Cha Iran stood by the window, watching Geom Mugeuk walk away.
As if sensing her gaze, Geom Mugeuk, who had walked some distance, turned and gave her a wave.
Cha Iran did not wave back, but Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly before turning to walk again.
Her gaze lifted to the dawn sky.
In the brightening twilight, the stars that had shone all night were fading away.
"Don't smile like that at someone you're about to kill."
At her words, someone appeared on the roof of the building across the street.
Dressed to the nines in expensive clothes and wearing white makeup, it was Hwa Do-myeong.
"Don't come over. Spectators are supposed to watch from across the street."
She was referring to Hwa Do-myeong's earlier claim that he had only come to watch.
But Hwa Do-myeong leaped through the air and entered through the window she was looking out of.
"How could I bear to watch you crawl on the ground in a drunken stupor?"
"If the Young Cult Master sees you, your head will be lopped off."
"The same benevolent man who spared you after seeing that drunken fit?"
Cha Iran couldn't help but laugh at Hwa Do-myeong's joke.
It must have been quite a night.
"It seems a shame to just watch, though, doesn't it?"
Cha Iran stared at Hwa Do-myeong as if glaring at him.
"You planned to get involved in this from the beginning, didn't you?"
Hwa Do-myeong neither confirmed nor denied it.
"Don't. If you die too, things will only get messier. You know that, right? What will happen if it comes to that."
"We just have to win."
"They already knew the Unorthodox Alliance Leader was the target. They didn't even try to stop him from coming."
"So they're keeping us alive because they want to know why we're targeting the Unorthodox Alliance Leader?"
Cha Iran nodded.
"If you let your guard down..."
Cha Iran cut Hwa Do-myeong off.
"I won't."
After a brief pause, she added with more emphasis.
"The Young Cult Master doesn't let his guard down."
Hwa Do-myeong could see that she was afraid of Geom Mugeuk.
"Are you scared now? After hearing about all those who have died so far."
"I hadn't seen it for myself."
The feeling he gave off as a guard was completely different from Geom Mugeuk the Young Cult Master.
After revealing his identity, the look in his eyes was one that seemed to peer deep into her soul.
"You've never failed before, have you?"
"Because this face and body have always worked."
At her self-deprecating words, Hwa Do-myeong spoke cryptically.
"Aren't you more frightening when they don't work?"
Though his makeup was laughably thick, Hwa Do-myeong's eyes were utterly serious.
Just then, Cha Iran took something out from her robes.
It was the very box Hwa Do-myeong had given her.
She opened the box's lid.
Inside the box was a red orb.
"He must have known I had this."
If so, the orb should have been gone when she opened the box.
He should have replaced it with a powerless stone and feigned ignorance.
But Geom Mugeuk…
"He resisted."
Her gaze, fixed on the orb, deepened.
"He didn't even think of opening it once."
She thought that while he might resist killing a person, the desire to obtain this orb would be hard to resist.
At least, she wouldn't have been able to.
"So don't hang around nearby. When the Young Cult Master is about to kill me, I might not want to die alone and point out where you're hiding."
A laugh spread from behind his fan.
"Just pay for the drinks here. I should at least get paid for watching."
"Where are you going?"
"To wash up and buy new clothes."
Cha Iran turned and walked out of the room.
"And get something for my hangover."
Watching her leave, Hwa Do-myeong fanned himself gently.
The beauty painted on his fan seemed to dance.
When he returned to his quarters, Lee Ahn was awake, waiting for Geom Mugeuk.
There was always a sense of relief when Geom Mugeuk returned safely, but today, that relief was particularly strong.
"What about Miss Cha?"
"I saw her wake up just a moment ago."
Meaning, he had returned without killing her.
When Geom Mugeuk said he would stay with her, Lee Ahn had been worried.
More than worrying about what temptations a drunk Cha Iran might offer…
"Her drunken behavior was so extreme, it actually made me suspicious. I thought it might all be some kind of trap."
"It probably was a trap."
Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk with a surprised expression.
"It was a trap?"
"She must have hatched a plan that didn't go as expected. Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown such a side of herself in front of us. And even if she had tried to kill me, it wouldn't have been easy."
Truly, the Cha Iran of yesterday was more frightening than any hidden weapon.
Geom Mugeuk lay on his bed, hands behind his head, silently staring at the ceiling.
He had a somewhat serious expression.
"Is there something on your mind?"
"Do I look like it?"
When Lee Ahn nodded, Geom Mugeuk shot up from the bed.
"I knew it! You're the only one who knows me best."
