The next morning, an unexpected person came to my residence.
It was Jang Ho.
“Young Cult Master.”
“What brings you here this morning?”
“I heard you had returned and came to greet you. Did you have a safe trip?”
“I came back after facing a dreadful amount of sandstorms.”
“I’ve never been to The Outlands, so I’d like to go at least once.”
“When you’re chewing on grit in your rice, you’ll think, ‘Ah, now I understand why our Young Cult Master said it was so dreadful.’”
Jang Ho smiled.
Since he rarely smiled in front of his subordinates, that splendid smile was always mine to see.
“Oh, and please take this.”
Jang Ho held out what he had brought.
When I unwrapped the paper, a painting emerged from within.
It was the back of a man standing on a cliff with a sword at his waist.
As soon as I saw the painting, I knew who it was.
It was me.
“Who is this frighteningly handsome man?”
“It is you, Young Cult Master. My skill is still a mess, but I wanted my first painting to be of you. I dared not paint your esteemed face, so I drew your back.”
When he had told me he wanted to paint after he retired, I had bought him the tools used by painters.
I hadn't known his first work would be of me.
“I didn’t know you were so skilled.”
I wasn't just saying it to be nice.
It was a wonderful painting, as if done by a professional painter.
“This is the first time I’ve received a painting as a gift.”
“It is my first time as well. Giving a painting as a gift.”
“I should go brag to my father. ‘The Demon Army Lord may receive his pay from you, Father, but he gave a painting to me as a gift.’”
Although he knew I was joking, Jang Ho grew flustered as if just imagining it made him sweat.
“Please, spare me that.”
His flustered look was amusing, so I continued to jest.
“How much do you think I could get if I took this to the Central Plains and sold it? ‘A painting by the Demon Army Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.’ I could name my price, couldn’t I? You won’t buy it? Really? You’re offering only that much?”
Jang Ho, with a troubled expression, waved his hands, begging me to stop.
“Thank you. I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life.”
“When my skills improve, I will draw a better one for you.”
“Draw my front then. It’s a waste of this handsome face, isn’t it?”
I didn’t miss Jang Ho’s momentary flinch.
“What? Don’t tell me you don’t think I’m handsome?”
Now, Jang Ho’s counterattack began.
“Yours is a face that the young people of today would prefer.”
“But not a handsome face?”
He didn’t answer, but his expression was one of agreement.
“Then who do you find handsome? Pick from the people we know.”
Could it be the Poison King? No, the Poison King looks younger than me, so that can’t be it.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon is handsome, but there’s no way he’s seen under the mask.
Ah, then it must be the Drunken Demon, I thought, but an unexpected name came up.
“Isn’t the Fist Demon handsome?”
“What? Are you crazy?”
The words ‘are you crazy’ truly came out on their own.
“He’s manly and cool. He is handsome, is he not?”
“You really think so?”
“Yes.”
Knowing he was serious, I shook my head and let out a sigh.
“I’m truly disappointed in your taste. Please, tell me you were joking before you leave!”
As if he had expected this reaction, Jang Ho smiled.
But he never changed his mind.
“I will see you again.”
Jang Ho bowed politely and left my residence.
After he left, Jeok-yeon and the other guards came to look at the painting.
“It’s a wonderful painting.”
“Right? To think he was going to let such talent go to waste. You should all pick up a hobby. For the sake of your own lives, a single brushstroke might be better than a hundred sword strikes.”
Knowing now that such words from me were sincere, the guards’ reply was loud and clear.
“We understand, Young Cult Master!”
As I left my residence, I said,
“I’ll ask you about it later, so be sure to think of something. Oh, and please hang the painting somewhere prominent in my room. I’m going to the Valley of the Wicked. You don’t have to follow.”
*
When I entered the Valley of the Wicked, it was different than usual.
The place was in a festive mood.
Every building was lavishly decorated, and the masks of the Faceless Ones were all painted in vibrant, fancy colors.
Bonfires were lit everywhere with meat roasting over them, and wine was being carried around by the jar.
These were not the usual fearsome-looking masks.
Today, everyone was excited.
I asked one of the Faceless Ones who recognized me and bowed.
“What’s going on?”
“Today is the Demon Sovereign’s birthday.”
“The Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s birthday?”
“That is correct.”
“Don’t tell him I was here.”
For the time being, I left the Valley of the Wicked.
I hadn’t known it was the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s birthday.
It would have been one thing if I didn’t know, but now that I did, I couldn’t just go empty-handed.
What should I give him?
Back then, for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s birthday, I gave him a top-grade Poison-Resistant Bead.
The relationship then was different from now, and at the time, even that was a great gift.
After a moment of thought, I ran straight to the Heavenly Demon Hall.
“I came again because I missed you, Father.”
My father looked at me with suspicion.
Having greeted him yesterday, my visit again today was undoubtedly suspicious.
“Would you like to play a game of Go?”
“I’m busy.”
“Then how about a spar?”
