Walking on Thin Ice

The following day.

After finishing his energy circulation, Seol Ah-heon stepped out of his room.

Downstairs, for once, Baek Geon-ha was already seated. Seol Ah-heon approached him hesitantly.

“Did you sleep peacefully last night……?”

He had suffered a bit of a setback after greeting him like this recently, but he couldn’t think of a better way to start a conversation. Whether Baek Geon-ha sensed his dilemma or not, he let out a short, dry laugh.

“I’ve felt this for a while, but your etiquette is a mess.”

“……I-is that so?”

Seol Ah-heon was well aware that his manners were a disaster. It wasn’t just etiquette; his speech and actions were likely just as clumsy.

It was unavoidable. He wasn’t from this world. He was trying his best to mimic the martial arts novels he’d read, but in the eyes of a true native, he couldn’t help but look like a poor imitation.

‘I hope it gets better as I live here. I really hope so.’

It’s a sorrowful thing to have the lifestyle you’ve built over a lifetime suddenly uprooted. But like it or not, this was the body he had to inhabit. Adaptation was a necessity.

‘Oh, wait a minute…….’

Suddenly, Seol Ah-heon realized that he wasn’t as tense as before.

It wasn’t that he had completely lowered his guard. Baek Geon-ha was always a terrifying opponent. Between what he’d read in The Chronicles of Mount Hua and what he’d experienced firsthand, how could he ever be complacent?

Yet, he wasn’t paralyzed by the same extreme terror that used to make him unable to even straighten his shoulders. This, too, might be part of the process of adapting to his new life.

‘Well, I guess Baek Geon-ha is actually easier to deal with than Mu Il-young.’

Seol Ah-heon startled himself with the thought. How reckless! How could he feel comfortable around Baek Geon-ha? The man was a villain who constantly belittled him and threatened his life.

But then again, while he might lash out with words, he didn’t hit with fists. His life was still intact, and the man wasn’t petty about food. He’d even bought him clothes and lent him a horse.

‘Why is he being so nice to me?’

Breaking it down one by one, it felt somewhat natural that he wasn’t trembling in fear. Especially considering Seol Ah-heon was technically a criminal who had run off after eating Baek Geon-ha’s precious elixir. Given that, Baek Geon-ha’s treatment of him could almost be considered “generous.”

“…….”

Seol Ah-heon scratched his cheek absently. It was a strange feeling.

Just then, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs reached his ears. Looking up reflexively, Seol Ah-heon let out a bewildered exclamation.

“Huh?”

At first, he thought it was a stranger. Her aura had changed so drastically. But seeing the flowing, celestial robes, it was clearly the woman who had seduced Baek Geon-ha last night.

‘Wait, how does her face look that good?’

It wasn’t a matter of beauty or ugliness. The sheer vitality radiating from her was different. It was as if she’d received a full-course skincare treatment or had taken a vitamin IV drip and slept perfectly.

Seol Ah-heon turned his gaze to Baek Geon-ha.

‘Now that I think about it, Baek Geon-ha’s condition is great, too.’

Maybe it wasn’t that surprising. Baek Geon-ha’s complexion always improved the morning after he spent the night with a woman. He’d seen it several times now.

He’d brushed it off before, but for the first time, it struck him as odd.

‘Usually, aren’t people tired the day after doing that?’

Individual results may vary, but according to the indirect experience Seol Ah-heon had gathered from various media, that was the general rule.

Sure, at a vigorous age, one might feel fine. But to have a person transform that much? It was definitely strange.

‘This is beyond fascinating—it’s suspicious…….’

A man and a woman whose complexions both improve the day after sleeping together.

In his original world, he would have dismissed it as a coincidence, no matter how suspicious. But this was the Murim, where martial arts existed. He couldn’t help but think Baek Geon-ha was using some sort of technique.

“Farewell.”

With a brief farewell, Baek Geon-ha nodded. Apparently satisfied with just that, the woman left the inn without lingering. Her departing steps looked light and refreshed.

Thud. The door closed. Even then, Seol Ah-heon couldn’t take his eyes off Baek Geon-ha’s jade-like face.

“What is it?”

The moment there were no more eyes on them, Baek Geon-ha’s attitude turned sour. Normally, Seol Ah-heon would have tensed up, but he had grown slightly bolder.

“It’s nothing.”

“If you have something to say, say it clearly.”

“I was just…… wondering if perhaps you were using a Yin-Absorbing Yang-Supplementing Art (Chae-eum-bo-yang-sul).”

The moment he made the light, joking remark…

Baek Geon-ha’s presence exploded.

A surging, hot bloodlust choked Seol Ah-heon’s airway. He realized instantly that he had made a massive mistake.

“T-that is……!”

