ch 15

 

Chapter 15

While it couldn't compare to Cheonma's grand bathhouse, the one at the Dragon Flower Villa was still a lavishly appointed space.

The floor was finished with bluestone, said to be the hardest of stones, and the tub was crafted from fragrant cedar. In a jade box resting on the tub's edge lay safflower and apricot seed powders, painstakingly ground by skillful maids.

To Munpyeong, this was far more to his liking than Cheonma’s ostentatious bath. Its simple elegance and cozy atmosphere put him at ease.

This was the first time he had entered a bathhouse since getting the burn on his back. Until now, he had only wiped himself down with a wet towel to keep the wound from getting wet. But today, thanks to Cheonma's "brilliant" revenge, he had no choice but to take a proper bath.

Still unable to submerge himself, he scooped water from outside the tub to wash his body. With each splash, the last traces of Gyesalgwi in this world washed down the drain.

The cruel indifference of the Jianghu lay in how emptily a man's life could end. But Munpyeong felt no pity for Gyesalgwi's fate. How many innocent people had died because of that one man? As Cheonma had said, the real injustice was that his death had ended with just one life.

It had been the most terrifying experience of his life, the first time he had ever known such fear, yet surprisingly, there were few physical marks left on his body. The only noticeable injuries were a nipple that Gyesalgwi had pinched until it bled and his still-swollen testicles. But as Munpyeong looked down at his own body, his mood was grim. He knew that in the Jianghu, weakness was a sin, but after being so brutally violated, all he could do was sigh.

`I really need to get stronger.`

Munpyeong sighed, looking down at himself. He knew his skills were nothing special, but he had never felt that fact so keenly before.

When everyone was of a similar, mediocre skill level, being weak didn't stand out. That was how it had been for Munpyeong when he lived among other low-rank warriors. He called himself a low-rank warrior without giving it much thought. After all, everyone around him was the same, and he never had to face a life-or-death situation.

But coming out into the Central Plains had changed everything. The Central Plains were slowly brewing a great storm, and Munpyeong was caught in the middle of it with no plan.

From the moment he arrived, he’d had to overcome one brush with death after another. To be honest, if he had been alone, he would have met a gruesome end long ago. Fortunately, there had always been people to help him in his time of need, allowing him to barely cling to life. But no one knew better than Munpyeong himself just how narrow those escapes had been.

A man is always alone in the end. If you couldn't save your own life when there was no one around to help, then even a single crisis would have irreversible consequences.

In the end, the only person you could truly rely on was yourself. If he didn't improve his skills, he was bound to meet a disastrous end sooner or later.

`…But how am I supposed to get stronger now?`

The need to become stronger was clear. The desire was there, too. The problem was that ability and desire didn't always align. Munpyeong wanted to improve, but he had no idea how.

Honestly, it was nearly impossible for an ordinary martial artist over the age of thirty to suddenly become a high-level master. Unless you had a legendary opportunity, like finding the inner core of a mythical beast like the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp or discovering a secret manual left by a past absolute master, an ordinary warrior was destined to stagnate for life.

He had no master to rely on, no sect to lean on. He had unintentionally become acquainted with a few master-level figures, but he wasn't close enough to them to brazenly ask for martial arts instruction.

`What? Cheonma? Ha!`

That man was the epitome of a beautiful, empty shell. What good was being the strongest under heaven, the greatest master of the Demonic Cult? He was just a lecherous old man who, under the guise of teaching martial arts, taught something like the Yang-Nourishing Yang Absorption Art.

`Not Yin-Nourishing Yang Absorption, but Yang-Nourishing Yang Absorption? What the hell is that? Where in the world would such a martial art exist? If it really does exist, he must have made it up himself. Who else but that man would create something so bizarre?`

The shock of the Chaeyangboyang technique still lingered with Munpyeong. The sense of betrayal was even greater because he had spent several days training joyfully, thinking he was receiving instruction in Cheonma's internal arts.

If any respect for Cheonma remained in Munpyeong, it was for his martial arts, not his character. No matter how much Munpyeong cursed and chewed him out in his mind, Cheonma’s essence as the master of all demonic arts remained unchanged.

He was influenced by the Demonic Cult's worship of Cheonma, which was ingrained to the point of brainwashing, and he was also impressed by the martial prowess he had witnessed with his own eyes. The man was problematic in many ways, but Munpyeong couldn't argue with his martial arts. To be even more honest, Cheonma's martial arts were the sole reason Munpyeong held any awe for him at all.

Even among absolute masters, there were levels. This wasn't about levels of prowess like the Transformation Realm or the Profound Realm realms, but a classification based on the depth of one's martial understanding, broadly divided into Master (宗師) and Grandmaster (大宗師).

The term "Master of an Era" was often used in the Jianghu. It referred to someone who had seen the ultimate essence of their martial art or the absolute limit of their chosen weapon. In the Nine Great Sects, such a figure might appear once or twice a generation; in the Five Great Families, perhaps once every few generations. It was said that such a person could establish their own house, which was why the founders of most small and medium-sized sects were Masters of their Era.

But the title of "Grandmaster" was not used lightly. It was a term reserved for beings on the level of Shaolin's Bodhidharma or Wudang's Zhang Sanfeng. It was a title one could only earn by laying a new foundation for martial studies or establishing a martial theory with one's unique style. A martial artist would neither utter the name lightly nor speak of it with disrespect.

The current Heavenly Demon, Hyeokryeon Sang, also held the title of Grandmaster. This was because he had single-handedly recreated Cheonma Divine Art, which the Demonic Cult had lost for ages, and redefined the demonic martial arts that had been a pillar of the Jianghu for a thousand years.

In the current Jianghu, where it was commonly said that one could supplement the old but never create the new, he was the only one who had reached the state of creating martial arts through his own power.

For such a being to have toyed with him over something as sacred as martial arts—the wound Munpyeong suffered was significant. This was like a student going to a revered scholar for tutelage, only to be taught from a book of lewd folktales.

They say you can give a warrior death, but not shame. But for that man, toying with Munpyeong seemed to be a joy in life.

The thought made him angry. For him, it was a life-or-death situation, yet that man was just using it to tease him.

What was the difference between what Cheonma did and giving a drowning man a stick only to snatch it away? There were things you could joke about and things you couldn't, but it seemed Cheonma lived his life without distinguishing between the two.

Munpyeong grabbed a hemp cloth filled with apricot seed powder and scrubbed his arm vigorously. What was the point of thinking about it? Even if he mustered the courage to ask to learn martial arts, that man would be the first to tell him to lie down on the bed, all while taking full credit for tossing him some bizarre martial art like Yang-Nourishing Yang Absorption.

His thoughts, which had started calmly, descended into a tirade against Cheonma. Like a carriage rolling downhill, his anger accelerated with time. He cursed Cheonma again and again until, from the jumbled mess of his thoughts, he suddenly stumbled upon an unexpected fact.

`Wait a minute? What did I just say? A martial art he created himself?`

Suddenly, something caught his attention. Something so powerful that it stopped the flood of his thoughts in their tracks, snagging his ankle unexpectedly. Munpyeong stopped scrubbing his skin and retraced his thoughts, trying to identify what had tripped him up.

At first, Munpyeong had been horrified by the ridiculous term Yang-Nourishing Yang Absorption. He had been so repulsed by the words that he hadn't had the presence of mind to think any deeper. He had simply dismissed it, fuming over how absurd such a martial art was and concluding that if it existed, Cheonma must have invented it himself.

But thinking about it again now, it wasn't something to be dismissed so easily. It was time to change his perspective. ...If it was a martial art created by Cheonma himself, wasn't that better than one made by some random master? And not just any man, but one who had reached the rank of 'Grandmaster'!

Simply shifting his viewpoint changed the situation completely. Even when forging a sword from the same steel, there was a world of difference between one made by a master smith and one made by an apprentice. How much more so for martial arts?

There would be a coherent martial logic from beginning to end, and the theoretical framework would be perfect. Though it might not be a supreme art like Cheonma Divine Art, it would have been completed as a martial art he could be proud of. Munpyeong hadn't thought that far before.

`It's not like Cheonma to create something carelessly, even as a joke. Knowing his personality, it's possible he poured even more effort into it precisely because it was a joke. ...Could this actually be some incredible divine art? That man is more than capable of it.`

If someone like Cheonma was willing to give it to another person, it meant it was complete. Munpyeong had recoiled at the name Chaeyangboyang and thrown it away, but if Cheonma himself had guaranteed its effects, it might actually work.

`Come to think of it, telling me to learn the Yang-Nourishing Yang Absorption Art... also means he's offering to share his own internal energy with me, doesn't it?`

Realizing one fact led him to others he hadn't considered. Thinking it over, it meant he was offering to transmit his internal power, albeit in a strange way.

For a martial artist, internal energy was something they wouldn't even share with their own child. It was literally the same as giving away a piece of their life, the highest form of favor one martial artist could show another.

In the Jianghu, the exchange of internal energy usually occurred between a master and disciple or blood relatives. Even then, it rarely happened unless one of them was on the verge of death and there was no other choice. Yet, Cheonma had mentioned such a momentous thing so casually that Munpyeong hadn't properly understood its implications.

`Does this make me the fool who kicked away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?`

Munpyeong muttered bitterly, a belated pang of regret twisting in his gut. It turned out that Cheonma's offer had been an incredible stroke of fortune, like finding a past master's secret manual and a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Carp's inner core at the same time. No, it might have been an even better opportunity. A master's manual was useless if you couldn't decipher its secrets, and a Fire Carp's core could be harmful if your own body wasn't a sufficient vessel.

In contrast, receiving guidance from a renowned figure like Cheonma and rapidly accumulating internal energy with a martial art he himself had created was no different from being born, undergoing a full body and marrow cleansing, having your talent recognized, becoming the direct disciple of your sect's top master, and inheriting his ultimate art. It meant you could just run along a pre-paved road without any risks or worries.

