Demon Buddha emerged through the golden mist.
How could such a small figure exude such an overwhelming presence?
From beneath the pavilion, he looked up and respectfully pressed his palms together.
“Have you been well, Alliance Leader?”
Jin Paecheon also received Demon Buddha with due courtesy.
“It has been a long time.”
Demon Buddha’s appearance was unexpected. And yet, where the First Young Master was, it was not so strange to find Demon Buddha there as well. Jin Paecheon knew very well what kind of relationship the two shared.
After exchanging greetings with Jin Paecheon, Demon Buddha looked at Geom Muyang beside him.
Their gazes met in midair.
“You have come?”
“Yes, I have come.”
Within that brief greeting lay deep feelings for one another.
In truth, Geom Muyang had not been able to decide what to do after the Alliance Leader told him to leave Wuhan. Had it been anyone else, he would have simply ignored the words, but he could not flatly reject the words of the Martial Alliance Leader.
In that neither-here-nor-there situation, the sight of Demon Buddha made him feel as though his radiance had brightly illuminated the predicament.
Demon Buddha slowly moved his feet and ascended into the pavilion. Before coming up, he also exchanged greetings with Jin Hagun.
“I greet the Demon Venerable.”
“Even from afar, I have heard much of Squad Leader Jin’s chivalrous deeds. You are truly admirable at such a young age.”
Jin Hagun, too, was inwardly glad at his appearance. The conflict that had been on the verge of exploding just moments ago had been defused by his arrival.
“This is the liquor the Alliance Leader enjoys.”
Entrusting the liquor he had brought to Jin Hagun, Demon Buddha asked Jin Paecheon atop the pavilion.
“Your tastes have not changed in the meantime, have they?”
Demon Buddha never came empty-handed when meeting him. Since long ago, whenever the Martial Alliance held an event, he had also been the only Demon Venerable who never failed to send a gift.
Of course, gifts sent from the Demon Cult were, in principle, to be discarded, and Demon Buddha could not have been unaware of that. Yet he had always sent them without fail.
But after the First Young Master was pushed out of the succession, Jin Paecheon had thought he would no longer receive his gifts. Today, however, he had received one again.
Having come up onto the pavilion, Demon Buddha looked around and marveled.
“The scenery seen from above is different from when viewed below.”
The rain had already stopped, and the mist had begun to thin. Beyond it, tall, straight bamboo revealed themselves.
He tried to create a pleasant atmosphere with repeated admiration, but Jin Paecheon’s reaction was cold.
“I did not know even you were in Wuhan.”
Because it was Demon Buddha, his response was at least this mild. The First Young Master’s presence was problem enough, but a Demon Venerable had come to Wuhan without prior notice? This was something worthy of a formal protest to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“I, too, had urgent circumstances.”
“And what circumstances did the Demon Venerable have?”
Then astonishing words flowed from Demon Buddha’s mouth.
“There was information that someone had the audacity to target our cult’s First Young Master.”
Geom Muyang was not one to show his emotions easily, but even he looked surprised at those words. It was something he himself had not known.
“Who was it?”
Jin Paecheon naturally expected it to be someone from the unorthodox factions, or someone who bore a grudge against the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“It was Byeoksan Sword.”
The moment he heard that name, Jin Paecheon felt a heavy thud in his chest.
Byeoksan Sword was one of the masters who represented the righteous martial world. For someone like him to have tried to kill the First Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was an incident far greater than the First Young Master’s coming to Wuhan.
Demon Buddha raised his voice as he radiated golden brilliance.
“That madman dared target whom!”
Demon Buddha was truly furious. Representing the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he was conveying that anger directly to the Alliance Leader.
“An attempt to harm the First Young Master is a challenge to and an attack on our cult!”
In that moment, Geom Muyang understood. He understood why Demon Buddha had appeared before him so quickly.
‘Demon Buddha had already come to Wuhan to save me.’
Because it was none other than Demon Buddha, Geom Muyang’s heart swelled. Even though he had behaved so poorly in the past, Demon Buddha was still protecting him without change.
“Fortunately, I arrived before he could carry it out.”
Since he could not truly vent his anger against the Martial Alliance Leader, Demon Buddha’s radiance soon faded.
Demon Buddha’s dignified attitude seemed to be asking this:
Even now, will you question me for coming to Wuhan?
The initiative in the conversation, which until just earlier had been held by Jin Paecheon as he pressed them to leave Wuhan, now passed to Demon Buddha.
“Alliance Leader, please do not worry too much. I have not made it known outside.”
If it had been any ordinary matter, Jin Paecheon would not have asked like this.
“Was it truly him?”
