Chapter 281: The One Who is Lost

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Was our reunion too soon?"

Jin Haryong stood at the door and greeted her warmly.

Water dripped from Lee Ahn's hair. She had just finished her martial arts training, washed up, and changed into comfortable clothes.

"A reunion with a welcome person is better the sooner it happens, right? Please, come in."

Jin Haryong smiled and stepped inside. Lee Ahn felt her spirits lift. Some people could do that with just a single word. Perhaps that was why Jin Haryong had come.

As Jin Haryong sat, she noticed a bottle of alcohol on the table.

"Were you about to have a drink?"

"Ah, I found some alcohol when I was looking around," Lee Ahn said. It seemed to be alcohol prepared for visitors to the safehouse.

"Could you pour me a glass too?" Jin Haryong asked.

"Of course. Please wait a moment. I didn't prepare any side dishes since I was just planning to have a simple drink."

"It's fine. Let's just drink."

"Are you sure?"

"You don't think that just because I'm the Chairman's granddaughter, I only drink with a grand feast, do you?"

Lee Ahn laughed and shook her head. The two poured each other a drink and toasted.

"Did something good happen today?" Jin Haryong asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"The alcohol, and this martial artist's expression seems bright."

Something good? Of course, there was. She had received martial arts instruction from Geom Mugeuk for the first time in a while. What made her feel even better was what he had said.

[Then why did you bring me?]

[Why else? I made an excuse because I wanted to come out and hang out with you for the first time in a while.]

How could I not be completely loyal to him? He passed down martial arts only the Heavenly Demon's bloodline could learn, always said my happiness came first, and said things like that.

Lee Ahn did not answer, but Jin Haryong could feel it. She could tell Lee Ahn's good mood was related to Geom Mugeuk.

Lee Ahn naturally changed the subject. "Isn't it hard? Living as the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Chairman?"

"This martial artist asks the opposite," Jin Haryong said.

"Pardon?"

"Everyone else asks how great it must be to be the Murim Alliance Chairman's granddaughter."

"I guess I'm a negative person," Lee Ahn mused.

"I've never seen a negative person admit they're negative."

Jin Haryong emptied her cup and looked at Lee Ahn. "It's hard. Much harder than you'd think."

"I thought so."

"It must be hard for this martial artist too, right? Serving someone who isn't easy to serve."

Despite her question, Jin Haryong felt a pang of envy for the woman who had been with Geom Mugeuk for so long.

"It's not hard," Lee Ahn said. "When I'm with him, things happen that would never happen in a lifetime. Like sometimes, I even get to drink with the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Chairman."

Jin Haryong completely sympathized with Lee Ahn's joke.

"Right? You can never tell what will happen in the world."

My relationship with Geom Mugeuk, and this very situation.

The two talked about this and that. With each empty cup, they exchanged stories of their different lives, one in the Murim Alliance and one in the Demonic Cult. A subtle atmosphere sometimes flowed between them. They talked about Geom Mugeuk, then martial arts, and then Geom Mugeuk again.

Honestly, Jin Haryong had hoped to find a flaw in Lee Ahn, but the more they talked, the more she thought, This woman is great.

When the bottle was empty, Jin Haryong stood up. She did not suggest they drink more. Instead, she made a startling proposal.

"Martial Artist Lee, shall we be friends?"

"So impulsively?" Lee Ahn asked. "This is only our second time meeting."

"What does it matter?" Jin Haryong countered. "The world of martial artists is a place where you might even kill someone you've just met."

Jin Haryong had never asked anyone to be friends before. People lined up for the chance, but she had never initiated it, yet here she was, asking Lee Ahn after only their second meeting.

I know myself as little as I know the unpredictable ways of the world, Jin Haryong thought.

"Are you really okay with this? Becoming friends with a demon?" Lee Ahn asked.

"I'm fine," Jin Haryong replied. "What about this martial artist?"

Lee Ahn stared silently at Jin Haryong for a moment, then smiled brightly. "How could I possibly refuse the chance to gain a wonderful friend like you?"

In that moment, Jin Haryong's brief regret, Did I say that for nothing?, completely vanished.

Jin Hagun visited the Master again.

SCRAPE, SCRAPE.

"Have you found a way?" the Master asked.

The Master kept asking about the method. Jin Hagun now understood.

