I stayed up all night in the guesthouse to finally see the light shining. My heart falters back and forth in the black night for a long time and fortunately, the light doesn’t change.
It was my fault that I fell into such dim spells. The reason why I couldn’t sleep like usual was because of my heart. My martial arts is getting stronger but if I decided to consider the ranks of the people in Kangho, how far towards the top would I be? Suddenly, I have such a thought. If the rankings changed, my rank would fall and rise constantly.
Today too, I tried to compose a love song for the shining sun. I don’t know. The reason my eyes search for the morning sun.
The difference between why a poor person tries to cash out of a rag, and a rich one cashes out of a person.
The difference between those who should be killed and those who don’t get killed.
I don’t know all that. How to live without being crazy.
The sin of bleeding and the promise to not die. The mind which knows to be stronger and how to kill.
But the heart of a woman is more difficult to understand.
The feeling of tearing the wicked to death and giving them chances despite knowing it is wrong. The anticipation held in it.
Will they fall into hell or be born as beasts?
Generally, one cannot know.
Why can I not fall asleep?
Well, I haven’t found an answer yet.
“Alcohol is a bit…”
I suddenly lift the bottle and realize that I was drinking all night. It was only then that I walked to the ledge on the second floor and looked at the guy cleaning up the corpses and cleaning the ground.
“Have you cleaned everything up?”
“I am cleaning it.”
“The corpses?”
“I moved them outside and covered them with mats.”
As soon as I make eye contact with the guy, I ask,
“What are you looking at?”
To which the guy hesitates to ask.
“Does the song have a title?”
“No.”
“It is a song with no title?”
“I haven’t come up with a name yet. You….”
“Yes?”
“Do you not want to die?”
“Please spare me.”
“You are the one who came with the young lord to kill me. Sparing lives isn’t an easy thing to do. If you don’t want to do what you are told you should have killed yourself right then. I have saved strangers a few times, but I never once held back from killing those who betrayed me.”
The guy looked at me for a while as he says,
“If you spare me, I will do as you ask.”
“You realize that your life is at stake, right?”
“Yes.”
Pointing my finger at the disgusting part of the inn, I say,
“This is the guest house of Butcher.”
“Yes, I know that.”
“Even when I go near the kitchen I smell blood. It looks like the Butcher had taken in some innocent people and cut them. Not just the knives but even the ground is a mess of blood of body and heads. I don’t know how many people he had to have killed for such a stench to come. You clean the entire guest house. If you do that, I will let you live.”
“…”
“Wipe the blood, remove any clotted blood, remove the hair. Clean the guest house so that no smell of blood comes. Be it 10 or a 100 days, tables, chairs, chopsticks, the kitchen things… throw anything which cannot be reused. Then I will give you the money to get new ones.”
“….”
“Turn it into a place where people can come over at times and eat food or drink. Clean and repair it… can you do all that?”
“I will.”
I nod.
“Question.”
The guy cautiously asks me,
“… it isn’t that I won’t do it. I’m just really curious so I want to ask, why are you so into changing this shabby inn…”
I brush my hair up and roughly answer,
“I cannot sleep here because of this vengeful spirit which refuses to let go of me. I am planning to train here, until the master of the Butcher comes over when something special happens. There is a lot of time. Do I have to have a reason for wanting to make the place I’m staying in clean? If you run, I will be the new Butcher, get it?”
“Yes.”
“Workers will probably come during the day or the afternoon. So, you handle the corpse disposal. Make them work, pay them, and also supervise them. I will be busy training in martial arts so you will play the role of the owner.”
The guy takes a deep breath and then says,
“Yes, I understand.”
“Death by my hand… or clean. Either one. Clean the kitchen first and it should be clean enough to invite warriors from Kangho to come and eat. And do not come to this floor for the time being. There is a good chance that I will throw a knife.”
In this way, I turn into a nasty owner.
The previous owner was beaten to death, the entire property gets taken in by me and the only survivor of the incident is being threatened to work and forced into being a hired hand.
