I entered Maga Village with Father.
Walking through the marketplace together brought a fresh wave of emotion. There is always a certain wonder that comes with doing something for the first time.
“How long has it been since you last came out to Maga Village?”
“Quite some time.”
From the way he said it, it seemed it had been a long while since he had come here.
“Doesn’t it feel nice to get some fresh air?”
I wondered what this street meant to Father.
We walked slowly, looking over the shops lining the road, the peddlers set up before them, and the people passing to and fro as we strolled through the place at an unhurried pace.
It seemed there truly was such a thing as an aura one was born with. Father had not stirred his internal energy or released his qi, yet the path before him opened naturally.
Everyone moved aside without realizing it, never blocking Father’s way. There was something about him that could not be explained merely by the word presence.
I stopped in front of a fabric shop that sold silk and clothing.
“Father, since we’ve come out like this, why don’t we commemorate it by having a set of martial robes made together?”
“I have dozens of martial robes made by master clothiers.”
“But you don’t have any martial robes made together with your son, do you? Just one set. Please?”
I entered the fabric shop first. Father followed me in, as if he had no choice.
Inside the shop, all manner of silk, cloth, and garments were piled high.
Before Father could change his mind, I hurriedly chose the martial robes.
“What do you think of those robes hanging there?”
They were martial robes embroidered with the Heavenly Demon Soul, the symbol representing our cult. Originally, it was a pattern that could not be used without permission, but since banning it did not stop it from being sold, it had at some point become tolerated like a souvenir.
But Father pointed somewhere else.
“What about those?”
They were bright white martial robes. Plum blossoms were embroidered on the sleeves and legs, making them look, at a glance, like something worn by members of the righteous factions.
“You want those?”
“You said we should go visit the Central Plains next time, didn’t you? We can’t go wearing something like that then, can we?”
“!”
I was truly startled. To think he had remembered my words about going to the Central Plains together!
“I like them too. Give us two sets of those martial robes.”
Amazingly, Father even paid for them.
“You said you would buy the meal, didn’t you? I’ll buy the clothes.”
“Thank you, Father.”
I carefully took the two sets of martial robes, each wrapped in paper.
There was much I wanted to say, but I did not. If I made some needless joke, Father would likely respond with a sharp remark to smooth over the awkward atmosphere. For now, the best thing was simply to enjoy this feeling and this moment.
“Where are you buying the meal?”
“Over there.”
I escorted Father to Pungryu Tavern.
If I were bringing Father somewhere, I should have taken him to the finest inn, tavern, or pleasure house in the area, but I did not want to. At best, such places would be frequented by the Demon Supremes, and I thought a place meaningful to me would be better.
“This is my regular place.”
Jo Chunbae welcomed us with a broad smile.
“You’ve brought a guest I’m seeing for the first time today.”
“He isn’t a guest. He’s family.”
“Family is a first, isn’t it? Right? Hm? Family? If you say family…”
Jo Chunbae flinched and studied Father.
Though he could not see Father’s face beneath the bamboo hat, he sensed from the air about him that Father was not young, and without realizing it, Jo Chunbae took a step back.
Then he asked me with his eyes.
No, right? Surely not, right?
I answered by nodding.
That’s right. The very person you’re thinking of.
Realizing that the person who had come with me was the Heavenly Demon, Jo Chunbae turned deathly pale and began trembling like an aspen tree. How could I possibly miss such great entertainment?
I ordered the dishes Father had chosen.
“Now then, please make them delicious.”
“Yes.”
Jo Chunbae’s legs shook as he walked toward the kitchen. Thanks to that, he heard my sound transmission for the first time as well.
—Cook at ease. Surely my father wouldn’t kill you just because it tastes bad, would he?
Jo Chunbae staggered even more violently and barely managed to enter the kitchen.
“When was the last time you drank in a tavern like this?”
“When I was young, I came to places like this.”
“You haven’t come even once since becoming cult leader, have you?”
