Chapter 277: Can You Handle It?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Jin Hagun pulled his hand away from the doll he was about to stand upright.

SCRAPE, SCRAPE.

The sound of wood carving started again.

Normally, the Master would not have cared if the doll was standing or lying down.

Who could this doll be?

Jin Hagun looked down at the fallen doll again. His gaze kept returning to it for some reason. In the end, Jin Hagun did not dare set it upright. Instead, he stealthily flipped over the doll that lay face down.

In that moment, Jin Hagun startled.

The wooden doll was him. It was only the size of a finger, but he instinctively knew it was him. The clothes and the hair were the same.

"Is this me?"

At the low question, the sound of wood carving stopped.

"Yes, it's you."

Jin Hagun looked at his master, bewildered.

He says it's me, yet he tells me to leave it lying down?

Jin Hagun could tell his master knew what happened in Hunan.

Even so.

He would have preferred his master's anger. This felt worse than being scolded. What was my Master thinking while carving this doll and leaving it here? He felt a disappointment and distance he had never experienced before.

I thought he would understand why I did it.

He decided his master must be acting this way because he did not know the circumstances.

"The son of the Heavenly Peace Sect Leader murdered innocent people."

The Master silently focused on his carving. It was a sign for Jin Hagun to continue speaking.

Jin Hagun could not mention the most important part of his explanation. He would have to admit he realized giving up the Heavenly Peace Sect was his grandfather's test. Wouldn't that imply his master had not realized it was a test?

"I had no choice because the Sword Supreme stepped in."

The Master said nothing. Jin Hagun could not tell if his master already knew or simply thought it was an excuse.

In the past, he would have been fidgeting anxiously, begging for forgiveness first.

However, Jin Hagun simply stared at his master.

What would Geom Mugeuk have done?

The thought came to him as if by magic, perhaps because he had been thinking about Geom Mugeuk the entire way back.

An image of Geom Mugeuk surfaced in his mind. His face smiled brightly as he looked at Jin Hagun.

"Let's have a drink!"

One thing was certain. Geom Mugeuk would have handled a moment like this with a smile.

Right, getting worked up means you lose.

Jin Hagun said calmly, "I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Instantly, the sound of wood carving stopped.

Baek Cheongeong slowly raised his head and looked at Jin Hagun.

Before, Jin Hagun's heart would have pounded as if it might burst, but strangely, he felt no fear.

A peculiar light flickered in Baek Cheongeong's eyes. He sensed his disciple was different.

Baek Cheongeong put down the doll he was holding and rose from his seat. He then walked slowly toward Jin Hagun.

Jin Hagun quietly watched his master approach. In the past, his mind would have raced.

The Master must be feeling this way. What should I say to appease his anger?

But the Jin Hagun of now thought something different. Geom Mugeuk's words were embedded in his heart.

"Have you been seeing clearly until now?"

Jin Hagun watched his master walk toward him. He observed his master's gaze, his footsteps, the movement of his hands, and even his expression.

Unfamiliar.

Baek Cheongeong's gaze shifted from his disciple to the doll lying on the display stand.

"Were you disappointed that your doll was lying down?"

Jin Hagun replied in a calm tone, "Because it's the first doll you made for me, Master."

Baek Cheongeong stood the doll up in its place.

"Is that better?"

Jin Hagun glanced at the doll for a moment, then laid it down again.

"No, I was defeated by Geom Mugeuk this time. It should stay down."

Baek Cheongeong nodded as if he had been waiting for that reaction.

"That's right. You should have somehow gotten the Heavenly Peace Sect in your hands and saved them."

Jin Hagun silently looked at Baek Cheongeong. It still felt unfamiliar. He realized he had never looked at his master's face so closely from the side. He had only ever glanced at his master and his grandfather. He had lived his life seeing people that way.

"When a war breaks out someday, hundreds of people from the orthodox sects could die because of the Heavenly Peace Sect. Can you bear that responsibility?"

In the past, he would have immediately prostrated himself and begged for forgiveness. His Master's words would have resonated with him. Even if they had not, he would have considered them right.

Now, he did not feel that way. Instead, a thought came to mind.

Why is he using an extreme example that hasn't even happened?

He suddenly recalled what Geom Mugeuk had said.

[The person who connected you with the Heavenly Peace Sect Leader does not wish for you to become the Chairman.]

He had thought it was nonsense at the time, but now a small doubt began to grow in his heart.

"My thinking was short-sighted."

