Having stayed up all night for our martial-arts training, we walked back together. My father led the way, I followed one step behind, and Hwi walked by my side.

“Father, before we return home, we should put the Geumryong Clan in order,” I said.

He already knew I intended to give them a chance—and that I was considering the third son as heir.

“To be honest, dealing with clan politics feels far harder than facing assassins. Give me a few days, and I’ll sort it out.”

My father looked at me, puzzled.

“Do you think you can manage it in just a few days?”

“You can’t persuade them through ordinary means.”

The clan head and his three sons: untangling their ambitions and avarice would require unconventional methods.

“I plan to use other means, not persuasion.”

My father’s eyes flickered with interest, then he said nothing. He’d learn soon enough.

Back at our dwelling, he resumed tinkering with his fishing rod—inspecting each guide, swapping lines, shaving the reel seat with his dagger to balance it.

“If spies from the Martial ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Alliance or the Heretical Sect saw this, they’d report: ‘The Demon Sect’s might is so dangerous they’re crafting it into a fishing rod.’” I joked, but he didn’t answer. He was more serious than when he’d taught me sword techniques, his careful hands betraying an unyielding will.

‘I won’t go easy on him!’ I thought. I had to win, if only to earn another chance to go fishing with him.

A few days later, Geum Arin and Geom Mugeuk entered the Geumryong Clan’s main hall. Father’s urgent summons had brought us here, and already Geum Ahyeok and Geum Ajong were present. All the clan’s masters had gathered, their faces tense as if on the verge of battle.

When Arin arrived, a clan guard announced, “The guests have arrived.”

Chief Geum’s expression stiffened with visible tension—I’d never seen him this anxious. Moments later, four martial artists entered. Arin understood immediately why father had been so unsettled.

‘They’re demonic cultivators!’

Their aura was mapi, and they didn’t hide it. The one in the center radiated extraordinary power.

“A master!” Arin thought.

A cold voice introduced himself: “I am Dayang, Branch Lord of the Demon Sect’s Seomseo Division.”

Arin was stunned. Not merely a Demon-Sect disciple, but the very Branch Lord of Seomseo had come in person. Three bodyguards flanked him, yet their silent authority felt more intimidating than if they’d brought dozens of warriors.

Geum Cheonbang stepped forward with a respectful bow. One did not treat a Demon-Sect Branch Lord lightly.

“I am Geum Cheonbang, head of the Geumryong Clan.”

Though proficient in the Geumryong Divine Skill, Cheonbang had long harbored a primal fear of mapi. Now, facing demonic cultivators, that fear resurged. He fought to appear composed.

“Our clan has had no dealings with your sect. What is the purpose of your visit?”

That morning, an urgent missive had arrived from the Seomseo Division: summon the clan head and heirs at once, without explanation. The Demon Sect’s manner was to disclose nothing but the rendezvous time. Before the Martial Alliance’s masters could arrive, the Demon Sect had already forced their way in.

Dayang scanned the assembly, and those who met his gaze tensed inwardly. They knew that entanglement with the Demon Sect could spell ruin.

His eyes settled on Geum Ahyeok. One of Dayang’s attendants had silently signaled his identity.

“Are you Geum Ahyeok?”

“I am.”

Though he’d shown insolence toward father recently, he dared not be arrogant before demon cultivators.

“Do you know a man named Myeong-sin?”

“Who is that?”

“Don’t play dumb. I have proof that you visited his stronghold repeatedly.”

Only then did they realize that the elder Ahyeok had served was named Myeong-sin.

“I also have evidence of substantial clan funds funneled to him.”

Ahyeok replied calmly, “That is correct. He assisted our clan in many matters.”

Dayang’s voice turned ice-cold.

“He is a killer on the Demon Registry, marked for execution by our sect.”

Ahyeok and Cheonbang both flinched. To learn he was a Demon-Sect enemy was one shock—but more shocking was that the Elder was already dead.

Cheonbang hastily interjected, “We were unaware of this.”

Dayang’s eyes bore into him.

“You’ll find out when you investigate. We will take Geum Ahyeok with us.”

Cheonbang paled. If they took his son, Heaven knew what fate awaited him. Ahyeok, however, asked about Myeong-sin’s whereabouts.

“Where is he now?”

Dayang’s expression hardened. Even though he’d called him “that man,” Ahyeok continued to honor him as “sir.”

Before Cheonbang could intervene, Dayang announced, “All registered killers, including Myeong-sin, have been eliminated by our sect.”

Upon hearing that Myeong-sin was dead, Ahyeok’s face went black—but Cheonbang inwardly rejoiced. His son’s corrupting influence was gone; the Demon Sect had done him a favor.

“Did you kill him?” Ahyeok demanded, voice loud.

“Silence!” Cheonbang snapped, but Ahyeok shouted on, “The Demon Sect slandered him to have him killed!”

“Enough of your lies!”

Cheonbang subdued his son’s martial energy at the wrist. Despite that, Ahyeok glared defiantly. The clan’s masters scowled at his recklessness.

“Please forgive my son’s rudeness,” Cheonbang apologized. Dayang offered only a cold stare.

With affairs at this point, he could not entrust his son to them. In this overwrought state, his son would be dead before nightfall.

At that moment, the Martial Alliance’s Seomseo Division arrived. Cheonbang greeted them warmly—but his usual ally, their Branch Lord, had sent only subordinate masters.

“We come with Lord Branch’s message,” they said. Even the Martial Alliance knew of today’s events—and the news was earth-shattering.

“The registered killers are Martial Alliance merits,” they announced. By sending only underlings, the Alliance signaled it would not intervene.

