Chapter 80 - Even If I Become Predictable Someday

The hastily formed trio headed to Merry Life Tavern.

Yi An and Seo Daeryong had been quite drunk, but the moment the Wind Heaven Cult Leader overturned the table, they had sobered up as if by magic.

When else in their lives would they ever see the Wind Heaven Cult Leader overturn a drinking table in front of Demon Supremes? Now they had an unbelievable tale to tell with their grandchildren on their knees, beginning, “Back when your grandfather was young...”

All three agreed that they couldn't simply go home on a night like this.

Before heading out to Demon Family Village, Jang Ho entrusted the ten-thousand-year cold iron to Master Gwak, the head of the Cult's smithy, known as the Divine Hand.

Master Gwak was delighted, saying he would finally get to put his skills to proper use again. Since he rarely showed emotion, his reaction brought home to the three of them just how extraordinary their gifts would be.

The three entered Merry Life Tavern in Demon Family Village.

“Just the three of you today, I see.”

Jo Chunbae welcomed them warmly.

“As of today, we've officially formed a trio.”

Yi An added to Seo Daeryong's joke.

“Though we might become a quartet soon.”

Jo Chunbae looked puzzled, and Yi An smiled at him.

“Bring us some drinks first.”

The three settled into their usual seats on the second floor.

Their drinking began with a half-joking, half-serious remark from Jang Ho.

“Sometimes I feel a little left out.”

“Why?”

“You two are his heart and his right-hand man, but I'm still nothing, aren't I?”

He spoke as though joking, but there was hurt in his words.

Yi An smiled.

“Doesn't that make it all the more impressive?”

“What do you mean?”

“As you said, you're neither his heart nor his right-hand man, yet the Young Master always calls for you, Commander.”

Jang Ho's eyes widened, as though he had never considered it that way.

“The heart and right-hand man business is just a joke, but the Young Master's trust in you as his Demon Army commander is real. I can tell just by the look in his eyes.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

“You really have a way of making people feel good, Warrior Yi.”

This time Yi An asked, “Do I?” and Jang Ho answered with a loud “Yes!” just as she had. All three laughed.

Then Yi An suddenly thought of the shackled man. They could hardly leave him out of tonight's conversation.

“Who do you think that man was?”

“He seemed like someone extraordinary.”

At Seo Daeryong's answer, Jang Ho reiterated his position.

“No matter how important or talented he is, I won't let him act however he pleases.”

He made it clear that he intended to keep the shackled man in check.

“Thank you for standing up for me earlier.”

Seo Daeryong expressed his gratitude. When the shackled man had pressed him about what he would do if someone tried to take his place as the right-hand man, Jang Ho had stepped in.

“I'm sorry to say this, Investigator Seo, but I didn't do it for you. I meant what I said about being next in line for the position.”

Yi An and Seo Daeryong stared at him in surprise.

“Even you, Commander Jang...”

Seo Daeryong was about to say something, but Jang Ho interrupted.

“Please don't say you'd yield it to me. I don't believe the position of the Second Young Master's right-hand man is something to give up so easily.”

“No, I was going to say I wouldn't give it up even to you, Commander Jang.”

“What? Then why did you say earlier that you would?”

“I lied. The way things were going, it didn't seem like the moment for me to speak up. Honestly, I can't give it up. I absolutely won't.”

Seo Daeryong revealed his true feelings. It wasn't just the drink talking. There was something he had wanted to tell Yi An and Jang Ho at least once.

“After my senior at Yellow Springs Pavilion was killed by the previous Demon Army commander, revenge was all I could think about. I even memorized the personal details of every Demon Army soldier. But that was all I did. I couldn't bring myself to demand a new investigation. I just let the desire for revenge burn inside me.”

Seo Daeryong drank. Jang Ho silently refilled his cup.

