By Zephyria The Inevitable (6)
“Don’t be too upset. Young Master Seomun, you’re not the only one who’s been through this. Just think of it as stepping in poop on the street. Isn’t it important that you survived?”
Seong Mu-yeon misunderstood the reason for his gloom and offered words of comfort.
“Young master……! You are so kind! I will treat you as my benefactor from now on!”
Seomun Yuha’s eyes sparkled again. He grabbed Seong Mu-yeon’s hands tightly.
“Ah, no, Baek Ryeo-il saved Young master. I didn’t do anything.”
“What are you talking about! If it weren’t for Seong Gong-ja, I wouldn’t have returned in one piece like this! Speak comfortably to me from now on! Call me Yuha!”
“Yes……?”
“Quickly!”
“Yu, Yuha……?”
“Yes, Gong-ja! I am Yuha! Please think of me as your younger brother and treat me comfortably!”
Seong Mu-yeon felt awkward. But looking at those sparkling eyes, he realized how scared the young man must have been after going through such a big ordeal.
“Shall I?”
“Yes, hyung!”
The atmosphere between the two was friendly.
“Seomun Yuha. Listen to your parents from now on. I’ll be watching.”
A cold voice broke the friendly atmosphere. The blood drained from Seomun Yuha’s face.
“Huh?”
Thanks to that, Seong Mu-yeon came to his senses. He almost called him by his name without realizing it because of Seomun Yuha’s sweet coquetry, even though they weren’t close.
“O-Of course. Don’t worry. I learned a lot from this…….”
Seomun Yuha was afraid of Baek Ryeo-il. The Hwasan Sect Taoist, who seemed like he wouldn’t bleed even if you stabbed him, always had a stern face.
“We’ll see if it’s true or not in the future.”
His actions were unreserved, and every gesture exuded an authority that said, ‘I can crush you like a bug with one hand.’
Seomun Yuha, who was trembling, suddenly smiled, creasing his eyes.
“Senior Brother can just save me next time.”
Seomun Yuha twisted his body and blinked his eyes wildly. His thick, dense eyelashes fluttered rapidly.
“…….”
“…….”
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyelids twitched.
“What are you doing now.”
“What do you mean? I’m saying that the world is safe thanks to people like Senior Brother. Isn’t that right, Seong Gong-ja?”
“Of course, of course! Young master is absolutely right.”
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyelids twitched even more violently when he saw Seong Mu-yeon grinning foolishly and nodding fiercely. He grabbed the top of Seong Mu-yeon’s head and prevented him from turning his head towards Seomun Yuha.
“Seomun Yuha. Stop it.”
“Why are you doing this, Senior Brother? Move. I’m talking to Young Master Seomun.”
No matter how much Seong Mu-yeon pushed, Baek Ryeo-il didn’t budge. He blocked Seong Mu-yeon, who was craning his neck this way and that, and cast a cold gaze at Seomun Yuha.
“Cut the crap, Seomun Yuha.”
Seomun Yuha was shocked.
“Senior Brother……. Am I not handsome?”
Baek Ryeo-il nodded.
“Yeah, you’re handsome. So what. I know you’re a Flowering Bone, do you think I’ll fall for it?”
‘Seong Mu-yeon Gong-ja fell for it?!’
It was impossible.
That was what made Flowering Bone so scary. No matter how wary you were, if you saw that face and heard that voice, you would fall for it unless you were a person with a very deep mind.
It was easier than eating porridge to entice people and make them act as he wanted.
That was why Seomun Yuha wasn’t afraid to enter the Demonic Cult den alone.
As his vision was blocked, Seong Mu-yeon felt a sense of incongruity and stiffened.
“Huh? Am I…….”
“Just don’t look at his eyes.”
As soon as he came to his senses, goosebumps spread all over his arms. He had heard a lot about the Flowering Bone’s notoriety, but he never thought he would be affected like this without even realizing it. It was a truly terrifying ability.
Seong Mu-yeon looked at Baek Ryeo-il.
“But is Senior Brother okay?”
“Do you think I’d fall for such tricks?”
“That’s true, but…….”
Seong Mu-yeon deliberately avoided Seomun Yuha’s eyes.
Meanwhile, Seomun Yuha couldn’t shake off the shock for a while. It was the first time he had met someone who wasn’t caught by his seduction. Baek Ryeo-il only snorted after looking at his eyes.
‘T-This can’t be?’
The Flowering Bone clan’s ability had never betrayed him. But today, with his first setback, his world became a little wider. The world is wide, and there are many masters, as they say.
The next day, Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il prepared to return.
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t free.”
Seong Mu-yeon patted his bulging pouch with satisfaction. The clinking sound was pleasing to the ear.
“This kid doesn’t even say goodbye to his benefactor!”
