Chapter 650: Still, I'm the Best, Right?
Chapter 650: Still, I'm the Best, Right?
Demon Buddha was busy organizing the poisonous herbs spread across the yard.
He had already gathered the ones that needed to be brought inside early; only those requiring long-term drying remained under the sun.
Just then, a voice drifted from behind him.
"I’ll help."
Turning around, he saw Geom Mu-yang walking toward him.
"Would you?"
Demon Buddha did not decline. He knew that for Geom Mu-yang, offering help was a conscious, effortful reach toward connection.
Mu-yang walked to his side, watched Demon Buddha for a moment, and then began organizing the poisonous herbs alongside him.
"I hope I'm not intruding. Perhaps you wanted to be alone."
"Not at all. In fact, I was just starting to get a bit bored."
Mu-yang had always felt that Demon Buddha possessed a certain sharp, dangerous edge, but lately, the man seemed so gentle that he felt like a different person entirely. Demon Buddha wondered if he, too, looked that changed in the other's eyes.
"I didn't know you were so interested in medicinal herbs."
"To be honest, I have no interest in medicinal or poisonous herbs themselves."
Demon Buddha paused his hands for a moment.
"I simply discovered the joy of finding them."
There was a genuine, pure thrill in the hunt. The exhilaration of spotting something everyone else had overlooked, and the tactile satisfaction of delicately digging it up without damaging the roots, provided the ultimate pleasure as far as hobbies went.
Of course, he wasn't the type to go herb-hunting on his own. When he wasn't interacting with the Poison King, he usually immersed himself in carving stone statues. But even that couldn't compare to the joy of unearthing a rare herb.
And most decisively:
"It’s even more enjoyable because there’s someone who appreciates them."
After all, no one appreciated the poisonous herbs he brought back as much as the Poison King.
"Do you have any hobbies you enjoy these days, First Young Master?"
Mu-yang wondered if he had anything new to call a hobby, but upon reflection, one thing came to mind.
"Lately, I’ve developed a hobby for working."
He was working several times harder now than he ever had during the succession struggle. Ironically, his reputation within the Cult had improved because of it.
"I suppose you could call it the karma of losing the succession race to a Young Cult Leader who loves to play around."
As he crouched there with Demon Buddha, organizing the herbs, Mu-yang stole a glance toward the main gate. Geom Mu-geuk had gone to the Myeong-sim Clinic and had not yet returned.
"Are you worried about the Young Cult Leader?"
Demon Buddha expected him to shake his head in denial, but Mu-yang nodded instead.
Demon Buddha smiled.
"No matter how brilliant he is, a younger brother is still a younger brother."
Mu-yang wasn't just making conversation; he was sincere.
"If Mu-geuk were to get hurt, I wouldn't have the face to see Father."
It was a separate issue from the fact that Geom Mu-geuk’s martial arts were far superior to his own. He believed that when they were out together, it was his responsibility to look after his younger brother. To be more honest, he didn't want to disappoint his father. If he let go of even that expectation...
That was why, if today’s opponent hadn't been a poison user, he would have certainly gone along.
How could Demon Buddha not understand Mu-yang’s heart?
"It’s not easy being the older brother to such a brilliant sibling, is it?"
Especially when that sibling was Geom Mu-geuk.
"Living in his shadow isn't so bad, either."
At Mu-yang’s honest remark, Demon Buddha paused before speaking.
"I think it is."
There was something Demon Buddha desperately wanted to say to Mu-yang. He hadn't expected to be saying it while drying poisonous herbs in a backyard in Wuhan, but here they were.
"The reason the Young Cult Leader tried to settle the succession struggle without bloodshed wasn't because he wanted you to live as his shadow."
"!"
"Stay the brother who keeps the Young Cult Leader on his toes until the very end. For his sake, and for yours."
Mu-yang remained silent for a long while. Demon Buddha, who had been his own shadow for so long, was now telling him not to become one.
Demon Buddha knew. He knew exactly what it meant to live as Mu-geuk’s shadow.
It might sound like a grand sacrifice, but it wasn't. It was a struggle to preserve one's pride—a plausible excuse found at the end of a dead-end retreat. It wasn't protecting someone by being their shadow; it was trying to hide by becoming one.
This small man before him, Demon Buddha, understood. He was truly looking straight at him.
Staring down at the poisonous herbs in silence, Mu-yang spoke softly.
"You truly make things difficult for me until the very end, Lord Demon Buddha."
Demon Buddha looked up at the sky.
"Don't try to endure it; just live as yourself, First Young Master. Your footprints will surely remain."
Mu-yang’s gaze also turned toward the sky.
Isn't living as myself even harder than a life of endurance?
But Mu-yang didn't voice the thought. To someone who was trying so hard to be on his side, he wanted to show effort instead of excuses.
In exchange, those footprints will definitely need another set beside them.
Footprints that were smaller than anyone else's, yet took the greatest strides. That alone would be enough.
*
After emerging from the underground secret room, Geom Mu-geuk left So Jeong-rak’s residence.
The Myeong-sim Clinic was running as usual, as if nothing had happened. Mu-geuk headed toward the infirmary where the sleeping patients had been earlier. Everyone was now awake.
