Chapter 84
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: The Wind Begins to Blow (4)
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Tea? The Grand Marshal wants tea?
Here of all places, at the residence of the Divine Cult's Third Young Master? Why on earth?
Seo Ryang, who had been staring at him blankly, tilted his head.
"I'm afraid not."
"......?"
"I'm busy right now. Ah, I trust you overheard from behind, so you already know."
He looked at Wi Hongryeon.
Wi Hongryeon was gaping like a fish. She looked utterly shocked.
"Hey, Commander Wi."
"......"
"You crazy bitch?"
"What son of a bitch just called me a crazy... ah?"
"Well, well. Why don't you shout a little louder? Why not scream it for the whole world to hear? Hmm?"
"No, I didn't realize it was you for a moment, Young Master."
"That's enough. Escort the Grand Marshal and go back. Got it?"
"Yes, what?"
"Move your hand. I'm closing the door."
Wi Hongryeon was horrified.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
"What now!"
"The Grand Marshal is here, and you're going to turn him away at the door?"
Seo Ryang scoffed.
"Is there some law that says a homeowner has to welcome every guest who shows up?"
"......!"
"I'm busy enough as it is, damn it. I'm closing this now, whether your hand gets broken or not."
Wi Hongryeon quickly pulled her hand back. She knew all too well that Seo Ryang was a man of his word.
Just then, Ho Yoseong stepped forward.
"Third Young Master."
"Is there something you wish to say?"
"You said you were going to the armory, did you not?"
"That's right."
"Why the Demon King's Armory? As for the Heavenly Demon's Armory... ah! Come to think of it, I heard you entered it once before, correct?"
Seo Ryang snorted. Just as I suspected.
"Yes, which is why I'm planning to visit the Demon King's Armory."
"It seems the sword you brought back before is no longer of use."
"That's why I'm going to the armory, isn't it?"
"Oh? I heard you've been using a remarkable saber art recently. Have you changed your path?"
"What if I have?"
"That's incredible!"
"Thank you for the compliment."
"They say there's nothing a natural-born genius can't achieve if they also put in the effort!"
"I don't know about genius, but I've worked my ass off."
"A man of grit! How admirable!"
"Thanks again."
The three onlookers couldn't make heads or tails of the two men's fluid, natural conversation. Even Geumho, sitting at a distance, was rolling its eyes back and forth.
'What is this strangely familiar conversation? Could it be they know each other well?'
Everyone held their breath, looking back and forth between the two.
"But with such fine skill, will you really be satisfied with the Demon King's Armory?"
"Because my skill is fine, the Demon King's Armory is more than enough."
"Ha! I hadn't considered that, but now that you mention it, it makes sense."
"Are we done talking now?"
"Shall I grant you entry to the Heavenly Demon's Armory?"
For a moment, the room froze.
Seo Ryang's eyes narrowed.
"You'll grant me entry to the Heavenly Demon's Armory? Me?"
"Yes."
"Even though I've already been in and out once?"
"Of course."
"Is that even possible?"
"Why would I tell a lie that would be immediately exposed? I don't do such things."
"How wise of you. That's why I also avoid lying whenever possible."
"A meeting of two wise men! Today's conversation will be quite enjoyable in many ways."
"It won't be for free, I assume?"
"Isn't life all about equivalent exchange? You seem to have some experience with that, don't you?"
"Well... so what's the price?"
"For a skilled warrior, the Heavenly Demon's Armory is a place they could take or leave, wouldn't you say?"
"I suppose so."
"I can't ask for a high price, then. In that case, give me one day of your time, Young Master."
"......What?"
"I simply mean let's chat about this and that, and perhaps have a drink tonight. Don't misunderstand."
"Without that explanation, I certainly would have misunderstood."
"It's a good thing I explained, then. And for the record, I'm very fond of women."
Seo Ryang let out a small laugh.
"Please wait a moment. I'll change my clothes and be right out."
"Take your time."
Ho Yoseong, hands clasped behind his back, wore a broad, cheerful smile.
