HSA 24

“To think… after killing my parents, you tried to seduce me with your scent?”

Jin Geum-ryeon spoke.

Judging by the content of his words, it sounded like something he would say to his mortal enemy—which was true—but the tone of his voice was strangely ambiguous, neither angry nor not angry, making it difficult for Ak Mujin to grasp his true intentions.

Jin Geum-ryeon was that kind of person: never revealing his inner thoughts to others, nor deliberately creating secrets.

If he were to create a secret, he would hide it deep within his heart, never revealing it to anyone, not even his mentor, Mae-yeong, who was like a father to him. So how much more so to Ak Mujin, Jin Geum-ryeon’s enemy?

In any case, Ak Mujin felt quite wronged. He hadn’t hidden the fact that he was a Yin Person to seduce him. Moreover, his body fragrance had leaked out purely because Jin Geum-ryeon had released his own first. Ak Mujin widened his eyes in indignation.

To make matters worse, Jin Geum-ryeon’s fragrance made Ak Mujin feel as if he were soaking in a tub of hot water, causing him to heat up.

“Why, why am I…”

However, Ak Mujin was intoxicated by Jin Geum-ryeon’s alluring scent, his mind hazy, and he couldn’t answer properly.

The way he parted his lips and mumbled something looked very pitiful. Cold sweat beaded on his temples, and a few stray strands of hair clung to his face, creating a suggestive atmosphere.

Jin Geum-ryeon stared at him for a moment, then suddenly frowned and withdrew his fragrance. Like a receding tide, the lingering scent vanished in an instant.

The next moment, Ak Mujin gasped for air and began to breathe deeply.

“Then why did you try to hide the fact that you are a Yin Person? Surely it was to take advantage of my carelessness, bewitch me with your scent, and then run away, wasn’t it?”

Jin Geum-ryeon released his wrist as if throwing it away, and Ak Mujin, still panting, took out a medicinal pill and shoved it into his mouth.

Since he had only become a Yin Person less than a month ago, he didn’t know how to skillfully control his fragrance or calm his rampaging energy like Jin Geum-ryeon. He had heard that Yang Persons attracted Yin Persons, and Yin Persons attracted Yang Persons, but he couldn’t understand how Jin Geum-ryeon could remain so calm even after smelling Ak Mujin’s body fragrance.

“Haa, heuh…”

Ak Mujin shuddered, feeling his crotch become slick and wet once again. He had only experienced it a couple of times, but it was a chillingly unpleasant phenomenon.

“…Even now, I can barely stand. If I truly wanted to escape, would I have tried to seduce you with my body fragrance?”

He gritted his teeth as he spat out the words.

Ak Mujin had never felt proud of the power he had been given. But now, being treated like a dog by Jin Geum-ryeon and even being misunderstood, he was desperate to have that ‘power’ back.

“Come to think of it, it is strange. You can’t even control your body, as if you’ve just manifested…”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Really?”

Jin Geum-ryeon looked at Ak Mujin in surprise. After all, Ak Mujin was in his early twenties when they first met. If he had manifested in the usual way, he should have already been a Yin Person when they met. But Ak Mujin’s behavior made him seem like a teenager who had just manifested and didn’t know how to control his fragrance.

Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to ponder this situation for a moment, then nodded, agreeing that there was some truth to Ak Mujin’s words, and smiled brightly.

“So you simply wanted to keep a distance from me. You should have said so sooner. I’m not such an inconsiderate Yang Person, you know?”

With those words, Jin Geum-ryeon got up from Ak Mujin’s bed, took off his long robe from the wide clothes rack, and placed it between his and Ak Mujin’s bed.

“Wouldn’t this make it less uncomfortable to sleep in the same space?”

Jin Geum-ryeon’s voice became much gentler. Now he was truly treating him as if he were a precious jewel from a prestigious family.

What kind of psychopath is this?

What Jin Geum-ryeon had just done would have been quite insulting to a Yin Person. Yet he immediately changed his attitude as if flipping his hand. Ak Mujin couldn’t help but be amazed by his audacity.

If something like this happened once, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t happen again, right?

At this rate, even the most comfortable bed wouldn’t be as safe as sleeping in the stables next to Jin Geum-ryeon.

Of course, he knew that Jin Geum-ryeon wasn’t shameless enough to attack a sleeping Yin Person, but he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

Just as Ak Mujin was imagining all sorts of bad things, Jin Geum-ryeon’s voice came from beyond the robe.

“But it’s strange.”

What now?

“Bi Luo Chun is my favorite tea.”

Ak Mujin sighed and ran a hand over his face.

Isn’t this a Jin Geum-ryeon x Mae-yeong doujinshi? As far as he remembered, the only CP that came up in searches was that one. Why are these meaningful flags popping up again and again…?

“I’ve tasted several kinds to give to my teacher. The most fragrant of them was that one…”

Jin Geum-ryeon trailed off, lost in reminiscence, and Ak Mujin seized the opportunity to speak. It seemed best to somehow lead him to think of Mae-yeong.

