Seo Cheong did not back down from the challenge to duel and remained standing.

He lived and died by his pride. With Seok Pung and the others watching, he refused to kneel before them.

Geom Mugeuk returned Seo Cheong’s earlier words to him exactly.

“Strong pride? Well, pride is a warrior’s life.”

At that moment, a murderous spirit surged in Seo Cheong. He imagined stabbing Geom Mugeuk to death right before his eyes—slashing through even the rushing demons. The thrill of standing drenched in blood, admired and feared by all, was intoxicating.

He disliked Geom Mugeuk’s clear and deep gaze, as if transparently seeing into his desire.

“How could I ever dare to cross swords with the Little Pill Master of the demonic sect?”

No matter how wounded his pride, he was not foolish enough to attack the Little Pill Master.

“When someone pleaded like this, did you grant their request?”

At first, Seo Cheong didn’t understand, but then he remembered. Recently, a man he had crushed in a duel had begged the same way—claiming he was no match and asking for mercy.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Didn’t that friend explain the reason just now?”

“That bastard’s words are all lies!”

Then Seok Pung, kneeling, shouted,

“I know where the bodies are buried.”

Watching the man who was willing to die with him, Seo Cheong ground his teeth.

“That idiot!”

The two glared at each other as if to kill.

Seo Cheong’s gaze returned to Geom Mugeuk.

“They were all insignificant people—low-ranking warriors, passing civilians. I’ll compensate for all of them.”

Geom Mugeuk opened his hand and unleashed his demonic energy.

At that moment, Seo Cheong plunged into a sea of unknown depth.

Pressure constricted his entire body, choking him.

He tried to resist, but it was useless. His internal energy techniques, swordsmanship, and methods to control his mind—all trained from youth—were no use.

A scream escaped his lips. It felt like he was going to be crushed or suffocated to death.

“You bastard! Why the hell are you doing this to me? You must have killed everything yourself!”

Seo Cheong shouted in frustration.

“Stop it, please!”

Then, as if a lie, the oppressive demonic energy vanished.

Seo Cheong opened his tightly shut eyes and saw Geom Mugeuk’s legs. He had unknowingly knelt while resisting the demonic energy.

Embarrassed, his face flushed red as he jumped up.

Honestly, Seo Cheong couldn’t understand. No—he felt wronged. If it were anyone else, but the Little Pill Master of the demonic sect should understand him better. To him, those people were trivial.

“I said I’ll compensate. I’ll pay them with money they’ll never touch in their lives. Then their deaths will become more valuable, won’t they?”

Geom Mugeuk smiled at him.

Not knowing what kind of person Geom Mugeuk was, Seo Cheong naturally misunderstood that smile. He did not know that his fate was already decided—death or an even greater torment.

“Yes, that’s it. No matter it’s the demonic sect, they won’t touch our Tianhe Sect.”

His father once said: our Tianhe Sect is a proud faction desired even by the demonic sect, Satan Alliance, and even the Murim Alliance.

“Call my father.”

“Alright, I will.”

Relieved by Geom Mugeuk’s willing answer, Seo Cheong thought,

“It’s fine, I’m okay. It’s no big deal. Killing a few insignificant people won’t change my fate. That demon was a low-ranking warrior anyway.”

Glad he hadn’t killed anyone important, Seo Cheong shook off his fear. As always, once his father came, everything would be resolved.

Next, Geom Mugeuk approached Seok Pung.

Seok Pung, still kneeling, trembled with fear as Geom Mugeuk neared. He was confused—did this situation happen because of the Little Pill Master or did he narrowly escape death thanks to him? He didn’t know what to think.

“You just need to testify exactly as you did before.”

Seok Pung’s gaze shifted to Seo Cheong standing ahead.

Geom Mugeuk drove a wedge into Seok Pung’s mind.

“Yes, you might retract your testimony out of fear of Tianhe. Then, who should you really fear?”

Geom Mugeuk slowly clenched his fist in front of Seok Pung’s face.

At the moment his fist tightened—

Bang!

Thunder sounded.

“Aaagh!”

