Geom Ujin looked back toward where the women were seated.
He did not smile, nor did he thank them. He merely glanced their way once, but Hwi was inwardly astonished.
Even that alone was truly surprising. The Cult Leader was accepting this cheerful atmosphere.
They would never know whose gaze had just fallen upon them.
When their eyes met Geom Ujin’s, the women greeted him with cupped fists. Seen like this, they resembled one another enough to look like sisters.
They all seemed bright and pleasant in nature, and one could sense they were not the sort to be bound by formality.
And from the expressions with which they looked at his father, Geom Mugeuk admitted defeat. The youngest-looking among them had a face that seemed ready to burst into cheers if he so much as spoke to her.
“The innkeeper wasn’t seeing things after all.”
Following Geom Mugeuk, Seo Daeryong lamented through voice transmission.
—It’s a pitiless jianghu where only handsome men survive.
—I’m handsome too, and I still lost! That makes me feel even worse!
—You wouldn’t say that if you’d recited poetry and lost anyway.
The two men, now comrades in defeat, raised their cups with woeful faces.
Watching their miserable state, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon laughed. He could imagine what sort of voice transmissions they must be exchanging.
Geom Ujin called over the innkeeper and, as a gesture of thanks, ordered a bottle of good wine for the female warriors.
Then he rose from his seat.
“Let us stop here for today.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at his father and made one last jest.
“The victor makes his exit.”
His father pushed the dishes in front of him toward Geom Mugeuk. After landing that finishing blow, he went upstairs to the second floor.
“That’s too much!”
After giving Geom Mugeuk a smile, Hwi followed him upstairs, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon also rose from his seat. He said one thing to Seo Daeryong.
“Still, keep reading diligently.”
“Yes, Master. Rest well.”
Geom Mugeuk silently watched his back as he went up to the second floor.
He believes in the beauty of poetry, and in the power of reading. Elder, you likely do not know just how magnificent that is.
With even the Blood Heaven Blade Demon gone upstairs, only Geom Mugeuk and Seo Daeryong remained there.
“Now then, let us have a drink among losers.”
He said it for no reason, but in truth, Seo Daeryong was perfectly fine. Whether he memorized a single poem or an entire poetry collection, how could he possibly be a match for these two Cult Leaders?
Rather, he was pleased, thinking he had gained something to talk about at future drinking gatherings. But the real thing to talk about began now.
The female warriors, having finished their meal, were about to leave when one of them came over to Seo Daeryong and said politely,
“I enjoyed the poem earlier. It was wonderful.”
At the unexpected words, Seo Daeryong was flustered. So flustered that he remained seated, not knowing what to say.
“Ah, yes.”
The woman gave a polite cupped-fist salute and bade him farewell.
“I hope I may be fortunate enough to hear another poem someday. Then, I’ll take my leave.”
Then she turned around and strode out of the inn.
Seo Daeryong looked half out of his wits. Ordinarily, he should have teased Geom Mugeuk, saying the loser had been the Young Cult Leader, but he had no presence of mind for that.
“What could that woman be trying to get out of me? Has there been some rumor that my poetry-and-painting album is a treasure map?”
He was referring to the woman who had intentionally approached him during the martial arts tournament in the past.
And that was not all. In his life, no woman had ever been the first to express pure goodwill toward him. The closest relationship he had ever had was that of a good senior.
After rising to the position of Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion, even those senior-junior relationships had all been severed. Not wanting to place any unnecessary burden on others, he had cut off all interest in the women within the cult. He had also been busy with work.
“Stop talking nonsense and go ask her name! Make plans to meet next time too. Hurry!”
When Geom Mugeuk pushed him along, Seo Daeryong ran out with a dazed expression.
He stood on the road and exchanged a few words with the woman, then returned to his seat. Seo Daeryong’s face was flushed.
“She was Miss Dan.”
Her name was Dan A.
“Was she the one you first took a liking to?”
“Not in my life up until now. Even if someone had come, it would have been a different woman. But today, yes.”
The woman he had taken a liking to had come and spoken to him.
“Congratulations, my right arm!”
Unlike the delighted Geom Mugeuk, Seo Daeryong was calm.
“You made a promise to meet again, right?”
“No.”
“You asked what group she belonged to?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you?”
After a brief pause, Seo Daeryong said,
“I told her honestly. That I belong to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. She was surprised.”
