Not caring, I mumble looking at the guesthouse sign.

Ehhh, it is so difficult to keep a small guest house running smoothly.

This place was at risk of being touched by the Demonic Sect or teacher Baek Wei, and now the heavenly Alliance has joined the list. It would be stranger if a battle didnt break out.

Sam Bok.

Yes.

It is so hard to run a store man.

It was a sudden statement, but Sam Bok nods as if he understands the meaning of my words.

Right. I didnt realize it before.

I smile and say,

You wouldnt know. You must have thought that being an owner of a guest house, and the shop holders who didnt master martial arts, were all such meaningless beings in life. However, it isnt something to criticize or look down on as a weakness. Young lord, being born as the son of Demonic Cult Leader and being born into a normal family isnt a matter of choice. Am I wrong?

Young lord nods.

I continue to talk.

I was born in a town like this. If a worker is working at the guest house, then his son would also help along. When would they have had the time to get strong?

Sam Bok responds,

Right.

You four people I dont know how your relationship with me will be. Please do not even ask. I am glad I met you like this. Killing and dying with the strong by my side is a matter of pride. It is a fair fight to an extent, but do not bully people who work in such places. It was because of this that I, who was a server, ended up as Low-Down Sect Leader.

Sam Bok looks shocked as he checks his ears to see if he had heard me properly, and Pervert Demon confirms with me,

You were a server?

I nod my head with a calm look.

There was a time.

Looking at the guest house, he continues the conversation.

I had a guest house like this, but it got burned down. The Butcher probably wouldnt have built such an inn. He must have just killed one person and took over the place. It is so hard that things continue to happen in one place.

I turned to Won Ga-sung who was wriggling.

Your eyes are alive, but only for now.

I return to my place and look at Won Ga-Sung who is struggling to rise. And a trickle of blood flows down his forehead.

Won Ga-sung kneels down looking horrible as he turns toward us. He had a half-scared look.

Ghost Demon asks me my opinion,

Sect Leader, what do we do with this one now? I think it is right to ask the opinion of a third person to solve the situation. Fourth one, what do you think?

Pervert Demon answers,

Why am I fourth? Ugh!

Ghost Demon says,

You dont like being the fourth, turn into the fifth. Or maybe the sixth.

Im not in the mood to deal with this so I tell him,

If you dont like it, you should have been born earlier. What did you do before being born? And with Won Ga-sung, we dont need to be the ones to make the decision. Since he came to capture the young lord, young lord will decide if he dies or lives as he pleases. This will strengthen his destiny and the flow of it.

I look at third young lord and he nods.

Who ordered this?

Won Ga-sung looks at the face of the guy. This wasnt a good reaction. That is because the third young lord, like any other kid of the Cult Leader, was trained to kill. So, he could kill this guy in no time.

So, he answers,

Second young lord ordered it.

With what hopes?

Won Ga-sung speaks as if he has something to say.

They knew the third young lord was recruiting someone to help. And since he was busy training, he requested the alliance to take care of it, or that it would be nice if you were captured alive and brought back. Instead, I was asked to take down all the people around you.

We look at third young lord who doesnt answer.

After thinking for a moment, third young lord tells him,

Captain Won.

Yes.

Tell him that the four people I used died in the hands of Low-Down Sect Leader and that I was driven to the brink of death by Low-Down Sect Leader, but he unexpectedly forgave me and Sword Demon released me. Did you get it?

Yes.

One might ask why Sword Demon suddenly appeared, but it was quite shocking for me too. It would be enough if you say these two hold a close relationship. The situation is set as such. Now pass this down to the second young lord. I will step down from the fight of inheritance. I swear that there will be no attacks on either of the two young lords with any assassins.

Won a-sung nods.

Hmm.

The third young lord speaks his decision.

Just tell them not to touch my mother or her family. I will step down from the heir run, and as a Kangho person I will live. Tell them that I will train in martial arts and challenge them one day. I will not be heading down to the Cult for a while. Captain Won, I want you to convey this carefully.

Won Ga-sung replies,

I will do my best.

Third young lord nods.

If Low-Down Sect Leader is fine with it, I want to let you go back alive.

Won Ga-sung looks at me nervously.

Sect Leader.

What?

Can I head back?

I sit down on the chair and gesture to Won Ga-sung.

Come here. We need to say our goodbyes.

Won Ga-sung comes closer and he stands with his arms crossed. After seeing his face again, I speak.

Captain Won, you see

Yes.

I know that your skills might not be as good as the leader or some other ones in your alliance. I will speak honestly.

Yes.

I look into his eyes as I say,

But if a war breaks out with your alliance. I declare that I will rip the alliance down with my own two hands.

You are now a messenger who will relay the words of ours. I hope our judgment and words will not cause a war. You must have seen with your own eyes the end I was about to bring to the guest house, right?

