Chapter 609: What Were You Thinking While Sitting Here?
Chapter 609: What Were You Thinking While Sitting Here?
"Father entered closed-door training?"
Geom Mu-geuk, along with the Fist Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable who accompanied him, looked at Sama Myeong with tense expressions.
It had been a long time since his father had last entered seclusion.
"Did something happen?"
At Mu-geuk’s worried tone, Sama Myeong shook his head with a gentle expression.
"No. He entered seclusion solely for the sake of his martial arts."
Mu-geuk knew his father had changed since his own regression. Unlike in his previous life, his father had become far more focused on his personal cultivation.
For such a man to enter closed-door training meant he was on the verge of a significant breakthrough.
Has he surpassed the Ten-Star Great Achievement of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art and entered the Eleventh-Star realm? Or is he seeking to reach the Twelve-Star Great Achievement?
One thing was certain: his father’s strength before entering seclusion and his strength after emerging would be worlds apart.
"Once Father completes his training, the Cult's power will grow even stronger."
Sama Myeong stared at Mu-geuk and asked, "Does that make you uneasy?"
How could it? Mu-geuk was the person who wanted his father to become so strong that no one could ever challenge him.
However, what if that strength was directly linked to the unification of the Murim, as the question implied?
Since he had already officially declared that he would stop his father from unifying the Murim, Mu-geuk answered honestly.
"Overflowing power is bound to burst forth eventually."
Mu-geuk looked back at the Fist Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable.
They really are overflowing with power.
It just so happened that the two Demon Lords with him today were the ones most loyal to his father.
The Fist Demon, whom his father trusted most.
The One Flower Sword Venerable, who respected his father most.
If his father gave the order, these men would plunge into war tomorrow, even if it meant countless sacrifices.
"I shouldn't have told him about the Heavenly Dipper Body," Mu-geuk joked.
Knowing the meaning behind his jest, the two Demon Lords merely offered faint smiles.
When Mu-geuk looked back at Sama Myeong, the strategist relayed his father's message.
"The Cult Leader told me to tell the Young Cult Leader this, should you return while he is away. 'While I am gone...'"
Mu-geuk raised a hand, signaling that he would finish the sentence.
"‘Take good care of the Cult? I believe in you, my son!’"
With an expression that said keep dreaming, Sama Myeong imitated the father’s deep voice and said, "‘Don't cause any trouble.’"
The sound of the One Flower Sword Venerable’s laughter echoed through the hall.
"He still doesn't know me. I don't cause trouble; I’m an expert at cleaning it up!"
Mu-geuk turned around and sought support from the One Flower Sword Venerable.
"You saw it, didn't you? You saw how well I handled things this time."
The One Flower Sword Venerable looked at the Fist Demon standing beside him and replied, "The Fist Demon was the one who handled things. Our Young Cult Leader only slunk out from the underground after everything was finished. Isn't that right?"
Mu-geuk looked indignant, matching the mischievous glint in the Sword Venerable's eyes.
"Even you’re doing this to me, Sword Venerable? This is too much! Do you have any idea how much I suffered underground, breathing in all that dust? Don't even get me started. Have you ever slept on a hard wooden bed? Have you ever been hit by a shoe? I’m only keeping quiet because I’m a man of few words..."
As Mu-geuk’s rant threatened to drag on, the Fist Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable bid Sama Myeong farewell.
"We shall take our leave now."
Sama Myeong returned the greeting with a polite fist salute.
"Go and rest well."
As the two turned to leave, Mu-geuk followed close behind.
"Let's go together. I’m not finished talking yet. I'll see you later, Strategist."
Just as Mu-geuk was about to follow them out, Sama Myeong called him back.
"Where are you going, Young Cult Leader?"
"Where am I going? I’ve just returned after a long time, so I should go see people and have some fun. Please, believe me, I’ve been through a lot."
"I believe that, but there is something you must do."
"Me?"
"Starting today, you must handle the Cult Leader's duties in his stead."
Unexpected words flowed from Sama Myeong’s mouth.
"From this moment on, you are the Acting Cult Leader."
Mu-geuk’s eyes widened.
"You’re joking, right?"
"The Cult Leader gave that order before entering seclusion."
"Until when?"
"Until he emerges from his closed-door training."
Closed-door training was an unpredictable thing; no one knew if he would come out tomorrow or ten years from now.
"What if he comes out a year later?"
"Then you must do it until then."
It was at that moment.
Sssssss.
Hwi, who had been hidden in the shadows, revealed himself.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch!
Behind Hwi, experts dressed in the same attire appeared in a line. They were the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Guard led by Hwi—specifically, the team leaders permitted to enter the interior of the Heavenly Demon Hall. It was the first time even Mu-geuk had seen them all gathered in one place.
