By Zephyria 
HF 9
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“Produce your identification token!”
Despite the considerable distance, the sentry shouted, infusing his voice with internal energy. Mu-gyeong dispersed the cultivation power flying through the sound without so much as lifting a finger. Had they faced the sound head-on, Ho-yeon might have lost his hearing for a while.
Ho-yeon swallowed hard and looked at Mu-gyeong. He expected Mu-gyeong to produce a token, but the man didn’t even remove his bamboo hat. It felt as if an arrow might fly from the watchtower at any moment. Just as Ho-yeon wondered if he should be the one to show his face, a voice rang out.
“Out of the way! Move!”
A man in green robes, waving a fan, was rushing out of the city gates in a flurry. He was in such a hurry that he used a lightfoot technique, sending clouds of dust swirling in every direction. Seeing the sentries all prostrate themselves, it seemed he held a considerably high position.
“Quickly, please come inside!”
The man, who reached them in a single breath, bowed deeply without a hint of shortness of breath. Ho-yeon looked at Mu-gyeong again, completely bewildered by the situation, but Mu-gyeong simply continued walking as if it were nothing.
As Ho-yeon followed him, he glanced back at the watchtower. Far from firing arrows, the people on the tower were likely still prostrate, as they were not clearly visible.
Once inside the massive city gates, Ho-yeon matched his pace with Mu-gyeong. He whispered to the man, who stood significantly taller than him.
“That person is…?”
Setting Mu-gyeong aside, anyone who could let them inside without verifying their identities must have held a significant position.
“Should I call him a servant?”
If he was a servant, he was just a servant; it was a truly strange answer. Mu-gyeong’s servant appeared to be a middle-aged man, and aside from a torn scar at the corner of his mouth, he had a fairly handsome impression. However, Ho-yeon couldn’t understand why the man had been glancing back at him with a look of disbelief for a while now.
“How did your servant know to come meet us?”
“My father becomes greatly enraged if he finds out I’ve visited a courtesan house, so the servant usually comes to meet me instead.”
Mu-gyeong spoke indifferently, as if it were someone else’s business. Indeed, with his face hidden by the bamboo hat and a servant leading the way, it seemed there was no risk of being caught by his father. It appeared that everyone had cleared the path because they recognized Mu-gyeong through the servant.
Mu-gyeong continued walking, seemingly intending to lead him to the officials of the Demon Sect. Another double layer of black outer walls appeared within the city walls, but the second checkpoint was also passed without incident.
Only then did Ho-yeon realize he had truly stepped into the demonic cult headquarters. A massive palace beyond the distant mountains was cast in a dark shadow, and far below it lay a commercial district where merchants and cultists operated.
At the entrance stood a carriage drawn by two horses. The servant opened the carriage door, and Mu-gyeong climbed in after Ho-yeon. The servant took the empty driver’s seat. As the carriage began to move with a shout of “Giddy-up!”, the anxiety Ho-yeon had been suppressing began to creep up from within his chest.
Would Mu-gyeong receive a great reward from the Cult Leader for saving him? Or would the Cult Leader try to kill him the moment he saw him, wanting to consume his yin energy? The elders of the North Sea Ice Palace had said that no matter how ruthless the Demon Sect was, they would not recklessly kill the child of a Palace Lord. At the time, Ho-yeon found that opinion quite convincing.
“And his personality is so eccentric that even Tae-pyeong would weep in comparison.”
That was, until he had heard about the Cult Leader from Mu-gyeong. Furthermore, Seol-young was no longer by his side. If the Cult Leader claimed he found no ice palace inhabitants anywhere and then killed him, no evidence would remain.
Evidence… Once his thoughts reached that point, Ho-yeon hurriedly removed his bamboo hat and looked at Mu-gyeong. If the Cult Leader wanted to destroy the evidence, wouldn’t Mu-gyeong also be in danger?
“Is the Cult Leader… I mean, is the Cult Leader in a position where he can harm the five Great Demonic Elders?”
Mu-gyeong looked at Ho-yeon from beneath his bamboo hat. Since the Palace Lord of the North Sea Ice Palace tended to respect the elders, Ho-yeon held onto a sliver of hope.
“Would a god fear a human?”
Ho-yeon’s heart sank. The Cult Leader was literally the Heavenly Demon, a being revered as a god in this land.
“If something happens to you or your family because of me…”
He would be causing harm to his benefactor instead of repaying the favor; he would have no excuse regardless of how many mouths he had. Ho-yeon’s hands trembled slightly.
