Episode 173 It doesnât matter who I am.
Jin Ha-ryeong couldnât come to his senses.
It was the first time in my life that I had been able to do this fast. The surroundings passed so quickly that I couldnât make out any of the scenery.
I couldnât open my eyes properly and it was difficult to breathe.
âHow on earth can you run without crashing?â
It was surprising and wonderful. On the other hand, I also felt a strange joy.
âThis person was such an expert?â
A level of martial arts that can display light techniques to this degree is unimaginable.
âThis is not an ordinary servant.â
She didnât know if this was something she would be happy about, but she was happy. It felt like the unbridgeable line drawn between him and myself had disappeared.
When the sword dance that was running at such a crazy speed stopped for a moment,
ââŠIâll get off for a moment.â
Jin Ha-ryeong, who got off his back, stumbled and fell to the ground. It took several deep breaths before I calmed down.
âWhat are you? âDid you learn how to walk by learning to walk?â
Geommugeuk was looking somewhere with a smile. Her gaze naturally turned towards that direction. At that moment, Jin Ha-ryeong was surprised.
I thought he had stopped to let me rest, but that wasnât the case.
I saw the back of someone running in the distance. Surprisingly, it was the grandfather who ran ahead.
âI caught up with Grandpa!â
I could tell that the reason for stopping for a moment was to avoid overtaking my grandfather.
âFaster than your grandfather?â
She was so shocked that she almost screamed. She thought her grandfather was the best expert in the world. Some people said that the Heavenly Demon was stronger, but she believed that her grandfather could defeat the Heavenly Demon.
But this man caught up with the grandfather. The grandfather ran with the person who attacked him on his side, and this person ran on his back. Can you catch up with your grandfather even under similar conditions?
I really felt bad having to ask such a cliche question in this situation, but this was all I could think of.
âWhat are you really?â
Then Geommugeuk answered.
âSeomyeon. âHe is the type of person who disappears like smoke once the work is done.â
âOkay, if youâre going to disappear like smoke, at least tell me the truth. Who are you really? âSince you revealed your skills like this, werenât you planning on revealing your identity as well?â
Geommugeuk finally revealed his prayers. It was a completely different feeling from the presence I had shown so far. At that moment, an image appeared in her mind.
It was a clear sky. The endless sky was so wide and blue.
Fascinated by its beauty, she held out her hand.
Fondant!
I soon realized that it was the sky reflected in the water.
She dipped her hand into the water and slowly submerged her body.
I thought it was shallow, but it was deep. When I looked down, I couldnât see the floor. What is in the deep sea? The moment she thought she was scared, the image in her mind disappeared and she returned to reality.
A word I heard at that time.
âSword dance. âHe is the second son of the Heavenly Demon Church leader.â
Jin Ha-ryeong was dazed for a moment.
âwhat? Church of the Heavenly Demon? Cult leader? son?â
At first I thought I heard something wrong. But which part of that statement did I mishear? Church of the Heavenly Demon? Cult leader? Son?
âYou heard wrong. âWhere is the recluse?â
âChurch of the Heavenly Demon.â
âYou heard wrong again. âWhere?â
âThe place you call the Demon Cult. âChurch of the Heavenly Demon.â
Jin Ha-ryeongâs eyes grew bigger and bigger, as if he was waking up from a trance. Are this womanâs eyes this big? Just when she wanted to, she pulled out her sword and stepped back.
Her sword was aimed at Sword Dance. She said beyond the sharp sword.
âAll other jokes are acceptable, but jokes about demonic religion are not allowed!â
I was able to find out how our school was viewed by later exponents of the Murim League. To them, the Demonic Cult was a fundamental fear instilled in them from a young age, a group of evil, and the reason they learned martial arts.
But how big was her surprise when she heard that he was the son of the Heavenly Demon?
Her pointed sword trembled. This was the first time in my life that I was so surprised and scared. In comparison, the sword dance performance at the tip of the sword was very calm. It was a prayer as clear and quiet as the sky and as deep as the sea.
At that time, a question suddenly occurred to me.
âDoes your grandfather know who you are?â
âYou know.â
She couldnât understand. If this person is a master of the Demonic Cult, there is no way my grandfather would let him be alone with him, right?
âAt least you believe that I am not the one who will hurt you. So, put down that sword now.â
She slowly lifted her sword. I was really surprised earlier, but I calmed down when I heard that my grandfather knew.
Geommugeuk explained the situation to her.
