Chapter 534: Through the Young Cult Leader, All Becomes Ordinary
Chapter 534: Through the Young Cult Leader, All Becomes Ordinary
Jae In stared intently at Geom Mu-geuk’s face.
Does that face really look like it belongs to someone who talks too much?
Jae In was taken aback; the man was much younger and more handsome than he had anticipated. However, the man standing beside Jae In was seeing something he couldn't.
“Look at those eyes,” the man remarked.
Following his lead, Jae In peered into Geom Mu-geuk’s eyes. They were clear and deep, possessing none of the murky darkness typical of a demonic practitioner.
“Don’t they look like the eyes of a busybody who would stick his nose into every single affair in the Murim?”
“...Do they?”
“For instance, the kind of wicked eyes that would lead a perfectly fine successor of the Unorthodox Path Alliance onto a dance floor.”
Why is the successor of the Unorthodox Path Alliance coming up all of a sudden? And what’s this about a dance?
Jae In looked at the man with a bewildered expression. He hadn't realized this person was so eccentric. He wanted to snap, ‘Stop talking nonsense and just kill him already,’ but this wasn't someone he dared to address with such disrespect.
“Now that you mention it, he does look quite talkative and wicked,” Jae In said, attempting to flatter him.
The man let out a loud, hearty laugh, looking thoroughly refreshed.
Geom Mu-geuk, who had been listening quietly, turned to Cho-hui beside him. “What do you think? Have I been talkative while traveling with you?”
“No, you were quite taciturn,” she replied.
Even as she answered, Cho-hui was incredibly tense. Unlike their previous encounters, the fact that this opponent had blocked their path so openly meant he was supremely confident in his skills. Yet, for some reason, the two men were only exchanging strange, casual banter.
“Did you hear that? I am originally a man of few words,” Geom Mu-geuk said. “It’s just that everyone else is so bad at speaking. They should just say what they want to say, but they bottle it up. They put it off until later. It’s so frustrating that I can’t help but speak up, can I? They say silence is the best way to avoid misunderstandings, but everyone ends up causing them because they don’t speak properly. Even the Young Alliance Leader is like that. When he’s silent, doesn’t he look like he’s contemplating who to kill? But if you actually listen to him speak, he’s quite cute. And—”
“Enough!”
At the man’s shout, Geom Mu-geuk fell silent.
Jae In was inwardly flustered by the absurdity of the situation. He had never dreamed that coming here with this man to assassinate a target would lead to such a conversation. And who was this ‘Young Alliance Leader’ they kept mentioning?
Regardless, at least one thing was certain.
He really is a chatterbox!
Jae In spoke cautiously to the man. “Please, kill that talkative man quickly and shut him up.”
The man let out a light sigh. “I can’t do that.”
Jae In was startled by the refusal. “What do you mean?”
It was Geom Mu-geuk who answered. “We know each other. We’re even quite close.”
“Close, my foot!” the man barked.
The man was none other than Goe Ak, one of the Seven Great Masters of the Unorthodox Path. The last time they had seen each other was at the Three-Party Summit, and now they had crossed paths again.
Despite Goe Ak’s denial, Jae In could feel the truth.
They’re close!
Jae In was overcome with a sense of impending ruin. Just who was this young man?
“What are you doing here?” Goe Ak asked.
“What does it look like? I came to kill you,” Geom Mu-geuk replied with a smile.
“Then kill me.”
Goe Ak stared silently at Geom Mu-geuk for a moment. “It’s become even harder to kill you now.”
He realized from Geom Mu-geuk’s eyes and aura that the youth's skills had ascended even further.
“I was asked to kill a single demonic practitioner. I was promised enough money to live lavishly for the rest of my life. What a shame. It was a chance to become a rich man.”
Those words weren't entirely true. Goe Ak had stepped forward this time because of Geom Mu-geuk. He figured that if a demonic practitioner was significant enough to require his personal involvement, it must be someone deeply connected to the boy. He wanted to see who these people were trying to kill and stop them in advance.
However, he truly never dreamed that the demonic practitioner would be Geom Mu-geuk himself.
“Escorting a courtesan alone? That’s just like you,” Goe Ak muttered before turning to Jae In. “Do you know who that talkative-looking man is?”
“Who is he?”
“That man is the Young Cult Leader of the Divine Cult.”
“...!”
Jae In was struck with horror. The young master escorting the courtesan was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult? That chatterbox? There was no way!
However, there wasn't a hint of a lie in Goe Ak’s expression. There was no reason for a master of his stature to follow them all this way just to spin a tale.
