Demon Army soldiers were guarding one of the buildings within the Chongqing branch.
They had encircled the building at regular intervals, and their net of vigilance extended not only over its roof, but also across the rooftops of the neighboring buildings.
Even if ordinary martial artists had been mobilized, one might have called it an ironclad guard—and yet every last one of them was an elite Demon Army soldier. It was, quite literally, a cordon through which not even a single ant could slip.
Just then, a martial artist from the Chongqing branch came up to them and bowed his head.
“Thanks to you, I survived. Thank you.”
He was one of the martial artists who had been saved from the brink of death by the Demon Army.
Many martial artists of the Murim Alliance had been wounded or killed in this surprise attack, but if not for the Demon Army, it was impossible to imagine how high that number might have risen.
The Demon Army soldiers merely nodded once in acknowledgment and said nothing at all.
Seo Daeryong stood by the second-floor window, watching the scene. There was someone in this room, too, to whom he ought to offer his thanks. If not for Jang Ho, who sat at the desk reading a report, he himself would have been dead.
‘I really nearly died.’
But there was an emotion that came before that fear.
The thrill he had felt when he fought like a madman. Seo Daeryong could not forget that moment.
The training he did once he returned would surely be different now. He had gone all the way to the threshold of the afterlife and confirmed what he should train for, and when and how that training would shine.
After gazing out the window for a while, Seo Daeryong turned toward Jang Ho.
“What on earth do you think is happening over there?”
If anyone else had asked, Jang Ho would not have answered at all. Even if he had, he would likely have said that he was only moving according to orders.
But because it was none other than Seo Daeryong, he offered words of comfort for his sake.
“The Demon Venerable will be safe.”
It was a blunt, curt remark, but it was exactly what Seo Daeryong wanted to hear most right now.
“I believe so as well.”
Seo Daeryong forced a bright smile, and Jang Ho smiled too.
“By the way, how is the painting going?”
Jang Ho was a man who would not so much as blink if hundreds of enemies charged at him, but now his eyes widened as he asked,
“How did you know?”
“A certain tight-lipped person bragged so much about receiving a painting from Lord Jang. I imagine not only I, but everyone who would know already knows.”
Unable to hold back, Jang Ho laughed. Some time ago, he had gifted Geom Mugeuk a painting of him. He had wanted his first gifted painting to go to him no matter what.
Since then, he had painted many things. He had painted this and that. He painted his subordinates, then buildings, and the enormous stone statues within the cult. He painted fruit, and he painted swords and sabers. In truth, he had even painted Seo Daeryong and Ian. He simply had not been able to present them as gifts.
At first, he had thought that the act of painting was a good hobby because it allowed him to have time entirely to himself.
He had thought that, at least while he was painting, he would be able to forget all his worries.
But what he gained was something entirely different.
While painting, he came to realize something. That there was a side of him he had never expected.
He wanted to show his paintings to others. He found himself thinking that he wanted to gather the paintings he had done well and hold an exhibition. To show that he was someone who could paint such pictures. And to be praised for it.
To think he had such a desire within him. He had lived believing he was not the sort of person who wanted to show off and boast to others.
That was why painting became even more fun and fascinating. Though he painted others, what he discovered was himself.
“Pavilion Master Seo, you should try finding a hobby as well.”
“I don’t have the time.”
Jang Ho was about to tell him to make time even if he had to carve it out, but instead he smiled and said,
“You are still young.”
He knew that before the right occasion came, it would not be easy anyway. He himself had only put it off, again and again.
His own occasion had been this.
When he had once said that he wanted to paint someday, Geom Mugeuk had run out at once and bought paints, brushes, and the like.
His occasion had been becoming close to the young cult leader of the Demon Cult.
To paint even once, one had to become close to the young cult leader of the Demon Cult.
Seo Daeryong was watching. He was watching Jang Ho’s face as he smiled to himself, wondering what he was thinking. It was a look he could never have imagined in the past.
‘I have changed too, but Lord Jang has truly changed a great deal as well.’
It was then. The door opened, and the very occasion that had brought about all these changes entered.
When Seo Daeryong confirmed who had come in, he was startled, then immediately ran toward him.
“Young Cult Leader!”
Seo Daeryong threw himself into his arms. Normally, Geom Mugeuk would have lightly dodged aside and teased him, but today he did not avoid him.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
After hugging him tightly, Geom Mugeuk patted Seo Daeryong on the shoulder.
