Chapter 676: You're Supposed to Talk Behind Their Back

TL: FoodieMonster007

The celebratory banquet stretched on until the break of dawn. Everyone drank and conversed as if this night would be their last chance to see one another.

However, just as time flies faster in good company, the heartless hours moved with incredible speed. The night passed in a flash, and the moment of farewell arrived.

Han Seol was the first to say her goodbyes. She had spent the entire night talking with Jin Haryong and had grown quite close to her.

"I'll pay my respects to the Chairman and stay a few more days before returning to the North Sea."

She had decided to accompany Jin Haryong to the Chairman's Hall to greet the head of the Murim Alliance. After staying for a few more days, she would then depart.

This journey had truly given her the experience of meeting the leaders of all three major factions: the orthodox, the unorthodox, and the demonic.

Bi Sayin promised that they would meet again.

"I will see you next time."

He delivered the farewell as calmly and composedly as he could manage. For that reason, his regret felt even more profound.

Han Seol bowed her head and expressed her gratitude.

"Thanks to you, I had a wonderful time seeing the Central Plains."

She knew very well that a blunt and reserved man like Bi Sayin had made a great effort for her sake.

"I'll be sure to show you the North Sea next time."

As if to prove she was not just making an empty promise, she mentioned showing him the North Sea once more, which greatly lifted Bi Sayin's spirits.

"I will look forward to that day."

Geom Mugeuk, who had been listening, decided to chime in.

"What about us? We want to see the North Sea too! And drink Ice Wine on the snowy mountains!"

He expected Han Seol to reply with something like, "Of course, I'll invite all of you," but her response was different.

"Young Cult Leader, you've been there before, haven't you? You even had Ice Wine."

With those words, she gave a slight bow and turned away. She was making her firm intention to invite only Bi Sayin perfectly clear.

A smile that he could not possibly conceal crept onto Bi Sayin's lips.

Wearing an expression that said, 'I can't let this slide,' Geom Mugeuk dragged Jin Hagun into the conversation.

"And you still say you'll go help the Ice Palace?"

Jin Hagun nodded firmly.

"Of course I'll help. She said she'd invite me separately."

"What? When?"

"With her brother."

Geom Mugeuk feigned a shiver and muttered under his breath.

"Our Cult will attack the Ice Palace!"

"I'm telling you, we're going to help them!"

The Evil Alliance joined in, siding with the will of the Murim Alliance.

"We'll go help too."

"You're all so mean!"

Jin Hagun and Bi Sayin laughed together at his antics.

Watching them, a thought suddenly struck Geom Muyang.

A murim where these three become the Cult Leader and the Chairman might usher in an era the previous generation could never have imagined.

It would be a murim that had never been seen before and would never be seen again.

To his own surprise, Geom Muyang found himself secretly looking forward to that murim. He was curious about that kind of jianghu.

Jin Haryong then bid farewell to Geom Mugeuk.

"Go back safely."

She turned away more cleanly than she ever had before.

It was because she felt an overwhelming sense of regret. Perhaps it was because she had sensed the strange current flowing between Bi Sayin and Han Seol, but parting with Geom Mugeuk felt more regrettable than usual.

Of course, Geom Mugeuk did not just let her go.

"Don't reveal your hidden ambitions to your Orabeoni! If you get caught, run to us!"

A faint smile touched Jin Haryong's lips as she heard Geom Mugeuk's words from behind her.

"To catch me and hand me over to my Orabeoni?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"The three of you are always plotting like that, how could I not know?"

With that, Jin Haryong and Han Seol were the first to leave the gathering. As she walked into the distance, Han Seol glanced back at Bi Sayin and slightly lifted the teddy bear.

A bright smile spread across Bi Sayin's face. It seemed that for a while, he would be hearing, "Is something good going on?" from the First Wolf, the leader of the Thirteen Evil Wolves.

Now, it was time for the three heirs to bid each other farewell. At the very end, they did not forget about the peace of the murim.

"Their leadership is still intact. So don't forget that something similar could happen at any time."

Jin Hagun and Bi Sayin nodded at Geom Mugeuk's words. They had already experienced more than enough of what their enemies were capable of.

"If anything strange happens, you must contact us. Got it? Don't you dare try to handle it alone!"

In the past, they would have let such words go in one ear and out the other. This time, however, Jin Hagun and Bi Sayin both nodded in agreement.

"Well then, see you next time!"

After the three exchanged a final glance, they each began walking in different directions.

Geom Mugeuk, who had already walked some distance, looked back and shouted.

"I miss you guys already! When should we meet again?"

Jin Hagun and Bi Sayin smiled silently and continued on their way without looking back.

