Chapter 699: Why Do You Think Father Appointed the Demon Supremes?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Cha Yiran stood by the window, her gaze following Geom Mugeuk as he walked away.

As if he sensed her watching, Geom Mugeuk turned after walking some distance and waved.

Cha Yiran did not wave back. In response, Geom Mugeuk simply gave a bright smile before turning to continue on his way.

Her gaze lifted toward the dawn sky. The stars that had shone all night were now fading in the brightening light.

"Don't smile like that at someone you're going to kill soon."

At her words, a figure appeared on the roof of the building across from her. It was Hwa Domyeong, dressed in expensive clothes, looking his best, and even wearing white makeup.

"Don't come over. Spectators are supposed to watch from across the street."

She was referring to Hwa Domyeong's earlier claim that he had only come to watch this time.

Hwa Domyeong, however, leaped lightly through the open window she was looking out of.

"How could I just watch while you were crawling on the floor, drunk?"

"If the Young Cult Leader sees you, your head will go flying."

"He's the merciful man who spared you even after seeing that drunken display, isn't he?"

Cha Yiran couldn't help but laugh at Hwa Domyeong's joke. It must have been a truly incredible night.

"It's too much of a waste to just watch, isn't it?"

Cha Yiran glared at Hwa Domyeong.

"You intended to get involved in this from the start, didn't you?"

Hwa Domyeong neither confirmed nor denied her accusation.

"Don't. If you die too, things will get even messier. You know what will happen then, right?"

"We just have to win."

"They already knew their target was the Evil Alliance Chairman. They didn't even stop the Evil Alliance Chairman from coming."

"They're keeping us alive because they want to know why we're targeting the Evil Alliance Chairman?"

Cha Yiran nodded.

"If you let your guard down…"

Cha Yiran cut Hwa Domyeong off.

"I won't."

After a brief pause, she emphasized her point even more strongly.

"The Young Cult Leader doesn't let his guard down."

Hwa Domyeong could see that she was afraid of Geom Mugeuk.

"Scared now, are you? After hearing about all the people who have died so far."

"I didn't see it myself."

The Geom Mugeuk who was a Young Cult Leader felt completely different from the one who had acted as a bodyguard. The look in his eyes after he revealed his identity was one that seemed to peer deep into one's soul.

"You've never failed before, have you?"

"Because this face and body have always worked."

In response to her self-deprecating words, Hwa Domyeong said something cryptic.

"Aren't you more frightening when they don't work?"

Though his makeup was ridiculously thick, Hwa Domyeong's eyes were utterly serious.

Then, Cha Yiran took something out from her robes. It was the very box Hwa Domyeong had given her. She opened the lid.

Inside the box was a red bead.

"He must have known I had this."

If that was the case, the bead should have been gone when she opened the box. He should have replaced it with a powerless stone and played dumb. And yet, Geom Mugeuk had not.

"He restrained himself."

Her eyes, staring at the bead, deepened.

"He didn't even think of opening it once."

She had thought that while he could endure killing an opponent, the desire to obtain this bead would be hard to resist. At least, she wouldn't have been able to.

"So don't hang around nearby. If I'm about to die at the Young Cult Leader's hands, I might just point out where you're hiding because I don't want to die alone."

A laugh spread from behind his fan.

"Just pay for my drinks here. I should at least get a spectator's fee."

"Where are you going?"

"To wash up and buy new clothes."

Cha Yiran turned and left the room.

"And to get over my hangover."

Watching her leave, Hwa Domyeong fanned himself gently. The beautiful woman painted on the fan seemed to dance.

When Geom Mugeuk returned to his quarters, Lee Ahn was awake and waiting for him.

She always felt a sense of relief when Geom Mugeuk returned safely, and that relief was especially strong today.

"How is Young Lady Cha?"

"I just saw her wake up."

This was about more than just worrying if she would try to seduce him. It meant he had returned without killing her. Lee Ahn had been worried when Geom Mugeuk said he would stay with her.

"She was acting so excessively drunk that it was suspicious. I wondered if it was all some kind of trap."

"It probably was a trap."

Lee Ahn looked at Geom Mugeuk with a surprised expression.

"It was a trap?"

"She must have hatched a plan that didn't go her way. Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown us that side of herself. And even if she had tried to kill us, it wouldn't have been easy."

Truly, the Cha Yiran of yesterday was more frightening than any hidden weapons.

Geom Mugeuk lay on his bed with his hands clasped behind his head and stared silently at the ceiling. For some reason, his expression was serious.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Does it look that way?"

