Chapter 291 - If That Terrifying Man Were Your Father-in-Law

“I told Yi An I would become her father if she wanted me to.”

At the Fist Demon’s bombshell announcement, everyone watched Geom Mugeuk, curious how he would react. Unexpectedly, he merely blinked, showing no surprise.

“You’re not surprised?”

At the Blood Heaven Saber Demon’s question, Geom Mugeuk seemed puzzled by his own reaction.

“You’re right. Why am I not surprised?”

Why else? He was setting up a chance to tease the Fist Demon.

Geom Mugeuk looked back and forth between the Fist Demon and Yi An.

“A father and daughter who are such complete opposites? Maybe that’s why I’m not surprised.”

Had anyone else said that, they might have needed the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber as a shield again. But the Fist Demon readily conceded the point despite Geom Mugeuk’s teasing. Even he thought their looks were polar opposites.

“Will no one believe us?”

“Would you believe it yourself, Master?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon slipped into the conversation, disguising a serious observation as a joke.

“They’ll think she’s been abducted.”

The Fist Demon nodded as though conceding that point as well.

Just then, Yi An suddenly spoke.

“Father!”

Their startled gazes converged on her. Of the three, the Fist Demon was the most surprised. Looking straight at him, Yi An said,

“If you’re willing to have a daughter like me, please take me as your daughter.”

The Fist Demon’s eyes widened. This was the first time since meeting him that Geom Mugeuk had seen him so surprised.

“Would you really be all right with a father like me?”

Utterly out of character, his voice trembled. The Fist Demon, who would not bat an eye even with ten thousand enemies arrayed before him, was speaking with a trembling voice.

“You’re far more than I deserve.”

Tears welled in Yi An’s eyes. That someone so extraordinary would become her father moved her beyond words. She was truly grateful enough to cry.

Yi An looked at Geom Mugeuk, asking with her eyes.

'Is it all right for me to do this?'

Her decision had been impulsive too. It might well be the most important decision of her life, yet she had made it in an instant.

'Is this really all right?'

Geom Mugeuk’s radiant smile answered for him.

“Congratulations, Yi An.”

After taking a deep breath, Yi An asked the Fist Demon another question.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Anything.”

“Why did you offer to take me as your daughter?”

His answer was simple.

“Because I wish I had a daughter like you.”

No other answer could have pleased Yi An more.

Yi An rose from her seat and bowed deeply to the Fist Demon.

“Please look after me from now on... Father.”

Emotion caught in her throat as she said “Father.”

“This is... the first time in my life I’ve ever said ‘Father.’”

She had never once called anyone Mom or Dad.

She had resented the parents who abandoned her, tried to understand that they must have had their reasons, missed them, hated them, and tried to forget them. I must never become that kind of parent. No, I shouldn’t become a parent at all. I’ll just live alone and die quietly.

All those pent-up feelings surged up, and tears streamed down her face.

Geom Mugeuk, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, and the Fist Demon silently looked down at her shaking shoulders. They let her cry her heart out. The strongest people in the world stood there for a long time, watching over her.

When her sobs subsided, the Fist Demon helped her to her feet.

Seeing her tear-streaked face, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon cracked a joke.

“Now that you’ve gotten ugly, you finally look a little like father and daughter.”

Geom Mugeuk laughed aloud. The Blood Heaven Saber Demon seldom meddled in other people’s affairs, yet when it came to the Fist Demon, he was always ready with jokes and banter. That showed how well they got along and how fond he was of him. And this after all his exaggerated complaints about being ostracized at gatherings of the Demon Supremes.

A forceful presence radiated from the Fist Demon as he looked at Yi An.

“When we return to the Cult, I will officially announce that you have become my daughter. As long as I live, no one in Murim will dare mistreat you.”

His declaration brought fresh tears to Yi An’s eyes.

“This is the last time I’ll cry. I won’t cry anymore after this.”

She forced a smile as she spoke, but her tears would not stop.

The very notion of parents had always been her deepest wound. She had never wanted to tell anyone about it and had spoken of it only to Geom Mugeuk. From now on, she would brag about her father to her heart’s content. What does your father do? My father is the Fist Demon!

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon spoke with a look of amazement.

“When you first brought it up, I thought you were joking.”

Geom Mugeuk replied,

“He’s not the sort to joke about something like this, is he?”

“That terrifying man as a father-in-law?”

“Indeed. What son-in-law could possibly handle him?”

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked at Geom Mugeuk with an expression that said, 'I’m talking about you!'

Whether he understood that look or not, Geom Mugeuk teased Yi An.

“Yi An, what are you going to do? There goes your chance of getting married.”

The Fist Demon abruptly interjected,

“Couldn’t she marry you?”