The fish that got away always looks bigger. If he had remained ignorant, his mind would have been at peace. But once he knew what it was, it kept bothering him. They say only those who know how to seize an opportunity can do so, and it seemed that was true.

The packaging had been so awful that he had thrown away the gift, which had likely been offered with some care, without even looking inside. Pearls before swine. How pathetic must I have looked in Cheonma's eyes, not even grasping the true meaning of his proposal?

Munpyeong let out a deep, regretful sigh. If he were given the chance now, and the same offer was made... of course, given the method, he would hesitate greatly, but at least he would have taken the time to think it over. He wouldn't have rejected it so coldly that the topic could never be broached again.

But it was all a case of too little, too late. The die was cast.

Knowing that Cheonma was not the kind of opponent to offer a second chance, Munpyeong could only sigh and continue washing his body.

He had scrubbed his skin so hard it was stinging, but he was barely conscious of his own state.

Munpyeong returned to his room, his skin flushed and warm from the bath. The belated regret over a long-expired matter had made him bathe with excessive vigor, and now he was paying the price.

While it was refreshing to have scrubbed away the accumulated grime, he had expended too much mental and physical energy and was now exhausted. If he climbed into bed now, he felt he could fall down and sleep like the dead until morning without waking once. In his current state, that seemed for the best—better than agonizing over something he couldn't change.

“You’re late. I was beginning to think you’d drowned in the bathwater.”

But even such a simple wish was not easy for Munpyeong. An unexpected guest was waiting for him in his room. Cheonma, in the guise of Yun Seung-hyo which was now more familiar than his true form, sat there calmly, watching him as if it were his own room.

The way he leaned back lazily in the chair was extremely delinquent. He seemed annoyed at having been made to wait longer than expected.

“What brings you here at this hour of the night?”

He had come face-to-face with the one person he had hoped to avoid this evening. Feeling uneasy, Munpyeong averted his gaze and asked the question reluctantly.

I’ve really become jaded by the secular world, Munpyeong thought as soon as he saw Cheonma. That’s right. If he were to have a relationship with Cheonma now, it would be with that body, with Yun Seung-hyo’s form. He would hesitate even with Cheonma's own body, let alone that face.

The thought that had been half-formed snapped back into place the moment he saw that face. He blushed, remembering what he had just been thinking.

`Forget it, Seok Munpyeong. What greed is this? Selling your body to gain internal energy? Is that something you can even do?`

Though he was just a shadow without a real form, the meaning of his first love was truly special to Munpyeong. He wasn't shameless enough to share intimacies with someone wearing that face just for personal gain.

It was something I couldn't do anyway. I just overthought it. A sense of peace came over him now that he had given up.

“Even if it’s late, the bandages need to be changed. You’ve grown neglectful now that you’re a little better. The aftercare is the most important part of any wound. How can you be so careless?”

As if it were a mission he was responsible for, Cheonma fussed over changing the bandages. Since he was, in his own way, showing concern, Munpyeong couldn't say anything and entered the room.

“Take off your clothes.”

Of course, he meant to take them off so he could apply the medicine. But to Munpyeong’s ears, which had just been engrossed in illicit thoughts, the words sounded deeply suggestive.

Momentarily flustered, Munpyeong hesitated, unable to say a word. His fumbling fingers reflexively clutched the collar of his robe.

“What are you doing? I told you to take off your clothes.”

Cheonma, still oblivious to the atmosphere, urged him on nonchalantly. Knowing full well what would happen if he made a mistake and gave that man an excuse to pick on him, Munpyeong had no choice but to undress after the second command.

He had shown his bare skin countless times, yet he felt a fresh sense of shame in revealing it now. It seemed that seriously considering the Chaeyangboyang technique had also stirred up a useless self-consciousness.

Fortunately, Cheonma didn't notice this change in Munpyeong's attitude. After all, he always hated taking off his clothes, for whatever reason, so he didn't feel any particular difference.

Unable to even lift his head, Munpyeong turned his back, and Cheonma began to apply the ointment.

`If it keeps healing like this, it won't get infected.`

The scars were ugly, but that couldn't be helped now. Fortunately, the healing speed was good, and it would get better sooner than expected. Cheonma, who was paying far more attention to the wound than Munpyeong realized, felt his mood soften at the good condition of the back.

Since it had happened while he was away, he felt a sense of personal responsibility for the wound. He had been hoping it would heal quickly, so his care was meticulous.

The movement of his soft fingers was truly delicate. The ointment had been prepared by the Holy Mother of Kunlun herself, so its effects were beyond doubt. The potent medicine was made with the finest ingredients and great care, making its efficacy and even its texture exceptional. But no matter how outstanding its texture, it couldn't compare to the sensation of Cheonma's hand.

As if he feared causing the slightest pain, Cheonma’s fingers brushed over Munpyeong’s wound with almost no pressure. The skin, still sensitive and flushed with lingering heat from the burn, was caressed with a touch so gentle it was almost imperceptible—a skill that bordered on the divine.

The touch was as light as air, making his back stiffen. Each time the impossibly soft fingertips touched and then lifted away, it tickled like a kitten's tongue licking his back.

His senses, unusually sharp today, seemed to chase after those fingertips. He tried not to show it, but his skin twitched every time that hand touched him.

There was no way Cheonma could have missed Munpyeong’s overtly sensitive reaction. But having only ever seen him pull away, Cheonma interpreted Munpyeong's reaction in the opposite way.

“…I’m not going to eat you.”

He must have become more guarded after almost being defiled. Arriving at such an uncharacteristically naive conclusion, Cheonma furrowed his brow slightly in a complete misunderstanding.

This brat seemed to see him as some kind of beast. Last time, and this time too. Why did he have to be so wary at times like this? He had managed just fine without doing anything until now, so why would he suddenly go into heat today of all days? Because the brat had almost been violated by others? Was that supposed to be a turn-on?

“Th-that’s not it.”

Startled by Cheonma's sharp remark, Munpyeong hastily corrected the misunderstanding.

`Not it? What’s not it?`

Reading something different in Munpyeong's rushed response, Cheonma tilted his head and studied the back of Munpyeong’s neck.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

His demeanor was so clearly different from usual that it was a reasonable assumption. But Munpyeong shook his head.

“No, I don't.”

He didn't really have anything to say to Cheonma. He understood that the offer made was far more substantial than he had first thought, but he had no intention of accepting it.

The reason Munpyeong was so sensitive now was because of the lingering remnants of having considered him as a 'partner.' This was something he had to manage himself, not a problem to be solved by telling Cheonma.

Please just pretend you don't notice. Shouldn't an elder show such magnanimity sometimes? Munpyeong pleaded desperately.

`Hmm. Look at this...?`

Cheonma arched an eyebrow, gazing at the back of Munpyeong's neck, which was now flushed red all the way to his earlobes. Naturally, Cheonma possessed no such thing as an elder's magnanimity.

He might have been oblivious before, but if he didn't catch on by now, he wouldn't be Cheonma. Realizing that Munpyeong’s state was indeed different from usual, his eyes glinted.

“Strange. I was sure you did.”

Cheonma deliberately drew out his words, tormenting Munpyeong. Startled, Munpyeong quickly denied the question. The more he spoke, the redder the boy's ears burned.

“N-no. I don't. I really have nothing to say.”

“That can't be.”

“I-it's true. Why do you keep pressing when I say I have nothing to say?”

Having denied it so much that he preemptively got flustered and angry, Munpyeong was met with a leisurely gaze from Cheonma, who then slowly voiced the thought he’d been holding onto.

“You said we'd talk after you washed up, yet now you're playing dumb. Your little scheme has already been exposed. Hiding it now won't cover up your guilt, so why not just confess? There's such a thing as extenuating circumstances in this world, you know.”

At first, Munpyeong didn't even know what Cheonma was talking about. But after a long moment, he finally realized he was asking for the details of the afternoon's incident. His face flushed at the absurd misunderstanding.

Unaware that Cheonma had done it on purpose, Munpyeong simply thought he had misheard because he was lost in his own thoughts, and felt embarrassed.

“Th-that is, about that incident...”

Unable to bear the shame, Munpyeong quickly began to speak. He stammered at first, but having made frequent reports lately, his speech soon stabilized. For him, it was better that the focus was on the day's events rather than his strange behavior.

As Munpyeong became more enthusiastic, both to change the subject and to relieve his embarrassment, Cheonma also began to listen seriously.

Laying out the whole story, with nothing to add or subtract, the gravity of the situation hit him again. It was a trap set specifically for him. The fact that the enemies had targeted Munpyeong himself, not Ja-ok or Yun Seung-hyo, meant that he was now within their sights. He was now their target. Since he had unintentionally interfered with their plans, he couldn't even claim it was unfair.

`Now there's really no escape.`

It was only while speaking that Munpyeong realized he could no longer run away. The enemy's eyes and ears were spread all the way to the doorstep of the Righteous Path Alliance. If he tried to flee Cheonma, he might fall right into their hands.

They were people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. He had been lucky to escape with his life this time, but who could guarantee he would be so lucky again?

Remembering the unpleasant feeling of being trapped in his own body, Munpyeong shivered and hunched his shoulders. He never wanted to experience such a thing again while he was alive. He would rather die.

Besieged on all sides, with no way forward or back. A field of thorns in every direction.

`Why do I always end up in situations like this?`

Munpyeong let out a gloomy sigh as he looked at a future with no room to stand. He couldn't move an inch. If he left Cheonma's shadow, he would meet a swift and gruesome death. How could he even dare to think of running away?

“They were using the cult's Black Flower? Is that true?”

“Yes, it is. It was definitely the exact marker of the Ten Disciples.”

