The Yueyang Branch of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was in a constant state of tension.
When the First Young Master arrived leading the elites of the Changsha Sub-Branch, everyone had thought it was merely a passing wind.
If there was urgent business, he might stop by. In a life lived as a demonic practitioner, how could the wind not blow once in a while? So long as you were not swept away by it, that was enough.
But the wind kept blowing.
The next day, the martial artists of the Pingjiang Branch arrived.
It was nearby, so they knew its circumstances well. The strongest martial artists of the Pingjiang Branch had arrived. And they had even opened the armory and donned protective armor.
Beginning with them, all the elites of Hunan started gathering.
The elites of the Yiyang Branch arrived, followed by the martial artists of the Hengshan Sub-Branch. Someone said to be rising spectacularly in the Hengshan Sub-Branch these days came as well, and they could even see the face of the monstrous new recruit who had joined the Yongxing Branch.
Elites from other sub-branches and branches arrived one after another.
Only then did they understand. This was no passing wind, but a typhoon. Their own Yueyang Branch had entered the eye of the storm.
And today, at last, a piece of news was delivered into the heart of that typhoon.
Ho Myeong entered Geom Muyang’s room at a brisk pace.
“Word has come from Tongtian Pavilion. They say they have found the woman from the ironworks with a burn on the back of her hand.”
Even if the number of women working in ironworks was small, surely there were more than one or two such women in the Central Plains. And yet Tongtian Pavilion had produced results.
Geom Muyang did not doubt those results. If they said they had found her, then they had found her.
Geom Muyang sprang to his feet.
“Let’s go.”
At Geom Muyang’s reaction, as if he intended to set out and seize her at once, Ho Myeong wore a troubled expression.
“The thing is, the place that woman belongs to is……”
Ho Myeong added cautiously.
“She is attached to the ironworks of the Martial Alliance headquarters.”
“!”
Geom Muyang’s face hardened. The most troublesome name to deal with had come up.
Ho Myeong continued relaying the information sent by Tongtian Pavilion.
“The woman’s name is Guo Yong, age twenty-seven. She is one of the three master artisans of the Martial Alliance headquarters’ ironworks.”
“A master artisan at twenty-seven?”
To become a master artisan of the Martial Alliance ironworks at such a young age—and as a woman at that—meant not only talent, but effort pushed to the extreme.
‘And yet she made a counterfeit?’
She had even met Gu Yong personally to sell the item. There were parts of this he could not understand.
“It has also been confirmed that she left the ironworks around the time she met Gu Yong. The problem is that they lost track of her movements after she returned to Wuhan. They suspect word of the Black Hand Society matter here may have reached her.”
Judging by her movements, she seemed certain to be the woman they were looking for.
“In the end, we’ll have to go to Wuhan.”
At Geom Muyang’s words, spoken almost to himself, Ho Myeong could not answer.
The place where the Martial Alliance headquarters was located.
To the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Wuhan was truly forbidden ground.
Moreover, even if they sent word in advance, entering Wuhan with the elites of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was impossible. The Martial Alliance would never permit such an operation.
“I will enter Wuhan alone.”
There was a reason for that decision.
“With all the elites gathered here, they won’t expect me to enter Wuhan by myself.”
Ho Myeong spoke firmly.
“Absolutely not.”
“Then is there another way?”
Of course, there was no other way. Even so, sending Geom Muyang there alone was unthinkable.
“Then at least allow me and only my subordinates to accompany you.”
Ho Myeong stared at Geom Muyang with eyes that said he would never back down.
“If you intend to go alone, cut us down first.”
Geom Muyang looked out the window for a moment, lost in thought. Before long, he nodded and gave permission.
“Very well. Then let’s inform only the branch leader here and slip out quietly.”
It meant they would not tell any of the other martial artists here.
But they had to inform the branch leader. If people started searching because the First Young Master had disappeared, rumors would spread in no time.
“Understood. I will find a discreet way for us to leave.”
At that, Geom Muyang gestured for him to come and look out the window.
Ho Myeong walked over and looked outside beside him.
Carriages and carts delivering goods were arriving in a line.
As the number of people staying here increased, naturally, so did the number of people coming and going. To feed this many people, they had to buy a tremendous amount of ingredients and food, and they needed many more people to wash dishes and clean.
Thus, several times a day, carriages and carts carried in food and people.
Ho Myeong understood Geom Muyang’s intention.
“That’s true. People don’t pay much attention to carts going out.”
Even if incoming carriages were searched thoroughly, outgoing empty carriages and carts were not inspected nearly as strictly.
* * *
A few days later, a large carriage was nearing Wuhan.
“We will arrive in Wuhan soon.”
The people packed into the cargo compartment in the back were Geom Muyang, Ho Myeong, and the elites of the Changsha Sub-Branch.
They had taken off their martial uniforms and dressed like ordinary laborers. Some were bare-chested, and others had disguised themselves as old men with wrinkles and beards. The carriage was disguised as one transporting workers to a construction site in Wuhan.
They were more tense than ever. Though they were elites of their sub-branch, none of them had experience carrying out an operation in front of the Martial Alliance headquarters.
