Camellia 104

The day of the outing that Sahyeol Amje had mentioned came sooner than expected. Ever since the day he’d had his thing in the cult leader’s mouth, Seolyeong honestly had no idea how to face his husband. But Sahyeol Amje didn’t seem the least bit bothered.

Waiting for him in front of the imugi gate, Tang Yujae said,

“You’re late.”

Seolyeong had arrived nearly two hours later than the time he’d announced through Si Pungwoon. The beautiful figure with a small bundle on his shoulder, barely enough to call luggage, replied,

“I couldn’t help it. It took time to prepare my appearance. I need to look as ordinary as possible when stepping into the normal world, don’t I?”

Wearing a flesh mask, he had changed into the neat face of a handsome southern man. He had likely used bone compression as well, since his height had been reduced significantly. Judging from how the sect leader had pestered him to pack a bundle, this would surely be a long journey. But with his preparations complete, Seolyeong no longer feared appearing before common folk.

“Is it possible that the Sect leader is planning to travel like that?”

Strangely enough, the sect leader had only put on a bamboo hat. Other than that, his appearance was the same as usual.

“Yes.”

“Ah, that’s right. You’re known across the martial world as one of the ugliest men alive. I suppose no one would doubt your identity if you walk around in your real form.”

“Not anymore. The elders you rescued have returned under my protection.”

The people who had been abducted to Yeonhu would’ve shared a detailed description of him the moment they got back to the martial world.

Seolyeong looked puzzled.

“Then why not reverse your appearance? If you go out like that, you may get caught up in all kinds of trouble.”

“I wanted you to look at my face a little longer.”

“…What?”

He said it right away, without hesitation. Seolyeong went momentarily speechless.

Tang Yujae shrugged and added,

“Look at your husband’s face for as long as you can, Ahyeong.”

Then he clasped his hands behind his back and casually began walking out the palace gates. Seolyeong didn’t follow until that back had already started disappearing. What was that bastard talking about?

“Revealing your identity carelessly doesn’t seem like a wise choice. If you’re not planning to get into a fight with martial artists, you should change your appearance.”

He rattled on with warnings, and Tang Yujae replied,

“You underestimate me too much.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“You talk too much.”

With Sahyeol Amje, even the tightly guarded gates of the palace were easy to pass through. He had likely scattered all the trigrams hidden nearby.

It seemed early winter had already set in outside Yeonhu. Even after leaving the sect leader’s territory, the cold didn’t go away. A white puff rose from his lips when he breathed out.

When the bride didn’t follow, Sahyeol Amje stopped mid-step and turned his head. He found his wife playing with his breath like a child. A faint smile spread across his face. Though the flesh mask and altered bone structure had changed his original face, his vibrant gaze remained the same.

Sahyeol Amje strode toward Seolyeong. Startled by the sudden approach, Seolyeong tried to back away, but Tang Yujae brought his hand up to his cheek.

“Stay still.”

Seolyeong flinched but gave a confused look as the cold hand moved with unexpected gentleness. The hand slowly stroked his cheek, then shifted to the back of his neck to brush over the brand.

“No matter how you change your appearance, once the mask comes off, it’s over. You won’t be able to keep hiding.”

It was true. The flesh mask was only a temporary trick to obscure the eyes. If anything happened to it, his true identity would be exposed.

That’s why people always said blood fiend eyes were cursed. Proof that they didn’t belong among humans. Seolyeong had heard it plenty himself, often enough to become numb.

Why point out something he already knew? He suddenly felt a pang of sorrow but didn’t argue.

“…I know.”

He just replied plainly.

Sahyeol Amje smiled and whispered,

“Isn’t it lucky your fate gave you a good husband?”

A strange thing to say.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Seolyeong asked back, but Tang Yujae didn’t answer. Instead, he leapt into the air with gyeonggong. It seemed to imply he didn’t want to explain, so he should just shut up and follow. Seolyeong almost didn’t chase him out of spite, but he thought better of it quickly. If he refused, he might get in trouble again.

