“Are you suggesting you suspect the First Young Master?”
Jin Pae-cheon countered Jin Ha-gun's question.
“Then are you suggesting you suspect the Heavenly Wandering Hermit?”
A taut tension flowed between the two.
Until he arrived here, Jin Ha-gun had a sliver of doubt in his heart, a thought of ‘surely not,’ but the moment he heard his grandfather's words, he knew for certain.
‘The Heavenly Wandering Hermit used the Mind Control Technique to plant his own name.’
If one were to use the Mind Control Technique on a subordinate, wouldn't they make them name someone else, even under torture?
But the Heavenly Wandering Hermit had defied that common sense.
By making himself the prime suspect, he had perfectly removed himself from being the true mastermind.
This was a choice that was only possible because the target was his grandfather.
His grandfather had known the Heavenly Wandering Hermit since his youth.
Their friendship had continued to this day.
It was probably like this.
Imagine if he continued to build his friendship with Geom Mugeuk for decades.
Then, what if someone came and said Geom Mugeuk was the evil mastermind? Are these people insane!
That was likely how his grandfather felt right now.
And the reason the Heavenly Wandering Hermit made such a choice was clear.
“I asked where the First Young Master is.”
Since this incident occurred while the First Young Master was in Wuhan, it was natural to believe it was a plot by the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Knowing that defending Geom Muyang in this situation would only stoke his grandfather's anger, Jin Ha-gun answered obediently.
“He is in a manor not far from here.”
The Martial Alliance Leader could not go himself, nor could he summon him to the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
“Bring him to the Azure Cloud Forest.”
Jin Ha-gun meekly followed his grandfather's words.
“Yes, I understand.”
Jin Ha-gun left the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
Swoooosh.
When Jin Ha-gun stepped out of the Alliance Leader’s Hall, the rain was still pouring down.
After telling a martial artist from the Hall to have a carriage ready, he stood for a moment, watching the falling rain.
This matter should have been handled by his own hands, but he hadn't expected the White Dragon Division Lord to die like that.
Now, proving that the Heavenly Wandering Hermit was the mastermind had become even more difficult.
Any other evidence that surfaced would likely be considered a fabrication.
An image of the Heavenly Wandering Hermit came to mind.
As a child, he had followed him, calling him grandfather.
Unlike his strict grandfather, he had treated him and Jin Ha-ryeong warmly.
Whenever he came to visit them, he would bring precious toys from all over the Central Plains.
And he was the one behind this conspiracy?
Jin Ha-gun lifted his head and looked up at the sky.
Thunder flashed within the dark, inky clouds.
Geom Muyang stood in the manor's courtyard, getting drenched by the rain as he watched the carriage arrive.
When the carriage door opened, Jin Ha-gun was inside.
Geom Muyang instinctively knew that his personal visit meant there was a problem with the matter of the White Dragon Division Lord.
“The Alliance Leader wishes to see you.”
As Geom Muyang walked directly toward the carriage, Ho Myeong followed behind him.
He had said, "We will escort you," but Geom Muyang declined.
“You all wait here.”
How could Ho Myeong not know? Now that the Martial Alliance Leader was involved, they would all die by his single sword strike.
But that aside, he was worried and anxious about sending Geom Muyang alone.
If something happened to him, they would all have to offer up their necks.
It would be better to die protecting him.
He sent another glance, pleading to be allowed to follow, but Geom Muyang firmly shook his head.
“Please be careful.”
Leaving Ho Myeong, the Division martial artists, and Gwak Yeong, who was watching worriedly from the back, Geom Muyang boarded the carriage.
As soon as he was on, the carriage departed.
Once the carriage was moving, Jin Ha-gun told him what had happened in the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
In this situation, there could not be even the slightest misunderstanding, so he judged that he should not hide anything from him.
“The White Dragon Division Lord was under a Mind Control Technique.”
Geom Muyang flinched.
He had interrogated the man himself, yet he hadn't known.
A Mind Control Technique that could escape his notice had to be an evil art cast by someone stronger than him.
In that case, it wasn't an evil art cast by the Heavenly Wandering Hermit.
The Martial Alliance Leader, having known him for so long, would not have failed to notice if he possessed such an evil art.
“Who did he say it was?”
“He said it was the Heavenly Wandering Hermit, as expected.”
Geom Muyang was not surprised at all.
