After bidding farewell to the Master of Cheonhwaru and stepping outside, An Hupyeong brought out the words he had been saving.
“Now then, let us go to my place for a drink.”
Had he not exchanged those meaningless words with the Master of Cheonhwaru solely to say this to I An?
Since he had sent word in advance, good liquor and food would be prepared. And if he called for musicians to play a pleasant tune on top of that? She couldn’t possibly refuse!
An Hupyeong had naturally assumed that I An would agree.
He had introduced her to the examiner, so he had thought she would try to look good for him even a little.
“Let’s do it next time.”
I An refused point-blank.
“If you dislike alcohol, we can have tea instead.”
“Next time.”
Never before had a woman rejected him so openly, so An Hupyeong was flustered.
With any other woman, he would have exploded in anger, but this time he did not.
She was also a figure of the demonic path, and because he truly liked her, he still wanted to make a good impression on her.
As he stood there wondering how to react, I An approached him. When she drew near, a pleasant scent wafted from her.
The way she whispered as if only for him to hear was wonderful too.
“When we meet next time, tell me the real reason you held the competition. I simply can’t stand being curious.”
After saying that, I An lightly bowed her head in greeting and moved on. Geom Mugeuk walked after her.
‘That bastard! I want to smash him!’
Though the misplaced sparks of rage landed on the innocent Geom Mugeuk, the fire disappeared from sight before it could even ignite.
Then the only one left to him was Sachu.
Sachu stood blankly, staring at the guest hall.
Wondering what he was staring at, An Hupyeong looked too. Faceless Guests were gazing this way from the window.
“What? Did you lend money to those guys or something?”
The dazed Sachu finally came to his senses.
“No.”
“Then why are you looking at them like that?”
In truth, Sachu had been recalling what happened in the courtyard earlier.
When he had woken up after falling asleep, one of the Faceless Guests had extended a hand to him as he lay there.
He felt he would die if he didn’t take it, so he grabbed the hand and stood up.
‘Now I’ve truly joined hands with them.’
Until then, he had been too afraid to speak, but now he felt as if he were on their side.
The feeling that he had to keep the secret even more tightly was an added burden.
“What’s with you lately? Are you excited because you saw a pretty woman after so long?”
“No.”
He wished it were really that. Right now, no women were entering Sachu’s eyes.
As the only person who knew that Teacher Yong had died at their hands, he was in a silent battle of life and death.
“But where are you going?”
“To my father.”
Judging by his mood, An Hupyeong was now headed to the Lord to demand answers. Asking just what had prompted him to hold this competition.
All to tell I An the reason. He was truly acting like a madman over a woman.
“You cannot. The Lord will fly into a rage!”
As Sachu blocked his path, An Hupyeong yelled.
“Are you crazy?”
Sachu hurriedly stepped aside. It was certainly unlike his usual behavior.
“What’s wrong? Since when do you worry about me?”
Yes, he had always followed An Hupyeong, protecting him. Whatever he did, whatever nonsense he spouted, Sachu had merely guarded him.
Yet without realizing it, he had become invested in An Hupyeong’s affairs. Never once had he been a main player in this life, yet somehow he kept feeling the need to step forward.
“My apologies.”
Thus An Hupyeong went to the great hall where his father was.
Contrary to Sachu’s worries, An Cheongwang was not so angry.
“Were you that curious?”
An Hupyeong was inwardly flustered by his father’s calm demeanor.
He had expected his father to explode, yelling that it was none of his business. He had steeled himself for a severe scolding.
“Yes, I heard you changed the examiner at the last minute.”
An Cheongwang answered calmly.
“There were circumstances.”
And An Cheongwang had a guess as to why his son was interested in this matter.
“It is not what you are thinking, so do not trouble yourself with needless worry.”
The father he knew would never say such things. No, he would have already roared, asking if he wasn’t told to mind his own business. He had come prepared to be struck.
If so, he would have something to tell her instead. Saying how hard he had tried. He was enjoying this pure heart he held, for the first time in a long while—or rather, for the first time ever.
