Chapter 72
I had another strange dream.
At first, I thought it was a continuation of the dream from last time, but it wasn’t.
That was because the setting was different this time.
‘Where is this…?’
Blood.
It was blood.
Corpses formed mountains, and blood formed an ocean.
A single man stood there.
I instinctively knew. It was that man. The man who had been sitting in the cave, muttering self-deprecatingly about how he regretted everything.
Why was such a man here?
And he was holding a long sword dripping with blood. As though he were the culprit behind all of this…
“I’ve never seen a murderer like you…”
A voice came from beside me.
Somehow, it was both familiar and unfamiliar. Without thinking, I turned my head, then stared blankly with my mouth hanging open at the face I saw.
It was Pyeonghyeon.
No, more precisely, perhaps I should say he was a man who ‘resembled Pyeonghyeon.’
The man looked so much like Pyeonghyeon that I thought, ‘Would Pyeonghyeon look like this if she grew up into a man?’
While I was staring in shock, the man quietly continued.
“I’ve never seen a murderer like you.”
“……”
“You must have harmed countless people until now. Everywhere you passed, rivers of blood must have flowed, and countless corpses must have piled up beneath your feet. Just like now.”
“Shut up.”
Only then did the man open his mouth.
“They’re all Demonic Cultists. They were evil people. People who harmed others and were of no use to the world whatsoever…!”
“We!”
The man resembling Pyeonghyeon screamed as though he were vomiting blood.
“Are you saying we are evil people, too? What crime did we commit to deserve this?”
“……”
“All we did was quietly live in hiding! We didn’t involve ourselves in the affairs of the Central Plains martial world. We simply lived among ourselves, helping one another. And yet you slaughtered people like that!”
“……”
“Who, who is evil? The people who were unjustly murdered after being branded with the stigma of the Demonic Cult? Or the murderer who was blinded by prejudice and killed innocent people?”
The man gradually backed away. For some reason, I knew. The man was wavering.
“…No. No, that’s not it.”
“What’s more, we didn’t attack you. We learned beforehand that you were coming to harm us, yet we waited for you without making any preparations to defend ourselves. Do you know why?”
“No…”
“Because I stopped them. Because this stupid me stopped them. I thought that if we talked things out openly, you might understand us. I thought we could resolve this with words. I persuaded the others.”
“……”
“But you started killing people before we could even say anything. Most of them probably died without even knowing what was happening. Because of me… Even Eom Papa couldn’t do anything…”
I shuddered.
It was partly because the man resembling Pyeonghyeon had mentioned Eom Papa, but more than anything, it was because tears had begun falling steadily from his eyes.
My heart felt torn apart. At the same time, it hurt as though it were being ripped to shreds.
What was this emotion? Pity? Sadness? Or perhaps guilt…
‘Guilt?’
Just as I began to sense that something was wrong, the man resembling Pyeonghyeon suddenly moved. He picked up the sword lying on the ground. Then he turned the blade around and pointed it at his own neck. He looked at the man again.
No, he was… Looking at me.
Our eyes met.
Those clear eyes, exactly like Pyeonghyeon’s, were now gleaming with hatred.
Just as I instinctively reached out my hand…
“I curse you.”
Slash!
My vision was dyed bright red.
Along with my scream, the surrounding scenery was swallowed by darkness. Once again, I sank into the depths of sleep.
As I felt my consciousness receding, I subconsciously realized one thing: Because of this incident, the ‘man’ would come to deeply regret it.
For his entire life.
***
“Ah…!”
I hurriedly sat up.
My entire body was damp with sweat. As I panted for breath, I thought,
‘…A dream?’
It was always like this whenever I dreamed.
I couldn’t remember the contents at all. Hadn’t I been frustrated about the same thing last time?
Moreover, this time, the unpleasant feeling seemed to linger for much longer. Why did I keep having such strange dreams? And ones that seemed to happen only right before I died…
‘Right before I died?’
In an instant, my eyes widened.
That’s right.
‘I died!’
No, more precisely, I almost died.
I had desperately searched for the young lady until I eventually ran out of strength and collapsed on the road. My vitality had gradually drained away, and just when I thought this really would be the end…
“Don’t!”
At that moment, I heard someone’s voice. The voice of a young girl.
‘A young girl?’
Could it be…
‘…The young lady?’
I shot to my feet.
Could that voice have been the young lady’s? Had I miraculously met her? Had the young lady… saved me when I was collapsed on the road?
‘I have to, I have to find out right now.’
I had to go find the young lady. I had to make sure she was safe…
Creak.
Someone opened the door and entered.
I hurriedly looked at the person. The familiar, small figure was…
‘…Ah.’
Pyeonghyeon.