Meanwhile, Cheonma, who had been listening, focused on a different point. Hearing that the Three Ghost Demons had used the mark Munpyeong left to lure him out, Cheonma immediately understood what it meant, and his expression changed.

`So the cult's Black Flower has been leaked to the enemy. Were Gwak Hyo's spies still inside the cult? If they know about the Black Flower, it wouldn't be difficult to disrupt our intelligence. Now I see why information about them has been so murky.`

His mind, which grew colder and clearer in dangerous situations, shone even at this moment. Cheonma, realizing this unexpected fact, changed his mind.

Now that things had come to this, he couldn't just cut off contact with the cult indefinitely. The exposure of the Black Flower system was the same as having the cult's entire intelligence network exposed.

If the network was disrupted by false information, even if the secret lines were maintained, the confusion would be severe. Young-ui wasn't a fool, so he would have noticed the situation, but he would surely be hesitating to act decisively because of him.

If that brat were a little bolder, he would have acted without worrying about him, but Young-ui was too timid for such a move. So what choice was there? He would have to accommodate the fool.

`This is getting interesting.`

However, this wasn't a complete loss for Cheonma. As things progressed, he was able to grasp the overall flow of Gwak Hyo's plan.

The enemy had used their heads, but in using them too much, they had left too many clues. Most were due to the carelessness of their underlings, and some were because they had blatantly flaunted their intentions.

Cheonma began to formulate a plan in his mind. He had played along this far; now it was his turn to act. It's only fair in a fight to trade blows, isn't it? It's no fun for the spectators if one side gets beaten up too much.

“The Black Flower being exposed is as good as the cult's entire intelligence network being compromised to the enemy. If the cult still doesn't know this, it will be a great disaster. …Munpyeong.”

Cheonma deliberately voiced his thoughts before calling out to Munpyeong. When the always-composed man's face hardened, Munpyeong’s own face hardened in turn as he looked back at him seriously.

“You called, my lord.”

“It seems you'll have to return to the cult.”

“…What?”

“I can't go myself, so you must. Once you reach the Heavenly Mountains, there's no need to make a special trip back. The journey ahead will be even more dangerous than what you've faced so far. Hiding until this is over is not a bad choice.”

Munpyeong was speechless at Cheonma's words. He knew he was saying this out of concern for him. There was an important message to deliver to the Heavenly Mountains, and his own safety was a concern. So, it was not unreasonable to try and solve two problems at once.

But honestly, he didn't have the courage to return to the Heavenly Mountains on his own. The Wusheng Cult's power was rampant throughout the land. He had seen with his own eyes how their influence covered the entire Gangnam region and even reached Gangbuk.

He didn't know what other demons they had besides the Three Ghost Demons, so how could he set out on the road alone? It might be different if he were in good health, but that wasn't the case.

“Will it be… possible?”

Munpyeong forced his reluctant lips open. He could imagine how ridiculous it sounded for the man who, just this afternoon, was planning to run away on his own to say such a thing. But like it or not, the only way to stay alive was to rely on Cheonma's shadow. The intention was good, but if he was going to send him away, he should have done it sooner. At least before the enemy started targeting him.

“I don't think I can avoid their eyes on my own. A carrier pigeon might be better for delivering the news.”

There was nothing more humiliating for a martial artist than to admit his own powerlessness. Feeling like a useless half-wit, Munpyeong's face flushed.

Cheonma said nothing in response to his answer. As if he hadn't considered that, he seemed to fall into deep thought only after hearing Munpyeong’s words.

“You have a point. My thinking was short-sighted.”

Cheonma, who had been silent for a moment, sighed softly and shook his head. Seeing that, Munpyeong’s shoulders slumped. He knew he wasn't being blamed, but a sharp pressure pressed down on his solar plexus.

Cheonma personally wrapped a bandage around Munpyeong's body. Munpyeong silently entrusted himself to those quiet hands.

He felt as if he had returned to his childhood. Just like in those days when he had to rely on the pity of others to survive, Munpyeong was now in a position where he could only hope for Cheonma's mercy. He had spent his entire life trying to escape that kind of situation, but it had all come to nothing.

He was in this situation again because he still wasn't strong enough. If Munpyeong had been as strong as Yun Seung-hyo, or even as strong as Pamyeongak, he might not have been in such a one-sided predicament.

Humans are truly shameless creatures. Or perhaps it was Munpyeong’s survival instinct that was shameless. As soon as he realized the situation was more serious than he had vaguely felt, the first thing that came to mind was none other than the Chaeyangboyang… no, the martial art Cheonma had taught him.

Just a moment ago, he had thought he could never do such a thing, but as soon as he realized his life was in danger, that was the first thing he thought of. It seemed that in the face of the instinct to survive, dignity and conscience were useless. Munpyeong was deeply ashamed of his own brutally pragmatic nature.

“About the martial art…”

But no matter how much he cast aside his pride, he couldn't easily say, "I need to live, so please share some of your internal energy with me." Especially when the method was something that would sound like a dirty joke if told to others. No matter how difficult his situation was, he didn't want to resort to such a method.

He didn't dare hope for the results Cheonma had promised. Wasn't there some way to improve his martial arts by even half that much?

With only Cheonma to cling to, Munpyeong cautiously spoke up, watching his expression. Cheonma, who was carefully tying the final knot, answered his words absently.

“What about the martial art?”

“No, it doesn’t have to be a full martial art. Could you not teach me even a simple move? Just enough to save my life once would be enough.”

“A move that can save your life once is a life-saving ultimate technique, and there are no simple moves among life-saving ultimate techniques.”

A sharp person like him would have understood what he meant by that, but Cheonma deliberately talked around the subject. Feeling anxious, Munpyeong felt like grabbing Cheonma's legs and begging.

“I know I'm being greedy. But I'm begging you. As you said, the fights ahead will only get bigger, and a situation may arise where it becomes troublesome for you, my lord, to look after everything. I am a martial artist too; just show me the way. I will protect my own life.”

If a situation arose where Cheonma couldn't pay attention to Munpyeong, he wouldn't survive on his own no matter what he did. Cheonma knew this, but he didn't bother to crush Munpyeong's meager pride by stating the obvious.

Instead, he attacked Munpyeong from another angle, neatly shattering his flimsy scheme by presenting a precise and objective opinion.

“Even if I taught you, do you think you could master such a move in a short time? It would take half a year to get used to the form (形), and another year to fully make the intent (意) your own. If you had a foundation, it would be shorter, but unfortunately, you lack such a foundation. What you want is to survive the next few months, and with that, you won't be able to achieve your goal.”

It was such a realistic point that there was no room for rebuttal. He said it was fine to teach him, but it would be useless, so Munpyeong couldn't even resent him for being harsh. His spirit broken, Munpyeong couldn't hide his dejection and let out a deep sigh.

How could a person have nothing go their way? The more he thought about it, the more pathetic his situation seemed. If there was a cliff in front of him, there should at least be a path behind him, but no matter how hard he looked, there wasn't even a side path in sight.

“Are you trying to take the long way around when there’s a perfectly good path right here out of foolishness, or a lack of desire?”

As Munpyeong hesitated, unable to take the final step into the trap he had dug for himself, Cheonma stepped in.

He slyly wrapped his arms around Munpyeong's waist and whispered in his ear. Munpyeong flinched and turned to look at him.

“My lord?”

His eyes were wide like a startled rabbit's, but there was no trace of naivety in them. He was flustered by the sudden situation, but he couldn't completely push him away like before. That alone was enough to show that he was in no small amount of inner conflict.

`Just as I thought.`

Cheonma inwardly rejoiced and tightened his arms around Munpyeong’s waist.

“The martial art I passed on to you is the most effective method for your situation. Did you really think I taught you something like that without any thought? If I had intended to make you my plaything, I would have taught you bedroom arts, not a Yang Absorption Art.”

Like a dandy luring a young maiden with a jeweled comb, Cheonma tempted Munpyeong with his immense internal energy.

As he whispered into his flushed ear, Munpyeong flinched his shoulders. His earlobe, as if flustered by the blatant seduction, turned bright red. Cheonma bit into the earlobe, which looked as if it might drip red water at any moment, as if it were a sweet confection. The soft flesh of the ear was sweet, almost hot.

“B-but…”

“If you want to protect your own life, then prove it yourself. I mean you should use a method that is actually feasible, not struggle with one that won't work. This is a chance I am giving you. It all depends on what you do. Will you turn a blind eye and let go, or will you seize the opportunity?”

His cunning words cornered Munpyeong. The lips that had been nibbling at his earlobe slid down to his neck. A hand that had traveled up from his waist to his chest pressed down gently on the bandaged flesh.

The tender nipple, injured by Gyesalgwi, swelled at Cheonma's touch. As blood rushed to the already taut skin, a tingling pain spread across his chest.

Gasping for breath in the face of the suffocatingly dense seduction, Munpyeong panted. Accustomed to an opponent who only pushed forward, he couldn't read the intention of Cheonma, who had changed his method to one of cornering him.

If his heart had been steadfast, it might have been different, but his heart had wavered before his body. Munpyeong realized he could not escape Cheonma, nor could he escape himself.

`The one who survives is the strong one. Is that really true? …Having come this far, I don't know. I really don't know.`

His mind was filled with doubt, but he couldn't shake off the desire to live. Munpyeong closed his eyes in resignation and let out a deep sigh.

The desire for survival had always been one of the biggest factors that moved him, and this time too, Munpyeong had no choice but to kneel before that desire. It was a wretched and pitiful life, but it was the only one he had. It was a trivial life that no one would care about if he didn't care for it himself, but still, that life was precious to Munpyeong.

His skin, fresh from the bath, slid smoothly under his fingertips. The flushed, warm color was like a ripe peach.

