Chapter 540: Will I Be There Then, Too?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Jin Haryong also stepped forward, her reflection joining them in the mirror.

"We all owe you our lives, and now you're trying to save everyone again."

If it hadn't been for Geom Mugeuk, neither she nor her Orabeoni would be alive. The Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman had also claimed to be alive because of Geom Mugeuk. Jin Haryong knew that Bi Sayin's life had been saved thanks to him as well.

The gazes of the two people reflected in the mirror shifted to the one person who remained.

"Even if you all did something wrong and were killed for a just reason, I'd still live a life filled with anger. Maybe not every single day, but on the days I thought of you, I'd fly into a rage. Just try to picture it. Me, living my life taking out my frustrations on other people."

The idea of Geom Mugeuk saying things to hurt people, the complete opposite of how he was now, was something Jin Haryong didn't even want to imagine.

"But to lose you to some schemers plotting from the shadows? And here, in a place I called you to? I'm not doing this for you. It's for me, because I'm the one who would suffer for the rest of my life. So don't you even dream of getting hurt or dying!"

With that declaration, Geom Mugeuk was the first to exit the room.

Jin Hagun looked back at his sister and spoke calmly. "This is why we should've rushed here the moment we got the message."

Jin Haryong had something she needed to say to her Orabeoni. "Don't give your heart too much to the Young Cult Leader."

"……"

"Because you'll suffer far more than he will, Orabeoni."

She was talking about the chance that they might lose each other. Regardless of what the Young Cult Leader said, she wasn't worried about him. To her, that was simply the kind of person Geom Mugeuk was. Her concern was for her Orabeoni.

Jin Hagun glanced at the mirror again and adjusted his clothes. "I'm a selfish person, too. Being that kind of person… I suppose I would have had such worries."

Just admitting his worries to Geom Mugeuk had made him feel much lighter. It was true, how could this path ever be simple? Still, it was enough that someone genuinely understood and supported him on this difficult journey.

Jin Haryong had been secretly surprised when Jin Hagun confessed his concerns. She had believed he was truly enjoying his position as the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade.

If he had shared his worries with anyone else, she would have definitely felt jealous. It was a burden he had never once mentioned to her.

"You're the one who shouldn't give him your heart away."

"I won't. And it's not like anything would happen even if I did."

At her words, Jin Hagun's voice suddenly rose. "What's wrong with you?"

It wasn't the roar of the Demon Slaying Brigade's leader, but the roar of a big brother.

Of course, it was also a shout that had no follow-up. He couldn't very well tell her not to pursue a relationship with the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

Jin Hagun spun around and strode out of the room.

Now alone, Jin Haryong perched on the edge of Geom Mugeuk's bed.

"How can I give my heart to him?"

After a short pause, she added softly.

"When I've already given it away."

Jin Hagun and the Demon Slaying Brigade were deployed to the Thousand Flower Palace.

"The liquor is stored in this warehouse. When an order comes in, you can get it from here. The list of liquors is right here."

Yeo Jong led them on a tour, explaining their duties.

While learning the tasks from her, Jin Hagun assigned the Demon Slaying Brigade martial artists to different rooms. He had them plan ahead where and how to conceal their swords and how to evacuate the courtesans during an emergency.

The Demon Slaying Brigade martial artists had no complaints about the mission. They were already indebted to Geom Mugeuk from past events.

If anything, this type of work in a brothel was a novel experience. How long had it been since they had worn clothes other than their martial arts uniforms?

The courtesans of the Headquarters had been personally selected by Yeo Jong, so they were unfazed by the recent string of changes.

Instead, the newly arrived martial artists from the Demon Slaying Brigade became a topic of conversation among them.

They gossiped about which martial artist was handsome, who was kind, and who looked like whom.

A few days went by as they all grew accustomed to one another.

"Am I the only one who's this anxious?"

The person Jin Haryong had stopped was Jin Hagun. With his hands full of liquor bottles, he looked at his sister.

"I'm busy, a customer is waiting!"

Jin Hagun hurried past her and ran off.

He wasn't the only one. The Demon Slaying Brigade martial artists had also adapted to the work quickly. Some of them looked as if they had genuinely worked there for years. One martial artist had even received a love letter from a courtesan.

The Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman also behaved as if nothing was amiss, diligently carrying out her duties as Pavilion Master while looking after the courtesans.

In the end, the person Jin Haryong went to find was Geom Mugeuk.

He was shut away inside his residence, doing who knows what.

"Aren't you worried?"

"About what?"

