“The Eldest Young Master has safely arrived at his second residence.”
At the strategist’s report, Geom Mugeuk and Sama Myeong let out breaths of relief.
Beside the existing map of the Central Plains, a detailed topographical map of Wuhan had been made, centered on the main headquarters of the Martial Alliance.
Three flags stood upon it.
Two flags that had nearly drawn close to one another had moved apart.
They were Geom Muyang’s flag and Han Wolgaek’s flag.
Between those two flags stood one more. The thing that had forced apart the two flags that must never meet was—
The Poison King’s Demon Venerable Banner.
Yes. If not for that green flag, who else could have kept the enraged Han Wolgaek alive and sent him back?
Thank you, Poison King. When you return, I shall offer up this body of mine and let you conduct as many poison experiments as you wish.
Sama Myeong said to Geom Mugeuk,
“The urgent situation has passed, so please go and rest now. I will handle the remaining matters at the Heavenly Demon Hall.”
The two of them had been working at the Heavenly Demon Hall as usual when they received the emergency message and came to Tongcheon Pavilion.
It would have been nice to read books at the Heavenly Demon Library, but he had to read while doing what needed to be done. Taking his father’s place was far more important than reading.
“No. I will handle the remaining matters at the Heavenly Demon Hall. You are the one who should rest, Strategist.”
“I am fine.”
“I am not fine with it.”
Because Tongcheon Pavilion had been placed on emergency alert, Sama Myeong had not slept properly of late. The accumulated fatigue was written plainly across his face.
“Come with me.”
Geom Mugeuk took Sama Myeong by the hand and led him away. The place they went together was his room in Tongcheon Pavilion, the one with the bed he had shown him before.
“Close your eyes, even if only for a short while. I will not leave until you lie down.”
When Geom Mugeuk stubbornly insisted that he would not back down, Sama Myeong had no choice but to lie on the bed.
“Then I shall commit discourtesy against the Acting Cult Leader.”
Thinking that Geom Mugeuk would leave if he at least pretended to sleep quickly, Sama Myeong closed his eyes.
At that very moment, Geom Mugeuk’s hand moved lightly.
The gentlest finger wind Geom Mugeuk had ever unleashed flew out and pressed Sama Myeong’s sleeping point. It was a truly exquisite technique, one that left him unaware that his acupoint had even been pressed.
Softly, without even realizing he was falling asleep, Sama Myeong drifted off.
Geom Mugeuk left the room and quietly spoke only to the attendant strategist who assisted Sama Myeong.
“He will wake on his own in two shichen. Until then, do not wake him even if the Martial Alliance attacks.”
“Yes! I shall obey your command.”
Knowing well how much Sama Myeong overworked his aging body, the attendant strategist bowed respectfully with gratitude on his face.
After leaving Tongcheon Pavilion, Geom Mugeuk returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall and handled the work that had to be done that day.
Fortunately, he could now deal with the affairs within the cult with a fair degree of skill. Whenever he had to make a choice, he always thought the same thing.
What decision would Father make?
Then the choice became easier. Rather than focusing on his own thoughts or opinions, he placed emphasis on what his father would have done. After all, he was merely standing in for his father’s work.
Once he had finished everything he needed to do, Geom Mugeuk headed to the Heavenly Demon Library. His day was busy.
Geom Mugeuk entered the Heavenly Demon Library and immediately chose books.
Few things are as subject to personal taste as reading. That is why people mostly end up reading only the kinds of books they like.
But today as well, Geom Mugeuk picked the books he would read at random.
The unexpected lessons that came from reading without choosing.
The unfamiliar knowledge and impressions gained from books one would never have read because they were outside one’s field of interest were an experience no one who had not gone through it could ever understand.
Geom Mugeuk vaguely sensed it.
It was not that he would gain something by reading many books here in the Heavenly Demon Library, but that he would gain something from the choice to read without discrimination.
