Chapter 269 - I See Your Father in a New Light

TAP, TAP.

The bamboo-hatted man arrived at a small workshop, his footsteps falling at a steady pace. He removed his hat and tossed it toward the wall. It settled lightly atop a yellow robe hanging there.

He was a middle-aged man with long, narrow eyes. Their uncanny gleam spoke of someone who had overcome every manner of intrigue, while the darkness shadowing his face suggested a life weathered by many storms.

He sat on a small chair and began carving a wooden figurine.

SCRITCH, SCRITCH.

Only the sound of a carving knife cutting wood filled the small room. His extraordinary hands worked the wood into a finger-sized figurine.

Just then, a young man slipped silently inside. His eyes shone with vigor, and he was handsome, with an open, bold bearing.

He approached the middle-aged man from behind. His footwork was exceptional: neither his steps nor the drawing of his sword made a sound.

SWISH.

The young man's drawn sword came to rest against the side of the older man's neck.

The scraping had stopped, but not because of the sword at his throat. The little carving knife that had been in his hand was now floating before the young swordsman's eyes.

The young man withdrew his sword and grasped the knife hovering in midair. Yet it would not budge, as though something invisible held it fast.

Even using internal energy, he could not move it. When he finally gave up, the middle-aged man spoke.

“A master does not fall to an attack from behind. That is why he is called a master. When you kill a master, you must look him in the eyes.”

The young man asked, “Wouldn't that be harder?”

“It is easier. Only when you understand that will you become a true master capable of killing other masters.”

SCRITCH, SCRITCH.

The sound of the knife shaving wood resumed. Somehow, the blade that had been suspended in midair was back in the middle-aged man's hand. It was so natural that it felt as though the knife had never left his hand at all.

“I will remember that, Master.”

The young man bowed respectfully. The two were master and disciple.

Through the window, martial artists could be seen stationed around the workshop. The words embroidered on their chests were the same as those on the young man's: Demon-Slaying.

They were members of the Demon-Slaying Squad, the Orthodox Martial Alliance's finest elite.

The young man was Jin Hagun, grandson of the current Martial Alliance Leader and commander of the Demon-Slaying Squad. He was the older brother of Jin Haryeong, who had ties to Geom Mugeuk. After joining the squad, he had risen to its command through skill alone.

The middle-aged man was his master, Baek Cheongyeong.

“You haven't been neglecting your training lately.”

Jin Hagun had yet to inherit the martial arts of his grandfather, Martial Alliance Leader Jin Paecheon. His grandfather wanted him to earn the position of successor through his own abilities.

He had publicly declared that his grandson would receive no special treatment.

“I've been cutting back on sleep to train.”

Jin Hagun walked over to the display stand in the center of the workshop. On it, martial artist figurines carved by Baek Cheongyeong himself were arranged in battle.

The scene was so vivid that it looked like a real fight was unfolding. Warriors dressed in white fought those in black, as though depicting a struggle between black and white themselves.

Looking down at it, Jin Hagun said, “The rumors coming out of the Demonic Cult lately are troubling.”

Baek Cheongyeong silently concentrated on his carving.

“They say Geom Mugeuk, the newly appointed young lord, is expanding his power by bringing all the Demon Supremes under his control.”

Even then, Baek Cheongyeong merely turned the wooden figurine in his hands, checking his workmanship as though it were of little consequence.

“To be honest, that man concerns me.”

Baek Cheongyeong's hands stopped. He rose and walked over to his disciple at the display stand.

“How does this battle look to you?”

“The warriors in white seem to be at a disadvantage.”

“Why do you think so, when there are more of them?”

“Because of this man.”

Jin Hagun pointed at a black-clad warrior swinging his sword and leading the battle.

“Well spotted. It is because of him. He controls the field and dictates the battle.”

Baek Cheongyeong bent down, studying the wooden figurine through his small, elongated eyes.

“Do you want to play that role?”

“Yes. I want to stand in that place. No, I will stand there.”

“Yes, you've been that way since childhood. You have never feared a challenge, and you have never given up.”

Jin Hagyeong's heart swelled whenever his master praised him like this. It drove him to train harder in everything and strive never to give up. Ever since his parents' early deaths, he had thought of Baek Cheongyeong as his father.

“The man standing in this place right now is Geom Mugeuk.”

Jin Hagun could not argue. He knew Geom Mugeuk had ascended to the position of young lord more spectacularly than any successor in history.

