Seo Daeryong’s wedding date was set.
Though he had said he would decide it as he pleased, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon pondered over it carefully, and, worried he might have chosen wrongly, even went to Cult Leader Pungcheon and the Chief Strategist to have it confirmed.
Since the date set in that way was so soon, Seo Daeryong and Dana hurriedly began preparing for the wedding.
In the meantime, Geom Mugeuk went to see the Fist Demon.
He could put off meeting the other Demon Supremes for a while, but the Fist Demon was his master before he was a Demon Supreme.
Considering their relationship, even if he had scolded him, saying, “You should have come to me first, not the Blood Heaven Blade Demon!” Geom Mugeuk would have had nothing to say. But the Fist Demon was not that kind of person. Even if Geom Mugeuk came to him last every time, he would never say a word about it.
A man like the high, solid cliff he had once sought to break down.
And now, a man who had even surpassed that cliff.
The Fist Demon sat cross-legged beneath that cliff, sunk in meditation.
Geom Mugeuk quietly sat cross-legged beside him.
Without realizing it, he almost began practicing his heart method, then stopped. Thinking about it, he had not done ordinary meditation for some time.
Whenever he sat like this, he practiced his heart method or the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art. He had worked hard not to waste even a single moment.
Yes, for a while, let’s take it easy.
And so he simply kept his eyes closed. He did not even pay attention to his breathing. He just sat there blankly. Various thoughts came to him and disappeared.
He thought of his elder brother, and also of Cult Leader Pungcheon and Gowol. He thought of the other Demon Supremes too.
I should hurry and go see them. If I go too late, they’ll be disappointed.
Even as impatience rose in him, he calmed himself by thinking, This impatience is exactly what the Blood Heaven Blade Demon told me not to have!
How much time had passed like that?
“Mugeuk.”
At the Fist Demon’s call from beside him, Geom Mugeuk opened his eyes.
For some reason, his voice was different from usual, and Geom Mugeuk grew inwardly tense.
“Yes, Master.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Fist Demon seated beside him.
The Fist Demon, who had been gazing at the cliff, turned to look at him as well. What on earth was he about to say, to be looking at him with such deep eyes?
At last, unexpected words flowed from the Fist Demon’s mouth.
“Never take such a risk again.”
Only then did Geom Mugeuk understand. He had heard from Ian about how he had been stabbed in the heart.
The words, I had no choice, hovered on his lips, but Geom Mugeuk did not say them.
The Fist Demon had roamed the murim with his father since his youth. It was not as if he did not know such circumstances.
By nature, the Fist Demon was not someone who would say, Do not take risks. If anything, he was someone who would say, Never retreat.
“I understand, Master.”
Yes, it had not been something unavoidable.
He could have avoided the prophecy. When the Lord of Cheonhwa Pavilion told him the prophecy, he could have simply returned to the cult.
But because he was someone who did not avoid that prophecy and instead threw himself into fate, the prophecy had come true.
“Now, everything that happens to you is not yours alone.”
Geom Mugeuk understood the weighty meaning contained in the Fist Demon’s words.
The countless people connected to him.
The sorrow his death would create in equal number.
But the reason the Fist Demon was saying this now was likely because he had one single sorrow in mind.
His father’s sorrow.
Because he knew his father better than anyone.
And so, what the Fist Demon was saying now was the same as this:
If you die, the Great War between the Demonic and Orthodox Sects will break out.
Moreover, unlike before his regression, his father had mastered the Nine Flames Demonic Art to the twelfth star. The Demon Supremes had also become stronger than in the past.
The wailing caused by my death will soon become the drums of war.
Looking into the Fist Demon’s eyes, Geom Mugeuk answered.
“I will not forget the weight of my life.”
The Fist Demon nodded and rose from his seat.
Geom Mugeuk also stood, and with a joke, eased the stiff atmosphere.
“By the way, you almost became the father of the greatest beauty under heaven. What a shame.”
Of course, the Fist Demon was not disappointed at all.
“A shame? I am already the father of the greatest beauty under heaven.”
The Fist Demon cherished Ian more than his own daughter. Geom Mugeuk could not help wondering what would have happened if he had not taken Ian as his foster daughter, but he considered this to be the Fist Demon’s nature.
Once he gave his heart, he gave it to the end.
That was the kind of man the Fist Demon was.
“Master.”
“What is it?”
“Please teach me the Thunderbolt Asura Fist again.”
At the words “teach me again,” rather than “please teach me a move,” the Fist Demon looked puzzled.
“I have already taught you everything there is to teach.”
“In the meantime, you have changed, Master, and I have changed too.”
Both of their martial arts had grown stronger than when Geom Mugeuk had first learned fist arts.
“I am certain there will be something new to learn.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s teaching had meant to distance himself from his greed to attain full mastery of the Nine Flames Demonic Art; it did not mean he should distance himself from martial training.
