This news was something that even Ak Mujin couldn’t help but be surprised by. However, he calmed his rapidly beating heart as much as possible and took a small, deep breath.
First Young Master Kang Mu-hwi is dead? He knew through Jin Geum-ryeon that he had returned to the Demonic Cult, but the word “died in prison” sounded very strange. Didn’t this mean that the First Young Master had committed some kind of crime?
Ak Mujin began to recall the day he fell off the cliff. He was chasing a Cult Traitor, and coincidentally, he ran into Jin Geum-ryeon, who had descended the Heavenly Mountain a year early, and things went awry. And when he crossed swords with Jin Geum-ryeon, First Young Master Kang Mu-hwi, who shouldn’t have been there, appeared.
To be sure, he had thought it was quite strange since he heard the news that the <Myriad Secrets of Snow Records> had been stolen. Once you steal such a treasure, it’s bound to be exposed quickly. Even if Cheon Dan-ho stole it with the intention of betraying the Demonic Cult, he would at best bring it to the Martial Alliance or master it. The important thing is that the <Myriad Secrets of Snow Records> was meaningful because the previous Cult Leader had stolen it from the Martial Alliance, not because the Martial Arts written in the manual were amazing. What would Cheon Dan-ho do with such a thing?
And treasures that could shake the foundation of the Demonic Cult are kept deep within the Demonic Cult. It means that Cheon Dan-ho and the like can’t dare to touch them privately in the first place.
Except for the Cult Leader’s close direct disciples.
Now that he thought about it, why didn’t he know something so obvious back then? It seemed that Kang Mu-hwi had lured Cheon Dan-ho to lure Ak Mujin out of Heavenly Mountain.
The way he brought in Cheon Dan-ho was obvious without even looking. He might have threatened him by holding his family hostage. Or he might have fed him poison. Ak Mujin already knew how vicious those belonging to the Demonic Cult could be, so he didn’t even want to imagine what kind of pain Cheon Dan-ho had suffered.
Ak Mujin unknowingly sighed. Elder Yeo, who keenly noticed it, immediately looked at him. Ak Mujin trembled at the gaze and pretended to be scared for no reason.
“He died in prison… He must have been a heinous criminal.”
“…”
When Ak Mujin made a random excuse, Elder Yeo looked at him with suspicious eyes, but soon averted his gaze and turned his eyes to Chun-wol.
“Died in prison… How did he die?”
“You’ll have to check the cause of death yourself when you return to the Demonic Cult. I only heard that he died in prison, so…”
Ak Mujin was also curious about the cause of Kang Mu-hwi’s death, but there was no way to check it right away, so there was nothing he could do.
Elder Yeo pondered for a moment, nodded, and began to eat again.
“Prepare for Second Young Master to wash.”
As soon as those words were finished, Chun-wol bent his knees, nodded lightly, and slowly headed for the door.
“I’ll come back to pick you up in about an hour.”
“Okay. There must be escorts to attend Young master.”
For a moment, Chun-wol raised his eyebrows as if wondering why there should be escorts when taking a bath, but soon realized the intention and nodded obediently once more.
Ak Mujin wanted to grab him as he left, but who would someone with no memories hold on to? He just watched the door close and turned his gaze to Elder Yeo.
Now he could smell the food properly. When he heard his stomach rumbling, Elder Yeo picked up a plate of food and got up from his seat.
“Eat heartily.”
When Ak Mujin looked down like this, there were hardly any traces of him touching it.
“…Can I have it all?”
But Elder Yeo sat down at the table without answering and took out a few things from his bosom. When he laid them out on the table, they were small wooden tubes and small pieces of paper. Ak Mujin thought that he was probably thinking of sending a Messenger hawk to the Demonic Cult.
***
It was only after soaking in warm water that Ak Mujin could afford to think.
What is Jin Geum-ryeon doing now?
Considering that he chased after Elder Yeo to get himself back until the end, it seemed that his desire for revenge was quite strong. He had been dragging him around for almost three months, so it was a waste.
But now that the situation had become like this, his position would be quite difficult. No, wouldn’t he even try to falsely accuse him of reporting that he was holding a Demonic Cultist? At this point, the orthodox faction’s view of Jin Geum-ryeon is not good. No matter what he says or does, Jin Geum-ryeon’s background would not please the snobbish orthodox Martial Arts people.
