Chapter 505: Side Story 25 The Twins (3)
“So, they ran away ‘again’?”
“M-My deepest apologies! It was because the Right Guardian was absent at the time….”
One of the Guardian Lions of the Lesser Demon Hall bowed his head as if he had committed a grave sin.
Since I understood their frustration more than anyone, I lightly waved my hand.
“Well, if San Dojeon had been there, those brats wouldn’t have even tried.”
No matter how talented the two of them were, they still couldn’t do a thing in front of someone at the Extreme Demon Realm.
The fact they even managed to break through the encirclement of Guardian Lions, including even some Peak Master Levels, was already quite a feat.
“So? What happened after that?”
“They were captured not long after the Right Guardian arrived….”
No matter how exceptional their Divine Demonic Vessel was, it was still impossible to fully break through that number of people.
At best, they probably didn’t make it past ten li before getting caught.
“The Heavenly Demon has given orders to allow them a degree of freedom up to the vicinity of Gansu Province, as long as they're accompanied by the Guardian Lions…”
That “Heavenly Demon” he mentioned was none other than Yura.
Though she had seemed like the type to enforce strict training, Yura turned out to be surprisingly lenient in areas outside of martial arts.
Part of it was that she was constantly busy, and part of it was that she trusted me, but above all, it was probably her innate disposition that—
“Your Majesty?”
“…It’s nothing.”
If I started gossiping any further, Yura might catch on.
After all, she had recently stepped into the Supreme Demon Realm even in her true body, and was beginning to sense the flow of karmic ties.
‘The North, huh…’
Now, more than ten years after everything had ended—
The Central Plains had finally broken free from its past crisis and could be considered stabilized.
The demonic beasts that had appeared during the time of Heaven’s Favor had been virtually wiped out from the mainland, and now could only be found deep in the Outer Regions or in forbidden zones.
‘But the north is still kind of unstable.’
The northern plains, for example—one didn’t even need to go as far as Northern Yuan to see them. Just stepping a bit beyond the northern edge of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains would do.
But strictly speaking, that area couldn’t really be called the Central Plains.
‘That area still hasn’t been fully cleaned out…’
Because we hadn’t completely uprooted the Evil Refining Sect back then, there was a real possibility that they’d regained some power over the years.
On top of that, the Blood Demon Alliance, a demonic faction that had once been based near Sichuan, had apparently relocated to the north after the chaos of the past.
‘I should probably set up some insurance, just in case.’
I opened my mouth toward an empty space in the office.
“Gu Chil.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
As always, Gu Chil appeared from thin air and knelt respectfully.
“…Aren’t I too old to still be called ‘Young Master’?”
I mean, I even have neatly groomed facial hair now.
“Doesn’t it bring back good memories?”
“Not good ones, actually.”
“Then should I just call you ‘Master’ instead?”
I glanced at Gu Chil’s face.
Gone was the smooth, bald scalp he once flaunted with pride.
Now, a refined and handsome middle-aged man with well-kept hair stood before me.
However, that was beside the point. Those dark, lifeless eyes…
“You’ve really been through a lot, huh.”
“Thank you for recognizing it.”
Gu Chil didn’t joke or act humble.
Because these days, he really was suffering.
He looked out the window and gave a hollow laugh.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking it might be better to just kill So Cheon and die with him.”
“…You’re the elder. Hold it together.”
“Even my wives nag me more often these days. I really miss being the Great Guardian…”
……
After the previous Great Guardian, Ma Seonghwan, retired, Gu Chil became the youngest ever to assume leadership of the Guardian Hall.
But Gu Chil’s time as Great Guardian didn’t last long.
Because the Cult Leader had changed.
Having served me alone his entire life, Gu Chil half-willingly, half-reluctantly stepped down when Yura returned to the position of Cult Leader.
Now, he was famously known in the history of the Guardian Hall as the most legendary case of short-lived retirement.
“Ahem! Ahem! Anyway.”
I turned to him and made a request, full of guilt.
“I need you to watch over the kids for a while.”
“Is this a vacation?”
