Camellia 162

Yang Seogyeong was waiting for Sahyeol Amje in Haeseong Pavilion. With the tip of his right index finger pressed firmly against the floor, both legs stretched straight up toward the sky, he had been holding this handstand posture for half a day already. All of his focus had to be concentrated at the tip of that finger, and his eyes were full of intensity and gravity.

Tang Yujae arrived at Haeseong Pavilion later than expected and spoke in a purposely cold tone.

“Follow me in.”

Dignified and composed, but occasionally showing signs of pettiness, the adopted son dropped his legs with an openly sullen expression.

“…Yes, Father.”

To be honest, Yang Seogyeong couldn’t understand why the Cheonsin was expressing such displeasure toward him. They say the rolling stone dislodges the seated one, and he felt furious that he, who had done nothing wrong, was suffering because of some mosquito sent by the righteous sect.

His eyes, filled with jealousy, turned as fierce as they did when committing slaughter.

Tang Yujae, sitting on the edge of the table seemed tired, he asked a question that already had an answer.

“Would it be better if I sent you to the Mae family as a son-in-law, Gyeong-ah?”

The very sound of it made his skin crawl. Seogyeong’s expression crumpled before he realized it. When he asked in confusion, “Excuse me?” Sahyeol Amje shrugged his broad shoulders and continued.

“The troublesome girl of that house has long been of marriageable age… and you’re at the age where you should start a household too.”

As Tang Yujae recalled Mae Inyeong, a playful smile tugged at his lips. Come to think of it, they were quite a fitting pair. Mae Inyeong, with her persistent and obsessive personality, was nothing short of a leech. And Seogyeong was exactly that type of man.

But Seogyeong didn’t seem interested in his proposed bride.

“…Forgive me, Father.”

He declined the proposal with a somewhat serious expression.

“I do not believe I possess the qualities necessary to build a household. To be called a husband, one must have the time, sincerity, and affection to devote to another. But those things in me have already been given to the highest being of the Cheonma Divine Sect…”

“That is precisely why I wish for you to disappear from Yurigung.”

In that moment, the atmosphere in the room froze over. In truth, Tang Yujae held no ill will toward Seogyeong. But he intentionally adopted a strict tone, believing it necessary to firmly establish the hierarchy before leaving to prevent future problems.

“What good is it to receive such worthless feelings from a disobedient boy who cannot even show respect to his mother? That kind of love is worse than having none at all, isn’t it, my only son, Seogyeong?”

“……”

“If you don’t want to take on a husband’s role you were never meant for, then don’t hurt your stepmother’s feelings. All right?”

The head of the Mae family, the Lord of Okhaenggak, and her sister, the demoness Mae Inyeong, would never miss the chance to bring Yang Seogyeong into the family. No matter whose blood he truly bore, he was now, without a doubt, the sole son of the Cheonsin and a central figure of the Cheonma Divine Sect.

Seogyeong felt a coldness spread through his whole body and asked, as if heartbroken,

“Why… why do you show me such a heartless face?”

His bond with Sahyeol Amje was his pride and his boast. Was there anyone else in the sect as clearly favored by the Cheonsin? But today, it felt as though that intimacy had never existed. The chill between them was unrecognizable. It was a rejection he couldn’t believe.

“You keep making me heartless, don’t you?”

Sahyeol Amje replied flatly and waved him over. Without any pride left, Seogyeong hurriedly rushed to sit beside him and bowed his head. The young man, not yet even twenty, had no idea how to control his emotions.

Sahyeol Amje began slowly.

“My one and only disciple, Gyeong-ah.”

“……”

“Yang Seogyeong.”

“…Yes, Father. I’m listening.”

Seogyeong had always been unsatisfied with his origins. His discomfort with and disdain for the righteous sect were traits he was supposed to have as a member of the Cheonma Divine Sect. But because he had been kidnapped and used as a hostage, Seogyeong sometimes felt inferior. He feared that with righteous blood in his veins, he could never be a true member of the Cheonma Divine Sect. Maybe that was why he had become so obsessed with his relationship to the Sect Leader.

Understanding that hardship, Tang Yujae gave advice in a gentle, paternal voice.

“You are the only one I’ve ever taken as a disciple and taught every martial art from beginning to end. That alone is more than enough. So stop coveting a place beyond your means.”

Seogyeong’s gaze trembled with despair.

“You can never be my partner, even if you were reborn. No father accepts his only son as a wife.”

Yin energy crept up his straight ankle. Not long after, the final warning followed.

“If you truly cannot let go of your feelings, then the only option is to erase your memories and proceed with the marriage.”

The man’s cold face blurred in Seogyeong’s vision, wet with tears. Not even the smallest hidden affection for his master was allowed.

And so, Yang Seogyeong chose a different path from Si Pungjae.

“…Please, with your divine power, take away my memories.”

Unlike Si Pungjae, who chose to remain bound in servitude to the Cheonsin, Seogyeong understood what was truly the path for himself.

“I will never be able to extinguish these impure feelings. I’ve harbored them since I first became aware of the heavens and earth. You were my entire world, Father. How could I be satisfied with the relationship given to me, and watch as you love someone else?”

But there had been a time when he was Sahyeol Amje’s only one family, and that was enough. He was the only person Sahyeol Amje had officially recognized as family and allowed to act publicly as his representative. At least, before the Mad Bride appeared.

To protect young Seogyeong, the Cheonsin had once shown an overabundance of affection. So now, Seogyeong believed it was right to cast aside his lingering regrets.

“My beloved Father. The sole and eternal master of this land.”

Seogyeong called Tang Yujae in a calm voice. Tang Yujae thought, for a moment, how much that plump little child who used to waddle after him had grown.

“May you be safe and sound in all seasons…”

Yujae had cared deeply for Seogyeong. Everyone in the sect knew that. Seogyeong himself knew what privileges he had been granted, and so, even at this moment of farewell, he was able to smile faintly.

No matter how he tried, he would never be able to coexist with the Mad Bride. One day, he would be driven mad by jealousy and be killed by his own lord’s hand. Before that day came, Seogyeong wanted to step away on his own feet.

He had to accept that warning now, while they could still part with a smile.

Tang Yujae, for the first time in a while, stroked Seogyeong’s hair.

“…All right. You take care too, Gyeong-ah.”

With that brief farewell, a rush of powerful Qi enveloped Seogyeong. A violent ripple spread through the room. Scorching, cold flame seared his mind, and Yang Seogyeong screamed.

As his collapsing body was caught, Tang Yujae silently hoped that when his son regained his memories after his death, he would not come to resent the choice he had made. That was one of the few worries he could offer as a father, and the only pitiful mercy he could give as a master.

After carrying the unconscious Seogyeong to Nabisalsoo’s quarters, Yujae set out a few days later for the summit of Suido Peak. The energy within his body had begun to stir ominously.

The moment had finally come for the Heavenly Gate to reveal its majestic form.

Standing at the summit, looking down at Yurigung, the garden in bloom looked more beautiful than ever. Tang Yujae calmly reflected on the image of his bride, smiling over a single camellia blossom.

He admitted it. It would be a lie to say he had no lingering attachments to life.

If he had met him as a fellow martial artist of the rivers and lakes, if their bond had formed that way, what kind of fate might they have shared?

In that useless daydream, he waited quietly for what was to come. His death had arrived much earlier than expected, but as always, he felt no fear.

Those who follow heaven live, those who defy it perish.

It was now time to humbly surrender his body to the will of heaven.