Is it One Win, One Loss?
I sat in a spot where I could observe the street, having ordered a cup of Dougangju, and fell into a moment of contemplation.
I organized my thoughts about the Thunder Sword Technique, the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, and the scent of plum blossoms while waiting for Zuo Sa.
The fact that the Sword Demon specifically mentioned the dung beetle to summon me meant he did not wish for us to fight.
However, even if I did not engage in battle, I needed to clearly conclude the purpose of my visit to Bai Yingzhi.
Zuo Sa must have questions for me as well.
After all, there were flaws in my words during the question-and-answer spar with the Sword Demon.
While the Sword Demon might not have realized it, Zuo Sa would surely be curious.
When I had finished my fifth cup of Dougangju alone, Zuo Sa, who was heading towards Mengga, approached my location.
He came near, looked at me, and held back the words he seemed about to say three times before letting them go, then sat down opposite me and poured himself a drink.
I spoke in a calm tone.
"What would you do if there was a laxative in that cup? Are you out of your mind?"
Upon hearing my words, Zuo Sa choked and set down his cup. 'Well, he is still a rookie.' Zuo Sa realized that I was just trying to scare him and glared at me.
I drank my Dougangju while waiting for Zuo Sa to speak.
Zuo Sa finally asked the question he should have asked.
"How did you know I was using the Ice Technique? I can't understand it at all. Your master might not have found it strange since he heard about the fight, but your behavior suggested you already knew I was using the Ice Technique."
I nodded.
"I am searching for the Ice Technique."
"Is that it?"
"I have many subordinates. One of them, who is about the successor of the upper sect, told me in detail about the tales of the Jade Flower Palace. I was looking for someone who might have inherited the advancements of the Jade Flower Palace, especially among the regions where the White Path is concentrated."
"Oh, so that's why that guy with the broken arm was following me. But even then, I never used the Ice Technique. He wasn't a worthy opponent."
At this point, I couldn't help but smile.
"You're quite amusing."
"What do you mean?"
"You broke my subordinate's arm. Of all places, it had to be at Bai Yingzhi. I found out he was a skilled martial artist and a notorious flirt. If my subordinate was attacked, I had to step in. I confirmed the Ice Technique by chance during the fight."
Zuo Sa pondered over my words.
"How did that subordinate follow me?"
I looked at Zuo Sa and spoke plainly.
"My subordinates believe that the Ice Technique was likely mastered by the young master of the sect."
As soon as I mentioned the young master, Zuo Sa's face turned bright red.
I watched his face grow more emotional.
Zuo Sa forced a smile and said, "Do you know that all those young masters who were mentioned at Bai Yingzhi ended up getting beaten by me?"
"I don't care. If he's a young master, then he is. I don't understand why you're angry at others."
Zuo Sa replied with an expression that seemed ready to flip the table.
"That's insulting..."
"Why is that insulting? It wasn't something you could choose. You're just being foolish."
"You really don't make any sense."
Zuo Sa tried to drink his Dougangju, but upon seeing it was empty, he ordered more from the waiter.
In any case, we brushed past the topic of the Ice Technique like this.
Next, I needed to confirm the likelihood of this guy crossing over to the Demon Sect.
I knew he had entered with the intention of killing the leader, but the situation was different now than in his previous life.
I was steadily preparing to kill the leader myself.
Perhaps due to the teachings of the Sword Demon, this guy had become one of the strongest in the Demon Sect.
It would be easier to deal with the Black Path if I brought him to my side.
Zuo Sa said, "Hey, country bumpkin..."
"What about it?"
"You foolish brat, why is the leader your enemy? I can't imagine a chick like you having any issues with the leader. Don't tell me your maternal family is from the Jade Flower Palace?"
"If that were the case, I would have used the Ice Technique."
"Then why is the leader your enemy?"
This is the difficulty of someone who has returned to life.
Sometimes, you have to create reasons to explain things.
But I am who I am.
"I can't tell you that."
