Chapter 206: The People Who Refused

TL: FoodieMonster007

After meeting Father, I went straight to the physician's clinic.

He was treating a critically ill patient. The patient must have been severely injured, because the entire area was a sea of blood. The first scent of my return was iron from the smithy, followed by the smell of blood.

I asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"It's fine."

I stood back and watched the physician work. Covered in blood, he did everything in his power to save the patient's life.

People who reached the pinnacle of their field, like Chief Gwak of the smithy or the physician, felt similar. The physician's effort, concentration, and absolute will to save a life resembled Chief Gwak's determination to forge a good sword.

The treatment had been like a war. When it finally ended, the physician walked over to me.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"Not at all. Is it really okay for me to witness the miracle of a dying person being brought back to life for free?"

"He was going to live anyway."

How can that be, when he worked so hard to save him? The patient's life was saved by the luck of having him as his physician.

The physician washed his hands and face with water from a basin in the corner. Seeing his skinny arms, I felt a pang of sympathy.

"I haven't been able to visit often, using being busy as an excuse. I apologize."

"No, it's fine. Seeing you once in a while like this is enough. I've been hearing news of you. Thank you for making me think, 'I made the right choice,' every time."

"It's all thanks to you."

"Are your eyes okay?"

"There are no problems at all. The only issue is that I can see too well."

"That's a relief."

The moment I decided to kill Yayul Han, I wanted to see the physician.

I also came to see the physician to muster up my courage after hearing Father's 'absolutely not'. If I had my way, I'd tell him right now that I plan to kill Yayul Han, but I have to get Father's permission first.

"Since you've come all this way, have a cup of tea before you go."

"I'd like that."

I chatted with the physician about various things. I planned to tell him everything that had happened, but another patient arrived, so I had to get up.

"I'll visit again."

"You're busy, there's no need."

I will definitely be back soon.

The next person I visited was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon sat in his yard, leaning against his Blood Heaven giant dao, which was planted in the ground. He circulated his qi, and the heat from his training lingered in the air. While I was slacking off with the Fist Demon, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had not stopped his training.

"Elder! I've returned."

I greeted him excitedly, as if returning in glory, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon received my greeting nonchalantly, as if he had just seen me yesterday.

"If you've returned from a long journey, you should be resting. Why did you come here?"

"What do you mean, why? I might not greet others, but I have to pay my respects to you, Elder, and I have something to report."

"What report?"

I sat down facing the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"I've become the Fist Demon's disciple."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon glanced at me but said nothing.

"What's with this dry reaction?"

"What kind of reaction were you expecting?"

"'You became a disciple without my permission?' and getting angry. Or, 'If you were going to become a disciple, you should have become mine,' and getting jealous."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon then said something unexpected.

"Other than the Fist Demon, no Demon Supreme would take you as a disciple."

"What do you mean by that?"

"In terms of personality."

"What about you, Elder?"

"I like disciples like Daeryong. A disciple I can teach by working him to the bone."

"Ah! Poor Detective Seo."

"That's the price for recklessly grabbing another man's pant leg."

He said this because their master-disciple relationship began at the Alluring Inn, where a drunk Seo Daeryong had grabbed the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's pant leg.

Of course, I knew. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon talked like that, but he cared a lot for Seo Daeryong. If he did not, he would not have chosen him as the next Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

"If I took you as a disciple, I'd get an ulcer in less than a month."

"I can't deny that."

"On the other hand, the Fist Demon wouldn't get an ulcer."

"Why is that?"

"Because he's not the type of person who thinks about working someone to the bone in the first place. If the Cult Leader and I are fire, he is water."

I thought the Fist Demon was fire, like Father, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sees him as water. Perhaps he's right. Maybe that's why they get along so well with Father, because they're fire and water.

"To be honest, I was worried you would be disappointed, Elder."

"Worried this narrow-minded old man would get sulky?"

"Narrow-minded? Not at all. It's just that your affection for me is deep."

"In the past, I would have been. The me before I met you would have definitely been disappointed."

"And now?"

"Now, I've changed. Because of you."

"Because of me?"

