The Pungcheon Cult Leader was not surprised to see me and Go Wol.
“May we join you?”
He had been waiting for us, yet he needlessly threw out a barb.
“Are you here to boast that you’ve taken in a new man?”
“Isn’t that why you’re eating here, so I can boast?”
Go Wol and I sat down across from him.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader glanced at Go Wol. Perhaps he could not get used to the sight of Go Wol, who had put on some weight and recovered his condition after resting these past few days, for he kept looking at him.
“Your new master must be treating you well.”
“I eat well and sleep well.”
“You don’t know he might be fattening you up to eat you on a feast day, do you?”
“If so, I hope it’s a grand feast.”
I believed time would resolve the relationship between these two as well.
Someday, the Pungcheon Cult Leader would come to think this: Why was I so obsessed back then? Looking back now, it was nothing.
Or would this become a wound he could never forget, a lasting grudge?
Though I had lived a lifetime, when it came to things I had not personally experienced, when it came to the hearts of those people, I still could not be certain.
In any case, before he grew gloomy, I changed the subject.
“Did you meet my father?”
“I did.”
“Did you tell him? That you would raise the new Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable to be stronger.”
“I did. As you said, he was pleased.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“He did. He asked how long Cheongseon’s martial training would continue. He seemed to want me to return quickly.”
“So what did you answer?”
“I told him I still had to find the sacred relics, and that there was much left to teach.”
“Well done.”
“What should we do now?”
“I will look for a way.”
“You won’t demand another sacred relic as the price, will you?”
“I’ll discuss that part with my strategist.”
In that instant, the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s expression hardened.
“Is that something you should be saying to me right now?”
I spoke calmly to him.
“Cult Leader.”
“I’m listening.”
“You came to our cult and lost one person, but didn’t you gain another? If you live a life of constantly looking back like this, you will lose that person too.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s expression hardened even more, but he could not get angry. Cheongseon, who had become the Soul-Seizing Demon Venerable, was not someone he could afford to treat carelessly.
“Miss Cheong, whom you accepted as your disciple, is a person of great ambition. Focus on her.”
Perhaps irritated by my advice, the Pungcheon Cult Leader took it out on Go Wol.
“If, as you say, Second Young Master here is an unparalleled hero, then countless people will gather around him in the future. There will be many who are smarter than you too. You’ll be reduced to a nobody among them. What was he again? Ah, that shackle from back then! That’s exactly the sort of person you’ll become.”
I felt it. Those words were not meant for Go Wol, but for me. They were the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s warning not to treat Go Wol that way. This man truly cared for Go Wol.
Then Go Wol suddenly opened his mouth.
“Second Young Master gave me one million nyang.”
I had never imagined he would boast to the Pungcheon Cult Leader about the money he had received in a situation like this, so inwardly I was surprised.
“You said Second Young Master was putting on an act, didn’t you? If one is going to put on an act, one should do it on this grand a scale.”
Even I was surprised, so the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s surprise was only natural. Of course, that surprise led to anger.
“Save your advice for your impressive new master!”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader sprang up from his seat and left.
Because I knew Go Wol was not such a rash person, I asked him calmly.
“Why did you do that?”
As expected, there had been intent behind his action.
“As your strategist, I would like to offer my first proposal.”
“What is it?”
Go Wol gazed at me and said,
“I would like to recruit the Pungcheon Cult Leader.”
The words were so unexpected that I was startled.
“Are you saying you want to bring the Pungcheon Cult Leader over to our side?”
At my question, Go Wol nodded.
“Yes.”
“Is that possible?”
“I cannot be certain, but there is a possibility.”
“Then why did you anger him?”
“I have a plan.”
It seemed to be groundwork to draw the Pungcheon Cult Leader in.
“May I ask why you want to bring him over?”
After a brief pause, Go Wol spoke. The reason was one I had not expected.
“Because I want to save the Pungcheon Cult Leader.”
“If he does not join hands with me, will he die?”
“Yes. That is what I expect will happen.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because of the Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
“Because of my father? Why?”
Since he was mentioning the Heavenly Demon, Go Wol lowered his voice.
“The difference in the breadth of the two cult leaders’ vessels is too great. Your father is a man counted among the greatest martial talents of all the Heavenly Demons throughout history. He is also a man of great ambition. In the end, the Pungcheon Cult will be devoured by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
I agreed with Go Wol’s opinion. Now that the Pungcheon Cult no longer even had Go Wol, if they failed to bring in a proper new strategist, there was no telling what disaster might befall them.
