“I understand. I will gratefully accept the secret manual.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon politely received the secret manual.
No matter how desperately he had wanted it, if the one giving it had not been Geom Mugeuk, he would never have accepted it.
Yes, if it had not been the Young Cult Master, never.
He was the one who had brought this specific secret manual from that place with so many books.
Because the Young Cult Master was someone bound to him by such a deep connection.
So, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon happily received the Laughing Fragrance Secret Art, and he did not bother to hide his joy.
Today, with his mask off, he smiled more brightly than ever before.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon poured a drink for Geom Mugeuk.
“What will you do later when the Cult Master finds out?”
“What do you mean? It will already be too late. By then, Laughing Demon Sovereign, you will have mastered the martial art. If my father asks for it back, I will return it.”
The Laughing Demon had to laugh at Geom Mugeuk’s shameless strategy.
Although he said that, Geom Mugeuk was certain.
His father would not ask for it back.
Instead, he would probably assign him some other task as punishment.
This time, Geom Mugeuk filled the Laughing Demon’s cup.
“Congratulations, Laughing Demon Sovereign.”
It was not a congratulation from Geom Mugeuk to the Laughing Demon, but from one martial artist to another.
Obtaining a martial art that would complete oneself was a moment every martial artist dreamed of, even in their sleep.
The two men emptied their cups again.
And Geom Mugeuk’s gifts did not end there.
“The time has come for this to show its true value.”
Geom Mugeuk took out a dagger from his robes.
It was the ten-thousand-year cold iron dagger, forged from the melted chains of Go Wol.
“I would like to give this to you, Laughing Demon Sovereign.”
The Laughing Demon knew what kind of dagger this was.
“Isn’t this dagger meaningful to you, Young Cult Master?”
“It is.”
When the chains were disposed of, the people who were there at the time had the dagger made and shared it among themselves.
“But you are giving this to me?”
“Because it is a meaningful item. I cannot give a meaningless object to you, Laughing Demon Sovereign.”
He was not saying he could not give it because it had meaning, but that he was giving it precisely because it had meaning.
The others who had shared it would all understand.
“I am fine.”
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon strongly refused, but Geom Mugeuk had already made up his mind to give it.
“I use a sword, and when I do not use a sword, I use fist techniques. To be honest, the only time I would use this dagger is to peel fruit. Isn’t it a pity for a dagger born of ten-thousand-year cold iron?”
Geom Mugeuk held out the dagger.
“Please, save this dagger.”
Still, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon did not accept it.
The Laughing Fragrance Secret Art he received today was already too great a gift.
Then, Geom Mugeuk gripped the blade and showed him the dagger's handle.
“It is already too late, Laughing Demon Sovereign.”
A character was engraved on the handle.
So.
A sigh escaped the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
Young Cult Master, why do you show me such great affection?
In the end, he could no longer refuse.
“Thank you, Young Cult Master.”
He respectfully accepted the dagger Geom Mugeuk offered.
And so, the ten-thousand-year cold iron dagger found its true owner.
Geom Mugeuk looked forward to that day.
The day the Laughing Fragrance Secret Art would be unleashed from the dagger held in the Laughing Demon’s hand.
The moment when his three martial arts would harmonize, and he would be reborn as a perfect martial artist.
“By the way, did you know? It's written in the sect’s rules that if you're going to give a gift, you should give three.”
“Is there such a rule?”
“I found it when I was looking through them after becoming the Acting Cult Master. So, I had no choice but to prepare one more.”
Geom Mugeuk opened a large box he had prepared beforehand under the table.
Inside the box, which was divided into several compartments, were elixirs.
They were the very same elixirs he had taken from the underground vault he had descended into with the Sword King.
At that time, the Sword King had said this.
‘Putting it in someone else’s mouth is all a waste.
Just eat it all yourself when you can.’
But the mouth he was about to give them to was not his own, yet it was not someone else’s either.
He could have given one root to each of the Demon Sovereigns, but Geom Mugeuk did not.
If it was his destiny to discover the Laughing Fragrance Secret Art, then giving these elixirs to the Evil Heart Laughing Demon must also be destiny.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon silently stared at Geom Mugeuk.
Geom Mugeuk did not say anything else.
He said just one thing.
The single most powerful phrase that persuaded the Laughing Demon.
“Become stronger.”
For a moment, a wave of emotion crossed the Evil Heart Laughing Demon’s face.
He was a man who had crossed the threshold of life and death with Geom Mugeuk several times.
