Chapter 61

"Devotees, please have your meal."

As the sun rose, Mu-hwa brought breakfast on a small tray. Being Buddhists, the meal consisted mostly of pickled vegetables and greens, but Cheong-ra didn't feel like complaining about the food at all. The young nun's face showed a desperate hope for her sect's fate, entrusted to these strangers, as if she were grasping at straws.

"Devotee, did you sleep well last night?"

"Thanks to Nun Mu-hwa, I slept comfortably."

Although it wasn't a peaceful night at all due to an unsettling dream, Cheong-ra responded politely. Seeing only Cheong-ra, Mu-hwa looked around with a puzzled expression.

"Where are the other devotees?"

Cheong-ra had no idea where the three had gone either. As he was about to make up an excuse, since he couldn't do anything about being so blatantly left out, Dang Ran-yeong and Nam Gang-ryong entered through the door. Nam Gang-ryong greeted Mu-hwa with a smile, his face looking like he hadn't had a very comfortable night either. Mu-hwa seemed quite shocked to see his face so badly bruised overnight.

Dang Ran-yeong, holding an unidentifiable lump in his hand, sat down next to Cheong-ra with an indifferent expression. Cheong-ra had a lot to say but held back for now and asked about the whereabouts of the other companion.

"Where is Miss Gong?"

Contrary to his expectation that the question would be ignored again, Dang Ran-yeong surprisingly answered readily.

"So-hye won't be back for a while. Tracking spirit beasts isn't an easy task."

It seemed Hwan-hong had left to search for traces of the spirit beast last night and hadn't returned. So what had the two of them been doing all night? There were clear traces of morning dew on Dang Ran-yeong's shoulders. Cheong-ra picked up his chopsticks, intending to start eating.

Although the simple composition was bland compared to secular food, it tasted good due to Mu-hwa's sincerity. While Nam Gang-ryong ate without complaint, only Dang Ran-yeong looked at the table with a somewhat displeased gaze. When he opened his mouth, Cheong-ra tensed inwardly, thinking he might complain about the food. However, what came out was different from his expectation.

"You said the children suddenly disappeared two months ago, right?"

"That's correct."

"What was Nun Mu-hwa doing that day?"

Mu-hwa was flustered, not understanding the intention behind asking about her schedule, but she tried hard to remember.

"That day, I woke up early to train, and in the afternoon, we were all supposed to go pick wild vegetables in the mountains on Nun Ji-u's orders. But I fell and sprained my ankle, so I couldn't go with them..."

Mu-hwa's face darkened rapidly as she recalled that day. Her expression clearly showed that she felt she should have gone with them. Dang Ran-yeong handed the unidentifiable lump he had been holding to the deeply worried Mu-hwa. It was a small, heavy bundle that smelled strongly of something like mugwort.

"What is this?"

"It's an antidote for Immortal's Lung. Take a piece about the size of your thumb, boil it with a pound of licorice root, and give it to them once a day for fifteen days. Lost Soul Powder will naturally detoxify over time, so they just need to rest and recover."

"Ah! Thank you, thank you so much. Young Master Jang, how can I ever repay this kindness?"

Mu-hwa was overjoyed at the mention of an antidote for Immortal's Lung. Cheong-ra looked at Dang Ran-yeong with a strange gaze. He thought that this person did have a sense of compassion after all. As expected of the Tang Clan, it seemed he had spent the night gathering herbs and making an antidote.

However, Dang Ran-yeong smiled faintly and said to Mu-hwa,

"If you really want to repay the kindness... Our nun just needs to work hard at what I tell her to do tomorrow."

Mu-hwa, relieved to have obtained the antidote, answered immediately without any hesitation.

"Yes! I will work hard at any difficult task. Young Master Jang."

Shouldn't she be more careful about making such dangerous promises, even if he was the sect's benefactor?

But before Cheong-ra could warn her, Mu-hwa had already rushed out, carefully holding the antidote to her chest. Dang Ran-yeong rested his chin on his hand without touching his meal at all. He pushed his portion of soup with dried tofu towards Cheong-ra and muttered,

"That nun, she has quite a pretty face. She looked to be over fifteen too."

Cheong-ra, who had been hesitantly picking at the dried tofu from Dang Ran-yeong's soup, doubted his ears. The content of his words about the young nun sounded vulgar. When he looked up at Dang Ran-yeong, there was no trace of intention to insult on his face, just indifference.

"I think so too..."

But for some reason, Nam Gang-ryong was also nodding with a somewhat serious face. Cheong-ra was confused, not understanding what they meant by this conversation. Noticing his gaze, a deep smile appeared on Dang Ran-yeong's face.

