🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 16
“Huhh…!”
Baekseon gasped, clutching his lower abdomen as he bent forward. What had once been icy cold now burned as if it held a volcano within.
It felt like something that had been horribly tangled was being forcefully unraveled by a heavy power—only to be kneaded and crushed by something blazing hot in its place.
When Baekseon staggered, unable to keep his balance, Man Yugang slowly reached out and caught him.
“Goodness. You’re frailer than I thought.”
“Haa…! Hhhk…!”
“It’s hot and painful now, but endure it. This will untangle the twisted energy channels.”
He lifted the suffering Baekseon onto his lap and gently stroked his head.
Just as Baekseon had once done for Cheonrang.
It felt affectionate—or else unnervingly like a supreme being mimicking human emotion.
“This chill isn’t ordinary. It won’t be cured in just a day or two…”
His large hand moved across Baekseon’s abdomen, stirring a strange sensation.
Heat and ticklishness.
In that delicate tension between the two, Baekseon’s toes curled.
He bit his lip and twisted his body, but Man Yugang only pressed his hand down more insistently, refusing to let go.
“To heal this, it looks like we’ll have to stay connected for quite some time. You’re traveling with your disciple right now, aren’t you?”
“Hhh… Hhhk…”
His body trembled as he weakly clutched Man Yugang’s collar. The man swayed gently side to side, as if to soothe him.
“Hmm. Your disciple still doesn’t know I’ve awakened. If I suddenly appeared, it would cause confusion…”
Man Yugang muttered thoughtfully, patting Baekseon’s abdomen as if to calm him.
Baekseon should have resisted—should have begged him to stop. But whether it was the warmth, or the strange comfort of his embrace, he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.
“You’re still like a child. Then again, even when you entered my body, you acted just like one.”
“…You… you can let go of me now…”
“I didn’t say I wanted to. Holding you like this feels strangely good.”
His voice softened, warm in a way that didn’t suit him—as if he felt the same emotions Baekseon did. He even rubbed his cheek against Baekseon’s hair, as though cherishing something precious.
“For now, I’ll just watch from afar. After all, your disciple could vanish someday.”
Cheonrang… vanish?
The words jolted him wide awake. His languid expression sharpened in an instant, focus snapping back to his dulled gaze. Baekseon scrambled from Man Yugang’s arms and stood up in haste.
As he straightened his disheveled clothes, Man Yugang laughed behind his sleeve, his look almost mocking—‘Is Cheonrang really that important to you?’
“Well, since you seem to want to stay with your disciple, I won’t take that spot from him. But if the cold ever torments you, come find me.”
He spoke with the tone of a guardian—always nearby, ready to help—leaving Baekseon with a conflicted feeling.
Just moments ago, Man Yugang had said he planned to live as he pleased.
‘I don’t know what kind of life he lived before I possessed this body…’
But when he said he’d crush the Martial Alliance, it hadn’t sounded like a joke. It was a declaration that he would act destructively, without regard for others’ judgment.
“Why are you helping me…?”
“Helping you? With what?”
“You unraveled my energy channels, and this coldness too…”
Baekseon’s hand touched his abdomen as he spoke.
Man Yugang met his doubtful gaze with a matter-of-fact expression.
“Because it would be troublesome if the person I intend to sway dies too easily.”
“….”
“Especially now, when that weak body of yours has to fight injustice. If you die too quickly, wouldn’t that be boring?”
You like fair and square battles, don’t you?
As he said this, Man Yugang stroked Baekseon’s head with his massive hand. What had just moments ago felt warm now pressed against him like a grip around his throat.
“…Tsk.”
Then Man Yugang rose slowly, turning his gaze out the window toward something unseen.
“I thought you were the only one obsessive about your disciple. But that one’s even worse.”
“…What?”
“Anyway, don’t even think about running from me.”
“….”
“If you do, I’ll take what’s most precious to you first.”
Before Baekseon could react, Man Yugang stepped onto the wide-open window frame. He turned slightly, pressing a white fan into Baekseon’s hand.
“This is…?”
Baekseon’s eyes widened.
It was one of the seven legendary treasures ‘Man Yugang’ had once possessed—the Heavenly Wind Fan, rumored to have been stolen from an immortal.
Said to read the wielder’s heart as though it were heaven’s will, it could summon razor winds strong enough to slay anyone before the holder if they so wished.
“As expected, since we once shared the same body, I don’t need to explain.”
“…Why are you giving this to me?”
“For the same reason I just said. Better you kill someone and fail to persuade me, than die so easily yourself.”
As if it were an act of kindness.
He waved lightly.
“Then until next time, little brother.”
With a faint smile, he stepped from the windowsill. A fierce gust of wind swept through.
Baekseon raised his arm to shield his face, and in the blink of an eye, Man Yugang was gone without a trace.
“Haa…”
Baekseon exhaled sharply.
It was as if he had been bewitched. Since his possession, never had his body and heart felt so unshackled.
“Why…?”
Man Yugang had spoken as though he could harm Cheonrang at any moment. And yet, Baekseon could not summon full hostility toward him.
Because he was undefeatable?
Or because of this inexplicable sense of familiarity?
Confused, Baekseon clenched his fist tight. No matter how much he thought, there was no answer.
“…Let’s go back.”
He had been away too long—Cheonrang might be looking for him. As he trudged down the stairs and left the inn, a strong wind brushed against him.
The wind felt as if it still carried the warmth of the man who had touched his hair.
Just then, over the nearby wall, he caught a fleeting silhouette.
A long black robe. Wild, loosely tied hair like a lion’s mane. And a greatsword on his back.
“…Cheonrang?”
Instinctively, his eyes widened as he whispered the name. But the figure vanished like a mirage.
Baekseon hurried his steps, returning to the inn.
He had worried his cold would flare up from being alone too long, but instead—thanks to Man Yugang’s energy—his body burned unbearably hot.
“Baekseon!”
As he neared the inn, Cheonrang approached, leaning against the wall, fury smoldering in his eyes.
“Cheon…rang…?”
Baekseon froze, quickly searching his disciple’s expression. Could that silhouette from earlier have been Cheonrang after all? His face was tight with concern.
He swallowed nervously and drew closer, but Cheonrang suddenly grabbed his cheek—the same one Man Yugang had touched earlier.
Baekseon thought he felt a faint tremor in those fingers.
“I told you to shout if anything happened. And yet you go off without a word?”
“…What?”
“Now that we’re in familiar territory, you think you don’t need my help anymore?”
His voice was edged, sharp with accusation.
Maybe he hadn’t seen them together after all. If he had, his reaction would have been different.
“I’m sorry. Something urgent came up…”
Baekseon scratched his cheek sheepishly, but Cheonrang’s expression only hardened.
“Urgent?”
His face darkened further, leaving Baekseon bewildered.
“Your stomach feels full of another man’s energy. Was that your urgent business?”
The words rumbled from Cheonrang’s throat, beast-like and raw.
