Camellia 19

Seolyeong didn’t seem to have even a grain of intention to let Yujae go. He continued running with gyeonggong, the boy slung over his shoulder.

The birds that had been fighting for territory scattered in a flutter at his arrival. For the first time in his life, Yujae felt the humiliation of being forcibly transported. Worried the boy might get motion sickness, Seolyeong landed briefly near a valley and set him down.

“This is your first time experiencing such speed, isn’t it? Seeing your master’s skills with your own eyes must fill you with admiration, right?”

Every question he threw out reeked of overconfidence. And though he wasn’t entirely wrong, when someone spoke so shamelessly, even a true statement became hard to agree with.

When Yujae glared back in silence, lips sealed tight like a clam, Seolyeong responded with a kindly smile.

“You’d best get used to my pace as quickly as you can. Soon enough, you too will be soaring through the skies like a hawk.”

With that, he reached out and messed up Yujae’s black hair. The stiff, straw-like strands clearly showed the boy had grown up in poor conditions.

Meanwhile, Yujae was busy looking for a way to escape. He could whistle and summon the spirit beast he raised, but if the mad bride saw it, there was a chance he’d begin to suspect his identity.

If the man learned that his husband would lose his martial arts from undergoing an unwanted age regression, how would he react? He certainly wouldn’t gasp and exclaim, “Oh heavens, it was you, Seobang-nim,” then bow in reverence. So Yujae was determined to hide his identity to the very end.

Stretching lazily, Seolyeong spoke.

“Peaceful. It’s nice. Now that we’ve left Yeonhu behind, it finally feels like nature is breathing again.”

Sipman Daesan wasn’t the name of a single mountain. It referred to the vast range of peaks sprawling between Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces.

Of all the many peaks that made up Sipman Daesan, Cheonsin’s decision to choose Suido Peak in particular had been, frankly, the worst possible choice. The deep, layered canyons might have been majestic, but they were absolutely useless.

Giving the boy a break, Seolyeong began gossiping–no, speaking candidly, about Cheonsin.

“Come closer, disciple. Your master is about to share a tale for your ears alone. A story of a certain coldhearted husband. Doesn’t that sound fun already?”

When Yujae didn’t move an inch, Seolyeong used a strange twist of spatial energy to pull him closer. The boy’s leather tunic was gripped by invisible force and dragged right onto Seolyeong’s firm thigh. Yujae sat stiffly with a sour expression.

Seolyeong gently rested his chin atop the boy’s head.

“Once upon a time, there was a bride so beautiful he was said to be the most radiant in all the land. His hair shimmered like silk spun by a fairy, his eyes sparkled with endless life, his nose was a perfect stroke of calligraphy, and his lips looked as if lotus petals had come to rest there. Truly, the embodiment of heavenly grace. And his character, oh so noble, that even the Nine Provinces and Eight Realms revered him.”

Yujae shuddered like his ears were rotting. It had been a long time since he felt such intense disgust.

Ever since becoming the one who led the demonic sect, Tang Yujae had lost most of the emotions one would associate with being human.

They called him Cheonsin, the Heavenly god, for a reason. He stood just short of the peak of human martial cultivation, and had witnessed countless others die trying to surpass him. Back when he had only slain one or two, his heart still stirred. But after killing tens of thousands, he had become numb. That was the natural order of things.

Nothing thrilled him, nothing delighted him, and nothing pierced him deeply anymore.

That extended even to negative emotions. At this point, no matter what sort of mistreatment he received, it no longer annoyed him. Even after realizing that Yuwon had dosed him with an aphrodisiac, he hadn’t said much. It all stemmed from this emptiness.

Of the two goals that had once kept him alive, one had long since lost meaning. Now, only one goal remained. A goal he could not speak aloud until it was fulfilled.

All this to say, Seolyeong was a remarkable figure to have managed to provoke even a flicker of irritation, almost a spark of bloodlust, from him.

After finishing his shameless self-description, Seolyeong abruptly raised his voice.

