Chapter 25

“Punishment…?”

“You committed a grave sin and hoped to get through it unscathed.”

The Heavenly Demon’s voice was still calm.

Yet the content was anything but.

“A forbidden ground is a place no one may enter. If it were otherwise, it would not be called forbidden. My disciple is no exception. You violated an unwritten rule that no cult member should ever break.”

“Well, there was a lot going on behind that.”

“That is only part of your crime. You received instruction from an outsider without your master’s permission, and you slandered your master before him. That is the sin of cutting off your lineage and destroying your ancestors.”

“Whoa, why use such terrifying words.”

“You seem to think lightly of this matter. With your frivolous nature, you likely hoped to settle it with a few words.”

My chest twinged.

He had hit the mark.

‘This is not heading in a good direction.’

However, I was not someone who would accept punishment meekly.

I had already thought of a way out.

“I am sorry, Master. I must have overreached because I was anxious about my fixed lifespan.”

First, I began with an apology.

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He was probably wondering why I was apologizing so obediently.

“I should have asked your permission before going to Demon Valley. If I had, this part would not be such a big problem, right.”

“That is true. But you did not.”

“I did not do it for my own convenience. I did it for you, Master.”

“If you intend to spout sophistry, stop.”

“It is not sophistry, so hear me out. Lately things the Old Monk told me keep coming to mind. There are so many that I cannot remember them all.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Is it right for me to run in and out of the Ten Thousand Demons Hall every single time to bother you, Master? Even now you find my visit troublesome and unwelcome, right? Should I raise the visit count and go back and forth dozens of times a day?”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon fell silent, perhaps because he had not expected that kind of threat.

No matter if the Demon Cult was the Heavenly Demon’s world and he heeded no one.

He was the cult members’ Cult Leader and a father figure.

Naturally, such a person had face to maintain.

Yet he would slam the door on a disciple who said he wanted to see his master. Dozens of times a day at that.

It would hardly make a good picture.

Though no disciple had ever done something this crazy until now.

“It is true that not asking for permission beforehand was my mistake. But I did come report to you first as soon as it was over. So, choose. Will you receive your disciple thirty times a day at all hours, or will you just guarantee me a certain degree of freedom.”

I pressed the Heavenly Demon while the momentum was mine.

At length, the Heavenly Demon closed his eyes.

‘Just imagining it must be dizzying, right?’

It was nothing much, but a sense of pleasure washed over me.

I had steered the Heavenly Demon’s feelings.

“…How will you wriggle out of the matter of receiving instruction from an outsider?”

The Heavenly Demon opened his eyes slightly as he spoke.

“That is wrong too. But I did it to overcome True Blood Severed Meridians. Do you not pity a disciple whose death date has been set, Master?”

“I do not pity you at all.”

That was such a Heavenly Demon-like answer.

He was like a cold-blooded brute.

“I figured you would say that, so I will give another reason. I have rendered the Demon Cult, no, the Cult, an enormous service that is hard to even imagine. Which means I should receive a reward instead of punishment.”

“A reward?”

“Yes. What are the warriors of the Cult most afraid of? That their Demonic Qi runs wild and they become demonic fiends. If we research Perfect Demonic Qi, we may find a way to prevent demonic-fiendization.”

I was someone who had seen the Valley Lord’s future.

He might not be sound of mind now, yet in the future he was more dignified than anyone.

The cause could only be Perfect Demonic Qi.

“So, what do you think. You agree I have a point, right, Master?”

“…”

No answer came back.

The Heavenly Demon would have seen the possibilities of Perfect Demonic Qi from start to finish.

“You know what I thought when I obtained Perfect Demonic Qi. That it might be a great help to the Cult. That it might give those who suffer with Demonic Qi a way to survive. That is right. I thought of the cult members’ future before my own riches and glory.”

“You are not that type of person.”

The Heavenly Demon said it almost as a declaration.

He knew me surprisingly well.

Still, at times like this, I had to brazen it out.

“You misjudge me. I am ready to burn this body for the Cult. You said it yourself before. Many are captivated by the destructive power of Chaotic Demonic Qi and go astray. If we find a way for them to obtain Perfect Demonic Qi, it will greatly help the Cult.”

“When you made the wager with the Valley Lord, you did not even know Perfect Demonic Qi existed. You dress it up as if it were all planned.”

“T-that is true, but either way, it is still a fact I rendered a service. So I am saying, give me a reward instead of punishment. Give me a reward, a reward!”

At first my stance had been only to avoid punishment.

Yet as I talked my thoughts changed.

You could say I convinced myself with my own logic.

In my previous life, Perfect Demonic Qi had never been passed on to anyone.

If not for me, this life would have been the same.

“Why do you consider it a service?”

I frowned at the out-of-the-blue comment.

He himself had acknowledged the potential of Perfect Demonic Qi, so why say this.

“I just told you why I think that.”

