Chungui was practically flying about.
Since she was like this even before she had properly regained her strength, it showed just how ill she had been until now.
“Gwang, go see if the pork’s done boiling!”
“Yes.”
“And hurry up and wash the vegetables.”
“I’m going!”
Pyo Gwang was excited too. Boiling, simmering, stir-frying—the yard was filled with delicious smells.
Ian said she would go and help, but Chungui absolutely refused to let her come.
Chungui wanted to serve Geom Mugeuk a proper meal with her own hands.
No matter how much her illness had been cured, she was old, and the other party was the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. No one could guarantee whether she would ever see him again.
Watching her bustle back and forth so happily, Ian said with a smile,
“I’m not sure I could live like tha—”
Before Ian could finish speaking, Geom Mugeuk leaned his head against her shoulder.
Thump.
Ian turned her head to the side. Geom Mugeuk, who had been nagging and complaining to Chungui just moments ago, had fallen asleep before she knew it.
From the way he slept so softly, she could tell how much mental strength he had spent on the treatment.
‘Yes, rest a little now, Young Master.’
Ian did not move, in case Geom Mugeuk woke. Then she released her qi and blocked out the sounds from outside. She had now reached the level where she could create a barrier and shut out noise.
Han Seol, who had just come out of the building, saw Geom Mugeuk leaning against Ian and turned right back inside.
Just then, Jin Haryeong also came out of her room, and Han Seol said to her,
“There seems to be some time before the meal. Would you like to have a cup of tea in my room?”
“Sure.”
Han Seol took her into the room.
At that time, Bisain was looking at the poisonous insects displayed along one wall of the backyard.
Pyo Gwang had said that the insects that spewed deadly poison were stored separately, so he could look around as much as he liked.
As he was looking at the poisonous insects, Jin Hagun walked over.
“Fortunately, it seems we won’t have to eat those bugs.”
At Jin Hagun’s words, Bisain spoke to the insect he had been looking at.
“You’re lucky.”
Jin Hagun stood beside Bisain. The two had grown close through their shared suffering while dealing with their common enemy, Geom Mugeuk.
After watching the poisonous insects for a while, Bisain asked Jin Hagun,
“Aren’t you worried about the Alliance?”
“I was worried on the first day, but now I’m not thinking about anything.”
It was a remark that did not suit Jin Hagun, so Bisain smiled.
“What about you?”
“I wasn’t worried even on the first day.”
This time, Jin Hagun laughed. Considering the atmosphere when they had first met, it was hard to believe they were having a conversation like this.
“Do you remember? The day I asked Mugeuk what kind of demonic path he dreamed of.”
Bisain nodded. He had been there that day as well.
Jin Hagun continued.
“Mugeuk said then that the martial world he dreamed of was one where the righteous path, the unorthodox path, and the demonic path all got along.”
Bisain took up Jin Hagun’s words.
“In the end, he is keeping his word to the very end.”
“What a stubborn bastard.”
Bisain fully agreed with that. Because he was that stubborn, he must have dragged them all the way to this place today.
Jin Hagun asked cautiously,
“May I ask you something?”
“Miss Han?”
Jin Hagun nodded.
“She is a friend.”
Then came an addition that showed just how close he had grown to Jin Hagun.
“For now.”
A faint smile appeared on Jin Hagun’s lips.
“I hope things go well between you and her.”
“Thank you.”
Just then, Pyo Gwang’s voice rang out from the yard.
“The meal is ready!”
***
The next morning, Geom Mugeuk said farewell to Chungui.
“Stay and enjoy yourself a little longer! I’ll make you more delicious food.”
“No matter how much of a feast you laid out yesterday, the tastiest thing I ever ate here was still that bug from before! The bug that taught me the pain of betrayal.”
Chungui laughed at Geom Mugeuk’s joke.
Now Geom Mugeuk bid her farewell with a serious expression.
“Please stay healthy until I come to visit again!”