“I nearly had this precious right arm of yours cut off, you know. I nearly died.”
“I wasn’t particularly worried.”
“Because Lord Jang was here?”
“No.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at Jang Ho and gave the reason.
“Because there was someone reliable enough to replace my right arm.”
At that, Seo Daeryong’s expression turned triumphant.
“What are you going to do? The person who was supposed to replace me saved the right arm, you know? It seems he has withdrawn from the candidacy!”
Geom Mugeuk walked over to Jang Ho.
“You worked hard.”
“I suspect that getting us into this Chongqing branch was harder than saving Pavilion Master Seo.”
Jang Ho shared the credit for saving Seo Daeryong with Geom Mugeuk. It meant that he had been able to save him because Geom Mugeuk had made it possible for him to come here.
“Don’t even mention it. I pleaded with Unit Leader Jin, pleaded and pleaded. I told him I’d grant all your requests from now on, that I wouldn’t force you to dance, that I wouldn’t tease you for being boring. Only after making every promise under the sun was I able to get you into the branch.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s banter, Seo Daeryong broke into a broad smile.
Then he bowed formally.
“Thank you, Young Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk relayed the news he must have been desperately waiting for.
“The elder is safe.”
Seo Daeryong asked in surprise,
“You met Master?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded. Not only Seo Daeryong, but Jang Ho as well looked relieved.
“Why did he not come with you?”
Geom Mugeuk answered with a meaningful look in his eyes.
“That is what we must find out from now on. Why he could not come with me.”
* * *
Half a double-hour later, a quiet farewell took place at the rear gate of the branch.
The carriage carrying the Demon Army soldiers departed first.
Branch Leader Ju Gwol expressed his gratitude to Jang Ho.
“I am grateful. I will not forget this debt.”
Not only had Jang Ho saved his subordinates, he had personally saved Ju Gwol’s life as well.
“If you ever need my help later, please be sure to come find me.”
Compared to his fervor, Jang Ho was calm.
“Thanks to you, I have stayed well. Let us meet again.”
And so the large carriages carrying the Demon Army soldiers quietly left the place. Whether the Demon Army returned to the main headquarters or stood by somewhere else, they would move according to the orders of Tongcheon Pavilion.
Geom Mugeuk, Seo Daeryong, and Jin Hagun were also there. Geom Mugeuk spoke to Jin Hagun about Seo Daeryong.
“I’ll be taking this man with me.”
Originally, it was not something he could permit. Since the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had appeared beneath Hyangsu Villa, it had become clear that this matter was truly connected to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
He still did not know about the sound transmission exchanged between Geom Mugeuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. Geom Mugeuk had kept that matter secret. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon clearly seemed to have a reason he had to stand on their side.
Even so, Jin Hagun readily accepted it.
“Do so.”
Ju Gwol, who had been listening, stepped forward.
“You cannot. The possibility remains that he is the culprit.”
He still had not let go of his suspicion that this incident was the work of demonic practitioners.
Geom Mugeuk said to him,
“If this man is revealed to be the culprit, I will take responsibility and bring him before you. I promise you as the Young Cult Leader.”
Jin Hagun had already granted permission, and Geom Mugeuk had gone this far in saying it—how could he insist further?
“Please do not forget that promise.”
When Ju Gwol withdrew from the place, Jin Hagun said to Geom Mugeuk,
“If you need help, tell me anytime.”
“The one who needs help isn’t me. It’s you.”
“Me?”
“You’re the one they’re targeting, aren’t you?”
As Geom Mugeuk said, they might continue to target him.
“So, with that in mind, how about staying for the time being at a Murim Alliance safe house and observing how the situation unfolds?”
Jin Hagun had not thought of going to a safe house. He had intended to confront the forces behind this here at the branch.
“Think of it not as hiding, but as lying in ambush. The less this side reveals itself, the harder it will be for the enemy. Think of it as removing one of their moves.”
Indeed, Geom Mugeuk was pointing out a part he had not considered. Now, in moments like this, Jin Hagun no longer felt jealousy toward Geom Mugeuk. There was only swift acceptance.
“I will.”
Thinking about it, if he stayed with them, the branch martial artists would only be in greater danger. Going to a safe house with the Demon-Extermination Unit might well be the better choice.
As he departed, Geom Mugeuk said,
“Once we smash them to pieces, call Sain and let’s have a drink.”