“Pure Demonic Qi is day and Chaotic Demonic Qi is night. Neither should be replaced by anything. Yet Perfect Demonic Qi has the nature of forcibly uniting the two. It would not be strange for serious side effects to occur.”

“Side effects. There are no such things.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Well…”

My words trailed off.

I could not say I had met the Valley Lord in the future.

‘I guess I will have to show him directly if I want him to believe it.’

Without another word I sat cross-legged before the Heavenly Demon.

He looked at me with eyes that seemed to hold a question.

The Heavenly Demon had the ability to detect even the slightest flow of Qi within another’s body.

He would immediately notice what I was about to do.

I closed my eyes.

I drew the Perfect Demonic Qi from my dantian and let it race chaotically through my body.

I was deliberately provoking my meridians and blood.

For someone with True Blood Severed Meridians like me, this was no different from leaping off a cliff bare-bodied.

If I kept it up, my meridians would soon burst.

“You are doing something reckless.”

I let the Heavenly Demon’s voice slip past one ear and kept sending Perfect Demonic Qi racing.

My meridians heated as if they were about to burst.

That was when the stability of Perfect Demonic Qi shone. Even after the point when they should have ruptured, my meridians held.

Then, just before my meridians reached their limit, I halted the Perfect Demonic Qi.

I slowly opened my eyes and spoke.

“How is it? Stable, right. How bad could any side effects be when it’s like this?”

Pure Demonic Qi was very stable as well, yet not as much as Perfect Demonic Qi.

I had just shown that.

“Yet it was reckless.”

“Reckless, but it proves the point.”

At my impudent reply, the corner of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth twitched slightly.

“Its stability is indeed outstanding. However, that does not mean side effects do not exist. If you prove it perfectly, I will recognize it as a service then.”

“Wow, I did not think you were this stingy, Master.”

In the end, that was all I could say.

The one who set the standard for side effects would be the Heavenly Demon.

Whether he acknowledged it as a service or not depended entirely on his will.

This was payback for when I threatened to come thirty times a day.

Without a doubt.

“I risked my life and even provoked my meridians, and you are not giving me any reward at all.”

“I did not say that.”

“Then what.”

“What do you want?”

‘Oh?’

Inside, I wondered what kind of windfall this was.

I had never imagined words like “What do you want” would come from the Heavenly Demon’s mouth.

“First, spare me from punishment.”

“First?”

“Yes.”

My main purpose in coming to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall had been to avoid punishment, yet I actually had one more.

I said it.

“I also need free entry to the Four Forbidden Regions.”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon did not answer.

He did not frown or look angry, he simply looked at me in silence.

Yet for some reason.

His gaze alone was ten times more frightening than the Valley Lord when he raged and shouted he would kill me.

‘Do not chicken out.’

This was in the same vein as the autonomy I had demanded earlier.

There was too much to do if I wanted to live and keep the Heavenly Demon alive.

I could not waste my energy and time on this sort of problem forever.

Demon Valley could slide by since it was the first time.

Yet if I ignored a warning and did the same thing again.

Even for me, that was burdensome.

Which was why I had to address this matter at least once.

After a brief silence, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Do you understand what you are asking for?”

“Yes.”

“The Four Forbidden Regions were not designated as forbidden for no reason. Do not assume good fortune will occur as it did in Demon Valley.”

I knew that well.

I trusted my past life’s memories, but I had only personally visited two of the forbidden grounds.

The other two were uncharted territory even for me.

Still, there was a reason I wanted to visit all four forbidden regions.

One of them in particular held one of the three elixirs needed to fully cure True Blood Severed Meridians.

“So are you saying yes or no?”

“I do not allow it. Because it is dangerous.”

“Do not tell me you are worried about me. A person like you just watched quietly until I went in and came out. You must have received detailed reports of my movements.”

“No one forced you to make a foolish choice. You bear the consequences of your own choices. As your master, I can only prevent you from committing further mistakes.”

The Heavenly Demon was firm.

At times like this, no amount of tantrum would work.

Still, I could not just end the topic I had gone to the trouble of bringing up.

I spoke as if making a great concession.

“Fine, I get it. Let us talk about this again later. Then at least let me go in and out of Demon Valley freely. I have already been there, so it is fine. It is not dangerous.”

“Is it because of Perfect Demonic Qi that you intend to visit again.”

“Yes. I have to research it. That is how we will learn whether there are side effects or not, right.”

“Hmm.”

The Heavenly Demon looked as if he were thinking for a moment.

Soon after, he gave a small nod.

“I grant your request.”

“That is how you should respond.”

My heart felt lighter.

I had not obtained passage to the Four Forbidden Regions, yet I had more than achieved my goal in coming to the Ten Thousand Demons Hall.

I had escaped punishment and even received permission to keep going in and out of Demon Valley.

Watching me rejoice, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

“Sometimes I am curious about what goes on in your head.”

