234 – Closure (3)

“I…”

However, Baek Ryeo-il hesitated countless times, as if choosing his words, before ultimately swallowing them.

Seong Mu-yeon let out a faint sigh.

Revealing one’s true feelings was a difficult task for anyone. Because it contained desires and longings, it was inevitably desperate, and the moment it was brought out into the open, it became a weakness.

Once someone knows what you want, they also know how to manipulate you.

In the end, confessing one’s true feelings was tantamount to handing over one’s weakness to the other person and granting them permission to sway them as they pleased.

And people loathe sincerity. They tend to view the act of easily revealing raw inner thoughts as childish, predictable, and boring.

That is why people only reveal such things bit by bit to those with whom they have built trust after countless tests and verifications, and even then, only in moments of absolute necessity.

“…”

Baek Ryeo-il narrowed his brow with a miserable expression.

Three years ago, he had already experienced revealing his true feelings once. The result had not been good. He was denied, abandoned, and trampled upon.

The person who had done that to him was Seong Mu-yeon himself.

The moment a heart opens does not come easily. If he missed this opportunity, he didn’t know when another chance to speak so candidly and convey his true feelings would come.

This time, it was Seong Mu-yeon’s turn to expose his own inner self first.

“Do—”

But just as Seong Mu-yeon was about to open his mouth, both men stiffened and looked up simultaneously. It was because they felt a foreign presence.

The interior of the pavilion became noisy.

“…”

Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes, which had been trembling weakly, instantly sank back into a cold stillness. The door to his heart, which had been opening little by little, slammed shut again, frightened by the unfamiliar external stimulus. Seong Mu-yeon saw the change in him clearly before his eyes.

Feeling regretful, Seong Mu-yeon stepped down from atop Baek Ryeo-il and stood up. He couldn’t exactly grab the other man’s shoulders and shake him back and forth, telling him to reopen the door he had already shut. That wasn’t how it worked.

“I think there’s someone there.”

Alongside Baek Ryeo-il, who had returned to the form of a cold-headed swordsman, Seong Mu-yeon cautiously approached the pavilion. While the second floor was open on all sides, the first floor was not.

“S-someone seems to have come! Could it be someone coming to save us?”

“…That’s right. Everyone heard that guy screaming earlier, didn’t they?”

“H-help us!”

After hearing the whispers of several people, they began to bang loudly on the door from the inside.

“Please wait a moment!”

Seong Mu-yeon rushed over to check the faces of the people who had interrupted such a crucial moment. The door had been locked from the outside.

As he opened the door, the stale air from the interior rushed into his nostrils. Seong Mu-yeon had harbored some resentment toward them internally, but upon checking the inside, those malicious feelings evaporated instantly.

“Y-you’ve come to save us, right?”

“We’re saved…! We’re saved!”

About a dozen people, looking bedraggled, were huddled together inside the lightless interior. Their cheeks were sunken and gaunt, as if they hadn’t received proper nutrition for a long time, but their eyes sparkled with hope.

Seong Mu-yeon realized immediately that they were the residents of Medicinal Herb Village who had been dragged away by the Poison Freak.

“Th-thank you…! Thank you…!”

“I thought I was going to die here without a chance!”

“My god, we’re finally saved…”

Seong Mu-yeon felt a pang of guilt. He had been thinking too simplistically.

Since they had been captured along with Yak Seon, he had simply assumed they would be with Yak Seon this time as well.

Thinking about it now, the kidnapping of Yak Seon and the residents had been an act carried out independently by the Poison Freak. However, because Yak Seon was an important figure, he had been presented to the Third Young Master, while the rest of the people naturally remained in the Poison Freak’s clutches. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

The residents bowed their heads repeatedly, expressing their gratitude. Seong Mu-yeon smiled awkwardly, surrounded by them.

He glanced at Baek Ryeo-il, who was standing a short distance away, also surrounded by people just like himself.

“People who can help will arrive soon.”

Baek Ryeo-il showed no sign of the fluster that Seong Mu-yeon felt. From the beginning, he had predicted the whereabouts of the residents, something Seong Mu-yeon had failed to consider.

Before long, a group of martial artists appeared. Among them was Gang Woong.

“Master! Young Master! Are you safe?”

Gang Woong had said he would follow shortly, but Seong Mu-yeon hadn’t expected him to be this fast. What about all those traps? The room filled with water? He wondered how they had passed through the path that had taken both him and Baek Ryeo-il so long to break through.

