By Zephyria 
The person who appeared in that instant was Mae-yeong, and behind him stood another massive figure. Ak Mujin, peering through the tattered human skin mask, saw that it was indeed Jin Geum-ryeon. The moment Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes met Ak Mujin’s, he froze on the spot as if time had stopped.
“He’s not… dead…?”
Even with the door open, Seo Moon-gwang muttered dazedly, still pressing down on Ak Mujin’s body. Jin Geum-ryeon, belatedly grasping the situation, pushed past his master and rushed into the inner chamber, delivering a blow towards Seo Moon-gwang’s face. Seo Moon-gwang narrowly dodged it, finally noticing Jin Geum-ryeon, and his face instantly contorted.
“…You…!”
“Seo Moon-gwang, you again!”
“Deceiving me… Deceiving me!”
Ak Mujin, witnessing Seo Moon-gwang’s expression changing moment by moment, could roughly guess what he was thinking. He was probably imagining Ak Mujin faking his death and disappearing from the world, then secretly sharing love with Jin Geum-ryeon.
But Ak Mujin was completely innocent, so he muttered to Seo Moon-gwang, who was trembling with betrayal. Though he seemed too preoccupied with Jin Geum-ryeon to even notice.
“Seo Gokju… it’s not like that…”
“Lord Cho, he’s insane. Don’t engage him.”
Mae-yeong said this, extending his sword to deflect the hidden weapon fragments that Seo Moon-gwang had launched, then taking off his outer robe and covering Ak Mujin, who was sitting on the floor. Ak Mujin, finally fastening his torn clothes, retreated to a corner of the room where the chaotic fight was taking place.
After catching his breath, he realized that the situation was turning very dangerous.
For whom? Seo Moon-gwang.
No matter how strong Seo Moon-gwang was, even comparable to Mae-yeong, it was impossible for him to face Mae-yeong, who was the strongest in the world, and Jin Geum-ryeon, who had surpassed him, alone. Moreover, he was currently drunk, so he couldn’t fully exert his usual strength.
Mae-yeong and Jin Geum-ryeon, like master and disciple, steadily cornered Seo Moon-gwang, gradually inflicting wounds on his body. Watching this, Ak Mujin strangely felt a sense of pity for Seo Moon-gwang, who had tried to rape him twice.
Although he had become a third-rate perverted villain in the process of being adapted into a Doujinshi, in the original work, Seo Moon-gwang was clearly a supporting character that Ahn Do-hyun had put effort into creating.
Mae-yeong, wielding his sword with an indifferent face, said,
“Seo Gokju, how did you end up in such a state?”
Yeah. How did he end up like this?
“Shut up! It’s none of your business!”
Then, Jin Geum-ryeon shouted this time.
“What grudge do you hold that you’re still chasing after Lord Ahn?!”
“You’re the one who chased after Young Master Ahn! He was mine from the beginning!”
Seo Moon-gwang retorted with a voice full of resentment. As the commotion continued, people were peeking into the inner chamber, curious about what was happening. Ak Mujin could spot Bu-yong and Bong-myeong among them, their faces filled with worry.
Apparently, Bu-yong, after leaving the inner chamber, had sensed that Seo Moon-gwang’s atmosphere was unusual and had called Bong-myeong, but in the meantime, a crowd had gathered, making the situation awkward. This would damage Seo Moon-gwang’s reputation. It was a pity, but what could be done? Bong-myeong watched with a heartbroken expression as Mae-yeong’s sword shattered a circular display case containing several pieces of porcelain.
The situation gradually turned unfavorable for Seo Moon-gwang. The sound of swords and Iron fan clashing echoed a few more times, and eventually, Jin Geum-ryeon cornered Seo Moon-gwang against the wall, piercing his shoulder. Seo Moon-gwang groaned, his face contorting.
“Jin Geum-ryeon!”
Ak Mujin shouted without realizing it. It seemed like Jin Geum-ryeon was about to kill Seo Moon-gwang in one fell swoop. He couldn’t help but stop Jin Geum-ryeon, thinking, did he really have to kill Seo Moon-gwang? Jin Geum-ryeon flinched at the voice and was about to turn around.
Seo Moon-gwang threw something he had been holding in his hand at Jin Geum-ryeon’s face. A small pouch hit Jin Geum-ryeon’s face, and the opening burst, releasing a white powder.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
“Geum-ryeon!”
“Jin Geum-ryeon!”
Ak Mujin and Mae-yeong shouted simultaneously, startled.
“You… don’t understand this burning heart!”
Towards Seo Moon-gwang, who was still spitting out words with bloodshot eyes, the sword flashed. Ak Mujin, moving faster than anyone else, snatched the sword from Jin Geum-ryeon’s hand and swung it at Seo Moon-gwang. With that strike, Seo Moon-gwang, who had been about to strike Jin Geum-ryeon, coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. His face was filled with disbelief, his gaze fixed solely on Ak Mujin.
