“Are you saying that I am deceiving you?”
Saying that Father knew the answer was certainly open to misunderstanding. It had sounded as though he knew the truth but had kept it from me.
“No. That is not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean by saying that I know the answer?”
After a brief pause, I spoke to Father.
“I mean that somewhere in your past, there must be a clue to this matter.”
There was a clear reason I thought so.
“They are definitely people who hold a grudge or some history with Elder Doma. You can tell simply by the fact that Elder Doma follows them willingly.”
Father nodded with an expression showing he agreed.
“But is that all there is to it?”
“What do you mean?”
“If they held a grudge against Elder Doma, they would have killed him somehow. By poison, traps, or any other means. Yet they brutally annihilated an orthodox sect and pinned the crime on us. There is no greater infamy that could befall the Main Cult.”
Father’s eyes sharpened. He had assumed it was simply a matter involving Doma that had spread outward, but now the scope was expanding.
“And that is not all. They tried to kill the West Pavilion Master and attempted to kill the Myeolmadaeju to spark a war with the Main Cult. This is too great an undertaking to be merely for settling a grudge with Elder Doma.”
Father slowly nodded as if he had been thinking the same.
“Not merely resentment toward Elder Doma….”
This was the emotion my instincts had detected.
“I feel malice directed at the Main Cult.”
“!”
“A deep resentment that wishes to destroy not only Elder Doma, but the Main Cult as well.”
I could feel Father’s shock. I could tell by his reaction. He had not been thinking to that extent.
“That is why I spoke. The one who orchestrated this must be somewhere in Elder Doma’s past, somewhere in your past, Father. Even if you cannot remember right now.”
Silence flowed. Wondering if I had spoken too confidently about something uncertain, I added:
“Please simply keep it in mind. It is only a feeling, an intuition.”
“How accurate is that intuition?”
I smiled sheepishly and answered.
“It is almost always right.”
Father rose from his seat and slowly walked to the window. Then he looked outside and spoke in a low voice.
“Then the situation is even worse.”
It meant that, apart from the forces behind the scenes we had originally been facing, a new enemy had appeared.
And I viewed this situation positively.
“No, this could actually be good.”
Father’s gaze, which had been directed outside the window, turned to me. At the questioning look in his eyes asking why—
“Because now, while the forces behind the scenes have been somewhat weakened, is an opportunity to deal with the new enemy.”
There was another reason I felt it was a personal grudge.
The original forces behind the scenes would have acted more carefully, waiting for an opportunity. They would not have caused Jung-gyeong to be sealed off while Father and I were passing through. They would know how foolish it is to face us both at once.
But these people are different. Emotion can be felt in their actions.
“It feels as if they are saying this to us:”
I conveyed that feeling exactly to Father.
“We have returned!”
At that moment, I saw it. An emotion that flashed across Father’s face. It was clearly cold derision.
“If they wanted to say such things, they should have said them while opening the door and entering the Cheonma Hall.”
Because if it were Father, he would have done exactly that. Framing someone and seizing their weakness—such cowardly acts were what Father truly despised.
Father, I do not know who it is, nor for what reason.
“Send them back with me.”
* * *
When I came out of Father’s quarters, Seo Daeryong was pacing about in the inner courtyard.
“You must be tired. Why are you not resting?”
“I lay down to catch some sleep, but it would not come.”
It must have been because he was worried about Hyeolcheon Doma. I knew better than anyone how much affection had grown between them while learning martial arts.
“When you learned the Myeolcheonmadosik, did you not hear anything separately? That someone else knows it?”
“No, he said the Myeolcheonmadosik is passed down only to the successor of the Doma. It is a martial art that will absolutely never be leaked to outsiders.”
Then who on earth had used the Myeolcheonmadosik?
The previous Doma? He was known to be already dead.
Or perhaps Elder Doma had another martial brother? If so, there was no way Father would not know of it.
“Young Cult Leader.”
Seo Daeryong spoke with a more serious face than ever before.
“Please tell me whenever you need me. Even if it is dangerous.”
One does not become a martial artist capable of sacrificing for another simply by learning high-level martial arts. Because he was Seo Daeryong, who had hoped for change in the New Cult for the sake of his seniors who died unjustly, his gaze had always been fiery.
“If Elder Doma heard your words, he would be pleased.”
“Later, please make sure to take the credit on my behalf, Young Cult Leader.”
Just as we were smiling at each other like that, an inner courtyard martial artist came and handed me a thick stack of documents before leaving. The Tongcheon Pavilion had been sending information to the inner courtyard several times a day.
