Geom Muyang silently looked down at the duck dish placed before him.
Was it because they shared the same blood? Even if he didn't see him often, there were times when he could see deep into his younger brother's heart. Right now was such a time.
The duck had come swimming up to his spot as if in jest, but Geom Muyang could tell. His younger brother was greeting him with gratitude.
Though Geom Mugeuk was skilled at all sorts of cringeworthy words, at this moment alone, he was conveying his heart without a word.
And who was calling whom stiff and taciturn?
Meanwhile, Jin Haryeong was putting herself in Geom Muyang's place as he had stepped forward for Geom Mugeuk.
If it had been her, could she have stepped up like that in her brother's place? Probably not.
Even if she had stepped forward, could she have dominated the atmosphere so powerfully? It would have been impossible without a sincere heart that truly cared for one's younger brother. From the start, Geom Muyang had resolved to go all the way.
Jin Haryeong wasn't the only one moved. Bisain also spoke in a low voice.
"Having brothers seems to be a wonderful thing."
Bisain had never once regretted being alone until now. But today, he felt a slight envy. At having brothers who would step forward for one another like that.
Then Geom Mugeuk, who had been keeping his eyes closed, spoke.
"If you regret it, take me as your older brother."
"I'd be the younger one!"
Geom Mugeuk was still smiling with his eyes closed.
"If you're not even sleeping, why are your eyes closed?"
"It's the first rest my brother has ever given me, so I must rest."
Then Geom Muyang spoke.
"I told you to rest that mouth. Eyes open, mouth shut."
"I'm in too good a mood for my mouth to rest."
Another thing Bisain envied was that those brothers had finished their succession struggle without shedding blood.
How much blood had he shed to become the successor? Succession struggles were all like that. Martial artists' lives were all like that. Everyone had been through it.
He had lived thinking so, yet right before his eyes were two people who were not like that. Jesting like that, as if asking whether life was really all like that.
Jin Hagun was quietly drinking. Perhaps because he was stirred by a strange emotion? The alcohol went down more smoothly than usual.
It was also because of Geom Muyang. He already knew Geom Mugeuk was an extraordinary person, so it wasn't strange for him to accomplish anything.
Yet, his heart had grown complicated at Geom Muyang's appearance just now. Admiration, jealousy, and shame were mixed. It was likely even more so because he had heard people say they resembled each other.
What about him resembles me? Aren't I better?
He had harbored such feelings inwardly, but the sight Geom Muyang had shown just now shamed his arrogance.
Then Jin Haryeong poured a drink into Jin Hagun's cup. She said nothing, but she understood her older brother's troubled heart.
"I look forward to the future."
It meant they still had a long way to go, but she truly looked forward to it.
What kind of murim would unfold when these people became Cult Leader and Alliance Leaders? Having seen all three in one place today, she felt even greater anticipation. It was different from when she had vaguely imagined it.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the first floor had completely relaxed.
In groups of threes and fives, those close to each other gathered and drank. It was a shabby inn, so they hadn't expected much, but both the alcohol and the food were excellent.
"The taste is quite good."
Jo Chunbae, who had already heard such praise twice, entered the kitchen with a broad smile. Moreover, he had heard it from both orthodox martial artists and demonic martial artists. Thinking of bragging about this to his regulars, he was already happy.
"Another bottle of liquor here!"
"Yes, coming right up!"
I am the guardian of murim peace! As Jo Chunbae was busily running about, Hyeolcheon Doma was filling Ilhwa Geomjon's cup.
"I'm sorry."
She was the one who had provoked the Taiyi Divine Sword earlier. She could have simply averted her gaze first, but her pride wouldn't allow it.
"You're still young."
"I'm not young. How old do you think I am?"
"At your age, you're young. If I were your age..."
Hyeolcheon Doma started to say something, then stopped.
"What would you do at my age?"
"Nothing specifically planned."
In truth, there was.
Without revealing what it was, Hyeolcheon Doma quietly drank his liquor.
"Couldn't you just live as if you were my age?"
"But I'm not that age; how could I live like that?"
Ilhwa Geomjon lightly struck the table three times and declared.
"From now on, Hyeolcheon Doma is the same age as Ilhwa Geomjon."
Chwima, who had been drinking nearby, cut in.
"You must have a lot of grievances built up toward your senior. You're trying to befriend him and let it all out, aren't you?"
Hyeolcheon Doma smiled faintly.
"I suppose so."
For some reason, Hyeolcheon Doma poured liquor for Chwima. He had always been one to say he couldn't stand the sight of a drunkard.
"I know you've put in considerable effort between this man and me."
He knew Chwima had played a large role in restoring the relationship between himself and Ilhwa Geomjon. Though he didn't know the full details, he had heard from Ilhwa Geomjon enough to know that Chwima had struggled greatly.
"Well, it's what friends do."
