When Jo I-baek reached the summit of the highest mountain near the Martial Alliance, the Martial Alliance Leader was standing at the edge of the cliff with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Alliance Leader."
"Lord Jo, you've arrived? Come over here."
Jo I-baek stood side by side with the Martial Alliance Leader.
From such a height, the view was magnificent.
"The scenery is quite splendid."
"That is why I come here often."
"It is all thanks to you, Alliance Leader, that we can enjoy this beauty. Because you firmly support the martial world, the fiends of the Demon Sect dare not act out, is that not so?"
"I am grateful for your kind words."
When the Martial Alliance Leader had asked to meet here, Jo I-baek had inwardly expected to discuss the matter of the marriage.
Moreover, since he had suggested the mountain summit instead of the Martial Alliance headquarters, he assumed the Alliance Leader wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk as parents, away from prying eyes.
"Lord Jo."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
"How long have we known each other?"
"I believe it has been over thirty years."
"They say time flows like water, and it seems it truly has."
The two men stood there for a moment, reminiscing about the years that had passed.
"Is there a particular reason you summoned me today?"
"I asked to see you regarding your son."
Just as he thought.
Realizing he had been called to discuss the marriage as expected, Jo I-baek's expression brightened.
He had promised to provide a massive amount of funds to the Martial Alliance.
Despite that, their lukewarm attitude had made him worry that things were not going well.
'It's too much money to refuse, isn't it, Alliance Leader?'
Jin Pae-cheon slowly turned his head to look at Jo I-baek.
"Have you, by any chance, heard of the Heavenly Fate Society?"
Though it was a startling question that caught him off guard, Jo I-baek answered calmly.
"I have never heard of it."
He even calmly asked what kind of place it was.
"It is a place that calls itself a mysterious sect, and I know it to be involved in many wicked affairs."
"The martial world is full of all sorts of trash."
"Lord Jo."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
"It seems your son is involved with that trash."
Though he spoke cautiously, Jin Pae-cheon's gaze was as sharp as if it could see right through Jo I-baek.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that Young Master Jo has been recruited by the Heavenly Fate Society."
Jo I-baek was startled.
It was such a natural reaction that it was impossible to tell if he was genuinely shocked or merely feigning it.
"Your son, Jo Shin, was recruited by an organization called the Heavenly Fate Society and attempted to kidnap my granddaughter."
As his shock grew, Jo I-baek's voice rose.
"That is absurd. With the marriage in progress, why would he do such a thing unless he's gone mad? There must be some misunderstanding."
"I wish that were the case, but we currently have clear evidence."
"What evidence is that?"
"We have a confession from the one who received Young Master Jo's orders."
"It could be a confession designed to frame my son."
Jin Pae-cheon stood silently with his hands behind his back, gazing at a distant, jagged rock mountain.
The hearts of the two men were now directed at each other, sharper than that jagged mountain.
"Alliance Leader, please let me meet my son. I will meet him and hear what happened."
"By the rules of the Alliance, I cannot allow that."
"Considering our long acquaintance, you cannot do this to me."
"You are right. Considering our long acquaintance, I cannot do this."
Jin Pae-cheon's cold and stern gaze flew toward Jo I-baek.
"I know that you are a member of the Heavenly Fate Society."
"!"
"Do not think of denying it."
Jin Pae-cheon released his aura.
A force as biting as frost assailed Jo I-baek.
A violent storm on a vast ocean crashed down upon him.
The force was laden with emotion, conveying the feeling that he could kill him, that he wanted to kill him.
Jo I-baek clenched his teeth and resisted the force, but his precarious body looked as if it could be swept off the cliff at any moment.
The storm, which had seemed ready to tear him apart, slowly began to subside.
Jo I-baek was able to find his footing on a small island in that vast ocean.
"I do not wish to end my long relationship with you like this, Lord Jo. Only I and one of my subordinates know of this matter."
Just as Geom Mugeuk had suggested, Jin Pae-cheon was giving Jo I-baek a way out.
Not pressing him about being a high-ranking member of the Heavenly Fate Society, but simply calling him a member, and stating that only he and one subordinate knew, was a hint that he might cover it up if Jo I-baek cooperated.
Jo I-baek fell to his knees before the Alliance Leader.
"There were circumstances beyond my control."
"I understand. When one has many people to lead, one sometimes has to walk an unwanted path."
"I do not know what to say to your magnanimity, as vast as the sea. I am sorry, Alliance Leader."
Tears streamed from his eyes.
They flowed so freely that one might think it impossible for them not to be genuine.
Jin Pae-cheon's expression as he looked down at him was simply bitter.
