Jin Geum-ryeon waited for Ak Mujin’s answer for a while. However, when he didn’t say anything even after a quarter of an hour, he nodded slightly.
“Then, just one more question.”
Ak Mujin tensed up.
“If my mother had surrendered back then, would you have spared her?”
Ak Mujin forgot he was eating and gaped his mouth open.
Ak Mujin recalled that time. It was true that he had wanted to spare Jin Sang-aeng. When he was writing, he didn’t think the plot of Jin Geum-ryeon losing his parents was particularly cruel, but when he actually faced it, it was such a heartbreaking and tragic scene.
But that memory was from 15 years ago, so it had long been buried among other memories. Of course, when Ak Mujin thought of Namgung Cheon and Jin Sang-aeng, who had passed away like that, his heart stung with guilt again. However, when he saw the grown-up Jin Geum-ryeon, he thought that his appearance without parents was quite good, so he thought he had done well to follow the plot.
But he wasn’t crazy enough to say that out loud.
On the other hand, seeing Jin Geum-ryeon asking these questions, it seemed he remembered the events of 15 years ago in more detail than he had thought.
“What does that matter now? I’m still your parents’ enemy.”
Jin Geum-ryeon stared at Ak Mujin’s answer with a blank expression for a moment, then soon let out a snort.
“That’s right. You are my parents’ enemy….”
After saying that, Jin Geum-ryeon repeated the word “enemy” in his mind.
Ak Mujin tried to finish eating the remaining rice. At that moment, a hand suddenly reached out from across the table and took away the tray with the meal.
“……?”
“It seems you’ve eaten enough, so stop eating.”
Ak Mujin stared at him blankly with the chopsticks in his hand as Jin Geum-ryeon’s attitude changed. But Jin Geum-ryeon, not caring about his gaze, took the tray and strode out of the room.
That, that! That rude bastard!
Ak Mujin chewed on what was in his mouth, then put the chopsticks down on the side table and leaned back on the bed. He didn’t know when this routine of eating, sleeping, and lying down like a pig would end.
“What? He’s leaving this much?”
Jang Cheon-woo looked down at what Ak Mujin had left and clicked his tongue. Jin Geum-ryeon smiled at those words.
“I begged him to eat more, but he says it’s hard to eat since he doesn’t have any activity.”
He lied without batting an eye. Jang Cheon-woo took the tray, brought it to the kitchen, and carefully watched the small brazier where the medicine pot was boiling.
“Tsk tsk tsk, he should eat well to recover faster.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Jang Cheon-woo held a fan and squatted in front of the medicine pot, and Jin Geum-ryeon also took a seat next to him.
“By the way, what’s between you two? You said you’ve known each other for a long time, but you don’t seem that close. Rather, it seems like that person is unilaterally uncomfortable….”
“He owes me a bit of a debt.”
Jin Geum-ryeon interrupted.
“Owes you a debt?”
“I won some money.”
“Huh, this guy. You gamble too?”
“I don’t anymore.”
Geum-ryeon smiled brightly. Jang Cheon-woo looked at that smile and could only chuckle in vain.
“Then, let me ask you just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know that person’s name?”
“Yes?”
Jin Geum-ryeon tilted his head. Judging by appearances, Ak Mujin had stayed at this pharmacy for more than ten days. But the doctor, Jang Cheon-woo, still didn’t know his name?
“Didn’t he tell you his name?”
“No. So, I’ve been calling him ‘Hyung-ssi’ or ‘the person in the small room.’ I’m curious about what he does.”
Jin Geum-ryeon blinked.
“So, I was wondering if you knew. But since he’s someone you only met once at a gambling den, you probably don’t know his name,”
“Bang Cheol-yong.”
“Huh?”
“His name. It’s Bang Cheol-yong.”
Jang Cheon-woo stopped fanning himself and was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
“There are many sophisticated names these days, but his parents must have been a bit old-fashioned.”
“Right?”
“‘The person in the small room’ sounds more mysterious.”
Jin Geum-ryeon nodded.
“When will Bang Cheol-yong recover?”
“Hmm…. The detoxification is almost complete, so he’ll be able to move around a bit if he just does rehabilitation. Why, are you going to get the money you won?”
“I have to.”
“Don’t overdo it and let him go. He doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
“I can’t. That person, despite appearances, is a Demonic Cult member.”
Jang Cheon-woo sighed. Then, he moved the medicine pot to one side.
“I know that much too. But as a doctor, I can’t just leave him to die.”
He poured the medicine into a medicine bowl. The medicine, which had been bubbling just a moment ago, poured into the medicine bowl, emitting hot steam.
“You’re also taking such good care of that person, aren’t you? Tell me honestly. The thing about winning money is a lie, isn’t it?”
Jin Geum-ryeon smiled. And after a moment of silence, he opened his mouth.
“That man is a Demonic Cult member. I have to take him to the Murim Alliance. It’s easier for me to take him to the Murim Alliance if he recovers quickly, so I’m waiting.”
Jang Cheon-woo thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Still, the other person is a patient. Don’t try to force him to go before he’s fully recovered.”
“Of course not.”
Jin Geum-ryeon placed the medicine bowl on a tray and left the kitchen. Jang Cheon-woo watched him for a long time.
