It Was All a Conspiracy
"Aaargh!"
In a dark, damp place, Bukjin woke up screaming. As his consciousness returned, he snapped his eyes open, only to find himself surrounded by pitch-black darkness. Almost immediately, a palm pressed firmly against his mouth.
"Shh! Don't make a sound."
A familiar voice whispered into his ear. It was a voice he knew well. Bukjin’s head throbbed; fragmented memories refused to connect, and countless scenes flashed through his mind like a broken film.
Where am I? Am I... dead?
Bukjin struggled to sit up.
"It's me, Senior Brother Im. You mustn't make a sound."
Someone soft and warm was holding him tight. The voice came again, and this time, Bukjin recognized it with certainty. It was Ak Hong-hyang.
"Am I... still alive? Where... where is this?"
Bukjin’s throat felt like it was on fire. His voice came out as a ragged, hoarse rasp. Perhaps because of Ak Hong-hyang’s warning, he kept his whisper barely audible.
"Don't say anything for now."
Ak Hong-hyang’s body was pressed completely against his. Despite the discomfort of his paralyzed limbs, Bukjin could feel her warmth and softness vividly. Gradually, his senses began to clear. They were in an incredibly cramped, dark space—likely underground. From outside, muffled shouts drifted in.
"He's not here!"
"Nothing here either!"
"Keep searching! The Young Master said to bring him back alive if he's breathing, and to bring his corpse if he's dead!"
"Check the other side of the river!"
"Cross the river!"
The sound of numerous footsteps, which had felt as if they were right above his head, began to fade into the distance. Feeling the warmth of Ak Hong-hyang pressed against him, Bukjin felt the tension slowly leave his body. He was no longer as stiff as he had been when he first woke up. However, Ak Hong-hyang remained motionless, still holding him in a tight embrace.
After enough time had passed for a single stick of incense to burn out, Ak Hong-hyang finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Senior Brother Im... you're awake. Are... are you okay?"
Her voice was thick with suppressed sobs. She seemed to be desperately reining in a surge of joy and relief at the fact that he was alive.
"Cough! I'm fine. Just... a bit weak and sore..." Bukjin replied, his voice thin and fragile.
He was overwhelmed by a level of exhaustion he had never experienced before. While the Mystic Energy in his body was stable, it was incredibly weak. Only a thread-like trickle of energy was slowly circulating through his meridians, gradually mending his physical form. It was only now that the memories of what had happened came flooding back in full.
I was done in by that little brat.
The pain in his chest where he had been stabbed was still sharp. The wound hadn't fully closed. Because Ak Hong-hyang was pressing against him, every slight movement made the pain flare up even more clearly. Suddenly, a few cold drops of liquid fell onto Bukjin’s face. They traced a path down his cheek and into his mouth. The liquid was salty—tears.
"Don't cry," Bukjin said, forcing a weak smile. "Don't cry. I'm okay."
It was too dark to see her expression, but Bukjin was certain his forced smile didn't look particularly reassuring.
"I need to get you out of here first," Ak Hong-hyang said, quickly regaining her composure. "They'll definitely come back to search this spot."
She crawled forward slowly and cleared away a few stones. A thin sliver of light leaked through the gap, bringing with it the scent of fresh air. After half-emerging from the narrow crawlspace, she reached back and pulled on Bukjin’s shoulders.
"Senior Brother Im, bear with it for a moment. It's going to hurt your wound."
"I know."
Using her strength, Ak Hong-hyang pulled Bukjin out of the small cave. Outside, it was night. Only the stars shone in the sky; the moon was nowhere to be seen. Bukjin leaned against a small rock near the cave entrance and looked at her.
"What happened after I lost consciousness..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Bukjin’s face froze. He looked as if he had just witnessed something horrific. The clear, cold starlight poured down onto the wilderness, illuminating Ak Hong-hyang as she stood before him. Their swordsman uniforms were shredded, barely serving as clothing anymore. Their undergarments were visible through the tears, but both the outer layers and the inner clothes were so caked in blood and mud that they appeared pitch black under the night sky.
