The one who was the Left Hand of Illuminating Light in a different life, Mong-rang, enters a house in a secluded area and says.
“Master, I’m here.”
The house is too big for a man to live in it alone, but the yard, wooden bench, and the area around the tiny well are clean and neat.
Mong-rang looks terrible, but he has come prepared to be scolded. Moments later, when a middle-aged man appears, Mong-rang kneels down.
The middle-aged man looks at Mong-rang and says.
“Why do you look so shabby at this hour? You’re not even dressed properly.”
“I can’t go home looking like this, so I have come here late at night. Please lend me a change of clothes.”
The middle-aged man then speaks as he steps out into the yard.
“Get changed and come out.”
“Yes, sir.”
The middle-aged man sits on the bench and waits for his disciple while trimming the wooden sword he is carving to pass the time. After a while, having changed into black clothing, Mong-rang sits on the bench and sighs.
The middle-aged man then asks.
“What’s the matter? It looks like you got into a fight and reek of shit.”
Mong-rang sighs with a complicated expression and says.
“Master, didn’t you say I will not have a rival among my peers?”
The middle-aged man smiles and replies.
“How is that my opinion? That’s what you usually think.”
“That’s true.”
“But a rival appeared in front of you then? Kangho is big, so that’s not surprising. Which family clan is he from?”
“He’s a country bumpkin.”
The middle-aged man puts down his wooden sword and replies.
“He’s not from any of the family clans?”
“Yes.”
“How good is he?”
Recalling the duel, Mong-rang replies.
“I couldn’t figure him out.”
The middle-aged man then answers as he looks at the blade of the wooden sword.
“Does he know who you are?”
“I have no idea. Would you like to meet him? If I see him again, I’ll have to go all out.”
“Oh, don’t. It’ll be a nuisance if you use your skills as Baekeungji.”
“That’s what I’m telling you. He’s a guy I can’t handle without the Ice Technique.”
“Is he a disciple of one of the Three Disasters? That will make sense if he’s a country bumpkin.”
“That may be possible.”
The middle-aged man then says after some contemplation.
“Lure him to a quiet place and fight. Don’t reveal the Ice Technique in a crowded place. If you can’t handle it, lure him. I’ll take a look at him myself.”
“I understand.”
“Also.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Why is a rival appearing strange to you? If you’re arrogant, catching up with the masters who are still ahead will be harder. Always be on your guard. Go home and rest.”
“Master, can I move out of the Mong Clan soon?”
“Think of it as training your patience. Continue to take a good look at the people of the Mong Clan. Reading different kinds of personalities is as important as martial arts.”
“Alright. How are you feeling?”
“Don’t worry, I’m recovering slowly. Unless the leader appears, the other cult masters can’t do anything to me.”
Mong-rang stands up from the bench and performs a full bow.
“I will take my leave.”
The middle-aged man stares at his disciple and asks him a question.
“The guy you mentioned earlier, are you going to kill him? Or is he useful?”
Mong-rang replies.
“I don’t know. If we ever fight again, I’ll discipline him properly.”
“Also, what does this stench come from?”
“I swallowed some of his laxatives.”
Mong-rang’s expression becomes grim as he sees his master’s mouth twitch for the first time in a long time.
The middle-aged man erases his smirk and says to Mong-rang.
“Now that you have fallen for a country bumpkin’s trick, your opponent is not only the demon cult but also the masters of Kangho. Countless skilled masters also get beaten. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Yes.”
The man that Mong-rang addresses as master only laughs after his student disappears.
“Moron. Getting drugged with laxatives. Tsk tsk tsk.”
The middle-aged man resumes trimming his wooden sword again with a stern face.
As I lock myself in Baekeungji’s quarters, I recall the duel.
The Left Hand must have left the fight with a bad taste in his mouth since they were fighting on par due to his diarrhea. Nothing in the world works as expected, after all. They had both fought while hiding some of their powers. However, if the Left Hand’s master, who I don’t know the identity of, is a real person, I can understand why he did so.
Anyways, I am assuming that the Left Hand’s master is the Dokgo Sword Demon (獨孤劍魔), who once fought the Demon Cult leader and then left. I know about the man because he is someone who tried to kill the leader before I did.
