HDCLSSRS Ch 88

Chapter 88 Do You Like Me? (2)

It wasn’t exactly a secret, but Baek Ryeoil still found himself wanting to keep it hidden.

Whenever he recalled the day Seong Muyeon had killed his enemy, it made his body and mind feel unbearably uncomfortable.

He could still vividly picture the scene—Muyeon swallowing his sobs under the moonlight until he could no longer bear it and ended up crying aloud.

It was something Baek Ryeoil didn’t want to speak of, nor think about again, but the memory seemed etched into his mind, resurfacing without warning to torment him from time to time.

Seeing someone cry wasn’t particularly special. During sparring, it was common for his fellow disciples to burst into tears after getting beaten by him, and throughout life, he’d seen even old men weep for one reason or another.

But Seong Muyeon’s tears had been different.

Baek Ryeoil could only speculate—there must have been something beyond his understanding behind them.

“Forget it. Just forget.”

Not wanting to dwell on complicated matters, Baek Ryeoil shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his thoughts.

Fortunately or unfortunately, not long after, Ma Jincheon, boiling with rage, came storming in to grab him, distracting him entirely.

“Baek Ryeoil, you little rascal!”

The thunderous shout of the enraged Ma Jincheon rang out. He yanked Baek Ryeoil by the ear and dragged him away.

“Ah, Master! Please don’t do this! I have disciples now! I have my own dignity as a teacher!”

“And a guy who knows that still causes trouble? You dare run off again? Hopeless brat!”

“Ow! That hurts!”

And so, Baek Ryeoil was dragged off to be confined in the library pavilion, forced to wipe the dust off thousands of books.

“Don’t even dream of coming out before sunset!”

Bang!

The door slammed shut violently. Baek Ryeoil picked up the duster that Ma Jincheon had thrown at him and began brushing off the books, but it wasn’t long before he threw it aside with a curse.

“Goddammit!”

The impact caused a massive pile of books to tumble over. He lay down with his arms behind his head atop the toppled heap.

Of all times, I have to be stuck here now.

A feral glint shimmered in his eyes as he stared up at the ceiling.

He grew increasingly irritated by the thought that, in his absence, that fox-like bastard might be making a move on Seong Muyeon.

This was no time to be doing this.

Baek Ryeoil shot up.

He had to go, right now—!

But as soon as he opened the library pavilion door, he met eyes with a pair of cold, sunken pupils.

“Close it.”

Ma Jincheon had set up a desk and chair right outside the pavilion and was doing paperwork there.

Baek Ryeoil quietly closed the door again.

Damn it!

He threw himself around atop the pile of books like a man having a fit. When he finally stopped flailing, his face was full of frustration and indignation.

Still, he didn’t regret what he’d done to the masters. They had done something that shouldn’t have been done, and they deserved to pay the price. This kind of punishment wasn’t a big deal to him anyway. Based on past experience, all he had to do was drag out the time half-heartedly and it would eventually be over.

But this time, the punishment was especially irritating.

It’s all because of Seong Muyeon.

Ever since that guy came into his life, nothing had gone the way he wanted. He brought trouble wherever he went, and Baek Ryeoil was suffering hardships he had never expected to endure.

He anxiously gnawed on his lower lip.

“……”

Eventually, he got up and, with a sigh, picked up the cloth lying around and began wiping the books again.

Fine. I’ll just finish this as fast as I can and get back!

His eyes burned with determination.

Not even half a day had passed when Baek Ryeoil opened the door.

“I’m done.”

“Already?”

Ma Jincheon narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Doubt practically radiated from his entire being.

Baek Ryeoil had never once completed a punishment task sincerely. No matter how much they pressured him, if he didn’t feel like doing it, the best they could do was just make sure he didn’t run off. Ma Jincheon had assumed it would be the same this time…

The library pavilion had layers of dust and grime accumulated over centuries. But the moment he stepped inside, Ma Jincheon could hardly believe his eyes.

“You really… did it all.”

The floor, which he thought was just naturally dull in color, gleamed a pure white now that it had been thoroughly cleaned, and the books, once stuffed in haphazardly, had all been neatly arranged in order.

“I can go now, right?”

Baek Ryeoil asked, his entire body covered in dust and pouring with sweat. It was clear he had struggled to clean centuries of filth.

“Y-yeah…”

Ma Jincheon barely nodded, and before he could finish, Baek Ryeoil bolted out.

He went straight to his quarters and flung open the door.

“Hey! Seong Muyeon!”

He wasn’t expecting Seong Muyeon to be there, thinking he must still be dodging Seomun Yuha.

But then—

“You’re back?”

Seong Muyeon was lying sprawled by the window, basking in the sunlight without a care in the world.

“…Huh? Where’s Seomun Yuha?”

“Oh, don’t worry. All the outer gate disciples went out on missions! Hahaha! They won’t be back for several days, so this worked out perfectly.”

