Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Dignity
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Dang Mujin felt a faint ache throughout his body the moment he woke up.
Having spent several days bound with ropes and his acupoints sealed, his entire body was as stiff as a block of wood.
Dang Mujin grumbled inwardly.
'If they were going to tie me up that long, they could have at least laid me down.'
Right after, he sensed something different from the pain.
The sensation of his upper arm being pressed. And at the same time, a very slight movement and warmth.
Dang Mujin rolled only his eyes, glancing sideways without fully opening them.
Mok Wana lay there with her large eyes wide open, using his arm as a pillow.
Their eyes met.
"Uh..."
Yesterday's events immediately came to mind.
The day before, after Mok Wana had battled Gyobuhwa, they had brought her weakened body into this cabin.
Dang Mujin quickly shifted his gaze downward to check his clothes.
His pants were still on properly, and Mok Wana's attire seemed decent enough.
Mok Wana looked at Dang Mujin and grinned broadly.
It's natural to smile when someone else is smiling. Dang Mujin smiled sheepishly in return.
Dang Mujin slowly propped himself up on his upper body.
Mok Wana also sat up like him. The two ended up naturally facing each other.
How should he start the conversation? After a moment's thought, Dang Mujin asked.
"Is your condition okay?"
It wasn't the most appropriate thing to say to someone whose hair had turned completely white from harboring massive poison.
But Mok Wana gave a reasonably positive response.
"I don't feel completely normal. Still, I don't think there'll be any major issues."
Mok Wana had medical knowledge too, so if there were problems, she would have mentioned it first.
This is why it's convenient between physicians.
Even so, just in case, Dang Mujin checked Mok Wana's condition.
Her pulse was steady, and her breathing even.
Her complexion was a bit pale, but considering her naturally fair skin, it was reasonably normal.
Once back at the Tang family manor and resting leisurely, she would improve further.
Mok Wana asked.
"Mujin. Do you know where Uncle Jinram went?"
"He's probably dead."
"What? Why?"
After sending Mok Wana into the cave, Jinram hadn't followed.
Dang Mujin couldn't have woken up first and subdued him either.
Dang Mujin explained about the gu poison.
"Gyobuhwa harbored the mogu, and Jinram ingested the jago. With Gyobuhwa dead, Jinram must be too."
"Wait. What exactly is gu?"
Mok Wana had only heard that gu existed, but didn't know what it was.
Dang Mujin organized and relayed what he had heard from Gyobuhwa.
The roles of mogu and jago. And how that gu poison was created.
Put numerous venomous insects together and let them devour each other until only one remains—the strongest poison bearer, infused with the collective grudges of countless others.
That lone insect served as material for various forbidden arts, according to Gyobuhwa. One such use being gu poison.
In that tale of the insect, Mok Wana saw echoes of her own life—the last survivor among countless children.
Before Mok Wana's thoughts could deepen, Dang Mujin braced against the floor and stood up.
"Shall we head out right away then?"
Mok Wana hesitated in surprise.
"Can't we rest leisurely for a few days?"
"Why? Is your condition bad?"
"Um... a little."
Dang Mujin tilted his head.
"Did I miss something in the pulse diagnosis? Where does it hurt?"
As Dang Mujin reached to take her wrist again, Mok Wana squeezed her eyes shut.
"No. On second thought, my condition seems decent enough. Rather than that... right! We have things to pack. The poisons, insects, and herb seeds Gyobuhwa brought from the Southern Frontier. Let's gather them carefully and head back. Without missing a single one."
Dang Mujin replied confidently.
"Don't worry about that. While trapped in the cave, I meticulously memorized where Gyobuhwa stored everything. We can pack it all in half a shichen and leave."
Mok Wana looked up at the sky. It was far too early for night to fall again.
A mix of emptiness and reluctance flickered in her eyes.
And Dang Mujin interpreted the meaning of that look in his own way.
"Want me to carry you if walking's tough?"
Mok Wana stared at him intently for a long while before letting out a deep sigh and climbing onto his back.
*
Contrary to his expectation that she would walk on her own after half a day, Mok Wana showed no sign of getting off Dang Mujin's back.
As a result, his pace slowed considerably. Even taking the shortest route, it took four days to exit the Nogun Mountains.