But none of that was why Bukjin was shocked. The reason for his horror was the massive, cross-shaped scar on the left side of Ak Hong-hyang’s face. It spanned nearly half her face, with new flesh bulging out from the gaps, leaving the skin dark red and twisted. It looked as if two savage, poisonous centipedes were crawling across her cheek. Her once-beautiful face was utterly ruined. The pure, clean, and elegant aura she once possessed had been replaced by a fierce and frightening appearance.
The shock was so great that Bukjin’s expression remained paralyzed, and his mind went completely blank, forgetting even how to speak. Sensing his gaze, a dark shadow flickered deep within Ak Hong-hyang’s eyes. Yet, she forced a smile.
"It's a wound from the previous battle. I didn't have time to treat it properly, so it left a scar... Let's talk about that later. Senior Brother, how do you feel? Can you walk? No, it's probably better if I carry you."
She tried to maintain a bright smile, but every time she did, the scar on her face writhed, creating a chilling effect. Her words finally snapped Bukjin out of his daze. He felt a wave of sorrow and pain unlike anything he had ever known. At the same time, a terrible realization dawned on him. The wound on her face was already half-healed. That meant at least three days had passed since that battle. And if she had been running with him for three days, where were Cho Heun, Ban Oe-min, Baek Geum-un, and Han Bul-bu?
"What on earth happened? What happened that night?" Bukjin asked urgently.
After a moment of hesitation, Ak Hong-hyang spoke. "There was a master hidden among the enemies who ambushed us. We don't know if Supervisor Ban is alive or dead, and Dean Cho opened a path for our retreat while heavily wounded. As for Senior Brother Han and Junior Sister Baek... I don't know where they went."
Bukjin felt a ringing in his ears. His memories were becoming clearer by the second.
I was stabbed in the chest by that girl, Soryeong. She was targeting me from the start. No wonder she acted like she liked me so much after only a few meetings... She approached me just to land a fatal blow. It was all a conspiracy.
"How much time has passed?" Bukjin asked.
"Three nights."
Bukjin rubbed his brow. It was exactly as he had suspected.
"Who were those people chasing us just now?"
"People from the Provincial Capital. They seem to be an organization like the Adventurer Alliance of Bukhwang Mountain."
"So... for three days, you've been carrying me on your back and running?"
At his question, Ak Hong-hyang silently nodded. A surge of emotion filled Bukjin’s chest. He finally understood why she had been sobbing when he first woke up in the tunnel. Despite her calm facade, she was only a fifteen-year-old girl. In the wake of a sudden disaster, with her companions missing and half her face scarred, she had spent three days enduring every hardship to escape while carrying her unconscious friend. The despair and fear she must have felt were likely beyond psychological endurance. The fact that she had managed to protect him and successfully evade capture in such a dire situation spoke volumes about her effort. He owed her his life.
"Thank you," Bukjin said, his voice heavy with sincerity.
Ak Hong-hyang could feel the weight of those two words. She shook her head in response. "If I had been in your position, Senior Brother, you wouldn't have given up on me either."
Bukjin fell silent. Ak Hong-hyang quickly continued, "Senior Brother, it's not safe to talk here. We have to move. We need to find a quiet place to treat your wounds first. After that, we'll find a way to leave Bukhwang Mountain and return to Unmong City. We'll be safe once we reach the city."
But Bukjin shook his head. "You haven't forgotten that I have healing arts, have you?"
With a gentle smile, Bukjin slowly raised his right hand. A ring of blue light manifested above his palm and expanded to envelop her entire body.
Restoration Ring
"Ah..." A soft moan escaped Ak Hong-hyang’s lips. Her unscarred cheek flushed red. She felt a sense of comfort she had never known spreading through her entire body. The exhaustion from three days of carrying a dying man vanished, and the various cuts and bruises scattered across her body began to disappear rapidly. Even her internal Mystic Energy was significantly restored.
Bukjin’s gaze remained fixed on her face. As the Restoration Ring took effect, energy surged within her. However, the two long scars on the left side of her face only twitched slightly; the redness faded, but they did not heal or disappear. The scars had already permanently established themselves on her face. Bukjin’s heart sank. He knew the wounds were already half-healed before he started. No matter how incredible the Restoration Ring was, it could not turn back time to restore her former appearance.