The carriage raced toward Zhejiang.
“I’ll drive the carriage. Please go to the back and get some rest.”
Jihan felt uncomfortable seeing Jian Wuji continue to hold the reins.
“I’m fine.”
When Jian Wuji declined, Taesu acted like he knew all about it.
“If I may speak of the gentleman here, he hails from an escort agency. There’s nowhere in the Central Plains he hasn’t been since he was young, so he drives a carriage like a god, I tell you.”
Jian Wuji had never said such things, but Taesu believed them as solidly as iron.
Jihan shot Jian Wuji a sidelong glance.
No matter how many times he looked, the man was not from an escort agency. No, what sort of escort or escort leader in this world could make the Wan’e Sanren take his own life?
*For a thief, he’s quite obtuse.*
Not knowing that he was becoming a tactless person in Jihan’s eyes, Taesu acted like he knew once again.
“And you wouldn’t know how well he knows the roads, I tell you.”
As he boasted about Jian Wuji, Taesu felt a hollow feeling. Because Jian Wuji’s subordinate was not himself, but Jihan.
“And his cooking, how good it is. If you try the food he makes for you, you’ll be shocked, I tell you.”
Jihan was curious about Jian Wuji’s bottom line. The leaders he had seen until now wouldn’t even think of driving a carriage themselves, let alone knowing the roads well. That was all work for subordinates to do.
Yet he was good at cooking too? And personally made it to give to his subordinate?
Jihan felt a strange sense of anticipation. Where would he get the chance to meet such a leader while living as a martial artist?
*No, I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high.*
For great expectations lead to great disappointments. He was still in a state where he didn’t even know what kind of person this leader was.
Out of the blue, Jian Wuji asked Jihan.
“As I recall, you were the one who applied the Soul-Chasing Incense to the treasure map at the beginning, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Do you know how the Sawang Gate acquired the treasure map?”
“No. I don’t know. At the time, someone from the higher-ups came to me with the treasure map. He said it was an item I absolutely must not lose, so I should use the most effective Soul-Chasing Incense.”
“Do you know who he is?”
Jihan shook his head.
“No, he was wearing a bamboo hat pulled low, so I couldn’t see his face properly.”
“A man who deliberately hid himself.”
Jihan didn’t attach any particular significance to that person. The Sawang Gate was a place filled with all sorts of secretive figures.
“But I think I would recognize him if I saw him again.”
Jian Wuji turned his head to look at Jihan and said.
“You remember his scent.”
“Yes, a very unique scent emanated from him.”
This time, Jihan asked Jian Wuji.
“But why do you ask about that?”
“Because it’s strange. For an organization like the Sawang Gate to have acquired the treasure map, only to lose it again—that makes no sense, does it?”
Jihan asked in surprise.
“Could you mean that the Sawang Gate deliberately leaked the treasure map into the Central Plains?”
Taesu, who had been listening from the coachman’s seat, also waited for Jian Wuji’s answer with a tense expression.
If that were the case? Then that would mean he had been moving according to their intentions.
“I think that’s a possibility.”
Jian Wuji added with a deepening gaze.
“The struggle to seize the treasure map drew our eyes as well.”
Listening to Jian Wuji’s words, Jihan suddenly had a thought.
*Who exactly is this ‘us’ you speak of?*
Now he had become part of that ‘us’ too.
* * *
They stopped the carriage in a field.
While the horse grazed and rested, everyone took their own rest.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable went for a stroll side by side, and Taesu lay down in the field to rest his eyes for a moment.
Jian Wuji stood on a hill and looked up at the sky.
Because there was something to say quietly, Jihan approached Jian Wuji’s side.
“When was the last time you looked up at the sky?”
At Jian Wuji’s question, Jihan looked up at the sky together with him and answered.
“I don’t remember.”
“Make an effort to look often from now on. Those I lead are obligated to look at the sky once a day.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
“If there’s anything you want to ask, ask.”
It was a question to ask while separated from Taesu. Somehow, it seemed he hadn’t revealed his identity to that man.
“I wish to know my lord’s name.”
Songno had said so. Those three characters were his everything.
Contrary to the overly cautious question, Jian Wuji answered as if it were no big deal.
“I’m Jian Wuji. It’s a nice name, isn’t it?”
“It’s very nice.”
Jihan, who had answered thoughtlessly, flinched.
“Jian Wuji?”
It was definitely a name he had heard somewhere before.
His body reacted before his memory.
He suddenly felt some dark, unknowable energy creep over him. A chill ran down his spine, and the hair all over his body stood on end at once.
Jian Wuji, Jian Wuji. Where had he heard that before?
“!”
In an instant, lightning struck in Jihan’s mind. It was such a famous name that he couldn’t recall it right away.
He had never dreamed that he would hear that name from the mouth of the man who had become his leader, standing alone together in such a field.
