Go Wol, who was sitting at his desk reading through documents, asked without lifting his gaze.
“Cult Master, is something troubling you these days?”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader was leaning against a window, staring outside.
“Troubling me? Why the sudden question?”
The two were engrossed in the task of creating an information network, moving all over the Central Plains.
Go Wol was always busy, while the Wind Heaven Sect Leader, serving as both an escort and an assistant, was relatively idle.
“You look like you have something on your mind.”
“Who has a more leisurely life than me? I have no worries.”
“It’s usually the busy ones who have no worries.”
“I said I don’t.”
At the firm reply, Go Wol finally looked up from his documents and stared at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
He definitely didn’t seem fine.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader, looking out the window, was clearly in low spirits and seemed to have been troubled by something lately.
“Is it hard?”
“Hardly.”
“I find it hard.”
At Go Wol’s words, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader turned to look at him.
Go Wol added, as if he truly meant it.
“It’s hard. If you weren’t here to help me, Cult Master, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”
“So who told you to work so hard? Since when were you so full of loyalty?”
“Should I start slacking off from now on?”
“As if you could.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader turned his head back toward the window.
“That’s usually what you’re supposed to say, Cult Master—that it’s hard, that you’re dying. It’s not like you.”
“What is like me? No, don’t answer that. You’ll just list off a bunch of things to belittle me. Don’t!”
But that wouldn’t stop Go Wol.
“Someone who seems petty on the outside but has a heart as vast as the sea on the inside. Someone who seems to live life carelessly but holds a grand vision in his heart. Someone who nags but is deeply thoughtful. That’s the Cult Master.”
“Hmph! You said it backwards, didn’t you? You mean I’m petty, live carelessly, and nag, right?”
“And someone who is quicker on the uptake than anyone else!”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader made a face that said, ‘I knew it.’ Normally, a torrent of words would have followed.
But the Wind Heaven Sect Leader kept his gaze fixed outside.
Go Wol rose from his chair and walked forward.
“Are you perhaps feeling homesick?”
“Speaking of homesickness, this time I’ve clearly realized that I’m not someone who loves his hometown. I don’t think about it at all. I have no desire to go back. I might visit once before I die, but I doubt I’ll have any reason to go there in the future.”
“So it’s not homesickness. Then what could it be?”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s lips twitched.
He seemed to have something to say, but he changed the subject instead.
“Why isn’t the Second Young Master here yet? Did you contact him properly?”
“Isn’t he busy?”
“Busy? We’ve just been pushed down his priority list. He does all his own things, then goes, ‘Oh? That chained man sent word that he wants to see me. Should I meet him? Or not?’”
“If that’s the case, aren’t we investing too much money in that chained man?”
A vast amount of funds was being poured into this endeavor.
The information network had not yet been established across the entire Central Plains, and funds were running low again.
“He must have money to burn.”
“Cult Master. What are you angry about? Are you depressed because you’re not losing weight?”
“Hmph! If I put my mind to it, I could lose it all in a month.”
“Didn’t you say that a month ago?”
“If you get too thin as you get older, you look insignificant.”
“You look a little too significant, Cult Master.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader spun around and scowled, and Go Wol gestured that he was only joking.
“What’s on your mind?”
After a brief pause, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader spoke.
“If I tell you the reason, you’ll just make fun of me again, won’t you?”
“Let’s hear it first.”
“You’re not saying you absolutely won’t.”
Eventually, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader began to speak.
“Do you remember Seok Chung, whom we met a while ago?”
“I remember him.”
The process of building an information network in the Central Plains involved a great deal of work.
They had to meet countless people.
In doing so, they would occasionally encounter people like Seok Chung.
“That bastard, he misspoke to me that day, and he was quite rude.”
Go Wol nodded.
Would he have acted that way if he knew the Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s true identity or skill? He had been introduced merely as a wealthy man, so he put on airs and acted rudely, trusting in his own petty martial arts.
“You did well to endure it, Cult Master.”
“I keep thinking about him. I should have crushed him then. Or at the very least, I should have admonished him that he shouldn’t act that way. At the time, I held back, hoping to handle the matter smoothly. But now, it keeps coming to mind.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader had no idea how many times he had killed the man in his imagination.
In truth, the man’s mistake wasn’t even severe enough to warrant death, yet a rage that made him want to kill kept welling up.
“You remember that other guy with the nasty expression, right? I endured it well back then. But this time, it’s not so easy. Ah, I know. Don’t say it. I know full well how petty I am. But what can I do if it keeps popping into my head?”
“I understand.”
“You understand?”
“He was a foolish man. I wouldn’t have stopped you even if you had beaten him to a pulp, Cult Master.”