“No matter how much I like money, you surely aren't asking me to kill the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, are you?”
Only now did Jae In understand why this job had gone so poorly. He understood why the net of the Net Weaver—who performed even the most difficult tasks like a work of art—had been so full of holes.
Jae In bowed respectfully with a fist salute. “I failed to recognize such an esteemed personage.”
His chest felt tight and his mind was a mess, but he struggled to remain calm. The only saving grace was that the Young Cult Leader was very young.
I am a man who learns the art of conspiracy from the Net Weaver. I must stay calm.
Youth was always accompanied by immaturity and mistakes. There was bound to be a gap he could exploit.
Goe Ak guessed what he was thinking and felt a flicker of pity.
He is a man who casts a net ten times, a hundred times larger than the one you cast. If you knew who was truly caught in that net, you wouldn't have dared to commit such an act in the first place.
Geom Mu-geuk asked Jae In in a gentle tone, “Are you the one who plotted this?”
Because his demeanor didn't seem like that of a demonic practitioner at all, Jae In still found it hard to believe the man’s identity.
“I am still learning,” Jae In replied.
“From whom?”
As Jae In hesitated, Goe Ak spoke up. “There is a man called the Net Weaver.”
Jae In hadn't expected Goe Ak to reveal the mastermind so easily. He tried to find a way to survive by appealing to Goe Ak’s status.
“Even out of respect for you, Senior, wouldn't this go against the proper way of the world?”
He brought it up to induce Goe Ak to save him out of a sense of professional courtesy, but Goe Ak only laughed.
“My name contains the characters for ‘strange’ and ‘wicked.’ Are you trying to lecture me on the proper way? Besides, my relationship with the Net Weaver is about money, not morality.”
From those words, Jae In was certain: Goe Ak would never attack the Young Cult Leader.
“Who did you send to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion?” Geom Mu-geuk asked.
Jae In flinched. “How did you know?”
“I asked who you sent.”
His eyes and tone were calm, but Jae In felt a sudden, bone-chilling fear. They had intended to massacre the headquarters of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion, the very place the Young Cult Leader was heading.
“I sent the Ghost Killing Squad.”
At the mention of that name, Cho-hui’s heart sank. It was a name she had heard many times from customers. Every time she heard of their deeds, she had trembled in fear. And now, that Ghost Killing Squad had gone after the Pavilion Master.
Compared to her racing heart, Geom Mu-geuk merely nodded once and asked no further questions.
“Why don’t you ask about the outcome?” Jae In prompted.
The moment Jae In decided he should use the Heavenly Flower Pavilion as a hostage to survive...
“Didn't you mobilize Senior Goe here because they failed?”
Jae In finally felt it. Though the man spoke gently, he was seeing right through the entire situation.
“Do you want to live?” Geom Mu-geuk asked.
“I want to live. No... I wish to live,” Jae In replied, acting as politely as possible.
“Who is the mastermind who commissioned this?”
“He did not tell me. That is the truth!”
“Where is the Net Weaver now?”
Jae In couldn't answer. If he betrayed the Net Weaver, he would surely suffer extreme agony before dying miserably. That was the kind of man the Net Weaver was—a man who wove a dense net specifically to ensnare traitors.
“Are you afraid of the Net Weaver, but not of me?”
“It’s not that...”
“Indeed, I could use the Young Alliance Leader’s face right now. If you were in front of that friend, you wouldn't be able to take me so lightly.”
Bi Sa-in, who wasn't even there, was being brought up again.
“Fortunately, someone even scarier than the Young Alliance Leader has arrived at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.”
Just as Jae In’s eyes widened, wondering what that meant, Geom Mu-geuk fired a finger wind. The gust of Qi suppressed Jae In's internal energy and struck his acupoints instantly.
Geom Mu-geuk loaded the unconscious Jae In into the back of the carriage. It was a small carriage with almost no storage space, but there was just enough room to lay him down.
“Will you come with us?” Geom Mu-geuk asked Goe Ak.
“Who is there?”
Geom Mu-geuk swept his hand from his forehead to his chin and then mimicked a smiling face. Goe Ak immediately realized that the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon was present.
Goe Ak shook his head and waved his hand, declaring his detestation for the Demon Lords. “I’ll see you next time.”
As he was about to leave, Geom Mu-geuk spoke. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“I know you accepted their request specifically because of me.”
Goe Ak answered without looking back. “I told you, it was for the money. It makes my stomach churn just thinking about it, so stop talking.”
Goe Ak leaped into the air and vanished. Watching him go, Geom Mu-geuk smiled faintly.
Why do I talk so much? Wasn't it so I could meet you like this today?
