Chapter 194

Three days had passed since we took refuge in the safe house.

Yeon Ryang’s condition had not visibly worsened, but I could hardly call him well, either.

For days now, one of his eyes had repeatedly turned red before fading back to black.

Yeon Ryang laughed it off as nothing, but to me, it looked like the first sign that his blood and energy were falling into disorder again.

I sat in the courtyard, watching him sort wild greens, and after a long hesitation, slowly spoke.

“Brother. I’ve been thinking.”

“Mm.”

“Let’s go to Sichuan.”

“Hm?”

Yeon Ryang, who had been picking out the coarse leaves, jerked his head up as if I had started talking nonsense.

“What? No. Your birth father is in that state, and you want to set foot in Sichuan? What good could possibly come of that?”

“I’m not saying we should go to the Tang Clan. Brother Un is staying in the Bamboo Sea with the Ghost-Hand Divine Physician. I don’t know if they’re still there, but... she might know what to do.”

She had recognized that Yeon Ryang carried demonic energy and had barely reacted.

She was the sort of person who did whatever suited her mood, so if we were lucky, she might agree to help.

She might do it for Tang Un’s sake, if nothing else.

But Yeon Ryang did not seem pleased by the suggestion. He quietly continued trimming the greens.

After a long silence, he spoke in a subdued voice.

“Sohae.”

“Yeah?”

His unusually serious tone made my throat go dry.

I hesitated, then met his eyes.

“You still have the letter of recommendation the Martial Alliance Leader gave you, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“When the weather warms, go to Wuhan. It would be best for you to stay there until the Poison King ends his seclusion.”

“What are you talking about, Brother? How are we supposed to go to the Martial Alliance? I...”

“No. You go alone, Sohae.”

His voice was firm.

“I don’t want to stand in my little sister’s way any longer. You’ve done enough. It’s time for you to go.”

A fine tremor ran through me.

He was trying to say goodbye.

“What? You’ve never stood in my way. Stop thinking like that, Brother. Why are you suddenly saying this? How am I supposed to live alone without you? I can’t even cook for myself without you. I can’t light a fire...”

“A young lady from a noble household isn’t supposed to do chores in the first place. It’s time you went back to the life you should have had.”

Yeon Ryang gave me a bitter smile and looked steadily at me.

I glared back, raising my voice.

“I told you not to decide things by yourself. Are you saying you’re going to abandon me now?”

“Abandon you? How could a man like me ever abandon a little sister as precious as you? Sohae, this is just...”

He spent a long moment choosing his words before speaking gently.

“Sometimes, life simply refuses to go the way you want. This is one of those times.”

“...”

“I’ve thought about it carefully too. At this rate, I don’t see any answer except destroying my core. And if I make you carry a burden like that, you think that wouldn’t weigh on me too? So this time...”

“D-Don’t say something insane like that. You know what losing your core means!”

A chill swept over me so sharply that every hair on my body stood on end.

How many martial artists could endure the emptiness of losing their core?

A bird with broken wings and shattered legs could do nothing but wait helplessly for death.

When my face went white, Yeon Ryang forced a smile, as if telling me not to take it so seriously.

“It was only an example. Sohae, what I mean is—”

“No! I didn’t hear anything. I’m writing Uncle Geunmyeong to tell him I’m going to Sichuan. We’re going to see the Ghost-Hand Divine Physician, so that’s that.”

I snapped at him, spun around, and slammed the door behind me.

Blood dripped from the lip I had bitten while struggling to contain my anger.

The moment I realized this was not something Yeon Ryang had started thinking about yesterday, my eyes burned.

I was too thoughtless.

I should have paid attention to how Yeon Ryang felt too.

He had been thinking of himself as a burden this whole time.

I slowly sank to the floor and buried my face between my knees.

******

White breath escaped Songji’s lips as she scrubbed the floor of the tea room with all the windows thrown wide open.

She raised her head, looked around the vast room, and sighed.

Its owner had not shown her face in more than two years, yet Songji still cleaned the empty tea room every single day.

It felt like pointless labor.

Still, she would never dare complain.

A maid only had to behave like a maid, quietly do as she was told, and keep her head down.

Thinking too deeply had never brought her anything good, so why give herself a headache over it?

Trying to drive away her wandering thoughts, Songji scrubbed the floor vigorously with the rag in her hand.

But as time passed, her movements gradually slowed.

She had remembered Tang Sohae laughing beside her as they cleaned the floor together.

Young Lady... I wonder if you’re doing well.

Songji’s lips drooped as she thought of the young lady who had suffered so much, only to be driven out the moment her guardian disappeared.

It had been nearly a year since Gyeonga left for the Bamboo Sea, with no sign that she would return.

Songji alone remained behind, guarding an empty residence.

From time to time, Tang Geunmyeong would hand her a little silver, saying her young lady had sent it.

It never made her happy.

She simply...

missed the days when the three of them would chatter together and sleep in the same room.

After finally finishing the tea room, Songji went to the administrative courtyard to return her pass for the inner compound.

The steward saw her and held out a basket.

It was filled with bundles of letters.

“Since you’re here, run an errand for me. Take these to the Seventh Elder.”

“Yes, Steward.”

After receiving the pass again, Songji picked up the basket and headed into the inner compound.

When she entered the residence, she spotted Tang Geunmyeong working on the stone edging around the pond.

He seemed to be preparing it in advance so the fish would not die when the winter frost came.

