Jin Ha-gun was envious of his sister’s courage.
His sister had been like that since they were young.
She was a child who would jump into anything she wanted.
She was the kind of child who would boldly tell their grandfather she would marry a servant.
Then he glanced at Geom Muyang, who was standing beside him.
He was watching the three of them dance.
What was this man, who was said to resemble me, thinking? Was he, like me, envious of his younger brother?
Jin Ha-gun then looked up to the second floor.
His grandfather’s expression as he watched his sister was gentle.
To think he would see his grandfather with such a relaxed expression, seated between the Demon Cult Master and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
His dancing sister, his grandfather with the Demon Cult Master and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, and himself with the Great Young Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
None of it felt real.
Jin Ha-gun’s gaze finally landed on the person who had created this whole fantastical affair.
Yes, how could that man not be embarrassed?
He was probably enduring it for a friend.
Even if it were not a dance floor but a field of death surrounded by thousands of enemies, the Geom Mugeuk he knew would have jumped in.
I have to run the Martial World together with this man.
To keep pace with him, I just need to never forget this moment today.
Bi Sa-in, who was following along with that cute dance with such a fierce face, must also be making that effort.
At least he was one step ahead of him.
Geom Mugeuk shouted to the musicians.
“Alright, give us the final song!”
Perhaps because they thought it was the last one, the movements of the three became even more dazzling.
It was a dance that had started in embarrassment, but it was different now.
They were completely immersed in the dance, releasing all their pent-up anger.
When would they ever have another chance to dance to music like this?
And so, the final song ended, and silence fell upon the once-noisy place.
Bi Sa-in belatedly came to his senses.
Dancing to the music, Geom Mugeuk jumping in.
He couldn't remember much after that.
What dance he had danced, or how.
It felt like a storm had passed.
A tsunami had swept through the marketplace, and lava had burned his heart.
A wave of awkwardness washed over him.
Should I run into the tavern? Just as he was pondering, Geom Mugeuk spoke in a loud voice.
“This concludes Young Alliance Leader Bi’s dance performance.”
Applause erupted from here and there, and the three of them bowed with cupped fists.
The Division Lords guarding the market gave them a fervent round of applause.
Jang Ho, in particular, shouted thunderously.
“You were amazing!”
Out of courtesy to Bi Sa-in and Jin Ha-ryeong, he did not single anyone out, but the compliment was, of course, directed at Geom Mugeuk.
Normally, what he wanted to say was, ‘Young Cult Master, you were the most amazing!’
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly and waved at Jang Ho and the Division Lords.
Watching this, Jin Ha-gun had a thought.
Had he ever seen a leader wave to his subordinates with such a bright face?
Did he not know the sad truth that humans ultimately betray not the fearsome, but the kind? Impossible.
He would know it better than anyone.
He knew, yet he still smiled and waved like that.
The trio of dancers walked toward the entrance.
“How was it?”
To Geom Mugeuk’s question, Geom Muyang answered with a question of his own.
“Tell me the truth. You wanted to dance, didn’t you?”
At his brother’s joke, Geom Mugeuk smiled and said.
“I think I have a knack for dancing.”
Geom Muyang turned away as if he hadn't heard, and everyone followed him into the tavern.
Jo Chun-bae, who was at the entrance, said with a moved expression.
“There have been countless performances in the Demon Family Village marketplace, but today’s was the best!”
The scene of them dancing in front of his tavern was also etched as a picture in Jo Chun-bae’s heart.
Just like the image of the Demon Sovereigns standing there, he would never forget this sight.
On the other hand, the masters of the Unorthodox Faction stared at Bi Sa-in with displeased expressions.
Some sneered, while others wore looks of pity.
Though they didn't show it openly, most of their expressions were negative.
It couldn't be helped.
The successor of the Unorthodox Alliance had danced without any regard for his dignity.
If this had been the old Bi Sa-in, he would have undoubtedly been consumed by those reactions.
He would have thought his heart was pounding like it would burst because of them.
He would have blamed himself for dancing a dance he shouldn't have.
But it was different now.
His heart was not racing because of them.
This fluttering was due to the joy of having kept a promise.
It was because of the friendship that had shared in his embarrassment.
Therefore, Bi Sa-in paid no mind to those who were now sending him disapproving looks.
These people belong to my Master anyway.
When I become the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, new people will be standing in their place.
‘The ones whose opinions I need to care about are the people who will be standing there then.’
He thought he had changed and grown a lot just by getting this far, but Geom Mugeuk, by wiggling his hips, had pulled him up another level.
Geom Mugeuk was looking at the Demon Sovereigns, playfully showing them the dance moves he had just performed.
The Demon Sovereigns each showed different reactions.
