Cheon Jin was sitting on the grand master's chair as usual.
Sip-.
As he sipped the alcohol in his cup, the door of the inner hall opened. And through the open door, Cheon Myeong was walking in alone.
"..."
Cheon Jin put down the cup he was drinking from and silently watched Cheon Myeong, who was approaching him.
How long had he walked like that?
Cheon Myeong stopped in his spot as he usually did and bowed his head to Cheon Jin.
"As per the leader's command, I have retrieved the stolen Three Sacred Treasures."
Even after hearing that he had retrieved the Three Sacred Treasures, Cheon Jin did not seem that happy.
Compared to Bang Gitae, whom he had met before entering the inner hall, it was a very contrasting reaction.
Since Cheon Myeong also had not expected Cheon Jin to get up from his seat and dance a jig after hearing his words, he just silently raised his head.
"Good work."
"..."
"I thought it would be a difficult task, but contrary to my expectations, you really succeeded."
What's with that tone?
Does the phrase 'contrary to my expectations' mean that he didn't expect him to succeed?
Since the person who had woken a sleeping person and ordered him to retrieve the stolen Three Sacred Treasures was Cheon Jin in the first place, Cheon Myeong couldn't help but be dumbfounded upon hearing those words.
'Well... I'm not in a position to raise my voice.'
Although he felt a little bad hearing those words, Cheon Myeong couldn't say anything to Cheon Jin because he had a guilty conscience.
"Place the retrieved Three Sacred Treasures there."
At that moment, Cheon Jin said that, pointing somewhere with his eyes.
A huge jade box placed near the grand master's chair.
Although he didn't know when it had been prepared, it seemed that he was planning to store the Three Sacred Treasures there.
"...I understand."
Cheon Myeong answered and walked towards the jade box.
Click- clack-.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the inner hall every time Cheon Myeong walked.
As he got closer to the jade box, the distance with Cheon Jin also gradually became closer.
'I can't help it.'
Even until this moment, he had been thinking about it, but he couldn't think of a proper way to deal with the broken Heavenly Demon Ring.
In the end, Cheon Myeong came to the conclusion that he had no choice but to face it head-on.
And what to do after that would have to be decided after observing Cheon Jin's reaction.
"..."
Cheon Myeong, who had stopped in front of the jade box. Nearby, Cheon Jin was silently looking down at him.
Rustle-.
First, Cheon Myeong untied the cloth he was holding in his hand.
Then, the Heavenly Demon Mirror, which had been hidden by the cloth, revealed its form, and Cheon Myeong first carefully placed the Heavenly Demon Mirror inside the jade box.
The same went for the Heavenly Demon Sword he was carrying on his back.
After untying the cloth that was wrapped around it, Cheon Myeong placed the Heavenly Demon Sword inside the jade box.
"...?"
At that moment, a question arose on Cheon Jin's face.
Cheon Myeong, who had been standing still like a mute who had eaten honey since a while ago.
Even after waiting for a long time, as Cheon Myeong showed no sign of taking out the Heavenly Demon Ring, Cheon Jin finally opened his mouth.
"Why are you just standing there?"
"..."
"You have not yet taken out the Heavenly Demon Ring."
At that question, Cheon Myeong silently turned his body towards Cheon Jin.
And he said to Cheon Jin in a calm voice.
"The Heavenly Demon Ring cannot be placed there."
"What?"
Swish-.
At that moment, Cheon Myeong put his hand into his bosom and took out a pouch.
"I'm sorry. Due to my negligence, the Heavenly Demon Ring was broken in the process of retrieving the Three Sacred Treasures."
"..."
"I have collected the broken pieces in this pouch. However, since it was shattered into pieces, I cannot guarantee that I have recovered all the pieces."
If he had thought that the situation would get even a little better by making up a story, he would have done so.
However, it seemed that a clumsy lie would not work on Cheon Jin.
Hadn't he suffered a lot in the past for trying to do so?
Therefore, Cheon Myeong decided to tell Cheon Jin the truth as it was.