He subtly tried to take credit, but Ilhwa Geomjon wasn't having it.
"Friends? Don't even dream of it!"
"Didn't you just say you got younger, Senior?"
"Only with me."
Beside those three enjoying such a rare pleasant atmosphere was Dokwang. He was still leaning against the window, looking outside.
The blowing wind ruffled his hair. If there had been passing women, they would have all stopped in their tracks, but the outside was thoroughly controlled.
Mabul approached him.
"What have you been looking at since earlier?"
"I was just looking because I felt a bit stifled. The spring air is rather nice too."
Inside the Cheondok Forest, he researched and manufactured poisons at his residence, so he didn't know stifling, but when he was elsewhere like this, he felt stifled. It was also because he was used to wandering around the Cheondok Forest searching for poisonous herbs and poisonous insects every time.
"Are there no poisonous herbs you're looking for these days?"
"Why wouldn't there be? There are plenty of necessary ones among the poisonous herbs that bloom in spring."
"I'll visit you soon."
Dokwang's expression brightened. Mabul was truly a ghost when it came to finding poisonous herbs.
Mabul looked up toward the second floor.
"It would be nice to go together, but he's busy over there."
Dokwang's gaze also turned to the second floor. The rigid atmosphere of that floor had relaxed after the successors went up. How could he not know it was because Geom Mugeuk was at its center?
As Dokwang tried to turn his gaze back outside, his eyes met one of the demonic faction's experts.
The one clasping his hands in greeting was Goeak. Having fought alongside him against Tu Wang, he knew Dokwang had saved the martial artists of the Heretic Alliance. The surrounding demonic experts looked at him, but he didn't care in the slightest.
Dokwang also clasped his hands and paid his respects before looking outside again.
Seophon Majon approached Geugak Soma, who was sitting alone in the corner of the inn.
"May I sit?"
Geugak Soma nodded.
He hadn't touched either the alcohol or the food.
"I know you don't consume outside food, but let me fill your cup at least."
It had been the same when he was alone on the roof earlier, and Geugak Soma being alone now still concerned him. It was less a rational attraction than a pull born of some sense of kinship.
Two eyes within the white mask quietly stared at Seophon Majon, then abruptly spoke.
"I envy you."
"What do you mean?"
Then Geugak Soma looked up at the second floor. With that single action, his meaning became clear.
He meant that while he served the current Heavenly Demon, you were a demonic venerable who served Geom Mugeuk while still young.
"You truly enjoy difficult things, Lord Soma."
Knowing it meant serving Geom Mugeuk was no easy task, the two eyes within the eye holes smiled.
Gwonma stood with his arms crossed near the entrance. Tasked with today's safety, he didn't let his guard down for a moment. The unit leaders outside reported the security situation at regular intervals, and Gwonma kept all his senses sharp.
This was precisely why Geom Ujin trusted him the most. Because when a task was assigned, he carried it out unfailingly.
The Cult Leader and the two Alliance Leaders were still drinking separately.
After Geom Ujin had refused Jin Paecheon's earlier offer of a drink, an awkward atmosphere had persisted.
Indeed. Rather than exchanging awkward conversation with people they disliked, it was better to listen to the successors shooting the breeze.
Jin Paecheon was recalling what Geom Mugeuk had said earlier.
—Because you've never played in your entire lives. You probably don't even know how to play.
It was true. He truly had no memory of ever playing in his entire life. It had been a life of running toward the pinnacle from a young age.
'Now, of all times...'
Not only did he not know how to play, he didn't even want to.
'Working is playing.'
He had lived with such a mindset.
A life that had risen to the position of Martial Alliance Leader—how glorious was that? Yet it was regrettable that he had not even the smallest leisure in life.
If he had consciously tried, might he have been able to afford that leisure? If so, would he have been unable to reach this position? As nothing was as futile as 'what-ifs' in life, it was impossible to know.
Then Geom Ujin's gaze turned to Jin Paecheon. The two men's eyes met in the air.
Geom Ujin's insolent, haughty gaze softened very slightly.
"Will you give me a drink?"
Earlier he had refused the offer of a drink; now he was asking for one.
He could sense that whatever the reason, these were not words that came easily.
'Why did you have a change of heart?'
He didn't ask. Because he knew this was not a man who would answer anyway.
'And when you refused! Am I someone who gives when you ask and withholds when you decline?'
He didn't assert his pride like that either. In this moment of asking for a drink, it was Geom Ujin who had bent his pride.
Was it because he had heard Geom Mugeuk's words? That they wished for them to play and rest during this summit. Was that why he had changed his mind?
As Jin Paecheon picked up the bottle and approached, Geom Ujin also rose from his seat.
Jin Paecheon poured the drink while standing.
"Thank you."
Baek Jagang, watching the scene, neither offered a drink nor asked for one. He didn't stand apart alone, nor did he deeply involve himself.
