Camellia 67

After the consummation, Tang Yujae didn’t seek out the bride. There were two main reasons for that.

First, the yang energy he had taken from Seolyeong lasted much longer than expected. It was still pressing down on the yin energy, so there was no real need to go back to the priest just yet.

Second, the day when the North Sea’s Princess were set to arrive at Yeonhu was drawing near. Yujae had been busy holding meeting after meeting, selecting the sect member who would be offered up as a breeding slave.

Finally, on the day of the last meeting held in Haeseong Pavilion, the candidates were narrowed down to one.

Hwang Seoik, eldest son of the Deputy Leader of the Southern Dispatch Unit under Jipilgak, was formally named.

A tall, warm-looking man with pleasant features, he had reached peak mastery of his martial arts early this year and was seen as someone with great potential. Because of that, Jipilgak Leader Cho Unrim had refused to hand him over until the end.

Unrim protested in frustration.

“Why must it be Hwang Seoik? He’s far too valuable to be reduced to a plaything for the North Sea women. We should send Won Changha from Geungmungak instead. He chases women constantly and keeps getting involved in internal incidents. This could be a chance to get rid of him…”

“He’s ugly. Not just ugly, but hideously ugly. He looks like half-chewed rice stuck to a plate. How are we supposed to send that thing to the North Sea?”

But Okhaenggak Leader and Geungmungak Leader sided against him. The one who cut him off was none other than Geungmungak’s master, Sa Yeoho. With a wide grin, he mocked the other man’s reasoning.

“Do you really not know how picky the Bing clan is when it comes to a man’s appearance? Are you seriously suggesting Won Changha? Wait, do you actually think that face qualifies as handsome? Maybe you should wash your eyes in Mount Chiljeong’s valley water or something.”

“…His Excellency is present. Watch your mouth, Thunder Freak.”

Unrim, his gaze turning cold, shut him down. When gathered in Haeseong Pavilion, all pavilion leaders were expected to use honorifics, no matter how familiar they were. Using informal speech in front of their lord was beyond rude.

Yeoho simply shrugged. Smarter than a thousand-year-old serpent, Sa Yeoho knew well that the Supreme One wasn’t bothered by such breaches. In fact, the Sahyeol Amje disliked those like Unrim, who complicated matters by clinging to personal feelings or biases. Whether someone used polite speech or not didn’t matter to him.

Then Mae Somyeong, who had been silently observing, added,

“Hwang Seoik specializes in Flame Sword techniques. I believe he’ll survive well in the snowy lands.”

Being sold as a breeding slave didn’t mean being stuck in the North Sea forever. Once he had his seed drawn out, he’d be kicked out of the palace with the sons he fathered. They could just pick him up then.

As tension built in the air, the three pavilion heads waited for the Supreme One’s final decision. Among them, Cho Unrim was sweating bullets, hoping not to lose his favorite subordinate. If they took someone expected to become the next leader of the Southern Dispatch, it would be a huge loss for Jipilgak.

“Send the Deputy Leader’s son.”

Tang Yujae, unbothered, ended the long debate by burning all the other portraits except Hwang Seoik’s.

Unrim barely kept the disappointment off his face and solemnly cried out, “For the Supreme One who opens blossoms even in midwinter, we obey.” He would no doubt drown himself in alcohol tonight, at least twenty buckets’ worth, to ease the sting.

After the pavilion leaders left, Yang Seogyeong came by to speak with Yujae in private. But the matter he brought up was pathetically trivial.

“Flashstep and Cloudsplit won’t form the way I want, Father.”

Was he seriously asking for an audience just to say he couldn’t grasp a sword technique he’d been taught? If Yeo So had seen this, he would’ve sneered that it was typical of that worthless orthodox bloodline to have no shame.

Tang Yujae, flipping through a letter, replied curtly.

“Lack of focus.”

Seogyeong objected.

“…I spent three days under the waterfall. My mind still won’t clear.”

He placed particular emphasis on “three days.”

Yujae glanced up. Yang Seogyeong looked deeply troubled.

