Hyuk Dojin had no answer.

His gaze, with a shattered expression like broken glass, was fixed intently on me.

He didn’t ask why I had said such a thing. Nor did he try to discern my intentions.

He simply stared at me in silence.

But I, who had actually spoken the words, didn’t want to hear his answer.

I could clearly envision what kind of response would come. There was no reason for Hyuk Dojin to embrace me, someone my own family had casually abandoned.

I couldn’t force him to walk the path of our short-lived encounter. So it was enough for only me to be hurt.

The silence felt unbearably heavy. I was conflicted between wanting any reaction from Hyuk Dojin and hoping his words wouldn’t be the answer I dreaded.

My indecisive gaze could only stare blankly at the innocent flower vase.

The unending silence seemed eternal. But it did have an end, and Hyuk Dojin slowly opened his mouth.

“From the day after our wedding ceremony, I will call Sowol my wife.”

I lifted my gaze from the vase to look at Hyuk Dojin. The stiffness in his expression from earlier had eased slightly.

As I tilted my head at his words, Hyuk Dojin’s voice rang out again.

“As always, I will have meals with you every morning, and in the late afternoon, we’ll converse and stroll through the sunless garden together.”

“…”

“In the evening, I’ll hold your hand, and we’ll gaze at the moonlit scenery before falling asleep together.”

“…Dojin, that’s not an answer to my question…”

“And.”

His voice cut off my words.

“Whenever you recover, I want to wander Sichuan with you, share a drink on May Peak of the Hundred Thousand Daesan Mountains, lie in bed and listen to the rain falling on rainy days, and look forward to stepping on the pure snow piled high in winter.”

As I listened to his words, I felt a tightness in my chest.

Everything Hyuk Dojin described was impossible. In my condition, even stepping on snow would be difficult, let alone embarking on long journeys.

I couldn’t leave this pavilion.

I was bound here, as if shackled, unable to go anywhere. So Hyuk Dojin’s wishes were mere illusions.

“That’s why even six months would be far too short a time for me.”

“…”

“Even if I were given ten years, no, a hundred years, I doubt it would be enough time, but I want to spend as much of it as possible with you.”

Hyuk Dojin slowly rose from his seat. I craned my neck to follow his movements.

The slight ease in his expression gradually faded. Soon, his voice flowed out.

“Do you think I would ever let you go? No, not in a million years. I will use any means necessary to keep you by my side. Even if I have to risk my life, I will bind you to me. Consider it an obsession if you will. Curse me if you want.”

Meeting my gaze, Hyuk Dojin’s voice burst forth with intensity.

“From the day you collapsed bleeding before me, you had to be mine, and you had to belong to me. Remember, you are my first and last, and this is where you must live. So don’t even think about leaving on your own, like that person did, forcing their wish upon my heart.”

This was the first time I had seen Hyuk Dojin display such a side of himself. While I had witnessed his tranquility shatter a few times before, this was the first time I faced such a manic obsession.

The honorific speech he always used was forgotten as the words poured out rapidly.

If anyone else had spoken such words to me, the mania and obsession would have felt terrifying. But the words that spilled from Hyuk Dojin’s lips only made my heart ache.

After finishing his words, Hyuk Dojin pursed his lips and lowered his gaze from me.

The motion of his dropping head seemed devoid of strength, as if reflecting his emotions.

“I will consider today’s conversation unheard.”

“Dojin…”

Hyuk Dojin casually turned his body away. I rose from my seat and reached out to stop him, but my sluggish body was unable to prevent him from leaving.

Before I knew it, Hyuk Dojin had opened the door and turned to face me. I looked into his black eyes. Unwavering, straight eyes. The agitation he had shown moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

“…I have somewhere to go for a bit. I may be back late, so go to sleep first.”

With those words, Hyuk Dojin completely turned away. I watched his back as he exited through the closing door, and soon silence enveloped the room.

* * *

It was a quiet space where not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Within it, Hwa Ui, who had taken a seat, slowly opened his eyes at the approaching sound.

He had thought Hyuk Dojin would come eventually. That’s why he had waited every night.

After a moment, the door opened, and Hyuk Dojin appeared, his breathing uneven, unlike his usual calm demeanor. Hwa Ui looked up at him and spoke calmly.

“Will you sit? Or would you prefer to catch the breeze?”

Hyuk Dojin, who had been staring blankly at Hwa Ui waiting for him, shifted his gaze to the empty seat opposite where Hwa Ui was seated.

After examining the vacant chair, he calmly approached and took a seat there.

Hwa Ui slowly poured tea into a navy blue teacup and spoke.

“It seems you’ve heard everything.”

“So you knew, it seems.”

“How could I not know? It was these very fingers that checked her pulse.”

“Then you must also know what I’m about to say.”

“…”

Hwa Ui didn’t answer, simply placing the teapot down silently.

With a clink as the teapot hit the table, Hwa Ui’s eyes studied Hyuk Dojin. His voice opened softly.

“Confucius lost his cherished disciple An Yeon at an early age. He lamented that heaven had forsaken him. And also…”

“You must know I didn’t come here to hear such words, Hwa Ui.”

Hyuk Dojin pushed aside the untouched teacup and opened his mouth.

“Surely, you didn’t bring that up to imply there is no hope… or that I should give up, did you?”

Hwa Ui let out a long sigh. He had glimpsed how Hyuk Dojin looked at Moyong Sowol.

Although not a demonic cultivator who used demonic arts, he too had endured decades in the Demon Cult.

He was someone who had met the current Cult Leader all the way back to the previous Cult Leaders, maintaining neutrality while witnessing the history of the Demon Cult.