What kind of man is he?
He is a figure of the Demon Path (魔道) who was recommended to join the Murim Alliance by the Alliance Leader. His background definitely belongs to the Demon Cult, but as he had committed no evil deeds, no one had opposed the Alliance Leader’s offer for him to join the alliance.
He’s a man who lives by his stubbornness, so the possibility of him joining the alliance is zero.
Thanks to the Alliance Leader’s efforts, he sometimes interacts with the Orthodox Factions. The words left behind by the Dokgo Sword Demon are also very famous.
When he was asked for the reason behind his fight with the Demon Cult leader, the Dokgo Sword Demon had said.
They had fought to see who was the better demonic follower.
This was an unthinkable contradiction for the master of the Pervert Demon since he was a decent man.
Considering the current timeline, there is currently little news about the Dokgo Sword Demon. Since the Pervert Demon will eventually appear, I need to see what events led to it happening.
Considering the personality of the grandmaster of the Demon Cult, he doesn’t have his own faction.
Even though he didn’t belong to any faction, he could be considered a one-man faction.
He’s simply too gentle of a man to be considered part of the Demon Cult.
Yet it is hard to call him a fully good and gentle person since there are rumors that he had brutally killed the cult followers who had tried to block his escape.
The demon cult doesn’t hand out the nickname of Sword Demon easily, after all.
Anyway, it means he’s a big shot.
I think about the scenario from many angles, but I can’t think of one single outstanding idea. I then decide to go to sleep with one goal in mind.
Whether it’s the Left Hand or the Sword Demon…
If I can’t recruit them to the Low-Down Sect, I’ll just kill them.
Period.
But I could also end up dying at the Sword Demon’s hands.
But a man who gives up his aim just because he’s afraid of death, that’s not me.
In my dream, I am being hunted down by the Murim Alliance.
I dream of successfully drugging a banquet full of the alliance’s masters and their leader with a laxative. I run around laughing before being captured and imprisoned by the leader.
Why do my dreams always have a terrible ending?
As I am trapped in prison, the leader comes by to give me prison food. After eating it, I get a stomach ache and continue dreaming of diarrhea. When I open my eyes, the sun has already risen.
“I’m getting karma from a dream?”
After splashing my face with water, I head to the noodle restaurant I visited yesterday.
While I wait for my order of noodles, the Left Hand appears wearing a fresh set of clothes.
I naturally pinch my nose.
“… You’re making me lose my appetite, shithead.”
The Left Hand sits across from me, crosses his arms, and says.
“You’re here to have a meal. It could be your last meal, so eat up.”
As soon as the errand boy places my noodles on the table, he turns and asks the Left Hand.
“Lord Mong, what would you like to order?”
Left Hand replies.
“I’ll pass.”
“Yes, sir.”
Noticing the deadly stares between us, the errand boy quickly withdraws with his eyes wide open.
I stab the Moonlight Dagger into the table and eat my noodles.
The Left Hand then asks me.
“I find it strange, so let me ask you one thing.”
As I slurp up the noodles, I glance at the Left Hand.
“I would’ve died if it was poison instead of laxative. What are you after?”
I gave him the same answer as yesterday.
“I can’t tell you that.”
Left Hand then asks me what is on his mind.
“By any chance, did I snatch your girl? If I did, I would understand your behavior.”
“That’s stupid.”
“Guess I’m right. Otherwise, you won’t hold a grudge against me. You sent that guy with a broken arm to check my track record. Right?”
I give him a vague answer since I am feeling lazy.
“Let’s say you’re right.”
The Left Hand, surprisingly, does not try to launch a surprise attack until I finish my noodles. I then ask the Left Hand my own question.
“I mastered the Ice Technique but haven’t been able to use it properly. Take me to a quiet place. I’ll make you see the real difference in our skills that I couldn’t show yesterday.”
“Let’s go.”
Without saying anything further, we leave Baek Eun-ji and enter a cozy and quiet village.
The Left Hand points to a house with high walls.
“Don’t get me wrong, and listen. That’s my master’s house. I don’t know if you get it, but he’s not someone who will intervene in the fight between juniors. If you’re scared, I’ll guide you somewhere else.”
