69 – Decoding (3)

Detoxification (3)

Seong Mu-yeon drank the medicine. Then, something changed. His arm, which had been dyed black, quickly began to return to its original color. His heavy body felt lighter, as if he were opening his eyes.

“It seems to be… working…”

Baek Ryeo-il was surprised. He didn’t believe that he could actually find an antidote in this bizarre laboratory full of madmen.

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

Seong Mu-yeon said, turning to him. His face was full of smiles. Seeing that smile, Baek Ryeo-il relaxed for a moment.

If Seong Mu-yeon died instead of saving his teacher, he would have felt uneasy for the rest of his life.

“Excuse me, but can I have a few more bottles of this medicine? Just in case.”

“Of course… Please wait a moment.”

The Owl was very generous. He gave out precious medicine without taking any money.

Baek Ryeo-il inadvertently turned his head and met eyes with the Rabbit Mask.

“Hyaaak!”

He was startled and screamed. Before he knew it, a servant wearing a Rabbit Mask was standing close to him, staring intently.

“W-W-What! Without a sound! Are you crazy?”

It was the first time he had been so surprised. Baek Ryeo-il, who was usually sensitive to energy, had never missed a person’s presence. Especially when he was as tense as he was now. Yet, he hadn’t noticed that someone was standing so close to him.

“May I be excused for a moment?”

The Rabbit asked cheerfully. The mask was carved from dark-colored wood, and the cheerful voice coming from behind it made him feel even more uneasy due to the incongruous feeling.

“Why. What for.”

“May I take your pulse? Yak Seon doesn’t charge for medicine, but we would appreciate it if you could contribute to the development of medicine.”

“How do I know what you’re going to do with that excuse…”

At that moment, Seong Mu-yeon’s sharp eyes pierced him. His wide eyes told him.

‘Do as they say.’

…Or so it seemed.

Baek Ryeo-il owed Seong Mu-yeon a debt, so he reluctantly offered his arm to the Rabbit. The cold hand, which didn’t feel like a living person’s, made him feel even more unpleasant.

Seong Mu-yeon, having confirmed that Baek Ryeo-il was being obedient, turned his gaze away with relief. The Owl brought two more bottles of the same medicine.

“Thank you.”

“Before I give you the medicine… there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

Seong Mu-yeon reached out his hand, but the Owl didn’t hand over the bottle.

“It may sound strange… but could I get some of your blood?”

“Why my blood…?”

“It’s the price of the medicine.”

Seong Mu-yeon was puzzled. He couldn’t see his expression because of the mask, so he had no idea what he was thinking. But how could an ordinary person fathom what Yak Seon was doing? He nodded casually.

“Sure.”

The Owl took out a dagger that he seemed to have prepared in advance.

It was the moment when the sharp blade pierced the tip of his finger.

Baek Ryeo-il raised his head. He keenly smelled the scent of blood spreading in the air. What caught his eye was the Owl holding a knife and Seong Mu-yeon standing with his back turned. From the subtle angle, the two looked like nothing more than an attacker and an attacked.

“Seong Mu-yeon!”

Baek Ryeo-il, who was already uncomfortable in this space, instinctively recognized them as enemies. The pushed Rabbit Mask crashed into the opposite wall. He immediately jumped and kicked the Owl before Seong Mu-yeon could stop him.

Koo-oong!

The two servants fell almost simultaneously with a loud noise.

The movement of all the servants stopped at the sound. Each of their animal masks was fixed on Baek Ryeo-il. A little blood trickled down from the fallen servant’s Rabbit Mask.

“…No.”

The atmosphere changed drastically as soon as Seong Mu-yeon, who had sensed the anomaly, opened his mouth. The animal masks, which had felt slightly creepy even when they were being friendly, began to exude an eerie aura, making them look like demons.

“I told you not to touch them!”

“What are you talking about after I saved you!”

The sight of all the servants, including the Goat, Frog, and Monkey, turning their heads to stare at the two of them was eerie.

“Young master! What’s going on!”

To make matters worse, the door was opened roughly, and Il-gwang and even the Black Shadow Unit rushed in. They couldn’t wait any longer after hearing the commotion inside and came to check on Seong Mu-yeon.

“Demonic Cult!”

“It’s the Demonic Cult!”

“Demonic Cult!”

The servants who recognized their identities began to scream. It was a bizarre voice that sounded like scraping iron plates. The sound was like sound art, hitting Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il’s eardrums and even causing internal injuries.

“What is it!”

Baek Ryeo-il and Seong Mu-yeon covered their ears. If they were ordinary people, they would have fainted in a few seconds from this sound.

“Let’s get out of here!”

