Chapter 109
“Going to the Western Regions?”
I couldn’t believe how surprised I was when I heard that. I knew they had become thoroughly fed up with the Central Plains, but I never imagined they would go as far as the Western Regions.
Sahyeon told me again.
“O-of course, you don’t have to go, Noona! You weren’t originally a member of the Guangjin Cult anyway, and just finding the Doctrine is enough for you to have fulfilled your duty!”
“….”
“It would be nice if you came with us, Noona. It really, truly would be wonderful… but you have her, don’t you? You might want to stay in the Central Plains with her….”
As he said that, he kept glancing at me, looking like he secretly hoped I would go with them. But I had to avert my eyes from that gaze.
The Western Regions? It was a place I had never even considered. And, regardless, my highest priority was finding the young lady.
I still hadn’t decided what I would do afterward, but wouldn’t I decide that together with the young lady? Somehow, I felt that the young lady might not want to leave her homeland, the Central Plains…
“I’ll do my best to find the Doctrine, too.”
In the end, that was all I said.
Anyway, after hearing the whole story, there was only one thought in my mind.
‘So if I find the Doctrine, I can step down as Cult Leader?’
I had accidentally become the Guangjin Cult’s Cult Leader and was worried that I’d have to spend the rest of my life acting as one, but apparently they’d let me go once I accomplished just one goal?
Isn’t this way too easy? What if I end up stepping down as Cult Leader in just a few years?
…Or so I thought.
It was an enormous misconception.
Finding the Doctrine was quite literally like looking for a needle in a desert.
Yes, I should have realized it when Sahyeon’s father, Master Lee, had spent his entire life searching for it and failed. They didn’t even have a clue where the Doctrine was.
I asked whether it might be in Xinjiang, where they had originally lived, but apparently that didn’t seem to be the case either. Master Lee had already searched there and found nothing.
‘Then where the hell is it?’
I still had no idea…
At best, I could only speculate that perhaps one of the missing members of the Guangjin Cult had it.
Of course, even that wasn’t certain. It might have been burned to ash along with the Guangjin Cult when it went up in flames, or it could have simply been discarded somewhere.
So by now, I was practically on the verge of giving up.
‘Did they actually just phrase “you’re going to be the lifelong Cult Leader” in a roundabout way? I think I got thoroughly scammed…….’
“As it happens, we received some news recently. It’s more hopeful than before, so I’ve been waiting to tell you.”
At those words, I raised my head.
“News? What?”
“We might be able to find one of the missing members of the Guangjin Cult.”
“Whaaat?”
At my astonished expression, Sahyeon smiled brightly.
“We recently received information that one of the religions in the Central Plains seems to be connected to the Guangjin Cult. It’s called the Sacred Flame Cult.”
“Sacred Flame? Isn’t that just some religion related to fire?”
“Fire and light aren’t unrelated. And there’s a rumor that the leader of the Sacred Flame Cult is one of the Twelve Lion Kings who left our Cult. Of course, it’s not certain. It could simply have been founded by an ordinary believer.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We’ll have to go there ourselves to find out for sure. But it might be difficult. I heard the Sacred Flame Cult is just as closed-off as our Cult.”
“But if he’s one of the Twelve Lion Kings…….”
‘Maybe this time, we really can find the Doctrine!’
But contrary to what I was thinking, Sahyeon brought up something else.
“That’s right. We might be able to learn the final verse of the Scripture of Returning Radiance!”
“Huh?”
I blinked.
“You heard what Eom Papa said, right? He said that either the Guangjin Left and Right Envoys or the Blackwater Sword King might know the verse. The Blackwater Sword King was one of the Twelve Lion Kings, so perhaps it’s him.”
“Really…?”
“Yes. Although I do wonder whether the Blackwater Sword King would have established his own cult given his temperament, there’s nothing to lose by trying. You might not have to suffer anymore either, Noona!”
“Hmm, really…”
‘Could it be cured?’
I swallowed the words I couldn’t bring myself to say.
Once, I had had hope too.
It was only one verse, after all. EOm Papa was one of the most skilled physicians in the Central Plains, and Sahyeon was smart too, so surely they could figure something out somehow?
But vague hope only brought about even greater despair.
I would hope, despair, hope again, and become disappointed. Going through that cycle, I eventually realized that it was better not to expect anything at all.
Perhaps sensing that something was strange about my expression, Sahyeon looked at me questioningly.
“Noona?”
“Ah, yeah.”
Still, I didn’t want to ruin Sahyeon’s mood when he seemed genuinely hopeful. I gave him an ambiguous smile and said,
“…I really hope that’s the case.”
