Guide of the Sichuan Tang Clan C61
by berryChapter 61
The moment the words left his mouth, Eunmyeong wanted nothing more than to slap himself.
Why the hell did I say “right-sided”?! Why that of all things?!
It wasn’t something you’d even joke about with close friends.
And he’d said it to Seowon.
To the very man whose groin was currently pressed against his own.
Eunmyeong’s face turned scarlet in an instant.
Feeling the atmosphere grow even more awkward, he hurriedly tried to explain.
“I-I wasn’t trying to find out! It was just… really obvious…”
“…”
“I just thought, ‘Oh, you’re right-sided. Me too,’ and… I don’t know, I was weirdly happy…”
The more he talked…
The deeper he buried himself.
Finally giving up, Eunmyeong shut his mouth and lowered his head.
Should I just die?
If I let go with both my arms and legs right now, maybe I’ll land on my head.
And if I don’t die… maybe I’ll at least get amnesia.
While he was seriously considering his options…
Seowon quietly turned his head away.
“I should be the one apologizing.”
…You’re apologizing?
Confused, Eunmyeong looked up.
Seowon wasn’t looking at him.
Instead, he stared off to one side.
Between the strands of his hair, the tips of his ears were bright red.
“I’m… deeply sorry…”
“…for making you feel something so unpleasant.”
“Ah…”
Even speaking the words seemed unbearably shameful to him.
His loosely tied hair and pristine white robes only made him appear even more pitiful.
“This is the first time we’ve remained this close for so long… since the cave…”
“So I… don’t believe I was able to control myself.”
“…”
“I’ll make sure… it doesn’t happen again…”
Just then—
Someone wrapped an arm around Eunmyeong’s waist and pulled him away.
Turning around, he found Mujin staring at Seowon with a rigid expression.
“There won’t be a next time.”
His voice cut through the air without room for argument.
Mujin lowered Eunmyeong directly onto the ground.
The instant his supporting hand disappeared—
Eunmyeong’s legs gave out.
“…Urgh.”
He collapsed onto the ground.
His stomach churned violently.
The earth spun.
The sky revolved overhead.
It felt exactly like stepping off a treadmill that had been running at full speed—
Except…
Ten times worse.
After being carried at speeds too fast for the eye to follow, then suddenly dropped onto solid ground…
Motion sickness was inevitable.
“You—!”
Mujin hurriedly lifted Eunmyeong upright.
The moment his upper body rose—
The dizziness doubled.
N-No…
Just as Eunmyeong tried to lean backward—
Seowon grabbed his shoulders.
“Physician!”
“Ugh… G-Get…”
Away…!
“Ulp—”
His stomach finally rebelled.
He barely managed to shove both Mujin and Seowon away—
Before vomiting all over his own clothes.
Damn it…
Feeling both men patting his back anxiously, Eunmyeong swore to himself.
No matter what happens…
I’m never riding on someone’s back again.
Never.
* * *
The one who finally sorted the two men out…
Was Sowoon.
Normally neither Mujin nor Seowon would’ve stepped aside.
But after Eunmyeong repeatedly gestured for them to go away, they reluctantly gave up their spots.
“Tsk. You think patting someone’s back is enough?”
Pulling Eunmyeong away from them, Sowoon immediately pressed several acupoints.
He pinched the crown of Eunmyeong’s head and several points along his arms.
Almost instantly…
The nausea disappeared as though it had never existed.
“If someone’s sick, you treat them first.”
He glanced at Mujin.
“Young Master, why didn’t you think to press his acupoints?”
“…”
Then he looked at Seowon.
“And you too, Sword Master.”
“You’ve taken care of countless disciples at Mount Hua.”
“What good does patting his back do?”
Only a few days ago, Eunmyeong had been lying unconscious like a corpse.
Neither man had been capable of thinking clearly.
For Mujin—who had already lost his composure several times—it was almost familiar.
But for Seowon…
It came as a devastating shock.
I injured the Physician…
Simply because I couldn’t think clearly…
As Mount Hua’s senior disciple, Seowon had looked after countless junior disciples.
They frequently came back injured.
Each time, he’d calmly treated them and comforted them.
Never once…
Had he lost his reason because one of them got hurt.
Yet now—
From the instant Eunmyeong collapsed…
It had felt as though his heart had dropped out of his chest.
When did I become like this?
Was it because treatment required physical contact?
Or was it something else entirely?
Even Seowon didn’t know.
His confused gaze followed Eunmyeong as Sowoon supported him away.
“What are you standing there for?”
“Aren’t you going to get him a change of clothes?”
“…Ah!”
Yujo hurriedly rummaged through Eunmyeong’s luggage and produced fresh clothing.
Handing it over, Sowoon pointed deeper into the forest.
“There’s a lake that way.”
“Go wash up.”
“A lake?”
“You can smell the water.”
“And it’s loud enough that it can’t be far.”
Although they’d never been here before, Sowoon had pinpointed the lake immediately.
Eunmyeong looked at him with admiration.
“I’m… going by myself?”
