Geom Mugeuk and four experts entered the village.
“Do you think there is a breaking method here?”
At Muhwang Singeom’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered.
“Since this is the place Alliance Leader Ju spoke of. He must have prepared another gift for me.”
Perhaps because that was somewhat burdensome, Ju Gasin spoke in a calm tone.
“Do not put too much faith in my words. I merely told you that such a place exists.”
Geom Mugeuk said with a smile.
“Please say that to the person beside me, not me. Even if we cannot find it, I will not resent you.”
Ju Gasin looked at Hyeok Docheon, who stood beside him.
“If a man opens his mouth, he must take responsibility.”
Ju Gasin turned his head back without a word.
They looked around the village. Muhwang Singeom sighed as he looked at the corpses strewn throughout the village.
“He truly killed many.”
An entire village had been annihilated. Down to the children and women. It was a truly miserable sight.
Muhwang Singeom had come once or twice at first, but hardly ever came here after that. It was a sight he did not wish to see.
“Until now, I have never once thought deeply about this place. I simply thought it was natural that there would be places strewn with corpses, since this is the heart of the Cheonsal Star, and so I regarded it as a matter of course. I also disliked the stench of rotting corpses.”
However, Geom Mugeuk predicted that this was the place where Cheonsal Seong had committed his first murder.
“You figured it out as soon as you arrived.”
“It may not be. I am merely sharing a guess.”
That was not the only thing Geom Mugeuk noticed. When they arrived at a house on the edge of the village.
“I believe this is the house we must find.”
Because he spoke as if he had known beforehand, the four experts including Muhwang Singeom felt puzzled. To them, it looked like an ordinary house no different from the others.
“Why do you think that?”
In response to Muhwang Singeom’s question, Geom Mugeuk spoke while looking around the yard.
“Look there.”
What Geom Mugeuk pointed to was the swallow’s nest under the eaves.
“And look there as well.”
Jars were neatly arranged in the yard—something they had not seen at other houses. There were also farming tools neatly lined against the wall. Flowers were blooming in a corner of the yard as well.
“If this village was created from his memories, this place has far more intricate details than the other houses.”
Muhwang Singeom understood what Geom Mugeuk was trying to say.
“It is a house he remembers in more detail.”
“He likely came here often.”
Muhwang Singeom had observed carefully as he came, but he had not realized such a difference existed.
Even Ju Gasin, who had come here often, had not noticed that difference. They were once again amazed by Geom Mugeuk’s keen eye.
Geom Mugeuk passed through the yard and entered the house.
And just as Geom Mugeuk had said, this was indeed the house they needed to find.
When the door opened, a truly unexpected scene unfolded.
Right inside, Hwa Mugi was waiting.
“How many years have we been together? Truly, what a bunch of heartless people.”
Since he had heard everything they said, this entrance was not surprising at all.
“If your companion has made such a choice despite so many years together, shouldn’t you look at yourself rather than mock others?”
From Geom Mugeuk’s attitude, Hwa Mugi could tell.
“You knew I would be waiting.”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
“Because you must have instinctively known this is the last chance to speak with me.”
“The last? You won’t be able to escape, and we will be together for the rest of our lives.”
“If I am trapped inside you….”
Geom Mugeuk spoke as if making a declaration.
“Until the day you die, I will not speak a single word to you.”
“!”
Hwa Mugi stared at Geom Mugeuk in puzzlement.
This talkative person, saying he won’t say a word until death?
Was he saying this because it was hard to believe? No. Hwa Mugi could instinctively feel it. That this young sect leader would truly not say a single word.
“The reason I won’t speak is not because you trapped me here. If martial artists fight and fail to break a sorcery technique and get trapped, they must accept the result.”
“Then why do you say you will not speak?”
“If I end up trapped inside you and must live on, it would be a situation where you have killed my father. That is why.”
Geom Mugeuk had accurately assessed his father.
“If I cannot get out, Father will kill you. He won’t let you live even inside the Cheonsal Star. That isn’t the kind of father he is. Didn’t he already tell you he would kill you in one hour?”
Hwa Mugi listened to Geom Mugeuk’s words in silence.
“And yet, if we are in a situation where you and I converse for a lifetime, it means you have killed my father and everyone else. That is why. The reason I will not speak. Because you are the enemy who killed my father and the people I love.”
Hwa Mugi raised one hand into the air and moved it lightly.
“Then we will all die.”
Black smoke rose from Hwa Mugi’s fingertips, forming a large eye resembling a human’s in the air. And through it, the outside world that Hwa Mugi was gazing at became visible.
Beyond it, his father could be seen standing with Gwonma. His father wore the same expression as usual.
But now Geom Mugeuk knew. Beneath that stoic face, how great a worry was hidden.
‘I’m sorry for worrying you, Father.’
Geom Mugeuk said loudly.
“Father, please save your son!”
Of course, even though he shouted, it could not be heard outside.
Yet at that moment, Geom Ujin glanced this way.
