By Zephyria Just Once (2)
Seong Mu-yeon felt as if his soul was leaving his mouth. He touched his forehead.
“…Please tell me more details.”
“As one of the ways to treat severed meridians, they say that performing the Art of the Bedchamber with someone who has more than one Giapja of inner force can cure it?”
‘I know that!’
Numerous heroines in the Murim have been cured of their illnesses thanks to the protagonist’s grace. Baek Ryeo-il, like a protagonist, possessed tremendous inner force.
“If that’s one of the ways, what are the others?”
“Becoming a transcendent realm master and Rebirth Through Marrow Cleansing.”
Baek Ryeo-il scanned Seong Mu-yeon up and down.
“Looking at your current state, there’s no hope even if you die and come back to life.”
“……”
“This is the easiest. We happen to have all the ingredients.”
Baek Ryeo-il pointed to himself and his eyes sparkled.
“I refuse.”
Seong Mu-yeon refused immediately and turned his body mercilessly.
“Why!”
“Just because.”
He reopened the book he was reading and flipped through the pages.
“Why would you refuse when there’s a good method? I don’t understand.”
Seong Mu-yeon, on the contrary, didn’t understand Baek Ryeo-il.
“Master Baek is a man, and I am also a man, so how can that be possible?”
“It doesn’t matter, they say?”
Baek Ryeo-il confidently opened the book and showed it to him.
A desire surged to snatch that book, tear it to shreds, and throw it into the fiery pits of hell.
“Haa… Does Master want to do such a thing with me?”
“What’s wrong with it? It’s just a kind of cultivation.”
He spoke so confidently that Seong Mu-yeon was left speechless.
The original Baek Ryeo-il, unlike other martial arts protagonists, had no contact with women at all. But it wasn’t like he was with men either. Even when a lustful woman approached him, he would unknowingly pretend not to notice and fend them off…
It was like he was talking about his morning breath regulation…
Could it be.
“…Do you even know what that is?”
“Of course! What do you take me for! Isn’t it just sticking a Yang thing in and shaking it?”
“……”
“…Isn’t it?”
“Please leave. I want to be alone.”
“This is my room, though?”
“Get out!”
Seong Mu-yeon chased him out of the room. Sweat poured down his face as he struggled with the mountain-like body. Once again, a bloody smell surged up from his throat.
“No, let’s just try it once! It might work!”
A desperate voice was heard from outside the door.
“Why does Master care about my body! Just leave me alone to die! I’ll take care of my own body!”
“Taking care of it means going somewhere and spilling blood!”
“……”
“Ah, forget it! Open the door! It’s my room! Aren’t you going to open the door?”
“Why! I guess you can’t break it because you’re afraid of Mazincheon Headmaster!”
“Eek!”
Perhaps stung to the quick, no particular rebuttal came back.
The outside of the door became quiet. When he put his ear to it, he heard footsteps fading away.
Seong Mu-yeon rubbed his tired eyes and slumped to the floor.
‘Was I crazy to do that with someone like that? I’d rather die than do it.’
It was too early to be relieved. Baek Ryeo-il hadn’t given up, but had gone around the outside to crawl in through the window.
“Seong Mu-yeon! How dare you kick me out of my room!”
“Ugh! I said no! Stop it!”
A rare sight unfolded in the serene Mount Hua.
“Why do you hate it so much! Do you hate me that much!”
“Would you like it then!”
A small, pale person quickly flashed past.
“What did you say? You little rascal? Don’t you stop there?”
Following behind, a large figure wearing a black uniform quickly flashed past.
“……Hmm.”
“Here we go again.”
Recently, the Disciples of Mount Hua had frequently witnessed Baek Ryeo-il and Seong Mu-yeon arguing.
At first, the shocked Disciples ran to stop them. They were fighting so fiercely that it seemed like it would soon turn into a physical fight.
The Disciples knew Baek Ryeo-il’s power well. It was obvious that the frail Demonic Cult Young master could never defeat him. But Seong Mu-yeon, like a mouse in front of a tiger, was fearlessly provoking the other party. It was a touch-and-go situation where a bloody incident could occur at any moment.
But even after separating them several times, the situation didn’t change.
They would often start bickering and chasing each other again. The Disciples had now come to quietly make way when the two started fighting.
‘What if they become attached to each other while fighting like that.’
