By Zephyria 
HF 23
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“That was a fine performance.”
In other words, it meant he should hand the gold coin to the seven-stringed zither player. Not silver, but gold. The waiter dared not even touch the gold coin, merely glancing back and forth between Do-gyeon and Mu-gyeong.
Do-gyeon looked on in bewilderment as Mu-gyeong abruptly left the pavilion, but a deep smile soon spread across his face. It had been a very long time. He was recalling the Mu-gyeong of the days when he was a human, not a god, before being incinerated by the lava of the Fire Dragon.
“If the senior intends to take another disciple, he would do well to keep a tighter leash on them.”
At the time, sixteen-year-old Mu-gyeong had beheaded Do-gyeon’s only disciple and thrown the head before him. The disciple had been taken in for his great talent, but he was evil by nature, committing murders for his own pleasure. Do-gyeon had already been intending to destroy the disciple’s dantian.
While Mu-gyeong’s martial prowess was impressive, it was nothing compared to Do-gyeon’s at the time. Despite that, Mu-gyeong had boldly cut off the disciple’s head and tossed it to Do-gyeon.
“Since this young master has taken away my disciple, shouldn’t he fill that vacancy instead?”
“One cannot have two masters under the same sky. You know, senior, you lost a great deal because of your pride.”
Mu-gyeong had smiled mischievously with that handsome face of his.
The First Young Master, Cheon Beom-yeong, had served under a distinguished demonic practitioner as his master since the age of five, but the Second Young Master, Mu-gyeong, had no master even at the age of ten. Then one day, the Cult Leader suddenly mentioned that he would appoint a master for Mu-gyeong. This was because rumors had spread that he was openly favoring only the First Young Master.
Do-gyeon had shown no interest when Cheon Beom-yeong’s master was being chosen, but inwardly, he had hoped to become Mu-gyeong’s master. At the time, Do-gyeon was the highest-ranking demonic practitioner aside from the Cult Leader, so he expected he would be able to take Mu-gyeong as his disciple.
Mu-gyeong’s achievement in demonic arts was already so high without a master; if he were to meet Do-gyeon, it would be like giving him wings. Do-gyeon wanted to see with his own eyes just how high Mu-gyeong could climb.
However, even after the day for assigning masters had passed, no one came to him. It was only much later that Do-gyeon learned that the Sword Demon had become Mu-gyeong’s master. Only then could he guess the Cult Leader’s dark intentions.
The former Cult Leader of the demon sect was a man whose strategic brilliance surpassed his martial prowess. Unlike Cheon Beom-yeong’s master, who had powerful backing, the Sword Demon had none. By assigning the Sword Demon as Mu-gyeong’s master, the Cult Leader had publicly signaled that he had no intention of letting Mu-gyeong succeed him.
The reason the Cult Leader wanted Cheon Beom-yeong as the Young Cult Leader was that Cheon Beom-yeong’s maternal relatives were a pro-Cult Leader faction that boasted great power even among the five great demonic elder families. Of course, by now, they had all been executed by Mu-gyeong and had long since become corpses.
How appalled had Do-gyeon been long ago by Mu-gyeong’s cunning, which had seen right through him?
It might have been natural that the Cult Leader didn’t appoint him as Mu-gyeong’s master, but he felt that Mu-gyeong should have at least come to him. Even if he wasn’t from a family with great influence, he could have been a powerful source of strength for Mu-gyeong. But Mu-gyeong had seen the situation correctly.
The Second Young Master, Mu-gyeong, who had no maternal clan to call his own, had no right to choose a master from the start. Do-gyeon would have had to personally visit the Cult Leader and strongly request to become Mu-gyeong’s master. But at that time, he was too busy upholding his pride toward both the Cult Leader and Mu-gyeong.
Originally, the position of Cult Leader was a supreme rank that could only be attained through immense martial prowess. Do-gyeon had grown weary of the former Cult Leader, who manipulated the sect through strategy. Thus, he had stepped down from the rank of the number one demonic master and lived in semi-seclusion.
“Hmph, Cheon Beom-yeong was a nuisance. He was never in this old monster’s sight to begin with. Well, I just thought you’d be better than that brat becoming the Cult Leader.”
Do-gyeon muttered to himself and tilted his liquor bottle. Then he watched Ho-yeon, whose lips parted in a small ‘o’ as he received the gold coin from the waiter.
“Has that fellow finally met his match?”
There was no way to know what had happened to Mu-gyeong after he fell into the lava, but that was the turning point when Mu-gyeong transformed into a man devoid of emotion.
Do-gyeon wore a smirk as Ho-yeon approached him with the gold coin in hand.
