164 – Truth (3)

Truth (3)

The senses of his body were sharper than ever. However, he felt no emotion from anything he perceived through his five senses, including sight, smell, and touch.

Neither the pungent smell of alcohol nor the wound on his finger, where blood seeped from being cut by a shard of porcelain, felt anything.

It felt like something was seriously broken.

But Baek Ryeo-il soon shook his head.

It wasn’t that something was wrong, but that he had simply returned to his original life.

This was Baek Ryeo-il’s life before Seong Mu-yeon appeared.

From a time so long ago that he couldn’t even remember, he had been gripped by the feeling that he had lost something very important.

Every day, every moment, he strained his senses to find that something. The problem was that he didn’t know what he was looking for.

Where it was now, where he had lost it…

While endlessly searching for that something he didn’t even know the identity of, Baek Ryeo-il didn’t accept any stimulation from the world. No, he couldn’t. Even if someone was talking next to him, it would only linger in Baek Ryeo-il’s ears and not reach the depths of his heart.

No one would understand.

The feeling of searching for something you don’t even know in emptiness for your whole life.

Only when he wielded his sword could he forget that feeling.

Only in the moment he held his sword could he stay in the present.

At least, that was the case until Seong Mu-yeon appeared.

Seong Mu-yeon was an existence that shone light on his world and brightened its colors.

Only after that light disappeared did Baek Ryeo-il realize how desolate his life had been.

Seong Mu-yeon was gone, and Baek Ryeo-il opened his eyes again in a monochrome, gray world that was sinking back in.

He didn’t know where to start or how to fix himself, who was so broken.

Baek Ryeo-il slowly covered his face with his arms.

How… how should I live?

A bleak feeling washed over him.

Seomun Yuha was lying in the Hall of Medicine of the Jegal Clan. He had been occupying a spot for several days without regaining consciousness.

The sleeping he suddenly grinned. In fact, Seomun Yuha was having a very sweet dream. The ground beneath his feet was as soft as walking on clouds, the sky was pink, and the weather was neither too cold nor too hot, just the right temperature. Moreover, the most handsome men and beautiful women in the world followed him wherever he went, cheering.

‘Young Master Seomun, you’re so cool.’

‘I love you!’

‘Please, just hold my hand…!’

“Hehe…”

Seomun Yuha’s mouth widened. And there was someone watching him.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Yak Seon looked down at Seomun Yuha disapprovingly. The sight of him drooling while dreaming was very unpleasant. Eventually, Yak Seon, deciding that she had to wake him up, bent down near the bed.

“Wake up! You lazy bum!”

“Aaaaaah!”

Seomun Yuha screamed like a seizure at the loud shout that struck his ears, and he raised his body.

“What’s going on! What is it!”

His eyes fell on the woman who was staring at him as he frantically looked around, clutching his wildly beating heart. The owl-masked attendant was also sitting a little distance away.

“…Yakseon Daein?”

“Get a grip!”

“Aaaah! It hurts!”

Seomun Yuha teared up and clutched the top of his head.

“How many days have you been sleeping? You even drooled while sleeping so soundly through all that chaos.”

“Who’s sleeping! I fainted!”

“Don’t give me that fainting nonsense. Do you think I’m a doctor who can’t tell the difference between someone who fainted and someone who’s sleeping?”

Yak Seon scoffed, and Seomun Yuha’s face turned bright red. Only then did Seomun Yuha come to his senses and look around.

“B, but do you know why the atmosphere here is like this?”

Doctors with deathly pale faces passed by from time to time, and the sound of weeping could be faintly heard from outside.

“What happened? Oh, right! Where’s Peng Yuan-jin?”

Yak Seon clicked her tongue.

“How can you know even less than I do, who just got here?”

As soon as she heard the news that things had gone wrong, she regretted entrusting it to Seong Mu-yeon and rushed here with only one owl. And she had to face dozens of people dying from poison.

Seomun Yuha, who heard what had happened while he was unconscious, couldn’t hide his shock.

“Young Master Peng is dead? Young Master Seong Mu-yeon killed him? And he escaped after breaking out of prison? He ate the Spirit Pill and became the greatest swordsman in the Central Plains?”

“…I didn’t say the last part.”

Yak Seon’s complexion darkened. Seong Mu-yeon had eaten the Spirit Pill. She had expected this might happen, but she felt uneasy now that it had actually happened.