After choosing all the books, Geom Mugeuk snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In this field where a cool breeze blew, there stood only one desk and one chair.
Until now, he had tried many methods. He had set up a hammock between trees and read comfortably while lying down, read while leaning against a bed, and read sprawled on a warm heated floor.
But in the end, what he chose was simply sitting at a desk to read. This was the most comfortable.
Today as well, Geom Mugeuk read and read again.
He read secret martial manuals, history books, poetry collections, adventure tales, and the autobiographies of peerless masters. He simply read whatever came to hand.
The more he read, the more he experienced the strange sensation that he was not learning more, but discovering how much more he did not know. Each time he read, his eyes were opened to a new field.
In the past, unless there had been some special reason, he had not read secret martial manuals at all.
Needless to say, with the Nine-Flame Demonic Art, and even the Flying Heaven Sword Art, he possessed supreme martial arts that left him no need to covet others.
But this time, he tried reading other martial arts texts as well. They were more than worth reading. At the very least, they were martial arts good enough to be placed in the Heavenly Demon Library.
Geom Mugeuk set aside the book he had finished and opened the next one.
Principles for the Use of the Iron Weight.
It was a title that truly made one not want to turn the page.
A weight referred to the counterweight of a scale, but in the martial world, there were warriors who used weights as weapons, though they were extremely rare. In fact, a martial artist who used weights was something one might see only once or twice in an entire lifetime.
For that reason, an ordinary martial artist would not even have taken it from the shelf, but Geom Mugeuk was different. He had resolved to read every book without discrimination.
As he turned the pages, Geom Mugeuk tilted his head.
The title of the manual and its contents were different. The contents of the book were martial arts for using a dagger.
Geom Mugeuk examined the cover of the book. Looking closely, he realized that someone had pasted an extra cover over it.
Riiip.
When he tore off the cover, a new title was written underneath. It was a different secret martial manual, disguised with the title of a martial art no one would be drawn to.
The moment he saw the newly revealed title, Geom Mugeuk was startled. It was a secret martial manual he knew. It was also a martial art that someone he knew had desperately desired.
“So it was here!”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened at the depth of the fate arranged by heaven.
He immediately released the Space-Time Transposition Art.
After taking the hidden manual, he also took one more book from the shelf. Both of these books were for him.
At that moment, outside the Heavenly Demon Library, Jeogyeon, the head of his guards, was setting down food.
He could not enter, nor could he remain there, so when he placed food at the entrance like this, empty bowls would later be put out.
Geom Mugeuk usually came out after three or four shichen, but considering that time, he always emerged after eating an astonishing amount of food.
Had he suddenly developed gluttony?
The amount of food Geom Mugeuk requested was so great that it made one wonder whether several people were inside. But without fail, all the dishes came out empty.
Jeogyeon worried aloud to himself.
“Is it truly all right for you to eat this much, Young Cult Leader?”
He did not know. From outside, it was one meal, but because the Secret Art of Time Heaven had been activated, several meals were needed. One shichen outside was seven shichen inside.
At least the fortunate thing was that he did not gain weight. Did reading consume that much mental strength?
“What worries you so much that you are eating like this?”
Just then, the door of the Heavenly Demon Library opened and Geom Mugeuk came out.
“Who else would I be worried about? My elder brother.”
Jeogyeon was startled.
“Young Cult Leader! No, Acting Cult Leader!”
Geom Mugeuk dashed off somewhere in a hurry.
“Don’t ever have an elder brother in your life!”
“That is not something I can decide for myself… But where are you going?”
“To the kitchen.”
“I brought the dishes here!”
“I’m not going to eat. I’m going to prepare a meal.”
“Pardon?”
Leaving the bewildered Jeogyeon behind, Geom Mugeuk vanished from sight in an instant.
* * *
A meal was laid in the place where the Heavenly Demon dined.
It was a meal Geom Mugeuk had personally prepared for one person.
