He could have gone without it being a wish.
If Father said the word—“Let’s go”—with just that single sentence, he could go tomorrow, the day after, every single day. It was merely that kind of thing.
He could hunt all year round. But Father had wished for this.
*I want to go hunting with you. Just the two of us.*
Was it because those words were so unexpected?
The moment he heard them, an indescribable surge of emotion welled up from the deepest part of Geom Mugeuk’s chest.
Since that emotion could not be concealed, the Demonic Lords who were watching Geom Mugeuk all felt that surge together. They all knew how hard Geom Mugeuk had worked for the Cult Leader, so they shared in that great joy.
Geom Mugeuk broke into a broad smile and spoke. He said exactly what his father used to say long ago. Because back then, Father had set the promise without a thought for his son’s circumstances.
“Departure is tomorrow morning!”
At that answer—so characteristic of Geom Mugeuk—the Demonic Lords laughed. Who in this world could say such a thing to the Cult Leader? It was quite amusing to see.
A smirk formed at Geom Ujin’s lips.
Geom Mugeuk had seen his father laugh heartily today, and now this smirk too. That was enough. He had seen all of Father’s smiles today.
“Very well.”
Geom Ujin accepted readily.
*Thank you, Father.*
Geom Mugeuk did not let the fishing tournament’s proceedings slip from his grasp until the very end.
“Now, now, before we conclude the fishing tournament, the Cult Leader has a few words.”
In truth, today’s tournament was a gathering for himself and his father, but also for his father and the Demonic Lords.
Geom Ujin looked around at the Demonic Lords. He met each of their gazes one by one, and his gaze was softer than ever before.
Especially the Poison King, the Drunken Demon, and the Soul-Seizing Demonic Lord were deeply moved by the Cult Leader at today’s tournament. Their hearts had been stirred by the small puddle, the question of whether the wine was all right, and the miraculous elixir bestowed only upon them.
Especially since those things came from someone who seemed like he would never do such things, the impact was far greater.
“I enjoyed today. If there is another opportunity, let us have such a gathering again. You have all worked hard.”
At the brief greeting, the Demonic Lords all cupped their fists and bowed.
“We enjoyed it as well, Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk spoke in a loud voice.
“Then with this, I declare the first Heavenly Demon Cup Fishing Tournament concluded!”
And so, with unexpected results, the fishing tournament came to an end.
Geom Muyang packed up Geom Ujin’s fishing rod, and the Demonic Lords also returned to their spots to collect their rods. The fish they had caught were released back into the river.
Geom Ujin left that place with Geom Muyang.
The Demonic Lords held their fishing rods or slung them over their shoulders, then lined up behind him and walked. They could have returned slowly, or Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon could have gone for a stroll.
But they all followed the Cult Leader. The Demonic Lords felt deep respect for the Cult Leader at the sight of his refusal to force war upon Geom Mugeuk.
Of course, it was not all good for Geom Mugeuk. Because his father was such a man, at a single word of “Now is the time,” they would all leap onto the battlefield without hesitation.
Geom Mugeuk shouted from behind.
“Now, now, if anyone wants to ask the winner today about the secret to fishing, feel free to ask. Don’t you want to know the secret to catching a Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp? Honestly, aren’t you curious about the thrill in your hands when you hook one? No, where are you all going in such a hurry? Stay and hang out with me for a bit! You’re all free anyway!”
But none of the Demonic Lords looked back.
And so, his father and the Demonic Lords grew distant.
Geom Mugeuk watched until they disappeared from sight.
The sight of eight Demonic Lords following behind his father. That rear view of him walking with wings spread to perfection. It was also the sight he had most wanted to see when he proposed this fishing tournament to his father.
*You truly did well, Father.*
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned back to the river.
Geom Mugeuk’s eyes, having returned to their original state before he knew it, were calm and settled.
Geom Mugeuk stood there alone until the sun fully set and darkness fell.
***
The next dawn, Geom Mugeuk left the cult together with his father.
Geom Mugeuk came shouldering a large leather bag, just like when they had first gone hunting together. No, there was even more luggage than back then.
“You know, right? How many necessary things are packed in here.”
Geom Ujin climbed the mountain with his hands behind his back, and Geom Mugeuk followed behind him.
He had hunted with his father many times. There had also been hunts with his older brother, the three of them together.
But today’s hunt was more special than any other time.
“Uncle Hwi isn’t here today either, I see.”
Geom Mugeuk had now reached a level where he could clearly detect even Hwi’s concealment.
Geom Ujin nodded. He truly had not brought even Hwi.
