Chapter 100

As if he understood my shock, Jeok-hyeon smiled faintly.

“Looking at how he is now, you can’t imagine it, can you?”
“No, not at all.”

Honestly, it was hard to believe.
That the Heavenly Demon, who seemed like he’d lived without want since birth, had a past like that.

‘Come to think of it, they said he wasn’t originally from the Demon Cult.’

I asked Jeok-hyeon.

“Where was that, exactly?”
“It was Wenzhou in Zhejiang.”
“If it was Wenzhou……”

A city bordering the sea.
It was incredibly far from the Demon Cult. Even from Henan, where we’d just been, it would take dozens more days.
But the Heavenly Demon, as a child, had been there?

“So what happened?”

If he remembered something from thirty years ago, there had to be a memorable incident.
Jeok-hyeon answered with a bitter face.

“As a Taoist, I couldn’t bear to see it and pass by. I bought two dumplings from a nearby stall and handed them to him.”
“And after that?”
“That was the end.”
“What?”

At the limp ending, my strength drained without me realizing it.
Jeok-hyeon continued without caring.
His gaze was toward me, but what he was really seeing wasn’t me. It was the distant past.

“There’s a reason I could never forget the child I saw then, for my entire life. It was his eyes.”

His voice sank low.

“That small child’s eyes were deep as a bottomless abyss. A pitch-black that looked like it could suck in a viewer’s soul, an abyss you could never escape once you sank into it. I’ve never seen eyes like that in my life. Not once, before or after.”
“But you saw those eyes again? In front of Mount Hua’s Heart-Demon Abyss?”
“That’s right. The moment our eyes met, I knew. That it was that child. Dao-friend Seol must have remembered me as well. Otherwise, there’s no way he would have left me alive.”
“Do you think that’s really the case?”
“I believe so. A genius’s memory is not something an ordinary person can measure.”

In truth, I think so too.
Not because the Heavenly Demon was a once-in-history genius, but because of those two dumplings.
What lies at the end of hunger?
Emptiness. There’s nothing.
Disappearing without a name, like roadside dust.
Only the curses of the one who cleans up your corpse become your last trace in the world.

Those two dumplings handed over in despair before death weren’t just food.
They were permission that it was okay to live a little longer.

I, too, have a few faces I remember.
I probably won’t forget them for the rest of my life.

‘……What kind of life did the Heavenly Demon live?’

My mind grew complicated.
The Heavenly Demon wasn’t originally from the Demon Cult.
Over thirty years ago, he nearly starved to death in Wenzhou, and twenty-seven years ago, he lured the Demon Valley Lord into a trap.
What happened in the gap between those times?
How did a starving boy end up drifting all the way to the distant Demon Cult?

Of course, it didn’t matter if I didn’t know all of it.
I didn’t think that kind of past directly affected the catastrophe ten years later.

Still, I was purely curious.
What story the Heavenly Demon had.
What path he had walked.
Why did he live so lonely?
For now, it was a story I couldn’t know any further.

I asked Jeok-hyeon.

“So is that why you’re helping Master? Because of that old connection?”

At my question, Jeok-hyeon slowly shook his head.

“A connection…… that alone is not enough.”
“Then what?”
“Awe.”

Jeok-hyeon looked into empty air.

“I lived my entire life knowing only the sword. Even the Sword Immortals of the age would hold back a move before me. And I, of all people, saw someone who had reached a realm I couldn’t even dare to guess. I saw with my own eyes that there is another heaven above the sky. How could I not feel awe? My Sword Dao simply could not allow such an existence to fade away meaninglessly.”

A very Jeok-hyeon-like answer.
I could sympathize with it to some extent, but even so, there was something I had to ask.

“……You won’t regret it?”
“What do you mean?”
“It feels like the owner of those eyes you mentioned would have a hard time living peacefully. What if, someday, he commits a massive massacre?”

Jeok-hyeon looked at me for a moment as if gauging my intent, then burst into hearty laughter.

