Boom! Boom! Boooom!
Heavy drumbeats rang out through the Cheonma Divine Cult, and demonfire rose.
Seo Daeryong came and informed the people of Maga Village.
“From now on, a formation will be deployed outside the tents.”
At the warriors’ cries, all the residents of Maga Village grew tense. It was the first time in their lives they had ever seen a formation activate before their very eyes.
Sssssss.
As everyone stared in a daze, mist began to rise around the tents.
Whooooosh!
Pillars made of mist shot up here and there, and on the ground, mist flowed in paths like a spiderweb.
Something rippled within the mist, almost as if it were alive. A sound rang out—whether voices or the wind, no one could tell—and light burst forth from place to place.
“Ahhh!”
It was a mysterious and profound spectacle, one that naturally drew exclamations of wonder. This was also Seo Daeryong’s first time seeing a formation unfold.
Sssssssss.
Once the formation had been fully deployed, only an ordinary, faint mist drifted through the surroundings.
“The Illusory Mist Maze Formation has been deployed. Even if there are intruders outside, they won’t be able to reach this place.”
At Seo Daeryong’s words, the people of Maga Village felt two emotions at once. They were moved that the cult would go so far as to deploy a formation to protect them, and they were frightened by the fact that the situation required a formation in the first place.
The Illusory Mist Maze Formation was not the only one deployed.
Formations of different natures were unfurled throughout the Cheonma Divine Cult. If the Illusory Mist Maze Formation was optimized for protecting those within it, the other formations were made purely for slaughter.
And that was not all.
Rumble, rumble.
Clank, clank.
The ground opened, and new devices began rising up all across the main headquarters of the Cheonma Divine Cult.
Some were stone lanterns, some were stone chairs made for passersby to sit on, some were railings, and others were animal-shaped statues.
They looked utterly ordinary, but each and every one of them was a mechanism possessing lethal killing power.
A place from which all of this could be watched.
On the upraised palm of a demon statue stood a massive brazier, and demonfire was rising from it.
Beside it stood one man.
The person gazing with a stiff expression at Geom Ujin and the four experts heading out into the distance was none other than Geom Muyang.
He trusted his father more than anyone else in the world, but for some reason his heart was uneasy. It did not feel real that a situation serious enough to light the demonfire had unfolded.
And he felt powerless for being unable to go out with his father. At times like this, he should have been even more steadfast in doing what he had to do, but it did not go as his heart wished.
At a time like this, that little brother of his should have been here.
If it were him, he would have made some foolish remark about who was worrying about whom. Or perhaps he would have struck right at the heart of the matter like this.
Hyung, are you depressed right now because you’re worried about Father? Or are you upset that he didn’t ask you to go with him? Or are you angry because you don’t have the skill to go with him?
That fellow would undoubtedly have seen straight through his true feelings and said something like that. It was the kind of thing that would make him bristle, yet he wanted to hear those words from his younger brother. Even if it was like that, he wanted to shake off these pathetic thoughts he should not be having.
Just then, someone’s voice came from behind him.
“So this is where you were.”
When he turned around, someone completely unexpected was standing there. The person who had somehow stepped onto the demon statue’s palm without a sound was Hwi.
Since he had never imagined Hwi would come looking for him, Geom Muyang was inwardly surprised.
“Did Father send you?”
Had he told him to bring him along? He felt a flicker of hope, but—
“No.”
“Then why?”
Hwi was not someone who usually came looking for him. More than anything, Hwi had left his father’s side.
To the puzzled Geom Muyang, Hwi said something unexpected.
“I thought the person whose feelings were most similar to mine right now would be you, Eldest Young Master.”
Before leaving the cult, Geom Ujin had given Hwi a separate order.
—You stay in the cult. It’s been a while, so I think I’ll fight while reminiscing about the old days.
By “the old days,” he meant the time when he had wandered the Central Plains with the Fist Demon. In other words, it meant that Hwi and the other guards were not to follow.
—Cult Leader!
—Hwi!
At that single word calling his name, Hwi could say nothing more. Within that one word lay Geom Ujin’s powerful will.
This battle was one in which the Fist Demon and the Poison King, the Cult Leader of the Wind Heaven Cult, and Ak Gunhak were going together.
If even Hwi, his guard, had to step forward? Then it would already be a lost battle.
Because he knew that, Geom Ujin intended to leave him behind. With the feeling that if, by some chance, something happened to him, Hwi should look after Geom Muyang, who remained in the cult.
After pondering for a moment, Hwi answered respectfully.
—I will be waiting in the cult.
Had it been any other situation, he would have been stubborn. Then again, if it had been any other battle, the Cult Leader would not have acted this way either.
