Chapter 51: That Is All.
Chapter 51: That Is All.
“Ugh...!”
Seo Dae-ryong groaned, his face contorted in a grimace as he forced himself up from the bed.
“Thirsty... Water! Give me water!”
“It’s right beside you.”
At the sound of the voice, Seo Dae-ryong instinctively reached out and grabbed the pitcher on the nightstand, gulping it down.
“Ugh, my head... If I ever touch a drop again, I’m a dog. A total dog.”
He drained the pitcher. Only after his thirst was quenched did he realize he had woken up in an unfamiliar place. The bed was large and plush, the bedding soft and luxurious.
Wait, who was the person who just spoke?
Seo Dae-ryong scanned his surroundings.
In the distance, a man sat by the window, reading a book. The sunlight streaming in made it difficult to discern his features.
“Who...?”
As his eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the man’s silhouette came into focus.
“Gah!”
Seo Dae-ryong let out a strangled scream. The man reading the book was none other than the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“W-where am I? Why is the Demon Lord here?”
Startled out of his wits, Seo Dae-ryong began to stutter.
“Because this is my room.”
“Oh, heavens! Why am I here?”
“Do you not remember?”
“...No, sir.”
“When we were about to part ways at the tavern, you suddenly stood up and screamed at the top of your lungs that I had to carry you. You wailed about how a master could possibly abandon his disciple. You even grabbed onto my pant legs.”
“I did? Surely not...”
Oh, god. The realization that he had actually clung to the man’s legs sent Seo Dae-ryong into a spiral of panic.
“I don’t know how many decades it’s been since I let someone touch my feet.” The Blood Heaven Blade Demon shot him a cold, sidelong glance. “Are you looking for a way to die because you lack the courage to jump off a cliff yourself?”
“...”
Then, a question popped into Seo Dae-ryong’s mind.
“But... why did you let me sleep in your bed, Elder?”
“I suppose you don’t remember that either?”
Dae-ryong tensed up, his breath catching in his throat.
“I tried to put you in a guest room, but you called me a heartless master for making your disciple sleep in such a ‘shabby place.’ Then you slumped to the floor, weeping and making a scene, saying you were a pathetic wretch who deserved such treatment anyway.”
“...”
“Is life that hard for you? It was hard for me, too—trying to resist the urge to kill you.”
Seo Dae-ryong scrambled off the bed and fell to his knees.
“I am so sorry! I’ll quit drinking for good!”
“Why quit such a fine drink? You should just quit your drunken behavior.”
“Yes, I’ll quit everything! Please forgive me. I just drank far too much yesterday.”
No matter how much he had shouted or acted out, the Demon Lord could have simply struck his acupoints and tossed him into a stable. The fact that he had let him sleep in his own room—and in his bed, no less—was completely unexpected. It was likely because of Geom Mu-geuk, but even so, this was a side of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon that Seo Dae-ryong had never seen before.
“You may go.”
“Yes, sir.”
His outer robes were neatly folded on the table beside the bed. A maidservant had likely done it, but the care made him feel strangely touched as he prepared to leave.
Even now, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was focused on his book, a sight that felt strangely out of place.
Is he trying to look intellectual in front of me?
Yet, strangely, the image of him reading suited him. Looking around the room, Dae-ryong noticed several bookshelves packed with volumes. Then, a specific book caught his eye.
“Huh? This book is...?”
Without thinking, Seo Dae-ryong pulled a book from the shelf. It was an adventure story he had read countless times since childhood, about a boy who meets a peerless master and grows into a hero.
“This is my favorite book! Have you read it too?”
He turned back to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, his face lit with excitement. In contrast, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was glaring at him with terrifying intensity.
“I hate nothing more than people who touch my things without permission.”
“Eek!”
Startled, Seo Dae-ryong dropped the book. To prevent it from hitting the floor, he instinctively stuck out his foot. The book bounced off his foot and skidded across the floor.
Silence filled the room.
Seeing the book lying open and crumpled, Seo Dae-ryong felt his world go dark. He imagined his own fate would soon mirror that of the book. He rushed over, picked it up, and tried to smooth out the wrinkled pages with his hands.
“I’m so sorry! Ah, luckily, it’s a boring part that got wrinkled... I’m sorry!”
Fortunately, instead of severing Dae-ryong’s arm, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon simply returned his gaze to the book he had been reading. Today, he was the very incarnation of mercy.