One person entered that place.
It was none other than Geukak Soma, dressed in a pure white martial uniform and a white mask.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been standing before the dishes, greeted him.
“It has been a long time, Lord Soma.”
This was his first reunion with Soma since returning to the cult. He had wanted to see him so badly, but it had been a moment he had treasured and held back.
“I greet the Cult Leader.”
Geukak Soma paid his respects with solemn courtesy. He did not call him Acting Cult Leader, but Cult Leader.
How could Geom Mugeuk not know? The heart behind Geukak Soma’s deliberate omission of the word “acting.”
It was not that he looked down on his father, but that he respected Geom Mugeuk, who had taken the seat of Acting Cult Leader for the first time.
“Being called Cult Leader feels awkward.”
“You will hear it until you grow sick of it someday.”
“Do not even speak of that position. I never knew there was so much work. If I were not so troubled, would someone like me, who hates books, be reading them all in the Heavenly Demon Library?”
“That is not why, is it?”
Geukak Soma knew how Geom Mugeuk felt.
“You must be holding back your desire to run to the Eldest Young Master by reading books.”
“How did you know?”
It was true that he felt that way too. No matter how much he trusted the Poison King and the Demon Buddha, he was still worried about his brother.
The two eyes behind the mask seemed to say:
How could I not know your heart, Young Cult Leader?
Geom Mugeuk asked with a smile,
“Have you ever been here before?”
“This is my first time.”
A place for eating and Geukak Soma were the least compatible of combinations.
That was why this moment today would be all the more meaningful.
“Now, please sit.”
Geom Mugeuk and Geukak Soma sat facing one another.
“I made every dish myself.”
Surprise flickered through Geukak Soma’s eyes.
He knew well the cooking skills Geom Mugeuk had shown while camping, but to prepare such a fine table?
“On the day you removed your mask, did I not say I would serve you food and wine? That day is today.”
The two eyes behind the mask smiled brightly. Geom Mugeuk had not forgotten something he had said in passing.
And there was also a reason Geom Mugeuk had chosen this place.
“This is probably the quietest place in our cult—no, in this entire martial world—to have a meal.”
It meant that he could remove his mask and eat comfortably here. A place where no one could steal a glance at his face.
It was Geom Mugeuk’s consideration for Geukak Soma.
No matter how close they became, no matter how deeply Geukak Soma showed his loyalty, Geom Mugeuk never took this relationship lightly. The more that was so, the more he tried to be courteous and do well by him.
Geukak Soma silently gazed at Geom Mugeuk, then slowly began to remove his mask. The moment he removed his mask now was different from when he had removed it after the previous battle ended.
Geukak Soma placed the pure white smiling mask on the table.
Beneath the mask, Geukak Soma’s face was revealed.
Features perfectly harmonized with kind eyes. As expected, even seeing him again, he was a handsome Geukak Soma.
“I have long looked forward to this day, when I could drink comfortably with you, Young Cult Leader.”
Geukak Soma first courteously poured wine into Geom Mugeuk’s cup, and Geom Mugeuk filled his cup as well.
Their cups met in the air with a clear sound.
After drinking the wine refreshingly, Geom Mugeuk picked up his chopsticks and said,
“Please try the food.”
After tasting the dishes, Geukak Soma was sincerely impressed.
“You made this yourself?”
At that, Geom Mugeuk took out one of the two books he had brought. This book was the second one he had taken from the shelf.
“Such a book was in the Heavenly Demon Library.”
Taesuk Jinmirok (泰熟珍味錄).
That book was a cookbook written by Tae-jung, who had once been the most famous chef in the Central Plains. Among chefs, it was truly a legendary book of secret methods.
“I cooked according to the secrets written here. Of course, the chefs helped me a little. Even if I am driven out from my position as Young Cult Leader now, I will not starve to death. I will be reborn as the chef of the finest delicacies under heaven.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s joke, Geukak Soma laughed. Seeing that smile put Geom Mugeuk in a good mood.
