Chapter 383: Time for a Drink with Spring Greens

TL: FoodieMonster007

Seo Daeryong left the building and exhaled a breath he had been holding.

He had fallen asleep in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's room. The memory felt unreal, like a dream. He couldn't even remember how he had left the room or gotten this far. In any case.

I'm alive!

Seo Daeryong looked up at the pouring sunlight. He felt like he had just survived a battlefield.

Still, how could he just leave me behind?

Just then, one of the Faceless Warriors guarding the entrance spoke to him.

"The Young Cult Leader left a message for you to stop by his residence before you go."

"Thank you."

Seo Daeryong quickened his pace toward Geom Mugeuk's residence.

Even if he told me not to come, I'm going. I challenge you to a duel. The Master must have anticipated this and opened my Conception and Governing Vessels!

Seo Daeryong ran like the wind. He burst into Geom Mugeuk's residence and shouted.

"Let's have a match!"

In that moment, Seo Daeryong flinched and stopped short.

The person in the yard turned toward him, and he cried out involuntarily.

"Oops!"

The person who turned around was the Flower Sword Supreme. He had just challenged the Flower Sword Supreme to a match.

"Director Seo?"

"The Sword Supreme!"

Seo Daeryong politely performed a clasped hands greeting. The Flower Sword Supreme returned the gesture with the respect due to a Director.

"A match with me? I'd be delighted."

She was completely engrossed in her martial arts training and would run five thousand kilometers for a duel.

"No, no. I wasn't speaking to you, Sword Supreme."

"Then were you speaking to the Young Cult Leader?"

It was too awkward to admit he meant the Young Cult Leader. He had escaped one battlefield only to land on another.

Ah! I've fallen into a double trap!

His thoughts raced, and he failed to notice the Flower Sword Supreme looking at him with admiration.

The qi she felt from Seo Daeryong was incomparable to when she first saw him.

Has there ever been a demonic practitioner who grew this quickly?

His defiant yet lively eyes reminded her of someone. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon in his youth had the same feeling. The giant dao he carried only strengthened the resemblance.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk came out holding a bowl of water.

"Our Director Seo has grown up a lot, hasn't he? It's about time he had a match with the Sword Supreme."

Seo Daeryong jumped and waved his hands into a blur.

"No, it's a misunderstanding! What are you saying!"

Seo Daeryong glared at Geom Mugeuk, cursing him with his eyes.

Are you really going to do this to me!

Geom Mugeuk handed the water to the Flower Sword Supreme.

"I'm on very casual terms with Director Seo, so we often joke around."

The Flower Sword Supreme smiled. She knew about the relationship between the two, so she also knew Seo Daeryong had challenged Geom Mugeuk. It wasn't strange. The Geom Mugeuk before her was on casual terms with everyone, even the tavern owner of the Demon Village.

Just then, the Flower Sword Supreme bid farewell to Geom Mugeuk.

"Thank you for the duel today."

"Don't mention it. I learned a great deal."

She wished that were true. Geom Mugeuk grew even faster than she did. Every time they dueled, she felt like the Fist Demon staring up at a cliff.

The Flower Sword Supreme also bid farewell to Seo Daeryong.

"Let's meet again, Director Seo."

"Please take care until then, Sword Supreme."

As she was about to leave, the Flower Sword Supreme added as if she just remembered something.

"Oh, I heard that Director Seo is raising the flower pot I gifted to the Young Cult Leader a while ago."

Seo Daeryong flinched at the sudden mention of the flower pot.

"Is it still alive?"

"Of course. It's growing well."

It's ranked higher than me in my office. That thing is number one!

The Flower Sword Supreme hadn't brought it up as a joke. Her gaze deepened.

"Just as a flower will bloom from that bud, you too, Director Seo, will blossom fully."

It was a blessing, an expression of her hope that the much-improved Seo Daeryong would now make a name for himself as a martial artist. She had only mentioned the flower pot to say this.

After the Flower Sword Supreme left, Seo Daeryong asked Geom Mugeuk in a daze.

"She just praised me and left, right?"

"Sounded more like a warning not to kill the flower."

"Young Cult Leader!"

Only then did Geom Mugeuk smile and nod.

"The Sword Supreme has truly acknowledged you."

The fleeting moment of emotion passed quickly as Seo Daeryong began to complain.

"What good is that? My life is over now. Do you know what it feels like to open your eyes and see the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon staring at you? Have you ever even heard of such a thing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The words, 'Just when are you going to leave?'"

"I've never been such a nuisance."

