The hastily formed trio headed for Pungryu Tavern.
Ian and Seo Daeryong had been fairly drunk, but the instant the Pungcheon Cult Leader overturned the drinking table, they sobered up as if it had all been a lie.
How many times in one’s life would one ever see the Pungcheon Cult Leader overturn a drinking table in front of the Demon Venerables? They had gained a story so absurd it would begin, with grandchildren seated on their knees, “This old grandfather of yours, back in his younger days…”
All three of them felt the same: they could not simply go home on a day like this.
Before leaving for Maga Village, Jang Ho entrusted the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron to Hall Master Gwak, the man in charge of the cult’s iron workshop and known as the Divine Hand.
Hall Master Gwak was delighted, saying it had been a long time since he could properly stretch his hands, and because he was a man who almost never showed emotion, the three of them once again realized just how extraordinary the gift they were receiving truly was.
The three entered Pungryu Tavern in Maga Village.
“Only the three of you came today.”
Jo Chunbae greeted them warmly.
“As of today, the trio has been formed.”
At Seo Daeryong’s joke, Ian added,
“It may become a quartet before long.”
Ian smiled at Jo Chunbae, who clearly had no idea what they meant.
“Please bring us drinks first.”
The three sat in their usual seats on the second floor.
The drinking party began with a remark from Jang Ho that was half joke, half truth.
“I sometimes feel a little hurt.”
“Why?”
“You two are the heart and the right arm, but I’m still nothing, am I?”
He said it like a joke, but there was hurt mixed in.
Then Ian smiled and said,
“Isn’t that what makes it even more impressive?”
“What do you mean?”
“As you said, you’re neither the heart nor the right arm, but the Young Master always calls for you, doesn’t he, my lord?”
Jang Ho opened his eyes wide, as if he had never thought of it from that perspective.
“All that talk of right arms and hearts may be in jest, but the Young Master’s trust in the Demon Army Lord is real. I can tell just by looking at his eyes.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
“Our warrior Ian truly knows how to make a person feel good.”
This time, Ian asked, “Do I?” and Jang Ho answered, loudly like Ian had, “Yes.” The three of them laughed together.
Then, all at once, Ian thought of the shackled man. He was someone who could not be left out of tonight’s drinking.
“Who do you think that man was earlier?”
“He seemed like no ordinary person.”
At Seo Daeryong’s answer, Jang Ho emphasized once more,
“No matter how important or exceptional he may be, I will not allow him to act as he pleases.”
He made it clear that he intended to keep the shackled man in check.
“Thank you for stepping forward for me earlier.”
Seo Daeryong expressed his gratitude. When the shackled man had pressured him by asking what he would do if someone tried to take the position of right arm, Jang Ho had stepped in.
“I’m sorry to say this, but I did not step forward for Investigator Seo’s sake. I was sincere. About standing in line as a candidate for the right arm.”
Ian and Seo Daeryong stared at him in surprise.
“Lord Jang…”
Seo Daeryong was about to say something when Jang Ho cut him off.
“Please do not say you can yield the position. I do not think the position of the Second Young Master’s right arm is something to be yielded so easily.”
“No, I was going to say that even if it is you, my lord, I will not yield it.”
“What? Then why did you say earlier that you would yield?”
“It was a lie. The mood was flowing in a way that made it seem like it wasn’t my place to step forward. To be honest, I can’t yield it. I absolutely won’t.”
Seo Daeryong revealed his true feelings. It was not merely because of the alcohol. There was something he had wanted to say at least once to Ian and Jang Ho.
“My senior at Hwangcheon Pavilion was killed by the previous Demon Army Lord, and I was consumed only by thoughts of revenge. I memorized all the personal details of the Demon Army members. But that was all. I couldn’t step forward and say we should reinvestigate it. I simply burned with vengeance in my heart.”
Seo Daeryong drank. Without a word, Jang Ho filled his cup.
“Pathetic, isn’t it? But I had to do even that just to endure. If the Pavilion Master had not come as a temporary investigator back then, I would probably have spent my whole life blaming myself, living darkly and gloomily. Do you know what I hear most often from people these days? They ask why I’ve become so bright. So do you think I would easily give up the position of that man’s right arm? Even if it is you, my lord, I will not yield. And my martial arts are improving day by day.”