“Have you forgotten? I’m not so bad myself now, Sect Leader!”

He took off, leaping nimbly as he followed the path. It was a rapid gyeonggong, slicing across the air like a beam of light.

But Sahyeol Amje’s figure only shimmered in the distance, never getting closer.

“Hah, hmph… Is he a man or a falcon?”

The relentless use of gyeonggong left him gasping. The sharp winter wind stabbed at his eyes and throat. After crossing the vast Sipman Daesan, passing through Gwangseo, Honam, and Gangseo, they finally stopped at a quiet mountain.

Sahyeol Amje landed softly on a high branch and turned to look at him.

“Haa… hah…”

Dawn was breaking. Seolyeong, having performed near-acrobatic feats to keep up, landed on a branch nearby. Judging from the path they took, this had to be Anhwi. He looked around, trying to figure out their exact location.

“Where are you going now!”

Sahyeol Amje moved again. Seolyeong chased him, pushing his ankles to their limit.

“Husband…! Are you trying to playing tag with me right now?”

The path he led them to stopped at a lake. The dawn wind rippled over the clear water, reflecting Seolyeong’s figure without a single distortion.

His face stiffened as he stood in front of the lake.

The wind had torn his flesh mask apart. And because he’d restored his bones to their original structure to keep up with Yujae’s speed, he now stood face-to-face with his own exposed face.

“What is this…”

He ripped off the remaining mask pieces. The confusion only deepened. He knelt at the water’s edge and touched his face. Only the sound of his own faint sighs echoed in the still forest.

“Why… why are my eyes…”

“I cast an illusion.”

Tang Yujae’s illusions were unlike anything ordinary. His hallucinations took on physical form, powerful enough to fool even the eye that saw them. If Seolyeong truly wanted to live forever as an ordinary man, Yujae was the only one who could make that happen.

A subtle illusion, replacing red pupils with deep brown, had even tricked Seolyeong himself.

Because of these eyes… how much contempt had he endured? How much had he hated his own origins?

“Ahyeong.”

Tang Yujae’s voice was unexpectedly gentle, as if trying to ease his wife’s pain.

“Don’t you think you’re lucky, having such a good husband?”

It was a teasing question. In that moment, Tang Yujae was neither the demonic sect’s leader, nor the Madu who had once held Seolyeong’s life in his hands.

He was simply a devoted husband, kneeling beside his stunned wife, offering a warm illusion.

Seolyeong looked at him, shaken, now free from the curse of his blood fiend eyes.

Tang Yujae smiled like he had as a boy and said,

“Even with your eye color changed, you’re still just as lovely.”

“…”

“No one will dare criticize those eyes anymore.”

Don’t do that. You shouldn’t be affectionate towards me.

This couldn’t be happening. Seolyeong suddenly felt the weight of Peng Rang’s warning press in.

‘Someday, you’ll fall for him. Because once you hide inside that wide embrace, nothing in this world will be able to pull you out again.’

Tang Yujae placed his hand on the earth. As he exhaled, a single flower bud, mistaking the season, bloomed. The tightly shut petals unfurled, revealing a soft pink wildflower in full bloom.

The man who could bloom a flower in midwinter knelt beside Seolyeong and gently tucked it behind his ear.

“A camellia would suit you better, but… this one’s not so bad either.”

His eyes sparkled without malice, only warmth. The black flame Seolyeong had feared was nowhere to be found. Seolyeong barely managed to open his tightly shut lips.

“…Why… why are you acting differently?”

The unsettled feelings spilled out as sharp words.

“Why are you pretending to be a loving husband?”

It scared him in a different way. Sahyeol Amje had always been the man who trampled him. The one who branded his neck, shattered his danjeon, and forced himself on him. A bastard beyond redemption.

That man was supposed to stay cruel forever.

Tang Yujae stared at him for a moment, then replied.

“…Why. Are you afraid you’ll fall for me?”