Geom Mugeuk could feel the Drunken Demon’s resolve.
He had made up his mind to kill everyone involved in this affair.
Since he had made up his mind, it was a decision that Geom Mugeuk could not and should not interfere with.
This was the decision of a Demon Sovereign.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Lee Ahn.
She was staring at the Drunken Demon with a flushed face.
Lee Ahn, too, was instinctively sensing it.
What kind of decision the Drunken Demon had made.
The resolution of a Drunken Demon who was all the more terrifying for not being drunk.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Han Seol.
‘Do you feel it?’
How could Han Seol not feel the Drunken Demon's emotions? But she couldn't understand.
‘Why is he going this far?’
It didn’t seem like a relationship that warranted such a reaction.
If she was a woman he truly loved, he would not have lived so far apart.
They merely exchanged letters and wine once or twice a year.
Wasn't that the entirety of their relationship?
Humans were beings who could deceive and cheat even while looking you straight in the eye, so what could there be in a relationship where they had never even seen each other’s faces?
However, she did agree on one thing.
“It is true that the brewer’s death is questionable.”
Geom Mugeuk said to her.
“Please help us so that the Ice Palace can actively resolve this case.”
“What is it you want?”
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Drunken Demon.
He intended to leave this matter entirely to him.
But the Drunken Demon showed an unexpected reaction.
“Let the Young Cult Master decide. A smarter person should use their head.”
“But you just deduced so brilliantly a moment ago?”
“That was because I know her well.”
One could tell the Drunken Demon was a smart man just by seeing him make such a judgment.
The Drunken Demon looked at Geom Mugeuk, speaking with his eyes.
—Take me to them.
Geom Mugeuk answered with his eyes.
—I most certainly will.
Geom Mugeuk said to Han Seol.
“Please grant me one favor. I need no other help. Just that one thing will be enough.”
Han Seol was curious.
What kind of favor could it be that he would say just one was enough?
“Young Palace Master, please join our investigation team.”
At the unexpected request, Han Seol’s eyes widened.
“Let’s solve this, the four of us!”
Drunken Demon and Lee Ahn were greatly impressed.
If Han Seol joined them, there would be no need to ask her for various favors in the future.
If they moved together, they could handle most of the tasks that could be done in the Ice Palace.
It was truly the moment when, if a demon asked, ‘What is your wish?’, one would answer, ‘To have you.’
And in this request, there was one more hidden intention of Geom Mugeuk's that Lee Ahn and the Drunken Demon did not know.
He wanted to keep her close because the Blood King might be targeting her.
“Are you being serious?”
“I am.”
The words of refusal rose to Han Seol’s throat.
Her instincts rejected mingling with people.
Nevertheless, the reason she did not refuse immediately was that she, too, felt the brewer had not taken her own life.
If so, for the sake of the Ice Palace, she had to find the culprit.
“I am already helping you, am I not?”
“You are not helping as one of us, are you?”
“!”
He was right.
While accepting this proposal on her own, she had told her mother that she wanted to find out what kind of person the Young Cult Master was.
To be more precise, it would be more accurate to say she wanted to show herself seeing through the exaggerated rumors.
‘Become one of them?’
Han Seol looked at the three people with a fresh perspective.
It was a truly strange combination.
That excessively beautiful subordinate had come all the way to this Northern Sea to save the husband of a woman who had given him a glass of water.
The Drunken Demon, who was abstaining from alcohol, said he would get revenge for a person with whom he had occasionally exchanged wine and letters.
And that swindler-like Young Cult Master, who was praised as a transcendent being, was asking her to join him.
Han Seol shook her head with a look of incomprehension.
But her decision was the opposite of her action.
“Fine, I’ll join you. But, I have a condition.”
“Please, state it.”
“You must not hide anything from me as we handle this case.”
“Very well, I will tell you everything without omission. But you must promise. You cannot avoid it if you don't want to hear it. You can't say it hurts your ears.”
Thus, Han Seol also became a member of the investigation of this case.
But the real mountain she had to climb was just beginning.
“Then, move your lodgings at once. I think you can stay with Lee Ahn.”
