Chapter 14: Tradition (2)

"Did you just say I'm causing trouble?"

As I looked at Lady Cheonghwa’s fiery eyes, a strange feeling washed over me.

Though her face resembled Seon-ah's, their auras were polar opposites.

‘Truly, the eyes are the window to the soul.’

Brushing aside these unnecessary thoughts, I addressed Lady Cheonghwa.

"Not only did you barge in without permission, but you also started chewing out my subordinate right in front of me. If that's not causing a scene, then what is?"

“You were the one who broke the cult’s traditions first!”

But her retort drew a sneer from my lips.

“Then, you should have explained things to me properly and treated me with proper courtesy. You, Lady Cheonghwa, accused my servant of borrowing the authority of the Heavenly Demon for her own gain, but isn’t your current behavior the exact accusation that you directed at my servant?”

"......"

The mention of my Master made Lady Cheonghwa, who was about to retort, glare at me while grinding her teeth.

Whatever traditions Lady Cheonghwa spoke of, the moment she acted out against a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, the justification shifted to my side.

She seemed to realize it too, because she gave a stiff little bow.

"I apologize for my momentary lapse in judgment and any disrespect shown."

But it was only for show. Her voice might have been polite, but her eyes were still throwing daggers.

‘Time to de-escalate.’

Now that she had apologized, pressing her further would only shift the justification and moral high ground back to her.

"I accept your apology. Now, could you explain this tradition you mentioned? If I am truly at fault, I will apologize to you as well."

For some reason, Lady Cheonghwa seemed to hesitate at my words before subtly turning her head to look at Seon-ah.

'Hm?'

It was a strange shift.

In the eyes of that woman, who had been so vicious just now, there was a momentary flicker of affection and pity.

‘What’s this?’

According to what I'd heard from Seon-ah, her mother was anything but maternal, so distant that the girl treated a doll as her mother figure.

"This matter is not suitable for Seon-ah's ears. May we speak privately?"

Her gaze turned cold again as she looked back at me.

* * *

Eventually, Lady Cheonghwa and I headed to an empty room in Windrock Palace.

Jin Hayeon brought tea and stayed with us as a precaution, while a guard accompanied Lady Cheonghwa.

"So, what is this tradition that cannot even be discussed with Seon-ah herself?"

After a sip of tea, Lady Cheonghwa answered.

"It is a long-standing tradition of the Divine Cult to forbid physical contact with the daughters of the Hyeokryeon Family."

The absurdity of the tradition rendered me speechless for a moment.

"May I know the reason?"

"It is due to the Demonic Art that Seon-ah is cultivating."

"If it is the Hyeokryeon Family's Demonic Arts, are you referring to the Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords?"

"The Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords is a martial art practiced by the sons of the Hyeokryeon Family. The daughters practice a Demonic Art called the Blood Fox Crimson Claw Art."

"What side effect of this Blood Fox Crimson Claw Art necessitates keeping a distance from such a young child?"

"The side effect is simple: extreme obsession."

"......"

While I was momentarily at a loss for words, Lady Cheonghwa continued her explanation.

“When they fixate on someone, they suffer extreme anxiety if they’re separated even for a moment. And if anything happens to the person they’ve fixated on… they often go completely insane.”

"So, you deliberately keep your distance to avoid becoming an object of obsession?"

"That's correct. It’s easiest to form an attachment to another person. But people can’t be together forever. People get hurt, they get sick, they die. Especially in our line of work.”

Though I understood her reasoning, I still had doubts.

"Even if everyone avoids her, that doesn't make the Demonic Art's side effects disappear, does it?"

“That’s the entire point of the isolation. We do it until they fixate on something else. After a few years of isolation, they often develop attachments to dolls, pillows, or ornaments like hairpins."

As soon as I heard Lady Cheonghwa's explanation, I thought of that doll Seon-ah carried around, the one she called ‘Mommy.'

"Seon-ah began practicing the Blood Fox Crimson Claw Art last year. The goal is to have her form an attachment to an object before she enters the Hall of the Demonic Way. And it is a long-standing tradition for everyone in the Divine Cult to avoid a daughter of the Hyeokryeon Family until she shows signs of obsession with something else."

