Fake Concubine 89

“T-this…!”

The ​man ​had ​the ​advantage in size, ​but ​Moon ​Hae-min ​was ​the quicker of the ​two. ​Hae-min pulled out ​the candlestick he ​had ​hidden ​in ​his ​sleeve ​and swung it ​mercilessly.

“Urgh!”

The ​man ​groaned as he ​was struck squarely on ​the head. ​Hae-min hadn’t ​aimed for ​the head ​on ​purpose, ​so he was ​just as ​startled. However, now was ​not the time to ​be considerate of others.

The ​fire was ​spreading ​terrifyingly fast. Moon Hae-min wrapped himself ​back in the water-soaked ​cotton ​quilt ​and ​dashed ​toward the door.

“Stop, ​sto—”

The man ​tugged ​at the quilt. ​Even ​while bleeding from his head, ​he was ​incredibly ​persistent. He managed ​to ​snatch ​Hae-min’s ​ankle, ​making the ​effort ​of breaking ​free from the shackles feel almost pointless.

“Let ​go!”

He had to ​get out of ​here immediately. Hae-min struggled ​and kicked, ​but it was ​useless. ​The man clung ​to him with ​a desperation ​that ​suggested he ​was ​willing to ​die ​as long ​as ​he ​took Hae-min with ​him.

At ​that moment, ​a ​rafter ​collapsed ​above them. Hae-min, wrapped in the cotton quilt, was able to withstand it, but the man was not. His grip suddenly slackened.

“Aaaagh…!”

A scream of agony rang out. It was ironic that the first and only voice he ever heard from the man was a scream. That horrific sound felt as if it were sticking to his ears.

Regardless, Hae-min succeeded in escaping the burning house. While the inside was a living hell, the outside was a silent night. He stumbled through the snow before finally collapsing.

“Huff, huff…”

It still didn’t feel real. He had used his wits as best he could, but had it actually worked? He could check, but he didn’t dare look back.

“…Huu.”

Everything that had happened over the past few days felt like a dream. It was so terrible that he simply couldn’t believe it. He wished he could wake up now, but unfortunately, this was reality.

Moon Hae-min swallowed his sobs and rubbed his face against the snowy ground. The cold snow cooled his body, which had grown scorching hot from the heat of the fire.

The fire only died down after burning every single thatched house to the ground. Fortunately, thanks to the snow that had fallen a few days prior, the fire didn’t seem to have spread to the nearby trees.

He didn’t know what had become of the man inside. However, Moon Hae-min consciously cut off any questions regarding him. He felt that if he worried about the man, he wouldn’t be able to survive mentally.

‘Even if something happened to him, it’s poetic justice. …That’s the only way I can think about it.’

Both his body and mind were exhausted, but he couldn’t afford to collapse here.

As soon as day broke, Moon Hae-min headed down the mountain. He didn’t know which unauthorized copymountain this was, let alone where unauthorized copythe path was, but he [unauthorized copy]moved relentlessly in whatever direction he could. If he kept moving, he would eventually find a road. And if he followed that road…

“…”

He felt utterly lost as to where he should go.

In truth, the real problem wasn’t getting down the mountain, but what came after. Moon Hae-min had lost his destination. Should he return to his family home, find Song Seol, or run away forever…? He was simply wavering before these three crossroads.

In the past, he would have chosen the latter without hesitation. It had been his long-time wish to flee to a place where no one knew him and start a new life.

‘But if I run away, I’ll never be able to uncover the truth behind Bok-deong-i’s death.’

First, Hae-min wanted to confirm whether Grand Prince Gwang-han was indeed the kind of person who would eliminate Bok-deong-i. But even if his suspicions were true, there was nothing Moon Hae-min could do.

How could someone like him take revenge against a Grand Prince? If the opponent were merely a member of the nobility, he would have charged in like a madman, but against a Grand Prince, even that was impossible.

‘Song Seol…’

The name naturally came to mind. Hae-min bit his lower lip firmly.

Realistically, there was no more certain method than borrowing the power of Grand Prince Byeokran. However, would he actually help him once he discovered that he wasn’t ‘Moon Hee-yul’? He would be lucky if the man didn’t fly into a rage as he had in the past.

Still, if it were Song Seol, he would likely feel humiliated by the fact that Grand Prince Gwang-han had kidnapped and imprisoned him. That thought made Hae-min feel unpleasant, as if he were merely an object owned by Song Seol, but for now, he had no choice but to pin his hopes on this.

“Then, should I look for Song Seol first…?”

Hae-min murmured, then shuddered. It was already a cold season, and the wind was even more biting in the mountains. At this rate, just getting down the mountain safely was a problem.