“So you want to save the Pungcheon Cult Leader?”
“Yes, that is correct. If he becomes your man, he should be able to avoid that calamity.”
Gain the Pungcheon Cult Leader? Various problems would arise as a result, but it seemed like a choice with as many gains as losses. Above all else—
“It’s my strategist’s first proposal. I ought to accept it. Good. Let’s try bringing the Pungcheon Cult Leader over to our side.”
“Thank you.”
Go Wol bowed his head respectfully.
I intended to treat him properly as my strategist. Just as Father treated Sama Myeong.
“Are you not worried that I might ruin it?”
“Ruin what?”
“You know that the Pungcheon Cult Leader and I are deeply entangled emotionally, don’t you? If I mishandle him even slightly, the Pungcheon Cult could become our enemy.”
“Well, that could happen.”
“Then why did you permit it?”
“Will things get better if you simply turn away from each other? I think hatred and resentment grow even stronger when you don’t see each other. It would be better to struggle and clash with the Pungcheon Cult Leader and settle things. Whether we make him our ally or our enemy, let’s reach some kind of conclusion.”
Just like the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable. At my words, Go Wol’s expression brightened.
I held out my hand to him.
“Let us shake hands once.”
Go Wol took my hand and said,
“This hand is firmer than shackles.”
“Do you mean it is a hand that can break ten-thousand-year cold iron? Or do you mean it is like a shackle that will hold you here?”
“Which is it?”
“To me, they are the same.”
“I like both.”
We clasped hands firmly.
At last, I had gained a strategist.
* * *
The next day, I went to see the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“This is good tea from the Central Plains.”
Instead of thanking me, the Pungcheon Cult Leader snorted first.
“Did you come to boast that you gave your strategist one million nyang? Must be nice to have so much money.”
“I came because I simply wanted to see you. And don’t you have a hundred times more money than I do, Cult Leader?”
“A hundred times? A thousand times, more like.”
“Of course. I’m the sort of man who stretches his legs only after looking at the place he’ll lie down. How could I possibly boast of money in front of you, Cult Leader?”
“Then why did you come?”
“I thought we might share a cup of tea and have a chat.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader first sent me a suspicious look. The sense of grievance he had built up because of me was piled even higher than the sacred relics behind him, so it was only natural.
“To tell the truth, I have a concern regarding Go Wol.”
“What concern?”
“You saw it yesterday, didn’t you? How frivolously he boasted about money in front of you.”
“Are you saying you were disappointed?”
I said nothing, but let a slight hint of disappointment show. Of course, this was something Go Wol had instructed me to do. He had boasted about the money yesterday in order to create this situation.
“I do not know Go Wol well.”
“Then why did you show him such devoted sincerity?”
“So I thought about it carefully…”
“And?”
“Perhaps he was merely a stepping stone to form a connection between you and me, Cult Leader.”
“Does that man know? That you’re stabbing him in the back like this?”
“This is neither slander nor betrayal. It is the truth as it is.”
“So what is it you want to say?”
“I am curious whether Go Wol is someone I can trust.”
Displeasure flashed across the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s face.
“Listen, Second Young Master.”
“Yes.”
“While I am still speaking nicely, leave for today.”
At his cold order to leave, I merely gave my respects and rose.
“Then I will see you next time.”
Being driven out like this, too, had been within Go Wol’s expectations.
* * *
The next day, Go Wol went to see the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“You bastards! What trick are you trying to pull now?”
Still, he was more pleased to see him than when Geom Mugeuk had come.
“I have come as a guest, so please show proper courtesy.”
“Bullshit.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader turned and sat facing aside.
Go Wol went to the table nearby and brewed the tea with his own hands. Since the Pungcheon Cult Leader did not usually allow maidservants into his residence and the two of them had often been alone, it had mostly been the Pungcheon Cult Leader who brewed the tea.
“Planning to put poison in it?”
“What would I gain by poisoning you to death, Cult Leader?”
“You could live happily with Second Young Master in a world without me, couldn’t you?”
“You need to be alive, Cult Leader, for me to boast to you. Like I did yesterday about the money.”
“You mad bastard.”
Go Wol brought over the tea.
“Please drink. Come to think of it, this is the first tea I have brewed for you with my own hands.”
Though his expression was displeased, the Pungcheon Cult Leader blew on the tea and drank.
“How is it?”
“It tastes awful.”
“I will leave after just one cup.”
“Do as you like.”