Ak Mujin didn’t spare a single glance for Seo Moon-gwang, throwing down the sword and checking on Jin Geum-ryeon, who was coughing. He was terrified that Seo Moon-gwang, who owned the vast poisonous plant field called Illusion Valley, might have used a deadly poison.
“Geum-ryeon, Jin Geum-ryeon. Look at me. Are you alright?”
“Ahn… Do-hyun…”
Jin Geum-ryeon looked down at him with tearful eyes, but in the next moment, his strength gave out, and his knees buckled. Ak Mujin was instantly overwhelmed with bewilderment, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he supported his body, laid him down, and shouted at Seo Moon-gwang, who had collapsed nearby.
“What poison did you use? Tell me!”
“…Young Master Ahn… do you really… feel that way about me…”
“Seo Moon-gwang!”
Ak Mujin grabbed Seo Moon-gwang by the collar, and he looked at Ak Mujin with tearful eyes. His face contorted as if in pain, but it didn’t seem to be from physical agony. Meanwhile, Mae-yeong calmly assessed the situation, then bent down and pressed an Acupoint to prevent Seo Moon-gwang from moving any further. After that, he gently took Jin Geum-ryeon’s wrist and checked his pulse.
“Calm down, it doesn’t seem to be a deadly poison. Bong-myeong?”
Then, he called out to Bong-myeong, who was standing outside the inner chamber. Bong-myeong, who had been organizing the crowd of onlookers, hesitated for a moment, then entrusted the task to another servant and entered the inner chamber. Coming inside and seeing the even more chaotic scene, he couldn’t help but sigh. Bong-myeong examined Jin Geum-ryeon’s condition at Mae-yeong’s gesture, carefully looking at the powder that had spread on his face.
“…It’s a Heat Cycle inducer.”
Ak Mujin snapped to his senses, released Seo Moon-gwang’s collar, and moved closer to Jin Geum-ryeon to check on him. He saw Jin Geum-ryeon clenching his fist tightly, groaning softly. Mae-yeong immediately clicked his tongue in disgust.
“Still, it’s fortunate. There are many courtesan houses in this area, so if you find a suitable Yin Person…”
“Disgusting.”
Mae-yeong spat out coldly when Bong-myeong spoke in a light tone as if it were nothing.
Disgusting, huh. Ak Mujin agreed with that sentiment. How much trouble had he gone through because of this ‘setting’ so far…? The protagonist, Jin Geum-ryeon, couldn’t escape it either. Moreover, he couldn’t take Bong-myeong’s light voice lightly, because even if Jin Geum-ryeon found someone else and spent the heat cycle with them, it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to easily overcome it unless he transferred the bond.
Mae-yeong stared silently at his disciple, who was starting to pant heavily as if his fever was rising, then dusted off his clothes and left the inner chamber without hesitation, covering his nose. His departure was so cold that Ak Mujin, in the midst of his bewilderment, even felt sorry for Jin Geum-ryeon.
Jin Geum-ryeon couldn’t even open his eyes properly because of the powder, but he was startled by the sound of someone leaving and began to mumble incoherently.
“…Don’t, go. Please don’t go…”
Even as he said that, Jin Geum-ryeon couldn’t bring himself to grab anyone nearby. His body fragrance was slowly rising, and his hands were trembling, indicating that he was struggling to suppress his surging desires.
Ak Mujin didn’t know what to do. He was the only person with a body fragrance that could affect Jin Geum-ryeon in heat cycle, and he was the only antidote. It wouldn’t be good to stay by his side pretending to be a nurse, but he felt terrible about pretending not to know that Jin Geum-ryeon was suffering from heat cycle.
“…Bong-myeong, would you mind taking care of the aftermath?”
“……”
Bong-myeong wore a reluctant expression, but he thought it was best to deal with everything quickly since there was someone with severe bleeding and too many onlookers. He nodded lightly, then called a servant who had been organizing the onlookers to carefully move Seo Moon-gwang. Fortunately, the outside seemed to be mostly cleared up.
Ak Mujin wasn’t worried about Seo Moon-gwang. Even if he had been struck by his attack, he hadn’t inflicted a deep wound that would endanger his life, so there would be no harm to his life. In the first place, Ak Mujin wasn’t cruel enough to kill Seo Moon-gwang.
Left alone with Jin Geum-ryeon in the ruined inner chamber, he wiped the powder from Jin Geum-ryeon’s face with his sleeve and began to support him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. He could feel Jin Geum-ryeon’s body trembling.
“Heuk… Haa… I’m sorry…”
“Shh. Save your breath.”
When Jin Geum-ryeon barely whispered in a painful voice, Ak Mujin shook his head lightly, wrapped his arm around Jin Geum-ryeon’s waist, and left the inner chamber. He hesitated for a moment, but there seemed to be no other way. He headed to his bedchamber, where he could isolate himself from people.