Camellia 92

Of course, Seolyeong had never been close with Si Pungjae, nor did he harbor anything resembling affection for him. At best, the man had been a shadow trailing after him, standing in for Cheonsin’s all-seeing eye.

Even so, hearing that someone whose face he’d seen so often might now be dead left a weight in his chest. Groaning, he pushed himself upright and asked in disbelief,

“What do you mean, ‘he failed to serve me properly’?”

Despite his brother’s uncertain fate, Si Pungwoon’s face remained indifferent.

“Well, that’s for Cheonsin to judge. Someone like you, Gyo-mo, needn’t trouble yourself over such matters.”

He moved his arms behind his back, long sleeves brushing together with a faint rustle. With his wide robes and his slow, deliberate manner, he looked like some wandering Daoist, but everything about him was… uncomfortable. Maybe “discordant” was the right word.

With a gentle face but an unholy smile, Pungwoon pressed again.

“So, shall I escort you to the Peng swordswoman, or would you prefer to lounge around in the garden and watch clouds pass by? You’ve been awfully quiet, did your ears get clogged up or something? Should I fetch an ear pick and clean them out for you? Ah, don’t misunderstand, I don’t mean that in any suggestive way. Personally, no matter how pretty a man might be, if they’re built too big, I lose interest.”

Snowflakes that had gently drifted down, gifts from Sahyeol Amje himself, melted where they touched Seolyeong’s Qi. Seeing those precious flakes vanish made Pungwoon visibly annoyed.

“Ahem. Gyo-mo?”

Seolyeong got to his feet with a grunt, brushing his knees off.

“…I’ll go see Sister Rang. But first, you’re going to explain something to me.”

Pungwoon’s whole demeanor made no sense.

“If your brother is truly in danger, why are you so calm about it?”

Seolyeong wasn’t without family. He knew exactly how much weight the death of a blood relative carried. If someone told him his sister might die, he wouldn’t hesitate to descend from Sipman Daesan and challenge Sahyeol Amje, even if it killed him.

That’s how precious family was. At least to Seolyeong.

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be calm?”

Pungwoon shot back, genuinely baffled. A flicker of irritation appeared in the corners of his otherwise mild eyes.

“In the Cheonma Divine Sect, everything begins and ends with our lord’s will. If he chooses to accept us, we find a reason to exist. If he discards us, then we’ve found our reason to end. My brother… it’s simply time for him to end.”

“…End what?”

Seolyeong’s tone turned sharp without him meaning it to. Pungwoon didn’t flinch.

“The life he vowed to offer to Cheonsin.”

A life beginning and ending at the whim of one man, what kind of twisted thinking was that?

No one should have the power to decide another’s death. That right belonged to heaven alone. And yet these so-called believers dared to treat the one they called their ‘god’ as if he truly were heaven itself, wielding control over life and death.

Seolyeong’s righteous heart recoiled.

“I must see Pungjae.”

Pungwoon clicked his tongue and looked away. At that moment, Seonwol-do hanging dormant as a necklace erupted in white light, furious at its master being ignored. It transformed into a massive blade in the blink of an eye.

Seolyeong seized the hilt from the air and leveled it at Pungwoon.

“I said I must see your brother. That’s an order.”

To those who only obey power, power must be shown.

Seolyeong’s Qi clashed violently with Pungwoon’s. Having already been crushed by it once, Pungwoon ground his teeth, the pressure building like it would burst his skull. His long Daoist robes flared as if caught in a storm.

“Ghhk…!”

His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees, spitting out a tooth fragment. He’d clenched his jaw so hard his molars had cracked.

Lifting his head with effort, Pungwoon opened his mouth to speak. Seolyeong slightly withdrew his force.

“…My brother is utterly useless. Just a weak, pathetic man. Cheonsin was merciful even to have tolerated him as long as he did. I truly don’t understand why I’m being humiliated over something so trivial.”

Seolyeong could only wonder if these two brothers had ever felt anything resembling familial love.

He muttered to himself.

“…This is why people call you demonic cultivators.”

The insult hit its mark. Pungwoons bloodshot eyes snapped up.

“…Demonic cultivator? Did you just call me a demonic cultivator?”

Among the sect leader’s followers, ‘demonic cultivator’ was a slur coined by the martial world. Not all ‘demons’ were equal, the ‘demon’ they revered was the Heavenly Demon (cheonma), and their sect leader was that god’s incarnation.

Pungwoon had never liked the Gyo-mo to begin with. A righteous sect disciple, barging into Sipman Daesan with no shame?

“How do your upright sects define ‘demon’? Anyone who disrupts your noble ideals gets lumped under that word, right? But from where I stand, the hypocrisy of the righteous sects is the real evil that pollutes those ideals.”

The venom in his voice only grew.

“There was a time when that pervert from the Namgung Clan collected boys for his pleasure. Every spring, right as those boys started growing into men, they were buried alive in Hwang. Do you have any idea what it’s like to live in fear, not knowing when you’ll be dragged off to that freak’s bed? I tried to run. Better to die than become his plaything. But my coward of a brother held me back. He said if I got caught, they’d kill me in some horrific way. And I asked him, was that not already a horrific life?”

Can someone truly hate without reason? Seolyeong found himself wondering. Could anyone’s heart be so twisted as to hate without a cause?

If not, then where did the hatred of these demonic followers come from?

“In the end, I had to run. No matter how much I begged him to come with me, he wouldn’t. He was too weak, too obedient. He probably got dragged into that freak’s bed without ever once resisting. And then, while he was rotting in a grave on Mount Hwang, it was Cheonsin who pulled him out. And that damn fool… he asked his savior to find me. Begged him to look for the brother he’d lost.”

Pungwoon’s voice turned harsh.

“But tell me, Gyo-mo. Was I really ‘lost’? My whole life, he’s been a chain on my neck. When I tried to live like a human being, he was the one who scolded me. Then, the moment he was safe, he ran to my side just to ease his guilt. And now I’m supposed to weep because that heartless coward might die?!”

It was a cry, raw and shaking with rage. Seolyeong’s expression softened as he stepped forward and crouched in front of him. He gently ruffled Pungwoon’s hair, short and mussed.

“…Then why do you hate your brother more than the perverted bastard who ruined everything?”

The question pierced deep.

Pungwoon’s eyes twitched at the touch. Seolyeong’s Qi, warm and gentle, seeped into him. His eyes stung. He gasped for breath.

“You’re twins, aren’t you, Pungwoon? If you were young, so was he. If you were afraid, so was he. Don’t you think he wanted to leave just as badly? You made a brave choice. A fearless one. But don’t look down on those who couldn’t make the same choice.”

Silence fell. Pungwoon dropped his head. His rage had left him hollow. What a pathetic scene this was. He, kneeling before the Gyo-mo, and the he was comforting him. It almost made Seolyeong seem like a god himself.

“You’ve done nothing wrong. The ones who sinned were the adults who failed to protect you. Back then… I wasn’t there for you, and for that, I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of the righteous sects.”

“……”

“I’m truly sorry, Pungwoon-ah. I won’t ask you to forgive us.”

Suddenly, something welled up from deep inside Pungwoon’s chest. Something he’d tried to bury. Something he could no longer suppress.

“My brother…”

He whispered, sniffling as he nose began to sting.

“Please… save my brother, Gyo-mo…”

The words broke with a sob. Seolyeong nodded, still letting his warmth seep through the boy’s cold limbs. His voice, soft and kind, echoed like a promise from a celestial being.

“You don’t need to worry. This time… there’s an adult here who will protect you.”