Chapter 637: I'd Like to Hear That Rash Thought of Yours

TL: FoodieMonster007

Jin Hagun was consumed by worry during the entire journey back to the Chairman's Hall. He agonized over how he should report his findings about the Heaven's Edge Hermit to his grandfather.

This task was like a test for the successor, so providing a clear answer would have been best. In the end, however, the only conclusion Jin Hagun could reach was this.

"Honestly, I'm not sure."

His grandfather, who he had expected to be disappointed, simply nodded his head in silence.

Jin Paecheon considered this a natural outcome.

He thought about the possibilities. What if the Heaven's Edge Hermit was a true villain? How could his grandson possibly uncover a scheme so deep and terrifying that it had deceived even him?

And what if he was not a villain? Suspecting an innocent person would naturally lead to confusion and uncertainty. Either way, it was a difficult situation to understand.

Jin Paecheon rose from his grand chair and walked slowly to the window. The view of the Murim Alliance spread out below the Chairman's Hall.

He had lived his entire life to protect this unchanging scenery. And now, he felt he was facing a battle more difficult than any he had ever experienced.

From behind him, Jin Hagun's question came.

"Are you going to see the Hermit?"

Jin Paecheon nodded.

"A friend of mine was ambushed. I have to go see him."

The time had come to meet the man in person.

Jin Paecheon wondered how he should handle him. His grandson, with his great faith in Geom Mugeuk, believed this incident was not a conspiracy by the Demonic Cult. He himself, however, could not afford to think so simply. He had to consider various possibilities because a single misunderstanding could cost him his closest friend.

Just then, an unexpected report came from the air.

"The Acting Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult requests an audience."

Jin Paecheon, who had been gazing out the window, turned around. Jin Hagun also could not hide his surprised expression. It seemed Geom Mugeuk had come without even informing his grandson beforehand.

He wondered why Geom Mugeuk came here himself. It was one of two things. Either he truly believed the Heaven's Edge Hermit was the mastermind, or they themselves were plotting a conspiracy.

Jin Paecheon said calmly, "Show him in."

"……"

Jin Hagun felt a change in his grandfather's aura. The gentleness he showed his grandson was gone, replaced by the dignity and authority of the Chairman of the Murim Alliance.

His grandfather was now standing on a battlefield. Though Geom Mugeuk was his friend, he was making his grandfather tense.

As if to prove it, Jin Paecheon reiterated a certain fact.

"Don't forget. What you said about where he ranks in your trust."

Jin Hagun had said he trusted Geom Mugeuk fifth. This was after his belief that they were in the right, his grandfather, his subordinates in the Demon Slaying Brigade, and the martial artists of the Murim Alliance.

His grandfather was telling him now not to be swayed by pointless friendship and let his emotions take over.

"I will keep that in mind."

A moment later, Geom Mugeuk entered the Chairman's Hall with his bamboo hat pulled down low. He removed his hat at the entrance, walked slowly to the foot of the grand chair, and bowed with polite respect.

"Greetings, Chairman. Have you been well?"

Jin Paecheon walked down from his grand chair. He too greeted Geom Mugeuk with formal respect.

"Welcome, Cult Leader Geom."

He addressed him as the Acting Cult Leader Geom, not Young Cult Leader Geom. A personal relationship was one thing, but there was a separate etiquette to be observed between the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Murim Alliance.

"Please, be at ease. I didn't come today as the Acting Cult Leader, but as Hagun's friend."

As he said this, Geom Mugeuk looked at Jin Hagun. Their gazes met in mid-air, and an unspoken understanding was contained in their eyes.

Good to see you, friend.

Do you always have to surprise people like this?

Although his grandfather was watching, Jin Hagun could not hide his delight. The moment he saw Geom Mugeuk, he could not contain his happiness. Even though this was the man who always teased him, he was just so glad to see him.

Geom Mugeuk spoke politely to Jin Paecheon again.

"I arrived in Wuhan today. I moved covertly since this matter concerns the elder. I apologize for not giving notice in advance."

Since he was paying his respects on the day of his arrival, it meant he had not been operating secretly in Wuhan. In other words, the only issue was that he had arrived without prior contact. There was no problem with Geom Mugeuk being in Wuhan.

Jin Paecheon nodded silently and asked in a gentle tone, "How is it, being the Cult Leader?"

Geom Mugeuk looked up at the grand chair on the dais. The Chairman's grand chair was likely just as uncomfortable as his father's. If one sat there comfortably, the seat would have already been taken by his father.

