Chapter 453: What If You're More Popular Than Your Son?

TL: FoodieMonster007

The safest place in this murim?

Ju Hyangwol didn't take his words as a bluff or bravado. Instead, she interpreted them in a different way.

He must really trust his father.

She knew that feeling. She had been the same. To her, her father's embrace was the safest place in the world.

As if in a fleeting panorama, memories of her father surfaced. The memory of him teaching her martial arts when she was young. The sight of him majestically leading the martial artists of the swordsmanship family. The view of his back as he stood alone in the courtyard, looking up at the moon. Even the image of him suffering from illness before he passed away.

In all those scenes, she had never taken the initiative. She had never been the first to suggest a meal with her father. Nor had she, like these people, been the first to suggest a trip with him.

When she was young, there were so many things she wanted to do with her father. But as she grew older, those desires faded. Even if she wanted to do something, she probably would have postponed it. She had always thought her father would be by her side.

Father, I miss you.

Her gaze turned to the person who had made her miss her father so much today. The man who had silently extended his hand and taken charge of the agreement.

When she first saw him in front of the inn, an indescribable emotion had suddenly surged and then vanished. It was a feeling she'd never felt before. Was it for the sake of this kind of connection?

She then realized she hadn't properly expressed her gratitude. She shot up from her seat and politely showed her respect.

"Thank you so much for taking care of the agreement."

Geom Woojin lifted his head and looked at her.

"It's fine."

It was a brief remark, but it sounded incredibly reassuring and gentle.

Geom Mugeuk noticed something special in the way she looked at his father.

It wouldn't be Geom Mugeuk if he just let a moment like this pass.

[What am I to do if you're more popular with women than your son?]

At Geom Mugeuk's voice transmission, a familiar smirk appeared on Geom Woojin's lips. Surprisingly, the smirk didn't deny his son's words.

So that's what he meant. That his father was a man, too.

As he watched them, Ju Hyangwol turned to Geom Mugeuk.

"It seems you really like your father, Master."

"You can feel it?"

She nodded, and Geom Mugeuk raised his voice toward his father.

"Did you hear that? The whole world knows how much I like you, Father."

Of course, this desperate plea didn't reach his father. Geom Woojin, as if uninterested, spoke to Hwi.

"Pour some tea."

Hwi lifted the teapot and respectfully poured tea into Geom Woojin's cup.

Although they were in the same place, the two of them seemed to be in different worlds.

And here you are, pretending not to look, pretending to be uninterested, when you read every single word of that agreement!

That's why every moment of this journey with his father was so enjoyable.

"It's enough that at least the Young Lady understands."

Ju Hyangwol spoke. "Come to think of it, I don't even know your name."

"It's Geom Yeon."

He used his usual alias and added the line he always said when giving this name.

"The 'Yeon' from 'smoke', not 'fate'. We met like this, and I'll disappear like smoke."

Geom Mugeuk then introduced his father and Hwi.

"As you may already know, that heartless man is my father, and that man is my uncle."

Hwi flinched at being introduced as his uncle.

He must have been so flustered. He likely expected to be introduced as a family martial artist or a bodyguard, only to be presented as the father's brother.

While Hwi was flustered, his father wore an expression that said, 'Well done'.

Hwi-ajeossi, you can be my uncle. You're more than qualified.

"If there were a taciturnity contest, these two would take first and second place side-by-side."

Ju Hyangwol smiled in agreement at Geom Mugeuk's words. The two men really were taciturn.

The man introduced as his uncle, in particular, hadn't said a single word. However, she sensed one thing. He was seeing everything and hearing everything.

"Of course, I'm doing their share of the talking for them."

Ju Hyangwol laughed. He really was quite talkative. But then her expression turned serious. This wasn't the time to be sitting around laughing, yet she had been laughing thoughtlessly again.

In the meantime, the newly ordered dishes arrived.

The new dish was placed in front of Ju Hyangwol. Geom Mugeuk ate the leftover food he hadn't been able to eat while talking. His father and Hwi had set some aside for him.

Even though time had passed while they talked, the food hadn't grown cold and was still warm.

Geom Mugeuk could tell. His father had used his Yeolyang-jigi to keep the remaining food warm.

No one would believe it, but I think I take after my father.

During this trip, Geom Mugeuk was gradually seeing a new side of his father.

Ju Hyangwol ate her food in silence. There was a strange comfort in this place, but her heart was filled with worry.

How could Geom Mugeuk not read such feelings?

"Are you worried?"

"To be honest, I don't know what I should do from now on."