“What did your teacher like the most?”

Jin Geum-ryeon hesitated.

“Water.”

Ak Mujin sighed silently. He racked his brains to ask something else.

“…What is your teacher’s fragrance?”

As far as he could tell, the martial artist who had attacked him last time, Jin Geum-ryeon, and Ak Mujin all had different body fragrances. So, could it be that everyone’s body fragrance was different?

But is it okay to ask something like this? Is it rude to that person?

“Surely plum blossoms. Fitting for the place he lives.”

Jin Geum-ryeon answered surprisingly readily.

“Plum blossoms must be special.”

“Sigh, after rolling around in that plum blossom forest for fifteen years, I’m sick and tired of plum blossoms and plums.”

“I’m going to sleep.”

Ak Mujin finally turned his back to the wall and lay on his side.

“Are you asleep?”

“……”

“Are you really asleep?”

Jin Geum-ryeon called out a couple more times, but when Ak Mujin didn’t answer, he turned his gaze to the ceiling. And he blinked for a long time, as if deep in thought.

*

Jin Geum-ryeon and Ak Mujin walked for several days.

They had to camp out on nights when they couldn’t reach a village, so Ak Mujin’s fatigue was already at its peak.

Before, he could have gone for days without sleep, but from the moment his energy channels were twisted by the fatal wound, he couldn’t use his inner energy, and even his simple physical strength wasn’t what it used to be.

Had Jin Geum-ryeon gotten a little tired of taking Ak Mujin around in this feeble state? He probed him slightly, but there was no sign of it at all.

“What can I do if you walk so slowly?”

“It looks like we won’t be able to reach a village today either. At this point, we should consider ourselves enjoying camping.”

“I sent a messenger pigeon to the Martial Alliance in advance, telling them that I was bringing a Demonic Cult member, but they must think you were just born. Haha.”

Although he rebuked him every time. Still, he never tried to forcibly drag Ak Mujin along when he was tired, nor did he get angry.

Rather, when they were able to stop by a village, he would borrow the kitchen of the inn to brew medicinal soup for him. Of course, he had to swallow the sarcasm along with the medicine.

Did Jin Geum-ryeon promise to receive a huge reward if he brought the Vice-Leader to the Martial Alliance?

No matter how much Ak Mujin thought about it, he couldn’t understand why he was being so nice to him. Actually, it seemed like the standard of ‘being nice’ within him was somehow broken.

Is this what gaslighting is?

As they continued to walk south, they were able to reach the Yellow River ferry after about four days.

Even in his exhaustion, Ak Mujin couldn’t help but admire the flowing yellow water. In fact, he had been in a tourist-like mindset throughout his travels with Jin Geum-ryeon, so he was thinking of the current journey as half-excursion.

The open river and the mountain range stretching beyond it seemed to clear his mind just by looking at them.

Well, anyway, he was filming “Escaping the Demonic Cult and Walking into the World,” so it felt like the mental illness he had acquired in the Demonic Cult was flying away.

“You don’t get seasick, do you?”

Jin Geum-ryeon asked abruptly as he walked towards the ferry. Ak Mujin was torn between whether to tell the truth or not.

He had been on small cruise ships once or twice, but this was his first time on a rowboat rowed by a boatman. If he said it was his first time on a boat, he would be teased, and if he actually threw up, he would be rebuked again. What should he answer?

“I’m…”

Just as he was about to speak as he walked towards the ferry, the murmuring sound that had been coming from the ferry since earlier became clear. It seemed that two groups were arguing about something.

“We have some urgent business, so could you let us board first?”

“Wait. We came first, so it’s only right that we board first, isn’t it?”

“I recall that we arrived almost simultaneously.”

Of the two groups at the ferry, the one on the left was wearing blue uniforms, and the one on the right was wearing white robes. At first glance, they seemed to be disciples of major sects.

Jin Geum-ryeon stood far away, blankly watching them.

“Our business is urgent too. We need to get to our senior brother as soon as possible.”

Said the man in blue. Two men stood behind him.

“Could it be more urgent than ours? Our junior brother has been poisoned and is in critical condition. If we don’t get him the antidote quickly…”

The man who said that was wearing white robes. There were four of them, one more than the group in blue.

The rowboat where the boatman was standing could only carry about five people at most, so it seemed impossible for them all to ride together.

The man in blue, upon hearing that the junior brother was in critical condition, frowned slightly and whispered something among themselves.

“It’s the Jongnam Sect and the Hwasan Sect.”

At Jin Geum-ryeon’s words, Ak Mujin scanned them with a fresh gaze.

But how would Ak Mujin recognize anyone? There were no settings for the appearance of characters unless they were main characters.

At best, he could only tell that the blue clothes were Jongnam and the white clothes were Hwasan.

Just as the leader of the Jongnam Sect was talking to his junior brothers, one of the Hwasan Sect members discovered Jin Geum-ryeon and Ak Mujin and widened his eyes.

“Oh! You!”

Then he pointed at Jin Geum-ryeon and strode towards him.