Come to think of it, the bodies of Gang Woong and the others were not wet at all.

“Was the way in alright?”

“Ah, yes! Climbing the ropes was a bit difficult, but we managed to make it.”

Seong Mu-yeon only found out later what had happened. Thanks to the dissolution of the maze formation that had surrounded the pavilion, Gang Woong and the rear party had been able to approach the pavilion in a straight line from the cliff without any obstruction.

“The residents’ condition is poor. Their strength has waned from being neglected for so long.”

Baek Ryeo-il walked over and spoke abruptly to the disciple.

“Ah, then we must quickly transport these people to a safe place and look after them.”

“Moving them all the way to Lanzhou is impossible. Look for a small nearby village. Where is the map?”

Following his Master’s order, Gang Woong took the map from his robe and handed it over, while subtly observing the atmosphere between Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il.

As Gang Woong’s questioning gaze landed on him, Seong Mu-yeon subtly turned his head away.

“This fellow, he managed not to die even after falling into the hands of Baek Sa-baek.”

The other disciples were observing the Poison Freak, who lay unconscious under a stone statue, as if he were some strange animal.

The residents wanted to leave the place as quickly as possible. It seemed that even recalling the time spent in the Poison Freak’s clutches was agonizing. Fortunately, there was no one unable to move.

The disciples split into two groups: one to escort the Poison Freak to Lanzhou, and the other to take charge of the residents.

The residents regained some strength after eating water and simple dry rations brought by the Hwasan Sect Disciples, and then immediately left the secret vault.

A gloomy atmosphere hung over the way back.

Seong Mu-yeon glanced at the back of Baek Ryeo-il, who was walking ahead. Disappointingly, he didn’t look back once. Seong Mu-yeon’s shoulders slumped.

“You two, did the conversation not go well?”

Gang Woong, who had been walking ahead, cautiously moved to the middle of the procession and asked in a low voice. Seong Mu-yeon opened his mouth to answer, but he had to shut it immediately when the knife-like Baek Ryeo-il sent a sharp glare his way.

After a while, they were able to find a remote mountain village. It was a place where people only stayed briefly during the farming season, so it was currently empty. However, there were several intact huts that could block the wind and utensils to prepare meals, making it the perfect spot to recover their strength for a short while.

The Hwasan Sect Disciples moved busily, lighting fires in the hearths and preparing places to rest. A few went down to a nearby village to procure ingredients.

“You two should get some rest. Leave things here to the others.”

Only then did Seong Mu-yeon check his own appearance. Looking around for Baek Ryeo-il, who must be in a similar state, he could barely catch sight of the other man’s backside as he disappeared into a hut.

“…The room for the Young Master is this way.”

Gang Woong said. He led Seong Mu-yeon to the hut opposite the one Baek Ryeo-il had entered. It was a shabby place with straw spread on the floor, built literally for the purpose of blocking the wind.

“What happened?”

As soon as they entered, Gang Woong closed the door behind them and asked abruptly, as if demanding an explanation. Seong Mu-yeon was slightly flustered. The memory of Gang Woong as a soft-hearted boy was nowhere to be found.

“Master doesn’t seem to have changed much… Did you two even have a conversation?”

“No, well… I-I’ll handle it. Don’t worry about it, Daoist Gang.”

Already feeling uneasy, Seong Mu-yeon turned away firmly, not wanting to talk any further. However, Gang Woong, who would have quietly left with drooping eyebrows in the past, remained standing tall in his spot.

“How can I not worry? What on earth is causing this? Do you dislike Master now?”

“What kind of question is that…!”

Whether it was Ma Jin-cheon or Gang Woong, why were they so interested in other people’s private lives!

Turning his head to snap back, Seong Mu-yeon froze upon seeing Gang Woong’s seriously stiffened face.

“Both of you are very important and precious people to me… I want you both to be happy. If you say you’re happier when you’re apart, there’s nothing I can do, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Daoist Gang…”

“I am no longer just a child. If a problem arises, I will do my best to help, so please do not push me away…”

Gang Woong was sincerely worried about Seong Mu-yeon. And about his Master as well.

Seong Mu-yeon felt proud of the boy who had grown so much, but at the same time, he felt sorry that he hadn’t witnessed that growth himself.

…But it’s true that he’s still a child. At seventeen, the blood hasn’t even dried on his head yet.