Chapter 540: Will I Still Be There Then?
Chapter 540: Will I Still Be There Then?
Jin Ha-ryeong’s reflection joined theirs in the bronze mirror.
“We all owe you our lives, yet here you are, trying to save everyone again.”
If not for Geom Mu-geuk, neither she nor her brother would be alive today. The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master had said she owed her life to him as well, and she knew Bi Sa-in had also been saved by his hand.
The eyes of the two siblings reflected in the mirror turned toward the third figure.
“Even if you were to commit a wrong and someone were to rightfully kill you, I would spend the rest of my life consumed by rage,” Geom Mu-geuk said. “Perhaps not every single day, but on the days I remembered you, I would fly into a furious temper. Just imagine it—me, living my life taking my frustrations out on others.”
Jin Ha-ryeong didn't even want to imagine Geom Mu-geuk—a man who was currently the polar opposite—saying things that hurt people.
“But to lose you to those who plot in the shadows? And in this place, where I summoned you? I’m not doing this for your sake. I’m doing it for myself, because I would be the one suffering for a lifetime. So, don’t even dream of getting hurt or dying!”
With those final words, Geom Mu-geuk was the first to leave the room.
Jin Ha-gun turned to his sister and spoke calmly.
“This is why we had to come the moment we received word.”
There was something Jin Ha-ryeong wanted to say to her brother in response.
“Don’t give your heart too much to the Young Cult Leader.”
“Why?”
“Because you will suffer far more than he will.”
She was speaking of what would happen if they lost one another. No matter what the Young Cult Leader said, she wasn't worried about him. To her, Geom Mu-geuk was simply that kind of person—unshakeable. But she was worried about her brother.
Jin Ha-gun looked back at the bronze mirror and straightened his clothes.
“I am a selfish man as well. It is because I am such a person… that I had such concerns.”
Just unburdening his worries to Geom Mu-geuk had made him feel much lighter. Indeed, how could this path ever be easy? Still, it was enough to know that someone truly understood the difficulty of the road he traveled and was cheering him on.
Jin Ha-ryeong had been inwardly surprised when Jin Ha-gun confessed his troubles. She had assumed he performed his role as the Demon Extermination Squad Leader because he truly enjoyed it.
If he had confessed those worries to anyone else, she would surely have been jealous. They were burdens he had never once shared with her.
“You should be the one careful not to give your heart away,” Jin Ha-gun countered.
“I won’t. Besides, it’s not like giving my heart would change anything.”
At that, Jin Ha-gun’s voice rose sharply.
“What’s wrong with you?”
It wasn't the shout of the Demon Extermination Squad Leader, but that of a protective older brother.
Of course, it was a shout that led nowhere. He couldn't exactly tell her to try and make things work with the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.
Jin Ha-gun turned abruptly and left the room.
Left alone, Jin Ha-ryeong sat on the edge of Geom Mu-geuk’s bed.
“How can I give my heart?” she whispered into the silence. After a brief pause, she added in a low breath, “When I’ve already given it all away.”
*
Jin Ha-gun and the Demon Extermination Squad were deployed to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.
“The liquor is stored in this warehouse. When an order comes in, you fetch it from here. Here is the list of the various spirits.”
Yeo-jeong led them around, teaching them their "duties."
While learning the ropes from her, Jin Ha-gun stationed the Demon Extermination Squad warriors in various rooms. He had them plan in advance where and how to hide their swords, and how to evacuate the courtesans in case of an emergency.
The warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad had no complaints about this operation. Having gone through recent events, they were already deeply indebted to Geom Mu-geuk.
If anything, this work at the pavilion felt fresh. How long had it been since they had worn something other than their martial uniforms?
Since the courtesans at the main headquarters were personally handpicked by Yeo-jeong, they remained unfazed by the sudden influx of "staff." Instead, the newly arrived warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad became the talk of the town among them.
They gossiped about which warrior was handsome, who was kind, and who resembled whom.
A few days passed as they adjusted to one another.
*
“Am I the only one who feels uneasy?”
Jin Ha-ryeong blocked Jin Ha-gun’s path. He looked at his sister while holding armfuls of liquor bottles in both hands.
“I’m busy, the customers are waiting!”
Jin Ha-gun brushed past her and hurried away.
It wasn't just him. The Demon Extermination Squad warriors had adapted to the work with frightening speed. Some of them looked as if they had been serving tables for years. One warrior had even received a love letter from a courtesan.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master also acted as if nothing were wrong, looking after the girls and fulfilling her role as the mistress of the house.
Ultimately, the person Jin Ha-ryeong sought out was Geom Mu-geuk. He had been cooped up inside his quarters, though she didn't know what he was doing.