“Move my lodgings?”
“Why are you so surprised? We are one family from now on, so of course we should sleep together, eat together, and think together.”
One family? Han Seol regretted her decision to join them.
Just agreeing to be a member was a huge decision for her.
‘What on earth do you want from me?’
Despite sensing her resistance, Geom Mugeuk pretended not to notice and said to her.
“There will be strength in the experience of eating and sleeping together. Take this opportunity to experience it.”
Han Seol looked at Lee Ahn.
I have to sleep with that woman? She had never slept in the same room with anyone before.
In this situation, Geom Mugeuk took care of Lee Ahn.
“I’m sorry for deciding without discussing it with you beforehand.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Lee Ahn said to Han Seol.
“Please grant me the honor of being with you, Young Palace Master.”
The Drunken Demon also chimed in.
“This is an important matter to me, so please make an exception this one time, Young Palace Master.”
Though she was reluctant, Han Seol eventually agreed.
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
It wasn’t because of those two.
Han Seol had just begun her sparring match with Geom Mugeuk.
She would definitely prove that Geom Mugeuk was a man who swayed people with words to use them.
“What should we do now?”
Not only Han Seol who asked the question, but also the Drunken Demon and Lee Ahn felt lost.
What investigation should they do now? Should they meet more people around? Or should they look at the financial records?
Fortunately, Geom Mugeuk was standing before the path they had to take.
“We must ask the question. Why the brewer? Among all the people in the Ice Palace, why did they have to kill the brewer of the Hundred Wines Snow Courtyard?”
And Geom Mugeuk found the answer in one person.
Since he was in front of Han Seol, he spoke politely.
“I believe that the Demon Sovereign already knows the answer.”
The two women’s gazes turned to the Drunken Demon.
Everyone was surprised, but the Drunken Demon was the most surprised of all.
“You think I know the reason?”
“Yes. You may not know who killed her, but you will know why.”
“But I don’t know?”
The Drunken Demon was flustered as if he were being framed as the culprit, but Geom Mugeuk was firm.
“No, you do know.”
There was a reason why Geom Mugeuk thought so.
“The brewer had no problems within the Hundred Wines Snow Courtyard, nor was she someone who practiced powerful martial arts. She did not have power, grudges, or secrets. Then what could be the reason?”
The reason why he said the Drunken Demon knew was contained in this last sentence.
“Her death must surely be related to wine.”
As the carriage entered the Northern Blood Sect, Yang Jung finally felt a sense of relief.
‘I’m back home.’
The carriage stopped only when it reached the great hall deep inside the inner courtyard.
Yang Jung got out of the carriage.
His father did not return in the same carriage.
They could have had a conversation on the way back.
He was angry.
Yang Jung understood his father.
The Northern Blood Sect was more precious to him than his own son.
It was natural for him to be angry with him after suffering such great damage from this incident.
On the other hand, Yang Jung’s resentment towards his father faded once he returned home.
When the hostage exchange was demanded, he had abandoned him, but he was still the father who had saved him by making a deal with the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
In any case, he had survived, so that was what mattered.
His father was alone in the great hall.
He had dismissed all the martial artists who usually guarded the place.
‘He plans to reprimand me for my mistake.’
He wouldn’t want to tarnish his son’s honor in front of his subordinates.
Feeling his father’s consideration, his heart eased even more.
“Father.”
His father stood silently with his back turned, looking out the window.
Today, that back felt more unfamiliar and frightening.
Yang Jung unconditionally shifted the blame to the Demon Sect.
“I really didn’t expect the Demon Sect bastards to step in.”
Then, the Northern Blood Sect Master asked coldly.
“Why did you tell them?”
“What do you mean?”
“The location of the laboratory.”
For a moment, Yang Jung’s heart sank.
He had forgotten.
He had told them all the places where the captured people might be.
‘I told them to survive. You refused the hostage exchange and abandoned me, so I did it to survive!’
But the two of them did not have a relationship where they could have such a heart-to-heart conversation.
Suppressing the surging emotions, Yang Jung said what Geom Mugeuk had told him.