Cheonma buried his lips in the nape of Munpyeong’s neck, which still smelled of apricots, and held his waist, which had become even thinner from the loss of flesh, tightly. The delicately revealed collarbone drew one’s gaze. His body, now revealing all its muscles due to the loss of fat, looked even firmer than before.

“N-not in that form… Lord!”

Cheonma turned Munpyeong’s body around and pulled him into his embrace. The moment the word of permission was given, his hands moved with practiced skill to strip off his clothes. Before he even realized he was being undressed, everything was gone. When he came to his senses, the only thing on his body was the bandage Cheonma had wrapped around him.

Cheonma pushed his thigh between Munpyeong's legs and cupped his cheeks. A deep kiss rained down like a meteor shower. The greedy lips tasted and tasted again, and though the kiss wasn't long, he was out of breath.

“What was that?”

Cheonma, who had been engrossed in Munpyeong, hadn't understood what he was saying. He had tried to say something in the gaps between kisses, but the moments were too short for the sounds to form a sentence.

“If you're going to speak, make it understandable. What do you want to say?”

Cheonma said shamelessly, despite not having given him a chance. Panting, Munpyeong looked up at Cheonma with wet eyes. It was a physiological tear from being out of breath, but as he looked up with moist eyes, it gave off a strangely seductive vibe.

“I said I don’t like that form. …Can’t you return to your original form?”

Only then did Cheonma realize he was still in the form of Yun Seung-hyo.

The sharp-witted man couldn't have failed to understand why Munpyeong made such a request. He was slightly hurt that he was still clinging to a non-existent shadow, but he didn't feel like starting an argument about it in this atmosphere.

“Are you telling me to reveal my true form in the middle of the Righteous Path Alliance’s headquarters?”

“…Would that be difficult?”

“It wouldn't be difficult. A bit of tension, perhaps. I didn't know your tastes ran that way.”

Replacing his displeasure with a simple sarcastic remark, Cheonma released his disguise and showed his true form.

Crack, crack, crackle.

Before Munpyeong's eyes, Cheonma's skeleton began to change. His bright blue eyes darkened to black, and his delicate features shifted into a more linear structure. His slender body transformed into a solid, muscular one. It felt like watching an imperfect thing transform into a perfect one; everything became drastically more beautiful.

Yun Seung-hyo was quite handsome, but in a one-to-one comparison like this, he somehow seemed shabby. Munpyeong watched the incredible sight, which he might never see again, without even breathing.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yun Seung-hyo became Cheonma. The man, now a head taller than Munpyeong and with shoulders half a handspan wider, was as dazzling as a celestial general. Seeing him again after a long time, he was truly handsome.

`My god. How can a person be this handsome?`

His eyes captivated by the brilliant beauty that seemed to emit a halo, Munpyeong found himself staring blankly up at that face. It was a face he was more than used to, but seeing it again after a while felt new.

What on earth was a man like that lacking to be so fixated on someone like him? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand.

“Close your mouth. You're drooling.”

Cheonma shot a spiteful remark at Munpyeong, who was staring at him as if he were half-entranced. Startled, Munpyeong reflexively wiped the corner of his mouth. But of course, nothing came away.

“Lord—”

Munpyeong, about to say something about Cheonma's mischievous attitude, almost bit his tongue. Cheonma, holding Munpyeong's waist, scooped him up by the back of his knees and lifted him completely.

Finding himself held in Cheonma's arms like a new bride, Munpyeong tried to straighten his back in embarrassment. But Cheonma didn't allow it and strode towards the bed. His steps were hurried, as if he couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

“Lord, mmph!”

The moment he was set down on the bed, their bodies were pressed together again. As if lamenting the brief separation, Cheonma clung to Munpyeong's lips and refused to let go.

A hot tongue wrapped around his, and neat teeth bit and pulled at Munpyeong's lower lip. Thanks to the clever posture of pressing their bodies together without putting his full weight on him, their skin was in complete contact.

Cheonma’s body pushed between his naturally parted legs. Through the thin skin of his inner thighs, he could feel the body heat radiating from his hard member with excessive vividness. The heavy weight, like an extra arm resting on him, only heated his lower body further.

The heat between them rose quickly. His hands, as skilled as a musician playing an instrument, precisely awakened the places where Munpyeong was sensitive. Munpyeong let out a series of hot breaths and wrapped his arms around Cheonma's neck.

Cheonma’s half-erect member poked at the soft area between Munpyeong’s penis and testicles. The impossibly soft skin trembled, as if in a spasm, at the hot stimulation. Cheonma’s member, firm and ripe like a fruit, moved back and forth as if violating his slightly swollen testicles. The heat was felt intensely through the thin membrane of skin.

“S-so, is this all we have to do?”

Munpyeong, who had been on the verge of losing his reason just like before, barely managed to hold onto his senses and asked Cheonma. If he were just having sex for pleasure, he could indulge in the sensation, but Munpyeong had a different goal. He needed to increase his internal energy with that damn Chaeyangboyang or whatever it was called, so he couldn't just lose himself in it like before.

Cheonma, who had been obsessed with Munpyeong’s lips, laughed softly at his words. The gentle tremor of his laughter was clearly felt through their connected lips.

“Of course not. This just feels good. It won't increase your internal energy one bit.”

“Then shouldn't we stop this?”

“I'll take care of what's necessary. So you just stop worrying about trivial things and concentrate.”

To Munpyeong, it was by no means a 'trivial thing,' but Cheonma, having dismissed it simply, paid it no more mind and focused on Munpyeong’s body again, as if to prove that no man, past or present, could resist using the classic "trust me" line.

Munpyeong felt a sense of unease, but he decided to follow Cheonma's words. Surely Cheonma wouldn't deceive him with something like this. He was a Grandmaster, after all; he would keep his word.

“Ah!”

As if to punish him for his wandering thoughts, Cheonma’s hand seized Munpyeong’s member. Cheonma's hard, centered erection and Munpyeong's half-erect one were already entangled like their owners, slick with pre-ejaculate, when Cheonma's hand grabbed both at once and began to rub them together.

The extreme contrast between the silk-soft skin and the hard shaft with its bulging veins plunged Munpyeong's member into an indescribable feast of sensation.

Munpyeong bucked his hips violently and sat up. His extremely sensitive glans twitched, not knowing what to do with the bold stimulation coming at it directly. A sensation as intense as a lightning strike shot through his brain.

“Ahk! Ah!”

He had been celibate for a while. Not only was his body tired, but his mind was also troubled, so he hadn't even thought about that sort of thing. He hadn't realized it, but he had been abstinent, and because of that, his first release came unusually quickly. It felt like he had only been rubbed a few times, but he quickly became erect, and in an instant, his vision went white.

A short, intense wave of ejaculation assaulted Munpyeong's lower body. His member twitched convulsively, spewing a milky white liquid into Cheonma's hand.

“Fast. It seems you haven’t even done it by yourself for a while.”

Cheonma spoke, looking down with interest at the liquid that soaked his palm. Munpyeong's semen had not only covered his hand but also splattered onto his stomach and chest. Seeing it on that body, which could only be described as perfect, was so embarrassing he could hardly look.

Munpyeong, his hips limp from the release, supported himself with his arms and looked at Cheonma. Cheonma, sitting between his legs, was tasting the semen on his palm. Not just tasting, but leisurely licking his palm as if performing oral sex, captivating the onlooker's gaze. His tongue, licking the semen, was seductively red, and his smiling eyes were so alluring they made one's loins ache.

The everyday Heavenly Demon was an unapproachable absolute being, but in bed, he was no absolute being. He was a skilled seducer, a captivating lover you couldn't take your eyes off.

Is this why 'they' coveted this man? Looking at that inhumanly beautiful face, a strange thought suddenly occurred to him. If Cheonma found out about such a thought, he wouldn't die a peaceful death, but his mind was so blank that his thoughts were running wild.

Staring at Cheonma as if mesmerized, Munpyeong belatedly blinked. He was by no means on good terms with him personally, yet even he was captivated, so his looks were truly remarkable.

“Is that… tasty?”

Munpyeong, wanting to divert his thoughts somehow, spoke up. But in his haste, he ended up saying something stupid. Cheonma, hearing his words, smiled and asked back. His silver-glowing smile was dazzling even in this situation.

“You’ve had semen before. Was it tasty?”

“No, not really.”

There was no way semen could be tasty. Munpyeong shook his head, denying his question.

“Yours is the same. I don't drink it for the taste.”

He almost asked, "Then why do you drink it?" But he came to his senses just in time, and Cheonma's ploy failed. Realizing that asking would only bring an answer detrimental to his mental health, Munpyeong shut his mouth and looked away.

Finding his reaction amusing, a ripple of a smile spread across Cheonma's eyes. He approached with an even more mischievous expression, then pressed his semen-stained lips against Munpyeong's and gave a new command.

“Now turn over. We have to continue what we started.”

His sweet voice promised another round of pleasure. Even though this hadn't started just for fun, his body was already bewitched by the honey-thick pleasure.

Munpyeong blushed but obediently turned his body. He lay diagonally on the bed, presenting his back to Cheonma, who then made him lift his hips. With his upper body on the bed and his lower body on his knees, Munpyeong positioned himself before Cheonma.

What followed was utterly provocative. He gripped Munpyeong’s round, firm buttocks so tightly that it would leave handprints, then placed his tongue in the valley between them. As the tongue made direct contact with the incredibly soft mucous membrane, his hips jumped.

`W-what was that?`

Munpyeong, who had at most expected an oiled finger, turned to look at Cheonma in a panic. But even as he twisted his body, Cheonma stubbornly kept his tongue on Munpyeong's anus. Feeling like he wanted to thrash about, Munpyeong called out to him.

“L-lord. Lord!!”

“You’re noisy. Why don't you just use a Lion's Roar and announce that Cheonma is here?”