âA mysterious force called Cheonmyeonghoe has appeared in the martial arts world. While I was chasing them, I found out that they were trying to recruit you for this Soryong battle. Afterwards, I revealed my identity to the master and we are pursuing the mastermind together. If it werenât for the granddaughterâs matter, the leader probably wouldnât have come forward in person. âThat too, along with a magician from the Demonic Cult.â
She immediately understood the situation.
âThe Lord wanted his identity not to be revealed until the end. âBut I told you not to do that.â
âwhy?â
âBecause thatâs ignoring you. Because I believe that knowing my identity will not change anything. A servant or an expert of the Heavenly Demon. âNothing will change.â
âWhy isnât anything changing? âThe only thing those two have in common is that they are both men, and they are worlds apart!â
âis it?â
Geommugeuk laughed and Jin Ha-ryeong made a dumbfounded expression and eventually laughed along.
The line of status as servant disappeared and a new line as heir to the Demonic Cult emerged. The front line could be crossed by force, but the back line was so high and dangerous that if done wrong, a political war could break out.
âIf you feel bad, let it go.â
âI canât solve it. How do you solve something that surprises people like this? âI will never solve it.â
But contrary to what she said, she didnât feel that bad. Rather, he felt a strange sense of excitement at the fact that the other person was a master of the Demonic Cult.
âThen what did Dongho mean when he told me to become the leader?â
âLiterally. Become stronger, gain more experience, and become a leader. âI think you can do well.â
âIs the Murim Lordâs friend Cheon Mago?â
âThat would be nice, but this place is so rough. âI donât know if I will survive to see you.â
For some reason, it didnât sound like a joke, so Jin Ha-ryeong hoped that he would survive and not die. With that in mind, she held out her hand.
âBecause I knew your true identity. Shake hands formally.â
Geommugeuk held her hand.
Jin Ha-ryeong held his hand tightly and shook it playfully, perhaps feeling awkward.
âI never thought the day would come when I would shake hands with a demonic expert.â
âSo do i. Now letâs go. âWe have to go quickly too.â
Geommugeuk turned his back to carry him.
She got carried away again. I felt completely different from when I first got carried away and now.
âIâll have to brag to people later. âI tell you the story of how I was carried on the back of a heavenly horse when I was young!â
* * *
Cheol-gon was locked in a secret room.
Because the leader directly suppressed him, no one else could free him even if they tried to free him.
Sitting alone in his room, he tried to make sense of the situation.
It didnât happen by chance. Because the leader would not have appeared there by chance.
It wasnât like I was escorting my granddaughter. If it had been escorted, it would have been the Celestial Dragon Guard.
In other words, it only means that they were aware of this surprise attack. The only person who knew that was the courtier.
At that time, a person came in there.
âyou?â
Cheol-gon was surprised when he recognized the other person. The person who came in was Geommugeuk. I could tell just by looking at his eyes. This was not the cowardly servant who tried to cut off his arm.
âah!â
Cheolgon sighed. He thought that sword dance was the lordâs task. Did the leader himself move to eradicate Cheonmyeonghoe? Then this incomprehensible situation all came together.
Geommugeuk sat down in front of him.
âI know you belong to the Cheonmyeonghoe.â
Cheolgon didnât say anything.
âIf you tell me who the Lord of Cheonmyeonghoe is, I will spare your life.â
Cheolgon still didnât say anything. Geommugeuk felt touched by the sight of him sitting silently with a subtle murderous look on his face. They are an organization that lives in shady silence and is silent.
âYes, even if you wanted to say it, you probably donât know who the Cheonmyeonghoeju is.â
In any case, Cheolgonâs usefulness ended with showing the courtiers that he was captured by the leader.
At that time, Cheolgon opened his mouth for the first time.
âLetâs release the demonic blood and fight like men.â
Cheolgonâs eyes burned with life.
Shhh! Phew!
The Sword of Swordsmanship was drawn out in an instant and pierced his heart. Even if he released the demon blood and fought, he would have been intelligent anyway, but the sword dance game didnât even give him that opportunity.
It was Jin Paecheon, the Murim lord, who was waiting outside.
Geommugeuk said as he opened the door and came out.
âYou shouldnât give them any chances.â
Jin Feicheon stared at the sword dance in silence. I had no interest in Cheolgonâs death. What was shaking Jin Feicheonâs heart right now was this young, outspoken successor to the Demonic Cult.
âNow letâs arrest the courtier.â
âMaybe he got scared and hid.â
Then Geommugeuk smiled and said.
âHe will come to me on his own feet.â
* * *
As expected, the sword dance performance was as expected.
As Geommugeuk was about to enter the guesthouse, a courtier wearing a bamboo hat approached him, pulled his arm, and led him into an alley.
