Ilcheonggeom asked back at the old man's words.
"Gyecheonmunju?"
"That is correct."
"Huh?"
That old man is Gyecheonmunju? Ilcheonggeom couldn't hide his bewilderment.
It had only been a day since they started their search. He was prepared to wait up to half a month if necessary, but for the Lord to appear this suddenly?
'Is he really Gyecheonmunju?'
A momentary doubt crossed his mind. It was too flimsy to just believe his words. Furthermore...
'Was he that strong?'
The known realm of Gyecheonmunju wasn't that high. At best, he was at a level where even the Vice Commander of the Azure Dragon Unit could face him...
'This man...'
The old man was at least at the Hwagyeong. Contrary to the intel, his realm was far too high.
As Ilcheonggeom stared at Gyecheonmunju with suspicious eyes, the old man spat out his words.
"I heard you were looking for me, so I thought it would be polite to visit you first. I hope it is to your liking."
A hollow laugh naturally escaped at the old man's words.
"Well, this is..."
His gaze chilled.
"You must think incredibly little of the Alliance."
Ilcheonggeom's expression distorted at Gyecheonmunju's words.
"You appeared here knowing the Murim Alliance is looking for you? Even knowing who I am?"
Grrrrr---!!
Starting from his shoulders, Ilcheonggeom's fighting spirit began to simmer and waver.
"If this is a joke, it's not funny."
"A joke? As I said, I was simply showing courtesy."
"Is that so?"
Screech-!! Sword aura layered over the blade.
The energy created a ripple. Soon after, the wind slowly gathered.
"Then, I too must show the corresponding courtesy."
He entered a battle stance. Currently, the Azure Dragon Unit's forces were dispersed, but once the battle started, they would join him before long.
He also recalled the possibility that Gyecheonmun's disciples were positioned around the perimeter.
'Subdue if possible. Eliminate if not.'
His original orders were to determine if they were connected to the Demonic Cult and eliminate them all if so, but in this situation, it would be fine to act otherwise.
Since the opponent appearing directly like this was essentially a declaration of war.
Crack-! He put strength into the soles of his feet. The ground caved in as Ilcheonggeom's body rushed toward Gyecheonmunju.
Fast. The sound only followed after Ilcheonggeom had already reached his destination.
Boom-!
The sword lightly flickered.
Flashes of light poured down as if spilling stars. The moment the light was about to reach Gyecheonmunju's neck—
"I know the Commander's purpose regarding Seongwang."
Halt-!
Whoooosh---!!!
At Gyecheonmunju's single remark, Ilcheonggeom's body halted its motion. The sword stopped, bursting with strong wind pressure.
The blade stopped just before making contact. Ilcheonggeom stared at Gyecheonmunju with eerie eyes.
"...What did you just say?"
It was a voice reeking of killing intent, yet he ultimately did not continue his action.
Seeing this, Gyecheonmunju added.
"You ask what I said—"
"Also. I know that Seongwang's physical condition is not good."
"...!"
"I believe the Commander also knows this. Am I wrong?"
At the listed information, Ilcheonggeom's pupils shook.
How on earth does he know that?
At Ilcheonggeom's reaction, Gyecheonmunju raised the corners of his old mouth and spoke.
"Our eyes and ears are not only in Sichuan."
"..."
"I apologize if you are surprised. It just so happens that the Azure Dragon Commander's purpose didn't seem purely that of an enemy, so I came to visit you like this."
Saying that, Gyecheonmunju moved his hand.
His slender fingers touched Ilcheonggeom's blade.
"If what I have seen is wrong... I will play along with whatever act you desire... But if I am right."
He pushed the blade just like that, and the sword was pushed back without any resistance.
"How about we have a quiet conversation for a moment? I assure you. It will not be a bad story for the Commander."
"..."
Ilcheonggeom's breath slightly wavered after hearing the words. It was something he didn't even need to hear.
The Unorthodox Faction.
A conversation with Gyecheonmunju, who is suspected to be entangled with the Demonic Cult.
This was something that should not happen as a member of the Orthodox Faction. Let alone as the Commander of the Alliance.