“So it really is just Father and me, the two of us.”
It was truly an opportunity to share the heart-to-heart talks he had kept buried deep within his heart. Father had likely left Hwi behind for that very purpose from the start.
“Even if this tight-lipped son of yours talks a bit too much today, please understand!”
He said that, but Geom Mugeuk simply quietly followed his father’s back.
Sunlight shattering through the branches, the sound of grass crushed underfoot, the murmur of water flowing in the valley below, the scent of pine sap, the smell of earth borne on the wind, a squirrel climbing a tree with rustling sounds.
Geom Mugeuk savored the joy of walking through the mountain with his father. How long had they wandered the mountains like that?
“Tiger tracks.”
It was quite a large tiger.
“Come, this way.”
If he used martial arts to chase it, he would find it in an instant, but his father did not. He did not release his inner energy to figure out where the animal was either.
His father purely enjoyed the hunt itself. Yesterday he had been an angler; today he had become a hunter.
Geom Mugeuk felt that his father’s heart was the same as his own when he had first regressed and asked his father to go hunting.
He just wanted to become close with his father, purely and simply.
Because he wanted to spend time with his son.
That was why, as if by some unspoken promise, they did not speak of the unification of the martial world.
“It seems it discovered prey here and ran.”
His father could tell what situation the tiger had been in just from the tracks.
How long had they tracked it like that?
They spotted the tiger beneath a rock in the distance.
Geom Mugeuk’s bowstring was pulled taut. But in the end, he did not shoot the arrow. In that time, the tiger concealed itself somewhere.
“Why didn’t you shoot?”
Geom Mugeuk gave an absurd reason.
“It looked like the cub of that tiger Brother saved back then.”
At that time, Geom Muyang had been unable to release his bowstring upon seeing the cubs around the tiger.
“If it had been the firstborn, I would have shot, but this one is clearly the second child.”
At that silly joke, Geom Ujin moved toward the sound of water, speechless.
The two slaked their thirst with the flowing stream water.
“Since we lost it anyway, shall we rest a moment?”
The two sat on a rock beside the stream. The sound of flowing water was so clear and cheerful that simply sitting there brightened their moods.
Then Geom Ujin momentarily turned from hunter to angler.
“Now that you’ve caught a Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp, how was the thrill?”
It was a question asked purely out of curiosity.
“It was incredible. The moment it bit, I knew it was a huge catch. Lord Hyeolcheon Doma said so, didn’t he? That when you’re fishing, there are times you feel as if the whole world is being reeled in by you. That is exactly how it felt when I pulled up the Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and subtly boasted.
“Honestly, you’re jealous, aren’t you?”
Geom Ujin could not say he wasn’t. Because he coveted the thrill of catching it even more than the Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp’s inner elixir.
“Lord Hyeolcheon Doma and Lord Mabul will likely have fish swimming before their eyes for several days.”
Hyeolcheon Doma had finished second in the number of fish and third in the largest catch. If he had also taken second in the largest catch category, he would have been truly disappointed.
Mabul was probably at that riverside even today, fishing and scolding innocent fish with, “You should have bitten like this yesterday!”
In fact, unknown to Geom Mugeuk, Geom Ujin had also gritted his teeth to take first place. It was only because he had fortunately won the bet that his regret at not taking first place had faded; his desire for first place was stronger than anyone’s.
“Host the second tournament next year as well.”
“There won’t be any Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng left.”
“We wagered Ten Thousand Year Snow Ginseng for the first tournament, so we should bet something else for the second. Don’t we have plenty of martial arts secret manuals in the Heavenly Demon Library?”
Geom Mugeuk naturally brought up the subject of the Demonic Lords.
“I felt anew just how much the Demonic Lords like Father.”
“Not you?”
“No, they like Father. You can feel it when you look at them.”
It was not something said merely to please Father’s ears, but words spoken from the heart.
“Thinking about it, wasn’t it because Father was here that I could run wild to my heart’s content? It is also thanks to that the Demonic Lords indulged me no matter how much I acted up. Thanks to Father, I have had my fill of a fox borrowing the tiger’s might.”
Geom Ujin stared at his son and asked.
“But why are you trying to give up this position?”
As expected, Father knew. Why he had given the Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp’s inner elixir to his brother.
It was because he intended to hand over the position of Young Cult Leader to his brother. No matter how much he thought about it, he did not have the confidence to live his whole life guarding the Taesa.
He had felt it keenly when he served as temporary Cult Leader. That path was not his path. He wanted to roam the Central Plains freely.
“It is not because I dislike it.”