On the chests of their guard uniforms was a shield, and inside that shield was the image of an evil ghost modeled after the Heavenly Demon Soul.
Hwi bowed respectfully and pledged his loyalty.
"Captain Hwi of the Guard. From this day forward, I shall serve the Acting Cult Leader with my life."
Wait, Uncle Hwi, what are you doing?
Ssssss.
After offering their formal greetings, they vanished in an instant.
Once they were gone, the Fist Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable, who had been about to leave, turned back and offered a solemn fist salute.
"We greet the Acting Cult Leader."
Their attitude was incomparably more respectful than before. Though he wasn't the actual Cult Leader, the two Demon Lords showed him the etiquette due to the position. They weren't teasing him.
Mu-geuk could feel it. He realized how they truly viewed his father. He felt the absolute, insurmountable wall that existed between a Young Cult Leader and the Cult Leader.
"Wait, isn't your attitude changing a bit too suddenly?"
He hoped they would take it as a joke, but the Fist Demon and the Sword Venerable were dead serious.
"You two are totally playing favorites!"
At that, the two Demon Lords struck a fist salute in unison.
"Please, give us your command."
Since they refused to play along, Mu-geuk let out a sigh. He had intended to joke by asking who had really handled the recent incident, but he couldn't bring himself to do it in the face of their sincerity.
"Go and rest."
"We obey your command."
The Fist Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable left the Heavenly Demon Hall, walking along the path of blood.
From the distant doorway, the Fist Demon looked back. His gaze seemed to say: It is an important position, so do well.
Mu-geuk nodded back with a serious expression.
Yes, Master.
Since it was an order from his father, this matter could not be a joke to his master.
Of course, that didn't mean Mu-geuk would accept the role of Acting Cult Leader so easily.
Mu-geuk spoke to Sama Myeong with an air of solemnity.
"As the Acting Cult Leader, I command you. I shall entrust the position of Acting Cult Leader to the Chief Strategist. Please take charge of the Cult from now on."
Naturally, it didn't work.
"The Cult Leader anticipated you would say that and told me to tell you it is absolutely out of the question."
Seriously, Father? Are you really doing this to me?
"I have a line of people waiting for me!"
"Tell them to wait."
"I haven't even changed out of these women's clothes yet!"
"Do it after work."
"This won't do. I need to enter closed-door training too. Honestly, I’m the one who needs it most."
Sama Myeong replied leisurely once again.
"He anticipated that as well and said it is absolutely forbidden."
"Father! You’re too much!"
Sama Myeong looked up at the Grand Tutor’s Chair and said, "Will you take your seat now?"
"Do I have to work from Father's seat? Can't I just handle things comfortably down here?"
"You cannot. Even as an acting official, you are representing the seat of the venerable Cult Leader."
Faced with Sama Myeong’s firm tone, Mu-geuk had no choice but to climb the stairs.
He didn't sit down immediately.
Standing beside the Grand Tutor’s Chair, he looked down at the empty seat for a moment. He recalled the image of his father always sitting there.
Father. You should have been sitting here laughing at me. I wanted to see that smirk so much.
Because his father was someone who always held his place, the sense of loss from his absence felt even greater.
Mu-geuk carefully sat in the Grand Tutor’s Chair.
He sat there in silence, taking in the view from the seat.
Shortly after his regression, his father had once let him sit here. When his father asked how it felt, Mu-geuk had replied that he felt nothing. And at the time, that was the truth.
But now, it felt completely different.
A strange trembling vibrated through his entire body.
Father, why did you entrust this to me?
He didn't necessarily have to make Mu-geuk the acting leader; he could have left things to Sama Myeong. Hadn't he left Sama Myeong in charge when they went on their trip together?
So, why give the role to him now?
Are you testing me?
Testing to see if he was fit to be the Cult Leader.
Eventually, Mu-geuk’s gaze turned toward Sama Myeong.
"It feels overwhelming and wrong to be looking down at you like this, Strategist."
"Do not say such things. For now, you are occupying the Cult Leader's place."
"What should I start with?"
Sama Myeong walked over to a table in the corner. It was piled high with documents.
"Is that a lifetime's worth of work?"
Sama Myeong replied bluntly to Mu-geuk’s question.
"It is today's work."
Mu-geuk shouted into the air again.
"Uncle Hwi! Are you listening? Make sure to tell Father! I’m going to cause trouble! Tell him there’s going to be a huge mess!"
Hwi was likely the only person allowed to enter the area where the closed-door training was taking place.
