Chapter 158

The moment I stepped outside the Hidden Cloud Pavilion, the Demon Inquisition Court martial artists all turned to look at me.
The Second Unit Leader stepped forward and spoke.

“Will you submit to the interrogation?”
“I’d love to, but unfortunately, there’s a problem. It goes against the laws of the Divine Cult.”
“What do you mean by that?”

The Second Unit Leader’s eyes narrowed.
I smiled.

“Let me ask you something first. Is there really nothing wrong with interrogating me?”
“As I just explained-”
“Just tell me whether there is or isn’t.”
“There isn’t.”

His snake-like eyes flashed coldly.
He seemed desperate to make my life difficult somehow.
Too bad.
I had no intention of playing along.

“Tsk, tsk. This is exactly why the Vice Court Master of the Demon Inquisition Court said you weren’t capable of handling me.”
“Please watch your words.”
“You should watch your actions. Don’t come swaggering in here demanding an interrogation when you haven’t even met the requirements.”

I continued before the Second Unit Leader had a chance to respond.

“To interrogate a Little Demon or someone of Patriarch rank from the Seven Demonic Houses, approval from all three courts is required. Do you not know that law?”
“……!”

The Second Unit Leader’s expression froze.
The three courts were none other than the Demon Inquisition Court, Disciplinary Court, and Guardian Court.
In other words, all three had to agree before I could be interrogated.
Of course, that was never going to happen.
The three of them hated each other.

“……That law became a dead letter long ago.”

The Second Unit Leader answered in a low voice.

‘I was worried he might not know about it.’

I laughed inwardly.
He had studied enough to pass the doctrine examination, so I figured he would at least know this much.
And now the Second Unit Leader had effectively acknowledged the law’s existence with his own mouth.

“How long has it been a dead letter?”
“For several decades.”
“Was it repealed? Has that provision been deleted from the Divine Cult’s Codex?”
“That…… has not happened.”

The corner of my mouth rose leisurely.
Something useful had actually come out of all the random things Jo Yi-gyeong used to ramble about.
This was why you had to listen when people talked, even when you didn’t want to.

“It’s a law of the Divine Cult with a long history. Surely you’re not planning to openly disregard it?”
“As I just said, it is a dead letter. If Seventh Young Lord insists on forcing the issue, it will not end well for you either.”
“And how exactly won’t it end well?”
“Refusing to comply with this Court’s authority may be regarded as an act of apostasy.”

I gave a small smile.
This bastard had no idea what he was saying right now.
Maybe it was his grudge, or maybe he simply had too much confidence in the power of the Demon Inquisition Court.
I wasn’t sure which.

‘I need to teach him some manners.’

I could forgive one mistake, but not two.
And now that he had brought up ‘apostasy,’ it was time to remind him of his place.
Even if I had to humiliate him thoroughly.

I took one step toward the Second Unit Leader.

“Apostasy, huh? That’s funny. Second Unit Leader, who the hell do you think you are?”

The Second Unit Leader’s eyebrow twitched.
His displeasure was obvious.
I ignored it and took another step.

“Do you even have the authority to accuse a Little Demon of apostasy? Don’t get confused. You’re nothing but a mere Unit Leader.”
“I warn you in the strongest terms. Do not insult this Court.”
“What a ridiculous man. When did I insult the Demon Inquisition Court? You think you represent the entire Court? Not even close. Next exam or the one after that, one bad doctrine score and you could be thrown in prison at any time. That’s your position. That’s all you are.”

A crack appeared in the Second Unit Leader’s expression.
He was clearly trying to maintain his composure, but he couldn’t hide the trembling around his eyes.
Perhaps because of that,
as though he had momentarily lost control, a sticky, unclean energy seeped from him.
It was the artificial demonic qi possessed by everyone belonging to the Demon Inquisition Court.

In response, the other Demon Inquisition Court martial artists released the same artificial demonic qi.
The pressure of more than twenty people converged on me at once.
An ordinary Demon Cult member would have been badly intimidated. Their energy was a particularly bad matchup for ordinary demonic qi.
But it had no effect on me whatsoever.
Thanks to Perfect Demonic Qi.

“You thought this would rattle me?”

