The Smiling Fox Returns to the Fold

Beneath the massive plaque hanging over the guild's grand front gates, a figure stood shrouded by a bamboo hat. It was not the shabby martial garb of the Hidden Demon Cave, but jet-black silk robes that gleamed faintly like ebony drinking in the moonlight. At his waist hung an ornament of costly white jade, proclaiming his noble station to all who cared to look.

The warriors guarding the front gate approached with wariness hardening in their eyes, hands already drifting toward their sword hilts.

"...Who goes there? Entry to these grounds is forbidden to outsiders."

The hatted man let their wary stares wash over him without a flicker, still gazing at the great gates as he answered in a low voice.

"Tell Lord Yu Baek-cheon that the guest he has been awaiting has returned."

There was none of the sly, easygoing charm he had worn in the Hidden Demon Cave — only a cool authority befitting his rank.

One warrior frowned and began to tighten his grip on his blade — when the grizzled veteran beside him turned deathly pale and shouted.

"Wait... could it be? Young... Young Master! Is that you, Young Master Yu Ha?"

Only then recognizing the boy's identity, the warriors scrambled to clear a path, bowing their heads low.

"What brings you back so early, my lord?"

Yu Ha lifted his face from beneath the bamboo hat at last, smiling sweetly.

"Well... I suppose I found the rare stretch of solitude rather enjoyable. Still, I found myself eager to see my grandfather and have a proper conversation."

The owner of that smile was the fox of the Hidden Demon Cave — the Smiling-Face Fox, Yu Ha.

His footsteps carried him toward the library located in the deepest, most secretive corner of the guild — the Ten Thousand Volumes Tower.

The shelves crammed floor to ceiling held far more than mere ledgers. Maps spanning every corner of the Central Plains, confidential dossiers on the personages of every power, and the secret histories of the defeated — erased by history's victors — all lay slumbering under a shroud of dust.

It's been a while since I last set foot in the Ten Thousand Volumes Tower.

This was, quite literally, the room where all the intelligence of the world converged — and where that intelligence was transmuted into wealth and power.

In the center of the room, behind a massive sandalwood desk bearing an enormous map of the Central Plains, an old man sat cross-legged in deep meditation.

Yu Ha offered his respects with a cup of tea, wearing an air of perfect innocence as he spoke.

"I have returned, Grandfather."

The Chief Guildmaster of the Sun Moon Merchant Guild — the magnate who ruled wealth and information from the shadows — Yu Baek-cheon, slowly opened his eyes.

Instead of lifting the teacup, he swept his benevolent gaze over the grandson who had returned ahead of schedule.

"So you have. And tell me — having infiltrated the Hidden Demon Cave yourself, what did you find? Among the Twelve Guardian Families and the Ten Demonic Sects, did anyone catch your eye?"

Yu Ha brought the teacup to his lips and smirked.

"Hehe, really, Grandfather. You know such a person would never be sent to the Hidden Demon Cave in the first place. They'd have him tucked away somewhere safe and sound. Aside from those Dogs of the Muk Family who climb by groveling, forever glancing downward in trembling fear while throwing their weight around with neither the courage nor the talent to rise."

"Then why did you fold your wings and come home so soon? The you I know would have found some way to drag things out and hold on till the end. Did you perhaps discover something that caught your interest?"

At Yu Baek-cheon's sharp observation, the sly smile hanging on Yu Ha's lips faded — for the first time — into something fainter.

For a moment, Yu Ha's gaze grew distant, as if recalling a certain stone chamber in the Hidden Demon Cave.

Ho... well, look at this boy?

The old man had not missed that minute shift in his grandson's expression.

Yu Baek-cheon leaned forward slightly.

The eyes that had seemed purely benevolent a heartbeat ago now gleamed with the razor edge of a merchant appraising a priceless treasure.

"Tell me. What was it that brought an end to your interminable boredom? A woman? A new toy? Or perhaps... a game piece worth actually playing?"

Tap.

