Chapter 535: You Touched Us, So You Should Be Prepared for That Much.
Chapter 535: You Touched Us, So You Should Be Prepared for That Much.
“That is also why I couldn’t tell anyone.”
The matter was deeply intertwined with the Heavenly Flower Pavilion and its owner. Cho-hui had feared that a single misplaced word might bring even greater misfortune upon the Pavilion Master.
Yeo-jeong, the Master of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion, did not seem as shaken as one might expect.
As expected of the woman destined to love the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, Cho-hui thought. She has the strength to face such a storm head-on.
“From now on, I’m going to inform those two and consult with them. Is that alright with you?”
In truth, it was a courtesy Yeo-jeong didn’t strictly need to extend. Yet, she sought permission from Cho-hui, who had risked her life to deliver this information.
Cho-hui knew well that the Pavilion Master treated her subordinates with such genuine sincerity. Yeo-jeong likely didn’t realize how much a single considerate remark provided comfort and strength to those serving under her.
Yeo-jeong and Cho-hui approached Geom Mu-geuk and the Smiling Demon. The two men were in the middle of a conversation.
“I wish you could have tasted my father’s fish dishes as well, Lord Smiling Demon.”
The Smiling Demon couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of the Cult Leader—the absolute sovereign of their order—cooking fish after losing a series of bets.
“This has been more enjoyable than any journey I’ve ever taken,” the Smiling Demon replied.
Geom Mu-geuk treated the comment as a joke. “I’m hurt. I thought the journey you took with me was the best.”
“Records are meant to be broken. You should travel with me again.”
Yeo-jeong chimed in then. “I might not be able to match those fish dishes, but I’m quite a cook myself.”
She was essentially asking to be taken along on that journey.
Even after hearing that she was to be the centerpiece of an incident that would throw the Murim into chaos, such jokes came naturally. It was a moment where she felt once again just how sturdy a fence these two men provided for her life.
“Of course. You must come with us,” Mu-geuk said.
When the Smiling Demon shook his head as if he wanted to go with only the two of them, Mu-geuk shot Yeo-jeong a look that said, I’ll be the one escorting her, so just trust me.
It was moments like these when Yeo-jeong felt how much the Smiling Demon had changed. In the past, it would have been unimaginable for him to playfully shake his head in such a situation.
Geom Mu-geuk looked at Yeo-jeong and gave a formal greeting.
“Have you been well, Pavilion Master?”
He had allowed her to reunite with Cho-hui first while he exchanged greetings with the Smiling Demon. Only now was he formally addressing her.
“More than well. I owe my life to the advance warning you sent, Young Cult Leader. You’ve saved not just me, but everyone in this pavilion.”
“That is likely thanks to Lord Smiling Demon coming here to protect you.”
“My brother gives credit to the Young Cult Leader, and the Young Cult Leader gives credit to my brother. In that case, shall I take the help of both of you this time?”
With that, she naturally relayed exactly what Cho-hui had told her moments ago.
As he listened, Geom Mu-geuk’s expression hardened.
Now that it was clear the enemies were targeting the Heavenly Flower Pavilion and its owner, they had to handle this matter more cautiously and decisively than anything else.
“If they’re saying the Pavilion Master is the one behind the incident, it means they intend to frame you for the crime.”
The other three nodded at Mu-geuk’s words.
“How did you obtain this information?” Mu-geuk asked.
Cho-hui answered, “Even secrets heavy enough to withstand the fear of death and the agony of torture can crumble under the influence of alcohol.”
She didn’t go into detail. However, the fact that men had been pursuing her was proof enough that the information she had gathered was true.
“I sincerely beg of you both... please protect the Pavilion Master.”
Cho-hui bowed deeply to Geom Mu-geuk and the Smiling Demon. When she had first fled, her heart had been consumed by anxiety. Even if she managed to deliver the information, she had been plagued by the ominous feeling that the Pavilion Master might still die at the hands of those villains.
But things were different now.
She looked around. The Faceless Guests, terrifying just to look at, stood guard at every corner.
Her gaze returned to Geom Mu-geuk and the Smiling Demon. She had experienced enough of what kind of person Mu-geuk was during their journey here.
And when she looked at the cold smile on the Smiling Demon’s pure white mask, a thought occurred to her.
‘Now, it’s those bastards who should be afraid.’
Mu-geuk spoke to Cho-hui. “Leave the rest to us and get some rest.”
“Yes! I will.”
She gave them a cheerful farewell and looked at Yeo-jeong one last time.
Yeo-jeong said to her, “If I live, it will be thanks to you.”
