To Live Without the Mask
Not as a mere figure in a small black chamber, but like one seated upon a throne, the Grand Master scrutinized me before extending his hand.
"Come here."
I recalled the deceased disciple and inquired about his well-being.
"Master, how is your back these days?" The Grand Master nodded.
"Not bad."
"Is there any discomfort in your legs?" "There is some discomfort, but as one ages, one must endure such things. It gets better when fighting, so there’s no need to worry."
"I see. Are you sleeping well? Living in the martial world consumes a lot of mental energy, so one must get enough rest."
The Grand Master nodded as if agreeing with my words.
"As I grow older, my sleep is getting shorter. Once dead, I will sleep long enough, so you need not worry too much. By the way, who did you kill on your way here?" The Grand Master spoke to me as if I were a disciple.
"I killed a few fools who were running around aimlessly."
The Grand Master let out a short sigh.
"My cherished disciples have died, so I must take revenge now."
"Of course, you should."
"What was the end of the disciple?" "I was headbutting a wall, and only that fool's head broke. He is probably lining up somewhere at the entrance to hell."
"He was my most cherished disciple; it is a pity."
I asked the Grand Master something I had been curious about.
"There is something I have always wondered about; please give me an answer."
"Ask freely."
"Why do you wear this mask? It seems the disciple was curious about it until the moment he died."
The Grand Master smiled, revealing his teeth.
"How curious. How very curious." "……."
"No one has ever asked me that in detail before, despite having many disciples. It is a simple story. When one hides behind a mask, bad deeds become more natural. It becomes blurred whether one is doing bad things or if the mask is doing them instead."
The Grand Master leaned forward in his seated position.
"Only those chosen by me can wear the mask. If we assign ranks to it, we can do anything to compete among ourselves. This is the nature of foolish people."
The Grand Master grinned, showing his large teeth.
"Moreover, this is an old tradition. My master's master was a performer of masked plays. One could only eat and live by wearing that mask. However, he was eventually expelled for never mastering the art of changing masks in an instant. That expelled person is my master."
"Oh dear."
The anger of the weak spreads like a plague, tormenting the indiscriminate masses and causing such fools to appear.
The Grand Master said to me with a smile, "Now that I have revealed the secret of the mask, you should show your face as well. One of us is bound to die, so that should be acceptable, right?" "Ah... my face."
I replied while fiddling with the disciple's mask.
"I cannot do that now that I am about to do something bad."
I mixed my laughter with the Grand Master’s.
The stag beetle laughed, the deceased disciple laughed from somewhere, and I laughed too.
We each laughed while thinking of each other's deaths.
The Grand Master stood up and said, "Someone like you should have been my disciple."
"Even if I were your disciple, I would have run away and lived a life of petty tricks."
"Why such a vulgar thing?" "What one does is not important. While cleaning, I would have often remembered my foolish master. In the end, I would have learned martial arts somehow and returned to kill you. And I would have asked why you made me wear a mask, just like today."
The Grand Master nodded.
"Indeed. A man should live that way."
As the Grand Master descended the stairs, his sleeves fluttered in the wind.
While I was observing his sleeves closely, the Grand Master approached very closely.
Closing the distance like this showed his confidence.
It was also a psychological game.
The moment I stepped back to create distance, the Grand Master would have seized the initiative and attacked.
The Grand Master was shorter than me.
And he was rather unattractive.
I knew many who were as ugly as the Grand Master.
However, I also understood that a person's charm is not solely based on their appearance.
Even though I was quite handsome, I had never been popular with the normal beauties.
Suddenly, anger...
The Grand Master smiled.
"How will the disciple compete? With techniques, martial arts, Taoist methods, sword techniques, or internal energy? Any of them will do. I will concede the choice to you, as I have trained in martial arts longer."
"What are you confident in?" "The old man has internal energy. This will be disadvantageous for you, so choose something else."
The Grand Master wore a faint smile, as if engaging in a psychological battle.
I nodded.
"Then let’s start with internal energy."
The thought of competing in internal energy made my heart race.
The Grand Master broke into a hearty laugh and slowly extended his left hand.
"If you have no regrets, then clasp hands."
Competing in internal energy is something only the top-tier madmen do.
No soldier or man from any nation would fight like this.
Only mad monkeys would bet their lives, believing in their internal energy while leaving themselves wide open.
I carefully observed the Grand Master's expression as I slowly moved my right hand.
Since we were so close, it would not have been strange for either of us to break the agreement and launch a surprise attack.
However, the Grand Master and I clasped our palms without launching any surprise attacks.
The Grand Master’s palm felt as hard as touching a stag beetle.
We both kept silent.
As if we had agreed on the detailed rules of the internal energy competition on the spot, the amount of internal energy we injected into our palms gradually increased.
To those who do not understand martial arts, it would look foolish for grown men to stand there with their hands clasped.
But upon closer inspection, they would see that we were far more serious fools.
We were betting our lives.
Even in this situation, I remained wary of the Grand Master's right arm.
He could have attached a sharp needle to his severed arm and stabbed me at any moment.
The two hands that touched began to tremble, and the Grand Master’s smiling face rippled like the surface of water.