I have to give him the letters...

Songji watched him nervously, curling her toes as she hugged the basket tightly against herself.

Not that any of the Tang Clan elders could exactly be called kind, but the Seventh Elder was particularly difficult to face.

If he had simply lost his temper like everyone else, she could have cursed him in her head for being ridiculous and moved on.

Instead, the Seventh Elder always wore that stern expression and judged every matter so clearly that standing before him made her feel like a criminal awaiting sentence.

Every time she had to face him, she grew so tense she started hiccupping.

She could not understand how her young lady had ever managed to smile so easily around a man like that.

Trying not to look frightened, Songji approached Tang Geunmyeong.

“E-Elder...”

She timidly held out the basket.

Tang Geunmyeong accepted it without a word.

He had finished sorting the correspondence only three days ago, yet the sight of another basket already piled high brought an involuntary sigh to his lips.

As he rummaged through the letters, he noticed Songji trembling like a frightened mouse and frowned, motioning her away.

“That will do for today. Go and rest.”

Only then did color return to Songji’s freckled cheeks.

She bowed deeply and hurried out of the residence without looking back.

Once she was gone, Tang Geunmyeong sat at his desk and began separating the letters Tang Jung needed to review from those he could handle himself.

Just as he finished sorting them, a messenger pigeon flew in through the window and landed on his desk.

The moment Tang Geunmyeong saw the small tube attached to its leg, a trace of pleasure entered his eyes.

He quickly unrolled the tiny sheet of paper.

As expected, it was a letter from Tang Sohae.

It began by saying that she had left Mount Wudang.

She was now staying at a safe house in Hunan and wanted to meet the Ghost-Hand Divine Physician. She asked Tang Geunmyeong to come to the safe house himself and guide her there.

She added that she wanted to explain the details in person.

Tang Geunmyeong frowned.

What happened? Is someone hurt?

The girl who had once insisted she would rather die than return was now asking him to come personally.

Something had clearly happened.

Tang Geunmyeong stroked his chin in thought.

If he took her to the Bamboo Sea, Seoryak would undoubtedly dislike it, but Tang Un would welcome Sohae’s visit.

And Seoryak seemed to give Tang Un his way in most things, so she was unlikely to turn Sohae away at the door.

While he was at it, perhaps he could persuade the girl to remain in Sichuan and then quietly coax her back to the Tang Clan.

That might even spare him Tang Jung’s fury.

If he wanted that plan to work, though, he would need to make arrangements in advance for the man Sohae called her brother to stay in the guest quarters.

Tang Geunmyeong reached for the inkstone while considering how best to coax the girl into returning to the Tang Clan.

Just as he took up his brush and carefully dipped it into the ink—

the air suddenly grew heavy.

A chill crawled down his spine.

His body began trembling like prey standing before a predator.

Tang Geunmyeong dropped the brush.

Struggling not to collapse beneath the crushing pressure, he forced his rigid neck to turn.

All color drained from his face.

“E-Elder...”

Tang Jung stood there with a perfectly composed expression, though his appearance was somewhat disheveled.

Tang Geunmyeong slowly rose, his teeth chattering despite himself.

Tang Jung had ended his seclusion far sooner than the five years Tang Geunmyeong had expected.

That should have been cause for celebration.

The timing, however, was disastrous.

What was he supposed to do now?

If only he had at least managed to bring Sohae to the Bamboo Sea first. It was still in Sichuan.

Instead, Tang Jung’s cherished disciple was all the way in Hunan, more than half a month’s journey away.

When Tang Geunmyeong failed to speak, Tang Jung apparently assumed he was searching for some suitably flattering remark and waved him off.

“Spare me the congratulations and empty pleasantries. Bring me a good bottle of liquor instead.”

“Y-Yes, Elder.”

“Why are you so frightened? Tch. I suppose I’ll have to pay more attention to that than before.”

As Tang Geunmyeong’s breathing came in short, constricted gasps, Tang Jung grumbled and reined in his presence.

It faded smoothly, like a snake slipping beneath fallen leaves.

Tang Geunmyeong swallowed.

The force he could feel against his skin was unmistakably different from before.

His master had clearly attained something far beyond anything Tang Geunmyeong could hope to measure.

Seeing the fear on his face, Tang Jung let out a short laugh.

“Hah. What happened to the brat who used to glare at this old man and huff in outrage? Why are you skulking around like this now? What, displeased that you’ll have to look after an old man for a few more years?”

“Of course not. Serving you is my greatest pleasure.”

“Your tongue still works well enough. Fine. I want to wash.”

“I’ll have bathwater prepared immediately, Elder.”

Tang Geunmyeong bowed respectfully.

Tang Jung nodded, swept his gaze around the newly built residence, and asked,

“You rebuilt it nicely. You worked hard, Geunmyeong. Where’s my little pup?”

The question Tang Geunmyeong least wanted to hear brought a troubled expression to his face.

He could not lie.

But neither did he have the courage to tell Tang Jung the whole truth without softening it somehow.

Avoiding Tang Jung’s gaze, he hesitated.

“Elder, about that...”

But his tongue felt as though it had turned to stone.

The moment he told the truth, there was no doubt an irreversible disaster would erupt.

How in the world was he supposed to begin?

Seeing him flounder, Tang Jung’s eyes narrowed.

His voice turned cold as ice.

“Where is my little girl right now?”