By Zephyria 
HF 27
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Since they were both men, he wondered if he should just brush it off as a natural phenomenon, but Ho-yeon, who spent most of his time with children, could not easily hide his bewilderment. Moreover, unlike Mu-gyeong, it had been an eternity since Ho-yeon could even remember the last time he had an erection.
Naturally, since Mu-gyeong was likely younger than him, he would be more vigorous, but… As that thought crossed his mind, Ho-yeon gasped. Unbelievably, his own lower body was also starkly aroused. In fact, his crotch was damp.
Furthermore, as his body was usually cold, this had never happened before, but now his entire body was burning hot. Ho-yeon recalled how he had been pressed against Mu-gyeong before waking up, like two pieces of ice melting and sticking together. Moreover, because he had thought Mu-gyeong was a source of fire, he had rubbed against him frantically.
Please… let him be asleep. Ho-yeon lifted his head very slowly, hoping that Mu-gyeong had not woken up.
The moment he met those black eyes staring intently at him, Ho-yeon let out a hiccup.
“Are… are you awake?”
“The sun is high in the sky.”
As Mu-gyeong said, looking at the shadow of the sun cast into the house, it seemed noon had already passed. Mu-gyeong’s face was clear, without a trace of sleepiness. He must have seen Ho-yeon’s unsightly state. Ho-yeon hurriedly curled his body and pulled the blanket over him, needlessly covering his lower half.
“That… you might misunderstand that.”
Even when Mu-gyeong was naked, Ho-yeon had intentionally avoided looking at his lower body out of politeness, but now, his eyes kept wanting to drift down toward Mu-gyeong’s lap. Within his gentle gaze, Ho-yeon’s pupils wandered, lost.
His mind was as chaotic as his eyes. He felt faint, not knowing how to make an excuse. It felt too strange to tell the truth—that he had hugged him thinking he was fire.
“I had a dream. So…”
“So.”
Mu-gyeong asked back nonchalantly.
“The North Sea is incredibly cold. I, I dreamed I was warming myself by a campfire in the North Sea, and it was so warm, so I…”
No, more than that, why did you leave me alone while you were awake? If another man was ru-rubbing his cock, you should have woken me up even if you had to hit me. Such brazen words of resentment felt as if they were about to spill out.
“So…”
Clack, while making his excuse, Ho-yeon habitually touched Mu-gyeong’s bare forearm. The veins in Mu-gyeong’s arm twitched and swelled under his touch. Feeling a heat that seemed as if it would burn him, Ho-yeon awkwardly withdrew his hand and blurted out whatever came to mind.
“I—I don’t usually get erections!”
Ho-yeon rose from the bed as if crawling.
“Are you saying you’re a eunuch?”
Mu-gyeong’s gaze shifted toward Ho-yeon’s lower body. Ho-yeon quickly turned his back and put on the shoes placed under the bed.
“No! I’m not a eunuch, and I am healthy, it’s just that I’m a bit older…”
Perhaps feeling embarrassed because he was leaving as if being chased, Ho-yeon added another thoughtless remark.
“I’m thirsty, so I’ll go fetch some water.”
As he left, saying he would fetch water from the valley, his footsteps were filled with panic.
“What about that?”
Looking back, Mu-gyeong gestured with his chin toward the tea table. Usually, when Ho-yeon woke up in the morning, he drank warm tea first rather than cold water.
“You’ve been gone for a while so you wouldn’t know. That tea is several days old. It’s spoiled, so you can’t drink it.”
Following the nonsensical excuse, the sound of the door opening and then carefully closing was heard. Even that small sound of the door was tinged with embarrassment.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Mu-gyeong’s downward gaze saw the member that was still standing. During the night, he had felt around his face and hugged his body, and in the morning, he had even rubbed his lower body against him with a flushed face, groaning.
His behavior was astounding, but it had been too long since Mu-gyeong had lived knowing a breath without pain. While the body heat of others usually did nothing more than fuel the fire in his own body, Ho-yeon had instead drawn away his fire energy.
He was a mysterious existence who had appeared in a grueling life. Since he could possess him at any time, there was no need to rush. In any case, the path for Ho-yeon to leave the hundred thousand great mountains was distant. After all, the man had naively spilled his escape plans without realizing he was putting his head directly into a tiger’s maw.
