The scroll illustration remained floating for quite a while until Seokyeom snapped out of his shock. Because he could only check Tang Seokyeom’s settings before, he hadn’t known, but it seemed the character window also displayed whether someone was a player or not.
“Greetings to Second Young Master.”
Unlike the completely stunned Seokyeom, Namgung Yun composedly raised his hands in a martial greeting. Stopping about half a zhang away, Tang Yu cast a brief glance at Seokyeom before snarling at Namgung Yun.
“Seeing how recklessly you act, it seems you haven’t even learned basic manners.”
Seokyeom’s eyes widened at the scathing insult blurted out without hesitation. To Tang Yu, who was ignorant of his true identity, it was likely just a mindless jab, but Namgung Yun had lost his entire family as a child.
Not only was he framed as a kidnapper, but he had to hear insults about his parents on top of that. Regardless of time or place, there was nothing cheaper than bringing family into an insult. Seokyeom involuntarily rolled his eyes, worrying about what would happen if Namgung Yun stormed off to avenge the insult.
“They were the ones who attacked first.”
Fortunately, Namgung Yun was a man with the magnanimity fit for a protagonist. Dismissing the supporting character’s provocation as nothing significant, Namgung Yun gestured toward the fallen gatekeeper with his eyes.
“Were you not the one who tried to take Gyeom-i away first?”
Despite the straightforward reply, Tang Yu merely crumpled his brow deeply. Glaring at Namgung Yun as if he would kill him, he pulled a hidden weapon out of his sleeve. It was petite and looked harmless at first glance, but even a slight scrape would cause immense suffering.
“That’s not it.”
Unable to just stand by and watch any longer, Seokyeom hastily stepped forward. Flailing his arms as he intervened, Tang Yu, who looked ready to throw the hidden weapon at any second, paused. In fact, he even stepped back as Seokyeom approached. He likely presumed the youngest would be scared of him.
“A kidnapping… It’s nothing like that, hyung.”
As proof, Tang Yu’s shoulders flinched heavily at the single word hyung. Seeing his twitched lips snap shut, it seemed his settings as a brother-fool were still intact.
“The hero merely saved me.”
Relieved, Seokyeom closed in right up to Tang Yu. When Seokyeom reached out and took hold of the hand not holding the hidden weapon, Tang Yu’s body froze like a stone.
“He helped me when my ankles were swollen and I couldn’t move an inch.”
Since I survived thanks to him, isn’t repaying the favor the proper duty of someone from the Tang Family? Just as Seokyeom subtly mentioned the family rules to drive the final nail in the coffin—
[Overwhelming Poison Qi detected.] [Status Condition ‘Poison Qi Rejection’ activated.] [Status Condition ‘Qi and Blood Debility’ activated.]
Time remaining until activation 00:15
The light yellow system window appeared, looking so awfully proud of itself. It even had a timer attached to its tail.
Dumbfounded, Seokyeom blinked his eyes. It wasn’t that Tang Yu was overreacting. Nor had the system forgotten about it.
He simply hadn’t satisfied the conditions, so he hadn’t known.
Seriously…
Time remaining until activation 00:14
While he stood feeling hollowed out, the number on the timer ticked down by one. Realizing he had no time to deliberate, Seokyeom blurted out words at random.
“So you must never mistreat him. If not for him, I would have had no choice but to sleep on the street. Is it even fitting for someone of my body to sleep in the dirt? It’s no different from owing him my life.”
This was likely the first time since birth that the sickly Tang Seokyeom had spoken this quickly. At the barrage of rapid-fire words, Tang Yu, who was already stiffened, did not know what to do and merely twitched his fingertips. Seokyeom squeezed his hand firmly so he couldn’t run away.
“Ye-yes, you are right.”
Whether he caught onto the silent pressure, Tang Yu also spat out an affirmative response. Having obtained the answer he wanted, Seokyeom smiled brightly.
“Repaying a favor even if it means following them to the ends of hell—that is the Tang Clan, right?”
Leaving grudges aside, it was fine not to repay a favor. The Tang Clan, being shrewd about gains and losses, would turn a blind eye rather than blame a family member even if they acted for their own convenience. As a direct descendant, Tang Yu knew this well, but he tactfully swallowed his words.
“Then you must treat him with great care!”
At the exact moment Seokyeom achieved his goal, the timer hit 0 seconds.
[Status condition activated.]
Soon after, the system showered golden light as if bestowing a reward. Though it was surely an auditory hallucination, the faint sound of a fanfare seemed to ring out.
It’s not like you’re teasing anyone.
Seokyeom clicked his tongue inwardly and closed his eyes. He wanted to shower it with curses, but his body grew heavier and heavier, leaving him unable to do anything.
Still, at least it doesn’t hurt, which is a relief.
He had been tense at the phrase stating the status condition was activating, but his consciousness fading away came before any pain could set in. With that final self-deprecating thought, his fragile body collapsed. Namgung Yun, who had been watching Seokyeom closely, instinctively reached out his hand.