Geukak Soma was cooler and more mysterious when he wore the mask. But there was an unconfined joy in that handsome smile.
“Ah, this time I gained a fortuitous encounter in the Heavenly Demon Library.”
“Congratulations. Truly, congratulations.”
Geukak Soma rejoiced as if it were his own good fortune. Yes, Soma was someone who could sincerely share joy, which was said to be ten times harder to share than sorrow.
That was why he, too, could bring this out with such a pleasant heart.
“It is not a fortuitous encounter meant for me.”
To the puzzled Geukak Soma, Geom Mugeuk took a book from inside his robe. It was the secret martial manual that had been hidden beneath another cover.
Laughing Fragrance Dagger Art (笑香匕術).
Geukak Soma was startled when he saw the title of the manual. It was the first time Geom Mugeuk had seen him so surprised.
“I brought it as a gift for you, Lord Soma.”
At that, Geukak Soma asked in a trembling voice.
“How did you know I was searching for this martial art?”
Because you told me.
The Geukak Soma from the life before my regression. The man who had wanted to become my friend.
Mageuk Gwangpokjang, Hyeorangji, and Sohyang Bisul.
He had said that if these three martial arts were brought into harmony, they would display truly invincible divine might.
But at some point, Sohyang Bisul had been lost, and only Mageuk Gwangpokjang and Hyeorangji were passed down to later generations of Geukak Soma.
Whatever story lay in the past, that Sohyang Bisul had been hidden in the Heavenly Demon Library.
Geom Mugeuk asked, feigning ignorance.
“You were looking for this martial art?”
“I was.”
“When we fought before, did you not use daggers against your enemies, Lord Soma? At the time, I thought it would be good if there were at least one fine martial art for using daggers. Then, when I happened to discover this martial art and saw that it contained the character so (笑), meaning ‘to laugh,’ I thought it might suit you, Lord Soma, and brought it out.”
Geukak Soma’s eyes trembled. Now that he could see Geukak Soma’s entire expression, he could feel his emotion in full.
Geukak Soma was once again astonished that he and Geom Mugeuk were bound by such a deep fate. And he was deeply grateful to Geom Mugeuk. He felt that this gratitude was something he would have to repay not only in this life, but even in the next.
“This is a secret manual I have desperately wanted.”
Even his voice trembled.
‘This is not a secret manual I am giving him.’
It was a gift from the man he had been in the past, from the aged him of the distant future, to himself.
If he had not told him about it, Geom Mugeuk would never have thought to give this martial art to Geukak Soma.
Geom Mugeuk thought of the Geukak Soma from before his regression.
‘Don’t feel too sorrowful anymore. You and I have become friends like this.’
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly and held out the secret manual.
“What a relief. Since it’s something you need. I really do have good luck.”
But Geukak Soma could not readily accept the secret manual. He spoke worriedly.
“As you know, the martial arts secret manuals of the Heavenly Demon Library cannot be taken out without the Cult Leader’s permission.”
“Am I not the Cult Leader? You called me Cult Leader earlier, didn’t you?”
“No, that was…”
At Geom Mugeuk’s joke, Geukak Soma looked troubled. No matter how much he cared for Geom Mugeuk, his respect and loyalty toward Geom Ujin remained unchanged. With Geom Ujin absent, accepting this martial art weighed on his mind.
He could have made a show of it if he wanted, but Geom Mugeuk wanted Soma to accept it comfortably.
Geom Mugeuk made a gesture of covering his mouth and whispered softly.
“I’ve already given Elder Doma a book from the Heavenly Demon Library as well. And this cookbook will go to the cook of the Heavenly Demon Hall. So you may accept it with an easy heart.”
Geom Mugeuk added in an even smaller voice. Though he did not know whether such a thing was possible in the main cult, where there were no secrets.
“We just have to make sure Father doesn’t find out.”