Chapter 268 - None of Them Seem to Know

Even at the offer of a spar, Seo Cheong stood his ground.

He lived and died by his pride. With Seok Pung and the others watching, he refused to kneel alongside them.

Geom Mugeuk threw the words Seo Cheong had used at their first meeting right back at him.

"Quite proud, aren't you? Well, pride is a martial artist's life."

The moment Seo Cheong heard those words, the urge to kill surged through him. He pictured himself running Geom Mugeuk through with his sword, then cutting down every demonic martial artist who rushed him. Just imagining himself standing tall, drenched in blood, while everyone looked on in shock and admiration gave him a thrill.

He disliked those clear, fathomless eyes of Geom Mugeuk's, which seemed to see straight through his desires.

"How could I dare cross swords with the Demonic Cult's young lord?"

However much his pride suffered, he was not foolish enough to attack the Demonic Cult's young lord.

"When someone begged you like that, did you grant his request?"

At first, Seo Cheong wondered what he meant. Then he remembered. Not long ago, the fellow he had forced into a spar and left broken had begged in exactly the same way. He was no match for them. Please spare him, just this once.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Didn't your friend over there already tell us all the reasons?"

"Everything that bastard said is a lie!"

Seok Pung shouted from his knees.

"I know where the bodies are buried."

Seo Cheong ground his teeth at the man intent on dragging him down with him.

"That stupid fuck!"

The two glared at each other as though they wanted to kill one another. Then Seo Cheong turned his gaze back to Geom Mugeuk.

"None of them mattered. They were low-ranking martial artists, people passing by. I'll compensate everyone."

Geom Mugeuk unleashed his qi presence, releasing demonic qi.

In that instant, Seo Cheong plunged into an ocean whose depths he could not fathom. Pressure constricted his entire body in a flash, choking off his breath.

He tried to resist, to no avail. The internal energy cultivation method he had practiced since childhood, his swordsmanship, the methods he used to calm his mind—none of them helped.

A scream escaped his lips. He felt as though he would be crushed to death or suffocate.

'You bastard! Why the fuck are you doing this to me? You've killed all sorts of people yourself!'

Unable to bear it any longer, Seo Cheong cried out.

"Please, stop!"

As if it had never existed, the demonic qi crushing him vanished.

Seo Cheong opened his tightly shut eyes. Geom Mugeuk's legs were before him. While enduring the demonic qi, he had fallen to his knees without realizing it.

His face flushed with humiliation, and he sprang to his feet.

Frankly, Seo Cheong could not understand it. No, he felt wronged. Anyone else, perhaps—but shouldn't the Demonic Cult's young lord understand him better than anyone? Those people ought to mean even less to him.

"I said I'll compensate them. I'll give their families more money than they could ever touch in their lifetimes. Wouldn't that make their deaths more valuable?"

Geom Mugeuk smiled at him.

Not knowing what kind of man Geom Mugeuk was, Seo Cheong naturally misread that smile. He had no idea that his fate had already been decided: death, or suffering worse than death.

'Yes, that's it. Even the Demonic Cult can't touch our Heavenly Harmony School.'

His father had once told him that their Heavenly Harmony School was a sect to be proud of, one coveted by the Demonic Cult, the Unorthodox Alliance, and even the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

"Send for my father."

"All right. I will."

Geom Mugeuk's ready answer reassured Seo Cheong.

'There. I'm fine. This is nothing. Nothing will happen to me just because I killed a few worthless people. That demonic martial artist was low-ranking too.'

Thinking how fortunate it was that he had killed no one important, Seo Cheong shook off his fear. As always, everything would be settled once his father arrived.

Next, Geom Mugeuk approached Seok Pung.

Still kneeling, Seok Pung trembled with fear as he drew near. He was confused. Had the young lord caused this situation, or had he saved him from nearly being killed by Seo Cheong? He could not make sense of any of it.

"Just go and testify to exactly what you said earlier."

Seok Pung's gaze shifted to Seo Cheong, standing up ahead.

Geom Mugeuk drove the point home.

"Yes, you might retract your testimony out of fear of the Heavenly Harmony School. Now, who should you fear from that moment on?"

Geom Mugeuk slowly curled his hand into a fist before Seok Pung's face.

The moment he clenched it tight—

KRA-BOOM!

Thunder rang out from his fist.

"Aaaah!"

Seok Pung was scared out of his wits by the thunder exploding right before his eyes. It was real thunder. Thunder from a fist? A blow from that fist would reduce his entire body to dust.

