Chapter 231 - What Is Worse Than a Life Gone Wrong

"Do you have a plan to kill Yelü Han?"

Geom Mugeuk shook his head at Bi Sain's question.

"Not yet."

Seeing Bi Sain's incredulous expression, he said, "I can't make a proper plan until I have your permission, can I?"

"Are you saying a plan will materialize out of nowhere once I give permission?"

"It will."

"You really are hopeless."

Despite his words, Bi Sain did not seem displeased. If anything, making the decision had left him feeling relieved.

"There is one thing I want you to promise."

Bi Sain set one condition. Since he had already given permission, it was closer to a request.

"You may kill the Divine Sword of Five Thunders and the Blood-Wheel Calamity, but you must leave the Ultimate Corps alone. They aren't Yelü Han's personal servants. They are our alliance's finest warriors."

In terms of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, he was asking them to kill only the Demon Army commander and leave the army itself untouched. Losing Yelü Han alone would be a major blow, but he was trying to minimize their losses.

"Understood."

Geom Mugeuk readily agreed.

Bi Sain sighed.

"I don't know what I'm doing. If this goes wrong, dying at Yelü Han's hands may be the least of my worries. I could be stripped of my position as successor immediately."

"If they throw you out, come to me. I'll take you in."

"I'd sooner die than go there."

Bi Sain's hideous face twisted. Geom Mugeuk could tell he was smiling happily. It was an emotion no one could have recognized without watching him very closely.

"Contact me if there's anything I can do to help. I'll be having lunch at that inn for the time being."

"Thank you."

Bi Sain left first. Geom Mugeuk remained, gazing at the Unorthodox Alliance's nighttime panorama and the sky above for a long while before finally leaving.

* * *

Upon returning to the safe house, I immediately gathered Go Wol, the Wicked Laughing Demon, and the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

"Bi Sain, the Unorthodox Alliance's successor, has promised to handle the aftermath. All we have to do now is kill Yelü Han."

Everyone was startled by my announcement.

"How on earth did you change his mind?"

Not only the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, who had asked the question, but even the Wicked Laughing Demon and Go Wol stared at me in surprise. They had thought persuading him would take time, even if I succeeded, yet I had done it so quickly.

"Perhaps we young successors understand each other."

"You really are..."

Unable to find the words, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader simply shook his head.

"Bi Sain agreeing to our request is good news, but there's bad news as well. I've learned of another of Yelü Han's subordinates."

We already knew the Blood-Wheel Calamity served Yelü Han.

"The one I've newly identified is the Divine Sword of Five Thunders."

Everyone was shocked to hear that title. Even the Wind Heaven Cult Leader, who came from beyond the frontiers, remembered him.

"Wasn't he the man who once drenched Murim in blood? He was even declared a public enemy of Murim."

"Yes. That's the one."

"I thought he was dead, but he was hiding in Yelü Han's shadow."

The Blood-Wheel Calamity was no easy opponent, but the Divine Sword of Five Thunders was a level above him.

Then, as though an idea had suddenly struck him, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader asked, "Why not leave them alone and kill Yelü Han when he's by himself? They're human too. They can't be together at all times."

Everyone looked at me. All three shared that thought, but there was a reason we couldn't do that.

"As I said, once Yelü Han dies, Bi Sain will be considered his killer."

Go Wol was the first to grasp my intent.

"You're worried they'll take revenge on Bi Sain."

I nodded.

"We don't know what sort of relationship they have—whether they'd avenge him or simply leave. But if they decide to seek revenge, however unlikely that may be, Bi Sain will certainly die."

"Now I understand exactly why Bi Sain agreed to help you, Young Master."

He meant that Bi Sain must have recognized my concern for him too.

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader spoke up again.

"I'll help with this as well."

Even I hadn't expected him to volunteer.

"Really?"

"I'd be too ashamed not to help."

He meant he was ashamed of suggesting we kill only Yelü Han without considering that Bi Sain might become a target for revenge. But I could tell that was merely an excuse, and he had stepped forward to help me.

"Aren't they too much for the two of you to handle? What is it? Don't you trust my skills?"