But his father was treating him calmly. So much so that it was bewildering.
“I will tell you the full story later.”
An Hupyeong was moved by his father’s gentle gaze.
Never once had his father treated him with such kind words. Because he had always looked at him with disappointment.
At least for this moment, he forgot I An. Even if he hadn’t gotten the words to tell her, it was all right.
“Thank you for telling me, Father.”
An Hupyeong bowed politely and went outside.
The soft expression vanished from An Cheongwang’s face as he watched his retreating son’s back.
His attitude softens and he backs down so easily? He is moved so easily?
Watching his son so nakedly reveal his inner thoughts made a sigh escape him.
Then a woman’s voice came from behind.
“A man in love cannot hide his true feelings.”
The one who appeared silently was Chairan.
An Cheongwang looked at her with calm eyes.
“You are the same.”
When he learned that the Young Cult Leader had gotten involved, he had cursed her as a crazy bitch.
Now, he had calmed his heart.
“You too cannot hide that you are hiding something from me. What are you obsessed with?”
Chairan smiled instead of answering and asked.
“Do you regret joining hands with me?”
He did not.
One night, he opened his eyes from sleep to find her looking down at him. Had she wanted to kill him, he would already be dead. She looked down at him and spoke.
—If you refuse my proposal, I will go to the Heitianmen.
The Heitianmen was the largest and strongest sect in Anhui.
An Cheongwang had greatly expanded the Sinhwabang, but he could not surpass the Heitianmen.
He could not win. No matter how hard he tried, he could not accomplish what the Leader of Heitianmen could. He felt the difference in innate ability and capacity. The Leader of Heitianmen was a wall. An absolute, unbreakable wall.
An Cheongwang replied to her words.
—Do not go.
The woman’s proposal had been truly astounding.
Host the competition for the World’s Greatest Beauty at Sinhwabang and invite the Leader of the Four Paths Alliance there, then eliminate him and pin the crime on the Leader of Heitianmen.
He accepted the proposal without much deliberation.
He had lived a life unscrupulous of means and methods from the start, and it was his dream to topple the Heitianmen, become the foremost faction of the Four Paths in Anhui, and eventually become the Foremost Faction of the Four Paths.
And above all, if he refused, this woman would go to the Heitianmen and make the same proposal. No, she wouldn’t even need to go. She would have come knowing he would accept. She would have caught the scent of the desire he had harbored for so long.
“Do not touch the Young Cult Leader.”
“You accepted killing the Leader of the Four Paths Alliance, so what are you afraid of?”
At first glance, the involvement of the demonic cult’s Young Cult Leader might seem like a good thing.
They would think the demonic cult was involved in the death of the Leader of the Four Paths Alliance. The fact that he had helped would be buried forever in that chaos.
If only for this one case.
If the Young Cult Leader dies?
Would the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult leave those involved alone? Wouldn’t the order come down to kill everyone related, guilty or not? The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult he knew would surely do so. They would try to annihilate the Sinhwabang for the sole reason of having hosted the competition.
“Killing the Young Cult Leader is absolutely forbidden.”
“I won’t kill him.”
“It must absolutely not happen!”
Despite his repeated dissuasion, Chairan vanished from before his eyes, leaving behind deliberately spiteful words.
“You keep acting like that, so now I really want to kill him.”
* * *
Chairan stood alone in a field under a brightly shining moon.
The grass swaying in the wind seemed almost to breathe.
A man walked from afar, cutting through that breath.
He was a man who had dressed to the nines. Expensive clothes and accessories, and even a folding fan painted with beauties.
Moreover, he wore thick makeup on his face; the white makeup was excessive. His individuality was so extreme that it felt like self-torture. Because of that, the man’s face could not be made out clearly.
The man walked up to her, fluttering his fan.
“It’s been a while, friend.”
Chairan made an expression of surprise at the man’s greeting.
“I didn’t think you would bring it personally.”
“I said I would bring it. Just wanted to see your face.”
The man’s name was Hua Daoming.
