novelbin Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Did he mean that if he won the junior sect leader competition, he would not be able to become the junior sect leader?
The Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-san looked at the junior lords and finally couldn't stand it and raised his hand.
At that, Dan Mok-seol's body flew towards him.
Like something that had been rooted in the ground was being pulled out, she flew like a thunderbolt, and her head was caught in Dan Mok-san's grasp.
It would not have been strange if he had crushed it with the force of his hand.
Such things had happened in the Sect Leader's residence more than once or twice.
The Sect Leader had never treated the junior lords in such a way, but there was no reason he couldn't just because she was his daughter.
"What is it? You had better speak properly."
When the Sect Leader spoke, his voice laced with annoyance, Dan Mok-hwawun unexpectedly stood up.
The junior lords were allowed to enter the Sect Leader's residence without having to leave their weapons, and Dan Mok-hwawun drew the sword from the scabbard at his waist.
Seeing that, the Sect Leader was so dumbfounded and surprised that the internal energy gathered in his hand dissipated.
Because of that, Dan Mok-seol fell to the floor, and Dan Mok-cheongyeong rushed to support his sister.
The Sect Leader glared at them, wondering if these brats had all gone mad together.
Until they had left the Heavenly Demon Sect, they had targeted each other.
They were people who would not hesitate in the slightest to kill each other.
But if he had just stayed still, Dan Mok-seol could have died, and was he saying that he had drawn his sword to stop that?
He couldn't have done it without knowing that doing so in front of him was a suicidal act.
"What are you doing? You're doing all sorts of strange things now, Dan Mok-hwawun."
"Dan Mok-seol has done nothing wrong to you, Sect Leader. We are not your toys. I am saying that our lives are not something you can carelessly take away whenever you wish."
Dan Mok-san had never heard such words from anyone before.
He wondered what he had just heard.
He was angry, but since this had gone beyond the limit, he couldn't even get angry right away.
Only a hollow laugh came out.
Dan Mok-san glared at Dan Mok-hwawun and then turned his gaze to the other junior lords.
And he discovered that all of their eyes were full of hostility towards him.
How dare these worm-like brats!
He had never treated his children properly, but he was the Sect Leader.
He was their father.
They should never treat him like that.
"How dare these brats!"
Dan Mok-san was about to crush their heads right away, but they did not erase the cold look in their eyes.
He was dumbfounded, seeing them act like that when there was nothing they could do.
When Dan Mok-san gestured in the empty air, his sword flew into his hand.
Dan Mok-san struck the tip of the sword and sent it flying towards Dan Mok-hwawun's face.
But Dan Mok-hwawun, seeing the sword flying towards him, did not try to avoid it, nor was he scared.
If he had tried to avoid it, he would not have stopped there.
He would have definitely pierced the brat's face.
But since he didn't even flinch, he was unknowingly overwhelmed.
It was the first time he had felt that Dan Mok-hwawun was a little concerning.
The sword that Dan Mok-san had sent was retrieved, and Dan Mok-heukya and Dan Mok-cheongyeong supported Dan Mok-seol and left.
Without even being told to leave, the four junior lords left just like that.
After leaving the door, they looked at each other.
Since they had never stood up for each other before, the feeling they were feeling now was quite unfamiliar to them.
The feelings that other siblings would feel normally were endlessly strange to them.
But it was good.
They were comforted by the thought that they didn't have to fight alone and didn't have to endure alone.
There were things they could know without speaking because they were all junior lords.
"You've all worked hard."
When Dan Mok-hwawun said that, the other junior lords flinched.
Had they ever heard such words before?
They knew that those were not words that Dan Mok-hwawun had said easily, and they each also gathered their courage.
"Thank you for helping me, older brother."
"Thank you, older brother. You've worked hard, older sister."
"It's not like we'll die just because we can't become the junior sect leader, and I actually feel relieved."
Dan Mok-seol, Heukya, and Cheongyeong said in turn.
Since they had given up the junior sect leader competition, it would only be a matter of time before the forces that had supported them within the sect would scatter.
But it seemed that it was for the better.
Until now, they had lived, forming and breaking alliances with the sole thought that they had to become the Sect Leader, but now their hearts were at ease.
Should he say that he was relieved that he could realize early on that no matter how hard he ran, the person who could sit in that seat at the last moment would not be them?
It was a feeling he could never have had if he hadn't met Ya Socheong.
"Shall we have dinner together?"
At Dan Mok-hwawun's words, everyone nodded.
A rare sight was continuing to unfold.
* * *
Dan Mok-san had people report everything that had happened in the meantime without missing a single detail.
However, since the period of stay at the fifth prince's Yeonwang Manor was long and many things had happened inside, it was difficult to know everything.
The matter at Cheonbong Mountain was also like that.
Just like the third prince's people, the Sect Leader's people also could not climb Cheonbong Mountain.
So they couldn't see everything as clearly as the palm of their hand, and many parts were empty here and there.
In the meantime, he heard that Ya Socheong had returned to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Knowing that Ya Socheong would come first without being called, he waited for Ya Socheong to come in the Sect Leader's residence.
Finally, Ya Socheong entered the Sect Leader's residence.