He could not believe that someone like Byeoksan Sword had done such a thing without thinking of the consequences. He would sooner have believed it if it had been Hanwolgaek.
“This was my third meeting with that man.”
It meant there was no possibility he had mistaken him for someone else.
Before Jin Paecheon could ask, Demon Buddha even revealed the result of the matter. Demon Buddha was a man who knew how to guide a conversation smoothly.
“At our fourth meeting, we decided to share a drink.”
He had phrased it gently, but Jin Paecheon understood. It meant he had subdued him with his skill. The two of them would not have simply traded words and ended it there.
Relief flashed across Jin Paecheon’s face at the words that Byeoksan Sword was alive. At the same time, he felt uneasy.
‘Are you saying Byeoksan Sword lost to this man?’
Jin Paecheon quietly studied Demon Buddha. He felt different from the last time he had seen him. There was a certain ease about him. Just as much as that ease, his skill must have grown as well.
In that instant, Geom Ujin, who should be in secluded cultivation, came to mind.
‘The Demon Cult is growing stronger.’
It was a moment when he once again felt that uncomfortable truth.
In any case, it was something he could confirm through Byeoksan Sword. Demon Buddha would not be lying about it.
‘Why did Byeoksan Sword try to kill the Divine Cult’s First Young Master? Could it be? At someone’s request?’
Someone could indeed make a request of Byeoksan Sword. But that request could not be, Please kill the First Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Unless it was his own request.
“Did you hear why he did it?”
“He did not say, but it seemed he had received someone’s request.”
Jin Paecheon sounded Demon Buddha out.
“Is there anyone you suspect?”
Demon Buddha shook his head as if he did not know. He already knew through Tongcheongak that Cheonae Geosa was behind it, but he did not so much as utter Cheonae Geosa’s name.
He only pointed out the nature of the force behind it.
“Have those who try to drive a wedge between our cult and the Martial Alliance not existed since time immemorial?”
Whoever it was, he emphasized that they were trying to divide the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Martial Alliance.
Demon Buddha did not mention Hanwolgaek. If he were to explain that he had sent him back, he would also have to reveal that the Poison King was in Wuhan.
“That is why I could not contact you in advance. I ask that you understand with your generous heart.”
“I can understand sufficiently.”
“Thank you.”
Demon Buddha looked up at the sky. The sun that had been hiding behind the dark clouds was showing itself.
“The rain has stopped as well, so we will be on our way.”
At Demon Buddha’s farewell, Geom Muyang also said goodbye.
“Then I will see you again, Alliance Leader.”
“Take care on your way.”
Leave Wuhan, or let us meet again—neither side exchanged such words. What came after would have to be handled with careful judgment.
As he descended from the pavilion, Geom Muyang’s eyes met Jin Hagun’s.
Geom Muyang gave him a slight nod, and Jin Hagun likewise nodded slightly in response. In that way, they exchanged their resolve to cooperate well and handle the matter somehow.
* * *
After leaving the pavilion, Geom Muyang and Demon Buddha walked side by side through the bamboo grove and conversed.
He had thought there would be no reason for them to meet outside like this again. To think a day would come when they would walk side by side like this before the main headquarters of the Martial Alliance.
The first to break the silence was Geom Muyang.
“The one behind it is definitely Cheonae Geosa.”
At Geom Muyang’s words, Demon Buddha nodded.
“I know.”
That was precisely why this opponent could be called the most difficult of all the enemies they had faced so far.
“As long as the Alliance Leader trusts him, we cannot carelessly touch Cheonae Geosa.”
His friendship with the Alliance Leader was one thing, but the respect he commanded from the righteous factions was another problem. The moment they mishandled Cheonae Geosa, those bastards would expand it into a conflict between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Martial Alliance.
When Geom Muyang stopped walking, Demon Buddha stopped as well.
The words Geom Muyang wanted to say rose all the way to his throat, then sank back down. It was the first time he had ever said them to anyone.
He had never said them to his father, nor had he said them to Geom Mugeuk.
He said those words to Demon Buddha.
“Please help me.”
How could Demon Buddha not know how difficult those words had been to say, and how precious they were?
Demon Buddha’s eyes trembled, and the radiance flowing from his body deepened. To sincerity, he answered with even greater sincerity.
“I shall devote this body entirely and serve you with loyalty.”
Wrapped in that bright radiance, Geom Muyang felt regret.
If their relationship had been like this during the succession struggle? If he had treated Demon Buddha with such sincerity? Would the outcome of that struggle have been different?
* * *
Jin Paecheon and Jin Hagun stood side by side in the pavilion, watching the backs of Geom Muyang and Demon Buddha as they moved away.
“What do you think?”
Jin Hagun sensed that depending on how this matter concluded, it would have a great impact on the selection of his own successor as well.