âHow did this happen?â
âThat is something I would like to ask. He tried to cut off my arm. âWhat happened?â
âI was scheduled to appear before he cut off his arm. But before that, the leader appeared. Why did the leader appear?â
âHow do I know that?â
âYou donât know?â
âof course. How do I, a mere servant, know what the Murim Lord is doing? âDidnât the secret leak out while Confucius Jo was handling things?â
Itâs something you canât help but believe. Yes, thatâs right. Itâs strange to ask this guy about the leader.
âso? âWhat happened?â
âThe person who tried to kill me was captured by the Lord, and Jin Xiaoje and I returned.â
Josin, who was quietly staring at the sword dance performance, spoke coldly.
âBaby, this is all because of you!â
Shhh!
He stabbed Geommugeuk in the neck with the dagger he was planning to give to Jin Ha-ryeong as a gift.
But before he knew it, his wrist was being grabbed by Geommugeuk.
âThatâs right, itâs because of me.â
Crack!
The sword dance instantly subdued his demonic and evil blood.
Josin was so shocked that his eyes grew so big that they could no longer grow.
After a while, Josin was dragged into the secret room where Cheolgon had died earlier. The body was removed, but the smell of his spilled blood remained in the space.
The courtier was sitting there with a fearful face.
He was confused. It was shocking to learn that the guy from beginning to end was more expert than he was. I was confused as to what the hell this was.
At that time, the door opened and Sword Dancer came in.
Josin asked with a scared face.
âWho are you?â
âIt doesnât matter who I am. What if you were an attendant who tried to make an asshole out of your foolish pride? What would be different if you were a member of Cheonmyeonghoe that you secretly controlled? âWhat matters is the situation you are in now.â
Zhao Xin felt it intuitively. At least itâs not someone from the Cheonmyeonghoe.
âItâs from the leaderâs side!â
The courtier made that decision.
âEveryone who attacked Jin Ha-ryeong confessed.â
Josinâs heart sank at those words. Cheol-gon, who was so murderous and scary, confessed so easily? Not even a few hours have passed since you were captured?
âWhat on earth did you confess to?â
âYou told me to kidnap Jin Ha-ryeong.â
Josin shouted.
âThis is what you planned!â
âWhen did I?â
âwhat?â
Jo Shinâs expression distorted.
âDo you know that attempting to harm the lord or his family is treated as the most serious crime? âIf found guilty, he will be beheaded regardless of the reason.â
The courtier was filled with fear when he heard the word beheading. I could tell that the man in front of me had lured me into a trap.
âWhat do you want from me?â
Geommugeuk, who was staring at him, stood up.
âYou look tired. âGet some sleep.â
Piik.
A ray of wind suppressed his blood transfusion.
The courtier lay down and fell asleep.
Outside the secret room, Jin Feicheon, who had been listening to the conversation inside, was waiting.
âWhat are your next plans?â
âWe have to catch the authorâs father, Joy Baek. Lord Meng, please meet him and tell him that Zhao Xin has been captured by an organization called Tianminghui and that he was arrested on charges of trying to kill Qin Xiaozhe under their orders.â
The sword dance performance was truly unstoppable.
âThen Joyback will move one way or another. We will now know whether he is the Lord of the Heavenly Order or just someone who has been taken in by the Lord of the Heavenly Order. If he had been included in the Cheonmyeonghoe and did not know that his son had also been included, he might feel betrayed by the Cheonmyeonghoe and hand over the Cheonmyeonghoe to Lord Maeng. Of course, Lord Maeng needs to give us some breathing room.â
âWhat if he is the lord of the Cheonmyeonghoe?â
âIf that were the case, I think they would at least abandon their children.â
The Murim Lord, who was listening to the sword dance, had this thought again.
âIf this person becomes the Heavenly Demon, it wonât be easy for the faction to fight.â
I thought that with this level of drive and insight even at this young age, I would never be able to handle it when I got older. At least at this moment, the sword dance felt like a more difficult enemy than the Cheonmyeonghoeju.
Geommugeuk was worried about the Murim lord, whether he knew his inner thoughts or not.
âI would like to ask you a favor in advance.â
âSomething?â
âIf you find out the Lord of the Heavenly Order, please leave the finishing touches to me. Itâs not because itâs a test for my successor, but considering his meticulousness so far, if heâs left alive, heâll be planning things even in prison. âIt will definitely come back to you later.â
If handled fairly or according to the law, the head of Cheonmyeonghoe and his associates could have been imprisoned. The advice was not to do so.
Because it was not something that could be easily answered as the Murim Lord, Jin Feicheon did not say anything.
Geomugeuk added softly with an understanding look in his eyes.
âI will sweep it all away and disappear quietly.â