Dayang exhaled mapi, pressing Cheonbang with cold authority.

“Shall we take him now?”

Cheonbang had no reply. He’d allied with his sect’s enemy and the Martial Alliance’s proscribed killers—he risked his entire clan’s destruction.

“In that case, send your second son.”

Geum Ajong stepped forward. Cheonbang frowned; Ajong said nothing further and withdrew, inwardly thrilled to see his brother’s downfall.

Arin felt Geom Mugeuk’s steady gaze beside her. His calm eyes asked: Will you do nothing?

–What should I do? she sent by spirit-transmission.

–Do you want to rush forward and save your brother?

–Honestly, no.

–Even so, you must keep him from being taken. If you wish to be heir.

His advice saw through the situation. There was no time to deliberate—the demon cultivators were advancing toward Ahyeok.

Though frightened, Arin found courage and trusted him.

“I petition the Branch Lord,” she said. All eyes turned to her as she addressed Dayang steadily.

“Even if you investigate this matter, I ask that you conduct it within our own clan.”

“Do you know who we are and still speak thus?” Dayang asked.

“I do know. We are not part of the martial-arts world but the commercial realm. If the Demon Sect storms in and abducts the clan head’s flesh and blood, it will enrage both merchants and martial artists alike. I’m not refusing investigation—only asking to receive it here.”

Her voice trembled but she finished firmly.

“And if you refuse?”

“If you proceed, I will publicize this before the martial world. It may sully your Branch Lord’s reputation.”

A tense silence followed. Arin was confident the Demon Sect would not strike rashly while the Martial Alliance looked on; the consequences would be too dire.

“This involves the clan head’s own flesh and blood. Please handle it with care.”

She bowed respectfully. The clan masters regarded her in surprise—if the succession dispute turned violent, her brother might have been sacrificed to the sect.

Dayang, too, understood their predicament.

“I know you vie with your brothers for succession. Why do you intervene?”

Arin replied composedly, “Succession is important, but our clan’s honor matters more.”

Cheonbang and the masters looked at her with astonishment; Cheonbang beamed. His daughter had saved her brother and preserved the clan’s honor—outshining everyone present.

Dayang stepped back.

“You surpass your siblings.”

To her surprise, he praised her.

“Very well. We will investigate here. I will send an inspector tomorrow.”

Arin bowed and thanked him.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Dayang turned to Ahyeok with a cold warning:

“Do not leave this place. If you do, an execution order will descend upon you.”

With that, the demon cultivators withdrew. The Martial Alliance masters followed, signaling their intention not to intervene further.

Cheonbang nodded at Arin in approval; the masters’ gazes had softened toward her. But their looks toward Ahyeok were frosty—he had nearly imperiled the clan.

Amid the settling commotion, Geom Mugeuk and Arin stepped aside before the hall’s entrance.

“I will leave by this path,” he said.

“What did you say?”

“I have done what I came to do. It is time I depart.”

He claimed he’d fulfilled his task. A thought struck Arin.

“Surely you arranged all this?”

“Otherwise, would the Demon Sect have withdrawn so readily, even praising you?”

She stared at him, bewildered.

“How did you—?”

Had he moved the Demon Sect? Yet she felt no mapi from him. Had he swayed the Martial Alliance instead? Or was he some secret kin of the Alliance’s head? Thoughts raced through her mind.

“You’ve weakened your more likely brothers,” he continued. “You collected the Seomseo merchants’ debts, aided the needy, saved your brother, and preserved your clan’s honor.”

“But I still have a second brother.”

He studied her.

“Is that all you wish?”

Arin flinched. His gaze said: That is your charge—prove yourself worthy of the succession.

“No,” she said. “I must succeed.”

Her concern was no longer Ajong.

“But inviting the Demon Sect was a mistake,” he said, looking skyward. At last he spoke the words he’d held back.

“You, your father, and your brothers are not paragons. You struck bargains with evil to amass wealth, even tried to drag the Jushi Sword Clan into unfair contracts. You’ve committed worse sins.”

She could not deny it.

“Then why grant you this chance?”

Her voice trembled.

“Because the registered killers targeted you all. They are so vicious they would have ensnared you by any means. That does not absolve your guilt.”

His gaze, grave and solemn, fixed on her.

“Right your secret wrongs. But that is not the end. After you become heir—and later the clan head—you must live to atone for your past. I chose you because I believed you could do so.”

Only now did Arin understand: his promise of succession was not a reward but a trial. He chose her because she was best suited to bear the burden.

“I asked once if you could kill your brothers. You said you did not know. Now answer again: could you kill them?”

She hesitated, then shook her head.

“I don’t think I could.”

He relieved her anxiety.

“That is why the Demon Sect will aid you. As long as they watch you, your brothers dare not challenge you. In the meantime, cultivate your strength, so that even without external oversight you can protect yourself.”

At last, Arin glimpsed her path forward. This inscrutable man was greater than she had imagined—he had eradicated the Registry, brought in the Demon Sect, and granted this chance.

“Then I will take my leave.”

He strode away. She panicked as he disappeared from view.

“Thank you so much!” she called after him.

He turned and laughed.

“May you live a life richly blessed!”

Arin smiled. She had once joked to the Heavenly River Guild Lord that she was a woman blessed with good fortune—who would have thought that would be his parting words?

“Who are you, really?”

“I am Geom Yeon,” he replied—‘Yeon’ as in the Fate Speaker, not the Smoke Speaker. Then, like smoke, he vanished.

Arin remained rooted until he was out of sight, murmuring to herself,
‘Next time, as the Fate Speaker, not the Smoke Speaker.’