Startled by the thunderclap, Seok Pung was terrified. Thunder from a fist? Getting hit by that fist would pulverize him.

“No, I’ll tell everything honestly. There are more crimes he committed.”

He thought that if he exposed Seo Cheong’s crimes fully, he would escape unharmed. Burying bodies together, nearly crippling a youth working here—it wasn’t even a crime in his mind. Geom Mugeuk didn’t correct that misconception.

“As expected, you looked smart from the start.”

Seo Cheong, watching, snorted.

“Still, they can’t touch me. If they could, they would have already.”

Only places like Soyabang dared to intimidate and threaten him. The thunder convinced him further.

At Geom Mugeuk’s signal, the Honam branch demons came and subdued Seo Cheong, Seok Pung, and the others with internal energy and took them away.

Seo Cheong struggled to shake off the warriors holding his arms.

“I’ll walk on my own!”

He remained defiant to the end.

Because of his boldness, the expressions of those dragged along loosened somewhat. Having been terrified but then taken away without harm, they thought, ‘This isn’t so bad.’ They knew nothing.

Once again, only Geom Mugeuk and his bodyguards remained in the empty banquet hall.

Jeok-yeon said to Geom Mugeuk,

“You resolved it without lifting a finger.”

“I told you, it’s nothing special.”

“I thought you’d smash Seo Cheong in a duel.”

“My father will come to see. What then?”

At that moment, Geom Mugeuk recalled two fathers.

This matter began with Haejin’s father, who had been assaulted here, and would end with Seo Cheong’s father.

“Let’s see how that father handles things.”

Seo Baekjung, leader of the Tianhe Sect, was in the middle of a meeting.

With intense eyes and a cold expression, he was the man who had raised Tianhe Sect from a small faction in Honam to the greatest sect there. Having chased success his whole life, he now worked to make Tianhe Sect stronger still.

At that moment, his subordinate Yu Maeng rushed in and reported by telepathic transmission.

—Young master has been captured by the Cheonma Sin Gyo Honam branch.

Baekjung showed no agitation.

—Wait until the meeting ends.

Even with news his son was captured by the demonic sect, he remained calm and finished the meeting. He showed no emotional change, almost unbelieving he received the report.

After the meeting ended and everyone else left, he finally asked,

“Did the Little Pill Master capture him?”

“Yes, that is so.”

Rumors that Ye Sogwang had died and the demonic sect’s Little Pill Master had come to the branch spread widely throughout Honam.

“Did they capture him knowing he was my son?”

“Yes.”

A flash of undisguisable displeasure passed Baekjung’s eyes.

“How did it happen?”

Yu Maeng reported cautiously.

“The young master appears to have committed murder.”

Baekjung was not surprised at all. Whether he already knew or didn’t care, it was hard to tell.

“Who did he kill?”

“Several, but among them was a warrior from the demonic sect’s Honam branch.”

“Fool!”

Not that he was angry at the killings themselves, but that the cleanup was not properly done.

“Since it’s been revealed where everyone is, covering this up won’t be easy.”

“Then why was he captured by the demonic sect?”

“The Little Pill Master was there.”

“Did our son invite him?”

“That part is unknown. What is confirmed is that a fight broke out at the banquet with Soyabang’s Mr. Seok, during which Mr. Seok spilled everything.”

Yu Maeng was always amazed at Baekjung’s composure. Despite his son being captured by the demonic sect, he showed no emotion. He could have shown anger or murderous intent toward Seok Pung, but did not.

What was even more surprising was that beneath that calm, he remembered things that seemed likely to be forgotten and made sure to retaliate. After this, Seok Pung would never be safe.

“Prepare the carriage.”

“I greet the Little Pill Master.”

Baekjung bowed respectfully to Geom Mugeuk.

“Nice to meet you, Sect Leader.”

Baekjung was inwardly surprised by Geom Mugeuk’s appearance—first by how young he was, then by his handsome, impressive looks.

“I didn’t know the Little Pill Master was so handsome.”

“Fortunately, I don’t resemble my father much, so I hear that often.”

Mentioning Cheonma made Baekjung tense.

