Chapter 19: Which Side Will You Be On?

Unexpectedly, the Mad Guest interrupted me.

“I’m sorry, but I’m at my limit, little brother. I would appreciate it if you would take care of your business with the Eccentric Immortal after I have finished my meditation.”

I readily accepted the Mad Guest’s request.

“I understand, sir. Please begin your meditation.”

“Thank you.”

As the Mad Guest, who had immediately sat cross-legged, entered meditation, I called out to the Eccentric Immortal.

“Come here, old man.”

“Where does a brat who hasn’t even dried the blood on his head get off telling an adult to come and go? If you have business with me, you come here.”

“Alright.”

The Eccentric Immortal was flustered when I got up.

“You brat, shouldn’t you be watching over him? I’ll go, so just stay there.”

I glanced up at the flock of crows circling above, waiting for a chance to swoop down on the blood-soaked Mad Guest, and sneered at the Eccentric Immortal, who was clearly thinking of running away despite his words.

“I was suspicious when you were frozen stiff before even fighting the Mad Guest, but I didn’t realize you were such a coward, old man.”

The Eccentric Immortal was furious.

“Coward? This brat has really lost his fear. I’ll crush that wicked mouth of yours. You brought this upon yourself, so don’t blame me.”

With the strength of his bravado, the Eccentric Immortal took a step toward me. But he stopped when I took out my jade flute and iron staff. His thin legs were trembling like the hands of an old man who had suffered a stroke.

“Are you going to break your promise, you brat!”

“What promise?”

“Didn’t you just tell him that you would postpone your business with me until he finished his meditation?”

“So?”

“Then why are you holding those hideous things?”

“It’s my business.”

Having silenced the Eccentric Immortal, I decided to stop teasing him. It wasn’t because I felt sorry for the surprisingly timid man, but because I was also very tired.

I said as I sat down.

“Just come here, old man. The excitement is all gone, so let’s just talk.”

As if relieved, the Eccentric Immortal also collapsed on the spot.

After calming our internal energy for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Eccentric Immortal and I poured out our words as if in a competition.

“If you try to use me again…”

“What on earth do I owe you…”

We both stopped talking at the same time. After glaring at each other fiercely, the Eccentric Immortal backed down when my face became grim.

“You seem to have misunderstood my intentions. I swear to the heavens and the earth, I didn’t have a single frog’s whisker’s worth of thought of using you. I did hope that you would calm things down if the duel with him got too heated, but I never thought you would risk your life. To be honest, I thought you would step in before it got to that point. Anyway, I’m grateful that you separated me and him earlier.”

Although I thought an apology should have come before gratitude, I just let it go. It was because my anger had subsided and I had many questions.

“Why on earth did you two fight to the death like that? You don’t seem to be enemies.”

The Eccentric Immortal, who had glanced at the Mad Guest, shook his head from side to side.

“I didn’t know it would turn out like this with him either. The beginning of this bad fate goes back twenty-two years. At that time, he was with the Gwangyang Seong family, which belongs to the five great families of the Orthodox Faction…”

“You don’t have to explain that. I know that you sided with the Mad Guest at Goyang Lake and negotiated with the sword heroes of the Seong family.”

“Oh? How? You’re a complete novice when it comes to the affairs of the martial world, aren’t you?”

“Before I came here, I heard an explanation about the current state of the martial world and the major figures from someone who is well-versed in the affairs of the martial world.”

“Is that so? Then it will be easy to talk. That day, before the sword heroes of the Seong family arrived at Goyang Lake, I persuaded him, who was being arrogant, to put on a show of Beijing opera. As I had expected, the elders of the Seong family, who had witnessed our martial power, agreed to mediation. The problem was after they left. He, of all people, had his fighting spirit stirred up against me, who had saved him, and asked for a proper fight.”

“Was it only the Mad Guest?”

“…Well, I also had some desire to determine who was superior. I knew he was a worthy opponent during the fifty exchanges we had as we had agreed beforehand. So I fought him properly as he wanted.”

“So who won?”

The Eccentric Immortal’s face contorted.

