By the time they arrived at Dongting Lake after two days, the sun was high in the sky, and the place was teeming with people. The Yueyang Tower, a famous landmark, was especially crowded, and Ak Mujin felt like he would be crushed to death in the throng.
Dongting Lake was where he, as the Vice-Leader of the Demonic Cult, would often come to find solace whenever he had the chance. After several years, he wanted to see it with his own eyes and find peace by gazing at the calm waters. But at the moment, he couldn’t find any peace at Yueyang Tower.
Ironically, despite visiting Dongting Lake countless times, he had never actually been to this famous tower. He would always go to the lake to enjoy the scenery, but Dongting Lake was vast. He never had the time to actually go to Yueyang Tower.
The Yueyang Tower he saw in person was very different from what he had imagined. It wasn’t serene at all, and it didn’t have the large golden-tiled roof he had expected, which was a bit of a letdown.
Still, how could Ahn Do-hyun give up on this famous martial arts landmark? He thought he wouldn’t have time to look around, but now that he was here, Ak Mujin was excited. He skillfully dodged a street vendor trying to force a pancake on him and looked around. Just then, Jin Geum-ryeon grabbed his arm and pulled him.
“Let’s buy snacks!”
Ak Mujin almost bumped into someone. A middle-aged man, busily walking around while soliciting customers, was carrying a wooden pole on his back, filled with candied haws.
“Let’s go to the back,”
Jin Geum-ryeon said in a low voice, leading Ak Mujin, who followed him in a daze.
The further they walked, the fewer people there were. It seemed that the area was quieter because it was a bit away from the main tourist attraction, Yueyang Tower. Jin Geum-ryeon finally let go of Ak Mujin’s hand in front of a small pavilion, and Ak Mujin looked up at the sign hanging on the pavilion. It read ‘Three Drunken Pavilion.’
“Let’s go up, sir,”
Cheong-aeng said, leading the way, and Ak Mujin slowly followed her up to the pavilion. Once they were at the top, the lake was indeed very close, perhaps even better than at Yueyang Tower. There were still people around, but it was quiet enough that they could enjoy the scenery without being disturbed.
Ak Mujin slowly approached the railing. The wind fluttered, sweeping his hair back. Jin Geum-ryeon stood a few steps behind him, silently watching.
“The air is nice.”
He should be used to it by now, but everything Ak Mujin encountered outside the Spirit Mausoleum felt new. The wind, the sunlight, every blade of grass was precious, and he never wanted to lose them again. Looking down at the calm lake from the high pavilion, he felt calm and peaceful.
He didn’t show it, but even now, when he closed his eyes at night, he would dream of being trapped in a cave with no way out, or of being confined in a narrow coffin. It was filled with golden treasures and paper flowers, but it was not a place for the living.
Jin Geum-ryeon stood beside him. Cheong-aeng sat on the railing a little away from them. She seemed to be playing with the Jade Token hanging from her waist, planning to spend her time looking around.
Ak Mujin ran his fingers through his hair, which kept getting tangled in the wind, and tucked it behind his ear. Then, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed his hair.
Slightly surprised, Ak Mujin turned around and saw Jin Geum-ryeon holding a thin, grass-green ribbon, touching it to his hair.
“…Do you carry things like that around with you?”
“There are often times when it’s needed.”
Ak Mujin obediently let him handle his hair and looked back outside. The tickling sensation continued for a while, and finally, Jin Geum-ryeon came to his side. Ak Mujin touched his hair and felt a braid under the half-tied hair. It wouldn’t get messed up no matter how much the wind blew, which made it less bothersome.
Just as he was about to thank him, Jin Geum-ryeon spoke first.
“In the Spirit Mausoleum…”
“…”
“How did you fare?”
Ah, ‘that topic.’ It was a topic Ak Mujin wanted to avoid, but it was clear that Jin Geum-ryeon, like Chun-wol, would be curious. And not just them; if there was someone who survived in a Stone Cave with no food for three years, it would be a scoop that even a broadcasting station would come to cover.
Anyway, as the process of entering the Spirit Mausoleum naturally came to mind, Ak Mujin blushed again and muttered.
“…Isn’t the fact that I came out alive the important thing?”