Some shook their heads, some averted their gazes, and some smiled.
But at least no one was sneering or looking at him with pity.
A deep sense of intimacy and bond could be felt among them.
Watching them, Bi Sa-in realized his thinking had been wrong.
‘I have to change things now, not later.’
Those Demon Sovereigns over there were not Geom Mugeuk’s, but the current Heavenly Demon’s.
Yet they were reacting like this.
If they were like this, what would Geom Mugeuk’s Demon Sovereigns be like later? If Geom Mugeuk had jumped in, all eight of them might have jumped in and danced with him.
If they were Geom Mugeuk's Demon Sovereigns.
‘I need to work on changing the expressions of those Unorthodox Faction masters to be like those of the Demon Sovereigns.’
Bi Sa-in looked at the Unorthodox Faction masters again.
Then, with an expression that said, ‘It’s because I’m still young,’ he politely cupped his fist.
What great difference could this one gesture make? But amidst the still-disapproving gazes, he felt a few of them soften, if only just a little.
Yes, in relationships, there is no later.
If you can't do it now, you won't be able to do it later either.
Even in this short moment of walking up to the second floor after the dance performance, Bi Sa-in was being stimulated by Geom Mugeuk.
He was trying not to let that stimulation pass by, but to learn from it and change.
They went up to the second floor.
Geom Woojin, Jin Pae-cheon, and Baek Ja-gang were standing there, looking their way.
Bi Sa-in walked over to them and stood before Baek Ja-gang.
“I have returned after keeping my promise.”
Bi Sa-in was inwardly nervous.
He had gone out to dance, swept up in the heat of the moment, but now he had returned to reality.
In fact, telling his Master he was going out to dance, now that he thought about it, was a crazy thing to do.
Especially with the Demon Cult Master and the Martial Alliance Leader right beside him.
He tensed, expecting a storm of scolding.
“You need to practice your dancing a bit more.”
Only then did Bi Sa-in feel relieved.
“Yes, Master.”
Bi Sa-in’s relief was plain on his face.
‘Thank you, Master.
I will never forget the great kindness you have shown your disciple today.’
Jin Pae-cheon looked at Jin Ha-ryeong and shook his head with an expression that said he couldn't be helped, and she melted her grandfather's heart with a charming smile.
Geom Woojin was looking at Geom Mugeuk with his characteristic sneer.
Today’s sneer was saying, ‘Now you’re even dancing in front of your father?’
Yes, Father.
If I can see this sneer of yours, which reacts to and enjoys novelty, I will do anything.
And so, the successors gathered once again and drank.
Bi Sa-in drained his cup.
He felt truly unburdened.
Had he ever felt so free in his life?
Having danced in front of so many people, what in the world could he not do?
Bi Sa-in expressed his gratitude to Jin Ha-ryeong.
He knew she had jumped in for Geom Mugeuk, but thanks to her joining in, they were able to finish in a good atmosphere.
It had been fun, too.
“Thank you for joining me.”
“I enjoyed it, too.”
Bi Sa-in deliberately did not thank Geom Mugeuk.
He was waiting for him to jest, "Why aren't you thanking me?"
“That was the most impressive I have ever seen you!”
Geom Mugeuk was always breaking expectations like this.
Bi Sa-in stared at him without a word.
This was the Geom Mugeuk who had jumped in to dance with him in that embarrassing moment.
He could have bowed to him if asked.
Yet this man was the first to tell him he was impressive.
Do you know this? I’m going to live as cool as you.
That’s why it’s been so hard lately.
Trying to keep up with a stork without tearing my groin is so difficult.
“Is that a compliment to a martial artist?”
“It’s a compliment because you are a martial artist. What martial artist in the world could do this?”
Jin Ha-gun, who was listening to their conversation, agreed with that sentiment.
The way Geom Muyang acted earlier, and the way Bi Sa-in had acted, were both things he could never do.
Geom Mugeuk asked him.
“Do you regret it? That you didn’t dance with us.”
Normally, he would have answered that he would rather die.
But Jin Ha-gun said nothing.
To be honest, a part of him wondered what it would have been like if he could have, if he had tried.
Reading his mind, Geom Mugeuk smiled and said.
“Then say it out loud and clear. ‘The next time an opportunity like this comes, I will definitely dance!’ Say it impressively.”
Jin Ha-gun turned to Bi Sa-in and asked.
“Is this how you fell into the trap?”
Bi Sa-in nodded.
“That’s right. By the time I came to my senses, I had already made a promise.”
At those words, the others smiled.
Even as they drank together, they felt a sense of regret.
Because they knew it would not be easy to create another gathering like this once this moment ended, they were sad to see the time pass.
