“You’ve changed lately.”
At the words coming from behind him, Go Wol turned to see the Wind Heaven Sect Leader standing there.
“What do you mean, Cult Master?”
Go Wol's polite attitude seemed to fill the Wind Heaven Sect Leader with displeasure.
“Starting with how you speak so formally, without any warmth.”
“Aren’t we in a place with many watchful eyes?”
The place where the two stood was the inner courtyard of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
“Watchful eyes! No one is paying any attention to us!”
Of course, everyone was paying attention.
Who would dare ignore him, the former Wind Heaven Sect Leader and current master of the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign?
Having returned to the Sect before Geom Mugeuk, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader sought out Go Wol first.
However, even after returning to the Sect, Go Wol was so busy with something that it was hard to even see his face.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader's dissatisfaction began from this point.
How could Go Wol not know his heart? For today, he would stop with the excuse of being busy.
“Master.”
At Go Wol's informal tone, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's expression actually relaxed.
“I enjoy my work very much.”
Then, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader asked, as if interrogating him.
“Do you really enjoy it?”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader looked at Go Wol with a determined gaze and said.
“You've changed. Before, I could hear your heart beating, but now, all I hear are the gears turning in your head. You used to be warm, but now you've grown cold.”
And as always, he placed the blame on one person.
“This is all the Young Cult Master's fault. He doesn't even know that entrusting work to a perfectionist like you would obviously lead to this. No, he must know. There's no way someone that smart wouldn't know this.”
Of course, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader liked Geom Mugeuk, too.
But seeing Go Wol suffer like this angered him.
Because no matter what anyone said, he put Go Wol before the Young Cult Master, thinking that after he had finally freed him, Go Wol had put shackles on himself again.
“Are you making me out to be a cold-blooded man just to badmouth the Young Cult Master?”
Even at Go Wol's joke, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader didn't lighten up.
“What did the Young Cult Master say? It's obvious. ‘Sorry for making you work so hard. Let's endure just a little longer. I'm counting on you from now on!’ Am I right?”
“I haven't met him yet.”
“What?”
“He went hunting with the Cult Master and the First Young Master.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader looked dumbfounded.
“So there was another cold-blooded one. See, I try not to badmouth the Young Cult Master, but I just can't help it. No matter how loyal you are, to the Young Cult Master, family comes first. Family always comes first.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
With that, he stared intently at the Wind Heaven Sect Leader and added a question.
“Aren't I your priority, Master? You are my priority above all else.”
Those words meant that they themselves were family.
It was also the perfect way to dispel the Wind Heaven Sect Leader's anger in one go.
“Because we know that about each other, the Young Cult Master employs me, and I am loyal to him. There is a trust that comes from people who have things they must protect.”
After a brief pause, the Wind Heaven Sect Leader spoke.
“It's because you say such easygoing things that you always end up suffering like this.”
Go Wol's gaze turned toward the distant Heaven-Reaching Pavilion.
“I have to suffer. It's the path to becoming the master of that place.”
It was the first time he had revealed his ambition to become the Grand Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
“Master, I'm not cold. I'm hotter than I've ever been.”
“Must be nice, being so hot.”
At the pointless grumpiness, Go Wol smiled.
“Master, the Young Cult Master is a man great enough for us to bet our entire lives on. We are the ones using him.”
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader raised his head, looked at the Great Heaven Mountain in the distance, and said loudly.
“The Young Cult Master has it good. He has a passionate strategist who understands everything, a father, and a brother. Damn it! How can a man with no family live with all this sorrow?”
At that, Go Wol walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
“Why do you say you have no family? You're hurting your family's feelings.”
The hunt continued on the second day.
To be precise, it was the discovery of prey.
His brother continued to train in energy emission and found all sorts of animals.
Blood doesn't lie; his skill in energy emission improved rapidly.
It was almost as fast as his own, who had a Heavenly Martial Body, and he could see why.
It was because their father's martial arts mastery had reached an even higher level.
“You're teaching my brother better than me! You didn't explain it like that when you were teaching me!”
His father paid him no mind and focused on teaching his eldest son.
He was pouring out all the affection he couldn't give him until now.
While training in energy emission like that, they finally found something big.
“I think it's a tiger!”
At Geom Muyang's words, Geom Woojin nodded.
“We came hunting, so we should at least catch one tiger before we go.”
Geom Muyang leaped forward first, followed by Geom Woojin and Geom Mugeuk.