Cho-hui returned the words Yeo-jeong had once said to her. “No, it’s the bond that saved you. That warm bond you formed when you rescued a young girl being sold off.”
She bowed and withdrew.
After walking a short distance, she turned back and asked, “Can I have a drink? I’ve held back for so long.”
“You can drink the whole cellar if you want,” Yeo-jeong replied.
Cho-hui’s steps were light as she walked away. Her job was done.
Watching her back, Mu-geuk said to Yeo-jeong, “That is a good bond you have.”
“As you can see, I’m quite blessed with good people.”
As she spoke, she glanced at the Smiling Demon. He stood there silently. Feeling as though she was the only one showing affection, Yeo-jeong asked after someone else.
“Is the Pretty Heart doing well?”
“She should be.”
“It seems you’ve placed your heart far away.”
“I want her to become a heart that is as strong as it is beautiful.”
Come to think of it, Yeo-jeong had once told Lee An that she would become a precious person.
Lee An, are you doing well?
After their long-awaited reunion greetings were finished, Mu-geuk asked her, “Do you have any idea who might be behind this?”
Yeo-jeong shook her head. “No.”
She had quietly grown the Heavenly Flower Pavilion while avoiding any entanglement in the affairs of the Murim.
Mu-geuk’s gaze naturally shifted to one person. It was Jae In, who lay collapsed after having his acupoints sealed.
“Who is that?”
At the Smiling Demon’s question, Mu-geuk answered, “He’s a subordinate of the man tasked with pursuing Miss Cho. We need someone truly terrifying to make him open his mouth.”
A cold laugh drifted from the hollow eye sockets of the Smiling Demon’s mask.
“You won’t have to look far.”
*
Jae In regained consciousness and opened his eyes.
‘Ah! I was captured by the Young Cult Leader.’
He remembered his blood points being sealed by Geom Mu-geuk.
‘He was babbling some nonsense about being the Young Alliance Leader.’
As he looked around, Jae In flinched. Only then did he realize someone was standing in the room, back turned, looking out the window.
“Where have you taken me?”
Jae In assumed the man was Geom Mu-geuk.
“No matter how much you pressure me, there are things I can and cannot do. The master I serve places great importance on keeping a client’s secrets. So even if you go to him, you won’t find out who the client is…”
Just then, the door opened and Geom Mu-geuk walked in. Jae In was startled to see him.
“What are you talking about? Are you two friends already?”
The man who had been standing with his back to the window slowly turned around.
The moment he saw him, Jae In’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. That mask, standing there with the Young Cult Leader? He knew who it was instantly.
“The Smiling Demon!”
The name escaped his lips before he could stop it. Terrified, he quickly clamped his hand over his mouth. The hand covering his mouth trembled violently. A chill ran down his entire body.
No matter how much one pretended to be strong, there was a primal fear that the Smiling Demon instilled in any martial artist. The horrific dread that if the Smiling Demon killed you, it wouldn't be a simple death.
He remembered what Mu-geuk had said just before he lost consciousness—that someone truly terrifying was at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion. That person was the Smiling Demon!
The Smiling Demon approached slowly, staring at Jae In, and asked coldly, “Are you the one who sent the Ghost Killing Squad to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion?”
Jae In felt a sense of crisis, as if his entire body would be torn apart if he said yes.
“No!”
“Then who was it?”
Jae In was momentarily speechless.
Then, his eyes met the Smiling Demon’s. The moment he looked into those eyes within the mask’s sockets, Jae In felt a terror unlike anything he had ever experienced. It wasn’t just because the opponent was the Smiling Demon; the eyes themselves were simply too frightening. His will crumbled in an instant, and survival instinct took over.
“The master I serve sent them!”
The Smiling Demon hadn’t pointed a finger at his eyes or inflicted any pain, but in the end, Jae In could not overcome the sheer terror the Smiling Demon radiated.
The Smiling Demon remained silent, waiting for the next words.
“I will take you to him!”
Only then did the Smiling Demon walk back to the window and stand with his back turned once more.
Mu-geuk approached Jae In. “I understand. Even I, the Young Cult Leader, find him scary. I can only imagine how you feel.”
Jae In let out a long sigh. “My master will never reveal the client. He is pathologically obsessed with maintaining that principle.”
Suddenly, the Smiling Demon, still looking out the window, spoke up.
“No matter what kind of man he is, he will talk eventually.”
After a brief pause, he added with absolute conviction, “Because the Young Cult Leader will be the one designing the trap this time.”
*
Seo Dan-myeong never stayed in one place.
