Chapter 88 - From the Moment the Umbilical Cord Is Cut

Having washed off the blood, Geom Muyang stood before a bronze mirror while a maid helped him into fresh clothes.

Against his bare skin, he wore a thin protective garment capable of stopping blades. Over it, he layered another, slightly thicker protective garment. At least in front of the Demonic Buddha, he made no attempt to hide his obsessive fear of death.

The Demonic Buddha watched from a chair. Geom Muyang had every reason to be furious about his bringing in the Twin Fiends of Yunnan, yet said nothing. The Demonic Buddha could tell he was angry.

“The Second Young Master...”

He had intended to begin by saying, “He has changed so much.” But that struck him as too obvious, so he changed his question.

“... What sort of person is he?”

Geom Muyang answered from within the mirror.

“I thought I knew my brother well, but after what I saw earlier, I’m no longer sure. He never used to be like this...”

“You must forget what he used to be!”

The Demonic Buddha’s sudden raised voice startled the maid adjusting Geom Muyang’s collar, and her fingernail scratched his neck.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Please spare my life!”

She dropped flat to the floor and begged forgiveness. The atmosphere chilled in an instant.

“Why would I kill you over something so trivial?”

Geom Muyang spoke gently, but the Demonic Buddha coldly interrupted.

“But you cannot simply let her live, either. You spared a maid who wounded the august person of the future Heavenly Demon? How ridiculous would you look if people heard?”

The maid pleaded desperately.

“Please! Spare me!”

Geom Muyang helped her to her feet.

“Everyone makes mistakes. You may go.”

“Thank you, Young Master. Thank you so much.”

The maid left the room.

“You must not show yourself so ready to forgive a servant’s mistakes. You should at least punish her.”

Then Geom Muyang abruptly asked, “Did you ask what sort of person my brother is?”

“Yes, I did.”

“If the same thing happened to him, he would buy the frightened maid a meal. He has been warmhearted since childhood.”

“That does not mean you can let your guard down.”

“I wasn’t suggesting we do. Didn’t you see Mugeuk’s people earlier?”

His gaze in the mirror shifted from the Demonic Buddha to himself.

“To be honest, I was a little envious.”

At times, the Demonic Buddha found Geom Muyang utterly unpredictable. He could handle affairs with intelligence and cool detachment, then suddenly lay bare his innermost feelings like this.

While the Demonic Buddha pondered how to respond, Geom Muyang walked over and sat opposite him. He poured some cold tea into a cup and drank.

“What worries you so much, Demon Supreme?”

“The Second Young Master’s ability is troubling enough, but more importantly, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon is a crafty old man. If he chose the Second Young Master, he certainly had a reason. Whether it was because he buys meals for maids or because of something we know nothing about.”

Geom Muyang then said something wholly unexpected.

“I believe Father is the answer.”

The Demonic Buddha was startled.

“What do you mean?”

“Father supported Mugeuk while I was away. He bestowed the Black Demon Sword upon him and made him Pavilion Master of Yellow Springs Pavilion. He wants to test how I deal with Mugeuk now that he has gained power. I believe this is my final test before becoming his successor.”

For a moment, the Demonic Buddha thought that might be possible, but then shook his head.

“I doubt that. The Soul-Seizing Demon died during the Second Young Master’s rise. They say the cause was qi deviation, but much about it is suspicious.”

At first, he had believed the Wind Heaven Cult Leader’s assertion that Geom Mugeuk was not responsible. No longer.

“The Second Young Master may have done it. Do you still believe this is the cult leader’s test? The cult leader valued the Soul-Seizing Demon as one of the Cult’s main pillars.”

“Even Father likely did not anticipate things going that far. Mugeuk possesses abilities beyond Father’s expectations.”

“Then did the Second Young Master truly kill the Soul-Seizing Demon?”

Rather than answer, Geom Muyang posed a question of his own.

“Could you kill the Soul-Seizing Demon?”

“Of course I... could kill him!”

That brief hesitation spoke volumes about the Soul-Seizing Demon’s skill. Even the Demonic Buddha had not been confident of facing him.

“Indeed. You could have killed him, Demonic Buddha. But it would not have been easy.”