Only upon reaching Nogun Mountain Village did Mok Wana finally dismount.
As expected, it had been partly feigned; her steps were steady.
However, knowing full well how much she had suffered, Dang Mujin didn't resent her little act.
Dang Mujin went to the village chief and said.
"No more fever patients will appear from now on. But just in case, avoid going deep into the mountains for the next couple of months."
"Thank you. By the way, Miss Mok's hair color... what happened?"
"Too long to explain."
The chief wasn't the type to pry into his benefactor's affairs.
Thanks to that, Dang Mujin and Mok Wana could promptly leave Nogun Mountain for the Tang family manor.
As they departed the village, Mok Wana's expression grew even more downcast.
*
Dang Mujin and Mok Wana arrived at the Tang Clinic several days later, a bit after sunset.
The first people they encountered were Hong Geolgae and Wang Jincheong.
Having just been teaching Wang Jincheong martial arts, she stood beside him, drenched in sweat.
Hong Geolgae stared at Mok Wana.
Her white hair was strikingly conspicuous. Standing next to Hwayeon Nun, they would look like sisters with a big age gap—Mok Wana appearing the elder, of course.
Hong Geolgae asked.
"Dang Mujin. What happened?"
"Mok Wana encountered a fateful opportunity and achieved mastery in poison arts. Her hair turned white in the process."
"How'd she run into that opportunity?"
"We had a little issue with a poison expert from the Southern Frontier. I'll tell you the details later."
As he spoke, Dang Mujin subtly showed his backpack. It was stuffed with spoils of war.
Once Hong Geolgae stepped back, several people approached Dang Mujin to ask if all was well.
Chusam and the physicians, Seok Jiseung and the masters who had somehow ended up inside the Tang family manor's walls, and even the martial artists who had come from the Demonic Cult.
After exchanging appropriate greetings, Dang Mujin and Mok Wana first went to pay respects to Dang Jesun.
Next, the two arrived at the annex. Just then, Dan Sulyeong was sitting out front, gazing at the stars.
Joy lit up Dan Sulyeong's face.
"What's this? Back so soon?"
"We hustled."
They had set out in the cusp between winter and spring, but now it was full spring. Spring wouldn't last, so it would soon grow hot.
Dan Sulyeong beckoned them.
"Don't stand in the dark—come in first. Wana, you too. Have a snack."
"Mm."
The annex was Dan Sulyeong and Dang Mujin's space.
Except when tending to Dang Yeong, Mok Wana didn't visit.
Yet Mok Wana wanted to sit somewhere. The snacks Dan Sulyeong mentioned tempted her a bit.
Dang Yeong slept soundly inside.
Dan Sulyeong lowered her voice so as not to wake him.
"Looking at Wana's state, seems like another extraordinary ordeal."
"Quite the ordeal."
Dang Mujin recounted the events at Nogun Mountain.
Mok Wana sat beside him, picking at snacks. Unlike usual, her expression was subdued, and her hand reached for them infrequently.
After quite some time, when Dang Mujin's tale ended, Dan Sulyeong wore a profoundly subtle expression.
"So, nothing happened with Wana?"
Unsure if everything could be shared, Dang Mujin glanced at Mok Wana. No particular reaction.
'Doesn't seem like she wants me to hold back.'
Indeed, what secrets between spouses? Dang Mujin confessed everything, including what had passed between him and Mok Wana.
Not long after entering Nogun Mountain, Mok Wana's confession of her true feelings once more.
The somewhat blunt rejection. The guilt afterward.
But Dan Sulyeong still seemed to feel something lacking.
"So, nothing happened?"
"Things did happen. I've been telling you all about them."
"Not that... I mean after. Nothing on the way back?"
"That's everything. We moved pretty diligently."
Dan Sulyeong watched Mok Wana nibble on dried jujubes.
No guilt or remorse toward her—just pure dejection.
Dan Sulyeong sighed deeply, then smiled in profound complexity.
"As expected of Dang Mujin. A reliable husband. Never wavers."
"Ahem."
Dan Sulyeong wasn't stingy with praise for others, but like most, direct compliments were rare.
Thus, Dang Mujin smiled warmly.
