Chapter 155 : Leather Shoes Made by the Cult Leader
Chapter 155: Leather Shoes Made by the Cult Leader
After the Azure Dragon Sword King and Namgung Chang-yeon left, the Iron Demon—who had been tilting his head in puzzlement at the name Namgung Hee-yeon the entire time—suddenly clapped his hands.
“The Most Beautiful Woman Under Heaven!”
The Cult Leader glanced back at him and replied indifferently.
“You finally recognized her? You claim to have reached the Manifestation Realm, yet you go around with those things called eyes and still couldn’t tell.”
Under the Cult Leader’s rebuke, the Iron Demon pouted his lips but could not say anything.
After all, he acknowledged that he was far inferior compared to the Cult Leader and the Vice Cult Leader, who could see beyond mere appearances.
At the conversation between the two, Yul Han shook his head and spoke.
“We have something to do, so let’s head back for now.”
“Something to do? What is it?”
At that point, the Cult Leader glanced lightly at Namgung Hee-yeon and grinned.
Seeing the meaningful smile on his face, Yul Han shook his head.
“I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.”
“Fine. Let’s say it’s not. Still, you should at least wash her up first.”
“Senior Brother!”
“Ah, ah. I said I understood.”
Even while saying that, the Cult Leader looked quite excited. He began humming a tune whose melody sounded very familiar.
“I’m getting married. Oh ho, my junior brother is getting married. And I’ll get to see a pretty—very pretty—niece. Heh heh heh.”
As Yul Han stared at the Cult Leader with disbelief, he again heard the sound of clapping hands beside him.
Clap!
Turning at the sound, he saw the Iron Demon shouting.
“Pageuk!”
“Why Pageuk?”
“That humming from the Cult Leader. It’s exactly the same tune Pageuk hummed when the Vice Cult Leader promised to take him back to the pleasure quarters.”
Only then did Yul Han realize why the melody had sounded so familiar, and he gave a bitter smile.
Thus, with Namgung Hee-yeon as the final piece, the unprecedented incident—where they had captured masters of the Hundred Paths and demanded negotiations—came to an end.
Yul Han left Evil Island after leaving part of the wealth obtained from the deal with Mad Bear.
<Make sure to share it with your subordinates. It should allow you to endure until you find a proper way to make a living. But if I hear that the Mighty Fire Unit—or the Fierce Camel Alliance—has returned to banditry, I will chase you to the ends of the world and kill you all. I swear it on my name.>
Because of the Vice Cult Leader’s warning—left behind with murderous eyes—Mad Bear could not smile even though he had received promissory notes worth a considerable sum.
Leaving the troubled Mad Bear and the members of the Mighty Fire Unit behind, Yul Han’s group departed Evil Island and immediately returned to the main fortress of the Heavenly Mountains.
---
A rumor spread wildly throughout the Bright Cult.
They said the Vice Cult Leader was getting married.
It took only three days for the rumor to circulate throughout the Bright Cult and eventually reach the ears of the very person involved—Yul Han himself.
That was because Cold Blade Blood rushed over in haste as soon as he heard it and asked:
“Vice Cult Leader, are you getting married?”
The Iron Demon glanced sideways at Yul Han and slowly rose, trying to slip away.
But Yul Han’s voice stopped him.
“Stand right there.”
“W-Well, I have urgent matters—”
“Even if the world ends in a moment, stay right there without moving.”
At Yul Han’s icy voice, the Iron Demon made a tearful face.
“This is unfair! I did spread the rumor, but the Cult Leader ordered me to. He said he wouldn’t let me off otherwise… How could I resist the Cult Leader’s command?”
Yul Han asked:
“You’re saying Senior Brother ordered it?”
“I swear!”
At the Iron Demon’s answer, Yul Han’s gaze sank.
He did not even need to see it to know why the Cult Leader had done such a thing.
Even these days, the man kept coming to ask, “So when exactly are you going to give me a niece or nephew?”
Back then Yul Han had taken it as a joke and laughed it off, but now it was different.
If the rumor had reached even his own ears, it meant it had already spread far too widely.
“This man, honestly!”
Bursting in anger, Yul Han strode toward the Cult Leader’s residence.
