Episode 17
“Hyeon Ah-ya!”
Sa-yeong, in shock, rushed towards Sa-hyeon who was tumbling down the stairs. The child seemed to have lost consciousness, not moving an inch, with bruises already forming on both cheeks. His clothes were stained red in several places, indicating he had been beaten badly enough to bleed.
“Hyeon Ah-ya, Hyeon Ah-ya? Wake up. Okay? Why, why are you here?”
“I found it amusing seeing him running around the hallways and decided to leave him be, but when he tried to enter my room, I had to catch him. If he can’t even keep quiet, what’s the point of him being so noisy.”
A young man, speaking in an amiable tone, looked down at the siblings from atop the stairs. Sa-yeong, hastily hugging Sa-hyeon and tapping his cheeks trying to wake him, jerked her head up at the sound of his words.
The young man thought Sa-yeong’s gaze was rude as it radiated intense hatred, contempt, and a murderous desire to rip him apart. He twisted his lips into a grin and was about to make a move.
But then, the child who had been limp as though dead coughed up blood.
“Hnng… Kgh, Ghurk…”
“Hyeon Ah-ya!”
It wasn’t a relief. The six-year-old’s swollen eyes barely opened before rolling back. Dark red blood pooled in his lungs, seeping out between his small teeth, trickling down his mouth.
Sa-yeong screamed her brother’s name and quickly unbuttoned his shirt. What was revealed was too brutal to look at.
“This is…”
The child’s chest was severely beaten, with some parts caved in and others protruding, indicating broken bones.
Sa-yeong felt her mind going blank, numbly running her fingers over her brother’s bare skin.
Why was this child here? She had told him never to follow her, so why was he here?
The answer came quickly. It was because of Sa-yeong herself.
Even as her companions increased in number, Sa-yeong trusted only Sa-hyeon. They had always teamed up to draw attention on one side while handling matters efficiently on the other. The siblings worked seamlessly together and had never failed.
Sa-hyeon, thinking that it would be too difficult for Sa-yeong alone, must have taken matters into his own hands when he heard of the martial artist.
Just as they had practiced.
As he had learned from his sister.
“So you knew everything and approached me on purpose. It’s cute, I don’t even feel angry.”
“These days, kids are so cunning, brother.”
“Even you, Ok-ri, were quite the imp back then.”
Ok-ri chuckled and stood up, walking toward Sa-yeong. Sa-yeong, holding her brother tightly, glared at him and backed away until her back hit the wall.
Ok-ri placed his hand on the wall and leaned in closer to Sa-yeong. The shadow cast by the backlight covered the children. Sa-yeong, glaring fiercely at Ok-ri, was tear-stained, trembling as if under his pressure.
Ok-ri smirked, grabbing Sa-yeong’s face with one hand.
“I’ll overlook the crime of using that little brain of yours. I like your sharp-tongued attitude. Why not come with me? It’ll be better than living miserably here.”
With that, he grabbed Sa-yeong’s thin wrist, which clutched an old dagger tightly enough to reveal white bones.
“⎯Ah!”
But Ok-ri reflexively let go of Sa-yeong. She had bitten into the flesh of his wrist, holding Sa-hyeon tightly as she quickly escaped his shadow. She spat out Ok-ri’s skin, wiped her bloody mouth with her sleeve, and pointed the dagger at him.
Ok-ri clicked his tongue and stood up. When he clenched his fist a few times, the bleeding stopped. Sa-yeong’s eyes did not lose their light.
“This is Haomun’s territory. You’ll get into trouble if you run wild here.”
“Ha!”
Sa-yeong spat bitterly in a trembling voice. Ok-ri laughed incredulously.
“So, are you claiming to be a member of Haomun? If so, it wouldn’t do well to turn Namgung into an enemy.”
“Perhaps, or maybe not. But whether I am or not, you’ll be in trouble. The imperial palace won’t stand by if you harm a civilian.”
“Haha! Did you hear that, Ok-ri! He said the imperial palace won’t stand by!”
Ok-ri unsheathed his sword suddenly, swinging it horizontally. A fierce wind swept past and entangled Sa-yeong’s hair.
A thud resounded behind.
Sa-yeong stiffly turned to see what had fallen. A head rolled on the floor, staring back at him with a pained and urgent expression.
The headless body’s knees buckled and it collapsed sideways. Blood spurted in rhythm with the dying heartbeats, casting a grim silence over the dining hall.
The young cook had run out of the kitchen in a rush to protect the children.
Her breath grew rapid. Namgung Ho-gwan had effortlessly beheaded a civilian. This indicated that the Namgung family’s power was so immense that they need not consider the imperial palace or Haomun, and that the Namgung humans were truly insane.
Even in such circumstances, contempt surged for herself over planning how to save her brother and her own life rather than mourning the dead, but she suppressed it. She had long given up on living like a human.
But no matter how she thought, there seemed to be no escape.
Sa-yeong gripped the dagger tightly, bringing it to Sa-hyeon’s throat. She knew too well that falling into the hands of these righteous-seeming villains would be worse than death.
She had always resolved that if it came to that, she would die along with her brother, who couldn’t survive without her, even if her hands trembled uncontrollably.
Moreover, Sa-hyeon’s chances of survival seemed slim. Even if they escaped safely, he appeared destined to suffer and die within days. She couldn’t bear to end his life with her own hands.
