OGHOU C22

Chapter 22

“What was that sound?”

“Did something explode?”

Vendors in the market stirred and murmured all at once. Even scanning the area, Cheongyeon couldn’t locate the source. It sounded like an explosion…

“Innkeeper, that sound just now…”

Before Haeryeong could finish, another boom crashed through the air. This time the shock made the fruit piled on the greengrocer’s stall tumble and roll.

Feeling something thud against a shoe, he looked down to see a green apple come to rest at his foot. A strange feeling washed over him, and he stared blankly at it.

“An apple… Muho’s favorite…”

“Innkeeper!”

Haeryeong grabbed his arm in a panic.

“That sound—! It came from the direction of our inn!”

“Ah…”

Cheongyeon blinked slowly.

Why did it all feel unreal?

He could hear the sound, feel the tremor. Yet everything slid by in slow motion. Even Haeryeong’s urgent cry to wake up felt sluggish.

What could cause such an uproar near the inn…?

And then a wild, rising dread lifted its head inside his chest. He dropped the vegetables from his hands.

“Let’s go… We have to see.”

They headed toward the sound.

No matter how quickly they moved their legs, they couldn’t reach the inn. Crowds flooded the street, all facing the same direction, blocking the way.

He had to hurry. He had to confirm nothing had happened.

But people kept blocking him. Fighting down the growing panic, he pushed forward, repeating, “Excuse me, please, coming through.”

“Ah!”

A short cry came from behind—Haeryeong had been jostled to the ground. He turned back to help her up, only to freeze at the whispers around them.

“Heavens. What is going on… so many from the Demonic Sect…”

“The end times. Strutting around in broad daylight—maybe the rumors are true.”

“What rumors?”

“That the cult is preparing for war!”

His fingertips trembled. His vision spun, and his breath caught in his throat.

If they truly came from the Demonic Sect… then Muho—?

“Why did it have to be while I was away…”

He hauled Haeryeong up and pressed forward. He no longer cared whom he bumped into. Shoved by the crowd, shoving back, he kept his eyes fixed ahead.

At the end of that push lay the inn that had been whole moments before.

A massive hole gaped in the wall, visible from afar at a glance. A line of bodies—dozens—stretched from within the inn out to the street, surrounding someone in the center.

“No…”

Murmuring, Cheongyeon shoved aside the onlookers. Forcing himself a little closer, he finally saw the face of the one ringed by the crowd.

“Ah… No…”

Muho was bound head to toe in restraining gear, being dragged by them. His wild eyes were fiercer than ever, his face and clothes smeared with blood—convincing enough to say he’d returned from hell.

“Blood…”

Was he hurt? Badly?

As he tried to rush forward, Haeryeong seized his arm.

“You mustn’t go!”

“The boy is… hurt… Let me—”

“No, Innkeeper! It’s too dangerous.”

She pleaded and refused to let go. Her words buzzed in his ear—if he got involved, it would be truly dangerous, he had to stay put.

By the time everyone had poured out of the inn, the number was more like a hundred than mere dozens. Even wrapped in chains and all manner of restraints, Muho still struggled violently as they dragged him.

No large wound showed to the eye. And seeing those nearby limping or clutching their arms, the blood on him was likely not his. That didn’t ease the shock.

He cannot be allowed to go like this.

He remembered their conversation from earlier.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“If you want to go, I won’t stop you.”

Was it because he’d said that? Was that why this was happening?

His mind seemed to reject rational thought, and he could only rerun past moments. He didn’t even realize Muho’s gaze was fixed on him.

How had this happened? How had they found him?

Songwon? He hadn’t even seen Muho’s face properly. Was a cultist hidden among the guests? Or the gambling den? The market?

There were many possibilities. He had been reckless. He should have hidden Muho completely or urged him to leave sooner.

Everything felt unreal, like a dream, even when their eyes finally met.