“Aren't you worried?”
“About what?”
“The Demon Extermination Squad and their leader are currently carrying liquor bottles in the Heavenly Flower Pavilion. Don't you think the secret has leaked already?”
Even if this was the main headquarters of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion, it felt like the secret would get out. No, it likely already had.
“Yes, they probably know,” Geom Mu-geuk replied.
“They know? Then you’re saying the people from the merchant group think the men carrying that liquor are warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad?”
“Exactly.”
And yet he was letting them carry liquor so nonchalantly?
“They likely know everything. That I’m here, and that the Demon Extermination Squad has arrived. They probably even know you followed us.”
“Then shouldn't we strike the Hundred Precepts Merchant Group first to find out who’s behind them?”
“How?”
His question caught Jin Ha-ryeong off guard.
“Well, surely you people have ways of making them talk?”
“You seem to be expecting some mysterious great law that forces people to speak. We’re the same as you. We pull out fingernails and sear flesh with fire.”
“We don’t do things like that!”
“Your people do it too.”
Jin Ha-ryeong couldn't offer a strong rebuttal. There was no guarantee that a skewer wasn't being heated to a glowing red somewhere in the underground torture chambers of the Murim Alliance.
“Regardless, why aren't you doing anything? Your friend’s life is on the line.”
Geom Mu-geuk answered calmly.
“Because my friend’s honor is also on the line.”
Jin Ha-ryeong flinched.
The Hundred Precepts Merchant Group belonged to the Unorthodox Path Alliance. Striking them without clear evidence would be an act of blatant disrespect toward the Alliance.
“If anyone is to strike, it must be Sa-in.”
Jin Ha-ryeong’s face flushed slightly as she conceded the point. “I was short-sighted.”
Furthermore, they had officially invited Bi Sa-in.
Then, Geom Mu-geuk spoke flatly. “This is why.”
“Why what?”
“It feels as though they are deliberately drawing us in.”
Jin Ha-ryeong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“To any observer, the current situation is one where I must contact the Hundred Precepts Merchant Group or find something out from them. To the point where even you came to urge me to strike. Do you think they haven't considered that?”
She hadn't thought that far. What if it was as Geom Mu-geuk predicted? What if the enemy was waiting after setting a trap at the Hundred Precepts Merchant Group?
“Then the situation is truly dangerous right now, isn't it?”
Geom Mu-geuk asked her in return, “Dangerous? For whom? The interior of the Heavenly Flower Pavilion is guarded by the Demon Extermination Squad, and the exterior by the Faceless Guests. Then there’s me, and Lord Smiling Demon is here as well. Plus you and Captain Jin, and Young Alliance Leader Bi will be arriving with the 13 Wolves of the Unorthodox Path.”
It was a force that made the words 'Is it really still dangerous?' come to mind automatically.
“If you were the enemy, could you make a move in this situation?”
At Geom Mu-geuk’s question, Jin Ha-ryeong shook her head. “I would have run away without looking back.”
Indeed, to win against this side, one would practically have to start a war.
“And yet, they remain. They haven't even canceled the invitation. That means they have a move dangerous enough to counter all of this.”
The part Jin Ha-ryeong couldn't understand was this: “You don’t want anyone to get hurt or die, right? Then why not avoid it? You could reject the invitation and strike the Hundred Precepts Merchant Group together with Young Alliance Leader Bi.”
Then, words she hadn't expected flowed from Geom Mu-geuk.
“If we did that, they wouldn't use the move they’ve prepared.”
Just as she was thinking that would be for the best, she was struck by a sudden realization. “Wait, surely you don't mean…?”
Her suspicion was correct. Geom Mu-geuk nodded.
“Yes. I need to find out what that move is.”
Jin Ha-ryeong could see it now. Geom Mu-geuk was actually trying to draw the opponent in.
“Why?”
“Because even if it isn't used now, it will definitely be used someday.” He added the words that resolved her confusion. “Will I still be there then?”
“...!”
Geom Mu-geuk was worried about that move being unleashed in a place where he wasn't present. Against Jin Ha-gun when he wasn't there, against Bi Sa-in when he wasn't there, or against someone else entirely. If it was such a powerful move, he intended to step forward and stop it while he was still around.
Jin Ha-ryeong suddenly recalled what he had said while looking in the mirror a few days ago.
—None of us will get hurt or die. My flamboyant Demonic Path is far more selfish than your Path of Chivalry, so I absolutely cannot stand to see such a thing happen.
He really was selfish. To worry so much about the safety of others. To worry not just about the present situation, but about a future that hadn't even happened yet.
“Doesn't it get exhausting, living like this?”
