“Have you ever met my father?”
He was saying the exact same words that his father had once said! Could it truly be a coincidence? Or could it be that this man somehow knew his father?
Geom Mugeuk shook his head.
“I have not.”
At least not in this life.
“But I have heard that he is a man of firm principles.”
When the word *principles* came out, Taesu’s expression stiffened slightly.
“I heard he only steals from the unjust. And that he shares part of his stolen goods with the poor?”
Taesu nodded silently.
He had taught even his son, Taesu, not to break those principles.
But Taesu had been dissatisfied with that teaching.
If he wanted to do such good deeds, he should have lived as a knight-errant instead. What thief dares to speak of conscience? Since he was already being called a thief anyway, he should have stolen from everyone without discrimination.
There came a day when those feelings finally exploded.
“Are those principles of yours for the sake of doing good? Or are they to rationalize your thievery?”
His father had not answered. At that moment, Taesu had seen it. The anger, disappointment, and confusion revealed on his father’s face.
He had not seen his father since that day.
“Father is……”
He had begun to speak, intending to say, *a great man.* For even a short while ago, when Geom Mugeuk had pointed his sword, it was his father whom he had used as a shield.
But the words had caught in his throat and would not come out.
It was Geom Mugeuk who continued the hesitant words.
“Fathers are difficult. For us sons, I mean.”
Taesu’s stiffened expression loosened slightly without him realizing it. At that moment, he once again saw the strange gleam in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes that he had noticed before.
*He’s looking at me with that gaze again.*
It was the gaze of someone who had something he wanted to say.
“Well then, we’ve eaten, so shall we be on our way?”
Geom Mugeuk walked ahead, and the two demonic lords followed behind him.
When Geom Mugeuk turned back after walking some distance, Taesu was still standing in the same spot.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“You must release my demonic acupoints before I can move.”
“They were released a while ago.”
The demonic acupoints that had subdued him were already released. He simply couldn’t use his internal energy, but his body could move freely.
*When did that happen?*
He hadn’t even sensed the wind of a finger flick approaching. How extraordinary this feat was, Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon understood far more clearly than the victim himself.
Geom Mugeuk’s group, coming down from the mountain, found the carriage they had left in the care of villagers and set off.
Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon rode inside the carriage, while Geom Mugeuk and Taesu sat on the driver’s seat.
As Geom Mugeuk started the carriage on his own accord, Taesu asked with a puzzled expression.
“Do you know where we are going?”
He had expected to be asked. At the very least, Geom Mugeuk should have asked if this direction was roughly correct.
“Until you tell me, I’ll go wherever my heart desires. If by chance I’m going too far in the opposite direction, just subtly pull the reins.”
Looking at that face that seemed like it might poke his side again at any moment, Taesu felt that figuring out what kind of person this young man was would be no easy task.
“Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name.”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze deepened slightly. After watching the open road the carriage was traveling on for a moment, he spoke his name.
“I am Geom Mugeuk.”
Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon, riding in the carriage, exchanged glances.
They knew that Geom Mugeuk usually used the name Geom Yeon when he left the sect. Revealing his real name meant he was willing to reveal his identity as well.
Of course, Taesu didn’t know that the name of the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult was Geom Mugeuk. Even if he had known, he would have thought it a case of the same name. There was no way the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult would carry luggage like that and personally cook mushroom dishes to give to him.
Taesu glanced at Geom Mugeuk.
“Can you tell me which sect you belong to?”
“I could tell you, but it’s better if you don’t know.”
“Why is that?”
“Because if you knew, stealing my heart would become much more difficult. Just move as your heart tells you.”
Taesu misunderstood the reason Geom Mugeuk wouldn’t reveal his sect in this way:
*So he’s orthodox.*
If he were like those demonic cult or unorthodox bastards, he would have revealed his identity without being asked, just to intimidate him.
*He must be from a prestigious clan.*
Then what he needed to figure out was who the leader of these three was.
At a glance it seemed to be the old man, but watching them eat, it wasn’t necessarily so. Although the young man carried luggage and cooked, it felt like he held the initiative.
“Then may I ask what your relationship is with those two?”
A family elder? A master? But Geom Mugeuk’s answer was something he had never imagined.
“They are both my wings.”
At those words, Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon laughed together. The very two who had once competed over whether they were the left wing or the right wing were riding in that carriage.
“With just those two, I could even devour the Central Plains.”
“The three of you?”
“You’re on our side now too. The four of us.”
Taesu turned his head toward the opposite side of the carriage.
*Steal the heart of this unpredictable person?*
The most difficult theft he had ever attempted was just beginning.
* * *
The carriage stopped beside a lakeside.
“Get down and look over there.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon got down from the carriage.