“It’s a protection mission.”
“So, a vacation then.”
“I said it’s protection duty.”
Just how rough was his life now, that he considered babysitting those troublemakers a break?
Gu Chil gave a tired smile.
“Thank goodness. If I’m outside the cult, at least I won’t have to deal with So Cheon’s nonsense for a while.”
“It’s that bad?”
“They’re a couple, and they’re both a damn headache. They’re trying everything they can to shove the Clan Leader position onto me.”
“What about Salma?”
“The former Clan Leader says it’s not his problem anymore and is living a leisurely life. Doesn’t care one bit about clan affairs.”
…In my previous life, the one who clung to the Clan Leader seat until the very end was Salma. Who would’ve thought it’d turn out like this?
“Still, I remember he used to return a few months a year to handle clan affairs.”
“Not anymore. Says he needs to raise So Hyeon, and threw even that responsibility away.”
…That lunatic.
“Thankfully, Madam Jeok Rua has returned and started helping out bit by bit, so the clan is barely functioning for now.”
Since Jeok Rua had experience assisting Salma in managing the House of Slaughter, she wasn’t unqualified.
At the very least, the clan probably wasn’t being steered in a twisted direction anymore.
“Still, it’s not good to leave the Clan Leader position vacant for too long…”
“And it’s not like there’s a suitable candidate.”
“What does Baek Sojeo say?”
“Even the Sword Supreme seems worried, but it’s not like she has any brilliant ideas either. She barely has enough time for the Alliance affairs alone.”
Over the past decade, Baek Sang-ah's title had changed again.
She was now known in the murim as the Profound Flower Sword Supreme (玄花劍尊).
And the one who assisted her side was So Cheon, known as the Profound Demon Grand Duke (玄魔大公).
“They’ve completely settled down in the Central Plains, huh.”
“From So Cheon’s perspective, having me become Clan Leader is the best-case scenario.”
From So Cheon’s perspective, the fact that Gu Chil had quickly cast off the burden of the Guardian Hall was an enormous windfall.
If Gu Chil would just succeed the House of So, So Cheon could stay beside Baek Sang-ah without any reservation.
The problem was—Gu Chil himself had absolutely no attachment to the Clan Head position.
Thus, in recent years, a fierce silent war had erupted between the one trying to hand over the title and the one desperately dodging it.
“These days, even So Soryu has joined in on their plotting. It’s giving me a headache.”
“She was always like that, though…”
Maybe it was because she inherited a strong dose of her mother Jeok Rua’s blood—her ambition was enormous.
Especially after losing the fight with Myeong-oh, it was clear that putting Gu Chil in the House of So’s Clan Head seat would help reverse the situation.
“In any case, take care of things, would you?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone on an outing.”
“I told you, it’s not a vacation.”
“Whatever it is, it’ll be more peaceful than this mess. Hahaha…”
Gu Chil chuckled with the serenity of a monk reaching enlightenment, and disappeared.
‘…Is “serene” really the right word for that?’
Anyway.
Now that I had sent Gu Chil, at least the worst-case scenario probably wouldn’t happen.
Whether it was the Evil Refining Sect, the Blood Demon Alliance, or even anomalies like Yorang, they wouldn’t be able to handle Gu Chil as he was now.
‘Yorang…’
That reminded me—
I leaned back deeply into the Throne Mat and let my thoughts wander.
‘I do miss them, a little.’
Yorang had disappeared.
Back when she had entered Yura’s body, she hadn’t returned even after everything was over.
Of course, the power Yorang had held was still present.
I could even use her Divine Sorcery, Tam Hwa-won Form.
But as if her role had ended, her ego simply vanished at some point.
Thinking of Yorang naturally brought something else to mind.
‘Now that I think about it, they said fragments of Master might still remain in the world.’
Fragments of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor.
Arrangements left behind by the Ancestor in his twilight years to prepare for the future.
However, some of those fragments had twisted over time, turning into disasters threatening the world.
‘The last regrets of my Senior Brothers… It’s only right that the youngest should resolve them.’
