Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Homecoming to the Hyeok Clan
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"You've all worked hard."
Wearing his bamboo hat once more, Hyeok Mulin encouraged the guards as he stepped out through the main gate.
By now, the sunlight pouring down from the sky had grown stronger than it had been in the morning.
'This should be enough to get the message across.'
There was no need to make any further moves toward the Yagul Clan.
Time would sort out his concerns.
But resolving one issue didn't mean he could sit idle.
Problems still remained that needed addressing.
Hyeok Mulin headed straight for the Heavenly Demon Palace and sought out the Pure Heaven Pavilion.
As he opened the door, he spotted Sima Jin immersed in his usual paperwork.
So focused on the documents, Sima Jin hadn't even noticed Hyeok Mulin enter and was lost in thought.
'It's been quite a while.'
Recently, after visiting the Full Moon Earth Trade Fair, Hyeok Mulin had been training the Ice Soul Severance Palm at the Heavenly Martial Hall and hadn't stopped by the Pure Heaven Pavilion.
It felt like ages since he'd last seen Sima Jin, but now the man handled his duties with greater skill—his face even looked healthier than before.
Hyeok Mulin approached him slowly and spoke.
"You've been working hard."
"C-Cult Leader! When did you arrive?!"
Startled, Sima Jin jumped up from his seat, but Hyeok Mulin waved him down, saying there was no need.
The man certainly knew how to make a fuss.
'Come to think of it...'
Hyeok Mulin's gaze suddenly drifted to the brush in Sima Jin's hand.
Despite serving as deputy strategist to the Heavenly Demon, he was using an ordinary brush issued to regular strategists.
Probably because he'd been summoned abruptly without time to prepare anything special.
Nodding slightly, Hyeok Mulin reached into his robe and placed something on the desk.
Sima Jin's eyes widened in shock at the sight, and his voice rose.
"Isn't this the Celestial Purity Brush?!"
A brush crafted by the master artisan who had maintained the emperor's stationery.
The lightest brush in the world, it never caused hand fatigue even after days of nonstop writing through the night.
Moreover, its feather-light weight was inversely proportional to its durability—hard as thousand-year wrought iron, making it usable as a weapon in emergencies.
"How on earth did you obtain something this precious?"
"Picked it up off the street."
"Th-that can't be...!"
Sima Jin stammered in confusion at Hyeok Mulin's deadpan response.
"It's yours now."
"It's far too valuable for someone like me."
Swallowing hard, Sima Jin hesitated before trying to hand it back.
But Hyeok Mulin refused firmly.
"If the man assisting the Heavenly Demon trembles over something like this, the world will mock me. Take it."
Sima Jin stared down at the Celestial Purity Brush.
He must have noticed the fleeting glance Sima Jin had given it when asked what he needed before—though he'd never voiced it.
Saying he picked it up off the street was just to put his mind at ease.
Sima Jin couldn't even begin to imagine how Hyeok Mulin had acquired such a treasure.
It must have involved immense hardship and expense.
'I will repay this trust with more than it demands.'
Since entering the Heavenly Demon Palace, Sima Jin had never slacked off, but now he resolved with iron determination to redouble his efforts.
Swish.
As Hyeok Mulin hung up his bamboo hat and outer robe to change, Sima Jin watched and spoke up.
"You visited the Yagul Clan."
With just a few clues, Sima Jin had quickly pieced it together.
"Yes."
"Did the talks go smoothly? Convincing them must have been quite difficult."
Sima Jin knew better than anyone.
At present, there was little to sway the Yagul Clan's heart.
Yet Hyeok Mulin nodded affirmatively.
"It will happen."
"...!"
Sima Jin's pupils dilated at the response.
"How did you convince them?"
Yagul Hyeon was a born businessman, cold and calculating.
Tricks or sentiment wouldn't sway him.
As Sima Jin puzzled over it, Hyeok Mulin replied lightly.
"I told them the Hyeok Clan will reclaim its ancestral arts."
"Is that true?!"
Sima Jin slammed the desk and shot to his feet in astonishment.
"Yes."
It was about time to tell Sima Jin.
Hyeok Mulin briefly explained his bold confrontation with Yagul Hyeon and the current situation.
Sima Jin listened intently, his eyes gradually lighting up.
"They have no choice but to accept."
If this was true, the Yagul Clan had no options left.
Whether soon or late, the outcome was set.
"Chaos will descend upon our cult."
No need for more details—Sima Jin's mind had already mapped out the turmoil ahead for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
But if they weathered it, the Cult Leader and Hyeok Clan would rise to entirely new heights.
"That's why I'm heading to the Hyeok Clan right now."
"An excellent decision."
To ally with the Yagul Clan, the Hyeok Clan issue had to be resolved first.
Moreover, he'd already revealed critical information to them. It was bound to surface eventually.
So, as the saying went, better to grasp the bull by the horns—Hyeok Mulin aimed to move as swiftly as possible.
As Sima Jin admired the choice, Hyeok Mulin asked abruptly.
"So, are you free right now?"
"Me?"
"You're needed there."
Sima Jin met Hyeok Mulin's gaze for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"I understand completely."
"Prepare quickly."
"Yes."
Sima Jin nodded, changed his clothes promptly, glanced at his desk to ensure nothing was missed, then tenderly tucked away the gifted Celestial Purity Brush before following Hyeok Mulin out of the Pure Heaven Pavilion.
Outside, Hyeok Mulin also commanded Jang Wi, who was watching from somewhere.
