Chapter 64
“Who has come to visit?”
Shim Ui-cheon, buried under a mountain of documents, paused his work and lifted his head at the chief steward’s words.
“The head of the Goru Wi Family has arrived.”
Even the chief steward looked puzzled as he spoke.
It was understandable—Wi Lin had never once visited their sect since Shim Ui-cheon became its leader.
The two weren’t exactly close, and unless it was an official gathering of the Six Great Demon Clans, they had no reason to meet privately.
“Invite him in.”
Shim Ui-cheon left his office and headed toward the reception hall. Soon, Wi Lin entered, guided by the chief steward.
“Welcome, Wi Lin.”
“Shim Ui-cheon, I hope I haven’t come at an inconvenient time.”
“It’s always the same for me. But I must admit, I was quite surprised to hear that you were visiting.”
“Haha, I suddenly felt bad for not keeping in touch, so I came without notice.”
“All of a sudden?”
Their relationship wasn’t exactly distant, but it wasn’t particularly close either.
Shim Ui-cheon was closely allied with the Tak Family, while Wi Lin had strong ties to the Yeo Family, so their interactions had always been limited.
“I must be getting old. Last night, your late father appeared in my dreams.”
“My father?”
“I thought about how hard it must have been for him to leave you behind at such a young age. It made me realize I should be looking out for you, even now.”
“Is that so? I appreciate the sentiment.”
Though he smiled warmly, Shim Ui-cheon’s mind was growing cold.
The Wi Lin he knew was not someone who would suddenly bring up his late father and speak with such sentimentality.
Especially considering that even when his father had been alive, their families had maintained a rather detached relationship.
‘So he wants something.’
Whatever it was, it would come up in due time.
Casually offering refreshments, Shim Ui-cheon matched his guest’s small talk with well-placed responses, waiting for the real reason behind his visit to be revealed.
“By the way, about the First Young Lady…”
‘So this is it.’
After circling around the topic with discussions of the martial arts tournament, Wi Lin finally got to the point—the disciple of the Heavenly Demon.
Had they already caught on?
“Does she not resemble someone?”
“…Resemble whom?”
At last, Shim Ui-cheon realized what Wi Lin had come to confirm.
However, he feigned ignorance.
“Who are you referring to?”
“The deceased daughter of the Tak Family’s leader.”
“Seonhwa… You mean?”
“That’s right! Weren’t you close friends with her?”
“Yes, we were close in age, so we got along well. But have you ever seen Seonhwa before?”
After the Tak Family Leader’s wife passed away, his overprotectiveness toward his only daughter, Tak Seonhwa, had grown extreme.
Because of that, she had spent most of her life within the Tak Family’s estate.
She was only allowed outside on rare, special occasions, and even then, she was accompanied by at least five guards.
As a result, the only way Shim Ui-cheon could meet his childhood friend Tak Seonhwa was by visiting the Tak Family himself.
Even people of the same generation would have difficulty remembering Seonhwa’s face, so how could Wi Lin, who was much older, recall her?
“I caught a glimpse of her during a sect event. She was wearing a veil, so I couldn’t see her clearly, but I remember her elegant presence.”
“I see.”
“I thought I’d have the chance to see her again, but she left the sect before that could happen.”
“Then you don’t actually remember her face in detail?”
“That’s why I came to ask you. Doesn’t the First Young Lady resemble Tak Seonhwa?”
“Hmm…”
Shim Ui-cheon stroked his chin, pretending to be deep in thought.
“From what I recall… I can’t say for sure.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying they look somewhat similar?”
“No, quite the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
“The First Young Lady is indeed beautiful, but she does not resemble Seonhwa at all.”
“…Is that so?”
“I was Seonhwa’s closest friend. If she looked similar, I would remember.”
Shim Ui-cheon let out a sorrowful sigh, as if he were reminiscing about a dear friend.
“…That’s true.”
“You seem disappointed by my answer.”
Noticing Wi Lin’s dissatisfied expression, Shim Ui-cheon subtly probed.
But Wi Lin quickly waved a hand in dismissal.
“Not at all. I simply realized I must have been mistaken.”
The Tak Family’s leader, Tak Joong-hak, had ended his years of seclusion and appeared at the martial tournament yesterday.
Because of that, the Demonic Cult was abuzz with rumors, and Shim Ui-cheon was well aware of it.