Unlike usual, Pyeonghyeon had her hair tied up high and was carrying a wooden basin as she entered.
I felt strangely disappointed. Right. There was no way the young lady could be here. I’d searched all over Hefei and hadn’t found her anywhere. There was no way such a miracle could have happened…
‘Then where am I supposed to look for her now?’
Just as I raised my head, feeling lost once again… I suddenly made eye contact with Pyeonghyeon. At the same time, another question occurred to me.
‘…But why is she here?’
At that moment…
Thud!
The basin rolled across the floor.
I opened my eyes wide. At some point, Pyeonghyeon’s eyes had filled with tears.
“Uh, uh, uh…”
“Huh?”
“Unnie!”
Suddenly, Pyeonghyeon threw herself into my arms.
My arms naturally opened to catch her. The impact caused me to flop back onto the bed, but I was more concerned about the sobbing Pyeonghyeon in my arms.
At the same time, Pyeonghyeon cried out in accusation.
“Why did you only wake up now?! Why…!”
“Pyeonghyeon…”
“You said, you said you’d definitely come back! You said if I waited just a little, you’d show up safe and sound! Is this what you call safe and sound? You were dying on the side of the road! How is that safe and sound?!”
“……”
“When I found you, I, hic, I…”
Eventually, Pyeonghyeon burst into loud sobs. As I tried to comfort her, I realized belatedly.
‘So that voice was Pyeonghyeon’s.’
I felt even more sorry for Pyeonghyeon.
It was true that I’d said those things before we parted. That I’d come back safe and sound. I’d said it because I genuinely thought that was what would happen, but hadn’t I nearly died?
And Pyeonghyeon had even seen me in that state. I could imagine how shocked she must have been.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hic, seriously, seriously, you’re such a liar… I hate you. I really do…”
“I’m really sorry. I just happened to get into an accident along the way… Though pushing myself too hard was my fault. Considering the promise I made to you, I shouldn’t have done that. I really was wrong.”
“Huuh, hic…”
“Don’t be so sad. Okay? Do you really hate me that much?”
Pyeonghyeon glared at me with narrowed eyes. Then she buried her face in my arms again and mumbled,
“…I don’t hate you.”
I smiled faintly.
After that, I asked Pyeonghyeon what had happened. I couldn’t understand how Pyeonghyeon, who had parted from me in Nanning, had ended up here and saved me. And as I listened to Pyeonghyeon’s story, I came to understand the situation. I was surprised as well.
‘She said she’d kept receiving news about me…’
I never imagined Eom Papa had cared so much about my safety.
I had thought getting me a carriage was already more than enough kindness, but she had even continued looking after me afterward. The reason I was in good health now must have been thanks to Eom Papa treating me as well.
‘I have to thank her properly when I see her again.’
Just as I secretly made that resolution…
Bang!
The person I’d been waiting for finally entered.
I turned my head and called out happily,
“Eom Papa!”
But… Eom Papa’s expression was strange.
I had expected her to immediately glare at me and shout, ‘You little bastard!’ the moment she saw me. Yet instead of getting angry, she simply stared at me with a strange expression.
She looked somehow flustered, happy, and shocked all at once. Her eyes were strangely glistening…
‘W-What is this? Isn’t she angry?’
Just as I flinched and trembled…
“Hyeonah!”
Eom Papa suddenly shouted in a stern voice.
Surprisingly, she wasn’t addressing me. Instead, she looked at Pyeonghyeon and spoke solemnly.
“How can you disgrace yourself by clinging to her arms like that? Get up at once. She is no longer someone you can act spoiled around.”
“Eom Papa, truly, Unnie is…”
“Ahem! You must show proper respect!”
What? What respect?
I stared blankly at the two of them. Yet somehow Pyeonghyeon seemed to understand what I couldn’t even comprehend halfway, because although she looked disappointed, she slipped out of my arms.
When Pyeonghyeon stood demurely beside Elder Um, Eom Papa turned back toward me.
“I shall pay my respects.”
At the same time, both Pyeonghyeon and Eom Papa knelt.
My mouth fell open.
‘What are you two doing?’
And they didn’t stop there. They actually performed a deep formal bow to me!
‘No, why are they doing this?’
Just as I didn’t know what to do, a solemn voice rang out.
“Respectfully, I offer my greetings to the Sect Leader, who is radiant, upright, benevolent, and wise. This subordinate’s name is Eom Ran, the Flower-Piercing Poison King, Eom Ran, one of the Twelve Serving Kings under the Guangjin Sect.”
“Huh?”
“And the person beside me is…”
What followed was something I couldn’t believe.
“The sole son of Lee Jinwon, the second son of the former Sect Leader… Lord Lee Sahyeon.”
Comments (0)