Lee Ahn slowly walked up to the second floor.
Seen up close, Lee Ahn was even more beautiful than when viewed from below.
Moreover, she exuded an unapproachable aura.
“Young Cult Master!”
Lee Ahn stood before Geom Mugeuk.
If others were not around, she would have called him Young Master, not Young Cult Master.
She would have run up shouting, “Young Master!” and thrown her arms around him.
That was how much she had missed Geom Mugeuk.
“You’ve worked hard.”
At that single phrase from Geom Mugeuk, Lee Ahn felt the stiffness and tension in her heart melt away as if by a lie.
‘I’m finally back!’
Lee Ahn was feeling the same emotion Geom Mugeuk had felt upon seeing his father.
Lee Ahn’s gaze naturally turned to Han Seol.
The primary reason Han Seol came to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect was to meet Lee Ahn.
She had been worried she would have to leave without seeing her, so it was a relief that Lee Ahn had returned.
Han Seol called out to Lee Ahn.
“Older sister.”
It was the first time they had met since parting ways after agreeing to be like sisters.
She thought it would be very awkward and distant, but unexpectedly, it was not.
At the words “older sister,” everyone who did not know their relationship was startled.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“You said you’d show me around the next time I came to the Central Plains, didn’t you?”
She had remembered Lee Ahn’s words exactly.
“Yes, welcome.”
Looking at Lee Ahn smiling at her, Han Seol felt that something about her had changed.
However, she could not pinpoint what that change was.
Seo Daeryong greeted Lee Ahn warmly.
“Martial artist Lee, welcome back.”
“Pavilion Lord, have you been well?”
At that, Geom Mugeuk slyly remarked, “He’s been doing the best out of all of us.”
As he said this, he glanced at Dan-ah.
Quick-witted Lee Ahn’s eyes widened. “No way! It can’t be, right? You traitor!”
Lee Ahn showed her closeness with a casual joke, and Seo Daeryong smiled awkwardly.
Lee Ahn spoke to Dan-ah with a bright smile.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Branch Master.”
Dan-ah looked at her youngest sister and said, “Thanks to the Young Cult Master, my youngest sister was able to join the Ghost Shadow Branch. Go on, greet her.”
Dan-yeon stared blankly at Lee Ahn, captivated, before belatedly coming to her senses.
“Ah, you’re so beautiful. I am Dan-yeon, a new recruit. The First Squad Leader told me to start tomorrow.”
Dan-yeon greeted her politely with a cupped fist.
Lee Ahn gazed at her silently for a moment before suddenly throwing out a question.
“Have you heard what kind of organization we are?”
“Yes, I heard it is a place where we become the Young Cult Master’s shadow.”
“Good, then I’ll ask. If the Cult Master’s order and the Young Cult Master’s order conflict, what will you do?”
Dan-yeon answered without hesitation. “I would have to follow the Young Cult Master’s order, wouldn’t I?”
“But that would be treason.”
She flinched at the word treason, but Dan-yeon’s thoughts were firm.
“After all, if the body doesn’t exist, the shadow is a being that disappears anyway.”
Hearing Dan-yeon’s answer, Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk and said, “Her first day hasn’t even started, but her loyalty is higher than mine.”
A smile spread across Dan-yeon’s face at those words.
She liked interesting people.
In fact, she was the brightest and wittiest of the three sisters, and she had liked Lee Ahn’s earlier teasing of Seo Daeryong as a traitor, and this moment as well.
She really liked her.
The great favor she felt for Geom Mugeuk was not just because he was the Young Cult Master.
It was because of the relaxed jokes he threw out at times like this.
“Still, you’d send the food to my father, wouldn’t you?”
In response to Lee Ahn’s questioning gaze, Geom Mugeuk simply gave an enigmatic smile.
Jang Ho greeted her again. “Martial artist Lee, welcome back.”
“Lord, you’ve gotten even bigger!”
It had also been a long time since her reunion with Cheon So-hee.
“We used to see each other every day, but now it’s become difficult to see your face even once.”
“The Young Cult Master said he would definitely bring back the Late-Night Training Sessions.”
After finally greeting Kang Dal as well, they all sat down.
Geom Mugeuk raised his cup high and shouted.
“My heart has returned!”
Lee Ahn thought, there he goes again, and felt embarrassed, but she still raised her cup high.
Like that, everyone happily toasted and drank.
Putting down her cup, Dan-yeon whispered to Seo Daeryong.
“Brother-in-law, that was too obvious a lie.”