In particular, the Thunderbolt Asura Fist was a martial art that had been pushed aside because of that greed. Because of the Nine Flames Demonic Art, and also because of the Time-Heaven Secret Art. It had been pushed back and pushed back like that. In truth, it was not a martial art that deserved such treatment.
The Fist Demon sensed that Geom Mugeuk stood at a certain turning point in his martial studies. And at such a time, he had come to him?
“Good. From now on, I will transmit the formula of the Thunderbolt Asura Fist to you.”
The Fist Demon transmitted the formula as if teaching it for the first time.
It was the same formula, but it felt different from when he had first learned it.
After receiving the entire formula, he discussed it with the Fist Demon. They spoke in very concrete detail.
Not only that, but they also spoke frankly about the supreme principles of martial learning each of them had come to realize in the meantime. This process did not end merely with the transmission of fist arts.
A deep sharing of martial learning.
Geom Mugeuk learned, and the Fist Demon learned. They taught while learning, and learned while teaching.
When the learning they shared through words came to an end, the Fist Demon immediately took off his upper garment.
Usually, when he took off his martial robe, he threw it aside carelessly, but today he neatly folded it and placed it beside him. Come to think of it, it was a new martial robe. It seemed the news Ian had brought had not been only that he had been stabbed in the heart.
Geom Mugeuk also took off his upper garment and stepped forward. The Fist Demon’s gaze flicked briefly toward the wound over Geom Mugeuk’s heart, but he said no more about it.
The two stood side by side and began unleashing the Thunderbolt Asura Fist.
In their last battle, the Fist Demon had shown it. No longer did the sound of thunder come from his fist.
Rumble! Boom!
Therefore, the fist that produced thunder was Geom Mugeuk’s.
The sound was louder and stronger than before. After this sound reached its peak, it would gradually lessen again, until, like the Fist Demon’s fist, it made no sound at all.
When they finished that bout of training, the Fist Demon smiled in satisfaction.
“Only now is that baby fist of yours starting to gain some strength.”
Through this training, Geom Mugeuk’s realm had clearly risen to the next stage.
“It’s at least a boy’s fist now, isn’t it?”
“You are still far from becoming an adult!”
“May I come to see you until it becomes an adult’s fist?”
The Fist Demon silently nodded.
The next day, and the day after that, Geom Mugeuk trained.
He stayed at the Fist Demon’s residence altogether and trained. He truly immersed himself in the Thunderbolt Asura Fist.
He had lived diligently all his life, but this was the first time he had trained with such complete absorption, without thinking of anything else.
Before he knew it, Geom Mugeuk had even forgotten the thought: Let’s distance myself from achieving full mastery of the Nine Flames Demonic Art!
* * *
Seo Daeryong and Dana sat facing each other.
Today was the day they would discuss a slightly sensitive yet important matter.
“This is the money I’ve saved.”
“This is the money I’ve saved until now.”
The two revealed the money they had put aside. They had to buy a house to live in, and to prepare for the wedding, they needed to know how much they had.
Dana’s money was far more than the money Seo Daeryong had saved.
“I’m sorry.”
The difference was so great that the words of apology came out on their own.
“Why be sorry? It hasn’t been long since you became Pavilion Master, has it? You can start saving from now on. There’s a certain joy in starting from a small house and gradually building up your household, isn’t there?”
Seo Daeryong silently looked at her money.
“What’s wrong?”
“When I think that this is money you earned while risking your life, I wonder whether I can use it.”
Dana smiled.
“That’s exactly why we should use it. We’re using it for the most valuable thing in my life.”
“I thought you’d scold me for only saving this much.”
“From now on, you will be scolded. You can’t spend recklessly like when you were a bachelor. Now, let’s go look at houses.”
The two left the main headquarters and began looking around the nearby villages.
Homes near the main headquarters and Maga Village were very expensive, and the price also differed depending on the size of the house.
With the money the two had combined, they would have to go quite a distance away.
But Seo Daeryong seemed reluctant to leave the vicinity.
He stopped in front of a house in a good location and asked her.
“What do you think of a house like this?”
“It’s quiet and clean. It’s not far from the main headquarters. There’s a large academy over there, and a martial hall behind it. And carriages don’t pass through this road. It seems like a really good place to raise children.”
“Let’s raise them well here.”
“Yes. Let’s save diligently and be sure to buy this house.”
Then Seo Daeryong said something unexpected.
“We don’t need to buy it. It’s already our house.”
“What?”
“I bought this house a few years ago.”
Dana’s eyes widened in surprise.
As if to prove it was true, Seo Daeryong took out a key, unlocked the door, and went inside.
“After becoming the Master of Hwangcheon Pavilion, I mostly lived in my residence in the inner court, so I only came here occasionally to clean.”
The house was more spacious and nicer than she had expected. For a house he could not visit often, it had been well cleaned too.
“When I bought this house, it wasn’t as expensive as it is now. After the academy and martial hall we saw earlier were built, this neighborhood became desirable.”