“…Still…”
Jin Geum-ryeon replied.
“I asked because I was worried.”
He looked at Ak Mujin’s face.
“You’ve become much thinner than you were three years ago.”
Ak Mujin in Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes was definitely thinner and more gaunt than he had been three years ago. Perhaps because he had been deprived of light in the Stone Cave for so long, he had become even paler, and Jin Geum-ryeon was afraid that he might die if he wasn’t in the sunlight. So, what about when he was asleep? He looked like a corpse.
But Ak Mujin’s face was still the same. No. Should he say it had become more… beautiful, or more sinister…? Thinking of two adjectives that could never coexist, Jin Geum-ryeon wondered if he had gone mad. But the fact that his heart was pounding when he looked at his face was not an illusion.
In addition, for some reason, the aura emanating from Ak Mujin felt even more deeply Yin than before. It wasn’t that it was good or bad, but he was afraid that this change might have a negative impact on him.
Anyway, memories usually feel more beautiful than the present, but Jin Geum-ryeon thought that Ak Mujin was even more handsome now, so it was difficult to feel that his beauty had faded in his past memories. Still, looking at the rather gaunt Ak Mujin, he repeatedly vowed to take good care of him and help him regain his old self as soon as possible.
“…Is that so.”
Ak Mujin touched his cheek. After being trapped without light for three years, this kind of change was only natural. But he didn’t think it was something to worry about, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Come to think of it, how many days had he struggled with hunger in there? Thanks to the Spirit Herbs, he had saved his life, but filling his stomach was another matter.
Jin Geum-ryeon, who had been staring at Ak Mujin for a long time, finally tore his gaze away from him and looked at the lake. The ripples reflected the sunlight and sparkled, as if the light was making a sound.
“It must have been difficult to get food in there.”
“…Well, yeah.”
When Jin Geum-ryeon spoke again, Ak Mujin had no choice but to nod, as there was no way to avoid the conversation. But the voice that followed was on a very different topic.
“I was very hungry too, sometimes.”
Jin Geum-ryeon, leaning against the railing, said with a smile. Ak Mujin looked up at him and blinked once.
“…When you ran away?”
“Ah, of course, I was then too. But that memory has been gone for a long time.”
Then when was he hungry? After that, it was only during the time when Mae-yeong took him in. Mae-yeong wouldn’t have starved him.
“My master’s cooking skills are quite something. It was difficult to adjust for a while. I used to pretend to eat and throw it away. But no matter how hungry I was, I couldn’t eat that food. It was so bad.”
Jin Geum-ryeon said with a laugh. Only then did Ak Mujin feel a little relieved and gave a slight smile. Yes, these small and funny moments must have been quite difficult for Jin Geum-ryeon at the time. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought of the young Jin Geum-ryeon. The face that looked up at him with a tearful expression. The voice that cried not to go.
“I was very happy when I went down to the village. Because I didn’t have to eat my master’s food. But the strange thing is…”
He frowned slightly and trailed off. Ak Mujin was already focused on his words, waiting for the next story to follow.
“I’ve never tasted anything more delicious than the food you fed me.”
A low, pleasant voice rode the wind into the pavilion, into Ak Mujin’s ear.
“It’s strange… isn’t it strange. Memories…”
Jin Geum-ryeon was gazing at the lake, lost in thought.
It seemed that Ak Mujin was deeply imprinted on the young Jin Geum-ryeon. The more he heard these words, the more he was reminded that he had made a big mistake, and he felt responsible for putting him back on the right path. He sighed softly and rested his elbows on the railing, fiddling with his fingers.
“…Yeah. It’s strange. That such a memory is so deeply ingrained in your head.”
Ak Mujin said, also looking at the lake. Jin Geum-ryeon simply smiled.
The two were silent for a while. Only the sound of the gentle ripples and the wind swirled around them, repeatedly scattering.
Around that time, the sound of two pairs of footsteps and a somewhat familiar voice came from behind them.
“…So, you’re saying you’re not going back to the Martial Alliance?”
A young lady’s clear voice asked the person next to her. At that moment, Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes blinked once. And when he turned around, he saw a man in a golden Long robe and a young lady in a dark blue top coming up to the pavilion.