By Zephyria Let’s go back. (3)
“What are you talking about? What are you going to do if you don’t go? We have to find Seong Mu-jae. We have to get the Spirit Pill and the Jecheondeuk Dojo……. We weren’t that close, but shouldn’t we still check on it?”
Seong Mu-yeon pushed his body, but he didn’t budge.
“What does it matter? It’s not like you killed him.”
Seong Mu-yeon sighed at his sullen words.
“You don’t have to do this because of me. It’s wartime now. We shouldn’t give them any reason to pick a fight……”
Baek Ryeo-il snorted loudly.
“Who said it’s because of you? Seriously. Do you know how picky those doctors are? They won’t even let me have a sip of alcohol! What are you misunderstanding! Unbelievable!”
He said sharply as if he was dumbfounded, and Seong Mu-yeon’s face turned bright red.
“Okay, if it’s not, it’s not. Why are you getting angry?!”
“Anyway, it’s my decision. I’m not going back today!”
Baek Ryeo-il forcibly dragged him towards the downtown area.
Even without that, Baek Ryeo-il, with his tall height and unapproachable demeanor, gathered attention, but when he appeared with his chest exposed and his collar fluttering, all eyes were on him. He didn’t care and just turned his head this way and that, looking for a suitable shop. Seong Mu-yeon also had a face, but not as much as Baek Ryeo-il, so he was the one who felt embarrassed.
Because it was early in the morning, none of the taverns were open. Baek Ryeo-il eventually had to settle for the alcohol sold at the inn.
However, he didn’t get a chance to put the alcohol to his lips. As soon as he entered the inn, Baek Ryeo-il’s complexion turned pale. He seemed to be moving fine, so Seong Mu-yeon thought he had gotten much better, but it was still too early for him to be as active as before.
Reluctantly, Seong Mu-yeon took a room and laid him down. Baek Ryeo-il, who was putting on a show, saying he was fine and just tired from moving around after a long time, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
It was as if a storm had passed. Seong Mu-yeon, feeling drained, stared at Baek Ryeo-il’s sleeping face for a while. He had recovered quickly in the past few days and was better than before, but when he was asleep, his facial muscles were relaxed, making him look even more seriously ill than he actually was.
Seong Mu-yeon stroked his dry lips and left the room.
“Is the person who came with you alright?”
As Seong Mu-yeon went downstairs, the Server asked worriedly.
“He’s fine. I’ll go out for a bit and then order food.”
Seong Mu-yeon found what looked like a large merchant and ordered five bottles of high-quality Hundred Flower Dew. Considering how much he had been indebted to him, what was five bottles? He could buy them for him for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have any in stock right now, so he had to turn back after receiving a promise that they would prepare them in three days.
He stopped by a pharmacy, bought ointment and new bandages to apply to Baek Ryeo-il’s wounds, and returned to the inn.
As he opened the door and entered, a shadow standing tall in the middle of the dark room caught his eye. Because the curtains by the window were drawn, the room was dark, and Baek Ryeo-il’s bare upper body was completely exposed in the faint light coming in through the curtains. In that moment, Seong Mu-yeon’s heart dropped. His body, backlit, was so flawless that it was captivating.
His lowered eyes, as if lost in thought, turned to Seong Mu-yeon. He frowned slightly and asked impatiently.
“Where did you go?”
“I, I went to buy some medicine……”
“Then why are you just standing there instead of coming in.”
Seong Mu-yeon watched Baek Ryeo-il, who was approaching him with large strides and closing the door, with his mouth agape.
“I thought you had run away.”
“Why would I run away? I want to live a long life.”
Seong Mu-yeon startled back to his senses. He pulled back the curtains, and the room brightened up. He sat Baek Ryeo-il down and unwrapped the bandages.
“Your wounds…… they’ve all healed?”
The minor wounds had disappeared without a trace.
“I told you. Only the broken bones need to heal.”
Baek Ryeo-il said, yawning. After sleeping, he seemed much more energetic.
It was truly a monstrous recovery rate that made him stick out his tongue. Considering that it usually takes ordinary people about a month or two for broken bones to heal, it meant that Baek Ryeo-il would heal in just two or three weeks.