Seeing me completely unaffected, the Second Unit Leader’s face stiffened even further.
Apparently, he hadn’t expected me to be so completely unaffected by their energy.
This was a body that had been perfectly fine even inside the Demon Inquisition Court’s absolute formation.

I took another step forward.
The distance between us had narrowed to about a meter and a half.
Taking it as a threat, the Demon Inquisition Court martial artists all reached for their weapons.

Almost simultaneously, weapons were drawn behind me with a series of metallic rings.
Im Yeon and the guards.

“Even if you are the Demon Inquisition Court, I will not forgive anyone who shows disrespect to our Young Lord.”

Im Yeon spoke with an anger unlike her usual self.

“I feel the same.”

Ak Mu-jin and the Longevity Ten lined up behind me.
Just as the Second Unit Leader held a grudge against me, Ak Mu-jin and the Longevity Ten had their own history of being seized by this man and dragged to the Demon Inquisition Court.
If an actual fight broke out, the Demon Inquisition Court side would suffer overwhelmingly greater losses.

The situation was one spark away from exploding.
The two sides faced each other in a tense standoff.
I spoke with a mocking smile.

“Do I look like some brat who’ll roll over the moment you push me?”

The Second Unit Leader couldn’t answer.

“If you want to fight, we can fight. Or should I bring the Disciplinary Court Master and Guardian Court Master here? I wonder what they’ll say when they see what the Demon Inquisition Court is doing.”

The Second Unit Leader silently clenched his teeth.
The mention of the Disciplinary Court must have been especially hard to swallow.
The two Courts had traditionally competed over their achievements.
Whenever one found a flaw in the other, they were notorious for sinking their teeth into it.
A Demon Inquisition Court Unit Leader had ignored a regulation that remained legally valid even if it had become a dead letter?
The Disciplinary Court couldn’t ask for better prey.

I walked up to the Second Unit Leader.
He tried to take a step back, but I was faster.
I spoke quietly right in front of his face.

“Think carefully. What happened today might not end with you.”

His snake-like eyes wavered.
His face had turned ashen.
Cold sweat ran down his temples as the Second Unit Leader remained silent for a moment.
At last, he gave me the answer I wanted.

“……We will withdraw this time.”
“Good. Things would’ve been much easier for both of us if you’d done that from the start.”

Looking at the humiliation spreading across the Second Unit Leader’s face, I quietly added,

“One last piece of advice. Know who you’re messing with before you start something. Not everyone is afraid of you just because you belong to the Demon Inquisition Court.”

I patted him twice on the shoulder.
His formerly composed expression twisted like a yaksha.

“If you’re done here, how about you leave?”

The Second Unit Leader led the Demon Inquisition Court martial artists away.

“Oh, right. Second Unit Leader.”
“……?”

The Second Unit Leader stopped and looked back.

“Congratulations on the promotion. Hopefully next time I see you, you’ll be First Unit Leader.”

Of course, that was a lie.
The Second Unit Leader’s already narrow snake eyes became even more venomous.
Then he left without answering.

‘Come at me again. Next time, I’ll make sure you lose everything.’

After they disappeared, Ak Mu-jin let out an impressed exclamation.

“Impressive, Young Lord. I never expected you to know even such an ancient law.”
“I happened to hear about it somewhere a long time ago.”

I smiled at Ak Mu-jin.

“You handled that well too, Unit Leader Ak. I didn’t expect you to step in without me even asking.”
“It was Guard Im’s idea.”
“Oh, really?”

I looked at Im Yeon.
She spoke with a flushed expression.

“After serving by your side for so long, Young Lord, I have begun to understand what sort of response you would want!”

She looked as if she was waiting for me to tell her she had done well.
So I gave her exactly what she wanted.

“You did very well. Guard Im, you’ve become someone who can hold her own anywhere now.”
“R-really?”
“Really.”
“You flatter me. Hehehe.”

A huge smile spread across her face.
How could I not praise her when it made her this happy?

“Shall we start getting ready to leave?”
“Yes, Young Lord!”

Moonlight washed over the night.
I left the Hidden Cloud Pavilion on horseback.
Only two people accompanied me, Im Yeon and Ak Mu-jin.
The others taking part in tonight’s plan had already left for Soul-Bewildering Forest. They were to lie in wait around its outskirts.