It must have been a coincidence, but it truly felt as though he had turned because he heard his son’s voice.
Geom Ujin, who had been looking at Hwa Mugi for a moment, turned his head back toward Gwonma.
When Hwa Mugi turned his head to the side, he saw himself lying down a short distance from Father.
The person sitting beside him was the Sword King.
The Pungcheon Sect Leader approached them.
“Do not worry. Don’t you know? Even if you throw the young sect leader into hell, he’ll infuriate even the King of Hell and escape.”
“I am not worried.”
“You aren’t?”
“I was simply watching because he looks so peaceful when he sleeps. He sleeps like a baby.”
“Isn’t it peaceful because the young sect leader isn’t talking?”
The Sword King smiled at the Pungcheon Sect Leader’s jest.
In truth, the one most worried was the Pungcheon Sect Leader. The Pungcheon Sect Leader came close and peered into Hwa Mugi’s eyes. His face looked huge.
“Young Sect Leader, can you hear me? I say. Startling old people constantly is bad for the heart. Stop startling the people inside there too. And stop startling us too. Hurry and come out. Didn’t you say you would travel to Gowol!”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze as he looked at the Pungcheon Sect Leader deepened.
“Yes, I will come out soon.”
Jin Paecheon and Baek Jagang were nowhere to be seen; perhaps they were in a different direction.
“Show the Alliance Lords too!”
But with Hwa Mugi’s gesture, the eye floating in the air disappeared.
“As you can see, I am suppressed. But how can I kill your father? Right now I don’t have a handful of internal energy, and even my acupoints are suppressed.”
Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.
“Wasn’t that the situation you wanted?”
Hwa Mugi’s expression faltered for a moment.
“You have sufficient internal energy, don’t you?”
Geom Mugeuk understood why Hwa Mugi had used this technique to the point of exhausting all his internal energy.
“I heard that if I am trapped here and an hour passes, I can never escape. And my internal energy, innate true qi, and even my martial arts will be absorbed by you.”
The Pungcheon Sect Leader probably knows up to here. But would he know this as well?
Geom Mugeuk turned to the Cheonui Palace Lord and asked.
“What happens to the suppressed demonic blood points then?”
It was the Cheonui Palace Lord, who knew more about the Amcheon Sokhonsul than anyone.
“The moment all your internal energy and innate true qi become the Cheonsal Star’s, all your blood vessels will open, rendering the suppression of the demonic blood points useless.”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward Hwa Mugi.
“You intend to use that internal energy to launch a surprise attack with the Cheonma Myeolse, don’t you?”
Hwa Mugi had indeed been aiming for that very move.
Provoking the Demonic Sect Leader into landing a blow was also part of that hidden plan. To make the opponent lower his guard as much as possible.
If successful, he could kill everyone in an instant. Especially since his own internal energy was being suppressed, the opponent had let his guard down.
Hwa Mugi had truly prepared a perfect move.
Hwa Mugi looked at Geom Mugeuk with a surprised expression.
“How did you know?”
“I’m inside your heart right now.”
Even at Geom Mugeuk’s jest, Hwa Mugi did not laugh. He merely thought it was truly astonishing.
“Young Sect Leader, I truly acknowledge you.”
Hwa Mugi acknowledged him sincerely.
Then Hyeok Docheon abruptly spoke.
“You’re so caught up in praise that you’ve forgotten what needs to be done.”
It was a remark that now was not the time to leisurely exchange conversation with the Cheonsal Star.
Those watching were anxious. Muhwang Singeom had been looking around the room for a while.
‘If the breaking method is in this room, I must find it quickly.’
Time was continuously passing, but Geom Mugeuk was comfortably chatting away like that, so he would have to search himself.
He wanted to properly fulfill the role of the Divine Sword at a time like this. But no matter how much he looked, there was nothing that appeared to be a breaking method.
“That person is deliberately stalling for time.”
In response to Ju Gasin’s remark that Hwa Mugi was stalling for time, Geom Mugeuk answered.
“It is the opposite. I am the one holding him here. Because I want to hear his story.”
He asked a question that proved it was truly so.
“Who in this house did you kill?”
Hyeok Docheon could not hold back and shouted fiercely.
“Is now the time for such a question?”
He could understand the conversation up to that point. Because it was about grasping the opponent’s plan.
But asking who killed whom? Why is that important right now?
Since stalling for time was advantageous, it was a question Hwa Mugi would welcome with open arms.
“I don’t know who lived in this house. Because I killed everyone in the village.”
Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.
“No, you killed exactly one person. Only the person who lived in this house.”
In that instant, Hwa Mugi’s eyes flashed sharply.
Muhwang Singeom asked with a surprised expression.
“This village wasn’t annihilated by his hands?”
“Yes, I believe he killed only one person in this village.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Would a person cruel enough to annihilate an entire village have kept this village in his heart until now?”