“What?”
“You want me to wash you too?”
Grinning mischievously, Sowoon shoved him lightly from behind.
“Go already.”
“You stink!”
After taking such good care of me, he has to ruin it with that mouth…
Grumbling to himself, Eunmyeong headed toward the direction Sowoon had indicated.
* * *
After walking only a short distance from camp…
Eunmyeong heard running water.
Between the trees lay a lake.
It wasn’t large enough for all the martial artists.
But four or five people could easily bathe there together.
More breathtaking than its size…
Was its beauty.
The stars and moon reflected so perfectly across its surface that it looked as though the night sky itself had sunk into the water.
“Wow… it’s real…”
Unable to contain his amazement, Eunmyeong hurried over.
He quickly stripped off his dirty clothes.
His hair tie came loose.
It was the one Mujin had tied for him before they departed.
After neatly folding the clean clothes Sowoon had given him…
Eunmyeong jumped into the lake.
Splash.
Cool water rose to his chest.
The lake was much deeper than expected.
Using the basic swimming techniques he’d learned back at the Center, he swam farther in until the water reached his shoulders.
This feels amazing!
Floating peacefully on the surface, he washed himself.
Even back at the Tang Clan, Seowon’s separation anxiety had prevented him from enjoying a proper bath.
Right now…
It all felt like a dream.
No one was here.
No growling Seowon.
No bickering Mujin.
Only silence.
How long has it been since I’ve had this much peace?
At the training grounds, Sowoon, Yujo, and Jeongho constantly dragged him around.
At the main residence, Namya did the same.
Taking a deep breath, Eunmyeong submerged himself completely.
The cold water enveloped him from head to toe.
The pleasant chill seeped straight into his bones.
Enjoying the sensation, he swam toward deeper water.
Moonlight illuminated the lake beneath him.
Perhaps because it lay so far from civilization, the underwater scenery remained completely untouched.
As he looked around…
Something caught his eye.
…What’s that?
A black mass rested on the lakebed.
It resembled poisonous mist.
Or perhaps…
An octopus’s cloud of ink.
There’s no creature here that releases ink…
Curious, Eunmyeong swam closer.
The nearer he got—
The more a foul odor invaded his nose.
Demonic energy?
He had felt something similar from Seowon after his rampage.
But although it belonged to the same category…
The stench…
The malice…
Were on an entirely different level.
It smelled like garbage left to rot underwater for years.
Even his skin began to sting.
I shouldn’t get any closer.
Holding his breath, Eunmyeong turned to leave.
Suddenly—
A hand shot out from the black mass.
—!
It seized his arm.
Then violently dragged him downward.
It wasn’t a human hand.
Its skin was tinged green.
Thick, sticky slime oozed between its fingers.
Eunmyeong kicked desperately.
He twisted his body.
He struck at the hand.
But underwater…
He couldn’t use his full strength.
His lungs were beginning to burn.
I used too much air getting here…
As his breathing became increasingly desperate, he glared at the thing gripping him.
While he struggled…
More of it emerged from the darkness.
First an arm.
Then…
A face.
The face, too, was covered in sickly green corruption.
It looked long dead.
One cheek had caved inward.
The other drifted unnaturally with the current.
And yet…
Its eyes stared directly at him.
The Demon Cult…?
A strange form of demonic energy.
Something that looked no different from a corpse.
Only the Demon Cult could be behind something like this.
Then—
The corpse’s eyes rolled once.
“Guide…”
A soft voice echoed through the water.
Eunmyeong froze.
“You promised…”
“…that no matter what happened…”
“…you’d always hug me.”
“So why…”
“…didn’t you hug me that day?”
“…”
“I waited…”
“I waited only for you, Guide.”
The familiar voice instantly dragged Eunmyeong back into the past.
It belonged…
To the first Esper he had ever lost.
Shortly after he’d become accustomed to working as a Guide…
One of his assigned Espers had gone into a rampage.
The youngest Esper in the entire Center.
A child Eunmyeong had grown especially attached to.
Their small body couldn’t survive even a minor rampage.
The child died…
Before Eunmyeong ever had the chance to guide them.
After losing that Esper…
Eunmyeong had suffered for a long time.
The reason he couldn’t firmly reject Mujin and Seowon…
The reason he kept overusing his guiding…
All of it stemmed from the regret of that day.
“Why…”
“…didn’t you save me?”
“You could have…”
“…saved me.”
Though the thing before him was merely a corpse…
Its voice pulled him completely into that day.
It no longer felt as though he was underwater.
It felt like he was standing back inside the Center.
“…It was my fault, wasn’t it?”
“No!”
He couldn’t bear hearing that child blame themselves.
The moment he shouted—
Water flooded into his mouth.
“It wasn’t your fault…!”
“It was—!”
Bubbles escaped between his lips.
His thoughts grew hazy.
His chest tightened painfully.
Every desperate gasp only forced more water down his throat.
The green hand did not let go of its prey.
Sensing his strength fading…
It dragged Eunmyeong deeper into the darkness.