“No matter how the Cult Leader is, he wouldn’t harm the child of a Palace Lord.”
Even though Ho-yeon hadn’t fully voiced his thoughts, Mu-gyeong reassured him as if he had guessed his inner turmoil.
“Unless he’s lost his mind.”
“…”
The reassurance was fleeting.
If the Cult Leader’s martial prowess was close to transcending demonicity(1), or if he was on the verge of it, as rumored… Ho-yeon fell into deep contemplation over whether he could actually oppose the Cult Leader, even assuming all the seals placed upon him were released.
Since he had never seen the Cult Leader’s prowess with his own eyes, he couldn’t be certain, but rumors were often exaggerated. Ho-yeon steadied his heart to suppress his anxiety as much as possible.
Eventually, the carriage that had been running for a while came to a stop. As Mu-gyeong attempted to step out first, Ho-yeon grabbed his forearm. Mu-gyeong looked down indifferently at the white hand gripping his arm.
“Thank you for saving me. I mean it. I will definitely repay the favor. In any way I can.”
Ho-yeon spoke with solemnity.
“In any way you can?”
Before he knew it, Mu-gyeong was staring directly into Ho-yeon’s jade-like face. Ho-yeon wasn’t speaking empty words, but for some reason, he felt tense under Mu-gyeong’s dark gaze. Nevertheless, he gave his assurance.
“Yes, definitely.”
Mu-gyeong’s lips curled into a smirk.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Contrary to his words, he didn’t seem to have high expectations. Ho-yeon had no choice but to let go of Mu-gyeong’s arm, and Mu-gyeong stepped down from the carriage.
Ho-yeon took a deep breath to face the Cult Leader’s people who had come to collect him. He braced himself to stay conscious, knowing they might release powerful demonic energy.
It was just as he took a step out of the carriage.
The man who was Mu-gyeong’s servant was standing there, pulling back the curtain in front of a massive inn. Ho-yeon looked around, but there was no one else in sight except for Mu-gyeong in his bamboo hat and his servant.
Was he to meet the Cult Leader’s people at an inn? The choice of location was completely incomprehensible.
“Please come inside.”
The servant spoke politely to the dazed Ho-yeon. Fearing he might lose sight of Mu-gyeong, Ho-yeon gripped his oil-paper umbrella and followed him into the inn.
Inside the inn, which looked to be at least three stories high, there wasn’t a single guest. There had been more people in the tiny inn of Mist Valley.
Mu-gyeong sat in any vacant seat and set aside his bamboo hat. Ho-yeon sat opposite him, glancing around once more. On one side of the inn, there was a large platform where a performer might play music.
“You must be hungry, so I will have the food brought out immediately.”
The servant, holding his fan, bowed deeply and disappeared somewhere inside. Of course, Ho-yeon was hungry, as he hadn’t had a proper meal throughout the journey. But was it alright to eat like this before meeting the Cult Leader’s people? Ho-yeon felt dizzy at Mu-gyeong’s audacity.
“What if something terrible happens because of this?”
Ho-yeon whispered, placing a white hand on his forehead.
“We’re already late; having a meal won’t change anything.”
Mu-gyeong tilted a liquor bottle that had been on the table from the start and poured into the cups. After pouring two glasses, he slid one toward Ho-yeon. It was a light flick of the wrist, but the cup glided as if led by an invisible hand, coming to a stop in front of Ho-yeon.
The liquor, without a single drop spilling, shimmered slowly in the cup. It seemed Mu-gyeong’s level of internal energy operation was considerable, not just in terms of martial prowess, but in his daily life. Ho-yeon let out a small gasp of admiration, then shook his head.
“I’m fine without the alcohol.”
Ho-yeon watched Mu-gyeong’s Adam’s apple as he drank the liquor in one gulp without asking twice. Now that he thought about it, he fully understood the parents’ feelings in choosing the older brother to inherit the family instead of the exceptionally skilled Mu-gyeong. He had never seen the brother’s prowess, but they probably couldn’t have seated someone as reckless as Mu-gyeong as the successor.
“This is no time to be idling. We must report the attack on the Ice Palace and have an audience with the Cult Leader.”
That was also the only way for Mu-gyeong to survive.
==
Transcending demonicity: The highest stage of the Demon Sect’s martial arts. It refers to a state of enlightenment that transcends the demonic.