Moving without rest through the Danmok Sect was challenging. Especially when Danmok Chang was injured.
After descending to the nearby village, we decided to stay for a day. Jegal Min claimed to have knowledge in medicine, but I felt more at ease when a real doctor from the village was called.
There couldn’t be a large inn in such a small village. In the end, everyone gathered inside a small building. Then, Baekho, with an irritated temperament, disappeared into the mountains.
[Dash]Ugh, a disgusting smell. I should move away and look around.Since he didn’t say he was disappearing and mentioned moving away, I wasn’t worried at all.
‘Somehow, he must be watching over me.’
I forced an awkward smile. The foul smell Baekho mentioned was the smell of blood.
Passing through the main gate of the Blood Sect, and even on the stone steps leading to the mountain path, the bloodstains did not cease.
I already knew who had left those bloodstains.
“Yeon-ah.”
As I stood blankly looking toward the forest where Baekho had disappeared, a subdued voice called me.
The voice, which I always thought was as sweet as sugar, was unlike any other today. With a vague smile, I slowly turned around.
“Doryeon-nim.”
Danmokbi, with neatly tied hair, stood upright, looking at me.
Even in the dimming forest, he shone brightly. His eyes, as black as the night sky, stared at me with deep affection. He approached me with a relieved smile.
“I’m glad you’re safe. When I heard the story of you being captured, I thought my heart would stop.”
“…Doryeon-nim.”
Normally, I would have held out my hand that he offered and leaned against his broad chest.
But today, I couldn’t do that. Staring at Danmokbi with a gloomy expression, I asked.
“Did you brutally kill people who couldn’t resist?”
“Yeon-ah.”
I had cared for Danmokbi during his childhood because I didn’t want him to grow up as a cruel person as portrayed in the original work. I wanted to fill the emptiness in his heart.
‘But Danmokbi was so cruel that Jegal Min warned me not to get close. Even if I’m being held hostage.’
Although the Blood Sect is part of the martial arts world, it is also a religion. It’s a gathering not only of strong martial artists but also of those who want to become stronger or reclaim what they have lost.
As a result, not everyone in the Blood Sect was a strong martial artist. Among them were also weak individuals exploited for their beliefs.
Danmokbi’s violence was directed towards such weak individuals. And that fact had a different meaning for me.
In response to my inquiry, Danmokbi stood still, his shoulders flinching. Danmokbi, who had been wandering around, avoiding my gaze like a lost child, closed his eyes tightly and bowed his head.
“That… I lost my composure for a moment. The thought of you getting into trouble made everything white in front of my eyes.”
“Doryeon-nim.”
“Yeon-ah, I was wrong. I’ll listen sweetly to you scolding me. But for now, can you hold my hand? I want you to feel safe and relieved.”
“…….”.
Long and straight fingers reached out towards me. I looked at the extended white hand with trembling eyes.
If Danmokbi had pretended not to be him and forcibly grabbed my hand, I would have been genuinely disappointed. However, seeing him openly admitting it, my heart weakened again.
‘He did it to save me, who was kidnapped by criminals. If I take his hand without asking anything, it will be as if nothing happened.’
He would be a tender and loving lover to me, and I also loved him.
For a moment, my heart wavered, but I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head. Instead of holding out the extended hand, I calmly asked.
“How many people did you hurt?”
To my question, the tip of Danmokbi’s hand trembled. Danmokbi bit his lower lip and clenched his hand. Then, in a low tone, he answered.
“I don’t know. I didn’t count.”
“It was such an urgent situation, wasn’t it?”
“…No. I was just angry. Angry at anything trying to take you away from me.”
Perhaps realizing that lying would be useless, Danmokbi answered truthfully while furrowing his brows.
Suddenly, looking straight into my eyes with his black pupils, he said.
“I don’t regret it. I won’t let anyone try to take you away from me in the future.”
It was the first time that Danmokbi, who always showed affectionate and gentle love, revealed a firm obsession.
I looked at Danmokbi with pursed lips. Danmokbi swept his bangs to the side. His young face with a bitter smile somehow looked poignant.
“Are you disappointed in me?”
“…….”.
What should I say in response to that question?
I wanted to comfort the seemingly sad Danmokbi, but at the same time, I felt tormented by a sense of self-reflection on what I had done.
Unable to answer immediately, Danmokbi, feeling that my words were pushing him away, twisted his face. After hesitating for a moment, he pleaded with a pitiful tone.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep the promise. Still… please don’t hate me.”
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