Dan Mok-san greeted him with the thought of at least listening to what Ya Socheong had to say.
"I greet the Sect Leader."
"What happened to the matter I sent you on? Did you find the painting?"
"I could not find it."
"You could not find it. But did you at least find some trace of it?"
"I could not do that either."
"Then you should have stayed until you found it. Why did you come back? Do you take my mission lightly?"
"I heard that the other junior lords have given up the junior sect leader competition. In such a situation, I thought that I could not remain alone and become the junior sect leader. I thought it would be a bigger problem if I happened to find the painting, so I hurried back."
The Sect Leader couldn't even let out a hollow laugh and glared at Ya Socheong.
There was definitely something about this brat.
It was not something anyone could do to enter the fifth prince's manor without any problem and make the junior lords get along with the fifth prince.
"His Highness the Fifth Prince cherishes the junior lords very much. So he said that he wants to meet them again next time. He said that they should be well until then, and that was not a request but an order. There was a statement that the junior lords, and no one else, should harm the junior lords."
Ya Socheong continued to speak calmly.
The Sect Leader was dumbfounded.
Is this brat threatening me now?
Is he saying not to treat the junior lords carelessly because they are people whom the fifth prince is paying attention to?
He wanted to get angry, but he couldn't.
No matter how much he was the Sect Leader and there were Heavenly Demons who sometimes cried out for a demonic world, he did not have the thought of plotting a rebellion against the imperial family.
"He said that there is a high possibility that His Highness the Fifth Prince will be appointed as the crown prince in the future. He said that he will not forget the sect then, and that he will come to the sect in person before that."
Some of it was what the fifth prince had actually said, and some of it was what Ya Socheong was making up on the spot.
If he wanted to prevent the Sect Leader from running wild and threatening him and the junior lords, it seemed that he had to put that much of a gag on him.
"Do you want to show off your friendship with the imperial family, Ya Socheong?"
"Is there a reason I should?"
The Sect Leader stared at Ya Socheong.
He wanted to grab him and crush him to death, but he couldn't.
Until now, there had been nothing he had wanted and had not been able to do.
But Ya Socheong did not go as he wished.
Had there ever been a time in his life when his killing intent had burned so brightly?
Had there ever been a brat he had wanted to kill so much?
But why was it not easy?
His eyes burned red.
"You may leave, Ya Socheong. I will grant what you wish. Since you do not seem to want to become the junior sect leader, I will end the competition with this."
"Thank you, Sect Leader."
Ya Socheong stood up with the utmost courtesy.
The Sect Leader seemed to know that Ya Socheong did not have a single bit of respect for him.
So he was even angrier, but his actions were so perfect that he couldn't find fault.
The Sect Leader could only stare blankly as Ya Socheong slipped out of his grasp.
While suppressing his boiling insides.
* * *
Some of the children of the Nether Shadow Faction could not return and remained in the fifth prince's manor with Pae Maseong.
Some of them would probably take root there.
Ya Socheong could not understand the junior brothers who had followed him even though it was a position that anyone would covet.
It was to the point where he wondered if they were a little lacking somewhere.
It was the fifth prince who would become the crown prince and then the emperor in the future.
Since he was not a person who used people lightly and threw them away easily, he would surely place the people who were working hard with him now in important positions.
And yet, the junior brothers who had stubbornly followed him to the end, Ya Socheong looked at them with a dumbfounded look.
"As expected, home is the best, Senior Brother."
The person who said that was Dan Yujong.
Dan Yujong was one of the people whom the fifth prince had coveted the most.
The fifth prince had even said it directly to Ya Socheong, and Ya Socheong had also directly conveyed the fifth prince's will to Dan Yujong.
And yet, Dan Yujong had followed Ya Socheong without wavering in the slightest.
He wondered why on earth he was doing that, and he said, did he think that he had endured all this hardship until now just to remain in the imperial family?
As expected, he was definitely a little lacking somewhere.
But it was easier to understand Dan Yujong than Jeok Soju.
Wasn't Jeok Soju the closest aide of Pae Maseong who had also appeared in the novel?
It was one thing when Pae Maseong had parted with Ya Socheong, but it was strange that he hadn't gotten closer again after Pae Maseong had returned.
He did get closer, but he did not get closer than Ya Socheong.
And he coveted the position of Ya Socheong's closest aide, almost competing with Dan Yujong.
Ya Socheong looked at the junior brothers who were scattered around the Nether Shadow Faction like trash and muttering that it was comfortable.
It seemed that the number of people he had left behind in the fifth prince's manor was less than fifteen.
"If it were me, I would live in splendor by His Highness the Prince's side and meet a beautiful young lady and live in a large manor."
When Ya Socheong said that again, the junior brothers just giggled.
"Go and train. Since I'm back, I have to go and greet the adults. Dan Yujong and Jeok Soju, you train them. I will check each and every one of you when I come back. If it is confirmed that you have only pretended and have not done it properly, I will not stand still."
"Yes, Senior Brother."
It was a statement meant to scare them, but for some reason, their faces were not scared, but seemed to be full of anticipation.
(End of Chapter)