Chapter 106: A Match Made in Heaven (天生緣分) (1)

"......."

"......."

An awkward silence descended upon the clearing.

Everyone present wore expressions of utter bewilderment as they stared at Il-mok, who found himself increasingly embarrassed under their collective gaze. He let out an awkward cough.

"Ahem. Well... why did you keep your hair so short?"

This was one of the two main reasons he had mistaken her for a man. In this era, long hair was common among men. Moreover, it was almost unheard of for women to cut their hair short.

Il-mok’s question snapped Jeong Hyeon from her daze.

She never would have imagined that Il-mok had been mistaking her for a man all this time.

"I-it was because it would get in the way when shooting arrows..."

While answering Il-mok's question, Jeong Hyeon was thinking of something else.

'So that's what he meant by those words.’

She recalled what had happened that day.

—I'm content just staying here with Disciple Jeong.

The words Il-mok had said to her. Now she understood their meaning.

'...He just meant it was comfortable being with me. Since he thought I was a man.'

Remembering how she had fled in a panic, her heart pounding like a wave crashing against the shore, she couldn't stop her head from drooping.

Seeing Jeong Hyeon suddenly hang her head low, Il-mok felt cold sweat running down his back.

'Shit...'

It wasn't because he thought he might have hurt her feelings by mistaking a woman for a man.

'Don’t look. Get a grip, Il-mok.

The second reason he’d mistaken her for a man kept popping into his head, and he felt his gaze being drawn toward a certain area. It was one thing when he didn’t realize her true identity, but knowingly staring at her now that he knew she was a woman would be sexual harassment.

With Jeong Hyeon hanging her head low and Il-mok averting his eyes to avoid looking at her, silence once again descended upon the clearing.

And the one who broke that silence was none other than Ju Seo-yeon.

“Ah! So that’s why you thought she was a man!”

"???"

Both Il-mok and Jeong Hyeon looked at her with puzzled expressions at her sudden remarks.

“I only found out when we bathed together, but Disciple Jeong wraps her chest in bandages so it doesn't get in the way of her archery.”

"!!!"

'Wraps what?

As Il-mok tried to figure out the omitted subject from Ju Seo-yeon's explanation, she continued.

"It was truly an amazing sight. To think something so magnificent could be hidden just by wrapping it in bandages. Hahaha.”

Ju Seo-yeon gave Jeong Hyeon a thumbs up, as if telling her she was truly spectacular.

"Hiik...."

Ju Seo-yeon’s sudden remarks turned Jeong Hyeon’s face bright red and made her curl into herself.

'She's not an Amazon warrior or anything...'

While Il-mok was having such trivial thoughts, he looked at the embarrassed Jeong Hyeon and the pleased expression on Ju Seo-yeon's face, and belatedly remembered something important.

"Disciple Jeong."

At Il-mok's sudden call, Jeong Hyeon, who had been on the verge of losing her mind from embarrassment, slowly lifted her head to look at him.

"...?"

For some reason, Il-mok was staring at her with an expression more serious than any she had ever seen.

"Listen carefully."

When Jeong Hyeon nodded with a half-dazed face, Il-mok warned her.

“Never, and I mean never, go to the bathhouse together with Disciple Ju."

Il-mok's out-of-the-blue command left not only Jeong Hyeon, but also Baek Cheon and Ju Seo-yeon staring at him completely dumbfounded.

'...Just because people of the same gender use the bathroom together doesn't make it safe.'

What Il-mok had belatedly remembered was Ju Seo-yeon’s… preferences.

***

Around the same time Il-mok was planning to complete his little plan, the Hall Master Yeom Ga-hwi was having a conversation with Instructor Chu Il-hwan in his residence.

This time, it wasn't Yeom Ga-hwi who had summoned the instructor, but Chu Il-hwan who had come to see him. He was here to report on the events of the previous day.

"Hmm. So a student named Jeong Hyeon gained enlightenment thanks to Disciple Il-mok..." Yeom Ga-hwi muttered, stroking his beard with a fist covered in his signature calluses.

'The Supreme One will be very pleased.'

