Soso lay back down on the bed and stole a glance at Sau.
A moment ago, she had suggested that Sau get some more sleep. Although dawn was not far off, she felt he needed at least a little more rest.
However, instead of going to another room, Sau had insisted on staying here, sitting in a chair.
There was no movement from him, and she couldn't tell if he had fallen asleep or was simply keeping his eyes closed.
‘I’m just glad he isn’t in pain right now.’
Soso recalled the time she had first discovered him asleep.
When she had regained consciousness after fainting from treating Namgung Jin, she had immediately realized two things.
First, she had returned to her human form.
Second, Sau was asleep under her bed.
She had only noticed Jegal Haesu later, as he was asleep some distance away from the bed.
Soso had quietly climbed down from the bed to check on Sau’s face.
And shortly after, she had been startled.
Sau’s face had been twisted in agony.
He was usually expressionless, and even when he did show emotion, it was only the faintest flicker.
Yet, Sau had been suffering as if he were being pierced by a blade.
A faint groan had leaked from his tightly clenched teeth—a sound that made even the listener feel a sense of pain.
With cold sweat pouring off him like rain, he had looked even more pained than Namgung Jin, who had suffered a critical injury.
Was he having a nightmare?
Soso had completely forgotten the fact that she had told him she disliked him, and she had reached out to hold his hand.
He had looked so tormented that she couldn't help but do it.
Sau’s hand had been as cold as a corpse’s.
Soso had willingly shared her own warmth.
As the hand she warmed began to grow slightly hotter, Sau’s face had gradually started to look more at ease.
Only then did Soso let go and comfortably admire his face.
That face, which strangely captured her gaze every time they were together.
But had her gaze been too intense?
Sau, who had shown no sign of waking, had suddenly snapped his eyes open. That was how their gazes had met.
And now, after their brief conversation, she felt much more at ease.
‘I’m glad I talked things over with Young Master Sau.’
Thanks to their earlier conversation, it seemed unlikely he would treat her companions so violently in the future.
While her questions about his true identity remained, she felt certain of one thing now.
‘I don’t think he will harm me or my companions recklessly.’
Soso trusted her intuition.
Ever since her Sense of Ki had become sharp, she had been able to gain insight into people.
Soso stopped observing Sau and closed her eyes. She hoped that Sau would not have any more nightmares and that Namgung Jin, in the next room, would wake up well.
As she thought about this and that, drowsiness gently washed over her.
……There was one more person she should have wished well for.
But she could do nothing against the sudden wave of sleepiness. Soso’s consciousness gradually sank.
It was a deep sleep, devoid of even a single dream.
* * *
As Baek Sam’s breathing became steady, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep, Sau opened his eyes.
This time, he began to admire Baek Sam’s face.
The features crowded onto her small face were truly harmonious. It seemed there would be no one who wouldn't be captivated by that perfect aesthetic balance.
Was that why she had needed a veil?
The person who broke his brief, solitary moment of quiet admiration was Jegal Haesu.
He, who had been sprawled on the floor in a heap, suddenly lifted his head and scanned his surroundings.
Then, he rose to his feet and approached Sau.
“Could we talk for a moment?”
“…….”
To be honest, it was a nuisance.
He might have considered it if it were Namgung Jin, the Young Lord of the Namgung Clan who possessed decent martial arts, but he saw no need to deal with Jegal Haesu, who was even shunned by his own Jegal Clan.
Who did he think he was?
He was the man who would soon have the world at his feet once the sixth arm of the Asura was armed with a sword.
Did he really have to listen to the words of some mediocre young master?
He decided he would make sure Jegal Haesu never dared to speak to him so casually again.
However, since Baek Sam had just fallen asleep in this room, it seemed best to change locations.
“Follow me.”
With that, Sau led Jegal Haesu to the back of the Inn.
“Thank you for granting my request in the middle of the night— Ugh!”