Father nodded.
“Doesn’t it feel stifling?”
“It is fine.”
“Well, if you came out into the world, it might feel even more stifling. There are so many people everywhere you’d want to kill, but you can’t kill them all.”
Father gave a faint laugh, and I poured him a drink. Father also filled my cup. Exchanging drinks had become natural now. Then again, we were even getting matching clothes.
“Your internal energy has grown by quite a lot. Where did you obtain it?”
“I received the Blood God Pill from the Pungcheon Cult Leader.”
At my honest answer, Father was startled.
“He gave you that? That greedy man?”
“Everyone must think I look pitiful. Whenever they see me, they seem to want to give me spiritual medicines.”
“Hardly.”
Father drank, and I emptied my cup as well. He looked as if he had much to say, but in the end, he said only this.
“As long as you did not let anything of yours be taken, that is enough.”
“Do not worry. I take after you, Father, so when it comes to martial arts, I am quite greedy myself.”
While we were speaking, the dishes came out.
Jo Chunbae was originally a man who strode freely through the tavern. He had the skill to run about with both hands full of dishes without spilling a single thing.
Even when liquor was spilled on the floor, he never slipped. He would run gracefully like a master using Treading on Duckweed to Cross Water, and if someone at another table ordered an expensive dish, he would dash over as swiftly as if using Shifting Form and Changing Position to take their order.
But today’s Jo Chunbae was different. He came tiptoeing, almost crawling, as if afraid the dishes might be disturbed in the slightest. It was the first time I had ever seen him bring food so carefully.
“I thought an assassin was coming.”
At my teasing, Jo Chunbae approached with a desperate expression that begged me not to speak to him, and respectfully set down the dishes he had brought.
“If you need anything else, please call me at any time!”
Then Jo Chunbae went down to the first floor with a face that looked as though he might suffocate.
He could not even stand by the stairs on the first floor to eavesdrop on Father’s evaluation of the food. If he dared to eavesdrop on the Heavenly Demon, even ten necks would not be enough.
Father tasted the food and nodded.
“The flavor is not bad.”
“Please tell the owner directly later. He will truly be happy.”
“Pointless talk.”
“That pointless talk may become a lifelong memory and source of pride for someone. If you don’t say it, they won’t know.”
Father merely used his chopsticks in silence.
Then he abruptly asked,
“Why did you shake the Pungcheon Cult Leader so much? Tell me that.”
Ordinarily, I would have had to answer, “It was because I started out trying to gain a divine artifact, and later wanted to gain the person himself.”
But as a successor, I gave a more fitting answer.
“I did it to separate the Pungcheon Cult from the Eight Demon Supremes.”
“And? Did you succeed?”
“For now, it appears that I have.”
“What did you promise him in return?”
“I want to open a Pungcheon Cult branch in the Central Plains. Even if it is very small.”
“Impossible!”
“Why not?”
Father gave an unexpected answer.
“Do you know why I oppose them entering the Central Plains?”
“Isn’t it because of the history between the Blood Cult and our cult?”
Father shook his head.
“What does the past matter? That is not the reason.”
“Then is it because they joined hands with the Eight Demon Supremes?”
“I deliberately let them join hands.”
Words that would have shocked the Demon Supremes if they heard them flowed from Father’s mouth.
“Whether I strike the Pungcheon Cult or strike the Eight Demon Supremes, if they are entangled with one another, it is easier to create a pretext.”
I could see that Father truly did not fear either the Pungcheon Cult or the Eight Demon Supremes in the slightest.
“Then why do you oppose it?”
“The time has not yet come. Know only that.”
The words that the time had not yet come struck me deeply.
I could guess Father’s thoughts. The Pungcheon Cult’s advance into the Central Plains held great significance not only for us, but also for the Martial Alliance and the Heretical Alliance.