"Thanks to a certain someone, I heard those words from the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. Those are words that would be nerve-wracking even from an ordinary person. Ah! My life is ruined. How could you do this to me! Leaving me behind?"

"I didn't intend to."

"Yes, you did. You were looking forward to the moment I opened my eyes and made eye contact with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon!"

"If that were the case, I would have hidden outside the window to watch."

"Huh? You're right."

Seo Daeryong blinked. The Young Cult Leader he knew would have definitely teased him on the spot.

"I received word this morning that the Flower Sword Supreme would be visiting."

"Then you should have woken me up and brought me out."

Then, an astonishing story emerged.

"The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon stopped me."

"What?"

"He saw you were sleeping so soundly and told me to leave you be."

Seo Daeryong was stunned.

"Really? You're lying!"

Seo Daeryong couldn't believe it, but Geom Mugeuk's expression showed it wasn't a lie.

"Why would the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon do that?"

"I don't know either. Maybe he's taken a liking to you?"

"But why?"

"I told you, I don't know."

Though he said that, Geom Mugeuk could guess. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon likely appreciated Seo Daeryong's life story. A mere investigator had become the Director of the Sanzu River Hall and a disciple of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Of course, he also knew Seo Daeryong was someone I cherished.

Seo Daeryong looked down at the white mask he was holding.

"Then was this gift also given out of goodwill?"

"Ask him yourself next time."

"Next time?"

He was about to wave his hands dismissively and insist there would be no next time, but he stopped. Was it because he had spent a day with him? Or because of what Geom Mugeuk had said? The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon didn't feel as frightening as he had yesterday.

"Probably not… Who am I, anyway."

Geom Mugeuk spoke in a calm tone to the man with the bowed head.

"You're my right-hand man, a power-hungry and cold-hearted man who loves only one woman, a rebel who raises his hand alone when everyone else is silent, yet a pacifist, a duel tournament champion who made a life-changing decision over a drink at an inn, and you even have a sharp eye."

The last part, 'and you even have a sharp eye,' was a joke Geom Mugeuk had shared with Seo Daeryong when he discovered the hidden Myriad Extreme Poison Divine Pill.

"You still remember all of this."

"They're the words I use to introduce you. Of course I do."

Seo Daeryong's heart grew warm.

The man before him never gave him a moment's rest. He seemed to ask, 'Is this really the extent of our relationship?' 'If we go a little further, won't something else be waiting for us?' He pushed his back and knocked on his heart. 'Don't grow weary of our bond. Let's not fall into the swamp of ennui.'

He was a man who always joked and flustered him, but his words and actions always held deep meaning.

Take just yesterday and today, for example. In a single night, he had helped him form a deep connection with two Demon Supremes. If not for Geom Mugeuk, how could he have formed a natural relationship with them? Would he have even had the chance to speak with two Demon Supremes?

Seo Daeryong might have joked back if Geom Mugeuk was taking credit, but Geom Mugeuk was already washing up and changing, hurrying to go out again.

"Where are you going now?"

"If our Cult had about three Demon Supremes, I wouldn't be this busy."

Meeting with the Demon Supremes was preparation for the tripartite conference and a form of martial arts training. His level was now high enough that he could gain new insights from a single joke with a Demon Supreme.

"Did you tell the Flower Sword Supreme everything about what was happening with the Orthodox Faction?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

"You're truly diligent."

I have to be. Haven't I experienced it many times? The defending side is always at a disadvantage. Those who plot schemes look for their opponent's openings and relentlessly dig into their weaknesses.

"You must be the busiest Young Cult Leader in history."

"You have a lot to do too, don't you?"

"Me?"

"When they arrive, we need to show them that our Cult is disciplined. You're the one most responsible for that."

As Seo Daeryong nodded seriously, messenger pigeons flew one after another over their heads.

He could also see pigeons flying in the opposite direction. There were certainly more wings fluttering back and forth than usual.

"It's started, hasn't it?"

Geom Mugeuk nodded at Seo Daeryong's question.

While the two of them talked on the ground, the conversations of strategists for the tripartite conference diligently crossed the sky above.

The Drunken Demon's reaction was different from what I expected.

Normally, his reaction would have been like this.

"You came last again. Right, I'm just a fish you've already caught. No, I don't even count as a fish. I'm just a decorative stone in the fish tank, aren't I?"

However, his reaction today was different.

"You're here?"

What is this comfortable reaction? Is he sober by any chance? But he reeks of alcohol.

"What's this? Is this how you have to smile to use the final secret technique of your unique martial arts?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why aren't you angry that I came late?"

"Why would I be angry when my most cherished younger brother has come?"

I took a step back.