"Right now, the Demon Slaying Brigade and its leader are carrying liquor bottles in the Thousand Flower Palace. Don't you think the secret might've already leaked?"

Even if this was the Thousand Flower Palace Headquarters, it felt like the secret could get out. No, it probably already had.

"Yes, they probably know."

"They know? Does that mean the people who came out of the Trading Company that day think, 'Those guys carrying the liquor are Demon Slaying Brigade martial artists'?"

"That's right."

And he was still letting them carry liquor so casually?

"They probably know everything. That I'm here, and that the Demon Slaying Brigade has come. They'll even know that you followed."

"Then shouldn't we strike the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company first to find out who's behind them?"

"……"

Faced with this question, Jin Haryong was the one who became flustered.

"Well, don't you people have ways to make them talk?"

"You seem to be expecting some mysterious, grand technique to make them confess. We're the same as you. We pull out fingernails and sear them with fire."

"We don't do things like that!"

"You do, too."

Jin Haryong couldn't strongly deny it. There was no guarantee that a poker wasn't being heated red-hot somewhere in the Murim Alliance's underground torture chamber.

"Anyway, why not do it? Your friend's life is on the line, isn't it?"

Geom Mugeuk answered calmly.

"Because our friend's honor is also at stake."

Jin Haryong flinched.

The Hundred Prosperities Trading Company was a company that belonged to the Evil Alliance. To attack them without definite evidence would be an act of disrespect toward the Evil Alliance.

"If anyone should strike, it should be Sayin."

Jin Haryong's face flushed slightly as she acknowledged his point.

"My thinking was short-sighted."

Besides, they had now sent an official invitation to Bi Sayin.

Then, Geom Mugeuk spoke calmly.

"This is why."

"What is?"

"It feels like they're deliberately trying to draw us in."

For a moment, Jin Haryong's eyes widened with surprise.

"From anyone's perspective, the current situation is one where I should be contacting the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company or finding something out from them, right? To the point where you came to me, pressing me about why I haven't attacked. Do you really think they haven't considered that?"

She hadn't thought that far ahead. What if Geom Mugeuk's prediction was right? What if the enemy was skilled enough to set a trap at the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company and wait?

"Then this is a really dangerous situation, isn't it?"

Geom Mugeuk then asked her a question in return.

"Dangerous? Who? The inside of the Thousand Flower Palace is guarded by the Demon Slaying Brigade, and the outside by the Faceless Warriors. And I'm here, and the Smiling Demon is here. And you and Commander Jin are here, and Young Alliance Chairman Bi will be coming with the Thirteen Evil Wolves."

The lineup of forces was enough to make one question if the situation could truly be called dangerous.

"If you were the enemy, could you make a move in this situation?"

At Geom Mugeuk's question, Jin Haryong shook her head.

"I would've run away without a second glance."

Indeed, to win against this side, one would have to declare a war.

"But they're staying put. They haven't canceled the invitation. That must mean they have a dangerous move up their sleeve."

What she didn't understand about Geom Mugeuk's words was this.

"You don't want anyone to get hurt or die, right? Then why not avoid it? You could refuse the invitation and strike the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company with Young Alliance Chairman Bi, couldn't you?"

Then, an unexpected answer came from Geom Mugeuk.

"Then they wouldn't be able to use the move they've prepared."

Just as she was thinking that would be for the best, she flinched in shock.

"Don't tell me you're…?"

Her suspicion was correct.

Geom Mugeuk nodded and confirmed it. "Yes, I have to find out what that move is."

"……" Jin Haryong could see it now. Geom Mugeuk was actually trying to lure the enemy in.

"Because even if it's not used now, it will definitely be used someday." He added a sentence that answered Jin Haryong's unasked question.

"Will I be there then, too?"

"!"

Geom Mugeuk was worried that this ultimate move would be unleashed somewhere he wasn't present. When he wasn't there for Jin Hagun, when he wasn't there for Bi Sayin, or when he wasn't there for someone else.

If the move was that powerful, he planned to step forward and block it himself while he was here.

Jin Haryong quickly remembered the words he had spoken while looking in the mirror a few days ago.

[None of us will get hurt or die. My flashy demonic path is far too selfish compared to your righteous path to ever let me see such a thing.]

So very selfish, indeed. To worry so much about the well-being of others. To worry not just about the present situation, but also about a future that might never come to pass.

"Doesn't it exhaust you, living like this?"

Geom Mugeuk held an unwavering belief in his way of life.

"If people who didn't have to die end up dying because I don't live like this… that would be exhausting."

Saving those who shouldn't die was the calling of his life.

