HDCLSSRS Ch 5

Chapter 5 I Need to Get Out of Here. (5)

 

“Of course, I know I’m not qualified… but it would be even better if you could listen to what I have to say over a drink.”

Trickle.

The clear liquid filled Baek Ryeoil’s glass. His eyes, sparkling like those of an innocent child, were fixed on the drink. His cheeks were flushed, and the muscles around his mouth had relaxed. It was clear he was conflicted inside.

Seong Muyeon clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked at Baek Ryeoil, who seemed just about ready to give in.

‘I don’t get it at all.’

There hadn’t been a single time in his life when drinking had brought him joy. It always resulted in headaches and suffering.

But for Baek Ryeoil, this was the perfect bait—how strange the world was.

Baek Ryeoil suddenly hardened his expression and quietly fixed his gaze on Seong Muyeon.

“You didn’t try anything underhanded with the alcohol, did you? If you thought I was someone who’d fall for cheap tricks, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Of course not! How could I dare do such a thing? Here, please have a drink.”

Seong Muyeon pushed the glass toward him. Naturally, Baek Ryeoil wasn’t the type to carelessly drink something handed to him by a stranger without any caution. That much had been taken into consideration when the item was prepared.

“Ahem! Well, since you’re saying it like that, ahem! I suppose I should at least try a taste?”

Baek Ryeoil lifted the glass with trembling hands.

He brought the rim of the cup to his nose and took a deep inhale. After savoring the aroma thoroughly, he cautiously took a sip.

His eyes widened.

A healthy flush returned to his face, and after squeezing his eyes shut, he downed the entire glass in one breath. His throat bobbed cheerfully and rhythmically.

Having drained the glass without even breathing, Baek Ryeoil stared blankly, as if his soul had momentarily left his body.

“How is it?”

When Seong Muyeon asked, Baek Ryeoil came to his senses and solemnly extended his cup.

“I can’t judge it by just one glass. Pour me another.”

“Yes!”

Gurgle, gurgle.

As Seong Muyeon refilled the glass, a sly smile spread across his face.

‘This stuff works like a charm.’

But it was far too early to let his guard down.

Even in the past, some villains who had noticed Baek Ryeoil’s weakness had prepared fine liquor in hopes of surviving.

Back then too, Baek Ryeoil had laughed in that silly way as if all his defenses had melted away in the face of good alcohol, and they thought they had survived.

But once the alcohol was gone, Baek Ryeoil smiled kindly and said,

—You did a good deed at the end, so may you go to a good place… well, maybe not a good place, but at least a less bad one.

Then he sent them to the afterlife painlessly.

‘Going quickly and painlessly isn’t the worst way to die, but I still want to live!’

In any case, Baek Ryeoil was not someone who ever let down his guard. Proof of that was the fact that Ilgwang was still pinned beneath the weight of Baek Ryeoil’s feet, unable to even groan.

“Ahhh!”

It was right after Baek Ryeoil had emptied his third glass.

“You should have something to eat too.”

“Bah! Side dishes? They’ll ruin the taste of the alcohol!”

Seong Muyeon gave a warm smile.

“If you like it that much, why not just drink straight from the bottle? Sipping one glass at a time won’t let you truly savor it.”

“Should I?”

Baek Ryeoil grabbed the bottle as if he had been waiting for the suggestion and drank directly from it.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

His throat moved with energetic rhythm. It was so satisfying that anyone watching would feel refreshed just seeing it.

In the meantime, Seong Muyeon exchanged glances with Ilgwang.

‘Just a bit more.’

Gulp, gulp.

‘He has to finish the whole bottle. Only then…’

Gulp, gulp.

“Ahhh!”

At last, Baek Ryeoil emptied the bottle.

That’s when it happened.

“Ilgwang!”

At Seong Muyeon’s shout, Ilgwang twisted his body sharply and sprang up.

“Huh? This punk? Who said you could—huh?”

As Baek Ryeoil tried to press Ilgwang back down, he blankly stared at his own palm. Tilting his head left and right in confusion, he kept looking at it dumbly.

“My apologies, Master Baek.”

Seong Muyeon straightened his clothes and calmly rose from his chair.

Ilgwang stood protectively in front of him, and before long, the members of the Black Shadow Group surrounded them.

Seong Muyeon grinned.

“I can’t afford to die just yet.”

“…You spiked the alcohol?”

“Gunjasan.”

It was a kind of poison, but not one that killed or harmed. It merely temporarily sealed the drinker’s internal energy. After a certain period, everything would return to normal without any side effects.

Seong Muyeon had laced the Baekhwa-ro* with Gunjasan and given it to Baek Ryeoil.

