Unhwi set down his tea.
“The Heavenly Wayfarer avoids interfering in internal affairs whenever possible. After all, he understands that the world flows as it will when left alone. That is the order of heaven and the movement of heavenly energy. Beyond that, those who follow him handle matters from behind the scenes.”
“......”
“It’s simple. There were fools splitting into factions and causing problems. They were in a situation where they didn’t even realize they were fools. Left alone, internal problems like that can only grow worse with time. The Heavenly Wayfarer must have needed someone who could intervene indirectly and force the atmosphere to shift.”
The reason the Heavenly Wayfarer had valued Unhwi so highly was his talent. But setting that aside, the reason he had given Unhwi such a high position the moment he brought him in was to break this atmosphere.
He had always been waiting.
For someone like that.
It had been similar in Unhwi’s previous life.
When Unhwi had steadily risen to elder and shown the talent to climb even higher, the Heavenly Wayfarer had immediately given him the position of Blood Heaven Arbiter.
That was the reason behind such an extraordinary decision.
Because no one knew the Heavenly Wayfarer better than Unhwi.
“And if I hadn’t told Jeong Docheon and Mugyeong that fact, they would have ended up fighting each other.”
“Pardon?”
“Jeong Docheon trusted Mugyeong. He thought they belonged to the same neutral faction.”
Chief Seong nodded.
“But now things are different.”
“Yes. Now Jeong Docheon will suspect Mugyeong.”
“......”
“And Mugyeong will suspect Jeong Docheon as well.”
Unhwi smiled.
“They will keep each other in check. They will slip out from under Yu Cheong’s control, and my control will be added on top of that. Between the two of them, they’ll agonize again and again over which control they should follow.”
Chief Seong was impressed.
“Then in the end... the two of them will obey your orders, Young Master.”
“They’ll at least pretend to. Neither of them wants to die.”
“Then...”
“I planted suspicion in them. If someone they served for so long had been hiding things from them, then from their perspective, the tug-of-war has begun.”
“Good heavens... How meticulous.”
Unhwi shook his head.
“Yu Cheong is the meticulous one.”
“Pardon?”
“Yu Cheong is the one who made them that way.”
Unhwi rose from his seat.
He walked to the window and looked outside.
“Yu Cheong never wanted Jeong Docheon and Mugyeong to cooperate with each other.”
“......”
“That is why he kept them unaware of one another.”
“But you broke that arrangement, Young Master.”
Unhwi turned around.
“Chief Seong.”
“...Yes?”
“Do you still not understand?”
“What do you mean?”
Unhwi had briefly told Chief Seong and the others about the Blood Stones, but unfortunately, he did not know everything related to them.
“Yu Cheong has confirmed that I know about the Blood Stones, but he doesn’t know how much I know.”
“...Then...”
“But Yu Cheong will assume I know everything. Otherwise, he would think there is no reason the Heavenly Wayfarer would have given me the position of Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
Chief Seong swallowed hard.
Each side carried different intentions, and each side’s certainty was misaligned.
Would someone like Yu Cheong remain silent at a time like this?
Impossible.
From now on, he would interfere with Unhwi.
“He will try another petty trick. Then what should we do?”
There was only one answer.
“We must uncover the truth about the Blood Stones to the very end.”
Unhwi nodded.
“We must find out what they intend to do with those Blood Stones, why they need so many of them, and why an enormous organization like the Thunder Demon Cult is producing Blood Stones and gathering the materials for them.”
Chief Seong answered with a firm expression.
“I’ll find out.”
Unhwi shook his head.
“No need.”
“...Pardon?”
“Yu Cheong does not know. I intend to preserve that situation, and I will uncover the purpose of the Blood Stones myself.”
“...Young Master... isn’t that dangerous?”
“It will be.”
Unhwi gave a faint laugh.
“But it doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“Because of Yu Cheong’s own nature.”
“Pardon?”
“Yu Cheong is cautious. He does not move recklessly.”
Unhwi looked out the window again.
“And that is Yu Cheong’s weakness.”
“His weakness?”
Unhwi nodded.
“When you don’t know his moves, you’ll be helplessly struck down. But once you understand his personality and uncover the nature and purpose of the moves he makes, you can use them against him instead.”
Unhwi smiled gently.
“A man who is too cautious misses opportunities, and a man who tries to catch two rabbits ends up losing both.”
“......”
