Geukak Soma was lying on the roof, gazing up at the sky.
For someone who had always stared only at white walls, looking up at the sky like this was a very unfamiliar sight.
Just then, someone spoke beside him.
“Even when you look at the sky, you only pick out the white clouds, don’t you?”
At the familiar voice, the eyes of Geukak Soma behind his mask smiled brightly.
“Have you returned safely?”
“Thanks to you, I have.”
The person who had spoken to him was Geom Muguk.
Geukak Soma rose. A moment later, Dokwang entered the courtyard. Dokwang’s appearance always gave off a clear, fresh impression.
But this time, Geom Muguk had experienced for himself just how frightening a person he was, despite that bright and youthful appearance. His use of poison was an art, and the results were fatal. He was someone capable of reaching into the poison pouch of the Unorthodox Faction’s foremost poison arts master.
Sensing our gazes, Dokwang entered while snapping open his fan with a flourish and waving it languidly.
Geukak Soma stood and greeted him with a light clasp of his hands.
“You have worked hard.”
“Not at all. I merely followed the plan. It was an excellent plan.”
Geom Muguk spoke up.
“If not for Dokwang, we could never have accomplished this.”
He now understood clearly why his father valued Dokwang, and why the martial world feared him.
Dokwang looked up at Geom Muguk and asked,
“Are you going to say that to everyone you meet?”
Geom Muguk knew what he meant. This was what he wanted to hear.
“Yes. Until I tell my father one last time.”
Satisfaction flickered around Dokwang’s eyes at hearing the words he wanted.
With a snap, he folded his fan and went inside.
“Ah. It feels wonderful to see the sky after being in the prison.”
Geom Muguk sat down, while Geukak Soma remained standing where he was. Together, they looked up at the sky.
They remained that way for a while, until someone entered through the main gate and said,
“I’m back.”
Seo Daeryong had returned from the market with food. Both his hands and his arms were filled with ingredients for cooking.
“I’ll prepare the meal. Please wait just a little.”
Seo Daeryong spoke while looking at the ground.
A long green onion covered his face, but that did not mean he could not see them. He simply could not meet Geukak Soma’s eyes.
“There were a lot of fresh ingredients today. I even learned how to make a dish we haven’t had before from an inn’s cook. I’ll make it delicious for you.”
Geom Muguk watched Seo Daeryong ramble on without even making eye contact, smiling all the while. He had not even realized that Geom Muguk was there.
“Thank you, as always.”
At Geukak Soma’s words, Seo Daeryong’s gaze burrowed even deeper into the ground.
“It’s only natural. It’s what I should do. Ah, and I dreamed last night that you had returned, Hall Master. Our Hall Master has a talent for making people miss him without even realizing it.”
Geom Muguk spoke to him.
“I suppose I should have stayed away until you missed me desperately.”
Seo Daeryong was startled and raised his head.
“Hall Master!”
The ingredients tumbled from Seo Daeryong’s wide-eyed arms.
Whoosh.
The falling ingredients floated in the air, caught by Geom Muguk’s telekinesis. In the prison, it had been keys. Now it was green onions, vegetables, and meat.
Seo Daeryong hurriedly gathered them up.
Unable to hide his delight, Seo Daeryong held the food ingredients close. Geom Muguk could tell. If Geukak Soma had not been standing beside him, Seo Daeryong would have flown straight up to the roof and embraced him. He would have buried himself in the green onions.
“Go and tell that boy. We have taken our revenge, so he should go on living his own life.”
The instant he spoke, Seo Daeryong’s emotions surged. Throughout the entire journey, he had been thinking of that boy.
“Yes. I will be sure to tell him that this is the path of the future Heavenly Demon.”
Geom Muguk said with a smile,
“My brother might hear that.”
Seo Daeryong quickly corrected himself.
“I will be sure to tell him that this is the path of the Second Young Master.”
Geom Muguk leaped down from the roof.
“Let’s eat. I’m hungry. But are you crying?”
“Crying? The onions are just too strong.”
Seo Daeryong went inside with the unpeeled onions.
Before following him in, Geom Muguk looked up at Geukak Soma, who was still standing on the roof.
Their eyes met, and the two exchanged a slight nod.
Geom Muguk always ate separately from Geukak Soma, but he always met his eyes like this before every meal. It made him feel as if he were eating together with him.
* * *
That evening, Gowol and the Pungcheon Cult Master joined them.
“Young Master!”
“Second Young Master!”
The two of them were as unchanging as ever.
“The filthy and dangerous medicine will no longer be circulating.”
