“No matter what anyone says, I came to see you first, Elder. Even if my heart were stabbed, I would come to see you first, and even if Father scolded me, I would come to you first. Are you pulling the Doma act again? Aren't you tired of it? Then what are the other demon clansmen for? No matter how disappointed you may be, Elder comes first for me!”
Outside the window, Geommugeuk raised his voice, while Hyeolcheon Doma sat before him reading a book.
Geommugeuk had parted ways with Geukak Soma and rushed straight to Hyeolcheon Doma’s residence.
“You’re pretending to read right now, but I know full well the words aren’t entering your eyes. I also know you’re holding back because you’re too shy to hug me when you’re so glad to see me. Just stop holding it in and express it! Isn’t life something where no one knows what will happen tomorrow?”
Hyeolcheon Doma, who had been reading, raised his head.
“Are you done?”
When Geommugeuk nodded, Hyeolcheon Doma removed the cotton he had been using to block his ears.
“That’s too much! I was stabbed straight through the heart and came back alive!”
When Hyeolcheon Doma did not believe him, Geommugeuk tore open his chest.
“Look at this!”
Hyeolcheon Doma’s eyes, which had glanced over casually, snapped wide open. Where mischief had flickered mere moments earlier, surprise now reigned completely.
“What is that wound?”
Hyeolcheon Doma was so startled that Geommugeuk quickly covered the wound with his clothes.
“No, it’s nothing serious. Just a light scratch.”
In that instant, Hyeolcheon Doma’s aura exploded.
“You masked bastard!”
Hyeolcheon Doma sprang to his feet. He was about to go find Geukak Soma immediately, intending to hold him responsible for failing to protect Geommugeuk properly.
For if he were told right now that Geukak Soma had stabbed him, it was obvious he would fly into a rage before hearing any explanation.
“If it weren’t for Soma-nim, I would have died.”
Hyeolcheon Doma looked at Geommugeuk as if glaring. It had truly been a long time since he had seen Hyeolcheon Doma this angry. That was right—this was what he was originally like. He had simply forgotten because Hyeolcheon Doma had treated him so gently all this time.
“This time, Soma-nim wiped out all the enemies! It’s true!”
That was how he soothed Hyeolcheon Doma’s rage.
Hyeolcheon Doma sat back down.
“Pathetic! At your level, isn’t it about time you stopped getting stabbed by swords?”
“There were too many beauties, so I got distracted.”
Hyeolcheon Doma began reading his book again. Was it because he had seen the wound? This time, he spoke first.
“Have you already lost interest in reading?”
“I was too busy; there was no time to read.”
“Excuses. If you set your mind to read, you’d read even while fighting.”
After reading for a brief moment, Hyeolcheon Doma raised his head. Wondering what Geommugeuk was doing when no words were spoken, he saw that Geommugeuk was leaning against the wall by the window, looking up at the sky.
How long had he been like that? Geommugeuk suddenly spoke.
“From tomorrow, I will enter closed-door training.”
As Hyeolcheon Doma raised his head, Geommugeuk, who had been looking at the sky, turned to face him.
“It may take quite a while.”
Geommugeuk felt the Great Perfection of the Ten Stars drawing near with great strides.
Great Perfection was flickering right before his eyes.
He planned to greet his father and then enter closed-door training immediately.
And once he entered, he intended not to emerge until he achieved Great Perfection.
In his heart, he felt he could achieve Great Perfection and come out in just a few days, but that was merely wishful thinking. It was impossible to know whether it would take a month or several years. Still, he had hope that thanks to the Sicheonbisul, it would not take an absurdly long time.
Hyeolcheon Doma precisely read Geommugeuk’s current situation.
“You stand before Great Perfection?”
“Yes.”
Even though he had asked the question himself, Hyeolcheon Doma was inwardly shocked by the affirmative answer.
