HDCLSSRS Ch 128

Chapter 128 The Third Prince (4)

 

“Seong Muyeon!”

He thought he vaguely heard Baek Ryeoil’s voice.

But in the next instant, icy river water wrapped around his entire body, blowing away every thought in his head into blank whiteness. The winter river slashed at his skin as sharply as a blade.

He thrashed around, swept back and forth in the pitch-black current.

Each time he managed to lift his head above the surface, without fail the raging torrent dragged him down again.

How long was he swept away like that…?

Just as he was about to sink completely, he felt the sensation of a strong hand grabbing him roughly. Not long after, he was hauled up onto land.

“Cough, cough!”

The moment his body was pulled out of the water, heavy gravity pressed him down. Desperate, Seong Muyeon clawed at the hard ground while spewing out river water. He raked the earth in fear of being pulled back under again, but he had already lost all feeling in his fingertips.

His jaw clattered as he trembled violently. He could not stop shaking even for the briefest moment.

Suddenly, his body floated upward as if lifted, fully removed from the water. Once his mind returned slightly, he realized he was cradled in Baek Ryeoil’s arms.

Overcome, he hungrily clung to the burning warmth radiating from Baek Ryeoil’s bare skin.

“Just hold on a little longer. You’ll be warm soon.”

Seong Muyeon couldn’t think of anything else. He only wanted to pull that lifeline of warmth closer, deeper into him.

After some time had passed, and once his chilled body finally began to feel heat again, he blinked when he sensed a hot hand slowly stroking down his back.

“Seems like you’ve come to your senses now.”

At some point, he had been stripped naked and was now buried against Baek Ryeoil’s chest, nestled inside his wide-open lapels.

He could not recall when, nor how his clothes had come off. Yet Baek Ryeoil’s garment—curiously dry without a single trace of dampness—was wrapped broadly around his back.

“Where are we? I remember being swept away by the river.”

As a hint of the chill receded, he found enough clarity to look around. Still, his face and lips were frozen stiff, causing his speech to lisp.

“We’ve been carried quite far downstream. Looks like this is a cave near the lower reaches.”

As Baek Ryeoil said this, Seong Muyeon could see, at the distant slope of the tilted ceiling, the wild churning of rushing waters.

“I thought… I thought I’d die.”

“You really almost did. If I had pulled you out even a little later, hypothermia would’ve killed you.”

Relieved, Seong Muyeon pressed his cheek against Baek Ryeoil’s bare chest. Baek Ryeoil flinched when his cold nose touched skin.

“That one who took Seong Mujai—wasn’t that the Third Prince?”

When Seong Muyeon nodded, Baek Ryeoil continued:

“No wonder something felt strange. At first, I thought they had come to recover the Yeongdan, so I responded accordingly. But the longer it went on, the more off it felt.”

Though he continued speaking, Baek Ryeoil’s hand never ceased to sweep gently across his back.

“It was Seong Mujai they were really after. It seemed like they were deliberately trying to draw attention elsewhere. Just then, that man appeared.”

Baek Ryeoil trailed off, then added quietly,

“He was strong.”

“……”

It was the first time Seong Muyeon had ever heard Baek Ryeoil speak in such a tone. He seemed shaken. Perhaps because until now he had never faced someone of equal skill in his age group.

Seong Muyeon then noticed something odd. Baek Ryeoil’s body temperature was abnormally high.

In that moment, he realized Baek Ryeoil had been channeling inner energy to heat his body. Mere warmth alone would not have been enough to bring Seong Muyeon’s icy body back from the cold.

“What’s wrong?”

Baek Ryeoil asked bluntly, as though nothing unusual had happened. Outwardly indifferent, yet on the inside he was delicate and gentle.

Seong Muyeon felt as if warmth seeped not just into his body but also into his heart.

The two stared silently into each other’s eyes. Then, suddenly, Baek Ryeoil lowered his head and brushed a kiss against his lips. Surprised, Seong Muyeon stared blankly at the playful touch, then, overcome by impulse, devoured those lips with sudden intensity.

Perhaps it was the strain of facing both icy cold and burning heat at once that had driven his mind into madness. The sudden rush of desire was overwhelming, impossible to suppress.

Clinging desperately to Baek Ryeoil, he bit at his lips.

“Ugh.”

Baek Ryeoil suddenly frowned in pain and let out a groan, startling Seong Muyeon back into awareness.

“Are you hurt?”

Seong Muyeon quickly examined his body.

“D-don’t touch that.”

Seong Muyeon sucked in a sharp breath.

“Your arm is broken! And you still swam through the river like this?”