The Pungcheon Cult Master praised Dokwang and me for our efforts.
“You have worked hard as well, Dokwang.”
“It was a good experience.”
“It must have been interesting.”
The Pungcheon Cult Master was secretly envious. He had devoted himself so thoroughly for my sake that I thought I should set aside some time to spend with him separately as well.
After exchanging greetings, we all sat around together.
While we were dealing with Aech’a and Jindok Geosa, Gowol had already finished investigating our next target.
“Our next target is Lü Bugai.”
Before he began his explanation, I asked about something we needed to clarify first.
“Two people have died one after another. Won’t Yelü Han become suspicious?”
“He certainly will. But what can he do? There are numerous subordinates who witnessed the two of them fighting with drawn blades. Moreover, one of them was poisoned by Gwangpok. In the end, he will have no choice but to think that misfortune simply piled upon misfortune.”
“There is no chance that he will summon the remaining two?”
“No. Besides, Yelü Han is the sort of man who detests yielding to external pressure above all else.”
Taking it a step further, he continued,
“Since what happened has already happened, he will simply search for someone to fill the vacant position. He is not a man who looks back.”
“There will be plenty of people. Unorthodox masters must be lining up to join hands with the Second-in-Command of the Unorthodox Alliance.”
At that, the Pungcheon Cult Master stepped in.
“If Lü Bugai dies as well, he will think differently. He will not believe that coincidence could occur three times.”
At those words, Gowol presented his plan for the next operation.
“So I propose that we eliminate Yelü Han before he learns of Lü Bugai’s death.”
“What of the last remaining member of the Quartet?”
“He is always at Yelü Han’s side. We will have to deal with him at the same time regardless.”
Kill Lü Bugai, then eliminate Yelü Han and his final subordinate before news of Lü Bugai’s death spread. In other words, he was suggesting that we deal with all three almost simultaneously.
“Good. We’ll do that.”
I accepted his proposal without hesitation.
“Thank you. I will submit the detailed plan shortly.”
Dokwang, who had been listening, suddenly asked,
“Once Yelü Han is dead, won’t the Unorthodox Alliance suspect that we were responsible?”
I answered in Gowol’s place.
“I have one solution to that problem. I don’t yet know whether it will work, though.”
Dokwang looked at me as if asking whether I could truly accomplish something like that. In truth, I did not know either. I could not know what events awaited us.
“First, tell me about Lü Bugai.”
Gowol explained.
“Lü Bugai is a man with a rat tattoo on his chest. He manages hundreds of pleasure houses throughout the Central Plains and is known as the very emperor of the night. The reason he bears a rat tattoo is to display his determination to make money at night without sleeping.”
“What is his personality like?”
“He is an utterly vicious man as well. He abducted women, took the daughters of families driven to the brink by the Yama Stockade, and employed every foul means imaginable to build the city that never sleeps he controls today. His lust is also extraordinarily strong, and countless women have suffered at his hands. There is even a rumor that he sells aged courtesans’ bodies to those who practice bizarre unorthodox arts.”
If Jisaeng had been fated to die because of Sinseonchae, and Aech’a and Jindok Geosa had deserved to die because of Gwangpok, then this man was one who deserved death as well.
Having received my father’s permission to deal with both Yelü Han and the Quartet, I intended to eliminate every last one of them. If not for me and the Demon Lords, who could possibly bring down the man who had risen to become the emperor of the night—a man protected by the Second-in-Command of the Unorthodox Alliance?
“He is expanding his pleasure houses throughout the Central Plains, and recently he has been trying to extend his territory into Guizhou.”
That was when Geukak Soma opened his mouth.
“Did you say Guizhou?”
“That is correct.”
Geukak Soma’s gaze turned cold.
There was a Cheonhwa Pavilion in Guizhou. The woman who loved Geukak Soma, Ye Jeong, the mistress of Cheonhwa Pavilion, was there as well.
Geukak Soma looked at me. Without another word, I told him,
“This time, I will attend you, Soma-nim.”
Geukak Soma nodded, then rose and walked out.
Everyone looked at me, wondering what was happening, but it was not my place to explain.
“We will depart for Guizhou early tomorrow morning. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”
* * *
After the meeting, I had a cup of tea separately with Gowol.
“We need to be even more careful this time.”
I told Gowol everything about Cheonhwa Pavilion, its mistress Ye Jeong, and her relationship with Geukak Soma. Everyone else might remain unaware, but the strategist had to know.
“The net cast by Heaven truly lets nothing slip through.”
I silently nodded.