Of course, there was no way the message would actually be delivered. Unless a war broke out, no news—no matter how urgent—would be allowed to disturb his father’s meditation.
Sama Myeong began the briefing in earnest.
"First, I will report on the major incidents and accidents within the Central Plains."
Only the most critical events from across the Central Plains were reported.
Starting with information regarding the movements of the Murim Alliance and the Unorthodox Path Alliance, the report covered the trends of the great sects and the flow of the merchant world. All sorts of information were presented.
Which experts from the Murim Alliance and the Unorthodox Path Alliance were moving where. Which sects were in conflict. Which merchant groups had joined hands with which sects.
Once the reports were finished, the matters requiring decisions were next.
"Next are the matters requiring your authorization. First, it seems we need to increase our forces at the Honam Branch. This is to respond to the increase in personnel at the Murim Alliance's Honam Branch."
"How many did the Murim Alliance add?"
"Ten people."
Honam was within the sphere of influence of the Orthodox factions. Because of that, both the Cult and the Unorthodox Path Alliance operated their branches there with relatively small numbers. They were respecting each other's territories.
"Is it necessary to react to a change of only ten people? Won't that just needlessly provoke the Murim Alliance?"
Mu-geuk wondered if Sama Myeong was concerned because Honam was far from the headquarters.
Sama Myeong gave an unexpected answer.
"On the contrary, doing nothing would be what provokes them."
"What do you mean by that?"
"This response is a form of conversation. We are letting them know that we are watching their movements. We know they added ten people, so we are adding this many as well. If we show no reaction, it becomes a danger signal instead. It would imply that the Cult's internal information network is not functioning properly."
"Then wouldn't that be good news for them rather than a danger signal?"
"No, they do not want a change in the status quo of the Cult."
Mu-geuk hadn't realized that Tongcheon Pavilion paid attention to such delicate details.
Perhaps because it was the first decision of the first day, Sama Myeong left the choice to Mu-geuk.
"How many should we send?"
Mu-geuk was about to say let's just send five, but then he changed his mind.
"Should we send about a thousand and give them a shock?"
"As you wish."
As Sama Myeong picked up the next document as if he were actually going to do it, Mu-geuk spoke up quickly.
"I’m joking!"
How could Sama Myeong not have known it was a joke?
"That is a pity. It was a golden opportunity to station a thousand men at the Honam Branch."
On the other hand, Mu-geuk knew well that the strategist wasn't entirely joking either.
"Do you desire it as well, Strategist?"
"Desire what?"
"My father's unification of the Murim."
"Why do you ask that all of a sudden?"
"Because I felt like you would give me the most honest answer if I asked while sitting here."
After a brief pause, Sama Myeong answered.
"I wish to see the Cult Leader's Jianghu."
It meant he wanted the Heavenly Demon to unify the Murim.
Perhaps Sama Myeong, more than anyone else, wanted to help his lord achieve the unification of the world. That feat would be the ultimate achievement for a strategist.
Mu-geuk didn't pry any deeper. It wasn't a conversation to be had while looking down from above.
"Alright, what's next?"
*
Perhaps it was because he was doing work he had never done before, but time flew by.
"Time is up. Let us stop here for today."
It seemed there was a set time for processing work with Sama Myeong.
"But there’s still so much left."
They hadn't even finished a third of the work he had brought.
"We shall continue tomorrow."
"When you do this with Father, do you finish everything within the time limit?"
"Usually, yes."
Mu-geuk stood up from the Grand Tutor’s Chair and said, "Now I see. I see why Father guarded this chair so fiercely. Even if he wanted to run away, he couldn't because there was too much work."
He had vaguely known his father was busy, but he hadn't realized he was handling this much.
Truly, without a profound sense of responsibility, one could not possibly pay attention to every single detail.
"You did well for your first day."
Working together today, Sama Myeong had seen a new side of Mu-geuk.
"You are much more meticulous than I thought."
Mu-geuk had asked questions immediately whenever there was something he didn't know, and he didn't handle matters carelessly. He deliberated twice, thrice.
"It’s not because I’m meticulous, but because I have anxiety. I worry about what will happen if I make the wrong decision and things go south. I worry about disappointing Father or the Chief Strategist."
Sama Myeong stared at Mu-geuk for a moment.
"The greater the anxiety, the greater the results tend to be. Though it is exhausting for the person involved. Now, please rest."
After a polite bow, Sama Myeong left the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Since there was still time left before the day truly ended, his father would have remained here alone even after Sama Myeong left.
What were you thinking while sitting here? What did you think about the most?
He hadn't realized it when his father was around.
Ironically, his father's absence had become an opportunity to understand him better.
Even so, I miss you, Father.