To think that at such a young age, he was already on the verge of achieving the Great Perfection of the Guhwamagong! Had there ever been a Cult Leader in history who achieved Great Perfection so quickly? He would not have believed it had it been anyone but Geommugeuk.
“I’ve gotten the feeling that it is not far.”
For some reason, Hyeolcheon Doma neither offered congratulations nor told him to work hard. He simply gazed at Geommugeuk in silence.
Just then, someone entered.
“Young Cult Leader!”
The one who ran over happily was Seodaeryong, who had come to train after finishing his duties.
“When did you return?”
“Just a short while ago.”
“I missed you!”
Seodaeryong ran to embrace Geommugeuk.
Geommugeuk lightly dodged him and peered into the basket in his hand. Inside were liquor and food.
“What is this? It looks delicious!”
“You can’t have this!”
Seodaeryong hurriedly turned to protect the basket, then brought it over to Hyeolcheon Doma.
“This is a dish Lady Dana prepared for Master.”
It was indeed a dish made by Dana. She often cooked for Hyeolcheon Doma, Seodaeryong’s master. The food made with healthy ingredients was a sincere dish one could never find in an inn.
“I told her she didn’t have to send them.”
“I just made a little extra while cooking for us. Please enjoy it.”
Hyeolcheon Doma knew very well that it was not so. Most of the dishes brought were things he liked.
“Tell her I will enjoy it.”
“Yes, Master.”
Hyeolcheon Doma took the food and went inside the house. Dana’s cooking always satisfied him, so he wore a contented smile.
And so, as only the two of them remained in the courtyard, Geommugeuk subtly asked.
“How are Lady Dana and her siblings?”
“Yes, thanks to you, they are doing well.”
Dana as well as her two younger siblings, Danbi and Danyeon, had adapted well to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Danbi served as an execution martial artist, and Danyeon as a warrior of the Gwiyeongdae, each fulfilling their roles well.
Dana was immersed in martial arts training while looking after Seodaeryong. She was someone who would gladly do any task in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, even cleaning horse dung, but for the time being, she had judged that taking care of Seodaeryong and her siblings was more important.
Especially since Seodaeryong was carrying out the affairs of Hwangcheon Gak on top of martial arts training—such a grueling schedule—that she looked after his health. Thanks to that, Seodaeryong often heard these days that he was looking well.
“Is Lady Dana that wonderful? Does the mere thought of her make you smile?”
Seodaeryong blossomed into a full smile. The answer was contained in that smile.
“Why don’t you get married?”
“Only when you go, Young Cult Leader, will I go. Please clear the way! Let the carriage behind pass!”
“There are many roads; why come to a blocked road and shout for it to move?”
“The only path I walk is the one you walk, Young Cult Leader. I will follow that path for the rest of my life.”
“Fine excuses.”
Geommugeuk narrowed his eyes and looked at Seodaeryong with a suspicious gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You lack confidence, don’t you?”
“Oh my, what do you take me for? I am Seodaeryong, your right hand. Seodaeryong!”
“Yes, my right hand who has never even properly dated a woman.”
In the end, Seodaeryong sighed and revealed his honest feelings.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Whether I’m allowed to get married. Whether I can feed and support that woman.”
“If the Hwangcheon Gakju of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult says such things, then no one could ever marry. And why are you worried about supporting her? If you marry Lady Dana, she’ll probably be the one supporting you.”
Given Dana’s refreshing and decisive personality, it was entirely plausible.
“Stop that and tell me the real reason you’re hesitating.”
How could he deceive Geommugeuk’s eyes? In the end, Seodaeryong revealed the real reason.
“I’m scared I won’t be able to become a good father.”
Geommugeuk hadn’t known Seodaeryong harbored such worries. No matter how close people are, the depths of one’s inner path run deep indeed.
“To worry about such things before even getting married?”
But he could not say that it was just like him. Because it was something Geommugeuk could not be confident about either.
“I never experienced a good father. I don’t know how to become one.”
