By Zephyria 
‘What does it have to do with her?’
Baek Ryeo-il snorted inwardly. When was she the one to arbitrarily leave, claiming she was tired and wanted to stop, and now she was acting jealous?
Did she still see him as the man who had pleaded with her not to go that day? Even while she hadn’t revealed her own identity? The sheer audacity was staggering.
Pretending to adjust his posture, Baek Ryeo-il subtly leaned closer to Gyo Hong. At that, sparks practically flew from Badger’s eyes.
While Baek Ryeo-il felt satisfied having finally achieved a small first revenge after much endurance, Peng Do-hwan returned.
“Oh? We have a guest?”
Peng Do-hwan strolled over and leaned his arm on the railing with an exaggerated gesture of exhaustion.
“As the Heartless Sword said, I think it would be faster to just grab anyone and beat them up. I looked around a bit, but there are just too many people; I didn’t know where to start.”
In other words, he was saying he had just been playing around. Gyo Hong quietly rose from her seat.
“Young Master Peng, I have been waiting for you.”
“Huh? Was I your guest?”
Peng Do-hwan scratched the back of his head, looking bewildered.
“There is a message for you from the Habeok Peng Clan.”
“…….”
The moment the words ‘Habeok Peng Clan’ were uttered, the smile vanished from Peng Do-hwan’s face.
“I wondered what it was. An unwelcome guest is an unwelcome guest, after all. If it’s a command to return to the main house, I don’t want to hear it, so please leave now.”
“Young Master Peng.”
“I told you to leave!”
Peng Do-hwan erupted in a roar. His threatening voice, infused with inner force, made the surrounding area fall silent as if cold water had been poured over it.
Since the man who had been acting like a loafer just a moment ago had changed so abruptly, Gyo Hong looked visibly troubled.
It was harsh treatment for someone who was not the party involved but had merely come to deliver a message.
Since there was no reason to suffer because of someone else’s family affairs, Gyo Hong could have simply left, but she did not back down easily.
“The Habeok Peng Clan has sent an official dispatch to every sect in the Central Plains, including the Haoh Gate and the Beggar Clan. They stated there is a message that must be delivered to Young Master Peng.”
Gyo Hong waited a moment until the gazes of the passersby, which had drifted toward them, naturally dispersed, and then spoke more firmly.
“Even if it isn’t me, someone will surely come. It would be better to hear it now, wouldn’t it?”
“…….”
Peng Do-hwan glared at Gyo Hong with terrifying eyes, then let out a sigh as if the wind had gone out of his sails.
“……Fine. Let’s hear what on earth is so important that the old man sent official dispatches to the entire Central Plains.”
“There is a private room in the teahouse, so let us go there, Young Master Peng.”
With that, the two of them left the area.
“What’s going on…”
Owl asked. Only then did a faint curiosity arise in Baek Ryeo-il. Contrary to his expectation that it would be, at most, pressure to return home, the fact that the Peng Clan had used such strong measures suggested it was no ordinary matter.
Still, Baek Ryeo-il, who had no interest in other people’s family matters—especially Peng Do-hwan’s—quickly lost interest.
Owl seemed to feel the same, remaining in the same sitting position, but Seong Mu-yeon’s seat was empty. At some point, he had wandered over near the private room.
‘That idiot!’
In a few steps, Baek Ryeo-il snatched him by the scruff of his neck. He then shoved him roughly back into his original seat.
“What kind of misfortune are you looking for, eavesdropping on someone’s family affairs? Do you really want to die?”
The foolish Badger stood dazed for a moment before hurriedly shaking his head.
“Then what? Are you saying you weren’t trying to eavesdrop like a little rat, or what?”
Nod, nod.
Seong Mu-yeon made urgent gestures with his hands and feet as if he wanted to say something, but Baek Ryeo-il couldn’t understand a single thing.
Frustrated, Baek Ryeo-il’s irritation surged. Just how long did he intend to maintain this ridiculous act of being deaf?
The last time he had seen Seong Mu-yeon, he had clearly spoken normally. Moreover, having taken a Spirit Pill, he should have been able to exert his original martial arts without any further restrictions…
He flinched.
Could it be that he had truly become unable to speak due to a side effect of the Spirit Pill? It wasn’t entirely impossible. News occasionally broke of some noble’s child becoming disabled after suffering Qi deviation from taking a spirit pill obtained through great hardship to increase their inner force.
If the inner force of the Spirit Pill, which he failed to absorb, had surged late and caused Qi deviation… and if he had truly lost his voice because of it?
