HDCLSSRS Ch 108

Chapter 108 So It Turned Out That Way (7)

Seong Muyeon was, inwardly, flustered.

Why am I acting like this?

Who was he to bark orders at Baek Ryeoil and demand explanations? And yet, he couldn’t seem to control himself—his mouth was running ahead, speaking without restraint.

“When are you coming back? You really will return, won’t you? Hm?”

“I’ll come back. I told you I will! Satisfied now?”

“…I’ll be watching.”

Only after dragging out the answer he wanted did Seong Muyeon reluctantly let him go. But inside, his heart was a maelstrom of confusion. It seemed he’d been suffering silently more than he realized all this time. And as always—the cause of it all was Baek Ryeoil.

Ryeoil, stomping heavily at first, suddenly turned around and strode back.

“Because of you, I almost forgot! Get yourself ready—we’re going to see Yakseon.”

“I’m going too? Why?”

“Because I said so! Stop asking questions!”

What a problem case of a personality.

When they arrived, Yakseon happened to be coming out of the guest hall. At the sight of the two of them side by side, she paused briefly, then quickly walked off as though nothing were amiss.

“I was just about to summon you, but it’s good you came on your own. Follow me.”

Ryeoil fell in behind her, and Seong Muyeon hurried to stick close.

“…What was that just now?”

“What was what?”

Feigning ignorance, Ryeoil acted as though nothing had happened. But Muyeon had clearly seen it—the look exchanged between Yakseon and him. Neither seemed inclined to explain.

“So what’s happening? Where are we going now?”

“To make medicine for your treatment.”

“R–Really?”

At last!

But the joy was fleeting—Muyeon’s heart soon filled with unease. Surely things couldn’t go this smoothly? That she would suddenly agree to make him medicine like this—there had to be some hidden agenda…

“In exchange, there’s something you must do.”

Of course.

“What do you want me to do this time?”

“This time? What do you mean this time? Didn’t you say you’d do anything? And yet now you complain? Do you not need the medicine anymore?”

“No! No, of course not! I’m—overjoyed, haha!”

…The world is fundamentally unfair.

The one in need has no choice but to yield.

“So then, what must I do?”

“It won’t be anything too difficult.”

Yakseon, still striding ahead, continued.

“For some time now, I’ve asked your sect leader to help me find someone. At last, we’ve obtained a lead. You’re to go locate that person.”

“And who would that be?”

“Your sixth brother. Seong Mujai.”

“…What?”

Muyeon stopped mid-step, unable to believe his ears.

“Who… did you say?”

“Your brother. Seong Mujai.”

“…”

Why are you showing up now, of all times?

Who was the Sixth Young Master, Seong Mujai? Muyeon’s elder brother, who had vanished not long ago—officially “missing,” but in truth suspected of fleeing after the death of the Fourth Young Master. Many believed he had murdered his sibling and escaped.

“But why… why are you looking for him?”

“That is for you to find out.”

Yakseon turned, her eyes sharp.

“When he fled the Cult, he took something with him. Bring that back as well. Do it, and I will make your cure.”

“…Wait. I have several questions. First—what is that thing he supposedly has? Second—how do you know all this? How could you know the inner workings of the Cult, all the way from Shingan⁽¹⁾? You were living in isolation as a physician far from the martial world…”

“That’s not for you to know. Your only task is to find the item.”

“And what is it exactly?”

“You’ll know when you meet him.”

“And if he doesn’t have it?”

Yakseon fixed him with a piercing look.

“Then there will be no medicine.”

“That’s unfair!”

“Unfair or not, that’s how it is. You will find him. Do you know why? Because beyond just the item, I will need the blood of a healthy relative to make your cure. Fresh blood. You must bring your brother here.”

“And if… if my brother really doesn’t have that item?”

“He has it. Without a doubt.”

Her words were firm, each syllable charged with conviction.

…Then there was no choice. He would have to bring him back, whatever it took.

“…I understand.”