Annoyed by Munpyeong repeatedly calling out "Lord" in the middle of the Righteous Path Alliance's headquarters, Cheonma reluctantly lifted his face. Munpyeong, his eyes wide with shock, asked in a pale voice.

“What are you doing now? In-in that place…”

“You act as if this has never happened before. What am I supposed to do when there's no oil?”

Unfortunately, no one had expected they would be having sex tonight, so neither Cheonma nor Munpyeong had any perfumed oil prepared.

`B-but!`

No matter what, Munpyeong thought he couldn't let Cheonma lick his rear end and argued strongly. Of course, technically, it had happened when he was in Yun Seung-hyo's form, so it wasn't any different now that he was in Cheonma's form, but it just didn't feel right. The fact that his partner was none other than Cheonma held him back.

“But, you can't do that, can you?”

If they find out about this, I'll be killed. Ho Wan-pyeong would behead him, Po Yeong-ui would stab him in the heart, and Cho Gyo-yeon, who was notorious for her bad temper, might dismember him.

Munpyeong, who couldn't even guess how great the sin of making Cheonma lick his asshole would be, thought he could never allow such a thing.

“What do you mean, I can't? Is there any other way? Surely you're not under the illusion that you can take me without being wet? You couldn't pull off that trick even if you were twice as skilled. If you don't want to be torn and limp around, shut your mouth.”

But Cheonma was even more resolute than Munpyeong. Just like Yun Seung-hyo, who had insisted on putting it in no matter what, Cheonma was determined to put it in, even if he had to lick him himself.

`My butt will be torn?`

Munpyeong froze stiff at Cheonma's threatening words. He had so much he wanted to say, but after hearing that threat, it was difficult to keep arguing.

He knew from experience how big Cheonma's member was. If he tried to take something that monstrous without being wet, there might really be a bloodbath.

“But, Lord…”

“Should I just put it in, then?”

“N-no. J-just do as you please.”

As Munpyeong’s resistance reluctantly subsided, Cheonma’s actions continued. Although he had just washed, it was still an excretory organ, yet Cheonma licked Munpyeong's anus without any hesitation.

The folds, which had tightened again due to the lack of recent activity, were stiff with tension and pushed against Cheonma's tongue. Like soothing a disobedient child, Cheonma's tongue patiently pacified the folds. His skill in soothing the tense muscles was extraordinary.

At the warm sensation on his buttocks, Munpyeong clutched the sheets. He knew he shouldn't be reacting this way after protesting so vehemently just moments before, but every time Cheonma's tongue moved, his hips twitched.

Though both were mucous membranes, the density of sensation in the mouth and rectum was different. The sensitive and delicate lower membrane writhed at the slightest brush of Cheonma's tongue, and with each touch, Munpyeong felt a clenching pleasure deep inside his loins.

Despite having just ejaculated, his member stiffened with renewed vigor. His shrunken testicles felt like they were swelling again. No matter how hard he gripped the sheets until his knuckles turned white, the desire to move his hips in a grinding motion would not subside.

As time passed, it wasn't just a tongue that entered his lower orifice. After thoroughly wetting the opening with his own tongue, Cheonma slowly inserted his fingers, careful not to overwhelm Munpyeong.

At first, it was one, but soon it became two, then three. His fingertips gently stimulated the inner walls, rubbing and pressing to widen the path. The fear of being touched deep inside his organs couldn't overcome the skilled pleasure.

With every wet, obscene squelching sound, Munpyeong's back trembled, and he arched his hips. His panting moans grew more ragged with time.

“Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth, and draw the qi from the Jungbu point down to the Gyeongmun point.”

Cheonma, having fully opened Munpyeong’s anus with his fingers, gave the command. Munpyeong, his mind hazy, reflexively moved his qi. After moving it, he realized this was the beginning of the internal art Cheonma had taught him. A sense of alarm rose, and as he tried to clear his head, a second command followed.

“Lower the qi towards the Taechung point, then raise it to the Haeum point.”

Munpyeong did as he was told again. As he gathered the qi that had circulated through his body to the Haeum point, his lower body went limp, and the strength left his hips.

At that exact moment, Cheonma's member invaded his body. The organ, thrusting upwards as if to strike the Haeum point directly with his own member, pierced through Munpyeong in a single motion.

“Ack!”

Not expecting him to come in so suddenly, Munpyeong couldn't hold back a scream. If Cheonma hadn't thoroughly prepared him, he might have really torn.

The organ, which had pushed in all at once with brute force, made his entire lower body feel completely blocked and stuffy. It wasn't just his insides that were full; his qi and blood were as well. The qi gathered at the Haeum point at Cheonma's command could no longer move due to the sudden halt in circulation and pooled in place.

His lower body felt as heavy as if a lead weight were attached to it. His spine buckled under the sudden added weight. Feeling a sense of crisis from the overwhelming weight, Munpyeong looked back at Cheonma with wet eyes.

`What should I do now? I'm going to die like this.`

As he stared at him desperately, unable to speak, Cheonma patted his back reassuringly and told him what to do.

“Stop circulating your qi for a moment. I need to change positions.”

Originally, the Chaeyangboyang technique was supposed to be performed in the "Fairy Descending" position, where the person on top actively moves and changes positions. However, Cheonma's member was too large to be inserted from above. Considering the strain his size would put on Munpyeong's body, he had no choice but to use a workaround. He inserted from behind and then turned his body to change positions, reducing the burden of insertion.

In an instant, Munpyeong went from a rear-entry position to a riding position, stumbling as he tried to balance himself. His already tight insides, now with added body weight, felt completely full. Of all the positions they had ever been in, it had never been this deep. The current insertion was so deep it was terrifying.

As Munpyeong struggled, not knowing what to do, Cheonma reached out and grabbed his waist. With his large hand holding his waist firmly, he felt like he couldn't escape. A subtle fear crept in, making him wonder if he had started something foolish.

“Now, circulate your qi. Don't think about anything else, just concentrate. If you get distracted, you'll endanger not only yourself but me as well.”

Cheonma, while savoring the deep pleasure inside Munpyeong’s body, spoke with a feigned sternness.

Munpyeong, his face crestfallen, nodded and continued to circulate his qi. As his qi moved from the Haeum point, the inner walls, stimulated by the qi, tightened around Cheonma as if to absorb him. It wasn't just the power of his muscles, but also his internal energy, that pulled Cheonma's member deeper into Munpyeong's body. Of course, it wasn't just the member being pulled in, but his internal energy as well.

As the profound internal energy flowed into him through his lower body, Munpyeong couldn't hold back and arched his back. Cheonma matched his movement with a powerful upward thrust. Munpyeong’s body shot up as if jolted. His pointed nipples protruded through the bandages.

For Munpyeong, a new world was opening up.

It all began with the feeling of weight in his stomach lessening. The heavy gravity that seemed to pull at his hips disappeared, and the unpleasantly tight muscles gradually became more flexible. Munpyeong, who had been secretly afraid, felt a sense of relief at these reactions. He thought things were getting better.

But it didn't end so simply. The inner walls, which had seemed to be relaxing, suddenly clenched violently. It wasn't Munpyeong moving on his own; his body was reacting automatically to the qi.

He could vividly feel his own muscles squeezing Cheonma's member. The force of the inner walls, twisting and shaking him powerfully, was something pure muscle strength could never replicate. Then, a strange something flowed into the inner walls.

At first, he didn't even know what it was, but as the energy moved through his qi and blood, he belatedly guessed. It was the internal power that slumbered in Cheonma's dantian. His pure qi was flowing into his body, as if being absorbed.

Once it gained momentum, the circulation of qi didn't stop, even without Cheonma's will. Cheonma's qi, which had risen through the Haeum point, rotated along with his own without permission.

The powerful internal energy pushing through his narrow qi meridians made Munpyeong feel both pleasure and pain simultaneously. It felt like his entire body, not just his hips, was being violated at once.

As if he had inhaled some kind of hallucinogenic powder, his five senses opened wide, and the sensations throughout his body ran wild. The huge jade stem pressed against his inner walls as it thrust in, and the powerful qi threatened his meridians.

The powerful pleasure, something he had never felt before in his life, burned away Munpyeong's sense of pain. The excessively rich pleasure was worse than pain. It was more painful than pleasurable, more terrifying than enjoyable, and tears flowed from his eyes without him realizing it. The internal art created by Cheonma was as excessive as the man himself. Overly dense and overwhelmingly powerful.

“Aaargh! Ack! Aaargh!!”

Munpyeong let out a shrill scream, oblivious to the outside world. Most martial arts made it impossible to open your mouth while circulating qi, but fortunately, the Chaeyangboyang technique created by Cheonma was not that kind of art. Thanks to Cheonma's thoughtful consideration of the situations in which it would be used, it was designed so that one wouldn't suffer from qi deviation even if they screamed during cultivation. However, the current Munpyeong was not sane enough to consider such details. He was just in pain, and more pain.

Lightning was striking relentlessly inside his head. As if his whole body were made of metal, a single strike of lightning was not absorbed but bounced around every corner of his body. Blue flames flickered, searing the inside of his skin. His body felt like it was inflating every time the qi came in, and completely shriveling up from the inside out every time it left. He couldn't bear it.

`I'm not doing this. I'm never doing this again.`

As if he had regressed to a child, Munpyeong’s mind was filled with only that thought.

There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Even if it was Chaeyangboyang, it was impossible to take another's martial art without paying a price. Munpyeong learned that fact while crying his eyes out.

After overexerting himself all night, his already poor stamina had hit rock bottom.

Munpyeong sat in the warm spring sun in the courtyard, holding his head. A hot heat baked not only the back of his head but also his lower back. The burn on his back ached. His overworked hips were another matter entirely. His lower body felt like his two legs had been detached and then reattached, and the area between his buttocks was sore and painful from excessive friction. The hole, tested to its limits, was so swollen that not even a needle could enter.

