HSA 9

How much time had passed since then?

A light, rustling sound of footsteps echoed from beyond the plum blossom forest.

A man was about to enter the mansion that seemed to be his home when he spotted a child crouching and sleeping in front of the gate, and he looked around.

‘What’s this child? There’s no way a child could have climbed this cliff alone.’

The man bent down and looked at the child. Then, long black hair flowed over one shoulder.

As it did, his beautiful face was slightly revealed. It was none other than Mae-yeong. Although Ak Mujin had never seen Mae-yeong in person, it was definitely Mae-yeong, even if you saw him while riding the KTX.

The person Ak Mujin had been so eagerly waiting for.

“Little one, wake up.”

Ak Mujin watched from afar as Mae-yeong woke Jin Geum-ryeon.

If you were to ask him why he was still here, all he could say was that he had reached quite a distance from the mansion but couldn’t bring himself to leave, and had hesitated for a long time.

Even though he had taken the child to Mae-yeong’s house, how could he not be worried?

He could only turn back after seeing the scene of the two of them definitely meeting.

He felt very reassured, as if he had entrusted the child to the most outstanding babysitter in the world.

Inside the dim Taecheong Hall, the Cult Leader’s displeased voice echoed through the main hall.

“So, you’re a bit late.”

“Yes, something came up.”

Ak Mujin was kneeling at the Cult Leader’s feet, bowing his head.

As soon as he arrived at the cult, he first checked whether all the Crimson Kill Squad members had returned, and whether Seo-mok was among them. Fortunately, she had returned safely and was waiting for the Cult Leader’s next order.

“Hmm, seeing that your hands are empty… I hope I’m not hearing news that you chased after those bastards’ offspring and lost them?”

“…….”

The Cult Leader’s displeasure was due to this very reason.

He was not pleased that he had sent his most cherished Second Young Master, but he had returned having missed two out of the three targets.

“Bringing Namgung Cheon’s head was well done! But as you foretold, you failed to bring Jin Sang-aeng’s head.”

Ak Mujin bringing Namgung Cheon’s head was the only thing he had done that he liked. The Namgung Clan would be furious about this.

“I apologize, Cult Leader.”

Ak Mujin didn’t dare to raise his head and lowered his eyes as he spoke.

He felt uneasy again. He hadn’t completely failed to anticipate this situation when he saved Jin Geum-ryeon, but now that it had actually happened, he was afraid of what punishment the Cult Leader would give him.

“And you even lost the child. How do you intend to explain this?”

“…I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit.”

The Cult Leader clicked his tongue in displeasure and rose from his seat, descending from the platform. Then, he bent down and lightly touched Ak Mujin’s chin, making him raise his head.

Ak Mujin’s handsome face was revealed.

He pondered with a blank expression.

What punishment would he give? Anything was fine, as long as it wasn’t corporal punishment.

“I hereby sentence Second Young Master Ak Mujin to twenty lashes and six months of confinement!”

Hearing those words, Ak Mujin closed his eyes and sighed inwardly.

Ah, he wanted to cry.

“Thank you, Cult Leader. I will ensure that this does not happen again in the future.”

“Very well, you may leave.”

Ak Mujin rose from his seat and bowed once more before leaving Taecheong Hall. Two or so subordinates in charge of the cult’s punishments followed behind him. The subordinates felt their fingertips freeze at the Second Young Master’s cold face.

Isn’t it usually a year of confinement? What a waste!

The lashes weren’t the problem for him.

The price for saving the protagonist was higher than he had expected.

Twenty lashes were by no means a small number. More than six months had passed, but the scars on Ak Mujin’s back were not easily fading. Nevertheless, Ak Mujin was simply delighted with the six months of confinement he had received from the Cult Leader.

He had been sent on several external missions as soon as his confinement ended, so he knew how precious that time had been, but he had to realize it even more clearly.

“Disciple, have you been well? I heard you were given a mission immediately after your confinement, so I couldn’t come to see you and waited a long time.”

When Ak Mujin appeared at the main hall for the first time in a while due to the banquet, the Elders stirred slightly, and the First Young Master came down first to greet him.

First Young Master Kang Mu-hui had sent Mujin gifts but had not received good news, so he was quite disappointed. He forced a smile and patted Mujin’s shoulder, seating him in his place.

Kang Mu-hui had received the Cult Leader’s teachings early on, but he had not surpassed the Second Young Master Ak Mujin in skill. Therefore, when he looked at Ak Mujin, he always felt like he was swallowing poison while pretending to be a good senior disciple.

“I missed you very much as well, Senior Brother. I drank the tea you sent with great care.”