"Young Master Baek Ri, you finally have a job to do. Aren't you happy?"

Cheong-ra swallowed the savory dried tofu and asked with evident wariness,

"What... job do I have?"

***

"I'll do it!"

"Nun Mu-hwa, it's too dangerous. Please reconsider."

Cheong-ra, his face hardened, tried to dissuade Mu-hwa. This was because the role Dang Ran-yeong had proposed was nothing short of being bait.

"The enemy targeting the Hengshan Sect wants to prevent what happened here from being known outside. So they will surely appear before we leave Mount Heng."

"That's right. I think so too. That's why the elders ordered us not to go outside, as it's dangerous."

Dang Ran-yeong's plan was for Mu-hwa to pretend to leave the Hengshan Sect and descend the mountain. Then, the enemies who had orchestrated all this would surely appear to stop her, at which point they would capture and interrogate them.

However, in Cheong-ra's view, it was too dangerous for Mu-hwa. Even though she was from the renowned Hengshan Sect, Mu-hwa wasn't even twenty years old. She was young, almost a child. But Mu-hwa's eyes were very firm, showing not a trace of fear.

"Thank you for your concern, Devotee Ye. However, I am a disciple of the Hengshan Sect. Rather than sitting idle in this crisis, I will do whatever I can. I must seize this opportunity."

Unable to dissuade her any further, Cheong-ra sighed. He too would have done anything if Moon Lake Sect were in this situation. Mu-hwa smiled faintly and said in a clear voice,

"You said this afternoon, right? Then I'll go prepare."

Mu-hwa bowed her head and left the room with determined steps. As Cheong-ra watched her leave with a worried gaze, Dang Ran-yeong said,

"What are you worried about? Does Young Master Baek Ri have so little confidence in himself?"

Cheong-ra's task this time was to escort Mu-hwa. While he was fine with escorting Mu-hwa, he found it strange that neither Dang Ran-yeong nor Nam Gang-ryong were stepping up, so he asked,

"Why does it have to be me? In terms of skill, Young Master Dang is much better, isn't he?"

"Nam Gang-ryong and I are well-known to them. So if Young Master Baek Ri steps up, they'll approach without much suspicion. Wouldn't it be better to end this quickly before they fully realize what's happening?"

Hearing this, Cheong-ra could understand why Dang Ran-yeong had made them use aliases here. He was trying to conceal his identity as much as possible. Dang Ran-yeong continued, asking meaningfully,

"And it has to be that nun. Didn't Young Master Baek Ri notice anything strange?"

"...It's strange that only young nuns disappeared."

Cheong-ra had been feeling uneasy about this too. As if they had been targeted, only young nuns had disappeared, leaving only the elderly and children in the Hengshan Sect now. The older ones who could have been a fighting force were incapacitated by poison, and the children couldn't properly grasp the situation.

"By rights, that young nun should have gone missing too."

"But because she sprained her ankle and couldn't go..."

Cheong-ra, who had been muttering, suddenly realized something and looked up. A suspect had come to mind.

"Wait. Didn't she say they went to pick wild vegetables on Nun Ji-u's orders?"

Seeing that Cheong-ra had quickly understood, Dang Ran-yeong smiled with satisfaction.

"She's also one of the old ones left here. Nam Gang-ryong will stay behind to confirm and deal with that."

Cheong-ra sighed, appalled. He felt terribly sorry for the children who had gone to pick wild vegetables without knowing anything.

"How could someone who's an elder of the Hengshan Sect sell out their young disciples like that!"

Contrary to his expectation that Dang Ran-yeong would agree with him, he was surprisingly silent. After a moment of silence, he stared at Cheong-ra and muttered,

"Right? How could they do such a thing? Either they're an innately evil person capable of such an unfilial act, or perhaps... it might have been unavoidable for them."

Cheong-ra couldn't understand why he was saying this while looking at him. Rising from his seat and putting on his veil, Cheong-ra replied firmly,

"No matter what unavoidable circumstances there might be, if it were me, I would never betray Moon Lake Sect even if a knife were at my throat."

At those words, Dang Ran-yeong smiled even more strangely and removed the veil Cheong-ra had put on.

"Don't wear the veil. Your face needs to be clearly visible for the other side to let their guard down more."

Dang Ran-yeong's words sounded quite reasonable. Even in normal times, Cheong-ra had experienced quite a few people who mocked and underestimated him when they saw his face. Of course, without exception, things didn't end well for those people. Soon, Mu-hwa returned, having finished her preparations. Dang Ran-yeong nodded and said,

"Now, depart. I'll follow secretly behind."

Although he was determined to protect Mu-hwa with all his might, it was reassuring to know that a strong person like Dang Ran-yeong would be watching their backs.