Having finished her explanation, Lady Cheonghwa took a sip of tea and looked at me.

Her eyes seemed to ask if I now understood what I had done wrong.

Her explanation, however, felt more like an excuse born from twisted logic from this damned cult.

'For fuck's sake. This isn't a tradition. It's child abuse.'

Honestly, part of me had been worried during our little face-off. What if I really screwed up? What if this custom is a huge deal and I just blew it?

Now, however, that worry was replaced by disgust.

“…The fact that you’re telling me this without her here means Seon-ah doesn’t know about any of this, right?”

“Telling her about the side effect would make it impossible for her to form a natural attachment to an object.”

Her dispassionate tone made my blood boil.

Maybe it was pity for the poor kid. Or maybe it was because, in a way, we were in the same boat.

Like Seon-ah, I was dragged here against my will by my Master and was destined for a life plagued by mental illness. Confined within Windrock Palace, under Jin Hayeon's watchful eye, my future held only endless training and study.

However.

'At least I had a choice. A shitty one, but still a choice.'

That child had to live this way simply because she was born into the Hyeokryeon Family.

My face must have hardened at the thought, because Lady Cheonghwa mistook it for acceptance.

"Since Young Master seems to understand now, we shall take our leave."

As I watched the backs of Lady Cheonghwa and her guard as they opened the door to leave, my mind was a complex mess.

I felt utterly disgusted, but what could I do when it was a long-standing tradition of this insane cult?

Lost in this turmoil, I heard Lady Cheonghwa's cold voice.

"Let's go."

The timid child turned, her eyes meeting mine with a desperate plea. Looking at her, I felt a surge of self-loathing for my hesitation.

"Wait a moment."

"Young Master?"

As I suddenly stood up and approached Seon-ah, Jin Hayeon called out to me with a rare look of bewilderment.

Ignoring her, I knelt before the child to meet her gaze.

"Seon-ah. Do you remember the promise we made earlier?"

"Promise...? Ah!"

The child tilted her head adorably and exclaimed as she remembered.

“S-So I can come back tomorrow?”

"Of course. We promised, didn't we?"

I had said before Lady Cheonghwa barged in.

I had invited Seon-ah to visit whenever she needed someone to talk to.

And I still feel the same way now.

"If you diligently train and study at the family estate, you can come visit and play with me."

"Eighth Young Master!!"

As soon as I finished speaking, Lady Cheonghwa's venomous shriek cut me off.

“Are you really going to defy the sacred traditions of the Divine Cult?!”

And I roared back, matching her fury.

"To hell with your traditions!"

Those damn traditions.

The more I heard it, the more it reminded me of those cursed traditions I experienced as a civil servant, and it made my blood boil.

Even before I died, there had been controversial practices like the "probationary rice cake" and "serve the section chief day." The civil service world had various traditions.

Absurd traditions existed because of the disgustingly conservative civil service society.

And here it was again, another insane tradition tormenting a child.

“What's the purpose of practicing Demonic Arts? To have people consumed by the side effects? No!”

He roared, “It is to temper your heart and overcome the side effects! Yet, not only did you people create such an insane tradition, you also impose it on the entire Cult! Does that make any sense to you?”

Lady Cheonghwa's eyes turned glacial.

"Can you take responsibility for your actions? You are scheduled to enter the Hall of the Demonic Way in a year. What are your plans after that if she becomes attached to you?"

She was right. If Seon-ah got attached to me and I just vanished, the backlash from her training could cripple or even kill her.

Looking at Seon-ah, an idea popped into my head.

"I have a plan, so do not worry. If anything goes wrong after I leave for the Hall of the Demonic Way, I’ll take full responsibility.”

* * *

That night.

Deep inside the cult's headquarters, in the private office of the Heavenly Demon himself, two men were meeting alone.

One was the Heavenly Demon himself and the other was a man who appeared aged between forty to fifty.

Having listened to the man's account, the Heavenly Demon calmly stroked his beard and looked at the man instead of immediately answering.