“I don’t understand what’s clouding my thoughts like this. Please punish your useless disciple.”

“Did you eat?”

“I’ve been fasting for training.”

“Then go have a meal.”

“Please punish me, Father.”

Seogyeong had always been a quiet and capable child. Growing up under the Supreme One’s gaze, he never spoke unless it was necessary and always left before he could be dismissed. He was cautious by nature.

But after hearing that the sect leader had spent three entire days locked up in Yeohwa Hall, he had lost control like a proper seventeen-year-old. The urge to see his lord had driven him to request an audience on impulse.

The Cheonsin Seogyeong knew had never spent more than a single night with anyone, much less fallen asleep in someone else’s bed. He was someone who treated lust like a bodily function and discarded people afterward.

But now, he had not only slept with the mad bride for three nights straight, he had even slept beside him. It was horrifying. A nameless anxiety gnawed at him.

As he met those cold eyes, Seogyeong felt a pang of something he couldn’t put into words.

“Father…”

Most sect members at the main sect had noticed that the Supreme One’s behavior had changed lately.

He still hadn’t punished the mad bride, even though he disobeyed orders and made a spectacle of himself.

Seogyeong had honestly believed the bride’s head would be boxed up and delivered to the Murong clan any day now.

But after breaking out of Yeonhu and beating up Yeo So, the priest had still returned unharmed. When Seogyeong found out Seolyeong had come back without a single scratch, he couldn’t stop wondering why His Excellency was being so forgiving. Of course, a mere sect member questioning their Supreme One was unthinkable, so he had kept his mouth shut.

Now, though, it was getting harder to stay silent. The ache in his chest wouldn’t stop whispering, “your lord is changing.”

Tang Yujae saw right through him.

“You think a bit of punishment will clear out that jealousy blooming inside you?”

At seventeen, the fragile little crush Seogyeong had was barely holding together. It would crumble the moment someone pushed.

And he wasn’t the only one. Every young sect member in the sect came down with the same kind of infatuation.

Those in the Cheonma Divine Sect were obsessed with power. If orthodox martial artists pursued strength in the name of justice, the Cheonma members were drawn to the sheer beauty of it.

Yujae had seen countless followers fall into hopeless, one-sided love, growing jealous of everyone he so much as looked at. Mae Somyeong’s younger sibling, Mae Inyeong, had been a textbook example.

It wasn’t something he could scold away. Love, after all, could become the root of true loyalty.

So Yujae said calmly,

“Don’t be jealous of your stepmother. I don’t love him.”

“……”

“And I never will. So don’t worry.”

Only then did Seogyeong’s unease ease.

“Yes, Father. I’ll remember that.”

The great Supreme One never lied. With a clearer expression, Seogyeong turned and left. Yujae went back to reading the letter in his hand.

It was one of many that Seolyeong had sent him through Si Pungjae, forming a mountain of correspondence.

He could almost hear the bright, familiar voice of the bride calling out to the boy.

Yujae. Where’ve you been hiding lately? Your master’s been waiting with his neck stretched long.

Now that we’ve gotten closer, don’t you think it’s time we officially began training? It just so happens that I need to work on my external martial arts too, so I believe we’d be the perfect accountability partners. The greatest teacher is waiting, so come quickly to Yeohwa Hall.

These days, Si Pungjae’s been avoiding about you, which worries me. Don’t tell me something’s happened to you?

Yujae, you little punk, do you want your master to come after you and tan your hide? I heard from Si Pungjae that you don’t want to see me!

If you train hard, I’ll make you mooncakes. So stop acting all prickly and come visit your master…

That’s all for now. Your master awaits.

Tang Yujae didn’t even realize that he was smiling faintly while reading the letter. And even if he had noticed, he would’ve brushed it off as a scoff of disbelief.

For a long time, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the writing. The words felt like they were breathing.

That ridiculous smile the bride always gave him played clearly in his mind.

What the hell does this arrogant brat think gives him the right to act like this?

He felt a small but rising urge to look inside that lunatic’s head.