HDCLSSRS Ch 10

Chapter 10 Is This What It Means to Live? (3)

 

“Why don’t you go back to begging like you were doing?”

“I beg every day, so it’s nothing new… But Sir Mujung Sword, I’ve been dying of curiosity all this time—what’s going on between you and that Sung guy?”

“Go.”

“Don’t be like that. Can’t you just tell me? I can’t sleep at night from wondering!”

Honggae was tenacious. No matter how much he was threatened, he stuck around. The pounding headache that had just subsided seemed like it was about to come back thanks to his incessant chatter.

“…But that guy doesn’t seem to be around right now, does he?”

Baek Ryeoil glanced around subtly as he asked.

“No! He was in a hurry to leave.”

“Where to?”

“He told me not to say, so I can’t.”

After talking so much until just a moment ago, Honggae now clammed up like an oyster. Even so, he kept moving his feet, diligently following Baek Ryeoil.

But it didn’t take long before he started talking again.

“So, did you hold a grudge against him or something? Did you borrow money and run off? Well, not that a Taoist would have any money, but still. What was it? That guy didn’t seem like an ordinary beggar, though.”

Baek Ryeoil was seething with rage. He clenched his fist, his patience running dangerously thin—when it happened.

“Honggae! Master Baek!”

Another beggar came running up, panting heavily.

“Huff, huff… Thank goodness! You haven’t left yet, Master Baek! Something terrible has happened! Please help us!”

“What is it?”

“There were a few missing person cases nearby recently, remember?”

“How would I know that? I’m not from around here.”

Baek Ryeoil responded flatly.

“Anyway, they happened! We figured the authorities would take care of it, but it turns out this isn’t just some ordinary thing!”

At that moment, Baek Ryeoil thought of Seong Muyeon.

He was the first person that came to mind when it came to doing strange and mysterious things.

“Tell me in detail.”

“Yesterday, the young lord of the Namgung Clan went missing near here!”

Psssshh. The tension fizzled out. Baek Ryeoil lost interest instantly, his eyes going dull as he turned away.

“Yeah, got it. Thanks. I’ll be going now.”

“M-Master! The Namgung young lord might be in danger! The Namgung Clan has urgently requested support! You won’t help?!”

“It’s the Namgung Clan. They’re a great family—they can handle it themselves.”

Baek Ryeoil left the beggars behind and briskly walked away. Normally, he would have rushed in just to mess with those Namgung bastards, but he was in no mood for that today.

He dragged himself into the first tavern he could find.

“Sigh…”

“Oh dear, why does such a young man have a face that looks like it’s rotting?”

The tavern owner clicked their tongue.

Baek Ryeoil didn’t respond and just downed strong liquor one cup after another.

“Got dumped by your lover or something?”

“What kind of nonsense is that! Of course not!”

When Baek Ryeoil snapped angrily, the owner just shook their head with a pitiful look.

“I said it’s not that!”

He shouted at the back of the tavern owner walking away, but they didn’t seem to hear. No matter how much he got angry or drank, he couldn’t shake off his mood.

Gulp, gulp.

‘Should I follow him or not?’

That was the question, in the end.

The tracking incense he had hidden on Seong Muyeon had already dispersed a long time ago.

It wouldn’t be easy to track him, but with time and effort, he could probably find him. He might even get help from the beggars.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Baek Ryeoil shuddered at the taste of the liquor, which felt especially bitter today.

At that time, Seong Muyeon was…

Locked up in a prison cell.

“…Damn it, I really did get kidnapped.”

It had happened three days ago.

He had dropped the beggar act and started pretending to be a regular civilian.

Wearing rough hemp clothes and loosely tying up his hair, he looked just like a country youth. He even made up a backstory about how he’d gotten sick of country life and run away from home.

He hitched a ride on a freight cart and arrived in a bustling city.

But before he could even get off the cart, his vision suddenly went black. Someone had thrown a sack over him.

And just like that, he woke up to find himself locked in a basement cell.

“…Is this even a life?”

What the hell was wrong with this country? Did public security even exist? The merchant who’d given him a ride had seemed kind, but they’d hit him from behind like that…

Sniff…

He kind of missed the escort guards from Ilgwang and the Heukyeongdan.

He had no idea where he was or what kind of place this was. Other than his own cell, there were multiple iron-barred cells lined up along the hallway.

And…

“Uugh…”

A man lay beside him, tightly bound, occasionally letting out groans.

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

“…Do I look alright to you?”

“No.”