“It was a tight match, but in the end, I had to yield. Otherwise, he and I would have gone to the King of Hell’s hall together. Just like today. Damn it, thinking about how triumphant he looked that day makes my stomach churn.”

I fully sympathized with the Eccentric Immortal’s anger.

“I trained diligently, using the humiliation of that day as a whip, and two years later, I found him and requested a rematch. This time, I was going to flatten his nose and show him who was superior. But absurdly, he had gotten stronger by exactly the same amount as I had. After a bloody battle of over three hundred exchanges, I had no choice but to repeat my choice from the previous day. When I retreated, he laughed as if to show off. I thought I was going to burst with anger.”

“So you’ve been holding a grudge for twenty years and were going to settle it today?”

“This brat again. What do you mean holding a grudge? Including the first and second battles, he and I have fought a total of twelve times over the past twenty years. Each time, it ended with me yielding at the end. If you were me, wouldn’t your insides rot? So, as you said, I was determined to see it to the end today, whether I lived or died.”

“Your determination seems to be lacking. If you were really prepared to burn your bridges, you shouldn’t have called me, right? The fact that you wanted to have someone by your side to stop you in case things went to a catastrophe…”

“Is that something to be criticized for, you brat? He is a lifelong rival, not a sworn enemy. No matter how much I want to show him what’s what, I can’t really kill him, can I?”

I deliberately lowered my voice.

“Tell me honestly, old man.”

“What is it?”

“Wasn’t your decision to make today the final round based on a calculation?”

The Eccentric Immortal flinched. It seemed my words had hit the mark.

“You probably reached your peak recently. In other words, from now on, you can only go down. On the other hand, the Mad Guest will continue to steadily increase his martial power for several more years. So from your perspective, before more time passes, somehow…”

“That’s enough, you brat. Does it make you feel better to dig into other people’s insides like that?”

It was as good as a confession from the Eccentric Immortal, but instead of rejoicing that my guess was right, I felt sorry for him.

“It’s hard to understand. I heard that immortals are extraordinary people who do not cling to worldly fame and fortune and play among the clouds. But how could you not throw off the shackles of a mere fighting spirit for over twenty years?”

The Eccentric Immortal’s already small shoulders slumped.

“I didn’t know I would be like this either, you brat. And just because someone is an immortal doesn’t mean they are a noble being who only eats dew. We all eat, poop, cry, and laugh. Of course, there are some among them who are stoic in all matters, but it all depends on the person. There are not a few who, while clinging to their primal desires and being anxious, pretend to be detached from worldly affairs on the outside, and like me…”

As if he was burdened by spitting on his own face, he trailed off and then changed the subject.

“By the way, have you met the wife and daughter of the Guardian of the Forest of Scholars?”

I shook my head.

“There were no such women in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

I told the Eccentric Immortal the secret story that Jin So-wol had told me. The Eccentric Immortal clicked his tongue after hearing the story of the talkative uncle, which was entangled with the father and daughter of the Hoyeon Inn.

“Tsk, tsk, what a wicked pair of people to have pushed an innocent person into a pit. So what are you going to do? Surely you’re not going to run to the Hyeon family without asking any questions and hold that pair accountable for the crime of deceiving the Guardian of the Forest of Scholars and driving him to the battlefield, are you?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“Don’t be foolish, you brat. If you get into an argument with those strict people, you’ll be in for it. If you must do something, the best way is to secretly call that father and daughter out and quietly question them. And if possible, just scold them with words and let it go. They are wicked people, but they haven’t committed a crime so serious that you have to wring their necks. And that girl has a pitiful side to her.”

“I’ll take care of my own business, so you mind your own, old man.”

“Look at this brat. When an adult who is respected by all gives you advice that will be your blood and flesh, you should be grateful, but where are you talking nonsense? I’m saying this for your own good, so take it to…”

“That’s enough. Then let me ask you one thing. If I were to confront the martial artists of the Seong family over this matter, what would you do?”

The Eccentric Immortal’s mouth fell open in a look of disbelief.

