Episode 91. One Win, One Loss?
I sat at a street-side table, ordered two bottles of liquor, and drifted into thought.
As I waited for the Left Envoy, my mind turned over ideas about the Thunder Sword Form, the Plum Blossom Sword Form, and the Fragrance of the Plum Blossom.
The Sword Demon had summoned that “crapper” back for one reason — to keep us from fighting. Still, even if I didn’t fight him, I had to settle the purpose of my visit to Baekungji once and for all.
The Left Envoy would surely have questions for me, too. After all, during my Q&A duel with his master, there had been some inconsistencies in my answers. The Sword Demon hadn’t noticed — but the disciple might have.
By the time I’d emptied five cups on my own, the Left Envoy, on his way home to the Mong clan, appeared and spotted me.
He hesitated, swallowed whatever words he’d meant to say three times over, and finally sat across from me without a word, pouring himself a drink.
“What if that cup’s laced with laxative?” I asked flatly. “You’re brave to drink it without a thought. You gone mad?”
He choked and coughed, setting the cup down in shock.
Still a rookie.
When he realized I’d only been teasing, he glared silently. I drank another sip and waited.
Finally, he asked what he’d obviously been dying to know. “How did you know I used Ice Qi? I can’t make sense of it. My master might’ve found it odd after hearing we fought, but you — you acted as if you already knew I used it.”
I nodded. “I’m searching for the Ice Qi.”
“That’s it?”
“I have many subordinates. One of them — heir to a trading guild — told me tales of the Jade Blossom Palace. I figured someone who inherited their art must exist, so I started looking.”
“Ah. So that’s why your man with the broken arm followed me. But I never used Ice Qi then — he wasn’t worth it.”
I smiled. “You’re funny.”
“What?”
“You broke my man’s arm — in Baekungji, no less. I found out later he was a charming philanderer and a skilled fighter. When a subordinate’s hurt, it’s only right I handle it. The Ice Qi thing? Just a bonus I confirmed while fighting you.”
He frowned, searching for a flaw in my story. “How did your man know to follow me in the first place?”
“They said the Ice Qi was probably passed down to a clan’s illegitimate son.”
At that, the Left Envoy’s face flushed red. I simply watched, amused, as his expression contorted.
He forced a laugh. “You know how many idiots I’ve beaten bloody for calling me a bastard around here?”
“Not my concern. A bastard’s a bastard. Why get mad at others for saying what’s true?”
He looked ready to flip the table. “That’s insulting…”
“Why? It’s not like you chose it. Don’t be such a moron.”
“You’re impossible to talk to.”
He reached for his cup again, saw it was empty, and ordered more liquor.
That topic faded naturally, but I had another concern — his future. He’d joined the Demonic Cult to kill the Cult Leader, but now that I was preparing for that very goal myself, things were different. If I could bring him to my side, it’d make facing the dark factions easier.
He finally asked, “Hey, bumpkin—”
“Bumpkin what?”
“Bumpkin bastard, why’s the Cult Leader your enemy? Can’t be that a chick like you ever suffered under him. Don’t tell me your mother’s from Jade Blossom Palace?”
“If she were, I’d be using Ice Qi too.”
“Then why’s he your enemy?”
Being reborn has its drawbacks — I often had to invent reasons on the fly. But I am who I am.
“Can’t tell you that.”
Like our Q&A duel, I deflected. He took the hint and fell silent.
Now it was my turn to ask something. Why had this man become the Lust Demon in my previous life? If I learned that, maybe I could change his fate — just as I’d prevented Moyong Baek from becoming the Poison Demon by killing Daenachal first.
I hadn’t obtained the Ice Qi yet, but this — understanding him — was just as important.
Then, as if fate were mocking us, a slim, elegant woman passed by, her hair glinting in the light. The Left Envoy’s head turned instantly, lips still on his cup.
Changing fate is so damn hard.
I asked, half in jest, “Why are you such a horny dog? Got a story behind that?”
He looked at me. “Yeah, I do.”
“What is it?”
“Can’t tell you, bumpkin bastard.”
I snorted. Figures. He was one of those born to ruin himself — a man from a fine family, shackled by the idea that he was an unwanted son.
Without warning, I thrust my palm forward — not fast, but enough to startle him. He reacted instinctively, clashing palms with mine.
Thud!
I instantly switched from Wood Qi to Flame Qi. He froze, his expression twisting as his right hand turned white to resist my fire — true Jade Blossom Ice Qi.
As our energies clashed, his face grew graver by the moment. He’d likely beaten most orthodox martial artists without even needing to use full power. But my Flame Harmony naturally countered his Ice Qi — and the strength I’d drawn from the Heavenly Jade wasn’t beneath his.
When I pushed harder, his left hand gripped the table for support — and it froze solid. So I placed my left hand on it too. The frost shattered between us.