As I unfolded the defensive techniques of the question-and-answer spar, Zuo Sa fell silent.
At this point, I also needed to ask Zuo Sa something I was curious about.
Why did he become a lecher? If I could find that out, perhaps I could change the future where Mo Yongbai becomes a poison demon, just like I eliminated the possibility of him being born.
Though I had failed to obtain the Ice Technique right away, something just as important was still in progress.
Suddenly, a slender beauty with smooth hair passed by on the street, causing Zuo Sa to turn his head while keeping his lips on his cup.
Changing fate is so difficult.
I asked without much expectation, "Why did you become such a lustful dog? Is there a story behind it?"
Zuo Sa looked at me.
"Ah, there is a story."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you that, you foolish brat."
I chuckled.
In my opinion, Zuo Sa was living a failed life like my subordinates.
Born into a good family but trapped by the thought of being a young master, that was a failed life.
As I laughed, I slowly extended my hand, and Zuo Sa, startled while trying to drink, retaliated with his right hand.
Bam! I immediately poured out my power of the Void and switched to the Flame Technique.
Zuo Sa's expression changed in an instant as he turned his right hand white to block the power of the Flame Technique.
It was the moment the Jade Flower Ice Technique was properly unleashed.
I poured out the tension of the Flame Technique while observing Zuo Sa's expression.
His expression was growing increasingly serious.
Having faced the late-stage practitioners of the White Path without properly using the Jade Flower Ice Palace, he had likely won most of the time.
However, the Flame Technique of the Golden Nine Soaring Technique is inherently complementary to the Ice Technique.
Moreover, the power I had accumulated from the Heavenly Jade was not lower than Zuo Sa's.
As I raised my power a little more, Zuo Sa urgently grabbed the table with his left hand.
The table froze instantly, so I also grabbed it with my left hand.
The white coldness that had been rising began to dissipate.
I opened my mouth to check Zuo Sa's remaining strength.
"It seems the Sword Demon senior wanted us not to fight, but we should still determine who is superior before leaving, right? Dung beetle."
I felt that if I crushed this guy's pride once, he would focus on training without time to meet women.
If Zuo Sa, stimulated by me, became stronger than in his previous life, I would also become stronger from that stimulation.
Zuo Sa, whose pride was as strong as mine, spoke up.
"Yeah, we should determine who is superior, country bumpkin."
Suddenly, as we faced off in a contest of power at a table on a busy street, spectators began to gather.
Moreover, one side was the famous Menglang from Bai Yingzhi, so the crowd quickly swelled.
As I maintained the Flame Technique and dragged out time, the crowd grew larger, and astonishingly, I could even hear the voices of women cheering for Menglang.
While pouring out my tension, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.
"Dung beetle, you really are a celebrity."
"You'll soon become famous for your disgrace too."
Seeing Zuo Sa remain relaxed until the end, I switched my power to the Fighting Technique.
We both had an unspoken rule not to use our left hands.
As I switched to the Fighting Technique and pushed forward, Zuo Sa's expression quickly turned pale.
His originally white face lost all color, looking like a blank sheet of paper.
In the midst of this, Zuo Sa said to me, "Shall we call it a draw?"
I burst into laughter for a moment, almost losing my power, but I calmly steadied myself.
Zuo Sa insisted again, "Let's call it a draw."
I replied in a calm tone, "I can't accept such a request."
While I could kill a lecher, I thought it was unreasonable to kill the Sword Demon's disciple, who had not yet become a lecher.
So, I unleashed the power of the Fighting Technique explosively from my heart.
With a loud bang, as the sound erupted from my palm, Zuo Sa's body fell from the chair and rolled on the ground.
The spectators fell silent as if they had all stopped breathing.
It was the first time they had seen Menglang from Mengga lose.
Zuo Sa, who was rolling in a grotesque position, lifted his head, but instead of looking at me, he stared at the spectators.
Among the crowd were women Zuo Sa would want to pursue.
I drank while watching Zuo Sa's embarrassment. 'Serves you right.'