Geom Mugeuk smiled and said. "Don't worry too much. If we die, they won't get away unscathed either. The revenge of the Cult Leaders and Chairmen of the orthodox and unorthodox factions who lost their children and disciples will begin."

"Don't smile! It's not funny at all."

Her Orabeoni must trust Geom Mugeuk even more than she did. He was likely just trusting that Geom Mugeuk had prepared for everything and was carrying liquor with a peaceful mind.

"What should I do? Should I wash dishes in the kitchen?"

"No. You should protect the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman."

Just as Jin Hagun had, Jin Haryong readily accepted.

"I will. But unlike my Orabeoni, I can't make a promise. I can't protect her to the point of my own death, but I will protect her right up until the moment I die."

Geom Mugeuk smiled and told her.

"Protecting someone until just before you die and then getting away is harder than protecting them until you die."

Three days before Bi Sayin was due to arrive, Geom Mugeuk gathered everyone to his residence. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, Jin Hagun, Jin Haryong, and even Yeo Jong were present.

A high pile of documents sat on Geom Mugeuk's desk. It was all the information that the All-Knowing Hall and the Hidden Moon had investigated and sent over so far.

The documents detailed the people belonging to the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company, their financial situations, and their relationships with one another. Their connections to other Trading Companies were also included. It was information that had thoroughly exposed everything about the Hundred Prosperities Trading Company.

Geom Mugeuk relayed the most critical piece of information to everyone.

"The Hundred Prosperities Trading Company recently finished an expansion. They widened the training grounds and tore down old buildings to build new ones. And the All-Knowing Hall has discovered that there were special materials used in that construction."

The All-Knowing Hall had not missed even the materials used in the construction.

"So it was a disguised construction."

At the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's guess, Geom Mugeuk nodded in reply.

"Yes. Based on an analysis of the materials and components, it seems they've installed offensive mechanisms and formations. Top-grade ones at that. They say it will be very deadly."

At the mention of deadly mechanisms and formations, everyone's expression grew serious. Such things were not simple to construct, and even if one could find a master craftsman to build them, the cost would be enormous.

Jin Haryong looked at Geom Mugeuk with a surprised expression.

"Your prediction was right. The Hundred Prosperities Trading Company was a trap."

As Geom Mugeuk slowly nodded, this time Jin Hagun asked.

"What do you intend to do?"

All eyes focused on Geom Mugeuk. He had already reached a decision before calling them here.

"Letting the Evil Alliance decide when to smash that place is a matter for later. For now, let's just prepare the feast for our friend. Please prepare the best liquor and the most amazing dishes."

Geom Mugeuk looked around at everyone and added.

"Because the real party will begin only after this feast ends well."

Deep in the night at a cemetery, the distant howl of a wolf could be heard.

The old tombstones, which looked as if they might crumble at a touch, intensified the eerie atmosphere.

The Hundred Prosperities Trading Company Vice Director Pyeong Wi stood there. He had been tense the entire time he waited for someone. He had good reason to be.

What he was waiting for emerged from the darkness.

The thing that flew through the night sky, floating in mid-air, was a palanquin.

The palanquin had a unique atmosphere. It was painted completely black, making it seem as if a chunk of darkness had broken off and was moving on its own. Around the palanquin were four people dressed in black with black veils covering their faces. They too flew along, floating at the four corners of the palanquin, and the aura they exuded was anything but ordinary.

From the lanterns in their hands, a bizarre blue light, like one that would only come from the eyes of a ghost, flowed out. It felt like a palanquin connecting the world of the living and the dead.

THUD. THUDUDUDUK.

All life in the palanquin's path died. Birds and insects fell to the ground with a patter, and flowers withered and died in an instant. Even the trees dried up and twisted.

The palanquin stopped in the air before Pyeong Wi.

Pyeong Wi spoke in a polite tone. "It is finally tomorrow."

Tomorrow was the day they had invited Bi Sayin. Tomorrow night, he himself would go to the Thousand Flower Palace to meet Bi Sayin.

A woman's voice came from within the floating palanquin. "I can feel fear from you."

It was a captivating and dreamlike voice that seemed to shake the listener's soul.

Pyeong Wi's eyes trembled. How could he not be afraid? No matter what plan they had, he had to walk into a place where the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, the Evil Alliance Young Alliance Chairman, and the head of the Demon Slaying Brigade were all gathered.

The woman's sweet voice flowed from the palanquin again. "Do not be afraid."

A mournful wind blew, and the clouds covered the moon.

"The night is always on our side."