“Elder Do-gyeon…”
Ho-yeon began cautiously, using the name he had overheard.
“If it’s alright, could you tell me the name of the person who gave me this gold coin?”
Do-gyeon shrugged.
“Who knows. Perhaps he didn’t want to be called a sugar daddy?”
Do-gyeon chuckled. Seeing Ho-yeon’s bewildered expression, Do-gyeon added one more thing.
“What is certain is that, as far as I know, he’s the wealthiest man in the demon sect. No, perhaps the wealthiest man in all the Central Plains. Hehe.”
Thinking that Do-gyeon was simply boasting due to the heavy influence of the alcohol, Ho-yeon only asked him to pass along his greetings.
“I have no hobby of delivering messages, so just deduct the cost of the liquor I drank from that coin instead.”
Do-gyeon snatched another new bottle of liquor and gulped it down like water. The taste was exquisite. For some reason, Do-gyeon had been full of joy lately. It seemed evident that Wi Ho-yeon, who had come from the North Sea, had brought a fresh breeze with him.
* * *
The true value of the Jade Pavilion revealed itself only after darkness fell. The Jade Pavilion was shaped like an island floating on a lake, accessible only by bridge or boat.
When the pavilion, glowing with magnificent lanterns, was reflected on the surface of the lake, it looked as if the Dragon King’s underwater palace had appeared in the water. Because it was such an expensive establishment, many people gathered outside the bridge just to admire the spectacle.
Creek, crack. The precisely fitted wooden bridge made an unsettling sound. Ho-yeon, with the seven-stringed zither on his back and a blue oil-paper umbrella in his hand, looked down at the ground for a moment.
Perhaps because it was a night where even the moon was hidden by clouds, the wooden bridge felt more ominous than usual. However, the bridge crossing the lake was wide and sturdy enough for a double-horse carriage to pass. He likely felt an unnecessary sense of apprehension because of the gold coin in his pocket.
Step, step. The sound of Ho-yeon’s footsteps crossing the wooden bridge was steady. As if he disliked the ominous creaking, he skillfully avoided the parts where friction would occur.
The lanterns from the pavilion still illuminated Ho-yeon. His figure was perfectly mirrored on the calm surface of the lake, where not a single breeze blew.
The person holding the oil-paper umbrella looked as if he were walking through the water. However, a sudden gust of wind scattered the reflection on the water like a mirage. His hair, tied up loosely with a single silk ribbon, looked as if it might come undone at any moment.
There was a figure secretly following behind Ho-yeon: Young Master Yeom. He channeled his internal energy to erase his presence as much as possible, trailing Ho-yeon from a set distance. Seeing Ho-yeon occasionally look back, he thought that despite being an idiot, the boy’s instincts were quite sharp.
‘I will definitely take that thing today.’
Fortunately, Do-gyeon seemed to have no further intention of playing tricks on Ho-yeon and remained at the pavilion. From the looks of it, not only Do-gyeon but also the fellow who had been with him seemed interested in Ho-yeon.
To give away a gold coin for a mere performance… Everyone knew who could mobilize that much money, yet strangely, this was the first time such a thing had been seen at the Jade Pavilion.
No matter how high his status, Young Master Yeom did not possess the wealth to casually hand over a gold coin to a zither player. Thus, the unusual behavior of the other party made him anxious. Now that it had come to this, he had to act before others could set their sights on Ho-yeon.
Since ordinary sect members rarely ventured out after sunset, the area around the village was not just quiet, but almost eerie. Ho-yeon’s back, as he cut through the darkness guided by the lanterns hanging throughout the marketplace, looked perilously defenseless.
That fool. What would he do if he encountered a vicious demonic practitioner? Deeply “concerned,” Young Master Yeom closed the distance in an instant.
He fully intended to snatch Ho-yeon’s body and drag him away to the safety of his own home. He chuckled to himself, thinking that where else would a creature like that meet a noble person like him? With the reliable backing of his mother, a 15th-rank master, Young Master Yeom feared nothing in the world.
However, a subtle sense of bewilderment spread across Young Master Yeom’s sinister face. Only after getting close to Ho-yeon did he realize that the top of Ho-yeon’s head was slightly higher than his own.
Though the difference wasn’t great, Young Master Yeom was shocked. Since they had never stood face-to-face, he hadn’t expected Ho-yeon to be taller than him.
What does it matter if I’m a bit shorter? I can just crush him.
The Pavilion Master had said he didn’t know where Ho-yeon lived, and seeing as he was heading toward the mountains, leaving the village behind, he must be living in extreme poverty. Having run out of patience, Young Master Yeom finally reached out toward Ho-yeon, who was about to cross a bridge over a stream.