IJWTGO 06

“Ugh… aaahhh!”

Baek Seon screamed and squeezed his eyes shut as his body dropped sharply downward.

When he used to step on air and fly around on his own, he never felt scared. But jumping from such a high place while relying on someone else… it required much more courage than he thought.

He clung tightly to Cheonrang’s neck. Feeling this, Cheonrang’s arms tightened around his back.

Thud.

Soon, the floating sensation faded, and Baek Seon slowly opened his eyes.

Thinking the fall was over, he loosened his grip around Cheonrang’s neck—only to hear a low laugh above his head.

“Were you scared?”

“…No!”

“For someone who wasn’t, your scream was pretty loud.”

“…”

Baek Seon pressed his lips tightly together.

…It seemed Cheonrang had discovered that teasing him was entertaining.

Upon arriving at Yunnan’s main city, Baek Seon immediately bought Cheonrang a new set of clothes.

The man had been living in a cave, wearing animal hides stitched together.

“…Such a useless thing to do.”

Baek Seon worried Cheonrang might refuse, but surprisingly, he wore the black robe without complaint.

He had always been handsome, but now, dressed neatly, he looked even more striking.

“It’s not useless. There are unsettling rumors going around in Yunnan. Best not to attract unnecessary trouble,” Baek Seon said with a cheerful smile.

But that wasn’t the only thing troubling his mind.

“They say that madman from Mount Aeno has been caught, right? The one who wears animal skins.”

It felt as if the rumor was pointing directly at Cheonrang.

“Another martial artist has gone missing, I hear.”

“Some say they were mauled by wild beasts, but… no way martial artists die so easily. Not even on Mount Aeno.”

“Has anyone even seen the bodies? Or did they just disappear? I heard someone from the Tang family went missing and still hasn’t been found.”

“Tsk tsk… If even one of the Five Great Clans can’t find their own, the others are as good as dead. Times are getting grim.”

People spoke of danger and death everywhere.

‘There’s never a day without trouble.’

Before the Demon-Sect War, everyone only talked about the Demonic Cult. Now, the topic had shifted to missing martial artists.

‘Could this be connected to Tang Baek Seon’s disappearance?’

But Baek Seon wasn’t in any real danger now… not exactly. He just didn’t know why he had ended up in Cheonrang’s cave in the first place.

While he was lost in thought—

Growl—

His stomach rumbled loudly.

Blinking in confusion, he looked down, only for Cheonrang to ask,

“Hungry?”

“Huh? No, I’m—”

Growlll—

Another loud growl cut him off.

“Not hungry, huh? Then what’s with the battle cry?”

“Uh…”

Baek Seon rubbed his stomach awkwardly.

Back when he was Manyu-gang, he could go three or four days without eating. But in Tang Baek Seon’s body? Not a chance.

“That shop has good dumplings.”

“Eh?”

“That one serves good noodles.”

Cheonrang asked casually, as if offering him a choice of where to eat.

“How do you know that?”

“I got hungry. So I asked around while you were picking clothes.”

His answer was so natural that Baek Seon couldn’t help but look up at him. Cheonrang’s once-hostile eyes now seemed softer somehow.

“I think I’ve found that ‘precious connection’ my master spoke of.”

‘But that precious connection wasn’t supposed to be Tang Baek Seon…’

Should he let Cheonrang misunderstand for now? Or clear it up?

‘Still… I’ll need to leave the cave to meet Song Jeok-rim anyway…’

Maybe it was best to keep quiet until then.

That night.

Baek Seon collapsed onto the inn’s bed and fell asleep within seconds.

Curled up tightly near the wall…

“…Like a pea,” Cheonrang muttered.

Was it because of the green robe he wore? Or his small body?

Cheonrang tried to ignore it, but somehow, his eyes kept going back to the sleeping figure.

“On the first day, he could barely sleep, all tense and wary…”

But lately, Baek Seon seemed much more at ease.

‘Not even pretending to be cautious anymore.’

He remembered how the boy had shown up out of nowhere, claiming to be lost—even though he had clearly leapt up a cliff with skill.

“Then go back the way you came.”

Cheonrang’s cold reply had made Baek Seon look troubled.

“You’re so harsh. Fine, I wasn’t lost. I’m being chased.

Can’t I stay with you for a while? I can cook. Even use poisons to make unique flavors. Pretty useful, right?”

That shameless grin had been so irritating, Cheonrang nearly punched him then and there—if not for his master’s words: Don’t pick unnecessary fights.

‘Maybe it was good I didn’t kill him that day…’

Cheonrang had kept him around because he suspected he might be the one his master spoke of. Yet, even aside from that, Baek Seon’s strange actions kept drawing his attention.

“People called him the Venomous Young Lord… I expected someone cruel.”

But no. Baek Seon was just… weird. Possibly an idiot.

While Cheonrang reassessed his opinion, he suddenly heard a faint sound.

“…?”

He moved closer. Baek Seon’s body was trembling.

“What…?”

His skin felt alarmingly cold.

“Hey.”

“….”

“Baek Seon.”

No response, even when shaken.

Cheonrang remembered: the first time they met, Baek Seon’s body had felt cold then, too. But not like this.

“Ugh… so cold…”

Baek Seon whimpered in his sleep, curling tighter.

Cheonrang reached out almost instinctively.

“This… isn’t normal.”

Such icy energy shouldn’t be coming from a living person.

Normally, he wouldn’t care if someone was sick or not. But something about this felt… different.

“Are you hurt? Or is it something else? Tell me… so I can give medicine… or do something…”

The words Baek Seon had spoken that day came back to him—the look on his face, the tone in his voice—reminded him of that person.

His master’s longest companion, Manyu-gang.

But how could Baek Seon imitate his tone and expressions so perfectly? Could this chilling energy mean… Manyu-gang’s spirit was inside him?

…Gulp.

Cheonrang swallowed hard.

Just then, Baek Seon stirred and nuzzled against his hand in his sleep.

“Mmm… Rang-ah…”

It was so much like how Manyu-gang used to sleep, mumbling softly. Too similar.

Cheonrang jerked his hand back, startled.

“…Impossible.”

He quickly moved away, standing by the window.

Yet the sight of Baek Seon shivering bothered him.

With a sigh, he grabbed an extra blanket and tossed it onto the bed.

“Ugh!”

Startled awake, Baek Seon blinked sleepily, dazed and confused.

His expression… looked just like Cheonrang’s master—pretending to be stern but secretly softhearted.

And for some reason… it annoyed him.