“The Sect Leader would be upset to hear that.”

“Honestly, if I resembled my father, it would be easier to survive. Our Sect Leader wouldn’t treat me so casually.”

“Perhaps I was rude upon first meeting.”

“Not at all. Please don’t misunderstand. I like things easy.”

Geom Mugeuk smiled broadly.

Baekjung sensed the Little Pill Master was no pushover. Dropping such a line at the start makes the other party uncomfortable and cedes conversational dominance.

“Well said.”

Even if young, it was unwise to underestimate the Little Pill Master of the demonic sect.

“I heard your son caused trouble.”

“I should have met our Sect Leader under better circumstances.”

“My fault. Too busy to properly educate [N O V E L I G H T] my son.”

Baekjung stood and bowed politely.

He hoped Geom Mugeuk would stand as well and say it was fine, that young people make mistakes. But Geom Mugeuk remained seated and even said,

“So it seems.”

Baekjung bowed his head again politely.

‘That guy.’

Feeling insolent but increasingly courteous.

“As you know, our Tianhe Sect is the largest in Honam, with the most disciples and the strongest masters.”

After boasting of his strength, he apologized again.

“Because of that, I failed to care for my family. I beg for your understanding and leniency.”

“I wish that were so, but the crimes are too great.”

“There is much our sect can do to help your sect. I will repay my sins through that work for life.”

Though diplomatic, it was an offer of money. He had solved serious problems with money and force before, and intended to do so again. Facing the Little Pill Master with a sword was impossible.

“So what you really want is money, right? How much? Two hundred thousand nyang? Three hundred thousand?”

Then Geom Mugeuk said something unexpected.

“I understand you worked a lot with Pill Master Ye.”

Mentioning the deceased Ye Sogwang startled Baekjung.

‘So that’s it.’

He now understood. The culprit wasn’t only his son. Yet his son was captured as pressure to reveal matters involving Ye Sogwang.

“Not two hundred thousand or three hundred thousand nyang, but hundreds of thousands you must cough up!”

He did not understand Geom Mugeuk’s intention. Even if told, he couldn’t understand—the whole matter started over a boy serving at the banquet, and the Ye Sogwang incident was an example to enforce discipline in the Cheonma Sin Gyo branch. Even if told, he would suspect some ulterior motive.

“Sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean.”

“When situations like this happen, they’re always the same…”

Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly and added,

“No one really understands.”

Their eyes met in empty space.

Baekjung realized this was not a problem he could resolve. The other party demanded what he could not give.

“I’ve taken too much of your time. I will take my leave.”

After bowing politely, Baekjung left the room.

Jeok-yeon entered the place he had left.

Geom Mugeuk said to Jeok-yeon,

“That Seo Cheong—should’ve beaten him badly.”

“What do you mean?”

“He left without even seeing his son.”

“Isn’t that because he’s angry?”

I stood and walked to the window.

“No. He didn’t come for his son.”

No matter how angry or hateful, if his son was captured by the demonic sect, he should have at least come to see if he was injured.

But now Baekjung’s whole mind was focused on how to deal with me. You guys don’t even look at each other. Really, you don’t look.

I saw Baekjung walking away in the distance.

“If he’d come as a father, my fight would have been harder.”

Baekjung stopped briefly and looked back.

I waved from the window. He bowed politely and turned away.

“I should have met my son instead of this meaningless greeting.”

Whether to scold, beat, or promise rescue—he should have met his son.

But if they had that kind of father-son relationship, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Late at night, Baekjung sat alone by the river, fishing.

Beyond the thick fog came footsteps.

Thud-thud.

Measured footsteps, as if no matter what happens in the world, someone would walk like this.

A man appeared through the mist.

Though his face was hidden under a deep conical hat, he gave off a peculiar aura.

Looking at the lake where his fishing rod dangled, Baekjung said,

“My son was taken by the Little Pill Master of the demonic sect.”

Though the words “demonic sect” and “Little Pill Master” together were the most dangerous in Murim, the man under the hat answered without hesitation,

“We will resolve this.”

The man disappeared back into the fog, footsteps echoing as he went.