Chapter 215: Participate From the Beginning

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon sat alone in the white room again, staring at the wall.

My worries that he might go mad disappeared once I learned the white wall helped his martial arts training.

Upon entering his room, I spoke.

"The Smiling Demon, let's go fight."

The Smiling Demon's eyes smiled brightly behind his mask when he heard I had permission. This was the same Extremely Evil Smiling Demon who wore the Undying Ghost Mask to meet Father and help me.

"Excellent."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon readily agreed. He showed no fear, even knowing his opponent was Yayul Han. He was simply delighted to fight alongside me.

"We'll be dealing not only with Yayul Han, but also with the four subordinates under his command."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's eyes smiled through the mask's eyeholes. He was the type who rejoiced when the enemy was stronger, but that didn't mean he was arrogant or failed to assess his opponent accurately.

"Yayul Han is a strong man. This could be a tougher fight than any we've had before."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon wasn't letting his guard down. He understood the danger better than anyone, which made me even more grateful. He had stepped forward knowing exactly what the task entailed.

"The problem is, we have to finish them off without leaving any evidence that we were the ones who killed them."

"The Second Young Lord is smart, so you'll find a way."

"You have to help me, the Smiling Demon."

"I'll just handle the killing."

He said it easily, but I could feel the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's gaze deepen. The opponent forced deep thought. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon spoke to me in a calm tone.

"Sometimes, when I fight, I forget who I am. That's when it's most dangerous. The Second Young Lord I know is someone who knows himself better than anyone. That's why I'm not worried."

"And I'm not worried because I have you, the Smiling Demon."

We looked at each other and smiled, treating each other with goodwill and gratitude.

I feel the urge to banter with him. I want to joke around.

But I held back. Mistakes happen at times like this. Etiquette should be maintained when you're close, but it becomes harder the closer you get. So, I treated him with even deeper respect.

"Oh, and another Demon Supreme will be joining us for this task."

"Who is it?"

"By Father's command, the Poison King will be coming with us."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon looked slightly troubled when I mentioned the Poison King.

"I have no personal acquaintance with him."

Who did? That was true for both the Poison King and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

"In the process of arranging this, I got to know a little about the Poison King. I thought he was a decent person."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon still seemed uncomfortable. Liking me was one thing, but his relationships with the other Demon Supremes were another matter entirely.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon walked to the opposite wall and stood before a line he had drawn.

"The Poison King… he's probably around here."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon pointed to the beginning of the line.

"Still, he's on the line."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon laughed at my words. Since it was already decided, he accepted the situation.

"We'll just have to hope the Poison King's poison doesn't kill us by mistake."

I can't quite picture the two of them together either. The combinations of the Demon Supremes are difficult to match. Which two would be the best fit?

"When can you depart?"

"I'm ready anytime."

"Then let's depart tomorrow morning."

"Very well."

As I turned to leave, I spoke to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

"This was all thanks to you, the Smiling Demon. Thank you once again."

"If we don't return alive, you'll have to use the word 'responsibility' instead of 'thanks'. Save your greetings for after the job is done."

After speaking, the Smiling Demon looked at the wall again.

I stared at the white wall with him for a moment, then bid farewell and left the room.

As I walked out of the Valley of Evil, the Faceless Warriors I encountered looked at me with greater favor. Some even bowed and greeted me, saying they enjoyed what happened earlier. My popularity had risen even more after I barked in the grand training grounds. They were a group that preferred strange antics anyway.

After leaving the Valley of Evil, I went straight to the Thousand Poisons Forest.

The Poison King was in the middle of packing. I came to tell him we were leaving tomorrow morning, but he was already busy gathering things as if he expected it.

"How'd you know we're leaving tomorrow morning?"

"After all the fuss you made to get this chance, of course you'd leave right away."

"As expected, you're brilliant."

"If I were so brilliant, would I have gotten myself into this crisis?"

To him, the crisis wasn't facing Yayul Han. The crisis was leaving the Thousand Poisons Forest.

The Poison King packed poisons into a shoulder bag. He packed all sorts of poisons in pouches, containers, and bottles.

"Is it necessary to bring so much poison?"

The poisons the Poison King already carried were enough to kill countless martial artists, yet he packed an excessive amount of spares.

"You never know what might happen."

Despite wanting to die rather than go, his preparations were thorough. It was his personality. Without such a meticulous nature, he could never create so many poisons and antidotes.

The Poison King put on a thin robe to hide the poison pouches on his waist. The robe also had several inner pockets, which he filled with more poisons.

"I'll be carrying a leather pouch, so if you give me some, I can carry them too."

"Are you planning to destroy the Evil Alliance? Forget it."

"You look like you're ready to do just that right now."

He pretended not to hear and packed something else. Next, he wrapped a leather belt around himself. It held about twenty poison-coated throwing knives.

"You throw throwing knives too?"

"Better than you, I bet."

That's unlikely, but I'm surprised the Poison King uses throwing knives.

On top of that, the Poison King also packed a fan.

It was his unique poison weapon, the Emptiness Fan, used mainly for administering poison. Killing everyone by spreading poison is easy. Killing just one person in a room of dozens is difficult.

One had to be careful when the Poison King gently waved the Emptiness Fan. You never knew where the wind to hell would blow.

In the future, the next Poison King would evaluate his master, the current Poison King, like this.

The greatest master of poison arts in the last three hundred years.

"I'm telling you now, I'm not killing Yayul Han. I'm just tagging along. I'm just going to watch!"

