Chapter 108
Ten years is a long time.
It is more than enough time for a ten-year-old child to become an adult.
Sahyeon really did grow steadily. Perhaps no matter how pretty he was, a boy was still a boy. He grew by leaps and bounds, like bean sprouts shooting up day by day.
“Noona, I’ve gotten a little taller!”
“Really? Let me see how much our Hyeonah has grown. Ooh, you’re almost as tall as me now! At this rate, you’ll catch up with me!”
“Really? It would be nice if that really happened…”
“Oh, look at you. You’re already trying to beat your Noona. Come here, my cutie. Shall I pick you up for the first time in a while?”
“Aaah, no! Sisteeeer!”
He really grew by leaps and bounds.
“Hyeonah, your Noona’s home…. Oh, you grew again while I wasn’t looking? You’re really taller than me now.”
“I thought my knees were hurting lately, and I guess I grew a little… It’s kind of strange, isn’t it?”
“Huh? No, what’s strange about it! I was just surprised. Our Hyeonah, who I thought would be a little kid forever, has grown taller than me… I guess Hyeonah will have to carry your Noona on his back now?”
“Really? Can I try carrying you? Then… Noona, don’t tense up!”
“Hahahaha!”
He really grew and grew.
“Noona, you’re here?”
“Yeah, I’m ba…. Wait, you got even taller? Wasn’t your last growth spurt the end of it?”
“Come on, how old am I? Eom Papa says I’m still growing. He says since Father is tall too, I’ll probably grow a little more.”
“…You’re going to get even taller than this?”
He kept growing…
“Hyeonah… did you grow taller again?”
“Huh? Y-yes. Though I don’t think I grew that much compared to last time… Did I grow that much?”
‘Did you grow that much?’
It wasn’t merely a little.
He had grown an enormous amount.
The delicate girl I had once carried on my back and bounced around in my arms had seemed to grow little by little, but at some point, she had suddenly shot up like crazy, and now wasn’t she practically as big as a door?
‘Is it really okay for someone to get this big?’
Even the girlishness he’d had as a child had completely disappeared.
Of course, if you asked whether he was handsome or pretty, he was still closer to pretty. But his body had grown larger, his features had become more defined, and he had grown into a strikingly handsome man.
At first, I had been so surprised by his growth that I even felt awkward around him by myself…
But Sahyeon was still Sahyeon in the end. On the occasion of celebrating his becoming an adult, we drank together, and Sahyeon got drunk and ended up sobbing that he was hurt because he felt like his Noona was uncomfortable around him.
Then he insisted that I carry him like I had when he was young, so I had to carry that door-sized body up and down the mountain until Sahyeon was satisfied.
It had been absurd at the time, but they were all happy memories. After that day, the awkwardness between Sahyeon and me had eased considerably.
‘It was cute, too, how Hyeonah was too embarrassed to come outside for several days after sobering up…’
“Why are you smiling like that?”
I looked at Sahyeon sitting before me.
He had pulled up half of his hair and tied it back, letting the rest fall naturally. His face was as white as polished jade, his eyes clear, his nose sharply defined, and his well-shaped lips formed a gentle curve, giving him an air of elegance.
He looked like a handsome stranger I had never met, but if you looked closely, many traces of his childhood appearance remained. I smiled gently and said,
“Just remembering the old days.”
After that, Sahyeon and I continued living as close siblings.
Sahyeon helped me a great deal.
Perhaps he had truly meant what he said about “not intending to leave everything for Noona to handle for the rest of his life,” because Sahyeon had been learning about the affairs of the Cult since he was young. And once he grew older, he took charge of handling most of its affairs.
To the point that I was practically nothing more than a figurehead. In fact, Sahyeon was effectively the one leading the followers of the Guangjiin Cult now.
Thanks to that, I was able to roam around outside without worry, but…
“…So I met the Inspection Squad on the way to Yongcheok Stronghold. They suspected the stronghold chief was a member of the Demonic Cult.”
As I always did, I told him about what I had experienced outside. Sahyeon really liked sitting across from me and listening to my stories.
After quietly listening, Sahyeon spoke.
“They accused another strange person of being a Demonic Cult member, I suppose. What reason did they give?”
“Gunpowder. The chief had purchased some goods, and apparently there was gunpowder among them. But the chief seemed confused, as though he hadn’t known there was gunpowder. They also said the person he traded with was a Demonic Cult infiltrator.”
“How could our Cult followers trade in such goods when they don’t even have the means to purchase gunpowder? They must have fallen into someone’s scheme.”
“I thought the same. Or perhaps that merchant looked suspicious to begin with, so they were just labeling him as a Demonic Cult member…”
“Most likely.”
Sahyeon said,
“It seems like they’re becoming increasingly hasty in how they handle things.”
“Hasty?”
Sahyeon calmly continued.