He had confirmed many times just how meticulous his enemies were.
“He must be dead, then.”
“How did you know?”
“Because that's how I would have handled it.”
Jin Ha-gun could tell.
Geom Muyang had also figured out their scheme.
“There’s no way the Alliance Leader failed to see through what we have. It’s just…”
‘He simply doesn’t want to believe it.’
Jin Ha-gun could not bring himself to finish the sentence.
Geom Muyang simply nodded his head without a word.
Contrary to Jin Ha-gun’s thoughts, he thought it was possible the Alliance Leader hadn't seen through it.
Or perhaps he was thinking of something else entirely.
Perhaps the one who didn't want to believe it was Jin Ha-gun himself.
The fact that his own grandfather could make a misjudgment.
But Geom Muyang did not reveal such thoughts.
Being removed from the situation, he could view it objectively, like an observer offering advice.
If it were his own affair, who could say for sure?
The carriage carrying the two men arrived at a bamboo forest.
The guards of the Alliance Leader’s Hall were all standing at the entrance.
It seemed the Alliance Leader had forbidden anyone from entering.
Geom Muyang and Jin Ha-gun disembarked from the carriage and walked into the forest.
As they entered the forest, the rain began to lighten.
The two walked, letting the rain fall on them.
It had been a long time since they had felt the rain.
For both Geom Muyang and Jin Ha-gun.
In the middle of the bamboo forest stood a small pavilion.
Jin Pae-cheon stood in the pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back.
He made no effort to conceal his presence.
“On rainy days, I sometimes come here.”
Geom Muyang slowly walked up into the pavilion.
Jin Ha-gun did not follow, waiting below.
Stepping into the pavilion, Geom Muyang greeted him with polite respect.
“I greet the Alliance Leader.”
Jin Pae-cheon, who had been gazing into the distance, slowly turned his body.
“First Young Master, it has been a while.”
His gaze and demeanor toward Geom Muyang were calm and courteous.
When he had ordered him to be brought here, he had seemed ready to roar at him, but his attitude now was completely different.
Because of this, Jin Ha-gun, standing below the pavilion, felt a sense of relief on one hand, but at the same time, grew more tense.
He didn't know when his grandfather's rage might explode.
“How is the scenery?”
“It is good.”
Indeed, the view from the pavilion was beautiful.
The mist flowing through the thinning rain was beautiful and dreamlike.
Only the sound of the rain could be heard there, as if all other sounds in the world had vanished.
“Is the Cult Master well?”
“He has entered seclusion.”
Geom Muyang answered honestly, as the Martial Alliance would already know this fact.
“To be honest, I was surprised when I first heard the news.”
For someone of their level of mastery, seclusion training was a rare occurrence.
For that reason, the Alliance had even held an emergency meeting.
Was he truly in seclusion, or was he planning some other trick?
But amidst the meeting where various reports and opinions were exchanged, Jin Pae-cheon had been picturing Geom Woojin in seclusion.
He knew instinctively.
The Geom Woojin he knew was not someone who would use deception in such matters.
Having met him at the last three-party meeting, he was even more certain.
A Geom Woojin who does not scheme is a more frightening being than a Geom Woojin who does.
That was why, although he did not show it outwardly, he was inwardly tense.
The martial arts mastery of none other than the Heavenly Demon was changing.
It was in the midst of this situation that the current incident occurred.
“My younger brother is serving as the Acting Cult Master.”
At the mention of Geom Mugeuk, a smile formed on Jin Pae-cheon's lips.
The only demonic practitioner who could make him smile in any situation.
Yes, if it weren't for Geom Mugeuk, this meeting would not have happened in the first place.
“The Young Cult Master is someone who would do well in any task entrusted to him.”
Geom Muyang nodded his head as if in agreement.
Was it because he thought of Geom Mugeuk?
Like the mist flowing between the bamboo stalks, a silence flowed between the two men.
How much time had passed like that?
Jin Pae-cheon spoke abruptly.
“It was unexpected.”
Geom Muyang looked at him.
Now, Jin Pae-cheon also stared straight at him as he spoke.
“That you came all the way to Wuhan.”
It was a natural question.
The forgery of the forbidden weapons was a serious matter.
But it wasn't so serious that the First Young Master himself would come all the way to Wuhan.
“There were circumstances for it.”
“Can you tell me what they are?”