Slap.
However, before he could touch Seokyeom, Tang Yu struck his hand away with immense force.
“Get your filthy hands off.”
His glaring eyes no longer held a trace of the embarrassment or affection from moments ago. Pausing briefly, Namgung Yun spoke in an indifferent tone.
“Did he not pass out because of Second Young Master?”
It wasn’t as if Namgung Yun had come all the way to Sichuan without a plan. He had completed his investigation of the Tang Clan a long time ago. Hadn’t they said that unlike the other direct descendants, the Third Young Master was weak to poison qi? Tang Yu’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, as if Namgung Yun had hit the nail on the head.
“The longer he is exposed to poison qi, the more the Third Young Master’s body will suffer.”
When he received the report, he had wondered if such a thing was even possible for a direct descendant of the Tang Clan, but looking at the Second Young Master’s reaction, it seemed to be true. Glaring at Namgung Yun with grit teeth, Tang Yu reluctantly handed Seokyeom’s body over.
“Don’t even think about pulling anything foolish. If you show any suspicious signs, I won’t leave you be.”
“I am not weak enough to take a sick person hostage.”
“Ha! You sure talk about a good game. Sneaking around snooping into other people’s families like a shadow.”
Namgung Yun tried in his own way to prove he was harmless, but it had no effect whatsoever. If anything, it only heightened Tang Yu’s vigilance, prompting him to spew venomous words.
“If you lay a single finger on Gyeom-i, I will tear off both your arms.”
Aren’t you already in my arms for that to matter? Threats that would make anyone else feel a chill down their spine were nothing more than trivial noise to Namgung Yun. Turning his back to Tang Yu, he lowered his gaze and carefully examined Seokyeom’s features.
A rounded, smooth forehead and fair cheeks. For someone said to have suffered from illness since birth, he was a beauty overflowing with vitality. Had he been a woman instead of a man, he would have been more than enough to be counted as a matchless beauty, so it was no wonder the Second Young Master was making such a fuss.
However, Namgung Yun had not taken an interest in Seokyeom merely because of his looks. A person from whom he strangely couldn’t avert his eyes from their absurd first meeting.
No, in truth, lingering around the walls of the Tang Clan in the first place had been unlike him. If they didn’t grant entry, he could simply find another way.
Strangely, the moment he set foot in the provincial capital, his heart had stirred. His footsteps kept heading toward the Tang Clan, and he felt as though he had left something behind. Instead of needlessly draining his mental energy, Namgung Yun decided to follow his intuition.
A sense far more instinctual than his sensory awareness as a martial artist. Derived from the serendipitous encounters gained over repeating his life multiple times.
Though he had never revealed it to anyone, Namgung Yun’s life had been repeating from a certain point. Thanks to that, he learned martial arts faster than others and managed to survive multiple times in the face of death. However, the regrettable part was that he did not remember every single moment he returned to.
When things he had never been taught were understood so easily, when the future of events he had never experienced could be readily guessed, and when familiar ties brushed past despite never having met before.
Every time that happened, Namgung Yun felt an indescribable emptiness. Was it said that the greatest gift given to humans was oblivion?
Whether it was heaven’s mercy or something else, Namgung Yun had barely been able to continue his endless lives thanks to oblivion. Yet, when his heart fluttered at an unfamiliar face like this, he felt the urge to remember even if it meant enduring the pain.
Perhaps the Third Young Master was also a connection from a past life that he had forgotten.
I’ll have to keep him by my side and see.
Until he knew the exact truth, keeping him nearby was the best course. Namgung Yun applied strength to the arms holding Seokyeom.
Jingle, jingle.
Opening his eyes at the crack of dawn, Seokyeom lightly shook the bell beside his bed. As the clear ringing sound echoed out, a clattering commotion could be heard from a distance.
“Why did you wake up so early? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
The person who rushed in was a servant.
“You’re here?”
Seokyeom offered a refreshing greeting. Catching his breath, the servant took a long stride forward and grabbed Seokyeom’s face. Presumptuous as it was, he released the face only after thoroughly inspecting even the mole beneath his eye.
“Cough, you said you’d guide me today.”
Seokyeom, who almost choked, cleared his throat a few times before getting to the main point.
“Ah, you mean the outsider.”
The delayed answer remained disrespectful. Should he be happy that he had evolved from a rogue to an outsider, at least? Pretending not to notice his hostility, Seokyeom asked again.
“Is the hero still in the Guest Hall?”
“He is there, but… he probably hasn’t even had breakfast yet.”
Since his master consistently called him a hero, the servant’s tone softened slightly as well. Seokyeom grinned and clapped his hands together.
“Breakfast? That’s great. We can just eat together.”
After instructing him to bring his portion of the meal to the Guest Hall as well, Seokyeom hurriedly left his quarters. Only the servant, who had been preparing a meal for Seokyeom since early morning, was left feeling upset.