“So you’re asking because of Heart-Demon Qi. I understand what you fear, but Dao-friend Seol is not someone who would yield to something like Heart-Demon Qi.”

The words, ‘Is that really so,’ almost slipped out.
For someone like me who knew the Heavenly Demon’s future, it was optimism I couldn’t accept easily.

“Nothing will happen to your master. Not only the previous ones, but even the Heart-Demon Qi he absorbed recently is smoothly assimilating into his energy.”

Jeok-hyeon seemed not to entertain even a one-in-ten-thousand possibility. There wasn’t a hint of doubt on his face.

“…….”

After the long conversation ended, we returned to the abandoned house.
When I saw the Heavenly Demon sunk in circulating and regulating his Qi, Jeok-hyeon’s confident voice echoed in my ears again.

‘What happens from here? Is it okay to relax?’

In my past life, I was in a lower realm than Jeok-hyeon was now.
Of course, realm and skill weren’t proportional, so if the me from then fought the him of now, I was confident I wouldn’t be pushed back.
But as for insight, it was obvious I would fall short.
With someone like that saying “no” so decisively, my head got complicated.
To the point I wondered if the future had already changed because of what I’d done after regressing.

‘Whatever.’

Right now, there was nothing I could know.
All I could do was assume the worst and run forward.

“Do you have something to say?”
“Hk.”

I flinched, my shoulders shrinking without me realizing it.
The Heavenly Demon’s eyes, which had been shut without the slightest movement, were now staring straight at me.
Was this what it felt like for your heart to drop?

“Weren’t you circulating and regulating your Qi?”
“That’s right.”
“Then how do you suddenly just wake up without any sign? At your level, are you free from the constraints of circulating and regulating Qi?”
“Of course.”

I clicked my tongue.
He really was a monster.
Circulating and regulating Qi was an act where you forgot external stimuli and the flow of time and focused only on circulating internal energy.
If you tried to stop by force, your Qi and blood would twist and you’d easily fall into Qi Deviation.
That was why you had to go through the procedure of storing the circulating internal energy into the dantian, but the Heavenly Demon didn’t seem bound by that.

‘Wait, then there was no need for me to stand guard this whole time?’

I suffered for nothing.

‘Not that I ever stood properly even once.’

I glanced at the Heavenly Demon’s face, then spoke.

“Master, back in the past.”
“What is it?”

Luckily, he didn’t look like he’d heard my conversation with Jeok-hyeon.
He wasn’t someone who took much interest in other people’s conversations.

“Back then, did you suffer a lot?”

The Heavenly Demon stared steadily into my eyes.
It was a gaze like he was trying to see through what I was about to say.

“Not as much as you.”
“…….”

It was an answer I never expected.
Why was it?
In that moment, my starving past self overlapped with the Heavenly Demon as a child, said to have been gaunt and dried up.
A question I’d raised again and again lifted its head once more.

‘Did he take me in because my past was similar to his?’

I immediately shook my head.
No way.
Hungry kids like me were everywhere in the world.

‘Though True Blood Severed Meridians would’ve been only me.’

My thoughts ended up at the severed meridians again.

“Hoo.”

A sigh slipped out.
Just what kind of person was the Heavenly Demon.
If I thought I understood one piece, ten more things popped up that made me go, what is this now.

‘Let’s stop this talk.’

I didn’t want to pry into a past he hadn’t revealed.

“I should sleep now.”

I lay down.
Staring at the twinkling stars in the night sky, I bantered.

“Master, don’t wipe your mouth clean once we’re back at the main base.”
“What are you saying?”
“I successfully completed the ultra high-difficulty mission of escorting a weakened Heavenly Demon. Isn’t that a huge merit?”

The Heavenly Demon lifted one corner of his mouth.
It was a sneer.

“You never know until everything ends.”
“I think I know. I gained several small and big enlightenments on this journey. I’m not the old me anymore.”
“You’re the best at letting your guard down.”
“It’s a cool-headed judgment. We’ve got Dao Master Jeok-hyeon too. Hehe.”