“Pathetic, isn't it? But I needed even that much to endure it. If the Pavilion Master hadn't come as a temporary investigator back then, I probably would have spent my whole life blaming myself, living in gloom and misery. Do you know what he says to me most often these days? He asks why I've become so cheerful. Do you really think I'd readily give up my place as his right-hand man? I won't yield it even to you, Commander. And my martial arts are improving by the day.”

Having poured out his words as though unburdening himself, Seo Daeryong let out a long breath.

Jang Ho looked as though he might say something, but simply smiled warmly instead. Seo Daeryong found the rough man's occasional grins both strikingly unfamiliar and impressive. Every time, he wished he could smile with that same air himself.

He addressed them both.

“Let's keep getting together like this. Please!”

The three talked late into the night.

They talked about Geom Mugeuk and the shackled man, about the Demon Supremes, and about their own lives.

It was a pleasant gathering where they said everything they wanted without overstepping any boundaries, leaving them with a vague sense that they could say anything here. With Geom Mugeuk absent, they could speak their minds more freely.

“I'm so glad we got together today.”

Yi An raised her cup high, and the two men joined her in a hearty toast.

When they finished drinking and went outside, the three stood side by side in front of the tavern.

Looking at the headquarters buildings in the distance, Seo Daeryong said,

“Several people's destinies must be changing tonight, don't you think? Or perhaps they already have.”

Yi An nodded and replied,

“All we need to do is trust the destiny guiding theirs.”

The Second Young Master, to the very end? Here, too, were people sincere to the very end.

* * *

As dawn began to break, the shackled man came to see me.

I had only ever seen him in shackles beside the Thunderous Sound Bell. Seeing him in my quarters felt entirely new.

Before even greeting him, I examined his ankles.

“Are your ankles all right?”

“You defy my expectations to the very end, Second Young Master.”

His voice was low and calm.

I looked up at him, my expression asking what he meant.

“I mean that I never expected you to check my ankles before greeting me.”

“They're more important than a greeting.”

“My ankles are fine. My martial arts may not be exceptional, but I am a martial artist.”

“Could you tell me what martial art you practice? I'd like to know precisely how skilled you are.”

“I once reached the seventh level of the Renowned Master's Fist Art.”

“Ah, that's a fine fist art.”

“You know the Renowned Master's Fist Art?”

“Isn't it the exclusive martial art of Fist Master Yang Seong, one of the Nineteen Strongest Beyond the Frontiers?”

“How do you know even that?”

“I take an interest in all sorts of things.”

Fortunately, his ankles were fine. As I straightened and stood up, he spoke.

“My name is Go Wol.”

At last, I learned the shackled man's name.

Go Wol. Its meaning—a lonely moon hanging in solitude—suited his air well.

“Go Wol. A fine name.”

“Thank you.”

Our gazes met. Through his long, hanging hair, I could see his clear eyes. Just as it had all begun with our eyes meeting, no other words were needed between us.

“Be my strategist from now on.”

Though my offer might have seemed sudden, Go Wol calmly asked a question in return.

“If you become the Heavenly Demon, I will become chief strategist of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Can you entrust such a weighty responsibility to me?”

“You'll take that position if you play a major part in making me the Heavenly Demon. It won't be mine to hand you. You'll have to rise to it yourself.”

Having made that distinction clear, I added a joke.

“Still, becoming chief strategist of the Demonic Cult should be easier than becoming my right-hand man.”

Go Wol smiled faintly.

“So I gathered earlier.”

Just as I had not hesitated in making my offer, Go Wol did not hesitate either. He knelt and paid his formal respects.

“Though I am lacking, if you accept me as your strategist, I will serve you with all my loyalty. I swear it before the gods of heaven and earth, staking my life and honor.”

I formally accepted him in turn.

“Warrior Go Wol, from this moment forth, I appoint you my chief strategist. I ask that you guide me well.”

More than his words, I trust the fervor in his clear eyes. I trust the destiny that brought him before me.

“Please speak to me informally from now on.”

“I will.”

Welcoming Go Wol was a special moment. It freed me from the burden of having to shoulder everything alone.