"If I can't trust your skills, Cult Leader, whose could I trust? But I need you to do something more important."

"What?"

"Please protect Strategist Go, just as you have until now."

I turned my gaze to Go Wol.

"If our involvement is exposed, even by some remote chance, Strategist Go could be in danger. You'll need to protect him then. With you here, I've never once had to worry about his safety."

"Will you be all right?"

"I have the Laughing Demon."

I looked at the Wicked Laughing Demon, who had been listening quietly all this time. Despite the weight of the situation, he smiled and said, "Just put your trust in me."

"Yes. I'll put my trust in you."

At that moment, this was what I truly felt.

'Laughing Demon, trust me. Whatever happens, I won't let you die.'

That was my answer to the kindness he had shown me.

* * *

Chief Strategist Sima Myeong was in the operations command room. A top-secret operation involving Geom Mugeuk was underway in this place, reputed to be even safer than Heavenly Demon Hall.

Sima Myeong had been on edge ever since Geom Mugeuk left the Cult. If anything happened, he had to provide support immediately and steer relations with the Unorthodox Alliance away from war. And he had to keep the alliance from noticing any of these movements.

So far, Geom Mugeuk had carried out his mission far better than Sima Myeong had expected. When he eliminated Ji Saeng, Ae Cha, and even Yeo Bulgae without revealing their involvement, Heaven-Reaching Pavilion's senior strategist said:

"If I had been Yelü Han's strategist... I would have been caught completely helpless too."

Sima Myeong couldn't reassure him otherwise. He felt that even he himself could offer no guarantees.

"Go Wol's abilities are extraordinary. He has even designed his intelligence network in the Central Plains to complement ours at Heaven-Reaching Pavilion without overlapping it."

"He's thinking ahead to when the Second Young Master becomes the Heavenly Demon."

"He truly is looking at the bigger picture."

Just as Geom Mugeuk was pushing forward with a new Demonic Path, Sima Myeong felt that Heaven-Reaching Pavilion would become something new when Go Wol took his seat.

Then, today, a new report arrived. The senior strategist entered Sima Myeong's office with a grave expression.

"The Second Young Master's party has requested information on someone."

"Who?"

The senior strategist took a deep breath before reporting, signaling just how shocked he had been.

"The Divine Sword of Five Thunders."

Sima Myeong sprang to his feet.

"They say Yelü Han has the Divine Sword of Five Thunders with him as well."

They already knew that the Blood-Wheel Calamity served Yelü Han. But the Divine Sword of Five Thunders too?

"Yelü Han, the Blood-Wheel Calamity, and now the Divine Sword of Five Thunders. Can those two handle all of them?"

"I don't think it will be easy."

"What is this operation's probability of success?"

"Before we knew about the Divine Sword of Five Thunders, we estimated forty percent."

That was Heaven-Reaching Pavilion's assessment. Although they did not know Geom Mugeuk's precise level of martial prowess, they had based their analysis on his many accomplishments thus far.

"But assuming the Divine Sword of Five Thunders assists Yelü Han, we expect it to fall to somewhere in the twenty-percent range. I'll report the detailed analysis as soon as it's complete."

"Twenty percent."

Heaven-Reaching Pavilion's analyses of operational success rates were almost always accurate. A figure of twenty percent had to be treated as failure.

"If another master appears besides the Divine Sword of Five Thunders, it could fall below ten percent."

That was no exaggeration. Sima Myeong realized afresh that this was no ordinary undertaking.

"Send them every piece of information we have on the Divine Sword of Five Thunders."

"Understood."

As the senior strategist turned to leave, Sima Myeong asked, "What do you think?"

"Pardon?"

"What do you personally think their chances of success are?"

"I..."

Of all the strategists under him, this man knew the most about Geom Mugeuk. After hesitating for a long while, he offered an unexpected figure.

"I'd say fifty-fifty."

Sima Myeong was startled.

"Twenty percent and fifty percent—that's quite a gap."

"That's my emotional assessment."

"Rather than a sign that our pavilion's analytical capabilities are abysmal?"

"No, sir. It's purely my intuition."