If he disliked the position his father had protected his whole life, there could be no greater disrespect to his father.
“It is because Brother suits it more.”
Geom Ujin quietly stared at Geom Mugeuk. Though he was his own child, he thought him truly inscrutable. To give up this position so easily was by no means an easy thing.
“Of course, I am quite responsible myself, so I would lead the cult well. I am prone to worry and prepare in advance, so I would overcome crises too.
But if someone asked me if I would be happy doing so, I do not think I could answer yes. On the other hand, if you asked Brother, he would answer that he is happy. You can tell just by watching him handle the duties he has taken on within the cult now.”
Brother handled affairs so well you could almost call it perfect.
Geom Ujin silently nodded as if agreeing with that opinion.
“Brother becomes Cult Leader, and I live freely. Both Brother and I will be happy. Rather than a choice that makes us both miserable, it is a choice that makes us both happy.”
Geom Ujin neither denied nor refuted Geom Mugeuk’s words. As Geom Mugeuk said, his eldest son was the one who suited the Cult Leader’s position better.
The problem was this.
“Even if I permit it, Yang will never accept your will. I can feed him the Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp, but I cannot seat him in your position.”
Father knew his eldest son better than anyone. Would his brother, who had lost the power struggle, sit in a position yielded by his younger brother? His brother’s pride would never accept it.
“Father, how can I convince Brother? Should I just run away? What could you do if I ran away?”
Of course, he was not speaking from the heart.
If he did, his brother would live an unhappy life even after ascending to the Cult Leader’s position.
“I fought so hard to snatch that position in the succession struggle, and now I have to fight an even harder battle to give it back!”
Geom Ujin, who had been quietly watching his son’s theatrics, said abruptly.
“You have the confidence to convince your brother, don’t you?”
How quick-witted he was.
“Yes, actually, I have the confidence to convince him.”
“Why are you so confident?”
“Because I know Brother’s weakness.”
At the word “weakness,” Geom Ujin started. And that weakness was something Geom Ujin had never imagined.
“Because Brother truly loves the cult.”
“!”
“In that regard, Brother is exactly like Father.”
After a brief pause, Geom Ujin asked.
“If you could hand over that position as you wish, what do you intend to do?”
“I plan to travel the Central Plains with Ian. I promised to take him out long ago.”
Famous sights, all of them; scenic spots, all of them—we said we would see them all. Famous dishes, I promised to let him taste them all.
“Now I must keep my promise.”
There was another purpose as well.
“This time, I will help Ian find his true self.”
Though it might have been incomprehensible, Geom Ujin nodded.
Having lived as a bodyguard for many years, there would inevitably be parts of him bound to his son. He was likely saying he would break those bonds.
“If I break the barrier that binds Ian, Ian might leave me.”
Geom Ujin said something cryptic.
“The opposite could also happen.”
“The opposite?”
“That child might hold onto you. As a man.”
“He doesn’t have that kind of personality.”
At that, Geom Ujin smiled a strange smile. An expression asking if that was really so, mixed with an expression asking if he even knew anything about women.
A conversation about women with Father? With none other than Father? This was more precious than a Ten Thousand Year Flame Carp.
Geom Mugeuk was thrilled. Seeing this side of his father, and having such a conversation, was unfamiliar yet wonderful.
“Perhaps when you were young?”
Perhaps guessing what words would come out, Father rose from his seat.
“Come, let’s go.”
“Acting like this makes it even more suspicious!”
Geom Mugeuk raised his voice as he followed.
“Is it because I inherited Father’s blood that I want to form a band of the Four Handsome Men and leave the cult?”
***
A bonfire blazed on the mountainside where the sun had set early.
They had come to hunt in earnest, but the two failed to catch a single beast. They were capable of catching every beast on the mountain if they put their minds to it, but today’s hunt had come up empty.
For some reason, Geom Mugeuk did not want to see blood today, and Father too—perhaps reading his son’s heart—did not catch any beasts.
“I prepared for this. A feast for failed hunters.”
Geom Mugeuk took food from his leather bag. Though they were dried foods, the superb side dishes—and Father’s favorite liquor—were far too excellent to be called hastily packed.
“Please have a cup.”
Geom Ujin received the liquor and then filled his son’s cup.
The two emptied their cups pleasantly.
Geom Mugeuk felt comfortable and happy in this moment alone with his father. Yet he also felt a strange tension. It was a day when anything might be said.
After drinking several cups like that, Geom Ujin asked something as if he had just remembered.
“If you had won the bet.........”
His son had said there was something he wanted to ask him.
“What was it you wanted to ask?”