He had also anticipated that the Goru Wi Family and the Cheonhyeol Yeo Family would be feeling uneasy.
However, he hadn’t expected them to start searching for a connection between Tak Seonhwa and the First Young Lady.
‘Did the Elder lower his guard?’
Last night, after being summoned by Tak Joong-hak, Shim Ui-cheon visited the Tak Family and learned the truth.
The disciple of the Heavenly Demon was actually Tak Seonhwa’s daughter—Tak Joong-hak’s granddaughter.
The revelation of the 17-year-old secret had moved him to tears.
Having grown up without siblings, Shim Ui-cheon and Tak Seonhwa had been as close as family.
The pain of her tragic death had stirred a deep fury within him, making it impossible to stay still.
It was Tak Joong-hak who had calmed him down.
Even the Heavenly Demon himself was unaware of Shin Seol-ha’s true identity.
Everything would be revealed in due time.
Until then, they had to wait.
To think they would be digging into this from such an unexpected angle.
“Speaking of the First Young Lady, isn’t it impressive that she has such skills at her age?”
Shim Ui-cheon deliberately kept the conversation going with Wi Lin.
Until the Elder’s plan was fully executed, everything had to remain a secret.
At the same time Shim Ui-cheon was keeping Wi Lin engaged, Tak Joong-hak made his way to Shin Geum’s noodle shop once again.
“You’re finally here?”
Seeing him, Shin Geum greeted him as if he had been expecting him.
“You knew I would come?”
“You took longer than I expected. Anyway, have a seat and wait.”
Shin Geum disappeared into the kitchen, and soon, she came back carrying steaming hot noodles and dumplings.
“I didn’t come here because I was hungry.”
“If you have something to ask, do it while you eat. Even a ghost that dies after a good meal looks better, they say.”
Shin Geum clicked his tongue as he looked at Tak Joong-hak, whose face had grown noticeably gaunt over the past few days.
“Here, have some water first.”
“That sounds suspiciously like a threat that you won’t answer me unless I eat.”
“That’s exactly right.”
Shin Geum sat across from him, pouring herself a glass of water as well.
The other customers in the shop were all Tak Joong-hak’s subordinates, something Shin Geum had realized long ago.
“My granddaughter says the water here is the best she’s ever had.”
“Is that so?”
Tak Joong-hak took a sip.
“And? Do you agree?”
“Before drinking it, I thought all water tasted the same, but now I think she might be right.”
“Pfft! What nonsense. Water is just water. Looks like we’ve got another fool who’s obsessed with his granddaughter.”
“What?”
“I was the first fool, so don’t get mad.”
“Ha…”
Never in his eighty years had he expected to be called a fool.
Caught off guard, Tak Joong-hak absentmindedly picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the noodles.
“They taste better than I expected.”
“Well, I’ve been running this place for 17 years.”
“It must’ve been tough at first. Raising a baby while running a shop.”
“So that’s where you want to start?”
Shin Geum had been almost certain that Tak Joong-hak would come back to the shop.
After all, he had just found his only daughter’s precious child.
How could he not be curious about everything that had happened until now?
“Seol-ha was a peculiar child from the start. Even when she was hungry or needed to use the restroom, she wouldn’t cry while I was busy.
But the moment all the customers left, she would wail as if demanding attention.”
“A filial child, indeed.”
“When she started walking, she helped out with the business. With those tiny hands, she would bring water to the customers, and some of them even gave her pocket money because she was so endearing.”
A smile crept onto Shin Geum’s lips as she reminisced.
“When she was around seven, she became the leader of the neighborhood kids. Even kids bigger than her followed her lead.
But whenever they teased her for not having parents, she would run home crying.”
“…That must have been hard on her.”
“It was something I couldn’t do anything about, and that made it all the more frustrating. But now that she has a grandfather, wouldn’t she be happy?”
“Do you really think so?”
“You came here because you were scared of that, didn’t you?”
“…Hmph.”
As Tak Joong-hak averted his gaze and reached for a dumpling, a voice transmission from his subordinate arrived.
“Master, the Head of the Yeo Family is headed toward the noodle shop.”
“The Head of the Yeo Family?”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“What’s the matter?”
Noticing Tak Joong-hak’s sudden silence, Shin Geum looked at him suspiciously.
After a brief pause, the door to the noodle shop opened, and Yeo Gong stepped inside.
—
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