He knew better than anyone who they were up against, and he knew well that unbelievably strong beings existed.
That was why he also knew that Geom Mugeuk was trying even harder.
Yes, the Young Cult Master must be saying this to him now.
Become stronger and fight alongside me.
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon also did not say much.
He did not refuse the gift.
He slowly put the pure white mask that had been on the table back on his face.
He, too, said only one thing.
“I will become stronger.”
Geom Muyang had still not left Wuhan.
His second shelter was not far from the first.
In fact, it was even closer to the Martial Alliance headquarters.
He had subverted the expectation that he would flee far away.
Geom Muyang stood by the window, watching the outside world begin to darken.
Gwak Yeong silently watched his back.
The back of a blunt man.
Could the back of someone she had only known for a few days hold so much meaning?
She wanted to say something to him, but she did not know what to say.
She was always the bright and confident one.
The reason words did not come easily was because of her guilt.
She had never dreamed that Tracking Incense might have been applied to her brother's letter.
Because of her, they had nearly faced great danger.
Are you angry?
No. There was nothing more infuriating than asking an angry person if they were angry.
What are you going to do now?
What business is it of mine! Yes, it was not her place to ask.
In the end, the words she found were these.
“Use me to catch them.”
Was it too obvious a thing to say?
The blunt back just continued to stare out the window.
Geom Muyang did not blame her.
He had expected from the beginning that there was a reason they had kept her alive.
It was his own fault for not figuring out that reason sooner.
Just then, Division Lord Ho Myeong entered and reported.
“The White Dragon Division has begun to search Wuhan thoroughly.”
This shelter was not a completely hidden safehouse of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, so it would eventually be discovered by their search.
“How long until this place is discovered?”
“A day at the earliest, two days at most.”
It was a woefully inadequate amount of time to solve the problem.
Ho Myeong glanced at Gwak Yeong.
“If that woman returns to the Alliance, the search will be called off.”
Their search was aimed at finding Gwak Yeong, after all.
At that, Gwak Yeong quickly took a step back.
“Don’t tell me to leave! I’m not leaving. You can call me selfish, but I can’t help it.”
Her instincts were telling her.
If she left, she would die.
“If you tell me to hide in a warehouse, I’ll do it. If you tell me to dig a hole and breathe through a reed, I’ll do that too. Just don’t tell me to go back.”
When Geom Muyang and Ho Myeong said nothing, she finally let out a sigh.
Holding out like this was, as she said, a selfish decision.
The one who could save her brother was not her, but that man.
“I’ll leave. But you have to keep your promise.”
Then, Geom Muyang spoke softly.
“If you leave, you die.”
“I’m not afraid of dying.”
She felt she could willingly die if it meant she could save her brother.
“Not you. Your brother will die.”
“What?”
“You are valuable only when you are with us.”
Hearing those words, Gwak Yeong realized.
Even at this very moment, she was valuable.
She was making the White Dragon Division chase after them.
They could make other demands, holding her brother's life as collateral.
They would keep her brother alive because they did not know what role she might play.
Gwak Yeong looked at Geom Muyang with a newfound expression.
“He’s a demonic practitioner, but he’s so smart!”
Having blurted out the words unintentionally, she was startled and covered her mouth.
As a look of bewilderment crossed Geom Muyang’s eyes, her face turned red and she lowered her head.
“I’m sorry. The thought in my mind just slipped out.”
Fortunately, at that moment, a subordinate entered the room and delivered a message from the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.
“The Heaven-Reaching Pavilion has identified the location where the counterfeit weapons were made.”
Based on Gwak Yeong’s testimony, the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion had succeeded in analyzing the location.
“They say it was made in a warehouse building in a remote area about twenty li away.”
Going there would be meaningless.
It would already be empty.
“Who is the owner of the warehouse?”
“A man named So Gong.”
Hearing the name, Gwak Yeong was shocked.
“I know him! He’s a merchant who supplies materials to the Martial Alliance’s Iron Workshop.”
She was even acquainted with him.
He had been doing business with the Martial Alliance’s Iron Workshop for a long time.
That man was in league with them? She could not believe it.
Ho Myeong said to Geom Muyang.
“I will go and capture him.”
“Let us go together.”
Given the opponent, they had to move cautiously.
As Geom Muyang was leaving, Gwak Yeong spoke in a loud voice instead.
She had to greet him cheerfully, not be intimidated by her earlier mistake.
“Have a safe trip!”
Geom Muyang glanced at her before leaving the place without a word.
After the two left, she muttered to herself in a low voice.