Geom Muyang saw it. He saw Geom Mugeuk's face after he had joked until the very end and then turned back around. The playfulness was gone, replaced by a calm and serious expression. This was his true self, but he was trying so hard.

Even if I die, I could never live like you.

The two brothers walked in silence for a moment.

"Hyung."

When a long time passed with no other words, Geom Muyang asked.

"You called me, why aren't you saying anything?"

"I just felt like calling you."

After they walked for a while longer, Geom Mugeuk spoke again.

"Hyung, make me a promise. That you'll grant me one favor later."

"No."

"Without even hearing what the favor is?"

"Because it'll obviously be some ridiculous request."

"That's why I'm asking you, Hyung. Who else would grant such a ridiculous request?"

"……"

Far in the distance, the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. The two of them naturally stopped walking to watch the sight.

Through this trip outside the Cult, Geom Muyang saw a new side of life. He had only left the Cult to catch the person who made the fake hidden weapons, furious that they had nearly killed his younger brother.

Originally, his life had been set on a single path. Catch the bastard and kill him. He had lived such a determined life, believing that was all his life was meant to be.

However, this time he encountered a different side of life. He saved the younger sister of the person who made the counterfeit hidden weapons, watched the rain from under the eaves, secretly observed someone, and even played a bamboo flute in front of people.

Geom Muyang glanced at Geom Mugeuk standing beside him. The light that flew in, awakening the world, brightly illuminated his brother's face.

Come to think of it, his brother had been saying it all along. Let's live a different life. Let's not fight a succession battle where we kill each other. Let's have a different kind of succession battle.

When Geom Mugeuk felt his gaze and looked back, Geom Muyang spoke.

"Should we run?"

A smile brighter than the spreading sunlight bloomed on Geom Mugeuk's face. It was the first time his hyung had ever suggested they run together.

"Sounds good."

The two of them unleashed their movement arts and began to run forward. Running alongside his hyung, Geom Mugeuk shouted.

"Let's go. Home!"

Back at their Cult, long-awaited news was waiting for them.

"The Cult Leader has completed his seclusion training."

Upon hearing that news, Geom Mugeuk headed straight for the Cult Leader's hall with his hyung.

He had actually expected the seclusion training to last much longer. It was training for the next stage of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, an art in which his father had already achieved complete mastery.

But he came out sooner than expected. Then again, for someone of his father's caliber, the duration of the training probably meant nothing.

Did he truly make progress with the Nine Calamities Demonic Art?

"Finally, my time as the Acting Cult Leader is over!"

"Are you sad about it?"

"Sad? Pfft! Hyung, you have no idea. There's so much work in that position. Maybe Father ran away under the excuse of seclusion training because he didn't want to work either."

"Is Father you?"

"How did you know? I left the Cult because I didn't want to work."

Geom Muyang shook his head with a look that said his brother was hopeless.

"Ah, after seeing Father, there are so many people to meet! Alright, everyone, form a line!"

Geom Muyang thought he should meet the Gwak Yeong siblings first. Since he brought them all this way, he had to take care of them.

And so, the two of them entered the Cult Leader's hall. Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang slowly walked side by side down the path of blood.

Their father was sitting on the grand throne, looking completely unchanged.

Father, thank you.

Now I know. I know how precious and valuable it is to have someone unchangingly by your side.

Someday, that day will come. The day I must walk this path of blood alone and sit on the empty throne.

Walking up to the foot of the throne, Geom Mugeuk greeted him in a loud voice.

"Father, we have completed our task and returned to the Cult!"

Geom Muyang also bowed politely and paid his respects.

"We have returned, Cult Leader."

Geom Woojin looked at the two of them in turn before speaking calmly.

"Did you have a good trip?"

"……"

The resounding answer from the two brothers echoed through the Cult Leader's hall.

"Congratulations on finishing your seclusion training."

As he greeted him, Geom Mugeuk stared intently at his father.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Geom Mugeuk shook his head at his father's question.

"I can't tell no matter how hard I look. What were the results of your seclusion training?"

"I trained, that's enough. Why are the results important?"

"They are important. It wasn't just anyone, it was you, Father, entering seclusion training after a long time."

Geom Mugeuk sensed a certain confidence in his father's eyes. It was a change he would never have noticed in the past. He had never even stared at his father's face like this before.

However, he could tell now. Because he kept looking and looking, he could now see the subtle difference. He knew what that confidence meant.

Father achieved a breakthrough!

The Eleventh Star? No. Even before the seclusion training, Father's martial arts had improved through continuous training. Then what could it be?

It's the Twelfth Star mastery!

As Father's life has changed recently, his martial arts must have changed as well.