Muhwang Singeom nodded. Now that he heard it, that was true. What pangs of conscience would such a cruel person have to keep this village cherished in his heart for so long?
“Then what of the corpses we saw on the way?”
“They must be illusions created by guilt. ‘I am not someone who killed that person, but a murderous star who kills everyone.’ He must have convinced himself of that in order to endure.”
Without refuting it, Hwa Mugi stared at Geom Mugeuk as if piercing through him.
“That first murder—by the time you came to your senses, it had already happened, hadn’t it?”
Just as Hwa Mugi’s face twitched, astonishing words flowed from Geom Mugeuk’s mouth.
“Tell me about that day.”
“!”
Hyeok Docheon reacted before Hwa Mugi.
“You want to hear such nonsense at this precious time?”
Hyeok Docheon grabbed Geom Mugeuk by the collar.
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and find the breaking method! Use that clever head of yours, not that talkative mouth!”
Muhwang Singeom did not stop Hyeok Docheon. He too could not understand Geom Mugeuk. Because he had wondered if Geom Mugeuk had perhaps given up in despair.
Even with his collar grabbed, Geom Mugeuk did not yield.
“I want to hear your story.”
Hyeok Docheon eventually released the collar and pushed him back nervously. Without internal energy, he was helpless against this opponent. If not for that, he would have beaten him half to death to make him find the breaking method.
“We will end up trapped here for life.”
Even in the midst of this, Hwa Mugi felt puzzled as he looked at Geom Mugeuk gazing at him.
Now that he thought about it, Geom Mugeuk had wanted to talk since the very first moment they met.
“Why do you want to hear my words so badly?”
No matter how much he thought, he could not understand.
To him, Geom Mugeuk conveyed his honest feelings.
“Cheonsal Seong, you are a powerful light that could astonish the world, yet you have never once shone by your own will, have you? You have only spun like a pinwheel; you have never once become the wind, have you?”
“!”
After committing a murder that would remain an unforgettable wound for so long.
“After that, you must have been dragged off by the Dark Palace Lord, who planted these people’s souls into your body. Learning martial arts, and later being sealed away, none of that could have been your own will. What about when you broke the seal and came here? Was that your will? The Dark Palace Lord probably told you to wipe out the Demon Cult first and then unite the murim.”
Geom Mugeuk looked back.
“On the other hand, everyone here had a will of their own. For the peace of the murim, for the unification of the murim, for the Heavenly Will, for a world under the heretical path. Because of each of their wills, this result came about today. But what about you?”
Geom Mugeuk looked at Hwa Mugi again.
“I hope the words that carry your will amount to more than just ‘I’ll kill you.’”
Because all these years, neither the Dark Palace Lord nor the four masters here would ever have truly listened to you.
“I’ll listen.”
Because thanks to you, I was able to come this far. Because thanks to you, I became happy.
So unburden that deep resentment you could never tell anyone about, and leave it with me.
For a long while, Hwa Mugi stared silently at Geom Mugeuk. At last, he opened his mouth.
“……What the hell do you take me for, you crazy bastard!”
With those words, Hwa Mugi began spewing curses. He spat them out wildly, without restraint.
Geom Mugeuk simply listened to every curse he hurled.
After pouring out every insult he knew, Hwa Mugi said,
“Let’s see if you can still say that after all your people are dead.”
In an instant, Hwa Mugi vanished from before his eyes.
Until the very last moment, Geom Mugeuk watched him. And after Hwa Mugi disappeared, Geom Mugeuk turned around.
“Well, at least he got to curse to his heart’s content before leaving.”
The four of them were looking at Geom Mugeuk with different expressions.
Hyeok Docheon, whose face was still cursing at him; the Martial Emperor Divine Sword, who was smiling as if he had given up; Ju Gasin, still showing no emotion; and the Lord of the Heavenly Will Palace, who was sneering.
“So your grand Heavenly Will was a conversation with the enemy.”
It was mockery from the Lord of the Heavenly Will Palace, but Geom Mugeuk nodded with a serious expression.
“Perhaps it was.”
At the sight of him readily admitting it, Hyeok Docheon shook his head.
“Then you should have found a way to break it with that precious conversation of yours! It’s all over now anyway. You wasted all our time spouting nonsense.”
It was not a matter of how much time remained. From the beginning, he had had no intention of finding a way to break it.
Ju Gasin interpreted Geom Mugeuk’s choice this way.
“You judged from the start that there was no way to break it.”
The Martial Emperor Divine Sword, sensing some special feeling in Geom Mugeuk that he himself did not understand, said,
“I hope this choice held value for you.”
Just as everyone was giving up, Geom Mugeuk released his internal energy and cast a barrier around them. He made it so that the sounds of their conversation would not travel outside.
In that state, Geom Mugeuk revealed an astonishing fact.
“I’ve already found the way to break it.”
It was a single statement that explained at once why he had been acting so leisurely.
As everyone stared at him in shock, an even more astonishing truth followed.
“You and I are the way to break it.”