"I've learned just how difficult it is to protect that seat."

He then turned to Jin Hagun and remarked, "Hey, friend. This is a much better time for you."

Jin Hagun only offered a faint smile at Geom Mugeuk's words.

"What? You don't believe me?"

Geom Mugeuk turned to Jin Paecheon.

"Please give him the position for a while to teach him a lesson about how hard it is. It's unfair that I'm the only one suffering."

Jin Hagun knew what Geom Mugeuk was doing. This kind of joke was also his way of saying, "Please entrust the successor's position to your grandson soon."

Grandfather, how can you not trust a man like this?

He was the one who had already saved his life and his younger sister's life as well. This man had stood before him in many forms. There were times he was not the Young Cult Leader, times he was, and now he stood here as the Acting Cult Leader.

Though the positions were different, he was always the same. That was why Jin Hagun could be certain. Even when he ascends to the position of Cult Leader, Geom Mugeuk would be the exact same person he was now.

"To be honest, when I first came, I intended to move secretly. I thought this was a matter for the Murim Alliance to resolve, not us."

"But why did you change your mind?"

Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned to Jin Hagun.

"I remembered a promise I made with my friend a long time ago. That we'd always contact each other if anything happened. That we'd always help each other if there was danger."

At that, Jin Paecheon asked slyly, "And you're not the most dangerous one?"

Geom Mugeuk's voice turned sinister as he replied, "Indeed, I am the most dangerous."

He seemed to admit it readily.

"Only to the wicked, though. I don't have the magnanimity and mercy you show to villains, Chairman. I don't believe in rehabilitation either."

Seeing an opportunity to understand Geom Mugeuk's thoughts, Jin Paecheon asked calmly, "Why don't you believe in it?"

"Because for the one sinner out of a hundred who can be reformed, the other ninety-nine wicked people use rehabilitation as a shield."

He was saying he would prevent the greater tragedies created by careless forgiveness.

The words, "Shouldn't we still save that one person?" did not come from Jin Paecheon. With his hegemonic nature, Jin Paecheon agreed on this point at least.

"I have no mercy for the wicked either."

"That is why I respect you, Chairman."

Geom Mugeuk met Jin Paecheon's intense gaze head-on.

"I believed I had to get your permission, Chairman, before I began to handle this matter."

This level of courtesy was more than enough. No, considering the past, it was an overabundance of courtesy. When had the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult ever notified them before taking action? Things were only changing because Geom Mugeuk had become the Young Cult Leader.

Jin Paecheon asked carefully. He had wanted to ask this question from the moment he heard Geom Mugeuk had arrived.

"This incident, what are your thoughts on it?"

Not just Jin Paecheon, but Jin Hagun too was curious about what Geom Mugeuk thought.

"Are you asking for my rash thought, when I've just arrived and haven't even seen the Heaven's Edge Hermit's face yet?"

Jin Paecheon nodded.

"Yes, I'd like to hear that rash thought of yours."

Geom Mugeuk paused for a moment. With that brief silence, he showed that what he was about to say was by no means a rash answer. Then, Geom Mugeuk stated firmly, "I believe the Heaven's Edge Hermit is the mastermind behind this incident and is a villain."

A heavy silence filled the Chairman's Hall.

Jin Paecheon knew well what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was. This was the man who had brought him and the Evil Alliance Chairman to a shabby tavern in front of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult Headquarters. This was the man who made his granddaughter dance with the heir of the Evil Alliance in front of so many masters. The man who danced with them there. The man who ended a succession war without shedding blood.

And that man had said this.

Your friend, Chairman, is a villain.

Even before hearing the reason, his chest began to feel tight. He knew there would surely be a plausible reason.

Jin Hagun asked in his grandfather's stead.

"May I ask for your reason?"

Jin Hagun was exactly half-believing and half-doubting. His grandfather might not want to face the truth, but he had to hear it to protect his grandfather and to protect the Alliance.

Although Jin Hagun asked, the answer was directed at Jin Paecheon.

"Because I would have chosen that method myself."

"!"

It was an emotional, yet more powerful answer than any other. Coming from Geom Mugeuk, the answer carried even more weight. It was a method a man as brilliant as him would choose.

"Gaining your trust, Chairman, is the same as gaining the trust of the entire orthodox sects murim. If the Heaven's Edge Hermit wasn't known to be your close friend, Chairman, do you think he could have gained his current reputation?"

