Hogyeong (護景), the Jiangxi Branch Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, was examining the documents stacked on his desk one by one.
The task Hogyeong spent the most time on each day was carefully reviewing the reports coming in from each branch office.
Just then, Jungak, the Demonic Sword Unit Leader, visited his office.
“Are you busy?”
“Welcome. What brings you here without notice?”
“I stopped by because I wanted to see the Branch Leader.”
“You’ve come at a good time.”
One was digging into the other’s back, while the other knew it full well, yet they exchanged greetings more warmly than usual.
Jungak spoke while looking at the piles of documents on the desk.
“So this is why the complaints about you are no small matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you handle work so meticulously, there are complaints from those below that it’s hard on them. Please look after your subordinates’ morale too.”
Jungak said it like a joke, smiling, and Hogyeong replied calmly.
“Isn’t the reason most people suffer calamities because they fail to pay attention to small things?”
“As long as our Branch Leader is here, those Orthodox Alliance bastards won’t even dare think of provoking us.”
“How could that be thanks to me? It’s thanks to our Unit Leader and the Demonic Sword Unit.”
Their gazes intertwined in the air. Both were smiling with their mouths, but their eyes were not.
“By the way, have you heard the rumors about someone going around impersonating an official of our cult?”
“I have. I’ve already given orders to investigate the matter.”
“I also sent men to look into it, and it seems to be fact, not rumor.”
Hogyeong’s expression naturally grew grave. Impersonating the Divine Cult was a matter the main cult took very seriously.
“Do you happen to know who he is?”
“I don’t know their identity, but there is someone who can approach them.”
“If you provide the information, I’ll send men to capture them.”
“You shouldn’t think so lightly of it. I hear he is quite a formidable expert.”
Hogyeong made an expression as if he could not understand.
“Such a master impersonating our cult? That’s strange.”
“We’ll know once we capture and question him. But can your branch handle it?”
It was a clever way of speaking that prodded at Hogyeong’s pride. If you can’t handle it, we’ll solve it.
“We will take care of it.”
It was not because he had risen to the bait, but because it was the duty of the Jiangxi Branch Leader—himself—to resolve it. Only when the branch could not solve it should they ask the Demonic Sword Unit for help.
“Your subordinates could be in danger.”
This was the reason Jungak had visited personally today. He was worried that Hogyeong might not go himself and only send his subordinates to handle it.
“I will move out personally with my men.”
“Ah, if the Branch Leader moves personally, then I can rest assured.”
Jungak thought inwardly.
‘That’s your weakness. That empty pride.’
If it were him, he would have answered like this. Isn’t the Demonic Sword Unit here to handle such dangerous matters?
“Then I shall have him drawn out through my secret agent.”
“I’d be grateful if you did.”
As Jungak was about to leave, he added with a smile.
“Let’s have a drink once this matter is finished.”
“Very well.”
Hogyeong also saw Jungak off with a pleasant expression.
‘That drinking table will be your last.’
He had obtained information that Jungak was taking bribes. If it had been once or twice, he might have turned a blind eye. The Demonic Sword Unit was an important elite organization indispensable to the Jiangxi Branch.
But there were too many places making periodic tribute payments. And the amounts were too large as well. Exactly how far did he think they would turn a blind eye? It felt like this: I’ve committed corruption. So what? What are you going to do about it? You think you can cut me down?
‘I’ll be the one to sever your head.’
Jungak, turning to leave, was thinking the exact same thought. The only difference was whose neck it truly was.
* * *
“The cult has finally decided to move.”
Juyang flinched in surprise at Jeokpae’s words.
Geonmugeuk was going to die, so he should have felt relieved, but he did not.
“You bring him to the abandoned temple in the west tomorrow. Can you do it?”
“I can. But will I be all right?”
“I’ve put in a good word for you, so when you arrive, they’ll look after you.”
“Understood.”
“If you make a mistake, we all die. Keep that in mind!”
That night, Juyang had a dream.
It was a dream of lying on the sea, floating gently.
He was floating happily in the warm sunlight.
The moment he imagined Geonmugeuk being hacked apart by demonic practitioners, strength entered his body and he began to sink.
He floundered and fell from his bed, unable to fall back asleep until morning.
* * *
When Juyang went to find Geonmugeuk, he was meeting someone at the inn.
It was the first time he had seen Geonmugeuk with anyone at this inn, so Juyang observed them closely.
The other man handed Geonmugeuk what looked like a letter.
Geonmugeuk examined the contents carefully and said a few words to the man.
At times like this, he looked so serious that he truly seemed like the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult.
The man who had handed over the letter left the inn.
Juyang, standing at the entrance, glanced at the man brushing past him.
He was an ordinary person commonly seen anywhere.
Juyang approached Geonmugeuk and asked.