Hwi said to Geom Muyang,
“The Cult Leader left me behind and departed.”
That itself was not surprising, but it was surprising that Hwi had obediently followed that order. He was someone who would never accept such an order, even if his father told him to stay.
“Is this not the first time you’ve been separated from Father?”
“Yes, it is the first time.”
At Hwi’s calmer-than-expected demeanor, Geom Muyang asked,
“Are you not worried?”
“I am worried.”
How could he not be?
“To the point that I could say I have never been more worried in my entire life.”
“Then why did you not follow him? If it were you, Warrior Hwi…”
He was someone who would have disobeyed the order and followed secretly if necessary.
“…I am not sure myself.”
If he had to put it into words, it was probably because of this.
“I felt that, before the battle had even begun, nothing should happen that went against the Cult Leader’s will.”
At Hwi’s honest answer, Geom Muyang nodded. He understood what Hwi must have felt. That was how heavily this battle weighed on him. Geom Muyang himself felt the same way now.
“To be honest, at this moment I even resent my younger brother. If I had been the heir instead of him, I would have learned the Guhwa Demonic Art, and I might have been able to go out with Father.”
Hwi firmly cut off that regret.
“That would not have been possible.”
“What?”
“Even if you had learned the Guhwa Demonic Art, the Cult Leader would have left you behind.”
“If I had learned it half-heartedly, perhaps. But if I had achieved great completion in the Guhwa Demonic Art, he would have taken me with him.”
But Hwi shook his head.
“Even if you had achieved not merely great completion, but the great completion of the twelfth stage, he would not have taken you.”
Geom Muyang looked at Hwi with an expression of incomprehension. If that were true, then he should not have taken the other four either.
With calm eyes, Hwi revealed why he thought so.
“There is no parent in this world who takes their child along when going to fight a powerful enemy whose outcome cannot be guaranteed.”
“!”
Their gazes entwined in midair.
“I have never raised a child myself, but I likely understand the Cult Leader’s heart better than anyone. The reason he left you behind has nothing to do with your martial prowess, so please do not feel disappointed. Even if the Young Cult Leader who left the cult were here, it would not have been any different.”
These words from Hwi were truly surprising. It was surprising enough that he had spoken to him about a private matter, but Geom Muyang had truly never expected him to offer such comfort.
Had he always been this kind of person? Probably not. His younger brother had changed even this lonely man, who had spent his whole life in concealment. Originally, he would have been a man who said only that much and stopped.
“Until the Cult Leader returns, I and the guards of the Cheonma Hall will attend you, Eldest Young Master.”
The Cult Leader had not given an order to protect his son, but there are things that can be understood without being spoken.
“Warrior Hwi, thank you.”
He was not thanking him because he had said he would protect him from now on. It was because the comfort he had offered just now had become a great source of strength.
“Not at all.”
The moment Hwi bowed respectfully, he vanished from sight. His presence could not be felt anywhere nearby. He was certainly somewhere around them, but…
A short while after Hwi disappeared, someone spoke from far below the demon statue.
“My neck hurts. When are you coming down?”
The person looking up from below was Gwak Yeong of the Iron Workshop.
“I can’t climb up there.”
Geom Muyang lightly leaped down and landed gently before her.
“I came because I thought you might be feeling troubled, but someone came to look after you first.”
When she had become able to forge swords at the Iron Workshop, they had shared a celebratory drink together.
Drunk and excited, she had shouted at the top of her lungs that they should be friends from then on, but thinking back on it now, it had been a drunken outburst that risked her life. Fortunately, Geom Muyang had let it pass without incident.
“Are you not busy right now?”
When demonfire rose, the Iron Workshop also went into emergency mode. It was the place that supplied not only weapons for every demon of the Cheonma Divine Cult, but also the weapons used in the mechanisms.
“I’m actually more free than usual.”
Since they still could not trust someone who had come from the Murim Alliance, in an emergency like this, they instead assigned her nothing at all.
“And no matter how busy I am, I should live with enough leeway to say at least one word to the person I’m grateful to for changing my life. In that sense, may I say one presumptuous thing?”
“Go ahead.”
Gwak Yeong looked into Geom Muyang’s eyes and said,
“The Cult Leader will be safe, so please don’t worry. I thought you, Eldest Young Master, would be worrying the most. Would the enemy even dare to come? They probably turned around on the way and went somewhere else.”
Geom Muyang also quietly looked at her, then suddenly asked,
“Make sure you keep your promise.”
“What promise? Ah! I’ll definitely buy drinks on payday.”
“That goes without saying.”