Rather than reassuring his subordinates, Ho Myeong emphasized the danger.
“As you know, this operation is extremely dangerous.”
It was, quite literally, an operation that risked their lives.
“We will have to face two kinds of enemies. Those who made the counterfeits, and the righteous sects as well.”
In some ways, the masters of the Martial Alliance were more dangerous than the bastards making the counterfeits. How many Martial Alliance masters bore grudges against the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?
Crucially, because they had not informed the Martial Alliance of this matter, they would have no excuse even if they were killed by their hands. On top of that, this was an operation undertaken with none other than the First Young Master.
“Our mission is one. Follow the First Young Master’s orders and protect him.”
Ho Myeong looked at Geom Muyang and spoke with force.
“We will serve you well so that we may all escape safely.”
He left out the rest. Even if all of us have to die. Ho Myeong’s loyalty was genuine.
Geom Muyang gazed at Wuhan as it drew gradually closer and answered indifferently.
“I will not be returning down this road alone.”
* * *
When the Blood Heaven Blade Demon lifted his head and looked out the window, something was floating through the air toward him.
What came drifting through the air to hover before the startled Blood Heaven Blade Demon was a book.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon received the book that had flown to him. A strange light passed through his eyes when he confirmed the title, and he immediately opened it and began to read.
“No, what if the pages had been coated with poison? How can you just grab it and start reading like that? You even lick your finger sometimes when you turn the pages.”
The person who emerged from the darkness in the distance, slandering him with the accusation that he licked his fingers, was Geom Mugeuk.
Without even looking at Geom Mugeuk, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned the pages and said,
“Dying while reading a book wouldn’t be so bad.”
Geom Mugeuk shouted joyfully and ran into the room.
“Elder! I missed you!”
As Geom Mugeuk rushed in to embrace him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon stood up and respectfully cupped his fist in salute.
“I greet the Acting Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk, who had been charging forward, stopped awkwardly.
“Why are you being like this? Between us?”
“Do you have any orders to give, Acting Cult Leader?”
“It’s me. Me. The handsome Young Cult Leader who shook off the other seven Demon Venerates begging me to visit them the moment I returned from leaving the cult, and came running to see you first. This is really too much!”
Only then did the Blood Heaven Blade Demon relax his expression and sit back down.
“Too much? You’re the one who’s too much, only coming now to greet me.”
“That’s why I brought a gift, isn’t it? It’s a book you wanted to read, right? And there it was, right in the Heavenly Demon Library.”
The book he had brought was a collection of essays left behind by an old master. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had read several books that master had written, but this was the only one he had been unable to obtain.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon kept his gaze on the book as he spoke.
“Don’t you know you’re not allowed to take books out of there?”
“And yet you’re reading it so diligently.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon quickly turned another page.
“Because this is my only chance to read it.”
“No, please read it slowly. I’m giving it to you as a gift.”
“You’re giving this to me?”
“When you say something like that, you should look at me while you say it!”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s gaze was still fixed on the book.
“This is not a book you can give away without the Cult Leader’s permission.”
“Aren’t I the Cult Leader?”
“The Acting Cult Leader.”
“Then I’ll change the cult rules. Aren’t temporary cult rules still cult rules? And this is rude to Father as well. ‘There is a book I wish to read, so please allow me to check whether it is in the Heavenly Demon Library.’ What was so difficult about saying that?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon silently read the book. His special relationship with his father was probably not something easily explained in words.
“I heard you’ve been holed up in the Heavenly Demon Library lately?”
“I’m reading with the thought that if I don’t read now, when will I?”
“A good attitude.”
A satisfied smile formed on the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s lips.
“My decision to read books this time was entirely because of you, Elder.”
“Because of me?”
“After meeting you, I learned the pleasure of reading.”
“You didn’t even read that much. You always fell asleep after a few pages.”
Geom Mugeuk pretended not to hear and continued.
“Our elder must be this strong because he has read so many books. That must be why he is so impressive. If I read many books too, might I be able to cross the wall of martial learning that blocks me now?”
Because he truly believed that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon even nodded as he said,
“No matter how high the wall, if you stack books into stairs, one day you will be able to climb to the top.”
He meant that Geom Mugeuk should step on those books and cross over.
“If you cannot climb it, it is because you have not read enough books.”
“I’m probably the first Young Cult Leader to try to break through to the next realm of the Ninefire Demonic Art through books.”
After a brief pause, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said,
“That is why your Ninefire Demonic Art will be the strongest.”
When Geom Mugeuk looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, he was still looking at the book.
This time, when the Blood Heaven Blade Demon glanced up at him, Geom Mugeuk was looking at the bookshelf.
“There are many books here I haven’t seen before.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon might have taken his words as flattery or a joke, but in truth, his influence had played a large part in Geom Mugeuk’s decision to enter the Heavenly Demon Library.
Geom Mugeuk pulled one book after another from the shelf and examined them.
How much time had passed like that?
“Take this book back.”
“Why? I told you it’s a gift.”
“No need. I’ll ask the Cult Leader for it later.”