“Even so, it must have been expensive.”
At her reaction, still unable to believe it, Seo Daeryong squared his shoulders proudly.
“Even before becoming the Master of Hwangcheon Pavilion, I was a special investigator. I earned decent money in my own way. Of course, I did borrow money from a bank and add that to buy it.”
Seo Daeryong had saved money steadily.
Before meeting Geom Mugeuk, he had disliked socializing with people, so unlike some of his colleagues, he had been able to avoid squandering money on entertainment. Thanks to that, he had even been able to acquire a house like this.
“I paid back all the money I borrowed from the bank last year.”
“So you didn’t tell me this in advance, is that it?”
“I’m sorry! I wanted to bring you here and surprise you.”
“You know I have a temper, right?”
“Of course.”
Seo Daeryong took one step back.
“I almost said this earlier, you know. Did bandits rob you of all your money? Did you hand it all over to some courtesan?”
“I was prepared to take it even if your fist came flying.”
She was delighted. The reason she was delighted was not only because of the house.
“I’m so happy that we have a good house. But more than that, I’m happier to know that you weren’t someone who lived wastefully without a thought. I was worried about how I would educate this hopeless man from now on.”
“I’m not someone who lives just any which way!”
At last, Seo Daeryong made to her the boast he had always made only to Geom Mugeuk. Of all the boasts he had ever made, it was the one that felt the best.
“I may not look it, but I entered Hwangcheon Pavilion at the top of my class.”
* * *
At last, the day of the wedding dawned.
Dana was so nervous that she had barely slept.
She had fallen asleep for a short while, but even then, she had a nightmare. It was a dream of a desolate wedding with only a few guests present.
On top of that, rain poured down, and even the few guests who had come all left. It was the worst possible wedding.
Seo Daeryong, on the other hand, was grinning happily, as if everything delighted him.
“It’s finally today!”
There had been no major crises while preparing for the wedding. They said some people quarreled during the preparations and even called off their weddings, but Seo Daeryong followed Dana’s wishes well.
Looking at Seo Daeryong, Dana said,
“Promise me just one thing.”
“Say anything.”
Dana quietly gazed at Seo Daeryong, then took his hand and said,
“No matter what happens in life, don’t try to shoulder it all alone. A married couple always walks together.”
Seo Daeryong nodded.
“I promise.”
The two looked at each other and smiled brightly.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll see you later.”
After Seo Daeryong left the residence, Dana looked up at the sky visible outside the window. At last, the moment had come for her to accept the commission called marriage in her life.
“I’ll make sure to complete it without failing.”
A little while later, there were people who came to see her. They were Ian and Cha Iran.
“Ah! Captain, you came in person.”
Seo Daeryong had formally introduced Dana to Ian and Jang Ho over a meal together.
That day, Ian had said that she would take care of the makeup and ceremonial robes on the day of the wedding, so Dana should not prepare them. And now she had come in person like this.
“I didn’t know you would come yourself. Thank you so much for coming.”
“Pavilion Master Seo is my friend. It’s only natural that I come. And today I’m only here as an assistant. I brought the real expert with me.”
When Ian looked at Cha Iran, she introduced herself.
“I’m Cha Iran, leader of the third squad of the Ghost Shadow Corps.”
“I am Dana. It’s an honor to meet you.”
She had heard about Cha Iran several times through her younger brother Danyeon. Seeing her in person, she was even more beautiful than Dana had heard.
“I’ll do your makeup.”
Dana was deeply moved. She had thought Ian would simply send someone, but she had not expected the captain and squad leader to come personally like this.
Cha Iran properly displayed her skill.
When the fairly long makeup session ended, everyone let out exclamations of admiration. Once Dana put on the splendid red ceremonial robes as well, she was truly beautiful.
“I think it would be all right even if the entire third squad came.”
Since Ian’s words were high praise for the makeup, Cha Iran smiled happily.
Danbi and Danyeon, who had been waiting outside, came in and were delighted to see their elder sister.
“You’re really pretty.”
“Our sister is this pretty, and she almost lived her whole life as a wandering warrior.”
At their praise, Dana lowered her head as if embarrassed.
Ian said to Dana,
“Are you ready?”
Dana nodded.
When she opened the door and went outside, an astonishing sight awaited her.
A flower palanquin had been prepared to take her to the place where the ceremony would be held.
It was a splendid and beautiful palanquin, but what surprised Dana were the people who would carry it.
The palanquin bearers were truly huge in build. And they were not merely large.
Possessing a terrifying aura that no one would dare approach lightly, they were none other than the Demon Soldiers.
“We will escort you to the place where the ceremony is being held.”
It was a flower palanquin that the Demon Army Lord, Jang Ho, had specially prepared for her.
To the surprised and moved Dana, Ian said with a smile,
“No one in the world has ever ridden in a flower palanquin carried by Demon Soldiers.”
From the very beginning, today’s wedding, which had gone beyond her expectations, finally began.