By Zephyria Sixth Young Master (6)
“Let go! Let go of me!”
Sixth Young Master struggled wildly, but he couldn’t escape Gang Woong’s grasp, who, though short, was sturdy.
“I’ve got him!”
“Well done.”
Bang Gyeom was also subdued by Baek Ryeo-il and dragged out. Seong Mu-yeon leisurely approached Sixth Young Master and lowered himself.
“It’s been a while, Brother?”
“Seong Mu-yeon! What are you doing here!”
“Of course, I came to find you, Brother.”
“Me?”
Seong Mu-jae quickly scanned the situation. Baek Ryeo-il and Bang Gyeom, disarmed and held captive, and even Seong Mu-yeon.
“You came prepared.”
He stopped resisting as if resigned. Then, he looked his younger brother up and down, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“……I heard you were captured by the Hwasan Sect, what happened?”
“I should be asking you that. What happened? Did you really kill Fourth Brother?”
“There’s no way I would!”
Seong Mu-jae shouted in anger.
“Then why did you run away?”
“You don’t know… nothing… why I had to.”
“Is it because of that ‘thing’?”
At Seong Mu-yeon’s question, Seong Mu-jae’s face darkened. He rolled his eyes, visibly agitated and uneasy.
“Haha… So, you finally came to find me because of that? To take it away?”
What on earth could it be that made him like this… Seong Mu-yeon didn’t even know what the thing was, but he didn’t show it in front of Seong Mu-jae and asked again.
“Where is the thing?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have it. Kill me or do whatever you want.”
Having said that, Seong Mu-jae closed his eyes as if he had truly given up. Gang Woong and Seong Mu-yeon searched his body. But nothing came out. The same was true for Bang Gyeom. Baek Ryeo-il shook his head.
“It’s not here.”
Just in case, they searched the hut thoroughly, but it was full of dust and trash, and nothing that could be considered the ‘thing’ came out.
“Hmph. Search as much as you want. Search the entire Central Plains. You guys will never get your hands on it.”
Seong Mu-jae, held by Gang Woong, sneered at them.
Seong Mu-yeon struggled to calm the bubbling anger inside him. He didn’t think he would cooperate easily, but…
“Alright. I’ll take over.”
Baek Ryeo-il said.
“Ugh!”
He threw Bang Gyeom to the floor. And he pressed down on his fallen right wrist.
“Keep your mouth shut if you don’t mind him never holding a sword again.”
“D-Don’t say anything, Sixth Young Master! I’m fine… Aaaagh!”
As Baek Ryeo-il put strength into his toes, Bang Gyeom curled up as if in pain. Seong Mu-jae began to thrash.
“What are you doing! Let him go!”
“Sixth Young Master! Don’t worry about me…!”
Loud voices were exchanged.
Seong Mu-yeon watched Seong Mu-jae, who was struggling to escape Gang Woong’s grasp. From the start, the brothers had not been on good terms, so it didn’t occur to him to feel sorry or sympathetic.
Baek Ryeo-il’s method was efficient. He would surely get information out of Seong Mu-jae and Bang Gyeom even if they became rags.
But…
“Do-jang, stop it.”
Baek Ryeo-il frowned and turned to look at him. Seong Mu-yeon sighed deeply.
He also desperately wanted to get the medicine, even if it meant using such methods, but he lowered himself to match Seong Mu-jae’s eye level, who was sitting roughly on the floor.
“…Brother. I didn’t come here to harm you. I need that thing. And you too.”
“Wh-What…”
He was noticeably flustered by Seong Mu-yeon’s change in attitude.
Threatening him once here wasn’t the end. Their goal was to take him to Mount Hua and present him before Yak Seon.
“I didn’t come here because I covet the thing or to harass you. To be honest, I don’t even know what it is. You’ve heard of the name of Yak Seon So Ja-yeong, a master of medicine, right? He promised to make medicine if I brought it.”
“……”
“And to make my medicine, I definitely need the help of you, my blood relative. That’s why I came. Please help me.”
He didn’t appeal to emotions either.
“If you go to Hwasan with us, you won’t have to live like this anymore. After making the medicine, we can arrange a temporary place for you to stay.”
His tone was stiff and his heart was cold. After all, a request relying on affection wouldn’t work. That was how they had lived.
The method Seong Mu-yeon chose was a proposal.
‘If you do this much for me, I will do this for you.’
Seong Mu-jae rolled his eyes wildly, looking around at his situation. He wasn’t stupid, so he couldn’t not know that he couldn’t escape no matter what he did.
Also, in his position where he had nothing, he had to at least secure the pretense of ‘helping’ now, no matter what happened later.
Seong Mu-jae made a quick decision.
“Alright. I’ll help. If I, as your brother, can be of help in treating my younger brother’s illness, I will gladly step forward.”