And there is no monthly salary either.
If there was a wicked business owner in this world. That would be me.
I think I have to get some sleep, so I go outside the inn. If I smell blood while sleeping here, there is a risk of me using the Crazy Demon Blade technique the moment I open my eyes.
I look at the sign of the guest house, then jump onto the roof of the inn and lay down on the flat surface.
If I sleep here, I will wake up when the sun rises in the middle of the sky. I say to the escort before heading to bed,
“If you die by my hands… it will be because you didn’t clean right.”
After about 2 hours of sound sleep, I hear the voice of Pervert Demon.
As soon as I open my eyes, I frown. I slept using my arm as a pillow, and my eyes stung as they were hit by sunlight and the moon.
‘Fuck…’
I stand up and look under the inn, like an idiot with nothing to do.
Pervert Demon looks at me like I am pathetic. He asks as he brings the workers,
“Why are you sleeping there?”
I answer staying where I am,
“Shut up. Ah, I feel so thirty.”
After jumping off the roof, I look at the workers. They all seem to be people who are trained in martial arts and not just regular laborers, so I have no choice but to ask.
“Where did you get them from?”
Pervert Demon answers,
“From home.”
It meant these people belonged to him, and he tells his workers,
“Help them. There is a broken place near the floor. Move the bodies too.”
“Yes, young master.”
Unexpectedly, this shitty face is the second son to an esteemed family.
As I pull a bag out I say,
“If they are members of the family, then they should be given…”
Pervert Demon says,
“Enough, I beat them to death, so I need to be responsible for getting rid of the bodies.”
Come to think of it, except for the Butcher, everyone here died by the hands of Pervert Demon.
“Let’s head in first.”
As soon as Pervert Demon enters the guest house and finds the escort to the young lord, he frowns.
“He is alive? What is that guy?”
“The guy who passed out. I hired him as a server.”
“Ah…”
In the middle of the conversation, Master Yukhap comes in from the entrance and says,
“I was looking for you for a while now.”
“How did you find me?”
To which Yukhap says,
“The dead bodies outside.”
Yukhap says holding his nose,
“This isn’t a place for running a business. What place smells so bloody.”
Pervert Demon claps his hands and focuses on the people he brought.
“… pay attention now.”
“Yes, young master.”
“The guy holding the cloth over there is the escort to the young lord, so if he escapes or acts odd, kill him.”
“I understand.”
Pervert Demon fans his face with his hand and tells me,
“… let us head out and eat something. I cannot bear this place.”
So, I suggest something because I want to.
“Should we get some noodles?”
Pervert Demon shakes his head.
“I feel like throwing up at the thought of eating noodles. I cannot.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I think it’s the sight of it.”
“Let’s go.”
I get up with Pervert Demon and Ghost Demon. As we head to the square of the town and look for a nice place to eat, I find that people are gathering and looking at something.
Going there I realize there is a soldier wearing a robe with the word ‘Alliance’ stitched on the back with several more things attached.
I stand there with the two of them and when people begin leaving, I move closer to the Murim Alliance’s building.
What is this feeling?
The list of achievements announced by the Murim Alliance along with their appearances. The timing of the announcement is different from the past and so is the list. Warriors I didn’t know of were on the Murim achievement list.
Looking over the list of the Murim Alliance’s enemies, there seemed to be 10 in total, and Pervert Demon says,
“The bounties look high.”
And he continues,
“It is Murim, so there should be a high bounty. Their skills must be great.”
Yukhap points to one person and says,
“Wow, that person has risen this high.”
“Who?”
Looking at it, there was a name which read, First Sword of Dongho. Of course, this person is someone who achieved a lot in the past life. He is a member of the Five Evils which was the group that ranked as the highest in the last life. Actually, he is supposed to be ordinary, but because his sword is the best in the entire region of Dongho, strong people consider this man as the best in swordsmanship.
I don’t have to look to know.
A state in which travelers and warriors have been replaced by pictures of the clothing they wore over their appearance.
