162 – Truth (1)

Truth (1)

Right now, Baek Ryeo-il is not in his right mind.

He seemed determined to restrain Seong Mu-yeon by any means necessary. He didn’t seem like he would hold back and fight as he had before.

His heart beat faster, and his palms were damp with sweat.

But for some reason, beneath the tension, sorrow, and fear, a strange excitement arose.

Now, in his best condition ever, how long could he last against Baek Ryeo-il?

Of course, he couldn’t win, but hadn’t he managed to land a blow on the unguarded Seong Mu-geuk?

Seong Mu-yeon was, after all, a martial artist.

Baek Ryeo-il thrust his unusually sharp sword at Seong Mu-yeon. As expected, he showed no mercy. He seemed determined to render Seong Mu-yeon helpless.

Seong Mu-yeon barely managed to block the attacks, as if performing a precarious acrobatic feat. There was no chance to counterattack.

For some reason, Baek Ryeo-il grew weaker as he wielded his sword. His strength and speed visibly dropped.

At one point, Baek Ryeo-il’s sword broke.

Seong Mu-yeon was startled and retracted his sword. Baek Ryeo-il, unable to overcome his momentum, staggered greatly before his knees slammed into the ground.

“……Master Baek?”

Baek Ryeo-il, who he thought would get up immediately, gasped for breath, his hands on the ground. His complexion was poor. His face was pale and covered in cold sweat. He writhed to get up, but collapsed again.

When he injected his energy into him to examine him, he found that his Qi flow was not smooth. Seong Mu-yeon recalled experiencing the same symptoms and quickly realized the cause.

“……Qi deviation?”

“…….”

Baek Ryeo-il only gasped for breath, wordlessly. Realizing that his prediction was correct, Seong Mu-yeon cursed.

“Foolishly, in that state, again……!”

He hurriedly began rummaging through his sleeves. He had some antidote he had obtained earlier.

“Don’t go.”

Baek Ryeo-il muttered.

“……If you leave like this, the next time we meet, you and I will meet as enemies.”

Seong Mu-yeon paused.

“Is that really okay with you?”

Baek Ryeo-il’s face, as he raised his head, was contorted with grief. He seemed to be calmly asking his intentions, but it was actually a plea. Barely holding on with his broken sword as a crutch…….

Seong Mu-yeon let out a long breath.

“I know that too. But from the beginning, there was no place for me there. So I’m just trying to return to my original place.”

He couldn’t drag him down to his level just because he wanted Baek Ryeo-il. It was not a good choice for either of them.

“Are you really unaware, or are you pretending not to know?”

In the end, Baek Ryeo-il pulled out his last weapon. Seong Mu-yeon immediately realized what he was about to say. It was the words he had failed to say twice now.

“You know how I feel about you…….”

“No matter what you say, my mind will not change.”

Seong Mu-yeon quickly cut him off. If he heard it to the end, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to maintain his carefully constructed cold facade.

“Ha.”

Baek Ryeo-il gave a self-deprecating smile. Then, he released the breath he had been holding and collapsed. He had fainted.

“…….”

Seong Mu-yeon stared at Baek Ryeo-il’s face for a long time. Even though he was unconscious, the distorted facial muscles did not relax, as if he was directly confronting his pain.

Seong Mu-yeon reached out his hand towards his face. But the touch never reached, interrupted by someone’s shout.

“I knew it, Seong Mu-yeon!”

Jang Han-soo darted out and blocked Seong Mu-yeon’s retreat. His face was filled with joy as he looked back and forth between the unconscious Baek Ryeo-il and Seong Mu-yeon’s sword-wielding hand.

“So you were hiding your real skills and shamelessly pretending to be weak? You can fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me!”

He raised his sword and pointed it at Seong Mu-yeon as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“You avoided it last time with your shameless acting, but it won’t work this time! Draw your sword, Seong Mu-yeon. Let’s settle this with swords!”

Seong Mu-yeon felt a deep sense of fatigue at Jang Han-soo’s manic laughter.

“Can’t you just let me go…….”

“I can’t.”

The incident where Jang Han-soo had lost control of his emotions and suffered Qi deviation felt as distant as if it had happened in a past life.

But as expected, he still hadn’t forgotten the resentment from that time.

“……Alright. But you have to accept the result.”

Seong Mu-yeon let out a long sigh.

“That’s what I wanted to hear!”

The next moment, Jang Han-soo’s eyes widened. Seong Mu-yeon was already close by. After his expressionless face, the scabbard falling on his head came into view.