"You're the one who made it so that a narrow-minded old man like that couldn't walk with you, yet you ask such a thing?"

"……!"

I never dreamed he thought this way.

"After forming a bond with you, I began to reflect on myself. You constantly stimulated me. At first, you were irritating. Later, you were surprising, and now, you are moving me."

"Is your training also a part of that?"

"Yes. I have a premonition that if I just strut around, relying on my existing skills, I'll be swept away by the storm. You have already begun your ascension."

When I first met him, he told me that an ascending dragon brings a storm. He had spoken metaphorically, but those words had now become reality.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me with an intense gaze. I did not joke around like before, calling myself a slippery loach.

He's right. If we just wander around, trusting in the skills we possess, we'll all die.

That was why I had to keep moving forward.

"I will use the first of the thirty-three favors I can ask of you."

At my words, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon blinked and asked, "Thirty-three favors? Was there such an agreement between us?"

"Of course not. I just feel like I'll need your help thirty-three times in my life, Elder. I decided on it arbitrarily."

"By whose authority?"

"You can't even catch a cold until you've granted all thirty-three favors. Do you understand?"

My stubbornness also contained my wish for him to live a long life, so the Blood Heaven Blade Demon just laughed shortly, as if he found me hopeless.

"What is the favor?"

"Please persuade Father."

"The Cult Leader? How?"

"I want to get his permission to eliminate Yayul Han of the Evil Alliance."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was not surprised. He was so calm it made me wonder if it was okay for him not to be surprised.

"Why aren't you surprised?"

"Because you're a madman, so I figured you were capable of pulling something like this."

"Not the storm of an ascending dragon?"

"No. This is just madness."

"Please let me commit this act of madness just once."

"Let me at least ask the reason. Why are you trying to kill him?"

I told the Blood Heaven Blade Demon how Yayul Han used his subordinate, the Golden Pig Jisaeng Miracle Deity Loan, to lead the young people of the murim to ruin.

I can't tell him about the physician's revenge. It's a deeply personal matter.

"For a reason like that, the Cult Leader will not give his permission."

"That's why I'm asking you, Elder."

After a brief pause, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked, "If you get permission… are you confident you can kill him?"

"I'll have to try."

"He's one thing, but the martial arts of the subordinates protecting him are also formidable. On top of that, if things go wrong, it could escalate into a war between our Cult and the Evil Alliance."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was also worried about a war.

"Is it worth taking such a risk?"

"Young people who have just stepped out into the world are being deceived by those weathered scoundrels, forced to commit all sorts of evil deeds, and in the end, they die as cannon fodder or take their own lives. You ask if it's worth it? Yes, it is worth it."

Even without my promise to the physician, Yayul Han's evil deeds would continue.

In my life before regression, I was too busy searching for ingredients for the Great Art to pay much attention to the Evil Alliance. Even then, however, I consistently heard rumors about the evil deeds of Yayul Han's subordinates.

If fate has placed me before him now, I believe it's right to deal with him.

"Why was someone like you born in our Cult? And not as the son of the Murim Alliance Chairman."

"It was probably so I wouldn't have to fight you, Elder."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon sighed lightly.

"There is someone in the Evil Alliance who will help me."

"……"

"It's the heir of the Evil Alliance, Bi Sayin."

Bi Sayin will surely help me, if only to repay our past debt and grudge. He'll be an excellent ally.

After contemplating for a moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said the same thing as the Fist Demon.

"To change the Cult Leader's mind, all eight of the Demon Supremes will have to step forward. If you can demonstrate that much influence, the Cult Leader will have a reason to bend his own will."

My heart grew heavy. This was the opinion of the two people who knew Father best.

"The Eight Demon Supremes will be difficult. The Demonic Buddha and the Poison King support my brother, so they won't help."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon pulled his dao from the ground.

"I wonder, will they be the only two who refuse?"

He went inside his house and added, "Your real relationships might just be starting now."

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's prediction was right.

The Flower Sword Supreme refused flatly. Her refusal was as clean as her swordsmanship.

"That won't do."

Her reason for refusing was also clean.