Having allowed the Demonic Buddha to save face, Geom Muyang continued with what he had meant to say.

“Neither Mugeuk nor I could kill the Soul-Seizing Demon with our current martial skills. But with one person’s help, it might be possible.”

“Whose?”

Geom Muyang did not answer, as if inviting him to think it through himself. After considering who it could be, the Demonic Buddha flinched and exclaimed, “Surely not! The Wind Heaven Cult Leader?”

“Exactly. With his help, killing the Soul-Seizing Demon might have been possible.”

The Demonic Buddha could see the possibility, but one question remained.

“Why would the Wind Heaven Cult Leader do that?”

“To expand into the Central Plains. Didn’t he ultimately take the Soul-Seizing Demon’s disciple as his own?”

“Ah!”

The Demonic Buddha had never considered such a possibility. The Wind Heaven Cult Leader had been behind it from the start?

“Then he brazenly came here to examine the corpse? Is that what you’re saying?”

His relationship with the Wind Heaven Cult Leader had recently soured. Suspicion and anger clouded his judgment.

“The Wind Heaven Cult Leader knew the Demon Supremes would summon him. It was also the only way he could openly enter the Cult.”

One last doubt held the Demonic Buddha back.

“But the Wind Heaven Cult Leader does not have the nerve. If it came out that he killed the Soul-Seizing Demon, the entire Wind Heaven Cult would be wiped out. He would never do it.”

“Father has always told me one thing, ever since I was little: never presume you know someone.”

The Demonic Buddha was bewildered. The Wind Heaven Cult Leader he knew was not a man capable of such a monumental deed. Yet Geom Muyang’s explanation fit perfectly. And he supplied another reason.

“Isn’t the fact that the Wind Heaven Cult Leader’s strategist went over to Mugeuk proof enough? As you said, would the meticulous Blood Heaven Saber Demon have joined hands with him for no reason? He must have done so because of this background.”

What if it was true?

“Damn it! I went there myself and brought in the murderer!”

“Do not blame yourself. I intend to turn this situation to my advantage and bring the Demon Supremes under my control.”

“And if things do not go your way?”

Geom Muyang casually voiced what the Demonic Buddha had been unable to bring himself to say.

“Will I kill Mugeuk? No, I will not. What would Father think of an older brother who kills his younger brother?”

The Demonic Buddha sensed it. Geom Muyang would spare Geom Mugeuk not because he was his brother, but because Father was watching.

“What do you intend to do, then?”

“I will bring everyone attached to Mugeuk over to my side. Mugeuk is proud. If his people turn away from him, he will leave the Cult of his own accord. You saw them earlier, didn’t you? Those people who left without watching his duel. I will make them leave Mugeuk for real. Then we shall see whether he can still smile and joke.”

“Leaving the Second Young Master alive will bring trouble later.”

“Even if he leaves like that, should the Cult face a crisis, he would come to save us, not to kill us. That is his greatest weakness.”

Geom Muyang rose again and walked to the mirror. Gazing at his reflection, he spoke calmly.

“The throne in Heavenly Demon Hall is the hardest seat in all Murim. A soft fellow like Mugeuk cannot sit upon it. Nor should he.”

* * *

When I arrived at Heavenly Demon Hall the next morning, I met my brother at the entrance.

“It’s been a long time since we entered Heavenly Demon Hall side by side.”

“It has.”

We walked on together.

“Nervous?”

“Not particularly.”

But he was nervous. He always grew especially stiff in Father’s presence. Ever since childhood, he had wanted to impress him.

Once, when we were young, Father had called him “my eldest son.” Just once—and he had boasted about it not for days, but for years.

If I was now consumed by Hwa Mugi, my brother was surely consumed by Father.

My brother and I entered Heavenly Demon Hall. Father and Chief Strategist Sima Myeong were there. We walked side by side along the Path of Blood. The evil demon statues standing all around watched my brother’s return and our entrance with cold, uncanny eyes.

“Father, have you been well?”

My brother offered him a deep, formal bow.

“Welcome back.”

I studied Father’s expression. His face held warmth at my brother’s return. My brother, by contrast, was tense. I could feel him trembling.

