Even Demons Draw the Line
“Could that be it? But do they really need to go that far? I hear they’re making something called the Red Steel Poison Corpse. Is it that dangerous?”
“You don’t even know what it is?”
“I’ve heard the name, but I never paid much attention. Honestly, why would I care about something that could get you branded a public enemy of the Murim if you mess it up?”
Ho Won-jik scratched his head as he spoke. He was the sort who simply refused to do anything he didn’t feel like doing, and he certainly didn’t look like the type who studied hard. Yoo Eunhyeon, who had already figured out that side of him, wore an expression that said he’d expected exactly this, then gave a brief explanation of the Red Steel Poison Corpse.
“Whoa…… So that’s what it was? Poison’s one thing, but corpses…… Those Jahyul Sect bastards are seriously twisted. I guess the righteous path has good reason to shudder at the mention of them.”
“Even if the righteous path is like that, why would the demonic path go after the Dang Clan? Honestly, when it comes to not caring about means and methods, the demonic path seems pretty similar.”
“Nah. Even they wouldn’t go that far, right? Of course, there might be a few complete lunatics who’d consider it.”
Judging by Ho Won-jik’s reaction, the Jahyul Sect’s notoriety had clearly spread even inside the Demonic Cult. Even among those who followed their own desires without a second thought for anyone else’s opinion, the Red Steel Poison Corpse was apparently considered a step too far.
“Could the Demonic Cult be hitting the Dang Clan just to steal the techniques for the Red Steel Poison Corpse?”
“Uh…… Hold on. Would they really go that far? But then again, if it meant winning against the righteous path…… they might…… actually do something like that?”
At Yoo Eunhyeon’s question, Ho Won-jik started to deny it, then paused and tilted his head thoughtfully. The conflict between the righteous and demonic paths was at its absolute peak. Using something like that just to win still felt excessive, yet if the thing already existed, having it on hand wouldn’t exactly be a bad idea—that thought had flickered through his mind for a moment.
“Or maybe, just like you said, they’re using the excuse that even for the Demonic Cult this is too much, as a pretext to wipe out the troublesome Dang Clan entirely.”
“Honestly, that seems the most likely. The Heavenly Martial Alliance types would try to show some pointless mercy—just destroy everything related to the Red Steel Poison Corpse and seal the clan. But the Cult Leader might simply sweep away anything that gets in his way.”
“Hmm…… That would be troublesome.”
Yoo Eunhyeon muttered, frowning. If things went that way, the Dang Clan would be in even greater danger—which meant Yeo U-hui and Ju Wongong, currently inside the Dang Clan, would also face far higher risks.
Of course, both the righteous and demonic paths had already been targeting the Dang Clan, so the danger had always been there. Still, he had believed those two could extract themselves easily enough. This changed the calculation.
“Why? If it has nothing to do with us, you can just ignore it completely.”
“It’s not that simple. Yu-ryeon’s parents are at the Dang Clan right now.”
“Eh? Really? I heard rumors that people from other neutral great families had come to help the Dang Clan, but no way—both of Noona’s parents?”
Ho Won-jik looked thoroughly startled, as if that possibility had never crossed his mind. Yoo Eunhyeon spoke to him again.
“Won-jik. I’m grateful you trusted us enough to tell us this, but is it okay if I pass it on to the Dang Clan?”
“Huh? Huh? W-well…… It’ll come out eventually as time passes, but the detailed contents are a bit…… I can’t become a traitor, you know.”
“To be precise, not the Dang Clan itself—only to Yu-ryeon’s parents. Honestly, the Dang Clan can handle itself, but I can’t just leave those two alone.”
“N-now that you mention it, yeah. They’re Noona’s parents. There’s no way she could just sit still……”
Thinking from Ju Yu-ryeon’s perspective, if her parents were in danger, of course she couldn’t simply stand by. Even a villain treasured their own blood; in a situation like this, anyone would at least pass along the news. But when Ho Won-jik turned his head toward Ju Yu-ryeon, he paused.
