"

"Arm wrestle? Using inner arts?"

"Of course not. A man-to-man contest. How about it?"

"Fine, but it's no fun without stakes, so let's make a bet. The winner gets a wish granted."

"A wish for a mere arm wrestle?"

"This is a real match. Imagine our Cult Leader, the Murim Alliance Chairman, and the Evil Alliance Chairman gathered for a contest. An arm wrestling match with the fate of the murim on the line! Martial artists would find that more interesting, don't you think?"

"Alright. Then go take a dip in the water. Don't make excuses later that you lost because you were drunk."

"It's fine. Against you, it's nothing!"

We cleared the liquor table and arm-wrestled. How could he overcome my youthful strength? Just as I was about to push his arm over, I felt the Drunken Demon secretly using his qi.

"I knew it! You drunkard!"

I started using my inner arts too.

The Drunken Demon then began to use his inner arts in earnest. It was as if all the liquor he had drunk had become inner arts. His power was unexpectedly strong, showing that his claim of being able to kill the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was no mere bluff.

However, he couldn't overcome my qi. Today, I hid neither my drinking capacity nor my inner arts.

"……"

The liquor table shattered. The match was decided.

"Punishment for the cowardly drunkard! I won!"

I shot up from my seat and jumped up and down like a child.

"This is invalid! You put in strength first! And I drank more liquor, didn't I? I'll go take a dip in the water, so let's have a proper match!"

His unreasonable insistence was not going to work, especially since he used inner arts first.

I ignored his words and leaned against the railing. The setting sun began to dye the world red. I gazed at the scene for a moment, then spoke to the Drunken Demon. I couldn't look at him, so I spoke while watching the crimson-dyed lake.

"Everyone says you're insidious and suspicious, the Drunken Demon, but I enjoyed our drinking session."

"!"

"You know how some people are? Everyone else dislikes them, but you find them good. You're that kind of person to me, the Drunken Demon. I liked your showing off, your bluffing, and even the empty look I sometimes saw in your eyes. That's why I was also anxious. What could your intention be in approaching me? To be honest, I thought it wouldn't matter even if your intentions were impure. Who doesn't have secrets or selfish plans? I thought it was all fine. I just hoped for one thing. Please let it be something I can understand. Please don't let it be something that prevents us from being drinking buddies."

The Drunken Demon's eyes wavered, sensing I was speaking from the heart.

"Our Second Young Lord has a serious drinking habit. When you get drunk, you say everything on your mind."

I finally looked at him and said.

"Hyung."

The Drunken Demon's eyes widened at my word. He looked genuinely startled.

"Let's be sworn brothers starting today. This is my wish."

"But you won, so why?"

"Because it was what I wanted too."

Surprise and passion born from unexpected emotion filled the Drunken Demon's expression.

"You… you're definitely a madman."

"I hear that from you too, the Drunken Demon… no, Hyung. Since I've heard it from all the Demon Supremes, I guess I really must be a madman."

"Your madness is subtle, which makes it even scarier."

The Drunken Demon straightened his posture, brought over a cup, and poured me a drink.

"Little brother, have a drink."

"Yes, Hyung."

I drank the liquor he gave me. Then I poured him a drink, and he drank it too.

"Don't be too moved. It's true that I'm drawn to you, but I'm also doing this because I absolutely need you, Hyung, to become the successor. So only half of my heart is pure. As for the other half, let's fill it with liquor. I'll be going now."

I felt needlessly awkward and was about to stand up first when the Drunken Demon spoke abruptly.

"It's because of me."

Unexpected words flowed from his mouth.

"The reason the relationship between the Blade Demon and the Sword Supreme soured is because of me."

The Drunken Demon looked at my startled face and confessed an even more shocking fact.

"I drove a wedge between the two of them."