The sky was bright blue, and the colorful autumn leaves added to the scenery. It had been hot until recently, but the weather had been very nice for the past few days.
Ak Mujin, his detoxification complete and the wound somewhat healed, was finally able to venture outside the pharmacy for the first time in fifteen days. The pharmacy’s yard was filled with chrysanthemums, and dragonflies flitted about. It seemed that summer, which had been in full swing before he fell off the cliff, had already given way to autumn. Ak Mujin quietly looked down at the fallen chrysanthemum petals and thought:
How long would it take for them to catch me if I ran away?
His energy channels were currently twisted, and he didn’t know what would happen to his body if he tried to use his internal energy. The best-case scenario would be just spitting up some blood, but he had also heard that his body might suddenly heat up and his Heat Cycle might come on unexpectedly, which worried him greatly. But he absolutely hated the idea of being obediently dragged to the Martial Alliance.
“I wondered where you were, since you weren’t in your room.”
A now-familiar voice spoke abruptly. Ak Mujin was startled for a moment, his shoulders jerking, and he turned around. Jin Geum-ryeon stood in front of the detached building, holding a medicine bowl. He had no idea how long he had been standing there.
Ak Mujin felt a chill in his chest, wondering if he had somehow heard his thoughts.
“Why didn’t you call out?”
“The medicine was still hot, so I was waiting for you while it cooled down.”
Jin Geum-ryeon approached with the medicine bowl. As he approached, the subtle scent of chrysanthemums was buried by the smell of medicine.
“Now that you’re wandering around the yard so well, it seems like we can start soon, right?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Ak Mujin’s legs gave way and he staggered. Jin Geum-ryeon quickly reached out and wrapped his arms around his waist, preventing him from collapsing.
“I’m a lot of trouble.”
“It’s okay to give up taking care of me now.”
Ak Mujin felt strange when he felt Jin Geum-ryeon’s firm arms around his waist, so he hurriedly planted his feet firmly on the ground. Then he picked up the medicine bowl and gulped it down.
“You don’t even ask if there’s poison in it anymore.”
Jin Geum-ryeon looked at Ak Mujin as if he were impressed, but Ak Mujin was thinking about something else.
He just thought it would be better to die by poison than to go to the Martial Alliance.
Ak Mujin placed the empty medicine bowl on the tray held by Jin Geum-ryeon.
“Doesn’t Young brother have anything to do? What happened to that secret manual?”
As the monotonous and idle life repeated itself, he slowly began to wonder why Jin Geum-ryeon had descended the mountain so early.
As Ak Mujin wandered around the flower bed, Jin Geum-ryeon followed him, standing a step behind.
“What do you mean, what happened? My friends safely delivered it to the Martial Alliance.”
Indeed, if he had returned to the Demonic Cult as he was, he would have been scolded by the Cult Leader. He might even have been punished. Ak Mujin wanted to escape the Demonic Cult more than anything.
Come to think of it, what happened to Seo-mok? What about First Young Master Kang Mu-hwi?
“Hey, what happened to the people who were on the cliff with me back then?”
Jin Geum-ryeon blinked once.
“People’?”
“I’m talking about the man who was with me.”
“Ah.”
Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to think for a moment, then looked down at Ak Mujin quietly.
“As far as I know, that person has not been seen again.”
Ak Mujin sighed softly and nodded. It was possible that Jin Geum-ryeon was lying, but he didn’t think he would do so for something like this.
“Then, the person who stabbed me…”
“That person realized that he was no match for me and ran away. Judging by the fact that he used Demonic Art, I guess that person was also a member of the Demonic Cult?”
Ak Mujin nodded quietly.
“Well, I don’t care whether he’s a member of the Demonic Cult or not. My purpose was only you.”
Jin Geum-ryeon smiled for a moment.
“Come to think of it, I thought it must be fate that I met my enemy not long after descending the mountain.”
“Ahem.”
Ak Mujin cleared his throat once.
“But since I met you here again, it must really be fate.”
I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not, Jin Geum-ryeon added.
“If you descended the mountain, does that mean you received instruction from someone?”
“Yes.”
Ak Mujin slowly tried to induce Jin Geum-ryeon to tell him why he had descended the mountain. It wasn’t much of an inducement, since Jin Geum-ryeon was so talkative that he would spill everything if he just asked him this.
“The place I stayed was Son of Heaven Mountain. It’s near Dongting Lake. Do you know Mae-yeong, the Azure Wall Sword?”
Jin Geum-ryeon was chattering so much that he simply hooked the tray between his wrist and side.
Of course, I know. How exhausted I was from taking Jin Geum-ryeon around, which wasn’t even part of the plan, because of Mae-yeong. I don’t even want to think about that time again.
“I don’t know him.”
“I guess not. Physician Noh told me that my teacher was someone who made a name for himself a long time ago. He said there was no one who could beat him in swordsmanship.”
“Did you learn a lot?”
“I didn’t learn everything.”
“Why?”
“I was kicked out.”
Ak Mujin urged Jin Geum-ryeon as if adding an exclamation.
“Unfortunately, I manifested as a Yang Person…”
Yang Person?
Ak Mujin’s eyes widened.