When Lee Ahn nodded, Geom Mugeuk shot up from the bed.

"I knew it! You're the only one who knows me best."

No, anyone could tell you were worried!

The fact that he was showing it so openly meant he wanted to talk about it with her.

And Geom Mugeuk's worry was something truly unexpected.

"The person she said she trusts the most is Instructor Ak."

Lee Ahn was startled. She knew Ak Gunhak and had taken his classes at the Yellow Dragon Academy with Seo Jin. She also knew that Geom Mugeuk's relationship with him had deepened since then.

"Cha Yiran seemed to like him. That's not really the problem, but…"

A one-sided crush wasn't the issue. The real problem was something else.

"You're worried that Instructor Ak might like her back."

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

What if Ak Gunhak liked her? Then he would not kill Cha Yiran. He would find some way to resolve this matter without killing her.

"May I tell you what I think?"

"Of course."

Lee Ahn carefully posed a question.

"Is Instructor Ak the kind of person who would stand by and watch the woman he likes fight a life-or-death battle with his friend?"

She meant that if he liked the woman, he would have found a way to come. This logic might not apply to an ordinary person, but Lee Ahn had also experienced it. She knew what a formidable master he was.

"What if he doesn't know about this situation?"

This was precisely Geom Mugeuk's concern.

"You'll have to find out through Young Lady Cha."

"……"

"Go to Young Lady Cha and tell her that you and he are friends. Very close friends. Her reaction will surely be different depending on whether it's her own one-sided love or if the two of them like each other."

Lee Ahn said with conviction.

"I believe that you, Young Cult Leader, will definitely be able to spot the difference."

"Brilliant! Lee Ahn!"

"You thought of it too, didn't you? Weren't you just asking to hear it from my mouth to confirm it?"

"I didn't. I couldn't. When it's about my own affairs, my brain stops working."

"Is this the moment my hidden tail finally does something useful?"

"Let's go, and don't tuck that tail away just yet."

"Where are we going?"

Geom Mugeuk said something incomprehensible as he left the room.

"I'm going to become the world number one."

Ahn Hupyeong woke from his sleep.

"……"

He opened his eyes to find himself on the bed in his own quarters. He was sure he had been drinking with the Young Alliance Chairman at the Bright Flower House.

Was it a dream?

He couldn't tell if now was a dream or if the drinking had been one.

"Sa Chu! Sa Chu!"

Ahn Hupyeong shouted for Sa Chu. Usually, Sa Chu would open the door and ask what was wrong, but he did not enter the room. Instead, another subordinate came in.

"Martial Artist Sa is not here."

"Where did he go?"

"We haven't seen him since we parted at the Bright Flower House yesterday."

"The Bright Flower House?"

It wasn't a dream. Come to think of it, the last thing he remembered was meeting Sa Chu in the kitchen yesterday.

"He said you were drunk and that we should escort you to your quarters."

"That bastard!"

Ahn Hupyeong rushed to the Bright Flower House with his subordinates. The people from yesterday were all gone, and the establishment was busy preparing for business.

After grilling the cook and a waiter, he learned that Sa Chu had subdued them by striking their pressure points and then left. The remaining four had apparently drunk late into the night.

"Damn it! I should have been there!"

Ahn Hupyeong was more disappointed about missing the drinking party than about Sa Chu leaving. He had already forgotten how alienated he had felt there.

"Find this bastard! Now!"

He sent his subordinates to find Sa Chu, but he was already long gone.

He immediately went to Bi Sayin's quarters. He had to meet Bi Sayin and make an excuse for leaving without a word yesterday.

However, Bi Sayin was not in his quarters. He couldn't possibly go to the Evil Alliance Chairman and ask where the Young Alliance Chairman was.

Ahn Hupyeong headed straight for the inn where Lee Ahn was staying. If Bi Sayin wasn't around, he figured he should at least try to score points with Lee Ahn.

But she and that detestable bodyguard were also gone.

"Sa Chu! Where did they all go?"

He shouted as he turned, habitually looking for Sa Chu.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Ahn Hupyeong flinched. Sa Chu was not among the subordinates looking at him.

Come to think of it, he only recognized these subordinates by face and didn't even know their names. Sa Chu had always managed them. None of the fierce-looking men gave off a trustworthy feeling.

Then, he suddenly remembered what Sa Chu had told him before he left.

[Hide in a burrow and come out after the typhoon passes. The only reason you're safe now, Young Sect Leader, is because you're in the eye of the storm.]

Was there anyone among these men here now who would say such a thing to him?

