Father entered seclusion?
Not only Geom Mugeuk, but the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who had come with him, all looked at Sima Myeong with tense expressions.
It had been quite a long time since his father had last entered closed-door cultivation.
“Did something happen, by any chance?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s worried question, Sima Myeong shook his head with a gentle expression.
“No. He entered seclusion for the sake of cultivation.”
Geom Mugeuk knew that after his regression, his father had changed as well. He also knew that, unlike in his previous life, his father had focused more on martial training.
For such a father to have entered seclusion clearly meant that he was on the verge of a major change in his martial realm.
Had his Nine Flames Demonic Art surpassed the great completion of the tenth star and entered the realm of the eleventh? Or was he trying to achieve the great completion of the twelfth star?
One thing was certain. His father before seclusion and his father after seclusion would undoubtedly be at different levels of strength.
“When Father emerges from seclusion, our cult’s power will become even stronger.”
At that, Sima Myeong gazed at Geom Mugeuk and asked,
“Are you uneasy?”
How could that be? More than anyone else, he was the one who wished for his father to become so strong that no one could ever dare look down on him.
But if that strength, as implied in the question just now, was directly tied to the unification of the martial world?
Since he had already officially stepped forward to stop his father’s unification of the martial world, Geom Mugeuk answered honestly.
“Overflowing power is bound to burst out someday.”
Geom Mugeuk looked back at the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
‘They really are overflowing with power.’
Of all people, the two Demon Venerables who had come with him today were precisely those whose loyalty to his father was the highest.
The Fist Demon, whom his father trusted the most.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who respected his father the most.
If his father commanded it, these two would leap into war tomorrow even if countless sacrifices followed.
“I shouldn’t have taught you the Cheongangsin.”
Knowing the meaning behind Geom Mugeuk’s joke, the two Demon Venerables merely smiled faintly.
When Geom Mugeuk looked back at Sima Myeong, he relayed his father’s words.
“He said that if the Young Cult Leader returned while he was away, I was to tell you this. While I am gone……”
Geom Mugeuk raised a hand, pretending to guess the next words.
“Take good care of the cult? I believe in my son!”
With an expression that seemed to say, You dream big, Sima Myeong imitated his father in a deep voice.
“Don’t cause trouble.”
Behind him, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s laughter rang out.
“He still doesn’t know me. I’m not someone who causes trouble—I’m a specialist in cleaning it up!”
Geom Mugeuk turned back and asked the Ilhwa Sword Venerable for support.
“You saw it, didn’t you? How well I handled this matter.”
At that, the Ilhwa Sword Venerable looked at the Fist Demon standing beside him and said,
“The Fist Demon handled it. Our Young Cult Leader only slipped out from underground after everything was already over. Am I wrong?”
As much mischief as flickered in the Ilhwa Sword Venerable’s eyes, Geom Mugeuk felt wronged.
“Even you, Sword Venerable? This is truly too much! Do you know how much I suffered underground, breathing in dust? Don’t even get me started. Have you ever slept on a hard wooden bed? Have you ever been hit with a shoe? It’s only because I’m taciturn that I haven’t told you everything……”
When Geom Mugeuk’s words showed signs of growing long, the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable bade farewell to Sima Myeong.
“We will take our leave now.”
Sima Myeong also cupped his fists politely and received their farewell.
“Go and rest well.”
As the two turned away, Geom Mugeuk followed after them.
“Let’s go together. I’m not done talking yet. I’ll see you again, Chief Strategist.”
Just as Geom Mugeuk was about to follow them out, Sima Myeong called to him.
“Where do you think you are going, Young Cult Leader?”
“What do you mean, where? I’ve come back after so long, so now I should meet people and have some fun. Please believe me—I really suffered out there.”
“I do believe that, but there is something the Young Cult Leader must do.”
“Me?”
“Starting today, Young Cult Leader, you must take over the Cult Leader’s duties.”
Unexpected words flowed from Sima Myeong’s mouth.
“From this very moment, Young Cult Leader, you are the acting Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes went wide.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Before entering seclusion, the Cult Leader gave that order.”
“Until when?”
“Until the Cult Leader emerges from seclusion.”
No one could know whether closed-door cultivation would end tomorrow or ten years later.
“What if he comes out a year from now?”
“Then you must serve until then.”
It was at that very moment.
Ssssss.
Hwi, who had been hidden, revealed himself.
Step, step, step, step, step, step!
Behind Hwi, experts dressed in the same uniform appeared in a single line. They were the warriors of the Heavenly Demon Guard led by Hwi, and among them, the squad leaders permitted to enter the interior of the Heavenly Demon Hall. It was Geom Mugeuk’s first time seeing them all gathered in one place like this.