Once they left the tavern, this moment would remain only as a memory and a longing.
They felt like they could drink all night, but the moment to part finally came.
Jin Pae-cheon looked at Baek Ja-gang.
They could understand each other with just a look.
It’s time to go.
Baek Ja-gang nodded.
When they first arrived, he hadn't wanted to say a single word, so exchanging such a glance could be called great progress.
Jin Pae-cheon and Baek Ja-gang rose from their seats together.
“Thank you for the invitation.”
Geom Woojin stood up.
“Thank you for coming all this way.”
They exchanged brief, yet proper, farewells.
They were still enemies, but they would hold hands at least until they rooted out the hidden forces this time.
The successors also bid each other a reluctant farewell.
Geom Mugeuk said to Bi Sa-in.
“You looked cool keeping your promise.”
Those were the words he had most wanted to hear from Geom Mugeuk.
The biggest reason he had mustered his courage was because he wanted to show him that he could keep a promise.
How meticulous he was.
Geom Mugeuk did not forget to mention that point.
“Even if you say that, I’ll never make such a promise again.”
This time, he parted with Jin Ha-gun.
“Let’s get together again once you officially become the successor. We’ll throw a celebration and party all night then!”
Jin Ha-gun had not yet officially ascended to the position of Young Alliance Leader.
“Let’s do that.”
Finally, he said goodbye to Jin Ha-ryeong.
Of the three, she was the most reluctant to part.
But she tried her best not to show her disappointment.
“Will rumors spread about me dancing?”
“It will be about me, won’t it?”
“If I had known, I would have danced better.”
Geom Mugeuk looked around at everyone and said.
“Miss Jin is disappointed, so this won’t do. Let’s have the five of us dance one more time.”
Geom Muyang and Jin Ha-gun simultaneously half-drew their swords.
“Look at that, the two of them are exactly alike.”
And so, they shared their reluctant farewells.
In that moment, it felt as though they could have partied all night.
Before going down to the first floor, Jin Pae-cheon asked.
“Surely, Cult Master Geom, you didn’t write that phrase, did you?”
He had checked the names written on the wall when he first came in.
At the time, he had thought it was just the scribbles of drunkards, but now that he thought about it, he felt that might not be the case.
“I did indeed write it.”
Jin Pae-cheon was startled by Geom Woojin's answer.
That meant the words left by the Demon Sovereigns were also real.
In all his life, he had never seen masters leave their names on the walls of a tavern or inn in the martial world.
And what ordinary masters were these?
Just then, someone spoke from behind.
“Alliance Leader, why don't you leave a word as well?”
He turned to see Geom Mugeuk standing behind him.
“Me?”
Jin Pae-cheon was flustered.
He was a man who rarely lost his composure over anything, but he had been surprised and flustered many times since coming here.
“Wouldn't it look strange to others? This is a place where you all have left your names.”
“On the contrary, wouldn’t it look incredible? The Martial Alliance Leader has boldly left his name behind. How truly amazing.”
No, that wouldn’t be right.
“People won’t think much of it. They’ll just see it and think, ‘Oh, he wrote something.’”
The moment he heard those words, Jin Pae-cheon recalled the emotion he had felt earlier.
The moment he had regretted his past youth, for not having laughed so brightly, for not having played.
‘What was there to think so much about? Why was life so serious?’
Yes, let’s leave a few words.
Jin Pae-cheon took a step toward the wall where the phrases were written.
He was about to write his phrase there, but then turned his body to the other wall.
It felt wrong to write above the Heavenly Demon's words, and it felt wrong to write below them.
He was a man who cared about even such things.
Jin Pae-cheon’s sword was drawn.
He used his sword to leave a phrase on the wall.
He wrote with a single, fluid stroke, smoothly from the first character to the last without hesitation.
Martial Alliance Leader Jin Pae-cheon, witnesses a new Demonic Path here.
He had left a word for Geom Mugeuk.
If it weren't for him, he would not have left any words.
No, he would not have come in the first place.
“Thank you.”
Geom Mugeuk expressed his gratitude with a polite, cupped-fist bow.
Then, he turned to look at Baek Ja-gang.
Baek Ja-gang did not hesitate.
“If the Righteous and the Demonic go, the Unorthodox must follow.”
He left his words below Jin Pae-cheon's.
He did not fret over whether to write above or below.
If Jin Pae-cheon’s script was powerful and grand, Baek Ja-gang’s was neat yet sharp.
Unorthodox Alliance Leader Baek Ja-gang, witnesses his disciple's dance at the Flowing Wine Tavern.
It was a historic moment, as the words of the Heavenly Demon, the Martial Alliance Leader, and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader were all engraved on the wall of the Flowing Wine Tavern.