I took his hand and helped him to his feet.

“First, let's get your health back.”

“I'm all right.”

“There's no hurry. I'll still need you ten, twenty, thirty years from now. Somewhere along the way, we may have to wage war against the Orthodox Martial Alliance or placate the Unorthodox Alliance. A rebellion might break out, or a powerful enemy might attack us. I haven't recruited someone merely to advise me today. I've recruited someone to face all those things with me.”

A strange light flashed in Go Wol's eyes.

“To think you've considered that far ahead. You truly are unpredictable, Second Young Master.”

“I may be unpredictable now, but someday I could become utterly predictable. That won't mean my subordinates' lives are any less precious. You must help me now, but you must help me then as well. We have a very long road ahead of us.”

“I will remember that.”

This time, Go Wol asked me a question.

“May I ask you something?”

“Ask whatever you like.”

“What will you do if you find a strategist more capable than me?”

“Serve as his deputy strategist and help me. What do you think? Does my answer pass?”

“It does.”

“Wouldn't you feel hurt? If I brought someone else in and said, ‘From today onward, this man is my strategist’?”

“I didn't come to you to build a friendship, Second Young Master. You needn't become close to me. So if that situation arises, you must accept it without hesitation. If you can't make such an obvious choice, then I, as your strategist, must be either a fucking idiot or a bad man. You must be decisive, for your sake and mine.”

Go Wol's insight truly was exceptional. He knew that becoming captive to affection would ultimately do even greater harm to a relationship.

“To be honest, you're so intelligent, Second Young Master, that I wonder whether you need me at all.”

“No one can be clever all the time, can they? Both you and I will make mistakes. But isn't it less likely that we'll both make a mistake at the same time? So let's talk things through as we go.”

“Just what sort of life have you lived, Second Young Master?”

How could I possibly explain that life to him? Instead, I passed on something Sima Myeong had told me.

“A strategist I respect told me this: a good strategist is one who's smarter than the opposing strategist.”

“Is my opponent the Orthodox Martial Alliance's strategist? Or that strategist you respect?”

“Both.”

Go Wol would surely guess that the strategist I respected was Sima Myeong, the Cult's chief strategist—and that I meant for him to surpass that man.

“There's something I want you to do. Build an intelligence organization and gain control of all intelligence across the Central Plains. Our goal is an organization better than Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.”

“Yes!”

“Is that really something you can agree to so readily?”

With confidence in his eyes, Go Wol asked in return,

“Isn't that why you went to such trouble to bring me here?”

* * *

Several days passed.

Go Wol concentrated on recovering his strength. I didn't arrange separate quarters for him. For the time being, he would stay in a guest room in my residence.

As he had every day since the first, he was up early today.

“You're up?”

“Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

“What brings you here so early?”

“Here, take this money first.”

I handed him a bundle of bank drafts I had withdrawn from the bank.

“You'll need money to build the organization. Use this.”

Even after confirming that the enormous sum amounted to a million taels, he showed no surprise.

“What would you do if I ran away with this money?”

“Send people to catch you and bring you back.”

“And then?”

“Melt down the fan and daggers they're making, and put you in shackles first. Then show you off to the person I hate most. You'll have to put on a convincing air of mystery again.”

Apparently unable to resist this particular joke, he let out a small laugh.

“Come along. Let's eat out today.”

We went out to Demon Family Village, where I spotted the Wind Heaven Cult Leader sitting on the second floor of Merry Life Tavern.

“The proprietor sent word that the Wind Heaven Cult Leader has already come here twice by himself. It seems he wants to see you. What do you say? Shall we meet him?”

Otherwise, there was no reason for the Wind Heaven Cult Leader to come here twice for a meal.

“Yes. I've been wanting to see him myself.”

My problem was resolved, but they still had something left to settle between them. Yes, you can fight with a burden on your back, but you should lay down the burden in your heart first.

We slowly made our way upstairs.