She wondered if there would be a next time, but after thinking about it, there would be. Because if he heard that she had died, Geom Mugeuk would come to see her.
“Very well. Stay well until then.”
Jin Hagun, Bisain, and the three women also said farewell to Chungui and Pyo Gwang.
After the farewells were over, Pyo Gwang separately expressed his gratitude to Geom Mugeuk.
“Young Cult Leader, you have saved me twice.”
Geom Mugeuk understood that he meant saving his master was the same as saving him.
“The two people I saved will go on to save two hundred—no, two thousand more lives.”
Pyo Gwang’s gaze deepened. When he had first met Geom Mugeuk, he had been living like a ruined man, but now he was living an immeasurably precious life. Thank you, Young Cult Leader.
“Go safely.”
After Geom Mugeuk had moved away from the main gate, he looked back. Pyo Gwang was entering the building with his master, massaging her shoulders as they went.
‘May the two of you live well too.’
When Geom Mugeuk turned back again, everyone’s eyes were on him.
“Where are we going now?”
At Ian’s question, Geom Mugeuk answered,
“Let’s go wherever our feet take us.”
***
What stopped their steps was a name.
“That’s an awfully brave name, isn’t it?”
At Ian’s words, everyone looked up at the signboard of the restaurant.
Cheonma Restaurant.
They wondered how it dared use the name Cheonma, but the characters were different.
天馬飯店.
It did not use the character ma for demon, but the character ma for horse. In any case, it was certainly a name that could catch the eyes of passersby.
“How could we pass by after seeing this name? We’re hungry too, so let’s have a quick meal here before we go.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, everyone nodded. They were curious as to who had given it such a name and for what reason.
They went inside. Perhaps the food was decent, because there were quite a few customers.
A young woman who looked like a newlywed came over and guided them to their seats.
“One bowl of noodles for each of us, please.”
Compared to the grand name, the taste was ordinary.
Since this visit had been more out of curiosity than for the food, once the meal was over, Geom Mugeuk asked the woman,
“Does the owner here like horses?”
As if she had received the question many times before, the woman immediately understood what he meant.
“Yes, he likes horses very much.”
Just then, a customer at the next table cut into the conversation.
“Why are you lying?”
He revealed the true reason.
“It’s because the owner here has met the Heavenly Demon in person.”
At those astonishing words, Geom Mugeuk and his friends were all startled. On the other hand, the customer who had spoken and his companions laughed aloud in amusement.
Just then, someone inside the kitchen said,
“I really did meet him!”
“Of course you did.”
Judging by the exchange, the customer seemed to be a regular who knew the owner shouting from the kitchen.
With this sort of conversation taking place, there was no way Geom Mugeuk would let it pass.
“The owner has truly met the Cult Leader of the Demon Cult?”
An answer came from the kitchen.
“That’s right.”
“Then tell us the story! Bring us a bottle of liquor too. And serve liquor to everyone else as well. I’ll pay for it.”
At that, all the customers cheered. The atmosphere heated up at once.
“It’s been a while since you told it, hasn’t it? Come on out and tell us.”
From the looks of it, most of the customers there had heard the story before. Worried that they might miss out on free liquor, someone else urged him on.
“Hurry up and tell it!”
“Come out!”
A moment later, a man walked out of the kitchen.
When he saw Geom Mugeuk, he flinched in surprise. It was not because the other party was a martial artist, nor because the people with him had an unusual air.
“Have we perhaps met before?”
When Geom Mugeuk shook his head, the man tilted his head. It was definitely a face he had seen somewhere, but he simply could not remember where.
“Now then, let’s hear the story of how you met the Heavenly Demon!”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, the cook’s eyes grew distant.
“When I was younger, I once worked as an investigator at a moneylending office. My job was to confirm whether the family of a borrower actually lived at the registered address and have them stand as guarantors.”
Amazingly, the man was none other than Deokchul, the investigator from the moneylending office who had once gone to collect money from Geom Ujin.