Suddenly, Zuo Sa stood up, dusting off his clothes, and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha... Today, I lost. Is it one win, one loss?"
Zuo Sa sat back down with a smile, calmly drinking as if asking what had happened.
"..."
Zuo Sa waved his hand to the spectators.
"The show is over, so you can all go home."
"One win, one loss? This dung beetle brat."
Zuo Sa whispered in a low voice, as if saying something important.
"Is it one win, one loss? Anyway... don't be too harsh on those who will continue to compete with each other. You might not know, but a battle of inner strength is not everything. Let's say I lost in inner strength. Just take it easy."
Zuo Sa glanced around and took a drink.
His awareness of the surrounding gazes made him seem somewhat pitiful.
He looked like someone whose unconscious desire for recognition from others was ingrained in him.
As I remained silent, Zuo Sa began to speak.
"There was once a servant named Byeong-gu. He was my servant."
"…"
"He was five years older than me and was a servant taken in by Mengga when he was young. He had no home or family. He called me 'Young Master' and took care of my meals, changed my shoes, and brought towels and clothes when I bathed.
He was such a loyal servant. In fact, he was the only person I could play with when I was young. One day, that loyal Byeong-gu was found hanging in a small room without my permission.
It was suicide. The only servant I had, why did he die? I found out that this foolish guy had a crush on a woman named Dan-young."
Zuo Sa took another drink.
He looked somewhat dazed.
"When he sought out Dan-young and tortured her, do you know what she said to me? When she rejected Byeong-gu's advances, she said, 'Why are you confessing to me when you're not even Menglang's brother?' Can you believe that such a fool was my servant? Did he hear that and decide to kill himself? Anyway, I lost Byeong-gu."
"So?"
"So? I became curious about women. What kind of thoughts do they have that would make Byeong-gu take his own life?"
"And then?"
"And then, surprisingly, most of their thoughts were similar to Dan-young's. A slightly better-looking man, a slightly richer man, a slightly more successful family... They never saw Byeong-gu as a person. No, it would be more accurate to say they never saw him as a man."
I gazed at Zuo Sa, who had been strangely twisted since childhood.
Zuo Sa continued, "The more I met them, the more it gave me chills. Some women disliked me for being a young master. To them, I was no different from Byeong-gu."
"So you keep switching partners?"
"No."
The former lecher looked at me and said something absurd.
"It's just revenge for Byeong-gu. I'm trash too."
I nodded.
"You were a foolish dung beetle brat."
Suddenly, I knew the words that would make him the angriest.
Without much thought, I threw out a jab.
"You're no different from your father."
Zuo Sa's face crumpled in an instant.
"What?"
"Your father must have met your mother to obtain the Ice Technique. He didn't love her. The Ice Technique is the family's essence and was strictly guarded, so your mother must have only passed it down to you. You were definitely treated as a young master in Mengga. But because of a poor servant, you're doing this... Are you any different from your father? You foolish brat."
As soon as I saw Zuo Sa's fist coming, my hand moved first, slapping Zuo Sa's cheek.
With a smack, as his face turned, I grabbed his hair with my left hand and pulled him closer.
"Oh, such a childish brat. The Sword Demon senior must have taken pity on you. If you come at me again, I'll make you a eunuch."
Zuo Sa, drunk, hesitated for a moment, considering whether to have another round with me.
I pushed his head away and took a drink.
A deep sigh escaped from within me.
I spoke to Zuo Sa in a serious tone.
"I haven't met anyone yet, so don't talk to me about such foolish things."
Zuo Sa frowned and asked me, "Is that true?"
I swept my hair back and replied to the former lecher.
"The very attitude towards life is different. You fool."
The drunken lecher threw his head back and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha."
I muttered while drinking.
"Where is true love?"
The lecher laughed again, clutching his belly.
"Hahaha."
I, too, felt foolish and laughed a little with Zuo Sa, then made a silent vow.
This life will be different... for real.