The two were an unlikely pair, yet they were friends who got along surprisingly well. Perhaps that was why? Chairan’s expression was more comfortable than usual.
“You came to see the Young Cult Leader, not me.”
Hua Daoming admitted readily.
“A matter this entertaining is rare in a lifetime. Are you really going to kill the Young Cult Leader, too?”
An Cheongwang’s intuition had been correct. Her claim that she would not kill the Young Cult Leader was a lie.
“The Leader of the Four Paths Alliance and the Young Cult Leader. Doing it alone will be too much, no?”
“Yet it was an order given knowing that, was it not?”
“That sounds as though I gave the order.”
“At the very least, you could have stopped it.”
Hua Daoming fanned himself quickly, as if playing dumb.
“As you know, things are complicated on this side as well.”
Chairan made an expression showing she did not particularly want to understand.
“You’ve met the Young Cult Leader?”
When she nodded, Hua Daoming asked quickly.
“How was it? Is he really as incredible as the rumors say?”
“If you’re curious, meet him yourself.”
“Not curious enough to risk my life. I came here solely as an errand runner and spectator.”
“So there is someone who can make you afraid.”
Then Hua Daoming mentioned someone unexpected.
“You haven’t heard the story? When Agunhak returned...”
At the mention of him, the One King and Sword King, Chairan’s eyes sparkled slightly.
The only person on their side whom Chairan felt any liking for was Agunhak.
She always emphasized that it was not romantic feeling, but the fondness of a martial artist and a human being.
And the only one who knew that fact was Hua Daoming.
“The higher-ups interrogated him. Why did he return without killing the Young Cult Leader? Do you know what he answered?”
“What did he say?”
“He said this.”
He cleared his throat and imitated Agunhak’s words.
“It was not I who spared him. The Young Cult Leader saved me.”
At those words, Chairan’s eyes widened.
“How could that be?”
She made an expression of utter disbelief. She could not imagine the Agunhak she knew losing to someone.
“Right, with his skill, he couldn’t have lost to the Young Cult Leader. But he really said that. I was there.”
Chairan recalled the Young Cult Leader. She had not yet exchanged proper words with Geom Mugeuk, so she could not know what kind of person he was. She knew he was strong, but even so. That he had saved Agunhak? She could not believe it.
“There must have been circumstances.”
“That’s not the only surprising thing.”
At least for Chairan, what came next was even more astonishing.
“Agunhak declared then and there that he would leave the organization. It was truly a sight to behold. He said he brought a chest, so his debt to you is fully repaid.”
Chairan’s expression shifted through various emotions. The first thought that came to her was.
“That is so like him.”
She understood his resolve.
“If even he leaves, only trash like us will remain.”
She also reproached herself.
“The higher-ups wouldn’t have permitted it?”
She also had doubts.
Hua Daoming silently watched her emotions change quickly and complicatedly, unlike her usual self. It was a moment that reaffirmed Agunhak was the only one who could shake her.
“Why think that? Do you believe we are foolish enough to make Agunhak an enemy?”
At that, Chairan nodded.
“Aren’t you all just that foolish?”
At her words, Hua Daoming laughed aloud.
But Chairan did not laugh. If Agunhak left safely, it would be regrettable; if the organization captured him, it would also be a problem. Perhaps the order to kill him would come down to her.
Hua Daoming took something from his bosom.
“But we aren’t complete fools. We finally created this.”
What he took out was a small box.
“Will this turn the tide?”
He asked, offering the box to Chairan.
“Confident?”
“If I’m not?”
“I’ll take your place.”
Beneath the thick makeup, Hua Daoming’s eyes turned coldly still. He felt completely different from when he had been fluttering his fan.
Chairan quietly took the box.
“If you came to watch, then just watch. The Young Cult Leader will die by my hands.”
“If you say so, then so it shall be.”
Hua Daoming said, turning around.
“I shall enjoy the show!”
Smiling, Hua Daoming fanned himself as he walked away lightly.
Chairan, watching his retreating figure from afar, slowly opened the box.
Inside the box was a single red bead.