This was a statement that would tarnish the honor of the Ju Swordsmanship Family. She should have been sharing these worries with her mother or the family's experts back home.

However, she could already picture the situation she would face upon her return.

Her mother would be displeased that the meeting had broken down. If she told her she had entrusted the important agreement to a stranger, she would absolutely throw a fit. The image of her mother screaming and getting angry came to mind.

But her mother wouldn't know. The suspicion that the alliance with the Yellow Road Trading Company was the wrong choice from the start stemmed from her inability to trust her mother.

It was a mistrust created by her mother's habit of thoughtlessly pouring out her unfiltered emotions onto her child.

This time, too, that mistrust was accurate. Her mother had misjudged her opponent. Moreover, although she couldn't know their exact intentions, the situation was more serious than ever before.

Because she sensed that, she was reluctant to leave this place. The moment she stood up, that grave situation would become her reality.

She wanted to rely on these people. Even knowing she shouldn't, she kept wanting to run away.

"Go back and prepare."

Ju Hyangwol, who had been silently looking down at her food, lifted her head to look at Geom Mugeuk.

"Your opponent has bared its fangs, ready to devour you. So you must prepare to fight."

Geom Mugeuk's words should have given her strength, but instead, her worries only grew.

"My mother won't believe me."

That single sentence was enough to guess the kind of relationship she had with her mother.

Geom Mugeuk, who had been gazing at her for a moment, brought up something unexpected.

"Parents don't usually believe their children. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because they've been through that age themselves. They're the ones who watched us through our formative years, when we were spouting nonsense, being stubborn, lying, and rebelling, aren't they? How could they believe the words of a kid like that who now claims to have matured a little? Isn't a child the kind of person who, even if they came back saying they'd mastered the world number one movement arts, would still be told to watch out for carriages when crossing the street? It's because they remember us running forward, looking only ahead without checking left or right."

Ju Hyangwol said with a faint smile.

"You sound like someone who's raised three children."

"Because the parent-child relationship is a two-way street. We just tend to forget."

Why was that? The moment she heard those words, Ju Hyangwol thought of her mother.

Geom Mugeuk looked at his father.

"Father doesn't believe me either."

He was referring to the time he had backed away from a dangerous spot while training in the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.

At that, Geom Woojin casually tossed a remark to Ju Hyangwol.

"Young Lady, don't you believe that brat either."

Ju Hyangwol couldn't help but smile at his words.

"That's too harsh!"

Contrary to his words, Geom Mugeuk's gaze toward his father was gentle.

You can take your time to believe me. You can believe me later, much later, after this journey is over. It's fine even if you say, 'I believe you,' about five years from now.

Geom Mugeuk spoke to her again.

"So go back and have a talk with your mother."

"I don't have the confidence to persuade my mother."

"That merchant who left earlier will also go back and persuade someone."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Since he failed to reach an agreement today, he'll have to explain this to someone and persuade them. To entrust the job to him again. That he'll definitely succeed next time. An enemy in a more advantageous position than you is making that kind of effort, so why are you trying to give up already?"

"!"

It was an unexpected rebuke.

"That's because you're just thinking based on a vague feeling. Don't do that."

Geom Mugeuk stood up. He went to the spot where Hwang In and she had been sitting and brought back the brush she had been about to use.

"Write it down. What you'll say and how you'll say it. How you'll start, what you'll do if your mother reacts a certain way. Write it all down."

Ju Hyangwol stared at Geom Mugeuk with a surprised expression. At first, she thought he was joking, but he was being serious.

"What if it still doesn't work?"

"Write that down, too. What you'll do then."

"!"

"It might seem easy, but there's nothing harder than persuading someone. And persuading family is the hardest of all. It's difficult precisely because you know each other too well. So don't try to persuade her, approach it with the mindset of having a long-overdue conversation. Have you ever asked what your mother has been worried about lately? Do you even know if she's eating properly?"

Ju Hyangwol couldn't say anything.

For some time now, she had only been focusing on her mother's mistakes while longing for her father.

Ju Hyangwol stood up. His words about Hwang In persuading someone, and his advice to have a conversation instead of trying to persuade her, made her shoot to her feet.

Right, this is no time to be running away. I won't become such a weak person.

"Thank you for the advice."

She looked at Geom Woojin. Her father's image overlapped with his again.

Father, I'll be strong.

"Thank you so much for today."

As she was about to turn and leave, she glanced back and spoke.

"By the way, this safest safe in the murim, I can find it when I want to, right?"

Geom Mugeuk laughed, playing along with her first-ever joke.

