Lee Chu felt his breath catch in his throat.
Had he ever been this startled in his life? Had he ever allowed someone to get this close?
Instinctively, Lee Chu threw his body, attempting to flee.
The moment his body soared into the air, he felt it.
The man who had been standing with him was now right beside him in mid-air.
He was stuck to him like a shadow.
The moment Geom Mugeuk grabbed his shoulder, Lee Chu, who had been trying to escape through the roof, was brought back down with Geom Mugeuk to where they had originally stood.
The movement of being caught and returned was so fluid that it looked as if the two had perfectly synchronized a leap into the air and a descent back down.
Lee Chu felt that the opponent's martial arts completely overwhelmed his own.
The move he had just witnessed was far more difficult than silently approaching and striking his vital blood points.
"Since we've started peeling, let's peel it all off."
Geom Mugeuk pulled at the wooden panel attached to the carriage.
Creeak.
The wall of the carriage was revealed.
The Heavenly Demon’s exclusive carriage, made of a unique metal, revealed its form.
It was the sturdiest carriage in the martial world.
"Honestly, considering who rides in it, there's no need to make it this sturdy."
Lee Chu didn't quite hear Geom Mugeuk's words.
With his eyes wide open, he stared at the carriage as if entranced.
The painting on the carriage.
Just as Geom Mugeuk had said, it wasn't a crescent moon, but horns.
The terrifying face of an evil spirit with two demonic horns.
It was a fearsome evil spirit that sent a chill down one's spine just by looking at it.
Lee Chu was completely frozen.
There was only one martial organization that would openly display such a drawing.
What if this was the carriage of the place he was thinking of?
'I'm dead.'
Truly, when he entered this stable, he never dreamed that today would be the day of his death.
Whether he knew this or not, Geom Mugeuk walked over to his side again and stood shoulder to shoulder, speaking nonchalantly.
"Isn't it frightening? Was there really a need to draw it so realistically and terrifyingly? I get shivers every time I see it. What about you?"
Geom Mugeuk looked at him.
Lee Chu answered in a trembling voice.
"This is my first time seeing it."
"That's right, it's not a drawing one sees easily."
Geom Mugeuk's words carried a profound meaning.
"Not just anyone can draw this on their carriage. Only a very important person can."
Normally, he should have said, 'only one person,' but he didn't reveal that much.
At that, a suspicion suddenly blossomed in Lee Chu's mind.
'Huh? Are these people really scammers?'
He felt that it might be so.
The truly high-ranking people of the Demon Sect traveling with only three people? It somehow felt unbelievable.
'Anyone can get a painting like this if they just pay a painter, right? And the way he deliberately tore it off for me to see is suspicious.'
It was at that moment.
When he came to his senses, he was standing in the sky.
The sky was blue, and his surroundings were blue.
He wondered if this was all a dream.
Yes, fervently hoping it was a dream, he placed his hand on the blue ground.
Splash.
It wasn't the sky, but incredibly clear water.
What he was seeing was the sky reflected on the water.
It was Geom Mugeuk's aura.
His instantly emitted aura had pulled him into a new world.
But Geom Mugeuk's true aura was beneath his feet.
An invisible energy pulled him into the water.
He kept sinking.
The terror of the bottomless abyss washed over him.
The fear of the deep was endless and horrifying.
"Argh!"
When Lee Chu screamed, he was still standing in front of the carriage.
Geom Mugeuk was looking at him with deep eyes.
Only then did Lee Chu understand.
'They're not scammers.'
But he soon corrected that thought.
'No, they are scammers.
The greatest scammers in history.'
Because everyone was traveling with them, not knowing they were demonic practitioners, let alone absolute masters of the Demon Sect, blissfully heading to the clan.
And he had been ordered to investigate them without knowing any of this.
Lee Chu squeezed his eyes shut.
"Kill me."
His voice trembled.
"Do you have any last words?"
"Who can I blame? I can only blame my own fate for getting involved in something like this."
Even after keeping his eyes closed for a moment, the opponent did not kill him.
When Lee Chu opened his eyes, Geom Mugeuk was still looking at the carriage wall.
"Why don't you kill me?"
"Why would I kill you for such a minor offense? All you did was search the carriage a bit."
"You people are..."
"Why? Do we look like evil spirits who kill everyone we make eye contact with?"
Come to think of it, his vital blood points hadn't even been sealed.
He briefly considered if he should run now, but he quickly gave up.
"Are you sparing my life?"
Of course, there was a condition attached.
"Just as Miss Geum hired us, I will hire you. Just until this job is over and we leave."
Lee Chu was startled.
He thought he was as good as dead, but a path to survival had opened.