Ak Mujin blinked once.
Still, he will be fine. Even though it’s a world in Doujinshi, there’s no way the protagonist can’t pacify the orthodox faction.
Besides, the existence of ‘Ak Mujin’ is not important to Jin Geum-ryeon in the first place. He will soon forget about him and find the person he should really fall in love with. Rather, it was amazing that Jin Geum-ryeon had dragged Ak Mujin around for months.
Yes, the most urgent thing is his own situation. Who would worry about someone who is about to die?
Ak Mujin looked out the window to calm his mind as much as possible. The sight of countless stars pouring down on the black sky was very beautiful. Ak Mujin wanted to engrave that image in his mind for a long time.
However, his romantic moment was impossible to concentrate on because of the two escorts standing behind him. No, can’t he even take a bath in peace? Ak Mujin was getting tired of it, so he no longer wanted to continue bathing.
It was the moment when he leaned on the edge of the tub and tried to pull the Spirit Wipe that had fallen within reach.
“Here it is.”
One of the escorts strode up and picked up the Spirit Wipe and handed it to him. Ak Mujin had no choice but to face him with his body exposed. He blankly stared at the escort and hurriedly turned his body back and came out of the tub.
“Ahem, even so, I can do what I can…”
“Elder told me to take good care of Young master.”
The escort replied curtly, and Ak Mujin let out a long sigh, wiped the water off his body, and put on layers of clothes hanging on the long rack.
The clothes were new ones prepared by the House of courtesans. The underwear was comfortable as if it had been tailored to fit his body, and the Long robe worn on the outside was made of shiny silver silk. Every time he moved his arms, the cloud embroidery on the fabric shone subtly in the light.
The escorts stared blankly at the sight. No, it was closer to ‘admiring’.
Ak Mujin nonchalantly swept his wet hair back over his shoulder and adjusted his belt. His cheeks, flushed red from the hot water, contrasted with his snow-white face, adding vitality to his expressionless face. His moist lips, fresh from the bath, were eye-catching, but they tried to ignore them and cleared their throats.
Still, it had been a long time since he had taken a bath in such a clean and good facility since Illusion Valley. Even though he was a Martial Arts otaku, there were too many inconveniences in living.
“…Let’s go to the Bedchamber.”
Finally, when Ak Mujin was fully dressed, the escort who had picked up the Spirit Wipe spoke. Ak Mujin was thinking of escaping at any cost, so he didn’t want to lead the escorts there again.
“…I understand.”
But what could he do, what power did he have? What excuse could he make in this place where he had no connections? He had no choice but to leave the bathroom with the escorts in front and behind him.
At the end of the opposite hallway, a woman in gorgeous clothes was approaching with a rather large man. It was none other than Chun-wol.
Ak Mujin was so happy that he slightly craned his neck to look at him. Chun-wol, who discovered it, approached with quick steps.
“How was your bath, Young master? I’m glad the clothes fit you well.”
“Thank you for your kindness. The bath water was just right. But…”
Ak Mujin used his wit to squeeze out an excuse at that moment.
“The clothes are torn like this. Well… I would be grateful if it were anywhere else, but this is a very strange place…”
At those words, the escorts couldn’t bring themselves to examine his clothes, and Chun-wol also blushed on both cheeks, covered his lips with his sleeves, and cleared his throat.
“Oh, my. I’m sure I checked the clothes carefully, but it seems something happened while they were being moved. I’m so sorry, Young master. I’ll go get you another set of clothes right away.”
Chun-wol replied quickly and surely. Then, when he saw him trying to turn around in a hurry, Ak Mujin quickly said.
“I’ll go with you. Isn’t it a hassle to go back and forth?”
At those words, Chun-wol raised his eyebrows slightly as if wondering.
“It’s not particularly a hassle…”
After all, he would hire a servant to transport the clothes, so even if more work was created, it wouldn’t be a big deal for Chun-wol. But the moment his eyes met Ak Mujin’s, who was about to say that far, he closed his mouth.
Ak Mujin was desperately mouthing the word ‘please’ a few times.