Seong Muyeon laughed heartily and tossed a dry snack into his mouth. He even hummed a tune, clearly in high spirits.

“……”

“Let them suffer out there while I relax! Hahahahaha!”

“……”

“…Ryeoil?”

Only then did Seong Muyeon sense something off and raised his head.

“I… just what the hell did I go through all that for…”

Baek Ryeoil’s fists trembled. Despite being far stronger than normal people thanks to his martial arts training, it hadn’t been easy to wipe away centuries of filth. His muscles, honed for wielding a sword, had been overexerted scrubbing and wiping, now trembling from the strain.

And yet here was Seong Muyeon, lounging about as if he had not a care in the world?

“R-Ryeoil? I don’t know what’s going on, but calm down first—”

With excellent crisis detection skills, Seong Muyeon immediately wiped the grin off his face and slowly sat up. While subtly scanning for escape routes, Baek Ryeoil stepped closer.

“You’re not getting away with this…”

“Now, wait a second—GAH!”

When Kang Ung returned from group training, the room was in utter chaos.

“At least tell me why you’re losing your mind this time!”

“You being alive is the problem! Seong Muyeon, it’s my one wish—let me punch you once.”

“I’ll die if you do!”

“You won’t!”

“……”

Kang Ung watched the chase unfold in silence, then quietly sat down at a table, opening a scroll and parchment. He had tons of homework today.

“You crazy bastard!”

Without looking up, Kang Ung tilted his head sideways. Just then, an incense burner flew past where his head had been, whizzing through the air and crashing into the wall.

“Oh? You dodged? So we’re doing this now?”

“Weren’t you throwing it so I’d dodge? It was so obvious, even if you told me not to, I couldn’t not dodge.”

“Looks like I’ve been too lenient with you. Spoiled you too much, and now you’re climbing all over my head. You’re dead today.”

“AAAAAAH! Have mercy!”

“……”

Kang Ung dipped his brush in ink and continued writing as he shook his head.

Honestly… those two really are close.

His master was not someone who failed to do something once he set his mind to it. And that pretty-faced demonic cult prince? He was definitely getting on Baek Ryeoil’s nerves on purpose. It was a game—provoking each other just enough to keep it going.

In the midst of the commotion, Kang Ung calmly continued his work with a faint smile on his lips.

Time passed relentlessly.

While Seong Muyeon lazed around like a slacker, Baek Ryeoil’s punishment was finally drawing to a close.

On the last day of his punishment, Baek Ryeoil headed to Heosaeng’s quarters.

The broken wall of Heosaeng’s residence still hadn’t been repaired. One side of the wall was completely open, poorly covered with a large blanket to block the view. Baek Ryeoil saw the consequences of his own actions and walked past them nonchalantly, approaching Heosaeng who sat at a desk.

“You’ve come…?”

Heosaeng greeted him with a sullen expression.

“Yes. If there’s anything you want done, just say it.”

He had already received punishments from the other two masters. They had eagerly seized the chance to torment Baek Ryeoil, who was already a thorn in their side. First, they made him pick up the shattered pieces of a porcelain vase and painstakingly reassemble them. Then, they forced him to supervise the training of injured juniors. Of course, the vase never regained its original pattern, and the juniors were basically subjected to a second round of beatings under the guise of sparring.

Among the masters, Heosaeng was the one most severely wronged. While broken vases could be glued back and wounds could heal, he still had to sleep with cold air blowing in through that gaping wall until it was repaired.

Staring at the shameless Baek Ryeoil, Heosaeng’s face grew complex. Then he let out a shallow sigh and said,

“Enough. You can leave now. Let’s consider this punishment fulfilled.”

Though Heosaeng was offering mercy, Baek Ryeoil didn’t accept it graciously and instead retorted with a scowl.

“Why?”

“What do you mean why, you little—!”

Heosaeng was about to explode at the insolent backtalk but calmed himself down again.

“Anyway, I also did wrong by Senior Ma, so let’s just consider it even. Go on.”

“……”

Baek Ryeoil looked at Heosaeng with a surprised expression. Did he eat something weird? What’s with the sudden change?

Heosaeng couldn’t be bothered to argue further and drove him out the door like it was too much trouble.

Baek Ryeoil shrugged.

Well, lucky me.

Freedom at last.

But Heosaeng’s decision would prove to be a mistake.

At that very moment, unexpected guests crossed the sect’s gates.

The elder of the Jongnam Sect had arrived at Mount Hua—without even sending a letter in advance, and bringing his disciples along.

Footnotes

• Jongnam Sect (종남파): A major martial arts sect in many Korean wuxia/murim novels, traditionally considered prestigious. Often appears as a rival to other famous sects like Mount Hua. 
• Library Pavilion (장서각 / Jangseogak): Refers to a traditional archive or library within a martial arts sect where scrolls and ancient texts are stored. 
• Outer gate disciples (외문 제자): Disciples not directly under the sect leader or core elders. They often perform more menial or external duties.