All the way back to the Alliance Leader’s Hall, Jin Ha-gun thought and thought again.
What should he report to his grandfather about the Heavenly Wandering Hermit?
It was a task given to him like a trial for the successor, so it would have been best to have a clear answer, but in the end, this was Jin Ha-gun’s conclusion.
“Honestly, I am not sure.”
His grandfather, whom he thought would be disappointed, silently nodded.
Jin Pae-cheon thought it was a natural outcome.
What if the Heavenly Wandering Hermit was truly a man of evil?
How could his grandson uncover a scheme so deep and terrifying that it had even fooled him?
And what if he wasn't?
Then he was doubting an innocent man, so of course he would be confused and unsure.
Either way, it was not an easy situation to figure out.
Jin Pae-cheon rose from the Grand Advisor's seat and slowly walked to the window.
The view of the Martial Alliance as seen from the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
He had lived his entire life to protect this unchanging scenery.
And now, he felt he was facing a battle more difficult than any he had ever fought.
From behind, Jin Ha-gun’s question came.
"Are you going to see the Hermit?"
Jin Pae-cheon nodded.
“My friend was ambushed. Of course, I have to see him.”
The time had come to meet him in person.
How should he face him?
His grandson, with his great faith in Geom Mugeuk, believed this was not a plot by the Demon Sect, but he himself could not afford to think so simply.
He had to consider many possibilities.
A misunderstanding could cost him his closest friend.
Just then, an unexpected report came from the air.
"The Acting Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect requests an audience."
Jin Pae-cheon, who had been looking out the window, turned around.
Jin Ha-gun also could not hide his surprised expression.
It seemed he had come without even informing his grandson beforehand.
Geom Mugeuk came himself?
It had to be one of two things.
Either he truly believed the Heavenly Wandering Hermit was behind this, or they themselves were orchestrating the plot.
Jin Pae-cheon said calmly.
“Show him in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jin Ha-gun felt his grandfather’s aura change.
The gentleness he showed his grandson was gone, replaced by the dignity and authority of the Martial Alliance Leader.
His grandfather now stood on a battlefield.
Although Geom Mugeuk was his friend, he was making his grandfather tense.
As if to confirm this, Jin Pae-cheon reminded him of a certain fact.
“Do not forget. You told me where he ranked in your trust.”
Jin Ha-gun had said he trusted Geom Mugeuk fifth.
After his belief that they were in the right, his grandfather, the warriors of the Demon Slaying Branch, and the members of the Martial Alliance.
His grandfather was telling him now.
Do not be swayed by some pointless friendship and let your emotions get the better of you.
“I will keep that in mind.”
A moment later, Geom Mugeuk, wearing a bamboo hat pulled down low, entered the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
He took off his hat at the entrance, walked slowly to the foot of the Grand Advisor's seat, and bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Alliance Leader. Have you been well?”
Jin Pae-cheon walked down from the Grand Advisor's seat.
He too greeted Geom Mugeuk with formal respect.
“Welcome, Cult Master Geom.”
He treated him not as Young Cult Master Geom Mugeuk, but as Acting Cult Master Geom Mugeuk.
A personal friendship was one thing, but there was a separate etiquette to be observed between the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect and the Martial Alliance.
“Please, be at ease. I am not here today as the Acting Cult Master, but as a friend of Ha-gun.”
With that, Geom Mugeuk looked at Jin Ha-gun.
Their eyes met in mid-air.
A sentiment that needed no words was contained in their gazes.
Good to see you, my friend.
Do you always have to surprise people like this?
Although his grandfather was watching, Jin Ha-gun could not hide his delight.
The moment he saw Geom Mugeuk, he could not contain his joy.
Even though this man always teased him so, he was so happy to see him.
Geom Mugeuk spoke respectfully to Jin Pae-cheon again.
“I arrived in Wuhan today. As this matter concerns my brother, I moved discreetly. I apologize for not giving you prior notice.”
He was paying his respects on the day of his arrival, so he had not been operating secretly in Wuhan.
In other words, the only issue was that he had arrived without prior contact; there was no problem with Geom Mugeuk being in Wuhan.
Jin Pae-cheon nodded silently and asked in a soft tone.
“How do you find being the Cult Master?”
Geom Mugeuk looked up at the Grand Advisor's seat on the dais.
The Alliance Leader's seat was likely just as uncomfortable as his father’s.
If he had been sitting comfortably, his father would have already taken it from him.
“I have learned how difficult it is to protect that seat.”
Then he turned to Jin Ha-gun and said.
“Hey, friend, these days are much better.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Jin Ha-gun just smiled faintly.