At those words, Baek Cheongeong's expression softened slightly.

"Good, as long as you understand. We must find a way to reclaim the Heavenly Peace Sect now."

"I will think about it."

Baek Cheongeong returned to his seat. Before resuming his carving, he said one more thing.

"The Chairman would have wanted that as well."

SCRAPE, SCRAPE.

His Master's words were, to the very end, contrary to Jin Hagun's thoughts.

Is that really what he would have wanted?

His grandfather had been genuinely pleased that he had given up the Heavenly Peace Sect. Because he had tried to see his grandfather clearly, he was able to read that emotion. If he had not, he would have bowed his head and agreed. He had not been looking at his grandfather properly before.

Today, Jin Hagun finally understood the importance of Geom Mugeuk's words about seeing clearly.

Setting everything else aside, shouldn't we, of all people, not forgive someone like Seo Cheong? We are the orthodox sects. Among them, we are the one who will become the Murim Alliance Chairman, and the Master of that Chairman.

After meeting Geom Mugeuk, his master looked different.

Or perhaps, only today did he realize his master might be a completely different person than he had perceived.

That night, Jin Hagun had a nightmare.

A shadow-like being with an unclear face chased him all night. No matter how much he ran, his pursuer knew where he was and tracked him down.

Even now, the thing followed him from far behind.

He was too exhausted to run.

As he trudged along in despair, people on the roadside stared at him. He recognized some faces. There were people he trained with when he was young, and there was the throwing knife. People he was not even close to. Why are they appearing? Nightmares always summon those you have forgotten.

He walked past them and kept going. Meanwhile, the pursuing shadow drew closer.

He thought he was going to die. Just then, someone called out to him.

"Commander Jin!"

He looked up and saw Geom Mugeuk leaning on the second-floor railing of a tavern, looking down at him.

"Come on up and have a drink."

Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly, just as he had when they last parted.

As if possessed, Jin Hagun went up to the second floor of the tavern. He was glad to see him.

He stood with Geom Mugeuk at the railing. The pitch-black shadow that had been chasing him only looked up from the tavern entrance, unable to enter. He could feel the terrifying shadow was afraid.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk spoke abruptly. He repeated what he had said at the banquet. "Isn't that why we're here? If not us, who can stop a guy like that?"

The moment he looked at Geom Mugeuk, Jin Hagun woke from the dream.

"……" Drenched in sweat, Jin Hagun sighed. It was not strange for Geom Mugeuk to appear in his dream. He had thought about him constantly since they met.

However, his choices in the dream had been foolish. He had just been chased helplessly. He should have fought directly, led the Demon Slaying Brigade to fight, or gone to his grandfather for help. He had just let himself be chased.

What angered him more was that he had given up in the end. The memory of trudging along in despair was vividly etched in his mind.

Shaking off the nightmare, he shot up from his bed.

Jin Haryong was surprised by Jin Hagun's visit.

"So you do things you don't normally do too, Orabeoni?"

Jin Hagun had not visited her quarters recently.

"People can change."

"Don't change too much, it's scary."

Jin Hagun looked around the room and sat down. Jin Haryong knew her Orabeoni would not visit for no reason, so she asked, inwardly tense.

"How did it go?"

"I failed."

"You look pretty good for someone who failed."

"It was half a failure and half a success."

Jin Haryong gave him a questioning look, but Jin Hagun did not answer. He himself did not know what was right and what was wrong right now.

"Geom Mugeuk, what was he like?"

"I don't know."

"Don't be like that, tell me."

"I said I don't know. I don't know him."

Jin Haryong nodded.

"You saw him well, then."

If she were asked what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was, she too would have no other answer.

Just then, Jin Hagun said something unexpected.

"Haryong, have you ever experienced something in your life that you couldn't understand?"

Jin Haryong looked at Jin Hagun, surprised.

"Right now."

Jin Hagun gave a faint smile.

"I'm asking seriously."

Had she ever experienced something like that? Ah, she had.

"When I met that person, Geom Mugeuk, I couldn't understand anything at all."

"How did you get through it?"

"I didn't get through it. I was swept away by that person, Geom Mugeuk, and it just passed."

Now, Jin Hagun knew exactly what she meant.

Jin Haryong could tell a wave of change was crashing into her Orabeoni's life. She did not ask if it was because of Geom Mugeuk. She knew he would not admit it, if only for his pride.

Then Jin Hagun asked about something unexpected.

"Do you still hold the prodigy gathering?"

"I do."