“I... I’ll be going now.”
As he bowed timidly and prepared to leave, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon suddenly spoke.
“Why do you like that book?”
“Oh, well... I felt like the protagonist was a lot like me. Born poor, with a gloomy personality, struggling to fit in with others. It’s a story about a kid like that becoming a hero... I’ve probably read it twenty times. I keep it by my side and read it whenever I can’t sleep.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at him for a moment without responding, then turned back to his book.
“Then, I’ll take my leave. Thank you truly for letting me stay.”
The Demon Lord asked another question.
“Do you think the Second Young Master will become the successor?”
There was no need for hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Your reason?”
“He is a great man. Greater than anyone else I’ve ever seen. I believe the Cult will change because of him. For the better, of course.”
“Would you give your life for him?”
Seo Dae-ryong pondered for a moment before answering honestly.
“No.”
“Didn’t you say he was a great man?”
“I’m not, though. I’m not the type of person who can sacrifice himself for others.”
Though his eyes remained on his book, the corners of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s mouth twitched upward slightly.
“Wait in the courtyard.”
“Yes!”
*
Seo Dae-ryong stood in the courtyard, waiting.
Is he going to beat me up because I said I wasn’t ready to die for the Pavilion Master? Should I have said I would?
While he was spiraling in anxiety, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon eventually emerged and tossed a large blade toward him.
Thwack!
The blade, thrown lightly, embedded itself in the ground at Dae-ryong’s feet. It wasn’t as massive as the Heaven Extermination Great Blade, but it was a heavy weapon with a wider and longer edge than a standard blade.
“Pick it up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seo Dae-ryong pulled the blade from the ground. Since his previous training had been in sword arts, he had never practiced blade techniques. He had rarely even held a weapon like this.
“How is it?”
Unsure of the intent behind the question, Seo Dae-ryong simply stated his first impression.
“It’s heavy.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon nodded.
“That is all.”
“Pardon?”
“Understanding that weight is the beginning and the end of the blade technique I intend to pass on to you.”
“...!”
In that moment, something resonated deep within Seo Dae-ryong.
“My heart... it felt a spark.” Dae-ryong looked up from the blade, his face flushed with emotion.
“That’s just because you drank too much yesterday. Or you have a heart condition.”
“Ah! Right. Yes, sir.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned away.
“Don’t be late for training later.”
“Yes! I won’t be late!”
Seo Dae-ryong set the blade down in a corner of the courtyard and started to leave, but then doubled back to retrieve it before heading out. Even as he walked away, he wondered if he had really just spoken with the Blade Demon, or if he had truly slept there.
Maybe I’m still dreaming...
He walked on, feeling a hangover that weighed down his entire body as heavily as the blade in his hand.
*
Seo Dae-ryong entered my office.
He looked disheveled, clearly not yet fully recovered from his drinking, but he had a new great blade strapped to his waist. That weapon alone told me things had gone well with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“My right-hand man is back?”
“You mean the right-hand man you sent to his death?”
“Fortunately, you came back with all your limbs intact.”
“Seriously, how could you just leave me with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon? You should have looked out for me, Pavilion Master!”
“It seems you don’t remember a single thing from yesterday.”
Seo Dae-ryong flinched.
“You insisted on going with him, even if it meant your death. Do you know what you said to me?”
“What did I say?”
“You asked why I was trying to tear a master and disciple apart! I honestly thought you two had been together for fifty years.”
“...Stop lying.”
“I wish I were lying. Before you fell asleep, you swore you’d never learn martial arts even if it killed you, but then you suddenly woke up as his top disciple. If you don’t believe me, ask Commander Jang. He was shaking his head at you.”
“Ugh... Is there really such a crazy drunkard living inside me?” Seo Dae-ryong clutched his head.
“It’s a shame.”
“What is?”
“I liked your gloomy, brooding personality—it was unique. But lately, you’ve been getting too bright. You were even funny yesterday.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back to my dark self by tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“My first training session starts after work today. He’ll probably beat me half to death. Ah! I wish my work would never end.”
“That’s too bad. I won’t be here to see it.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m leaving the Cult today. I expect to be gone for about two months, so keep a good eye on Huangquan Pavilion while I’m away.”
The playfulness vanished from Seo Dae-ryong’s face.
“Are you leaving because of... that matter?”
“That matter?”