`I clearly said once was enough, but he did it three times. How can a person be so cruel?`

But what was truly tormenting him was not physical pain, but mental anguish. Munpyeong ruminated on the atrocities Cheonma had committed against him last night, unable to contain his resentment.

`And later, he even ignored my pleas to stop circulating qi and pushed on using his own power! Thanks to that, my internal energy has increased a bit, but what good is that? I can't walk. I can't walk! If I face an enemy in this state, I'll be dead before I can even use my internal energy.`

He was sitting up straight on the outside, but his insides were anything but fine. The muscles inside his buttocks still throbbed, and the inner thighs, where the skin had almost been rubbed raw, stung at the slightest touch. To say it was three times was an understatement; in terms of time, he had been tormented for a full two and a half shichen. It had only ended when the faint light of dawn began to break outside, so it was as good as pulling an all-nighter.

He was the one who had performed the Yang-Nourishing Yang Absorption, but he felt as if he had been sucked dry to the bone. That old man had so much stamina. How could he be so lecherous that even a young man like himself couldn't keep up?

Tap. Tap.

As he was sprawled out like a dog exhausted by the heat, someone approached him. Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, he turned to see Pamyeongak, who was completely covered from head to toe despite the warm weather.

He was dressed in a black martial artist's uniform and a bamboo hat that concealed his chin, looking for all the world like the grim reaper. But holding a tray with a teacup, he looked strangely out of place.

“What's that?”

Spotting the teacup, which was delicately decorated with a chrysanthemum pattern, Munpyeong managed a faint smile and asked. Pamyeongak, as prompted, sat down next to him and pushed the teacup towards Munpyeong.

「It's chrysanthemum tea. I thought you seemed to be lacking in energy.」

Of course, Pamyeongak knew nothing about what had happened last night. The cautious Heavenly Demon had set up a sound-blocking barrier and had cleaned up meticulously afterward. So, not even the maids who cleaned their room would know what had happened. But Munpyeong, with much to hide, felt a pang of guilt even at Pamyeongak’s innocent gesture.

“Oh, you didn't have to… You’re very thoughtful. Did you match the pattern on the cup to the tea?”

When he lifted the lid of the cup, he saw a whole, dried chrysanthemum bud inside. Stimulated by the hot water, the petals began to unfold one by one in the tea, a rare and beautiful sight that he found himself watching, captivated. Pamyeongak answered Munpyeong’s question with his fingertips.

「The maids are very meticulous. To think they would pay attention to such details.」

Even though the characters were written with a rough hand, they somehow felt gentle. Pamyeongak, despite his intimidating appearance, had a considerate and serious personality. He was surprisingly thoughtful, always looking out for his companions, and his quiet, dependable presence was reassuring.

Honestly, no one in his group could match this man's character. Munpyeong, who had a weakness for righteous gentlemen, was therefore careful in his attitude towards Pamyeongak. His great respect for the man naturally refined his behavior.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

He couldn't ignore a tea that had been brought to him with such care. Munpyeong accepted it gratefully and took a sip. The rich aroma of the high-quality chrysanthemum seeped deep into his lungs. The fragrance was wonderful. Where had he gotten such a tea?

「By the way, where has the Flower Hero gone?」

Munpyeong, who had been sipping the tea and feeling the warmth seep into his weary body, looked up awkwardly at Pamyeongak’s question.

Just as his mood was starting to improve, that man's name had to come up. Pamyeongak had mentioned him innocently, but Munpyeong felt a subtle discomfort.

“He went out on an errand. He said he would be back before it gets late, so he should be back by the afternoon.”

This morning, Cheonma and Munpyeong had almost had a fight over this very matter. Cheonma had been about to leave for a short while and had strictly ordered him not to set a single foot outside the Dragon Flower Villa until he returned, and even when inside, to stick close to Pamyeongak. Munpyeong had flared up at that.

He wasn't a mother leaving a troublesome child behind; what kind of order was that for a grown man? It might be different if they were in a dangerous enemy camp, but this was the Righteous Path Alliance’s headquarters.

`…When I said that, the man scoffed. He said that since I had eaten the Demonic Cult's food for ten years and was still foolish enough to think the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters wasn't an enemy camp, he couldn't leave me alone. He had a point, but it was too harsh. Did he really have to be so cruel?`

His back ached, his legs ached, his whole body ached, and he was already on edge. To have the man who caused it all mock him so scathingly was unbearable.

When he needed him, he would use all sorts of sweet words to lure him in, but after he had gotten what he wanted, he acted as if nothing had happened. He felt somehow cheated, and a fire raged within him.

He knew in his head that he shouldn't play along with Cheonma's whims, but his body couldn't keep up. This was why he had tried to avoid getting involved in the first place… But things had gotten strangely twisted, and now he was back to sharing a bed with him.

“But why are you suddenly looking for him? Do you have something to say to him?”

「Yes. There was something I wanted to ask him. I had intended to ask yesterday, but he came back late in the evening, and this morning he left early as well.」

Pamyeongak didn't know that Munpyeong had been attacked by the Three Ghost Demons yesterday. The circumstances of their encounter were problematic, and Cheonma's overwhelming martial prowess was not something to be revealed to others. The two of them had decided to keep the matter quiet. So, to the uninformed Pamyeongak, Cheonma's frequent outings were simply puzzling.

Unable to tell the truth, Munpyeong just smiled and evaded the question. He knew he was a good person, but it couldn't be helped. Secrets are better kept when fewer people know them.

“Oh dear. If I had known, I would have kept him here this morning.”

「It's not that important. It was just something that was bothering me a little.」

“What is it? Is it something I'm not supposed to know?”

Pamyeongak rarely initiated conversations. The process of communicating was inconvenient for him, and his taciturn nature meant that while he would answer when spoken to, he rarely spoke first. The fact that such a person had waited for Cheonma twice surprised Munpyeong somewhat. He knew he wouldn't do so unless it was for a significant reason.

「No, it's not like that. …Perhaps you, Sir Seok, might be able to answer my question. It's about Ja-ok.」

“About Ja-ok?”

「Yes, that's right.」

Ja-ok, whom he hadn't seen since returning last night. He had assumed she had returned safely and hadn't paid much attention, but now there was a question about her?

A flicker of worry sparked in Munpyeong's mind. Could something have happened to the girl without his knowledge?

“I don't know what it is, but please tell me. If it's a question I can answer, I will gladly do so.”

His interest piqued, Munpyeong adopted a serious demeanor. Pamyeongak answered his question with another question.

「I'm asking just in case, but do you know if that child, Ja-ok, has any connection to the Tang Clan?」

`The Tang Clan? Surely he doesn't mean the Sichuan Tang Clan?`

Munpyeong blinked at the sudden mention of the Tang Clan. Ja-ok having a connection to the Tang Clan? This was the first he'd heard of it.

“No, I don't think so. As far as I know, he has no connection to the Tang Clan.”

Munpyeong vehemently denied Pamyeongak’s question. Ja-ok was born and raised in Guiyang, not even Sichuan. His brother was a delinquent, and she herself was from the slums. How could such a child have any connection with the Tang Clan?

“The Five Venoms of the Tang Clan did visit when she was at the clinic. But Ja-ok was unconscious at the time and didn't see them. After that, she has never met anyone from the Tang Clan, nor has she had any reason to be involved with them. So why do you ask?”

Even Munpyeong, who had a considerable grudge against them, hadn't seen anyone from the Tang Clan since that time.

「It seemed as if the child recognized one of the Tang Clan elders.」

“An elder of the Tang Clan?”

「Yes. She seemed to know Pyo-bisu Tang Chuyang. She tried not to show it, but her shock was obvious.」

“Pyo-bisu Tang Chuyang… Is he here at the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters now?”

Hearing the name of someone he never wanted to think of again, Munpyeong's heart sank. But Pamyeongak, unaware of Munpyeong’s inner turmoil, simply nodded in response.

“Why is he here?”

「The truth of this Living Jiangshi incident is also important to the Tang Clan. They had their poppies stolen, and the Five Venoms of the Tang Clan were not lightly injured.」

`I know that. I know that… but what I'm saying is, of all the people from the Tang Clan, why did it have to be Tang Chuyang!`

Pyo-bisu Tang Chuyang was a master of the Tang Clan, renowned for his flying dagger skills. Moreover, he was the man who had led the pursuit of Manja-oe in the past, and he had a considerable grudge against Munpyeong. Although they had never met face to face, Munpyeong gritted his teeth at the mention of him. He remembered fleeing all the way to Xinjiang to escape the man's relentless pursuit.

If that man hadn't been so persistent back then, he would never have joined the Demonic Cult. Considering that, Pyo-bisu was as good as an enemy to Munpyeong.

But the resentment was likely mutual. He later heard that Pyo-bisu had been put on probation for failing to capture both Manja-oe and his disciple—that is, Munpyeong himself. He had lost the trust of the Tang Clan leadership and had not been seen in public for several years. Given the Tang family's tendency to see the speck in others' eyes while ignoring the log in their own, he was surely burning with no small amount of resentment.

The possibility of running into such a person in the middle of the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters made him shudder. As if worried that a peaceful life would be boring, crises came one after another without a break.

Were the heroes of the legends he had listened to with such excitement also this weary? Munpyeong sighed deeply, longing for his peaceful past.

“It would be hard to understand with anyone else, but with Tang Chuyang, I'm even more lost. As you know, Sir Pamyeongak, he is a man who rarely leaves the Tang family estate. His being dispatched to the Righteous Path Alliance this time is an exception in itself. How could Ja-ok possibly know such a person?”

Munpyeong, who knew quite a bit about Tang Chuyang, found it hard to believe Pamyeongak’s words. But Pamyeongak had his reasons. For a cautious man like him to come forward with a mere suspicion meant that the suspicion itself was too significant to ignore.