He knew the hardships Hyuk Dojin had endured as a child, and he also knew that Moyong Sowol was touching upon Hyuk Dojin’s sensitive areas.

Hwa Ui let out another long sigh.

Could he tell him everything?

That there had been someone who suffered from a similar illness as Moyong Sowol, and that person had also died.

That there was no proper treatment method, and even if there was, it was uncertain whether there would be enough time for the treatment to work. That’s why he couldn’t say anything.

“Hwa Ui, you have saved countless lives. As far as I know, you are the most outstanding physician in the Central Plains and a trustworthy person.”

Hyuk Dojin spoke briefly, catching his breath.

“Is there a way?”

The moonlight filtered through the window, illuminating the room with a brilliant glow. The moonlight pierced Hyuk Dojin’s composed expression like small fragments. Hwa Ui quietly observed him and spoke in a low voice.

“If you say there is a way, then there is. And if you say there isn’t, then there isn’t.”

“What does that…”

“If you try to find a way, you will certainly be able to find it. There is no illness that cannot be perfectly cured. But if Moyong Sowol can’t stay alive until then, even if you find it, it won’t matter.”

Hwa Ui spoke quietly as he tilted his cup.

“In the end, it’s a matter of time.”

After those words, Hyuk Dojin didn’t say anything further.

Hwa Ui also maintained silence, as if giving him time to think. In the stillness, only the sound of Hwa Ui sipping his tea reverberated.

Hyuk Dojin silently stared at the table with an inscrutable expression, deep in thought.

The silence flowed on endlessly, as if time itself couldn’t be stopped. But it did have an end.

After finishing his tea, Hwa Ui opened his mouth.

“Do you know about the Nine Yin Pulse?”

“I know it’s a rare condition of being born with an exceptionally strong yin energy.”

“Yes, it’s rare, but there are certainly treatment methods. By pouring in an immense amount of yang energy, or using potent yang-energy-enhancing medicinal ingredients like ginseng or Chinese caterpillar fungus that intrinsically possess strong yang energy, it aligns with the characteristics of the Nine Yin Pulse that Moyong Sowol exhibits.”

A glimmer of hope appeared in Hyuk Dojin’s uplifted gaze. However, Hwa Ui’s words didn’t end there.

“But the innate frailty that Moyong Sowol possesses doesn’t seem to stem solely from the Nine Yin Pulse.”

“…Are you implying there’s something else?”

“Hmm…”

Hwa Ui nodded his head and stroked his goatee as he continued speaking.

“The vast inner energy and its purity that I sensed within Moyong Sowol when I checked her pulse are not something that can be easily attained. I suspect the Moyong clan must have poured an immense amount of elixirs into her to try and heal her. Leaving aside the sheer quantity of inner energy, that level of purity cannot be maintained without the use of elixirs not derived from nature.”

Meeting Hyuk Dojin’s open-mouthed gaze, Hwa Ui’s lips parted once more.

“You asked if she can be saved? Yes, she can be saved. If we treat the Nine Yin Pulse, we can certainly buy some time. But to treat the Nine Yin Pulse, it won’t be a matter of just one or two elixirs that need to be poured into her. Or else, a vast amount of yang energy would be required…”

He slowly looked Hyuk Dojin up and down. The harmony of yin and yang was a profound principle.

In nature, men were born with yang energy, while women were born with yin energy, which was connected to the birth of life.

So if Hyuk Dojin could embrace her and pour in a tremendous amount of yang energy, it could solve everything.

But the Nine Yin Pulse wasn’t a simple condition that could be resolved with ordinary elixirs.

Even if an ordinary man tried to pour yang energy to cure the Nine Yin Pulse, it would be ineffective.

Only something with a depth greater than the vast lake, like the vast ocean or a mighty river, could fill it.

Furthermore, although Hyuk Dojin had a calm and warm demeanor, he was still the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult.

It would be difficult to expect that level of yang energy from someone who had mastered the Demon Cult’s martial arts to the extreme, which were generally yin-leaning.

In other words, elixirs were needed.

“Time can be bought. If we feed Moyong Sowol elixirs with yang energy, we can certainly supplement her lacking time.”

“Then-“

“But simple elixirs won’t do. We need elixirs containing extreme yang energy. Thousand-year-old mountain ginseng, thousand-year-old fleeceflower root… Even rhizoma gastrodiae* would suffice, although slightly lacking. I have a small amount of rhizoma gastrodiae, but as for the other ingredients, they exist in extremely limited quantities. As far as I know, the Demon Cult may have one or two at most. Would they readily hand them over, even with the Young Cult Leader’s orders?”

“I can persuade them.”

He didn’t specify whom he would persuade, but for the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult, there was only one person he would need to persuade. And that person’s relationship with Hyuk Dojin had been strained for over ten years.

Hwa Ui was aware of this but didn’t mention it further. Instead, he brought up another point.

“Alright… You may be able to obtain them. However, as the Young Cult Leader knows, elixirs, especially those that can greatly enhance one’s inner energy, are as difficult to assimilate as they are to acquire. It’s questionable whether Moyong Sowol’s frail body could even withstand them.”

Hwa Ui sighed and slowly leaned back. His eyes looked up at the dark ceiling.

The flickering candlelight cast a precarious shadow.

Hwa Ui gazed at the ceiling and softly closed his eyes.

Then, Hyuk Dojin’s voice reached his ears.

“I will make it possible.”

At his quietly resolute words, Hwa Ui slowly nodded his head.

“Thus… I cannot give up.”