Chapter 55

## Chapter 55. Impossible Task

After parting ways with Xuan Yuan Jiang, I headed to the agreed meeting place.

I had made prior arrangements to meet Eun Yeon Ho and Myeong Il Oh at a regular tavern after the end of my first day of work.

"Brother…"

"You're still alive…"

"Hmm?"

I tilted my head when I saw the state of the two of them. They both looked utterly exhausted after just half a day.

"What on earth happened?"

"Don't even get me started. Xian Wu Jin, that guy. He's making us work like dogs on our first day."

"It's the same for me. How can someone make us do so much work on our first day…? Seriously… The age difference isn't that big…"

It seemed both of them had been disciplined by their senior instructors from the start.

But that's how workplace life usually is.

I chuckled and said to the two of them who were complaining.

"Want to switch with me?"

"…No."

Their complaints vanished at my words.

No matter how terrifying their senior instructors were, there was no one in the Blue Dragon Academy who could match my grandfather in both experience and martial arts.

"You should consider yourselves lucky. I almost lost my life several times today because of my lousy father."

"Brother, you're the first disrespectful son I've ever seen who's so bold."

"You should have behaved better when you were in the academy."

While I was chatting with the two of them, comparing who had it tougher today, a woman's voice, nearly lifeless, came from behind us.

"…You guys… are here…"

"Miss Zhuge?"

Thud.

Zhuge Xiaoying collapsed into a seat at our table.

Her face was as pale as a corpse, and her usually bright eyes were now dull and lifeless.

"Miss Zhuge? Are you okay?"

"…Just give me a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green."

Once the Bamboo Leaf Green arrived, Zhuge Xiaoying downed it in one go.

Gulp, gulp.

She slammed the empty bottle on the table, and the three of us were taken aback by her intensity, our shoulders tensing up.

"It's Nangong's fault. He's completely obsessed with work!"

Incidentally, she looks like a bookworm, but she's an incredible drinker.

"It would be great if the righteous sects were full of just and chivalrous heroes like they say. But once you know what they do to maintain their positions…"

Eun Yeon Ho drained his cup, and as the bitter taste hit him, he frowned and muttered a curse.

"Damn. The taste of the alcohol is ruined."

Zhuge Xiaoying, who had been watching him, finally spoke.

"Though I don't want to admit it… from Xuan Yuan Jiang's, or rather, the Xuan Yuan family's perspective, it's a situation where they have to be cautious."

"Why is that?"

Myeong Il Oh asked, and Zhuge Xiaoying fiddled with her cup as she continued.

"…The Xuan Yuan family and the Hebei Pang family have been competing for the title of the First Sword School for over a hundred years. Although the Pang family was generally considered slightly superior, the Xuan Yuan family always posed a threat."

She, who specialized in martial history, was well-versed in the history and interests of various martial sects.

"Despite the competition, the relationship between the two families was generally good. They often visited each other, exchanged sword techniques, and occasionally solidified their ties through marriage. But after the Mad Demon appeared in the Xuan Yuan family, their relationship soured."

Her voice grew softer, and even we, sitting at the same table, had to concentrate to hear her.

"After the Mad Demon appeared, the relationship between the two families deteriorated."

"…Mad Demon?"

"Mad Demon Xuan Yuan Hou."

It was a name I knew all too well, but I wanted to hear his story from Zhuge Xiaoying, who knew him only as a historical figure.

"The greatest genius in the history of the Xuan Yuan family. He perfected the True Heaven Sword Technique at sixteen and re-established the Heaven-Cleaving Sword Technique before he turned thirty. Many people said he would become the First Person Under Heaven in the future."

It was strange to hear about a person I knew as a historical figure, especially from someone else's mouth.

"But as you know, Xuan Yuan Hou's end was not good. He entered the Hundred-Man Martial Competition to perfect his martial arts, and during the process, he gradually went mad and killed many experts. Eventually, the Martial Alliance gave him the nickname 'Mad Demon' and issued a bounty for his capture."

"…So what happened?"

In response to Eun Yeon Ho's question, Zhuge Xiaoying shook her head.

"They never found him. The Mad Demon disappeared without a trace."

The Mad Demon didn't disappear.

He fled from the Martial Alliance's pursuit and fell into a trap set by the Blood Sect, ending up in the Black Prison.

After that, I knew more about the Mad Demon's story than Zhuge Xiaoying did.

However, I had a question.