The disciple's mask I wore also trembled.
The Grand Master's gaze shifted to my left hand, and I looked at the empty sleeve of the Grand Master.
The tension increased slightly.
I prepared for a long battle with the power of the neck, then switched to the power of the flame.
As my palm gradually turned red, the Grand Master's gaze shifted to our clasped hands.
Now, the tendons in our clasped hands were bulging as if they would burst.
Naturally, the Grand Master’s right arm moved.
To swing one arm while competing in internal energy means he had some energy left.
Of course, I had some energy left as well.
I turned my head to the right and grabbed the Grand Master's forearm.
A silver blade stretched out, leaving only a narrow gap next to my neck.
It seemed he had attached the blade to the severed forearm.
I injected internal energy while holding onto the Grand Master’s hand and forearm.
The Grand Master was cunning, but being cunning does not guarantee victory in every fight.
In any case, the one with deeper internal energy wins in a competition of internal energy.
As I injected the power of the flame into my left hand, the sleeve burned as if it had caught fire.
Only then did I confirm the shape of the forearm.
A metal cover was attached to the severed part, with a blade affixed on top.
A specially made surprise blade for the Grand Master.
I looked at the Grand Master while unleashing the power of the flame on my left and the Absorption Technique on my right.
The foolish ones cannot even perform the basics of the Divided Heart Technique.
From the left, the Grand Master’s internal energy flowed in, and on the right, my flame power heated the Grand Master’s arm.
A brief regret about the Ice Technique flashed by.
I resolved to train more against the Grand Master and unleashed the Absorption Technique in my right hand and the flame power in my left.
The severed arm was indeed defenseless, and the Grand Master's right clothing began to burn gradually. 'This is right.' The Grand Master’s level of internal energy was not significantly lower than mine, but as I countered with the Divided Heart Technique and mixed in the rare Absorption Technique, he was visibly flustered.
Moreover, having one arm missing was certainly a disadvantage.
In previous internal energy competitions, he must have often won with that blade.
Even in this situation, the Grand Master was somehow enduring with the internal energy he had accumulated over his lifetime.
At that moment, a clicking sound echoed from the Grand Master’s mouth. 'Poison or a poisoned needle.' There are often those who hide poison in the gaps of their missing teeth.
The moment the Grand Master inhaled and exhaled...
I pulled both hands and headbutted the Grand Master’s mouth.
Crack! The disciple's mask shattered.
Crack! This time, the white mask shattered.
Crack! This time, my forehead crushed the Grand Master's nose.
Only then did I look at the Grand Master, now covered in blood from my face.
His front teeth were all broken, and his nose was smashed.
Having never killed anyone with a headbutt before, I unleashed the Absorption Technique in both hands.
The Grand Master, whose calm was shattered and whose blood energy was in turmoil, lost the internal energy he had accumulated like a dam bursting.
When I used the Absorption Technique, which I had gained through a combination of coincidence and necessity, I adhered to my principle.
I do not take lives with this.
I threw half of the energy the Grand Master possessed as prey to the Celestial Jade and then released my hands.
The moment I released my hands, the Grand Master collapsed to the ground.
He was still alive.
The Grand Master’s eyes scanned my face.
It was a look that seemed to say he had finally resolved his curiosity.
I looked down at the Grand Master and spoke in a serious tone.
"It is my first time meeting you. I am Haowonju Lee Jaho."
The Grand Master muttered as if he had never heard my name before.
"Lee Jaho..."
"If we had fought like this from the beginning, the foolish disciples might have lived a bit longer."
The Grand Master spat out a mouthful of blood and then said, "Who is your master?" That short question implied that he could not understand because I was too young and strong.
I squatted down and met the Grand Master’s gaze.
"I have none."
"You are lying."
"Now, I will take over not only the Twelve Divine Forces but everything you managed. You do not even deserve to be the leader of foolish people. Even if you do not want it, all of this will come under Haowon, but as the leader who led the group, say a word to your disciples."
"You killed them all, so where are the disciples?" From the place where the subordinates of the Black Cat Gang were, Hong Shin and Kim Hae appeared with troubled expressions.
Almost simultaneously, on the wall, the surviving Bai Yin, Cheong Jin, and Bai Yu revealed themselves.
They had no intention of interrupting the one-on-one fight, but it seemed they were curious about the outcome and had only listened from beyond the wall.
The Grand Master sighed as he looked around at his still-living disciples and said honestly, "This madman has saved many. Impressive."
I confirmed that the Grand Master’s eyes were brightening again, just like before.
It was the phenomenon of returning light.
The Grand Master straightened his back and spoke to his living disciples. "…Disciples, you have worked hard taking care of your foolish master. From now on, serve Haowonju with all your heart. You too must now live without the mask. More than I..."
The Grand Master’s words did not continue.
It was a death met with wide-open eyes.
I stared at the Grand Master for a long time as he breathed his last.
On his wicked face, peace finally settled.
Yet, thinking that the Grand Master had spoken of his disciples in his final moments, I reached out and closed the world he had been gazing at.
The Grand Master’s eyes closed.