Because they had come to know each other’s true hearts, Goe Ak had stepped forward to help him. If he had treated the man with cold silence, how could they have ever understood one another? In an age where cutting ties was becoming easier by the day, this was why Geom Mu-geuk remained talkative.
“Now, let us go as well.”
“Yes!”
Cho-hui watched Geom Mu-geuk drive the carriage in silence. Whether it was Goe Ak or the Ghost Killing Squad, those terrifying names became ordinary the moment they reached this Young Cult Leader.
And she reached another conclusion: the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was not a talkative man. This image of him silently driving the carriage while looking straight ahead suited him far better than the chatty version she had seen before.
*
Finally, the two arrived at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.
Ahead, they saw the figure of the Pavilion Master, Yeo-jeong. Seeing the woman she had worried about safe and sound, tears welled up in Cho-hui’s eyes.
“Pavilion Master!”
Cho-hui tried to perform a deep bow on the spot, but Yeo-jeong reached her first and pulled her up by the hand. She took the girl inside, sat her in her own seat, and brought her water.
“Drink some water first. Slowly.”
“Yes, Pavilion Master.”
After calming the agitated girl, Yeo-jeong checked her over. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
Despite her answer, Yeo-jeong calmly examined her. Knowing Cho-hui would hide her pain to avoid causing worry, Yeo-jeong checked thoroughly herself. One might have expected her to ask about the secret information first, but she prioritized Cho-hui’s well-being above all else.
Naturally, the devotion in Cho-hui’s eyes deepened. “You did this for me that day, too.”
“That day?”
“The day you saved my life.”
Yeo-jeong had saved her from being sold to the Outer Lands due to her father’s gambling debts. It had been a chance encounter on the road. At that time, Yeo-jeong had sat her down—as she cried and resisted the men’s grip—and made her drink water just like today. After letting her calm down, she had asked for the whole story.
Yeo-jeong had paid off Cho-hui’s debt on the spot and then simply continued on her way. If she had saved her only to force her to work at the pavilion, Cho-hui wouldn't have respected her this much.
“As you left, you told me: since your parents abandoned you, you should no longer be bound by family. You told me to leave home and live for my own dreams.”
That day, Cho-hui had followed Yeo-jeong. Even when told she would become a courtesan, she had staked her fate on the woman.
“Did I say that?” Yeo-jeong asked. Though she spoke lightly, she remembered that day vividly. “It wasn't me who saved you; it was fate.”
That fate had led all the way to this moment.
“You’ve worked hard to get here,” Yeo-jeong whispered.
The moment she heard those words, the tears Cho-hui had been holding back streamed down her face. It was truly a miracle that she had made it here alive.
“Are you alright, Pavilion Master?”
“I am fine. Are those people not here to protect us?”
Only then did Cho-hui look around. Faceless Guests were standing everywhere, guarding the pavilion. When the two had arrived, those who had been inside came out to secure the perimeter. Their mission had changed.
“Could those people be...?”
Cho-hui knew who wore those masks. Naturally, her gaze turned toward Geom Mu-geuk and the Smiling Demon, who were talking a short distance away.
Then that person must be the terrifying Smiling Demon.
It was Cho-hui’s first time seeing him. Perhaps because she knew his identity, that smiling white mask felt exceptionally frightening. The sight of Geom Mu-geuk smiling brightly in front of such a monster felt surreal. She felt once again that all dangers became ordinary once they passed through the Young Cult Leader.
“If it weren't for the Young Cult Leader over there, I would have died,” Cho-hui said.
Yeo-jeong smiled faintly. It was the same for us.
Cho-hui continued, “The Young Cult Leader said that he is so close to you, Pavilion Master, that he would break through even if the entire Murim tried to stop him.”
At that, Yeo-jeong’s gaze turned toward the Smiling Demon. “It’s not because of me, but because of that person.”
From the look in Yeo-jeong’s eyes, Cho-hui could feel that the relationship between the two was deep. It was a woman’s intuition.
Ah!
Now she understood. She understood what he meant by saying he had come for the Smiling Demon, not for Yeo-jeong. Since Yeo-jeong was deeply involved with the Smiling Demon, the Young Cult Leader had rushed here for his sake!
Watching the two, Cho-hui turned back to the Pavilion Master. It was time to deliver the reason she had risked her life.
“I have something to tell you, Pavilion Master,” she whispered in a voice only Yeo-jeong could hear. “A major incident that will turn the Murim upside down is going to happen at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion!”
She lowered her voice even further, her eyes trembling.
“And the person who will cause that incident... is you, Pavilion Master.”