"If you're just going to watch, why are you packing so much poison?"

"So I can watch with peace of mind."

This was his personality. Both the meticulousness and this anxiety.

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know. I plan to handle it as quickly as possible, but I don't know what the situation will be when we get there."

"Let's handle it as fast as possible and come back. Got it?"

"It would be faster if you helped."

"I don't know about anything else, but that bastard, the True Venom Sage, I'll have to deal with him myself."

The Poison King seemed annoyed about this particular incident.

"If you're going to sell medicine, at least make it properly before you sell it. This is why we get a bad name. It's why the Cult Leader hates me."

"But you can't leave any trace that you used your poison arts, the Poison King."

"Am I going to leave a corpse behind for display?"

He meant he would melt the corpse without a trace.

In any case, if the Poison King takes care of the True Venom Sage, I won't have to reveal my Myriad Poison Immunity.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I left him to finish packing and exited the Thousand Poisons Forest.

As he led me out, Sangseon spoke.

"Please take good care of the Poison King."

I knew how much Sangseon worried about and cherished the Poison King. He must be even more concerned since it was his first time leaving the cult in a long time.

"I think I should be asking the Poison King to do that, but yes. I'll escort him well and bring him back."

"Today is the last time I'll guide you. From now on, you'll have to come alone."

He had always guided me through confusing paths, but today he led me out using the easiest and best route.

After leaving the Thousand Poisons Gate, I visited the physician's office.

I could finally say the words to the physician.

"Tomorrow, I leave to kill Yayul Han."

The physician stood blankly, shocked, then staggered. I released my qi to envelop his body, sat him in a chair, and brought him water.

The physician asked in a trembling voice.

"How did you know it was him?"

He had asked me to kill a man but had never told me his name.

I said nothing. Soon, the physician cried out, 'Ah!'. He must have realized I heard the name from Father, since he had asked him for this favor before and been refused.

"Did the Cult Leader permit it?"

"Yes. Six Demon Supremes helped me with this task. My recent visit to the Poison King was also to get his permission for this."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to tell you after I received permission."

Passion flooded the physician's face.

"I have lived only for this day."

His life was one of torment. He lost his family before his eyes and survived alone, dreaming of revenge while treating patients as self-punishment. He probably never slept peacefully. He probably couldn't taste even the most delicious food.

I've never had a child, but I can't even imagine the depth of sorrow and resentment from watching your child murdered before your eyes.

"I could have killed him and told you after, but I'm telling you now because I know how important this is to you, Physician. I'm telling you from the beginning that it's starting now. This way, you can participate from the very beginning."

The physician would tremble, tense, and worry until I returned. He wouldn't be able to sleep.

Still, I believe telling him was the right thing to do.

The physician recalled the day he desperately wanted to forget but never could.

"It was when I was young. I was treating a critically ill patient when Yayul Han barged in. He demanded I immediately treat the person he brought. I told him I couldn't. That if I stopped the treatment now, this person would die. Even with a sword to my neck, I upheld my principles as a physician, and that day, I saved them both. I saved the person I was treating, and I saved the person that bastard brought."

"But why?"

"He said he never let anyone who disobeyed his orders live. It was his own principle, and he would uphold it. He said he would spare my life since I saved his subordinate. In exchange…"

Tears streamed from the physician's eyes.

"I regret it. I should've just done what he said. I regret it dozens, hundreds of times a day. If I could only go back to that day… I'd follow his orders. I'd follow his orders even if the patient I was treating died."

I said nothing. I knew no words could comfort him.

He led me to his personal quarters within the physician's office. The room was so small and shabby it was hard to believe it was his. It contained only a single hard bed, a small desk, and a chair. The few books on the desk and a single old lamp seemed to show his entire life.

There was a secret door in that room. He opened a small door hidden in the wall, and we went inside.

The hidden space perfectly recreated the physician's old home.

The place where his wife used to cook, the place where his son used to run and play, and the room where the family of three used to sleep.

He was still there, in that place, on that day. He hadn't left it for a single moment.

"My young son always wanted to play with me. Every time, it was because Daddy was busy. Because Daddy had to save a patient. Because Daddy had to go buy medicinal herbs. I kept putting it off and putting it off, but still, my son never hated me. That little boy said to me, 'When you're not busy, you'll play with me, right? Right? You're working so hard for us, right?' I still can't forget the look in his eyes that day. At times like that, my wife would say, 'Don't overwork yourself. Take care of your own health first.' How can I call myself a physician when I couldn't even save my own child, my own wife!"

Finally, the tears the physician held back streamed down his face. He tried hard to stop them, but they only flowed more. It was the first time I had ever seen the physician cry.

I went and hugged the physician. I held him tight and patted his bony back as he squeezed his eyes shut and wept silently. I wasn't hugging him as the Second Young Lord. It was my pre-regression self, who had lived a much longer life, hugging a younger brother living this difficult, lonely life. Physician, you can stop suffering now. I will end it for you.

A moment later, the physician calmed himself.

Our gazes met. His face looked relieved, in a way. It was a pain he had suppressed alone for so long.

"…I'm sorry. For making you do such a dangerous thing for my revenge."

I told him firmly.

"I will kill him and return without fail."

Today will be the last time I see his tear-streaked face.

"That bastard has probably forgotten I even exist."

That fact would probably infuriate him even more.

"I will make him remember."

I don't usually attach meaning to a villain's death, but this time is an exception.

"And so, I will whisper in the dying bastard's ear. That this death is the physician's answer to your pathetic principle."