They shook their heads and turned their attention away from the two people who were walking away.
Seong Mu-yeon had no way to escape from Baek Ryeo-il, so he was soon grabbed by the scruff of his neck.
“Please stop! How long are you going to chase me?”
“You’ve experienced me by now, so you should know. How long do you think I’ll chase you?”
“…You’ll chase me until you get what you want. Of course.”
“You know that well, so why are you doing this?”
“Why are you going so far? It doesn’t really matter, whether I live or die.”
Baek Ryeo-il shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I have to confirm what I’m curious about to be satisfied.”
“Are you going to experiment on my body?”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like it’ll wear out. You have too many thoughts, that’s the problem.”
‘You have too few thoughts, that’s the problem…’
Seong Mu-yeon barely swallowed those words.
His head throbbed.
Baek Ryeo-il was a man who didn’t know how to give up. Day and night, he chased after him, shouting “Just once!” He was too persistent.
‘Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to?’
Baek Ryeo-il was skilled in martial arts and righteous, but he had a tendency to seek stimulation. The fact that he, a Taoist family member, drank alcohol was also due to that.
How much entertainment could he have in a quiet Taoist family like a temple? It was clear that he was tormenting him for fun.
‘If he plays with me like that and loses interest, he’ll stop paying attention.’
That was what Seong Mu-yeon was aiming for.
He seemed to be enjoying himself now, thinking of him as a new toy, but before long, his interest would naturally shift. Then he could spend the rest of his life in a quiet place as planned.
Of course, that was only possible if he survived until then.
‘But what would happen if I got entangled with him in such a sticky way?’
He wanted to be a brief acquaintance in Baek Ryeo-il’s life.
“Instead of that, let’s just do it once. Huh? Just once. You never know.”
Seeing him act like a child begging to lick someone else’s candy once made him even more dumbfounded.
“I am not Master’s toy. Please refrain from playing with me for fun?”
“A toy? I’m disappointed. I’m just trying to help you.”
Seong Mu-yeon snorted.
“I don’t need any help. I’m slowly recovering, though slowly.”
“Really?”
Baek Ryeo-il looked at Seong Mu-yeon with suspicious eyes. Certainly, his coughing up blood had decreased and his complexion seemed to have improved a bit.
“Yes. As long as I don’t overdo it, I’ll go back to the way I was.”
“What if you overdo it?”
“Then…”
Seong Mu-yeon’s face clouded over.
Then it would really be irreversible.
But.
“That won’t happen. Right?”
Baek Ryeo-il made a hmm sound and nodded in agreement.
“Of course not. I won’t make the same mistake twice. You’ll be completely safe.”
“Of course.”
Night.
It was a deep night where everything was quiet.
Srrrk. Seong Mu-yeon opened his eyes. He listened outside for a moment.
There was no sign of movement from Baek Ryeo-il’s room.
‘…He’s asleep, right?’
After waiting long enough to be sure, Seong Mu-yeon quietly left the room.
Only after getting out of the yard did Seong Mu-yeon let out a sigh of relief.
‘…I can’t die like this.’
He had confidently told Baek Ryeo-il, but in fact, Seong Mu-yeon’s condition was not very good.
Until a few years ago, he recovered quickly even after using inner force, but that period was gradually increasing.
Seong Mu-yeon shivered in the chilly cold and tightened his collar even more.
Now, it had become so long that it was difficult to even estimate the time it would take for his body to fully recover.
Maybe.
‘…I might never recover.’
Seong Mu-yeon shook his head. It was forbidden to be consumed by lethargy. At times like this, he had to strengthen his mind even more.
Fortunately, there was one way.
‘Spirit Pill.’
Of course, his condition had deteriorated to the point where even an ordinary Spirit Pill would only have the effect of prolonging his life. But if it was a high-quality Spirit Pill, it would be possible to return to his previous state, even if he couldn’t be completely cured.
That was why Seong Mu-yeon had left his residence in the middle of the night, avoiding the eyes of others.
He looked at the place that was still lit up in the distance. It was the center of Mount Hua, including the Sect Leader’s Hall. All kinds of Spirit Pills and Spirit Pills would be hidden in that place.
However…
‘Anyone who tries to steal that is out of their mind.’
Seong Mu-yeon turned his body.
What he was aiming for was something else.
Seong Mu-yeon entered the dark forest where no lights were lit.