Vol 1 Chapter 2 – Heedowon Part 2

“I’ll make sure you won’t have to deal with such troublesome things again.”

Kang Oh gave a small nod and stepped out. His stride was confident, unshaken. There was nothing about it that suggested someone flustered or trying to flee.

With only his face peeking out of the water, Woo quietly watched his retreating figure until the door closed.

He was a kind person.

Once he had finished bathing, Woo used the cloth the attendants had left to dry himself. It was far softer and finer than anything he had ever worn.

He went to the table and unfolded the blanket. His belongings were still packed just as they had been. Woo brushed over the surface with care. He no longer believed Kang Oh had thrown them away out of malice. If that were the case, they wouldn’t have been returned untouched. He had likely meant to give them back, but upon seeing Woo in the middle of a bath, had decided to leave quietly so as not to disturb him.

That alone was more kindness than Woo was used to.

Kang Oh had always been a gentle child, and he had grown up that way. It had been far better for Yae Jinrang to raise him in Heukcheon than to have him raised at Baekragung. Had he grown up there, buried under envy and rivalry, his talent might never have blossomed the way it had here.

The room was warm. Everything felt too much. Even the air carried a pleasant scent that felt undeserved.

I should send word to Yae Jinrang… but how?

As he mulled it over, Woo’s eyes landed on a set of brushes and ink. He spotted an inkstone as well, likely prepared for the leisure of whichever guest might be staying in the room. When he brushed a hand across the paper, the quality was excessive. He sighed. He wondered when he would finally be able to take off this life that fit him so poorly, like a borrowed garment.

He slid the door open and saw a servant passing by. He hesitated, then spoke up.

“E-excuse me… do you have a moment?”

The one passing by his door was Yeonjin. She had just finished drawing the bath and, seeing Woo in the clear light of day, thought that if it weren’t for the burn, he might be surprisingly handsome. She approached quickly.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

As someone brought in personally by the Third Disciple, Woo was met with a polite and respectful tone.

She remembered seeing him once before, back when the Third Overseer was beating a servant. The Overseer, though always claiming to be a competent figure, was infamous among the lower ranks for his cruelty. The servant he was beating had rolled on the ground without letting out a single cry. And that same servant was now the guest brought personally into Heedowon by the Third Disciple.

Yeonjin was stunned by the realization. Then stunned again. What she was carrying now was unmistakably a letter. It was shocking enough that the first person ever allowed to stay in Heedowon was a servant, but even more surprising that he could read and write.

She hesitated, then looked around to make sure no one was nearby. Once she was certain, she opened the letter.

She had opened the letter with no particular expectations. But the moment her eyes fell on the writing, her hands froze. The brushstrokes were remarkably refined. Bold and fluid, yet commanding, as if imbued with a majestic energy. She couldn’t read, but she could recognize beauty in form. Back when the plaque for Heedowon had been selected, various calligraphy pieces had been collected from masters all over the land. Yeonjin had seen them every day.

It was rare enough for a servant to know how to write. But his handwriting was so polished, it looked as if he had been formally trained, and that alone stirred doubts.

The Third Disciple had prepared the guest room himself, despite never keeping anyone close. And now, a man who had lived his life as a servant was writing letters and making requests like it came naturally.

But questioning such things was not a servant’s place. Yeonjin swallowed her curiosity down. It was part of her duty to take interest in those she served, but if that interest led her to secrets, she also had to know when to stay silent. Secrets too heavy to carry often took lives.

—

“I’ve come to deliver something from Heedowon to the First Overseer.”

Yeonjin hurried her steps and finally reached the place where the First Overseer was staying.

“Hand it over. I’ll see that it’s delivered.”

“I was told to give it to him directly.”

The gatekeeper had spoken with little interest, but Yeonjin replied firmly. He went inside, and when he returned, his posture was straight and his tone much more formal.

The gatekeeper had spoken with little interest. Yeonjin replied firmly. He went inside, and when he returned, his posture was straight and his tone much more formal.

“You may go in.”

Yeonjin stepped through the wide-open gate. Passing along the quiet corridor, she was led to the room where the First Overseer worked. There, she handed over the letter to Seo Mun Geumryeong.

“The guest staying at Heedowon asked me to deliver this to you.”

“I understand.”

Although surrounded by other tasks, Seo Mun Geumryeong did not set the letter aside. She opened it immediately and read through it.

Yeonjin, having opened the letter herself earlier, found her body tense before she realized it. Once she had finished reading, the First Overseer looked over at her and asked in a calm voice.

“You didn’t happen to open this, did you?”

“Even if I had, I wouldn’t have understood it. I cannot read.”

“I see. You may go.”

Yeonjin bowed politely and turned to leave. She had barely taken a few careful steps when a voice called out from behind, cold enough to raise goosebumps at the back of her neck.

“Wait.”

“Did you call for me?”

Yeonjin turned back at once. Had she been found out for opening the letter?

Trying not to let her unease show, she stood still as Seo Mun Geumryeong slowly looked her over.

“Come to think of it, there may be something I’ll need you to do for me.”