Yu Ha set down his teacup — quietly, yet with a sound of unmistakable finality. That small noise cleaved the heavy silence of the room.

It carried a gravity he had never shown before. His expression was more serious than it had ever been.

"None of them."

Yu Ha raised his head. The mischief had drained from his eyes, and he met Yu Baek-cheon's piercing stare head-on without a trace of evasion.

"Simply... for the first time, this unworthy grandson has come to understand you a little."

"Bwahaha! You — the boy who couldn't endure boredom to save his life — you claim to understand this old man? The very brat who did nothing but nag me about being stuffy and impossible? The sun must be rising in the west!"

Doubt still laced Yu Baek-cheon's voice. In answer, Yu Ha rose and walked to the great map of the Central Plains hanging at the center of the room.

"Just as you once did, Grandfather... I believe I've found a board worth staking my life on."

He spread his hand toward the treacherous mountain ranges and vast plains drawn across the map.

"Hooh...!"

This was the grandson who had lived his whole life drifting free as the wind — the boy who had wandered the world in search of nothing more than amusing spectacles. He could scarcely believe the words had come from that boy's mouth. Yet when Yu Baek-cheon turned and met his grandson's eyes, he nodded.

"You brat. You're serious."

Those were no longer the eyes of a mischievous boy, but the eyes of a man with ambition to unfurl across the world.

"Yu Ha... don't tell me you intend to walk the same road as this old man."

Yu Baek-cheon's voice dropped low. It was no longer the tone of a grandfather testing his grandson, but the grave question of one kindred spirit asking another.

"Yes. I thought I might try my hand at moving the world from behind the curtain myself."

Then, as though he could no longer contain it, a booming laugh shook the Ten Thousand Volumes Tower to its rafters.

"Ku— KWAHAHAHA...!"

It was joy and elation — above all, the victorious laughter of a man who had at last found an heir to succeed him.

"All those years you browbeat this old man, and now you've finally awakened to the fun of it, have you! At times, retreating a single step back to survey and knead the whole board is a far sweeter pleasure than stepping forward oneself!"

Yu Baek-cheon's laughter cut off abruptly.

A smile still hung on his lips, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but the benevolence in his eyes had vanished without a trace. The air in the room seemed to freeze solid.

"Especially... if that board happens to be the road of the Heavenly Demon's Reign over Heaven and Earth."

Yu Baek-cheon clapped his hands, his face full of satisfaction.

"Excellent. I'm in fine spirits. Someone! Bring us wine instead of tea."

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, a figure materialized from the shadows, clearing the tea tray and producing a rare vintage and cups of jade.

"Share a cup with me."

From this moment, the two were grandfather and grandson no longer.

"From this day forward, you are the Young Pavilion Master of the Sun Moon Merchant Guild."

"...I accept gladly. Grandfather."

Thus the letter from Yu Ha began — and it made no effort whatsoever to conceal its author's identity.

The Sun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Moon Merchant Guild...? A front guild for the cult? He was no ordinary brat after all.

Yu Ha's identity itself was hardly a shock. From the very start, the boy had carried himself like nothing so much as an ordinary cadet — and that in itself had marked him as different.

But the contents of the letter soared far beyond anything Yun Cheon had anticipated.

A chilly smile crept across Yun Cheon's lips.

...!

It was insight that might as well have peered directly into his skull. His choice before Gal Mu-heun — and the reasoning behind that very choice — had been read through, flawlessly, down to the last thread.

The letter did not end there.

Yu Ha had announced the imminent arrival of yet another extraordinary gift — a boldness that startled even Yun Cheon.

To part so freely with an elixir like that for a mere cadet... The Sun Moon Merchant Guild. Their backing is no ordinary thing.

And even as he muttered it, Yun Cheon found himself forced to acknowledge the existence of a kindred spirit — one who read the board from the same height he did.

He even knew the Divine Physician no longer practiced medicine. Cunning fox of a man... If it means persuading the Divine Physician, I have no choice but to accept.