"A lot of people must come."

"Do you think they come to see me? They come to get on Grandfather's good side."

Jin Haryong regularly invited prodigies from the orthodox sects. It was less a personal gathering and more a way for the Alliance to manage them. She was in charge of that task.

"There's someone I want you to invite."

"……"

Then, an unexpected name came from Jin Hagun's lips.

"Someone who must be seen without prejudice."

Jin Haryong was startled. He was talking about Geom Mugeuk.

"Why him?"

Jin Hagun answered, "I need his help. Invite him as your guest, and arrange for him to meet me. Make it look like a coincidence."

He could not summon Geom Mugeuk directly. The man who would become the Murim Alliance Chairman could not ask for help from the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

"Are you serious?"

Jin Hagun nodded. It was no wonder his sister was so surprised. Even he thought this was a crazy idea.

But he felt it instinctively. The unfamiliarity he felt from his master constantly stimulated his survival instincts. If he could continue living in ignorance, it would be one thing, but the doubt in his heart grew day by day.

This could not be postponed, nor was it a time to worry about pride. He needed an outsider's help, someone who could look at the situation objectively, not an insider with vested interests. He felt he could not be as helpless as he was in his dream.

"But why?"

"You don't need to know."

"Let me ask again. Is the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade in a situation where he needs the help of the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult?"

Jin Hagun replied, "Let's just say your Orabeoni is in a situation where he needs your friend's help."

Even he thought it was absurd, but his instincts were desperately telling him, even using a dream. He needed him.

Jin Haryong hesitated. This was the first favor her Orabeoni had asked of her since they grew up, yet she hesitated.

For her, Geom Mugeuk was also a good memory. She wanted to use this as an excuse to see him again.

However, getting him involved with her Orabeoni was a different matter. It was a relationship between the successor to the Murim Alliance and the successor to the Demonic Cult.

That was why she was anxious. Was it okay to drag a demon into her Orabeoni's affairs?

"Can you handle it?"

After a brief pause, Jin Hagun shook his head.

"Geom Mugeuk? I can't. I need his help precisely because he's someone I can't handle."

Because he had grasped his opponent so accurately, Jin Haryong was actually relieved.

"Then it's settled."

I was training in the Heavenly Space Secret Art within the Spacetime Manipulation Technique.

Since my regression, I have met all sorts of people and handled all sorts of matters, but I have never forgotten that martial arts training is the most important thing. Whenever I had time to myself, I always immersed myself in training.

The Heavenly Space Secret Art progressed little by little. It was truly as slow as a turtle. However, I did not give up. I trained and trained, hoping my level might suddenly jump up one day. Of course, that never happened.

When I had to be in a place with people coming and going, I would close my eyes for a moment and practice the Heavenly Demon Self-Defense Technique. With only one stage left until complete mastery, I trained with all my might.

As for the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, I repeatedly practiced only the First Stance whenever I had a spare moment. Few opponents could survive the Soaring Sky Sword Art, which had reached the Twelfth Star mastery, but if one did appear, I intended to kill them with the First Stance. So I practiced it again and again. I had seen the four evil spirits so many times that I now felt a sense of intimacy with them. The time they lingered was also increasing minutely.

After finishing my training and taking a short break, I saw the Fist Demon taking a walk outside the window.

The Fist Demon stood tall at the edge of the yard, gazing at the distant mountains over the wall.

"Master."

I stood side by side with the Fist Demon.

"Shall I guess what you were just thinking about?"

At that, the Fist Demon showed interest.

"What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking about a cliff, weren't you?"

"If anyone heard that, they'd misunderstand and think I'm crazy about destroying cliffs. Why did you think that?"

"Because your back said so, Master."

The Fist Demon looked at me with a questioning expression.

There are people whose backs tell you who they are. Father is like that, and so is the Fist Demon.

The reason I feel a sense of loneliness when I look at his back is probably because I know how steadfast that back is. It is a back that would walk alone toward thousands of enemies without hesitation if Father commanded it.

"Master, I don't think you should destroy the cliff."

"……"

"When would we ever clean all that up? Besides, it looks cool with the cliff there, doesn't it?"

The Fist Demon looked at me and smiled. I like this man's smile, a smile I do not get to see often.

Just then, a martial artist from the Hunan Branch came and delivered a messenger pigeon. Unexpectedly, it was sent by Jin Haryong.

[You told me to be sure to tell you if something strange and incomprehensible ever happened in my life, right? Well, that time is now.