…Thinking about it, there were more than a few strange things.
It was only natural for Seong Mu-yeon, whose face was known as a martial world enemy, to go into hiding. But why Yak Seon of all people? If he returned to the Demonic Cult’s Main Palace, his life would no longer be threatened as it had been when he was sickly. Why would he choose an uncomfortable secluded life in the mountains with the eccentric Yak Seon?
And what was that medicine Badger had been preparing?
It had taken a day and a half to get here after leaving the inn. Even on the road, Owl had made time somehow to brew the medicine. Since Badger’s identity had been revealed, he didn’t hide it anymore. He even let Seong Mu-yeon believe that his own identity had not yet been discovered.
Just then, Gyo Hong emerged from the private room first, as if she had finished her business.
“It was a pleasure meeting you all. I hope to see you again. And, Master Baek.”
Gyo Hong gave a light bow and spoke toward Baek Ryeo-il.
“Would you mind stopping by once more after everything is finished? It weighs on my mind that I wasn’t able to treat you properly. I will prepare a fine liquor that will surely please the Master this time, so would you give me another chance?”
Gyo Hong narrowed her eyes into a soft smile. The beauty was even more stunning when she smiled.
Baek Ryeo-il immediately recognized the secret temptation hidden within that smile. Her intention was to lead to a second meeting using alcohol as a medium. There had been more than a few women who approached him this way.
Such women did not approach him because they wanted a deep relationship. If they wanted a reliable husband, they wouldn’t have chosen a practitioner.
Generally, they approached him seeing him as a partner for a one-night diversion. Occasionally, there were women who didn’t stop there and wanted to continue the exchange to flaunt their relationship with a famous figure like him.
However, just like the women who had approached him in the past, Baek Ryeo-il had absolutely no interest in Gyo Hong.
Whether it be the body or the heart, one of the two had to be stirred, but he let no one into his parched inner self.
Even the passion he once felt for Seong Mu-yeon had long been pushed into a corner after suffering through prolonged pain, and he had a premonition that he would never feel such intense desire and emotion again.
But…
Baek Ryeo-il glanced at Badger standing beside him. Though he couldn’t see his expression, he could read the tension.
He curled his lips into a smirk. Then, as if to show off, he strode toward Gyo Hong, who was waiting for an answer.
“I look forward to it.”
At the clear affirmation, Gyo Hong’s face brightened further.
* * *
It was a beautiful encounter that seemed like something out of a legend.
Gyo Hong, her cheeks slightly flushed, looked like a fairy descended from heaven, and Baek Ryeo-il was no less, with his manly, reliable stature and confident smile.
The sight of the two beautiful people standing side by side was so well-matched that it evoked admiration from anyone watching. If gossip-loving socialites had seen this scene, they would have chattered that a match made in heaven, unlike any other in the world, had finally found each other.
But Seong Mu-yeon was different.
“Then, I will wait for your contact.”
Until Gyo Hong bid farewell once more and left the teahouse with light steps, he remained frozen like a stone statue with his jaw dropped.
‘…What did I just see?’
There had been a strange feeling from the moment she appeared with Gyo Hong. Baek Ryeo-il might not have known, but Gyo Hong seemed very interested in him. She constantly tried to make eye contact, and she even let a strange man sit next to her!
What surprised Seong Mu-yeon even more was Baek Ryeo-il’s behavior in naturally accepting her invitation. If it had been arranged formally through a matchmaker, he would have thought it was a normal meeting with marriage as a premise, but that wasn’t the case.
It was simply a meeting for light diversion.
‘Is he crazy?!’
How had Baek Ryeo-il, who used to view women as nothing more than stones, become so corrupted?
He was bursting with indignation, but he had no way to express it. He could only glare at Baek Ryeo-il, who was now engaging in such promiscuous behavior, while keeping his mouth shut.
But soon, the strength left his eyes. The tension drained from his body, and he slid back down into his chair.
Seong Mu-yeon had no right to be angry.
He recalled once again the reason he had left Baek Ryeo-il’s side. He had let go because he was a negative influence on the other’s life. Therefore, it was none of his business how he lived.
Come to think of it, wasn’t he the culprit who had introduced the ignorant Baek Ryeo-il to that new world?
Once one has tasted the sweetness of physical pleasure, how could they forget it as if it never happened? It was only natural to want to taste it again if the opportunity arose.
‘Did I ruin him?’
Instead of sweetness, Seong Mu-yeon tasted bitter self-reproach.