HDCLSSRS Ch 8

Chapter 8 Is This What It Means to Live? (1)

 

“Seong Muyeon!”

A chilling shout, imbued with inner force, erupted from behind him. It was loud enough to shake the entire marketplace.

People recoiled in fear, but Seong Muyeon didn’t stop and kept moving forward.

At that moment, a swift shadow brushed over his head, and his body suddenly lifted off the ground.

Baek Ryeoil had grabbed the scruff of his neck and hoisted him up. He didn’t even have time to react.

“Got you.”

Baek Ryeoil was wearing a terrifying smile. Though his lips were curved in a grin, madness burned fiercely in his eyes.

Seong Muyeon swallowed dryly.

“…Sa—”

He lost all will to resist and let his body go limp.

“Please spare me.”

Crash!

Seong Muyeon tumbled across the floor. Baek Ryeoil had roughly shoved him into a room at a guest inn. He followed behind and shut the door.

Click…

To Seong Muyeon, that sound rang out like a death sentence.

“How dare you toy with me? You, of the Demonic Cult?”

Baek Ryeoil murmured softly, his fury boiling over.

Seong Muyeon trembled like a rat trapped in a jar.

“Haha… How will I ever wash away this humiliation?”

Step.

Baek Ryeoil took a step closer.

“Shall I roast you? Or stir-fry you?”

Another step.

“Or maybe boil you?”

The closer Baek Ryeoil got, the more Seong Muyeon’s head drooped like ripened rice stalks. Scenes from the original story flashed through his mind. Brutal… and bloody scenes.

Cold sweat poured down his face.

‘How can I get out of this crisis…’

“I can hear the gears turning in your head from here.”

Baek Ryeoil’s voice from above now brimmed with murderous intent.

‘There’s no way out.’

Every character from the Demonic Cult in the original story was utterly crushed before Baek Ryeoil. It didn’t matter if they were currently affiliated or had been in the past. Let alone Seong Muyeon—he was even the cult leader’s son, inseparably tied to the Demonic Cult by blood.

“You must have at least guessed that you won’t die peacefully, right?”

“…”

Was this really the end?

After all the effort to escape the Demonic Cult?

What about that quiet rural life? The seven rabbit-like children?!

Grit.

The memory of all he had endured ignited a surge of fury.

He couldn’t die like this.

Seong Muyeon lunged toward Baek Ryeoil.

At that moment, Baek Ryeoil’s eyes gleamed. He thought Seong Muyeon was finally revealing his true nature.

‘Let’s see what hidden move you’ve got… Huh?’

But no attack came. Instead, Seong Muyeon clung to his leg.

“Please spare me!”

“W-What the—! Let go of me!”

Baek Ryeoil kicked his long leg to shake him off, but Seong Muyeon held on with all his might.

“No! I won’t let go! You’re going to kill me! I don’t want to die!”

“You little—do you think throwing a tantrum will make me go easy on you?!”

Seong Muyeon screamed so loudly the entire inn could probably hear.

“It’s unfair! I may have been born as the Demonic Cult leader’s son, but I’ve never done anything bad! And now I have to die?! Isn’t someone who kills an innocent person worse?!”

“Innocent? Did you just say innocent?!”

“Do you think I chose to be born this way?! I barely escaped the Demonic Cult, and just when I thought I could live a peaceful life—!”

“Why should I care about your sob story…!”

The leg he was shaking suddenly stopped.

“…What did you say?”

Seong Muyeon was still clinging to his leg when suddenly, his body was lifted, and Baek Ryeoil’s face was right in front of him. He had lifted a whole person dangling from his leg with ease.

Baek Ryeoil narrowed his eyes.

“You said you escaped?”

Seong Muyeon looked up at him blankly.

“I just said that. That I escaped the Demonic Cult. Why?”

“Why, you ask… The Demonic Cult won’t last much longer.”

“Why won’t it last?”

“Well, because you’ll destroy it, Master Baek.”

“Why would I destroy it?”

Seong Muyeon blinked.

“Because they’re evil?”

“So they know they’re evil?”

“Of course! I’m seriously offended! I do have moral standards, you know! Why else do you think I fled? I went through all sorts of hell there!”

Seong Muyeon shouted, deciding to let everything out.

“They gather children and make them compete to the death! And after growing up like that, they tell you to kill your friends! They make you bathe in blood! They’re all insane!”

Baek Ryeoil lowered his leg.

“Right. They are insane.”

