TSBIRBV Ch 31

Chapter 31 Black Ghost (3)

After confirming that Yegyeol was asleep, Samrang quietly rose from her seat. At her subtle movement, a golden snake poked its head out from beside his arm, flicking its tongue.

Stepping outside the room, she found two burly martial guards posted at the front. Along the corridor were even more. Though the Black Spot was full of treasures, she thought no place in it was more heavily guarded than here, as she walked onward.

After a few turns, the path subtly sloped downward. Most would never notice. Whether a wanderer took a wrong turn or a thief tried to sneak inside, the structure was designed to trap them in the deepest part of an anthill.

But Samrang was no ordinary guest. She knew exactly where she was going.

At the end of this lightless passage, framed with false windows for show, stood a massive iron door.

Breathing deeply, she stretched out her hand, and the heavy metal opened under her touch with unnatural ease. Striding inside, she moved onward.

At the end of this underground passage, a man cloaked in darkness stood waiting.

“Hm.”

Sensing her presence, the Black Ghost turned and began to walk toward her. With every step, his once-slender shoulders broadened, his back straightened, his frame grew taller. As his posture shifted, he raised his hand to his face.

The human-skin mask fell away, revealing a noble brow, a sharp nose, and eyes chilled into clarity.

Je Haryang stood before her.

“You’ve come.”

Samrang’s gaze flicked past him—behind his shoulder she saw the ruined figure that had once been the giant known as Geoak Wangsahn. His form had been mangled beyond recognition, save his distinctive build.

“Only the hand remains intact.”

That was the very hand that had dared grip Yegyeol. She had expected Geoak Wangsahn to end like this, but that detail still surprised her.

“It was difficult to decide what to do with him.”

Haryang spoke crisp and offhand, wiping his hands with the cloth she offered.

“So I tested what he found most painful… and in the end, the hand was last to go.”

There was no joy nor curiosity in his tone. He handled it the way one might handle a daily task—earnest and emotionless.

“And why did you come to me, leaving that boy alone?”

“I have come to beg punishment.”

“And why did you believe it was fine to leave him alone in the first place?”

“The spirit beast the young master tamed in Kunlun is unusually capable. Its power surpasses the ordinary.”

Samrang recounted leaving Yegyeol when the Green Forest fortress was struck by lightning and burned, telling the story as it had been. Haryang’s eyes deepened.

“That little snake does follow him in a rare way. Even Hongyeo taming Jeokroe was already considered extraordinary. It seems my disciple has fortune on his side.”

Seeing no sign of rebuke coming, Samrang dropped to her knees, bowing deeply.

“Though the Black Spot belongs to you, I was careless. I let a precious person be harmed. Please punish me.”

The easy smile she always wore was gone; her expression was edged and sharp.

“Ja Samrang.”

Her body stiffened at once. For years, he had honored her wish to cut ties with her clan by omitting her surname. To hear it now was a warning.

“You are my eyes, my hands, my feet.”

It was no scolding, but weighty trust that dropped upon the back of her neck. It made even her usually steady fingertips turn pale.

“When eyes err, I do not pluck them out. When hands choose wrongly, I do not sever them. When feet stray, I do not break them.”

The words might have sounded gentle, but to Samrang, they inspired more dread than the lash.

“Your failings are mine. How could I reproach you?”

He extended his hand to lift her from the ground.

“If you have understood me, then never again let that boy out of your sight.”

Samrang forced her lips to move.

“…As you command.”

On the return from the Black Spot toward Qinghai, Yegyeol was restless. Samrang, insisting he couldn’t handle forced marches, kept the pace slow.

The thought of his Senior Brother already waiting at the estate made him fidget on the saddle.

“Senior Brother!”

By the gate of the manor, white-robed Je Haryang stood. The moment he saw him, Yegyeol leapt off his horse and practically flew into his arms, smiling without meaning to.

Catching him like an eager pup, Haryang’s arms faltered for the briefest instant before gently pushing him back by the shoulders.

Eyes widening, Yegyeol looked up in shock, his breath having just stirred at the guiding comfort of his Senior Brother’s embrace.

“Let me see your wrist first.”

The stern tone made Yegyeol fumble, hiding his hands behind his back. Normally, any marks would have healed quickly, but lacking Haryang’s guiding for a time, the bruise remained.

“It’s nothing…”

He turned his head slightly and shot Samrang a glare.

Of course, Yegyeol already knew Haryang and the Black Ghost were one. All this was deliberate play.

“You told him already?”

Samrang avoided his probing gaze. She could never reveal his lord’s secret identity to anyone, not even to Yegyeol.

“Gyeol.”

Haryang’s voice called softly.

“A lawless man laid hands on you, and you hide it—do you not trust your Senior Brother?”

“It’s all over now. If I hadn’t begged Samrang to take me to the black market, it wouldn’t have happened. Acting rashly, I was ashamed. That’s why I hid it.”

“Give me your hands.”

Finally, Yegyeol extended them. Haryang pulled back his sleeves to reveal the skin, blue with another man’s mark.

Upon the pale-white surface, untouched by the blazing light of Kunlun’s snows, the bruise stood out vividly, speaking the pain of that moment.

Though inside him his heart roared chaotic, his gaze remained calm as water.

He set his hand atop the other man’s mark.

“Ugh…!”

Yegyeol flinched with a small cry at the unintentional pressure of his Senior Brother’s strength. Yet his eyes held not a trace of blame as they turned back to him.

“Brother?”

“Ah.”

Drawing his hand back more slowly now, Haryang said in a quiet voice,

“Fortunately, it’s only bruised, not broken. I’ll fetch a good medicine for you.”

“You could apply it yourself, couldn’t you?”

Snatching the chance, Yegyeol pressed. Haryang looked at him, startled.

“Me?”

His eyes dropped again to the lingering mark, gaze lowering.

Unwittingly, he had already caused him pain moments ago. And yet Yegyeol, as if nothing, had drawn close again, offering his arm without reservation.

Haryang couldn’t understand why he remained so defenseless.

“Yes. I’ve been all the way to Sichuan — I have so much to say to you, a gift to give you too… Couldn’t you?”

Rattling off cheerfully, then remembering to seek his reaction, Yegyeol glanced up. Haryang only smiled faintly.

“Of course. Come with me.”

Pressed close at his side, Yegyeol followed eagerly. Reluctantly, Haryang let him cling as they moved inside. With a gesture, he dismissed Samrang — who, after their recent trip, was swifter to obey than usual.

Chattering about the meals he’d eaten and strange plants he’d seen while in Sichuan, Yegyeol kept up the lively mood all the way to Haryang’s chambers.

Seeing him flop onto the bed instead of the waiting chair, Haryang refrained from any scolding.

“Wait.”

Leaving briefly, Haryang returned carrying a small white round box. Opening it, a pungent herbal scent made Yegyeol wrinkle his nose. With an esper’s sharpened senses, such intensity was unpleasant.

“Your hand.”

He raised his arm high, but because of Haryang’s height, it looked almost like he was being punished. Clicking his tongue, Haryang dropped to one knee on the floor.

“Se… Senior Brother!”

Yegyeol had half-expected him to sit beside him, so the sudden shift in height startled him.

“Stay still if you want this finished quickly.”

A mischievous smile bloomed on the lips of the man who had seemed subdued all day.

Footnotes:

• Black Spot (흑점) — network of underground black markets in the world of murim/wuxia.

• Geoak Wangsahn (거악왕산) — a powerful martial artist subdued by Je Haryang, mentioned as a terrifying presence previously in the story.