“It may be hard to believe, but at the time, the son of the Demon Cult Leader borrowed money from the moneylending office.”
Jin Hagun looked at Geom Mugeuk with an expression that said, I can’t believe you. Beside him, Bisain nodded with a face full of certainty. Because it was such an absurd thing, he was all the more convinced that Geom Mugeuk would have done it.
The listening customers, however, were already laughing. To begin with, the story was unbelievable from the very start.
“If someone heard that, they’d think the Young Cult Leader was some reckless, immature brat.”
Another customer picked up the first customer’s words.
“If that were the case, he would have bought the entire moneylending office. Or taken it by force.”
To ordinary people, the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult borrowing money from a moneylending office was unimaginable.
As if he had experienced this reaction many times before, Deokchul continued speaking in silence.
“I went all the way to the front of the Demon Cult’s main headquarters, saw the Demon Supremes, and even saw the Eldest Young Master.”
How could anyone believe that? How could a mere investigator from a moneylending office have seen the Demon Supremes and the Eldest Young Master? But no one laughed yet. The real part was still to come.
“In front of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s headquarters, they were selling dolls of the Demon Supremes. At the time, I bought dolls of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the Demon Buddha.”
As if this still was not the real part, everyone was holding back their laughter.
“Then, at a tavern there, I met the Heavenly Demon.”
As if by prior agreement, all the customers burst into laughter. Those who had already heard it laughed, and the customers hearing the story for the first time laughed as well.
How could he lie so calmly about something so absurd? The lie was so ridiculous, and he told it so shamelessly, that it was funny.
Deokchul’s wife, on the other hand, was distressed. Why did he keep telling that story when he knew he would be ridiculed like this?
“It was no ordinary tavern. Written on the walls of that tavern were words left behind by the Demon Supremes and the Heavenly Demon.”
At those words, Geom Mugeuk and his companions knew that his story was true.
“I went up to the man who was drinking alone and told him to stand guarantor for his son.”
Geom Mugeuk asked with a smile,
“And what did he say?”
“He laughed loudly. After I persuaded him by saying there is no parent who can win against his child, he eventually signed.”
In truth, Geom Mugeuk had heard from Ju Yang of the moneylending office long ago that his father had met the investigator. The person he had met back then was the man standing before him now.
Deokchul expressed his deep gratitude toward the Demon Cult Leader.
“Although I committed a great discourtesy, the Heavenly Demon did not kill me. Instead, he bestowed upon me one thousand nyang and told me to buy his doll.”
At the part about telling him to buy his doll, laughter broke out again, and someone said that no matter how many times he heard that part, it was still funny.
“Why do you tell this story even though you know people don’t believe you?”
At Geom Mugeuk’s question, Deokchul revealed the reason.
“Because it is true. That day, I promised the Cult Leader. I said I would return to my hometown and live as a new man. I came straight back to my hometown and opened this restaurant with the money he gave me. I married my wife too.”
It was right then, as his gaze turned toward his wife.
A deep sigh flowed from Deokchul’s wife.
“Stop now.”
Tears rolled down from her eyes.
Her husband was a good man. He was someone she could trust and live with for the rest of her life, except for one thing. She could not understand why he was so obsessed with this lie. She hated seeing her husband become a laughingstock to others.
“I’m sorry.”
At her husband’s apology, his wife was firm this time.
“Promise me you won’t do it anymore from now on.”
After hesitating for a moment, Deokchul nodded. He had known his wife was upset, but he had not realized she was hurting this much.
“I won’t.”
Deokchul looked at Geom Mugeuk and said,
“The people here will be the last ones to hear my story. I’m sorry, dear. I won’t do it again.”
“Thank you.”
His wife did not feel good about this either.
Just as Deokchul was trudging back toward the kitchen, Geom Mugeuk asked from behind him,
“So did you buy the doll?”
Deokchul stopped walking and looked back at Geom Mugeuk.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I believe you.”
