80 – Blindfolded (4)

Blindfolded (4)

“P, please don’t do this.”

Seong Mu-yeon was flustered. It was unheard of for the head of a Great Sect to bow to him.

“If one receives a favor, one must do what is right. Thank you.”

Looking back, hoping for help, even Baek Ryeo-il and Ma Jin-cheon were bowing to him. The only person standing upright in this place was Seong Mu-yeon himself.

His face flushed. When the Disciples, who had always looked at him with wary eyes, began to send him warm smiles, even Seong Mu-yeon, who didn’t care much about other people’s gazes, wanted to hide somewhere.

But….

He didn’t feel bad.

“What did I do? It’s nothing special…. No, you shouldn’t do this! Oh my, thank you.”

He was soon shaking hands with the Disciples, grinning from ear to ear. Someone gave him tea leaves they had been saving as a gift, and many people patted him on the shoulder affectionately.

Even Jang Han-soo, who was standing far away with a displeased expression, couldn’t ruin Seong Mu-yeon’s mood.

“Grandmaster! Master! Young master! I’ve been waiting!”

Even a welcome face appeared. Gang Woong jumped up and down like a tail-wagging puppy and hugged Seong Mu-yeon tightly.

“Ugh.”

Seong Mu-yeon felt like his ribs were breaking from how tightly he was hugged. Gang Woong seemed to be resembling his Master more and more.

“Are you really okay? I was so worried.”

“I’m okay, I’m okay.”

Ma Jin-cheon stroked his head. Even Baek Ryeo-il, who was standing behind him, was smiling gently now.

He had returned.

Home.

“…Master, have you ever thought about Seclusion Training?”

After that, Seong Mu-yeon’s life in Mount Hua changed beyond recognition. He had saved Ma Jin-cheon at the cost of his own life, and his perception of him had completely changed. He no longer had to worry about someone trying to harm him. On the contrary, he wasn’t used to everyone he passed sending him friendly smiles.

Even Jang Han-soo couldn’t easily reach out to him.

But the biggest problem still remained. It was getting Baek Ryeo-il back on track.

“Seclusion Training? Why all of a sudden….”

Baek Ryeo-il, who was cleaning his sword, looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“Don’t Taoists usually do that sometimes? It’s cool to be holed up in a cave, eating Energy Pills and training.”

“Stop talking nonsense about cool.”

Baek Ryeo-il, who was about to rattle off a scolding, stroked his chin.

“Now that I think about it, it’s about time. Once the little puppy grows up a bit, I can train alone for about a month, so I might go into Seclusion.”

“Eek? Only a month?”

“How long did you think?”

“About ten years…?”

“Ten years?!”

Baek Ryeo-il clicked his tongue.

“Are you crazy? Who would hole up in a cave for ten years? Only someone who isn’t in their right mind would do that. You just listen to strange things and have useless thoughts.”

“I, is that so….”

In the original story, he did it for longer than that….

Seong Mu-yeon licked his lips. Baek Ryeo-il needed to go into Seclusion to catch the Sword Emperor’s eye, receive his teachings, and grow at lightning speed. And inherit his title as a bonus.

‘By the way, I wonder how Elder Sword Emperor is doing. He’s not even in his right mind.’

The Sword Emperor was rarely seen by people. That was what a so-called hermit was like.

“Your eyes still aren’t completely back to normal, are they?”

Baek Ryeo-il asked, grabbing Seong Mu-yeon’s chin and staring into his eyes. Seong Mu-yeon pushed his hand away.

“Do you think you can tell by looking like that? It’s almost back to normal. There’s no problem in daily life.”

Baek Ryeo-il narrowed his eyes.

“But why haven’t you been going to the Finance Division lately?”

Seong Mu-yeon flinched.

Since returning, he hadn’t gone to the Finance Division, which he used to go to every day. He had really just been lazing around in his room all day. At first, Baek Ryeo-il thought he was resting for a few days to recover from his fatigue, but as the period lengthened, doubts began to sprout.

Seong Mu-yeon grumbled, subtly avoiding his gaze.

“What do you mean? It’s not like they pay me a salary, so do I have to go?”

“That’s true, but.”

“Then that’s it. What’s the problem!”

But Baek Ryeo-il still didn’t take away his suspicious gaze.

“No, you….”

Just as Baek Ryeo-il was about to open his mouth, a commotion was heard from outside, cutting him off. The two went outside to chase the noise. In the yard, Gang Woong and a young man were rolling on the ground, fighting.

“Tell me the truth! Why were you spying on this place!”