“What is it you want?”
I cautiously asked my father.
“Please let me take one more treasure from the Heavenly Demon Treasury.”
My father didn’t even ask why.
“Impossible!”
Right, he had specially opened it to commemorate my becoming the Young Cult Master.
He wouldn’t just give me something if I came barging in like this.
“What can I do for you to grant my request?”
“What can you do?”
“I can give you a shoulder massage. I’ll do it for the rest of your life.”
“I despise others touching my body.”
“Am I ‘others’?”
Of course, it was a futile attempt.
“I will come to play Go with you every day.”
“Playing with a novice makes one’s skills rust.”
“I will train diligently in martial arts every day.”
“Do as you wish.”
“Do you happen to have a hidden daughter? A daughter you’ve hidden away, her identity concealed for her safety."
"She’s growing up somewhere with an ordinary identity. But now, that daughter is in danger. ‘Son, go and rescue her in secret. You are the only one I can trust. I will give you a treasure in return.’”
The corners of my father’s lips curled up in a sneer.
“If I were worried for her safety, wouldn’t I keep her in the Main Sect?”
“Well, you might have hidden her because you were worried about my brother, who was mad with ambition.”
“Looking at you now, I’m more worried about you.”
“What can I possibly give to someone who has everything? Please, just give it to me!”
At my shameless demand, my father rose from the Grand Advisor's seat.
I thought he was about to say something like, ‘Do you need a beating to come to your senses?’ but instead, he said,
“Let’s walk.”
I walked with my father through the inner courtyard.
Every demonic practitioner we passed bowed their heads in respectful greeting.
Surprisingly, our walk led us to the Heavenly Demon Treasury.
“Choose one and come out.”
His easy compliance made me uneasy.
“Why are you giving in so easily?”
“So that you don't accumulate foolish desires.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“‘Once I become the Heavenly Demon, I’ll use it all as I please.’ That kind of desire.”
I understood my father’s heart.
“Are you thinking that far ahead?”
“Because it is that important. You, and the Heavenly Demon Treasury.”
The words ‘you, too,’ made my heart ache.
What was more surprising was that my father already knew.
“Do you like the Evil Heart Laughing Demon that much?”
“You knew.”
He knew that today was the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s birthday and had guessed that my visit was to give him a gift.
He might have asked what was so great about that person, but instead, he said,
“Bring it out.”
A short while later, I came out of that place with a single treasure.
“No foolish desires have accumulated. Instead, my respect and affection for you, Father, have piled up high…”
My father walked away with long strides without listening to the end of my words.
I stood for a moment, watching his back.
Usually, my father’s back made me feel a mixture of emotions—it was large, dependable, lonely, and desolate.
But today, I felt a deep affection for me from it.
When I first regressed, there was a part of me that was confident because I had lived longer than my father.
A part of me thought, ‘I’ve lived longer than you, Father!’
And now I realize.
Separate from having lived longer, and separate from what kind of life I had lived, there is a strength that comes from being a father.
I want to become a father like my father.
A father who, though I may flatter, jest, and joke with others, silently shows his love for his son through his actions.
I, who have never desired a child, feel a longing for one at this very moment.
Up ahead, my father stopped and looked back at me.
His eyes seemed to ask if I was coming, and I strode toward him.
“I’ll visit you every day, massage your shoulders, play Go, and give you an allowance often. And… let’s go together! I was wondering who the Demon Sovereigns took after, always leaving like that. It was you, Father!”
*
When I arrived at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s residence, he was sitting alone in a pure white room.
He was like that, even on his birthday.
“Demon Sovereign!”
“Young Cult Master!”
The two eyes within the eyeholes of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s mask, which had turned toward me, were smiling brightly.
Was it because we communicated through our gazes alone? Just looking at him, there was a lump-in-the-throat feeling that the Demon Sovereign’s gaze gave me.
“I saw you standing on the statue yesterday.”
“I thought you might be tired from your long journey, so I intended to greet you from afar. How did your trip go?”
“I handled it well and returned. With the Wind Heaven Sect Leader and the Demon Buddha there, nothing could have gone wrong even if it tried.”
Perhaps the Evil Heart Laughing Demon felt a little regretful for not being able to fight alongside us.
“Oh, happy birthday!”
“Thank you.”
“If I had been two days later, I would have arrived after it had passed.”
“It’s not such a special day.”
“It is an important day. It’s the day you were born, Demon Sovereign.”
At that, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon said something unexpected.
“Actually, I dislike celebrating my birthday.”
“To say that, it’s quite a festival outside, isn’t it?”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon walked to the window and looked outside.
I stood beside him.
The area around his residence was even more spectacularly decorated.
In front of it, the Faceless Ones were gathered, chattering as if it were their own birthdays.
“It wasn't always like this, but I told them to use my birthday as an excuse to enjoy themselves for a day. I told them to share any gifts that came from outside.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon, too, was showing a side of himself that was different from before.