*No, of course not. What nonsense am I thinking!*
The more he denied it, thinking it must be someone with the same name, the faster his heart began to race.
With a *surely not* heart, Jihan looked at Jian Wuji.
Jian Wuji smiled and said.
“Yes, that’s right.”
At that answer, as if he knew exactly what Jihan was thinking right now, and at that relaxed expression looking at him, Jihan could tell.
That the Jian Wuji was this Jian Wuji.
“Do you regret becoming my subordinate?”
This question drove the nail in.
*He really is the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult!*
Jihan’s body trembled like a leaf.
“No. I do not regret it. It’s just… I was merely surprised.”
Jihan was in a half-dazed state.
He had imagined all sorts of things about who his new leader might be. A scion of a righteous orthodox sect? A famous expert of the unorthodox path? A rejuvenated expert who had emerged from reclusion? He had truly thought of every possibility.
But among all those possibilities, there was no Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
He had never imagined that the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult would smile so brightly at a person. Such a Young Cult Leader did not exist in his mind.
Songno suddenly came to mind. How ridiculous had he been when he asked to be told the name of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Young Cult Leader?
On the one hand, *that damned old man!* slipped out.
What was he going to do about the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult? Charge at him?
But while he hadn’t known, it was one thing, but now that he knew the truth, was it okay to stand side by side like this? Was it okay to meet eyes? In the Heavenly Demon Cult, shouldn’t everyone prostrate themselves before the Young Cult Leader?
“Then who are those two over there?”
Shaking off his thoughts, Jihan summoned his courage and asked.
“They are the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable of the Eight Demon Lords.”
“Ah!”
They were truly the Eight Demon Lords he had only heard of in tales.
Now he understood. Why the Wan’e Sanren had taken his own life. Having shown such lust toward the One Flower Sword Venerable, he was a dead man anyway. Knowing he could not be forgiven, he had died by his own hand. Otherwise, he would have been torn to shreds and killed.
It was astonishing that the Young Cult Leader and two Demon Lords were wandering the Central Plains without other subordinates. He had thought they traveled with hundreds or thousands.
He couldn’t believe it even seeing it with his own eyes; who would believe it?
“I never knew I would come to serve such a great person.”
“Yes, from now on, revere and uphold me like the heavens!”
Jihan knew Jian Wuji spoke as if joking, but how could Jihan take it as a joke?
“I shall devote this body entirely and serve you with loyalty!”
At this moment, this was what Jian Wuji wanted to tell him.
“If you devote your whole body like that, there will come a day when it is too hard. When that happens, don’t look at the ground, don’t look at your subordinates, don’t look into your own heart—look over there. Don’t look at me, I said look over there.”
Jihan followed Jian Wuji and looked up at the sky.
On the vast sky, patchwork clouds drifted slowly. A bird spread its wings and crossed that sky.
“Sigh while looking over there, rage while looking over there. If you do, you’ll feel yourself growing smaller, and if you do, your worries will grow smaller too.”
The Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, who said to look up at the sky when things are hard.
This man was his leader.
And Jihan finally got his answer.
*We are the Heavenly Demon Cult.*
That fearsome name had now become his own name.
At that moment, Taesu walked over to them.
“What are you talking about so seriously?”
“My lord was teaching me the way a man becomes small.”
Taesu blinked, wondering what that meant, but Jihan didn’t tell him.
Taesu felt an unnecessary sense of being left out.
Feeling that Jihan’s attitude toward Jian Wuji had become even more respectful, that sense of being left out only grew.
*Is that what loyalty is?*
Until now, just the thought of being under someone had made his chest feel tight. Yet for this Jihan alone, he felt jealousy that wasn’t quite jealousy. He had stolen Jian Wuji’s heart, so why did he feel like the one who had lost it?
“When this matter is finished and we return, you will travel all over the Central Plains under the name of the Heavenly Demon Escort Agency.”
At Taesu’s envy, Jihan flinched. To utter the word “Heavenly Demon” so carelessly!
“You’ll get yourself killed doing that!”
Without knowing such worries, Taesu subtly boasted as well.
“He said he’d introduce me to the leader of the Heavenly Demon Escort Agency later.”
*Then you really will die!*
* * *
“That’s the one! The place with the tasty Five-Spice Braised Pork!”
The area in front of the inn was packed with people, and those trying to enter were standing in a long line.
At the entrance, a waiter shouted.
“If you wait just a moment, a table will open up!”
Jian Wuji, who had gotten off the carriage, first walked toward the people standing in line.
Jihan, who followed behind, was inwardly nervous.
What would Jian Wuji do? Would he intimidate and chase away the people in line? Or would he ignore them all and walk right in?
Neither case seemed to suit Jian Wuji.
The next moment, Jihan’s eyes went wide.
Jian Wuji had gone to stand at the end of the line.
*The Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult is standing in line to eat?*
He couldn’t believe it even seeing it with his own eyes.
Fine, let’s say that Young Cult Leader is a special person.