“Rest. Tomorrow, we leave for Red Spirit Court.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Chief Seong and the others stepped outside.
The door closed.
Unhwi was left alone.
He looked out the window.
The moon had risen.
***
The next morning.
Even before dawn broke, the sky was overcast. Dark clouds hung low. It was the sort of weather that looked as if rain might fall at any moment, yet never quite did.
Unhwi and his party finished preparing to depart.
Jeong Docheon came out to see them off.
Mugyeong came with him.
The two men stood side by side, but neither looked at the other.
The distance between them was less than an inch.
Yet a deep chasm lay between them.
Unhwi looked at them.
It was a peculiar sight.
Men who had not known of each other’s existence.
And now, knowing, they were forcing themselves to act as they had to.
Unhwi spoke.
“Jeong Docheon.”
“...Yes.”
“Properly rebuild °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the Thunder Forest Blood Regiment.”
His voice was calm. But the meaning held within it was heavy.
If you fail to do it properly, then when the time comes—
Jeong Docheon bowed his head.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Mugyeong also bent at the waist.
He said nothing.
But his posture spoke for him.
Unhwi nodded.
Then he mounted his horse.
Chief Seong followed.
Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang mounted one after another. The horses snorted. Everything was ready for departure.
“We’re leaving.”
At Unhwi’s brief words, Jeong Docheon called out.
“Travel safely!”
Mugyeong also bowed deeply.
The party set out.
The sound of hooves gradually faded into the distance. Dust rose, then settled.
Jeong Docheon and Mugyeong watched their backs.
For a very long time.
The party grew smaller and smaller until they disappeared completely from sight.
Even then, the two men remained standing there.
Silence flowed between them.
A heavy silence.
Jeong Docheon was the first to speak.
“First Elder.”
“...Yes.”
Mugyeong’s answer came late as well.
As though he did not want to speak.
“What will you do from now on?”
“...What I was ordered to do.”
Their eyes met.
Suspicion. Wariness. Distrust.
They saw the same thing in each other’s eyes.
“...Since when?”
“...From the beginning.”
“...From the beginning, he ordered you to stand in the same neutrality as me and watch the conflict between the two factions? He did?”
“...Yes.”
“You deceived me while knowing all along.”
“...With all due respect, I believed I was his trusted subordinate.”
As the cult leader of the Thunder Demon Cult, Jeong Docheon’s close relationship with the Vice Leader of the Blood Heaven Sect was no secret.
But—
A relationship where secret conversations were exchanged in unseen places always looked more intimate than one openly displayed.
From Mugyeong’s perspective, he had believed he was being treated as the more important figure.
But that had not been true.
Mugyeong was the first to look away.
“...I will take my leave.”
“First Elder.”
Mugyeong, who had been turning away, looked back.
“Can you bring the remaining elders together as one?”
“...I will try.”
“If you bring them together, they must be my people.”
At that, Mugyeong frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“What else could I mean? You are the First Elder of the Thunder Demon Cult, and I am the cult leader of the Thunder Demon Cult. No matter how much the Thunder Demon Cult may be a branch of the Blood Heaven Sect, shouldn’t there be only one person whose orders must be obeyed?”
Of course.
Naturally, that one person was Jeong Docheon himself, the cult leader.
“...I will make the effort.”
After saying that, Mugyeong turned and walked away.
His back receded into the distance.
Jeong Docheon watched him until he vanished.
Then he was alone.
Jeong Docheon remained standing in place.
The wind blew. His clothes fluttered.
It was a cold wind.
At last, a sigh escaped him.
“...This is driving me mad.”
Should he trust Mugyeong?
Should he not?
Thinking back from the beginning, perhaps these were things he would have been better off never knowing.
How had matters come to this?
A small ripple had returned as a massive storm.
It was truly enough to drive him insane.
“...Is ‘I will try’ really an acceptable answer to the cult leader’s question?”
He looked up at the sky.
The dark clouds still hung low.
There was no answer.
Only the clouds drifted slowly by.
Jeong Docheon lowered his head.
Yu Cheong had once told him:
Remain a predictable existence.
But was that easy?
It was enough to drive him mad.
Now that he was caught between the Blood Heaven Arbiter and the Vice Leader—
It was already certain that every day ahead of Jeong Docheon would be like walking on thin ice.
He sighed once more.
Then he turned away.
His steps were heavy.
So were his shoulders.
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