As Yeom Ga-hwi stroked his beard, his mind drifted back to a few days ago, right after Il-mok had returned alive from the Oblivion—no, the Peach Blossom Ridge.

Yeom Ga-hwi had received a summons from the Heavenly Demon and went to the main headquarters to meet with him privately.

'It had been a long time since I'd seen the Supreme One so happy.'

The way the Heavenly Demon recounted Disciple Il-mok’s deeds on the ridge was like watching a marketplace grandfather bragging about his genius grandchild.

Though the Heavenly Demon was generous toward the cult members, Yeom Ga-hwi had never imagined he would become such a doting grandfather.

Then again, considering everything he had seen and heard, he figured anyone would become a doting fool with a disciple like that.

Yeom Ga-hwi’s memory of the Heavenly Demon’s boasting naturally led to what came after.

The reason the Heavenly Demon had summoned him wasn't simply to brag about his disciple.

The main point was actually what came after.

It was just that, like any grandfather, he had gotten carried away bragging about his grandchild and went on too long.

'There are unsavory groups within the Divine Cult.'

The Heavenly Demon suspected that Disciple Il-mok’s disappearance had been a premeditated trap. Obviously, pulling off such a trap requires a rat among the Hall’s assistants or instructors.

Honestly, when Yeom Ga-hwi first heard this, he had mixed feelings.

As the Hall Master, he wasn’t angry that his subordinates were under suspicion. Rather, he was angry that the target of those unsavory people was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple.

Within the Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon was the sole absolute being that existed within the cult. His disciples, while deserving of respect, were not objects of worship or reverence.

‘This must be a preparatory move for the succession war after the Heavenly Demon’s ascension.’

Though the Heavenly Demon called them 'unsavory groups,' in Yeom Ga-hwi's opinion, their purpose was simply to rise to the position of the next cult leader.

From the perspective of a succession war, it was neither foul nor something to consider unsavory. The succession war was a festival of blood where dozens, even hundreds, of masters died.

And Yeom Ga-hwi had personally witnessed that festival of blood as a fledgling who had just graduated from the Hall of the Demonic Way.

Back then, the Hall of the Demonic Way was a hell where half the students died and only half survived. But the cult during the succession war made even that hell look like child's play.

And the one who had won that festival of blood was the current Heavenly Demon.

Even after that, challengers to the cult leader position appeared from time to time.

The one who had defeated those challengers, finally mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts, and ultimately reached the noble position of Heavenly Demon was the man before him, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi.

For Yeom Ga-hwi, who remembered how the old man had clawed his way to the noble position of Heavenly Demon, it couldn't help but feel like overprotection.

As if reading Yeom Ga-hwi's inner thoughts, the Heavenly Demon added, "This old man knows what Hall Master Yeom is thinking. But Il-mok is not even twenty yet. If a grown martial artist dreams of becoming the Heavenly Demon and loses his life during the process, that is the will of heaven. But that child is not yet old enough to be caught in a succession war. He should at least have the chance to decide for himself after he comes of age, don't you think?”

Yeom Ga-hwi prostrated himself and showed respect at those words.

"I shall follow your command."

As the Hall Master responsible for teaching young disciples, it was a reason he could accept. He had been planning to follow the Heavenly Demon’s will in the first place.

Who is he to defy the noble Heavenly Demon’s will?

Reflecting on that day's events, Yeom Ga-hwi looked at Chu Il-hwan standing before him.

'There are people targeting Young Master Il-mok in the Hall of the Demonic Way.'

With thoughts of the accomplice in mind, Yeom Ga-hwi asked Chu Il-hwan, "How are the side effects of the Black Thunder Demonic Art these days?"

"...Though I haven't completely escaped them yet, I have achieved some progress. All of this is thanks to you, Hall Master."

Chu Il-hwan immediately clasped his hands and expressed his gratitude, his usual playful expression replaced by one of grave sincerity.

***

Chu Il-hwan and Yeom Ga-hwi had known each other long before their time at the Hall of the Demonic Way.