The air trembled, and glass medicine bottles began to shatter from nearby. Yak Seon’s servants were not particularly strong in martial arts, but they had a perfect means of protecting the medicine. They would use sound art to destroy all the medicine so that it would not fall into the hands of the enemy.

If they stayed here, all the medicine would explode and disappear.

Seong Mu-yeon ran to the door, and Baek Ryeo-il, who was following behind, paused.

“The medicine!”

It was the medicine that the Owl had promised to give him as a spare. Baek Ryeo-il snatched the rolling bottle just in time before it burst.

They ran without looking back. When they were about 3 meters away, the wooden door slammed shut with a loud noise, and at the same time, the screams stopped abruptly. The forest was as peaceful as if there had never been any commotion.

Seong Mu-yeon, Baek Ryeo-il, and everyone else were so surprised that they froze for a while.

“I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I, I thought he was attacking you…”

Baek Ryeo-il, who finally came to his senses, covered his face. Seong Mu-yeon sighed deeply.

“Anyway, we got the antidote, and no one was hurt, so it’s okay… It’s not okay! How am I supposed to face Yak Seon now? I’ll never be able to set foot here again! Then what about my medicine? How am I supposed to cure my illness! How are you going to take responsibility for this?!”

“…”

“That’s why I told you to stay still! Even a seven-year-old child would listen better than you! Even if something incomprehensible happens, you shouldn’t just punch first, but find out why it happened!”

Baek Ryeo-il, who had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths, had no choice but to listen to Seong Mu-yeon’s scolding.

While Seong Mu-yeon, who had been shouting at the top of his lungs, was catching his breath, Baek Ryeo-il, who had been watching him carefully, cautiously opened his mouth.

“Should we catch them all and kill them all? Then we won’t be able to tell Yak Seon, right?”

“…”

He was speechless. Was that what he came up with as a solution?

“…Don’t do it. Just don’t do anything, Young master. It’s frustrating.”

“…Okay.”

Baek Ryeo-il shut his mouth tightly as if taffy was stuck to it. Knowing his mistake, he just rolled his eyes around.

Il-gwang sneered at him.

“I didn’t think you’d be helpful anyway.”

Thanks to that, the arrow that had subsided was now aimed at Il-gwang.

“Il-gwang, you too! I told you not to come in, didn’t I? I told you so many times, but you came in as soon as you heard a little noise and ruined everything?! Now all the servants know that I’m a member of the Demonic Cult!”

“Ha, but how could I stand by when Young master might be in danger?”

“Shut up! You stay quiet too!”

Seong Mu-yeon rubbed his throbbing head. Anyway, the water had already been spilled, and the bus had left. He shook off his annoyance and anger with one shout. He couldn’t undo what had already happened…

“Give me the medicine.”

Fortunately, Baek Ryeo-il had deployed his energy to protect the bottle before it broke, so it was intact. The coral-colored, thick liquid inside reflected the light and sparkled.

“Come to think of it, you seem to have already detoxified.”

“Yeah. This is the antidote.”

A look of relief crossed Il-gwang’s face.

Anyway, the goal had been achieved. He was alive, so that was enough. It was better to think about the next thing later. There would be a chance to make up for this with Yak Seon. It seemed like he would have to prepare a very good gift at that time.

‘What does Yak Seon like?’

The three headed to an inn in a nearby village. Seong Mu-yeon was desperate for rest, and he didn’t have the energy to stop by the village when he came, but he had enough time to rent a room and rest on the way back.

“Welcome!”

The owner greeted the guests warmly.

“Are you staying the night? How many rooms would you like?”

Baek Ryeo-il quickly looked at Seong Mu-yeon. But Seong Mu-yeon was too tired and mentally exhausted, so he just wanted to rest and didn’t notice.

“Two rooms.”

Il-gwang said, handing over the money.

“There are three of you, so if two of you are going to use one, would you like a large room?”

“No. Two small rooms.”

Il-gwang glanced briefly at Baek Ryeo-il and continued.

“He’ll take care of himself.”

“Hmph, who do you think doesn’t have money?”

Baek Ryeo-il proudly put his hand into his chest. But he fumbled for a long time, but the money pouch didn’t come out. Only Baek Ryeo-il’s face was getting paler and paler.

Seong Mu-yeon finally looked at Baek Ryeo-il.

“…You didn’t bring any money?”

“…Damn it, I forgot.”

Baek Ryeo-il’s complexion was pale. The situation was so urgent that he couldn’t be blamed for forgetting. Seong Mu-yeon stepped in.

“It’s okay. Il-gwang can spend a little more money. Il-gwang? Rent another room for Young master to use.”

But Il-gwang refused without changing his expression.

“No.”

“…Il-gwang?”

“I don’t have a penny to give to him.”

He stubbornly put the money pouch deep in his chest. He showed a strong will that he would never, ever give it out.