He probably couldn't have. There are countless people in the murim who practice righteousness and perform acts of chivalry. Yet the reason Hwa Yulcheong became known as the representative of them all is because he is the friend of the Murim Alliance's Chairman.

Geom Mugeuk asked something unexpected.

"Do you remember when you first became friends with the Heaven's Edge Hermit?"

Jin Paecheon nodded.

"How did you meet?"

Geom Mugeuk began to dig into their very first encounter.

Jin Paecheon recounted that day from long ago. There was a time in his youth when he wandered as a righteous martial artist. Around that time, while passing through a village, he heard the sounds of a fight.

"When I rushed over, my friend was fighting bandits from the Viridian Forest who had attacked the village."

That was his first meeting with him. He helped him defeat all the bandits.

Jin Paecheon realized the intention behind Geom Mugeuk's words.

"You seem to be suggesting that our meeting was planned."

As expected, Geom Mugeuk nodded and asked, "Why do you think it wasn't?"

"Many villagers died that day, not just bandits. There were more dead than living."

Jin Paecheon let out a sigh and added, "Even several children died. He… he is not that kind of person."

Jin Paecheon answered firmly. He could concede, a hundred times over, that the man might have approached him with intent. But to approach him by sacrificing innocent lives who had not even learned martial arts?

The image of him clutching a dead child and sobbing his heart out flashed in his mind. Were those tears not genuine? Those tears, which were still so vividly etched in his memory?

"That's impossible."

Geom Mugeuk did not insist.

"Didn't I say so? That it was my rash thought, having not even seen the Heaven's Edge Hermit's face yet. My thoughts were excessive."

But in his heart, he did not think it was excessive at all. He had a similar experience. When he returned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to find the final ingredient for the great ritual, the Secret Demon Soul. Back then, he had deceived everyone for the sole purpose of obtaining the Secret Demon Soul.

What if this man possessed a similar will?

Geom Mugeuk did not reveal these inner thoughts.

"For now, Commander Jin and I will investigate this matter. I don't know what kind of person he is, but since he tried to use your friendship, Chairman, we should use our friendship to deal with him."

Jin Hagun nodded. He felt a conviction that with Geom Mugeuk, they could surely uncover the truth. Jin Hagun's pride was no longer hurt by this sense of relief. Instead, he was grateful to have such a trustworthy friend.

Jin Paecheon, on the other hand, was silent.

He knew that even though Geom Mugeuk had taken a step back by calling his words rash, he still believed the Heaven's Edge Hermit was the mastermind. If he did not have that conviction, he would not have called him a villain in the first place.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk offered some unexpected advice.

"When you meet your friend, tell him everything honestly."

The scope of that honesty was beyond what he had imagined.

"Tell him that I've come, and that Hagun and I strongly suspect him. Tell him honestly how you feel, Chairman, that you're troubled because the Demonic Cult keeps acting this way."

It was truly surprising advice, but there was a reason for it.

"As someone who has protected the Chairman's seat for so long, you must have seen countless schemers. If you wanted to, you could probably deceive the Heaven's Edge Hermit without him noticing."

No, he thought, he probably could not. The opponent was someone who had been by the Chairman's side for decades. He was someone who knew the Chairman better than anyone else.

"Even so, why should you, Chairman, engage in a battle of deception? You possess a much stronger weapon."

The weapon Geom Mugeuk spoke of was this.

"Fight with the truth. You are the one who has led the orthodox sects murim with a life free of lies, are you not? A half-hearted truth would only be exploited by a cunning villain, but your truth, Chairman, will be as strong as ten-thousand-year-old cold steel."

Was it because he could not bring himself to lie in front of his grandson? With a troubled expression, Jin Paecheon confessed, "I'm good at lying, too. I've dealt with people using lies before."

Geom Mugeuk smiled pleasantly.

"Yes, fight with that truth right there."

Of course, he did not think the Chairman's truth would defeat the man. If sincerity or truth worked on them, why would they be called evil? Still, there was a reason he gave the Chairman this advice.

It was because if the Chairman met him in his current complicated state of mind, he would be defeated, one hundred times out of one hundred. He knew he would be swayed by the man's intentions.

No matter how smart a person is, no matter how strong, the moment they are swayed by an opponent, it's over. In fact, being smart and strong makes them get entangled deeper and more intensely.

That was why he had set a standard for him. He was telling him to hold on tight to that which he had steadily built up by being so steadfast, perhaps even frustratingly so. To use his pious and resolute life as a weapon.

If Chairman Jin Paecheon could just face him without being swayed.

"Then you might see something that only you, Chairman, can recognize."