Yeah. The one I truly trusted was Jeok-hyeon.
The Heavenly Demon spoke in an extremely cool tone.

“You must not trust anyone but yourself.”
“Do you know why the character for ‘person’ looks like two people leaning on each other?”
“I don’t want to know.”

I let out a small laugh and closed my eyes.
I didn’t know why, but somehow the Heavenly Demon’s condition didn’t seem that bad.
They said in the year before last and last year, he stayed weakened for a while even after returning, but now his complexion looked fine.

‘And he even drank a ton of strong liquor.’

More time passed, and it became the night before we parted ways.
Before I knew it, the Demon Cult was close at hand.

There was one small incident on the way here.
Jeok-hyeon, who had gone out to scout, said the Heretical Alliance was searching for someone.
I wondered if they were searching for me and the Heavenly Demon, but Jeok-hyeon smiled and said.

-Don’t worry. I secretly listened in, and they were looking for people called the Evil-Slaying Twin Heroes. It has nothing to do with us.

The Heavenly Demon squeezed his eyes shut, and I laughed awkwardly.
But that was us.

‘Either way, it was really long.’

When familiar scenery appeared, the feeling was new.
The time we left Divine Demon Gate felt like the distant past.
Just how many days had it been until we returned?

“-I’m telling you. So Dao-friend Seol too-”

Maybe because it was the last day.
Jeok-hyeon kept talking to the Heavenly Demon without pause. The Heavenly Demon, as always, replied without enthusiasm.

‘What should I do about that guy?’

My gaze, looking around, stopped on Jin Mu-seong.
A guy who glanced at me, then startled and lowered his head.
He’d been like that for days.
As if he was afraid of me, he kept watching my face.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue softly.
I didn’t like him, but it felt uneasy to just ignore him like this.
He’d been annoying in many ways, but in the end he was just being played by Jeok-hyeon, and after that he’d taken plenty of beatings from me too.

‘And I said something too.’

I’d told Jeok-hyeon I’d make this guy into a proper person.
I’d received a lot, so it would be better to return that much.
That was how life was.

“Hey.”
“H-huh?”
“Come out for a moment.”
“W-why?”
“If I say come out, then come out.”

Jin Mu-seong looked at Jeok-hyeon as if asking for salvation.
Jeok-hyeon clearly knew what was going on, but he played dumb.
I couldn’t tell if he truly didn’t care, or if he’d guessed I would do something and was pretending not to know.
Either way, Jin Mu-seong would feel despair. Like he’d been abandoned by his master.

In the end, Jin Mu-seong came out reluctantly.
The way he dragged his feet, he looked like livestock being led to a slaughterhouse.
Tsk, clicking my tongue, I asked him straight out.

“Have you ever drunk alcohol?”
“A-alcohol? No.”
“Try it.”

I held out the gourd flask hanging at my waist.
Jin Mu-seong’s face went pale like he was looking at poison.

“N-no. If Master finds out, it’ll be b-bad.”
“Then don’t.”
“B-but maybe a l-little would be okay.”

He had refused using his master as an excuse, yet now he was taking the flask.

“Kek, kekek. Keoheok.”

He took just one sip and caused a scene.
Bent over, he kept coughing. The sight of him crying and snotting was really something.

“At this age, what have you been doing without even drinking once?”
“…….”
“You, do you have anyone close?”

Jin Mu-seong blinked like he didn’t understand, then answered while stammering.

“I-I have a sajil I talk to once in a while.”
“That means you have none. Other than your master, is there anyone who cares about you?”
“Mr. Gu.”
“Who is that?”
“T-the owner of the fabric shop in Hwa-eum County.”
“……Drink.”
“Y-yes.”

It was ridiculous.
Why bring up a fabric shop owner who wasn’t even from Mount Hua?
Was it pride, not wanting to show that he had no one?

“In Mount Hua, aren’t you always alone on the outside? Not recognized by anyone.”