Yes, I saw that light.

I am a man who constantly changes, so I dont show mercy with each action. Now that this happened, the alliance should take into consideration my actions even more. I came this far killing people. And you are a lucky one.

Only then did Won ga-sung exhale in a trembling manner and bow to me and the others around me.

Sect Leader, young lord Mong, Master Yukhap and third young lord. I will be back. Thank you for sparing me.

Sam Bok snorts as he was excluded. And Won Ga-sung looks at him as he says in a condescending tone,

Sorry for making you feel like that. Thanks to you too. Then.

Sam Bok mumbles at Won Ga-sung who turned.

Is that bastard saying he is sorry or that he will come for revenge

At the awkward atmosphere, Sam Bok apologizes to third young lord, realizing he was doing too much.

I am sorry. Young lord.

Third young looks at the sky and says,

What do you have to be sorry for?

You are saying something wrong.

He turns to Sam Bok.

I can do that much.

Yes.

For a moment, no one opens their mouths, and the guesthouse goes silent. It was at this moment that I could say that I did nothing and stayed still.

Sam Bok moves alone and wanders around pouring alcohol. Apparently, Sam Bok wanted a sip to drink, so he poured himself a drink first.

When his thirst became quenched, the young lord spoke.

the first thing I learned when I was young was to reduce joy, anger, and sorrow. If one is happy then the emotions build up and if the emotions build up, they get in the way for training. If one gets angry and loses their cool and if they lose their cool, they lose their opponent. When you have joy, you will go after it, and training will become neglected. You get stronger only by reducing the emotions of joy and sorrow. You survive only when you get strong. This is something I learned before I learned martial arts.

I look at the third young lord. Looking at him, there seemed to be no emotion on his face. A man who had learned to control his emotions.

Of course, I dont know why he was saying this while drinking.

However, since everyone was drinking, they listened to the guy. And I speak to young lord,

So.

He looks ahead and sighs.

So it happened as such. I didnt feel much sadness when someone around me suddenly died. There was nothing to be joyful about. The left and right elders taught us that they were also those without emotions for a while. It was the same with other instructors. However, all the men who lacked emotion were afraid of the Cult Leader too, or they found him difficult, so I ended up thinking as such. Do I have to be the same someday? Is that the right thing?

He looks at us with blank eyes.

To be honest, I dont know how to live my life from now on.

I burst into laughter.

After I laughed, young lord asks,

Why are you laughing?

When one laughs, there doesnt have to be a reason. You laugh because you want to.

Third young lord tells me.

I know all too well about anger. But right now, it is hard to tell if my emotions are sadness or not.

I have a drink and then step ahead and stand in front of them like an old man about to act, or even a teacher about to lecture the evil ones.

Well, after thinking for a while, I say what I want to.

What is sorrow?

I walk back and forth, with my hands behind my back and point to the guest house.

The name of the guest house that my grandfather left for me was the Purple Cloud Guest House. One day, I suddenly realized that my grandfather had gotten old. Only then did I get a look at his life and realize that, from the time he opened his eyes to the moment he closed them, he was always worried for me. His life had never shown signs of getting better. I realized this too late, and soon he was leaving for heaven. One day, after wandering around, I came home and, before I even went into the room, I noticed the guesthouse was silent.

I knew it then. I knew that I was alone. I realized the fact that the reason I wasnt alone before was because of my grandfather. And I realized in that silence that I was now truly alone. Most of the time, sadness is the moment when all such emotions come together.

I look into the eyes of the third young lord.

Do you know a little bit of what sadness is?

He nods at that.

Now I explain my anger to them.

there are many memories left in the guest house, but actually, there wasnt much money left. I often fought with money lenders, but then one day I heard this strange noise and ran out only to find the guest house was on fire. It was in flames. The guest house was weak against fire. While looking at the guesthouse burning in fire, I thought of my grandfather and my emotions felt complicated. My heart when I was looking at the guy who set the fire was clearly angry. You understand that?

Third young lord nods.

I briefly describe joy, which wasnt really my forte.

Still, I am happy because I told you people, at least roughly, what sadness is.

Sam Bok asks me with a dry smile.

Sect Leader, what is pleasure?

I answer Sam Bok with a smile.

That, even I dont know. Cannot even guess it. I am trying to guess what the worlds greatest pleasure is the odds of such a day coming for us men is rather small. Difficult too.

Sam Bok nods.

Right.

I stop smiling and say,

There are still many people I need to beat to death, let us think about it later. Who, who can explain what pleasure is? Is someone here?

I look at Pervert Demon, Ghost Demon and third young lord too. Everyone either stays silent or shakes their heads.

I nod and then say,

Things are fine even without it.