Despite appearing only a decade apart in age, the older man was in fact the current head of the Hyeokryeon Family, a distant grandnephew twice removed to the Heavenly Demon.

The reason they appeared so close in age despite a nearly forty-year difference was that the Heavenly Demon, having reached an exceedingly high level of cultivation, had undergone two body reformations.

However, that was not to say that the Hyeokryeon Family Head’s martial arts were lacking.

The Hyeokryeon Family head was also an ‘old man’ who had achieved Transcendence with the Blood Shadow Eighteen Swords. He had also undergone Overhaul Body Transformation, though only once, not twice like the Heavenly Demon. That’s why he had only appeared a bit younger than the Heavenly Demon.

The relative stability of the otherwise chaotic Demonic Cult, a place filled with individuals driven mad by the influence of Demonic Arts, was largely due to the fact that the leaders of its major families and factions were predominantly masters who had achieved Transcendence in powerful Demonic Arts.

With the Heavenly Demon at the helm, these seasoned masters kept the demonic cultivators in check through sheer force.

However, overcoming the side effects of the Demonic Arts did not mean they were immune to things that would anger any ordinary person.

This was especially true when it came to disregarding the traditions of the Hyeokryeon Family.

The Hyeokryeon Family did not uphold this tradition just because they wanted to. It was born from painful necessity. Countless times, excessive attachment to parents or siblings had hindered cultivation and studies. There were also numerous instances of madness triggered by the death of a loved one.

Furthermore, outsiders and servants often exploited this vulnerability to manipulate the daughters of the Hyeokryeon Family like puppets.

Generations of that kind of horror are what led to the current tradition.

Both Lady Cheonghwa, Seon-ah's mother, and the head of the family, Seon-ah's grandfather who had come to argue with the Heavenly Demon, were forcing themselves to ignore the child while enduring their bleeding hearts.

For the prestigious Hyeokryeon Family, the option of not teaching Demonic Arts to the child didn't exist in the first place.

It was their tradition.

The Heavenly Demon, being from the Hyeokryeon Family, knew this all too well.

In other words, the Head of the Hyeokryeon Family had come to see the Heavenly Demon not to ask for his wisdom.

It was a courtesy call, a final gesture of respect before killing his disciple.

However, the words that came from the Heavenly Demon’s mouth were unexpected.

"Just leave it be."

"Pardon?"

The Hyeokryeon Family Head deliberately swallowed the rest of his words.

But instead of rebuking this rudeness, the Heavenly Demon uttered more strange words.

"Aren't you curious? Whether that child can free the Hyeokryeon Family from its shackles?"

It wasn't just because the boy was his disciple.

He recalled the recent banquet with his four disciples.

At such a young age, Il-mok had come up with a truly profound system that even he hadn't thought of.

So naturally, he was expectant. He wondered if that child might come up with another brilliant solution this time as well.

"What will you do if he fails?"

The Heavenly Demon replied.

"Then, you may deal with my youngest as you see fit. Furthermore, I will take Seon-ah as my new youngest disciple. This old one will constantly watch over her to prevent the Demonic Art from going berserk, so rest assured."

For the first time since his arrival, astonishment painted the Hyeokryeon Family Head's face.

"Do you have that much faith in your youngest disciple?"

To that question, the Heavenly Demon merely stroked his beard and laughed heartily without giving a particular answer.

‘Faith, you say? Hahaha.’

Rather than faith, it was expectation.

‘He's already preparing to make allies. How remarkable! Hahaha. And he, of all people, chose the Hyeokryeon Family.'

If he succeeded in this matter, the Hyeokryeon Family would show absolute support to Il-mok, even long after the current Heavenly Demon was gone and Il-mok could no longer be called the disciple of the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon suspected that Il-mok had already calculated this far ahead.

'The wheel has already started turning, so all that remains is to wait for the outcome.'

Whether Il-mok would meet his demise at the hands of the Hyeokryeon Family or gain a powerful ally in the form of one of the Divine Cult's most influential families.

The Heavenly Demon was truly looking forward to that outcome.