“What is this?”
“Documents on the orthodox sects of Jung-gyeong. I requested them from the Tongcheon Pavilion. To find out where their next target will be.”
Seo Daeryong looked at me with a surprised expression.
“Do you think they will commit another sect-annihilating disaster?”
“Because they failed to kill you and the Myeolmadaeju. Yes, I believe they will do it again. Not merely once, but twice, three times, until they achieve their goal. Even if I am wrong, being fully prepared is never a bad choice.”
Seo Daeryong’s expression darkened slightly. He was probably blaming himself, thinking that because he had survived, someone else’s death would follow. It was because he was this kind of person that I liked him.
“There is quite a clever person orchestrating this matter on their side. That is advantageous to us.”
“If the enemy is clever, why is that advantageous for us?”
“Because we also have a clever person who can figure out what they are thinking.”
“Who?”
“You.”
I handed the documents to Seo Daeryong.
“There must be something that clever people understand about each other. Find out where their next target is.”
“Then you should look at them, Young Cult Leader.”
I am not a clever person like Sima Gunsa, Go Wol, or Seo Daeryong. If I am regarded as clever, it is only the insight born of regression; after all, I could not have entered Hwangcheon Pavilion as a top student.
“What if I choose wrong?”
“If you choose wrong, then I will choose wrong too. Daeryong, believe in your cleverness.”
Strength entered Seo Daeryong’s eyes. This matter concerned his master’s very life, as well as the lives of innocents. In the past, he would have fled from such pressure.
“Yes, I will try.”
Seo Daeryong began spreading the documents on the floor. Rather than in a room or on a desk, this empty inner courtyard was better for surveying the materials all at once.
And so, documents on dozens of sects in Jung-gyeong were spread out in the inner courtyard.
Seo Daeryong immersed himself to a terrifying degree. He read quickly and moved aside what was unnecessary. He went here and there, reading this and then running over to read that.
I did not disturb him and simply watched quietly. I thought that just by being beside him, I would be a strength to Seo Daeryong. The thought that I was watching would make him focus even more.
Fortunately, Seo Daeryong did not know. That Father was looking down on us from the window.
Otherwise, instead of showing this terrifying concentration, he would have grown nervous and flustered and tripped over himself several times.
Do your best, Daeryong! So we can return to the Main Cult with the elder.
* * *
A person sat before the old fortune-teller.
The one silently staring at the old man with a massive greatsword resting on his knees was none other than Hyeolcheon Doma.
The old man showed no agitation, as if he had known Hyeolcheon Doma would come.
Was it because of those stubborn eyes? Though Hyeolcheon Doma revealed no intent whatsoever and merely sat there, he pressed down upon his opponent with tremendous weight.
“Where is it?”
“No matter how much of a fortune-teller I am, how would I know if you ask so abruptly?”
“I will not ask twice.”
Despite the clear threat, the old man was not frightened. And he knew exactly what Hyeolcheon Doma was asking.
“Were you always this sort of person? The Hyeolcheon Doma I know is someone who would not care in the slightest whether orthodox people live or die.”
Hyeolcheon Doma quietly placed his hand on the Myeolcheon Daedo resting on his knees. Though he still revealed not even a sliver of killing intent, let alone any small trace of intent, the pressure multiplied several-fold simply by touching the blade.
“Can you cut me?”
To the old man’s provocation, Hyeolcheon Doma answered in a languid tone.
“It is what I do best.”
A strange smile formed on the old man’s lips, and soon he picked up the divination tube.
“Even if I die for it, let me cast a fortune. As to why our Demon Lord is trying so hard to save orthodox people.”
Even in a situation where the Myeolcheon Daedo might fly and sever his neck in one blow, the old man calmly chose a bamboo stick from the tube.
—New ties surpass old ties.
The old man looked down at the words written on the divination slip and spoke.
“As I thought, it was because of the Young Cult Leader.”
Hyeolcheon Doma grasped the hilt of the Myeolcheon Daedo. He revealed no killing intent, but the old man could tell. That he truly intended to cut him down.
This time, the old man held out the tube to Hyeolcheon Doma.
“Draw one.”
As Hyeolcheon Doma, who had been staring at the old man, looked at the tube, one stick was drawn up into the air by itself.
—One who ties the knot must untie it.
“You have chosen a good fortune. Indeed, knots must be untied by those who tied them.”
The old man spoke to Hyeolcheon Doma.
“In three days, go to Bongsan Sword Gate.”
Hyeolcheon Doma knew. That the old man was not telling him this simply because the divination had come out this way. He did not know how it was done, but this divination too was likely one the old man had intended.
