The Heavenly Demon Gets Even (2)
Jijon was a relatively human man among the Three Venerables of the world. The Celestial Venerable, that old geezer, was an eccentric who raised hell trying to found a religion with the enlightenment he had gained. The Illustrious Venerable had sealed himself in a cave for decades, declaring he would not emerge until he attained enlightenment, and even at the time of my return he still had not come out. Compared to them, Jijon—who could at least hold a normal conversation—was practically a model citizen.
Of course, that did not mean he was normal. How could anyone who had abandoned their entire life to pursue martial arts, achieved great success, yet still remained unsatisfied and gazed even higher be considered sane? Every single martial artist who contended for the title of the strongest under heaven was a madman. I, who had faced them all, could guarantee it.
As for myself? Hmm. That is a difficult question. Given what I said earlier, I cannot outright deny it, but I still believe I am better than them. After all, have I not adapted to the modern world successfully enough to be considered a well-adjusted person? They could not do the same. The moment they fell into the modern era, they would cause endless chaos.
Enry once told me that on the internet I am called the Goddess of Tinder. Those fellows, however, would be the ones setting the real world on fire.
At any rate, the Jijon I knew was a man who paid attention to nothing but martial arts. Born into a martial family from a young age, he had learned nothing else, set the achievement of martial supremacy as the goal of his life, and rampaged across the world to witness its end. Because of that, he was severely lacking in common sense in every other area. To put it bluntly, he was a blockhead.
When discussing martial arts he would offer fresh, brilliant insights that left even me impressed, yet the moment the topic changed he knew nothing and would frustrate anyone to the point of bursting a blood vessel. He was not the sort of person I wanted to associate with for long.
Yet here he was. The man who should have been holed up in the mountains pondering his palm techniques was instead in this place, running a rigged gambling den. Seeing a scene so contrary to my understanding of him naturally sparked my curiosity.
“Gaaaah! Why?! I clearly heard five!”
“You must have misheard.”
First, I should rescue Enry, who was being mercilessly swindled without even knowing why. Leaving her be would only result in her squandering her fortune, but it still felt pitiful to watch her lose everything to fraud. I gently patted her shoulder, and she looked up at me with a tearful face.
“Hwaryeongggg.”
“There, there.”
I pressed some money into Enry’s hand and told her to sit beside Baru and play the shell game with her.
“Will you be playing, sir?”
As soon as the seat Enry had vacated became empty, Jijon looked up at me and asked. Hearing that polite tone from him sent a shiver down my spine. So even a martial arts-obsessed monkey could be socialized.
“I will.”
Why is the renowned Jijon running a scam in a place like this?
As I sat across from him, I sent the question through voice transmission. Jijon’s eyebrows shot up. At the same time, I sensed him circulating his inner energy—he was clearly prepared to use force.
Calm yourself. I did not come here to fight.
Then why did you come?
I was simply curious. I wanted to know why one of the Three Venerables would be in a place like this.
You expect me to believe that?
Why not? Or should I announce to the entire casino that the Supreme One is here?
...Tsk.
Even as we conversed through voice transmission, on the surface we continued the gambling naturally. I pushed forward my money, and soon Jijon extended his hand. Inside his palm were metal beads. When shaken, they produced a loud rattle. The casino was certainly noisy, yet that sound rang out with unnatural clarity. It was easy to become entranced by it. But one should never trust a sound that could be seen so plainly. A man of Jijon’s caliber could freely manipulate objects in his palm. Making some rattle while keeping others silent was child’s play.
Naturally, such tricks did not work on me. With all the gambling experience I possessed, how could I fall for such amateurish deception? Let’s see… there are five beads inside his fist.
“Odd.”
When I answered correctly without difficulty, Jijon raised one eyebrow and opened his fist. Exactly five beads lay within.
Answer me.
Why should I explain myself to someone whose identity I do not even know?
Baek Ara. Current sect leader of Mount Hua. I assume you have heard the rumors.
Ha. What a bold-faced lie. The monster who supposedly defeated that old freak Geomseon could not possibly be someone of this level…
Jijon’s words, which had been treating me as a liar, suddenly cut off. I had subtly released the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art so that only he could sense it.
Believe it or not, it makes no difference to me. However, if you choose the latter, even if you survive, this entire casino will disappear without a trace.
Jijon, you are one of the few martial artists I acknowledge. You might somehow manage to preserve your life beneath my assault. But the place where you stand has nowhere to run.
