Chapter 334: Their Past (1)

“Cheon Jumyeong, Cheon Jumun. The Cult Leader summons you two. Prepare yourselves immediately.”

“……?”

Once again, as I had been wasting my time and alcohol in the Cheon Clan’s manor, I lazily opened my eyes at the sudden summons from the Cult Leader.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no reason for the Cult Leader to call for me out of nowhere.

Especially since it was widely known within the Cheon Clan that I despised the Cult Leader.

But even so, I couldn’t refuse the summons.

Whatever the case, the one calling was the Cult Leader.

When the two of us arrived at the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, moving sluggishly, the current Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Cheon Myeongjo, was sitting on the Grand Advisor’s Seat with a solemn expression.

Cheon Jumyeong and Cheon Jumun immediately knelt before the Cult Leader and bowed their heads.

“We greet the Cult Leader.”

“Yes, you’ve come. Raise your heads.”

“……?”

The moment I saw that reaction, I instinctively felt something off about the Cult Leader.

‘Impatience?’

The Cult Leader I knew liked to assert his authority.

He wasn’t the kind of person to jump straight to the point like this.

‘Did the Murim Alliance march in with their entire army to invade Ten Thousand Mountain?’

If not, I couldn’t explain the subtle emotions leaking from the Cult Leader right now.

Eventually, the source of that impatience was revealed.

“Two days ago, the Young Cult Leader ran away from Ten Thousand Mountain.”

“……What?”

Even someone like me, Cheon Jumyeong, couldn’t help but stupidly repeat those words.

“B-but isn’t the Young Cult Leader scheduled to be engaged soon to the daughter of the Head of Mosan Sect?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why?”

“He said he didn’t like that marriage. He left a letter saying he’d find his own partner and ran away.”

“…….”

At that moment, I struggled desperately to hold back the laughter bubbling up inside me.

What a crazy lunatic bastard!

“Keuh! Kkeuhp!”

I somehow managed to control the muscles on my face and steady my trembling breath and emotions.

If I laughed here, it would be immediate death without question!

But honestly…

If it had been me, I probably would have run away too.

I had heard that the successor of Mosan Sect was no ordinary woman.

Even though Mosan Sect had made a name for itself as a sect of drunken martial artists, it was still far beneath the Heavenly Demon Cult in standing.

If anything, I would have understood if he had chosen to marry someone from the Heavenly Illusion Clan instead.

“So, why did you summon me?”

“Hoo….”

Cheon Myeongjo leaned back heavily on the Grand Advisor’s Seat and let out a deep sigh.

“Tracking.”

…Of course.

“I’ve already dispatched forces to chase after him, but no matter how fast they move, they won’t be able to cross Gansu. Even if we push the search area to the limit, Shaanxi would be the furthest.”

That was true.

Any further, and it would be war.

Still, I didn’t like what the Cult Leader had just implied.

In my mind, the Cult Leader of the Great Heavenly Demon Cult should have had the audacity to turn the entire Central Plains upside down to retrieve a runaway heir.

“I heard you and Cheon Jumun have achieved quite noteworthy results recently.”

“Your praise is undeserved.”

Even if it was noteworthy, we had only just reached the brink of Peak Master Level.

Of course, even that much made us virtually unmatched among the younger generation disciples of the Cheon Clan.

“Track the Young Cult Leader’s movements and report weekly.”

“If we end up clashing with the Young Cult Leader… we won’t be able to handle him.”

The Young Cult Leader was a monster.

Despite being around our age, he had already broken through to the Peak Master Level.

No, considering the last time I had seen him was years ago, he might have reached the Extreme Demon Realm by now.

“I’m not expecting you to confront him. That mad dog is beyond anyone’s control anyway. Just confirm his movements somehow.”

“If it’s just that much…”

“Depart immediately.”

“We obey.”

We both bowed our heads in unison.

***

“Click, it’s been a while since I’ve had such a damned errand outside Ten Thousand Mountain.”

The pursuit itself would be rough, but it wasn’t impossible.

That bastard Young Cult Leader would never simply run quietly.

Well, since it wasn’t a direct confrontation and we only needed to observe his movements, the mission itself seemed manageable.