Though most had already become part of me—especially those collected back when the Heaven-Defying Society recovered them—not all of the fragments had been retrieved.
‘There hasn't been any major movement over the past decade…’
I had been too busy restoring the wrecked Central Plains to look into it, but perhaps now it was time to start digging.
I slowly rose from my seat.
“Right Guardian Uncle, I’ve got a question.”
“Please speak, Young Misses.”
Right Guardian, the Wind-Scattering Demon Lord San Dojeon, answered respectfully.
“We’ve come pretty far by now, right?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Then how come there aren’t any bandits around?”
“……”
At Cheon Seonha’s innocent question, San Dojeon’s expression twisted for a moment.
Honestly, saying there were no bandits in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, which was as large as a small province, was absurd.
Even the San Clan, who had once taken San Dojeon in, had been bandits themselves—so naturally, various mountain keeps still existed all over the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.
Just as San Dojeon hesitated, a memory flashing through his mind—
Guardian Lion Jeokryong (Red Dragon) spoke up seriously.
“Young Miss, the bandit industry is no joke.”
“Uh, huh?”
“Look around.”
At Jeokryong’s words, the two girls glanced around.
Sheer cliffs like knife edges. Dense forests shrouded in shadow.
This was a place more fit for beasts than humans—an area where untrained mortals were unwelcome.
“Do you think people come and go in a place like this?”
“Um… I guess not?”
Seonha replied in a hesitant voice.
“To run a bandit operation, you need a lot of traffic. Only then can the bandits build mountain paths and start preparing to do business.”
But this wasn’t a route traveled by merchants, nor was it anywhere near a village or town.
“There are some places in the southern part of the mountains tied to the Seventy-Two Strongholds, but out here? You’ll only find the occasional herbalist looking for a lucky break.”
“……”
“In business, it’s all about location, location, and location. A poor spot means you can’t make a living.”
Cheon Seonha pouted.
She hadn’t asked just to get this boring answer.
The story of a “hero punishing bandits” was one of her favorites from among the tales Cheon Yura had told them.
So she’d actually been hoping for some bandits to show up…
“Reality is always cruel.”
“…Young Master, who taught you to speak like that?”
Seonyu didn’t answer.
Though she didn’t show it like Seonha, Seonyu had secretly been just as excited.
“There really is nothing here.”
“Right? We shouldn’t have come.”
They had run away from home, hoping to see the legendary plains, but days of nothing but boredom were pure torture to children who had yet to learn patience.
San Dojeon gave a soft chuckle toward the two dejected girls.
“We’ll be arriving in Yoo Clan’s territory soon. Please bear with it a little longer.”
“Yoo Clan? You mean Uncle Cheong’s house?”
The two tilted their heads.
“Isn’t his home in Suncheonmabong?”
“That’s merely the main residence. The Yoo Clan’s domain is located in the northeast part of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”
“Really?”
In truth, it was too remote a place to even call one of the Seven Great Families’ territories.
But the twins, who didn’t yet understand the political details, accepted it without question.
And then—
“Huh?”
“Hmm?”
Tap!
While sprinting along the mountain path, Cheon Seonha and Cheon Seonyu’s lightness arts suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
“…?!”
“What’s wrong?!”
As the two came to a halt, the startled Guardian Lions instantly formed a circle around them.
Even with the Guardian Lions blocking their view, the twins exchanged a subtle glance.
“You felt it?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s similar, but different, right?”
“Definitely different.”
The Guardian Lions’ expressions stiffened at once.
Though the twins had only just reached First Rate, there were rare moments when their eerie intuition would leave even the Guardian Lions uneasy.
San Dojeon asked calmly.
“What did you sense?”
“A gaze.”
“Someone’s gaze.”
“…Someone, you say?”
If it was something that even someone at the Extreme Demon Realm like him couldn’t detect—it was no trivial matter.
But no matter how far he spread his senses, he couldn’t find the source of that gaze the twins spoke of.
Just as San Dojeon tried to ask another question—
As if they’d known this would happen, Seonha and Seonyu spoke at the same time.
“Dad.”
“Mom.”