Because the Vice Cult Leader’s temper looked so fierce, those who had been training with him at his residence followed behind in a large group.
Were they worried about him?
Come on, what nonsense.
Then why were they following?
After all, isn’t the greatest spectacle in the world watching a fire, and the second greatest watching a fight?
How exciting would it be to see two Manifestation Realm experts truly clash?
Whispering with eager expressions, they followed behind him.
But the moment Yul Han stormed into the Cult Leader’s residence with a whole crowd trailing behind him, he froze on the spot.
In the courtyard, at a small stall, the Cult Leader was hunched over, struggling to make something.
“…What are you doing?”
“Oh! You’re here. Ah, this? Shoes for my niece.”
What he held up was truly a pair of tiny leather shoes.
The Cult Leader’s hands, which he had used to make them, were a complete mess. He had used his sword to pierce the leather.
It would have been easy work if he had simply used Sword Energy—let alone Force Energy.
The reason his hands were in such a state was simple.
“Ah! My hands? If I use internal energy, that energy might seep into the shoes. Who knows how that would affect a newborn baby? How could I dare use internal energy? Don’t worry. If I circulate my energy a few times, they’ll heal right away.”
Noticing Yul Han’s concerned gaze, the Cult Leader grinned as he explained.
Yul Han could not bring himself to get angry at him.
In the end, Yul Han simply turned away weakly and left.
After he departed, the Cult Leader stood up and opened the door to his residence.
Inside was a strange sight.
The commander of the Blood Sword Unit and all its squad leaders were gathered together, knitting.
They were knitting palm-sized clothes, scarves, gloves, and the like.
But their hands were the size of pot lids.
Naturally, the work did not go well.
Moreover, before this incident, not a single one of them had ever knitted before.
Some of them had not even known knitting existed.
Yet the Cult Leader glared at them and threatened:
“Are you stitching properly, one stitch at a time? If you do a sloppy job, you’re dead!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Even as he walked away, Yul Han could hear everything clearly.
He could only smile bitterly.
He knew why his senior brother was so obsessed with the idea of a niece.
During their return journey, the Cult Leader had endlessly told stories beginning with, “Back when you were a tiny baby like this…”
Though he complained about how much trouble it had been, the Cult Leader clearly found the bond he had shared with that small child quite fascinating and precious.
He repeatedly emphasized “a little brat who looks exactly like you.”
At one point he had even said, “Just give birth to one. Your senior brother will raise the kid for you.”
Watching Yul Han withdraw helplessly from the Cult Leader’s residence—where expectations were overflowing—the spectators all showed disappointed expressions.
Did that annoy him?
“Why? If you’re disappointed, shall I spar with each of you one-on-one?”
At Yul Han’s raised voice, the crowd scattered like startled grasshoppers.
A normal sparring match meant to help improve one’s opponent was one thing.
But everyone now knew how dangerous it was to spar with the Vice Cult Leader when he was furious.
Watching them flee in all directions with displeasure, Yul Han turned away from the path toward his own residence.
Since the topic had come up, he decided to visit.
From the moment they returned, the Cult Leader had been calling her “sister-in-law,” after all.
He decided to go see Namgung Hee-yeon.
By the Cult Leader’s special order, Namgung Hee-yeon’s residence had been assigned to a pavilion right beside the Vice Cult Leader’s residence.
In the past, it had been the residence of the Vice Cult Leader when he was a baby and the current Cult Leader was still the Young Cult Leader.
Which meant the residence the Vice Cult Leader currently used had once been the Young Cult Leader’s chamber.
The fact that the Cult Leader had given up such a meaningful pavilion already revealed his intentions.
Just as Yul Han stepped into the pavilion next to his residence, he heard voices.
“…I will do so, Mistress. Is there anything else you wish to order?”
“I need a court dress. As splendid as possible.”
“A court dress? Like the flashy clothes worn by the courtesans in the pleasure quarters?”
“Similar, but different. The court dresses worn by ordinary women are more elegant. Can you find one?”
“Leave it to me, Mistress!”
“I trust you.”
“Yes. Just trust this servant, Mistress!”
Pageuk, who kept calling her “Mistress” at the end of every sentence, turned to leave—but froze the moment he saw Yul Han.