“It was to lure the bastards there and capture them. I believed that if you had moved the laboratory, you would have set up a countermeasure against intrusion in the new location.”
But it didn’t work on his father.
“If the bastard threatened to kill you and you had no choice but to speak, you should have given him a location that wasn't the laboratory."
"You should have firmly denied it, saying that was the only place you knew.”
‘It was a life-or-death situation, Father!’
Yang Jung made no excuses.
It would have been good if the scolding ended there, but the real reprimand was just beginning.
“Hwang Su died because of you.”
Hwang Su was the person who was conducting experiments there.
‘So what? Is his death more important? Than your son surviving!’
It was something that had been building up in his heart all this time.
But he couldn’t say it.
It would undoubtedly provoke his father’s anger even more.
His father would dismiss it as a childish tantrum of someone who couldn’t distinguish between public and private matters.
“I was wrong. I will never make such a mistake again.”
But his father did not forgive him.
“Leave.”
“!”
“Go to Zhejiang and do not return until I call for you.”
Zhejiang was too far from here.
Being told to leave for Zhejiang was a declaration of death for Yang Jung.
Yang Jung was shocked by the fact that his father was trying to cast him out.
His father had made his two sons fight for succession.
He had not placed all his trust in the eldest son.
That was why Yang Jung had hope.
That he, too, could become the successor.
So he had done all sorts of things.
For the Northern Blood Sect, and for his father.
He had done all the things that should not be known to the world.
But now he could see.
He had not been dreaming the same dream as his father.
He had been dreaming alone.
“I won’t. I will not leave!”
Yang Jung screamed.
He had never been able to properly express his true feelings because he was afraid of his father, but now he didn’t hold back.
“I did everything you told me to do. If you said kill, I killed. If you said kidnap, I kidnapped. And now you’re telling me to leave? I refuse!”
‘After using me like a hunting dog.
If the son is a hunting dog, what does that make the father?’
It was a resentment he couldn’t bring himself to say out loud.
But considering what was about to happen, it was a resentment he might as well have voiced.
Stab!
With the sound of tearing flesh, Yang Jung’s words and movements stopped.
His head lowered, and he looked down at the bloody blade protruding through his chest.
Was it because he was so shocked? It didn’t hurt.
He had seen a sword pierce through a person so many times, but this sight was so unfamiliar.
Who on earth? A person who could enter this place would be?
He slowly turned his head to look back, and the person who had stabbed him was the first person he had thought of.
It was the eldest son of the Northern Blood Sect and his older brother, Yang Seok.
His brother, who had always considered him a thorn in his side while they fought for succession, was more than capable of doing such a thing.
The person Yang Jung couldn’t understand right now was his father.
That father who was watching this scene silently.
His brother would not have dared to do such a thing without his father’s permission.
He must have told him to kill him if he refused to leave.
“... If you were going to do this, why did you save me?”
A cold answer flowed out to his resentful question.
“A bloodline of the Northern Blood Sect cannot be allowed to die at the hands of others. They can only die by our hands.”
That was ridiculous.
If that were the case, he should have agreed to the hostage exchange.
He should not have killed him, but sent him to Zhejiang somehow.
If he refused to go, he should have persuaded him to go.
He should have at least hit his vital points and sent him.
His father would have…
Yang Jung’s resentment ended there.
Shhhk!
The sword was roughly pulled out, and Yang Jung collapsed, spraying blood from his chest, and died.
Ju Gyu and Hwang Chu, who had been kidnapped along with Yang Jung, had already been eliminated.
The Northern Blood Sect Master said to Yang Seok.
“The Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect is staying at the Ice Palace and has begun to investigate this matter.”
“I will cut off any tails that could lead back to us.”
“The survival of our sect is at stake, so you must handle it with caution.”
“Please leave it to me.”
After Yang Seok left, the Northern Blood Sect Master looked down at his dead son.
His heart ached.
But it was a bearable pain.
If the Northern Blood Sect were to fall, that would be unbearable.
The Drunken Demon was strolling through the courtyard.
‘I know the answer.
The answer is within me.’
He thought Geom Mugeuk’s guess was plausible.