“Now, if one is fortunate enough to gain such a beautiful bride, even if he has the temperament of a viper, shouldn’t he at least try to be a decent husband? But no, that pathetic husband…! Haa. I didn’t mean to yell. That must’ve startled you. I apologize.”

Seolyeong caught his breath, then lied.

“Anyway, I heard he used illusions to mock and trick his bride, only to get what he deserved. They say he was grabbed by the hair and thrown into a lake. And not just any lake, but a poisoned one, where he suffered terribly.”

When Yujae didn’t respond, Seolyeong cleared his throat and added more.

“You might think the bride was a little too harsh, but if you’d seen the illusion, you’d have done the same. He was pretending to be a loving husband, then got caught and got mad from embarrassment, snapping at his bride.”

“……”

“I wasn’t going to mention this part, but… the bastard even grabbed the bride’s hair. Twisted it up in his hand and yanked, like he was picking fiddleheads. So the bride paid him back in kind.”

Yujae threw a cold glare at him, wondering if his bride had realized the truth and was provoking him on purpose. Seolyeong, not getting the reaction he wanted, muttered as if deflated.

“Well, I suppose a kid whose brain’s not fully grown wouldn’t understand…”

It was about time to get moving again. Seolyeong stood up with Yujae in his arms. The boy kicked and flailed, but it didn’t leave so much as a scratch.

Chatting nonstop that it was nice to have such a feisty travel companion, Seolyeong ended up laughing hard while dodging fingers trying to jab his eyes.

“Hahaha! This kid’s got a wicked streak! A true standout in the history of the martial world!”

Though he already believed it, Seolyeong declared it like some great prophecy, and started talking about how Yujae must one day return to repay his master after becoming a hero of Jungwon.

Yujae was already sick and tired of his bride’s nonstop talking. When he finally gave up and went limp, Seolyeong chuckled. Just as talkative as he was cheerful, this man really was an exhausting person. Yujae finished forming his cold appraisal.

As they reached the edge of Sipman Daesan, the air cleared.

With the deep green mountains against the brilliant blue sky, Seolyeong hoisted Yujae up onto his shoulders. Taking each other’s hands, they spread their arms wide and formed the silhouette of a great bird soaring through the air.

Seolyeong called out as he practiced deep breathing.

“Do you know what your master’s childhood dream was? A goshawk! I always wished I could hunt without care and fly as much as I wanted. I even prayed to the Wonsi Cheonjon to let me be born as a goshawk in my next life!”

The wind blew sharp and fresh. Letting the wind carry them without moving his feet, Seolyeong eventually caught sight of the outline of Sacheon’s city gates.

He had passed up closer cities like Gwiju and Honam to come here for one reason. Sacheon was known as the city of gourmet food. The boy was so thin it hurt to look at him. Seolyeong had chosen Sacheon with the hope of feeding him well, but of course, Yujae remained silent.

The words engraved on the upper arch of the city gate read Sukyeong Sacheon¹, carved by his uncle, Tang Hyeonguk. Perhaps it was because they were returning to his ruined homeland, but forgotten memories began to rise again.

There was a time when Sahyeol Amje had gone by the name Tang Yujae.

Back then, Tang Yujae hadn’t brought a wave of blood to Jungwon. He was a boy who had once been scolded for not even daring to kill a single ant. His father, who used to chide him, asking how someone so soft could survive in a world where the strong reigned, died with his entrails torn out like a butchered animal. His mother, who had researched using poison as medicine, was buried alive in a vat of toxin.

And then, there was a girl with ashen hair…

Sahyeol Amje deliberately crumbled that memory.

It, too, was a story that had passed.

His first goal, revenge, had already been fulfilled. Those responsible for wiping out the Tang family of Sacheon had all died the same way. He no longer felt bound to his parents’ deaths.

1. 숙 (俶) = begin, initiate, or elegant 영 (靈) = spirit, sacred, numinous 사천 (四川) = Sacheon (the province) ↩︎