“Well then, I will be on my way.”
Geom Mugeuk bowed politely and turned away.
The key to this provocation was to turn and leave.
My father would not send me away for the sake of the greater good, but you are.
Geom Mugeuk walked with long strides.
Please call me back, hurry and call me back! As desperate as he was, his steps showed no hesitation.
“Wait.”
At Baek Ja-gang’s call, a triumphant smile formed on Geom Mugeuk’s lips.
Geom Mugeuk turned back toward him.
“What is it?”
“Where are you trying to go?”
“Did you not tell me to return to the Main Sect?”
Baek Ja-gang’s small eyes narrowed into thin slits, like lines drawn sideways.
If he let him go like this, he would become a man who jeopardized the greater good for his pride.
Of course, he also knew it was Geom Mugeuk's provocation.
The problem was that the object of comparison was the Heavenly Demon, Geom Woojin.
He did not want to lose to anyone, but especially not to Geom Woojin.
Geom Woojin was his lifelong rival, after all.
A target of both love and hate, whom he acknowledged yet despised.
“Would your father really have told you to bow to me even ten times?”
How could Baek Ja-gang not see through his provocation? Now was the time to be honest.
Geom Mugeuk let out a light sigh and spoke.
“I lied. My father would have been furious.”
Geom Mugeuk bowed his head to Baek Ja-gang.
“I apologize for using such a cheap trick.”
Geom Mugeuk honestly admitted that he had provoked him intentionally.
“So you know it was cheap?”
“Yes.”
When he admitted that much, Baek Ja-gang's expression softened slightly.
“I am that desperate.”
“Even if someone is to be desperate, it should be me. Why are you so desperate?”
Although he appeared calm, Baek Ja-gang was feeling a sense of crisis.
The safehouse had been breached, and the successor had been attacked.
And behind it all, the Alliance’s deputy commander was the prime suspect.
He was by no means taking this matter lightly.
If he were, he wouldn't have even come here.
He just didn't want to show his anxiety in front of the Demon Sect's Young Cult Master.
On the other hand, Geom Mugeuk's desperation was purely personal.
“I consider the Young Alliance Leader a true friend. I hope that friend can safely inherit the position of Alliance Leader.”
Baek Ja-gang noted that the words didn't set off any alarms.
It was a sense that worked on many opponents, but there were some people on whom it did not.
He wasn't a fortune-teller, after all.
He would have to make an exception for this Geom Mugeuk.
The Demon Sect’s Young Cult Master speaking the truth? That was impossible.
“Why do you want to be friends with Sa-in?”
Geom Mugeuk answered without hesitation.
“Because I believe that he can open a new Unorthodox Path.”
“A new Unorthodox Path? What is this new path you speak of?”
“That, I do not know. It is a path the Young Alliance Leader must find for himself. However, whether it is my Demonic Path or the Young Alliance Leader’s Unorthodox Path, I believe that in our era, there will surely be a new ideal.”
Geom Mugeuk knew what Baek Ja-gang was thinking now.
Before his regression, he had been the same.
If some greenhorn started talking about ideals, he would have thought the exact same thing as Baek Ja-gang was thinking now.
You say that because you don't know reality.
He had lived that reality to its very end.
He had lived that life, which was at times insignificant, and at other times amazing and great, overcoming all sorts of pain and hardship.
Of course, he knew that didn't mean he could speak the right answer, nor did having lived it before guarantee he would live this life well.
That even if he were to live a hundred times over, he couldn't live well without effort.
That, in fact, the very knowledge that he had lived before could hold him back and cast his life into the abyss.
Baek Ja-gang, that's why I'm trying.
Because if I just let things be, a bitter reality awaits where you, me, all of us die, and the Twelve Zodiac Kings rule the Martial World.
“When you think of my father, what do you feel?”
Sure enough, whenever his father was mentioned, Baek Ja-gang’s eyes would light up.
“First, you get angry and want to fight and win, right? When I think of the Young Alliance Leader, I feel happy. The first thought is that I want to meet him to laugh, talk, and have fun. Our Martial World will be one where we don't fight or hate each other. We’ll be at the beach, charming young ladies and having fun.”
“That is nothing but a childish ideal.”
“Why is that?”
“Because humans with power are never satisfied with what they have. Both you and Sa-in will change.”
Geom Mugeuk looked up at the sky for a moment.
“Before coming here, I sat with the Young Alliance Leader and looked up at the sky. We imagined a time when our hair would be as white as those clouds. Will we really change?”
Baek Ja-gang gave no answer.
Seeing the look on his face that said, 'Do I really need to spell it out for you?', Geom Mugeuk nodded his head.
“Then I will try to change for the better. I will try to change to become as less evil as possible.”
Baek Ja-gang stared silently at Geom Mugeuk.