The Master's goal isn't to hear the method. He wants to push me into a corner, to get a tighter grip on me. The fastest way to ensnare someone is to make them feel intimidated.

"No. I came to see you today for a different reason."

At the firm reply, Baek Cheongeong stopped carving the wood. He looked up, and Jin Hagun candidly revealed his thoughts.

"I know that you've been very disappointed in me lately. Although I made excuses to you, Master, I have been deeply reflecting."

Baek Cheongeong's expression remained unchanged.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Master," Jin Hagun continued.

A hint of curiosity flickered in Baek Cheongeong's eyes. Jin Hagun was right. It was unlikely he would ask for something in the current atmosphere. This meant the favor was very important.

"Speak."

"During the previous Young Dragon Tournament, a connection formed between Geom Mugeuk, the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, and Haryong."

Jin Hagun sighed lightly. "It seems Haryong took a liking to him back then."

Baek Cheongeong listened in silence.

"That foolish child invited the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult to this prodigy gathering," Jin Hagun explained. "And now, the Young Cult Leader is secretly here at the main headquarters."

"The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult is here at the main headquarters?" Baek Cheongeong's gaze intensified.

"I only found out about it a short while ago myself."

"Are you telling me that Geom Mugeuk came here to see Haryong?"

"Yes, it seems he also has feelings for my sister."

Baek Cheongeong did not believe it. "The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult I've heard about is no pushover. You've faced him and suffered at his hands, so you should know that well. A man like that came to the main headquarters just for a woman?"

"That's right. He is no ordinary man. Which is precisely why there can be no other reason."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Would such a clever man choose to come to the Murim Alliance alone? There's only one reason a smart man becomes a fool."

Jin Hagun was repeating some of Geom Mugeuk's own words.

[Will this work on Master?]

[It will work because it's about your sister. Matters of blood relatives are incomprehensible and inexplicable.]

Baek Cheongeong still looked disbelieving. "So? What is it you want to ask?"

Jin Hagun made a request Baek Cheongeong had not expected at all.

"Please meet with Geom Mugeuk."

Baek Cheongeong, who rarely showed emotion, could not hide his surprise. "What are you saying?"

"Please meet him and warn him," Jin Hagun pleaded. "Tell him to back away from my sister."

Baek Cheongeong looked dumbfounded. He truly had not expected such a request. "After losing the Heavenly Peace Sect, you're now asking me to help you not lose your sister?"

Though the words were painful, Jin Hagun did not back down. "I can lose the Heavenly Peace Sect, but I absolutely cannot lose my sister."

"Then why don't you, her older brother, warn him?"

"He won't listen to me. While handling the Heavenly Peace Sect matter, he thoroughly ignored and toyed with me. He's the type to approach her even more, just to spite me. The Geom Mugeuk I saw was that kind of persistent man."

"If you can't do it, you should ask the Chairman."

"Don't you know Grandfather's personality? He'd kick him out immediately. It'd be a relief if he didn't attack him out of anger. If he's kicked out, that man will surely hold a grudge. He's a madman who'd come to the Murim Alliance alone just to see my sister."

"This is not a matter for me to step into. How can I handle something that neither the Chairman nor you can?" Baek Cheongeong refused firmly.

Jin Hagun knelt on the spot. "You, Master, know better than anyone what my sister means to me. Until now, I have served you, Master, as if you were Father."

Because it was true, the moment was incredibly painful and frustrating for Jin Hagun.

"Please, grant this lacking disciple's earnest request."

SCRAPE, SCRAPE.

Baek Cheongeong carved the wood, lost in thought. Jin Hagun remained kneeling. An unknown amount of time passed.

When Baek Cheongeong finished his carving, he finally spoke.

"Bring him tomorrow."

"The Master has agreed," Jin Hagun said happily.

Geom Mugeuk spoke as if he had expected it. "I knew you could do it."

Praise was not important right now. "What exactly do you plan to do when you meet him?" Jin Hagun asked.

"I'll have to decide."

"Decide what?"

"Whether he's someone to be kept alive, or someone who must be killed."

Geom Mugeuk stared into Jin Hagun's eyes. "Will you trust my decision?"

"How can I trust someone like you who loves to play pranks? I will only trust my own judgment." Jin Hagun stood up.

He stopped at the door as he was about to leave. "Have you ever felt like you were lost?"

