Martial Alliance Leader Jin Pae-cheon stood in the pavilion of the Azure Cloud Forest with his hands clasped behind his back.
As he gazed at the mist flowing through the bamboo forest, Geom Mugeuk walked up to the pavilion.
“Alliance Leader.”
“Welcome.”
Geom Mugeuk had sent word that he had something to report, so they had arranged to meet secretly here.
The two men stood for a moment, watching the flowing mist.
It was Jin Pae-cheon who spoke first.
“That matter still weighs on my mind.”
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit he had met was no different than usual.
The problem, however, was a new realization.
The fact that he had never once gotten angry at him over the past years, that he had never honestly revealed his own feelings.
To attribute it to his personality, or to his own status, was difficult, for the years they had spent together were too long.
“But that isn't proof that he is an evil man, is it?”
Geom Mugeuk calmly responded.
“I don't think knowing someone for a long time means you know them well. What's important is whether you made the effort to see them clearly. But between friends, you don't make such an effort. That’s what makes you friends, and that's what makes him the worst kind of man.”
Jin Pae-cheon turned to look at Geom Mugeuk.
He was still convinced that the Heavenly Wandering Hermit was an evil man.
“What happened to the masters who violated the Demon Prohibition Order?”
At Jin Pae-cheon’s question, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes widened as he asked back.
“The Demon Prohibition Order?”
Jin Pae-cheon stared at Geom Mugeuk.
He was the one who had informed him of the news.
“There are no masters in our sect who have violated the Demon Prohibition Order.”
Then he grinned.
That playful smile told him everything.
The old demons who had violated the order were all dead.
Of course, saying that no one had violated the order was a joke, and Geom Mugeuk relayed the facts as they had happened.
“They appeared at the Enlightened Heart Clinic.”
In truth, Jin Pae-cheon had already received that news.
That So Jeong-rak had closed his clinic after meeting two old masters.
And that those old masters were the demonic practitioners who had violated the Demon Prohibition Order.
“They died in the underground secret room of the Enlightened Heart Clinic.”
Geom Mugeuk deliberately emphasized the fact that there was a secret room in the basement.
“Did you take care of it yourself?”
“Yes.”
Despite having killed them, Geom Mugeuk was perfectly fine, without a single scratch.
This young Cult Master grew stronger every time they met.
“Is Physician So dead as well?”
Was So Jeong-rak truly an evil man? After he had worked so hard for the people of Wuhan for so long.
“Yes, he is also dead.”
Geom Mugeuk answered without hesitation before explaining the reason.
“So Jeong-rak was trying to release their seals.”
A crucial remark was added to that.
“He had been practicing Poison Arts in the secret basement of his residence. He selected patients with the right constitution for his experiments, conducted poison tests on them there, and killed them.”
A cold fury flowed from Jin Pae-cheon’s eyes.
If those words were true, he was a truly unforgivable man.
If everything Geom Mugeuk said was true, that is.
Jin Pae-cheon stared at Geom Mugeuk.
In this moment, if he did not believe Geom Mugeuk’s words, this whole affair would become a conspiracy orchestrated by the Demon Sect.
“Trust your intuition, Alliance Leader.”
“If you are right, shouldn't I distrust my intuition? I didn't even know that my long-time friend was an enemy.”
“He is someone who approached you with a purpose since your youth. It is something that not only you, but no one else could have known.”
His intuition was telling him to trust Geom Mugeuk.
Nevertheless, Jin Pae-cheon was cautious.
This matter concerned not only himself but the safety of the entire Righteous Path Martial World.
“Let's assume you're right. Was it necessary to prepare for so many years? If it were me, I would have overturned the situation several times by now.”
“That’s why.”
“Why?”
“If it were you, Alliance Leader, you would have certainly produced a better result than this.”
After a short pause, Geom Mugeuk spoke as if asking a question.
“But they are not you, are they?”
“!”
“They have to deal with an Alliance Leader like you, so it must not have been easy. So much so that decades of preparation would not be enough.”
Jin Pae-cheon could feel how highly Geom Mugeuk regarded him.
“Actually, I thought their target might not have been Ha-gun or Ha-ryong, but the Heavenly Wandering Hermit.”
For a moment, Jin Pae-cheon was startled.
That meant he had intended to sacrifice his own life to start a war between the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path.
“Why didn't you mention that back then?”
“I thought it might make your judgment about your friend more difficult. But thinking about it now, I should have told you then.”
Geom Mugeuk bowed his head in apology.
“I am sorry. I said I would tell you everything, yet I made a decision on my own.”
