Camellia 7

After a long session of grooming, a breathtaking beauty now sat before the dressing table, the kind that drew admiration from anyone who looked.

Seolyeong, who had been dozing off under the gentle hands that were combing his hair, jolted awake when he saw his own reflection.

“I look like a fairy banished from heaven.”

The girls exchanged meaningful glances at his self-praise. It was becoming more and more obvious that the Sect Leader’s bride was not entirely right in the head. He was undeniably beautiful, but his pride in his appearance, and his arrogance was sky-high.

And unfortunately, the Sect Leader absolutely despised people with personalities like that. Hadn’t a young man once been beheaded for thinking his pretty face gave him permission to act up?

The girls left a cautious warning.

“Forgive our impertinence, Sogyoju-nim, but when you meet Cheonsin-nim… it might be best to speak as little as possible…”

“Why?”

Seolyeong asked, as if he truly didn’t understand.

“Well… we heard that the Sect Leader prefers quiet, modest brides…”

Seolyeong smiled serenely and replied as if to reassure them,

“That’s exactly what I am.”

“……”

“I really am, so don’t worry.”

“……”

“You don’t believe me?”

After that came a long stretch of waiting.

The sun set. The moon rose. Dawn broke. But the Sect Leader never came for his bride.

No one appeared to take down the elaborate hairstyle Seolyeong had done up for the wedding night. He was starting to get tired, not because he was heartbroken, but because he just wanted to yank out the hair ornaments and go to sleep already.

Just a little longer… If no one comes by the end of this hour, I’m going to bed.

With nothing else to do, he sat cross-legged and began practicing his breathing.

It’s said that when masters reach the level of immortals, a petal-shaped aura appears above their heads when they concentrate on their breath. It’s a phenomenon only those who’ve reached the pinnacle of cultivation can manifest.

Seolyeong wasn’t at that level yet. But when he expelled impurities from his body and refined his qi, a white aura did slowly envelop him in a gentle glow. His face looked peaceful, but beads of cold sweat had formed on his brow, and sweat pooled at his lower back as well.

He exhaled slowly and opened his eyes, ending his short meditation. The beautiful man, dressed in a robe that revealed his skin beneath, said softly,

“Can you follow this method?”

It was a gentle question. Si Pungjae, who had frozen in place while clutching the door, quickly bowed his head.

So the Sogyoju had already sensed him, even while immersed in internal cultivation.

“You must have noticed too, Si dongsaeng¹. Martial power built through poison techniques is like a double-edged sword. To improve, you have to keep ingesting toxins, but if you build your martial path that way, your body will fall apart. If you want to live a longer life as a martial artist, you’ll need to retrain your basic breathing techniques from the ground up.”  

Si Pungjae’s face flushed.

In the flickering light, Seolyeong looked like a transcendent being. And everything he said made perfect sense.

Si Pungjae was someone who had grown strong through poison. But they said mad techniques drove the wielder insane, and poison techniques withered the user. That wasn’t just hearsay.

Even Cheonsin’s side effects were proof. He had gained enough strength to bring the Murim Alliance to its knees, but the price was his own flesh rotting away.

Si Pungjae cleared his throat,m and cupped his hands and said,

“Under orders from Cheonsin-nim, I’ve come to share your bed, Sogyoju-nim.”

Seolyeong’s half-lidded eyes popped wide open. Share his bed?

“You’re saying… you’re going to sleep with me?”

“Yes. Cheonsin-nim wishes for you to hone your bedroom skills with me first.”

“……”

“I thought this might be your first time with a man, so I brought aphrodisiacs. If you’re ready…”

“Where in Yurigung can I find my husband?”

Si Pungjae had braced himself for fury, but Seolyeong’s response was unexpectedly calm. Like a mischievous boy, he shrugged and began yanking the ornaments from his hair with a grin.

“Bonjwa doesn’t need training to make a man beg for mercy in bed.”

The expression “make a man beg for mercy” was shameless.

But Si Pungjae couldn’t stop him as he strolled out of the bedroom. He did try, but ended up getting grabbed by the collar and dragged instead. Just as he got close, Seolyeong pressed a pressure point, sapping all strength from his limbs.