"What does the Mad Demon have to do with the strained relationship between the Xuan Yuan family and the Hebei Pang family?"

The answer came not in words but through a secret message.

[At the time, among the people the Mad Demon killed during the competition was the young master of the Hebei Pang family.]

"…."

"…."

Eun Yeon Ho and Myeong Il Oh also received the same secret message, and our eyes widened simultaneously.

At that moment, I recalled the gaunt face of my master, the Mad Demon, who was imprisoned in the Black Prison.

-I don't regret my choice. Even if I could go back in time, I would take the same path.

The Mad Demon often said this, but his expression was always filled with regret when he did.

-…The only thing I regret is the great harm I caused to the family.

And sometimes, he would be drenched in cold sweat, plagued by nightmares.

-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill you…

-Damn it! Who the hell gave such a cowardly guy the nickname 'Mad Demon'!

Despite his irritated voice, I also recalled Master Meng's worried face as he peered into the next room.

Then, Zhuge Xiaoying's voice brought me back to reality.

"Ultimately, that incident irreparably strained the relationship between the two families."

Sighing, Zhuge Xiaoying continued with a melancholic expression.

"But… that wasn't the end."

Not the end?

Zhuge Xiaoying seemed to be debating whether to continue or not.

"Waiter! Bring us a bottle of something strong!"

A moment later, Zhuge Xiaoying downed the strong liquor I had poured for her and let out a long sigh.

The pungent aroma of the liquor hit my face. With a flushed face from the alcohol, Zhuge Xiaoying said,

"It's not exactly a secret, but… let's move to a room, shall we?"

We moved to a room, and Zhuge Xiaoying continued the story she had left off.

"About twenty years after the Mad Demon disappeared, the Blood Sect fell, and the martial world entered an era of peace. This peace has continued to this day, and the current martial world is considered the most peaceful period in several hundred years."

After the Blood Sect, the greatest enemy of the righteous sects, fell apart due to internal strife and was completely destroyed by the Martial Alliance, a long period of peace followed.

"But it wasn't the case for some sects and families. Especially the Xuan Yuan family, which nearly faced annihilation in the Mad Demon's Blood Massacre."

…Wait a moment. What blood massacre?

"Miss, did you just say the Mad Demon's Blood Massacre?"

"You didn't know? I thought you heard it from the student advisor…."

"…I didn't hear such a detailed story."

I only heard from Mae Jik Yeom that a great tragedy had befallen the Xuan Yuan family, and as a result, the family's main experts were all killed.

At my words, Zhuge Xiaoying nodded.

"It's an old story, and even back then, people were hush-hush about it. The student advisor probably didn't want to go into detail."

"I need to hear it in detail. Please tell me."

Seeing how serious I was, Zhuge Xiaoying hesitated but then began her story.

"…Ten years after the fall of the Blood Sect, the missing Mad Demon Xuan Yuan Hou secretly returned to the Xuan Yuan family."

I listened quietly, suppressing all the questions that were rising in my mind.

"At the time, the head of the Xuan Yuan family was the Mad Demon's younger brother. He quietly gathered the family members to welcome his brother back and held a banquet."

A sense of foreboding rose in me.

"At that banquet, the Mad Demon slaughtered all the family members who had gathered to welcome him."

"Madman…."

"How could he kill his own blood relatives!"

Eun Yeon Ho and Myeong Il Oh were shocked by the tragedy that befell the Xuan Yuan family.

But I couldn't say anything.

Zhuge Xiaoying, noticing my silence, continued.

"Though it's a terrible incident, it's not a secret. Anyone with a bit of interest in martial history would know about it."

"…What happened next?"

My voice cracked slightly.

"The Mad Demon found and burned the Xuan Yuan family's prized True Heaven Sword Technique and Heaven-Cleaving Sword Technique manuals, and set fire to the family compound. The only survivors were those who happened to be far away or those who were studying at the academy. Essentially, the family was wiped out."

"…."

"Afterward, the Pang family was the first to offer help to the Xuan Yuan family… Mr. Bai? Are you listening?"

I closed my eyes.

Zhuge Xiaoying's voice grew increasingly distant.

I wasn't drunk, but I felt queasy and dizzy.

'This can't be true.'

The idea that the Mad Demon returned to the Xuan Yuan family and slaughtered the family's experts was impossible.

-…If I could return to the family… I would beg for forgiveness.

Because the Mad Demon died with me that day.