Chapter 82 - Those Shackles, That Cult Leader, Back Then

When I arrived at the Wind Heaven Cult Leader's quarters, his first question was this.

"If I join forces with you, what changes from how things are now?"

His blunt question conveyed sincerity rather than impatience. He was serious. I could tell Go Wol had almost persuaded him. It would have been nice to offer him a confident assurance, but I told him the truth.

"Nothing changes."

"Nothing changes?"

"Of course. What would? Could I open a branch of the Wind Heaven Cult without Father's permission? Would we publicly announce that we've joined forces? It would simply be a promise between us."

"That's all?"

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader looked bewildered. He turned to Go Wol, his eyes asking, What is this? Is this what you wanted to bring me over for? But Go Wol quietly waited for me to continue.

"There is one thing, though. If I truly come to regard you as one of my people, then if you're in danger, I'll drop everything and rush to save you."

"I've never been in danger. You don't encounter many crises in life, do you?"

"That just means you've led a smooth life."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader glanced at Go Wol. Much of that smooth life had likely been possible because Go Wol was there.

"On the other hand, joining forces with me will put you in danger. 'What? The Second Young Master and the Wind Heaven Cult Leader have joined forces? Eliminate the Wind Heaven Cult Leader first!' There's no guarantee enemies like that won't appear."

"Then would I have to be mad to join forces with you?"

"Joining forces with you wasn't what I wanted. To be honest, you're a burden to me."

"Don't confuse me by making things complicated. Speak plainly."

"You do know that Father doesn't look kindly on you or the Wind Heaven Cult, don't you?"

"Of course."

"Yet I continued associating with you. Now Go Wol here has become one of my people, too. Do you really think Father doesn't know that?"

"He must know."

"It means I chose this relationship even at the cost of going against Father's wishes. Granted, I did covet your sacred relics..."

I held out my left hand to him. Supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk was wrapped around my wrist.

"No matter how precious this scrap of cloth is, it isn't worth risking Father's displeasure."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader couldn't argue with that. He, too, would know that becoming the Heavenly Demon meant possessing everything one desired.

"Then why all this fuss? Why do you keep taking turns visiting me and unsettling me?"

"Didn't I tell you? It wasn't my idea. It was Strategist Go's."

Go Wol was deep in thought, his eyes half lowered.

"The idea of bringing you over to stand beside my people was entirely Strategist Go's. So I will ask him."

I put the question to Go Wol in all seriousness.

"Why should I accept the Cult Leader as an ally even at the risk of conflict with Father?"

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader awaited his answer, looking even more curious than I was.

At last, Go Wol spoke calmly.

"Forgive me, but this decision wasn't made for your sake, Young Master. It was made for my former master's sake."

Go Wol looked steadily at the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

"I want to give you a new life. I want to share that new life with you. Entrust your position to a successor and come."

"You want me to abandon my position as cult leader?"

"Yes. It isn't the Wind Heaven Cult I want. It's you, personally."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader's eyes wavered.

In truth, he wasn't suited to leading an organization. His selfishness and greed weren't vicious enough to deceive everyone. The ruler beyond the frontiers, who had been content with his lot, now stood on a precarious rope. Far beneath it, countless spears and sword blades jutted up like poles.

Yet he himself had no idea how much danger he was in.

Would he really abandon his position as Wind Heaven Cult Leader and come to me because of his relationship with one person? Could such a relationship truly exist in this world?

"Without me, my cult..."

"Will run all the better. Don't worry. Just come."

"Let me think! Just a little! Please!"

Then I told one of the Wind Heaven Cult Leader's subordinates outside to go to Yellow Springs Pavilion and bring Seo Daeryong. Both the Cult Leader and Go Wol looked puzzled by my actions.

A short while later, Seo Daeryong came rushing in like the wind.

"You summoned me?"

Summoned without warning to the Wind Heaven Cult Leader's quarters, he was tense. Dispensing with any playful greetings, I asked him seriously,

"Where did you recently make a decision that would change your life?"

Given the atmosphere, Seo Daeryong answered with equal honesty and seriousness.

"At the tavern."

"How long did it take you to decide?"

"Less than a quarter of an hour, I believe."

"Do you regret that decision?"

"No."

"What if you hadn't decided there that day?"

"I would never have done it."

"Tell us more about what happened then."

Seo Daeryong hated putting himself forward. But once he did, he was also a clever man who knew better than anyone what he ought to say.

"In my experience, life-changing decisions were made in an instant. Leaving home, joining Yellow Springs Pavilion... I didn't agonize over either for long. I spend days thinking before I buy a single outfit, but this time, I changed my life in a quarter of an hour. If I put it off? I can't decide. I find that I wake up a different person the next day."

I looked at the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

"What do you think?"

He gave me an incredulous look.

"You planned this, didn't you? You agreed on everything before coming here, didn't you? Practiced all last night?"

Then Seo Daeryong cautiously added one last thing.

"If I may venture a word, Cult Leader, I've had several similar experiences since meeting the Second Young Master. Situations where it feels as though everyone has conspired to make fun of me. By the time I've wondered what's going on here, or what's happening there, it's all over. I dash this way and that, doing as I'm told, and once again it's over. It's the same right now. I'm answering questions like these before the Wind Heaven Cult Leader? Why? Even now, it feels as though everyone's plotted this to make fun of me."

Seo Daeryong looked at me and demanded,

"Am I right? You're doing this to tease me, aren't you? I may not look it, but I placed first among the entrants to Yellow Springs Pavilion! I can tell everything at a glance!"

I beamed at him.

"That's my right-hand man! I liked every bit of that, from beginning to end. A right-hand man doesn't need a script. That's what makes him a right-hand man."