Sima Myeong pressed the flustered senior strategist relentlessly.

"Why fifty percent?"

The senior strategist said, "Surely there are people in this world who defy analysis. I believe the Second Young Master is one of them."

Before another barrage of questions could come, he quickly paid his respects and withdrew.

Sima Myeong gathered the report and rose to brief the Heavenly Demon. Yes, the man was right. The Geom Mugeuk he had seen thus far could not be explained in numbers.

The same was true of the Heavenly Demon, Geom Ujin, who had authorized this mission. Perhaps their resistance to analysis was the greatest similarity between the two, Sima Myeong thought as he headed for Heavenly Demon Hall.

* * *

Go Wol racked his brains devising a plan. This time, I didn't tell him to enjoy the situation. We needed a proper plan, and we needed to follow it faithfully.

While Go Wol worked on the operation, the rest of us spent our time separately. The Wicked Laughing Demon covered his room's walls with white wallpaper, then began training as he gazed at it. I immersed myself in martial training in the backyard.

In this fight, I would have to bring all my abilities to bear. It would not be easy, but I would eliminate Yelü Han without fail. There was something I needed to whisper in his ear as he died. And I needed to allow someone who had spent so many years trapped by revenge, never once living his own life, to spend what remained of it in peace.

As I trained in the backyard, someone spoke behind me.

"With you working this hard, how am I supposed to slack off?"

I turned to see the Wind Heaven Cult Leader approaching.

"Go Wol nagged me so much that I fled. Kept asking what I was doing when the young master was out here sweating even now."

"Since you're here, why not train with me? You've been losing weight lately, and you're looking quite handsome."

"Am I?"

He looked intrigued. While I was at it, I offered another pleasing remark.

"I imagine quite a few women pursued you in your youth. Am I wrong?"

"Well, the line of women following me was rather long."

He lifted his chin smugly. Seeing the thick flesh beneath it, I realized he still had a long way to go.

"You should regain that popularity."

"How could that be easy at my age?"

"If you train until your body is ten years younger, you'll be going back ten years. Make it twenty years younger, and you'll go back twenty."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader stared at me.

"You get people's hopes up with the most trifling words."

"How is regaining your youth a trifling matter? Be sure to show me! Who knows what the future holds? You might transform into a version of yourself twenty years younger. When we first met, could you have imagined we'd be having this conversation here?"

"That's true. You've turned my monotonous life completely upside down."

"Do you regret it, then?"

He seemed to consider it briefly, then shook his head.

"Had I been a little younger, perhaps I would have. But now I know. What's worse than a life gone wrong is a life spent regretting it."

Since he usually bantered with me, it had been a long time since we'd had such a serious conversation.

"When I was cult leader, I thought that position was something tremendous."

WHOOOOOSH.

A sand-laden wind blew toward us. The Wind Heaven Cult Leader opened the Art of Space-Time Transposition and brought me into a landscape beyond the frontiers. In the distance stood the majestic Wind Heaven Cult.

"To be honest, at the top of that place, I'd think to myself several times a day: I am the king beyond the frontiers. Countless people must envy me. Back then, even the sand crunching between my teeth tasted as sweet as candy."

He looked at me.

"Now that I've realized how futile it all was, I no longer have regrets."

"That's admirable."

"Admirable? It's not as though I'm any better now than I was then."

"You are."

"Better? In what way?"

"You have people who see you for who you really are now."

Our gazes met. He shook his head and said, "To trade all that for this look in your eyes! I'll go down as the greatest fool in Murim's history."

"You'll go down as the man who made the greatest choice in Murim's history."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader smiled. I intended to keep telling him how valuable his decision had been. What made people suffer wasn't what they sacrificed to make that choice. It was having no one acknowledge it. At least in his relationship with me, I would never let him feel that sense of loss.

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader began walking slowly. I followed him across the wasteland, through the sand-laden wind.

"You asked me about that once, didn't you?"

There was another reason he had gone out of his way to open the Art of Space-Time Transposition today. He brought up something he had forgotten until now.

"Whether I could make time flow differently inside the Art of Space-Time Transposition than it does in reality."