And what of him? He had yet even to be formally appointed successor.

Baek Cheongyeong slowly ran a finger over the figurine.

“How will you break this momentum?”

Jin Hagun answered as though he had been waiting for the question.

“I've received a report that Geom Mugeuk is currently in Hunan. They say he is holding the Heavenly Harmony School master's son captive and using him to pressure the school.”

He had been following the movements of Geom Mugeuk, whom he privately considered his rival.

“The Heavenly Harmony School is a powerful sect, but it cannot face the Demonic Cult alone. If you can save them from the Cult's clutches...”

Baek Cheongyeong's gaze turned to the hero figurine.

“You will be able to dictate the battles to come.”

Jin Hagun asked cautiously, “But hasn't the Heavenly Harmony School always moved between the Demonic Cult and the Unorthodox Alliance?”

As far as outsiders knew, the Heavenly Harmony School's dealings were divided four parts with the Demonic Cult, four with the Unorthodox Alliance, and two with the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

Baek Cheongyeong looked at the figurine again.

“Do you think you can stand in that place by doing easy things?”

Jin Hagun was confident in everything he did, but he could not boast about this.

“If I had my way, I would lead the Demon-Slaying Squad in an assault on the Hunan branch and rescue the school master's son, but...”

That would spark a war with the Demonic Cult. Far from becoming a hero, he might become a villain condemned for all eternity.

After a moment's thought, Jin Hagun spoke cautiously.

“The commander of the Demon-Slaying Squad has a unique authority he may exercise during his tenure when dealing with the Demonic Cult. If the alliance leader approves my special authority, I can pressure the Cult in the Orthodox Martial Alliance's name. But I don't know whether the Heavenly Harmony School is worth that much.”

“The Heavenly Harmony School is a major sect in its own right, and dozens of small and medium-sized sects follow it. There could be no greater achievement than bringing it over to the orthodox factions.”

“As I understand it, the school master is no easy opponent. He's walked the line between the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions with infuriating skill. Later, he might collude with the Unorthodox Alliance and disregard the help we gave him.”

Jin Hagun thought the school master, with a foot in every camp, was as cunning as a fox.

Then Baek Cheongyeong said something astonishing.

“I will take care of that.”

Jin Hagun was startled. His master understood the state of the martial world well, but had never personally involved himself in Murim's affairs. And his reason for doing so now was enough to move Jin Hagun deeply.

“If you accomplish this, you will earn the decisive merit needed to become the Orthodox Martial Alliance's successor. That is why I am stepping in.”

Jin Hagun respectfully cupped his fist in salute.

“Thank you so much, Master.”

With his master stepping forward like this, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

“Then I will proceed at once.”

After bidding him farewell, Jin Hagun tapped the hero figurine with a finger, knocking it over before he left.

After Jin Hagun departed, Baek Cheongyeong continued carving.

SCRITCH, SCRITCH.

How long had he been carving?

Baek Cheongyeong approached the display and set the fallen figurine upright.

Then he placed his newly carved figurine in the center of the battlefield. Whether it represented him or Jin Hagun was impossible to tell. It stood with its arms arrogantly folded.

* * *

Several days had passed since Seo Baekjung, master of the Heavenly Harmony School, had visited.

He had done nothing to save his son. Surely he would not simply abandon him like this. Geom Mugeuk quietly waited to see his next move while practicing the Secret Art of Heavenly Time.

The more he practiced the Secret Art of Heavenly Time, the more it began to produce tiny differences in the passage of time. Once the time gained by using it outweighed the time needed to replenish his internal energy, he would use it for every training session. As a heaven-defying secret art that worked against time itself, it was far from easy, but he practiced it over and over.

After finishing his practice, he was taking a brief break for tea in the main hall when Jeok Yeon brought Seo Cheong in. Seo Cheong had begged to see him, so he had ordered him brought over.

The moment he entered, Seo Cheong shouted in protest.

“Why haven't you contacted my father?”

He had been confined in the branch's prison, but it had not cowed him in the slightest.

“I did.”

“Don't lie. If you had contacted him, he would have come by now. Young lord, my father isn't that unreasonable. If you talk openly with him, you can get what you want.”

That was the conclusion he had reached in prison: the Demonic Cult was doing this to draw the Heavenly Harmony School into its camp. Otherwise, they would never have locked him up like this. Surely they would not imprison the school's successor merely for killing a few worthless people—a passerby, a low-ranking warrior, and the like?