No, anyone could see you had something to worry about!
The fact that he was showing it meant he wanted to talk it over with her.
And Geom Mugeuk's concern was truly unexpected.
"The person she said she trusts the most is Instructor Ak."
Lee Ahn was startled.
She knew Ak Gun-hak as well.
At the Yellow Dragon Martial Hall, she had attended his classes with Seo Jin.
She also knew that Geom Mugeuk's relationship with him had deepened since then.
"It seemed like Cha Iran likes him. That in itself isn't a problem, but..."
A one-sided crush was not the problem.
The problem was…
"You're worried that Instructor Ak might like her back."
Geom Mugeuk nodded.
What if Ak Gun-hak liked her? Then he would not kill Cha Iran.
He would find a way to resolve this without killing her.
"May I offer my thoughts?"
"Of course."
Lee Ahn carefully posed a question.
"Is Instructor Ak the kind of person who would just stand by and watch the woman he likes fight a life-and-death battle with his friend?"
Meaning, if he liked the woman, he would find a way to come.
A normal person might not understand such words, but Lee Ahn had experienced it herself.
She knew what a great master he was.
"What if he doesn't know about this situation?"
This was precisely Geom Mugeuk's worry.
"You'll have to find out through Miss Cha."
"How?"
"Go to Miss Cha and tell her that you and him are friends. That you're very close. Her reaction will surely be different depending on whether it's a one-sided crush or if they both like each other."
Lee Ahn said with conviction.
"I believe the Young Cult Master will surely be able to tell the difference."
"Brilliant! Lee Ahn!"
"You thought of it too, didn't you, Young Cult Master? You just wanted to hear me confirm it, right?"
"I didn't. I couldn't. When it became my own problem, my head just wouldn't work."
"Is this the moment my hidden trump card finally does something?"
"Let's go. Don't fold that card just yet."
"Where are we going?"
As he left the room, Geom Mugeuk said something incomprehensible.
"I'm going to become the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven."
An Hu-pyeong woke from his sleep.
'Huh?'
When he opened his eyes, he was on the bed in his own quarters.
He was sure he had been drinking with the Young Alliance Leader at the Radiant Flame Pavilion.
'Was it a dream?'
He couldn't tell if this was a dream or if the drinking had been a dream.
"Sa Chu! Sa Chu!"
An Hu-pyeong shouted for Sa Chu.
Sa Chu always used to open the door and ask what was the matter, but he didn't enter the room.
Instead, another subordinate came in.
"Martial Artist Sa is not here."
"Where did he go?"
"We parted ways at the Radiant Flame Pavilion yesterday and haven't seen him since."
"The Radiant Flame Pavilion?"
It wasn't a dream.
Come to think of it, his last memory was meeting Sa Chu in the kitchen yesterday.
"He said you were drunk and that we should escort you to your quarters."
"That bastard!"
An Hu-pyeong took his men and rushed to the Radiant Flame Pavilion.
The people from yesterday were all gone, and the pavilion was busy preparing to open.
After pressuring the chef and the tavern boy, he learned that Sa Chu had subdued his vital points and left, and that the remaining four had drunk late into the night.
"Damn it! I should have been there!"
An Hu-pyeong was more disappointed about not being at the drinking party than about Sa Chu's departure.
He had already forgotten how alienated he had felt there.
"Find this bastard! Right now!"
He sent his men to find Sa Chu, but he was already long gone.
He immediately went to Bi Sa-in's residence.
He had to meet Bi Sa-in and make an excuse for leaving without a word yesterday.
But Bi Sa-in was not at his residence.
And he couldn't dare go to the Unorthodox Alliance Leader and ask where the Young Alliance Leader was.
An Hu-pyeong headed straight for the inn where Lee Ahn was staying.
If Bi Sa-in wasn't there, he figured he should at least try to score points with Lee Ahn.
But she and that obnoxious guard were also gone.
"Sa Chu! Where did all these people go?"
He instinctively called for Sa Chu and shouted, looking back.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
An Hu-pyeong flinched.
Among the subordinates looking at him, Sa Chu was not there.
Come to think of it, he only recognized the faces of these men but didn't know their names.
Sa Chu had always managed them.
None of the fierce-looking men gave off a trustworthy vibe.
Then, he suddenly remembered what Sa Chu had told him before he left.
—Hide in a hole in the ground and come out when this storm passes.
The only reason you are safe right now, Young Lord, is because you are in the eye of the storm.
Would any of these men here now say such a thing to him?
"You must find him! Find him and bring him back alive!"