「From the child's reaction, it didn't seem to be a case of mistaken identity or confusion. She is a timid child by nature, but I have never seen her so frightened. What's even stranger is Pyo-bisu's attitude. If a child he had never seen before was afraid of him, he should have reacted in some way, either with embarrassment or displeasure, but he showed no reaction at all. It was as if he didn't even see the frightened child.」

“…”

「After seeing that man, Ja-ok didn't speak another word. It was fortunate that the interrogation was almost over; otherwise, he might have been in serious trouble. Fortunately, the Jade Qilin smoothed things over, but I'm sure there were some who were displeased among those present at the interrogation.」

These were all things he had no idea about. He had been so preoccupied with his own affairs that he had never thought about how the interrogation had ended. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the girl since last evening. He had just assumed she was tired and not showing herself, but that wasn't the case? He belatedly began to worry about the girl’s condition.

“Then what is the girl doing now?”

「She hasn't come out of her room. The maids apparently brought her food, but she didn't touch it.」

“How can a child who isn't even well… I should go see her. I didn't know she was like this.”

Hearing Pamyeongak’s words, Munpyeong quickly stood up. Pamyeongak also rose, as if to follow him. As Munpyeong turned to go to Ja-ok’s room, he saw an unexpected person and stopped in his tracks.

A picturesque handsome man stood under the bright spring sun. For a moment, Munpyeong thought it was Cheonma revealing his true form, but when he saw the man's gentle smile, he realized who it was. The man, dressed in a simple blue robe with a blood-red sash around his waist, was none other than the Jade Qilin.

“Greetings, Sir Guan. I hope you have been well.”

The moment their eyes met, the man bowed deeply in a polite gesture, and Munpyeong returned the bow. They had only been apart for a day at most, but the formal greeting, as if they hadn't seen each other in years, felt a bit awkward.

“Thanks to the hospitality of the Righteous Path Alliance, I have been comfortable. But what brings you here without notice?”

“My apologies. I knew it was a breach of etiquette, but my eagerness got the better of me, and I failed to observe the proper formalities. Actually, a person just arrived from the Borim Gate. It is not the Divine Physician himself, but his most prized disciple, whom Master Seokgye praised as having nothing left to teach. He will surely be of help to the child.”

Seokgye was the Divine Physician Eom Man-hyung's pen name. He had requested a physician to treat Ja-ok's severed meridians, and it seemed the physician had already arrived. It was welcome news, and Munpyeong's face brightened.

“He's already here? I thought it would take more time.”

“Yes. Fortunately, he was nearby when he received the message. He said he can't stay long as he is just passing through, but he can take a look at the child's condition.”

He had just been thinking he should check on Ja-ok. And now a plausible excuse had presented itself.

Munpyeong didn't hesitate to guide Woo-gyeong to Ja-ok’s room. Pamyeongak, who had stepped back when Baek Woo-gyeong appeared, watched for a moment and then silently followed them.

“Thank you for going to such lengths, Great Hero Jade Qilin.”

His sincerity wasn't just in his words, but also in his actions. Grateful, Munpyeong thanked Baek Woo-gyeong. The memory of not being able to have the Holy Mother of Kunlun examine the child because he didn't know her identity had been a lingering regret for Munpyeong, so his current thanks were truly heartfelt.

“Not at all. What I am doing now is merely locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. In a way, the fact that the child suffered such a terrible ordeal is because we in the Jianghu failed to do our duty. If we were to weigh the merits and demerits, the demerits are greater, so it is nothing to boast about.”

The noble-looking master was also modest in his attitude. The people of the Demonic Cult might call this the hypocrisy of the Orthodox Path, but whether that was true or not, it was pleasant to hear.

No one loses anything by speaking beautifully, and what's so difficult about speaking politely, even if it's just empty words? Considering the case of a certain someone who had to twist every word he said, perhaps hypocrisy was a necessary form of etiquette in human life.

“Ja-ok. Ja-ok? Are you in there?”

After a short walk, they arrived at Ja-ok’s room. In front of the silent room, where it was impossible to tell if anyone was inside, Munpyeong called out and waited for the door to open. But even after some time, the door showed no sign of opening. Thinking she might not have heard, he raised his voice again, but there was still no answer.

“Perhaps she's not inside?”

Even if he were hiding, a child who didn't know martial arts should have some human presence, but there was none to be felt from inside the room.

Baek Woo-gyeong, whose senses were sharper than Munpyeong’s, had already noticed this and looked back at him. Munpyeong, feeling a sense of foreboding, threw the door open without a word.

Before the door was even fully open, he rushed inside and looked around. But there was no sign of Ja-ok. The room was neat, with no trace of anyone having been there.

Hoping to find a clue, he meticulously scanned the room and realized that it wasn't just the girl who was missing. The girl, as well as the bundle she had been carrying, had disappeared. The bundle contained only a couple of silk clothes Cheonma had bought for her, but the fact that it was also gone meant that the girl had packed her things and left.

`But did she really leave on her own? Without even saying goodbye to the companions she had traveled with for so long?`

The girl was shy, but she wasn't that thoughtless. She was overly conscious of others' opinions, but she was smart enough to distinguish between what she should and shouldn't do. As he thought about it, his anxiety grew.

He remembered the black eyes that had looked up at him so intently. He had thought he wouldn't be able to take care of her until the end, so he hadn't tried to get close. But he had wanted to at least prevent this from happening. He had thought of it as the minimum duty he could perform.

“The child seems to be gone.”

Not just gone, but kidnapped, Munpyeong intuited.

The events of yesterday afternoon flashed through his mind. To think he had done nothing after experiencing such a thing; he had been too complacent.

They hadn't given up on Ja-ok even at the doorstep of the Righteous Path Alliance. Even if the Three Ghost Demons had failed, they weren't the type to give up so easily. He had been careless, not expecting them to act so quickly.

“The child is gone… What happened?”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Baek Woo-gyeong's expression changed. A child had disappeared. From within the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters, in the guest hall reserved for the most honored guests.

Baek Woo-gyeong was not so foolish as to not understand what that meant. Munpyeong, his face hard, looked around and spoke quickly.

“I don't know when she disappeared. She didn't come for breakfast, and she didn't show herself all morning. I thought it was because she was tired from yesterday's interrogation, but perhaps that wasn't the reason.”

“When was the last time the child was seen?”

“I was out yesterday, so I haven't seen her since the morning. And this gentleman…”

As Munpyeong turned to him, Pamyeongak quickly wrote on Munpyeong’s palm.

“Yesterday afternoon, right after the interrogation ended, he says. He saw her to her room and confirmed that the door was closed, so it was before evening.”

“Then no one has seen the child for almost a whole day.”

Baek Woo-gyeong’s observation indicated how he saw the situation. He might have been implying that the girl could have been kidnapped yesterday evening, but Munpyeong thought that was unlikely.

Yesterday afternoon, the failure of the Three Ghost Demons would not have been reported to the upper echelons of the cult yet. No matter how fast the Wusheng Cult's intelligence network was, they couldn't have figured out the situation in such a short time.

“It's still hard to say for sure. If the child had been missing all evening and morning, the maids would have been the first to become suspicious. The fact that there has been no report until now means that the maids didn't see anything strange. In that case, the child probably hasn't been missing for very long.”

Unable to explain why he didn't suspect yesterday, Munpyeong vaguely defined the time of disappearance. As if he didn't think Munpyeong’s reasoning was wrong, a sharp glint appeared in Baek Woo-gyeong's eyes.

“Then the villains couldn't have gone far. I will sound the emergency alarm within the alliance. We must find the child.”

Baek Woo-gyeong was not a man of empty words. A short while later, the emergency alarm, signaling a first-class alert, began to ring throughout the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters. Startled martial artists gathered one after another. Baek Woo-gyeong, who had been given command by the Cheongi Elder, briefed the warriors of each battalion and posted a description of the child.

Soon, the heavy gates of the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters opened, and warriors poured out. Hundreds of warriors swarmed into Wuhan to find the child kidnapped by the evil cult. But no matter how thoroughly they searched, there was no sign of the child. It was as if she had vanished into thin air or sunk into the ground; Ja-ok had completely disappeared.

Munpyeong, who had been searching for the child until dawn, dragged his exhausted body back to his room. His limbs were limp with fatigue, and it was hard to even walk properly, his back stooped.

Covered in dust from wandering all over the place, he trudged into his room without even brushing himself off. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a figure and his expression turned to one of weary resignation. It was late, but Cheonma was waiting in his room.

Cheonma, who was sitting in a neat posture drinking tea, looked up with displeasure, as if Munpyeong had disturbed his rest, and slowly scanned his shabby appearance.

“You’re back.”

He didn't have the energy to say anything more. Munpyeong acknowledged Cheonma with a listless attitude. Cheonma put down his teacup and looked at him. His brows were furrowed in a deep frown, as if he were greatly displeased.

“Where have you been all this time? I told you specifically not to go out today.”

Even though he had just returned from an outing, he should have heard about the situation by now, but Cheonma’s attitude was as cold and indifferent as ever.

Feeling a surge of resentment at his detached attitude, which even a complete stranger wouldn't adopt, Munpyeong stated the fact.

“Ja-ok is gone.”

“So?”

“The girl is gone. She was kidnapped by the Wusheng Cult. So we have to find her, don't we?”

What Munpyeong was asserting was a common-sense logic that any person with a sense of compassion would understand. But it had been a mistake to expect normal human emotions from Cheonma. He tilted his head with a look of complete incomprehension.

“And who told you the Wusheng Cult kidnapped her?”

Cheonma asked as if he genuinely didn't know.