Thud!

With that memory as his last, Jang Han-soo foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground. Gang Woong, who had arrived late, witnessed the scene.

“Young master…….”

Gang Woong called out to him in a trembling voice.

He looked as pitiful as a kicked puppy. He had followed his master and martial uncle as fast as his feet could carry him, only to find them both collapsed and Seong Mu-yeon standing there with a sword. He didn’t know how to process the situation.

Seong Mu-yeon gave a bitter smile and rummaged through his sleeves, taking out a medicine bottle.

“It’s an antidote. Give it to him right away.”

Instead of handing over the medicine bottle directly, he placed it near Baek Ryeo-il’s head and stood up.

“Please take good care of Master Baek.”

Gang Woong bit his lip tightly, as if trying to hold back tears, and nodded slightly.

Seong Mu-yeon looked down at the crown of the unconscious Baek Ryeo-il’s head and quietly said his farewell.

“Then……. I hope we never meet again until I die.”

With that, Seong Mu-yeon left.

Before long, the cool dawn light was breaking over the mountain ridge. The sunlight caressed the manor, which had been turned into a mess overnight, and shone its light.

In contrast to the light that opened the new morning, Seong Mu-yeon’s heart was utterly miserable.

Was it right to hurt him like this?

He struggled with all his might to resist the urge to run back to Baek Ryeo-il, even for a moment, until he left the manor and entered the forest.

“Yeon-ah!”

After a period of endurance, Seong Mu-ryong, who had been waiting for Seong Mu-yeon, ran up to him as soon as he reached the nearby forest.

“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“Thank you for the sword.”

Seong Mu-yeon returned the sword to him. Seeing that he didn’t look well, Seong Mu-ryong didn’t ask any further questions and just watched him carefully.

Nearby, Il-gwang and his subordinates were waiting with a carriage between them.

The splendid carriage, which was out of place in such a remote forest, was ridiculous, but he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

“I prepared it in advance so that you wouldn’t be uncomfortable on your long journey.”

Seong Mu-ryong said awkwardly and led him into the carriage.

The carriage moved along the bumpy mountain road. Seong Mu-yeon leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

The last conversation and scenes he had with Baek Ryeo-il kept flashing before his eyes.

‘What should I do now?’

Only after driving away the chaotic afterimages of memories was Seong Mu-yeon able to barely recall his original goal.

“Brother, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Tell me anything.”

Seong Mu-ryong, who had been quietly watching him, welcomed him with a delighted expression. He seemed a little surprised because Seong Mu-yeon rarely asked him for anything first.

“Could you come with me to meet someone?”

“Who?”

“Yakseon Daein.”

Seong Mu-yeon briefly explained what had happened. That Yak Seon had promised to make medicine to cure his illness.

“He says he needs the blood of a blood relative to make the medicine. Originally, Sixth Young Master was supposed to help…….”

When Sixth Young Master was mentioned, Seong Mu-ryong’s face clouded over as if he was reminded of the problems in front of him. But then he gave a faint smile and said.

“I can do anything for you.”

“Really?”

“But Yeon-ah, you know that there are other ways to cure your illness besides Yak Seon, don’t you?”

“Are you talking about the Marhon Shindan again? Don’t even dream of using the Subhon Geumje on me.”

“It’s not that…….”

Seong Mu-ryong let out a soft sigh.

“I’ve been thinking a lot since then. Forcing you when you didn’t want it was only my greed. I thought that was the only way to protect you completely.”

“Brother…….”

“I promised Seventh Madam that I would protect you. I’m sorry. The Marhon Shindan is yours. You don’t have to pay any price.”

“…….”

When his mother was mentioned, Seong Mu-yeon hesitated, remembering a sudden memory, and finally opened his mouth.

“……That day.”

“That day?”

“The day my mother died.”

“Ah.”

Seong Mu-ryong’s face stiffened.

“Father knew about our plan to escape in advance. I thought he had planted someone and eavesdropped secretly, but Peng Yuan-jin said something strange. He said someone had reported it from the inside…….”

Seong Mu-yeon carefully chose his words to show that he didn’t mean to suspect him.

“It’s not you, is it? Father is more than capable of doing that, right?”

“……Yeon-ah.”

Seong Mu-ryong called his name like a sigh. As the truth, which he had been trying to deny, came closer, Seong Mu-yeon stiffened.

“……Please tell me it’s not true. Please.”

“…….”

But Seong Mu-ryong’s stiff face did not relax.

I see.

“It was you, brother.”