Turning pale, he tried to speak. He must have lost his mind for a moment. No matter how “familiar” Baek Geon-ha felt, he should have watched his mouth. No, feeling familiar with the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult was the error to begin with.

He tried to move his lips to apologize, but no sound came out. It felt as if an invisible hand was crushing his throat.

Fortunately, Baek Geon-ha withdrew his killing intent shortly after. Seol Ah-heon clutched his chest and gasped for air.

[You claim to have lost your memory to the Soul-Sucking Art. Yet you managed to remember the Yin-Absorbing Yang-Supplementing Art.]

“I-it’s just so famous, I happened to know it…….”

Was it not famous in this world? Seol Ah-heon was suddenly confused.

Based on the martial arts novels he’d read, Yin-Absorbing Yang-Supplementing Art was fairly common. It was a technique where a man absorbs Yin energy through relations with a woman, supposedly to calm his rampaging Yang energy. Depending on the novel, it was often portrayed as beneficial to both parties, provided it was consensual.

Anyway, it was a staple of more “adult-oriented” martial arts novels, so he’d assumed it was common knowledge here, too.

‘Wait, is it a top-secret technique?’

Come to think of it, things like Void Walking or Secret Transmissions were “common” in novels, but in reality, they were techniques for the elite. Minor characters would just gape and shout, “Oh! That’s Void Walking!” or “To think he can send his voice from a thousand miles away!”

If so, it wasn’t “common” at all. Even The Chronicles of Mount Hua had never mentioned it.

Realizing his mistake too late, Seol Ah-heon shrank back. He had accidentally poked a beehive while trying to be clever. He didn’t know the specifics, but he had clearly hit a nerve that should have stayed untouched.

“I’m sorry…….”

Mistake after mistake. Since it was clearly his fault, he had nothing to say. Seol Ah-heon simply hung his head.

Baek Geon-ha watched him in silence with those cold eyes that remained unchanged even through disguise.

***************************************

Three horses traveled along the winding mountain path.

Mu Il-young was in the lead, Baek Geon-ha in the middle, and Seol Ah-heon at the very end. Unlike the other two, who handled their horses with ease, Seol Ah-heon was sweating on his saddle.

“Ah, don’t go right. No, that’s a slope! No! I said no!”

The horse was particularly stubborn today. The more he struggled to control it, the more his body tensed, making the horse even more anxious. Even knowing that, he couldn’t relax. It was a vicious cycle.

Prrrffft!

The horse began to buck. Startled, Seol Ah-heon clung to the reins like a lifeline and patted the horse’s neck.

“Good boy. Good boy, right? Please, just listen to me. I let you eat plenty of grass earlier…… please?”

Perhaps his desperate plea worked. Finally, the horse began to walk straight. Seol Ah-heon, exhausted by the short struggle, let his shoulders slump.

Baek Geon-ha had stopped his horse ahead and was looking back at him. His eyes were filled with unmistakable patheticness.

“What, did the Soul-Sucking Art make you forget how to ride a horse, too?”

For once, he was the one to bring up the Soul-Sucking Art first. Seol Ah-heon replied timidly, but firmly.

“While it’s true I was hit by the Soul-Sucking Art, I’ve always been bad at riding horses.”

“You’re quite the actor.”

“I-I’m not acting.”

It was unfair. After seeing him flailing around unable to ride, shouldn’t he believe him by now? This was the genuine incompetence of a total beginner that couldn’t be faked.

But Baek Geon-ha just snorted.

“That moronic behavior isn’t acting? That makes it even more impressive.”

“…….”

The fist holding the reins trembled. He wished more than anything that he could just slap that mean mouth once.

‘I’m not an equestrian, how am I supposed to know how to ride a horse! I’ll have you know I had a Type 1 driver’s license back home.’

He only grumbled internally, not making a peep aloud. He had already messed up big time this morning.

‘I have to be careful…….’

If he annoyed Baek Geon-ha twice in one day, who knew what would happen. He had to know his place.

Baek Geon-ha turned his head back. Watching that noble-looking back as they moved on, Seol Ah-heon chewed over their conversation.

Did Baek Geon-ha still think he was acting?

Since he was technically lying about his identity, it wasn’t entirely unfair. He was just curious why Baek Geon-ha didn’t force the truth out of him if he knew he was lying.

‘No, it’s better not to know what Baek Geon-ha is thinking.’

What use was there in understanding a villain’s logic? Plus, he was still too afraid to get close.

Even if Baek Geon-ha had acted somewhat mercifully, Seol Ah-heon knew now that it meant nothing. It was just another disguise. Just as he changed his face when necessary, he changed his attitude when it suited his needs.

Everything he’d given him was likely just…… for Baek Geon-ha’s own convenience or a whim.

Seol Ah-heon shook his head, clearing his thoughts.