Having poured out his words as if releasing pent-up resentment, Seo Daeryong let out a long breath.
Jang Ho, who seemed as though he might say something, simply smiled in good spirits. Seo Daeryong found that smile this rough man occasionally gave—this broad grin—both terribly unfamiliar and strangely magnificent. Every time he saw it, he thought he wanted to be able to smile with that same feeling.
Seo Daeryong said to the two of them,
“Let’s keep having this gathering from now on. Please!”
That day, the three of them talked until late.
They talked about Geom Mugeuk, and they talked about the shackled man. They talked about the Demon Venerables, and they also spoke of their own work.
It was a pleasant drinking party where no one crossed the line, yet everyone said what needed to be said; where one somehow felt a vague belief that anything could be spoken in this place. Because Geom Mugeuk was not there, they could reveal their true feelings more freely.
“I’m really glad we gathered today.”
When Ian raised her cup high, the two men clinked their cups vigorously against it.
After the drinking party ended and the three came outside, they stood side by side in front of the tavern.
Looking toward the main compound buildings visible in the distance, Seo Daeryong said,
“Tonight, many people’s fates must be changing. Or perhaps they have already changed.”
Ian nodded and answered him.
“All we have to do is believe in the fate that leads those fates.”
The Second Young Master, to the very end? People sincere to the very end were here as well.
* * *
Around the time dawn began to brighten, the shackled man came to see me.
I had always seen him shackled beside the Eumroe Bell, so seeing him in my residence felt entirely new.
Before even greeting him, I examined his ankles first.
“Are your ankles all right?”
“Second Young Master, you defy my expectations to the very end.”
His voice was low and calm.
I looked up at him with an expression asking what he meant.
“I mean I did not expect you to look at my ankles as your first greeting.”
“They are more important than greetings.”
“My ankles are fine. Though I may not possess extraordinary martial arts, I am still a martial artist.”
“Can you tell me what martial art you practice? I would like to know exactly what level your skill is at.”
“At one time, I trained in Mingren Fist Technique up to the seventh level.”
“Ah, that is a fine fist technique.”
“You know Mingren Fist Technique?”
“Is it not the exclusive martial art of Fist Master Yang Cheng, one of the Nineteen Powers Beyond the Frontier?”
“How do you even know that?”
“I have an interest in all sorts of miscellaneous things.”
Fortunately, the man’s ankles were all right. As I straightened and rose, the man said,
“My name is Gu Yue.”
It was the moment I finally learned the shackled man’s name.
Gu Yue. The meaning—a desolate, lonely moon hanging in the sky—suited his atmosphere well.
“Gu Yue. A good name.”
“Thank you.”
Gu Yue’s gaze and mine intertwined in the air. Through the long hair hanging down, I could see the clarity of his eyes. As it had begun when I first met those eyes, no other words were needed between him and me.
“From now on, become my strategist.”
At my proposal, which could have seemed sudden, Gu Yue calmly asked in return,
“If you become the Heavenly Demon later, Second Young Master, I will become the chief strategist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Can you entrust such a heavy responsibility to me?”
“You will take it on when you have played a great role in helping me become the Heavenly Demon. It will not be something I entrust to you. You will have to rise to that position yourself.”
After pointing that out precisely, I added a joke.
“Even so, becoming the chief strategist of the Demon Cult will probably be easier than becoming my right arm.”
Gu Yue gave a faint smile.
“It seemed that way earlier.”
Just as I had made my proposal without hesitation, Gu Yue did not hesitate either. He knelt and paid formal respects.
“I am lacking, but if you accept me as your strategist, I will serve you with all my loyalty. I swear it to heaven and earth, upon my life and honor.”
I, too, formally accepted him.
“Martial artist Gu Yue, from this moment on, I appoint you as my chief strategist. Please guide me well.”
More than words, I believed in the fervor contained in his clear eyes. I believed in the fate of mine that had brought him before me.
“From now on, please speak comfortably to me.”
“I will.”
This moment of welcoming Gu Yue was special. Because it was the moment I was freed from the burden of having to bear everything alone.
