Chapter 159 : A Feeling Even I Do Not Understand
Chapter 159: A Feeling Even I Do Not Understand
When Yul Han stepped into the pavilion residence, he ran into Pageuk, who was sweeping the yard.
“Why aren’t you training? What are you doing here?”
“I’m sweeping the yard.”
“Why are you sweeping the yard?”
“Since this is where the Mistress resides, of course I should personally—”
“Mistress… You seem pretty confident in your skills if you have time to spare like this. Shall we have a proper verification spar today?”
At Yul Han’s question, his eyes sharply raised, Pageuk frantically shook his head and hurried away.
If he sparred with Yul Han in that state, something on his body would surely end up broken.
As Pageuk fled like that, the broom was inadvertently passed into Yul Han’s hands. After hesitating for a moment, Yul Han began sweeping the yard.
The yard was quite messy with fallen leaves.
Of course, he knew sweeping would not help much. It was the season when countless leaves were falling.
Come to think of it, he had also heard that harvesting had begun at the Military Farm Village.
While Yul Han was sweeping, the middle door opened and she came out.
“I said I would do it, so Elder Pageuk should stop and go train—”
Namgung Hee-yeon, who had been speaking, suddenly stopped as her gaze met Yul Han’s in midair.
Even though he had experienced it before, Yul Han still could not stop staring for a moment.
She really is beautiful…
Forcing himself to look away, Yul Han pulled out an official letter from his chest and held it out.
“I received this. What do you think I should do?”
“If it’s something that requires my advice, is it perhaps related to the Hundred Paths…?”
Namgung Hee-yeon hurriedly lowered her gaze to the letter and then asked with a puzzled expression.
“Golden Flower Manor… Why are you asking me this? If you want to permit it, permit it. If not, refuse it. Isn’t it that simple?”
“Do you truly think so?”
“Yes. Isn’t it obvious?”
‘She’s right. It’s obvious. Then why am I asking this here? And why do I feel upset at that answer?’
Lowering his eyes at feelings even he did not understand, Yul Han leaned the broom against the wall and left the pavilion residence.
Namgung Hee-yeon simply watched him walk away with an indifferent gaze.
Feeling that indifferent gaze upon his back, Yul Han left the Bright Cult and headed toward the Cheonghae Region.
Because it felt as though doing so was somehow taking revenge on Namgung Hee-yeon.
---
Ever since the Poison Demon had stayed here and begun practicing medicine, the guesthouse had completely turned into a clinic.
Hwayeong, who was staying in the annex of the guesthouse’s rear courtyard, gazed out the window.
Each time the wind blew, leaves fell weakly to the ground.
They felt like her own fate.
The moment the hand of Demon Flower she had clung to as a final hope let go, she felt as though her own heart would be cast away just as futilely as those fallen leaves.
As she stared blankly outside, a person’s head suddenly popped up at the window.
The young man, who looked about Hwayeong’s age, had the eyes of someone who had firmly resolved himself.
“Miss. I heard there is a martial artist of the Bright Cult here. Do you know about that?”
“There is, but… who are you?”
“It would be better for you not to know. Where is he? I would be grateful if you could tell me his exact location.”
“He’s behind you…”
At Hwayeong’s words, the young man hurriedly turned around.
But by then his windpipe was already within the grasp of the Poison Demon.
“Keck—!”
The young man, Namgung Chang-yeon, immediately began choking for breath. The Poison Demon glared at him and asked,
“Who are you? Where did you come from?”
At the cold question, Namgung Chang-yeon shouted resolutely.
“You think—keck—I’ll answer? Just kill me! Keck!”
Even while choking, he said everything he wanted to say. The Poison Demon tightened his grip on the young man’s neck with an indifferent gaze.
“Then you should die.”
As Namgung Chang-yeon’s face turned pale and then gradually blue from suffocation, Hwayeong shouted urgently.
“He’s someone who loves me!”
“Huh? Who?”
“He—he likes me. He’s someone who keeps following me.”
The Poison Demon asked,
“Is that true?”
“Yes. It’s true.”
It was a lie. Hwayeong herself did not know why she was saying such a lie.
But she could not simply watch someone die before her eyes when he had done nothing particularly wrong.
So Hwayeong nodded desperately.
The Poison Demon stared at her silently for a moment, then loosened his grip.
However, the young man’s neck already slumped limply.
Seeing the youth who appeared to have stopped breathing, Hwayeong’s eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stop a scream from escaping.
Unlike her, the Poison Demon remained relaxed.
“Tsk. Too weak.”
Clicking his tongue, the Poison Demon pressed several of Namgung Chang-yeon’s acupoints and stimulated the Life Gate.
“Guhk!”
With a hoarse gasp, the young man began breathing again.
The Poison Demon casually threw him onto the ground.
“When he wakes up, tell him to get lost. And if he hangs around again, it won’t be amusing.”
Leaving those words behind, the Poison Demon walked away casually.
Hwayeong found him terrifying.
Although her encounter with the Vice Cult Leader had proven it, the truth was that until now she had never truly feared the masters of the Bright Cult.
Rumors depicted them as monsters with three heads and six arms, but the martial artists of the Bright Cult she had met were rather gentle.
Of course, during the battle at Golden Flower Manor, dozens of Orthodox martial artists had died at the hands of Bright Cult martial artists—but that was because the Hundred Paths had targeted the manor first.