Seodaeryong truly wanted to know.
“Should I just do the opposite of our father?”
“Would that work?”
“Wouldn’t it?”
Seodaeryong let out a sigh. Geommugeuk let him sigh to his heart’s content. Since long-suppressed emotions had come out, it wouldn’t matter if the ground caved in a little.
“Even if you had met a good father, I think it would be separate from you becoming a good father.”
“Why?”
“Just as you and Father are different, the child born will also be different from you. The way a good father did things wouldn’t work exactly the same. I think this isn’t something you learn by watching, but something you figure out by looking at your child and finding the method that suits that child.”
“!”
“It’s just like stepping onto the dueling platform without knowing who your opponent is. You step on thinking, no matter who the opponent is, it’s going to be terribly hard.”
Seodaeryong’s expression relaxed.
“So in the end, it’s all hard?”
“Look at you, look at me. How could raising such sons be easy?”
At those words, Seodaeryong’s face, which had been drooping, became comfortable.
Hyeolcheon Doma, who had been sitting by the window drinking, interjected.
“If family are enemies, would children be any different?”
Geommugeuk and Seodaeryong laughed together.
Geommugeuk pointed out one fact.
“And you don’t need to worry about that from the start.”
“Why?”
“Lady Dana will make you into a good father.”
At that, Seodaeryong smiled brightly.
“Young Cult Leader, how do you know so well without having experienced it yourself?”
“It’s me. Your Young Cult Leader.”
“Of course, it’s our Young Cult Leader, who knows everything under the heavens!”
The two laughed together.
“That I can have such happy worries is all thanks to you, Young Cult Leader.”
“As long as you know. Pay me back in money later.”
“I will continue to pay you back only with my heart forevermore.”
Geommugeuk turned away.
“You’re leaving already? We finally met; stay and enjoy yourself longer!”
To the disappointed Seodaeryong, Geommugeuk spoke.
“You won’t be seeing me for a while.”
The moment the words fell, Hyeolcheon Doma emptied his wine cup by the window and spoke.
“Come out tomorrow.”
It was an unexpected remark. Even though he had clearly said he would enter closed-door training, he told him to come out.
Geommugeuk answered without asking the reason.
“I will see you tomorrow.”
When tomorrow came, he would find out.
* * *
But even when tomorrow came, he did not know the reason.
The next day, Hyeolcheon Doma did not tell him why he had been called. He simply sat in the same spot as yesterday, reading his book.
“Is there something you wish to command me?”
“No.”
“Or something you wish to say?”
“No.”
“Have you been lonely these days?”
“This room is full of friends.”
He meant that books were his friends.
“Could it be that these days you feel inexplicably irritated, like you want to torment someone, such feelings?”
Hyeolcheon Doma snorted.
“If not, then why did you call me here?!”
No matter how much he asked from the side, Hyeolcheon Doma would not tell him.
Of course, he could not say, “If there is nothing for me to do, I shall take my leave,” and simply go. Because his opponent was Hyeolcheon Doma.
That afternoon, Seodaeryong dropped a bombshell.
“I told Lady Dana.”
“What?”
“That I want to get married.”
Geommugeuk was surprised, and so was Hyeolcheon Doma.
“Really?”
“You told me to?”
“I didn’t tell you to. No, even if I had, would you go and do it the next day?”
“What good would worrying do? Your words are right, Young Cult Leader, and you’re smarter than me. And I’ve come to want to step onto that dueling platform.”
“Didn’t you say you’d follow only my path your whole life? The carriage hasn’t even cleared the road yet?”
Seodaeryong lowered his head as if ashamed, but he said what he had to say.
“I’m much older, aren’t I? The carriage blocking the road is me. A cart full of manure.”
“So what did Lady Dana say?”
“She said she was bewildered because she heard it while eating.”
Geommugeuk asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“You said that while she was eating?”
