Cheongseon performed the rite of nine bows (九拜之禮) and formally became the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s disciple.
The news spread in an instant, and Seohwanjin and the rest of the cult began to stir.
Unexpectedly, there were more who supported her, saying it had been a good choice, than there were those who cursed her.
They thought it wiser for her to learn properly under the Pungcheon Cult Leader and ascend to the seat of Demon Venerable, rather than uphold justification or save face only to take the position while her demonic arts were weak. As expected, the demonic practitioners of their cult pursued practical benefit more than pretext.
In particular, the sorcerers of Seohwanjin, whom everyone had expected to oppose her fiercely, came forward in even stronger support.
Because of this, First Disciple Yangdo found himself in an awkward position. His plan to worsen public opinion by saying Cheongseon was receiving outside help had gone awry.
Now, no one could tell who would become the successor.
“What do you think of her?”
The one the Pungcheon Cult Leader was curious about was Cheongseon.
“Aren’t you the one who sees people well, Cult Leader? Trust your own judgment.”
“She seemed to have more backbone than she looked.”
“I saw her similarly.”
“She might be worth raising.”
He had not taken her as a disciple because he had wanted one in the first place. She had merely been an excuse to remain in the Central Plains, but once he actually saw Cheongseon, the strange malice she exuded appealed to him.
“I suppose there’s no helping the kind of man I am. I see a wicked bitch, and I’m drawn to her.”
“Be careful. I saw ambition in her that would devour even her master.”
“That’s why I like her.”
When the Pungcheon Cult Leader grinned, the shackled man also smiled faintly.
“You seem to be in a good mood lately.”
“Me?”
“You hardly curse, either.”
Above all, he had not asked him for several days to open a new space with the Spacetime Transposition Art.
“If you are bored, shall I curse for you a little?”
“Not at all! I like things as they are now.”
But deep down, a part of him missed the shackled man’s curses.
“By the way, the cult leader on this side is quiet.”
It seemed the Pungcheon Cult Leader was bothered by the Heavenly Demon.
“He will remain so.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because the Second Young Master must have met his father and settled the matter.”
“Would he have thought that far ahead?”
“He would have. Success and failure come down to the difference in thoroughness.”
“Why are you so favorable toward the Second Young Master? Your evaluations are generous, too. Did he slip you some money?”
The shackled man raised his head and looked at the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“Do you dislike that?”
“I do.”
“Then let us return beyond the frontier. If we go somewhere the Second Young Master is not, there will be no reason for me to show him favor, will there?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader was about to get irritated, but instead merely let out a sigh. Annoying as it was, it was not wrong. After all, he was the one who had dragged this man all the way here, clanking in chains.
“I told you, did I not? You are not blessed enough to have everything, Cult Leader.”
“Damn it. Stop with that already! Why do you keep saying I’m ill-fated?”
“I say it because you keep trying to turn toward the truly ill-fated path.”
“You never lose a single word.”
It was then. A subordinate came and reported a new fact.
“Cooks came to our warriors in the outer compound and prepared food for them.”
“Cooks? What cooks?”
“They say they were sent by the Second Young Master. They set out a lavish feast with the finest ingredients and left.”
At those words, the Pungcheon Cult Leader looked at the shackled man and asked,
“Is this it? This difference in thoroughness you spoke of?”
The shackled man nodded.
“He is truly remarkable for his young age. I did say it, but even I did not expect him to take care of things to this extent. Perhaps……”
“Perhaps?”
“Perhaps this is the moment an unparalleled figure is being born in the Demonic Cult—no, in the murim. And we are sharing that moment in history.”
“Just because he sent some cooks?”
“Yes. He sends thieves, sends disciples, and sends cooks. I am sure of it. A moment in history.”
Unlike the impassioned shackled man, the Pungcheon Cult Leader was indifferent.
“And in that moment in history, I am having all my sacred relics taken from me.”
As if he already knew that was the reason, the shackled man calmly consoled the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“Change your perspective. Your sacred relics are being put to useful purpose in accomplishing something great.”
“As I said before, am I not absent as the protagonist of that great work? I have no desire to become a tool for someone else’s success.”
“If you wish to become the protagonist, you must be as diligent as the Second Young Master. You must make effort like the Second Young Master as well.”
“I make effort too, don’t I?”
“The effort of asking me about every single thing?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader could not refute him. These days, he had left most matters to the shackled man to handle.
Seeing the Pungcheon Cult Leader still unable to escape his anguish, the shackled man’s expression and tone changed.
“Cult Leader.”
At that moment, the Pungcheon Cult Leader was incredibly glad for his informal speech. His condescension sounded so good that he had even been worried about what he would do if the man never spoke down to him again.
“I know you make effort too.”
“What effort do I make? You’re right.”
“No. Holding back your greed and handing over your sacred relics is effort as well. Gathering those sacred relics was your effort, and protecting them was effort too. I know very well that even your greed is your effort. I know that your effort is as difficult as the effort of someone escaping a heavenly net and earthly snare (天羅地網), drenched in blood.”
Emotion welled up in the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s heart. Only recently had he come to feel how much comfort it gave a person when someone understood their heart.
Still, he did not want to show weakness before the shackled man, so the Pungcheon Cult Leader forced himself to hide his true feelings and shouted,
“I hate it! I don’t want to give up my sacred relics! That damned Second Young Master, just let him come. I’ll tell him to get out at once. Get lost, Second Young Master! Cover your ears, because my roar will burst your eardrums. Understand?”
Just then, a subordinate outside said,
“The Second Young Master has arrived.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader shook his head with an incredulous expression.
“That insane Second Young Master! He really appears at a moment like this?”