"No, sir! I'll tell you everything honestly. He's committed other crimes too."

He thought that if he revealed all of Seo Cheong's crimes, he could walk away unscathed. Helping bury the bodies, beating a young man who worked here so savagely that he had nearly crippled him—he did not even consider things like that crimes. Geom Mugeuk did not bother to disabuse him.

"I knew it. You looked clever from the moment I first saw you."

Watching them, Seo Cheong snorted.

'You still can't touch me. If you could, you would have done it already.'

Places like the White Night Gang were the ones he could threaten and meddle with. The thunder only strengthened Seo Cheong's conviction.

At Geom Mugeuk's signal, the Hunan branch's demonic martial artists approached, suppressed the internal energy of Seo Cheong, Seok Pung, and everyone else there, and led them out.

Seo Cheong shook off the hands reaching for his arms.

"I'll walk on my own!"

He remained defiant to the end.

His confidence even eased the expressions of the others being taken away with him. They had been terrified, but now that they were being led away without anyone getting hurt, they began to think, 'This isn't such a big deal, is it?' They understood nothing.

Once again, only Geom Mugeuk and his guards remained in the empty banquet hall.

Jeok Yeon addressed Geom Mugeuk.

"You settled it without lifting a finger."

"Didn't I tell you? This is nothing remarkable."

"I thought you would spar with Seo Cheong and crush him."

"His father is coming to see him. That wouldn't do, would it?"

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk was thinking of two fathers.

This affair had begun with the father of Hae Jin, who had been beaten here, and would end with the father of Seo Cheong, who had beaten him.

"Let's see how this father responds."

* * *

Seo Baekjung, the master of the Heavenly Harmony School, was in the middle of a meeting.

With his piercing gaze and cold demeanor, he was a self-made man who had raised the Heavenly Harmony School from a minor Hunan sect to the region's foremost. He had pursued success all his life, and today, too, he was working to make the school stronger.

Just then, his trusted aide Yu Maeng hurried in and reported through sound transmission.

—The young master has been taken into custody by the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon's Hunan branch.

Seo Baekjung showed no agitation at the report.

—Wait until the meeting is over.

Even upon hearing that his son had been arrested, Seo Baekjung remained calm. He finished the meeting in full, displaying so little change in emotion that it was hard to believe he had received Yu Maeng's report.

Only after the meeting ended and he sent everyone else out did he ask a question.

"Was it the young lord who took him?"

"Yes, that is what I hear."

Rumors that Yeo Sogwang was dead and that the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon's young lord was at the branch had spread throughout Hunan.

"Did he know he was my son?"

"Yes."

An unmistakable flicker of displeasure crossed Seo Baekjung's eyes.

"How did it happen?"

Yu Maeng reported cautiously.

"It appears the young master committed murder."

Seo Baekjung was not surprised in the least. It was impossible to tell whether he had known beforehand or simply did not care about such a thing.

"Who did he kill?"

"Several people. The problem is that apparently one of them was a martial artist from the Demonic Cult's Hunan branch."

"Idiot!"

He was not calling his son an idiot for killing. His anger was at the failure to clean up properly afterward.

"It came out in front of everyone, so I don't think it will be easy to smooth this over."

"But why was he taken by the Demonic Cult?"

"The young lord was there, they say."

"Did my boy invite him?"

"That hasn't been confirmed. What we do know is that he fought with Young Master Seok of the White Night Gang at the banquet, and apparently Young Master Seok divulged everything in the process."

Yu Maeng was always amazed by Seo Baekjung's composure. Even with his son held by the Demonic Cult, he did not react emotionally. One might have expected him to show anger and murderous intent toward Seok Pung, but he gave no hint of either.

More astonishing still was that he invariably remembered and avenged matters that seemed likely to be buried and forgotten beneath that composure. Once this affair was over, Seok Pung would never escape unscathed.

"Prepare the carriage."

* * *

"My respects, young lord."

Seo Baekjung greeted Geom Mugeuk courteously.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sect Leader."

Geom Mugeuk's appearance privately surprised Seo Baekjung. First, he was surprised by how young he was, and then by looks that would stand out anywhere.

"I had no idea you were so handsome, young lord."

"Fortunately, I don't take after my father, so I hear that often."

The mention of the Heavenly Demon made Seo Baekjung tense inwardly.

"The cult leader would be hurt to hear that."

"In truth, life would be easier if I resembled Father. You wouldn't feel quite so comfortable with me either, Sect Leader."