"Second Young Lord, I'm telling you this honestly because it's you. I don't want to fall out of favor with the Cult Leader over something like this."

I could understand. Since her youth, her respect for Father had been higher than anyone else's. She did not want to ask for something Father would never permit.

"I understand, Senior."

Honestly, I somewhat expected the Flower Sword Supreme to refuse. I feel more distant from her than the other Demon Supremes. We never had a chance to form a deep relationship outside of our duel.

"Are you disappointed?"

If I answer too stiffly, I'll truly disappoint her.

"Yes, I'm disappointed. This is too much!"

The Flower Sword Supreme smiled.

"You'll have to understand."

Only then did I manage a half-joking, half-serious smile.

"I understand. Father isn't an ordinary person, is he? I know how great the pressure must be, Senior."

"Thank you for understanding."

"I'm sorry, but this might not be the end of it. I may come to persuade you again."

"I suppose so."

However, it was not easy to get permission even from someone I considered a step closer than her.

Next, I visited the Drunken Demon. When I asked him to persuade Father, he suddenly pretended to be drunk.

"Ah! I'm suddenly feeling drunk."

The Drunken Demon slammed his head on the table and pretended to sleep.

As I drank my alcohol in silence, he spoke while still facedown.

"I'll grant any other favor. What do you need? If you want me to buy you drinks for life, I'll buy them. Need money? Should I go to the Valley of Evil and beat those guys up again?"

"Forget it. Just persuade Father."

At that, the Drunken Demon shot up from the table and jumped into the lake with a SPLASH.

The Drunken Demon swam frantically across the lake like a madman, then climbed back into the pavilion. He sat in his original spot, dripping water, and spoke with a tragic expression.

"I'd rather quit drinking."

The Drunken Demon vowed to quit drinking. I could not help but laugh hollowly.

"Is it that hard for you?"

"If I go to him, what do you think the Cult Leader will think? 'Look at this bastard. He knows full well I'm against it, yet he comes to persuade me?' The Cult Leader already dislikes me as it is."

"Why does Father dislike you, hyung?"

"He does. The Cult Leader hates drunkards, and he hates guys who use poison. The Cult Leader is a man of clear likes and dislikes. I can't do it! I absolutely can't! I'm sorry, little brother."

I did not press him any further.

It's one thing if it were another matter, but how can I not understand when it's about Father? Even if that wasn't the reason, you can't force someone to do something they don't want to do.

"If you're sorry, then no drinking for ten days starting today!"

"I'll quit drinking! I'm sorry!"

"Why are you sorry, hyung? I'm the one who should be sorry for pushing you with an unreasonable request."

"Our relationship can't turn sour over this!"

"Hyung, our relationship won't turn sour because I asked a favor, or because you refused it."

"Then why would it?"

"When we're not honest. You could have just said, 'I can't do it for this reason,' and that would be fine, but imagine if you had agreed just to please me. Trying to do something you don't want to would lead to irritation and anger. Eventually, you'd even come to hate me, wouldn't you?"

The Drunken Demon nodded with an expression that said he would have.

"You did the right thing by refusing, hyung. I'm going to ask you for a lot of favors in the future. 'Help me beat someone up,' 'I'm lonely, drink with me,' 'I need to persuade that person, help me.' You have to be honest like this then, too. You can't ever think, 'I refused last time, so I have to force myself to do it this time!' That's when our relationship will fall apart, understand?"

The Drunken Demon stared at me quietly, then said, "Starting today, you be the hyung. I'm serious."

"No, thank you. What are you saying to your little brother who lives for the fun of teasing his hyung? Hyung-nim!"

"Aigoo, I'm such a shameful hyung."

"It's one thing for other matters, but being afraid of Father is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm leaving. I'll probably be back about this again. See you then."

With that, I left the Drunken Demon's residence.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was right. Persuading the Demon Supremes might be even harder than persuading Father.

So all eight of them have to talk to him for Father to give his permission? A sigh escaped me, but this was no time for despair. I had to find a way.

The next place I headed was to my fighting comrade. I was curious about his reaction.