“Really?”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader was pleased.
“Then should I have beaten him up? Should I go find him and beat him up now?”
Go Wol simply watched the Wind Heaven Sect Leader in silence.
Only then did the Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s excitement subside.
“Whatever you want to say, just say it.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Just say it!”
“Everyone lives like this. It’s because you’re a Cult Master that you’ve lived without seeing such unpleasantness until now. Everyone endures and lives this way. Beating someone up because you’re angry, because you’re in a bad mood, because they’re disrespectful. There are very few people who can live such a life.”
“You want to say that only people like the Second Young Master can live like that, don’t you?”
“It’s the same for you, Cult Master. You lived that way too. You’ve lived comfortably your whole life, and it’s only been a short while since you’ve had to endure, right?”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader nodded, as if acknowledging at least that part.
Go Wol understood that the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was struggling.
How hard must it be? To have lived a life envied by all, only to now follow him around without a single servant, acting as an escort.
That’s why he always had this thought.
‘The Cult Master must have committed a great sin against me in a past life.’
Go Wol walked over to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s side and stood with him, looking outside.
“It’s not because you’re petty that you keep thinking about it. It’s because anger has been building up in your heart, Cult Master.”
“Anger?”
“This work of traveling the Central Plains, it’s the first time you’ve done something like this, right? Meeting people, again and again. It may not seem like much, but it’s the kind of work that unknowingly accumulates a lot of anger. You’ve been enduring it all for my sake until now.”
“It’s a relief that you recognize it. Still, I feel a bit better now that I’ve talked about it.”
“From now on, don’t hold back. Just beat them up.”
“No. I’ll still endure it. If I was born petty, I should at least make an effort. Whether I live this way or that, life will end in death anyway. I’m not going to end it pathetically.”
Go Wol looked at him.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader was sincere.
“Do you want to curse out the Second Young Master to your heart’s content? It’ll be refreshing.”
“Can I?”
“Go ahead, for the first time in a while!”
As if he had been waiting, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader shouted.
“You lazy Second Young Master! If I tell you to come, you should come quickly! What are you doing, being so late? Did you forget us? Just try to forget!"
"You’ve never been eaten by a fish in your own pond, have you? I’ll just swallow you whole, head first! You treat us like ‘that Cult Master’ and ‘that chained man,’ but we’re living just fine!"
"You bad Second Young Master! You ugly Second Young Master! You Second Young Master who cheats with his lightness arts!"
"Ah! Just shouting like this makes me feel better. Grand Strategist Go, you do it too! It’ll clear up all your pent-up frustration. Cursing out the Second Young Master is truly the most satisfying.”
Then, Go Wol spoke with a solemn expression.
“Cult Master, what is this disrespectful nonsense?”
“Huh?”
At Go Wol’s sudden change in demeanor, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader blinked with a what-are-you-doing expression, then sensed a presence behind him.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader slowly turned around.
Geom Mugeuk was standing behind him, having arrived at some point.
“You were cursing me again.”
Why now, of all times! He had been caught cursing before.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader was flustered, but he was not one to simply back down.
“Second Young Master! You need to fix your habit of showing up when you’re being cursed at! Of course, it’s not like I’m a person who wouldn’t say what I have to say just because you’re here…”
Just then, the Fist Demon followed him inside.
The moment he saw him, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s expression turned serious in an instant.
His playful demeanor vanished, and he returned to being the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
He lowered his voice and greeted the Fist Demon.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Good to see you.”
The two men greeted each other with clasped fists.
The Fist Demon, too, revealed an aura different from when he was alone with Geom Mugeuk.
They were now a Cult Master and a Demon Sovereign.
This was who they originally were; it was meeting Geom Mugeuk that had been changing them all.
Geom Mugeuk introduced Go Wol to the Fist Demon.
“This is my Grand Strategist, Go Wol, who would be perfect if only he played Go well.”
Go Wol smiled and said.
“I am holding back on learning because I do not wish to clash with the Grand Strategist so soon.”
He said this because the one who taught the Heavenly Demon Go was the Grand Strategist.
It was also a show of confidence, implying that if he were to learn and teach Geom Mugeuk, he could make him defeat the Cult Master.
“Please, come in.”
Geom Mugeuk and the Fist Demon came in and sat down.
Go Wol brought out tea.
“This is all I have to offer.”
“You must be having a hard time, coming so far to work.”
“I am working happily, thinking of it as a tour of the Central Plains.”
Geom Mugeuk spoke politely to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“You are going through much trouble. Because you are protecting him, Cult Master, I have no worries at all about Grand Strategist Go.”