“What are you going to do now? The Spirit Pill is gone, and Young Master Seong is gone too.”

“Anyway, if he ate it, I’ll have to confirm it directly with that Seong Mu-yeon.”

Yak Seon’s tone was cold as she said that. Seomun Yuha hurriedly defended him, feeling uneasy that she wouldn’t leave Seong Mu-yeon alone.

“Y, Young master might not have eaten it, right?”

But Yak Seon instead gave an even more chilling smile that made him feel more uneasy.

“If he didn’t eat it, he’d be found as a corpse.”

“W, what are you saying so scary! W, we shouldn’t be doing this, we should be finding Young master quickly!”

“What kind of special talent do you have that you can find someone that even the great Sect people gathered here can’t find?”

“…Then what should we do?”

“How would I know.”

Seomun Yuha, who was thinking quietly, jumped up.

“Baek Ryeo-il will know!”

“Uh, it’s better not to go to that guy.”

“Yes? Why?”

“I took a quick look earlier, and he’s in an atmosphere where he’ll kill anyone who gets caught.”

“……”

Seomun Yuha, who was about to run to the door, quietly turned around and sat on the bed.

Yak Seon rubbed her chin. Unlike her calm face, her heart was anxious.

“I should have hoped he ate the Spirit Pill instead.”

Looking at how things were going, it seemed unlikely that she would be able to get the cooperation of that Mount Hua guy even if she found Seong Mu-yeon.

“If I only knew where that guy went…”

“I know.”

Jegal Un strode in and bowed to Yak Seon.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Jegal Un.”

“You…!”

Seomun Yuha, seeing Jegal Un, was very wary and hurriedly reached for his waist. In his last memory, Jegal Un was an enemy. But his weapon was well kept on one side of the room, so he couldn’t reach it.

Jegal Un glanced at Seomun Yuha and turned to Yak Seon.

“I know where Young Master Seong Mu-yeon went. I’ll tell you if you want. But there are conditions.”

At those words, Yak Seon scoffed arrogantly.

“Conditions? Do you know who you’re talking to right now? You’re just a young Clan leader, and you’re not afraid. What if I told you that I have three ways to find out even if you don’t open your mouth?”

“……”

“If you want to live the rest of your life with your limbs intact, tell me right now. If you’re going to try to negotiate with me, you should have brought something bigger.”

Yak Seon, who was clicking her tongue disapprovingly, frowned when she saw Jegal Un’s expression.

“…Are you laughing?”

Jegal Un was giving a self-deprecating smile.

“You’ll need me.”

Namgung Cheon-chu took Seong Mu-yeon to Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, where the Namgung Clan was based.

“I’m sorry. It’s difficult to go to the main family, so I had no choice but to bring you to the safe house. I know it’s uncomfortable, but if you stay here for a while, I’ll quickly prepare a place for you to stay.”

Contrary to the anxious Namgung Cheon-chu, Seong Mu-yeon let out a hollow laugh. The safe house was so wonderful that the word luxurious was not enough to describe it. Several buildings with black tiles were surrounded by a high wall, making it impossible to spy on the inside from the outside, and each room was decorated with spacious and luxurious furniture.

It was just that, as it was a safe house in the truest sense of the word, it was not used unless it was a special case, so it had the eerie atmosphere unique to a space that had been neglected for a long time.

“But Young master, what’s wrong with your body? How long has it been like this?”

Namgung Cheon-chu asked worriedly.

He lamented that Namgung Cheon-chu had already brought several famous doctors from Anhui to examine him while he was unconscious, but they all shook their heads and left.

“…I’ll look for another doctor, so don’t worry too much. You’ll get better soon.”

Namgung Cheon-chu offered awkward words of comfort as Seong Mu-yeon, with a pale complexion, sat on the bed and gave a bitter smile.

But Seong Mu-yeon knew that it wouldn’t help no matter who Namgung Cheon-chu brought.

Since there was no blood relation, Yak Seon wouldn’t be able to change anything even if she came in this state.

At that time, someone stomped down the hallway as if they were very angry and burst open the door.

“Young Clan leader! Where have you been! Huh? We have a guest.”

The young man’s eyes widened when he found Seong Mu-yeon.

“Ahaha! Please wait a moment!”

The embarrassed Namgung Cheon-chu dragged him out into the hallway.

“The Clan leader is looking for you, but the room is empty… Do you know how difficult it was for me? But who is that person?”

“I went to Hubei.”