Camellia 147

Had the lord of Geukmunggak lied, or had that voice not even been real from the start?

Could it be that Sahyeol Amje had resorted to such a lowly trick just to draw him out of the Yurigung?

Unable to reach a clear conclusion, Seolyeong chose to move forward anyway.

Whoever was playing with him, he had come here to meet Sahyeol Amje. Even if the man had used some damn illusion technique on him, there was no time or room to be daunted by it.

“I knew it would come to this…”

He approached Sahyeol Amje and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around. As expected, the figure was a fake, its face incomplete, not even particularly well made. Seolyeong felt his blood boil.

It could only be one of two things. Either Sahyeol Amje no longer had enough energy to create a proper illusion, or deep down, he didn’t really want to drive Seolyeong away and was throwing a childish fit.

The second was highly unlikely. So Seolyeong shouted.

“I know you’re watching, husband!”

That wretched man had surely created the illusion with the sole intent of turning his back on him. He was not the kind of person who could afford the leisure of sulking in front of a lover.

Pushing the unmoving illusion aside, Seolyeong trudged to the edge of the cliff and slowly looked around. Perhaps because the peak was so high, the sky hung so close above his head.

He was called the Supreme One. It felt only right to cry out toward that sky.

“If you do not appear by the time I count to three…”

His red eyes flared with icy defiance.

“This wife shall descend to the next world first and wait for you there. You, who have taken countless innocent lives, shall surely follow this monster into hell.”

If he met Sahyeol Amje there, he intended to nag his ears off. If one meant to live a short, fleeting life, then they had no right to seduce others or make them fall in love. Just because he got aroused didn’t mean he could go around tempting anyone. How did he think it felt for someone like Seolyeong, who fell into a first love out of nowhere?

“Now I’ll count!… One.”

It was unbearably heavy, as if he really were about to die. First love meant this was also his first heartbreak.

“Two.”

But he couldn’t help thinking, maybe he was better at loving than the man who had supposedly had many lovers. A true lover wouldn’t give up on their beloved so easily. By that measure, he was loving with all his heart and soul.

Stabbing Seonwol-do deep into the ground, Seolyeong pleaded with the blade not to follow him. He even asked for its understanding, saying it might be its master’s final will.

“Three.”

With that, he cleanly finished counting and flung himself off the cliff. There was no hesitation in his movement.

The damp scent of fog rushed in. Falling too fast to even open his eyes, Seolyeong recalled the day he’d been forced to choose the cliffside escape because of Murong Jeongui.

Back then, Seonwol-do had saved his life when he had been ready to die.

But today, he didn’t want the sword to rescue him.

Even if it was in hell, he meant to find Sahyeol Amje again. After losing the one he had poured all his heart into, living would only become unbearable. If he had to spend the rest of his life drowning in longing, then he would rather go to the place where that man might be.

Keeping his eyes barely open, Seolyeong took in the scenery that changed with each passing second, then finally closed them. He hoped there might be a deep lake at the end of this long fall. If he hit the ground, it would be a gruesome mess. Especially if it were snow, just the thought was horrifying.

As he spiraled downward, half out of his mind, Seolyeong found himself repeating useless thoughts.

And at some point, a fierce snowstorm began to rage.

The wind was picking up, in an impossible direction. Blowing from below, it gently lifted Seolyeong’s midsection.

The snowstorm wrapped around him like a shelter, moving like a sentient being. It safely carried him down to the ground, then, as if its role were done, it scattered into sunlight and fell as soft rain.

He didn’t know exactly where he had landed, but one thing was certain. He could no longer feel Sahyeol Amje’s presence.

“If you don’t come to meet me, I’ll jump again.”

Seolyeong shot up and gave a tenacious warning.

“A hundred times, a thousand, ten thousand times, I’ll jump until you’re ready for it.”

If he had intended to give up and walk away, he wouldn’t have started this to begin with. With a determined face, he walked back toward the cliff. Perhaps because he knew now that Sahyeol Amje was watching, the weight in his chest didn’t feel as suffocating as before. If he repeated this enough times, one way or another, he would reach an end.

Either he would die, or that man would…

“You fool, Ahyeong.”

Seolyeong froze. The voice had come from behind him.

He knew that if he turned his head, he would meet the speaker. Yet even so, he couldn’t move a single finger. He felt that if he so much as flinched, he would break into sobs.

“A blood fiend cannot die unless their head is severed with a spiritstone. You may be more human than a human, but you cannot ignore the limits of the flesh.”

So much for all those things he’d meant to yell if they met again. The moment that long-missed voice rang in his eardrum, even just breathing felt too overwhelming.

“…Then why did you save me?”

After some time, barely having gathered himself, Seolyeong clenched his fists and asked.

“If you meant to ignore me no matter what happened, why send the snowstorm?”

“…”

“Why did you come to see me?”

Damn it. Didn’t this make it seem like he was just whining? Seolyeong, still trembling, tried to collect himself and turn around, but before he could, Sahyeol Amje’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist. His cold face rested against Seolyeong’s shoulder.

“You foolish thing…”

It was a desperate call. His tone wasn’t particularly heated, but the emotion behind it was undeniable.

When no response came, Tang Yujae gently rubbed his forehead against Seolyeong’s and murmured.

“I told you, if you waited, I would come to you.”

Seolyeong turned without thinking. He instinctively reached out to cup the man’s cheek and kiss him, but what he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Veins bulged across the man’s face, distorting it so badly that his features were almost unrecognizable. The whites of his eyes had burst, leaking black blood.

Seolyeong couldn’t say a word.

“In the next life, be born human, Ahyeong.”

“Husband…?”

Something was wrong. Very wrong. It felt as though his inner energy was in complete rebellion.

Just as he had promised, Tang Yujae had changed Seolyeong’s eye color to a perfect brown. He now smiled brightly.

“If I am given a next life, I want to be born as a sword that protects you.”

“….”

“I’ll cut down anyone who tries to hurt you, so don’t fear anything. Just live.”

He had done what he had to do. He had nothing left to fulfill.

He had shown the lord of Daeyeonggak the sight of Cheonma Divine Sect reduced to ashes. He had crushed that man’s head just as he had crushed Hayeon’s, and at last, he had stepped out of the cycle of vengeance that had consumed him, earning the chance to end his weary life.

As he had sworn at the altar where Hayeon’s ancestral tablet was placed, he had brought to light the truth of the girl’s death. Everyone involved had paid the price.

So now, he could rest from the boredom.

So now, he could let go of the endless revenge.

So now.

Whether it had been for the girl in his memories, or just to vent his own rage, or even simply to find a reason to keep going, it no longer mattered. He could finally turn away from all the meaningless bloodshed.

Tang Yujae had long since forgotten the true reason for his revenge. No matter how many times he reminded himself, he could never genuinely wish for the downfall of the martial world. It was true. Just as Seolyeong had guessed, his sorrow had already lost its shape. That was why he destroyed everything in sight. Hoping, perhaps, that he might recover the clarity he had at the beginning. That he might summon back the rage he had felt as a child.

But he had been wrong.

As he lost consciousness in his wife’s arms, Tang Yujae finally admitted it.

He still could not feel any satisfaction at all. As if he had never wanted to survive for a day like this in the first place.