The people An Hu-pyeong was desperately looking for were all gathered in one place.
Geom Mugeuk had taken Lee Ahn and Bi Sa-in to the guest hall where the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress was staying.
"Welcome, Young Cult Master."
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon knew.
With the final stage just two days away, Lee Ahn and the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress were people who should not be meeting.
Yet, the fact that he had come meant the moment of decision had arrived.
And Bi Sa-in was with him as well.
After greeting the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, Geom Mugeuk first relayed what had happened yesterday.
"Cha Iran has revealed her identity herself."
In that moment, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon's eyes glinted sharply.
The enemy had changed their original plan.
Their original plan was for Cha Iran to become the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven and assassinate the Unorthodox Alliance Leader at the celebratory banquet.
But with Cha Iran revealing her own identity, the situation had become unpredictable.
"Have they changed their target to you, Young Cult Master?"
A hint of worry crossed the Evil Heart Laughing Demon's eyes from above his mask.
"Perhaps. But it would be more accurate to say 'included' rather than 'changed'."
He meant that their target was still the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
The decisive reason was that Cha Iran had earlier asked Bi Sa-in what the Unorthodox Alliance Leader liked.
It was a question to see our reaction, to see if we knew their target.
If the Unorthodox Alliance Leader wasn't the target, she wouldn't have asked.
"The fact that she revealed her identity means they are ready to fight. So..."
Geom Mugeuk had already made his decision before coming.
"We strike first."
Bi Sa-in asked Geom Mugeuk.
"When will we strike?"
The timing was much sooner than anyone had expected.
"Today, right now!"
Not only Bi Sa-in, who had asked the question, but also Lee Ahn and the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress were shocked.
Only the Evil Heart Laughing Demon seemed to have expected it, a smile touching the corners of his eyes.
Yes, this is how it should be.
To make a move, you have to move in a way that even your own side cannot predict.
Cha Iran would never expect this.
How could she imagine that after drinking like that last night and parting ways, he would make a move immediately today?
Lee Ahn now understood what Geom Mugeuk had said when they left the room earlier.
If the incident occurred on the final stage, she wouldn't be able to become the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven.
So, his intention was to handle this matter beforehand, and then participate in the finals two days later to become the true Greatest Beauty Under Heaven.
Tasks were assigned to each person.
"The Divine Flower Sect will be handled by the Unorthodox Alliance."
Bi Sa-in nodded.
The Divine Flower Sect Master, the masters he had brought, and the Divine Flower Sect's martial artists.
They were by no means an easy opponent, but on their side, they had the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
Next, he entrusted a task to Lee Ahn.
"While this is happening, Lee Ahn will protect the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress."
In other words, there were separate orders for the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Faceless Ones.
"Yes, leave it to me."
Lee Ahn answered spiritedly and exchanged a look with the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
Finally, Geom Mugeuk spoke to the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
"I will handle Cha Iran. Laughing Demon Sovereign, please take care of the assassination organization she brought with her."
"Leave it to me."
When the Evil Heart Laughing Demon readily accepted the order, Lee Ahn cautiously stepped forward.
"But we don't know who they are, do we?"
They were Cha Iran's subordinates, but they were assassins of the highest skill who knew how to perfectly conceal themselves.
They had no idea how many had been mobilized, or where and how they were hiding.
Moreover, many of them were likely among the women participating in this contest.
"And you're saying you'll find and deal with them all today? That's impossible!"
It was a task more difficult than destroying the entire Divine Flower Sect.
Geom Mugeuk readily admitted it.
"Yes, it is an impossible task."
"But why?"
Geom Mugeuk said with a smile.
"Why do you think Father appointed the Demon Sovereigns? He must have appointed them so that when an impossible task arises, he could say this."
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and imitated his father.
"Laughing Demon, go and take care of it."
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon respectfully cupped his fist as if addressing the Cult Master and replied.
"I accept your command."
Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack!
The Faceless Ones standing behind him all cupped their fists in unison.
Lee Ahn could see that within Geom Mugeuk's joke lay an incredibly deep trust in the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
Still, she had to help where she could.
"In the waiting room, there are a few women I marked as potential assassins. If we tail them, there will surely be a moment they make contact with other assassins. Of course, I don't know if they will make contact today."
Of course, that method wouldn't allow them to deal with all of them within the day.
Still, she offered the words in an attempt to be of some help.
"I appreciate the thought, but there's no need for that."
The Evil Heart Laughing Demon, as if he had a method in mind, smiled gently in front of the lined-up Faceless Ones and said.
"We will handle it our own way."