I didn’t know whom I was saying that to.
***
After that, I stayed in Mangyeong Village for a few more days.
It was nice to be home and stay there after such a long time, even though Sahyeon became worried because my health had gotten worse.
I didn’t get to see Eom Papa.
Apparently,s he had gone down the mountain just one day before I returned. At that time, we should have crossed paths somewhere along the way, but somehow our paths had narrowly missed each other.
After resting comfortably for a few days… I once again prepared to leave.
It was my quickest departure yet.
Actually, I had planned to rest for a few months after returning this time, but after hearing such important information, I couldn’t just sit around.
Sahyeon didn’t stop me either.
Normally, he would have begged me to rest for a few more days, but perhaps he understood how important this matter was, because he didn’t try to stop me. He merely followed me all the way to the pulley and once again gave me a barrage of worried nagging.
Sahyeon held out a medicine bottle and said,
“Here. I’ve filled it with plenty of medicine. I changed some of the ingredients after hearing about your symptoms. It should work a little better.”
Sahyeon had studied many things, but the subject he had studied most deeply was medicine.
At first, he hadn’t been this serious about it, but after I became ill, he delved even deeper into medicine.
It was only natural that the clever Sahyeon would become Eom Papa’s direct disciple. So whenever Eom Papa wasn’t around, he would make medicine for me instead.
I smiled and praised him.
“Thanks. You made it yourself? It’ll be a shame to eat it…”
But Sahyeon wasn’t pleased.
“If it’s a shame to eat, then take it sparingly! And don’t just grab a handful of medicine and swallow it like you did last time because you were hurting. Do you know how dangerous it is not to follow the proper dosage?”
“Ahahaha…”
…Instead, his nagging had only increased. I suppose I was a somewhat troublesome patient.
“The medicine is especially strong this time, so you absolutely have to take the proper dosage, okay? And another thing… You still haven’t quit drinking, have you?”
“…Ahem.”
“Please quit drinking! Or at least don’t drink while you’re taking medicine. Do you know that that’s seriously ruining your body? If you keep living like that, even an unparalleled master will die young!”
“Ah, okay. I’ll try…”
“What’s the point of just trying? You have to actually do it! If you really end up dying young because something happens to you, Noona, I’ll just die right after you!”
“Oh, what are you saying all of a sudden…”
But Sahyeon, who was holding both my hands with tears welling in his eyes, looked quite sincere. So I firmly grasped his hands and spoke seriously.
“Don’t worry. I know my life is precious now, too. I won’t do anything that recklessly throws my life away. Don’t you trust your Noona?”
“No.”
‘This brat?’
“You said you’d come back safely the first time, too, but you know you couldn’t keep that promise, right? And after that, how many times have I seen you drunk and completely out of your senses?”
…I had nothing to say to that.
“Noona is always all talk. I think you’ve only gotten better at being glib as time goes on. Still…”
Sahyeon lowered his eyes and said,
“I’ll trust you. Because you’re my Noona.”
“…….”
“…So I hope you won’t give up either, Noona.”
I looked up at Sahyeon.
Could he have been thinking about how I’d hesitated to answer him a little while ago?
Sahyeon had always been like this. He seemed more delicate than me, yet his resolve was strong. He always believed in and supported me, while whenever I hesitated, he would reach out his hand first.
‘Yeah. If you haven’t given up on me… then I shouldn’t give up either.’
“Yeah. I will.”
“…….”
“I won’t give up.”
At my words, Sahyeon smiled happily.
I said my final goodbyes to Sahyeon and climbed back into the basket.
Sahyeon didn’t go back. He continued watching me until the very end. Even as the basket descended, and even until we had gone so far down that the mountain peak was hidden behind the clouds.
I kept waving my hand as well, vaguely thinking,
‘Come to think of it…… are they alike?’
That beauty and him.
I didn’t know why I suddenly had such a thought. It was just that after looking at Sahyeon’s face for so long, I thought of that beauty. I hadn’t seen the beauty’s eyes, but the lower half of the face that had been exposed seemed vaguely similar…
…It was probably just a pointless thought.
I shook my head and brushed the thought away. Sahyeon and that beauty had no connection whatsoever, and the only thing they had in common was that they were both handsome.
It was strange that I kept thinking about that beauty, too. It wasn’t as if I’d never seen the opposite sex before. I wasn’t some greenhorn seeing a woman for the first time, so what was wrong with me?
‘Yeah. Let’s stop thinking about it. I won’t be seeing that person again anyway.’
I was sure that was what I’d thought…
“Huhhh?”
“Flower-Glutton?”
‘I’m meeting him again this soon?’
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