He had to admit that just by making him listen to such absurd talk, this was no ordinary fellow.
‘A dream.’
Come to think of it, he had never thought about it.
How could a dreamer rule the Unorthodox Path? The Unorthodox Path was a place where you could die just by closing your eyes.
Suddenly, he felt a desire to hear Geom Mugeuk say, 'Alliance Leader, you were right.
My thoughts were nothing but a childish ideal.' He wanted to teach him a lesson.
Geom Woojin's son.
Geom Mugeuk knew that what would capture his interest was neither ideals nor friendship.
The most powerful thing to pique his interest was this.
“My father once spoke of you, Alliance Leader.”
As expected, Baek Ja-gang’s gaze intensified.
“What did he say?”
“It may be a disrespectful thing to say, but may I repeat it as it was?”
“Go ahead.”
After a brief pause, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
“For a scoundrel of the Unorthodox Faction, he's a man with big dreams.”
Once again, Baek Ja-gang let out a baffled laugh.
They were words that should have made him angry, yet he felt as if he had been acknowledged, so it wasn't so bad.
Yes, if it's Geom Woojin.
He is a man who has the right to say such things.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk abruptly asked.
“Is the dream you dream, Alliance Leader, the same dream as my father's?”
Baek Ja-gang flinched for a moment.
He knew.
He knew that Geom Woojin dreamed of unifying the Martial World.
He had even warned Bi Sa-in about it.
Now, the Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect was asking.
Are you also dreaming of unifying the Martial World?
It was a question no one had dared to ask, and of course, a matter he had never answered.
He omitted obvious lines like, 'I don't know what dream your father dreams.'
He still wasn't sure what kind of person this young Cult Master was, but he could tell he was someone with whom he could communicate even if he skipped the obvious.
“And if it is?”
After a brief pause, Geom Mugeuk spoke calmly.
“I ask that you dream a different dream.”
Baek Ja-gang erupted in anger and shouted.
“That dream, are you trying to let only your father dream it?”
A powerful energy swept over Geom Mugeuk, but his Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art, now at the level of Great Mastery, protected him far more comfortably than before.
“No, I'm going to wake my father up too.”
The energy pressing down on Geom Mugeuk vanished as Baek Ja-gang burst into laughter.
It was the first time he had laughed out loud since the two had met.
“You know your father even less than I do. The moment you shake your father to wake him, you will no longer be the next Heavenly Demon. He might just smash your head in while he's half-asleep.”
That was how the Unorthodox Alliance Leader saw his father.
Geom Mugeuk sighed and said.
“Perhaps.”
Baek Ja-gang was certainly drawn to Geom Mugeuk in at least one respect.
The way he admitted things when he had to.
He lacked the pointless stubbornness that half-smart people often have.
So he wasn't frustrating to deal with.
Another appealing point was that with his unexpected words, there was never a dull moment.
“Alliance Leader, I am hungry.”
This, too, was a first for him since becoming the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
Who would have ever dared to look at him and say they were hungry?
“Please buy me a meal.”
The young man knew well.
It's hard to heartlessly turn away someone who says they're hungry.
Baek Ja-gang once again thought of Geom Woojin.
Of how blunt and cold he was.
‘With a personality like that, how on earth did you raise a kid like this?’
Right, even if I send him away, I should at least feed him first.
Baek Ja-gang spoke into the empty air.
“Prepare a carriage.”
Then, the reply from the guard commander, In Gung, was heard.
“Yes!”
While waiting for the carriage, the two silently watched the river flowing far below the mountain.
“I like this place. It's quiet, and the scenery is excellent.”
“When I have someone I want to kill secretly, I call them here.”
Geom Mugeuk glanced down at his feet before looking back at Baek Ja-gang and saying.
“You're not joking.”
“I am not.”
“Was I perhaps about to die as well?”
“It was a close call.”
Baek Ja-gang didn't particularly like Geom Mugeuk, but he enjoyed this kind of conversation.
It was because since becoming the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, he had lived his entire life in a rigid manner.
“Do you still have people you want to kill these days? At your level, Alliance Leader, it seems there wouldn't be anyone left to kill.”
“There are still many. Resentment tends to pile up with age.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly.
Seeing that 'I know everything' smile, Baek Ja-gang thought to himself.
‘What does a young brat like him know?’
That's why he felt the urge to dig deeper.
He wanted to show him, 'No matter how clever you are, you're still just a kid, aren't you?'
“Why? You think your father doesn't kill? You may only see his noble and dignified side, but in unseen places, corpses are piling up every day. Do you think the Righteous Path bastards are any different? They frame people as demonic practitioners and brand them as part of the Unorthodox Faction to kill them off.”
This was likely why this man didn't believe in ideals.
Why his small eyes sought to contain only cold reality.