Finally, she dropped the dagger and hugged Sa-hyeon. She tried to cover him with her body as if to shield him from this damned world in any way she could.
“Haha, what a cute trick,”
Ho-gwan raised his sword again, aiming to cut her down. Sa-yeong glared at his feet with fierce eyes before closing them. Tears dripped onto Sa-hyeon’s worn-out clothes, already soaked with her tears.
If I’m gonna die, I’ll become a vengeful ghost. One that can’t be slashed or stabbed, that won’t burn, and I’ll kill them all.
She resolved to take revenge, waiting for her death to come.
But no pain came.
Sa-yeong opened her eyes. Namgung Ho-gwan, who was gleaming madly, slowly rolled his eyes back, blood trickling from his nose. He dropped his sword and fell backward into a convulsion.
At the same time, Namgung Ok-ri, who was on the second floor, also fell down the stairs like a severed puppet. All the martial artists of the Namgung family in the tavern fell silently, not even able to groan. It was an incredibly surreal scene.
A white hand touched Sa-yeong’s shoulder as she stared blankly at the fallen Namgung family members. When she looked up, she met calm, brown eyes looking down at her. White hair, like a mythical beast’s fur, brushed her cheeks, and a medicinal herb scent wafted over.
Sa-yeong dumbly watched the white-haired figure who appeared out of nowhere.
He pressed gently beneath Sa-hyeon’s lips, making him open his mouth, then clenched his fist above it. A few drops of dark red liquid pooled under his fist.
Those drops fell into Sa-hyeon’s mouth, and soon a strong pulse throbbed through Sa-yeong’s arms cradling him.
More a thud than a beat, Sa-hyeon’s seemingly dead body suddenly convulsed. His head snapped back, his limbs stiffened, ribs visibly shifting in and out. Sa-yeong screamed.
“What are you doing…!”
“Quiet. It’s healing.”
He raised a finger to silence Sa-yeong. His low voice had a strangely calming effect, compelling her to withhold her rage. Instead, she focused all her efforts on keeping Sa-hyeon from hitting the cold floor. The horrid sounds of bones cracking and sinews tearing came from close quarters, but she gritted her teeth and endured.
After a while, Sa-hyeon’s body calmed. The broken, protruding bones vanished, injuries and bruises disappeared, leaving him in better condition than before.
A medicine that reattached bones, healed flesh, and resumed life.
Such a thing couldn’t exist in reality.
With a trembling voice, Sa-yeong asked in a daze.
“Is he… healed?”
Is he alive? Can my brother survive?
Her throat tightened, preventing her from saying more. Yet, the hope she clung to crumbled in an instant.
“No, he’ll die within five days like this.”
His voice was detached and firm, showing no sympathy for the soon-to-die child. Declaring that so nonchalantly, as if stating the obvious, Sa-yeong stammered.
“Why…?”
“What I gave him is virtually a lethal poison. His insides will burn from the overpowering energy.”
“Why… .”
If so, why did you say it was healing and show me that?
Sa-yeong gaped silently in disbelief as he stroked Sa-hyeon’s forehead and eyelids with his fingertips. The split skin mended and healed under his touch, a miraculous sight.
“Only I can cure this poison.”
He said calmly, taking Sa-hyeon from Sa-yeong’s arms.
Standing there, feeling surreal from the aftermath of the fierce emotions and events, Sa-yeong found her brother being stolen from her grasp.
He looked down at Sa-yeong, who clumsily tried to get up and extend her hand, and informed her.
“Since you’ve touched him, you must take responsibility. Follow me if you will.”
“… Follow you?”
What are you talking about all of a sudden? Who are you? Who are you to say this?
She wanted to question him, but no words came out. The instinct that had protected Sa-yeong throughout her brief life whispered now.
Follow him. This is the only way you and Hyeon Ah will survive.
Am I crazy? Have I already died and am now dreaming a short dream? With a desolate feeling of self-mockery, Sa-yeong looked around and found the discarded dagger on the floor. She picked it up.
The sight of the two Namgung men lying motionless on the dining hall floor caught her eye as well. The white-haired figure didn’t wait for Sa-yeong, turning serenely and walking out of the restaurant with floating steps, holding her brother.
To Sa-yeong, this moment felt like a choice presented at a crossroad.
One tried to kill her and her brother after threatening them, and the other mercilessly beat Hyeon Ah while Sa-yeong had been obliviously having a gruesome meal.
If she acted as she had lived so far, she would now kill those who had harmed her and her brother while they were incapacitated.
But doing so would likely make her lose track of her brother and the mysterious figure.
On the other hand, following him left too many unknowns. What did he do for a living, why did he suddenly help, what would he ask in return for saving her brother’s life?
Such thoughts made it seem easier to kill the Namgung men here and now and live as circumstances dictated.
After hesitating, Sa-yeong turned and chased after the white-haired figure. She didn’t drop the dagger she held — it was her last resort.
Comrades of the Jiangsu Group, Jang-wi whom she failed to save, the people of the tavern. As she thought of the many who would suffer if she pursued this path, she kept walking.
As said, she had given up living like a human. She had long abandoned the notion of being a noble, trustworthy, and dutiful human being.
Sa-yeong’s decision wasn’t about the mysterious figure; it was about Sa-hyeon.
In this hellish life, her brother was the only thing that truly mattered.
<蛇英 結>