Geom Mugeuk's heart began to pound. The Nine Calamities Demonic Art of the Twelfth Star! Just what kind of power would it have? Did the demonic spirits change too? And what about the Heavenly Demon Soul?

There had been many changes since his regression, but this was the moment he was facing the most powerful change of all.

Congratulations, Father!

It seemed those feelings were reflected in Geom Mugeuk's eyes and expression.

Geom Woojin sent a look that said, 'Don't tell me you've noticed?'

Geom Mugeuk replied with a look that said, 'Don't you want to brag?'

Please, brag to your heart's content to these sons of yours.

Of course, Geom Woojin was not the type to brag. Instead, a reprimand came down.

"You caused trouble while I was away! You should have known that the two of you shouldn't leave the Cult at the same time, shouldn't you?"

"I know. That's why we went with the Demon Supremes."

Father must have received a full report from the Head Strategist, who would have been anxious the whole time we were gone. A report that the Poison King and the Demonic Buddha were with us, and that the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader and the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme had also joined.

However, a report is just a report. Geom Mugeuk reported to his father what had happened while they were away.

This was something he always did when he returned from a trip outside the Cult. He would explain in detail the parts that couldn't be known from a report alone. It was another kind of conversation between his father and himself. He made sure to show this side of him in front of his hyung.

Hyung, maybe you'd be even better at this kind of conversation. So watch carefully.

Of course, Geom Mugeuk would never miss an opportunity to tease his hyung in this situation. At the end of his report, he dragged his hyung into it.

"Hyung saved the craftsman Gwak's younger sister. In the past, he's the type of person who would have ordered, 'It's a hassle, just get rid of them all!'"

Geom Muyang wore a look of disbelief, but his father did not stop the report.

"I believe that saving those siblings is just as meaningful in many ways as killing the mastermind this time. We've made a skilled young craftsman one of our own, and more importantly…"

Geom Mugeuk looked at his hyung standing beside him and continued.

"It was an event that showed me that Hyung has changed."

A hint of bewilderment flickered in Geom Muyang's eyes, but he did not say anything in front of their father.

"Hyung is getting cooler and cooler these days."

"What's this? You're praising your hyung?"

"He's right here, isn't he? You're supposed to talk behind their back."

A sneer formed on Geom Woojin's lips. That unchanging sneer put Geom Mugeuk's heart at ease.

You'll never know how much I wanted to see that sneer.

One must give gifts when the mood is this good.

"Oh, and we have a gift we prepared. It's a gift that Hyung chose."

Geom Woojin's gaze turned to Geom Muyang.

Geom Muyang took a scroll from his robes and held it up with both hands.

As Geom Woojin reached out his hand, the scroll flew through the air and into his grasp with a swoosh. Slowly unrolling the scroll, Geom Woojin looked down at it without a word.

His father gazed at the scroll for a long time. This was the first time his father had ever stared at something for so long.

The scroll obscured his father's face. However, Geom Mugeuk somehow felt like he knew what kind of expression he was making.

After looking at the painting, Geom Woojin rolled up the scroll and placed it beside him.

"No, don't just put it down like that. That artist was something else. If you store it well, you might be able to sell it for a high price later."

Geom Woojin looked down at Geom Muyang without a word. It was the look in a father's eyes as he gazed at his eldest son.

Geom Mugeuk sensed his father's old regrets in that gaze. In that moment, his father was regretting.

It would have been better if he could have become the successor without killing his older brother.

Father, we will surely fulfill that unrealized wish of yours. We will live our whole lives protecting our brotherly bond.

Geom Mugeuk took something thickly wrapped from his robes.

"There's one more gift."

Geom Muyang had seen his younger brother grab that from the carriage when he heard their father was out of seclusion training. He had wondered what on earth he was packing.

With another swoosh, that too flew into Geom Woojin's hand.

"It's pajamas, the Wuhan brand flower-patterned pajamas. If I hadn't seen them, it would be one thing, but once I saw them, I just couldn't pass them by."

Geom Muyang was dumbfounded. It seemed his brother had stubbornly gone back and bought those flower-patterned pajamas after all.

You punk, do you really think Father will wear that?

He expected their father's roar to fall upon them.

His father silently placed that gift beside him as well. As if pleased with these two gifts, his father's expression was gentle.

"Go and rest."

Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang bowed politely and turned to leave. After taking a few steps, Geom Mugeuk turned back as if he had just remembered something.

"Oh, Father. We should go hunting sometime, the three of us with Hyung."

He could feel his hyung tense up beside him. He must have been worried that their father might not be willing. It was a truly useless worry.

His father's decision was far too quick.

"We leave at dawn tomorrow."

Yep, that's our father. A man who never considers his children's schedules.