Chapter 199: Do I Look Like Someone You Can Take Things From?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Go Wol sat at his desk reading documents. He asked without looking up.

"Cult Leader, is something troubling you lately?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader leaned against the window, staring outside.

"Troubling me? Why the sudden question?"

The two of them were engrossed in their work, traveling throughout the Central Plains to build an intelligence network. Go Wol was always busy, while the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader served as both a bodyguard and an aide, leaving him relatively free.

"You seem like you have something on your mind."

"Who has a life as leisurely as mine? I have no worries."

"It's usually the busy people who have no worries."

"I said I don't."

At the firm reply, Go Wol looked up from his documents at the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader claimed he had no worries, but as he gazed out the window, his low spirits were obvious. He seemed troubled.

"Is it hard?"

"Hard? Not at all."

"Well, I find it hard."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader turned to look at Go Wol. Go Wol added, as if he truly meant it.

"It's hard. If you weren't here helping me, Cult Leader, I wouldn't have been able to endure it."

"Then who told you to work so hard? Since when were you so overflowing with loyalty?"

"Should I start slacking off from now on?"

"As if you could."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader turned his head back toward the window.

"Usually, it's the Cult Leader who says things like 'It's hard' or 'I'm dying'. This isn't like you."

"What is 'like me'? No, never mind. You'll just list off a bunch of insults. Don't!"

But Go Wol was not one to stop just because he was told to.

"Someone who seems petty on the outside but has a heart as vast as the sea on the inside. Someone who seems to live carelessly but is painting a grand picture in his mind. Someone who nags but is a profound person deep down. That's the Cult Leader."

"Hmph! You just said the opposite, didn't you? That I'm petty, live carelessly, and nag?"

"And someone who is quicker on the uptake than anyone else!"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader made a 'that's what I thought' expression. Normally, a torrent of words would have poured out of him, but the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader kept his gaze fixed outside the window. Go Wol stood up from his chair and walked forward.

"Are you perhaps homesick?"

"Speaking of homesickness, I've realized for sure this time that I'm not someone who likes his hometown. I don't think about it at all. I don't feel any desire to go back either. Maybe I'll go once before I die, but I don't think I'll have any reason to go there in the future."

"So it's not homesickness. Then what could it be?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's lips twitched. He looked like he wanted to say something but changed the subject instead.

"Why isn't the Second Young Lord here yet? Did you contact him properly?"

"He's busy, isn't he?"

"Busy, my foot. We've just been pushed down his priority list. He does everything he needs to do, and then, huh? 'Oh, that shackle from back then sent word that he wants to see me. Should I meet him? Or not?'"

"If that's the case, isn't he investing too much money in that shackle from back then?"

A massive amount of funds was being poured into this project. The intelligence network had not even been fully established across the Central Plains yet, and the funds were already running low again.

"He must be rolling in money."

"Cult Leader. What are you angry about? Are you depressed because you're not losing weight?"

"Hmph! If I put my mind to it, I could lose it all in a month."

"You said that a month ago too, didn't you?"

"If you get too skinny when you're older, you look insignificant."

"You, Cult Leader, look too significant."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader whipped around and scowled. Go Wol gestured as if to say he was just joking.

"What's bothering you?"

After a brief pause, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader spoke.

"If I tell you the reason, you're just going to tease me again, aren't you?"

"Let's hear it first."

"You never say you definitely won't tease me."

Finally, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader began to speak.

"Do you remember Seokchung, the man we met a while ago?"

"I remember."

Establishing an intelligence network in the Central Plains involved a great deal of work. They had to meet countless people, and in doing so, they were bound to meet people like Seokchung.

"That bastard, he misspoke to me that day and acted rudely."

Go Wol nodded. The man would not have acted that way if he knew the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's true identity or skill. He was introduced simply as a wealthy man, so he put on airs and acted rudely, trusting in his own paltry martial arts.

"You endured it well, Cult Leader."

"I keep thinking about that bastard. I should have crushed him back then. Or, at the very least, I should have lectured him that he shouldn't act that way. I held back at the time because I wanted things to proceed smoothly, but now, it keeps coming back to me."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader had no idea how many times he had killed the man in his imagination. In truth, it was not a mistake worthy of death, but a rage that made him want to kill kept welling up.

"You remember that other guy with the nasty expression? I endured it well back then, but this time, I'm not enduring it so well. Ah, I know. Don't say it. I know full well how petty I am, but what can I do if I keep thinking about it?"

"I understand."

"You understand?"

"He was a foolish bastard. Even if you had beaten him to a pulp, Cult Leader, I wouldn't have stopped you."