The letter's closing was every bit as Yu Ha as the rest.

Yun Cheon silently folded the letter in half. Then in half again.

...A higher place, is it. As it happens, that is precisely what I desire.

When the letter had been folded down to the size of a fist, he carried it without hesitation to the candle flame.

Fwoosh.

The white paper turned to black ash in an instant and scattered into the empty air. The burning flame was reflected in Yun Cheon's cold eyes, then faded away.

Yu Ha's gift, and the vast game board the man envisioned — from now on, both would exist only in Yun Cheon's mind.

I'll gladly play along... if it helps bring the cult crashing down!

Leaving the letter behind as ash, Yun Cheon rose from his seat.

Let's go.

There was nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worth packing. A few worn garments, the secret manuals he needed to keep, and a modest remainder of internal injury medicine — that was the whole of it.

Creeeak—.

He opened the door of the stone chamber he had lived in for a year and stepped into the corridor.

"..."

The gazes of the cadets passing through the corridor all converged on Yun Cheon at once. Some were curious, some brimming with awe, and some still heavy with envy — but not one of them dared to block his path or speak to him.

The boy who had entered a mere year ago looking like a beggar, despised and dismissed, had become a wall they could no longer presume to look up at.

Step. Step.

Yun Cheon walked on, silently accepting their stares. The roar of the training grounds, the smell of rice from the mess hall, the fevered air of their merciless competition — all of it receded behind him.

Once he left the Hidden Demon Cave's domain, the surroundings transformed entirely. In place of rowdy life hung a heavy, solemn stillness — the deep interior of the Mad Path Pavilion. The children's clamor gave way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to silence, and the shabby stone chambers gave way to immaculately kept halls.

Even the air is different here.

The very density of energy pressing against his skin had changed. The number of people passing through had thinned noticeably, and every single one of them bore an aura surpassing even the drill instructors of the Hidden Demon Cave.

At last, Yun Cheon's footsteps stopped at the end of a corridor carved from a sheer cliff face. A massive gate of dark crimson iron, radiating overwhelming presence, blocked his way.

So this is the place.

The treasure vault of knowledge plundered and gathered by the cult from every corner of the Central Plains — the Inner Library.

Two warriors stood motionless before the gate, clad in robes black as ink, their faces half-hidden behind masks. From them emanated an energy as heavy as — no, heavier than — that of the Hidden Demon Cave's instructors.

Chnk—. Before Yun Cheon could even approach, the two warriors' spears crossed and barred his way.

"Halt. Entry here is forbidden to the unauthorized."

Without a word, Yun Cheon drew from his robes the black iron tablet engraved with the character for 'Covenant' that Gal Mu-heun had granted him, and held it up.

"I've come on the Chief Instructor's orders."

A strange light kindled in their eyes.

"The tablet... is genuine."

"But isn't he far too young to be its master?"

Rather than stepping aside, the warriors' gazes swept back and forth between the tablet and Yun Cheon's face.

"..."

"The Chief Instructor's black iron tablet is the proof of the strong."

"And yet here stands a boy who still reeks of his mother's milk."

The corner of one warrior's mouth twisted into a grim smirk beneath his mask. This was no mere territorial sniping or suspicion.

So they want me to prove it with my own two hands, do they...

Yun Cheon's eyes narrowed. Even mere gatekeepers had the doctrine of the Survival of the Strong carved into their bones. This was the way of the cult.

"You do know the law of the cult, don't you?"

"When a man without strength clutches power beyond his station, it can only be theft or deception."

The two warriors' gazes crossed in the empty air. If they opened the gate too readily for a mere tablet, they themselves would be reprimanded for admitting 'one without qualification.'

Then one of them stepped forward, leveling his spear at Yun Cheon.

"Whether you're truly the master of that tablet, or some rat who stole it... I'll have to verify it myself!"

From the spearpoint aimed at Yun Cheon, a frigid killing intent came pouring out.