Episode 178 Who is third?
Blood Heavenly Demon was in the middle of cultivation. He had been cultivating for quite some time before I took this exam, so he had been cultivating nonstop for quite some time.
“Are you really preparing for war?”
He answered without even turning his head to what I said.
“When you get older, living each day becomes a battle.”
“I’m back.”
This time, I ran over and hugged Hyeolcheondoma.
“What are you doing, you dirty thing?”
Bloodthirsty Demon was startled and forcibly pulled me away. Honestly, I want to hug my father like this, but I’m afraid that I’ll get hit by the Nine Fire Demons, so I can’t try.
“I missed you, sir.”
“You act like I haven’t seen you in ten years.”
The Bloodthirsty Demon buried the Heavenly Sword in the ground.
And he leaned against the sword. At times like this, it was nice to see that sword seem like his friend.
“What is the Thousand Mandates?”
“He died.”
“There must have been a lot of people around.”
“I have a lot of blood on my hands this time.”
Perhaps sensing the bitterness in my answer, Hyeolcheondoma went inside the house, brought out some alcohol, and poured it for me.
“What can you do? Such is your fate. Drink it and get rid of it.”
I drank the drink he gave me. It felt like the blood chopping board was washing the blood off my hands. At least, it was a drink given by someone who knew better than anyone what it was like to kill a person, and it was comforting.
I didn’t say thank you. As always, words couldn’t repay me.
“The Grand Duke will never give up, so the road ahead will not be easy. Although he may not have the ability or qualifications you have, his determination to become a Heavenly Horse is stronger than yours.”
It’s hard to keep a brother like that alive.
“By the way, have you met the disciple?”
“I came and went a little while ago.”
“You did a great job of choosing me as your successor.”
“We’ll have to wait and see.”
“He will be better than anyone else. Oh, and I’m sure you’ve heard that he won the Little Dragon Championship.”
“Did you win?”
“You wrote that you would die if you lost, so how could you not win? Even if it wasn’t the Little Dragon Tournament but the World’s Best Martial Arts Tournament, you would have to win. And who would lose with such great martial arts skills?”
Happiness flashed across Hyeolcheon Doma’s face, as if he had not expected to win. When he sees this, it is clear that he has affection for Seo Dae-ryong.
“Oh my. If that chatterbox doesn’t brag about it, I can see how much he finds it difficult. Please be more easy on him.”
“If priests are comfortable with each other, it will eventually lead to trouble. Anyway, he must be very arrogant. He must need training in hell.”
Oh, Inspector Seo. This is something I didn’t expect. Sorry.
“Just go away. Shouldn’t you be looking at the other Amazons too?”
“No. I will take my time looking at the other demons. Today, I will only see you, Elder.”
If you like someone, you have to like them so clearly. Just like the saying goes, a person who likes everyone is someone who likes no one, so regardless of the person’s true feelings, everyone will think of them that way. Doesn’t that person like everyone originally? At least, it’s a misunderstanding that I don’t want to receive from Hyeolcheon Doma.
“The flattery is still the same.”
But there was a smile on Hyeoncheon Doma’s lips that he couldn’t hide. He secretly liked this kind of thing.
“Go say hello to the Amazons. They all came out to help you, so it’s polite to say hello.”
“Yes, then let’s do that.”
“I really wanted to go.”
“Just know that you always come first.”
He left his residence, leaving behind the Bloodthirsty Demon who was swinging his sword again.
Before going to Akingok, I stopped by the house and picked up a white mask. Wouldn’t it be polite to wear a mask when going to Akingok?
The white-masked strangers no longer looked at me as specially as they used to. The hostility in their eyes toward me disappeared.
I could tell from their reactions that I was becoming more and more familiar with the evil Soma. If they looked at me with friendly eyes and even greeted me, I would have become even closer to them than I am now.
So, guided by the faceless guest, I entered the residence of the evil master.
At first, I thought that these demons were as important as martial arts training, so meeting them was a task, but now it is not a task but a relationship. Surprisingly, I go to see them because I really want to see them.
The evil Soma was looking at the white wall again today. Seriously, what on earth is he thinking as he looks at that wall?
“I’m here.”
I raised my mask over my head and greeted him briskly. Then, the evil Soma turned towards me.