“You seem pleased to have your eldest son back.”

Father gave no answer. He felt different now from the father who had walked through Demon Family Village with me.

I understood why he had grown a little more reserved.

At this point before my regression, Father had already considered my brother his successor. This time around, I had shaken his convictions, but my brother had occupied that place in his heart first.

Unless I understood Father’s feelings toward my brother, I would never win this struggle. And I must not forget: neither Father nor my brother was my ultimate enemy.

“How did your task go?”

My brother answered Father confidently.

“I overcame every trial, including the final one.”

Father’s expression brightened. My brother had not gone to the frontier to handle mundane chores.

The Nine Walls of the Demonic Path.

It was the Cult’s secret training ground, hidden on the frontier.

Father had opened it to my brother. Like Lesser Heaven Cave, the Nine Walls of the Demonic Path could only be entered with the Heavenly Demon’s permission.

Overcoming the Nine Walls was far from easy. It was a level above Lesser Heaven Cave, which I had already passed. However, one could give up and leave the Nine Walls midway. It was a safer, but more difficult trial.

Sima Myeong was delighted as well.

“Congratulations, First Young Master. To have passed the Nine Walls of the Demonic Path! Blood truly will tell.”

My brother had inherited Father’s blood too. In martial talent, he was second to no one.

Feigning ignorance, I asked, “What did he pass?”

Sima Myeong smiled.

“The First Young Master has passed the Nine Walls of the Demonic Path.”

I threw my arms around my brother.

“That’s incredible!”

Father and Sima Myeong started at my gesture. My brother himself, having already experienced my change, readily accepted my congratulations.

“Thank you.”

“Then you must have attained complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art too?”

Had we been alone, he would not have answered, but with Father present, he answered honestly. To Father, of course, not to me.

“Father, while passing the Nine Walls of the Demonic Path, I also attained complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.”

“Congratulations.”

“It is all thanks to your teachings. Thank you, Father.”

Father looked at my brother and me.

Just what was he thinking now?

“Congratulations, First Young Master.”

“Thank you, Strategist.”

“Congratulations, Brother.”

“Thank you.”

“Since we’re all in such good spirits, there is something I would like to tell Father.”

I turned my gaze toward him.

“For us, the snip of the umbilical cord signaled the start of the succession struggle. That has been our life, and it will continue to be. With that in mind, Father, this time I intend to compete with my brother in good faith. What do you think, Brother?”

Rather than answer me, my brother spoke to Father.

“Father, I had no idea Mugeuk had grown so much while I was away. He has truly matured.”

Father merely looked down at us in silence. What was he thinking? Even now, was he scoring us to decide who would make the better successor?

He made no comment on what I had said. Competition in good faith? Had we been alone, he might have called it cheap sentimentality that would get me killed.

Still, I had deliberately said it to convey something to him as well: I would try to take my brother with me.

“Go back and rest, both of you.”

My brother and I paid our respects to Father, then followed the Path of Blood out of Heavenly Demon Hall.

At the entrance, I asked, “Why do you want to become the Heavenly Demon?”

He answered abruptly.

“Because I’ll die if I don’t.”

I had expected a different answer from him. This was truly unexpected.

“Do you think losing the succession struggle means death?”

“Everyone who lost has died so far.”

“Can’t we just not kill each other? The brothers Geom Muyang and Geom Mugeuk display a brotherly love that will go down in Demonic Cult history.”

“Do you think other brothers never felt that way? In the end... everyone betrays.”

“We can simply choose not to, can’t we?”

He gave a faint chuckle at my words, then walked off ahead.

As he walked away, I called after him.

“I meant it. About competing in good faith.”

He stopped and turned back.

“Then you should have asked whether I had any good faith in me first. Do you?”

“I do.”

“Then I’ll be starting this fight with an advantage.”

Watching his retreating back as he resumed walking, I finally gave a quiet chuckle myself.

Of course. How could this be easy? Even making someone who already liked me one of my own was so difficult.

‘Still, Brother, we have to make this work. The dagger that will stab us in the back is called Hwa Mugi, not brotherly love.’