I look at the Left Hand.
It can’t be helped even if it is a ruse. I can’t stand not knowing things I am curious about.
“Lead the way.”
If the Sword Demon is here and intervenes in the fight, I’ll have no choice but to flee. However, if it is really the Sword Demon there, I think that he won’t interfere, as the Left Hand states.
As I walk into the house alongside the Left Hand…
A middle-aged man I’ve never seen before is sitting on a bench and is trimming a wooden sword with a dagger.
The Left Hand then asks.
“Master, can we have a duel here?”
The middle-aged man glances at me and says to the Left Hand.
“Do whatever you want.”
I don’t know what the Sword Demon looks like. It is difficult to guess the age of the middle-aged man sitting on the bench, but he has some gray hair and an intelligent-looking face. He is a man with a complex face whose nature seems simple and strict.
He doesn’t pay much attention to me as it seems that making the wooden sword is more important to him. In a way, he is a man who does not get ruffled.
As I let out a short sigh without giving him a greeting, the middle-aged man tells me.
“I won’t blame you even if you kill him, so fight as much as you want.”
As soon as I hear this, I am convinced that the Left Hand’s master is the Dokgo Sword Demon.
The Dokgo Sword Demon underestimates me too much, so I provoke him slightly.
“This chick can’t be my opponent. Why don’t we have a round, Senior?”
The Sword Demon puts down his wooden sword with a puzzled expression.
“With me?”
The Left Hand then says coldly.
“Are you out of your mind?”
I answer the Left Hand’s words with my hands behind my back.
“Shut up, shithead.”
The Sword Demon then stares at me. I try to conceal my energy levels since it seems that he is trying to gauge them.
The Sword Demon then speaks with a frown.
“Which faction do you belong to? There are only a few factions in this world that I don’t know of.”
“I can’t tell you that.”
In a calm tone, Sword Demon then says intimidatingly.
“I can win if I fight with all my might, but it is impossible now. I’m recovering from an injury, so I can’t compete recklessly. Come and sit down if you don’t want to compete with Mong-rang right now.”
The Left Hand asks him in a bewildered voice.
“Master?”
The Sword Demon tells the Left Hand.
“This guy is fearless. You’ll duel with him often in the future, so there’s no need to rush. Go get us some tea. In the meantime, I should try to guess the faction of our uninvited guest.”
The Left Hand is about to protest but then gives in.
“Understood.”
As I sit down on the bench, the Sword Demon smiles as he strokes his prickly beard.
“How astonishing.”
Astonishing indeed.
Which master in this world can guess my affiliation?
However, judging from the Sword Demon’s atmosphere, gaze, mindset, and voice, I realize he’s a rare madman. Even more surprising is that this madman’s nature contains pieces of Taoist philosophy.
The Sword Demon scratches his forehead in front of me and asks.
“You’re not going to reveal your faction, are you?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you won’t.”
What did this man see in me? I am also starting to feel strange because I am meeting the man who survived a fight against the Demon Cult leader.
The Sword Demon seems to be an impressive man since he doesn’t treat people based on their backgrounds but by how polished they are.
The Sword Demon catches me off guard and says in a gentle voice.
“That boy probably added some laxatives or poison to your tea.”
“Why do you think so?”
The Sword Demon points inside and says.
“It’s past the time it would usually take to make tea.”
“It makes sense, but the first cup will be fine when the tea comes out.”
The Sword Demon asks me, despite knowing the answer.
“Why?”
“Because he overheard us and is changing my cup right now.”
The Sword Demon nods.
“That’s right.”
After a while, the Left Hand, who had been suddenly tasked to make tea, places the tea cups on the table and says.
“There is no diarrhea medicine in this, so please drink comfortably. Master.”
The Left Hand points his finger at me.
“You drink comfortably, too.”
I reply with a nod.
“You’re here. You’ve gone through a lot since yesterday.”
The three of us drink a cup of tea. It is a normal tea that one drinks on a day when nothing happens.
I look at the two of them and then around the peaceful house.
I then look at the faces of everyone sitting on the bench once more…
We are the Sword Demon (劍魔), Pervert Demon (色魔), and Crazy Demon (狂魔).