His two eyes met my gaze behind the mask. I never thought that there would come a day when I would feel so happy as I made eye contact with the evil Soma.
The two of them fought together twice, risking their lives, against the evil Soma. The first time was against the Black Emperor Baek Mang-gi, and the second time was against the evil Soma’s Sa-baek Yang-cheo-gi.
Both of these fights were fights where one’s life was at stake, and perhaps because of that, there was a special feeling of being a comrade on the battlefield who saved one’s life.
“I heard that the Cheonmyeonghoe work went well.”
“Who would have been negligent in revenge?”
In fact, this test was also related to the evil Soma. They had recruited the evil Soma’s four hundred Yang Cheo-gi.
The evil Soma said with a smile.
“As you know, I am sure of my debt.”
It was a reference to the incident where he gave a silver coin to the scholar of Wolpyeongmun. The evil soma and the silver coin were a really incompatible combination.
The evil Soma held out a small box.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
When I opened the box, there was a white pill inside.
“This is Baekryeongdan (白靈丹), a visionary elixir that is mentioned in the text.”
A strong, yet refreshing scent quickly filled the room. I could feel that the efficacy was extraordinary.
“This was sent to me by the monks. It seems that peace has come after the death of the four hundred sheep.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
It seems that he sent them out because he was grateful that the monks who had come at the command of Sa-baek were sent back without harming anyone.
“I will give it to the scholar.”
“Why are you giving me this precious thing?”
“Because I got it thanks to the scholar.”
It was a gift that was truly meant for me. I was taken aback by the unexpected gift.
“No, please drink it, Soma-sama.”
Then the evil Soma said something unexpected.
“I’m also giving it to you to get some points from you, so please stop refusing and take it.”
“I want to get some points too. Okay. How about this? Let’s split it in half.”
The evil Soma was startled by my words.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m not the type of person to share elixirs because I’m greedy, but I’d like to make an exception this time. Let’s split it in half to commemorate our survival through fighting together.”
The two eyes of the evil soma shone brightly. They were the clearest eyes I had ever seen him. I could feel it. We were passing another turning point in our relationship.
“Okay, then.”
I pulled out the Black Magic Sword and split the White Spirit Corps exactly in half.
We took it at the same time, as if we were drinking alcohol.
I swallowed the Baekryeongdan with my throat. The warm energy filled my mouth and soon melted and went down my throat.
It was an extremely toxic elixir, but since my existing internal energy was so profound, I absorbed all of its effects without any problems. Although it was only half, the amount of internal energy added to my danjeon was not small.
My two eyes sparkled with clear, deep light before returning to their original state.
The evil Soma also finished his training and got up from his seat.
“Is it delicious?”
“It tastes better than any elixir I’ve ever had.”
There was no need for further words. We just laughed together.
“By the way, if you give them poison, why do you eat it so eagerly? What if that’s a fake Baekryeongdan?”
“That’s why we split up. Let’s die together.”
The evil Soma laughed loudly. To everyone else, his laughter might have been nothing more than a habitual laugh, but to me at least, it was full of emotion. Because I could sense his emotions in his laughter.
“But is it okay for you to look at that wall like that?”
“Isn’t it good? I look like a crazy person. You can’t mess with a crazy person. Why? Are you worried? Are you worried that I’ll go crazy?”
“A little bit.”
In response to the honest answer, the evil Soma revealed an unexpected fact.
“Shall I tell you a secret? The effect of the main text’s method will be enhanced if you practice while looking at a white wall.”
“Oh, so that’s what it was.”
I didn’t know that the evil Soma was practicing his mind technique while looking at the wall. I realize it once again. He just looks anxious to me, but everyone else is living their own lives well.
“Did you come back here after seeing the Bloodthirsty Horse?”
“yes.”
“It would be difficult to take care of everything one by one.”
“There are only four, right?”
“I plan on taking care of all eight of them.”
Surprisingly, his prediction was correct.
“Yes. I will manage and take care of all eight of them, whether they are allies or enemies.”
“Can you hold out?”
Of course, it’s not easy. Even if we laugh and have fun like this, we never know when or how things will go wrong. If you take the Amazons lightly, you’ll end up in trouble someday.
“I told that to Pretty Heart. That martial arts and life are connected. Is that only true for her? If I can become a vessel that can hold all of Palmazone, I can overcome the wall of martial arts that blocks me.”