He had expected the physicians to be in a panic searching for So Jeong-rak, but surprisingly, everything was functioning normally.
Mu-geuk walked toward a corner of the infirmary. There, a man was lying face down, receiving acupuncture on his back.
"What are you doing here?"
The man replied without moving.
"My back’s been aching lately from digging up poisonous herbs."
"I’m pretty sure Demon Buddha dug all of those up."
The man pretending not to hear was none other than the Poison King. He was also the one who had woken everyone in the room.
When Mu-geuk had come to the clinic, the Poison King had come with him. No matter how immune to all poisons he was, Mu-geuk hadn't underestimated So Jeong-rak, a master of poison arts. The man could have released a mass-slaughter poison even as he died.
"I thought the physicians would be in an uproar after waking up, but it’s quiet."
The Poison King spoke, still face down.
"I told them. I said Physician So had to leave for a few days to treat some old masters of the Murim."
Several people had seen So Jeong-rak walking toward his residence earlier with Ma Yeom-gun and the White Bone Soul Demon.
"I gave them a cover story—that those masters wanted to be treated in secret, so the people here were put to sleep. I told them the patient was a senior master from the Murim Alliance, so not to worry. I said if they wanted to verify it, they should check with the Demon Extermination Squad."
Everyone had been relieved by those words. By the time his disappearance became an issue, all of this would already be over.
"You know, Poison King, you’re actually quite brilliant! How do you handle things so smoothly? You travel around the Central Plains in secret, don't you? You probably have lovers tucked away all over the place, right? One in Chongqing, one in Hubei...!"
The Poison King chuckled to himself. Being called brilliant to his face, and hearing those ridiculous stories about women—these were things he only heard when he was with Geom Mu-geuk.
Mu-geuk sat lightly on the edge of the bed.
"If you wanted acupuncture, you should have gone to the Demon Doctor."
"You only go to that man when an arm falls off."
It was a matter of a Demon Lord’s pride; he couldn't go to him just for a backache.
Mu-geuk realized it had been a long time since he’d seen the Demon Doctor. No matter how much he intended to take care of everyone, reality always left things overlooked. Come to think of it, he had been so busy as the Acting Cult Leader that he’d left the Cult without even having a drink with Jo Chun-bae.
Mu-geuk looked up at the sky through the window. Pure white clouds were drifting slowly but steadily.
"You’re not asking how it went."
At Mu-geuk’s words, the Poison King replied from his prone position.
"No need to ask."
It was a statement of pride in his own poison, and simultaneously, a sign of his trust in Mu-geuk. Thus, he didn't ask about So Jeong-rak, nor about the two Old Demons who had violated the Forbidden Demonic Order.
"But what kind of pile of poisonous herbs did you roll around in while fighting? Why do you smell like this?"
Only then did the Poison King lift his head to look at Mu-geuk.
"Oh?"
His eyes fell upon the leather pouch Mu-geuk was cradling carefully. Seeing a leaf of a poisonous herb peeking out from the edge of the pouch, the Poison King’s eyes widened.
"Snow Dream Flower?"
Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!
The needles stuck in the Poison King’s back flew out on their own. Sitting up abruptly, the Poison King began to sniff the air in earnest.
"I smell Black Smoke Herb, too."
Mu-geuk opened the pouch and looked inside.
"Oh, you’re spot on."
The Poison King identified the ones beneath it in order.
"Gihwa Herb, and even Yin Wind Flower!"
Mu-geuk looked back and forth between the pouch and the Poison King with a surprised face. It was hard enough to guess what was inside, but the Poison King was listing them exactly in the order they were packed.
"Seven-Colored Sun-Transforming Herb, and Moon Shadow Herb as well!"
He identified every single herb down to the very bottom of the pouch just by scent.
"Pleasure Herb is truly difficult to find."
These were incredibly rare poisonous herbs that So Jeong-rak had collected over a long time. As the Poison King reached out to grab the pouch, Mu-geuk subtly moved it to his other side.
"I’m saying this now, but I was a bit hurt. Weren't you supposed to cherish me the most, Poison King?"
"I do."
The Poison King swallowed hard, eyeing Mu-geuk. Of course, his gaze was fixed on the pouch.
"It hasn't seemed like it lately."
"It’s definitely you."
"Really?"
The Poison King nodded.
"You have to say it clearly in front of our second collector, too. 'You are second after the Young Cult Leader!' Can you do that?"
Mu-geuk saw the Poison King flinch.
At that, Mu-geuk suppressed a laugh. That was enough teasing. He handed the pouch to the Poison King.
"So Jeong-rak told me to tell you this is a gift for you. He said he sincerely respects you."
Those words were enough to convey that So Jeong-rak had died by the Poison King’s poison.
The Poison King opened the pouch and beamed with a wide, joyful grin. Could he really love poisonous herbs that much?
"Are you that happy?"
"With these, I can try making the new poison I’ve been designing."
Eager to return to his quarters, the Poison King immediately left the infirmary, with Mu-geuk following behind. After walking for a while, the Poison King spoke abruptly.
