Geom Ujin remained in the Heavenly Demon Hall until late.
Though it was an hour when he would ordinarily have been asleep, he sat alone in the grand armchair, lost in thought.
Then the doors of the Heavenly Demon Hall opened, and Geom Mugeuk entered.
“Father, I’m here.”
After greeting him loudly, Geom Mugeuk walked down the Path of Blood toward the grand armchair.
Everything looked the same as usual, yet for some reason, tonight both his father and that chair felt different.
Geom Mugeuk stopped below the chair and looked up at his father. Amid the inexplicable tension flowing through the Heavenly Demon Hall at this deep hour of night, he spoke provocatively.
“That seat is mine now.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s declaration-like words, Geom Ujin asked with a sneer,
“Is this rebellion?”
The solemn atmosphere loosened, and the midnight revolt came to an end.
“Of course not. I meant it’ll be mine in about thirty years.”
Geom Ujin could tell that his son had changed his mind about handing over the position of Young Cult Leader.
“Why did you change your mind?”
“When I thought about it, it felt unfair. What’s so lovable about him that I should give such a fine position to my brother?”
After starting with a joke, Geom Mugeuk spoke honestly.
“Demon Buddha scolded me.”
That explanation was enough. Geom Ujin also knew well that the person who understood his eldest son best was Demon Buddha. It seemed Demon Buddha had persuaded him not to do it.
From this, Geom Ujin could tell that Demon Buddha still liked his eldest son.
If he did not, he would have tried by any means to make Muyang the Young Cult Leader.
“Father, you know how much I like to play around, don’t you? If I become Cult Leader, rumors like this will spread through the jianghu. Did you hear? The Demon Cult Leader got drunk and sang and danced. If you don’t want to see that disgrace, please hold on to that seat for a long, long time. I’m sure I’ll grow more sensible when I’m older.”
“How long do you plan to make this father of yours suffer?”
“Until I’m worn out from playing and beg you to please step down.”
Geom Ujin stared quietly at his son, then suddenly said,
“You’ve thought well.”
Because the words were unexpected, Geom Mugeuk was inwardly surprised. Hadn’t his father secretly wanted his brother to become the successor?
He had thought that might be the case, but now his father seemed pleased, as if this had been the right decision.
Father, do you truly want me to become Cult Leader? Even though I am trying to stop your dream by any means I can?
“Demon Buddha is dreaming of a revenge match.”
At that moment, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes fell on the fishing rod propped against the wall behind the grand armchair. Seeing that it had not yet been put away.
“Ah, there was one more person here as well. If I see Demon Buddha, I’ll tell him. That the revenge match may take place in the not-too-distant future. Then, rest well.”
Geom Mugeuk bowed respectfully and left.
Once his son had exited the Heavenly Demon Hall, Geom Ujin turned his head and looked at the moon outside the window. Gazing at the bright, full moon, he spoke to Hwi, who was concealed nearby.
“Bring out a good bottle of wine.”
***
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was reading a book in the courtyard of his residence.
He had planted the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber in the ground and was leaning comfortably against it as he read.
On nights when the moonlight was bright like tonight, he would often come out into the courtyard and read.
Then he sensed someone arrive behind the saber.
Judging by the level of martial arts required to reveal one’s presence only after coming this close—or rather, considering who would come to his residence at this hour—there was only one person it could be.
“You brat, why have you come again at this hour instead of sleeping?”
There was no answer, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, still keeping his eyes on the book, asked Geom Mugeuk,
“Did you have a good time hunting with the Cult Leader?”
Whether he was planning some prank or not, no reply came. Regardless, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon simply said what he had to say.
“No matter how clever you are, how could you understand a parent’s heart? The Cult Leader has been holding himself back a great deal, given his nature. You can’t even imagine what his true temperament is like. So be good to your father.”
When there was still no answer, only then did the Blood Heaven Blade Demon raise his head.
“Why are you so quiet, you brat? I’ll say this in advance—if you didn’t bring pajamas, don’t even think about climbing into my bed!”
Then a low voice came from behind the saber.
“I did not bring pajamas.”
In that instant, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was so startled that he sprang to his feet.
“Cult Leader!”
The person who had come was none other than Geom Ujin.
“My apologies for coming at such a late hour. Did I startle you?”
Did he startle him? He was startled enough to wonder whether he had ever been this surprised in recent days. He had never imagined the Cult Leader would come looking for him in the dead of night.
“What brings you here?”
Worried that something might have happened, he asked, but Geom Ujin held up the bottle of wine he had brought.
“I came to have a drink with you.”
“As it happens, I was just thinking of wine myself. Please come inside.”
“The night breeze is pleasant. Let us drink here.”
“Then please wait a moment.”
“Take your time.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon went inside and gathered wine cups and a simple snack to go with the wine. As he was about to come back out, his gaze caught the scene beyond the window.
Geom Ujin was sitting with his back against the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber, looking up at the moon.