He should immediately close his ears and swing his sword.
He should have roared, asking how dare he try to scheme against the Commander of the Alliance.
That was the virtue he had to uphold as the Commander of the Alliance...
He surely knew that himself.
Click.
When he came to his senses, the drawn sword was already back in its scabbard.
"...If you spout bullshit, I will cut you down right there."
Ilcheonggeom said, grinding his teeth.
"I thank you for your magnanimity."
Gyecheonmunju smiled as he looked at such an Ilcheonggeom.
And.
"..."
From within the darkness, the master of the night was watching this.
******************
"Is that so?"
He said while listening to Amwang's words.
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Gyecheonmunju and Ilcheonggeom made contact.
At those words, he clicked his tongue briefly inwardly.
It was an expected event, but...
"Faster than I thought?"
He couldn't exactly say he was purely happy that everything went as expected.
'Still, I thought he would hesitate at least once.'
No matter what, he was the Commander of the Alliance. A man who had long immersed himself in the Orthodox Faction.
Even if he knew the future, he should have refused at least once.
However.
'He joined hands without any hesitation?'
Ilcheonggeom crossed over without a second thought at a single word from Gyecheonmunju.
Well, it hadn't been confirmed whether he had completely crossed over yet.
'From where I'm standing, he's already crossed over.'
If it went that far, it was already over.
Recalling that made him laugh at himself slightly.
'Was I perhaps expecting something?'
He had been mocking himself, saying there was no lower bottom and to expect what was expected. It seemed a lingering attachment, not quite an attachment, still remained in one corner.
Disappointment, after all, only comes when you have expectations.
"Still, well. Thanks to that, I do feel refreshed."
The smile he wore this time was not a sneer.
It was a smile born from genuinely feeling good.
If he was going to kill them anyway, wasn't it better to have no lingering doubts? In that sense, this was a pretty good harvest.
Ilcheonggeom had betrayed whatever conviction he might have had, so that was the end of it.
That was enough.
"Then, let's see..."
He walked and slightly lowered his body. A splashing sound was heard.
It was the sound of trampling on a puddle.
The space was dark, so the situation couldn't be seen in detail.
He immediately raised his hand and sparked a fire.
Whoosh-!
Though a small flame, it instantly illuminated the space. Soon after, the space was revealed.
What I was stepping on was not a puddle of water.
It was all blood.
A painfully felt metallic stench. I cast my gaze into the blood filling various parts of the floor.
"Keu... heuu..."
A man groaning as if terrified. On both sides of him, corpses that seemed to have already breathed their last were visible.
Their throats had been torn out, killing them instantly. The one who killed them was precisely me.
This was the place where the guys who were said to be having secret meetings with Gyecheonmun were located.
The location of those suspected to be members of the 'Demonic Cult'.
"So."
I reached out and gently stroked the man's cheek.
The blood on my hand smeared onto his skin. The trickling drops of blood were surely felt by the man as well.
"P-please... please... please..."
The man's lower body trembled violently. Then, his pants slowly grew wet.
It seemed he had pissed himself.
Ignoring this, I asked.
"Who are you?"
It would be good if you answer this time. That is, if you don't want to end up like the dead bastards in front of you.
*****************
Inside a room at the center of the Murim Alliance in Henan.
Swish. Swish.
A time when most were asleep and it was only quiet. There, with a lamp barely lit, an old man moved his brush.
His speed was so fast that it felt like he hadn't done much, yet one letter was already finished.
Moreover, it didn't seem difficult, as he didn't rest even for a moment. The old man just examined the letters and moved.
Despite such a fast and precise work speed, the letters on the desk didn't decrease. That meant the amount was enormous.
It was an amount that would make one exhausted just looking at it, unable to work, but the old man silently did his work as if he didn't care about such things.
If there was one regrettable thing, was it that his speed had noticeably slowed compared to his youth?
Twenty years. No, even ten years ago, he would have finished the work with time to spare. His aged body felt undeniably real.
He kept moving for a long time after that.
"...Hmm."
Then, the old man set down his brush for a moment.
Afterward, perhaps tired, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger.
"I've grown old too."