I took his hand and raised him to his feet.
“First, let us restore your health.”
“I am fine.”
“There is no need to hurry. I will need you ten years from now, twenty years from now, and thirty years from now as well. During that time, we may have to wage war against the Martial Alliance, or we may have to appease the Sado Alliance. A rebellion may break out, or a powerful enemy may strike us. I did not seek someone to advise me only today. I sought someone who will go through all those things with me in the future.”
For an instant, a strange light passed through Gu Yue’s eyes.
“To think you have thought that far. Second Young Master, you truly are an unpredictable person.”
“The me of now may have unpredictable aspects, but the me of later may become a man far too obvious. Yet even then, the lives of my subordinates will not be any less precious. You must help me now, and you must help me then as well. We have a very long road ahead of us.”
“I will bear that in mind.”
This time, Gu Yue asked me,
“May I ask you one question?”
“Ask as much as you like.”
“If you discover a strategist more outstanding than I in the future, what will you do?”
“Become his deputy strategist and help me. How is it? Does my answer pass?”
“It passes.”
“Would you not be disappointed? If I brought someone else in and said, from today on, this person is my strategist?”
“The reason I came to you, Second Young Master, was not to build a friendship. It means you do not need to become close to me. So if such a situation comes, I must accept it without question. If I cannot even accept such an obvious choice, then I, as your strategist, would either be an idiot or a villain. You must be resolute. For your sake, and for mine as well.”
Gu Yue’s insight was certainly extraordinary. He knew that if one became bound by affection, one would ultimately ruin the relationship in an even greater way.
“In truth, Second Young Master, you are such an intelligent person that I wonder whether you truly need me.”
“A person cannot always be intelligent, can they? I will make mistakes, and so will you. Even so, the possibility of both of us making mistakes at the same time should be small, should it not? So let us discuss things together as we go.”
“Just what kind of life have you lived, Second Young Master?”
How could I explain that life to him? Instead of my life, I relayed to him the words Sima Ming had once said to me.
“A strategist I respect once said this. A good strategist is one who is smarter than the other side’s strategist.”
“Is my opponent the strategist of the Martial Alliance? Or is it that strategist you respect?”
“Both.”
Gu Yue would surely guess it. That the strategist I respected was Sima Ming, the chief strategist of our cult. That I meant for him to become a strategist who surpassed him.
“There is something you must do from now on. Create an intelligence organization and take control of all information in the Central Plains. Our goal is an organization superior to Tongcheon Pavilion.”
“Yes!”
“Is that something you can answer so easily?”
Gu Yue asked back with a confident gaze.
“Is that not why you went through so much trouble to bring me here?”
* * *
A few days passed.
For several days, Gu Yue focused on recovering his body. I did not arrange separate quarters for him. For the time being, he was to stay in the guest room of my residence.
As he had been from the first day, he was awake early today as well.
“You’re up?”
“Did you sleep well through the night?”
“I slept well.”
“What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Here, take this money first.”
I handed him the bundle of banknotes I had retrieved from the bank.
“You will need money to build an organization, so use this.”
Even after confirming that it was a vast sum of one million nyang, he did not look surprised.
“What will you do if I take this money and run?”
“I will send people to catch you and bring you back.”
“And then?”
“I will melt down the fan and dagger being made right now, make shackles first, and put them on you. Then I will show you to the person I hate most. You must act well then too, with that mysterious air.”
Perhaps this joke alone was difficult to endure, for he let out a small laugh.
“Let’s go. Today, we’ll eat outside.”
We came out to Maga Village like that, and I saw the Pungcheon Cult Leader sitting on the second floor of Pungryu Tavern.
“The owner of this place sent word that the Pungcheon Cult Leader has already come here alone twice. It seems he wants to see you. What do you think? Will you meet him?”
If not, there was no way the Pungcheon Cult Leader would have come to this place twice to eat.
“Yes. I wanted to meet him as well.”
My own issue had been resolved, but these people still had a matter left unresolved. Yes, even if one must fight with a pack on one’s back, one should at least fight without a burden on one’s heart.
We slowly made our way to the second floor.