“I’m regretting it plenty, so please don’t scold me for that part. The words just came out while she was eating. That I wanted to sit across from her and eat like this for the rest of my life.”
Seodaeryong clutched his head.
“Ah! I should have recited a poem while saying it.”
Geommugeuk spoke with a smile.
“No. Rather, you did well.”
“It really was the right thing to do, right? Please tell me it was.”
To Seodaeryong, who was worried he had made a mess, Geommugeuk spoke with a smile.
“You did well. And that cart is not full of manure, but jewels. You will be able to become a good father.”
Seodaeryong teared up. He had thought there would never be marriage in his life.
“Since you’re doing it anyway, make it the best marriage possible. I’ll ask Father to officiate as well.”
“The Cult Leader?”
Seodaeryong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“A martial artist who marries with the officiation of the Heavenly Demon—you’ll likely be the first.”
It was the kind of thing that would normally make Seodaeryong shriek and play the clown, but now he spoke cautiously.
“If I ever get married, for the officiant…”
Seo Dae-ryong looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and said,
“I would like to ask you, Master.”
For a moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon flinched in surprise. He had never imagined the boy would pass over the Cult Leader as officiant and ask him instead.
“Master, please.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon snorted.
“What a fine thing to ask of a master who has never even married.”
With that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned sharply and went into the house.
At the sight, Seo Dae-ryong went pale.
“Did I make a mistake?”
Though he had grown close to his master, Seo Dae-ryong still found him difficult and was always careful around him.
Geom Mugeuk watched the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s back and tried to imagine his expression. Might there not be a smile at the corners of his mouth?
“No. He’s probably in a good mood right now.”
He must have gone inside because he could not control his expression.
Just then, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s unexpected words came from within.
“If you yearn for something too desperately, it only grows farther away.”
For an instant, Geom Mugeuk was startled. The one even more startled was Seo Dae-ryong. With a stricken face, Seo Dae-ryong lowered his head deeply.
“Ah! I made the decision too impulsively. I was too hasty! What should I do?”
He had naturally thought the words were meant for him. But Geom Mugeuk said, his gaze deepening,
“No. Those words were meant for me.”
The moment he heard the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s words, Geom Mugeuk understood.
Why he had told him to come to his residence.
His own heart had been too hurried. So much so that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had worried over it.
Yes. If it had been from the seventh level to the eighth, or from the eighth to the ninth, he would not have been this desperate.
The Grand Completion of the Nine-Flame Demonic Art.
Because the realm he had longed for even in his dreams was right before his eyes, Geom Mugeuk’s heart had, without his realizing it, grown impatient.
When he felt something, he had to seize it! So he had been filled with the desire to enter closed-door training at once and achieve Grand Completion.
Ordinarily, he would have gone to see the Demon Venerables, and Jang Ho, and Jo Chun-bae as well. But now, with his mind stolen by Grand Completion, he had only wanted to run to the training grounds.
It was not as though he had reached the ninth level through closed-door training. It was not a result born of such impatience. He had achieved it among people.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had caught hold of that hurried heart and given him a lesson.
The greater the desire, the more an illusion appears real.
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly and said in a loud voice,
“I’ll come again tomorrow.”
At that, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon appeared by the window. As if Geom Mugeuk’s guess had indeed been correct, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said with a smile,
“You don’t need to come anymore.”
Seeing that warm smile, such a thought came to him naturally.
Could he truly have come this far if not for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon? Perhaps because he had been the first button among the Demon Venerables, Geom Mugeuk had been able to come safely this far.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Seo Dae-ryong, who was standing beside him blinking, and said,
“No, I will come. I must come and devise the grand operation for my right-hand man’s marriage.”
Seo Dae-ryong flinched and asked,
“Is this something that requires a grand operation?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded firmly, his eyes frighteningly serious despite the mischief hidden within them.
“How could I simply send you out into that fierce and endless battlefield unprepared?”