“Why? You don’t believe me?”
Geom Mugeuk said to Jin Pae-cheon.
“Please give him a taste of this difficult job for a while to teach him a lesson. It’s unfair that I’m the only one suffering.”
Jin Ha-gun knew.
Geom Mugeuk’s joke was also his way of saying, ‘Grandfather, you should entrust the successor’s position to your grandson soon.’
Grandfather, how could I not trust a man like this?
He had already saved his life, and his sister’s life as well.
This man had stood before him in many different forms.
Sometimes he was not the Young Cult Master, sometimes he was, and now he stood as the Acting Cult Master.
Though the positions were different, he was always the same.
That was why he could say with certainty.
Even when he ascends to the position of Cult Master, Geom Mugeuk will be the same as he is now.
“To be honest, when I first came, I intended to move secretly. I thought this was a matter for the Martial Alliance to handle, not us.”
“But why did you change your mind?”
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned to Jin Ha-gun.
“I remembered a promise I made with my friend a while ago. That we would always contact each other if anything happened. That we would always help each other if there was danger.”
Then Jin Pae-cheon asked casually.
“And you’re not the most dangerous one here?”
Geom Mugeuk’s voice turned sinister as he replied.
“I am, without a doubt, the most dangerous.”
He seemed to admit it readily.
“But only to the wicked. I don’t have the generosity and mercy that you, Alliance Leader, show to evil men. I don’t believe in repentance either.”
It was a chance to understand Geom Mugeuk’s thoughts, so Jin Pae-cheon asked calmly.
“Why don’t you believe in it?”
“Because for the one criminal out of a hundred who might truly repent, the other ninety-nine use repentance as a shield.”
He was saying he would prevent the greater tragedy that a careless pardon could create.
The words, ‘Still, shouldn’t we save that one person?’ did not come from Jin Pae-cheon.
Jin Pae-cheon, with his domineering nature, shared the same thought, at least on this matter.
“I have no mercy for the wicked either.”
“That is why I respect you, Alliance Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk met Jin Pae-cheon’s intense gaze with confidence.
“I thought I must receive your permission before I begin to handle this matter.”
This level of courtesy was sufficient.
No, considering the past, it was more than enough.
When had the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect ever notified them before taking action? Things had only started to change after Geom Mugeuk became the Young Cult Master.
Jin Pae-cheon asked carefully.
He had wanted to ask this ever since he heard Geom Mugeuk had arrived.
“What are your thoughts on this matter?”
Not just Jin Pae-cheon, but Jin Ha-gun too was curious about what Geom Mugeuk thought.
“Are you asking for my rash thoughts, having just arrived and not even seen the Heavenly Wandering Hermit’s face yet?”
Jin Pae-cheon nodded.
“Yes, I want to hear that rash thought of yours.”
Geom Mugeuk paused for a moment.
With this brief silence, he showed that what he was about to say was by no means a rash answer.
Then, Geom Mugeuk spoke firmly.
“I believe the Heavenly Wandering Hermit is the mastermind behind this and is a man of evil.”
A heavy silence filled the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
Jin Pae-cheon knew well what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was.
This was the man who had brought him and the Unorthodox Alliance Leader to a shabby tavern in front of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect’s main division.
This was the man who made the successor of the Unorthodox Alliance and his own granddaughter dance in front of so many masters.
The man who danced with them.
The man who ended a succession battle without shedding blood.
Such a person had said this.
Your friend, Alliance Leader, is a man of evil.
Even before hearing the reason, his chest felt heavy.
Because he knew there would be a plausible reason.
Jin Ha-gun asked in his grandfather’s stead.
“May I ask for your reason?”
Jin Ha-gun was exactly half-convinced.
His grandfather might not want to face the truth, but he had to hear it.
To protect his grandfather and to protect the Alliance.
Though Jin Ha-gun asked, the answer was directed at Jin Pae-cheon.
“Because I would have chosen the same method.”
“…”
It was an emotional, yet more powerful answer than any other.
Coming from Geom Mugeuk, the answer carried even more weight.
Because it was a method such an intelligent person would choose.
“Gaining the Alliance Leader’s trust means gaining the trust of the entire Righteous Path martial world. If the Heavenly Wandering Hermit did not have the fact of being your friend, would he have been able to gain the reputation he has now?”
Probably not.
There were countless people in the martial world who acted with righteousness and practiced justice.
Yet, the reason Hwa Yul-cheong became known as the representative of them all was because he was the friend of the Martial Alliance Leader.
Geom Mugeuk asked something unexpected.
“Do you remember when you first befriended the Heavenly Wandering Hermit?”