Jin Mu-seong’s eyes widened.

“N-no.”
“It’s obvious, and you say no. Who would want to be close to you? Are your martial arts amazing, or is your personality good?”

A sect was ultimately a gathering of people.
No matter how high your standing, if there’s nothing to respect, you won’t be respected to the end.
Maybe he had a conscience. Jin Mu-seong didn’t argue back. He just slumped his shoulders.

“Who do you want to become like?”
“M-my Master……”
“Even if you live your whole life, you won’t become like him.”

A deeply hurt expression.
I continued without caring.

“Not because of martial arts, but because you’re petty and insidious.”
“……I-I’ll drink.”
“Do it.”

Gulp, after swallowing another mouthful, Jin Mu-seong’s face turned reddish.
The intoxication was rising.

“You have to change for your surroundings to change too. Don’t just think you’ll be treated special because of your high standing. You approach first. When you meet your sajil, greet first, and ask if they ate.”
“B-but I’m those kids’ sasuk……”
“What does that matter? Is there a law saying an elder can’t speak first?”

Jin Mu-seong tilted his head.
He didn’t seem able to judge well.

‘Am I sticking my nose in for no reason?’

My original plan was to drive this guy until he went crazy.
To make him sharpen his blade every day with revenge toward me.
Then at least I could make him proactive in martial arts the way Jeok-hyeon wanted.
But I changed my mind.
What would it do, even if he got strong like that.
He’d only have a negative influence on the world.
That wouldn’t be good for Jeok-hyeon either.

“Don’t question it. From now on, carve my words into your mind. You have to learn this kind of mindset.”

I launched into a long speech at Jin Mu-seong.
Speak clearly, if you have complaints then express them directly, be humble, devote yourself to training. And-

“When you see injustice, don’t endure it. Help people in trouble. I’m saying become a great hero. Got it?”
“Y-yeah.”

As I spoke, something felt strange.
A disciple of the Heavenly Demon talking about becoming a great hero to a Taoist’s disciple.
Was this right?
Still, if not me, who would say this to him?

“Of course, you have to step up within your limits. If you don’t know your place and fool around, you’ll die screaming.”
“…….”

Jin Mu-seong didn’t answer at all.
He stayed silent for a long while with an unreadable expression, then spoke in a low voice.

“Y-you…… what do you want from me?”
“What do you mean, want?”
“I-I hated you, so why are you s-saying good things to me?”

I wondered what he was talking about.
I let out a small laugh.

“It’s because of your master. He couldn’t give up on you to the end. He said you’re Mount Hua’s future.”
“I-I’m Mount Hua’s future……?”

Confusion flashed across his face.
It seemed Jeok-hyeon had never told him that even once.
Well, Jeok-hyeon’s way was to shove him into the sack rather than praise him.

“Because of your master, you often feel like you can’t breathe, right?”
“…….”

Jin Mu-seong gave a wordless affirmation.
I said it with sincerity.

“That’s what the master-disciple relationship is like. Sometimes you hate them to death, and sometimes they’re the scariest in the world. But you also don’t want to betray their expectations. Because no one wants a disciple’s growth more than a master.”

For a moment, I thought of my Master, the Heavenly Demon.
The image of him training me harshly in my past life, the image of him suffering as he let me go when I wanted to leave, the image of his eyes being empty.
I wanted to protect the Heavenly Demon’s dignity.
Because he was my Master.

“So from now on, prove it. That those expectations weren’t wrong. If you don’t want to, then live pathetically like this.”

Jin Mu-seong’s eyes became clear.
It was completely different from the malice he’d shown for a time.
They were eyes set with firm resolve.

‘Yeah. This is enough.’

If your mindset changes, your life changes too.
Jin Mu-seong would be fine.
Playfully, I patted his shoulder twice.

“From now on, you can call me hyung.”
“B-but my birthday is a month earlier……”
“In Murim, the strong one is the hyung.”

Either way, the hierarchy had to be sorted out.