Chapter 91 - Is It Really That Obvious?

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader sat by the window, looking outside.

In the courtyard, Cheong Seon, the Soul-Seizing Demon, was practicing her martial arts. She had less time to train since officially becoming the Soul-Seizing Demon, but her skills were improving by the day nonetheless. She certainly had a talent for soul-seizing sorcery.

As he watched her train, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader fiddled with his ten-thousand-year cold iron dagger, then glanced behind him out of habit. There stood the empty display cabinets that had once held his sacred relics.

He sighed.

When he received the dagger, he had said it would make a fine sacred relic. Now, however, the dagger in his hand was the only sacred relic left in his room. In a sense, he had traded all those relics for this one dagger.

'No. No more living a life of looking back.'

He needed to turn that emptiness into relief.

In the past, could he even have gone out for a cup of tea without worrying about his sacred relics?

Now he could strap this one dagger to his side and go anywhere. They said you had to empty your hands to be free, and they were absolutely right. Yes, that was how he should think of it.

Meanwhile, Cheong Seon finished training.

"Master, I'll take my leave for today."

"Well done."

She started to turn away, then came back and voiced the question she had been hesitant to ask.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"When will you teach me your true secret techniques?"

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader had yet to pass on his secret techniques.

"Cheong Seon."

"Yes, Master."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Because I'm weak. Being weak makes me impatient."

She had killed her senior brother to claim the position of Demon Supreme. At first, all the ghost sorcerers of the Western Illusion Formation had been wild about her, but she could feel that enthusiasm beginning to cool. Lately, she had been suffering under the pressure to show them some overwhelming martial prowess.

She was also displeased with Sa Ujong, who tried to see her whenever he had the chance. She had liked him so much, yet the moment she became a Demon Supreme, that affection had vanished as if it had never existed. Every little thing he did irritated her.

She wanted to cut him off for good, but she still saw him occasionally for fear that he might spread strange rumors.

She had even found herself thinking she might kill him. One thing after another was weighing on her mind.

"What sort of Demon Supreme do you want to become?"

"I haven't the time for such luxurious thoughts. How could I even sleep with my skills at this level?"

"With your ambition and talent, thirty years or so of diligent training will turn you into me. What do you think of your future self?"

Cheong Seon flinched.

"I think I'll have to work ten times harder than I do now."

No sooner had she spoken than she worried that the joke had been unwise. Fortunately, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader took it in good humor, laughing heartily.

"Couldn't you have settled for five times?"

"I'm sorry. I was originally going to say twenty."

She ventured another joke, and he laughed even louder.

It was the first time they had exchanged jokes since meeting.

Cheong Seon had discovered a new side to him. She had thought he was simply a rigid, stuffy man. This was unexpected.

"Well, you have eyes and ears. You must have some idea of what I've been through and where I stand now."

He had not told her directly. But she would already know enough: that he had relinquished his position as cult leader and joined forces with Geom Mugeuk. What did she really think of him?

"I know you think I'm pathetic deep down."

"Not at all. You made a choice I could never make."

"Which makes me all the more pathetic, doesn't it?"

"Which makes me respect you all the more."

"I brought this up because, while martial arts matter, I want you to know that something else matters more."

"What is that?"

"People. More precisely, the ability to judge people."

"Yes."

"You just thought to yourself, 'People, my ass,' didn't you?"

"No, Master."

"I would have thought the same. It's all right."

"Absolutely not."

When he gazed at her, Cheong Seon revealed her true thoughts.

"I believe people are no use to you if your martial arts are weak. They'll all leave in the end. Forgive me, but for now, I still think martial arts matter more than people."

"Yes, I used to think that too. One day, you'll understand what I mean."

"Yes! I understand."

Understand what? He had been just like her. At that age, no one's advice had reached his ears.

Only after someone like Geom Mugeuk bewitched her, after a sacred relic vanished every time she turned around, after she was dragged about with shackles wound tight around her neck, would she think, Ah, my master was right about everything back then.

Only then would she realize that martial arts mattered when killing people, but in everyday life, the ability to judge people mattered a hundred times more.

"I'll assess your progress soon and move you on to the next stage."

"Thank you, Master."

Cheong Seon left with a pleased smile.

When he first took Cheong Seon as his disciple, he had considered her nothing more than a ruthless bitch full of ambition. Distracted by other matters at the time, he had not given her much thought.

He had wondered whether he could ever grow very fond of her, but teaching her had begun to foster an affection of its own.

Especially after being pushed around lately by those clever bastards, having someone he could lecture a little and act like an elder toward made him feel he could breathe again.

But that relief was short-lived.

Not long after she departed, another visitor arrived: the First Young Master, Geom Muyang.

"I came because I wished to see you, Cult Leader. Forgive me for not sending word ahead."

"That's quite all right. Come in."

Geom Muyang sat down across from him.

"Things were so hectic that day that I couldn't greet you properly."

"The same was true for me. Think nothing of it."

"I hear you've grown quite close to my younger brother."

"There were many twists and turns along the way."

"It must have been a great stroke of fortune for Mugeuk."

"In truth, not quite."

"What do you mean?"

"Your brother is so clever that I had much to learn from him."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader was speaking indirectly of his own ordeals, but Geom Muyang mistook it for praise of Geom Mugeuk.

"My brother certainly is clever."

"The cleverest man I've ever met."

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon had said Mugeuk had touched his heart, and now the Wind Heaven Cult Leader was calling him the cleverest man he had ever met. Clever, and charming enough to move people's hearts?

As yet, Geom Muyang did not feel that such praise suited his brother.