“With Noona, she might just sit still, though.”
He assessed the situation while looking at Ju Yu-ryeon, who had already drunk so much on her own that her eyes were unfocused and she was completely out of it. Yoo Eunhyeon sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.
“They say if you drink during the day, you won’t even recognize your own parents. We’ll decide once she sobers up. For now, let’s head back to the inn. Carry her.”
Yoo Eunhyeon stood up and, as if declaring he absolutely would not be the one doing it, opened the door and walked out. Ho Won-jik, for whom carrying a drunk Ju Yu-ryeon was no longer a first or second occurrence, securely hoisted her onto his back and followed after him.
The next day, Yoo Eunhyeon barged into the room of Ju Yu-ryeon, who had passed out drunk the previous day and was only now coming to her senses.
“You with us yet?”
“Ah…… My head’s killing me. This is why day drinking is dangerous. Got any water?”
Ju Yu-ryeon licked at the water jug that was empty save for a few clinging droplets as she asked Yoo Eunhyeon.
“Won-jik went to get some.”
“Yeah? Did Won-jik bring me back yesterday?”
“So you remember some of it?”
“Yep. I’ve never completely blacked out from drinking. I just can’t control myself, but I still have spotty memories.”
Her voice cracked toward the end; the thirst was clearly no act. Yoo Eunhyeon didn’t particularly respond and simply said,
“You don’t usually day drink. What was up yesterday?”
“I’ve been stuck at the Dang Clan this whole time and couldn’t drink because of Mom. So I had some for the first time in a while, but I’d been staying up almost all night for days reading books, so the fatigue must have hit all at once. Guess I’m getting old. Passing out like this just from a few all-nighters and some drinks. Maybe I should retire young.”
Yoo Eunhyeon simply stared at the whining Ju Yu-ryeon. She smirked at him.
“Why are you looking so serious? Don’t worry. I won’t retire until I’ve turned our Eunhyeon into a proper adult.”
“Is it because of Uncle?”
“Uncle? My dad? Why Dad? Why would I drink because of Dad? It’s not like he died—I saw him perfectly fine the day before yesterday.”
Ju Yu-ryeon tilted her head at the question, but Yoo Eunhyeon had already roughly figured it out. The amount she had drunk yesterday was less than he would have expected.
If it had been the Ju Yu-ryeon he knew, a few all-nighters and that much day drinking absolutely would not have left her sprawled out like this.
And thinking back, he recalled the time they had met Ju Wongong at the Dang Clan. She had spoken of it casually to him then, but there was no way it had been nothing.
If you can know and understand the other person’s situation and still not yearn for love, that wouldn’t be love. No matter what, she couldn’t not feel hurt.
Yoo Eunhyeon wondered if the mental pressure had driven her to day-drink and end up like this, but Ju Yu-ryeon just shook her head as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
“Nah. Never mind then.”
He had no intention of prying when she denied it, and even if he did and she admitted it, there was nothing more he could do to comfort her. So he simply shook his head.
At that moment Ho Won-jik returned with the water jug. Ju Yu-ryeon said curtly,
“You’re late.”
“I brought it right away, so what’s with that. Hah.”
Even as she complained, she immediately gulped the water down, then set the jug aside and winked at Yoo Eunhyeon with a certain look.
Understanding the meaning behind that gaze, Yoo Eunhyeon smirked. It was probably packed with many meanings, but there was no need to pry and unpack them all.
“Pwah. Feeling a bit more human now.”
“Did you hear everything we were talking about yesterday?”
“Only up to the middle. After that, well…… Heehee.”
“At least I only have to explain half of it. Lucky.”
Yoo Eunhyeon took the optimistic view that the glass was half full rather than half empty, and briefly explained the conversation he had shared with Ho Won-jik the previous day.
“Hmm…… The Demonic Cult’s coming on pretty strong.”
“What do you think? Looks like they’re trying to hit the Dang Clan after all, right?”