'Now, what will you do?'
The merit of safely retrieving the two stolen sacred treasures and the sin of breaking the Heavenly Demon Ring in the process.
If asked which of the two had more weight, Cheon Myeong thought that the sin of breaking the Heavenly Demon Ring was greater.
Because it was common for a person's life to fall into ruin with one big mistake, no matter how well they usually did.
Don't people usually point out others' faults well but are stingy with praise?
Since Cheon Myeong had already realized that, he was prepared.
"...Why was it broken?"
After a brief silence, Cheon Jin asked.
"There was a battle with a force that was aiming for the Three Sacred Treasures. In the process, the Heavenly Demon Ring was broken due to the impact."
"You mean there was a force aiming for the Three Sacred Treasures other than Man Jeokseon?"
"Yes, that's right."
"What kind of guy is he?"
"I couldn't find that out."
"...I see."
I see?
It seemed that an answer different from what he had expected had come out of Cheon Jin's mouth.
"Then..."
Of course.
Now he was going to ask about the sin of breaking the Heavenly Demon Ring.
Cheon Myeong braced himself and focused on Cheon Jin's words.
"Tell me what you want."
"...Yes?"
"Since you have retrieved the stolen Three Sacred Treasures, I will give you a suitable reward."
"..."
He's not asking about the sin, but giving a reward?
No, this is definitely a trap.
The Cheon Jin he knew was not a nice guy who would just let the sin of breaking the Three Sacred Treasures slide.
'I almost fell for it.'
A flower with a beautiful fragrance has thorns.
Cheon Jin also clearly had the intention of luring him with sweet words and then giving him a harsher punishment.
After making that judgment inwardly, Cheon Myeong organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.
"Leader, I am not qualified to receive a reward."
"..."
"The order you gave me was to retrieve the Three Sacred Treasures. But since I could not retrieve the Heavenly Demon Ring completely, I have failed to carry out your order."
"It doesn't matter. That one is a fake."
"Therefore, I, from the position of a sinner, will receive punishment... what did you just say?"
"I said the broken Heavenly Demon Ring is a fake."
"..."
A fake?
For a moment, Cheon Myeong could not understand those words.
No, to be precise, he could not understand why Cheon Jin was calling the Heavenly Demon Ring he had found a fake.
"This... I brought it using the tracking bug you gave me."
"I know."
"The broken Heavenly Demon Ring is definitely the Three Sacred Treasures that were in the Heavenly Demon's secret vault!"
"It would be."
As Cheon Myeong spoke with a slightly raised voice, Cheon Jin only answered with a calm voice.
"...!"
Looking at him, a thought suddenly came to Cheon Myeong's mind.
Cheon Jin was constantly saying that the Heavenly Demon Ring he had found was a fake.
Does that mean that the Heavenly Demon Sword and the Heavenly Demon Mirror are also fakes?
Although Cheon Myeong felt anxious, he had no choice but to ask that question.
"...Could it be that the Heavenly Demon Sword and the Heavenly Demon Mirror I found are also fakes?"
"That's right."
"..."
Then for what reason had he gone through such trouble until now?
As he thought that all the things he had done until now were actions to find fakes, Cheon Myeong felt nothing but emptiness.
'In the end, I was just doing a wild goose chase by myself.'
The wild goose was him, and its owner was Cheon Jin.
To think that he had gone to the end of Xinjiang to retrieve something that was not even a sacred treasure of the Demonic Cult.
What a waste of effort.
What was most infuriating right now was that guy who had ordered him to retrieve the fake Three Sacred Treasures even though he knew all about it.
"It seems you're misunderstanding something."
At that moment, Cheon Jin said that to Cheon Myeong.
Cheon Myeong swallowed his anger inwardly and asked Cheon Jin.
"...What am I misunderstanding?"
"The things you retrieved are fakes. But they are undoubtedly the sacred treasures of our cult."
"...?"
They're fakes, but they're the sacred treasures of the Demonic Cult?