"Really?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was pleased.

"Then should I have beaten him up? Should I go find him and beat him up now?"

Go Wol simply watched the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader without a word. Only then did the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's excitement subside.

"Whatever you want to say, hurry up and say it."

"I have nothing to say."

"I said say it!"

"Everyone lives like this. It's because you're a Cult Leader that you've lived this long without seeing such filth. Everyone lives while enduring things like this. Beating someone up because you're angry, because you're in a bad mood, because they're rude. There are very few people who can live that kind of life."

"You're trying to say that only people like the Second Young Lord live like that, aren't you?"

"It's the same for you, Cult Leader. You used to live like that. You lived your whole life comfortably, it hasn't been long since you started enduring things, has it?"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader nodded, as if to admit that much at least.

Go Wol understood why the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was struggling. How hard must it be? To have lived a life envied by all, only to now follow him around without a single attendant, acting as a bodyguard. That was why he always thought that the Cult Leader must have committed a great sin against him in a past life.

Go Wol walked over to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's side and stood next to him, looking outside.

"It's not that you keep thinking about it because you're petty. It's because resentment has been building up in your heart, Cult Leader."

"Resentment?"

"This work, traveling around the Central Plains, it's the first time you've done something like this, isn't it, Cult Leader? Meeting people, then meeting more people. It might not seem like a big deal, but it's the kind of work where anger builds up without you realizing it. You've been enduring it all for my sake until now."

"I'm glad you recognize that. Still, I feel a bit better now that I've talked about it."

"From now on, don't hold back. Just beat them up."

"No. I'm still going to endure it. If I was born petty, I should at least make an effort. Whether I live this way or that, it's a life that will end in death anyway. I won't end it pathetically."

Go Wol looked at him. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was sincere.

"Want to curse out the Second Young Lord to your heart's content and feel refreshed?"

"Can I?"

"Go for it, for the first time in a while!"

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, as if he had been waiting, said in a loud voice.

"You lazy Second Young Lord! If we tell you to come, you should come quickly! What are you doing that's making you so late? Have you forgotten us? Just you try and forget! You've never been eaten by a fish in your own pond, have you? I'll just GULP! Swallow you whole, head first! No matter how much you treat us like 'that Cult Leader from back then' or 'that shackle from back then', we're living just fine like this! You bad Second Young Lord! You ugly Second Young Lord! You Second Young Lord who scams people with your movement arts! Ah! Shouting like this really relieves the stress. Strategist Go, you do it too! All that pent-up frustration will vanish. As expected, cursing the Second Young Lord is the most satisfying."

Then, Go Wol spoke with a solemn expression.

"Cult Leader, what is this outrageous and disrespectful remark?"

"……"

Seeing Go Wol's sudden change, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader blinked with a 'what are you doing' expression. He soon sensed a presence behind him.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader slowly turned around.

Geom Mugeuk stood behind him, having arrived at some point.

"You were cursing me again."

Why now of all times! He had been caught cursing him before. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was flustered, but he was not one to simply back down.

"Second Young Lord! First, fix your habit of showing up when I'm cursing you! Of course, I'm not the type to hold my tongue just because you're here, but…"

Just then, the Fist Demon followed him inside.

The moment he saw him, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's expression instantly became serious. The playfulness vanished from his face, and he returned to being the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader. He lowered his voice and greeted the Fist Demon.

"It has been a while."

"It is good to see you."

The two men greeted each other with a clasped hands greeting. The Fist Demon also revealed a different aura than when he was alone with Geom Mugeuk. They were now the Cult Leader and the Demon Supreme. This was who they originally were, but meeting Geom Mugeuk was changing them all.

Geom Mugeuk introduced Go Wol to the Fist Demon.

"This is my strategist, Go Wol, who would be perfect if only he were good at Go."

Go Wol smiled and said.

"I am refraining from learning because I do not wish to clash with the Head Strategist just yet."

He said this because the person who taught the Heavenly Demon Go was the Head Strategist. His words also held the confidence that if he were to learn and teach Geom Mugeuk, he could make him win against the Cult Leader.

"Well then, please come in."

Geom Mugeuk and the Fist Demon came in and sat down.

Go Wol brought out tea.

"This is all I have to offer you."

"You've worked hard, coming all this way to do your job."

"I am working joyfully, thinking of it as a tour of the Central Plains."

Geom Mugeuk spoke politely to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

"You are working very hard. Because you are protecting him, Cult Leader, I don't worry about Strategist Go at all."

"I'm doing it because I want to."

Go Wol added to the praise for the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's efforts.