“Oh. I feel that way too sometimes.”

“So you cannot understand yourself either.”

“No. I mean I am curious about your head, Master.”

“…”

“Now that the important talk is over, how about we drink.”

I brazenly set up a drinking table.

As I laid out the liquor and snacks on the platform, I called to Im Yeon and the others.

“What are you doing? Come help me get things ready.”

“Um, I…”

Stammering, Im Yeon sent a sound transmission.

[Young Lord, I do not think I can swallow liquor in this place. H-how can I drink in front of the Cult Leader’s august presence…]

“Stop spouting nonsense and get over here.”

Liquor was liquor. It was not something you drank or did not drink depending on who was present.

The person in question was fine with it.

‘Or did he not say he was fine with it.’

Soon the drinking began.

I was the only one knocking back the bottles freely.

Not only Im Yeon and the guards, even the Heavenly Demon looked somewhat ill at ease.

Since Im Yeon looked particularly grim, I threw her a joke.

“Guard Im, liquor is for drinking, not spilling.”

Sure enough, the bottle in Im Yeon’s hand was shaking violently.

Her mouth was at the bottle’s mouth, but instead of going in, the liquor flowed down the line of her face.

It must have been the tension.

“M-my apologies.”

Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, Im Yeon, perhaps embarrassed, downed the remaining liquor in one go.

“There is nothing to be sorry about.”

I chuckled and sank into thought.

‘It has been a really long day.’

It was hard to believe I had first met Im Yeon and the others this morning.

That is how dense the day had been.

The good thing was that the harvest had been plentiful.

From the Valley Lord and the Heavenly Demon I had obtained what I wanted, no, more than that.

Although I had not gone to Inked-Needle Hall, which had been my original second destination, this was more than enough.

‘There is something that bothers me though.’

It was the story tangled between the Valley Lord and the Heavenly Demon.

The Valley Lord said he had been imprisoned by the Heavenly Demon, yet the Heavenly Demon was not the type to do that without a reason.

“I am sorryyy!”

A sudden voice piercing my ears pulled me from my thoughts.

Im Yeon was bowing toward the Heavenly Demon.

Startled, I asked.

“What are you doing, Guard Im?”

“I am in the middle of penance. I did not attend to the Young Lord properly today!”

What was she saying?

Why was she confessing that to the Heavenly Demon?

As she bowed, Im Yeon turned her head and our eyes met. Her gaze was hazy.

She was drunk.

‘She got drunk in that short time?’

When I looked around, I saw four or five empty bottles.

She had already been frozen stiff.

I had made jokes to help her relax, but it seemed that had only heightened her tension and led to a drinking binge.

‘This is not good.’

Showing drunken antics in front of the Heavenly Demon.

Unless your guts were swollen, this was not something you did.

I grabbed Im Yeon’s arm, pulled her up, and defended her.

“Ah, Guard Im originally said she would not drink. She said it did not fit her duty as a guard. I coaxed her by saying there was a safe place. She must have been nervous in front of you and drank a bit too much, Master.”

“Is that so?”

Fortunately the Heavenly Demon did not seem to think much of it.

I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Im Yeon opened her mouth again.

“I will now recite the Guard Regulations Manual!”

All of a sudden.

“Guardian Hall Guard Regulations, Article 1 Clause 1. A guard must place the safety of the guarded as the highest priority. Article 1 Clause 2. A guard must anticipate in advance all situations in which harm could befall the guarded and—”

“Seriously, why are you doing this? Guard Im is usually very passionate. She must want to show you that.”

“…”

The Heavenly Demon did not answer.

He silently listened to Im Yeon’s recitation.

“Enough.”

He stopped her with a heavy voice.

Had his patience reached its limit.

My head became a mess.

I wondered how I should contain this situation.

“Article 2 Clause 3 and Clause 7 are the same. You repeated the same content.”

…Hm?

“I will do it again!”

“Do that.”

“Article 2 Clause 4!”

Listening to Im Yeon’s clear recitation, the Heavenly Demon tilted his bottle.

‘He looks like he is in a good mood somehow…’

I did not know why, but I did not feel bad either.

The truth was, seeing the Valley Lord had reminded me of the Heavenly Demon.

The two seemed to stand at completely opposite positions, yet they had one thing in common.

They were alone.

I did not want the Heavenly Demon to be alone. It was probably because the sight of his back as he walked alone right after I came to the Demon Cult kept sticking in my mind.

That was part of why I had deliberately brought Im Yeon and the guards, and it was a good thing I had.

‘I should set up meetings like this from time to time.’

He said he disliked it in words, yet he would enjoy it too.

Like now.

The drinking went on until late at night.

And morning came the next day.

“Kkiyaaah!”

I began the day hearing Im Yeon’s scream from the temporary guard quarters in Hidden Cloud Pavilion.

Today was the day the Heavenly Demon’s lessons would begin.