When Geom Muyang gave no answer, Jin Pae-cheon's eyes turned slightly cold.
Despite feeling the change in his gaze, Geom Muyang remained silent.
“You resemble your father more than the Young Cult Master does.”
Looking at him reminded him of Geom Woojin.
Well, if it had been Geom Mugeuk, he would have already been chattering away, saying, "There were these and those circumstances."
Geom Muyang knew what those words meant.
And he also felt that what was needed at this moment was not his own curtness, but his brother's friendliness.
It was something he would never have said in a different situation, or to a different person, but…
“That hidden weapon nearly killed my younger brother.”
At Geom Muyang's answer, Jin Pae-cheon's eyes widened.
Jin Ha-gun, who was below the pavilion, lifted his head to look up.
Now he understood for certain.
Why Geom Muyang had said he would see it to the end.
What if someone had nearly killed Jin Ha-ryeong? Yes, he too would have had to see it to the end.
He too would have chased them to the front of the Demon Sect's main headquarters.
“I was merely tracking the one who forged the hidden weapon, and now I find myself meeting the Alliance Leader. Whoever it is, they've paved the way very well.”
The meaning being that the path had been well-laid.
Jin Pae-cheon felt the barb in those words.
“Did you hear who the White Dragon Division Lord mentioned?”
“Yes.”
“What do you think?”
“I do not know that person.”
Geom Muyang stared directly at Jin Pae-cheon and said.
“The answer is something the Alliance Leader would know.”
For a moment, Jin Pae-cheon's expression twitched.
A colossal aura flowed from his body.
“What is the meaning of that?”
“You already know, don't you?”
An overwhelming presence began to rage around them.
Dark clouds gathered, and the world grew dark.
Jin Pae-cheon's aura was a typhoon met on a dark sea.
In the rough waves that crashed in an instant, Geom Muyang was tossed up and then plunged down repeatedly.
A fear that pierced the abyss churned even the depths of a person's heart.
Originally, Jin Pae-cheon was a person suited to this kind of aura.
Overbearing and powerful.
It was just that living as the Martial Alliance Leader for so long, he had not had many opportunities to reveal that presence.
Even in the storm, Geom Muyang stood firm against it.
In response, Jin Pae-cheon's aura grew even more powerful.
Below the pavilion, Jin Ha-gun grew frantic.
It was an enraged grandfather against a Geom Muyang who refused to bend.
How would Geom Mugeuk have handled this?
He thought of him and considered various things, but he was not Geom Mugeuk.
If he couldn't act like Geom Mugeuk, it was better to remain silent.
Yes, let's trust grandfather.
Although he is angry now, he was not one to handle matters based on emotion.
In this matter, he had to play the most important role.
He was the one who knew his grandfather best, and he was the one who had to act as a bridge to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
‘Yes, from now on, I must not have any preconceptions.
I must see each and every person for who they are.’
The words Geom Mugeuk had repeated so often had once again become the most necessary thing in his life at this moment.
The raging presence of Jin Pae-cheon gradually subsided, and the surroundings became calm again.
He had been pushed to the very limit before sustaining an internal injury, but Geom Muyang did not move a single step and endured on the spot.
Jin Pae-cheon, who had been staring at him quietly, spoke calmly.
“Leave Wuhan.”
It might be different in other regions, but in Wuhan, it was a demand he could reasonably make.
But Geom Muyang did not accept it.
“I cannot do that.”
Jin Pae-cheon spoke nicely.
“This matter is our affair. When we find the answer, I will send word to you.”
“I apologize.”
You will never find that answer on your own.
Geom Muyang did not back down.
This was a promise with none other than Jin Pae-cheon.
To say he would go and then not go would be an even greater insult to him.
“You people, really!”
Who in this martial world would dare to disobey his words?
The image of Geom Woojin overlapped with Geom Muyang's face.
Being that man's son, how stubborn must he be?
Just then, Jin Pae-cheon's gaze slowly turned toward the distant mist.
His eyes changed.
Someone was there in the distant mist.
The fact that he could only feel their energy after they had approached this close was enough to tell him how outstanding the opponent's martial arts were.
“Stop eavesdropping and come out now.”
Then, someone slowly began to walk towards them.
“Haven't you also experienced it for the past several decades, Alliance Leader?”
From beyond the pure white mist, a golden radiance began to spread.
“The Demon Sect bastards really don't listen, do they?”