“In your ideal world, no one would die, I suppose.”
“No. I will kill even more.”
“!”
Baek Ja-gang looked at Geom Mugeuk with a puzzled expression.
“You may wonder what the Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect is talking about, but I hate those who have given up on being human. I will kill them all.”
Since it was not something the Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect should say, and certainly not something to say to the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, Geom Mugeuk finished his words with a jest.
“The saying, 'Where there is good, there is also evil,' sounds like something the evil side came up with to justify their existence. Perhaps as a way to endure. By any chance, did you create that saying, Alliance Leader?”
Baek Ja-gang realized he wasn't a person without a sense of humor.
When asked if he had created it, he had almost laughed again.
“In your Demonic Path, it seems we would be the ones dying the most.”
“That's why I support and cheer for the Young Alliance Leader, so that doesn't happen.”
Baek Ja-gang realized that this young Cult Master was not an easy opponent.
Suddenly, he wanted to see Bi Sa-in.
Geom Woojin had raised his son this well, and he felt that he himself had been too complacent.
Just because he was outmatched by Geom Woojin didn't mean he could let his son be outmatched as well.
Son? Yes, a disciple is like a son.
He didn't know if it was because of his sense of defeat that he couldn't surpass Geom Woojin, or because he usually thought of Bi Sa-in as a son, but at this moment, he was engaged in a battle of raising sons.
In the meantime, the carriage driven by In Gung, who wore a bamboo hat pressed low, arrived.
To avoid attention, he had brought not an Unorthodox Alliance carriage but a common one found in the marketplace.
The two boarded the carriage.
For this secret excursion, veiled bamboo hats were prepared inside the carriage as well.
“Where are we going?”
“You said you were hungry, didn't you?”
The carriage carrying the two of them arrived at a shabby restaurant located a little away from the market.
“It's a place I come to occasionally.”
And so, the two ate a meal there.
Geom Mugeuk was once again amazed by the surprising experiences life sometimes threw at him.
Eating with the Unorthodox Alliance Leader in front of the Unorthodox Alliance headquarters? When he had first set out for this place, could he have ever imagined such a thing?
“I also have a favorite restaurant in front of my Main Sect. If I have the chance next time, I would very much like to host you there, Alliance Leader.”
Baek Ja-gang gave a slight nod, but he believed such a day would never come.
Unless a war broke out and he conquered the Demon Sect's headquarters.
Would he even have an appetite then? Oh, Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect.
While they ate, Geom Mugeuk brought up the story of Hyeok Sa-gun.
“Hyeok Sa-gun has likely played the role of strategist more brilliantly than anyone until now. Thinking about it now, he was too perfect, and his luck was also very good. From now on, look at him as if he is a traitor. You will surely see a different side to him.”
He wasn't worried about being found out for saying that.
Baek Ja-gang was not a man who easily revealed his inner thoughts.
Besides, he was looking at other aspects as well.
“Assuming what you say is true, then the Grand Strategist who stepped down due to illness must have been done in by him as well.”
“Yes, I believe he was poisoned.”
“Then why didn't you say so?”
“Because I knew you would figure it out eventually, Alliance Leader.”
Baek Ja-gang looked at Geom Mugeuk.
He didn't know what kind of face was truly behind that veil, but one thing was certain.
Despite being so talkative, he was meticulously controlling what he said and what he didn't.
As his interest in Geom Mugeuk deepened, at its center was Geom Woojin.
‘He raised his son this well? That cold-hearted man?’
This thought kept coming to him.
He didn't want to lose, at least not in this fight.
“When is the day he said he would come to the Alliance?”
“In two days.”
“Let's see then.”
Baek Ja-gang retracted his intention to send Geom Mugeuk away.
As he rose from his seat, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
“Before you go, please give the Young Alliance Leader a scolding.”
“A scolding? Why?”
“He must feel very guilty for not being able to come out himself. If he hears that you scolded him, his heart will likely feel more at ease.”
Baek Ja-gang was genuinely surprised.
He's being considerate of Bi Sa-in's feelings in a situation like this? And such an easy-to-miss emotion at that? This young fellow?
Now he understood a little why the word 'bewitching' had come up.
“Don't get used to it.”
At Baek Ja-gang's words, Geom Mugeuk wore a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean?”
“If you relay it to Sa-in like that, he'll understand.”
It seemed to be a conversation that had passed between Bi Sa-in and Baek Ja-gang in the past.
“I will relay it so.”
After parting with Geom Mugeuk like that, Baek Ja-gang boarded the carriage.
The light flowing from his small eyes was so intense it seemed it could swallow the whole world.
‘Look at these rascals!’
The person added to the 'rascals' was, surprisingly, Geom Woojin.
Although it was a silent battle within his own mind, it had now become a two-on-two fight with the fathers having joined the fray.