Jijon pushed the winnings toward me while biting his lip slightly.
A nuisance has arrived. Fine. I will answer.
You asked why I am in a place like this? It is because of outsiders like you.
Hm?
You people are so persistently annoying that both I and the Celestial Venerable had no choice but to find places to hide.
Jijon blamed the outsiders. At first I did not understand what he meant, but the more I listened, the easier it became to comprehend.
Simply put, Jijon was being treated like a raid boss by the users. If one asked who the strongest martial artist in the current Hwaryong Muin world was, the first name that came up would be one of the Three Venerables. It was only right before my return that no one could deny my place at the peak. But that time had not yet come.
Although the righteous sects had been destroyed and Baek Hwaryeong’s name had spread across the continent, there was still not enough history for the title of strongest under heaven to be attached to it. Unlike the modern world, the Murim lacked communication devices. In the modern era one could express their opinion to the world with a single finger, but that was impossible here. The primary method of spreading information in this place was word of mouth. And what controlled that word of mouth was history. Stories passed down for a long time could not be overcome by newly born tales.
Originally, the title of strongest under heaven should have been associated with fear and dread. It should have been regarded as a realm that could not even be glimpsed, let alone surpassed. But to the users it was different. To those who viewed this world as nothing more than a game, to those who considered even death just another form of experience, facing the strongest under heaven was simply an achievement.
No matter where I hid, they found me with terrifying persistence. And that was not all. Once one appeared, dozens more would follow, attacking day and night without rest. It was truly horrific.
You do not seem to have much difficulty dealing with them?
Obviously. Their martial skills are lower than insects! But just as a swarm of summer mosquitoes can grate on one’s nerves, they gnaw away at mine!
Jijon’s voice transmission sounded closer to a scream than anything I had ever heard from him. It seemed he had suffered quite a bit at the hands of the outsiders.
“Odd again.”
“...You really are good at this.”
“It is nothing special.”
After suffering so much from the outsiders, I finally used my head for the first time in a while. Then one phrase came to mind: to hide a tree, hide it in a forest.
Jijon had used his head in a way uncharacteristic of him. No matter where he hid, he would eventually be found. So instead, he decided to hide among people. The place he chose was a gambling den. A location where countless people came and went, where desire swirled, and where attention focused more on the results of bets than on each other’s faces.
This gambling thing suits my taste more than I expected. It is excellent for concealing my identity and for messing with those damn outsiders.
At first he had chosen the gambling den simply as a hiding place, but over time his thoughts changed. The casino suited his tastes far more than he had anticipated.
So I built a new one. Money was something I could obtain as much as I wanted.
With both power and wealth, Jijon could do anything he desired. He built the casino with the single-minded goal of hiding his identity and feeding more outsiders their own medicine. He had even swallowed his pride and sought advice from outsiders to do so. The result was a massive success.
Gambling always sets fire to people’s hearts. Those who had frowned at the unpleasant, dirty facilities and swindlers of Hwaryong Muin’s existing casinos flocked here the moment Jijon’s seemingly fair and clean establishment appeared. And they lost enormous sums of money.
Thanks to that, I have been living comfortably. I built training facilities underground, and when I grow bored I come up here to torment the outsiders.
Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable. That monkey-like fellow who only knew martial arts had become the owner of a massive casino. His martial achievement seemed somewhat less than in the past due to all the distractions, but his growth as a person appeared greater. It was difficult to say which was better.
“Now then, where will you bet this time?”
“Even.”
“You are certain it is even? Then let me reveal—”
“No. Wait.”
While continuing the game after accepting Jijon’s explanation, I stopped the hand he was about to open. Heh. The fellow must have gotten heated after losing consecutively. To cheat so openly.
“It is odd this time. Is it not?”
However, when playing tricks one must choose the opponent carefully. My years of experience with gambling were many times greater than his. How dare he attempt such a crude deception before me?
“Open your hand.”
Do not even think of cheating. The moment you do, you will have to endure my wrath.
Jijon forced a smile and opened his hand. Inside were three beads. It had been four just a moment ago.
“Your senses are truly excellent.”
Just how much are you planning to take? Shouldn’t you stop at some point?
Haha. It is because of my skill.
If you play tricks on my friend, you should be prepared to have tricks played on you as well. Don’t you agree?
Curiosity was one thing, but revenge was another. Jijon. I will not destroy your residence. But I do feel the need to crush your pride at least a little to feel satisfied.