By Zephyria 
HF 3
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* * *
Rattle, rattle. Ho-yeon gradually regained consciousness, jolted by the noisy sound of wheels and the impact of the hard wooden floor against his body. Perhaps it was the intense sunlight beating down on his face that woke him. Out of habit, Ho-yeon reached out to grab his oil-paper umbrella, and the movement snapped him fully awake.
Hurriedly pushing himself up, he saw the back of a man sitting at the front of the cart being pulled by a horse. Just by looking at the man’s broad back, Ho-yeon recognized him immediately as the benefactor who had helped him yesterday. Though he had lost consciousness defenselessly, it seemed his savior had not abandoned him.
“Um… Benefactor.”
Ho-yeon’s voice was drowned out by the rough rattling of the cart. What on earth was this cart, and where were they… Yesterday’s campsite was nowhere to be seen, and the scenery of a small village unfolded around them. The alley the cart passed through was bustling with various shops and crowds.
A step away, the smell of steaming dumplings stimulated his sense of smell, and two steps further, there was the sweet scent of candied treats. Among those calling out to customers, there were many beggars as well.
“Excuse me… Benefactor.”
Ho-yeon raised his voice a bit louder this time. Only then did the benefactor glance back; not only was he wearing a bamboo hat, but his face mask remained in place. It was a truly suspicious attire.
Moreover, since he was transporting an unconscious person in a cart, he must have drawn all sorts of attention. Ho-yeon felt embarrassed, realizing he had likely been a spectacle for people while he was asleep.
Cheongsan Inn
The man stopped the cart in front of a shabby inn. He then untied the horse from the cart and led it to a trough filled with fodder to tie it up again. The man’s black horse, which had been flicking its tongue the whole time, was clearly a magnificent steed at a glance, but its eyes were peculiar.
The whites were more prominent than the pupils, giving it a look of madness. Judging by the way it glared at the cart it had been pulling, it seemed to be in a foul mood. However, aside from those flashing eyes, it behaved very docilely under the man’s hand.
“I am truly indebted to you. Benefactor, are you injured anywhere?”
Ho-yeon also stepped down from the cart and asked. Recalling the comment about his “phoenix head wild hair,” he smoothed his hair with his hands.
“As you can see.”
He hadn’t noticed yesterday because he was so disoriented, but the man’s voice had a heaviness to it that felt almost oppressive. It was strange, as it didn’t seem like he was channeling internal energy into his voice.
“Thanks to the horse you provided, I traveled comfortably.”
“You almost flew off several times, though.”
The man asked back indifferently, patted the back of the horse that was greedily drinking water, and turned toward the inn. Ho-yeon diligently followed behind his benefactor.
The waiter welcomed the two guests and hurried to guide them to a seat. The waiter’s gaze lingered briefly on the sword the man carried, and then on the oil-paper umbrella Ho-yeon held.
“Would you like to order now?”
The waiter asked while pouring tea into two cups.
“Three plates of dumplings and three bowls of noodles.”
The man, now seated, finished the order without even asking what the inn had to offer. Upon the man’s word, the waiter immediately dashed to the kitchen to relay the food to be prepared. The child’s movements were remarkably efficient for his age.
Ho-yeon looked at the child with admiration. If the children of Eumbyeol Hall had seen that look, they would have grumbled that he was starting again. Ho-yeon cleared those unnecessary thoughts and turned his eyes back to the benefactor.
It was just as Ho-yeon was about to open his mouth to ask something. The man took off his bamboo hat and then removed the mask from his face.
For a moment, Ho-yeon lost all his words and closed his lips. Could a person actually look like this? Looking at the benefactor’s appearance, one would believe him even if he were a yokai. Even when only his eyes were visible, the man had an aura that drew one’s gaze, but now that his face was fully revealed, Ho-yeon found himself reflecting on his own looks.
Although Ho-yeon had never been particularly interested in such things, he had received countless compliments on his appearance. The man before him must have also received endless praise, but he possessed an atmosphere that was the complete opposite of Ho-yeon’s.