Landing lightly on a rock, Geom Muyang quietly drew his bowstring.
Geom Woojin and Geom Mugeuk landed silently behind him.
Not even a giant spiritual creature with an inner core, let alone a tiger, could have escaped this hunt.
In the distance, the figure of a tiger was visible.
It was a great tiger with a truly large body.
The bowstring was pulled taut.
The arrow, which looked like it would fly out and pierce the tiger at any moment, was not released.
Geom Muyang spoke politely to his father.
“Its large body makes it seem like a sacred tiger that protects the Great Heaven Mountain, so I wanted to spare it.”
His father nodded.
Just as the two were about to turn away without regret.
“It's not because of those over there?”
Geom Mugeuk was pointing at a spot.
A little distance away from the tiger were two cubs.
Since he had seen them, his father and brother must have seen them too.
“Father, you should tell him too. That it's the kind of cheap sentimentality that will get you killed. That's what you would have said if it were me! You would've told me to catch it right away and replace my sleeping hide with that one!”
Geom Mugeuk saw it.
One side of his father's lips curled up slightly.
Yes, if it were you, I would have.
Geom Woojin spoke resolutely and turned to walk away.
“One does not kill a spiritual creature recklessly.”
His brother followed behind him with long strides.
Geom Mugeuk watched the tiger cubs following their mother in the distance and shouted.
“Second sons, let's hang in there!”
A smile formed on the lips of Geom Woojin, who was walking ahead.
It was a rare and precious smile, but unfortunately, neither of his two sons could see it.
That night, too, the campfire burned.
Geom Mugeuk liked this time more than the day.
Grilling and eating meat with his father and brother, drinking together, and using the alcohol as an excuse to share all sorts of stories.
And when the atmosphere of a night sky full of cascading stars was added, like tonight, he felt even better.
“Father, may I relax my posture a bit?”
“When have you ever hesitated?”
Geom Mugeuk smiled and relaxed.
He stretched out his legs, supported himself with his arms, and leaned his body back at an angle.
While doing so, he looked up at the stars in the night sky.
A cool breeze blew, making his hair flutter.
Ah, this is nice! The words came out on their own.
“Brother, you should relax too. The true pleasure of camping is in eating, drinking, and lazing around.”
Given his brother's personality, it was absolutely impossible for him to do that in front of their father.
Still, compared to the dawn when they first set out to hunt, his brother was also quite relaxed.
“Father, I will read a book for a bit.”
This time, a book came out of the leather pouch that contained all sorts of things.
Never imagining he would read a book while out hunting, Geom Mugeuk asked curiously.
“What book is it?”
Then, Geom Mugeuk held up the book cover to show him.
It was a book of poetry.
“You read poetry?”
“Aigoo, my brother. All you know is how to kill people. What do you know of poetry? Of literature?”
There was an intention behind taking out the book and saying this in the first place.
“Ah, but you do know a little about music.”
At the mention of music, Geom Muyang flinched.
You wouldn't?
Sorry, brother.
Before Geom Muyang could send a telepathic message to stop him, Geom Mugeuk spoke to their father first.
“Father, did you know that my brother knows how to play the flute?”
His flustered brother looked at their father.
He thought, 'hardly anyone knows, how could Father possibly know?' but surprisingly, his father slowly nodded.
“See, I told you, didn't I? That Father would know.”
Their father truly knew a lot about his two sons.
It was just surprising that he had never shown it so openly.
“Brother, for the sake of Father's hidden affection, we should have another drink.”
Geom Mugeuk tried to take out some wine from his leather pouch.
But instead of a wine bottle, something else came out.
The thing that made Geom Muyang sigh the moment he saw it was a flute.
“Oh? Why is this in here? It must have gotten mixed in when I was packing in a hurry.”
Impossible! Geom Muyang shook his head.
Their father didn't stop his younger brother's prank.
What did that mean?
If his younger brother was determined, he would end up playing eventually.
Geom Muyang stepped forward first.
“My skills are lacking, but may I play a song?”
Geom Woojin nodded.
Geom Mugeuk felt like he knew the heart contained in that gruff nod.
That his father had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Meanwhile, Geom Muyang, having composed himself, brought the flute to his trembling lips.
He was probably more nervous now than if he were standing before thousands, tens of thousands of people.
When a clear, deep sound flowed out, Geom Mugeuk saw it.
The sight of his father gently closing his eyes.
Unspoken words echoed as a beautiful melody.
The tune was like the sound of water flowing through a valley, and also like the flickering campfire.