"Are you loyal enough to Geum Ah-jong to give your life for him?"
"No."
"I thought so."
The Geum Ah-jong he knew was not a person who could earn such loyalty from his subordinates.
"His fate will have nothing to do with your decision now, anyway. So there's no need to feel guilty. I'll pay you three times what you're getting now."
"Our relationship is just working for what I'm paid. I feel no guilt."
The problem was this.
How would this new master treat him? This opponent was not a merchant from a rival group offering more money.
"Are you going to feed me Gu Poison?"
"That won't happen."
"What if I reveal your identities? How can you trust me?"
"I don't trust you."
Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to the carriage wall.
"I trust that."
Lee Chu's gaze also turned to the evil spirit on the carriage wall.
Geom Mugeuk made no threats.
He didn't say he would imprison and torture him for life if he betrayed him, or that he would kill him brutally, or even the common threat of killing his family.
That made it even more terrifying.
"What do you need me to do?"
"I intend to intervene in the succession battle of the Golden Dragon Clan."
In the moving carriage, Geom Woojin responded to Geom Mugeuk's declaration.
"Isn't that your specialty?"
"Isn't starting fights between others the most entertaining thing?"
Of course, that wasn't why he was intervening.
"If a succession battle breaks out, everyone's attention will be focused on that fight rather than on us. We need to use that fight to find the one behind this, deal with them, and get out. Please leave it to me."
Geom Woojin nodded silently, as if to say, 'do as you see fit.'
Just then, Hwi spoke from the driver's seat.
"The horses are tired. We will take a break."
The moving carriage slowly came to a halt.
Where the carriage stopped, Geum Ah-rin's carriage, which had been running ahead, was waiting.
After letting the horses loose in the field, Hwi prepared a meal.
"I'll prepare this meal."
"I'll help."
Im Hyeok rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, but Hwi refused.
"Just rest. You can take care of the meal during the next break."
"Understood."
Was it because they recognized each other as escorts? Among the three, Im Hyeok was most conscious of Hwi.
He felt a strange sense of kinship, like meeting a great senior in the world of escorts.
Just then, Geum Ah-rin spoke to Geom Mugeuk.
"I need to talk to you."
"Let's."
Geom Mugeuk and Geum Ah-rin slowly started walking.
Im Hyeok was about to follow, but Geom Mugeuk said to him.
"You can just rest when you're with me."
"I have never left the young lady alone."
Geom Mugeuk looked into his loyal eyes and said.
"Try it this once. If there's ever a time you must, today would be the perfect day."
Geum Ah-rin simply watched what Geom Mugeuk was doing.
She felt that when this man acted like this, there was surely a reason.
"Are you perhaps going to have a conversation that I shouldn't hear?"
Geom Mugeuk shook his head.
"No. It's purely a suggestion for you to rest. I know you won't be able to rest well because you'll be worried, but I'm still telling you to rest."
Geom Mugeuk's gaze shifted to Hwi, who was beside him.
This was also meant for Hwi.
To rest a little on this journey.
These loyal escorts were skilled in all sorts of things, but they truly never learned how to rest.
Geum Ah-rin, standing beside them, nodded at Im Hyeok, gesturing for him to do as told.
Im Hyeok no longer refused.
"Understood, please go ahead."
And so, Geom Mugeuk and Geum Ah-rin left the spot.
After sending them off, Im Hyeok felt anxious and stared at their retreating backs for a long time.
Im Hyeok couldn't leave Hwi's side and lingered around him.
"Do you have something to say?"
"No, sir."
In the end, the hesitant Im Hyeok brought up what he had been holding back.
"I do. May I ask you just one thing?"
"Go ahead."
He wasn't sure if they were close enough for such a question.
"It's about your nephew. Did he perhaps think that my constant presence by the young lady's side hinders her growth as a martial artist? I'm asking because I wonder if that's why he told me to rest."
He used Geom Mugeuk as an excuse, but it was his own worry.
He truly cared for Geum Ah-rin like a daughter and always tried to protect her.
But was he spoiling her by doing so? He had been wrestling with that thought.
He wanted to ask Hwi about this matter.
It felt like he would have the answer.
"I'm not sure what my nephew was thinking. It could be that, or it could be that he simply wanted to let you rest."
Hwi, who started off as if he would dismiss it with an 'I don't know,' lifted his head, looked at Im Hyeok, and asked.
"Whatever it is, what does it have to do with us?"
"Pardon?"
"A person's growth as a martial artist is a separate issue from us, isn't it? Someone who is meant to grow well will do so on their own, whether they have an escort or not. For a mere escort like us to worry about such things is overstepping our duties, isn't it?"