Leaving Ho Yoseong and Wi Hongryeon outside, Seo Ryang entered his room to change. Ma Dongpil, of course, followed him in.
"Young Master."
Ma Dongpil's face was a mess of surprise and confusion.
"By any chance... have you known the Grand Marshal for a long time?"
"How could I have?"
"Ah... but, that, how should I put it..."
"......"
"The conversation was so familiar... I apologize. As a subordinate, I should not have listened so carelessly."
"It was a conversation held with everyone present. Don't worry about it."
"Ah, yes."
"By the way, Dongpil."
"Yes, Young Master."
Seo Ryang, now dressed in black martial arts robes with a belt tied around his waist and a saber at his side, spoke with a serious expression.
"Go to the Lord of the Garden of Joy for a moment."
"The Lord of the Garden of Joy?"
"Go and ask her. Ask if she had a meeting with the Grand Marshal while I was outside the cult."
"......"
"If they did meet, find out what they talked about and if she said anything about me."
Ma Dongpil tilted his head in confusion.
'Why the Lord of the Garden of Joy?'
Seo Ryang's expression, on the other hand, was more serious than ever.
'Damn it.'
This was, of course, his first meeting with Grand Marshal Ho Yoseong. Not as Third Young Master Seo Ryang, but as the reincarnated King of Slaughter.
Ho Yoseong, however, knew him well.
He knew not only about the previous Seo Ryang, but also about the reincarnated version of him.
The words were thrown out playfully, but their content was anything but ordinary.
Words so light they could be easily dismissed, yet upon reflection, they were impossible to ignore.
- Oh? I heard you've been using a remarkable saber art recently. Have you changed your path?
The first time he had truly wielded a saber was when he crushed the Fourth Young Master, Hong Wi-mun.
Of course, the rumors had spread far and wide since then, so it was no surprise the Grand Marshal would know. That could be set aside.
What truly put Seo Ryang on guard against Ho Yoseong was what came next.
- Isn't life all about equivalent exchange? You seem to have some experience with that, don't you?
- I can't ask for a high price, then. In that case, give me one day of your time, Young Master.
He had been the one to bring up a price first, but Ho Yoseong had mentioned a high price, equivalent exchange, and experience—all strange words.
Saber arts, deals, experience.
When these three seemingly unrelated words came together, the Lord of the Garden of Joy came to mind.
'He appeared just two days after I arrived at the cult. Which means...'
*Swish!*
Dressed now in a pure white robe, Seo Ryang cut a truly magnificent figure.
'Should I assume he knows I left the cult's grounds? It's possible the Lord of the Garden of Joy told him.'
In truth, aside from all that, he simply wanted to avoid Ho Yoseong.
The reason was that the moment they first met, his extrasensory perception had started pounding in his head.
Despite all the recent events, his internal alarm had never rung so loudly just from meeting someone.
It meant that Seo Ryang had grown strong enough that his opponents no longer posed a significant threat.
And yet, that same perception was now blaring wildly at the sight of the Grand Marshal, a man with barely a handful of martial arts training.
What could that possibly mean?
"Have I kept you waiting long?"
"Hahaha! Not at all! I was so busy admiring the scenery, I lost track of time. It's magnificent! I was wondering why you lived alone in such a secluded place, but now I see it was for this tranquil view!"
"......It's desolate, though?"
"That's why it's good. Where there are many trees, there are also many bugs."
Seo Ryang smiled.
"Shall we go?"
"Excellent."
He said to Wi Hongryeon.
"You wait here."
Wi Hongryeon couldn't open her mouth like before. The look in Seo Ryang's smiling eyes was too unnerving.
*Yip!*
Geumho quickly scrambled onto Seo Ryang's shoulder.
"Oh? Is that your pet? What an adorable fox!"
"Less of a pet, more of a housemate."
"May I pet it?"
"You'll lose a finger."
"Haha."
"I'm serious."
"......Ah, I see."
* * *
It was quite a long way from Seo Ryang's residence to the Heavenly Demon's Armory.