Now he saw it clearly. The arm that hadn’t been caressing his back dangled uselessly, dripping with blood.

“…Shouldn’t you thank me for saving your life?”

When Seong Muyeon glared at him through clenched teeth, Baek Ryeoil curved his mouth into a teasing smile.

“……Thank you. For saving me.”

“That’s better.”

Defeated, Seong Muyeon exhaled a long, exhausted sigh.

Inside Baek Ryeoil’s clothing, he managed to find emergency medicine. Cut and scratched wounds could be treated with medicine, but there was nothing he could do about broken bones. His furrowed brow refused to loosen, until Baek Ryeoil leaned in with a sly whisper:

“Rather than frowning like that… how about you just continue what you were doing earlier?”

“You can laugh about this?!”

Seong Muyeon snapped with irritation.

Luckily, it was his non-sword arm that was broken. Otherwise, it might have left permanent scars or aftereffects.

Yet what on earth was so amusing that Baek Ryeoil was smiling so easily?

As though none of this was a big deal…

“It doesn’t look like we can leave here anytime soon.”

The cave’s mouth was directly connected to the river, and to get out onto land they would have to cross to the opposite bank through the rushing waters. The fact that Baek Ryeoil had managed with only one arm to pull Seong Muyeon out and find this cave was already a miracle.

“If we wait, someone will come to rescue us sooner or later.”

“……I’m not so sure. Did anyone even see us fall into the water?”

Since Bang-gyeom had lost consciousness, he couldn’t have seen. If Baek Ryeoil hadn’t arrived while chasing Seong Muguk, Seong Muyeon would already have been a dead man.

“When I went after Seong Muguk, the battle was already winding down. Once he escaped, the rest of them began retreating too. It won’t be long before they realize we’re missing and start searching. Of course… I can’t say how long ‘not long’ really means.”

Immediately after the fight, people would have been too busy tending the wounded and the dead to notice who else was gone.

Baek Ryeoil still kept brushing against Seong Muyeon. Now that he realized Baek Ryeoil was injured, Seong Muyeon’s heart turned cold again. He had no desire to do indecent things with someone wounded.

And yet, neither could he keep lashing out with anger at the man who had saved his life.

Though he showed no signs, the pain must have been enormous. Perhaps he clung so persistently only to distract himself from the throbbing.

Thinking so, Seong Muyeon tolerated it for a while, then finally pushed him away. This time, Baek Ryeoil no longer clung, and instead began talking about what had happened the previous night.

“Before the ambush, I requested reinforcements from Mount Hua, and the Wu-dang sect contacted their main branch, while the Jegal clan summoned aid from their family seat.”

“Did they?”

“The plan was that once personnel from each sect arrived, we’d divide them into two groups: one would join the pursuit unit and chase the Ghostslayers, the other would remain here to guard the Yeongdan.”

“But things didn’t exactly follow the plan. And Seong Mujai was taken.”

Would Seong Muguk plan to kill him?

“Plans can always be adjusted. If Seong Mujai is dead, then so be it. What matters is that we survived. Besides… there are other brothers. Losing one isn’t the end—we can always bring another.”

Hearing this, Seong Muyeon caught something strange in Baek Ryeoil’s tone. His words dragged slightly, his speech was slurred. On top of that, though he had no need now to use inner energy for warmth, his skin was still burning hot to the touch.

This wasn’t energy-heated warmth anymore—he was genuinely feverish.

“You’re burning up!” shouted Seong Muyeon.

“Am I…?” Baek Ryeoil blinked slowly, his expression dazed. It was as if he didn’t even realize he was injured.

What kind of man is this?!

Now Seong Muyeon discovered that besides his broken arm, Baek Ryeoil had also been stabbed in the abdomen. Blood was oozing faintly from the wound. Entering the river had caused the acupressure he’d used to stanch the bleeding to loosen, and now infection had taken hold.

“This won’t do. I’m going to fetch help.”

Seong Muyeon sprang to his feet, grabbing the scattered clothes and dressing in a rush. Thanks to Baek Ryeoil’s use of inner strength to force out the moisture, they were dry.

Remembering the icy, knife-like river water sent a chill through his heart, but this time would be different.

The last time, he had been shocked by the fall from a height combined with suddenly plunging into frigid water. But now, the circumstances were changed.

As long as he held firm, he could endure.

Since Baek Ryeoil had saved him, Seong Muyeon too must save Baek Ryeoil.

“…Don’t go.”

With fever-clouded eyes, Baek Ryeoil’s lips barely moved as he breathed out the words.