She was referring to when Seo Daeryong had said her older sister was prettier.
As Seo Daeryong smiled awkwardly, Dan-yeon whispered in his ear again.
“In times like these, you should say, ‘to my eyes, you are prettier.’”
“Ah!”
Seo Daeryong also whispered to Dan-yeon.
“From now on, sister-in-law, please teach me well.”
“The quality of the advice will depend on the amount of your allowance, brother-in-law, won’t it?”
Seo Daeryong laughed at her words.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Is it okay for me to be this happy?”
He was afraid that the heavens would grow jealous of this happiness and send misfortune.
Then he suddenly looked at Geom Mugeuk, who was drinking with Lee Ahn.
He felt he now understood in his heart what he had only vaguely known in his head.
Why Geom Mugeuk had moved so diligently.
To Geom Mugeuk, Lee Ahn was his Dan-ah, Jang Ho was his Dan-bi, and he himself was his Dan-yeon.
He must have moved so diligently so that misfortune would not dare to approach.
To prevent laziness from inviting misfortune.
‘I, too, will protect them with diligence, Young Cult Master.’
At that moment, his eyes met Geom Mugeuk’s, and the two men toasted in the air before emptying their cups.
Even though there were people who had just met for the first time, the atmosphere was good.
The pillar that was Geom Mugeuk put everyone at ease.
Laughing and chatting.
Everyone talked with comfortable hearts.
Towards the end of the drinking party, they broke off into smaller groups to talk.
Dan-bi, who was to become an enforcer for the Underworld Pavilion, had various conversations with Seo Daeryong and Kang Dal.
The second sister was usually a person of few words, but she was not so introverted as to miss the chance to build a rapport with her direct superiors.
Seo Daeryong said to his two subordinates, “I think of our Underworld Pavilion as a guiding star. A role that keeps one from losing their way on a dark night. Because everyone tries to find an easier path, I believe that even if all the other organizations in the sect are shaken, we alone must not be swayed.”
Dan-bi carefully asked, “How can we not be shaken?”
Seo Daeryong answered honestly. “Each of us must find our own guiding star.”
Kang Dal and Dan-bi, lost in thought, quietly emptied their cups.
Seo Daeryong’s gaze turned toward Geom Mugeuk.
He could say such a thing because he had already found his.
Meanwhile, Dan-yeon was only looking at Lee Ahn.
She had completely fallen for Lee Ahn, the head of the organization she belonged to.
She was beautiful, strong, and above all, witty.
Lee Ahn was truly the image of what she dreamed of becoming.
“Branch Master, do you have a dream?”
To Dan-yeon’s courageous question, Lee Ahn answered.
“To survive well for a long time.”
Lee Ahn left out one important part.
Geom Mugeuk drank with Cheon So-hee and Jang Ho, talking about this and that.
They talked about the Fist Demon, and about Jang Ho’s painting.
Cheon So-hee felt like she could finally breathe for the first time in a long while.
It felt so good to gather, talk, and drink like this.
In the past, she used to drink comfortably with the Iron Fists of the Eastern Fist Hall, but after becoming the successor, such occasions had disappeared.
“We’ll get going first.”
The Dan Sisters got up from their seats first, as they had to face their first day in their new organizations the next day.
Dan-ah had been quiet throughout the drinking party.
In truth, she was a good drinker and could be quite talkative if she wanted, but today she held back on both drinking and talking.
So as not to make any mistakes for the sake of Seo Daeryong and her younger sisters.
Before they parted, Lee Ahn said quietly to Dan-ah.
“Pavilion Lord Seo is a really good person.”
“Thank you.”
When they stood up, Kang Dal also bade farewell.
“My subordinate is leaving for the sake of tomorrow, so the leader can’t just be playing around, can he?”
He said that, but it was because he felt it was time to leave them to their long-awaited reunion.
He was a man who knew when to join in and when to make a clean exit.
Han Seol also stood up.
“The elders seem tired, so I should get going first too.”
On the first floor, Sa Han of the Ice Cold Twin Blades was asleep, his head resting on his wife’s shoulder.
He had gotten drunk from drinking for the first time in a while.
Geom Mugeuk said to Han Seol. “Miss Han, I have a request.”
“Please, speak.”
“Please leave a few words on this wall here.”
At those words, Jo Chun-bae’s face, who was on the first floor, lit up brightly.
As expected, Geom Mugeuk knew his heart well and took care of him.
She immediately shook her head.
“I don’t think I am qualified.”