“What? Did I make another promise?”
Gwak Yeong’s eyes went round.
“Did you not say you would personally make me a treasured sword as magnificent as the Heavenly Demon Sword?”
“I did?”
Geom Muyang nodded. It seemed she had said all sorts of things while drunk.
“I’ll keep it. I will!”
Geom Muyang gave her a faint smile, then began striding away.
Once he had grown distant, Gwak Yeong said softly,
“Stay strong, my friend. I’ll stay strong too, and someday I’ll truly keep that promise.”
* * *
Countless boats floated on Dongting Lake.
The small skiff carrying Geom Mugeuk, the Mistress of Cheonhwa Pavilion, and the Soul-Subduing Demon Venerable was also slowly moving forward, cutting through the moonlight reflected on the water.
From somewhere came the sound of a tungso flute, and women’s laughter could be heard as well. Everyone was absorbed in enjoying a late-night boating excursion.
The one seated in the middle, rowing, was Geom Mugeuk. The two women sat on either side of him.
The three of them were scanning the surroundings to see if there was any boat with a white flag hanging from it.
Geom Mugeuk looked off in the opposite direction.
There was the boat carrying the Drunken Demon and the Demon Buddha. Though it was far away in the darkness, Geom Mugeuk could see it clearly.
The Demon Buddha had weakened the light coming from his body as much as possible. On top of that, several lanterns had been hung around him to conceal the fact that his body was glowing.
The Drunken Demon was drinking, and the Demon Buddha was tossing tiny lotuses into the lake.
They were Blood Lotuses used by the Demon Buddha.
The Blood Lotuses connected to the Demon Buddha drifted throughout Dongting Lake, detecting any internal energy or unusual aura beneath the water. Not only could they detect hidden watermen, but if anything unknown was concealed there, the Blood Lotuses would sense it.
Meanwhile, the Drunken Demon continued drinking. Watching from afar, Geom Mugeuk could tell. The Drunken Demon was gathering liquor energy in preparation for battle. The Drunken Demon when he was not drinking was frightening, but the Drunken Demon when dead drunk was truly terrifying.
This time, Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the lakeshore. Because they had come far out, the people there looked as small as dots. Moreover, it was dark, so no matter how great an expert one was, their forms could not be made out—but Geom Mugeuk saw them.
Ian was walking together with Jihan, the Fourth Squad Leader, pretending to be lovers as they checked the surroundings for anything suspicious.
On the opposite side, Chai Ran was walking with several members of the Third Squad. Men nearby gathered around at the sight of the beautiful women. They chose instead to openly draw attention.
In the meantime, the other squad members were thoroughly searching the area around the lake. If they found even the slightest suspicious thing, they would immediately report it to the demon troops hiding in the forest behind them.
In that way, everyone was fulfilling their role from their respective positions.
It was then that the Mistress of Cheonhwa Pavilion cried out.
“Look over there.”
When Geom Mugeuk turned his head, a large ship appeared and began approaching them.
It was a massive vessel that could carry hundreds of people, and Geom Mugeuk recognized at a glance what kind of ship it was.
“It’s the Wealth and Honor Ship.”
It was a ship that both the Mistress of Cheonhwa Pavilion and the Soul-Subduing Demon Venerable had heard of.
“They say that if you board that ship, you can disembark as a rich person. These days, though, it has become the Wealth and Honor Ship because only the wealthy can board it. It is a gambling ship operated by the Water Dragon Gang.”
The Water Dragon Gang was a faction well known even in Hunan, and it ruled the area near Dongting Lake.
The Water Dragon Gang was involved in the interests around Dongting Lake in various ways, and among them, the most profitable was none other than the Wealth and Honor Ship.
They invited wealthy people from all over the Central Plains onto the Wealth and Honor Ship, drowning them in every kind of pleasure and gambling to make money.
It was then that the Soul-Subduing Demon Venerable discovered something.
“Look up there!”
Amazingly, a white flag was hanging from the very top of the Wealth and Honor Ship’s mast.
Geom Mugeuk was surprised, as were the two women.
“They told us to meet on the Wealth and Honor Ship?”
He had expected a white flag to be hanging from some gloomy boat that looked as if a ghost might appear from it.
It was truly a meeting place that overturned all expectations.
Compared to the Mistress of Cheonhwa Pavilion, who grew tense at the thought that they might finally meet the Palace Master of the Divine Maiden Palace, Geom Mugeuk was relaxed.
“Isn’t the reason I came properly dressed this time so I could swagger?”
Geom Mugeuk said as he rowed powerfully toward the Wealth and Honor Ship.
“There’s no better place to swagger than a gambling den.”