I took out what I had brought from my robes and said,
“Even so, this gift is not for them.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon recognized the gift I handed him at a glance.
“This is…!”
His eyes trembled.
“It was just gathering dust in the warehouse, so I brought it in case you might need it.”
The item I brought from the Heavenly Demon Treasury was a pair of wrist guards.
The sheer preciousness of the artifact was palpable just by looking at it.
On one side, a roaring black dragon was embroidered, and on the other, a leaping tiger.
The Ink Dragon-Flying Tiger Wrist Guards.
Known to be impervious not only to blades but also uncuttable by Sword Qi, this was among the best of all wrist guards.
It was an essential treasure for those like the Evil Heart Laughing Demon, who did not use swords or blades, for defense in critical situations.
The gaze of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon, who was looking down at it for a moment, deepened.
“No one in this world would call the Heavenly Demon Treasury a warehouse.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon looked at me.
“Do you know how precious this is?”
“I know that this precious thing is just collecting dust in the treasury.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon stared at me and said,
“Didn’t you say our relationship should be as light as a feather to last long? That you didn’t want to build an impregnable fortress with me? That you wanted our relationship to be light as a feather so we could be comfortable until we die? If you do this, what will you give me for my next birthday? And what should I give you in return?”
I looked at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon in silence for a moment.
“Could you not think of it this way? That in a past life, this Young Cult Master sinned against you and is trying to repay you in this life.”
“You have already repaid me by saving my life.”
“Perhaps I sinned twice.”
“Young Cult Master!”
“Demon Sovereign!”
If I were in danger, he is the one who would come running first anyway.
He is a man who would gladly throw away his life.
Therefore, I didn’t need to worry that this gift would be a burden to him.
Whether I gave it or not, he would act the same.
“Please accept it, Demon Sovereign.”
Our gazes intertwined in the air.
In the end, he could not refuse my earnest plea.
“Very well.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. If you had refused until the end, my father would have teased me about this for the rest of his life.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon rolled up his sleeves and put the Ink Dragon-Flying Tiger Wrist Guards on both hands.
It suited the white-masked Demon Sovereign perfectly.
“This is the most precious birthday gift of my entire life.”
“If anyone ever breaks that record, please be sure to tell me. I can’t stand being second place.”
His eyes, deepened within the mask, conveyed his gratitude.
“What will you do if the other Demon Sovereigns find out?”
“They’ll probably look forward to what I’ll give them on their birthdays.”
“And what if you can’t give them anything?”
“They’ll probably think that I like you the most, Demon Sovereign.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon laughed out loud.
It was the Demon Sovereign’s pleasant laughter, which I hadn’t heard in a long time.
*
After leaving the Valley of the Wicked, I went straight to the Demon Family Village.
I was heading to the Flowing Wine Tavern to see Jo Chun-bae and have a meal.
The Demon Family Village, which I returned to after a long time, was no different from when I had left.
The bustling market was crowded with people coming and going.
There were merchants hawking their wares, an old man pulling a cart and shouting for people to move aside, women browsing goods, men grabbing each other by the collar, a couple walking hand-in-hand with smiles, and children running around with a woman yelling at them not to run.
Seeing this scenery after coming back from a life-and-death battle, it definitely looked different.
Only when one realizes that the seemingly ordinary daily life might not be so ordinary, can one find happiness in this routine.
When I arrived at the Flowing Wine Tavern, I was so surprised that I stood there blankly for a moment.
The door of the Flowing Wine Tavern was closed.
It was the first time.
This place had never been closed.
Was he sick? Or had something happened?
Just then, someone came and spoke to me.
“Young Cult Master, I’m the one who runs the fruit stand down there.”
He was someone I had seen often while coming and going from the Demon Family Village.
He was also close with Jo Chun-bae.
“The owner of the Flowing Wine Tavern left with his wife a few days ago, saying something had come up at his wife’s family home.”
I knew that Jo Chun-bae had a special relationship with his wife.
“Do you happen to know what happened?”
“I didn’t hear the details, but I vaguely heard that someone in their family got entangled with a martial artist.”
My heart sank at the words ‘entangled with a martial artist.’ Most of the time, it was difficult to see a good outcome.
Moreover, the fact that he closed the tavern and left in a hurry meant the situation was just as urgent.
This had happened while I was away from the sect.
With Lee Ahn also far away, Seo Daeryong and Jang Ho probably hadn't been having their tavern meetings recently either.
“Do you know where his wife’s family is?”
After hearing the location of his wife’s family, I immediately shot off.
Using Swift Step, I left the Demon Family Village in an instant.
The best-case scenario would be for me to arrive first, and the next best would be to arrive not too late.
I prayed it was nothing serious, but if he was caught up in a dangerous situation, the only thing to rely on was the owner’s experience.
He had all sorts of experience from running a tavern here.
‘Owner, just hold on until I get there!’
The Swift Step, pushed to its limit, began to surpass its boundaries once again.