“The timing overlapping with when you escaped the Demonic Cult is a bit concerning…… but actually, the Dang Clan started making moves around then too. Coincidence, probably.”
“Right? Setting the Dang Clan aside, shouldn’t we tell Uncle and Auntie? Honestly, there’s no need for them to get swept up and put in danger. At this level, it’d be better for them to pull out.”
“That’s true, but……”
Ju Yu-ryeon agreed with his opinion yet frowned as if something still didn’t sit right.
“Why? Something bothering you? Auntie said she never intended to get deeply involved in the first place, right? If it gets this dangerous, won’t she pull out?”
“Mom’s fine. Dad’s the problem.”
“Ah……”
Yoo Eunhyeon realized with a start. Indeed, Yeo U-hui was a thoroughly rational person; if the danger level rose, she would extract herself quickly.
But Ju Wongong? The man who set clear priorities in all things seemed exactly the type who would ignore such dangers entirely.
“Dad’s affiliated with the Uiseon Suga, but he doesn’t know martial arts, and since he goes around treating people without discrimination, his reputation is good with both the righteous and demonic paths, so he should be fine. And……”
She was about to say more, then glanced at Ho Won-jik and closed her mouth. There was clearly something else about Ju Wongong, but she was reluctant to speak of it in front of him.
“Whatever choice those two make, you agree that we should at least inform them, right?”
“That’s true.”
“Then let’s get word to them. Won-jik, that okay?”
Yoo Eunhyeon turned and asked him again. Ho Won-jik let out a deep sigh.
“If I say it’s not okay, you won’t tell them?”
“It’ll just hurt our hearts that we have to do something you say isn’t okay.”
“Thanks for saying it hurts a little instead of just hurts……”
“Right? Looks like we’ve grown pretty fond of you after all, Won-jik. Hahaha.”
Ho Won-jik was, of course, not moved in the slightest. Until yesterday the two of them had completely forgotten he existed—what emotion was that supposed to stir? And from the looks of it, they had even forgotten the fact that they had forgotten him.
“Haa. How long has it even been since we left, and now we have to go back to the Dang Clan?”
“Do we really need to? Since we’re just delivering a message, no need to go in person, right?”
“Like I said yesterday, Eunhyeon, you don’t realize how important this is. The biggest problem is that there’s no one we can entrust with delivering that message.”
At Ju Yu-ryeon’s words, Ho Won-jik nodded as well.
“Noona’s right. If this gets leaked to the righteous path by mistake, and they trace the source of the info back to us…… it’ll get really annoying.”
“Ah. Yeah, that makes sense. If we get caught wrong, there’s no way to explain this away.”
Yoo Eunhyeon recalled Jang Deokhyeon and frowned. If they received this information from Ho Won-jik and passed it to the Dang Clan, they would clearly be suspected of standing on the Dang Clan’s side and acting as double agents for the demonic path.
“No choice then. We’ll head to the Dang Clan for a bit and come back. Won-jik, what about you? Heading back to Honjakmun?”
“Uh…… actually, I told them I had another personal mission and left. Going back now would be a bit……”
“Then wanna come with us?”
“But then again, going to the Dang Clan is also a bit……”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Yeah. What should we do?”
Ho Won-jik wore a truly troubled expression, as if he genuinely had no idea, and asked the two of them back. Ju Yu-ryeon finished the water in the jug and tossed the container to him.
“We can’t just abandon him and go. Simple, right? Just disguise yourselves and go together.”
“Disguise?”
“Yeah. In the end, as long as we don’t get caught, it’s fine—so just disguise and go.”
“Uh…… Yeah? But we don’t have any disguise tools.”
“There’s a place nearby I’ve got my eye on. I’ll go out and buy some stuff.”
“Ah, you mean that place.”
“Yeah. A hangover’s better if you move around a bit instead of just lying there. You two stay in the room. Wash up roughly and change clothes.”
With that, Ju Yu-ryeon actually stood up and started stripping off her clothes. The two men were naturally driven out of the room as if being pushed.