After learning that Geukak Soma had a deep relationship with Cheonhwa Pavilion, Gowol grew concerned.
“If anything goes wrong, our identity could be exposed.”
“Soma-nim knows that well too. There is no need to worry so much.”
“When someone they care about becomes involved, unexpected variables can arise.”
“There will be no variables. You can trust him.”
At my certainty, Gowol smiled.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I was wondering whether there was anyone you trusted this much, Young Master.”
“You’re here, aren’t you? Investigator Seo as well. Ian, Lord Jang too. I trust them all equally.”
Even so, it seemed he could sense that I regarded Geukak Soma with a different kind of feeling.
“May I ask you one question?”
“What is it?”
“Have you never considered that the people you just mentioned might betray you?”
He seemed concerned because I continued forming such deep relationships with people.
“Deliberate betrayal isn’t all that common, is it? Unless someone is persuaded or coerced by another, don’t most people simply come to feel betrayed for one reason or another as they live their lives?”
Gowol nodded and listened intently.
“Even the feeling of betrayal can be understood differently depending on one’s position. Someone may leave because they have been disappointed in the other person, but simply leaving can be enough for them to be branded a traitor. Perhaps the person sending them away is the real traitor.”
I shared my convictions about parting with people.
“If someone wants to leave me, I will send them off with even greater courtesy than I showed when welcoming them. I will not turn someone who leaves into a traitor.”
A smile appeared on Gowol’s face.
“At times like this, you seem more like an elder brother than I am.”
“That’s because I’m an old soul in a young body.”
I needed to have many sincere conversations with Gowol. The more accurately he understood what kind of person I was, the better a strategist he would become. If I simply hoped for him to become a good strategist without making such efforts, that would be when a traitor was created.
Just then, someone appeared before us.
“Can I join you?”
It was the Pungcheon Cult Master.
“Of course.”
He joined us.
“Come to think of it, you seem to have lost some weight.”
The Pungcheon Cult Master’s expression brightened as if he had been waiting to hear those words.
“Someone has been nagging me endlessly. I had no choice but to lose it. A man ought to have a solid, dependable charm, after all.”
Gowol, who had been so serious in front of me, showed a different side of himself.
“The Cult Master used to be fat.”
“I know. That’s why I’m training so hard!”
Given the nature of the Pungcheon Cult Master’s martial arts, he barely moved, which had caused him to put on even more weight.
“You need to lose more. You still have a long way to go.”
“Enough with the nagging! Bring me liquor and meat! I’m going to eat it all tonight!”
If one heard only this conversation, who in the world would think this man was the Pungcheon Cult Master? Who would think he was the shackled man from back then?
Seo Daeryong joined us as well.
“How was it? What was it like with Soma-nim?”
“He was frightening.”
“It seemed like he was more than just frightening.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you came back from the market with the food, you were talking quite a lot.”
“Don’t you know that people talk more when they’re frightened?”
Still, it seemed Geukak Soma had been more than merely frightening.
“To be honest, I’m a little disappointed too. Whenever I brought meals to Soma-nim, my heart would pound so loudly I could hear it in my ears. That strange tension—it’s addictive.”
Then another voice spoke from behind him.
“Addiction is my specialty.”
When I turned around, it was Dokwang.
“Why are four men gathered together drinking tea?”
He sat down while making a pointless remark, despite not even liking alcohol that much.
“Our Investigator Seo was just telling us about becoming addicted to Soma-nim.”
“It couldn’t have been easy to keep Soma in a good mood.”
Taking it as his opportunity, Seo Daeryong reported to us.
“I wasn’t going to mention this, but… Soma-nim has a rather small appetite, despite how he looks. He doesn’t like eating the same food two meals in a row. So every time, I have to wander the market as forlornly as a wolf drenched by the rain, wondering what side dish to buy today and what dish to prepare for him tomorrow…”
That was when Seo Daeryong noticed that everyone’s eyes were focused behind him.
With a sorrowful expression, Seo Daeryong said,
“…I’m wrong, aren’t I? Please tell me I’m wrong.”
Geukak Soma sat down beside Seo Daeryong and said,
“I was raised delicately, so I have a small appetite.”
Seo Daeryong lowered his head deeply.
“I have a big mouth, though. Please kill me.”
“My life has grown shorter by as much as my appetite, so it’s all right.”
At Geukak Soma’s joke, Seo Daeryong clutched his head, and everyone laughed as they watched him.
Geukak Soma did not look offended at all. Rather, he seemed a little more cheerful and pleased than usual. And so I knew.
‘Lü Bugai, you’re in serious trouble.’