“Jumyeong.”

“Yeah?”

Cheon Jumun, who had been silent the entire time inside the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, suddenly spoke.

“Lately, I’ve been worried about Juchun.”

“……Ah, that’s true.”

My expression twisted into a grimace.

“Damn it. What the hell did he get into? Should I beat it out of him one of these days?”

Our other brother, Cheon Juchun, had recently become like a deranged madman.

Of course, physically he seemed perfectly healthy…

But he was so extremely focused on something that his cheeks had sunken in as if he hadn’t eaten in months, and sometimes he mumbled in strange, ancient words that we couldn’t understand.

“I heard he made great progress in some kind of research. He said that once he got the ‘materials’, he might be able to find a breakthrough.”

“Materials… what, does he need some puppet ginseng or a ten-thousand-year-old fire pear or something?”

Of course, even if those ancient elixirs were nearly mythical, with the Heavenly Demon Cult’s resources, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

“Who knows, it didn’t sound like it was anything medicinal.”

“Hmm. Well, I guess it’s good to hear he’s making progress…”

I narrowed my eyes and covered my mouth with my hand.

“But I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“…….”

It wasn’t the experiment itself that concerned me.

Right now, Cheon Juchun seemed so obsessed with his goal that the boundary between good and evil had completely crumbled.

Of course, for people like us who walked the path of the Demonic Faction, such obsession was nothing unusual.

But if he couldn’t pull himself out of that obsession, wouldn’t the end result be Qi Deviation?

“Whatever the case, once this mission is over, we might need to sit down and have a serious talk with Juchun.”

“I agree.”

Cheon Jumun expressed deep agreement with my words.

And so, the two of us, following the secret orders of the Cult Leader, departed from Ten Thousand Mountain not long after.

Although we struggled with the pursuit because the Cult Leader’s two guards—former assassins—had done a perfect job covering up the tracks, after several months of tracking, we finally succeeded in locating the Young Cult Leader at the hidden stronghold of the Blood Sect.

And then…

“Ah….”

At the place where we found the Young Cult Leader, Cheon Taejong…

I, Cheon Jumyeong, ended up falling for the Blood Sect’s Shrine Maiden, Jeok Hawol, at first sight.

About a year had passed since then.

It had been half a year since I returned to the Cult along with the Young Cult Leader, but I was feeling more disturbed than ever.

Because in just a few short months, Cheon Jumyeong—who had promised to help persuade Cheon Juchun—had turned into an even worse wreck than Cheon Juchun.

“Sigh….”

“…….”

“Hoo….”

“…….”

Endless sighs that felt like they could reach the depths of hell echoed out.

Unlike Cheon Juchun, whose circumstances I couldn’t quite grasp, the reason for Cheon Jumyeong’s current state was painfully clear.

But because of that, there was little I could do.

All I could do was offer my silent support, encouraging my brother to open his heart.

“Forget about the Little Demon Empress. She is the Young Cult Leader’s partner now.”

“I want to….”

Cheon Jumyeong let out yet another deep sigh.

They say distance makes the heart grow distant.

Maybe if he never saw her again, someday he might be able to sort out these complicated feelings….

“Ah, hello?”

At the entrance to the manor, Jeok Hawol peeked her head in, causing the two of us to fall silent, speechless.

“…….”

“…….”

“Uh, w-was I interrupting? If so, I can come back later….”

“No, please, come in, Little Demon Empress.”

Cheon Jumyeong hurriedly straightened his robes and welcomed Jeok Hawol along with Jeok Rua, who followed as her escort.

Little Demon Empress, Jeok Hawol.

But there were hardly any who called her by that title, not only in the Cheon Clan but in the entire Heavenly Demon Cult.

Among the cult members, she was known not as the ‘Little Demon Empress,’ but as the ‘Shrine Maiden of the Blood Sect.’

The Heavenly Demon Cult had not recognized her as the future Demonic Empress.

In particular, the Cheon Clan had been the strongest in opposition, and when the Six Great Demonic Clans joined in, public opinion toward her had reached rock bottom.

In such circumstances, there were very few who could offer her any support.

‘Damn that Cult Leader….’