“It is something I do because I enjoy it.”
Go Wol added to the praise of the Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s efforts.
“If not for the Cult Master, I would have died several times already.”
Indeed, danger had struck on several occasions, but thanks to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader, they had overcome the crises.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader with a soft gaze.
He knew well how great a sacrifice he had made to come to him.
Of course, the reason was Go Wol, but in the end, he was the one reaping the benefits.
Every time, he called him ‘that Cult Master,’ but he had no intention of making him so.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader spoke to the Fist Demon.
“I heard the news that you left the sect with the Second Young Master.”
“I was enjoying some leisure for the first time in a while.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader asked casually.
“Have you, by any chance, lost anything to the Second Young Master?”
“Lost anything?”
“If you let your guard down for just a moment, what’s mine ends up with the Second Young Master. I was wondering if our Fist Demon has also experienced such a thing.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s gaze was as if saying, ‘You must have lost something too, right?’, so the Fist Demon shook his head firmly.
“Nothing of the sort has happened.”
With that, the Fist Demon gave a look that said, ‘Do I look like someone who would let things be taken from me?’
In the midst of this unseen battle of wills, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was inwardly upset.
‘Am I the only one who has lost everything to the Second Young Master?’
He still sometimes thought of the divine relic he had given to Geom Mugeuk.
Since he had left the sect anyway, it wasn’t that he had any lingering attachment or desire for the divine relic itself.
It was just that sometimes, he felt a sense of doubt, wondering if he was a foolish person who gave away things he didn’t have to, if he was the only one living at a loss.
These feelings also played a part in the depression he had been feeling lately.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
“Ah, I have come to take the Fist Demon as my master.”
Hearing this, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was startled.
“Is that true?”
“Yes, from now on, the Fist Demon is my master.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader could not hide his astonishment.
Soon, his mood improved as he looked at the Fist Demon.
‘You lost something too! You lost your very self!’
What decisively pleased the Wind Heaven Sect Leader was this.
‘I wasn’t the only one losing out!’
It was a great comfort to him.
Of course, the Fist Demon would not admit it at all.
Go Wol clasped his fists and offered his congratulations.
“Congratulations on forming the bond of master and disciple.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader also congratulated the Fist Demon.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s lips were itching.
‘I hope you don’t become ‘that master’ either.’
If he had been just a little closer to the Fist Demon, he would have ended up saying it.
“I will go have a word with Grand Strategist Go for a moment.”
Geom Mugeuk and Go Wol went outside.
Now, only the Fist Demon and the Wind Heaven Sect Leader remained.
It was the Wind Heaven Sect Leader who broke the awkward silence.
“You’ve made a great decision.”
“It just happened that way.”
Right.
When you come to your senses, that’s how it is.
A smile formed on the Wind Heaven Sect Leader’s lips.
This time, the Fist Demon asked.
“You too have made a great decision, Cult Master.”
“My situation might seem a bit ridiculous to you, Demon Sovereign.”
“Ridiculous? What are you talking about.”
“I mean, seeing me abandon the Wind Heaven Sect and wander around the Central Plains like this.”
Normally, these two would not have exchanged a single word.
But with Geom Mugeuk as a focal point, a conversation that would not have happened before took place.
“Why are you alone? The Grand Strategist was here just now. And my disciple is here too, is he not?”
“I heard from Grand Strategist Go that you support the First Young Master.”
“That is correct.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader said something unexpected.
“Don’t treat him carelessly just because he is your disciple.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader showed no fear of the Fist Demon.
“You have only bet half, but we have bet everything on your disciple.”
The Fist Demon did not reply and simply drank his tea.
Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk and Go Wol went out to the courtyard.
As soon as they were alone, Geom Mugeuk praised his hard work.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“It was probably less hard than becoming the Fist Demon’s disciple.”
Geom Mugeuk did not deny it and simply smiled.
“Before I tell you why I sent word to see you, Young Master, there is one other thing I must ask of you.”
“Speak.”
“The Cult Master has been having a hard time lately.”
How? For what reason? How much?
Geom Mugeuk did not ask these questions.
The fact that Go Wol was speaking to him privately like this was enough for him to guess the full extent of the situation.
“I still dream of those days when I was bound in chains. Sometimes, I even converse with the Thunder Bell. It seems that it is truly not an easy thing for a person to break free from their past. It must be the same for the Cult Master.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled at him.
“I will speak with him separately.”
“Thank you.”
Having told Geom Mugeuk, Go Wol no longer worried about it.
“What was the reason you wanted to see me?”
Then, Go Wol said something unexpected.
“Have you, by any chance, heard of the Debt of the Immortals?”