An even more astonishing sight unfolded. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the One Flower Sword Venerable followed Jian Wuji and stood in line. The two were not displeased at all. Rather, they were delighted and intrigued.
“It’s your first time eating while standing in line, isn’t it?”
At Jian Wuji’s question, the One Flower Sword Venerable nodded.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon put on a deliberately displeased expression.
“Why a line just to eat a meal!”
“Please go rest in the carriage over there. I’ll call you when it’s your turn.”
“Forget it. Too annoying.”
Though he spoke that way, the very act of standing in line with the One Flower Sword Venerable like this made the Blood Heaven Blade Demon happy. He was fully enjoying the unfamiliar pleasure of a first-time experience on this outing.
At that moment, the One Flower Sword Venerable raised her hand to shield her face from the sunlight shining on it.
Then the Blood Heaven Blade Demon casually lifted the large blade he was wearing as if resting it on his shoulder. As the large blade blocked the sun, the sunlight shining on the One Flower Sword Venerable’s face was shaded.
When she subtly moved back, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon also moved along, pretending not to notice.
The One Flower Sword Venerable smiled faintly as she looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s back. Then, looking at the cloth-wrapped knot, she spoke.
“This knot is holding out quite well.”
Without turning around, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon answered her.
“A bet is riding on it. How could it come undone?”
The two were still burning with competitive spirit.
Chatting about this and that while people-watching, the line shortened faster than expected.
“See, there are finally more people behind us than in front of us. This is what makes standing in line worth it.”
Listening to Jian Wuji’s words, Jihan thought to himself.
*Do these people know? That they are standing in front of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Young Cult Leader, and behind him. That their meal today is with the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Young Cult Leader.*
The line gradually shortened until they were next to enter.
Just then, a lavish carriage stopped in front of the inn.
Seeing the martial artists on horseback guarding around the carriage, it was undoubtedly a carriage from a wealthy family.
A man and a woman got off the carriage.
The man got off first and helped the woman down.
The woman was wearing expensive, splendid clothes, and had shining jewels around her neck and wrists. Moreover, the accessories on her body were also very valuable.
The man also looked like a son of a wealthy family, but the fact that he didn’t take his eyes off her for a single moment showed he was completely smitten with the woman.
“The Five-Spice Braised Pork here is truly worth recommending.”
At the man’s words, the woman frowned slightly and looked at the inn.
“How disappointing. To bring me to such a shabby place with our wedding just ahead.”
From her disdainful gaze and the irritation mingled in her tone, it was clear what sort of person she was. If revealing one’s character with a single sentence could be called a talent, then it was a talent indeed.
“Even so, the food truly is excellent.”
The woman’s gaze turned this time toward the people standing in line. Her expression twisted of its own accord.
“I am not going to stand in line just to eat.”
“Of course not.”
The man gave his guards a look. At once, they stepped forward and blocked Geom Mugeuk’s path in an overbearing manner.
As if it were only natural, the man and woman cut in line and went inside, and the martial artists followed after them.
The waiter said to Geom Mugeuk with an apologetic expression,
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled at the apologetic waiter and said,
“It’s all right. A skilled waiter knows to close his eyes at times like this rather than step forward.”
The waiter endured it, Geom Mugeuk endured it, and the Demon Venerable endured it, but in his position as a subordinate, Jihan could not.
“I’ll go in and give them a proper lesson.”
Judging by the level of the martial artists accompanying them, he could handle it well enough on his own. How dare they! He had every intention of giving them a thorough beating.
Then Geom Mugeuk said something strange.
“Why? Are you trying to forgive them?”
“Pardon?”
Jihan thought Geom Mugeuk had misheard him. He had said he would go and give them a sharp scolding.
But Geom Mugeuk had not misheard.
“Leave them be. If you step in and punish them for no reason, it might ruin the relationship between those two, wouldn’t it?”
Only then did Jihan understand. Leaving them alone was not an act of forgiveness.
It meant they should meet someone just like themselves and suffer together for the rest of their lives.
At those words, Hyeolcheon Doma shook his head.
“Terrifying brat! This one is worse than me. Isn’t he?”
At Hyeolcheon Doma’s gaze seeking agreement, Ilhwa Geomjon merely smiled.
Before long, it was their turn.
When they opened the inn door and stepped inside, the heat of the crowd and the smell of food rushed over them. The interior was truly spacious, and it was packed with countless people.
Amid the noisy bustle, people were drinking and eating, while waiters hurried busily between the tables carrying dishes on trays.
Looking around at the interior, which resembled a battlefield, Geom Mugeuk spoke with solemn resolve.
“If we leave, we won’t be able to come back and eat here. So even if someone steps on our foot, we let it go. If someone spills food on us, we let it go. If someone picks a fight, we let it all go. We’ll endure everything except insults to our parents! What matters is that our elders get to eat the five-spice braised pork!”