“Then please leave it on this wall. Let’s leave the names of our young masters here. Let our Young Palace Master start it off.”
After being asked like that, Han Seol finally left a message.
-I drank well with friends and now I leave.
Han Seol, Young Palace Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
It was the moment when the words of the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s successor were finally left on the wall of the Flowing Wine Tavern.
Seo Daeryong smiled warmly at the word “friends,” and Jo Chun-bae grinned from ear to ear with joy.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Jo Chun-bae expressed his gratitude to Han Seol, then looked at Geom Mugeuk and smiled brightly.
It was a message she would never have left if not for Geom Mugeuk.
And so, everyone returned, leaving Geom Mugeuk, Cheon So-hee, and the trio of the drinking group at the Flowing Wine Tavern.
Cheon So-hee was also about to leave, but Geom Mugeuk intentionally made her stay.
“Just drink for a bit. I have something to bring.”
While Geom Mugeuk was briefly away, the four of them talked about this and that.
Then, Lee Ahn asked Seo Daeryong.
“How does it feel to have someone you like?”
To Seo Daeryong, Jang Ho and Lee Ahn were more than just simple drinking buddies.
“Honestly, even though I’ve returned with Miss Dan, I’m scared. I’ve lived selfishly my whole life thinking only of myself, so I wonder if I can do well, and I worry if I’ll regret it later.”
Since they were all unmarried, their feelings were not different from Seo Daeryong’s.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk’s voice came from the first floor.
“For worries like that, you should ask someone with experience.”
Geom Mugeuk came up to the second floor with Jo Chun-bae.
In that short time, Geom Mugeuk had gone somewhere and returned carrying a leather pouch and a long sword box.
“Innkeeper, do you regret your marriage?”
To Geom Mugeuk’s question, Jo Chun-bae laughed and said.
“There were times I regretted it. After a big fight with the wife, phew, on those days, I used to fall asleep dreaming of the days when I lived alone.”
Everyone laughed at his honest confession.
“But I would have regretted it even if I had lived alone. No matter how disobedient my son is, I feel dizzy thinking what my life would have been like without him."
"Maybe it’s because of all the affection, both fond and resentful, but as I get older, my wife is all I have.”
Geom Mugeuk said to Seo Daeryong, “When you’re having trouble with matters of the heart, come to the Flowing Wine Tavern for advice!”
“Yes!”
Jo Chun-bae bowed, saying he was honored, then went down to the first floor.
As he descended the stairs, he was smiling.
To think he would now be counseling the Underworld Pavilion Lord on matters of love.
Seo Daeryong’s gaze fell upon the box and leather pouch Geom Mugeuk had brought.
“But what is that? It looks like a sword box.”
Geom Mugeuk gave the sword box to Lee Ahn.
“Here, a gift.”
Lee Ahn, taking the box, was startled.
She had never imagined she would receive a gift here.
“A gift?”
A sun and moon were stylishly engraved on the box, and just by looking at the exquisitely crafted box, one could tell that what was inside was no ordinary object.
Inside was a single sword.
Lee Ahn slowly drew the sword.
“Ah!”
A gasp of admiration escaped her lips.
Shaaaaa.
A chillingly sharp edge instantly spread in all directions.
It was truly no ordinary treasured sword.
“It’s the Sun Moon Sword.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, not only Lee Ahn but also Jang Ho, Seo Daeryong, and Cheon So-hee were startled.
The Sun Moon Sword was a treasured sword renowned in the martial world.
It was the very same Sun Moon Sword he had received from the Black Snake Division Lord while resolving Bi Sa-in’s matter in the past.
Bi Sa-in had given the sword back to Geom Mugeuk, and at that time, Geom Mugeuk had said he would give it to his heart.
He had kept it safely since then, and now the moment to give it to Lee Ahn had come.
“Why are you giving me such a precious sword?”
“Because you have now reached a level of mastery where you can protect this sword. Congratulations, Lee Ahn.”
“Ah, as expected! You knew.”
She had achieved the Great Mastery of the Flying Heaven Sword Technique that she had dreamed of.
It was a timeframe that even someone talented in martial arts could not have accomplished, and what made it possible was thanks to Geom Mugeuk, who had given her his teachings without holding back.
“Are you really giving this to me?”
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
To a martial artist, a sword is like their life, and the Sun Moon Sword would become another life for her.
And the sword suited her well.
“I won’t refuse. I know I’ll never get a sword like this again in my life. I’ll take it.”