With the Young Cult Leader locked away in Iron Steed Prison Cave under the pretense of disciplinary confinement, she had been left all alone, surrounded by enemies.

And in such a situation, the Cult Leader had publicly welcomed her, claiming she would remain under their protection until the Young Cult Leader’s confinement was lifted.

But the Cult Leader wasn’t the only one who welcomed her.

“Hehe… Greetings, Little Demon Empress.”

“…Yes, hello.”

I felt a strange discomfort as I watched Cheon Juchun eyeing Jeok Hawol with an ominous glint in his eyes.

Still, since it didn’t seem like lust but something else, I held myself back.

“Well then, I look forward to the next experiment.”

“…Yes.”

I didn’t miss the brief shadow that passed over Jeok Hawol’s face.

I had asked what that experiment was, but both Cheon Juchun and Jeok Hawol had refused to tell me, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Even when I later volunteered to participate, Cheon Juchun rejected me, saying the experiment was nearing completion anyway.

I bit my lip as I watched Jeok Hawol force a bright smile.

‘She must have no choice but to go along with it.’

She had abandoned everything and pledged herself to the Cult, only to find both the Cult and the Blood Sect rejecting her.

The Cult Leader, who had the power to protect her, had used that power to throw her into some mysterious experiment.

Perhaps locking the Young Cult Leader in Iron Steed Prison Cave had been part of this scheme all along?

‘Damn it.’

For the first time, I felt truly powerless.

I hated myself for being unable to do anything in this situation.

‘If only I had power.’

If only I held power that no one could dare to challenge!

Then I could have protected her with my own hands!

It was around this time that I, Cheon Jumyeong, who had lived like a wastrel, first began making my mark in the history of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Not long after, the Young Cult Leader, Cheon Taejong, returned from confinement and took Jeok Hawol away.

And for the next two years, I didn’t see her again.

I threw myself into my work as if I had gone mad.

I did whatever it took to gain achievements, sparing no means to crush my rivals.

Just two years.

That was how long it took before I earned the title of Demon Gentleman and was appointed as the leader of Demonic Arts Pavilion, one of the divisions of the Nine Demon Halls.

While I had been busy trying to forget her in those days…

“Hello, Jumyeong.”

Jeok Hawol arrived at Demonic Arts Pavilion, holding two children in her arms.

I was utterly shocked as I looked at the two peacefully sleeping infants.

“T-the children….”

They were newborns, one just recently born, and the other slightly older with a bit of hair.

With a somewhat weary expression, Jeok Hawol spoke.

“They’re my daughters.”

“……!”

I had known that she had given birth to a daughter before.

But I was hearing for the first time that she had given birth to another.

While I stood there, unsure of what to say, stammering…

“I have a favor to ask.”

“……!?”

Suddenly, Jeok Hawol knelt before me and bowed her head.

“I know it’s shameless of me… but please, take care of these children.”

I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“What do you mean by this? What about the Young Cult Leader!?”

Jeok Hawol spoke words I couldn’t comprehend.

“The Cheon Clan alone isn’t enough. No matter how strong he is, he can’t stop their infiltration on his own….”

“Their…? Who are you talking about?”

Jeok Hawol spoke in a daze, as if possessed by something, pushing her words forward.

“I couldn’t think of anyone else to turn to… except you….”

Her tone shifted back to the way she used to speak when we had grown a little closer at the manor.

“…….”

“Please.”

Seeing the sorrowful expression on her face, I couldn’t help but say I understood.

At my words, Jeok Hawol brightened and began to shed tears of gratitude.

“Thank you. Truly, thank you….”

She bowed repeatedly, thanking me, and then left.

I stood there blankly, watching her figure fade into the distance.

‘What the hell happened in the Cheon Clan while I wasn’t looking?’

In that moment, I resolved to uncover the truth about that experiment, no matter what it took.

However.

The very next day, that resolve was forced to be postponed by a series of shocking reports.

A report from the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad stated that the Blood Sect’s Shrine Maiden, Jeok Hawol, had kidnapped the first daughter, Cheon Yujeong, and escaped from the Cult.

And then…

A kill order was issued against my own brother, Cheon Juchun—one of the experiment’s participants.

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