“……”

Why are you looking at me like that…

He couldn’t understand why Muho looked at him with such wounded eyes, a look he had never seen before—until the murmurs around them reached his ears.

“What’s going on, exactly?”

“They say a demonic brat was hiding in that inn. Guess it’s a relief they’re taking him away.”

“Right. How’d they find him?”

“I heard the innkeeper realized and sold the information.”

Huh? What… When did I—why would I hand Muho over—

It felt like being struck hard in the head. He seized the speaker.

“The innkeeper sold him out—where did you hear that?”

“Eh? Oh, that’s what everyone’s saying. If the innkeeper tipped them off knowing it would get wrecked like that, must’ve been paid handsomely…”

“……”

Cheongyeon shook his head, still looking toward Muho.

“It wasn’t me…”

“……”

“It really wasn’t me…”

Even knowing his words wouldn’t reach Muho from here, he wanted to shout—desperately—that it wasn’t true. That whoever said it was lying.

You know sound transmission. Say something. I told you I was going to the market, and that I’d make something good for dinner when I got back.

But Muho dropped his gaze from Cheongyeon without a word. His profile looked resigned, his resistance stilled, and Cheongyeon’s heart sank.

“Do you trust me?”

“Not particularly.”

Even that night while being carried, Muho had said he didn’t. Had he truly failed so utterly to earn trust? To him, I am…

He no longer knew what to do. He had no power to wade into that chaos and save Muho, and strange rumors were all he heard.

Could it be that in the original, everything had been a false charge? If Yoo Cheongyeon, innocent of the crime, had been captured by the Heavenly Demon and tortured to death…

What happens to me now—

“What do you think you’re doing!”

A thunderous voice snapped from somewhere, and all eyes turned.

There, an old man in elegant green silk walked forward, white hair trailing long. Behind him, several men in green followed in line.

The demonic vanguard at the front smiled, intrigued.

“The Tang Clan’s Master himself honors us.”

So the white-haired elder was the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

Stubborn-faced, tall despite his years, his posture straight—he exuded the authority of a great clan’s master, striding forward with a fierce presence.

He halted, taking in the scene—his stormy eyes sweeping over the wrecked inn and Muho bound in restraints.

“How dare you—what is this, on our Sichuan soil?”

The demonic man at the front smiled languidly.

“One of our house dogs ran off. We’ve come to retrieve him.”

“A dog…?”

“That one there, bound.”

He pointed at Muho.

“Now that we’ve found him, we’ll be going.”

“You think you can make such a mess and be allowed to leave?”

“It would be wise to let this go. We’re merely reclaiming a house dog—no need to trouble yourself. It would tax your health.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A threat? Not at all. Unlike certain parties, we’re not two-faced. We do apologize for the disturbance—this one is a vicious beast.”

“……”

“Then, we’ll take our leave.”

He called to the cultists waiting behind him.

“Move!”

Leaving the infuriated Tang retainers in their wake, the demonic sect formed ranks and marched off. Muho, who had turned his head away from Cheongyeon, was dragged along with them.

No…

Eyes tracking him, Cheongyeon took a trembling step, then stopped short, staring blankly. It still all felt like a dream.

In the original, it was said Cheongyeon handed him over, so he’d thought if he just did nothing, everything would be fine. He thought then Muho could escape the cult and find happiness.

By the time he realized some fates could not be changed by effort, it was too late.

Cheongyeon stood there even after the cult’s column vanished—until a scream from inside the inn snapped him back.

Haeryeong…?

Somewhere along the way, the hand clutching his arm had gone. A young woman’s scream came from inside. With shaking legs, he climbed through the gaping breach.

“…Ha…”

It was enough to drive him mad. Tables and chairs lay shattered, and in the middle, a familiar figure lay with a bloodless face.

“Innkeeper. My brother… what do we do about my brother?”

Haeryeong sat on the floor, tears pouring down her face, pressing her hands tight against a wound in Haewoo’s abdomen. Beneath them, red blood pooled into a dark, spreading lake.