“Who was that?”
“A man from the Tongcheongak.”
“Tongcheongak?”
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s greatest information organization.”
“You really start bragging the moment we meet again!”
Juyang shook his head, yet he couldn’t help but ask.
“So? What on earth were you talking about with that supposedly greatest intelligence organization?”
“I looked into the Jiangxi Branch. About the Branch Leader, and the Demonic Sword Unit Leader too.”
When the two were mentioned, Juyang flinched.
“If it’s real, let me see that letter too.”
Geonmugeuk extended the hand holding the letter.
The moment Juyang tried to take it.
Fwoosh.
Flames rose from Geonmugeuk’s hand and the letter burned up.
“If you saw our cult’s confidential information, you wouldn’t survive.”
Surprised, Juyang stared blankly at the paper turning to ash and flying away.
He had heard of it. That true masters burned paper like this with Samadhi True Fire.
“Do you believe my true identity now?”
He expected an affirmative answer.
“If you’re this strong, why are you crazy?”
Geonmugeuk laughed as he swirled the rising ashes this way and that.
“To make you believe, I’d have to line up demonic venerables behind me, wouldn’t I?”
Juyang stared at Geonmugeuk in silence.
‘There won’t be an opportunity for that. Because you’ll die today.’
Geonmugeuk also stared intently at Juyang and asked.
“You don’t seem to have slept well. Is something weighing on your mind?”
By now, Juyang was no longer surprised at Geonmugeuk guessing things like a ghost.
“There’s somewhere I need you to go with me today.”
“Let’s go.”
Geonmugeuk followed readily, and Juyang was the one thrown off.
“You say let’s go without even knowing where?”
“We’ll know when we get there.”
“What if I had laid a trap? Are you looking down on me? Are you saying my trap is nothing?”
“It’s not that. If you kill me, you can’t collect my interest, can you? You are a man who collects money, not one who takes lives, aren’t you?”
At the unexpected answer, Juyang shook his head.
“You really are impossible to talk to.”
Juyang walked ahead and Geonmugeuk followed behind him.
Juyang’s heart was complicated.
His relationship with this strange person would soon be over.
He would never see this madman again.
Juyang glanced back at Geonmugeuk.
Unaware he was going to his death, he followed leisurely, looking at the merchants.
“That clothing over there would suit you well. Shall I buy you a set?”
“Use that money to pay your interest properly. Damn it! Stop talking nonsense and just follow me.”
Why was he so irritated? The reason was simple. He didn’t want to kill Geonmugeuk.
What was so pitiful about that bastard smiling so foolishly!
Juyang suddenly thought of the coin.
The coin he had placed atop his palm.
Yes, it must be a feeling born from gratitude that he hadn’t ruined his hand.
When they left the main street and arrived at a crossroads, Juyang stopped and sat on a rock by the roadside.
“Let’s rest a moment.”
“You should do some physical training too. You just sit around counting money all day; no wonder your body is in such shape.”
Geonmugeuk sat down beside him.
After sitting in silence for a moment, Juyang abruptly asked.
“If you really are the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult… what on earth are you doing here?”
After a brief pause, Geonmugeuk spoke.
“As you can see, I’m meeting people. I’m meeting a coachman who is trapped serving your kind for life because he borrowed ten nyang for his child’s treatment fees. I’m meeting you, who insert a straw into him and suck his blood. And I’m meeting a nameless hero who jumped over the wall to save him.”
As he listened to those words, Juyang’s heart began to tremble.
It wasn’t something that should make his heart tremble, but when he was with Geonmugeuk, he often experienced this.
“Why would a demonic practitioner try to straighten out Yeomwangchae? Even the orthodox practitioners are letting it be. You’re a demonic practitioner!”
“There may be those with the face of a man but the heart of a beast among the orthodox, and there may be demonic practitioners who can’t stand to see such sights. Isn’t that how it is? Besides, the Yeomwangchae matter isn’t something I’ll do—it’s something you’ll take care of from now on.”
“How could a guy like me do such a thing? As you said, I’ve lived my whole life sitting around counting money, enjoying the sight of others’ misfortune. How could I do something so grand?”
“It’s not grand. It’s normal.”
Geonmugeuk looked at him calmly.
“If you’ve lived a life like a pine caterpillar, now try living a soaring life too. Even if you can’t become a butterfly, couldn’t you become a moth?”
At that moment, Juyang wished that he really was the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult.
So much so that even if that matter were a punishment given to him, he wanted to try living a new life.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
That made him even angrier.
Because he wasn’t the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult.
Because the Young Cult Leader of the demonic cult wouldn’t be saying such things to a mere loan shark.
“I’ve had enough of your mad talk! Leave this place by this road!”
Juyang’s voice trembled.