“W-where should I go?”

He looked around. The mountain was so deep that there wasn’t even a trail. He had no idea which direction—north, south, east, or west—to step.

Moon Hae-min decided to simply head downhill first, hoping that the direction he chose was correct.

“Huff, huff…”

After walking for a long time, his legs began to throb. Every single step was a struggle. No matter how weak his stamina was, it hadn’t been this bad; it seemed his leg strength had vanished during his imprisonment.

Still, he couldn’t stop to rest. If he stopped walking, his body would cool down and he would get even colder.

“I-I’m glad I ate a lot…”

Just as he was squeezing out the last of his strength to move his legs, he heard a rustling sound ahead.

‘Could it be a wild animal?’

His body froze instinctively. The terror of encountering a tiger in the mountains last autumn came back vividly. No matter how unlucky he was, he wondered if it was possible to encounter a tiger three times in one lifetime, but given his wretched fate, one could never be sure.

Moreover, even if it wasn’t a tiger, it could be visit our sitea wild boar unauthorized copyor Read on Read BL Novelsa snake. Hae-min sharpened his senses.

Rustle, crunch, rustle…

The sound grew closer. He was so tense he was on the verge of fainting while standing. Then, a glimpse of a skirt appeared between the trees.

‘It’s a person!’

Hae-min swallowed hard. It was good that the other party wasn’t a beast. However, there was no guarantee that a human wouldn’t harm him. Depending on the person, it might be more dangerous than encountering a tiger.

Should he make his presence known, or stay still? Moon Hae-min struggled with the decision. But his conflict was meaningless.

“Who is there?”

Just as Hae-min had noticed the other person, the other person had noticed him. She approached with quick steps.

“My goodness, what on earth are you doing in these mountains…?”

A young girl looked at Hae-min in surprise. To anyone, he looked like someone who had rushed out in a hurry, and with his clothes burnt and charred in various places, it was only natural that he looked strange.

Moon Hae-min also looked at her. She was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen. Wearing a tightly pressed wind-cap and carrying a large basket on her back, she looked capable.

“I am…”

As soon as he opened his mouth, he stopped. Even if he claimed, ‘I am not a suspicious person,’ it would only make visit our sitehim look more visit our sitesuspicious. The girl’s eyes were already full of wariness. He felt that if he delayed any further, visit our siteshe would judge him to be a ‘suspicious and dangerous person.’

“I… I’ve had an unfortunate accident…”

Hae-min spoke hesitantly. It was awkward to speak with a stranger, especially a female of his own age, but he was in no position to dwell on such things.

“Could you perhaps tell me the way down?”

At Hae-min’s request, the girl replied with a troubled look.

“There are no paths here… It’s hard to explain, and even if I did, I don’t think you’d be able to follow them.”

Moon Hae-min thought so too. He would be lucky if he didn’t misunderstand the directions and crawl straight into a hibernating bear’s den.

“It can’t be helped. Follow me, I’ll guide you,” the girl said, turning around.

Hae-min asked blankly, “Is that… alright?”

“Well, I might as well save a person. Who knows? If I perform a good deed in the mountains, the Mountain Spirit might grant me a precious medicinal herb as a reward.”

Now that he looked, the girl’s basket was full of tree roots. They seemed to be for medicinal use.

‘She’s a herb gatherer.’

He felt a bit more at ease. As someone who had recently suffered a bitter betrayal by a half-brother he had visit our sitetrusted, Moon Hae-min couldn’t trust the girl completely, but at the very least, [unauthorized copy]she didn’t seem like someone who intended to harm him.

“Thank you…”

“It’s nothing.”

The girl, leading the way energetically, shrugged her shoulders. In truth, the girl was the one who should have been wary of him, yet she wasn’t. Hae-min was grateful to her.

“I will surely repay you later.”

“You don’t need to feel burdened. We live by helping one another, that’s all.”

“Um, then… may I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“Do you happen to know where the residence of Grand Prince Byeokran is?”

“Ah, I wouldn’t know that…”

The girl shook her head.

“I may be well-versed in the geography of Mount Baegak, but I’m practically illiterate when it comes to the geography of the capital.”

“Mount Baegak? Is this Mount Baegak?”

“Yes, this is the Hwayang Gugok area of Mount Baegak.”

“Is that so?”

Hae-min’s face brightened. If it was Mount Baegak, wasn’t that a mountain located within Hanseong? Whether he went to his family home or Song Seol’s mansion, it shouldn’t be too far.

However, Hae-min’s thought was only half correct. While Mount Baegak was situated in Hanseong, the mountain range extended all the way to Yangju-mok. Hae-min only discovered this fact after he had completely descended the mountain.