“Your master said not to fight,” I said evenly. “But we should still settle who’s stronger before I leave, don’t you think, crapper?”
If I could crush his pride here, maybe he’d focus on training instead of chasing women. And if he grew stronger because of me, I could grow stronger in return.
“Damn right we should,” he said. “Bumpkin.”
In the middle of a crowded street, we sat locked in a silent contest of inner force. Curious onlookers gathered fast — especially when they realized one of us was Mongrang of the Mong clan.
As I drew it out, more people arrived — and to my surprise, a group of women began cheering for him.
I chuckled mid-duel. “You’re quite the celebrity, aren’t you?”
“You’ll be famous for your humiliation soon enough.”
Seeing his composure, I switched to my Dual Flow technique. Neither of us used our left hands, as if by unspoken rule.
When I drove my energy forward, his pale face turned ghostly white — almost translucent. He gritted his teeth and muttered, “Call it a draw?”
I almost burst out laughing, but held steady. He tried again. “Come on, let’s call it a draw.”
“Can’t do that,” I replied calmly.
I couldn’t kill him — not yet. So instead I focused my energy into my palm and unleashed it in a sudden burst.
Boom!
With a loud crack, the explosion sent him flying from his chair, rolling across the ground. The crowd went silent.
No one had ever seen Mongrang defeated before.
He lifted his head, not to look at me, but at the onlookers — among whom, no doubt, were women he’d planned to charm.
I drank leisurely, watching his humiliation. Serves you right.
Then he dusted off his clothes and started laughing. “Wahahahaha!”
He clasped his hands behind his back, strutted toward me, and said theatrically, “Today I’ve lost. One win, one loss, then?”
He sat back down, smiling as if nothing had happened, and drank again.
“…”
He waved to the crowd. “Show’s over. Go home.”
“One win, one loss? You crapper bastard,” I muttered.
He leaned forward, whispering as if saying something important. “Win, lose — whatever. We’ll be rivals from now on. Don’t be too harsh, bumpkin. You probably don’t know, but inner force isn’t everything. Let’s say I lost in qi — fine. Leave it at that.”
He took another drink, pretending to be calm, but I could see it — the ache of a man desperate for approval. He lived off others’ recognition like it was air.
Then, unexpectedly, he began to speak.
“I used to have a servant. A man named Byungg-oo.”
“…”
“He was five years older. The Mong clan took him in when he was a child — an orphan. He called me ‘young master,’ fed me, changed my shoes, brought me towels when I bathed. To be honest, he was my only friend as a kid. Then one day, he hanged himself in a small room — without a word.”
“Why?”
“He loved a woman named Danyoung.”
He took another drink, eyes distant. “When I found her and tortured her, she told me why. She said she’d rejected him by saying, ‘You’re not even Mongrang’s brother — who are you to confess to me?’ And that idiot — that loyal idiot — killed himself over it. My only servant.”
“So?”
“So I became curious about women. What sort of creatures could drive him to die like that?”
“And?”
“Turns out most of them think the same as she did — they want a prettier man, a richer man, a higher family. They never saw Byungg-oo as a man. Hell, some of them didn’t even see me as one — because I was a bastard.”
I stared at the man who’d grown crooked from youth.
He went on. “Every woman I met was the same. The ones with higher standards looked down on me for being born a bastard. So yeah — maybe I’m no different from Byungg-oo in their eyes.”
“So now you just sleep around for revenge?”
“Exactly.” He smiled bitterly. “Revenge for Byungg-oo. Because I’m trash too.”
I nodded. “You really are a pathetic crapper.”
Then I said what I knew would sting most.
“You’re no different from your father.”
His face twisted. “What?”
“Your father must’ve courted your mother just to obtain the Ice Qi — without love. Since it’s your clan’s sacred art, your mother must’ve passed it to you alone. And being a bastard, you were ostracized for it. But here you are, doing the same thing to women because of your servant’s death. So tell me — how are you any different from your old man?”
He swung first, but I struck faster — my palm cracked across his cheek, snapping his head to the side. I grabbed his hair and yanked him close.
“You poor fool. Your master must’ve pitied you to take you in. Try me again and I’ll make you a eunuch.”
He stood there, half-drunk, debating whether to start another round. I shoved his head away and downed another cup.
A deep sigh escaped me.
Then I said quietly, “I haven’t met a single woman like that — so don’t ever spew that crap at me again.”
He frowned. “You serious?”
I brushed my hair back and replied, “My whole approach to life’s different, you idiot.”
He laughed, throwing his head back. “Hahahahaha!”
I muttered into my cup, “So where the hell is true love, then?”
The Lust Demon laughed again, clutching his stomach. “Hahaha!”
And though I felt like an idiot myself, I found myself laughing with him — just a little.
This life will be different.
…
For real this time.