The heretic between the orthodox and the demonic.
He was always at an appropriate distance.
This time, Geom Ujin looked at Baek Jagang.
Baek Jagang sensed from Geom Ujin's eyes that he had something to say to them.
Baek Jagang also picked up his cup and approached them.
And so the three stood at a close distance. A distance where they could reach out and touch each other.
With their skills, it was a distance where they could inflict a fatal wound on an opponent with a surprise attack. Therefore, this distance was also one of trust.
Geom Ujin had called them over not to play together. Rather, it was the opposite.
"Now let's talk business."
Jin Paecheon and Baek Jagang's expressions grew serious.
Geom Ujin released his qi to envelop their surroundings. It was to prevent their voices from flowing outside.
"You must know there is a mastermind behind this incident."
Of course. Jin Paecheon's grandson and granddaughter had nearly died, and Baek Jagang had even fought Tu Wang directly.
Soon, astonishing words flowed from Geom Ujin's mouth.
"If we must fight, let's fight among ourselves."
It meant not letting outsiders interfere in their own fight—in other words, combining their strength to eliminate those people.
"My cult intends to share all information related to them with you and make their punishment our top priority."
Jin Paecheon and Baek Jagang found it unexpected. Because they hadn't known Geom Ujin would lay down his cards first like this.
In negotiations, it was customary for the side that revealed their thoughts first to be at a disadvantage. And this was the Demonic Cult Leader, who couldn't possibly be unaware of that. Moreover, he was more prideful than anyone, so he could have been expected to wait for the other side to suggest joining forces first.
Geom Ujin had shattered all such expectations.
Had this person changed as well? Or was there another scheme?
Various thoughts flashed through Jin Paecheon's mind.
Could he trust this Demonic Cult Leader's words?
It was impossible to know.
As had always been the case until now, the time had come to receive help from it. That very thing which had kept him alive until now—his instinct.
Instinct did not tell him whether the Demonic Cult Leader's words were true or not. Instead, it turned his head back.
Far off, the figure of Geom Mugeuk came into view. Instinct told him to look at the boy. And he heard the whisper of instinct. *If you do not know, trust that child. That child who dragged you and the Lord of the Four Island Alliance to the tavern in front of the Demon Cult.*
Soon, Jin Paecheon revealed his honest feelings.
"To be honest, I have never once had a serious conversation with my grandchildren. That is right. I do not know what heights that child dreams of."
Jin Paecheon's eyes grew solemn as he turned toward Jin Hagun.
"I wish to see the path that child walks. It will surely be a beautiful and magnificent path. Yes, if we are to see that path, we shall have to beat down all those despicable wretches scheming from behind."
Jin Paecheon's gaze turned once more to Geom Ujin.
"Very well. I shall make it my highest priority to share all information related to those scoundrels within our own Alliance and to eliminate the masterminds."
It was the moment the Martial Arts Alliance decided to join hands with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The gazes of Geom Ujin and Jin Paecheon turned to Baek Jogang.
He had already reached his conclusion. Because he did not talk much, he could not tell whether Geom Ujin was a man with a sense for detecting lies or not, but at least, in today's conversation, no alarm bells had rung in his ears.
"When the righteous and demonic move together, can the Four Islands stubbornly resist? Let us show them who they dared to touch."
His small eyes smiled. Though he spoke with humility, as if yielding a move to the righteous faction or the Demon Cult, his gaze was one that conceded to no one.
No further words were needed now.
The cups of the three men clashed in the air.
It was the moment an alliance of Righteous, Four Islands, and Demonic—unprecedented in the history of the martial world—was born.
From now on, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Martial Arts Alliance, and the Four Island Alliance would share all information regarding the masterminds and track down their enemies; should help be needed, there would even be support.
Geom Mugeuk had opened his eyes at some point and was watching the three toast. The other four were no different.
The moment the voices were blocked, they knew the three were having a very important conversation. That was why they could surmise from that toast that the tripartite alliance had been sealed.
This was exactly what it meant to trust one's father. No matter what Father thought of my demonic path, he was at least someone who knew what needed to be done in any given situation.
That was why his heart had been at ease even after opening this gathering. He had simply believed that Father would handle the aftermath. A father was a father, after all.
"Anyway, they are simply people who don't know how to have fun."
Everyone smiled at Geom Mugeuk's words.
"We cannot simply let such a historic moment pass. Instead of those who don't know how to enjoy themselves, let us celebrate properly. Drink our fill, sing songs, and…."
Geom Mugeuk grinned meaningfully and looked at Bi Sain.
"Why are you looking at me?"
Startled, Bi Sain beheld. A colossal storm cloud bringing a typhoon, a tidal wave surging to the heavens, lava spewing fireballs—no, a crisis graver than any of those, the greatest crisis of his life, was crashing down upon him.