“Your father has already been here.”

Geom Mugeuk's words shocked Seo Cheong.

“What do you mean? Are you saying he came and left without seeing me?”

When Geom Mugeuk nodded, Seo Cheong was stunned and flustered.

“That's absurd!”

After standing blankly for a moment, he began pacing and rambling.

“If you're trying to drive a wedge between us, do a better job. And if you're the Demonic Cult's young lord, act like it and contact my father as you promised.”

He approached the table and tried to pour himself some tea with a trembling hand. But realizing his hand was shaking, he turned back.

One moment he disbelieved that his father had visited; the next, he believed it.

“Even you are in serious trouble now. If my father left without seeing me, it means he's truly furious.”

Then Geom Mugeuk abruptly asked, “How much do you know about your father?”

Seo Cheong flinched.

“And how much do you know about yours, young lord?”

Geom Mugeuk thought Seo Cheong was no different from his own self before his regression.

Had he experienced something like this back then, he would have argued in exactly the same way. He would have lashed out even more harshly, demanding what the other man knew that entitled him to act so superior. The fact that he had almost nothing to say about his father would have driven him to it.

Just then, a branch subordinate arrived with an urgent message from Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.

Geom Mugeuk expected word of who had been chosen as Corps Commander of the Hunan branch, but the contents were utterly unexpected. It was an order to release Seo Cheong.

Geom Mugeuk was startled; he had never expected such a message. For Heaven-Reaching Pavilion to make this decision meant his father had approved it too. That meant tremendous political power had intervened.

And the omission of any detailed explanation was likely his father's wish.

Now, how will you handle this?

Even after he had become young lord, his father's tests continued.

“Release our Young Master Seo.”

Jeok Yeon was also startled by the order, but promptly removed the suppression on Seo Cheong's internal energy.

Looking as though he could soar with joy, Seo Cheong boasted loudly.

“What did I tell you? Didn't I say this would happen?”

He strode to the table and poured himself some tea.

“Will you join me for a cup?”

Seo Cheong drank his tea with a booming laugh. As though nothing had happened, his true nature returned.

He glared at Jeok Yeon and said threateningly, “I remember every single face I've seen here.”

When Jeok Yeon returned an even fiercer glare with his one good eye, Seo Cheong turned to Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk was smiling at him.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because this is interesting. Until now, I'd been feeling deflated. Catching our Young Master Seo isn't the end, is it? Young Master Yang, Young Master Jin, Young Master Cheon... No matter how many young masters I uproot, more will keep sprouting. But he actually moved the Cult? He overturned a matter that I, the young lord, was personally handling?”

Geom Mugeuk was genuinely delighted.

“This is several times more impressive than storming this place to rescue you. I see your father in a new light.”

“Only now do you realize that? I am the Heavenly Harmony School's successor!”

He strode out, declaring loudly, “We won't be seeing each other again.”

“We'll meet again soon.”

As Seo Cheong hurried out without looking back, Jeok Yeon asked, “What happened?”

“It seems the Heavenly Harmony School master got the Orthodox Martial Alliance or the Unorthodox Alliance to act.”

Otherwise, Heavenly Demon Hall would never have made such a decision.

“What do you intend to do?”

“He's blocked the Cult's Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, so I'll have to use my own.”

Jeok Yeon sensed that Geom Mugeuk was excited instead. It was the joy of encountering a formidable opponent.

In a situation like this, he, as a bodyguard, needed to be utterly rational. Yet he realized he was just as excited. He was quietly looking forward to what would happen next—even though a bodyguard ought to hope nothing happened at all.

While Jeok Yeon let out a soft sigh, Geom Mugeuk walked outside.

“Where are you going? I'll escort you.”

“You can't. Wait here.”

“I can follow—”

He could not. The instant Geom Mugeuk kicked off the ground and launched himself into the air, he shrank to a speck and vanished.

“... No, I suppose I can't. I'll wait here.”

Then Third Tiger, who was in the courtyard, said to Jeok Yeon, “It's not easy, is it?”

Jeok Yeon rubbed his aching eye and nodded. Truly, Geom Mugeuk was both the easiest and the hardest leader to protect.

Looking up at the sky where Geom Mugeuk had vanished, Jeok Yeon said quietly, “But it won't be easy for his enemies either.”