Over that sight overlapped the image of Geom Ujin in his youth, laughing heartily as he leaned against the great saber and drank.
In the past, when they drank, Geom Ujin had liked to lean against his saber while doing so. He said it somehow put him in a good mood.
Was it because of Geom Mugeuk? These days, whenever he looked at the Cult Leader, old memories kept coming back.
Geom Ujin, who had been looking up at the moon, turned this way. Their eyes met, and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon grinned before stepping outside.
“There is nothing much suitable for snacks.”
“It is fine.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon poured the wine first, and Geom Ujin, after receiving it, filled the Blade Demon’s cup.
The two emptied their cups together. It had been truly a long time since the two of them had drunk alone like this.
“Did the hunting trip go well?”
“We came down empty-handed.”
A faint smile touched the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s lips. If the two of them had truly set their minds on hunting, the beasts of Mount Daecheon would have been wiped out.
“Did you speak much with your son?”
“What do you mean, my son? He’s that brat of mine.”
At Geom Ujin’s joke, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon laughed.
“He asked about his mother.”
The hand of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, which had been pouring wine into Geom Ujin’s cup, paused for a moment.
“It is about time he did.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon filled Geom Ujin’s cup to the brim.
“He did not ask because he missed her.”
“What do you mean?”
“That insolent brat asked because he was worried I might suffer.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon drank with an expression that said, If it’s Geom Mugeuk, he’d certainly do that and more.
After emptying his cup, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon brought up something he had never once said to the Cult Leader until now.
“When I look at the Young Cult Leader, I sometimes think of the Demon Queen.”
Since the Demon Queen’s death, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had never mentioned her to the Cult Leader. This was the first time.
He believed that the Cult Leader coming to him tonight, and bringing up the Demon Queen first, meant he wanted to speak of her.
Geom Ujin silently nodded.
It was a wordless response, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could feel that the Cult Leader missed the Demon Queen.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew well how much the Cult Leader had loved her. He had watched it from the very beginning.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon recalled that day again.
I must have this murim.
What had been contained in Geom Ujin’s eyes when he said those words to him, face full of heat, had not been a conqueror’s lust for power. It had been the resolve of a man whose love had just begun.
Over the face of that young Geom Ujin overlapped the Geom Ujin of the present.
“I have confidence that I could bend the world under heaven to my will, yet when it comes to my own child, I have no confidence I can make him follow it.”
“You can make him do as you wish.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon knew Geom Ujin’s heart well.
“You simply do not wish to.”
Holding out his wine cup, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon said,
“Family are one’s enemies. Among them, a child is the greatest enemy of all.”
Geom Ujin laughed, clinked his cup against his, and emptied it.
After ascending to the seat of Cult Leader, he had shown only a strong side all his life. Yet today, he kept reminding the Blood Heaven Blade Demon of his younger days.
That was why what Geom Ujin needed now was likely someone who would stand on his side.
“Summon him tomorrow and scold him like this: You brat, stop running wild like a reckless child and follow your father’s words!”
Geom Ujin laughed pleasantly. It was the sort of smile that, had Geom Mugeuk seen it, he would have said, Please smile like that for your children too.
“He is the sort of fellow who would say, ‘Yes, I will do so.’ That is why I cannot.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon agreed with those words. If he were to simply rebel and stubbornly insist that his own thoughts were right, it would actually be easier to break him.
But Geom Mugeuk held a deep respect for Geom Ujin. That was why this fight was difficult.
It was a difficult fight for the child as well, but for the parent it was even harder. After all, it was a fight waged while carrying the great weakness that no parent can defeat their child.
After they drank several more cups, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon conveyed the words he had been keeping in his heart.
“If a parent is the bow, then a child must be the arrow. Even if that arrow aims in a direction the parent does not want...”
As he filled the cup, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon added,
“When the time comes, you must entrust it to the wind and release the string.”
Geom Ujin silently looked down at his own face reflected in the cup. Whether he had released the string within his heart, no one could know.
And so the two of them shared their cups together until the moon set.
***
Bang! Baaang! Bang!
Fireworks burst in the sky.
At last, the construction of Maga Village had been completed, and the day had come for the residents to enter their own homes.
The people gathered in Maga Village rejoiced. Their old houses had been transformed completely into new ones. In place of collapsed mud walls stood stone walls, and thatched cottages had become tiled-roof houses.
One-story homes had become two stories, and two-story homes had become three-story houses. Moreover, the interiors were filled with furniture better than what they had owned before, and clothing, daily necessities, and even enough food to live on for the time being were piled up in the courtyards.
They had truly never imagined that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would do this much for them. Beyond saving their lives, they had bestowed upon them a great favor.
“Mother! Is this house ours now?”
“Yes, it’s our house.”
The children rushed excitedly inside, and the women shed tears as they stroked the sturdy pillars. The men looked around their homes and shops with hearts full to bursting.
“Maga Village has come back to life!”