On the chests of their guard uniforms was the image of a shield, and within that shield was an evil spirit modeled after the Heavenly Demon Soul.
Hwi paid his respects solemnly and pledged his loyalty.
“Hwi, commander of the guard, shall henceforth serve the acting Cult Leader with my life.”
No, Uncle Hwi, why are you doing this?
Ssssss.
After formally offering their greeting, they vanished in an instant.
Once they disappeared, the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable, who had been turning to leave, turned back again and cupped their fists respectfully.
“We greet the acting Cult Leader.”
Their attitude was incomparably more respectful than before. Though he was not the actual Cult Leader, the two Demon Venerables showed him the courtesy due to the Cult Leader. They were not teasing him.
Geom Mugeuk could tell. He could tell how they regarded his father. There was an absolute wall between Young Cult Leader and Cult Leader that could never be crossed.
“No, isn’t your attitude changing too drastically in an instant?”
He hoped they would take it as a joke, but the Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable were utterly serious.
“You two are discriminating against people!”
At that, the two Demon Venerables cupped their fists with a sharp motion and spoke together.
“Please give us your command.”
Since they refused to play along to the end, Geom Mugeuk sighed and spoke. Originally, he had intended to joke, Who was it that handled the cleanup? But in the face of their seriousness, he simply could not.
“Go and rest.”
“We shall obey your command.”
The Fist Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable left the Heavenly Demon Hall along the Blood Path.
Far away, near the door, the Fist Demon looked back in his direction. His gaze said this:
‘It is an important position, so do well.’
With an expression devoid of mischief, Geom Mugeuk nodded once as well.
‘Yes, Master.’
Since it was an order given by his father, this matter could not have been a joke to his master.
Of course, that did not mean Geom Mugeuk would obediently accept the acting position.
Geom Mugeuk spoke to Sima Myeong with dignity.
“As acting Cult Leader, I command you. I entrust the acting position to the Chief Strategist. Please take charge of the cult from now on.”
Of course, it did not work.
“The Cult Leader said the Young Cult Leader would undoubtedly say that, and told me to relay that it is absolutely impossible.”
No, Father. Are you really doing this?
“There’s a line of people waiting for me!”
“Tell them to wait.”
“I haven’t even unpacked yet!”
“Do it after work.”
“This won’t do. I must enter seclusion as well. Honestly, I’m the one who needs to enter seclusion.”
This time too, Sima Myeong answered with ease.
“He anticipated that as well and said it is absolutely impossible.”
“Father! This is too much!”
Sima Myeong looked up at the Taishi chair and said,
“Please ascend to the Taishi chair now.”
“Do I have to work from Father’s seat? Can’t I just handle things comfortably from here?”
“You cannot. Even if it is in an acting capacity, you are standing in for the seat of the venerable Cult Leader.”
At Sima Myeong’s firm words, Geom Mugeuk had no choice but to climb the steps.
Geom Mugeuk did not sit down right away.
Standing beside the Taishi chair, he looked down at the empty seat for a moment. The image of his father, who had always sat here, rose in his mind.
‘Father. You should have sat here and sneered at me. Do you know how much I wanted to see that sneer?’
Because it was the absence of someone who had always kept his place, the sense of loss was all the greater.
Geom Mugeuk carefully sat in the Taishi chair.
Then, without a word, he looked around at the view visible from that place.
Not long after his regression, his father had once let him sit in this seat. When his father asked how it felt, he had answered that he felt nothing. In truth, that had been the case back then.
But now, it felt completely different from that time.
A strange tremor coursed through his whole body.
‘Father, why did you entrust this to me?’
Even if he had not specifically entrusted the acting position to him, there would have been no issue with leaving the work to Sima Myeong. Had he not once left it to Sima Myeong and gone traveling together?
And yet, the fact that he had entrusted the role of acting Cult Leader to him meant what?
‘Are you perhaps testing me?’
Testing whether he had the qualifications to become the Cult Leader.
At length, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned to Sima Myeong.
“Looking down at you like this, Chief Strategist, makes me feel honored and apologetic.”
“Please do not say such things. Right now, you are standing in for the Cult Leader’s seat.”
“What should I do first?”
Sima Myeong walked toward a table set in the corner. Documents were piled high there.
“Is that the amount of work I’m supposed to handle over a lifetime?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Sima Myeong answered bluntly.
“It is the work you must handle today.”
Geom Mugeuk shouted into the air again.
“Uncle Hwi! Are you listening? Make sure you tell Father! I’m going to cause trouble! Please make sure to tell him there’ll be a huge uproar!”
Hwi was probably the only person who could enter the place where his father was undergoing closed-door cultivation.