"I seem to have been rude at our first meeting."

"Not at all. Please don't misunderstand. I like being comfortable."

Geom Mugeuk smiled broadly.

Seo Baekjung sensed that the young lord was no easy opponent. A remark like that at the outset left the other person uneasy, allowing him to take the lead in the conversation naturally and gain the upper hand.

'Not bad.'

Indeed, however young he was, the Demonic Cult's young lord was not someone to take lightly.

"I hear my son has caused trouble."

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Sect Leader."

"It is my fault. I was so busy with work that I failed to raise him properly."

Seo Baekjung rose and respectfully cupped his fist in his palm.

It was an apology intended to prompt Geom Mugeuk to rise as well and reassure him that it was all right, that young people made such mistakes. Instead, Geom Mugeuk remained seated. He even said:

"So I've noticed."

Seo Baekjung bowed his head respectfully again.

'Look at this little brat.'

Though indignant, he made his tone even more courteous.

"As you know, our Heavenly Harmony School is Hunan's foremost sect. We have the most disciples and the greatest number of experts."

Having thus flaunted his power, he apologized once more.

"As a result, I have neglected my family. I ask for your understanding and leniency."

"I would like that too, but his crimes are too grave."

"There are many things our school can do for your Cult. We will spend our lives repaying his debt through that service."

Though phrased indirectly, he was offering money. Most serious problems in his life had been solved with money and swords, so he meant to solve this one with money as well. He could hardly take a sword to the Demonic Cult's young lord.

'Money is what you want in the end, isn't it? How much? Two hundred thousand taels? Three hundred thousand?'

Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.

"I understand you've done a great deal of that with Corps Commander Yeo already."

The mention of the dead Yeo Sogwang startled Seo Baekjung.

'So that's what this is about.'

Now Seo Baekjung understood. Surely his son was not the only criminal in the world. Yet they had gone out of their way to arrest him as pressure to reveal his dealings with Yeo Sogwang.

'He wants me to cough up millions of taels, not a hundred or two hundred thousand!'

He did not understand Geom Mugeuk's intentions. Even if told, he would not have understood that this had begun for the sake of a boy serving wine at a banquet, and that the matter involving Yeo Sogwang was meant to set an example and restore discipline in the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon's branches. Even if someone explained it, he would suspect another motive.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Whenever it comes to this, without fail..."

Geom Mugeuk added with a broad smile:

"None of them seem to know."

Their gazes locked in midair.

Seo Baekjung realized this was not a problem he could solve in this manner. The other man wanted something he could not give.

"I've taken up too much of your valuable time. I will take my leave for today."

He respectfully cupped his fist in his palm and left the room.

After he left, Jeok Yeon entered.

Geom Mugeuk said to him, "I should have beaten that bastard Seo Cheong black and blue."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"He's leaving without even seeing his son's face."

"Could it not be because he's angry?"

Geom Mugeuk rose and walked to the window.

"No. It's because he didn't come for his son."

However angry he might be, however much he might hate him, if his son had been taken by the Demonic Cult, he should at least see his face and check whether he was hurt.

Yet Seo Baekjung was now wholly occupied with how to deal with me from here on. You two aren't looking at each other either. You are so utterly determined not to look.

Seo Baekjung could be seen walking away in the distance.

"If he'd come as a father, my fight would have been harder."

Just then, Seo Baekjung paused and looked back this way.

Geom Mugeuk waved from the window. Seo Baekjung bowed his head courteously and turned away.

"Instead of that meaningless greeting, you should have gone to see your son."

Whether to scold him, beat him, or promise to save him, he should have seen his son.

Then again, if theirs had been that kind of father-son relationship, perhaps none of this would have happened in the first place.

* * *

Late that night, Seo Baekjung sat alone by the river, fishing.

Footsteps sounded from beyond the thick mist.

STEP, STEP.

Someone approached with an even stride, the footsteps sounding as though nothing in the world could ever alter that pace.

A man emerged through the mist.

His face was hidden beneath a low-drawn bamboo hat, but there was something strange about him.

Looking out over the lake where he had cast his fishing line, Seo Baekjung spoke.

"My son has been taken by the Demonic Cult's young lord."

He had spoken the words "Demonic Cult" and "young lord." Though together they formed the most dangerous phrase in Murim, the man in the bamboo hat answered without hesitation.

"We will take care of it for you."

The man vanished into the mist, his footsteps sounding exactly as they had when he arrived.