Seo Daeryong smiled along with me.

"With so many more people eyeing my position lately, I'm glad I seem to have earned some points. Now that I've confirmed your right arm is still firmly attached, I'll take my leave."

"Wait a moment. This could turn out to be a historic occasion."

"It won't involve a fight to the death, will it? I still haven't progressed beyond the basics of martial training."

"There may already be a fight to the death taking place in the Cult Leader's heart."

Everyone's gaze settled on the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

"What? You really want me to decide now? You want me to decide in a quarter of an hour to give up being the Wind Heaven Cult Leader? Not just any position—the Wind Heaven Cult Leader's?"

Seo Daeryong started and let out a startled "Oh!" Though he'd explained himself enthusiastically, he had never dreamed this was the decision the Wind Heaven Cult Leader was facing.

"Good heavens! I'd spend a hundred years thinking about that. Don't decide now!"

His honest words only spurred the Wind Heaven Cult Leader on.

"You really have no regrets?"

"You will regret it, Cult Leader. Go back and think it over for a year! A hundred days, at least."

"Impudent brat! Just answer what I ask."

"Yes, I have no regrets. Meeting the Pavilion Master may have shortened my life, but I'm very happy now."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader rose. Walking slowly, he looked over the sacred relics displayed in the room.

Then, for reasons known only to himself, he began striking the Thunderous Sound Bell.

DONG!

A deep note spread in every direction.

Just as it was fading, he struck the bell again. And again, and again.

He pondered as he listened to its ringing. Was the evil spirit engraved on the Thunderous Sound Bell offering him advice?

How many times had the bell rung by then? Suddenly, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader turned to me and asked,

"If I come, will you give me the position of your right-hand man?"

Seo Daeryong was so shocked that he covered his mouth. Surely it wasn't because the man was eyeing his position, but because the Wind Heaven Cult Leader truly meant to give up his office.

Facing a man prepared to relinquish even that position, I went one step further.

"No. Investigator Seo here is my right-hand man. You'll have to get in line behind Commander Jang and fight to earn it."

Seo Daeryong's eyes widened further, and he shook his head pleadingly.

* * *

After Geom Mugeuk and Seo Daeryong left, only the Wind Heaven Cult Leader and Go Wol remained in the quarters.

The two sat side by side before the Thunderous Sound Bell.

"What does the evil spirit say?"

"It says I'm a lunatic."

"I'd agree. Are you really coming?"

"Are you the lunatic? After all that persuading, what are you talking about?"

"I didn't think you'd actually come. I didn't expect you to tell the Second Young Master so firmly and impressively that you'd go with him."

"I might change my mind tomorrow. Or the day after. Or next year. I've always been spineless, haven't I? Since it's come to this, let me ask you one thing."

"Yes."

"Why do you want me with you? Is it simply affection?"

Go Wol stared at the Thunderous Sound Bell for a long time before suddenly speaking.

"I suppose I was afraid to go alone."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader was startled by the utterly unexpected answer.

Go Wol's gaze remained on the bell.

"I suppose I'm afraid I'll go alone and do something foolish. Afraid that when I join the Second Young Master, his people will look down on me. But I feel as though having you there would give me strength. Haven't I always been the cleverest when I'm with you?"

Go Wol slowly turned to look at the Wind Heaven Cult Leader.

"I'm the petty, selfish bastard. I'm making you give up even your position for my sake."

For the first time since they had met, Go Wol had revealed his true feelings. That was why the Wind Heaven Cult Leader didn't get angry. Instead, a smile formed on his lips.

"I like that better than any other reason."

"Why?"

"It means I'm going to protect you, doesn't it?"

This time, Go Wol chuckled.

"You can think it over some more. The Second Young Master is destined to bring upheaval wherever he goes. We don't know how our lives will be swept up in it. We might really end up shoved into a corner, reduced to 'those shackles, that cult leader, back then.' We could lose everything and end up selling medicine in the marketplace."

"As long as we survive, that's enough. And you're saying we'd sell that medicine together, aren't you? Then that's enough."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader revealed his own true feelings, too.

"Do you think I'm not selfish? Would I go just because you asked? I'm going because I've thought it through as much as I can and finished all my calculations. I'll appoint a new cult leader and come here saying I'm working to expand our cult into the Central Plains. I won't simply step down—I'll leave looking as though I'm sacrificing myself for the cult's great undertaking. That way, I can return if I change my mind. How long would it take to properly establish the Wind Heaven Cult in the Central Plains? Quite a few years, surely? While the next Wind Heaven Cult Leader struggles through the sandstorms beyond the frontiers, I'll be having fun in the Central Plains. The sort of fun that keeps you tense, thrills you, and makes your heart lurch."

"You thought of all that in such a short time? You're quite clever yourself, Cult Leader."

"You can be honest. Say I'm selfish, too."

"Cult Leader."

"What?"

"Let's make this work."

"I'm nervous."

"What could make the supreme ruler of the frontiers nervous?"

Then the Wind Heaven Cult Leader made an unexpected joke.

"I don't think I'll manage to become his right-hand man."

"What?"

"You know how obsessive I can get once I set my mind on something. I'll make that position mine, no matter what."

Judging by his eyes, he didn't seem to be entirely joking.

The two looked at each other and laughed openly, without reserve.

"You said I'd be quite an impressive fellow once I stepped down as cult leader. Let's see whether you were right. Ah, I suppose I won't be seeing this Thunderous Sound Bell anymore."

Tenderly stroking the bell, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader suddenly roared,

"Shut up, you damned evil spirit!"

Perhaps the evil spirit had told him this: it was truly looking forward to his nail-biting contest with a mere Yellow Springs Pavilion investigator over the position of right-hand man.