Camellia 49

His first time?

Mae Inyeong was at a loss for words, she just opened and closed her crimson lips.

Hadn’t it been at least half a month since the Mad Bride entered the sect? Of course, she had already heard the rumors that he was rejected on their wedding night. But for it to last this long was hard to comprehend. Even to Mae Inyeong, who was used to being around renowned beauties, the Mad Bride was quite the looker. Surely Cheonsin would have been satisfied and taken him to bed by now.

Inyeong probed casually.

“You say that like you’re some celibate monk, young master.”

The bride smiled shyly and mumbled,

“I admit it.”

“Don’t admit that! Why would you admit that?!”

Mae Inyeong screeched, barely managing to straighten her distorted expression. The Mad Bride wasn’t joking. He fidgeted with his fingers, clearly embarrassed.

Mae Inyeong said, putting aside the emptiness rising inside her,

“…Someone as lovely as you, and still a virgin. I’m shocked, but I’ll send you in. Go ahead inside, young master. I’ll be splashing my feet over by the railing.”

If he’d never even touched Cheonsin, there was no reason to cling to him.

After placing a kiss on Seolyeong’s jawline, Inyeong vanished. Seolyeong rubbed away the ticklish kiss with his palm and stepped into Seongseodang.

Soon, a hallway lined with ebony wood appeared. Three escorts guided Seolyeong to the office.

Round windows let sunlight stream in intermittently. Each time he passed beneath the faint light, a long black shadow stretched and disappeared again. After ascending the dustless stairs, Seolyeong arrived at the door.

The escorts bowed lightly and vanished.

Seolyeong fiddled with his bamboo hat. He ought to have taken it off out of courtesy, but because of his eyes, he couldn’t. Knowing it might appear rude, he pressed the black-lacquered hat deeper over his face and opened the door.

The scent of black tea lingered like a gentle breeze. Scrolls depicting qilin¹ decorated the walls in varying sizes.

Across the hexagonal table, the deputy leader greeted him first.

“Welcome, young master. A wandering hero gracing such a humble place. I’ve heard the situation from Inyeong, so please, have some tea first and relax.”

So the courtesan’s name was Inyeong. He’d have to remember that. Seolyeong sat at the table as directed by the vice leader’s gesture.

The deputy leader of Yeongryeongdan was a refined-looking man whose clear skin and jade-colored silk complemented each other well. He wasn’t quite handsome enough to be called a beauty, but his gentle expression kept him from seeming plain. His round, unblemished forehead suggested wealth in terms of physiognomy. Apparently, doing dirty work didn’t mean one had to have a dirty face.

The black tea prepared on the table was Qimen black tea. A favorite among those who truly appreciated tea, it released a gentle warmth.

The deputy leader himself sat not at the same table but on a raised platform beyond it, with a personal table before him in traditional seating. The space was originally for concealing with curtains, and pale silk was bundled on either side of the pillars.

When his guest remained still, the deputy leader asked,

“Do you not enjoy tea?”

Instead of answering, Seolyeong pulled out a folded portrait and laid it on the table.

“I’m searching for this child. I was going to take him in as my disciple. But due to my mistake, I lost him. I heard he may have been taken by a trafficking group, and I came to ask whether a child like this was recently brought here.”

“Human trafficking… from which region?”

“Sacheon.”

The vice leader shook his head.

“Unfortunately, these days the noble families snatch up any child with martial potential, so we haven’t taken in any recently.”

“You mean not a single one?”

Seolyeong asked sharply. The vice leader smiled more deeply.

“There was one. A boy in leather clothes, probably the son of a hunter. Come to think of it, I believe he was also found in Sacheon.”

At those words, Seolyeong slammed both hands on the table and shot to his feet. The chair behind him clattered to the floor.

“Where is he now?”

His heart was wildly pounding. He’d finally found a lead. The leather clothing, the disappearance in Sacheon, it all matched. He had to confirm it with his own eyes.

“Where do I go to meet him?”

The deputy leader dragged out his answer.

“Do you truly wish to know?”

A loaded question. He rested his chin on his hand.

“Hm… Should I tell you or not…”

Seolyeong started feeling discomfort. He untied the string on his bamboo hat.

“…Stop playing games and answer me properly. Before I lose my temper.”

His red eyes gleamed. A flash of fangs showed between his snarling lips.

He was fully aware he was threatening now. With his martial power lost, he had no choice but to resort to such disgraceful methods if it meant retrieving the child.

The deputy leader stiffened.

“How rude… tsk.”

He slowly swept his gaze over Seolyeong with cold eyes.

“Red eyes… so you must be one of the Camellias of the North. I had some hope, but it seems you were just taught to threaten others in your noble house. What a disappointment.”

“Disappointment only happens when expectations exist in the first place.”

Seolyeong responded without a hint of agitation. He didn’t have the luxury to react to every insult.

The deputy leader grinned.

“No, I did have high expectations. I’m sure all of the martial world was curious. Could a man-eating blood fiend grow up like a proper righteous man?”

“……”

“They say the late Murong master argued with the head of the Murim Alliance and left these words behind: ‘If one meets a good teacher, their fate can change, just like the camellia that blooms even in winter.’”

That was the phrase that led to Seolyeong and Seolhyeon being called the Camellias of the North. The deputy leader continued with a regretful tone.

“Seems the camellia never bloomed after all.”

Seolyeong belatedly realized he was being provoked. He steeled himself not to be swept up and calmly replied.

“Camellias bloom only in winter. It’s just not the season yet.”

“Yet plenty of flowers bloom before winter comes. Anyway, I quoted Murong because some flowers fail to bloom altogether and must have their stems cut before they ever get the chance.”

A creeping sense of dread crawled up Seolyeong’s spine. He looked down.

“That child, unfortunately, passed away some time ago.”

The deputy leader delivered the news in a soft tone.

“He was already emaciated from wandering in a foreign land and then caught a local illness here in Shingang. Of course, we’re not so cruel as to neglect a sick child. We had a physician see him and gave him appropriate care. But his condition worsened, and in the end, he died.”

“……”

“If he truly was your disciple…”

The deputy leader stared intently at Seolyeong’s face.

“…then you could say he died because he had the wrong teacher. Had you not lost him, he’d likely still be alive.”

But the man sitting before Seolyeong wasn’t the real deputy leader of Yeongryeongdan. The actual one wasn’t even in Seongseodang, he went to a meeting with merchants.

The man facing Seolyeong was Sahyeol Amje, using reverse transformation to take the deputy leader’s form.

Amje was curious how the ever-righteous bride would react now that his own meddling had led to someone’s death.

Would he retreat? Deny the truth?

Either way, Amje hoped he’d realize that the chivalry he constantly preached was nothing but useless vanity and give up and return to the sect.

So he drove in the final knife.

“If you’d like to know where the body is buried, I’d be happy to tell you.”

1. A legendary hooved chimera that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or death of a sage or illustrious ruler ↩︎