It was a simple answer, telling him not to get too emotionally invested in his charge, but he felt a weight lift from his chest.
Hadn't he thought the same thing himself?
But even after pondering it a hundred times, he couldn't find an answer.
Yet, hearing it from someone else was refreshing.
And hearing it from someone who felt like a great senior in the world of escorts made him think he could just follow this advice.
"Yes, you are right. It is not a matter for me to interfere in. Thank you so much for your guidance."
Hwi spoke more than usual today.
Just as Hwi felt special to Im Hyeok, Im Hyeok was a special connection for him too.
He had met a junior in the martial world who was contemplating his duties as an escort.
That's why he added these words.
"My nephew's words are probably right. The part about it being fine when you're with him. So think of it as your last vacation and enjoy it."
Im Hyeok had a strange feeling.
It was difficult to refuse when he was with these people.
Geom Mugeuk, this escort, and the man standing with his back turned up ahead.
He felt that they were all people he couldn't handle.
Im Hyeok's gaze turned in the direction where Geum Ah-rin had disappeared.
'So, the young lady must choose well.'
Geom Mugeuk and Geum Ah-rin stood side by side on a hill.
The view from the hill was beautiful.
The reeds waved as if they were alive, and beyond them, the river flowed gracefully, sparkling in the sunlight.
"I have something to tell you."
Geum Ah-rin had been contemplating one thing throughout the carriage ride.
And she had come to a conclusion.
She was about to tell Geom Mugeuk that conclusion.
"The reason I made a contract with you isn't because you made a deal with the Silver River Merchant Group to kill me."
"Then what is it for?"
"I want your help in the succession battle."
She spoke honestly.
This decision was also a gut feeling.
Choosing Geom Mugeuk was a gut feeling, and being honest was also a gut feeling.
If this feeling was wrong, she was doomed.
"Make me the successor of the Golden Dragon Clan."
Geom Mugeuk wasn't particularly surprised.
"You knew, didn't you?"
"I had a rough idea."
Geum Ah-rin felt it was a good thing she spoke up.
Even if she were to be ruined, the sense of stability this man gave was quite pleasant.
Perhaps that's why she could ask such a question.
"Can you make me the successor?"
"That depends on you."
Geom Mugeuk's gaze towards her was serious.
"How far can you trust me?"
*
Geum Ah-jong was also on his way back to the clan.
He was actually moving faster than Geom Mugeuk and Geum Ah-rin's carriage.
He had gone back to the clan first and sent Lee Chu to investigate Geom Mugeuk.
And Lee Chu, whom he had been waiting for, returned.
"Did you find anything?"
"Yes, I did."
Lee Chu lowered his voice and said.
"Young Master's prediction was correct. I was lucky enough to overhear their conversation, and I heard them say they plan to pull off an even bigger heist once they get to the clan."
"Right? Didn't I tell you they were scammers! The damned scammers!"
Geum Ah-jong was overjoyed that his prediction was correct.
"Do you have proof?"
"I haven't found any yet."
Geum Ah-jong's expression soured.
Without clear evidence, it was useless.
If he claimed Lee Chu heard it, they would just argue that he was framing them since Lee Chu was his subordinate.
"You have to find proof. Only then can I get rid of Ah-rin."
Then, Lee Chu spoke cautiously.
"May I offer my opinion?"
"Speak."
"Use them to frame the First Young Master, not the Third Young Lady."
It was an unexpected remark.
"My brother?"
"In the end, isn't the First Young Master your true competitor?"
He was right.
Although he worried that his father might make his younger sister the successor, that was closer to a compulsion.
The most likely successor right now was his older brother.
Perhaps he was tormenting his sister as a form of escapism, lacking the courage to confront his brother.
"It's a good idea, but how?"
"Aren't they scammers? Throw the First Young Master to them as bait."
Geum Ah-jong's eyes flashed.
The words struck a chord.
If he could link these guys to his brother? He could surely diminish his father's and the clan's martial artists' trust in him.
"Will my brother fall for it easily?"
"You have to make him fall for it."
"How?"
"I don't know that far."
If he gave a perfect explanation, it would arouse suspicion, so he was told to only say this much.
He was told that the rest would be handled by Geum Ah-jong himself.
That he would do well since he had a knack for cunning schemes.
Just as Geom Mugeuk predicted, Geum Ah-jong began to rack his brain.
"Get those scammers involved with my brother?"
His eyes gleamed slyly as he searched for a method.
In the merchant world, financial troubles were indeed fatal.
His sister had caused a two-million-nyang incident.
"How big of an incident should I make my brother cause?"