Yeonjin held her breath. Was this a step up, or was she walking into a snake’s mouth?

“Please instruct me.”

Curious by nature, she didn’t hesitate for long. A satisfied smile appeared on Seo Mun Geumryeong’s lips.

—

Woo spent the entire day pacing the room, anxious about whether the letter had reached its destination. Even by sundown, there was still no response. He began to wonder if the First Overseer had failed to recognize who it was from.

Just then, a low voice came from outside the door.

“Are you resting?”

It was unmistakably the voice of the attendant who had delivered his letter earlier. As expected, when Woo opened the door, Yeonjin was waiting.

“Please come with me.”

Woo nodded silently and followed behind her. Holding a lantern, she walked ahead at a slow pace, as if adjusting to his steps.

He didn’t know how it had been arranged, but as they walked, he didn’t run into a single person. This was the central part of Heukcheon, where patrols were frequent and security was tight. That alone meant the one who had sent Yeonjin was none other than the Lord of Heukcheon. Even in the secrecy of this sudden outing, Woo felt strangely at ease.

She led him to a lake on the outskirts of Heukcheon. Someone was already there, waiting.

Wearing a bamboo hat and holding a fishing rod, the figure by the water was none other than the Lord of Heukcheon, Yae Jinrang, whose beauty unshrouded even by darkness.

Watching the still, motionless line in the water, Jinrang spoke first.

“So… it’s come to this, after all.”

“I have no excuse.”

Woo’s face twisted in shame as he bowed deeply.

“When Kang Oh began to mature and started wandering beyond Heukcheon, I felt both regret and relief. You were here, after all. But even that veil has finally come to an end.”

He looked at Woo.

“That child came to me for the first time and asked me for something. And of all things, it had to be you.”

Even as the strongest figure in the dark path, there were still matters beyond his control. And the one most difficult to rein in was none other than his beloved disciple, Kang Oh.

“P-please… help me. I cannot remain by his side. You know that better than anyone.”

Woo forced the words out, his voice close to breaking. His head lowered until it touched the ground. Jinrang looked down at him and replied.

“This has already left my hands.”

Kang Oh had begun to suspect something. In this situation, there was no longer any way to bring Woo back.

“I’ll leave. Would that be enough?”

“Do you really believe that someone like you, without martial skills or power, could disappear from the eyes of the Third Disciple of Heukcheon?”

Faking a disappearance and making Woo vanish might have been one method. But if it came to that, Jinrang knew all too well just how fiercely that stubborn disciple of his would search. It was a method best saved as a last resort.

Jinrang had no choice but to wait for Kang Oh’s obsession with Woo to fade on its own.

Even so, no matter how much he feared disappointing Kang Oh, Jinrang had no intention of letting his disciple do as he pleased. The person before him, pitiful as he appeared, was dangerous. Even after having his core destroyed, his limbs ruined, and his tongue torn out, Jinrang would still feel uneasy.

“What… am I supposed to do, then?”

Woo muttered the words, his brow creased.

As if he had been waiting for that moment, Yae Jinrang pulled a small bottle from his robes. The flask was made of a translucent, reinforced material. Inside it, a black creature curled and twisted like a shadow.

“Godok.”

The Lord of Heukcheon said it plainly. But the word was not something to be taken lightly.

“I know you’ve lived humbly and kept your head down for eight years. But the situation has changed.”

“You’re free to refuse. You may return to Kang Oh’s side just as you are.”

When Jinrang had taken Woo in as a servant, he had only restricted his physical freedom. He had never tried to control his mind. But once Godok was implanted, that would no longer be the case. If Woo ever acted against Jinrang’s will, the parasite would respond and cause him pain. If Jinrang decided Woo must die, the creature would deliver that death as it was.

This was a last-resort technique, created for the sole purpose of controlling a person. The caster kept the mother body of the parasite, while a smaller offspring split from it was implanted into the target’s body.

Consent was required from both sides. But once inside a host, the parasite was relentless. It would survive by any means, even if it had to consume the host’s body from within.

It was a parasite that could melt the brain while the host was still alive.

Surprisingly, the first group to develop this terrifying creature had been the Sichuan Tang clan, a faction from the righteous martial world. Upon realizing both the utility and inhumanity of Godok, they destroyed all the specimens in their possession and spread word that it had originated from the demonic cult. They subtly manipulated public opinion to shift the blame.

Still, Godok was never completely erased from the history of the martial world. In the shadows, underground factions continued their efforts to reclaim it, exploiting it for their own ends. Among them was the Hyeolgyo, a fanatical group driven by the delusion of burning the martial world to the ground as an offering to their god. They had used Godok to subjugate powerful martial artists, bending them entirely to the will of the sect. It was said that the their involvement, armed with Godok, had been the most decisive factor in the downfall of the demonic cult.

Because of this, Godok became one of the few taboos of the martial world, alongside the Lightning Pellet. No matter how thoroughly one searched, it could not be found. Even if one offered a fortune, it remained out of reach. Anyone who openly admitted to seeking it would immediately become a public enemy of the martial world.