"Have the Left Protector join us officially."
"Yes."
Jang Wi appeared and fell in behind him.
The three moved with Hyeok Mulin in the lead, Jang Wi and Sima Jin bringing up the rear.
'No need to complicate things by calling in the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad.'
They exited the Heavenly Demon Palace and headed toward the Hyeok Clan manor, only to run into someone coming the opposite way.
"...!"
"...!"
Cheon Seohee, accompanied by her escorts, en route somewhere.
Hyeok Mulin, spotting his ex-wife, paused briefly.
She froze upon seeing him too.
But with their eyes locked, pretending not to see each other wasn't an option.
Nor could she abruptly turn away, so Cheon Seohee approached slowly and spoke.
"...It's been a while."
"Indeed."
"I've heard about the Divine Demon Blood Death Squad matters. You must have a lot on your plate lately."
"Yes. I could use ten bodies and it still wouldn't be enough."
After this brief exchange of pleasantries, an awkward silence settled between them.
Glancing at those following Hyeok Mulin, Cheon Seohee spoke up.
"Where are you headed?"
"To my family home."
The Hyeok Clan...?
Her eyes widened slightly.
It was the first time since his ascension that the man, who seemed to attract incidents lately, was visiting his home.
What was about to unfold now?
"Well, I'll be on my way."
Hyeok Mulin passed her matter-of-factly.
Once he was fully gone, Cheon Seohee, who had stood frozen in place, slowly turned her head.
"..."
She silently watched his retreating figure.
For some reason, his back seemed far broader than before.
Cheon Seohee remained rooted there, unable to tear her eyes away until he vanished completely from sight.
In the distance, the main gate of the Hyeok Clan manor came into Hyeok Mulin's view.
He hadn't even entered yet, but his heart—the former clan patriarch's—was already stirring.
'My first step here since becoming Cult Leader.'
The reason Hyeok Mulin hadn't visited the Hyeok Clan lately.
Before the divorce, he'd had no time; after...
'It was to protect the Hyeok Clan.'
At the time of his divorce from Cheon Seohee, with his influence plummeting, Hyeok Mulin had deliberately distanced himself from the clan.
To minimize ties to him and ease tensions with the Cheon Clan, even if just a little.
And it hadn't been in vain.
The Cheon Clan still cold-shouldered the Hyeok Clan, but the other clans hadn't abandoned them.
Looking back, it had been the right call.
Step by step.
As Hyeok Mulin drew near the gate, the guards spotted him and recoiled in shock.
"F-For—er, esteemed Cult Leader! We greet you!"
Stumbling over their ingrained phrasing, the guards stiffly saluted, at a loss for what to do.
It was his first visit since becoming Cult Leader, leaving them flustered and unprepared.
Jang Wi spoke to them.
"Send word that the Cult Leader has arrived."
"Y-Yes! Right away!"
Shouting at the top of their lungs, the guards—too panicked to remember one should stay at the gate—both dashed inside in a fluster.
Amused by the sight, Hyeok Mulin calmly crossed the threshold into the family manor.
Taking in the interior at a glance, he halted in place for a moment.
'...Just as I remember.'
In his previous life, after becoming Cult Leader, he'd visited less and less while training his martial arts, and after middle age, not once.
Stepping into the Hyeok Clan manor was a homecoming after decades.
Hyeok Mulin gazed at the elegant single-story halls.
Familiar halls.
Familiar courtyards.
Familiar scents.
Familiar landscaping.
As he absorbed the sight of home, memories and recollections flooded back vividly.
Thus immersed in nostalgia with hands clasped behind his back, he heard heavy footsteps approaching from afar.
Thud thud thud!
Along with the ground-shaking clamor, the Hyeok Clan's chief steward, Hwang Gibok, rushed out and cried joyfully.
"Oh my, Cult Leader! How long has it been since your last visit! Welcome, truly welcome!"
"It's been a while. Looks like you've put on even more weight."
"Haha! You're too kind. Come, this way to the guest hall. I've informed the patriarch—he'll join you shortly."
As Hwang Gibok turned to lead him...
"Where's my brother?"
Hyeok Mulin's question brought the steward up short.
Feeling a bead of sweat trickle from his sideburns, Hwang Gibok cautiously replied.
"I believe he's at the training grounds... but..."
Eyeing the situation, he added,
"Perhaps see the patriarch first, then meet the young heir at your leisure...?"
"Training grounds. Got it."
Cutting him off, Hyeok Mulin instructed Jang Wi and Sima Jin.
"Left Protector, accompany the deputy strategist to the guest hall first."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
With that, Hyeok Mulin's footsteps turned toward the training grounds.
The steward winced, eyes squeezed shut.
'Trouble's brewing.'
But with the man already set on it, there was no stopping him.
Resigned, Hwang Gibok escorted the deputy strategist and Left Protector to the guest hall while heading to report Hyeok Mulin's movements to the patriarch.
Meanwhile, Hyeok Mulin navigated the familiar grounds with practiced ease.
Even after decades, he could find his way blindfolded.
And in a blink, he arrived at the training grounds.
"The young heir's private grounds should be..."
The far left side.
Recalling, he proceeded slowly.
Thus, as he stepped into the entrance of the young heir's private training grounds...
Whoosh!
A sword hurtled toward his face with ferocious speed.
Clang.
Swift and brutal as it was, Hyeok Mulin impassively caught the blade's tip between two fingers.
Then, staring straight ahead calmly, he said,
"Long time no see."
Little brother.