He nodded in agreement.

“I was already miserable enough being born into that household, but do you really have to kill me? Just let me go. I’ll live quietly as if I were dead. I won’t ever show up again. I really mean it.”

Seong Muyeon pulled all his pent-up grievances together and put on the most sorrowful face he could manage. He wasn’t even lying—he was genuinely resentful and bitter. It was pure luck that his weak constitution had exempted him from most of the brutal training.

“And once you step up, Master Baek, the Demonic Cult won’t last long anyway! Do you think anyone would dare make a peep in front of someone as formidable as you? They’ll be wiped out without even resisting! It’d be stupid to stay there!”

“Ahem, that’s true. I am pretty formidable.”

The corner of Baek Ryeoil’s lips twitched. Seong Muyeon took it as a sign to continue piling on the praise.

“They’d be gone in an instant if mighty Master Baek just flicked his hand!”

“Ahem.”

“Master Baek is the best! So cool! So handsome!”

“Hmph, for someone from the Demonic Cult, you’ve got decent taste.”

Seeing Baek Ryeoil in a good mood, Seong Muyeon quietly stood up.

“You get it now, right? Anyway, no matter how the Demonic Cult acts up, they can’t even touch your toes, Master Baek!”

“Of course, of course!”

“There’s nothing to worry about as long as you’re around!”

With that, Seong Muyeon casually walked toward the door.

“Hehe, then I’ll be going now…”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Baek Ryeoil’s sharp eyes returned, like a predator locking onto its prey.

“No matter what, I can’t just let the Demonic Cult leader’s son wander around the central plains. Especially not without verifying if what you said is true.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

Seong Muyeon struggled desperately to escape his grasp. In the process, he accidentally kicked Baek Ryeoil in the stomach.

“Gasp, s-sorry… Master Baek?”

Oddly, the iron-bodied Baek Ryeoil clutched his abdomen from one light kick. Seong Muyeon even forgot to run and approached him.

“What’s wrong?”

Sweat beaded on Baek Ryeoil’s cheeks and neck as he hunched over.

“…Don’t tell me you’re still affected by Gunjasan?”

Baek Ryeoil just shut his eyes tightly as if bearing pain, offering no answer.

Seong Muyeon’s jaw dropped.

“No way! Did you overexert yourself before the poison was fully neutralized?”

“…Shut up. This is your fault.”

Seong Muyeon supported him to a chair and began checking his condition.

Baek Ryeoil was breathing heavily, skin cold yet drenched in sweat.

“You idiot! You knew what would happen if you forcefully drew on your internal energy while still poisoned, and you did it anyway?!”

If he could, Seong Muyeon would’ve smacked his back until it burst. Though, it’d probably hurt his own hand more…

“The poison and your energy clashed, twisting your meridians temporarily!”

“I know.”

Baek Ryeoil replied through clenched teeth, enduring the pain.

Frustrated, Seong Muyeon ran his hand through his hair. That’s when he realized—it was the perfect chance to escape from Baek Ryeoil.

“…”

“…”

Perhaps Baek Ryeoil had the same thought, because their eyes met.

This was the last chance.

Seong Muyeon finally turned to go. Just before leaving the room, he spoke one last time.

“If you don’t overdo it, you’ll recover in a few days. Just don’t make the same mistake again.”

He glanced back. Baek Ryeoil was slumped in the chair, seemingly unable to stand. This time, he truly wouldn’t be able to give chase. If he tried again, he might fall into qi deviation and suffer permanent damage.

As the door closed behind him, Baek Ryeoil disappeared from sight.

Seong Muyeon strode down the stairs. A servant cleaning the hallway jumped in surprise when he saw him. What was a beggar doing coming out of a guest room?

“Who are you?”

Seong Muyeon didn’t answer and brushed past him.

‘As far away as possible… Somewhere I’ll never be found.’

But he stopped not long after.

“…”

It wasn’t his fault. Baek Ryeoil had tried to harm him first, so he gave him poison. And Baek Ryeoil wouldn’t be in this state if he hadn’t overexerted himself.

‘…Haa.’

“…Excuse me?”

The servant, puzzled by the beggar standing still as if posing, cautiously approached. Just as he reached out to poke his shoulder—

“Damn it!”

The beggar suddenly shrieked.

“Whoa! That scared me!”

The servant fell flat on his back.

“Huh? What are you doing over there?”

“It’s your fault! Why did you come out of a guest room? You didn’t steal anything, did you?!”