This was a man who had chosen the path of betrayal despite knowing him for thirty years.
Was it the other's fault? Or his own fault for making him feel he had no choice but to leave?
"Just hand over the leader of the Heavenly Fate Society. Then all of this will be in the past."
Though he did not say it directly, it was clear he was offering forgiveness.
Jo I-baek came up through that offered opening and breathed.
"That man recruited even my son without my knowledge. That fact, I can never forgive. I will have a meeting with the leader of the Heavenly Fate Society tomorrow. Please bring my son to that place."
"You said tomorrow?"
"The leader of the Heavenly Fate Society is not far from here."
He was saying that the leader was within a day's journey.
It was truly surprising, like the saying, 'it is darkest under the lamp.'
"You have thought well."
"Then I will arrange the meeting and contact you. Once again, I thank you for your grace, Alliance Leader."
He bowed deeply before turning away.
With each step he took, his expression slowly began to harden.
It held neither warmth nor coldness.
It was devoid of any emotion, making it impossible to guess his thoughts, but it was certain that he was a completely different person from the one who had knelt and shed tears.
A short while after he disappeared, Geom Mugeuk appeared in that spot.
"Is it alright to let him go back without surveillance like that?"
"It should be fine."
Geom Mugeuk wanted him to be free, so that he could do everything in his power.
That way, they could deal with everything at once.
"We should consider the possibility of his betrayal. Asking you to bring his son tomorrow is essentially a proposal to exchange the leader of the Heavenly Fate Society for his son. Doesn't that mean he doesn't fully trust you, Alliance Leader?"
"He suspects my heart might change after I capture the leader?"
"It would be fortunate if it's just that level of suspicion. He might even join hands with the leader and set a desperate trap. For now, we should consider it a fifty-fifty chance. Please leave what comes next to me."
The situation was dangerous whether Jo I-baek betrayed them or not.
After all, it was a mission to capture the unknown leader of the Heavenly Fate Society.
"Are you truly saying you will handle this alone?"
"If, by any chance, they harbor other intentions, it could be dangerous. This is not a matter for a person of your stature to handle alone."
"And you are not in danger?"
"It was my job from the beginning."
Jin Pae-cheon stared at Geom Mugeuk for a moment.
To his own surprise, he had a thought.
How wonderful would it be if Geom Mugeuk were a martial artist of the Righteous Path?
"Do not be too disheartened by his betrayal. He was a villain from the start. He was merely hiding himself while by your side, Alliance Leader. Your side was of good will, and his was of ill will, that is all."
He was even comforting him.
Jin Pae-cheon wanted to have a drink with this Geom Mugeuk.
"Shall we have a drink?"
Geom Mugeuk had intended to part on good terms with the Alliance Leader.
He had no reason to refuse a drink with him alone.
"Let's drink here. I will go and buy some."
"I will wait."
"Do you happen to have a favorite wine?"
"Bring something strong."
Geom Mugeuk vanished from the spot in an instant.
A moment later, Jin Pae-cheon was startled.
When Geom Mugeuk returned, he was holding a bottle of wine.
No matter how exceptional his lightness arts were, it was not enough time to have gone down and come back already.
"Did you bury wine on the mountain?"
"It's been a while since I had a drink, so the wine worms were acting up, making my steps a little faster."
Previously, when returning from Eastern Lake, he had not deliberately overtaken the Alliance Leader with his lightness arts so as not to hurt his pride, but he had not intentionally come back slowly today either.
"I brought good cups as well."
He poured him a drink.
Shhh.
It was at that moment.
Someone appeared.
It was the martial artist who had always been concealed around Geom Mugeuk.
He revealed himself for the first time.
"I will check the wine."
He used a silver needle to check if the wine was poisoned.
I had expected a sharp and angular person, but he was a man with a round and gentle appearance.
I could tell.
This was the man the Martial Alliance Leader trusted most.
Just as my father had Hwi, the Alliance Leader had this man.
This loyal subordinate, despite having stayed near me and knowing I was not the type to poison wine, allowed no lapse in vigilance when it came to the Alliance Leader's safety.
Only after confirming the wine was not poisoned did he conceal himself again.
"He could have at least said hello before leaving."
When I expressed my disappointment, half-joking and half-serious, Jin Pae-cheon smiled faintly and said.
"He's an inflexible person by nature, so I hope you understand."
"I know that well. The person I like the most was once my bodyguard too."
"Why is he not your bodyguard now?"
"I told him to stop following someone else's life and live his own, so I had to push him away."
At Geom Mugeuk's words, Jin Pae-cheon felt a strange emotion.
His personality was so unlike a demonic practitioner's that while he coveted him, he also felt a strange fear.