The shackled man laughed aloud for the first time in a long while. Covering his ears, he said politely,
“Now then, I am ready.”
* * *
“Welcome, Second Young Master.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader greeted me with a pleasant face.
On days when he gave me a sacred relic, his hands had visibly trembled, but today he looked somewhat at ease. Had he perhaps attained the truth that giving up makes one comfortable?
A short while later, a subordinate brought in a drinking table.
“Let us have a drink together today.”
“Gladly.”
“Take a cup.”
I accepted the wine.
“Now, drink.”
I clinked cups with him in good spirits and drank. Of course, there was a Poison-Repelling Pearl held in my mouth.
“It pleases me to see you trusting me.”
I did not go out of my way to spit out the Poison-Repelling Pearl and offend him.
It was right then.
“By any chance, are you holding a Poison-Repelling Pearl in your mouth?”
I knew. The shackled man had sent a sound transmission to tell him I was holding one. As expected, he was no ordinary man.
“Yes, I am.”
I spat the Poison-Repelling Pearl from my mouth.
“Good heavens! When did you put that in?”
“When the drinking table was brought in.”
“There was no sign of it at all.”
“I practiced a great deal.”
“A Poison-Repelling Pearl in wine I gave you…… Truly, that is too much.”
“Did I not tell you before? There is still no bond between us. The phrase ‘between you and me,’ Cult Leader, does not exist in this world.”
“You say that even after coming here today to take another one of my precious sacred relics?”
“If a bond is to form amid this chaos, it will not be determined by how many sacred relics I take.”
“Just as, right now, the only thing sitting between us is a lonely Poison-Repelling Pearl?”
“A definite relationship where we give what must be given and receive what must be received is better than a flimsy bond that may change depending on circumstances.”
“I truly cannot beat you with words. Just like someone else.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
I guessed that the person he meant was the shackled man.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader rose.
“Well then, since the taste of wine has been ruined, let us choose a sacred relic. Go on, choose quickly.”
“Thank you.”
Before choosing a sacred relic, I went to the Yin Thunder Bell.
“I will look at the Yin Thunder Bell once more. No matter how often I see it, it is magnificent.”
In truth, it was because I wanted to see the shackled man up close again.
While looking at the Yin Thunder Bell, I glanced at the man. The shackled man sat with his head lowered, like a fossil.
‘Why are you helping me?’
I also liked that he could have sent me a sound transmission, but did not. He was not a frivolous man.
Would the day ever come when I could speak with this man? How far were his fate and mine intertwined?
I moved again and walked toward the place where the sacred relics were kept.
I acted as if I were looking this way and that, but I had already decided what to take.
“I will choose this.”
The sacred relic I chose this time was a thickly rolled bandage.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s expression hardened. Instead of words, his face cursed like this:
Damn it! Curse you! How do you only pick out the precious ones like this?
“Do you know what that is and choose it?”
Of course, I knew all too well.
“I do not. Cloth wrapped up like this simply looked somehow mysterious.”
“That is……”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader took a deep breath. After painstakingly calming the anger rising within him, he explained it.
“That is Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Silk. It is an eternal treasure said not to be cut even when struck by a sword, and when wrapped in several layers, it is known to block even sword qi or sword aura. It can be used by wrapping it around the arms or legs, or by wrapping it around the heart to protect it. And that is not all. It wards off cold and does not burn in fire. In the murim, the weapons that can cut this Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Silk without sword qi or sword aura can be counted on one hand.”
Included among those few weapons was the Black Demon Sword at my waist.
“My knowledge is shallow, so I failed to recognize that it was such a precious item.”
“If you failed to recognize it, why of all things did you choose this? Why, exactly!”
“I apologize.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader could not hide how pained he was to part with it. After sighing several times, he handed it to me. His hand trembled.
“Please put it to good use.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I took it as if wrenching it from him when he would not let go.
I felt gratitude toward the Pungcheon Cult Leader. Though his heart must have ached, he always kept his promises and gave me sacred relics without stint.
It was excessive compensation compared to what I had done for him, but the reason I accepted it so readily was that I intended to make his dream come true.
“I will never forget your goodwill, Cult Leader.”
At a time like this, it would have been nice if he had shown some magnanimity, but the Pungcheon Cult Leader could not hide his lingering regret.
Over his shoulder, the shackled man was looking at me. With how reluctant he was, there was no way the cult leader would have handed over the sacred relics so obediently. The Blood God Pill earlier had been the same, and so was this Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Silk. It was clear I had received them smoothly thanks to the shackled man.
What I sent in my gaze was this:
Thank you. I will not forget.
As if he understood, the shackled man slowly lowered his head and returned to being a fossil.
* * *
After returning to my quarters, I took out the Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Silk.
I unwound enough of it to wrap around my wrist about three times, then cut it with the Black Demon Sword.
It would likely have cut even as it was, but to make a clean cut, I infused internal energy and cut it carefully.
Before eternal treasured swords like Father’s Heavenly Demon Sword or my Black Demon Sword, it was merely cloth, but to other weapons, it became a monster.
I wrapped it around my left wrist in three layers.
No matter what happened, as long as I wore this, my hand would never be cut off by an opponent’s attack. For now, having it wrapped only around my left wrist was enough. My right hand would be protected by the Black Demon Sword. The fact that it could be used intensively only where needed was what made it better than any treasured robe or protective artifact.
I wrapped the rest of the Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Silk around the hilt of the Black Demon Sword. I would use it when the need arose next time.
I only hoped there would be no occasion where I had to wrap this all around my body and charge somewhere.
Because hell would unfold there.
Or perhaps that place would already be hell to begin with.