Perhaps it was even his will.
As Hyeolcheon Doma tried to rise from his seat, the old man shook the divination tube.
“Why don’t I have my fortune told as well?”
The old man pulled out a stick.
—Those fated to live shall live, and those fated to die shall die.
After glancing at the divination, Hyeolcheon Doma rose from his seat without a word.
“Why do you not ask? Which side I believe I am on.”
Hyeolcheon Doma answered as he walked away.
“I know which side I am on.”
* * *
“It has been narrowed down to two places.”
Two sects remained on the floor.
Ungang Sect.
Bongsan Sword Gate.
It was the result of all the agonizing Seo Daeryong had done. Documents of excluded sects were piled up beside him.
“Among the orthodox sects representing Jung-gyeong, both are sects with good reputations for their sect leaders. If it becomes known that even they were attacked by the Main Cult, the orthodox martial artists will not sit idly by.”
Geom Mugik examined the documents of those two sects.
“It is certainly one of the two, but I simply cannot choose.”
And no wonder, for numerous lives hung on this single choice.
“This is my limit. I need either Sima Gunsa or Go Gunsa.”
Then Geom Mugik said something surprising.
“I think I know where.”
Seo Daeryong looked at Geom Mugik with surprised eyes.
“You know? How?”
Seo Daeryong started in surprise and stepped back.
“If you think about it, the leader of all these dark schemes is—!”
Geom Mugik looked at Seo Daeryong with a sly gaze.
“Have you only now realized my secret?”
Seo Daeryong, who had been silently watching Geom Mugik, shook his head and sighed.
“I do not even want to treat this as a joke. The Young Cult Leader is the enemy? That would be the destruction of the martial world.”
“By my standards, it would be the unification of the martial world.”
“Ugh, please stop!”
Seo Daeryong came beside Geom Mugik and asked.
“Which sect is it?”
Geom Mugik picked up one of the two documents on the floor.
Bongsan Sword Gate.
“How on earth did you know?”
The reason Geom Mugik chose Bongsan Sword Gate was a point Seo Daeryong had never thought of.
“I chose the one that had bad relations with the previously annihilated Yu Myeongjang or Daejeongmun.”
The final candidate, Ungang Sect, was on very close terms with the Daejeongmun Sect Leader. It also had a friendship with Yu Myeongjang. On the other hand, Bongsan Sword Gate was in a competitive and opposing relationship with them even within the same orthodox faction.
“Why?”
Seo Daeryong could not understand at all. Then, an unexpected answer flowed from Geom Mugik.
“Because that would make the maximum number of orthodox factions furious.”
“!”
Even within the same orthodox faction, there are friendships and factions. The deeper the friendship, the greater the anger. The intention is to draw out the fury of the other faction.
“Ah! That makes sense!”
Seo Daeryong’s voice trembled involuntarily.
Just then, news arrived from the Tongcheon Pavilion. Geom Mugik checked the letter brought by the inner courtyard martial artist.
“It is certain that it is that place.”
The letter’s contents stated that in three days, the leaders of various sects in Jung-gyeong would gather at Bongsan Sword Gate for a meeting.
“It is that day.”
At Geom Mugik’s certainty, Seo Daeryong raised an objection.
“Wouldn’t it be the opposite? In the current atmosphere, if sect leaders move, they will bring many experts under their command…. Ah!”
At that moment, Seo Daeryong recalled one fact.
When they attacked the Murim Alliance’s Jung-gyeong Branch to kill him, the branch had been crowded with martial artists who had come as support from nearby branches and sub-branches.
And was that all? They were ones who tried to kill the Myeolmadaeju and the entire Demon Annihilation Corps. These people know no bounds.
“Yes, they will not miss the opportunity of several sects gathering.”
Geom Mugik patted Seo Daeryong’s shoulder.
“Good work. You are the one who found it.”
Worry and fear preceded joy for Seo Daeryong.
“Will Master come there that day?”
“That I do not know. What is certain is that someone capable of using the Myeolcheonmadosik will come.”
Seo Daeryong could feel it. Because he had learned the Myeolcheonmadosik, he too stood on the extension of this fate. The day he had drunkenly grabbed his master’s hem, he had stood upon the line for the first time.
And upon reflection, he had been walking upon it all along.
One step when his master took him as a successor, one step when gifting him the greatsword he had wielded in his youth, one step when teaching him martial arts, one step when scolding him, and one step when smiling at him.
And so, this time too, he must walk.
“If Master comes as well, then three people capable of wielding it will gather.”