Since this entire process could be his grandfather’s test, he had to judge and answer each word with caution.
“It must be one of three things. The Divine Cult is lying, Cheonae Geosa is truly the mastermind, or someone is sowing discord to make us believe that.”
It was not the answer Jin Paecheon wanted.
“I asked for your thoughts.”
“I believe at least one thing is certain.”
He knew his grandfather was worried that he might suffer a setback because he trusted Geom Mugeuk too much.
“At the very least, I do not think the Divine Cult is lying.”
As expected, worry flashed across Jin Paecheon’s face. In the past, he might have read the room and given the answer his grandfather wanted to hear.
But now, he had changed. He knew that an answer meant to evade the moment was like building a bridge of sand toward the other person.
Even if it worked for the time being, it would collapse one day. It would collapse after it had been more fully completed, when he had drawn closer to the other person, so the other person’s disappointment would be even greater, and he himself would be buried in a deeper pit of sand.
“You trust the First Young Master that much?”
There was certainly a part of him that trusted Geom Muyang. He could tell instinctively that he had spoken the truth. But there was an even more certain reason than that.
“No.”
“Then why?”
It was an answer that would worry his grandfather even more.
“The one I trust is the Young Cult Leader.”
Jin Hagun conveyed his honest feelings to his grandfather.
“Since the Young Cult Leader is serving as acting cult leader, the current master of the Divine Cult is the Young Cult Leader.”
Jin Paecheon nodded. All decision-making authority would rest with him.
“He may have hidden ambitions.”
Jin Paecheon had expected him to speak in his defense and say that was not so, but his grandson readily acknowledged it.
“He is such an intelligent person that he may indeed.”
“Then why do you say you trust him?”
Jin Hagun did not know Geom Mugeuk completely, but there was at least one thing he was certain of.
“Even if he were to devise a scheme, he is not the sort of person who would proceed while putting his older brother in danger.”
Right now, the First Young Master was isolated in Wuhan and in a dangerous situation. He did not think Geom Mugeuk would have driven his own brother into such circumstances.
“If he were that kind of person, the First Young Master would already have died during the succession struggle.”
Jin Paecheon could not refute those words. The Geom Mugeuk he had seen was no different from what his grandson said.
“I believe we must fight while keeping every possibility open.”
He braced himself for his grandfather’s rebuke. Saying they should keep every possibility open also meant saying they should suspect Cheonae Geosa.
But Jin Paecheon did not become angry. Rather, he looked at his grandson with gentle eyes.
“Hagun.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Are you worried about this old man?”
“No.”
Though he said that, he was clearly worried. Worried that long friendship might cloud his judgment. Worried even about the wound his grandfather would suffer if the friendship he had believed in shattered.
Then unexpected words flowed from Jin Paecheon’s mouth.
“In my heart, I have already killed him.”
“What?”
Jin Hagun’s eyes widened, unable to understand what he meant.
“I have driven a sword into that man’s heart. I have already stood before his grave.”
Jin Hagun understood. That man meant Hwayulcheong. He could tell from the deep and bitter look in his grandfather’s eyes.
‘Ah! Grandfather has already opened every possibility!’
He had forgotten. His grandfather had lived his whole life upholding chivalry, something difficult to practice even once, and had long observed every manner of human being from the position of Martial Alliance Leader.
“I desperately hope it is not so… but I have already accepted the possibility that a friend I have known for decades may betray me.”
Because he had staked his entire life on this position.
“Because I am the Martial Alliance Leader.”
He was telling his grandson words he had never once told him before.
“The seat you must sit in from now on is such a seat.”
Jin Hagun lowered his head with an ashamed expression.
“I am sorry, Grandfather.”
He had told himself to see properly, to look straight, but he still had not been seeing his grandfather properly. To see a person truly was this difficult.
On the contrary, Jin Paecheon spoke in an even gentler tone.
“What I have felt while occupying this seat for a long time is that our righteous faction cannot chase the Demon Cult or the unorthodox factions at the same pace. Even when we tried to run ahead first and lead them, we were always several steps behind. We were busy cleaning up after them and chasing in their wake. And yet, do you know why we have not collapsed before their cruel and tenacious desires?”
“Why?”
Jin Paecheon looked up at the blue sky from which the dark clouds had receded. Filling both his eyes with that blue sky, he spoke with strength.
“Because we are right.”
Jin Hagun’s heart pounded. His grandfather had lived his entire life with this single belief. And in one sentence, he had told him the path he had to walk.
You, too, must walk the righteous path.
Jin Paecheon’s gaze, which had held the whole sky, turned toward his grandson.
“So trust the Young Cult Leader only after this belief.”