Ssh, the door opened as carefully as it had closed. Mu-gyeong knew that Ho-yeon had been hesitating in the yard instead of going to the valley. A face that had quickly turned pale peeked through the door.
“You’re… healthy too. So I think you don’t need to eat sna-snakes anymore.”
This time, the door closed with a nearly audible snap. The sound of Ho-yeon’s footsteps dashing out of the yard, making a patter-patter sound, tickled Mu-gyeong’s ears.
“What is with that guy?”
A truly absurd chuckle lingered on Mu-gyeong’s lips.
Once the sound of trudging toward the valley had faded for a while, Mu-gyeong rose from the bed. A strong murderous intent was surging toward the cottage. However, he slowly put on his black robes.
A powerful demonic energy, enough to suffocate ordinary people, poured out without hesitation. A multitude of energies were concentrating on the cottage, where Ho-yeon was the only presence.
“A crowded house indeed.”
He donned his bamboo hat to greet the unwelcome guests.
* * *
Ho-yeon, who had run to the valley in one breath, stripped naked and dove straight into the water. Since it was water flowing down from a high mountain, it was ice-cold, but it was perfect for cooling his body down right now.
After submerging himself up to his chin, Ho-yeon let out a short cry when he saw his hair floating on the water. It was because his hair color had returned to its original state.
Ho-yeon stood up completely and looked at his reflection in the valley water. It was pure white. Although it hadn’t been long since he had dyed it, the effect of the medicinal herbs remained nowhere.
He had no way of knowing the reason. While sighing softly and examining himself in the water, he discovered a red mark remaining on his chest. Ho-yeon quickly averted his gaze from the water and looked down.
There was a red smudge where his heart was. Since his body was originally white, bruises were easily visible, but he had no memory of hitting his chest anywhere. Even to say he was injured while tossing and turning in his sleep, the position was ambiguous.
After thinking deeply for a while in bewilderment, Ho-yeon soon gave up on finding the reason. Finding the Sleep-Flower Herb was the priority now.
The Sleep-Flower Herb was a medicinal herb that could dye hair dark, and it grew in the shade of rocks in deep valleys where sunlight did not reach. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to find three or four Sleep-Flower Herbs near a nearby rock. Inside the flower buds, which were covered in peach-like fuzz at the end of long stems, was concentrated essence.
Because his hair did not take dye well, he needed at least ten blossoms. Ho-yeon searched under the rocks thoroughly and picked plenty of Sleep-Flower Herbs.
His steps back to the house were very slow, wondering what further excuses he should make. But he had said he did it in his sleep, so what could be done?
Who told him to have such a warm body? Ho-yeon decided to just be thick-skinned. To put it honestly, wasn’t it Mu-gyeong who hadn’t pushed him away while he was clinging to him? If Mu-gyeong had done that, he would have been startled awake.
And because he had been so shocked earlier, he had forgotten that there was something he needed to tell him. How could he not come back for several days without a word, making people worry?
He intended to persuade him to tell him in advance if it seemed like it would take a long time. Of course, the first words he would offer were his sincere feelings—that he was glad he had returned safely.
Ho-yeon’s hesitating steps gradually gained confidence. It was just as he stepped over the threshold of the crudely walled yard.
Thud, the armful of Sleep-Flower Herbs fell completely from Ho-yeon’s embrace. What was reflected in his wide-open eyes was blood soaking the yard. Even the jar used to collect rainwater was smashed into pieces. Contrary to his vision turning red, his mind went blank.
Mu-gyeong, he wanted to call him, but his voice wouldn’t come out properly. Ho-yeon rushed into the house to look for him. However, Mu-gyeong was nowhere to be seen, and the bed was empty.
Seeing that the gold and silver were still there, it seemed that wealth was not the objective. Indeed, who would try to rob such a wretched cottage? To make matters worse, the sword Mu-gyeong usually carried was leaning against the wall.
Left alone between the empty cottage and the blood-soaked yard, Ho-yeon remembered the children who had grown cold beside him. The broken jar shards felt like weapons, digging into a terrible sense of loss he never wanted to experience again.
As if the underground cave of the Eternal Snow Mountain were unfolding before his eyes again, Ho-yeon felt as if he were still standing on the eternal ice. But he gritted his teeth and forcibly pushed the past away. This was not the Eternal Snow Mountain, but the hundred thousand great mountains.
Ho-yeon quickly grabbed the oil umbrella and dashed out of the yard.