Before Jegal Haesu could even finish his sentence, Sau released his killing intent.
*Wooooong—*
The sharp, piercing energy caused Jegal Haesu’s face to crumple in an instant.
He clutched his chest and pretended to collapse.
“Ugh, ugh! St-stop, withdraw your energy. You’re going to kill someone.”
“You are incredibly weak. To be unable to withstand even such a faint killing intent. And yet, you hoped to converse with me as an equal?”
Sau had brought him here to give him a warning: ‘If you speak to me recklessly again, I will not let it slide.’
He could have just killed Jegal Haesu, but the reason he went to such lengths was because of Baek Sam.
He had promised not to threaten her companions.
It was, truly, a most bothersome promise.
“I-I may be weak, but I still have things I must say.”
Having said that, Jegal Haesu knelt on the floor, unable to overcome the killing intent pressing down on his body.
Though his body had surrendered, strangely, Jegal Haesu’s spirit did not seem broken.
His clear eyes were looking up at Sau until the very end.
‘I thought he was a completely different breed from Namgung Jin. But in this regard, they are strangely similar.’
He felt a flicker of interest in that indomitable will.
He became just a little curious about what Jegal Haesu had to say.
What was it that made the Lazy Young Master burn with such uncharacteristic fighting spirit?
“Very well. I will listen just this once. What is it you wish to say to me?”
Jegal Haesu, now unable to even open his eyes properly, moved his lips slowly.
“Wh-what is your… true… reason for wanting to be with us?”
Having barely finished his sentence, Jegal Haesu spat out a mouthful of crimson blood.
Because of the intense killing intent, his meridians were twisting, and blood was surging back up to his throat.
If things continued like this, it felt as though blood would soon be streaming from every orifice in his body.
Still, Jegal Haesu could not back down.
‘Young Master Namgung risked his life to uncover this man’s identity; I cannot just stand by.’
But unfortunately, it seemed Namgung Jin had failed in that endeavor. That was all the more reason he had to step up.
Jegal Haesu observed Sau anew.
His upright posture and expressionless face.
The more he interacted with him, the less he could understand what the man was thinking. It felt as if he were facing a mask.
Furthermore, Sau was an incredible master, enough to reduce the Three-Eyed Dragon, Namgung Jin, to rags.
How could the name of such a master be unknown?
Was it possible he was using a human-skin mask or a Bone-Shift Art to hide his true face?
“Ar-are you… planning to use our Sami’s abilities?”
“And if I am?”
“No….”
Just as Jegal Haesu was about to say it was unacceptable, Sau cut him off.
“Aren’t you sticking to Baek Sam because of your own illness? It seems we are one and the same.”
“…….”
He was not surprised that Sau knew of his condition.
It was no secret that the Lazy Young Master of the Jegal Clan suffered from a Turbid Pulse Condition.
“No, it is absolutely not because of that illness that I am with her.”
“Then?”
“If you aren’t going to help, keep your mouth shut about that illness.”
Sau scrutinized Jegal Haesu with narrowed eyes.
He found the sight of the man spilling blood from his teeth while still having the audacity to speak his mind quite amusing.
He was like a weakling who refused to bend.
He was the type of person Sau hated most.
Someone who, despite having no power, held such firm convictions that they refused to break their will…….
Perhaps he hated that type because they reminded him of his past self.
His desire to kill surged. He wanted to finish off Jegal Haesu, who looked as if he would breathe his last with a single strike.
But the promise he had made to Baek Sam would not leave his mind.
“I promise that I will not treat your companions harshly ever again.”
Though he had become the cruel Heavenly Demon, he was not a man who easily broke his word.
He rarely made promises, but once he did, he possessed a nature that compelled him to keep them at all costs.
Therefore, he had no intention of breaking his promise to Baek Sam.
‘Since I cannot kill Jegal Haesu, perhaps it would be better to use him, just as I am using Namgung Jin.’
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