Camellia 111

He was an elusive man. Seolyeong just couldn’t understand the way the sect leader thought. Even if he was the Madu who’d offered his heart to the Cheonma, this felt a bit excessive.

Seolyeong thumped his chest in frustration and shot him a glare.

“Just because human relationships turn corner on their own, it doesn’t mean they should be left to drift that way.”

It was a rather, arrogant and defiant opening. Sahyeol Amje’s expression turned cold, but Seolyeong didn’t care. What. Why. You lied to me about your own family, so why get offended over one little comment?

“Only the heavens can change the direction of the wind and water, and just like that, the heart flows according to fate. And that fate, it’s something we create for ourselves.”

Seolyeong spoke with the same stern look he used when teaching his disciples in the Murong clan. His voice was reminiscent of a teacher. Tang Yujae was curious to see just how arrogant this unhinged bride could get, so he decided to watch for now rather than punish him.

“Shouldn’t both the physician and Si Pungjae be left to manage their own hearts?”

His voice lowered as he asked. And finally, Yujae opened his mouth.

“What if it’s a heart they can’t manage on their own?”

It was a strange reply. Seolyeong couldn’t quite grasp what he meant. He frowned in thought, and Yujae gently brushed his hand along Seolyeong’s thigh as he explained.

“Si Pungjae is a sodomite. He’ll never love my sister as a man. And she knows that too. So they’ll stay close for a while, then when the time comes, she’ll let go and go her own way.”

Besides, the spell that erased memories would end when he died. Even if Yuwon kept insisting on staying with Si Pungjae, the moment his memory returned, it would all be over. Her love would be severed whether she wanted it or not.

Imagining the future where he was gone, Tang Yujae moved his hand slowly. The warmth rising from his bride’s thigh felt tender and dear.

“I just want my foolish sister to have the joy of having that man, even if only for a moment.”

“…Do you really believe it would be “joy”?”

Seolyeong asked with a puzzled expression. The fact that the physician from Mount Yeonhu was a bloodline survivor of the fallen Tang clan and stood by the sect leader didn’t bother him so much. What did were Sahyeol Amje’s words, hammering through his mind one after another.

“Don’t you see that expression on her face, my lord?”

The air in Mount Hwang was bitterly cold now. Winter had fully arrived. But more than the weather, it was the woman sitting dazed, her pained expression broke Seolyeong’s heart.

The physician had always been kind. Her gentle gaze when treating patients naturally conveyed her humanity. Seolyeong had always felt grateful for the sincere way she healed him.

That’s why he took her side.

“She’s suffering. It’s not the face of someone happy to finally have the man she couldn’t. It’s the face of someone heartbroken because the man she loves has lost all memory of her. Please, look properly, my lord. Don’t you think she’s on the verge of tears, just waiting for one wrong word to break?”

Sahyeol Amje only stared at him blankly as Seolyeong nagged on. His stubborn, childish attitude made Seolyeong sigh from the pit of his danjeon.

“Haaah, my lord. I’ll say it plainly. What you’ve done isn’t kindness, it’s cruelty. If you truly care about her, then return her fate to where it belongs. The same goes for Si Pungjae. Let them both handle their own destinies. Otherwise, you might ended being hated. I doubt you did all this just to become the person your sister resents.”

Fate, again. Yujae scratched his ear like he didn’t want to heard it and replied.

“My sister already hates and resents me.”

“No way. If that were true, why would she still be at Yeonhu?”

That godforsaken place, where a snowstorm howled around them like knives. No one could endure it without love for their sibling.

“I told you, Ahyeong. My sister loves that sodomite.”

Yujae snapped, sounding irritated. He didn’t want to argue with his bride’s useless logic anymore.

Snapping a dry twig, he jabbed it hard into Seolyeong’s thigh. Seolyeong let out a sharp cry and looked down at the twig stabbed into his leg, then shouted furiously.

“I’m bleeding! Who would do such a stupid thing to their wife’s leg?!”

“You seems to be doing well.”

“I’m a blood fiend, so this’ll heal in a blink!”

“Yeah, yeah, what a miraculous body.”

Just as Yujae was about to leap off with his gyeonggong, Seolyeong quickly blocked his path. This time he didn’t miss the moment and grabbed his hand, glaring up at him, as if warning Yujae to not leave him behind.