Jin Pae-cheon nodded.
“How did you meet?”
Geom Mugeuk was digging into their very first encounter.
Jin Pae-cheon recounted that day from long ago.
There was a time in his youth when he wandered as a hero of justice.
Around that time, as he was passing through a village, he heard the sounds of fighting.
“I rushed over and saw my friend fighting with the Green Forest Bandits who were attacking the village.”
That was his first meeting with him.
He helped him and they took care of all the bandits.
Jin Pae-cheon realized what Geom Mugeuk was implying.
“You seem to be suggesting that our meeting was planned.”
Indeed, Geom Mugeuk nodded and asked.
“Why do you think it wasn’t?”
“Not just bandits, but many villagers died that day. There were more dead than living.”
Jin Pae-cheon sighed and added.
“Even several children died. He… is not that kind of person.”
Jin Pae-cheon answered firmly.
He could concede, a hundred times over, that the man might have approached him with intent.
But to approach him by sacrificing innocent lives who had not even learned martial arts?
He remembered the image of him holding a dead child and sobbing his heart out that day.
Were those tears not genuine? Those tears that were still so vividly etched in his memory?
“It cannot be.”
Geom Mugeuk did not insist.
“That is why I told you. It is my rash thought, having not even seen the Heavenly Wandering Hermit’s face yet. My thoughts were excessive.”
But in his heart, he did not think it was excessive.
He had had a similar experience.
When he returned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect to find the final ingredient for the Great Art, the Demon Soul Essence.
At that time, for the sole purpose of taking the Demon Soul Essence, he had deceived everyone.
What if this man was also a person with such will?
Geom Mugeuk did not reveal such inner thoughts.
“For now, I will investigate this matter with Branch Master Jin. I do not know who this bastard is, but since he tried to use the Alliance Leader’s friendship, we should also use our friendship to deal with him.”
Jin Ha-gun nodded.
He felt a sense of belief that with Geom Mugeuk, they could surely uncover the truth.
Jin Ha-gun’s pride was no longer hurt by this sense of relief.
Rather, he was grateful for having such a reliable friend.
On the other hand, Jin Pae-cheon was silent.
Although Geom Mugeuk had taken a step back, saying his words were rash, he knew he still considered the Heavenly Wandering Hermit to be the mastermind.
If he did not have such a belief, he would not have brought up the idea of him being an evil man in the first place.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk gave some unexpected advice.
“When you meet your friend, tell him everything honestly.”
The scope of that honesty was beyond what he had imagined.
“Tell him that I have come, and that my brother and I strongly suspect him. Tell him how troubled you are that the Demon Sect keeps acting this way, and be honest about your own feelings, Alliance Leader.”
It was truly unexpected advice, but there was a reason for it.
“As someone who has protected the position of Alliance Leader for a long time, you must have seen countless figures who use schemes. If you were to try, you could probably deceive the Heavenly Wandering Hermit without him noticing.”
No, he thought, he wouldn't be able to deceive him.
The opponent was someone who had been by the Alliance Leader’s side for decades.
He was someone who knew the Alliance Leader better than anyone.
“Even so, why should you, the Alliance Leader, engage in a battle of deception? You have a much stronger weapon.”
The weapon Geom Mugeuk spoke of was this.
“You must fight with the truth. Are you not the one who has led the Righteous Path martial world with a life free of lies? A half-hearted truth would only be used by cunning evil, but the Alliance Leader's truth will be as strong as ten-thousand-year cold iron.”
Was it because he could not bear to lie in front of his grandson?
With a troubled expression, Jin Pae-cheon spoke honestly.
“I am good at lying, too. I have dealt with people through lies before.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled pleasantly.
“Yes, fight with that truth, the one you just showed me.”
Of course, he did not think the Alliance Leader’s truth would defeat that man.
If sincerity or truth could get through to them, how could they be called evil?
Nevertheless, there was a reason he gave the Alliance Leader this advice.
Because if the Alliance Leader met him with such a complicated state of mind, it was obvious he would lose, time and again.
He knew he would be swayed by the man’s intentions.
No matter how smart a person is, no matter how strong, the moment they are swayed by their opponent, it is over.
Rather, because they are smart and strong, they get entangled deeper and more intensely.
So he had set a standard for him.
He might be rigid and somewhat frustrating, but because he was rigid, he was able to build it up steadily.
He told him to hold on tight to that.
To use his reverent and steadfast life as a weapon.
So if Martial Alliance Leader Jin Pae-cheon could at least face him without being swayed.
“Then you might be able to see something that only you, the Alliance Leader, can recognize.”