It was a thought he had been having lately. Even as he proceeded with the plan, part of his mind was tormented. The Master is a good person, and you're being used by Geom Mugeuk right now.

"Never," Geom Mugeuk replied. "I have an excellent sense of direction."

Jin Hagun's expression soured, as if to say, Another joke. Just as he turned to leave, Geom Mugeuk spoke from behind him.

"It's not that you're lost, isn't it that you've forgotten where you're going?"

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Don't they say all roads in the world are connected? If you know where you need to go, you can't get lost."

"What if you've even forgotten where you need to go?"

"Then you should sit on the floor and cry your eyes out."

"Don't joke."

Geom Mugeuk recalled wandering the Central Plains, searching for ingredients for the Great Art. Sometimes it was so hard that he really had wanted to burst into tears.

"You can ask people you meet. If there's no one, you can look at the constellations. If you still don't know, you can even throw a shoe and leave it to fate. If you still don't know after all that, you just have to walk wherever your feet take you."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"What's there to be afraid of? You're already lost anyway."

"!"

Jin Hagun paused, lost in thought. He sighed. "You are truly… a strange person."

"As expected, you people are so polite. Everyone in our Cult called me a madman."

"Then you must be a strangely mad man. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Jin Hagun then left.

Geom Mugeuk gazed out the window for a moment.

Jin Hagun is still young, so he doesn't know. He doesn't know what it truly means to be lost. A person who is truly lost doesn't even know they are lost.

The next day, Jin Hagun brought Geom Mugeuk to the Master's workshop.

"Master, I have arrived. I've come with the Young Cult Leader of the Divine Cult."

"Enter."

When they stepped inside, Jin Hagun was startled. The Master looked different. He wore a magnificent red robe with a longsword at his waist. Jin Hagun remembered the Master wearing such a splendid outfit when they first met.

Geom Mugeuk's and Baek Cheongeong's gazes met. It was difficult to read the emotions in Geom Mugeuk's clear, deep eyes or Baek Cheongeong's long, narrow ones.

Amidst the taut tension, Geom Mugeuk unleashed his presence to ascertain his opponent's martial arts. A deep abyss began to pull Baek Cheongeong in, regardless of his will.

Baek Cheongeong countered with his own unique presence.

Geom Mugeuk looked around and suddenly found himself in a dense forest of endlessly soaring trees. The endless scenery washed over him with a sense of loneliness, as if he had been dropped alone outside the world.

While Baek Cheongeong was drawn into the abyss, Geom Mugeuk walked into the forest. Sunlight shone down and birds chirped.

A person with such a bright presence? No. If he were that kind of person, Jin Hagun wouldn't have called him.

Geom Mugeuk walked deeper into the forest. The scenery repeated endlessly, tempting him to stop. Geom Mugeuk shook off the temptation and pressed on.

Neither his own will nor his opponent's presence guided him. Instead, the Nine Calamities Demonic Art surprisingly led him forward.

There is something over there.

It was hidden so deeply that he never would have found it without the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. This also meant his opponent's martial arts were formidable.

Finally, in the deepest part of the forest, Geom Mugeuk discovered a wooden carving of a person. The carving stood with its arms crossed, so vivid it felt alive. Only its face was uncarved and flat. A mystical feeling flowed from it, as if the wood might shift at any moment to form a human face.

As Geom Mugeuk approached the carving, the surrounding trees began to move. Their trunks extended and living branches blocked his path, menacingly surrounding him.

In that moment, Geom Mugeuk knew.

The Thousand Wooden Souls Art!

It was the ultimate secret art, performed using all the trees in the world.

Surprise and intense emotion overcame Geom Mugeuk. It was not because the secret art was a mystical one where trees moved at will and small wooden dolls grew to attack like masters. It was because he knew who had used this martial art.

After Hwa Mugi went into seclusion, his followers created the World Alliance. Twelve absolute masters ruled that organization. The world called them the Twelve Zodiac Kings!

In the past, they operated as the Twelve Zodiac Kings while hiding their identities, perhaps fearing future revenge from the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions.

The eighth of those Twelve Zodiac Kings was the one who used the Thousand Wooden Souls Art.

Geom Mugeuk's heart pounded violently.

It's the Wood King!

This was the first time since his regression that he had met a follower of Hwa Mugi.