We rode through the night.
We kept exclusively to secluded side roads.
The wind tossed my hair, and somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted.

After riding for some time,
we stopped on a quiet stretch of road as Soul-Bewildering Forest drew near.
A white ribbon was tied around a tree branch.
It was the spot we had arranged beforehand.
An ox was tied to the tree, with three bundles of clothes beside it.

“Let’s change here.”

I dismounted and began changing.
I put on a faded blue robe and a shabby bamboo hat, then took a bamboo staff in hand.
I looked exactly like a wandering fortune-teller.

Im Yeon and Ak Mu-jin each found separate places to hide while changing.
Both emerged dressed as plain servants.
Since someone might recognize them, they covered roughly half their faces with cloth.

I climbed onto the ox.
Im Yeon looked back and forth between me and the ox before asking,

“Is this truly a good idea……?”

She was probably wondering why I was riding an ox when we had perfectly good horses.

“People tend to believe what they see. If you have the right props, the effect doubles.”

From this moment on, I was a prophet.
I would use that to establish a sense of kinship with the Ink Scholar, another man who threw prophecies around, then use my knowledge of the future to convince him I was genuine.
For that, presentation mattered.

“Let’s go.”

The ox began plodding forward.
Im Yeon and Ak Mu-jin walked alongside it.

After traveling like that for some time, a densely wooded forest appeared ahead.
So thick that even the moonlight barely penetrated, this dark place was Soul-Bewildering Forest.

‘It’s been a while.’

The place held some unpleasant memories, but returning still felt strange.
Unlike my previous life, when I had entered this forest trying to escape, this time I had come fully intending to return to the Demon Cult afterward.

Ppiik.
A soft whistle resembling a birdcall sounded from somewhere.
Flying Swallow.
It was the Thousand-Li Sound signal telling me she had spotted me.

Ppik. Ppik. Ppik.
Three more short whistles immediately followed.
It meant the Ink Scholar had not appeared yet.

‘Where will he show up?’

As I said before, Soul-Bewildering Forest was vast and deep.
If I wandered around aimlessly, I was more likely to get lost than find the Ink Scholar.
Flying Swallow knew where the Heaven Rebelling Society base was, of course, but the Ink Scholar wasn’t an idiot. He wouldn’t show himself right beside his own base.

‘Maybe it’s time to let him know where I am.’

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat.
I stretched my vocal cords taut, raised my larynx slightly, and directed the sound between the roof of my mouth and my nose.
Then I called out loudly.

“Who can know? No one can know. Tomorrow is a mystery. The day after, more so still, and three days hence lies far beyond our sight.”

This too was part of the performance.
Right now, I was every inch an eccentric sage.

“But I know. My curse is that only I know. I can see. My affliction is that only I can see.”

An old memory suddenly surfaced.
Back when I wandered the Central Plains with an empty stomach,
I had once encountered a group of beggars who went around some town singing this song.
When I first heard it, I had wondered what kind of ridiculous lyrics those were.
Yet before I knew it, I had memorized them. The tune was strangely catchy, I suppose.
Singing it now almost made me feel as though I had returned to those days.

I continued singing atop the ox for quite some time, immersed in that old feeling.
Then something brushed against my nose.
It was a scent that felt out of place not only in Soul-Bewildering Forest, but anywhere in the world.

I stopped singing and brought the ox to a halt.
Im Yeon and Ak Mu-jin stopped with me.

Deureureuk, deureureuk.
First came a sound like the rolling of a cart.

‘Light?’

A wavering light appeared, like ghost fire.
Then a wheeled chair emerged from the darkness.

Three things about it stood out.
The first was a wooden board attached to the chair.
A stack of paper and a brush soaked in ink rested atop it.

The second was the eerie woman pushing the chair.
Her eyes were dull and unfocused, and stitch marks covered various parts of her face and body.

The last was the old man sitting in the chair.
He had a massive frame that looked ready to burst through his clothes, a bald head, thick arms contrasted by thin legs, and a heavy fragrance emanating from his entire body.

One of the Heaven Rebelling Society’s Four Rebels.
The man I had gone to such lengths to meet.
The Ink Scholar.