Jin Pae-cheon did not think it was something to apologize for.
The Young Cult Master said he would tell him everything, but he himself still didn't fully trust him.
He had no intention of telling him everything.
There was still a part of him that was wary of Geom Mugeuk.
He trusted him, yet he was wary.
He was reminded of how difficult it was to completely trust someone.
“Have you found out who they were targeting?”
“Yes. So Jeong-rak told me himself.”
Geom Mugeuk added quietly.
“Their targets were me and Ha-gun.”
The moment he heard those words, Jin Pae-cheon felt an unbearable killing intent for the first time in a very long time.
The anger he felt when he had speculated that his grandchildren might be targets was incomparable to the fury he felt now that it was confirmed as fact.
It was not simple anger.
It was a deep killing intent, a desire to brutally murder the mastermind behind this affair, a primal urge to inflict extreme pain before ripping them to shreds.
At times like this, Jin Pae-cheon truly found his position as the Martial Alliance Leader to be a nuisance.
He wanted to grab a sword and rush out right away, shouting just one thing.
So where are they? So who are they?
He was originally a person of such a nature, but after becoming the Martial Alliance Leader, he had endured much and his personality had changed.
But this matter was truly bringing out his original nature.
“In a way, their target was probably my father. They must have analyzed that if I died, my father would start a war. A judgment made by someone who knows nothing about my father.”
Jin Pae-cheon stared intently at Geom Mugeuk and said.
“They might have seen him correctly.”
“Pardon?”
It was not something he said just to please Geom Mugeuk.
The Geom Woojin he had seen at the three-party meeting had clearly not lost his ambition.
Whether he used the grief of losing a child as a pretext, or whether it was truly because of that grief, he felt that Geom Woojin might indeed start a war.
Yes, perhaps the targets this time were not the Young Cult Master and his grandson, but the Demon Cult Master and himself.
“There is something else I learned while handling this matter.”
The most important reason for meeting the Alliance Leader today was to convey this information.
“There is a master of the Soul-Devouring Art behind this incident.”
At the mention of the Soul-Devouring Art, Jin Pae-cheon’s expression hardened.
The martial arts that the Righteous Path Martial World detested the most were Poison Arts and the Soul-Devouring Art.
So Jeong-rak used poison, and the other mastermind was a user of the Soul-Devouring Art.
They had truly deployed their most difficult opponents.
“I hope you will prepare countermeasures. I have already sent word to Branch Master Jin separately about the Soul-Devouring Art.”
The Martial Alliance would surely be prepared for the Soul-Devouring Art or Poison Arts.
They would have countermeasures in place, if only to deal with the Main Sect.
“I understand.”
“As you can see, the person they fear the most is you, Alliance Leader.”
He once again bolstered the Alliance Leader’s resolve.
The most important thing now was for Jin Pae-cheon to stand firm and not be shaken.
“Finally, there is one more thing I wish to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Geom Mugeuk spoke cautiously.
For anyone else, it might be different, but he had to inform the Alliance Leader about this man in advance.
“I plan to meet the Heavenly Wandering Hermit myself.”
For a moment, Jin Pae-cheon flinched.
He felt that what was bound to happen had finally arrived.
“If you were me, what would you do?”
After a moment of contemplation, Geom Mugeuk answered calmly.
“If I were in your position, Alliance Leader, I would first ask myself. What is it that you fear the most right now?”
“!”
Jin Pae-cheon asked himself that question.
Was he afraid of his friend being revealed as an evil man?
Or was it discovering that his entire life had been a lie?
“Are you going to kill him?”
Jin Pae-cheon asked heavily, and Geom Mugeuk revealed his honest feelings.
“At first, I naturally thought you should be the one to kill him, Alliance Leader. It was for your sake. But now, I think it would be fine if I killed him. Again, for your sake.”
Geom Mugeuk did not explain the reason.
He simply bowed his head respectfully and descended from the pavilion.
“First, I will find proof that he is the mastermind.”
When Geom Mugeuk opened the door and entered, the Heavenly Wandering Hermit asked with a surprised face.
“Who are you?”
Geom Mugeuk had silently entered, avoiding the eyes of the martial artists guarding the outside.
“You know who I am.”
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit soon nodded.
“I heard about you from the Alliance Leader.”
Then he added with a truly astonished expression.
“I never thought you would come to find me.”
Geom Mugeuk could understand why the Alliance Leader was so troubled.
Nowhere in this man's appearance could he find the feeling of an evil man hiding his identity.
“If I shout, all those outside will come rushing in.”