“Why did you do that? Usually at times like this, you disguise yourself as being from the Seodo Sect.”
Seo Daeryong answered honestly.
“I don’t know either. In that moment, I thought I wanted to be honest with that woman. And she’s a woman I saw for the first time, so what do I know about her that I should like her? It’s just a passing connection.”
I’m a demon, so we can’t work out, can we?
He spoke as if he had given up on himself, but Geom Mugeuk could sense it. In fact, it was the opposite.
It seemed he truly had fallen for her at first sight. And on top of that, he had heard her say she had liked the poem he recited. Because it struck him too deeply, he had pushed it away instead. Because he was afraid.
“If you are fated with her, you will meet her again.”
“There’s no chance we’ll meet again, and even if we do, it won’t work out anyway.”
“If that truly becomes an obstacle between you two, then you can quit being Lord of Hwangcheon Pavilion.”
Seo Daeryong now knew. Words like these were not a joke.
If he truly found someone he loved, he could leave the cult. Because that was the sort of person Geom Mugeuk was. Because he was someone who would gladly send him off. He would even put money in his hand to help with living expenses before letting him go.
“So that you can do this? ‘I’m sorry, but to protect the cult’s secrets, I have no choice. I’ll plant the flowers from the pot you were raising by your grave, Seo Daeryong—slash!’”
Geom Mugeuk acted as though he flinched.
“That is why I will not quit.”
If I must live alone, then I will live alone. I will never leave the Young Cult Leader, nor the cult.
* * *
Though he had resolved himself so, Seo Daeryong was tormented by nightmares all night.
It was a dream in which he recited poetry before countless people.
At times, the crowd listening would cheer and applaud. At other times, they jeered.
She was among them too. She only jeered.
After being tormented by dreams like that, he opened his eyes to find it was morning.
Seo Daeryong looked up at the ceiling and sighed.
“How pathetic, how truly pathetic. You even dreamed about that?”
Seo Daeryong got up from the bed and walked to the window.
As if it had never rained so hard, the sun had risen brightly.
A carriage was waiting at the entrance of the inn, and Hwi was preparing to depart.
“I’ll come down right away as well.”
At Seo Daeryong’s words, Hwi said calmly,
“It’s all right. The preparations are finished, so please come down at your leisure.”
Seo Daeryong quickly got ready and went downstairs.
Fortunately, the Cult Leader and his master had not yet come down.
What was he thinking? Hwi made an unexpected suggestion.
“Would you like to take the reins today?”
They were reins he had never once handed over before.
“Yes, I’ll try.”
Seo Daeryong sat in the driver’s seat and took the reins. His heart trembled for fear that he might make a mistake. Then a voice came from beside him.
“The poem was pleasing to hear for me as well.”
At first, he thought he had heard wrong. Hwi had not once spoken to him about anything personal on the way here.
“Th-thank you.”
Flustered, Seo Daeryong even stammered as he looked at Hwi, but Hwi said nothing more.
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk leaned out of the carriage and said,
“Let us go slowly, Pavilion Lord.”
“Understood.”
A short while later, Geom Ujin and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon came down and boarded the carriage.
“We will depart.”
Before setting the carriage in motion, Seo Daeryong looked back at the inn one last time.
Sensing that deep regret, Geom Mugeuk sent a voice transmission.
—It was a poem that even Uncle Hwi responded to. This connection is not yet certain.
As if declaring that he would no longer harbor futile hope, Seo Daeryong set the carriage off with vigor.
—It is a connection that has already ended.
* * *
The ended connection was walking along the road.
They were the three women who had met Geom Mugeuk’s group at the inn just earlier. There was a name by which they were known in the jianghu.
The Three Dan Sisters.
The three sisters were wandering warriors. They were escort mercenaries who mostly took on guard missions, and because they were skilled and responsible, they had a very good reputation in the world of wandering warriors.
Moreover, work never ran out. When women traveling alone felt uneasy about male escorts, the brokers would invariably recommend the Three Dan Sisters.
That was why they had given off such a cheerful impression at the inn earlier. They were not women belonging to a sect who valued the honor of a family, but wandering warriors who freely roamed the jianghu. On top of that, the three of them were so close that it was an everyday sight for them to put their heads together and whisper among themselves.
“Sister, your taste in men really is unusual. He’s short and slight too. Could he even use any strength properly?”