The setting sun draped over a large lake beside the road. The light stretching toward the sky and the light seeping into the lake intertwined to create a magnificent spectacle.
Geom Mugeuk lightly hopped up and sat on the carriage roof.
“This is truly spectacular.”
Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon nodded together. It was the first time the two had watched such a beautiful sunset together.
Geom Mugeuk had stopped the carriage for the sake of these two.
*Take this moment in to your heart’s content!*
While the three were gazing at that spectacle, Taesu sat on the driver’s seat looking in the opposite direction of the lake.
He could understand the two experts in the carriage, but why would someone so young be so enthralled by a sunset?
It all felt like hypocrisy and pretense. He was probably trying to suck up to the two experts in the carriage.
*How should I escape?*
At this rate, he would die at their hands. He had to take them to the Geomchong first, then use the mechanisms there to escape or eliminate them.
It was then.
*Swoosh.*
His body was pulled by an unknown force and soared through the air, then dropped down beside Geom Mugeuk, who was sitting on the carriage roof. Geom Mugeuk had seated him by his side using Vacuum Draw.
“You were just thinking wicked thoughts, weren’t you? Studying how to kill us and shake us off? Planning to use the mechanisms at the Geomchong to kill us?”
“No!”
Taesu’s voice trembled at the sudden strike to the heart of the matter. It was impossible to prepare for such pinpoint accuracy.
“You can think wicked thoughts later, but this is a sight you won’t see later. Watch it unconditionally while you can. There is no later.”
Why is there no later? He was risking his life to survive for that *later.*
Taesu forcibly swallowed the words that had risen to his throat and looked at the sunset.
Just then, birds flying low over the lake grazed the water’s surface, and droplets splashed up, bursting into red hues. It was beautiful.
Suddenly, Taesu realized this was the first time he had seen such a sight. He had never stood by a lake at sunset before.
His life had been one of being chased or chasing, lived so busily.
“If I pretend to feel that the scenery is beautiful by your side, can I steal your heart?”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and nodded.
“Yes. Because then I might think, ‘At least this fellow is making an effort.’”
Taesu looked at Geom Mugeuk.
“Even if that is deceiving you?”
“Isn’t sitting still without making any effort a deception in itself?”
Taesu bit his lip slightly and steeled his resolve.
“Very well. If you wish, I can actively put on a show of hypocrisy.”
A smile formed on Geom Mugeuk’s lips.
“Good, then go ahead and try.”
Geom Mugeuk watched the sunset and waited.
But now that the stage was set, his mouth wouldn’t open.
“It’s not difficult, is it? Just smile and say, ‘It is truly beautiful.’ That alone would suffice. ‘Thank you for seating me here like this.’ That would be even better.”
But even though Geom Mugeuk even set an example, the words wouldn’t come easily.
When they first met, he had tried to deceive him with tears welling in his eyes. He had prided himself on never being outdone in acting. Was it because of pride? Or perhaps?
“I’ll do it later.”
“Alright, then.”
Geom Mugeuk did not press him at all.
Hyeolcheon Doma, standing side by side below the carriage and gazing at the lake, sent a telepathic message to Ilhwa Geomjon.
*That thief will have a hard time too. He’s been told to steal the most difficult thing to steal in the world.*
Hyeolcheon Doma knew. Geom Mugeuk seemed to give his heart to anyone freely, but that was absolutely not the case. He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to truly win that heart.
*Only one person has succeeded in stealing it.*
*Who?*
Ilhwa Geomjon looked at Hyeolcheon Doma.
*Me?*
Hyeolcheon Doma shook his head as if to say that was absurd.
*Not me. Perhaps if it were the Masked Warrior, maybe?*
*Is that so? I thought it was you, Brother.*
At the word *Brother,* Hyeolcheon Doma flinched. It was a form of address he hadn’t heard in a long time.
It was something he could only hear when Ilhwa Geomjon was in a good mood.
*You are in as good a mood as I am.*
It was right then.
*Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.*
A group of martial artists rushed to the spot. Their numbers reached several dozen. In an instant, they surrounded and encircled the carriage. Each and every one of them possessed no ordinary aura.
A familiar face walked out from among them.
“Hey, porter.”
The woman who walked forward was none other than Chuyeon, the daughter of the Biryongbang Leader.
There were now only four of the Biryong Ten Geol standing behind her. They had lost six of the Biryong Ten Geol in that cave.
“We searched everywhere for your corpses, but they were nowhere to be found.”
They had not found the Jangbyeondo either.
Her gaze turned toward Taesu.
“You’re taking him with you.”
“We are traveling together to save my younger sister.”
Chuyeon snorted.
“Do you take me for a fool? You think powerful experts like yourselves would move for a nobody like him?”