Muyeon’s shoulders slumped. Who would’ve thought he’d encounter yet another brother in the heart of the Central Plains?

“By the way, the two of you…”

“Hm?”

Yakseon glanced back and forth between him and Ryeoil, then shook her head.

“No, nothing.”

Muyeon’s heart dropped into his stomach. He clung to her desperately.

“You can’t just stop mid-sentence! If there’s some issue, tell me! Do you mean for me to lose sleep worrying? Isn’t it common decency to explain once you’ve begun? What is it?!”

“It’s just… I was wondering—have the two of you considered practicing Bedroom Arts⁽²⁾ together?”

“…What?”

Muyeon gaped blankly at her unexpected words.

“Well, it’s only a thought. Since the compatibility between you is so good, if you did, it could strengthen the effects of the medicine. That’s all! No other meaning to it.”

“…”

He cast Ryeoil a sidelong glance. His expression, casual as ever, seemed to take it as perfectly natural. Yet Yakseon seemed unconvinced and waved her hand.

“No, no. Forget it. That was nonsense. After all, you’re both men—and besides, one’s a son of the Demonic Cult, the other a disciple of Mount Hua.”

“…”

Nonetheless, she couldn’t seem to let go of the idea. She kept staring at them, lips twitching as though to speak, then shaking her head. Muyeon—who certainly couldn’t reveal that they’d already tumbled together the night before—could only remain silent and endure it.

At last, Yakseon stopped in front of what seemed to be their destination: an empty hall.

“You’re not coming in with us?”

“I would like to, but… ah, they’re already here!”

At the sound of movement from within, her face brightened—unusually radiant. She rushed inside.

Muyeon’s stomach sank with foreboding. For Yakseon to greet someone so warmly…

“You brought everything? Good. Let’s get ready.”

Entering, Muyeon found familiar figures—masked boys and girls—moving busily to and fro, piling up and sorting boxes.

“As you can see, I can’t leave. I have to begin preparing your medicine. I even got the sect leader to arrange for me a proper place to stay, since the guest hall is too small, too crowded.”

While she spoke, she directed the attendants briskly—this crate here, that one over there.

“Your medicine is especially complex… and recently, some dogs wrecked my laboratory.”

Flinch.

One “dog” trembled and kept his mouth shut, glancing sidelong at the other “dog.” Baek Ryeoil’s tension was obvious too.

“For now, let’s start cleaning this place!”

With that shouted order, Yakseon strode off.

What do we do?

Ryeoil shot him a wordless glare, full of silent chastisement: See? This is why I told you we should’ve killed them outright.

Just then, Muyeon felt the hair rise at the back of his neck—someone was watching. He turned.

“…”

A masked attendant wearing an owl mask stood frozen, a large box in his arms, staring directly at them.

The moment stretched unbearably long—for Muyeon and Ryeoil. In reality, it was but an instant.

Thud.

The owl set the box down on the table. The dull sound rang thunderously in Muyeon’s ears.

He prayed desperately that the boy had some kind of amnesia—that he would remember nothing of what had gone down at the laboratory.

Of course, no such luck.

After the long stillness, Ryeoil finally took a cautious step—at which the owl dashed past him, straight to Yakseon. Too late to stop.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

The owl whispered quickly in her ear. Muyeon couldn’t hear the words, but he could well imagine the content.

Frozen with terror, trembling, he could only watch.

Yakseon listened carefully, nodding now and then, asking brief questions, her expression gradually darkening.

“…Is that so.”

She straightened. The owl stepped back to stand silently behind her.

“It was you, wasn’t it? The one who interfered with my attendants, and destroyed my lab.”

Her eyes fixed unerringly on Baek Ryeoil.

Footnotes:

¹ Shingan (신강 본교) – referring to Xinjiang (far west), the main headquarters of the Demonic Cult.

² Bangjung-sul (방중술, 房中術) – Literally “arts of the bedchamber,” Taoist sexual cultivation practices, believed to strengthen qi, health, and longevity.