He spat out with a bitter smile.
It felt more so because the difference from the past was distinctly felt. Well, at this age, growing old was a natural law.
However, if there was something that bothered him the most, it was that not only his flesh had grown old.
'But even my heart.'
The fact that the heart he possessed had also grown old.
Time could sweep away even the convictions and certainties one held.
Knowing that, the old man often recalled.
'...Indeed.'
Did he still have a conviction he held firmly onto? How much of the many things he dreamed of in his youth remained in this aged body?
He was curious. He was insanely curious about that, but contradictorily, he didn't want to know.
Why was that? Perhaps.
'Is it because I already know the answer?'
Was he afraid to confirm it because he already knew the answer himself?
It somehow felt that way, so the old man, Mugyeon, let out a bitter smile and grabbed his brush.
'...I've been having a lot of stray thoughts.'
He was having unusually many thoughts he hadn't had recently. Whenever he wasn't working even a little, it turned out like this. He already knew the cause of this too.
'It's probably because of that child.'
Was her name Pi Yeonyeon? The woman who appeared, claiming to be the bloodline of the Eullyeonggeomhu.
From the moment the child from Shanxi brought her and mentioned her, Mugyeon's insides were only complicated.
It felt like meeting a remnant of the past he had forgotten. A past he had tried to forget.
Even as years passed, he had been deceiving himself with the excuse that it couldn't be helped, but when that child appeared, he couldn't even do that anymore.
Was it truly something that couldn't be helped?
Unable to find the answer to this, he had left the Alliance. However.
'When I came back, that child had appeared.'
In the end, she showed herself to Mugyeon as if telling him not to forget his homework.
Telling him not to run away this time. To give the answer he couldn't provide.
It was as if she appeared with such an intention.
"...Haha."
Mugyeon, recalling that, suddenly let out a laugh.
If this was a problem, it was far too difficult a problem. Then.
'The examiner who posed such a wicked problem is...'
Who was the examiner of the problem that complicated Mugyeon's mind?
A face finally came to mind.
The one who not only brought the child to make her reveal herself, but also kept reminding him of the events of that time.
Seongwang.
Recalling him, Mugyeon wiped his wrinkled mouth.
If there was an examiner, it was that young man.
'Did he... perhaps do it knowing everything?'
If so, what did he know to do such a thing?
It was unknowable.
Leaving Pi Yeonyeon aside, Seongwang too was a difficult problem for Mugyeon to solve.
At least.
For now, that is.
"...Phew."
While recalling his thoughts, Mugyeon started moving his brush again.
He had rested enough.
Now was the time to do what needed to be done first. So, just as he was about to resume his work.
"..."
Mugyeon's moving brush suddenly froze.
He turned his gaze to look at the lit lamp. At that moment.
Flick.
The lit lamp suddenly hid its light. There was clearly no wind.
As the fire went out, the room suddenly grew dark.
A situation that was clearly unnatural to anyone. It would be understandable to be flustered by this, but Mugyeon was rather calm.
It was as if he knew why such a situation had occurred.
As if to prove it, Mugyeon quietly murmured.
"...If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared some tea... I am sorry I couldn't."
Mugyeon's tone was friendly, like meeting an acquaintance after a long time, but his gaze was not.
The room that should have been empty. But when Mugyeon spoke, someone was already standing in front of him.
The darkness hung so heavy that one couldn't see an inch ahead. But there was exactly one thing vividly visible within it. It was a pair of red eyes burning as if blazing.
The red-dyed pupils glared at Mugyeon, filled with emotion as if symbolizing anger.
A dry swallow naturally went down at that gaze, but Mugyeon forced himself to endure it.
And after a little while.
"There are many things I want to ask you, who broke the promise."
The owner of the red eyes spat out in a heavy voice.
"Keok."
At the same time, a large hand grabbed Mugyeon by the neck.
His thin, scrawny body was lifted by the thick hand.
"I will ask just one thing."
"Keuk-."
"Mugyeon."
Gu Cheolun asked Mugyeon.
"Where is my son?"
It was a voice that sounded like it would tear the other person apart right this instant.