Dae-ryong pointed to his own eyes. Only then did I realize what he was referring to. Before we went drinking yesterday, in front of the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord’s residence, Seo Dae-ryong had said it. He said my eyes held the same look they did before I achieved the impossible.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“It sounds dangerous.”
“Fortunately, this task won’t be that dangerous. I plan to use some of the ‘danger’ I’ve saved up from before.”
“What?”
Seo Dae-ryong looked confused, but I didn’t elaborate. With a serious expression, he bowed deeply.
“Please travel safely! I’m sorry all I can do is offer words of concern.”
“If you want to be of any help later, make sure you learn well from the Blade Demon.”
As I turned to leave, he called out to me.
“Pavilion Master.”
“Yes?”
“If it weren’t for you, I would never have had the chance to learn martial arts from a Demon Lord in my entire life.”
“You never know how the world turns. If it weren’t for me, you might have had the chance to learn from my father instead. Anyway, good luck.”
“Yes! Don’t worry about things here, sir.”
I went to see Lee An, gave her instructions for her training over the next two months, and then quietly slipped out of the Cult.
*
I raced toward the northwest.
As my mastery of the Wind God Four Steps increased, the speed of my Rapid Speed Step rose accordingly. Unless it was a master specialized in light body techniques, most experts wouldn’t even be able to touch my shadow at this speed.
I ran like a madman. When my internal energy ran low, I rested in secluded parts of the forest to perform Qi Circulation. Once my energy was replenished, I ran again, repeating the cycle.
When I grew hungry, I used the Qi Emission technique my father had taught me to hunt. Now, I could sense a wild boar deep in the forest instantly. Whenever I caught a boar and roasted it over a campfire, passing hunters or herb gatherers would sometimes join me for a drink. Having spent so much time with people like them before my regression, I felt comfortable and at ease in their company.
Once I was halfway to my destination, I began to pace myself. There was no point in arriving too early, so I decided to enjoy the journey itself.
Whenever I saw a mountain worth climbing, I climbed it. I didn’t just walk up, though; I scaled the cliffs. I climbed using only my physical strength, without internal energy, to check my body’s condition—looking for any aches or areas where my muscles were lacking.
When one relies primarily on internal energy, it’s easy to neglect the physical body. That is where the difference between a true master and a mediocre one lies. True masters never overlook the smallest details. Knowing that the accumulation of small differences eventually defines everything, they never neglect a single part of their body.
If the sun began to set while I was climbing, I would perch on a jutting rock or a tree halfway up the cliff and take in the view. Watching the beauty of nature like that made me feel as though something blocked deep within my chest was finally clearing.
I had promised Lee An we would tour the Central Plains together, but sitting on the edge of a cliff watching the sunset, I found myself thinking of my father instead.
I wanted to travel with him. I wanted to look at scenery like this and talk with him. I wanted to know what kind of person he was, what kind of thoughts he lived with.
Would I ever have that chance? Would such a moment ever come for us?
I never dreamed, before my regression, that I would ever feel such a sense of closeness to my father. Perhaps... I had always missed the father I never truly got to talk to.
Though I enjoyed the journey, when it was time to run, I ran until my lungs felt like they would burst. By the time I neared my destination, my mastery of the Rapid Speed Step had ascended another level. My running speed increased, while the internal energy required decreased.
“Hahahaha!”
I ran down the path, laughing like a madman.
As my mastery of the Wind God Four Steps grew, I realized that the Rapid Speed Step was a martial art that touched upon human instinct. It pushed the pleasure of running to the absolute limit, making it almost addictive.
Now, I moved at a speed where passersby couldn't even register my form. I was a mere blur, a gust of wind. In fact, I overheard several conversations like this:
“Did someone just run past?”
“What? I didn’t see anything.”
I had reached a level where, if someone wasn't paying close attention, they wouldn't even know I had passed them. If I rose one more level, they wouldn't know even if they were staring wide-eyed. They wouldn't be able to tell if it was a person or a bird.
What would the Rapid Speed Step be like at the stage of Twelve-Star Great Achievement? I suspected people might not even be able to feel me passing by.
The place I eventually arrived at was somewhere no one in the Cult would have ever imagined.
This was Red Mountain, the headquarters of the Outer Region Pungcheon Cult.
The place where I had obtained the Sound Thunder Bell, the first ingredient for the Great Regression Art.
I had returned.