But Dan Sulyeong's words weren't over.
"A reliable husband, sure—but this isn't human. Not human at all..."
"Huh?"
Dan Sulyeong pressed her temples.
As a wife who loved her husband, she had thought such talks would be rare.
But this situation exceeded the ordinary.
Listening to her husband's account, she wasn't relieved by his propriety—instead, she empathized with Mok Wana sitting right there.
After a moment's deliberation, Dan Sulyeong said.
"Mujin. Back at Tianshan, didn't you say Wana saved your life once?"
"Yes."
"And she saved you again this time?"
"Right."
Dan Sulyeong looked at Dang Mujin and let out a hollow laugh.
"Honestly, any person... no, doesn't even need to be human. Even beasts repay twice saving their life, right? And I'm not even saying repay it."
Hearing about his lack of progress with Mok Wana from no one but Dan Sulyeong felt profoundly odd.
Dang Mujin said, as if making excuses.
"But... I already have a family. That would be terribly unfair to you."
"After saving your life twice, that's the issue? I'm so frustrated... Besides, what did I say last time? No matter what, I wouldn't hold Wana accountable."
Her frustration made Dan Sulyeong's hands tremble.
She was grateful yet exasperated by her too-devoted husband, and frustrated by Mok Wana, who after twice saving his life, couldn't boldly claim her due.
Dang Yeong stirred and murmured in sleep beside them, so Dan Sulyeong lowered her voice again.
"Straight up. Dang Mujin. Do you dislike Mok Wana? No beating around the bush—be honest."
"...No."
Had he not married Dan Sulyeong, he might have had a good relationship with Mok Wana. She had a great personality, and they shared common ground.
Dan Sulyeong rose and handed Mok Wana a box from the corner of the room.
"What's this?"
"Open it."
Mok Wana peeked inside and found a green dress—the expensive green robe Dan Sulyeong had worn at their wedding.
What did this mean? Mok Wana tensed.
Dan Sulyeong said to Mok Wana.
"Wana."
"Yeah?"
"From now on, help me make sure no other women come near Dang Mujin."
"Uh..."
Before Mok Wana could reply, Dan Sulyeong stood and said.
"Dang Mujin. You're banned from the annex for a month."
"What? Then where do I sleep?"
"Ask Wana."
Dan Sulyeong promptly chased Dang Mujin out of the annex.
He assumed Mok Wana would follow, but surprisingly, Dan Sulyeong didn't evict her right away.
Dang Mujin sat under the eaves, gazing at the night sky.
The moon was exceptionally large, the stars exceptionally bright.
'...'
Even Dang Mujin, dense as he was, couldn't miss what this situation meant.
His mood was peculiar.
Soon after, Mok Wana emerged from the annex and stood beside him. Her expression seemed a bit brighter than before.
"Mujin."
"Yeah?"
"Come with me."
Her voice brimmed with uncharacteristic confidence, as if she'd learned it from someone.
Dang Mujin chuckled wryly and followed behind her.
Dan Sulyeong, holding the now-awake Dang Yeong, stepped out briefly to watch their retreating figures, let out a small sigh, then returned inside as if nothing had happened.
The three didn't notice, but someone was watching them.
On the annex roof sat Samanbul and Hwayeon Nun.
They had been eavesdropping on the three's conversation with ears to the roof.
Hwayeon Nun said spiritedly.
"Not bad, my skills, eh?"
Samanbul scoffed.
"Like catching a rat stepping backward from an ox. You had no clue what went down at Nogun Mountain."
"You don't need to know everything to see the broadest path."
In other words, a lucky guess. Samanbul chuckled.
"You do spin a fine tale."
"Even in speech. Anyway, I wonder if Sulyeong will be alright."
What must a wife's heart feel like, sending her husband to another woman's chambers?
Samanbul replied.
"No need to worry."
Samanbul recalled Dan Sulyeong's final expression before reentering the annex.
Her usual gaze, brimming with certainty.
Hwayeon Nun laughed.
"Right. The dignity of a principal wife?"
"Sulyeong's no ordinary woman."
"True enough."
As if on cue, Samanbul and Hwayeon Nun lay flat on the roof.
It was a night as if stars poured from the sky.