“The way they’re labeling anyone who disagrees with them as a Demonic Cult member. At first, they were at least somewhat cautious, but now they’re openly creating a sense of crisis.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That’s why people like the one we heard at the inn have started becoming suspicious as well. If rumors are spreading through the streets, then most people higher up must already be suspicious, too.”
“……”
“Whether the Demonic Cult is really preparing to rise again, or whether they’re inciting people with things that aren’t true.”
I stroked my chin and said,
“There is division within their ranks.”
Sahyeon smiled ambiguously.
“Because the enemy within is the most frightening. If this division grows any larger, they’ll eventually end up fighting among themselves, and that will lead them down the path of self-destruction. Just like our Cult fell…”
“……”
“Something bad might happen to the orthodox martial world as well.”
I sighed in lament.
“…Before that happens, we need to find the Cult Scripture.”
Yes, that was actually the biggest problem. More important than whether those Orthodox Sect bastards killed each other was the fate of the Guangjiin Cult.
Finding the Guangjiin Cult’s sacred treasure, the Cult Scripture.
That was the sole duty I bore as the Cult Leader.
In the past, the Guangjiin Cult possessed two sacred treasures. They were the Cult Scripture, which recorded the teachings of the Enlightened One, and the Heavenly Pearl, which the Enlightened One had brought with Him when He descended into the mortal world.
The successive Cult Leaders of the Guangjiin Cult regarded the two sacred treasures as heavenly objects and guarded them with great care. But when a war broke out within the Cult, they ended up losing both sacred treasures.
Among the two sacred treasures, the followers of the Guangjiin Cult considered the Cult Scripture their highest priority.
The Cult Scripture contained the teachings and footsteps of the Enlightened One, making it the symbol of the Guangjiin Cult and a signpost showing its followers the path they should take. The survivors of the Guangjiin Cult all agreed that the Cult Scripture had to be found somehow.
But… opinions were divided when it came to the Heavenly Pearl.
“Why? They’re both heavenly objects, aren’t they?”
“That’s… a little different. In fact, the Cult Scripture is a human-made object, recorded by one of His disciples, but the Heavenly Pearl is a genuine heavenly object.”
The Heavenly Pearl, being a heavenly object, had caused various incidents and accidents within the Guangjiin Cult.
The Heavenly Pearl essentially stimulated the darkness within human beings. Simply possessing the Heavenly Pearl subjected a person to endless trials, and before they knew it, they would fall into darkness, pursuing nothing but their instincts until they ultimately destroyed themselves.
The problem was that the Heavenly Pearl also affected those around its owner. Anyone near the holder of the Heavenly Pearl would become enchanted by its owner. They would lose their reason, submit to the Heavenly Pearl, and come to crave it forever.
“That was why, at first, there were many Cult Leaders who tried to use the Heavenly Pearl.”
They tried to use the Heavenly Pearl to enchant and brainwash those around them, all to maintain their own power. But none of it ended well.
Once a Cult Leader began revealing their ambition, they would pursue endless greed until they destroyed themselves. There were also cases where people around them, enchanted by the Heavenly Pearl, harmed the Cult Leader in order to obtain it.
“As those things kept happening, the Heavenly Pearl came to be regarded as both a sacred treasure and a forbidden treasure. Later, it was kept in a place that even the Cult Leader could not easily touch. There are probably only a few people who even know where it’s stored.”
And yet, the forbidden treasure, the Heavenly Pearl, disappeared.
The survivors of the Guangjiin Cult split into two groups.
One group believed that the Heavenly Pearl was dangerous and should not be left outside in the world, while the other believed that since things had come to this, they should simply abandon the Heavenly Pearl and move on.
In the end, the side that wanted to abandon the Heavenly Pearl won.
They claimed that “the Enlightened One bestowed it upon us to test us, so it is only right that we abandon it,” but it seemed to me that they had simply chosen to give up because it was too difficult to handle.
‘Though I’m worried about whether something like that should really be left somewhere in the world.’
In any case, the Guangjiin Cult’s highest priority at present was finding the Cult Scripture, which was practically the embodiment of the Cult’s identity.
That was also why Sahyeon had told me that I didn’t need to do much as Cult Leader. The Cult Leader had only one duty: Find the Cult Scripture.
And if we found the Cult Scripture…
“Then the Cult Leader’s duty will be over? I won’t have to be the Cult Leader anymore either?”
“In principle, yes. Once we find the Cult Scripture, the people of the Guangjiin Cult will leave the Central Plains rather than remain here any longer.”
“I see. Leave… what?”
At that point, Sahyeon said,
“The original homeland of the Guangjiin Cult is in the Western Regions. We intend to go to the main Cult there in the Western Regions and spend the rest of our lives there. That has also been the Guangjiin Cult’s long-standing wish.”
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