That was why she still did not fear the Bright Cult’s masters.
But the Poison Demon’s behavior just now was enough to bewilder her.
Just because someone had been snooping around—and refused to reveal his identity—he had tried to strangle him to death.
Even while doing something so frightening, the Poison Demon’s expression had not changed in the slightest.
Knowing what that meant made Hwayeong suddenly afraid.
Still, she could not leave the unconscious youth lying outside like that.
After hesitating for a long while, Hwayeong moved.
She intended to bring the young man into the annex.
He was too heavy for her to carry alone, but most of the people nearby were members of the Bright Cult.
If she called them for help, she did not know what might happen again.
So Hwayeong mustered every bit of strength she had and half-dragged, half-supported the young man into the annex.
Unaware that someone was silently watching her the entire time.
At some point, Yul Han had arrived and was observing everything from the roof of the guesthouse.
After Hwayeong and the man disappeared inside, Yul Han listened for the sounds coming from within for a moment.
Then he let out a small chuckle and vanished.
The Poison Demon, who had been organizing medical texts, was startled when the Vice Cult Leader suddenly appeared and quickly lowered his head.
“O-Oh, you have arrived, Vice Cult Leader.”
“Didn’t you send a letter asking me to come?”
At that reply, the Poison Demon glanced up.
He saw a faint smile at the corner of Yul Han’s lips.
Feeling relieved, the Poison Demon answered cautiously.
“I didn’t think you would really come. I expected only a message hawk granting permission.”
“I considered doing that, but something came up.”
“What sort of matter…?”
“I simply became a narrow-minded man for a moment.”
Unable to understand the answer at all, the Poison Demon laughed awkwardly.
“I-I see.”
“Yes. It was like that. By the way, it’s not that you didn’t know and spared him, so why did you?”
There was only one thing the Vice Cult Leader could be asking.
“Were you watching?”
“Yes. It just happened.”
At Yul Han’s answer, the Poison Demon replied with an embarrassed expression.
“As you said, I looked into it. He was wearing martial clothes bearing the mark of the Namgung Clan.”
“Then why…?”
“Because Miss Hwayeong asked me to. I received some help from that young lady this time.”
“You granted the request to spare him even though you knew it was a lie because you owed her?”
“Of course. The Vice Cult Leader always says that kindness should not be repaid with enmity… hahaha.”
Perhaps because he himself still found it unlike his usual behavior, the Poison Demon laughed awkwardly.
Yul Han smiled.
“You did well. Regardless of the reason, repaying kindness with kindness is the way of a gentleman.”
“A gentleman? Hahaha. Then does that make me a gentleman now?”
“You save people’s lives. Elder Poison Demon has already been a gentleman.”
At the unexpected words, the Poison Demon could not hide his surprise.
Yul Han continued speaking.
“From now on, I hope the Poison Demon will become a great gentleman of the Bright Cult. I ask this of you.”
The Vice Cult Leader even bowed slightly with clasped fists.
Startled, the Poison Demon hurriedly lowered his head.
“I-I will try my best, Vice Cult Leader.”
After reassuring the flustered Poison Demon, Yul Han asked,
“But what illness does Miss Hwayeong have? Her movements didn’t seem impaired, yet her complexion looked quite poor.”
“Well…”
Seeing the Poison Demon hesitate with an awkward expression, Yul Han’s face darkened.
“Is it a serious illness?”
“If you consider it serious, then yes, it is…”
“What illness is it?”
“It’s… lovesickness.”
At the stammered answer, Yul Han’s eyes widened.
“You mean the kind of lovesickness that comes from deep unrequited love…?”
“That’s correct.”
“Who is the other person for the cherished daughter of Golden Flower Manor to… Do you know who it is?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Who is it?”
At that question, the Poison Demon only smiled bitterly and looked at Yul Han.
Realizing the meaning of that gaze a moment later, Yul Han asked in shock,
“Don’t tell me! Me?”
“That ‘don’t tell me’ is correct. Miss Hwayeong is in love with you, Vice Cult Leader.”
Upon hearing the confirmation, Yul Han could only stand there blankly.
He had thought Demon Flower was merely scheming to bind Hwayeong and him together to seize the wealth of Golden Flower Manor.
Because of that, he had honestly never thought deeply about his relationship with Hwayeong.
The reason he had been conflicted after receiving the Poison Demon’s letter this time was actually because he had been worried about how to explain what Demon Flower had done so that neither side would lose face and the matter could be resolved amicably.
He did not want to simply suppress Golden Flower Manor with force like the Bright Cult had done in the past.
As long as he existed, such a Bright Cult should no longer exist.
But hearing that Hwayeong liked him enough to fall sick with lovesickness left him at a loss as to how to resolve the situation.
The Poison Demon asked him,
“What does the Vice Cult Leader think of Miss Hwayeong?”
Recalling their first meeting, Yul Han gave a small smile and answered.
“She’s a good young lady. Independent, and strong-willed.”
“Not that. What about as a spouse?”
Honestly, Yul Han had never seriously considered either Hwayeong or Namgung Hee-yeon as his spouse.
He knew the emotions he felt toward Namgung Hee-yeon were simply because she was extremely beautiful.
Even though he had died once and come back to life in another body, he was still a man.
Aside from that, even Namgung Hee-yeon was not someone he had thought about in that way.
So what was there to say about Hwayeong?
In truth, Yul Han’s heart had no room for soft games like affection or love.