Beneath straight, clean-cut eyebrows sat eyes like obsidian. The jet-black, filled with a powerful glint, looked like a darkness that would swallow even light.
Ho-yeon quickly retracted his gaze, fearing it might be rude. He then hurriedly gathered his thoughts and offered his thanks.
“Thank you once again for saving me. Come to think of it, we haven’t exchanged names.”
“Inevitably so. I spent most of my time looking at you asleep.”
Ho-yeon felt his cheeks flush, but there was nothing he could do. One of the side effects of drawing internal energy from the dantian was fainting.
“My name is Wi Ho-yeon. If you don’t mind, may I know your name, Benefactor?”
The man picked up the teacup on the table and moistened his throat. Then, he spoke curtly.
“Mu-gyeong.”
It was ambiguous whether he had only given his given name or if his surname was Mu.
“Um… by any chance, were there any other survivors?”
“None at all.”
The sliver of hope he held was shattered. They say the law of the jianghu is that the strong devour the weak; nowhere was the divide between the strong and the weak as stark as in the jianghu. Ho-yeon prayed for the souls of the Snow Shadow Guard who had met a violent end in a foreign land.
His last memory before fainting was that the carriage had also been looted. While the gold and silver ingots were a loss, they were nothing compared to the snow lotus of the eternal snow. Was that a common spirit medicine? It was a rare treasure capable of increasing internal energy by half a gapja (30 years). Of course, since the assassins had stated that he was the target, they likely weren’t after the money. He didn’t know where it started, but it was certain that information had leaked.
“He said eternal snow, but he’s nothing but phoenix head wild hair.”
Mu-gyeong’s words kept echoing in his mind.
“Young Master Mu-gyeong… do you know me?”
Ho-yeon asked as gently as possible, hoping it wouldn’t sound like he was interrogating his benefactor.
“Why do you think I would?”
Mu-gyeong seemed to have a unique way of speaking. As Mu-gyeong drank his tea, Ho-yeon also drank the water in his cup. His throat had been stinging from the dryness. Then, noticing dried blood on the wide sleeve of his outer robe, he quickly took it off. Since he was wearing golden robes underneath, it was no problem to remove it.
“Because you mentioned eternal snow and phoenix head wild hair…”
“Your rumors are quite widespread.”
Mu-gyeong poured more tea from the pot and tilted the cup to his lips again. But why would news of him from the ice palace have spread this far?
“Rumors of me?”
“The portrait sent from the ice palace was quite impressive.”
He hadn’t expected the Palace Master to send a painting of him to the demon sect. However, if he had seen the portrait, Mu-gyeong could not be an ordinary person.
“Benefactor… are you a member of the demon sect?”
Ho-yeon asked in a small voice.
“Is there a member of the demon sect who does not use demonic energy?”
Since Ho-yeon had never seen a member of the demon sect, he didn’t know exactly what demonic energy was. The color of the sword qi Mu-gyeong had shown yesterday was black, but unlike the attackers, it didn’t feel damp or unpleasant. Yet, Mu-gyeong was stating that he was a member of the demon sect.
“Then the people who attacked me yesterday must have also been people with access to information from the demon sect.”
“They used demonic energy as well.”
That meant the attackers were also members of the demon sect, like him. Ho-yeon let out a very small sigh. He could deduce the situation without thinking too deeply.
“They are either a faction that wants to cause friction with the ice palace, or an opposing faction to the Sect Leader.”
Looking at his appearance, he seemed like someone interested only in luxury, so it was an unexpected twist that he provided such a plausible deduction. Ho-yeon continued to explain his thoughts softly.
“Otherwise, there would be no reason to stop me from going to the demon sect. I am coming by the order of the Sect Leader.”
Ho-yeon sincerely prayed once more for the souls of the Snow Shadow Guard members who had lost their lives in a foreign land without even being able to recover their bodies.
“You must be very hungry. The food is— Gah!”
At that moment, the cheerful waiter almost had a fit the moment he saw Mu-gyeong’s revealed face. Ho-yeon quickly caught the small tray the child was holding.