A fear that began with the question, What if this man becomes the Heavenly Demon?
After filling each other's cups, the two men toasted and drank.
"Do you enjoy wine?"
"I do not drink often. And you?"
"I also drink occasionally."
Drinking after a long time reminded him of the Drunken Demon.
Was he still drunk and swimming in that lake?
In a way, it was a precarious situation on the eve of a decisive battle, yet the drinking session with the Alliance Leader was calm and peaceful.
This was likely because both men knew that life-changing events cannot be prepared for and handled suddenly, but are faced with the accumulation of one's past life.
"Is your father well?"
The Martial Alliance Leader asked about the Heavenly Demon.
"He is well."
"Seeing you makes me want to see Cult Master Geom. It has been quite a while."
"I will pass on your words when I return. My father will be pleased."
"Unlikely. Your father probably wants to kill me."
"And what about you, Alliance Leader?"
"Until now, I felt the same..."
After a brief pause, Jin Pae-cheon revealed his honest feelings.
"Seeing you has changed my mind."
The thought occurred to him that when the current Heavenly Demon died, this Geom Mugeuk would become the next.
For the sake of the Righteous Path Martial Alliance, wouldn't now be a better time? Surprisingly, he was having such thoughts about this young man.
"How is your relationship with your father?"
"It was awkward, but it has gotten much better recently."
"That is a relief."
"It improved even more while playing Go with him. My father learned from the Main Sect's Grand Strategist, so he beats me every time. On the other hand, the strategist I have doesn't know how to play Go."
"Your strategist doesn't know how to play Go?"
"I knew it! The same reaction. I will be sure to tell my strategist. Even the Martial Alliance Leader had the same reaction!"
The Alliance Leader laughed at Geom Mugeuk's jest.
"I've also been hunting in the mountains with my father. We've even had a drink at a tavern. Do you know how the tavern owner reacted when my father came in?"
Geom Mugeuk intentionally recounted the times he had spent with his father.
He told the stories as cheerfully as possible, and Jin Pae-cheon listened with a smile.
Geom Mugeuk knew the sadness hidden in the Martial Alliance Leader's smile.
He was a father who had lost his son.
While he could not dare to guess what that felt like, he knew that he was thinking of his own son right now.
And as always, Geom Mugeuk was a person who believed that emotional wounds should not be buried.
"Do you think of your son often?"
The Martial Alliance Leader flinched for a moment.
His expression changed rapidly.
Anger, bewilderment, and then sadness and longing.
All sorts of emotions flickered across his face in a short time.
"Sometimes."
Jin Pae-cheon said no more and drank his wine.
Geom Mugeuk also asked no more and drank his wine.
Had he ever been asked this question after his son's death? He thought probably not.
Who would dare to ask such a question to the Martial Alliance Leader?
"Let's go together tomorrow."
"No, I will go alone."
"I know that you are a master without equal. But it is dangerous to go alone."
"If we mobilize the masters of the Martial Alliance, there might be someone among them connected to the Heavenly Fate Society. If the secret is leaked and the leader escapes, we will likely never find him again."
"Then let us go together, just the two of us."
He knew that Jin Pae-cheon meant it sincerely.
Geom Mugeuk was genuinely impressed.
What kind of Martial Alliance Leader in this world would suggest going to a place of mortal danger, and with the bloodline of the Demon Cult Master at that?
As long as Jin Pae-cheon was strong, the Righteous Path would also remain strong.
"Alliance Leader, you have something else you must do."
"What is that?"
"You must prepare for the possibility that the Master of the True Dragon Manor betrays you. He is in a crisis where everything he has built in his life might be lost. You said you would forgive him, but will he truly believe your words? If not, he will use every means at his disposal."
"For example?"
"They tried to use Miss Jin by pushing for marriage, so we used Jo Shin. We used him a bit more aggressively than they did. So how will they react?"
Thinking of one possibility, Jin Pae-cheon's expression hardened as he thought, surely not.
"While the Alliance Leader and I are moving together, they could target Miss Jin. Since we used his child, he might think, 'you deserve it too.' Since it's a life-or-death choice, an extraordinary master will be sent. You must be there, Alliance Leader. Protect your family."
Seeing the worried look in Jin Pae-cheon's eyes, Geom Mugeuk raised his cup.
"For once, please trust the Demonic Path and leave it to me. No matter how vicious that evil may be, it won't work on us."
Jin Pae-cheon drank with him.
In a short time, they had shared just one bottle, but it was better and more memorable than any drinking session he had ever had in his life.
Putting down the last cup, Geom Mugeuk bowed respectfully.
"I will bid my farewells today. Please take care of yourself until we meet again."