But for someone like Yae Jinrang, who had spent his life crushing the Hyeolgyo and absorbing the remnants of the demonic cult, it wasn’t surprising that he might possess it.

“I… I accept.”

Even though he understood what Godok was and what it meant to accept it, Woo did not resist. He couldn’t. As someone born in Baekragung, once a proud home in the righteous martial world, now beneath the heel of Heukcheon, ruler of the dark path, his pride as Dan Woo had long since scattered like ash underfoot.

He owed this man a great debt. Jinrang had saved him from the brink of death. He had taken in Kang Oh, raised him, and treated him with care.

But if that was all, he would have been better off repaying that grace from a distance, in the role he had originally held. The reason he now knelt at the very bottom of Heukcheon, waiting for Jinrang’s mercy, was because of a sin. One that he could not confess to anyone. A burden he had to carry alone.

And so, Woo closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

Jinrang lowered himself toward someone who had once been noble in the righteous world but now knelt as the lowest servant in the dark.

A pitch-black parasite crawled into Woo’s open mouth. It was nothing like a normal insect. Its shape was vague, more like a clump of living shadow.

He squeezed his eyes shut as the parasite slithered down his throat. It was revolting. The urge to vomit rose sharply, and for a moment, he thought he might cough up blood. But he held on.

The sensation was worse than anything he had endured in the past eight years.
He remained on his knees with his eyes closed.

And so, Godok was embedded into his body.

From now on, every time he tried to defy Jinrang’s orders, he would be struck with unbearable pain. If he resisted to the end, he would die.

“Do not speak of this to Kang Oh.”

Woo gave a quiet answer and forced down a bitter smile. Even without that command, he had no intention of telling Kang Oh what had just happened.

He understood how deep Jinrang’s mistrust ran.

“I will take it to my grave.”

“Not even after death,” Jinrang said. “Never tell him who you are. Never tell him what you were to him.”

Jinrang’s reddened eyes bore into Woo. The gaze was twisted, filled with bloodlust, hatred, and a faint trace of longing.

Even as he faced that terrifying stare, Woo did not flinch. He only lowered his head.

And the night that swallowed their secret grew darker still.

After returning to his quarters, Woo collapsed onto the blanket he had laid on the floor and fell asleep. The bed in Heedowon, which had waited empty for its master since the day it was built, remained untouched through the night.

—

“I’ve brought your breakfast.”

Yeonjin tilted her head slightly, puzzled, as she entered with the morning meal. She was the only attendant who knew about Woo’s outing the night before. Having accepted the First Overseer’s proposal, she had been assigned to serve the guest brought in by the Third Young Master. Since the order had come from above, Yeonjin had resolved to serve Woo with all sincerity. That was why she had carefully prepared the meal from early morning and brought it over herself. But the place was strangely quiet.

“Did I come too early?”

She wondered if he was still asleep and turned to leave. But just then, she stopped. She had been the last person to see Woo the night before, and something about the silence felt ominous. Trusting her instincts, even if it meant being slightly impolite, Yeonjin pushed open the door.

“Pardon the intrusion.”

Her gaze immediately went to the lacquered table. But it was empty.

There was no sign that anyone had placed something on the table, or even sat beside it. For a moment, Yeonjin’s heart dropped in fear, wondering if Woo had run away. Then her eyes fell to the floor.

“Oh my—”

Woo lay on top of the blanket, soaked in cold sweat. His flushed face clearly showed signs of a fever.

His body, already weakened, had been unable to endure the pain of having Godok implanted.

He had slowly been regaining some strength during his time on the mountain, but the current Woo was nowhere near the condition he had once been in. Moreover, Godok was originally meant to be placed into the body of a martial artist. Those who were too weak often could not withstand even the residual toxin it carried, and would die.

Judging that something was seriously wrong, Yeonjin rushed to summon a physician. The doctor soon arrived and examined Woo. After checking him thoroughly, the physician failed to detect Godok and simply concluded that Woo was suffering from physical exhaustion. A prescription for tonic medicine was written.

Even those with deep internal strength found it difficult to sense Godok. For an ordinary physician with no internal energy, discovering a hidden parasite like Godok was next to impossible.

Yeonjin boiled the tonic just as the physician had instructed. Her gaze lingered on Woo, worry etched across her face as he lay there, drenched in cold sweat.

It took less than half an hour for news of Woo’s collapse to reach Kang Oh.

“He’s become quite weak. The physician said there’s no threat to his life, as long as he takes the medicine and gets proper rest to regain his strength.”

Kang Oh had just returned from the training hall when Heedowon’s head maid informed him that a physician had visited because of Woo.

“No threat to his life?”

He furrowed his brow at those words. This was clearly not a minor illness. Without delay, he headed straight for Woo’s quarters.

Yeonjin had just entered the room again after bringing in water.

Woo, now lying on the bed he had never dared approach while conscious, was letting out faint, fevered groans. Yeonjin had decided she could not leave him lying on the floor in that state. She had called two more attendants to help lift him onto the bed. His body, limp and unresponsive, had been as heavy as a sodden bundle of cloth.