In particular, if the Martial Alliance, which had suffered great damage from the Blood Cult’s invasion of the Central Plains in the past, began framing the Pungcheon Cult’s advance as the revival of the Blood Cult, it could cause enormous political waves.
When he said the time had not yet come, did that not mean, in other words, that he would be the one to decide when that time was?
‘Father, do you perhaps dream, deep in your heart, of unifying the murim?’
Because of Hwa Mugi, he had not managed to realize that dream, but considering Father’s ability, perhaps it was possible. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon called me a sleeping dragon, but perhaps the true sleeping dragon had yet to awaken…
I felt the urge to probe Father indirectly, but if I did so needlessly, this pleasant occasion might be ruined, so I restrained myself for the moment. There would be plenty of chances to find out later.
“I understand. I will handle that matter myself.”
“How?”
“Since I became entangled with the Pungcheon Cult Leader on a personal level, I will resolve it on a personal level.”
“On a personal level? That is the most difficult method.”
“But it should also be the most effective. Do not worry. I will not indulge in the arrogance of thinking I know another person’s heart. I will not be greedy enough to think I can gain another person’s heart, and I will never fully trust it either.”
It was only half true. I did not want to live such a life. What meaning would there be in becoming the Heavenly Demon while suspecting everyone?
I may not be able to know every human heart, but I would strive to understand them. I may not be able to gain every human heart, but I would at least gain enough that we would not face one another with lies and hypocrisy. And those worth trusting, I still intended to trust.
“Please leave the matter of the Pungcheon Cult Leader to me. I will handle it well.”
Father nodded, then rose from his seat.
“I ate well. Come by next month to play go.”
“Yes! You had better polish the stones well!”
When Father extended his hand, one of the two sets of martial robes placed beside me flew to him with a whoosh.
Holding it, Father went down to the first floor.
More than buying the martial robes together, more than him paying for them, the sight of him taking his own martial robes without my having said anything moved me even more.
And Jo Chunbae completed Father’s unexpected side.
As Father passed by, Jo Chunbae, who had been standing beside the counter, bowed so deeply that his waist nearly touched the floor.
“It was an honor to serve you.”
Father, who had been about to leave without a word, stopped walking.
“The flavor was decent.”
Leaving behind Jo Chunbae, who stood there gasping in shock and emotion, Father went outside.
Jo Chunbae, who had been standing there blankly, belatedly shouted,
“Yes! Thank you! Please visit us again next time!”
Father was already walking far into the distance.
Only then did the tension leave Jo Chunbae, and he sank down with a long sigh of relief.
He took out the liquor he had hidden beneath the counter and gulped it down. He was a man who did not drink while doing business unless something truly extraordinary happened, but today had gone beyond extraordinary.
Leaning against the railing on the second floor, I asked him,
“How do you feel?”
“I can die now without regrets. Even if I am born again, I will live as the owner of Pungryu Tavern.”
“If you are born again, you should live as a hero of the murim.”
“No, thank you. I am satisfied with this life of watching someone like you from the side, Young Master. Serving delicious food is enough for me.”
“You could become a master and still live this kind of life, couldn’t you?”
“Then I would be even unhappier. I would have to endure things even though I was a master.”
“I see.”
After watching the rare sight of Jo Chunbae drinking, I looked outside the tavern. Far away, among the people, I could see Father’s back as he walked slowly. Who among them would know? That they had just passed by the Heavenly Demon.
Before my regression, I did not look closely.
Not at Father’s back like that, not at Jo Chunbae smiling happily with his flushed face, not at the people hurrying along the road to wherever they were going. I did not look. I did not look into their eyes or mouths to see with what hearts they lived. Because I did not look, I did not know, and because I did not know, I could not win.
Yes, I did not lose to Hwa Mugi. I lost to my own life. To my indifferent life.
“Young Master, shall I bring you more liquor?”
Jo Chunbae asked from below.
“No. There are people I need to see today.”
Leaving Pungryu Tavern, I walked along the very road Father had taken and returned to the cult.