She wasn’t someone who would hold a grudge against anyone.
If she was caught up in a conspiracy, it must be a conspiracy related to wine.
As he walked, he took out the letters they had exchanged and read them.
Then he walked again, stopped, and read another letter.
He looked up at the sky, lost in thought, and then walked again.
Lee Ahn was watching the Drunken Demon from the window of her room.
“The Drunken Demon seems to have a lot on his mind.”
Han Seol said nothing and sat on the edge of the bed.
She hadn't even unpacked her luggage.
“Do you regret it? Your decision to join us?”
Han Seol only sent a cold glance, still silent.
Lee Ahn didn’t speak to her anymore and looked out the window again.
The situation outside was serious, and the situation inside was serious.
The one who had caused them so much worry, Geom Mugeuk, had said he would be back after a short while and had left.
Just then, Han Seol spoke up from behind.
“Doesn’t it occur to you that you are being deceived?”
Lee Ahn turned her head to look at Han Seol.
“By the Young Cult Master?”
Han Seol nodded.
Lee Ahn could tell what Han Seol thought of her.
That she was being deceived and used by Geom Mugeuk.
She thought about just giving a smile and letting it go, but then she thought she shouldn’t.
It was fine for Han Seol to think of her that way, but Lee Ahn couldn't stand her thinking of Geom Mugeuk that way.
“Perhaps.”
She said it as if she were readily admitting it, but it was the beginning of ‘getting to know Geom Mugeuk properly’.
“By being so deceived, I fixed the side effects of the martial arts I had learned. I didn't say it, but it was a side effect that had caused me much worry.”
Lee Ahn did not reveal the specific details of the side effects.
“By being so deceived, I learned a sword art I could never have dreamed of, and I became the head of an organization I could never have dreamed of. By being so deceived, I even became the adopted daughter of someone I could never have dreamed of for a lifetime.”
Han Seol wasn't curious about what kind of sword art or what kind of organization it was, but she was curious about who this father she could never have dreamed of for a lifetime was.
“Who are you talking about?”
Lee Ahn answered honestly.
It wasn't a secret anyway.
“It’s the Fist Demon Sovereign of our Main Sect.”
Han Seol was surprised to hear that Lee Ahn was the daughter of the Fist Demon.
‘This woman is the daughter of the Fist Demon?’
Was that why the Young Cult Master cherished this woman? It wasn't.
Right now, Lee Ahn was saying that she was able to become the Fist Demon’s daughter because she had met the Young Cult Master.
“By being so deceived, I became drinking buddies with the Underworld Pavilion Lord and the Demon Army Lord, and a man who was supposed to be the next Demon Sovereign became a squad leader in the organization I lead.”
None of the continuous words were ordinary, so Han Seol suspected that Lee Ahn might be lying.
But would she dare to lie to her face? About things that would be revealed if she looked into them?
“And now, I am having a conversation with the Young Palace Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. If I hadn’t been deceived by our Young Cult Master, my life would have been one of just guarding the door.”
Lee Ahn’s eyes were clearer and calmer than ever.
“With all this, wouldn’t you say a life of being deceived is pretty good?”
It wasn’t just to clear up the misunderstanding about Geom Mugeuk.
If it had been anyone else, she might have just let it go.
But strangely, she felt the need to let Han Seol know properly.
Even though the chilly Young Palace Master wasn’t of a personality she would normally like.
“It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Sometimes I can’t believe it myself. There are many times when I wonder if this is a dream. That’s why I told you before. To try and believe him once. Ah, now I should put it differently.”
After a brief pause, Lee Ahn said.
“Let yourself be deceived by the Young Cult Master once.”
Their gazes locked in mid-air.
Han Seol couldn't understand, nor could she believe it.
But she felt no falsehood in Lee Ahn’s clear eyes looking at her.
Just then, the Drunken Demon hurriedly entered the room, looking for Geom Mugeuk.
“The Young Cult Master? Where is the Young Cult Master?”
“He said he had some business and went out. What’s the matter?”
The Drunken Demon was slightly excited, and for good reason.
“The answer was inside me!”