The cascading stars seemed to get drunk on the melody and sparkled even brighter.
Thus, a clear and deep sound that pierced the heart echoed throughout the Great Heaven Mountain.
Finally, when the performance ended, Geom Woojin opened his eyes.
The gaze of the father looking at his son was gentle.
“It is truly good.”
Just “it is good” would have been high praise, but he even added the word 'truly' before it.
“Thank you, Father.”
Geom Mugeuk had never seen his brother's face look so relieved.
Perhaps something that had been weighing heavily on his brother's heart had disappeared with this hunt.
As Geom Muyang's gaze turned toward him, Geom Mugeuk shouted.
“Believe me! I didn't mean to pack the flute. I mistook it for a meat skewer and put it in.”
He didn't know if he had ever said this to his younger brother before.
“Thank you.”
The playfulness vanished from Geom Mugeuk's face.
“Thank you, brother.”
The father watched silently as his sons exchanged thanks.
“Who do you think they take after to be this cool? As you can see, your sons are the kind who read poetry and play instruments.”
As he spoke boastfully, Geom Mugeuk saw it.
A faint longing brushing past his father's eyes.
It was the first time he had sensed such an emotion from his father.
But the emotion vanished in an instant.
His father turned his back and lay down on the tiger hide.
“Let's sleep now.”
The next day, the three of them climbed to the summit of the Great Heaven Mountain.
This place, where the boundary between heaven and earth blurred.
The surrounding soaring peaks looked like peerless masters of the martial world standing tall.
The three stood at the summit and gazed at the majestic scenery.
Last time he came here with his father, he had said it.
That he would come up here whenever his Martial Arts Training became difficult.
He saw the back of his father as a young man overlapping with his father's back now.
‘What were you thinking then, and what are you thinking now?’
Then, his father asked with his back still turned.
“Your Nine Calamities Demon Art has reached the Ninth Star, hasn't it?”
It wasn't just his brother's mastery of the Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art that his father had seen through.
“Yes, I have reached the Ninth Star.”
I wonder how it was for Father?
“How long did it take you to achieve Great Mastery from the Ninth Star?”
The time it took his father was.
“Seven years.”
That was a length of time only possible because it was his father, who possessed heavenly genius.
“You could probably achieve it in under five years.”
That was how much Geom Woojin acknowledged his son's martial talent.
Because even he himself had not reached the Ninth Star at Geom Mugeuk's current age.
If he achieved Great Mastery within five years, he would become a legend, the fastest among all past Heavenly Demons to achieve Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art—no, he would achieve it as the Young Cult Master, even before ascending to the position of Cult Master.
“When you're training, if you feel suffocated or hit a wall, climb this Great Heaven Mountain. The energy of the Great Heaven Mountain will surely help you.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
Geom Mugeuk spoke triumphantly to Geom Muyang.
“This is the kind of man I am. I'm the Successor to whom Father lends this entire Great Heaven Mountain!”
If he said this, his brother was supposed to argue back, 'How is that lending it to you? Is that something to boast about to your brother who was pushed out of the succession?'
“I'm envious.”
For a moment, Geom Mugeuk flinched.
He couldn't respond to that powerful blow.
“You're ignoring me, right? Ah, you don't know what you're talking about, brother. Father brewed wine in the year I was born, too. He's just teasing me. Come on, Father. Now's the time to confess! 'Son, on the day you were born!'”
Geom Woojin started walking with long strides and said.
“The sun is setting. Let's head down now.”
Geom Muyang approached Geom Mugeuk.
“I told you, it's a misunderstanding!”
“Give me the pack.”
He was asking for the pack on his back.
“It's fine. Today, you should stay with Father until the end.”
His brother, silent for a moment, nodded and turned away.
And after walking some distance, he looked back and asked.
“Isn't it hard?”
He knew it didn't just refer to the pack on his back.
“Of course it's hard, it's killing me.”
At those words, his brother grinned and started walking.
Geom Mugeuk stood in place and watched the two walk away.
His brother was walking one step closer to their father than when they were climbing up.
Having gotten one step closer, their relationship was now one that required twice the effort.
Disappointment and resentment were rascals just waiting for an opportunity to arise from closeness.
From somewhere far away, the roar of a tiger could be heard.
Thinking it might be the tiger his brother had spared, he started walking after the two of them.
“I thought you'd obviously carry the pack on the way down, Father! My brother only knows how to kill people and play the flute; he's such a heartless person. Can't you hear me? Father?”