The evil Soma, who had been staring at me for a while, told me what he had been feeling.
“What is the Duke looking at? Sometimes, when I look at him, I get the feeling that he is not just looking at the successor, not just looking at the Heavenly Horse, but something else beyond that.”
Is it because we only look into each other’s eyes? He also sees what I’m looking at. He is the only one who can feel what even those who are closer to him can’t.
There will come a day when I will tell him about my great enemy. So that we may once again stand back to back and go beyond the moment of life and death.
“If it were you, Soma, and not someone else, I don’t think that moment would be so bad.”
Even though I said it in a cutting tone, the evil Soma didn’t ask what I meant.
“I will wait for that moment.”
“Then see you again.”
I said goodbye to him and left the evil song. My reunion with him was as neat as the white mask.
* * *
Ilhwageomjon and Chwima were drinking, so I was able to see the two of them together. The two friends often drank together, and today, they were drinking again.
“Welcome, Duke Lee!”
Ilhwageomjon and Chwima were both drunk. It was the first time I had seen Ilhwageomjon this drunk.
“You have fallen into the temptation of evil.”
“You come and save me quickly.”
While saying that, Ilhwageomjeon poured me a drink.
“Thank you for the last evil song.”
“What did we do? We just rushed in.”
At that time, Chwima asked me with a complaining face.
“Have you already met Bloodthirsty Demon and Evil Demon?”
“yes.”
“Why are we last? Why third, fourth? If you came, why don’t you come see us first?”
Ilhwageomjon also joined in the complaint. When he glared at me with his red, drunken face, I smiled and said.
“Who is the third?”
The two men readily accepted this powerful slander.
“No.”
Chuma shook his head as if he felt sorry for Ilhwageomjeon’s confidence.
“Friend, I’m sorry, but this is me. I’m on friendly terms with Lee Gong-ja.”
“Hey, buddy. If this were true brotherhood, we wouldn’t be fighting over whether it’s the third or fourth time, right?”
“We drink and swim together.”
“I didn’t want to say this, but we even had a fight under the moonlight.”
The two people who had been arguing looked at me. They wanted me to choose. Who was the third and fourth? Chwima asked with an earnest look in his eyes.
“Brother. I’m not the last one, am I?”
“It’s not the last.”
“yes?”
That’s when he smiled brightly.
“It’s okay. It’s the fourth of the eight Amazons.”
Ilhwageomjon drank the winner’s drink.
“Friend, not all brothers are close, right?”
The drunkard drank his alcohol with his mouth sticking out.
I was so grateful to those two people. Who would have been treated like this? Who would have been in the third or fourth place in the first place? They were putting up with it for me. They were willing to fight for the third and fourth place.
“I’ll tell you two today. You know the two people in front of me? They’re picky, fussy, and eccentric. On the other hand, how about you two? Aren’t you the most generous of the Amazons?”
“Because you’re broad-minded? Or because you’re easygoing?”
When I pretended to flinch at Chwima’s question, the two of them laughed heartily as if they found it amusing.
The three of them toasted and emptied their drinks.
As he put down his glass, Chuma also delivered some surprising news.
“Not long ago, Doma, I, and Geomjon here had a drink together.”
The image of three people drinking together was not easily conjured up.
“How was it? Did you like it?”
“Was it good?”
Chwima sighed.
“There was no sword fight, was there?”
“I almost died.”
“Okay then.”
Then Ilhwageomjon said.
“What’s the big deal? Don’t ever call me to a place like that again!”
Yes, if people who are at odds could reconcile so easily, why would there be any fighting in the world?
Anyway, it was meaningful. Because Chwima was trying to reconcile the two.
I said with my eyes as I raised my glass.
You’ve worked hard, bro.
Chwima smiled and lifted his glass. Sometimes, it is better to acknowledge someone’s hardships once than to say a hundred kind words.
“I’ve said my goodbyes, so I’ll take my leave now.”
I said goodbye and got up. I forced myself to get up, as the drunkard grabbed my trouser leg and stretched out, asking me to drink more.
Playing with the Amazons could happen again later, but hunting with my father wasn’t an opportunity that came often.
The next morning, I set out for Cheonmajeon for my second hunt with my father, carrying a larger pack than before.