Of course, that did not mean these words would be relayed. Unless war broke out, if it was not urgent news on that level, nothing would be allowed to disturb his father’s cultivation.
Sima Myeong began his report in earnest.
“First, I will report the major incidents and accidents in the Central Plains.”
Only the most important events among the many incidents that had occurred all over the Central Plains were reported.
Beginning with information related to the movements of the Martial Alliance and the Evil Dao Alliance, the trends of the great sects, even the flow of the merchant world—every kind of information was reported.
How and where the experts of the Martial Alliance and the Evil Dao Alliance were moving. Which sects had disputes with one another. Which merchant group and which sect had joined hands.
Once he had listened to all those reports, matters requiring decisions awaited him next.
“Next are the matters requiring your approval. First, it seems we must increase the forces at the Henan branch. This is in response to the Martial Alliance’s Henan branch increasing its personnel.”
“How many did the Martial Alliance increase by?”
“Ten.”
Henan was the sphere of influence of the righteous faction. For that reason, both their cult and the Evil Dao Alliance operated their branches and divisions there with relatively small numbers. They acknowledged each other’s spheres of influence.
“Is there any need to respond to a change of only ten people? Wouldn’t we needlessly provoke the Martial Alliance?”
He wondered if they were concerned because Henan was far from the main cult.
But Sima Myeong gave an unexpected answer.
“On the contrary, remaining still would provoke them.”
“What do you mean?”
“This response is closer to a kind of conversation. We are letting them know that we are watching their movements as well. You increased by ten—we know that very well. Therefore, we will increase by this much too. But if we show no reaction, that becomes a danger signal instead. It would mean that the cult’s internal intelligence network is not functioning properly.”
“Then isn’t that good news for them, not a danger signal?”
“No. They do not want the cult to change.”
He had not known that the Tongcheon Pavilion paid attention to such delicate matters.
Was it because this was his very first decision on his first day? Sima Myeong left that decision to Geom Mugeuk.
“How many shall we send?”
He was about to say, Let’s just send five.
“How about sending around a thousand and giving them a shock?”
“As you wish.”
As if he truly intended to do so, Sima Myeong picked up the next document, and Geom Mugeuk quickly spoke.
“I was joking!”
How could Sima Myeong not know it was a joke?
“What a shame. It was a golden opportunity to station a thousand men at the Henan branch.”
On the other hand, Geom Mugeuk knew very well that his words were not merely a joke.
“Do you wish for it too, Chief Strategist?”
“Wish for what?”
“My father’s unification of the martial world.”
“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“Because I thought you would answer most honestly if I asked while sitting here.”
After a brief pause, Sima Myeong answered.
“I wish to see the Cult Leader’s jianghu.”
It meant that he wanted his father to unify the martial world.
Perhaps Sima Myeong, more than anyone else, wanted to aid his father in achieving the unification of all under heaven. That very deed would be the greatest achievement he could attain as a strategist.
Geom Mugeuk did not pry any deeper. It was not a topic to ask about while looking down from above.
“Now, what’s next?”
* * *
Was it because he was doing something he had never done before in his life?
Time passed in an instant.
“Time is up. Let us stop here for today.”
It seemed even the work handled with Sima Myeong had a set time.
“There’s still a lot left, though?”
They had not even finished a third of the work he had brought.
“You may continue tomorrow.”
“When you do this with Father, do you finish it all within the time?”
“Usually.”
Geom Mugeuk rose from the Taishi chair and said,
“Now I understand. I know why Father stayed glued to the Taishi chair like that. Even if he wanted to run away, there was too much work for him to do so.”
He had vaguely known that his father had a lot of work, but he had not known he handled this much.
Truly, they were matters that could not be attended to one by one without a tremendous sense of responsibility.
“For your first day, you did well.”
While working together today, Sima Myeong had seen a new side of Geom Mugeuk.
“You are far more meticulous than I expected.”
When Geom Mugeuk did not know something, he asked immediately, and he did not handle matters carelessly. He considered them twice, even three times.
“It’s not because I’m meticulous, but because I have anxiety. What if I make the wrong decision and things go wrong? What if Father or the Chief Strategist is disappointed?”
Sima Myeong gazed at Geom Mugeuk for a moment.
“The greater the anxiety, the greater the results tend to be. Though, of course, it is difficult for the person in question. Then please rest.”
After bowing respectfully, Sima Myeong left the Heavenly Demon Hall.
There was still time left before the day’s work ended, so after Sima Myeong left like this, his father must have remained here alone, keeping this seat.
‘What did you think about while sitting here? What did you think about the most?’
He had not realized it properly when his father was here.
Instead, he felt that his father’s absence had become an opportunity to understand him more deeply.
‘Still, I miss you, Father.’