“When someone says something, you could at least acknowledge it.”
So Gong woke up.
A man in a mask was looking down at him.
It was Ho Myeong.
So Gong was startled and about to scream, but no sound came out.
His mute point had already been sealed.
“If you make a sound, it won’t just be you who dies, but everyone in this house.”
There could be no more terrifying threat than that, so So Gong nodded his head.
Only then did Ho Myeong release his mute point.
So Gong sat up.
There was another masked man in the room.
Geom Muyang was sitting in a chair in the corner, watching So Gong.
“What do you want?”
He had spent his whole life as a merchant.
The fact that they had not killed him yet must mean they wanted something from him.
The one who asked the question was Ho Myeong.
He cut right to the chase, asking what he wanted to know.
“The warehouse, who did you rent it to?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He denied it flatly, but his eyes were already wavering.
Ho Myeong immediately pressed down firmly on his shoulder.
It was a pressure point used during torture.
As a terrible pain washed over him, So Gong was about to scream.
But a terrifying phrase that made his scream die in his throat came from Ho Myeong.
“Anyone who wakes up at your voice and comes running will die.”
So Gong gritted his teeth.
Overwhelmed by the horrific pain, he let out a silent scream.
A moment later, when Ho Myeong removed his hand from his shoulder, So Gong was completely drenched in sweat.
“I cannot say.”
His words changed from ‘I don’t know’ to ‘I cannot say.’
This time, Ho Myeong pressed on that pressure point even more strongly.
As a mere merchant, he could endure it once, but he could not endure it a second time.
“Division Lord Do!”
What came out of his mouth was not a name, but a title.
“Division Lord Do? Which Division Lord Do?”
To Ho Myeong’s question, So Gong answered in a trembling voice.
“It is Division Lord Do of the White Dragon Division.”
Geom Muyang was surprised, and so was Ho Myeong.
Do In-su, the Division Lord of the White Dragon Division.
They truly had not expected his name to come up.
The seated Geom Muyang rose from his seat and approached So Gong.
Intimidated by his presence, So Gong quickly added more.
There was a reason he had not answered easily.
“Division Lord Do rented it, saying it was for Alliance business. He said he was carrying out a secret operation and that I must never reveal it.”
Geom Muyang, who had gotten closer, stared intently into So Gong's eyes.
“I am not lying. Please, spare my life.”
Geom Muyang could tell he was not lying.
The name of the White Dragon Division Lord was not one that could come out as a lie.
Geom Muyang spoke to him with cold eyes.
“If you reveal that we were here, things will get complicated. As a merchant, you can make that calculation. Just think of it as having had a bad dream.”
Thump.
His vital points sealed, So Gong fell asleep.
Geom Muyang and Ho Myeong left So Gong’s house as stealthily as they had entered.
Only after they reached a secluded forest far away did they remove their masks.
Ho Myeong spoke in a low tone.
“I did not expect the White Dragon Division Lord to be involved in this.”
The man could have been a villain from the start, or, as with Gwak Yeong before, they could be threatening him by holding one of his weaknesses.
And in either case, he was not someone to be touched lightly.
If the problem escalated, it could cause a major conflict between the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect and the Martial Alliance.
Ho Myeong was inwardly tense, wondering what decision Geom Muyang would make.
The moment the words ‘let’s hang the White Dragon Division Lord upside down’ were spoken, this fight would enter a new phase.
And, as Ho Myeong expected, Geom Muyang chose a direct confrontation.
“Since the clues lead to the White Dragon Division Lord, we will have to meet him.”
At Geom Muyang’s words, Ho Myeong replied respectfully.
“Yes! I will request all information on him from the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion!”
The two men once again flew towards their shelter.
A moment after they disappeared, a man flew swiftly to that spot and landed silently.
His movement arts alone were enough to guess what a formidable skill he possessed.
The man who landed with his white robe fluttering was very tall.
His face was large, his eyes were large, and his limbs were long.
He wore a brilliant blue sword at his waist.
He was none other than the supreme master who had come to Wuhan with Han Wol-gaek, the Jade Mountain Sword.
The blue flag that had been stuck in the map at the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion operations room was him.
“Insolent fools! Today will be your last day.”
Just as the Jade Mountain Sword was about to stealthily follow the two men again.
He stopped abruptly and looked to one side.
Someone was here.
“Come out.”
Indeed, a voice was heard from behind a nearby tree.
“The Buddha always taught us to show mercy.”
From behind the tree, a faint golden light began to flow out.