"Who are you? So they weren't just targeting the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme."

"Sit down. It's good to see you after so long. Let's drink all night today."

"This is weird. Really weird."

Just then, Yeo Bin of the Three Drunkards brought a dish over.

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk saw it. The instant the Drunken Demon glanced at her, he knew. He knew the source of the Drunken Demon's change. A strange current flowed between them.

Something's going on between them!

As soon as Yeo Bin withdrew, he immediately asked the Drunken Demon.

"Did something happen with that female martial artist?"

"Nothing."

"You're going to tell me anyway, right? Then just say what you want to say! Go on."

"But if I tell you as soon as you arrive, won't I seem too frivolous?"

"Don't worry. The most talkative man in the world is sitting in front of you. What happened?"

Then, the Drunken Demon told him what had happened.

"I was drinking alone on a boat floating on the lake, and she flew onto the boat. Then she asked for a drink."

"And then?"

"She challenged me to a drinking contest."

It was something I had never expected.

"Oh! How cool. A woman who challenges the Drunken Demon to a drinking contest."

The interesting story continued.

"I said to her, 'Do you even know who you're challenging to a drinking contest?' She said she knew. 'Then what's the wager?' 'Let's grant the winner's wish.' 'Are you a child? Why make such a childish bet?' 'Are you not confident?' 'Of course not! Fine.' And that's how it happened."

I poured a full cup of alcohol into the Drunken Demon's empty glass. As if recalling that day, the Drunken Demon emptied his glass with a deepened gaze.

"She can really drink. Well, she's one of the top three drinkers, so of course she can, but when she drank with determination, she drank even better than I expected. The two of us drank all the alcohol in this pavilion. It wasn't enough, so we opened the liquor cellar and drank right there."

Imagining the scene, it must have been quite a spectacle.

"The result?"

"What are you asking? I won, of course."

I shook my head with a look of disbelief.

"You won? You clueless man. I can't believe you."

"In any other bet, maybe, but how could the Drunken Demon lose a drinking contest?"

"So? Did you make a wish?"

"I did."

"What was it?"

The Drunken Demon silently looked down at his empty glass.

I know he's not a man who gives his heart to a woman easily. Please, let his wish not have been, 'Don't ever do this to me again'!

"I told her to bring a dish of spring greens she made herself as a side for our next drink."

"!"

A bright smile spread across my lips.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because my hyung is so cool."

I filled the Drunken Demon's glass to the brim.

"This is the coolest you've been since I met you, Hyung. You always seemed so pathetic. Now you finally seem like a man."

"So you finally confess to looking down on me."

The Drunken Demon smiled and clinked his glass against mine.

Yeo Bin, who had liked the Drunken Demon for a long time, must have bet everything she had that day. How nervous she must have been.

I couldn't know how their relationship would develop, but the Drunken Demon had understood her heart so well.

"These days, we just have a drink together sometimes, like friends."

Those drinking sessions must have created the Drunken Demon's relaxed demeanor.

"This is all your fault."

"Why is it my fault?"

"She said she gathered her courage because of you and the Flower Sword Supreme, and you had a big influence on the Flower Sword Supreme, right? So in the end, it's your fault. You've influenced me too."

Yes, it's probably my fault. I admit it. So many things have been changing since I regressed. In any case, among all those changes, this was a truly pleasant one.

"When you have that drink with spring greens, call me too."

"I'll think about it."

I smiled at his smug, boastful look and emptied my glass.

Hyung, just don't blame me later by saying 'It's your fault!' in a different sense.

While meeting with the Demon Supremes, I also devoted myself to my martial arts training.

At the core of my efforts was always grueling training. I trained when I met with the Demon Supremes, and I trained when I didn't.

Gaining a clue to enlighten my martial arts from a joke shared with a Demon Supreme was only possible because it was supported by the endless training I normally accumulated.

The moment a single word becomes a great enlightenment is like placing the final ornament on a tall tower built with great effort. Without the tower, there can be no final ornament.

I continued to refine the Heavenly Space Secret Art to gain more time, and within that time, I mastered the Nine Calamities Demonic Art with all my might.

About twenty days passed like that, and finally, the day arrived.

A strategist sent from the All-Knowing Hall came and reported to me.

"The date for the conference has been set."

It was set for a date not too far in the future. Because the three leaders' will to meet was firm, things had progressed faster than expected.

I immediately headed for the Demon Village.

Just then, Jo Cheonbae, who was stretching in front of the Alluring Inn in the distance, saw me and greeted me happily.

"Young Cult Leader, welcome!"

I walked toward him, who was smiling brightly, unaware of what was to come.