He moved constantly by carriage, and he always chose the meeting locations.
Today, his carriage was parked in an alleyway with a view of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion, but from the opposite direction of yesterday.
Jae In climbed into the carriage and reported in a low voice.
“I failed.”
Seo Dan-myeong’s face twitched. “Are you saying Goe Ak failed to kill him?”
“No, he didn’t even try to fight. They were already acquainted.” Jae In delivered the truth. “The man escorting the courtesan was none other than the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.”
The first emotion Seo Dan-myeong felt was relief rather than shock.
‘I knew it!’
It felt as though the questions that had been weighing on him throughout this operation were suddenly resolved. When he had heard that even Goe Ak had failed, his future had looked bleak.
But hearing the name of the Demonic Cult’s Young Cult Leader brought light to that darkness.
‘I’m not a failure! I just had damnably bad luck.’
Then, suspicion naturally followed. ‘There’s no way the Young Cult Leader just let him go.’
When Seo Dan-myeong’s gaze toward him turned cold, Jae In spoke honestly.
“Yes, I have brought the Reaper with me. This carriage is being watched even now.”
“You lunatic!”
Killing intent flashed in Seo Dan-myeong’s eyes. Knowing the suspicious Seo Dan-myeong would never believe he had come alone, Jae In had decided to be blunt.
“Do you wish to die by my hand?”
“No, it’s because I trust you, Elder.”
“Because you trust me?”
“I trust that you will find a way to escape, no matter what.”
Slap!
Seo Dan-myeong struck Jae In across the cheek without mercy.
“You should have died there!”
He wanted to plunge a dagger into the neck of the bowing Jae In right then and there.
But he couldn’t. If he killed the boy, the Demonic Cult bastards would swarm in immediately to capture or kill him.
Just then, the door opened and Geom Mu-geuk climbed into the carriage.
“I came early because it seemed emotions were running high. Ah, I’ve put the subordinates hiding nearby to sleep, so don’t get your hopes up.”
Seo Dan-myeong recognized the newcomer as the Young Cult Leader immediately.
“Young Cult Leader.”
“I hear you are called the Net Weaver?”
“I am.”
“A weaver of nets. It’s a fine name.”
Mu-geuk treated him with courtesy. Even transparent kindness is always better than rudeness. This was especially true for a man like Seo Dan-myeong, who took pride in the name Net Weaver.
“I can guess why you’ve come, but I cannot reveal the client. I may die by your hand, but my death will remain an honorable one.”
It was half a refusal to be intimidated and half-sincerity. He didn’t want to die. But he was just as unwilling to reveal the client.
Then, Mu-geuk said something unexpected.
“You won’t die by my hand, but by the client’s. And it won’t be a very honorable death.”
Seo Dan-myeong shook his head firmly. “As long as I keep the secret, the client will not try to kill me. We made that promise very clear from the start.”
“That’s not why.”
Mu-geuk pointed out something he hadn’t considered.
“You nearly ruined their plans.”
Both Seo Dan-myeong and Jae In were curious as to what that meant.
“They are trying to plot something using the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master. That’s why that courtesan risked her life to reach her. But you attacked the pavilion and tried to kill everyone there.”
“That was—!”
It had been a tactic to prevent the courtesan from making contact. He hadn’t known their objective was the Pavilion Master and the pavilion itself.
“I didn’t know that!”
“Do you think they’ll care? Even if they did, what does it matter? You’ve already ruined everything. I’m going to go out and announce that the Pavilion Master is dead. Your enraged client will surely try to kill you.”
Then came Mu-geuk’s decisive card.
“I will wait and find out who the client is through the people they send to kill you. Since they’ll think everything is ruined and over, they’ll use their own people to erase all traces.”
“...!”
“The life you’ve built will end with you being killed by your own client. You touched us, so you should be prepared for that much.”
Seo Dan-myeong was momentarily flustered, his mind going blank.
Mu-geuk didn’t give him time to think and pressed on.
As Mu-geuk made to leave the carriage, Jae In shouted, “Wait! If we tell you the client… will you let us live?”
It was, of course, a pre-arranged interruption and a pre-arranged persuasion.
“Elder, you can’t let it end like this. You must stay alive to plan for the future.”
Still, the words to reveal the client didn’t come easily from Seo Dan-myeong’s mouth.
Mu-geuk delivered the final, powerful blow he had prepared.
“No one but us will ever know that you were the one who revealed it.”
The cold solution offered by Mu-geuk—or rather, by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—tempted him powerfully.
“Because we intend to wipe that client off the face of the earth.”