What is an appropriate way to describe the atmosphere when individuals with similar temperament issues gather and drink plum extract?
The atmosphere gets taken over by strong awkwardness and loneliness, and, in the end, we all don’t have much in common other than fighting and martial arts.
But I am in a different mood.
Because every time I look at them, I think of these people’s previous lives.
Pervert Demon was a member of the Demonic Sect as one of their top warriors.
Sword Demon is likely experiencing a feeling of unease, as if he is carefully balancing along the boundary that separates his humanity and his demonic nature, both in the past and present.
Yukhap, previously known as Ghost Demon, was a man hated by any.
Of course, me too.
In my previous life, I was a Crazy Demon hated by these three. Of course, the fact that the orthodox, unorthodox, and the Demonic Sect all hated me made my situation a little different.
Anyway, it is almost a miracle that these people gathered and now are in one place. Because we were all on the infamous side of Kangho…
We can go to an ordinary inn and have fun. I have yet to see any members of the Murim Alliance act uneasy in our presence.
And, of course, I try to make it happen.
I suggest drinking to Sword Demon who never seems to suggest drinking himself.
“Senior, it has been a while, so let us drink. Stop with the plum extract. Drinking that will make me angry now.”
Sword Demon replies in a calm tone,
“There is no alcohol here. No alcohol means no snacks too.”
I nod my head.
“Do not take things so seriously. This is a problem that can easily be solved by simply buying alcohol and snacks.”
I take out my entire pouch from the back and throw it. Pervert Demon grabs the heavy pouch with a puzzled expression. I speak first before he’s able to get a word in.
“My youngest, hurry up and bring me drinks. Bring a lot of snacks too. Your master will let you buy whatever snacks you like. Don’t worry, I am fine with anything, Yukhap is a country boy too, so he will take whatever you give.”
Even though I didn’t say much, I received stinging glares from all three. The three look like they’re about to attack me at the same time so I clear my throat.
Pervert Demon asks while frowning,
“Why am I the youngest?”
Pervert Demon looks at Yukhap with an angry expression, but Yukhap was quite mature compared to his age in the first place. Pervert Demon glares at me again.
“You buy it. Why do I have to run errands?”
I take my eyes off the idiot and turn to Sword Demon. And Sword Demon turns to Pervert Demon and says in a calm voice,
“Disciple.”
“Yes, master.”
Sword Demon speaks calmly in a light-hearted tone.
“Buy it.”
Pervert Demon replies with a defeated expression.
“… I will be back.”
The guy walks with his head bowed and then turns to ask Sword Demon.
“Master, do you have any snacks you want to eat?”
Sword Demon replies in a blunt tone,
“Buy anything.”
“Yes.”
After Pervert Demon disappears, Sword Demon speaks.
“Master Yukhap.”
“Yes.”
“Recently, I have been training with a wooden sword. Will you fight me with a wooden sword?”
Yukhap is puzzled.
“It isn’t that difficult. What does it mean for you to be training with a Wooden Sword?
Sword Demon nods.
“… it is simple. There are things which I lacked, so I grabbed the wooden sword with the mindset of starting over.”
“Such an odd method. Let’s do it.”
Sword Demon tells me,
“Sect Leader, lend your sword.”
I handed over the sword Elder Heo gave me to Yukhap. If you leave the sword in place, it remains a wooden sword; but if you draw it out, it becomes a real one.
I say to the two holding the wooden swords,
“Senior, shouldn’t your disciple have a chance to watch?”
“That is something for Master Yukhap to decide. However, there is no reason for him to observe when he is one who doesn’t understand the sword. Master Yukhap, can the Sect Leader observe?”
Yukhap nods.
“It doesn’t matter.”
I follow the two and stand in front of the door.
A situation where Yukhap and Sword Demon were facing each other in an open space.
Interestingly enough, I’m not so curious about who will win, but more curious about how they will fight. This is the first time I’m watching a fight with the curiosity of the method rather than the outcome.
Master Yukhap takes the sword in front of Sword Demon who doesn’t care about manners, so he lightly nods.
Just as I started to wonder how he would fight, Sword Demon’s demeanor changes.
As he takes his stance with his wooden sword, Sword Demon’s entire body gets covered in air resembling a whirlwind.
‘What?’
The eyes of Mr. Yukhap, who is holding the wooden sword with a normal lower right form, begins to widen.
Sword Demon asks,
“Are you ready?”
“I am.”
As soon as those words come out of Yukhap’s mouth, comes this pop sound as their swords clash. Since Sword Demon moves fast, I was only able to catch his movements from the corner of the eye.
Yukhap takes a step back while cutting the Sword Demon’s sword. If one is a swordsman who is not used to defending themself like a wall, they will be defeated without being able to endure even a single attack from Sword Demon.
The one-sided offense of Sword Demon. This time, I admired it.
‘Wow, he is scolding Yukhap.’
Somehow, it seems like Sword Demon caught onto Yukhap’s pattern of attacks and so he attacks when a gap opens up within his movements.
The reason this is impressive is because Sword Demon realized that Yukhap was on the defensive and pressed him on purpose so that he would remain on the defense. This was so that he wouldn’t have a single chance to counter and fight back.
When I think about it, it isn’t so strange.
This is because Yukhap couldn’t win against Pervert Demon, and Sword Demon is the master of such a man. A situation where there is a difference in skill. Sword Demon seems to have far more experience in real combat and overall, his presence when wielding the sword is quite horrifying.
Master Yukhap is sticking to his defensive tactic as usual, but he is being overwhelmed by the pressure of Sword Demon constantly pushing.
Because of this, Yukhap isn’t getting any chances to react.