Normally, one might take a carriage for such a distance, but the two chose to walk.
To be precise, Seo Ryang wanted to walk. He wanted to learn more about the man through conversation.
They walked side-by-side, talking for about half an hour.
Seo Ryang had learned nothing about Ho Yoseong, save for one single thing.
"And so, do you know what I did?"
"How would I know?"
"I told them this. You bastards! I am the Grand Marshal of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon! If I die here, the main cult will hunt you down to the Western Regions and kill you! Just like that."
"And what happened?"
"What do you think? Those bastards just scoffed at me. I suppose you can't reason with ignorant thugs who live by banditry. In the end, despite being the Grand Marshal, I was robbed of everything and returned to the cult looking like a beggar."
And so ended the unbelievable story of how he was robbed penniless by bandits while enjoying the scenery on his first vacation.
Whether it was true or false, no one could say. But Ho Yoseong certainly knew how to entertain his listeners.
His exquisite breath control, his voice that could freely set the mood, and his storytelling that knew just when to deliver the punchline—it was like listening to an ensemble of masterful musicians.
"So what happened to those bandits?"
"Who knows? No official report came up, but..."
Ho Yoseong made a throat-slitting gesture with a grim face.
"I imagine they all kicked the bucket?"
"But you went sightseeing without any escorts?"
"I wanted to savor my freedom. I'd been working so much that just seeing the faces of my fellow cult members was draining me."
He danced wildly between fiction and truth. It was impossible to tell where the lies ended and the truth began.
"You're very brave."
"Khahat! You're far braver than I am, Young Master!"
"Why do you think so?"
"Isn't it obvious? I left on an officially approved vacation, but you, Young Master, snuck out. Not just anyone has that kind of nerve."
So he knew.
Seo Ryang licked his lips.
"No telling the Cult Leader."
"Oh? You admit it just like that?"
"What's the point of lying to someone who already knows everything?"
"Kyahat! It's true you avoid lying whenever possible! I highly respect that manly honesty!"
This guy...
"However."
"Hm?"
"Even if I don't say a word, the Cult Leader probably already knows, don't you think?"
"......"
"Of course, I haven't seen him to ask, but I'm quite certain."
"How can you be so certain?"
"It's impossible for the Cult Leader not to know what I know, isn't it?"
Seo Ryang was at a loss for words at the matter-of-fact statement.
But he was right. He didn't know if Lee Cheonsang was as perceptive as Ho Yoseong, but it was certain that his intelligence network was far superior.
"In that case, I must be in a rather dangerous situation right now."
"You might be, or you might not. Even I cannot see how the Cult Leader will move or what he is thinking."
Of course.
Lee Cheonsang was such an unparalleled absolute ruler that even calling him "great" felt like an understatement.
Analyzing such a person's behavior would be a difficult task even for this extraordinary Grand Marshal.
Seo Ryang nodded.
"Well, setting that aside."
"Kyaa! 'Setting that aside,' you say? This isn't a matter that can be so easily dismissed. The more I see..."
"What is the real reason you came to see me?"
Ho Yoseong winked.
"Simple curiosity."
"Curiosity."
"Yes. When I get curious about something, I can't stand it, not even if it kills me."
Seo Ryang didn't ask why he had become curious. He felt he knew without being told.
*Thud.*
Seo Ryang stopped walking.
"Oh? Why have you stopped? We still have about five li to go to the Heavenly Demon's Armory."
"I have no choice but to stop."
"What do you mean?"
Staring blankly at Ho Yoseong, Seo Ryang grinned.
Ho Yoseong, who had been tilting his head as if he didn't understand, suddenly stiffened.
*Shing.*
"There's no one else around."
"......"
"It seems that story about you sightseeing alone was true. I don't sense any escorts."
"......Why are you being so scary?"
Seo Ryang's tone of voice changed.
"No matter how I think about it, this whole atmosphere feels strange."
*Thump.*
The blade of a saber was placed on Ho Yoseong's shoulder.
Seo Ryang's gaze turned chillingly cold.
"Are you ready to lose your head?"