"Look at that face and judge for yourself. For one, I can't open it."

As if she were really going to make that judgment, she stared at Geom Woojin for a moment. Then she bowed respectfully and left the inn.

Now, only the three of them remained in the inn.

"Seeing as she has the composure to even make a joke, I think she'll do well when she goes back."

Separate from that, Geom Woojin had his own worries.

"The Yellow Road Trading Company are not people the Ju Swordsmanship Family can handle."

This statement made it clear. The Yellow Road Trading Company was connected to the mastermind behind this incident in some way.

"I suppose so."

Geom Woojin asked, "Knowing that, why did you provoke her?"

"We'll be taking the lead in handling this matter anyway, but they need to change too. If they can't, they'll be devoured by someone else someday."

He added a silly joke to that.

"I'm definitely my father's son!"

"She's a woman who likes you more than me, Father, so we have to help her. I really felt your popularity this time. As expected, just like before, this joke didn't land."

He thought his father might snap, 'Nonsense!' Instead, his father wore an expression that seemed to say, 'I was quite popular back in my day.' In any case, no one could imitate that arrogant, self-satisfied expression.

"What will you do now?" Geom Woojin asked, wanting his son's thoughts first.

"They'll probably come to snatch the agreement first, right?"

This wasn't a guess based on their connection to the mastermind. It was because of what Hwang In had said earlier.

[I'm someone who is meticulous about give and take.]

Though disguised with a merchant's smile, that man was the type who couldn't stand being in debt.

"He seems like a cautious person, so he'll try to dig into our identities first."

Predictions born from Geom Mugeuk's vast experience flowed out effortlessly.

"He emphasized that he's just a merchant, so he probably won't act directly. He'll likely hire an information broker to figure out our identities."

The one thing that absolutely could not be allowed to happen was for his or his father's identity to be revealed.

"I plan to deal with the information brokers beforehand. To make sure our fake identities flow to them."

Geom Woojin nodded silently.

Hwi, watching him, could feel it. The Cult Leader was pleased with his son's judgment. He had served the Cult Leader for a long time, but he had never seen him reveal his emotions so clearly as he had recently.

Hwi understood this change in the Cult Leader.

Having always been by his side, he had heard all sorts of information about Geom Mugeuk. Who he eliminated here, and who he eliminated there.

However, the Geom Mugeuk he heard about and the Geom Mugeuk he was experiencing firsthand were completely different.

Through this journey, he was feeling it for certain. The Young Cult Leader was a person whose process shone more brightly than his results.

If he had only heard the results of this incident back at the Heavenly Demon Hall, he would only know the fact that the Young Cult Leader had helped the Ju Swordsmanship Family against the schemes of the Yellow Road Trading Company.

If so, all these other things would have been omitted.

The fishing bet they made on the way here, the walks and martial arts training with the Cult Leader, the advice he gave to Ju Hyangwol. Even the way he tried to find a place for him, a mere bodyguard.

All of that emotional exchange would have been omitted, and he would never have known. If he hadn't experienced it alongside them, he would never have known how brightly those moments shone.

The Cult Leader was now experiencing that son. The five years the Young Cult Leader had requested were ticking by even at this moment.

Until this journey, Hwi had considered it an impossible challenge for the Young Cult Leader. He believed the Cult Leader's mind would never change. However, during this trip, he felt the thought that maybe, just maybe, that wasn't the case, growing little by little.

"We'll disguise ourselves as the Gansu Western Blade Sect."

Whenever he used the name Geom Yeon, he always disguised himself as a member of that sect. Since it was a sect actually run by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the more one investigated, the more solid the disguise became.

"So, an orthodox sect."

As expected, his father had a displeased expression.

"If not for an opportunity like this, when else would you get to play the part of an orthodox sect's Patriarch?"

Geom Woojin scoffed and asked, "And then?"

He looked curious about what choice his son would make.

"Aren't the ones we're looking for behind those guys?"

As if confirming those words were true, Geom Woojin silently waited for what came next.

"Dealing with these guys is easier than flipping my palm. But if we handle them recklessly, the forces behind them will hide themselves away or prepare for us."

He had to approach them naturally and dig in. To do that, the Yellow Road Trading Company could actually be an opportunity.

Geom Mugeuk revealed his plan.

"That's why I'm going to make them write another agreement. The kind of agreement that is made to be absolutely advantageous to the stronger party."

That meant he intended to make them draw in the Western Blade Sect, the sect they were planning to disguise themselves as.

"And we'll sign that agreement exactly as it's written."