Yi An waved her hands in protest.

“Please don’t say that. Don’t mind him, Young Master.”

The Fist Demon glared at Geom Mugeuk, waiting for an answer.

“But I like my food salty.”

“From now on, you’ll eat it lightly seasoned!”

So that was how he wanted to play it?

With a meaningful smile, Geom Mugeuk said,

“Could you handle having the Heavenly Demon as your daughter’s father-in-law?”

The Fist Demon flinched. He had thought only of Yi An, not that far ahead. The one person in the world before whom he was utterly helpless—and they would be related by marriage? Related by marriage to the cult leader?

“Hello! I’m right here! The bride who has absolutely no intention of getting married is right here!”

Amid the chaos, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon stroked his chin and imagined that day.

“If they really do get married, it’ll cause quite an uproar.”

* * *

That night, the Fist Demon was practicing martial arts alone in the safe house’s backyard. He seemed to be soothing his tangled feelings with training.

With his shirt off, his muscles looked as perfect as an artist’s painting.

“When will I have a physique like yours, Master?”

I took off my shirt too and stood beside him, practicing the Thunderbolt Asura Fist. The reason we trained bare-chested was to examine every movement of our muscles.

It felt refreshing to train alongside him again after so long.

The Fist Demon had me focus on repeatedly practicing the fifth form, Adamantine Asura. It temporarily made the body like steel to protect it, and could save one’s life in a crisis. I also hoped that using it together with the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art might temporarily render my body impervious to harm.

“Why are you focusing so much on teaching me Adamantine Asura?”

“Judging by how things are unfolding, I think keeping you alive must come first.”

With a hidden mastermind targeting the Martial Alliance Leader, he had decided that even the Demonic Cult’s young lord could not consider himself safe.

The Fist Demon repeated the essential principles of Adamantine Asura for me. Some I had heard before; others were new.

Whenever I failed to understand something, I asked immediately, and he explained with the utmost care.

“Now, withstand this!”

“Surely you’re not going to hit me with that fist?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

His fist flew at me before the words had fully left his mouth.

WHOOOOSH!

BOOOM!

Without even thinking to block the attack, I was driven backward. As I slid back, the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art and Adamantine Asura activated together, dissipating the impact.

The Fist Demon was delighted when I walked back unharmed.

“Well done. Adamantine Asura will save your life someday. Never neglect it.”

“I’ll remember that.”

After that round of training, we sat side by side to catch our breath.

“May I ask why?”

Despite the abrupt question, the Fist Demon knew what I meant.

“Didn’t I tell you? I wanted a daughter like Yi An.”

“I mean the real reason.”

After a pause, the Fist Demon spoke.

“I don’t know my parents’ faces either. That’s why I know better than anyone how that girl feels.”

This was the first I had heard of his personal history.

“When I was young, I gritted my teeth and denied their existence. I tried not even to think of revenge. To harbor a desire for revenge would mean acknowledging them. I tried to erase them from my life completely.”

“And now? Don’t you want to find your parents? Don’t you want to tell them, ‘I’ve lived this well even without you’?”

The Fist Demon shook his head, revealing his emptiness.

“I wish even such a petty desire for revenge still remained in my heart.”

It sounded as though he had grown barren inside, without even those feelings left.

“And yet someone like me is trying to make another person family.”

I was grateful that he showed me this human side of himself. It meant he trusted me that much.

“No, you did the right thing.”

“Do you truly think so?”

“I want Yi An to be happy. And I believe becoming your daughter will bring her the greatest happiness. You made the right choice, both for Yi An and for yourself, Master.”

A smile spread across the Fist Demon’s frightening face. I like these moments. A smile emerging from that fearsome countenance—at such times, he looks rather magnificent.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Who would have imagined we would become close enough to have a conversation like this? Ordinarily, the Fist Demon was a man of few words, but when the situation called for it, he spoke better than anyone.

“You might have a hard time from now on.”

“Why?”

“You’ve never been a father before, have you? What will you do if your daughter rebels?”

The Fist Demon raised a fist.

“Wouldn’t this work?”

“If that worked, would people say raising children is harder than becoming the Sword God?”

He lowered the fist he had raised in jest. I couldn’t let that precious fist droop so helplessly.

“It will work elsewhere, though.”

“Where?”

“You’re gaining a daughter who’s the world’s greatest beauty. You’ll have plenty of occasions to use your fists.”

Understanding what I meant, the Fist Demon clenched his huge fist again.

“That sounds entertaining.”

“For you, Master. I’ll pray in advance for your opponents’ departed souls.”

Life truly gave no hint of what lay just ahead. Who could have imagined Yi An would become the Fist Demon’s daughter?