(*Baekhwa-ro: a rare, high-quality liquor in wuxia settings)

“Poison shouldn’t work on me.”

Baek Ryeoil searched his clothes and took out a small bead. It was an antidote pearl—a precious sacred object that protected the bearer from most poisons. Thanks to that, he had confidently gulped down the Baekhwa-ro in one go.

Seong Muyeon nodded.

“It doesn’t work on ‘most’ poisons. But Gunjasan is special.”

It was a rare drug specially made in the Demonic Cult. Unless someone had achieved the level of being completely immune to all poisons, they had no defense against it.

A colorless, odorless, deadly poison.

He would never know how much Seong Muyeon, with his frail body, had suffered to obtain this.

“You bastard… You must really have a death wish.”

Baek Ryeoil’s face was overtaken with fury. However, he knew full well that with his internal energy sealed, he couldn’t take on Ilgwang and the Black Shadow Group, so he didn’t charge in recklessly.

“Once again, I only did it because I want to live. Since it’s someone of your level, Master Baek, I wasn’t sure how much of the drug to use, so I dumped in everything I had. It might take a while to wear off, but I’m sure someone like you will be fine.”

Ilgwang supported Seong Muyeon in his arms.

“Then let’s hope we never meet again! Goodbye!”

Seong Muyeon, Ilgwang, and the Black Shadow Group leapt out the window in succession. They glided away with elegance, the setting sun over the lake in the background.

“Ha…”

Baek Ryeoil let out a hollow laugh and could do nothing but watch them flee.

Even if he jumped from this height right now, he wouldn’t be able to catch them. He wouldn’t die, but he could certainly break a few bones.

Seong Muyeon’s figure grew smaller, like a speck.

“Hahahaha!”

It seemed a strange laugh echoed in the wind.

Crack.

The bottle of Baekhwa-ro shattered under the strength of Baek Ryeoil’s clenched hand. After momentarily suppressing his rage, a deeper smile than before appeared on his lips.

“…He got me.”

Seong Muyeon and Ilgwang ran nonstop with the Black Shadow Group for three days.

As they passed a mountain slope, Seong Muyeon was on the verge of collapse. While others might endure, he was in no shape for such a forced march.

When Seong Muyeon couldn’t stop coughing and even began spitting blood, Ilgwang had no choice but to stop.

“…I’m going to die.”

Seong Muyeon lay sprawled near a tree root, drinking some water and chewing on a bit of jerky offered by Ilgwang.

“What were you thinking!”

Having devoted all his focus to getting as far away from Baek Ryeoil as possible, Ilgwang finally exploded in anger.

“You should have been more careful! Why would you trust a stranger like that! You almost died!”

“Either way, I’d be dead.”

“…What?”

“He already knew I was there. Ha… how did he find out? Did someone leak information? No one was supposed to know. And of all people, why did it have to be Baek Ryeoil?”

Seong Muyeon tore at his hair. His mind was a chaotic mess.

“He’s probably furious, right? Wants to kill me? Won’t let me go? Will chase me to the ends of the earth?”

“…Let’s go back to the cult now.”

“No, that’s even more dangerous.”

To return to Shingang from here, they would have to head northwest—retrace their steps.

To avoid Baek Ryeoil, they could take a roundabout route. But in the end, it would all funnel into a single path, and Baek Ryeoil would be waiting there.

If the cult’s base had been in the central plains, it would have been harder to track, making it safer. But Shingang was in the far northwest corner. Unless they passed through another country, they had no way of returning without encountering Baek Ryeoil.

“The question is how long it will take him to completely detoxify the Gunjasan.”

“It was a thirty-day dose, even for a top-tier martial artist.”

“…So it’ll take quite a while.”

Seong Muyeon nodded through ragged breaths. Sweat poured from him like rain.

“Still, I’m uneasy. He might’ve recovered his internal energy by now and could already be chasing us.”

Just saying it made his knees go weak, and he kept glancing nervously behind them.

Everyone in the central plains knew how monstrous Baek Ryeoil of Mount Hua was. His martial power, internal energy, and recovery were all beyond ordinary. It was said that ever since his birth, every martial arts tournament began by engraving his name in the winner’s spot.

“Black Shadow Group.”

When Seong Muyeon called, shadows appeared from the darkness without fail.

“And Ilgwang.”

“Yes.”

Ilgwang bowed his head.

“You all return to the cult.”

“S-Seventh Young Master! What are you saying! How can we leave you…! What will you do?”

Seong Muyeon shook his head firmly.

“I’m not saying this for your sake. You’re going to be the bait. For me.”

“…My lord.”

“You followed me because you were prepared for that much, right?”

“Of course.”

Ilgwang obediently bowed his head. The Black Shadow Group did the same, paying their respects to him in unison.