The two drank tea in silence. Then, abruptly, the Pungcheon Cult Leader spoke.
“Second Young Master does not fully trust you.”
Originally, he had never intended to tell him. Let Geom Mugeuk taste some bitterness—such had been his honest feeling. But once he faced Go Wol, he could not do it.
“Are you trying to drive a wedge between us?”
After going out of his way to tell him, and this was what he got? The Pungcheon Cult Leader, who had been about to flare up, snorted.
“Think what you like.”
Only then did Go Wol smile and say,
“I am moved. To think you would even tell me such a thing.”
“You said I was driving a wedge.”
“I know you were not.”
“How?”
“It is part of the plan.”
At the word plan, the Pungcheon Cult Leader was startled.
“Plan? What plan?”
“A plan to draw you in, Cult Leader. Second Young Master suspects me and drives me into a corner, then uses your soft heart to bring you over to our side.”
“What?”
After sitting blankly for a moment, the Pungcheon Cult Leader raised his voice.
“You think I would fall for such a worthless plan?”
“If I am driven into a corner, will you simply stand by and watch?”
“Of course! You’re already gone. What does that have to do with me?”
“Then why are you so worked up right now?”
“I am not worked up. I said I’m not!”
But the Pungcheon Cult Leader was clearly worked up.
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because I do not want to deceive you into coming with us.”
“!”
While the Pungcheon Cult Leader hesitated, unsure what to say, Go Wol spoke again.
“Even telling you this is part of the plan. A plan to make you trust me even more.”
“What in the world are you talking about? You ghost of a bastard, even after leaving you torment me! Shoo! Get out!”
“Now you seem like yourself, Cult Leader.”
“You think shouting is like me? Are you mocking me? Is that it? I’ll shout to your heart’s content, so mock me all you want!”
After shouting for a while, the Pungcheon Cult Leader felt his insides clear.
“Why go this far to take me with you?”
“Because if things remain as they are, I believe you will be defeated by the Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
From beginning to end, Go Wol dealt with the Pungcheon Cult Leader honestly.
“I won’t be defeated! As soon as I return, I’ll find a new strategist.”
“You know that I can roughly guess what kind of person within the Pungcheon Cult will sit in my former seat, don’t you? They will not be enough.”
“Then I’ll find one. Just as I found you.”
“Will such fortune come twice?”
“Damn it! Curses! You insolent bastard!”
“I have now shown all my cards. Now it is your turn to show yours, Cult Leader.”
“…When you know all my cards anyway.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader let out a long sigh.
“Second Young Master will strip me of everything.”
“Then each time, obtain everything you want from him in return. If you lose one thing, gain one thing and fill the gap.”
“My head can’t do that, can it?”
“I will help you.”
“Go and help yourself. Don’t end up penniless over there, bound in shackles. People act kind, act impressive, but in the end they are all the same.”
“That is why. Since they are all the same, let us join them.”
“Can I really trust you?”
“Are you trembling?”
“Wouldn’t you tremble if you were me?”
At that moment, Go Wol’s expression changed, and he suddenly altered his tone.
“Cult Leader.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader looked at him with a face both pleased and surprised.
“Don’t lie. In all the life you’ve lived until now, you have never once trembled. Not even once, right? Because nothing ever threatened you. You say the mere thought of advancing into the Central Plains makes you tremble? Don’t lie. You chanted ‘advance into the Central Plains’ over and over, but you never once thought about it seriously, did you? What it meant, what consequences it would bring. To be honest, it was a nuisance to you, wasn’t it?”
“!”
He could not deny it. Because it had been his grandfather’s and his father’s cherished wish, it had become his own cherished wish as well. He had wanted to advance into the Central Plains only because it felt as if refusing would make him a sinner of the Pungcheon Cult.
“A life where you can kill a man with a single word, embrace every beauty, and eat delicacies of land and sea every day is a good one. It’s the life everyone dreams of. But, Cult Leader, you have lived that life to your heart’s content, haven’t you? There is no longer any thrill or happiness in that life, is there? Cult Leader, let us live a different life for once. Let us live a life that makes us tense, exhilarated, and makes our guts drop. Your martial arts are rusting away in the sandstorms; you should show the world what a true storm of blood is. A life where, if fortune is bad, you might croak and die. Fortunately, at least we have someone who will bring a single flower to each other’s grave, don’t we?”
Their gazes intertwined in the air. At last, the Pungcheon Cult Leader spoke softly.
“Call the Second Young Master.”