She didn’t believe him. There were far too many suspicious points.
Her gaze turned toward Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon. They weren’t even looking this way; they were gazing at the lake.
The two were no different now than they had been in the cave. They still paid her no mind whatsoever.
*Let’s see how far they can look down on me.*
Then a white-haired man walked out from behind Chuyeon. He was Jongbaek (宗伯), the elder of the Biryongbang.
He was the Biryongbang expert whom the Leader—her father—trusted most. Not only did he possess powerful martial arts, but he also had extensive knowledge of the martial world.
His temperament was terrifyingly fiery, making him the person Chuyeon feared most.
“Are you certain it’s them?”
“Yes, they must surely possess the Jangbyeondo.”
Jongbaek imbued his voice with internal energy as he spoke.
“This one is called Jongbaek, serving as an elder of the Biryongbang. Might I ask where you esteemed guests have come from?”
He was asking politely, but Jongbaek had drawn a blade in his heart.
No matter who the opponent was, he intended to secure the Jangbyeondo. This time, the Biryongbang had staked the life and death of the sect on obtaining the Jangbyeondo. They had suffered too much damage in the Manhyeoldong already; they could not retreat like this.
Jongbaek’s gaze turned toward Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon, who still stood with their backs turned.
*As expected, they are no ordinary individuals.*
Outwardly, it was impossible to gauge their strength at all.
But that was fine. Their forces here would not lose no matter who they fought.
His gaze returned to Geom Mugeuk.
“Then you answer me.”
“We are not a great sect like the Biryongbang. How could we reveal ourselves in the midst of a struggle for the Jangbyeondo? I hope you will understand.”
Jongbaek assessed Geom Mugeuk. Then Chuyeon stepped forward and spoke politely.
“He is merely a porter. There is no need to concern yourself with him greatly.”
But Jongbaek could see that Chuyeon was misjudging her opponent. The young man before him showed no trace of having learned martial arts, yet he exuded a presence greater than anyone else present.
“Very well. Then is it true that you possess the Jangbyeondo?”
“You are mistaken, young lady.”
Chuyeon stepped forward and spoke.
"If you are so confident, then allow us to search your belongings."
"As for my body and luggage, I can show them to you as much as you wish. However, those two cannot be searched. There is only one person in this world capable of that."
When Geom Mugik refused, a palpable tension filled the air.
At that very moment, a calm yet elegant voice resonated through the area.
"Long time no see, Elder Jong."
Ilhwa Geomjon slowly turned to look their way.
Jong Baek finally saw her face.
It was clearly a face he had seen somewhere, yet he could not recall it. The voice, too, was one he had definitely heard before.
'Who is it?'
His survival instinct urged him on. He had to remember quickly.
Ilhwa Geomjon slowly walked toward Jong Baek.
"I have changed so much that it will not be easy to recognize me."
Then, the scabbard at Ilhwa Geomjon's waist caught Jong Baek's eye.
A red camellia flower, engraved as vividly as blood.
Jong Baek's gaze returned to Ilhwa Geomjon. Having recognized his opponent, he was startled in shock.
"You!"
Only then did he realize that his opponent was Ilhwa Geomjon. As she had said, she was completely different from before. Back then, she had worn heavy makeup and flashy clothes.
He had failed to recall her simply because he had never imagined meeting Ilhwa Geomjon in a place like this.
Before he could say a word, Ilhwa Geomjon turned to Geom Mugik and spoke calmly.
"We are on a journey escorting a precious person."
Jong Baek trembled as if struck by lightning. For the words "precious person" to come from the mouth of the Demon Lord—
He looked at Ilhwa Geomjon and spoke calmly.
"Our side has committed a grave mistake. This old man wishes to seek your forgiveness by cutting off one arm; please accept it."
At those words, Chuyeon was shocked to the core. That fearsome and mighty Elder Jong would cut off his own arm without even fighting? Not only her, but all the martial artists with her were thrown into confusion.
Without hesitation, Jong Baek drew his sword.
"I beg for your forgiveness."
Shiiik!
Without a moment to stop him, he swung his sword down at his own arm.
Chuyeon let out a scream.
*Clack!*
The next moment!
Jong Baek was more shocked than if his arm had been severed.
Geom Mugik had somehow come right up to him and seized his wrist.
He had failed to perceive his opponent's movements for even an instant, right up until the moment his wrist was captured.
In a flashing instant, he was caught. If his opponent had stabbed at his neck instead of grabbing his arm, he would have died on the spot.
'......I am nothing but a one-second opponent to him.'
It was truly unbelievable. His opponent was not the Demonic Cult Leader, but the Young Cult Leader.
To him frozen in shock, Geom Mugik spoke with a smile.
"Elder Jong, there is something you must do with this precious arm."