“Hic! Hic!”
“Why are you acting so startled?”
At Yul Han’s scolding, Pageuk answered with hiccups.
“Hic!”
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Yul Han walked forward with an annoyed expression.
He intended to reprimand Namgung Hee-yeon for treating his subordinate like a servant.
“Miss, you seem to have misunderstood something—”
But Yul Han could not finish his sentence.
He stood there, mouth slightly open.
Because a fairy was sitting before him.
He had never realized that the martial robes worn by female martial artists could emphasize curves so clearly and beautifully.
Yul Han had prided himself on having seen many stunning women—Demon Flower, Hwayeong of Golden Flower Manor, and even the mistress of the Flower Pavilion.
All of them were beauties who could be called nation-toppling.
But this was on another level entirely.
“The Most Beautiful Woman Under Heaven.”
Simply by washing herself clean and dressing neatly, it became obvious why she carried such a title.
After staring blankly for a long time, Yul Han finally heard Namgung Hee-yeon ask:
“Did you have something to say?”
Only then did he snap out of his astonishment.
“Why do you need a court dress?”
“Since I’m already here, I intend to do this properly.”
“Properly? What do you mean?”
“The Cult Leader asked me something. ‘Suppose you bear the Vice Cult Leader’s child. Would I find you lovable or hateful?’”
“And what did you answer?”
“I said, ‘I think you would find me lovable.’”
“And then?”
“He said, ‘Of course.’ And he also said that if I bear a child, he would overlook most matters involving me.”
“So you intend to bear my child for your own benefit?”
“Is there something else you need from me, Vice Cult Leader? If so, I will try to do that as well. Please say it.”
Yul Han gazed quietly into Namgung Hee-yeon’s calm, unwavering eyes.
Then his expression slowly sank.
The slight excitement in his voice also faded, becoming calm again.
“No. And I have no intention of bearing a child for Namgung’s sake.”
Leaving those words behind, Yul Han turned and walked away.
From his entire body, terrifying killing intent and demonic energy leaked out.
Pageuk, who had never seen Yul Han so angry before, stood stiffly in panic.
But Namgung Hee-yeon merely watched him leave with an expression so calm it seemed devoid of emotion.
Watching from afar, the Cult Leader clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. At this rate, even a child that could have been conceived won’t appear.”
“She’s a woman taken hostage in place of her elder brother. Unless it’s by force, isn’t it difficult for the feelings you hope for to arise?”
At the Blood Sword Unit commander’s question, the Cult Leader asked with a mocking tone:
“You don’t understand women, do you?”
“Well…”
“Then stay quiet. Romance isn’t something that works with theory alone. No matter how cold a woman is, she can’t ignore a man who clings to her desperately because he likes her.”
“That only applies if there’s a man clinging to her because he likes her.”
“You brat. What are those eyes of yours for? Look carefully. Do you think that kid Han is the type to get angry over something like this?”
“Well… the Vice Cult Leader is not someone who usually shows emotional fluctuations over such matters…”
“And yet that same kid Han is stomping around while leaking killing intent and demonic energy everywhere. That’s him putting up a sign saying, ‘I’m angry.’ Do you think he’s the type to act like that?”
“No.”
“Then why do you think he’s like that?”
“Well…”
Unable to answer, the Blood Sword Unit commander fell silent.
The Cult Leader said:
“If you have no interest, you don’t get angry. Whether that woman is thinking about her natal family or some other bastard, he’d normally say, ‘What does that have to do with me?’ That’s the kind of person Han is.”
Hearing the Cult Leader’s explanation, the Blood Sword Unit commander had to admit it made sense.
The Vice Cult Leader he knew really was that type of man.
But if he was angry…
“That means he’s interested!”
The Blood Sword Unit commander widened his eyes.
The Cult Leader smiled meaningfully.
“It means the leather shoes I ruined my hands making—and the wool clothes you bastards are knitting—have a much higher chance of being useful. Heh heh heh.”
The Blood Sword Unit commander looked at the Cult Leader with a strange expression, wondering if this was really something to be so happy about.
But the Cult Leader truly looked delighted.
So he asked:
“Does that make you so happy, Cult Leader?”