"If not for the Cult Leader, I would have died several times already."

In fact, danger had struck several times, but they had overcome the crises thanks to the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader.

Geom Mugeuk looked at the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader with a gentle gaze. He knew well what a great sacrifice the man had made to come to him. Of course, the reason was Go Wol, but in the end, he was the one reaping the benefits. Every time, the man called himself 'that Cult Leader from back then', but Geom Mugeuk had not the slightest intention of making him that.

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader said to the Fist Demon.

"I heard the news that you left the cult with the Second Young Lord."

"I was enjoying some leisure for the first time in a while."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader asked subtly.

"Have you by any chance had anything taken from you by the Second Young Lord?"

"Taken from me?"

"If I let my guard down for just a moment, what's mine ends up with the Second Young Lord. I was wondering if our Fist Demon has also experienced such a thing."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's gaze seemed to say, 'You must have had something taken too, right?', so the Fist Demon firmly shook his head.

"Nothing of the sort has happened."

As he said this, the Fist Demon gave him a look that said, 'Do I look like someone you can take things from?'

In the midst of this invisible war of nerves, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was inwardly upset.

Was he the only one who had everything taken by the Second Young Lord?

He still sometimes thought of the sacred object he had given to Geom Mugeuk. It was not that he had any lingering attachment or greed for the object itself, now that he had left the cult.

However, he sometimes felt a sense of doubt, wondering if he was a fool who gave away things he did not need to, if he was the only one living at a loss. These feelings also contributed to his recent depression.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk said.

"Oh, by the way, I have come to serve the Fist Demon as my Master."

Hearing this, the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was startled.

"Is that true?"

"Yes, from now on, the Fist Demon is my Master."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader could not hide his surprise. Soon, his mood improved as he looked at the Fist Demon.

A realization dawned on him. The Fist Demon had lost something too. In fact, he had lost his very self!

What decisively pleased the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader was this.

He was not the only one suffering!

It was a great comfort to him. Of course, the Fist Demon would never admit it.

Go Wol offered his congratulations with a clasped hands greeting.

"Congratulations on forming the bond of master and disciple."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader also congratulated the Fist Demon.

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's mouth was itching to speak.

The words, 'I hope you don't become 'that Master from back then',' were on the tip of his tongue.

It was a remark he would have ended up making if he had been just a little closer to the Fist Demon.

"I will go and speak with Strategist Go for a moment."

Geom Mugeuk and Go Wol went outside.

Now, only the Fist Demon and the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader remained. The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader broke the awkward silence first.

"You have made a great decision."

"It just happened that way."

Indeed. By the time you come to your senses, things have already turned out this way. A smile formed on the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader's lips.

This time, the Fist Demon asked.

"You are the one who has made a great decision, Cult Leader."

"To you, Demon Supreme, my situation might look a bit ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Why would you say such a thing?"

"Seeing me like this, alone in the Central Plains after abandoning the Heavenly Wind Cult."

These were two men who normally would not have exchanged a single word. However, with Geom Mugeuk as a focal point, a conversation that would have been impossible before was now taking place.

"Why are you alone? You have the strategist from before, and you have my disciple, do you not?"

"According to Strategist Go, I heard you support the First Young Lord."

"That is correct."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader said something unexpected.

"Do not treat the disciple carelessly."

The Heavenly Wind Cult Leader showed no fear toward the Fist Demon.

"You have only bet half, but we have bet everything on your disciple."

The Fist Demon did not reply and simply drank his tea.

Meanwhile, Geom Mugeuk and Go Wol went out to the courtyard. Once they were alone, Geom Mugeuk commended him for his hard work.

"You've worked hard."

"It must have been less difficult than becoming the Fist Demon's disciple."

Geom Mugeuk did not deny it and smiled.

"Before I tell you the reason I sent word to see you, Young Lord, there is a separate favor I must ask."

"Speak."

"The Cult Leader has been struggling lately."

How? For what reason? How much?

Geom Mugeuk did not ask these questions. The fact that Go Wol was bringing it up separately like this was enough for him to guess the full extent of the situation.

"I still dream of the time I was bound in shackles. Sometimes, I even converse with the Echoing Thunder Bell. It seems it is truly not an easy thing for a person to escape their past. It must be the same for the Cult Leader."

Geom Mugeuk smiled at him.

"I will speak with him separately."

"Thank you."

Having told Geom Mugeuk, Go Wol no longer worried about it.

"What was the reason you wanted to see me?"

Then, Go Wol brought up something unexpected.

"Have you by any chance heard of the Miracle Deity Loan?"