Camellia 158

If that was how it would be, then he couldn’t afford to lose either. Though Seolyeong felt somewhat irritated, he forced out a cheerful tone.

“I understand. It’s only natural to feel afraid when one has to cross such treacherous mountain terrain.”

For martial artists, it was nothing more than a simple stroll over a low ridge, but the girl before him would take each step gripped by fear. She wouldn’t be able to descend safely in body or spirit without a reliable escort. Understanding her heart completely, Seolyeong added,

“Would you wait here for just a moment?”

At her superior’s courteous request, Myeongseo quickly answered yes, her small face nodding up and down. Seolyeong sprang into action. His arms and legs moved with the fluid grace of a swallow. Finding Sa Yeoho, the Lord of Geukmunggak, he stood with his hands behind his back and gave a curt order.

“Send Si Pungwoon to me.”

Then, before Sa Yeoho could refuse, he delivered a threat.

“If he does not arrive before the time limit, I’ll take it as you having ignored the order of your superior and punish you accordingly.”

Sa Yeoho, already pale from being harassed day and night by the Jipilgak Lord due to the reconstruction of the Yurigung, looked as if his life force had been drained. With people pressing in on him from all sides, there was no longer any room for laziness.

He was already overwhelmed just trying to gather the materials needed to rebuild the pavilions, and now, out of nowhere, came this order to send Si Pungwoon to Yeonhwa Hall. He didn’t understand it, but he didn’t argue. He’d long known it would be far less costly to let Si Pungwoon suffer than to get into a shouting match with the Mad Bride.

And so Si Pungwoon, subordinate of the Lord of Geukmunggak, became Myeongseo’s escort instead of Seolyeong. He was aware that his brother was undergoing hardship as a low-ranking disciple of Geukmunggak, but that only made him feel more grateful to the Mad Bride. He had long wanted to repay the grace shown in saving his family and thus gladly accepted his superior’s will.

“Pungwoon. If you so much as lay a finger on Myeongseo, you understand what will happen, don’t you? You’ll never leave this world with your body intact.”

Even as Seolyeong threatened him in a low voice, he responded with a respectful martial salute.

Seolyeong confirmed that Si Pungwoon was safely escorting Myeongseo all the way to Gwangseo, he smiled in satisfaction. If the girl had descended alone, it would have taken a long time just to get out of the Sipman Daesan.

But thanks to Si Pungwoon’s company, the girl was able to place her feet on top of his and hold tightly to his firm waist, using his footwork to speed their travel. As he supported her with one arm to keep her from falling, Si Pungwoon recalled the Mad Bride’s threat and resisted the stirrings of a man’s excitement.

*

“I’m losing my mind.”

Tang Yujae couldn’t even sleep properly anymore from the stress. No matter what method he tried, the Mad Bride never left a single opening. Like a little owl that had made the Yurigung its nest, he came to Gwanju Hall every day and cried his eyes out.

To break that pointless obsession, he had tried demolishing the newly rebuilt Yeonhwa Hall, threatening him with his so-called close friend in skirt, even tricking him into taking a walk with him only to ditch him, but none of it worked.

The blood fiend, possessed of extraordinary tenacity, didn’t so much as blink when Yeonhwa Hall was destroyed. He responded to the threat against the cross-dressing friend by entrusting his safety to Yuwon, leaving Yujae to deal with her nagging. And whenever he ditched him, he would reappear, squawking like a bird and exhausting him all over again.

As the time approached for the Heavenly Gate to open, Tang Yujae’s worries only grew heavier.

It was then that the Lord of Geukmunggak requested an audience, bearing an unusually determined expression.

“Forgive my rudeness, but my lord, the movements of the Gyo-mo have been quite unsettling of late.”

Sa Yeoho opened with those words, fully prepared to accept any punishment. If this kept up, he feared he’d meet an untimely end from being worked to death by the Mad Bride.

“As your loyal servant, I, Sa Yeoho, beg to offer a word.”