“I thought you’d like it, so I even got the sword box.”
“Thank you so much, Young Master.”
It was a burden, but she was so happy she felt like she could fly.
She wanted to quickly wield the Flying Heaven Sword Technique with this sword.
On the other hand, she felt too burdened receiving a gift just for herself and felt sorry for the other three.
How could he not know her heart?
Seo Daeryong said to Geom Mugeuk, “Even if she is your heart, this is too much! What about us?”
He had said it jokingly on purpose, but unexpected words came from Geom Mugeuk.
“There are things for Lord Jang and you guys, too.”
He could not believe it, but Geom Mugeuk began to take something out of the leather pouch.
Two sets of protective armor emerged from the leather pouch.
He gave the Diamond Divine Armor to Jang Ho and the Radiant Sun Armor to Cheon So-hee.
This armor was from the treasure vault of the Silver River Merchant Group Leader.
It was the very same armor Geom Mugeuk had put on four layers of to take with him.
Jang Ho and Cheon So-hee were startled.
They had never expected he would give them such precious gifts.
“Such a precious thing! We cannot accept it!”
At Cheon So-hee’s refusal, Geom Mugeuk moved to take the armor back.
“Then I’ll take it back?”
Cheon So-hee giggled and did not let go of the Radiant Sun Armor.
“Still, it’s a gift from my senior brother. I should accept it.”
The armor they had just received was so expensive that they could not buy it even if they saved money their entire lives, and even if they had the money, they would not be able to find it.
Cheon So-hee made a vow in her heart. ‘Someday, I will wear this armor and be sure to protect the Cult Master.’
Jang Ho made a troubled expression.
He had become a Demon Army Lord thanks to Geom Mugeuk, and now he had even received such a precious gift.
“I don’t know if I can accept something so precious.”
“You have to take it. I became the Incarnation of Greed right in front of my father and doggedly grabbed these to give to you all.”
Jang Ho looked at Seo Daeryong.
Seo Daeryong smiled and said.
“I have already received mine. Would a right-hand man be called a right-hand man for nothing?”
Seo Daeryong had already received the White Scale Armor from Geom Mugeuk.
This time, Lee Ahn looked out for Geom Mugeuk.
“What about yours, Young Cult Master?”
Geom Mugeuk then spread the hem of his robe.
The clothes he wore underneath were the Black Dragon Flying Armor.
“Of course, I took the best one, so you don’t have to feel burdened.”
He had worn it on purpose, in case they would not accept the gifts.
The three of them were more grateful for this sentiment than for the armor itself.
“Thank you so much, Young Cult Master.”
Geom Mugeuk looked at them with a warm heart.
Yes, become stronger.
Become so strong that no one would dare to touch us.
“This isn’t a gift for you all. It’s a gift for my heart, my right arm, my left arm, and my one and only junior sister, so it’s a gift I’m giving to myself.”
After the drinking party ended, just the two of them, Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn, took a walk on a path at dawn.
Lee Ahn brought up something she had not mentioned when others were around.
“You’re not asking about the mission?”
The mission was to bring Seo Jin, the younger sister of the Ghost Spirit Master, to become the Second Squad Leader of the Ghost Shadow Branch.
Seo Jin.
His only friend in his life before regression.
If he had not met her, his regression would not have happened.
In this life, he hoped she would live a happier life by forming a connection with Lee Ahn, rather than being a wanderer.
“You failed, didn’t you?”
If you had succeeded, you would have come together.
“Did something else happen this time too?”
Previously, Lee Ahn had gotten involved in another matter because she received water from a village woman.
“No, I met Miss Seo this time.”
“You met her?”
“I finished persuading Miss Seo, too. It really wasn’t easy.”
“But why didn’t you come together?”
“She said she would come after finishing what she needed to do. She has business at the Yellow Dragon Martial Hall.”
Yellow Dragon Martial Hall.
It was a massive martial hall, recognized by all as the best in the martial world, that had produced countless masters.
“She said she’d come right after she finished her work…… Young Cult Master?”
Lee Ahn turned her head back.
Geom Mugeuk had stopped walking, his expression hardened.
“What’s wrong?”
Because in his life before regression, the person who killed her was from the Yellow Dragon Martial Hall.
Perhaps their ill-fated connection had begun around this time.
Or maybe fate had changed.
Geom Mugeuk could feel it.
The sweet rest of the past few days was over, and it was now time to go out into the martial world again.
“Lee Ahn, you haven’t unpacked your things yet, have you?”