"Anyway, what brings such a busy man here? Aren't you the busiest person in the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon?"

"Please help make that true in practice. I happen to enjoy being busy."

Geom Muyang came straight to the point.

"If you join forces with me, I'll grant the two things you want most."

When the Wind Heaven Cult Leader heard him out, they truly were the two things he wanted most. And throughout the explanation, one person remained in his thoughts.

* * *

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader went to see Go Wol.

"Where's the Second Young Master?"

"He hasn't returned yet."

Perhaps because Geom Mugeuk was absent, the Cult Leader needlessly took his irritation out on Go Wol.

"If you're all alone here, how is it any different from being shackled?"

"You keep saying that because you've never been shackled yourself. Would you like to try it?"

"No, no."

Even with the same old jokes, the Cult Leader felt more at ease than before.

"Listen. I have a favor to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Couldn't you speak to me more casually, at least when it's just the two of us?"

Go Wol looked at him for a moment before finally speaking.

"Hey, Cult Leader."

"Yes! That's it!"

"You gave up that precious position for my sake. How could I refuse such a little favor? There's just one thing that worries me."

"What?"

"You're happy about it now, but what if you grow to dislike it? Once you stop liking me, the first thing you'll think is, 'How dare this little bastard speak to me so casually?' Then it'll piss you off no end."

"By then, our relationship will already be shattered. What would it matter? I'd have lost you anyway."

Go Wol's heart surged. He had hated this man so much, yet no one liked him as much as this man did, either.

"All right, then. Just don't regret it later."

"Any regrets will be mine to bear. Don't worry."

"What brings you here today? Surely it wasn't just to tell me that."

"I just came to see you."

After quietly studying him, Go Wol suddenly said,

"The First Young Master came to see you, didn't he?"

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader flinched.

"How did you know?"

"I thought he might."

"That's what this is, isn't it? You secretly keep watch on me, then use what you learn to pretend you're clever. You're all frauds, aren't you?"

His expression seemed to say, Just imagine how desperate I must be to say such a thing.

"What did the First Young Master offer you?"

"He promised to let us expand into the Central Plains if I sided with him. He said that where the Second Young Master had promised a branch, he would establish a full chapter."

"That's a promise he can't keep. It's a lie."

"Why are you so certain?"

"The First Young Master obeys his father's words without question. He has none of the Second Young Master's unconventional streak. He'll follow his father's wishes and never permit the Wind Heaven Cult to expand into the Central Plains. If he becomes the Heavenly Demon, the Wind Heaven Cult will never so much as hang a palm-sized signboard here."

"You're judging him unfairly because you're on the Second Young Master's side."

Go Wol ignored that remark and asked another question.

"What else did he offer?"

"There was no other offer."

Go Wol narrowed his eyes at him.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't set any conditions."

"It's obvious when you lie."

"Obvious? How?"

Go Wol did not explain. Instead, as if to prove his point, he guessed Geom Muyang's offer exactly.

"He offered me, didn't he?"

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader's eyes flew wide open.

"How did you know?"

"He must have promised to return me to you. That's the only offer that could sway you."

In truth, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader had been tempted by the First Young Master's offer.

If only he could get Go Wol back... It might sound insane, but he had thought he could even give up that business of expanding into the Central Plains.

Seeing how the offer swayed him even after he had abandoned his position as cult leader, he had found the First Young Master impressive.

"The First Young Master is incredibly clever too."

"He isn't clever. If he were truly clever, he wouldn't fight the Second Young Master."

"You've got a sickness. Second Young Master fever."

"So what did you tell him?"

"Don't worry. I firmly refused."

"Don't lie. You're trying to work out how to use the conflict between them to get me back. You came here to sound me out and see if there might be a way."

After a moment's silence, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader asked,

"Is it really all that obvious?"

"Listen, Cult Leader. Why do you keep forgetting? You said it plainly yourself: you couldn't possibly outwit these clever bastards. Why say that and then try to play little tricks again?"

"Well... because of you."

"If you do this, you'll lose me... forever."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader sighed.

"I'm sorry. I knew better, and still acted like an idiot again."

"You have to fight with your other strengths. Against someone who uses his head, you need to make your other charms your weapon."

"What charms do I have?"

"If you had none, I'd still be shackled."

The Cult Leader's eyes trembled slightly.

"You're the only person who says things like that to me."

"No. That's because I'm the only person you look at. Because you've sat on your throne and barely bothered to look down at the people before you. Now that you're out in the real world, show people who you are, and they'll line up to say things like that. By then, you might be the one saying this about me: 'Ah, that fellow in the shackles back then? I wonder if he's doing well.'"

"Don't be ridiculous."

They looked at one another and chuckled.

"Cult Leader, think of me as a campfire. Keep a little distance as you warm yourself. Hold me too close, and you'll get burned and covered in soot."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader nodded quietly and said,

"... Just don't remember me as 'that cult leader back then.'"

Go Wol's heart began to tremble too. Not even Geom Mugeuk stirred these ripples in his heart.

"Cult Leader, starting tonight, say this five times before you go to sleep."

"Say what?"

"The Second Young Master to the end. The Second Young Master to the end. Go on."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader reluctantly supplied the remaining three repetitions.

But unlike the words he spoke aloud, the cry in his heart was this:

'I envy you, Second Young Master. I envy you, Second Young Master. You bastard, I envy you.'

Still, he felt fortunate to have Go Wol. He felt closer to him today than when he had kept him at his side in shackles.

Apparently, even relying on someone was a matter of compatibility. In all honesty, he felt he wouldn't mind burning to death in that campfire.