"Find this bastard! Find him and bring him back alive!"

The people Ahn Hupyeong was desperately searching for were all gathered in one place.

Geom Mugeuk had taken Lee Ahn and Bi Sayin to the reception hall where the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman was staying.

"Welcome, Young Cult Leader."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon knew. With the final match two days away, Lee Ahn and the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman were people who should not be meeting. For them to come anyway meant the moment of decision had arrived. Moreover, Bi Sayin was with them.

After greeting the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman as well, Geom Mugeuk reported what had happened yesterday.

"Cha Yiran has revealed her identity herself."

In that instant, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's eyes glinted sharply. The enemy had changed their original plan.

Their original plan was for Cha Yiran to become the world number one and assassinate the Evil Alliance Chairman at the celebration banquet. But with Cha Yiran revealing her own identity, the situation had become unpredictable.

"Have they changed their target to you, Young Cult Leader?"

A hint of worry crossed the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's eyes above his mask.

"Perhaps. But it would be more accurate to say I've been included, not that the target has changed."

He meant their target was still the Evil Alliance Chairman.

The decisive reason was that Cha Yiran had previously asked Bi Sayin what the Evil Alliance Chairman liked. It was a question to gauge our reaction, to see if we knew their target. If the Evil Alliance Chairman wasn't the target, she wouldn't have asked.

"The fact that she revealed her identity must mean they are ready to fight. So…"

Geom Mugeuk had already made his decision before coming.

"We strike first."

Bi Sayin asked Geom Mugeuk, "When will we strike?"

The timing was much sooner than anyone had expected.

"Today, right now!"

Not only Bi Sayin who had asked, but Lee Ahn and the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman were also stunned.

Only the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had a smile crinkle his eyes, as if he had expected it.

Yes, this was how it should be. To make a move, one had to move so unexpectedly that even one's own side couldn't predict it.

Cha Yiran would never expect this. How could she possibly imagine that after drinking and parting ways like that last night, they would move immediately today?

Lee Ahn now understood what Geom Mugeuk had said when they left the room earlier. If the incident occurred during the final match, he wouldn't be able to become the world number one. So his intention was to handle this matter beforehand and then participate in the final two days later to become the true world number one.

Tasks were assigned to each person.

"The Mythical Sect will be handled by the Evil Alliance."

Bi Sayin nodded.

The Mythical Sect Leader, the masters he had brought in, and the Mythical Sect's martial artists were by no means an easy opponent. But on this side, they had the Evil Alliance Chairman.

Next, he gave a task to Lee Ahn.

"While things are in motion, Lee Ahn will protect the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman."

In other words, there was a separate order to be given to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and the Faceless Warriors.

"Yes, leave it to me."

Lee Ahn replied cheerfully and exchanged a glance with the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman.

Finally, Geom Mugeuk spoke to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

"I will take care of Cha Yiran. Smiling Demon, please take care of the assassin organization she brought with her."

"Leave it to me."

When the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon readily accepted the order, Lee Ahn cautiously spoke up.

"But we don't know who they are, do we?"

They were Cha Yiran's subordinates, but they were top-tier assassins who knew how to hide themselves perfectly. They had no idea how many had been mobilized or where and how they were hiding. Furthermore, many of them were likely among the women participating in this tournament.

"And you're going to find and deal with them all by today? That's impossible!"

It was a task more difficult than crushing the entire Mythical Sect. Geom Mugeuk readily admitted it.

"Yes, it's an impossible task."

"But why?"

Geom Mugeuk said with a smile.

"Why do you think Father appointed the Demon Supremes? He must have appointed them so that when an impossible task arises, he could say this."

Geom Mugeuk looked at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and imitated his father.

"Smiling Demon, go and take care of it."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon responded with a respectful clasped hands greeting, as if addressing the Cult Leader.

"I accept your command."

CHAK CHAK CHAK CHAK CHAK CHAK!

The Faceless Warriors standing behind him also performed a clasped hands greeting in unison.

Lee Ahn could see that Geom Mugeuk's joke contained an incredibly deep trust in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

Still, she had to help if she could.

"There are a few women in the waiting room I've marked as potential assassins. If we tail them, there will surely be a moment they make contact with other assassins. Of course, I don't know if they'll make contact by today."

Of course, that method wouldn't allow them to deal with all of them by today. Still, she had said it hoping to be of some help.

"I appreciate the thought, but there's no need."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, as if he had a method in mind, smiled gently in front of the lined-up the Faceless Warriors and said, "We'll handle it our way."