Cheon Jin's remark just now was so full of contradictions that it was hard to know where to even begin to point them out.
"From the beginning, there were no real Three Sacred Treasures in our cult."
"...?"
"What we have been calling the Three Sacred Treasures and have been storing in our cult until now are just fakes that imitate the Three Sacred Treasures of the first Heavenly Demon."
So... what does that mean?
It was no wonder that Cheon Myeong could not immediately understand those words.
Because Cheon Jin's remark just now was a statement that would shake the foundation of the Demonic Cult if it were to leak to the outside.
Sometimes, when one receives a big shock, even if it is the truth, a person cannot immediately accept it.
That was exactly how Cheon Myeong was now.
'In other words... there were no Three Sacred Treasures in our cult from the beginning?'
If he thought about Cheon Jin's words comprehensively, he had no choice but to come to that conclusion.
But at that moment, a question arose.
Then where are the real Three Sacred Treasures?
Cheon Myeong naturally threw that question to Cheon Jin.
"Then... where are the real Three Sacred Treasures?"
"I don't know."
"Yes?"
"Your ancestor and the first Heavenly Demon, Cheon Seon. It is said that the Three Sacred Treasures definitely existed in his generation."
"..."
"However, for some reason, the Three Sacred Treasures disappeared from our cult. Since then, our cult has been using fakes modeled after the shape of the Three Sacred Treasures as the sacred treasures of the Demonic Cult."
Cheon Jin's words that the things he had found were fakes but were the sacred treasures of our cult.
Cheon Myeong could now understand those words.
'So the Three Sacred Treasures had already disappeared from our cult.'
And from what he heard, it seemed that they had disappeared in the distant past.
"..."
Cheon Myeong looked at the pieces of the shattered Heavenly Demon Ring he was holding and the Heavenly Demon Sword and the Heavenly Demon Mirror inside the jade box.
And a thought suddenly came to him.
Then wasn't it that he didn't have to retrieve these things?
Since what was stolen was just a fake anyway, there would be no problem if they just made a new one.
"Then... wasn't it that I didn't have to find these things?"
"As I said before, these are fakes, but they are undoubtedly the sacred treasures of our cult."
"..."
"A sacred treasure has its significance just by existing. Therefore, for our cult, what you have retrieved will undoubtedly be the Three Sacred Treasures and the sacred treasures of our cult."
So Cheon Myeong's merit had great significance.
What would happen if a rumor were to spread that the sacred treasures of the Demonic Cult had been stolen by someone due to this incident?
Just by preventing such a rumor in advance, Cheon Myeong's merit this time should be highly praised.
"The broken Heavenly Demon Ring is unavoidable, but since it is a fact that it has been retrieved, we will have to make a new fake and make it the sacred treasure of our cult."
"..."
"And you must not tell anyone the fact that I have just told you. Originally, the only ones who can know this fact are the leader and the young leader who will succeed him."
Only the leader and the young leader...?
Does that mean that Cheon Jin has now recognized him as the young leader?
Cheon Myeong suddenly had that question, but before that, Cheon Jin asked Cheon Myeong.
"Then I will ask you once more."
"..."
"I will give you a reward in high recognition of your merit in retrieving the sacred treasures of our cult. Cheon Myeong, receive my command and state the reward you want."
Although it was not intentional, the Heavenly Demon Ring he had broken was ultimately a fake, and because of that, he was not going to be punished?
And Cheon Jin was now saying that he would give him a reward for his merit.
'Then... I should take it!'
He had refused before because he had thought that Cheon Jin had set a trap for him.
But now that he knew that was not the case, there would be no need to refuse the reward he was offering.
'Actually, I thought I could only get it after becoming the young leader, but...'
Since an opportunity like this has come, wouldn't it be good to take it when he can?
Thinking so, Cheon Myeong said to Cheon Jin with a meaningful voice.
"Please teach me the complete Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
"..."
"That is what I want."
The complete Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Cheon Myeong was trying to realize the dream he had not been able to achieve in the past in this place now.
(End of Chapter)