Jin Hagun nodded once, then turned and walked the opposite way. Seeing that he felt like seeing Bi Sain, someone he normally never even thought of, it seemed he truly wanted to smash the ones who had plotted this affair to pieces.
* * *
If one side had succeeded, there was also a side that had failed.
The person sitting before the old fortune-teller in a corner of the Chongqing marketplace was Yu Beom.
“Judging by your appearance, your luck today was not good.”
Yu Beom’s face was swollen, and crimson palm marks were imprinted on it. They were marks left by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Yu Beom lowered his head deeply.
He was tense. Depending on how the report he was about to give was received, his life could be forfeit.
While the old fortune-teller slowly shook the wooden tube, the two exchanged words by sound transmission.
—We failed to kill the Demon-Extermination Unit Leader.
At the report that the mission had failed, the old man’s hand, which had been shaking the tube, paused for a moment.
Yu Beom quickly gave the reasons why they could not help but fail.
—The Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult came there with him. And the Blood Heaven Blade Demon refused the order to stop the Young Cult Leader.
The old man slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was filled with nothing but coldness.
Both the plan to kill Seo Daeryong and the plan to kill Jin Hagun had failed.
—Please forgive me.
Fortunately, the old man’s anger did not turn into irritable killing intent that sought to hold him responsible.
—If the Young Cult Leader came, then it would have been so.
He seemed to understand well the relationship between Geom Mugeuk and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Soon, the sound transmission ended, and the old man shook the wooden tube with even greater vigor.
“If it does not resolve after one attempt, you try twice. If it still does not resolve after two attempts… then you must consult the fortune. Now, draw.”
The old man held out the divination tube filled with bamboo sticks.
As if he had been prepared for everything, there was once again a stick protruding slightly.
Yu Beom drew it out.
—Insufficient rage shall be filled with blood.
After checking the contents, Yu Beom looked at the old man with a tense expression. He knew what this meant. It meant they would proceed with the third annihilation.
Because this operation had failed, this third annihilation would become a major incident that would turn the murim upside down.
“Go and deliver the fortune.”
* * *
I returned to the safe house with Seo Daeryong.
I went straight to see Father and told him everything that had happened exactly as it was.
I told him everything from beginning to end. The only moment Father grew angry was when the Blood Heaven Blade Demon came up.
If they had previously touched the demonic path by leaving letters in blood, now it had become certain that they had touched the Demon Venerable.
Whoever they were, they had better hope they run into me rather than Father. Father was very angry.
“Do you perhaps have any idea what might be connected to Elder Blade Demon?”
I hoped that Father might know something. He had known the Blade Demon since his youth, after all.
But Father said nothing. I could not tell whether he did not know, or knew and simply would not tell me.
“This enemy is somehow different.”
I conveyed exactly what I had felt thus far.
“At first, I thought they were the forces behind everything. But now I have begun to think they may not be.”
“Why do you think that?”
“When we were cutting off their source of funds in Shaanxi, here in Chongqing they were drawing Elder Blade Demon in and plotting this affair. They were separate undertakings.”
At the very least, it meant this was not revenge for what had happened in Shaanxi.
And if Father had not turned the carriage around, this matter would have proceeded in an entirely different direction.
“Not only that, their methods are different as well. Until now, they hid in secret, built up their strength, and planned for the future.”
In our cult, Hwan Yeo had hidden as the master of the garden; in the Murim Alliance, as Jin Hagun’s master; and in the Evil Dao Alliance, as an instructor. It had been the same in the Pungcheon Sect, the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild.
They had been weaving schemes and building their strength. Naturally, the Twelve Zodiac Kings were not the completed versions of themselves from the future.
“But this case is different. They boldly attacked the Chongqing branch of the Murim Alliance and tried to kill Pavilion Master Seo. At the same time, they tried to eliminate the Demon-Extermination Unit Leader and every member of the Demon-Extermination Unit. Father, you know what the result of that would have been, do you not?”
Their intention was clear.
“They are trying to start a war between our cult and the Murim Alliance.”
Father’s eyes gleamed coldly. Though Father dreamed of unifying the murim, there was no way he would wish for a war in which he was made to dance in someone else’s hands.
“It may simply be that they have suffered so much until now that they changed their strategy, but something about it is subtly different.”
Because it was a feeling born of instinct, I could not present a clear answer.
But though I did not know it,
“I believe that you, Father, know the answer.”