The third sister, Dan Yeon, could not understand her older sister’s taste. Knowing that she was originally the type to speak frankly without beating around the bush, Dan A merely smiled.
“There was a handsome young master beside him, you know.”
“Then why did you tell them to send that dish to that gentleman? You’re the youngest among us.”
The dish had gone to Geom Ujin entirely because of the third sister Dan Yeon’s insistence.
“He was impressive, wasn’t he?”
Dan Yeon’s ideal type had always been a man who gave off such an intense feeling.
“He seemed impressive to me too.”
“Compare what can be compared.”
Dan A had felt Seo Daeryong’s gaze as soon as she entered the inn.
What had drawn her heart was nothing else but the shyness contained in his eyes.
When one met martial artists, they usually tried by any means to appear strong. She had grown tired, utterly tired, of those eyes that strove to look strong. Eyes filled with shyness had been truly rare and refreshing.
And most decisively,
“Have you ever seen someone carrying a sword recite poetry?”
She could tell that he had memorized the poem because of her. That pure feeling had been very nice.
“You’ve always liked kind people, Sister.”
At the second sister Dan Bi’s words, the youngest, Dan Yeon, shook her head.
“Kind? Didn’t he say he was a demon?”
At those words, the three sisters were silent for a moment. Among hired martial artists, there was a saying passed down through generations: nothing good ever came of getting entangled with demons.
“Why are you all making such a fuss? I simply told him I liked the poem.”
“You went out of your way to do that?”
“We’re here. Let’s work now.”
The place the three arrived at was a small hermitage in the mountains.
Since it was a location designated by the brokers, there should not be any particular problem, but the three women scattered and examined the surroundings.
Once they began working, they became different people. A sharpness that made it impossible to think they were the same ones who had been chatting earlier could be felt from them.
They had been doing this since the youngest was fourteen, so it was already their tenth year in this line of work.
During that time, they had crossed the line between life and death several times.
They knew. No matter how careful they were, this was work where death could come in a single instant. And so, knowing the preciousness of each moment, they strove to live as cheerfully as possible.
When one lived a life where tomorrow might bring death, how could one spend today fighting? They could not let their last moment with someone become a quarrel.
The client waiting at the appointed place was a woman.
A young and beautiful woman.
She was trying to remain calm, but Dan A sensed her tension and fear.
‘Someone is threatening her.’
With long experience, she could tell at a glance.
“We are the Three Dan Sisters.”
The three women greeted her with light cupped-fist salutes. The woman also lowered her head and accepted their greeting.
“We heard the place you need to go is Guizhou.”
The woman nodded. She was someone who kept her words to a minimum.
“May we ask what business takes you there?”
“Must I reveal my purpose as well?”
“Where exactly is your destination?”
“I will tell you once we enter Guizhou.”
From the woman’s caution, Dan A could guess. It was not that she did not trust them; rather, she was this careful because she feared those pursuing her.
Dan A felt an inexplicable unease. When working, she could usually tell at once: this job is dangerous, this job will be easy. This time, it fell on the dangerous side.
“I’m sorry, but unless you reveal exactly who you are and where you are going, we will refuse this commission. Find someone else.”
In ordinary cases, they often proceeded without asking. But when the feeling was bad, one had to be careful.
Sure enough, the woman was greatly shaken. From that alone, one could tell. She was in danger.
If so, they needed to learn even more about this job. She could not put her younger sisters in danger.
The two younger sisters left all decisions to their elder sister and quietly drew their swords, keeping watch over the surroundings.
“I will contact the broker again and tell them to send someone new. Until then, we will protect you.”
At that, the woman took a step back. There was no more time to delay.
“Very well. I will tell you who I am. I am a courtesan of Cheonhwa Pavilion in Fenghuang, Hunan Province.”
There were seven Cheonhwa Pavilions in Hunan alone. She was a courtesan of one of them, the Fenghuang Cheonhwa Pavilion.
Dan A could tell. Judging by the woman’s beauty, she was a very high-ranking courtesan among courtesans.
Was she perhaps eloping for love?
But the place the woman intended to go was unexpected.
“Please take me to Cheonhwa Pavilion’s main headquarters in Guizhou.”
From her mouth flowed the words that would reconnect a bond severed in the rain.
“I must see the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master as soon as possible.”
For the Cheonhwa Pavilion Master was none other than Yeo Jeong, the woman who loved the Extreme Evil Young Demon.