Geom Mu-geuk held an unchanging conviction in his life.
“If people who shouldn't have died end up dying because I didn't live this way… that’s when it would be exhausting.”
Saving those who were not meant to die—that was the mission of this life.
Geom Mu-geuk said with a smile, “Don’t worry too much. If we die, they won't be safe either. The revenge of the Cult Leader and the Alliance Leaders of Majeongsa, who will have lost their children and disciples, will begin.”
“Don’t smile! That’s not funny at all.”
Her brother undoubtedly trusted Geom Mu-geuk even more than she did. He was likely carrying liquor with a peaceful mind, trusting that Geom Mu-geuk would have everything prepared.
“What should I do? Should I go wash dishes in the kitchen?”
“No. You protect the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master.”
Just as Jin Ha-gun had, Jin Ha-ryeong accepted readily.
“I’ll do that. But I can’t make a promise like my brother did. I can’t say I’ll protect her even if it costs me my life, but I will definitely protect her until the moment I’m about to die.”
Geom Mu-geuk smiled at her. “Protecting someone right up until the moment you die and then pulling back might be harder than dying while protecting them.”
*
Three days before Bi Sa-in’s arrival.
Geom Mu-geuk summoned everyone to his quarters: the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, Jin Ha-gun, Jin Ha-ryeong, and Yeo-jeong.
Geom Mu-geuk’s desk was piled high with documents. They were reports sent by Tongcheon Pavilion and Eun-wol after their investigations. The people belonging to the Hundred Precepts Merchant Group, their financial situations, their relationships, and their ties to other merchant groups—it was information that laid the group bare.
Geom Mu-geuk shared the most important piece of information with everyone.
“The Hundred Precepts Merchant Group recently completed an expansion project. They enlarged the training grounds and demolished old buildings to build new ones. Tongcheon Pavilion discovered that special materials were used in that construction.”
“It was a cover for construction, then,” the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon guessed.
Geom Mu-geuk nodded. “Yes. Based on the analysis of the materials, it appears they have installed offensive mechanical formations and arrays. Top-tier ones, at that. They say it will be extremely lethal.”
The mention of lethal mechanical formations made everyone’s expression turn grave. Such things were not easily built; even if one could find a master capable of creating them, it required a staggering amount of money.
Jin Ha-ryeong looked at Geom Mu-geuk with a startled expression. “Your prediction was right. The Hundred Precepts Merchant Group was a trap.”
As Geom Mu-geuk slowly nodded, Jin Ha-gun asked, “What do you intend to do?”
Everyone’s gaze focused on Geom Mu-geuk. He had already made his decision before calling them.
“Destroying that place is a matter for the Unorthodox Path Alliance to decide later. For now, let’s just prepare a proper feast for our friend. Please prepare the finest liquor and the most exquisite cuisine.”
Geom Mu-geuk looked around at everyone and added, “The real feast can only begin once this one is over.”
*
In the deep of night at a public cemetery, the howl of a wolf echoed from afar. Ancient tombstones that looked as if they would crumble at a touch heightened the eerie atmosphere.
Pyeong-wi, the Vice Leader of the Hundred Precepts Merchant Group, stood there. He had been tense the entire time he waited. And for good reason.
The thing he had been waiting for emerged from the darkness.
It was a carriage, gliding through the night sky as if floating on air. The carriage had a unique aura; it was painted entirely in pitch black, looking as if a solid chunk of darkness had broken off and begun to move.
Four people dressed in black with black veils surrounded the carriage. They also flew through the air, positioned at the four corners, and the aura they radiated was extraordinary. The lanterns held in their hands emitted a bizarre blue light, like the glow from the eyes of a ghost. It felt like a carriage connecting the underworld and the world of the living.
Thud, thud-thud.
Every living thing the carriage passed died. Birds and insects tumbled to the ground, and flowers withered in an instant. Even the trees shriveled and twisted.
The carriage came to a halt in the air before Pyeong-wi.
Pyeong-wi spoke in a respectful tone. “It is finally tomorrow.”
Tomorrow was the day they had invited Bi Sa-in. Tomorrow night, he would meet Bi Sa-in personally at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.
A woman’s voice drifted from inside the floating carriage.
“I sense fear in you.”
It was a voice both enchanting and dreamlike, one that shook the very soul of the listener.
Pyeong-wi’s pupils trembled. How could he not be afraid? No matter what plans they had, he had to walk into a place where the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, the Young Alliance Leader of the Unorthodox Path, and the Demon Extermination Squad Leader were all gathered.
The woman’s sweet voice flowed from the carriage once more.
“Do not be afraid.”
A mournful wind blew, and clouds obscured the moon.
“The night is always on our side.”