For an instant, surprise flashed across Deokchul’s face.
“You believe me?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded with a serious expression.
From that expression, Deokchul could tell. He was not mocking him. He truly believed him.
“Why do you believe me?”
“Because I think you told the truth.”
Deokchul’s face brightened. Until now, no one had ever believed his words.
They had said they believed him, but he knew even his wife did not. Yes, if today was going to be the last time he told this story anyway.
“Please wait a moment.”
Deokchul brought a box from the kitchen. Aside from his wife, he had never shown it to anyone.
Inside were dolls. There were dolls of the Eight Demon Venerables, of course, as well as dolls of Geom Ujin and Geom Mugeuk.
Since it was the first time the guests had seen the dolls, they crowded around them.
“Oh! They’re well made.”
“Who’s this supposed to be?”
“This Demon Venerable is so impressive!”
The dolls included every kind that had been sold at the time.
“Why did you buy all the dolls?”
He could have just bought the Cult Leader and Fist Demon dolls as extras.
Yet gathered there were dolls of Geom Ujin, Geom Mugeuk, and all of the Eight Demon Venerables.
“As for why I bought them all…”
Geom Mugeuk, who had asked the question, guessed the answer.
“Because they said they’d give you thirty percent off if you bought them all at once.”
Deokchul stared at Geom Mugeuk in astonishment.
“That’s right. How did you know?”
That was not the only thing Geom Mugeuk had guessed.
“The money the Demonic Cult Leader’s son borrowed—was it ten nyang?”
“That’s right. It was ten nyang. Hup!”
In that instant, Deokchul started in shock.
“How did you know that too?”
Now all the guests’ gazes turned toward Geom Mugeuk.
“If you lent money to the son, would it do to go collect it from the father?”
Just as everyone was blinking in confusion, wondering what he meant,
Geom Mugeuk placed one of the dolls from the box on the table.
“Whose doll is this?”
“It’s the Young Cult Leader doll.”
Geom Mugeuk stood beside the doll. Then he struck the exact same pose as the doll.
“Isn’t the real thing better?”
Everyone looked once at Geom Mugeuk, then once at the doll. Their gazes went back and forth until—
“Aaagh!”
A scream burst from someone’s mouth when they realized the two looked exactly alike.
Soon, silence descended over the place.
When Geom Mugeuk raised his hand, every liquor bottle and cup there rose into the air and filled the cups. With this one move, he had shown that he was truly the Young Cult Leader.
Geom Mugeuk set down the cost of the food they had eaten, and beside it, ten nyang. It was payment for the liquor he had promised to buy them, but he deliberately gave ten nyang.
His final farewell was to Deokchul’s wife.
“Your husband is neither a liar nor a braggart. He is a fine man who kept the promise he made with my father.”
Deokchul’s wife’s face was filled with both apology and emotion.
Geom Mugeuk went outside with his companions.
Deokchul, his wife, and the guests all rushed outside to see them off.
They were deeply moved. To think they had seen the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in person! To think he had bought them liquor! To think they had drunk liquor he had poured for them! It was an experience they would pass down to their descendants for generations.
As they watched them recede into the distance, Deokchul’s wife apologized first.
“I’m sorry, dear.”
“It’s all right.”
Not only his wife, but the guests apologized as well. Even after experiencing such a thing, their mouths were already itching to tell it; having gone through what he had, how could he possibly have kept silent?
“I’m sorry for all this time.”
“I apologize too.”
“Forgive us.”
Deokchul smiled as he looked at them. Since no matter how much they boasted to others, no one would believe them either,
“Now all of you have become braggarts too.”
At those words, the guests laughed.
When they turned their heads again, the Young Cult Leader and his companions had already vanished.
“If we tell people about this too, no one in the world will believe us, right?”
His wife accepted that sorrowful yet overwhelming feeling with a smile.
“Tell me. I’ll listen for the rest of my life.”