“You heard about the current state of the martial world from the spy of the Black Gate. Didn’t he tell you about the Boseong Hyeon family? Or did you hear it and forget? I admit that you’re quite something, but if you get caught by those fierce people, you won’t even be able to collect your bones…”

“Why are you so long-winded? Just tell me straight. If I fight the Seong family, which side will you be on?”

The answer came not from the Eccentric Immortal, but from an unexpected place.

“Of course, I will fight on your side.”

The Eccentric Immortal and I turned our heads to the left and right, respectively. The Mad Guest, who had just finished his short meditation and opened his eyes, received our gazes, his eyes shining brightly.

“You’re mad, Tae-san. The opponent is the Hyeon family. Do you think you’ll be as lucky as you were twenty years ago?”

The Mad Guest, who had ignored the Eccentric Immortal’s question, stared at me. Then, he let out a resolute voice.

“Regardless of the reason, regardless of the situation, I will fight the Seong family with you. Even if the little brother’s enemy is not the Seong family but the Orthodox Alliance, it would be the same.”

For a moment, my heart was overwhelmed.

To have gained a ‘true comrade,’ which my father had said was the most precious treasure in the world, in less than a month after coming out into the martial world! It was worth risking my life.

I had to repeat the story I had told the Eccentric Immortal.

At the part where I revealed the talkative uncle’s background, the Mad Guest suddenly shouted.

“What? The Guardian of the Forest of Scholars? Now I see we are from the same root.”

I thought I knew why the Mad Guest was excited. He defined himself as a member of the Forest of Scholars, not the martial world. The reason he had gotten the moniker of Mad Guest was not just because of his reckless confrontation with the Gwangyang Seong family. It was more because of the actions he had shown after that.

The Mad Guest considered scholars as one family. Because he considered them his own family, he couldn’t stand it if anyone did anything bad to them.

There was no martial arts sect that did not hire scholars, and there was no place, big or small, that did not have conflicts with them, so the commotion never ceased. The Mad Guest, regardless of who the opponent was, would rush over whenever there was a rumor of a problem with scholars and unconditionally side with the scholars, causing a disturbance. He did not distinguish between the righteous and the evil, and he also ignored the strength of the power. In the past twenty years, the sects and families that had suffered because of him were as numerous as the pebbles in a river.

Thanks to the Mad Guest, the scholars, who had been treated worse than merchants in the world of martial artists, had a field day. No one could treat them carelessly. In a sense, the Mad Guest was the true guardian of the Forest of Scholars.

Since that was the case, the Mad Guest was more indignant than I was.

“To deceive a precious person is not enough, but to drive him to his death. I can’t forgive that villain. Let’s go right now. Let’s go and wring that old man’s neck. If the Hyeon family blocks us, we’ll smash them too.”

The Eccentric Immortal clicked his tongue. However, he did not pour out words of dissuasion and kept his mouth shut. It seemed he thought it would be useless to try to stop him. Having no choice, I stepped in.

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to handle this as quietly as possible, sir. The Hyeon family is not related to his evil deeds, so I don’t think there’s a need to provoke them.”

The Mad Guest’s face was full of dissatisfaction.

“You said he has become a member of the Hyeon family, didn’t you? It will be impossible to separate that villain from the Hyeon family like oil and water. In the end, we’ll have to fight the Hyeon family, won’t we?”

I had a bad feeling. Wouldn’t this ‘true comrade’ cause unnecessary trouble rather than help?

“If that situation arises, I will ask for your help, sir. Until then, I will take care of it myself, so please leave it to me. I beg you.”

The Mad Guest reluctantly accepted my request.

“I understand. Let’s do that. But if the Hyeon family tries to interfere with your event, you must call me. I will drop everything and rush over.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The Eccentric Immortal, who had been watching silently, praised me.

“Well done, you brat. But then are you going to postpone the ‘battle to the grave’?”

The Mad Guest showed curiosity.

“Battle to the grave? What’s that, Eccentric Immortal?”

The Eccentric Immortal pointed at me with his chin.

“That brat says he’s going to challenge the Sword Emperor’s Son.”

The Mad Guest became excited again.

[End of Chapter]