The man looked terrible. His clothes were soaked in blood, and his body was covered in bruises and wounds. It was disturbing enough to make one think he’d soon be sharing a cell with a corpse.

“How did you end up like this?”

The man didn’t answer. He seemed like the prideful type, and being captured like this must have been humiliating for him.

In contrast, Seong Muyeon was unharmed.

That was because he hadn’t resisted at all when he was taken. It’d be more accurate to say he hadn’t had the ability to resist.

“Sir, do you think you could untie this rope?”

“Let me take a look.”

Seong Muyeon approached and examined the ropes closely.

‘Ugh, it hurts just to look at him.’

He tried not to focus too much on the man’s wounds as he attempted to untie the ropes. But they were tied so tightly that they didn’t budge.

“Try a bit harder, please.”

“I’m trying my best…! But it’s not working. These aren’t just regular ropes. They’ve twisted wire into the hemp.”

“Bastards…”

The man cursed through gritted teeth.

Exhausted from the effort, Seong Muyeon leaned against the wall and sat down.

“…Do you know where we are?”

Seong Muyeon asked, and the man nodded.

“Foot of a mountain near Changsha, in Hunan Province. Damn it, I need to let someone know I’m here.”

He didn’t seem like an ordinary person. His body was covered in battle wounds. He wore clothes made of high-quality material. Even his hair accessory, though disheveled, was an expensive piece.

“How did you get captured?”

“…I was chasing after them and got separated from my companions. They must’ve been waiting for that moment. They all rushed me at once—I didn’t stand a chance.”

“Then you know who these guys are?”

Seong Muyeon was surprised.

The other people in the cells seemed like ordinary civilians who’d been taken without a clue. But this man had been fighting and was captured in battle.

“Yes, you’ve heard about the recent string of disappearances in Hunan, haven’t you? These guys are behind it.”

The man ground his teeth.

“They’re part of a cult branch.”

“…”

Seong Muyeon rubbed his forehead.

‘I had a bad feeling… and I was right.’

“Oh dear, you look shocked. Don’t worry too much. My comrades will come to rescue me soon.”

The man seemed to think Seong Muyeon was scared and quickly tried to reassure him.

“Our Namgung Clan doesn’t fall so easily. Trust in Namgung.”

“Namgung? Did you say Namgung?”

The man smiled confidently.

“Yes. My name is Namgung Cheonchu.”

“…”

“Namgung Cheonchu.”

“Namgung… Cheonchu?”

Namgung Cheonchu looked at him in shock.

“…You don’t know my name? Seriously? Did you grow up in the middle of nowhere? It’s me. The young lord of the Namgung Clan!”

Seong Muyeon was sweating profusely. He had grown up in the middle of nowhere. Ever heard of the cult’s Xinjiang branch…?

“In any case, the rescue team will be here soon, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, yes…”

It was truly absurd. He was one of the Seven Dukes of the demonic cult, and yet he had been kidnapped by a branch of that same cult.

And on top of that, the Namgung Clan was involved.

But what puzzled him was that he had never heard the name Namgung Cheonchu before.

‘The young lord of the Namgung Clan… Ah!’

He remembered.

In the original work, the Namgung Clan was the last to join the anti-cult alliance led by Baek Ryeoil. They had nearly collapsed, but barely managed to rebuild and then joined the fight.

— “For the young lord’s revenge!”

That’s right.

The young lord of the Namgung Clan was killed by the demonic cult. In their grief, the Namgung Clan launched a reckless retaliation that led to their near destruction.

‘So Namgung Cheonchu dies here.’

Seong Muyeon looked at Namgung Cheonchu with fresh eyes. If he hadn’t died, the Namgung Clan wouldn’t have fallen. If they had joined the war effort earlier, the righteous faction might have ended the war much sooner.

‘In the end, the demonic cult is the problem.’

Seong Muyeon resolved to save him. The sooner the war ended, the sooner he could live out a peaceful, rural retirement.

But there was one problem.

“Lord Namgung, what do you think of the demonic cult?”

Namgung Cheonchu ground his teeth.

“What do you mean, what do I think? Obviously, they’re scum who should be torn apart. I’ll never let this humiliation go. I’ll show them a hell worse than hell. I swear it!”

“…Yes. That’s what I thought you’d say.”

“Wretched bastards! I’ll rip them to shreds!”

Namgung Cheonchu continued to curse them viciously.

From the look of things, the moment he found out Seong Muyeon was a prince of the demonic cult, his life would be in grave danger.