“Leave by this road and never come back to Jiangxi Province again. If you come back, you’ll die.”
Juyang resolved to save this mad master.
Never once in his life had he lived for someone else.
It had been a life lived selfishly, only for himself.
He didn’t know why the target of this one-time favor had to be such a madman, but what could he do when his heart went out to him?
“There are people waiting to kill you. So go. I’ll say that you sensed it was a trap and ran far away. I don’t know if they’ll believe me.”
Had he ever taken such a risk for someone else before? Absolutely not.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I suppose it’s because I’ve never seen someone as strangely mad as you.”
Then Geonmugeuk spoke as if he knew the reason.
“That’s not it.”
Geonmugeuk was looking into the deepest part of Juyang’s heart.
“It’s because you are truly a selfish yet strong survivor. Your instinct knows. That this is how you survive.”
“You really—! Even when I’m showing you kindness! The real demonic practitioners are waiting!”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Didn’t you see me receiving that report earlier? I have full sight of the Jiangxi Branch’s current movements.”
Juyang threw his hands up.
“Right. This is what makes you a real madman. You’re perfect.”
“And if you go alone, you’ll die.”
Geonmugeuk stood up first and began to walk.
Those words somehow sent a chill down his spine, so Juyang silently followed him.
‘I don’t even know anymore.’
Even this much was an excessive favor.
Someday he would look back on today.
He would recall that that madman was the only person he had ever wanted to save in his life. The recollection would begin like this.
And so the two arrived at the temple, the promised place.
As they entered the temple’s front courtyard, dozens of Jiangxi Branch demonic practitioners who had been lying in ambush revealed themselves.
They drew their swords in unison and unleashed their demonic energy.
Branch Leader Hogyeong walked out from among the demonic practitioners.
“For what reason have you been impersonating a demonic practitioner?”
Hogyeong did not recognize Geonmugeuk.
They had met before, but it was when Geonmugeuk was young, a very long time ago.
Afterward, Hogyeong had traveled among various branches in the Central Plains, so he had no opportunity to see Geonmugeuk again.
“I have never impersonated anyone.”
Hogyeong’s expression hardened coldly.
“There is already a witness.”
Hogyeong looked at Juyang, who was with Geom Mugeuk, and said,
“Did that man impersonate our cult?”
At the icy question, Juyang was flustered. This was not the situation he had expected. Jeokpae had said so. He had said that once he arrived, he would take care of everything.
Neither that question nor the demonic energy flying toward him showed the slightest consideration for him. They simply saw him as an accomplice of someone impersonating a demonic practitioner.
‘Damn it!’
The target of his anger was Jeokpae. He had not looked after him. Perhaps, seeing him mingling too closely with this Geom Mugeuk, he had simply wished for them to die together.
“Stick close behind me. Wouldn’t it be unjust if you were struck by some stray blade?”
The only person here who was thinking of him was Geom Mugeuk.
“I asked whether the one who impersonated our cult was that man!”
When Hogyeong asked again, Juyang answered Geom Mugeuk instead.
“The demonic practitioner who colluded with the Tongjeonso is not that man.”
At those words, even Hogyeong grew tense as he waited for him to continue.
“The person who colluded with the Tongjeonso is none other than……”
It was precisely then.
Someone leaped over the roof and landed there.
It was none other than Jungak, the captain of the Demon Sword Unit. On the rooftops of the buildings and atop the walls on all sides, the martial artists of the Demon Sword Unit revealed themselves. Even Hogyeong was surprised by his sudden appearance, but Jungak, exuding cold demonic energy, focused on Juyang.
“Who is the demonic practitioner who colluded with the Tongjeonso?”
Juyang knew that the moment he revealed it was Jungak, he would die without question. No—even if he did not reveal it here, he had a premonition that he would end up dying in the end.
Just then, as he was gripped by terror, Geom Mugeuk took two coins from his bosom and held them out to him.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t paid today’s interest. Take it.”
The two coins were placed in Juyang’s palm.
Juyang silently looked down at them, then handed the coins back to Geom Mugeuk.
“The interest is too much. The interest I’ve already paid is more than enough to cover the principal.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at him and smiled brightly.
Juyang drew upon the courage he had carefully saved up all his life without ever using it, and even all the courage he would ever muster until the day he died.
“The one who took a bribe from Jeokpae, the head of the Tongjeonso, and promised to kill you is that man there—the captain of the Demon Sword Unit.”
Cold demonic energy burst from Jungak’s body. At the same time, the demonic practitioners of the Demon Sword Unit surrounding the place also released their demonic energy.
He was going to die anyway! Like a runaway carriage, Juyang shouted at the top of his lungs.
“You bastards! This man here is the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult! All of you, kneel and worship him!”
Ah, so I’m going to die as a madman!