Yujae looked down at his bride holding onto his hand.

“…Do you want to hold hands with me?”

For a moment, something flickered in his cold, irritated eyes. Seolyeong made a bizarre face when he realized the bastard was actually pleased to be holding hands. Noticing how much the sharp chill around Sahyeol Amje had softened, he kept holding his husband’s hand and whispered.

“…Then let’s stay like this and observe for a bit. Even just one round of breathing. Let’s see if she truly seems happy in this situation.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to.”

His curt response came fast, but Seolyeong parried smoothly.

“Truth is… you know too, don’t you? That this kind of forced method won’t bring happiness to anyone. You know, and that’s why you’re trying to run.”

His brown eyes glinted with a calm light, like stars had bloomed inside them.

He wasn’t just looking at Tang Yujae anymore, but the being inside Tang Yujae too.

─Watching this fool makes me hungry for yang energy.

The imugi licked its ‘lips’. In the next moment, one of Tang Yujae’s eyes turned gold.

Seolyeong flinched in shock. “Husband!” The imugi looked up at the sky as it began to darken and took a deep breath. The host’s will was resisting possession. As if it was telling him not to ruin his moment with his bride.

The imugi let out a short laugh and pressed down that lingering will, then turned to Seolyeong.

“You monster favored by the Wonsi Cheonjon. Do you know how much my contractor treasures you?”

His eyes curled in a mockingly sweet expression.

“You should be grateful. If not for that, you’d already be my prey, torn apart limb from limb.”

Then it leapt with dazzling speed.

Seolyeong immediately chased after. He wondered where it was going now…Damn it. The divine beast was heading toward the Namgung clan’s territory. Why there?

“Imugi-nim! Wait a moment!”

Seolyeong shouted, and the imugi burst into a cheerful “Haha”. With its ascension approaching, it was more eager than usual to absorb yang energy. The full moon had yet to set, but it still ran ahead toward the place with the most intense sunlight. It just happened to be on top of a pavilion within the Namgung clan’s compound.

Seolyeong’s stomach dropped. He threw his body forward to block the imugi’s path, pushing his Qi to the limit until his danjeon throbbed painfully.

“Wouldn’t it be better to find a more discreet place with fewer eyes watching?”

Seolyeong felt like fainting at the thought of the sect leader stark naked under the sun. If any Namgung warriors saw that, the situation would be extremely difficult.

The imugi stared blankly at his pleading face.

“No.”

“There are too many eyes here, sir.”

“So what? Should I care about something like that?”

Its mocking tone was exactly like Sahyeol Amje’s.

Seolyeong, sweat dripping down his cheeks, looked around in desperation. He could sense people nearby, Namgung warriors were sure to appear soon. He’d be lucky if they kindly brushed it off with a question like “what are you doing here” but he knew that wasn’t likely.

“If even one of this family’s warriors starts to question our identities, a major conflict could arise. I’m sure you’d rather avoid that kind of trouble too, so if you could please absorb yang energy somewhere more secluded…”

Just as Seolyeong babbled on, the imugi suddenly stepped closer. Startled, Seolyeong backed away.

“This spot lets me take in the most brilliant sunlight.”

He kept stepping forward as Seolyeong retreated, until they reached the roof’s edge.

“The same dazzling sunlight that flows through your body.”

His voice turned seductively sweet.

“If you really want me to leave… then give me your yang energy, darling.”

“……”

“Instead of the sunlight, pour your energy it into this body. Push your thing as deep as possible and let out your liquid yang.”

Tang Yujae’s eyes were now both golden. His gaze turned sultry, like he was inviting Seolyeong to commit indecency.

“How could I, how could I do something like that to the sect leader… no, how could I do something like that to imugi-nim…?”

“You could offer me your back if you want, but that’d mean I’d absorb less.”

“That’s not the issue…!”

“Hurry up and choose.”

The prolonged argument seemed to be irritating, and the imugi ran a hand along its collar like its was about to strip.

“Will you ravish your husband, or watch him bask in the sunlight without further fuss?”

The sly curve of his lips was annoying.

“Don’t worry. If you choose the former, I’ll let you enjoy this body however you want.”