Geom Mugeuk gave him a suspicious look.
“You’ve already finished reading it, haven’t you?”
When the Blood Heaven Blade Demon flinched, Geom Mugeuk pressed the attack.
“Of course you must have finished it. Just now, you were only half listening to me because you were reading, weren’t you? Right? You didn’t even look at my face once, did you? Did that book happen to have a subtitle like this? My Young Cult Leader, Traded for a Book!”
Only then did the Blood Heaven Blade Demon smile broadly. It had been so long since he had read a good book, and exchanging jokes with Geom Mugeuk like this was truly enjoyable.
Just then, Jeok Yeon’s report came from outside.
“Strategist Sima requests to see you at Tongtian Pavilion.”
Until now, reports had been delivered directly, telling him what had happened. But asking to meet at Tongtian Pavilion meant that something had occurred.
“Elder, I’ll be going. I’ll see you later.”
“Take the book!”
Geom Mugeuk received the book the Blood Heaven Blade Demon carefully sent over with telekinetic force, tucked it into his robes, and vanished from sight.
After he left, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was about to sit back down when he noticed a book he had not seen before lying where Geom Mugeuk had been.
As if he had anticipated that it would not be accepted, he had even prepared a note.
—The cult won’t collapse just because one poetry collection goes missing from the Heavenly Demon Library.
That book, too, was one the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had been unable to obtain and had never read. In fact, it was a book he had wanted even more than the one from earlier.
Geom Mugeuk had remembered even this book, which he had once mentioned in passing.
“You are still the same, even after becoming Acting Cult Leader.”
Most likely, he would not change even after becoming Cult Leader.
With a deep smile, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sat down and began to read. This time, he began turning the pages very slowly. Even licking his finger once as he did.
* * *
Geom Mugeuk had already heard the news that his elder brother had headed to Wuhan.
The reason Sima Myeong had called him today was because someone else had headed to Wuhan as well.
A single flag rose on the terrain map. The character written on it was han (寒), cold. For Tongcheon Pavilion to represent an expert with a flag meant that the expert’s skill was truly exceptional.
“Hanwolgaek is headed to Wuhan.”
Hanwolgaek was an expert of the orthodox faction who had lost his family to a demonic practitioner in the past. For that reason, his grudge against the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult ran deep.
“Coincidentally, after the Eldest Young Master departed for Wuhan, he too set out for Wuhan.”
It could have been a coincidence, or it could have been anything but.
If that had been all, they would not have summoned Geom Mugeuk.
“Hanwolgaek is a person of concern to our cult, so we have always kept track of his movements. However……”
A new flag was placed on the terrain map. This time, it was the character byeok (碧), azure.
“While investigating another matter by chance, we discovered that Byeoksan Sword is also heading to Wuhan.”
He, too, was an expert worthy of having his own distinctive flag. The problem was the timing. Of all times, just as the Eldest Young Master was headed for Wuhan, two renowned experts of the orthodox faction were making their way there as well.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened.
“If they’re going because of my brother, then there’s someone behind this who can move at least two flags.”
He did not know how those two experts were connected to the mastermind behind this affair, but in any case, they were figures who represented the orthodox faction. Even if they attacked first, they were not people who could simply be killed without consequence. Especially not in Wuhan.
Sama Myeong spoke carefully.
“At least two.”
What if other experts, ones Tongcheon Pavilion had not identified, joined them as well?
“Please order the Eldest Young Master to return.”
He was saying it because his instincts as a strategist told him something was wrong, but—
“My brother won’t come back.”
Geom Mugeuk stared at Sama Myeong. Even in this situation, Sama Myeong was not trying to send him out. Then again, the more dangerous the situation became, the more he would refuse to do so.
Though Geom Mugeuk had not even asked to be sent, Sama Myeong spoke first, firmly.
“No.”
Geom Mugeuk obediently nodded. He knew well that Sama Myeong considered protecting the successor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult more important than any other duty.
In truth, even if Sama Myeong had asked him to go, it would have been something he needed to think over. To go himself when the exact nature of the danger had not yet been revealed? That was a poor strategy. It would mean ignoring his brother’s pride and his brother’s request, choosing only to save his life.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the green Demon Venerable flag on the terrain map. Sama Myeong’s gaze naturally followed.
“Are you worried that the Poison King may not be able to handle it?”
“No. I’m worried he’ll handle it far too well.”
Sama Myeong understood what he meant and silently nodded.
What if a situation unfolded in which the Poison King carried out a massacre in Wuhan?
The strongest deterrent against war in the current martial world was, in effect, standing on the front line.
Both the Poison King and his brother were far too hardline. People who would never bend. They needed someone who could stand in their place.
“Please inform one person of the current situation.”
And so the news was conveyed to that one person.
A short while later, the strategist who had gone to deliver the message at Geom Mugeuk’s command returned.
Upon his return, he placed a new flag on the terrain map. It was the flag of the person his brother trusted most, and the person who understood his brother best. It was a golden flag.
“Lord Mabul departed the cult for Wuhan just moments ago.”