Furthermore, he arrogantly raised the corners of his lips.
“Instead, you must guarantee the safety of me and my subordinate, Bang Gyeom. And good lodging and meals too. I’m kindly offering my help, so you can do that much, right?”
Seong Mu-jae was not at all intimidated, even though he knew that what he had grasped was an illusion given by Seong Mu-yeon. He was second to none in being quick-witted.
Seong Mu-yeon let out a hollow laugh at the quick change of attitude as if flipping his palm.
“I understand. So, where is the thing?”
Seong Mu-jae had a strong sense of pride, so Seong Mu-yeon let him enjoy it.
“I’ve kept it in a safe place.”
Seong Mu-jae said with a smirk.
They decided to return to the Flying Swallow Sect first. This was because Seong Mu-jae and Bang Gyeom had not been able to eat properly for several days and had been living in a dilapidated house, so their health was not good.
“…Where did you say you hid the thing?”
Seong Mu-yeon asked again. Seong Mu-jae had stuffed his mouth full of food and was eating ravenously, so for a moment he thought he had misheard.
“I hid it in the gambling house.”
“…No, why?”
“Because no one can just go in there. There’s another space that only Luzhu’s invited guests can enter.”
“What if someone took it?”
“Ah, geez. I’m telling you, there’s no need to worry! No one knows! Absolutely no one knows!”
There was another problem.
“…Then that means we have to go back to Luzhu.”
“That’s right.”
“What about the 100 Gold Coins you owe Luzhu?”
Seong Mu-jae snorted.
“Just give him that measly amount of money.”
“I don’t have that money.”
“What? Then what did you come all the way here for?”
“What did I come here for?”
“I asked first!”
“Do you think I came here to pay off your debts!”
Baek Ryeo-il, who had been watching the brothers arguing for a while, opened his mouth.
“…Gang Woong, I don’t have any siblings, but is that how siblings are usually?”
Gang Woong nodded.
“Yes. That’s usually how they are.”
“I’m glad I’m an only child.”
Gang Woong looked at the two brothers, who looked so much alike, with a fresh perspective. Seong Mu-jae, who had washed off the grime and changed into clean clothes, looked like a twin to his younger brother. However, his eyes were slightly sharp and he had a grumpy expression, so it felt like looking at a Seong Mu-yeon with a bad personality.
“Don’t talk about money, money, money. I don’t want to hear it! This brother will take care of it. Did you think I wouldn’t have a way?”
Seong Mu-jae shouted back.
“…You’re not going to say something like you’re going to win money by gambling to pay it back, are you?”
At Seong Mu-yeon’s suspicious tone, Seong Mu-jae closed his mouth. He seemed to have been properly seen through.
“…Let’s somehow get into the gambling house, get the thing, and run away quickly.”
That was how the brothers’ argument came to an end and entered a truce. They decided to rest tonight and visit Luzhu the next day.
Seong Mu-yeon, who had given a room to Seong Mu-jae and Bang Gyeom, decided to share a room with Baek Ryeo-il.
Seong Mu-yeon stared at the door they had entered.
‘…Should I tie him up with a rope or something?’
He couldn’t help but think that because he was worried that Seong Mu-jae might run away.
When Baek Ryeo-il had tied him up, he had only felt wronged, but now that he was in a different position, he realized it was a more rational method than he had thought.
‘Is there any rope left over somewhere….’
Just as Seong Mu-yeon was looking around, the door creaked open and Bang Gyeom came out. He carefully closed the door behind him and looked at Seong Mu-yeon as if he had something to say.
After moving to a secluded place, Bang Gyeom carefully opened his mouth.
“Um… Seventh Young Master, can you really guarantee our safety?”
It was unexpected. The situation itself, where a subordinate of the brothers spoke to him, was rare, and to ask such a thing. It was an overstep for a subordinate to step forward before his lord did.
“You can do whatever you want with me! But Sixth Young Master…”
Bang Gyeom glanced at Seong Mu-jae’s room, which had the lights off.
“I think it’s good that I met Seventh Young Master. Even though he looks like that, my lord was almost at his limit. Even if he doesn’t say it because of his pride, he hasn’t been able to eat or sleep properly since he was kicked out of the brothel and has only been suffering….”
“What is it that you want to say?”
“I know you don’t trust us. Even I, who am saying this, can’t completely trust Seventh Young Master. The Demonic Cult is originally such a place, isn’t it?”
Seong Mu-yeon could not disagree.
The Demonic Cult was originally such a place.
A place where one should not expect brotherly love between siblings.
Bang Gyeom hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“But… please trust my lord just once. I will never run away. No, even if my lord orders me to, I will stop him. So….”
Bang Gyeom bowed deeply.
“Please, I beg you to take good care of my lord, Sixth Young Master.”