“Perhaps you really will be able to bring down that cliff, Master.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, the Fist Demon asked with a puzzled look,

“Isn’t it the other way around?”

How could he bring down a cliff when he had grown this soft and susceptible to affection? That was probably what he was thinking.

“A person must change for their martial arts to change.”

The Fist Demon mulled over my words.

“I have to change to break it?”

“Did you ever imagine taking someone as your adoptive daughter?”

He slowly shook his head.

“You’ve changed, Master. I believe that change will allow you to break through your limits.”

The Fist Demon looked down at his fist, then suddenly said,

“Perhaps I’ll be able to bring down the cliff when my fist no longer makes the sound of thunder.”

I could not imagine the Thunderbolt Asura Fist without its thunder.

But there was something I could imagine that was even more terrifying than ear-splitting thunder.

A fist that flew silently and overturned heaven and earth!

Once we pictured it, neither the Fist Demon nor I could sit still. We sprang to our feet and threw our fists. Our training continued without rest until dawn.

* * *

The next day, I said goodbye to everyone.

“I’ll head to the Jiangxi branch.”

The original purpose of this trip outside the Cult had been to visit the Hunan and Jiangxi branches before returning.

Until a new lead concerning Hwa Mugi emerged, I had to live my own life. Steadily, without letting myself be swayed.

“You’re going alone?”

“Yes. Escort these two back to the Cult. Oh, and on your way back, tell all the waiting guards to return as well.”

“You’re leaving even your guards behind?”

“This time, it’s an undercover inspection.”

I had made an open visit to the Hunan branch with my guards in tow, so this time I intended to visit secretly. I hoped the Jiangxi branch head would not be corrupt like the Hunan branch head.

“I’ll be off first. Don’t think of working this old man so hard again.”

Having said his piece, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon walked out the door. I called after him,

“Considering the results I got from putting you to work, that may be difficult.”

Don’t worry. If something comes up that requires Demon Supremes, I’ll call the others this time.

Next, I said goodbye to the Fist Demon.

“Thank you for yesterday’s instruction.”

“Be careful.”

He too walked toward the door. Though his broad back now had more to protect, it seemed happier as it filled the doorway on his way out.

Only after the Blood Heaven Saber Demon and the Fist Demon had gone outside did Yi An reveal what was on her mind.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For making such an important decision without discussing it with you first.”

“It wasn’t something you had decided beforehand either, was it?”

“I think I should at least have asked you through a voice transmission when I made the decision.”

She must have slept poorly, worrying about that all night. Yes, it was precisely because she was so kindhearted that she ought to become the Fist Demon’s daughter.

“You make a decision that way because it’s so important. By following your instincts.”

“What if it was the wrong choice?”

“Then you accept it. You suffer under a frightening father.”

Yi An looked as though she were imagining that future, then made a show of clutching her head.

“He’s not just a frightening father! He’s the most frightening father in the world.”

“He’s second, so don’t worry. A poor child with the most frightening father is standing right before you.”

Yi An laughed at my joke.

“Trust your instincts. Trust your martial arts and your heart too. The stronger you become, the better your instincts will guide you.”

“I’ll remember that, Young Master.”

“I’ll see you back at the Cult.”

“Be careful.”

As Yi An was leaving, she turned at the doorway.

“To think I’ve become the Fist Demon’s daughter. I’ve come this far thanks to you, Young Master. Thank you so much.”

“Yi An, our journey may not even have begun yet.”

Startled, she seemed unable even to imagine what lay beyond this.

“Just how far do you intend to go?”

“I don’t know that myself.”

“That no longer sounds like a joke.”

“Because it isn’t.”

Killing Hwa Mugi is not the sole purpose of my life. My goal is to live this life well and happily. Killing Hwa Mugi is simply something I must do to achieve that. My life will continue after his death. Mine, and the lives of my people.

“Young Master, you told me, didn’t you? To stop and rest if things got hard.”

“I did.”

“You look very tired right now.”

It probably wasn’t just because I had trained until dawn. Lately, thoughts of Hwa Mugi had kept me on edge. However well I concealed it, Yi An could sense and read my feelings.

I smiled at her and nodded.

“All right. I’ll take a rest.”

Then she too left.

I stood in the safe house’s courtyard for a while and looked up at the sky. I try to look at it whenever I have a chance. Every time I do, the sky seems to say: Yes, however busy you are, live with a little time to look at me.

I know better than anyone how difficult it is even to lift your head once life starts pushing you along. Just as it did in my life before my regression.

Back then, I looked only at the ground, not the sky. Only at the materials I could fill my pockets with. Only at how to kill my enemy. The sky must have been just as blue then...

I left the safe house, hoping this journey to Jiangxi would be a little more comfortable and peaceful.

So, evildoers, take a break yourselves! Please!