At someone’s cry, everyone shouted in joy.
“Long live the Cult Leader!”
“Long live the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!”
As much as the joy of receiving new homes, what delighted them was this.
The fact that they had not been abandoned.
Among those rejoicing was Jo Chunbae. He was looking up at his tavern with deep emotion.
The old two-story building had become a magnificent three-story structure. It had been built splendidly, a fine tavern that caught the eye of anyone passing by at a glance. He had never dreamed that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would build it so wonderfully for him.
Even the kitchen was fully stocked with ingredients, and the storeroom was piled high with fine wine. They had prepared it so he could open for business that very day.
The other houses were the same. The fruit shop was filled with fruit, and the fabric shop was filled with cloth. They had not merely built homes; they had not neglected such consideration either.
Then cheers rose from far away.
Everyone looked in that direction, and the people worthy of those cheers were approaching.
They were Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang. Those following around them were Geom Mugeuk’s bodyguards.
Now, their momentum was in no way inferior even compared to the Cult Leader’s guards. Considering their relatively young ages, it was truly remarkable progress.
Of course, even amid this, Jeok Yeon, the captain of the guards who led them, was driving his subordinates mercilessly. Because the Young Cult Leader was growing stronger far faster than they were.
The people of Maga Village all bowed their heads and greeted them respectfully.
“We greet the Young Cult Leader!”
“We greet the Young Master!”
Geom Mugeuk asked with a bright expression,
“How do you all feel?”
“Wonderful!”
Geom Mugeuk gave the credit for today’s result to his brother.
“The reason Maga Village could be rebuilt so quickly is thanks to the efforts of my elder brother here. My brother sacrificed sleep to oversee the construction.”
The people of Maga Village bowed their heads to Geom Muyang and expressed their gratitude.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
“Thank you! Young Master!”
Geom Mugeuk glanced at Geom Muyang and said,
“Brother, say a few words.”
Geom Muyang declined, saying it was all right, but Geom Mugeuk forced him to do it.
“These are the houses you built for them, aren’t they? You should say something.”
In the end, Geom Muyang stepped forward. He would not have been nervous even before a thousand martial artists, yet for some reason, standing here under the gaze of the ordinary people of Maga Village felt more burdensome.
“We did our best to build it as quickly as possible. In return, we built it sturdy, so please don’t worry. I hope you all live well here.”
It was a brief greeting, but applause and cheers burst out from all sides.
Seeing how delighted the people were, Geom Muyang felt pleased as well. All their efforts, working day and night to finish the construction even a day sooner, had been worthwhile.
As if he had forgotten, Geom Muyang belatedly added one more thing.
“Ah, and the reason this matter proceeded like this is because the Young Cult Leader holds all of you in special regard. Do not forget that.”
Geom Muyang was turning the credit that had come to him back over to his younger brother.
With a shameless expression, Geom Mugeuk waved his hand at the residents of Maga Village.
“You heard him, didn’t you? You mustn’t forget that this is thanks to me!”
The residents laughed good-naturedly. Even if Geom Muyang had not said it, they all already knew.
The elders of Maga Village would often say this: that in the entire history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Maga Village was now living in its most blessed era. And they all knew that it was entirely thanks to the Young Cult Leader.
“Young Cult Leader.”
Jo Chunbae, who had been buried in the crowd, came running over belatedly and greeted him.
“Owner, how does it feel?”
“It’s wonderful. I’m so happy.”
Jo Chunbae looked up at the tavern.
On the signboard hung largely above the entrance, the characters 風流酒店 were written in a powerful, elegant hand.
“That calligraphy is especially magnificent.”
He did not know who had written it, but the characters were truly splendid.
“I don’t know which master calligrapher it was, but please be sure to tell them. I would like to treat them to a drink, at least.”
“Let’s do that. I’ll tell my father.”
“Thank you.”
Jo Chunbae, who had answered without thinking, flinched. A chill ran down his spine, and his heart began to pound.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I would tell my father.”
“Why the Cult Leader?”
“Because my father wrote those characters.”
Jo Chunbae, stunned, began trembling like an aspen leaf.
“The Cult Leader wrote that signboard? How could such a thing happen!”
“I asked him to.”
The residents of Maga Village nearby also looked up at the signboard, all with astonished faces.
“Oh my, such an exalted person…”
Jo Chunbae did not know what to do. Just imagining the Demon Cult Leader writing the name of his tavern left him swept up in shock beyond mere emotion.
This was even more moving than the letters that had disappeared earlier along with the wall.
Tears welled in Jo Chunbae’s eyes.
“I don’t know how I can ever repay this grace.”
“You can repay it with that unchanging taste of yours, of course. Now then, everyone, gather at Pungryu Tavern!”
To Geom Mugeuk, the mere fact that these people were living well in front of the main cult held great meaning. No matter what anyone said, his own Demonic Path was right here in Maga Village.
“I’ll be the one to open the new business. Owner, set out the drinks!”