“Who else but the Wusheng Cult would take the child? Just look at what happened yesterday…”

As he was speaking, Munpyeong suddenly realized that the current situation felt strangely familiar. He felt like this had happened several times before. That is, Munpyeong would appeal to Cheonma about a situation, and Cheonma would ask back with a bewildered expression, "And who said that ~ is ~?"

In his memory, in most of these cases, Cheonma was the culprit.

“I'm asking just in case… but was it you, Lord, who took Ja-ok?”

It can't be. Even for Cheonma, could he be that selfish? A part of his mind wanted to believe Cheonma. But he had been deceived so many times that the suspicion, once it had taken root, was not easily shaken.

Munpyeong looked at Cheonma with suspicious eyes. Cheonma looked back at him with an expression as if he were looking at the world's biggest fool.

“Of course, I took him. Did you really think the Wusheng Cult could be that fast?”

Unaware that Munpyeong's heart had been in his throat over the missing child, Cheonma calmly admitted his crime.

Hearing his words, Munpyeong's stomach churned. Was that something to admit so proudly? I was so worried because of that!

“What on earth were you thinking, doing such a thing? Why did you take the girl without a word?!”

It wasn't just them who were in an uproar over the missing child. Baek Woo-gyeong and the leadership of the Righteous Path Alliance were also in a state of high alert. The fact that the girl was missing was one thing, but the fact that someone had been kidnapped from within the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters without a trace was an even bigger problem. A first-class alert, equivalent to a state of war, was still in effect throughout the Righteous Path Alliance, and hundreds of warriors were still scouring Wuhan.

There was no way Cheonma didn't know how big this had become. He probably had anticipated this situation even before he acted. He was in the middle of enemy territory, so he should be lying low, but what on earth was he thinking, causing such a huge incident? Munpyeong couldn't understand it at all.

“She's an innocent child, so I took her away to save her life. Are you saying I should have just left her here to die?”

“What do you mean by that? She would die if he were left here?”

“Did you not understand after yesterday's events? This place is a death trap for that child.”

Cheonma chided him as if he were pathetic, but Munpyeong still couldn't understand what he was talking about.

He had also experienced yesterday's events. He was not unaware that the Wusheng Cult was still after Ja-ok. But that was precisely why he thought the protection of the Righteous Path Alliance was necessary. If the enemy was strong, the force protecting him should also be strong. If the Righteous Path Alliance was well-prepared, it wouldn't be so difficult to protect one young life.

“I still don't understand what you're saying, my lord. I know that the Wusheng Cult is watching the child like a hawk. But that's precisely why the protection of the Righteous Path Alliance is necessary, isn't it?”

As Munpyeong continued to speak with such naivety, Cheonma let out a deep sigh. This brat had eaten the Demonic Cult's food for ten years and was still so soft. He should have learned by now that there was nothing less trustworthy than the hypocrisy of a hypocrite.

`He's so jaded, yet he's strangely naive in some ways.`

Seeing him still believing in such things as the world's goodness, Cheonma clicked his tongue to himself. He had guessed it from the way he was so weak to Yun Seung-hyo, but this brat still had a strange admiration for goodness and justice. Though he didn't have it himself, he seemed to believe that such things still existed somewhere in the world.

A cute and sweet wish, but unfortunately, not true. Especially when the subject was the Righteous Path Alliance. The Righteous Path Alliance was a place frequented by the filthiest and most corrupt of all the hypocrites Cheonma knew. On the outside, they pretended to be a clear spring, but in reality, they were no different from a sewer.

“You only know one thing and not the other. Don't just look at what's visible; read what's behind it. Why do you think yesterday's incident happened?”

Cheonma could forgive a liar, but not a fool. It was only because his opponent was Munpyeong that he ended it with words; if it had been one of his disciples, he would have thrown a dagger without a second thought.

But Munpyeong, who didn't know how ruthless Cheonma usually was, felt a sense of dissatisfaction at his openly condescending attitude. How could such a smart person not understand that not everyone in the world could be as clever as him? If he had Cheonma's abilities, he would have been the leader of the Demonic Cult, not a low-rank warrior.

“…They must have had a reason to kill Ja-ok.”

But his dissatisfaction didn't mean he could remain silent when Cheonma himself had asked a question. When Munpyeong reluctantly answered, Cheonma nodded.

“Yes. That's right. They had a reason to kill Ja-ok. Now, try to think about it from a different perspective. If you were in their shoes, under what circumstances would you try to kill that child? As you know, all the child knew was about the Living Jiangshi. We thought she might know more, but after questioning her on the way here, that wasn't the case.

The girl knew nothing more about the Wusheng Cult, and to make matters worse, she was being protected in a place as heavily guarded as the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters. So why do you think they had to kill such a child? It seems she wouldn't be a threat if they just left her alone.”

Cheonma’s questions didn't end with one. He continued to lead Munpyeong on with leading questions, as if he would never just give him the answer.

Perhaps because he was always in the position of a teacher, Cheonma was not the type to teach things simply. He always pushed them to think for themselves and make their own judgments. Thanks to him, Munpyeong was unintentionally forced to overwork his brain.

“To them, she wasn't harmless. The child knew something crucial. She didn't know anything yet, but she held a clue that could reveal something very important in the future.”

As he said that, something flashed through Munpyeong’s mind. He stiffened, his eyes wide, and then turned to look at Cheonma.

“Perhaps the child saw someone. She might have encountered them by chance, without even knowing who they were. But that person was someone whose identity must not be revealed. A figure who must never be connected to the Wusheng Cult. For example…”

Tang Chuyang.

Munpyeong remembered the conversation he had with Pamyeongak this afternoon. If he applied that to this situation, everything fell into place. He now understood why Ja-ok was so shocked to see someone he had supposedly never met, and why Tang Chuyang had shown no reaction to a child who was terrified of him.

“It must have been someone from the Orthodox Path. Someone Ja-ok shouldn't have recognized. Probably someone she was likely to run into within the Righteous Path Alliance headquarters. Let's see. Who was the elder dispatched from the Tang Clan this time?”

“…Pyo-bisu Tang Chuyang.”

“Then it must be him. From the way things are going, the poppies weren't stolen; they were offered willingly. The fool probably went there himself to deliver them. The Tang Clan must have had a hard time cleaning up the mess the Wusheng Cult left behind. They had to sacrifice half of the Five Venoms of the Tang Clan; how bitter they must have felt.”

Without even hearing Pamyeongak’s story like Munpyeong had, Cheonma had correctly identified the person.

`What? He deduced all that just from the fact that the Three Ghost Demons were still after Ja-ok?`

A chill ran down Munpyeong’s spine at Cheonma’s eerily accurate deduction. Just because they were both human didn't mean their minds were on the same level. If Munpyeong’s brain was a rusty broadsword, Cheonma's was a sharp, peerless sword.

To confirm that Cheonma's deduction was correct, Munpyeong recounted his conversation with Pamyeongak from the afternoon. Cheonma listened to his words, nodding calmly as if he had known it all along.

As he spoke, Munpyeong felt his energy drain away. To think he had been worried sick all day searching for the child, unaware of all this, was absurd. He had pushed his already unwell body to its limits, wandering around, all for nothing. It was so ridiculous that he felt empty and exhausted.

“Still, you could have at least given me a hint. I was out of my mind, thinking he was really lost.”

He now understood why Cheonma had spirited the child away, but that didn't make his resentment for not even giving him a hint disappear.

Unable to just let it go without saying a word, Munpyeong added a complaint at the end of his story. Cheonma glared at him. Who should be glaring at whom in this situation? But as always, Cheonma's audacity knew no bounds.

“That's why I told you beforehand. I told you not to leave the Dragon Flower Villa today.”

“Was that what that meant? How is anyone supposed to understand if you just say that?”

“You should know by now. If you listen to me, good things will happen, even in your sleep. I will never ask you to do anything that would harm you, so just do as I say.”

When a truly great person boasts about their greatness, why is it so unpleasant to watch? Munpyeong looked gloomily at Cheonma, who had thrown out a single cryptic remark and claimed to have done his part.

Once again, he could never understand this man. In fact, he wasn't even sure if that person still belonged to the category of human.

“Then where is Ja-ok now?”

“She is safe in a place that even the power of the Righteous Path Alliance can never find.”

“It wasn't just me; the Jade Qilin was also very worried. There might be people who are genuinely concerned, so wouldn't it have been better to just openly take the child with you?”

“If I had done that, I would have had to bring her back when the time came to do so, wouldn't I? Who knows what tricks they would use to get her back? Why take the risk? You and I should both pretend we don't know the child's whereabouts. You did a good job of playing dumb today, so you won't be questioned about it again.”

Cheonma spoke quietly as he drank his tea.

`So you did it on purpose, on purpose!`

At Cheonma's words, which were as good as a confession that he had used him as a decoy to avoid suspicion, Munpyeong didn't even have the energy to get angry.

`This is why I can't trust you.`

Munpyeong thought with a sense of lament. The result might be good, but the process is always the problem. If you drag someone to the brink of death to save their life, do you think they'll be grateful? Why can't you understand that not everyone in the world is as tough as you?

But Munpyeong didn't know. He didn't know that Cheonma, in his own way, was making many concessions for his sake. If Munpyeong hadn't cared for Ja-ok, he wouldn't have shown the kindness of spiriting her away. He would have used the child as bait to draw out the Wusheng Cult members lingering within the Righteous Path Alliance, and only after slaughtering them all would he have released the child.

He was taking the difficult path instead of the easy one because he knew that if he used Ja-ok in such a way, Munpyeong would be hurt even more.

Munpyeong, who was uselessly full of affection, had given the child more of his heart than he realized. So if the child got hurt, Munpyeong would surely be hurt along with him.

He was a handful, but it couldn't be helped. Just as Munpyeong thought of himself as Ja-ok's guardian, Cheonma wanted to protect Munpyeong. It is the master's duty to protect his garden. The weeds need only grow well to fulfill their purpose.