Kang Mu-hui’s lips twitched as he forced a smile at Ak Mujin’s slow and pointed words.

Ak Mujin had received quite a few gifts from the First and Third Young Masters during his confinement.

Of course, their gifts occasionally contained cleverly disguised poison, but Ak Mujin wasn’t one to covet wealth, so he wasn’t easily fooled by such things.

In the first place, even though it was confinement, it wasn’t as if Ak Mujin was being neglected by the Cult Leader, so he wasn’t in a particularly difficult situation. Therefore, even if the gifts he received were not poisoned, there weren’t many uses for them.

“Greetings, Senior Brothers.”

It was Third Young Master Joo Mu-jeong. He walked over leisurely and greeted them with his hands clasped.

“Second Brother Ak seems to look even better than before?”

Joo Mu-jeong smiled and looked at Ak Mujin’s face. He felt a pang of guilt inside. Honestly, he had been doing too well.

“Spending time quietly was better than I thought.”

Joo Mu-jeong sat in the seat below him, not losing his smile as Ak Mujin spoke nonchalantly.

“It’s nice to have the three of us together after so long.”

“Indeed. Don’t create any more reasons for confinement in the future, Junior Brother Ak.”

“I’ll try not to.”

While they were making small talk, people filled the empty seats one after another.

And then the Cult Leader appeared. The people who were seated all rose at once and bowed to him.

“Sit, sit.”

Only after the Cult Leader sat on the throne did he majestically seat them.

The people all sat down at once and listened attentively to the Cult Leader’s words.

“The reason I have personally held this banquet today is not for any other reason. The position of Vice Cult Leader has been vacant for far too long.”

The Cult Leader went straight to the point. The hall instantly became noisy and stirred. The First and Third Young Masters also pricked up their ears, listening intently to what the Cult Leader was saying.

“As our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has prospered and the number of cult members has increased, so has the burden of important duties. Therefore, I have decided that I can no longer delay this.”

Even as Ak Mujin listened to the Cult Leader’s words, he was thinking about other things in his head.

“I won’t beat around the bush any longer and will say it directly. Ak Mujin, from today onwards, you are the Vice Cult Leader.”

Huh?

Huh???

The surroundings stirred.

There were even Elders who were saying that they had already expected it.

But Ak Mujin was the only one who hadn’t expected it at all. Ak Mujin had glossed over this part while writing the novel, so he had no idea that the Demonic Cult bastards would create such a narrative among themselves.

According to his story, Ak Mujin was the Second Young Master until he died, so it was unknown where things had gone wrong.

Ak Mujin hesitated, wondering if he could really do this, but he couldn’t just sit there dumbfounded when the Cult Leader reached out to him.

He awkwardly scratched his ear and stepped forward.

“Ak Mujin. You are not only the most outstanding of my three disciples, but you also have merits to your name and are of a certain age, so I believe you deserve to be treated as Vice-Cult Leader.”

Really? Just like that, without me doing anything?

“But, Cult Leader. Wouldn’t First Young Master Kang be more suitable than I?”

Ak Mujin wasn’t trying to be humble, but he was genuinely curious, so he asked the Cult Leader.

“This cult determines positions solely based on strength, how dare you say such a thing?”

Ak Mujin turned around at those words and saw that Kang Mu-hwi’s face was flushed red. However, he still wore a smile.

“…It’s an honor, Cult Leader.”

Ak Mujin gave up on further questioning and bowed his head, and servants came out and handed him a jade seal and a plausible Royal Edict.

He dazedly accepted them and sat in the seat below the Cult Leader, as ordered.

“Now, let’s enjoy the Vice-Cult Leader’s celebration! Bring in the dancers and the wine!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the dancers rushed in, and maids approached the Cult Leader, the Elders, and the three Young Masters, pouring them wine.

“Congratulations, Vice-Cult Leader.”

First Young Master Kang Mu-hwi and Third Young Master Ju Mu-jeong bowed to Ak Mujin simultaneously.

The Elders sitting behind them also acknowledged Ak Mujin, putting their hands together and showing respect. Neither of the Young Masters had good expressions, but First Young Master Kang’s expression, who had been treating Mujin casually until just now, was the worst.

‘This is going to be trouble later.’

“Thank you, Senior Brother. And Junior Brother.”

Ak Mujin shared drinks with them and watched the banquet.

In fact, Ak Mujin becoming the Vice-Cult Leader wasn’t a big deal in itself.

But there’s also the butterfly effect. A small breeze created by a butterfly’s wings can turn into a storm.

Ak Mujin felt uneasy because he didn’t know how this small change would alter the story.