Having been subdued the same way as his twin brother, Si Pungjae cried out,

“S-Sogyoju-nim!”

“Now, now. You’re a grown man, chirping like a sparrow. At least guide me properly.”

No matter how many times he pleaded for Seolyeong to return to Yeohwa Hall, all he got in return was a stern “Ahem!” The moment he learned the place he’d been cooped up in was called Yeohwa Hall, Hall of Beautiful Flowers, he thought:

A palace for beautiful flowers? That name practically screams this was built for me.

***

–Forgive me, Sect Leader. The Sogyoju wishes to enter Gwanju Hall…”

Cheonsin burst into laughter at the urgent voice transmission. There were other frantic follow-up explanations, but what caught his attention was the line “Sogyoju-nim is heading to Gwanju Hall.”

A woman placing needles in his firm waist asked in a flat tone,

“Why are you smirking?”

Her name was Yuwon. She had tied back half of her black hair in a single knot.

She had been the Divine Healer’s favorite disciple. The Divine Healer had suddenly vanished from Yeonhu Mountain one day, leaving only her behind to treat Cheonsin’s condition.

It was because she had broken her master’s one rule: never fall in love. She had fallen for Si Pungjae. So the Divine Healer had let go of the disciple they once considered his successor.

“Yonyeong’s Camellia is coming to see me,” Cheonsin said lightly.

Then he added,

“I told Pungjae to take him, but it looks like he failed.”

“…What?”

Yuwon froze, about to insert the final needle. Cheonsin, lying facedown on the acupuncture bed, turned just his head to glance at her.

Yuwon muttered like she couldn’t believe it.

“…How vile. I kept you alive and this is how you repay me, by making a mockery of me.”

Cheonsin replied shamelessly,

“Pungjae’s a sodomite. He’s been holed up in Yeonhu for ages. I was simply giving him a reward.”

His cold black eyes pierced right through her.

“It’s time for you to leave the mountain too, isn’t it? You can’t waste your life waiting around for Pungjae forever.”

The DivineHealer would soon die. Her pale face was serene in the face of death, and that made it even clearer how much she expected of her beloved disciple.

But to succeed her, one had to let go of worldly attachments and love everyone equally. To wander from place to place treating the sick, without settling down, that was the path of the DivineHealer.

Yet Yuwon loved Si Pungjae.

Her once bright, brilliant eyes now only chased after him. The light in them had started to fade. It was inevitable, the moment her heart became impure.

Yuwon said coldly,

“How thoughtful of you to worry so deeply about my future. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.”

“It’s only natural for your little brother to worry about you.”

“……”

“Don’t throw away your future over some man. Mother wouldn’t have wanted that either.”

He said what should have been left unsaid. Even with a soundproofing technique active, Yuwon didn’t want to have this kind of conversation.

“I’ll be back. I’ll bring your tonic.”

She stood, deftly removing the needles. Her skirt swept past her ankles as she walked away, but she suddenly stopped.

“Yujae.”

She didn’t look back. Her voice was quiet, nearly a whisper.

“Loving Si Pungjae, throwing away my future for him, that was all my choice. So don’t treat me like a fool.”

If only he’d responded with warmth, she might have softened. But Cheonsin replied bluntly,

“You’re not a fool. It’s just a pity the man you chose happens to be a sodomite.”

“And the bride you chose is perfectly suited, I suppose?”

“He’s on his way right now, practically begging to be taken. I wasn’t planning on bedding a man, but he is a blood fiend, so I’m sure he’s overflowing with yang. Haha. You should focus on leaving the mountain.”

The siblings cared for each other, but they never understood one another.

The only survivors of their annihilated clan, they had walked different paths for over a decade. Yuwon had learned to love others as herself. Yujae had learned to butcher others like beasts.

And so, they often clashed.

“…Fine. Rest well.”

Their fights usually ended with Yujae winning. But this time, it would be different.

Driven by bitter resentment, Yuwon swapped out the prepared medicine for an aphrodisiac brew. She handed it to her brother, hoping the proud young noble now wed to the Sect Leader would tear him to pieces.

1. “younger sibling.” It can refer to a younger brother or sister, ↩︎