Madam Seomun glared sideways. Her view of her son seemed to have changed a lot because of this incident.
Anyway, since Seomun Yuha didn’t show up, they decided to skip the farewells.
“Then, goodbye.”
They had come empty-handed, but when they left, they had a cart full of luggage that the Seomun Head of Family and his wife had packed for them out of gratitude.
It was when they had just left the village and entered the main road.
“Wait a minute.”
Baek Ryeo-il narrowed his eyes and stuck his hand into the luggage compartment. He stirred deeply up to his shoulder, causing the items to tumble around.
When he pulled his arm out, Seong Mu-yeon was shocked. It was because Seomun Yuha was hanging on it.
“Young Master Seomun?!”
“Haha…….”
He appeared wearing thick travel clothes and carrying a large bundle on his back.
“I’ve decided! I will study at Mount Hua and become a great person!”
“…….”
‘The Demonic Cult didn’t work out, so now it’s Hwasan……?’
Baek Ryeo-il’s expression soured. As he tried to turn the carriage around without a word, Seomun Yuha shouted urgently.
“W-Wait a minute! Even if you send me back, I’ll find Hwasan on my own anyway! Without any guards! All alone! I don’t know what bad guy will approach me with bad intentions! But you can’t break my will!”
“Shut up and go home.”
“I’m serious this time! I’m going to go and study hard! Please believe me. I will formally register as an Outer Sect Disciple and start from the bottom.”
Seomun Yuha gave the two of them pleading eyes.
“Please believe me.”
In the end, they couldn’t send Seomun Yuha back.
The number of disciples who came to study at Hwasan was enormous every year. Baek Ryeo-il, who was only a Second Generation Disciple, had no authority to stop people from coming. He seemed to have judged that it would be better to take him along than to have him wandering around alone and getting into more trouble.
Seomun Yuha complained all day long that his back hurt from sitting on the carriage. He only shut his mouth right before Baek Ryeo-il, whose patience had run out, was about to throw him out of the carriage.
“You did tell the Seomun Head of Family and his wife before you came, right……?”
Seong Mu-yeon asked cautiously, and Seomun Yuha nodded fiercely.
“Of course! I left a letter behind.”
“Another letter?”
It seemed like he hadn’t learned anything from this incident.
The carriage rumbled along and arrived at Hwaeum County, a fairly developed city. It was bustling with merchants and people, full of energy.
“We’ve finally arrived.”
They had encountered a few bandits on the way, but thanks to Baek Ryeo-il knocking them down before they could even blink, it was a smooth journey.
As they squeezed through the crowded downtown area, they ran into a group of people wearing familiar Hwasan Sect uniforms.
“Senior Brother! You’re here early? Did everything work out well, Gong-ja?”
Wang Ho-jun discovered them and approached them happily. Seong Mu-yeon also exchanged greetings with him.
“What about you guys?”
“We came down for a while because there were some materials we needed to buy urgently.”
Wang Ho-jun showed them the newly purchased items.
“But who is that……?”
As curious gazes landed on him, Seomun Yuha casually nodded his head in greeting.
“You’ll find out later. We’re going first.”
As Baek Ryeo-il tried to pass by, pulling on the reins of the horse, Wang Ho-jun shouted at the back of his head.
“Oh, Senior Brother. Ma Sajuk asked me to do something. It seems like the deadline is a bit tight, so I’ll tell you as soon as you go up, so please take care of it.”
“Master? What request?”
Baek Ryeo-il usually didn’t do much at Hwasan. Since he didn’t do it properly anyway, and it only frustrated the people who ordered him to do it, Ma Jin-cheon hardly ever gave him work. However, there were times when even Ma Jin-cheon had no choice but to borrow Baek Ryeo-il’s hands…….
“While you were away, Ma Sajuk went on an excursion.”
Seong Mu-yeon felt an ominous premonition. Baek Ryeo-il seemed to feel the same way, as he asked urgently.
“Where did he go?”
“Henan.”
Baek Ryeo-il and Seong Mu-yeon froze at the same time.
Henan.
Seong Mu-yeon had warned him before. That Ma Jin-cheon might be in danger. It had passed without incident at that time, but.
As Baek Ryeo-il met Seong Mu-yeon’s frozen face, the blood quickly drained from his face. He immediately threw down the reins of the horse and ran off somewhere.
“Senior Brother! Where are you going!”
“Master Baek!”
Seong Mu-yeon also jumped out of the carriage.
“…….”
Wang Ho-jun and the Junior Brothers were flustered by the sudden turn of events and stared blankly in the direction the two had disappeared.
At that time, the handsome young man who had been crumpled up in the carriage spoke.
“……You guys are going to Hwasan, right? Please take me with you, hehe.”