On the other hand, the list of the 10 Murim public figures to watch out for, there was no Evil Emperor, Butcher, and no special title holders like Crazy Demon, Pervert Demon, Ghost Demon, or Poison Demon.
In the previous life when such a list got announced…
Some were captured or even killed. It seems like the announcement was made just now.
Well, it feels strange to be looking at this list again from the days before I began to work earnestly in Kangho, along with these two.
The voices of the Murim Alliance members could be heard.
“… even if you accurately report the location and their doings- it will bring you a nice reward. So, I hope the brothers in Kangho will keep it in mind. Please keep an eye out. It is the Alliance Leader’s command. It is right to copy this list and their appearance to pass it around.”
While the members of the Murim Alliance were shouting loudly and walking, a man approaches me and says,
“Sect Leader, it has been so long.”
As soon as I see the man, he bows to me.
“Who…”
The man smiles as he says,
“I am Dan Hyuk-san, a member of the Seven Swords troops. Ah, young lord Mong is here too.”
Dan Hyuk-san bows to Pervert Demon too.
“Nice to meet you, warrior.”
The guy smiles as he looks at me, who is still puzzled.
“Sect Leader, did you forget the Seven Sword troops? There was an alliance between the Alliance Leader, Sect Leader, and young lord Mong. I was there.”
Only then did I turn wide eyed.
“Ah, right. You have suffered so much.”
Dan Hyuk-san suddenly snaps his fingers and speaks with a voice imbued with internal qi.
“Attention!”
And the members of Murim Alliance, who were scattered here and there, had gathered together. And as soon as they see me, they start smiling.
“Oh! Sect Leader?”
The warriors of Murim Alliance surround me and bow. Even Pervert Demon, who fought with us, was being recognized. Actually, there was never a time when I had such a friendly conversation with the Murim Alliance, so all this was dumbfounding for me.
I suddenly feel my stomach burn. Come to think of my past life when I was trapped in the desire of the Murim Alliance….
It occurs to me that there were some crippled or dead ones in my hands. I didn’t realize it then, but I was too young, and they were too.
Well, let me be silent unlike my usual self…
Pervert Demon grabs me by the shoulder.
“What? Feeling guilty? After meeting so many alliance members you are talking less.”
At his words, the members of the alliance burst into laughter.
“Hahaha…”
“Sect Leader, why would you?”
I look around at each of them with a shy smile.
“… even now, I haven’t beaten orthodox warriors to death.”
Pervert Demon covers my mouth and laughs out loud as he says,
“Hahaha. All this while, Sect Leader went around and beat down unorthodox sect people. You all know, he is one to beat another to death. You all must have heard about the Butcher.”
“Ah, we did.”
“Right. He died at the hands of Sect Leader. But he wasn’t on the list.”
I nod without saying anything and turn to Yukhap. This guy too, had nothing to say.
After barely coming to my senses, I tell the alliance members,
“… you all must have been busy since you are on duty, so drinking should be difficult. If you don’t mind, I will bring some rice or tea.”
After I say it, there is silence.
“…”
I don’t understand why the atmosphere turned like this. The members turned to Dan Hyuk-san, and he says,
“Sect Leader, then can I get a meal?’
He seems to be their leader or senior. And when he says he would like to eat, the other members’ faces brighten.
Actually, since all I possess is money, it won’t be difficult for me to buy them food and drinks.
I’m just puzzled because I’ve never done such a thing before. And I tell the Murim Alliance members.
“We were on our way too, let us go together. I am curious about the current happenings for Alliance Leader and the alliance. If there is a problem due to not being present for duty, you can use my name once.”
Dan Hyuk-san smiles.
“Ah, it is fine. If we use your name, the Alliance Leader will forgive us.”
I suddenly have to lead the two idiots and the alliance members to find a nice place to eat.
How do I express this? The voices of Murim Alliance members smiling and laughing feel like drums are being pounded against my chest.
Just where is this life going?
One could never know.