"Thanks for bringing them."
Their gazes met for a moment. Mu-geuk could feel the Poison King’s sincere gratitude. Mu-geuk smiled faintly, and the Poison King returned the gesture.
And Mu-geuk was not one to let such an opportunity pass.
"I’m so glad you appreciate it. Phew, now that we’re talking about it, do you have any idea how hard I worked to secure these while fighting Ma Yeom-gun and the White Bone Soul Demon? I was in a life-and-death struggle with those two Old Demons for over three hundred exchanges, and in between, I kept running over to pack the herbs into the pouch! My Body Protection Qi was melting under Ma Yeom-gun’s palm techniques, and the White Bone Ghost created by the White Bone Soul Demon resurrected and reassembled itself five times! I wouldn't have been able to bring them if it weren't for my devotion to you, Poison King."
"..."
"..."
"Tell the truth. How many exchanges did it take to win?"
"I told you, three hundred."
"..."
"Two hundred. No, a hundred."
When the Poison King continued to stare blankly at him, Mu-geuk finally spoke the truth.
"One exchange."
The Poison King wasn't surprised; he simply nodded.
"I thought as much."
Mu-geuk could tell. The Poison King had sensed the new height his martial arts had reached.
Was the Poison King’s poison art also growing?
The Poison King resumed walking, and Mu-geuk followed.
"Even if it was easy to get them, I'm still the best, right? Right?"
"On the way back, I should buy some of that food Demon Buddha likes."
"Why are you suddenly talking about Demon Buddha?"
"He’s the one who should have gotten the acupuncture."
"Did the ranking change that quickly?!"
As the two of them walked down the street in front of the clinic, exchanging jokes, Mu-geuk noticed the women passing by stealing glances at them.
"Do you feel those gazes? Before we go back, we should definitely have a drink with the heroines of Wuhan."
Just then, one of the women who had been glancing at them walked toward them.
"Excuse me..."
The woman’s face flushed as if she were about to make a shy confession. She looked up and spoke. Mu-geuk expected her to ask for a drink or a cup of tea, but instead:
"Go back to the Demonic Cult, Geom Mu-geuk."
In an instant, the expressions of Mu-geuk and the Poison King froze.
The woman’s eyes and expression were no different from when she had been walking toward them. She didn't look like she was possessed. However, she was clearly under a Soul-Seizing Technique.
She reached into her robe and pulled something out. Surprisingly, it was a Jin-gyeok hidden weapon.
She wasn't trying to launch a rapid surprise attack. She pulled it out very slowly. It was as if she were trying to signal: I am about to pull out a hidden weapon and attack you.
Before she could aim the Jin-gyeok, Mu-geuk fired a Finger Wind to suppress her Demonic Acupoint.
At that moment!
The woman’s eyes rolled back, and her entire body began to tremble violently. The veins in her forehead bulged as if they were about to burst. If left like this, she would surely lose her life.
Mu-geuk quickly fired another Finger Wind to suppress her Sleep Acupoint. He thought it would be better to just put her to sleep. But it was useless.
"Uuuuugh!"
The woman’s veins bulged even further. She was under a Soul-Seizing Technique that would end her life the moment any form of suppression was applied. It was the first time he had ever encountered such a technique.
If suppressing her acupoints didn't work, striking her unconscious would likely yield the same result. Mu-geuk immediately released both the Demonic and Sleep Acupoints.
As he did, the bulging veins subsided, and the woman regained her senses. She slowly aimed the Jin-gyeok. Because she moved so slowly, it was as if she were saying: If you want to live, you must kill this woman.
Since they were in a crowded area, if he dodged the Jin-gyeok, an innocent bystander behind him might die. It was too crowded to manifest a Great Demonic Wall, so Mu-geuk stepped in front of the Poison King and gripped the hilt of his Black Demonic Sword.
Though the distance was short, he intended to deflect the hidden weapons with his sword. He would strike them all into the ground!
The Jin-gyeok was aimed. At the moment his eyes met the woman’s beyond the weapon...
The woman slowly put the Jin-gyeok back into her robe. Then, looking at Mu-geuk, she spoke.
"...My friends are over there. Would you like to join us for a cup of tea?"
The woman had no idea what she had just done. She likely didn't even know there was a Jin-gyeok in her possession. There had been no change between her two different behaviors. No shift in her gaze, no dark energy emanating from her.
The two actions flowed into each other with perfect naturalness. It was as if she were a single person playing two roles.
Mu-geuk spoke with a smile.
"That’s a shame. I have somewhere I must get to in a hurry. Let’s definitely have a drink next time."
The woman bowed her head shyly and ran off into the crowd.
"That is a remarkably skillful Soul-Seizing Technique."
At Mu-geuk’s remark, the Poison King nodded silently. There hadn't been a single sign that the woman was under a spell. It was clear how troublesome this enemy would be.
"It’s a warning to go back."
The Poison King naturally assumed Mu-geuk would see it that way too.
"No, it sounded different to me."
Mu-geuk’s gaze deepened.
"They must know that I won't go back because of a threat like this."
And yet, they had acted this way?
"There is some other intention behind this."