“Are you going to kill them all? Ah, was that your original goal? To have the martial artists of Wuhan be massacred by my hand.”
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit defiantly rose from his seat, opened the door Geom Mugeuk had entered through, and went out.
The martial artists standing in the hallway looked at him.
No one was dead, and no one had their vital blood points or vital points suppressed.
In the courtyard outside the window, numerous martial artists could be seen.
Geom Mugeuk had entered the room avoiding all of their eyes.
What was important was that he had entered without subduing them.
“Is there anything you need?”
“No.”
At the question from the martial artist guarding the hallway, the Heavenly Wandering Hermit shook his head, closed the door, and re-entered.
In the meantime, Geom Mugeuk was looking around the room's interior.
“You truly are as frugal as the rumors say.”
Though he seemed to be glancing around casually, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes were sharply scanning every corner of the room.
A secret passage for escape in an emergency, or mechanisms to attack an opponent.
He's lived his whole life hiding himself so thoroughly, would there really be such things? It was impossible to know.
As he had told So Jeong-rak, he must have been perfect at first.
But could he still be flawless now?
There must be a flaw somewhere.
A finger-sized hole that could bring down the dam.
“Perhaps if I enter a secret passage somewhere in this room, a truly luxurious house will appear? A house with a feast laid out and beauties waiting on the bed.”
Though he said it like a joke, the Heavenly Wandering Hermit did not laugh.
“Does your residence have such a secret passage?”
He was asking why he would say such a thing when he didn't have one himself.
“Wouldn't we fellows from the Demon Sect live in such houses without hiding it?”
After looking around the room, Geom Mugeuk sat in a chair next to the tea table and opened the teapot.
“You even use the cheapest tea. You should drink good tea.”
“My palate is not so refined.”
Geom Mugeuk acted nonchalantly, but all his senses were focused on the Heavenly Wandering Hermit.
He did not let his guard down.
He was the man at the center of this whole affair.
He poured tea into a cup and drank it.
“Actually, I drink anything well too.”
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit silently stared at Geom Mugeuk, who was acting as if it were his own house.
“Wasn't it hard hiding all this time? Why don't you speak with me openly? After all, the Alliance Leader and the people of the Righteous Path won't believe my words anyway.”
He, too, must have a desire to reveal himself.
He would want to boast about what he had accomplished over such a long time.
Do you know how I endured and how I came this far?
But the Heavenly Wandering Hermit showed no such signs.
“What is your purpose in doing this? What do you hope to gain by slandering me?”
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit’s gaze sharpened.
“Are you aiming for the Alliance Leader?”
Surprisingly, Geom Mugeuk nodded and admitted it.
“Yes, the Alliance Leader is my target.”
To the startled Heavenly Wandering Hermit, Geom Mugeuk added.
“My purpose is to protect the Alliance Leader from you.”
Realizing he had been toyed with, the Heavenly Wandering Hermit’s expression hardened.
“The Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect came to protect the Martial Alliance Leader? How amusing.”
“The world is full of amusing things. The Martial Alliance Leader’s oldest friend could also be his most threatening enemy.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled, but he did not.
“Why did you come to find me?”
“There is an honest answer, and a dishonest one. Which would you like to hear?”
“Let me hear the honest answer.”
Geom Mugeuk honestly stated his reason for visiting.
“It is to find proof that you, our Hermit, are hiding your true identity.”
To draw out the man named Hwa Yul-cheong, hidden within the name of the Heavenly Wandering Hermit.
For that moment when he could rip off the shell of the Heavenly Wandering Hermit!
“You are so honest that I am curious about the dishonest answer as well.”
“Shall I tell you?”
As the Heavenly Wandering Hermit nodded, Geom Mugeuk’s demeanor changed completely.
With an utterly cold gaze that seemed to peer into evil itself, Geom Mugeuk said quietly.
“I came to kill you.”
As if he had expected it, the Heavenly Wandering Hermit showed no reaction.
“Clean up after killing. It’s not a bad way to deal with someone as dangerous as you.”
The Heavenly Wandering Hermit calmly asked.
“Doesn't that sound more like the honest answer?”
Then Geom Mugeuk relaxed his cold expression.
“You are right. In fact, that is my honest wish.”
“Then why don't you kill me?”
Geom Mugeuk rose from his seat and approached him.
The two men stood facing each other at a close distance, where one could draw a sword and cut the other’s throat in a single stroke.
“I wanted to make you an offer.”
Geom Mugeuk extended his hand to him and spoke.
It was a truly unexpected proposal.
“Let's join hands.”