When Chu Il-hwan had just graduated from the Hall of the Demonic Way and joined the Red Dragon Corps, the leader of that Red Dragon Corps had been none other than Yeom Ga-hwi, who was making a name for himself as the Fist Demon (拳魔) at the time.

As the commander of his brigade and a renowned master, Chu Il-hwan had admired him from the start.

Yeon Ga-hwi, however, had viewed Chu Il-hwan unfavorably.

This was because a few years before Chu Il-hwan entered the Hall of the Demonic Way, the Heavenly Demon had completely reformed the Hall, essentially transforming that hellish place to become more survivable.

For Yeom Ga-hwi, who had endured the Hall where half the students died, those who graduated after the reforms were nothing but half-baked.

But despite Yeom Ga-hwi's disapproving gaze, Chu Il-hwan persistently followed him. After years of fighting alongside him in the Red Dragon Brigade, Yeom Ga-hwi finally acknowledged him, realizing that graduating from the reformed Hall didn't make him any less of a warrior.

Then, after several more years had passed, when Yeom Ga-hwi had succeeded in mastering the Asura Blood Fist to the realm of Transcendence, a command came from the Heavenly Demon.

To take the position of Hall Master of the Hall of the Demonic Way, and if necessary, to select a few trustworthy people as instructors.

Following the Heavenly Demon's command, before leaving for the Hall of the Demonic Way, Yeom Ga-hwi had offered Chu Il-hwan the instructor position.

But Chu Il-hwan had refused, citing the side effects of the Black Thunder Demonic Art as the reason.

“My Lord. If I become an instructor at the Hall, I might end up killing the students.”

He had refused so as not to cause trouble for Yeom Ga-hwi, but Yeom Ga-hwi wouldn't take no for an answer.

“Think of it the other way around. If you continue to serve in a brigade while suffering from homicidal impulses, you'll end up succumbing to those impulses every time. Teaching those youngsters will force you to suppress those urges. That might open your path to Transcendence.”

"!!!"

Chu Il-hwan, who had shown a surprised expression, later composed himself and answered, “But I might not be able to overcome the impulse and could cause an accident. I cannot burden you for the sake of my own advancement, my Lord.”

“You have become arrogant. Do you think you could cause an accident while under my watch? I will take responsibility and stop you, so do not worry.”

Moved by Yeom Ga-hwi's consideration, Chu Il-hwan eventually followed him to transfer to the Hall of the Demonic Way.

During the years he spent helping Yeom Ga-hwi teach the students at the hall, there were several incidents where he succumbed to his impulse or fell into Qi Deviation and nearly killed students, but Yeom Ga-hwi successfully prevented any major incidents from happening.

‘It is all thanks to the Hall Master that I have been able to grow this much.’

And just as Yeom Ga-hwi had said, suppressing his homicidal urges while dealing with the students had yielded some results.

Though Transcendence was still a long way off, Chu Il-hwan had overcome one wall and begun to escape from Extremity.

***

"I will never disappoint you, Hall Master."

As if making a vow to himself, Chu Il-hwan, who had been clasping his hands, spoke to Yeom Ga-hwi with sincerity.

Yeom Ga-hwi watched him for a moment before speaking. “Keep what I am about to tell you to yourself.”

With that, Yeom Ga-hwi informed Chu Il-hwan of what the Heavenly Demon had instructed.

He knew he couldn’t monitor all the instructors and assistants alone. Moreover, having been together for over twenty years since their Red Dragon Corps days, he judged that Chu Il-hwan could be trusted.

"I will monitor the assistant and instructors as usual in my capacity as Hall Master."

“Then I will watch over Disciple Il-mok’s surroundings, Hall Master."

"Do so."

Yeom Ga-hwi sent him a look filled with trust.

After showing respect to Yeom Ga-hwi once more and leaving the Hall Master's quarters, a coldly murderous smile appeared on Chu Il-hwan's face.

'How dare they try to bring dishonor to the Hall Master.'

Attempting to assassinate the Young Master while Yeom Ga-hwi was the Hall Master was no different from a challenge to Yeom Ga-hwi himself.

Chu Il-hwan, who followed Yeom Ga-hwi like a father, was determined to find and slaughter those people without fail.