Tang Yujae nodded without hesitation. There was a bond between the supreme ruler of Sipman Daesan and Sa Yeoho, one whose origin was unclear. It likely stemmed from their shared suffering under the Mad Bride’s persistence.

“The Gyo-mo has been interfering with the internal order of our sect. Beyond simply repairing the collapsed halls and tending the gardens, he’s been attempting stranger things, like hanging a plaque on the palace gates that reads, ‘Those who follow Heaven perish, those who defy it survive.’ These are not things that other Lords would view favorably.”

“Those who follow Heaven perish, those who defy it survive?”

“He says that to follow Heaven’s will is to die, and to defy it is to live.”

At the absurdity, the ilugi inside Tang Yujae scoffed.

Tang Yujae himself let out a bitter laugh. His lunatic wife had now gone so far as to provoke the divine beast. What concerned him was that such antics could genuinely offend some of the pavilion lords.

Sa Yeoho straightened his expression and finally voiced what he had truly come to say.

“I deeply respect the sharp judgment and bold actions the Gyo-mo has shown. Stagnant water breeds decay, while flowing water remains clean. These new currents he’s bringing may be exactly what our sect needs to flourish. However, I fear that this may be an appreciation only I hold. As you know, my opinions often differ from those of the other pavilion lords.”

“You mean this current is welcome only to you.”

Tang Yujae and Sa Yeoho both fell into their own thoughts for a moment.

Then, a deafening crash rang out as a massive hole was torn through the ceiling of Gwanju Hall’s tea chamber. It was the kind of destruction that would have made the Jipilgak Lord scream in horror. The one intact structure in Gwanju Hall was now a pile of rubble, dust rising into the air.

And standing atop the collapsed roof was none other than the Mad Bride.

The infamous lunatic who was plunging the entire Yeonhu Mountain into chaos stood with a bulging vein on his forehead and shouted,

“Again! Again you steal bonjwa’s beloved, you lecher!”

It was audacious to use the term ‘bonjwa’ while addressing the Sect Leader face to face.

Sa Yeoho felt dizzy but also secretly delighted. He didn’t worship the Cheonma, but strength itself, and Seolyeong’s unflinching defiance in front of the Supreme One stirred something in him.

He was about to greet him when the Sect Leader sent a transmission message.

–Pretend to be a lecher.

He nearly responded aloud with, “Excuse me?”

The Sect Leader avoided the bride’s gaze and continued with another command.

–The method you use when cutting off clingy lovers.

But that method was reserved for situations that required no clean-up, easy to hurt and easy to discard. Treating the Gyo-mo like that felt uncomfortable, but an order was an order. Sa Yeoho spoke.

“There’s nothing more pathetic than someone clinging to a man who’s already left, Gyo-mo.”

His handsome eyes lowered flirtatiously, a smile playing at his lips, but Seolyeong stared at him with boredom and fired back.

“You weakling. The one who fell for this peerless beauty was someone far beyond your league. He’d rather fall for a rock lying in the gutter. And what’s with your eyes all of a sudden? Normally you giggle like a fool, and now you’re fluttering your lashes? Stop pretending to be seductive. Everyone knows the only one in this realm who looks good fluttering their lashes is me.”

Why had his name suddenly become Weakling? Sa Yeoho abandoned the sultry look. He had to admit even he couldn’t imagine anyone cheating on someone as stunning as the Gyo-mo. But he understood the Sect Leader’s wish to drive Seolyeong away, so he added,

“Then I suppose even the Gyo-mo know this as well?”

“What?”

“That the Sect Leader’s only son will be returning to the sect three days from now.”

Seolyeong’s gaze finally wavered.

“…Son?”

“Oh dear. You didn’t know?”

Sa Yeoho continued without a hint of shame.

“There’s a fully grown young master. Inherited his mother’s grace, quite the elegant fellow. I wonder how he’ll feel about gaining a blood fiend stepmother. Truly a matter of concern.”