Gang Woong shouted. He held the other person’s waist tightly so they couldn’t escape. The person caught by him struggled incessantly and shouted in a shrill voice.

“Eek! What spying are you talking about! Hey, hey, do you know who I am?”

It was a familiar voice.

“Young Master Seomun?”

At Seong Mu-yeon’s voice, the boy and the young man stopped fighting. They looked up at Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il, who were standing tall, then looked at each other and hurriedly separated and straightened their bodies.

Gang Woong scurried over and stood next to them.

“Young master! Master! I caught this person because he was spying on the Emerald Pavilion. He seems to be an Outer Sect Disciple, but he keeps insisting that he knows Young master!”

“I really do know him! And you just threw someone like that.”

Seomun Yuha took the fallen leaves off his messy hair and huffed.

“If you were confident, why would you try to run away!”

“T, that’s….”

Seomun Yuha couldn’t refute that, as if he had something to hide.

But Seong Mu-yeon felt like he agreed with him. Even so, to resort to violence right away.

This made it clear.

Gang Woong was becoming Little Baek Ryeo-il….

It wasn’t a delusion, seeing Baek Ryeo-il stroking the boy’s head as if he was proud.

Seong Mu-yeon quickly stepped forward, ignoring the heart-wrenching pain. If he left them alone, another fight would break out.

“I know him. Young Master Seomun, your attire has changed.”

He said he was going to enter Mount Hua as an Outer Sect Disciple, and Seomun Yuha was really wearing a Disciple’s uniform. Unfortunately, it was a mess and covered in dirt now because he had been wrestling with Gang Woong.

“Seomun… Young master? Ah….”

Only then did Gang Woong realize the identity of the unfamiliar intruder. He recalled the time when Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il had gone to the Seomun Clan.

“If you had said your name in advance, this wouldn’t have happened. From now on, please enter through the main gate with dignity. Don’t loiter around and cause suspicion. Still…. I apologize for misunderstanding, Young Master Seomun.”

Gang Woong apologized politely. But Seomun Yuha only snorted loudly, pushed him away, and stood in front of Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il.

“Long time no see! How have you been?”

On the day Seong Mu-yeon and Baek Ryeo-il returned, Seomun Yuha said he was also there. But there were too many people, so he couldn’t talk to them directly, and since then, he had been taking time out of his busy training schedule to try and meet them….

“Did you say Gang Master? He threw me so roughly….”

“I, I apologized….”

Gang Woong didn’t know what to do.

“But you’re Baek Ryeo-il Master’s Disciple? Hmm.”

Seomun Yuha scanned Gang Woong up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. That gaze was full of arrogant superiority. Gang Woong wasn’t so oblivious that he didn’t know that, so his face turned bright red.

“Anyway, it’s nice to see you again! Hehe.”

He kept grabbing Seong Mu-yeon’s hand and shaking it wildly.

‘I think I know why Gang Master did that.’

Seong Mu-yeon could easily imagine Seomun Yuha peeking over the fence in a suspicious manner that anyone could see. What would he do as a Demonic Cult fanatic… no, follower?

“How’s life in Mount Hua?”

Seong Mu-yeon asked, leading him inside. Then Seomun Yuha waved his hand.

“Hey, don’t even mention it. They’re driving me so hard that I’m dying! They wake me up before sunrise, and they make me recite mountains of Taoist Scripture. How do the people of Mount Hua live like this their whole lives? If it weren’t for Young master Seong, I would have run away a long time ago.”

“But it seems like you’re adapting well.”

Seong Mu-yeon smiled. When he glanced at them, his hands, which had been as white as jade, were a mess of wounds. They were wounds caused by swinging and training with a sword every day. He was joking like that, but it was proof that he was working hard in his training.

Seomun Yuha stiffened and blushed.

“…As expected, Young master Seong is the only one who recognizes me.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Actually, Mount Hua isn’t that great. Will Elite Disciples even be able to hold their heads up later?”

Seomun Yuha grinned at Gang Woong. His intention was clear. He was openly provoking the boy. As expected, the young Gang Woong quickly fell for the provocation and jumped up.

“What did you say just now?”

“No, well. I’m saying let’s see what happens later.”

“Eek!”

The second round was about to begin. Seong Mu-yeon shook his head. But he didn’t stop them.

“I’ll bring out some tea, so please wait a moment.”

After leaving the room, he secretly stroked his chest.

‘Whew. It’s a good thing Young Master Seomun showed up in time.’

If Baek Ryeo-il had started questioning him, he would have been forced to tell the truth.

‘….’

That there had been a change in his physical condition since the Qi deviation incident.