After a while, Sword Demon’s sword pierces the shoulder of Yukhap, and he slams Yukhap down and sends his back flying.
Yukhap grabs his shoulder and looks at Sword Demon who was standing still.
“….”
A long sigh escapes from Yukhap’s mouth and he speaks like he is possessed.
“I have learned a lot.”
Sword Demon nods and answers in a light tone.
“Let’s head in.”
Sword Demon goes in first, and I pick up the wooden sword and check on Yukhap’s condition.
“Yukgap, are you alright? You seem to be surprised.”
The Ghost Demon from the previous life, who is a little dazed, says to me with an expression that he has come to his senses.
“Ah, now I think I know what it is. I didn’t recognize them right away near the guest house because we’re in an orthodox place.”
Yukhap holds the wooden sword and looks at it with a questioning expression.
“Just why is the Sword of the Demonic Sect here?”
I receive the wooden sword and say,
“Then why are you here?”
“What is it?”
“Do not simply question those that would require long answers. And it’s not a question I can answer.”
When I enter and look at the table, Sword Demon is wiping his wooden sword with a cloth.
I look at him.
When Sword Demon lost to Im So-baek, he was calm, and even now after defeating Yukhap there was no difference in his demeanor.
He kept a casual expression.
Yukhap and I sat back where we were sitting while drinking the plum extract and looked at Sword Demon who was polishing his sword. He then says,
“It is a little difficult because I couldn’t break the wooden sword, just like the time with Leader Im.”
I understood right away.
“Ah, right.”
It was a wooden sword given as a gift by Elder Heo, so it means he was being considerate to not break it and that is why the fight took him longer.
Sword Demon is normally silent, so I ask Yukhap.
“Yukgap, how was it?”
Yukhap, who manages to organize his thoughts, speaks in a calm tone.
“Well, it feels like I have dealt with a swordsman who knows how to counter my defensive tactic. It was something I stuck to without much thought, but now I think I should reassess my approach. How was it for Sect Leader who is watching?”
I agree with his words.
“I am of the same thought. It seems like the key point of this experience was understanding how to cope against senior here rather than learning about sword technique or internal energy. How was it for you, senior?
Sword Demon answers,
“Yukgap.”
“Look here. It is Yukhap.”
“Master Yukhap and Sect Leader are right. There are often warriors who can defend themselves well.”
Sword Demon looks at Yukhap and speaks,
“I attacked with psychological warfare by using my internal qi to wrap my body with a wind current. As soon as you saw this and couldn’t understand what I was doing, you mentally prepared yourself to step down. After that, you stuck to defense. You weren’t able to outmaneuver me.”
That was the end of his explanation.
A short evaluation which might feel sparse at first but if one pondered the thought, there was no need to get into a deeper explanation. The reason for defeat is simple. You don’t have to over complicate things.
Sword Demon was stronger in many ways, so Yukhap lost.
Without emotion, he says,
“It is a common thing, but I learned my lesson.”
Sword Demon nods.
“I am impressed. You, too, will become stronger with more agility, strength, and experience.”
This time Sword Demon looks at me.
“What do you think of the variety of swordsmen around who fight with one sword, Sect Leader?”
It is an odd question, so I burst into laughter.
“So… I think swordsmen should be very interested in other things other than just swords.”
Sword Demon smiles lightly and says,
“Right, I am telling myself the same.”
I don’t deny it.
“Right.”
Only then did the Sword Demon put down the wooden sword he had been wiping with a cloth.
“I will have to check if it is right.”
The figure of Sword Demon, who put the sword down for a moment, looks as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
Only then did Pervert Demon kick the door and walk in with both hands full of alcohol and snacks.
“I am here.”
The three of us look at him with sad faces but don’t get up to help him. Pervert Demon puts the drinks down and the snacks onto the table.
“Sect Leader, you have a lot of money? I bought a lot of expensive alcohol and side dishes, just like you said.”
“You did good. It is money stolen from bandits and the unorthodox sect, so feel free to eat it.”
A table for drinking was set up on a flat table. After roughly putting down the alcohol and snacks, the maid there goes inside to get bowls and chopsticks.
As Pervert Demon continued to sigh, Sword Demon spat out words.
“Shut up.”
“Yes, master.”
Only then did the bastard not let out a sigh. Watching this quietly, Mr. Yukhap finally uses a title to address Sword Demon. He asks,
“Senior Sword Demon, how did you take the second son of the orthodox family as a disciple?”
Sword Demon answers,
“I am saying it. You tend to ask questions that are hard to answer in a short time frame. Sect Leader would normally nudge the surface but he never pries.”
I, along with Sword Demon, naturally look at Yukhap.
“Yukhap.”
“….”
Sword Demon asks us,
“I am curious too. How did you come to this place with the Low-Down Sect Leader when you didn’t learn the sword technique of an unorthodox sect?”
It was only then that Yukhap spoke like he realized what kind of questions couldn’t be answered that easily.
“Right.”
Should I say there is a lot to tell? Each of them had essential things to know about one another.
And fortunately…..
There is alcohol in front of us.
If I drink, I talk more than usual and then we come to know about the stories of everyone around the table.
That is why I drink.
One can get close to another by listening to the stories of other people. It is the place where Ghost Demon, Sword Demon, Pervert Demon are gathered.
I believed that drinking parties of awkward people isn’t meaningless. Sword Demon’s way of thinking is too heavy, whereas Pervert Demon is a light drinker. Ghost Demon is a bit dumb but also quick witted.
All four of us need to get some drinks in to dull our alert senses. It is because if I always live the way I live, I will lose my mind.