Whether he knew how futile he felt with the ointment and bandages he had bought, Baek Ryeo-il scratched his stomach and muttered.
“I’m starving.”
He grabbed his top, draped it over his shoulders, and went out, returning quickly.
Soon after, a feast was laid out on the table in the room.
“……Is it okay for us to be so relaxed?”
Seong Mu-yeon sat at the table, scanning the food with his eyes and muttering. He was hungry because he had skipped breakfast, but he had no appetite at all. It had only been a few hours since the person he had been talking to yesterday had died.
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes?”
“Besides that incident, is there anything else I need to know?”
Baek Ryeo-il narrowed his eyes. Even so, his chopsticks were constantly digging into the dishes. Unlike Seong Mu-yeon, he didn’t seem anxious at all.
“Ah……. I don’t think so.”
“Think carefully. Haven’t you killed about a hundred more people?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Just as he was starting to get annoyed, a plate was pushed in front of him. Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes widened.
A large fish lay neatly on the plate, its white flesh exposed without a single bone.
“You always need so much attention.”
When Seong Mu-yeon showed no sign of picking up his chopsticks, Baek Ryeo-il clicked his tongue and scooped up a large piece of white fish, shoving it into his mouth.
“You seem to be neglecting your morning water lily fragrance training these days. Keep doing that and you’ll be in for a very rough time.”
He threatened with a fierce face, but it wasn’t scary at all. The savory fish meat filled his mouth and passed smoothly down his throat. Only then did Seong Mu-yeon’s appetite return, and he picked up his chopsticks. As he began to eat, Baek Ryeo-il seemed satisfied and took his share of the food.
“Oh, there’s one more thing.”
As food entered his empty stomach, he remembered something he had forgotten.
“Seong Mu-geuk came to find me.”
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he quickly chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth.
“Why would that bastard!”
Seong Mu-yeon told him the truth as it was.
If it had been yesterday, he would have carefully chosen his words to convey his meaning cautiously, but now that the hidden secret had been revealed, there was nothing more to hold back.
Baek Ryeo-il’s face hardened as he listened in detail to Seong Mu-geuk’s proposal and threats.
“……That creepy bastard.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“If there’s a spy inside, you especially should stay in your room from now on and not go out. I don’t know what he’s planning, but if he does something, it won’t be ordinary.”
“……I understand.”
After finishing their meal, they sat by the window, watching the people passing by and leisurely spending their time.
Seong Mu-yeon was completely immersed in the leisure he was feeling for the first time in a long time. There were definitely more martial artist wearing weapons than last time, but at this moment, he felt no worries or impatience.
Soon, when they got tired of watching people, Baek Ryeo-il started playing with Seong Mu-yeon’s hair. Leaning against the wall with his long legs stretched out, he looked like the king of idlers.
“I almost forgot.”
As Seong Mu-yeon suddenly opened his mouth, Baek Ryeo-il only raised his eyes to look at him.
“You said you had something to say in the cave back then. What is it? Tell me now.”
“Cough!”
Baek Ryeo-il suddenly choked and coughed violently. It was as if he was about to cough up his lungs.
“Are, are you alright?”
With a reddened face, he found the water bowl on one side and gulped it down.
Bang!
He put down the water bowl and didn’t move for a while, showing his back. Seong Mu-yeon, feeling puzzled, approached him.
“Ryeo-il?”
As Seong Mu-yeon called out, he visibly flinched and stuck to the wall.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked too strange. Even though his cough had subsided, his face was still as red as a carrot, and beads of cold sweat were forming on his neck.
“Ryeo-il, you can be honest.”
“Wha, what? What are you telling me to be honest about?”
Baek Ryeo-il shouted irritably. Seong Mu-yeon sighed and shook his head.
“Your body still hasn’t fully recovered, has it? Don’t be stubborn and go lie down. Even if you try to save face, I’m the only one watching, so why are you being so stiff? I won’t tell anyone, so go rest.”
“…….”
Baek Ryeo-il pressed his lips tightly as if he had been hit right on the mark.