Part 1 Chapter 11 21

Baek Cheong-yeong’s plan was exactly to my liking, but unfortunately, it was a bit difficult to gain the sympathy of others.

-They’re a Villain in the future, but a Hero now, so do we really need to go that far?

Even within the Azure Syndicate, opinions were divided, and Baek Hee-ah also withheld her opinion, saying she needed time to think.

So, during that time, I went to the old Hulao Pass ruins for the third reason I visited China: to retrieve the Cube. I looked down at the wide plains from a hill with Bonghyo and asked him,

“Bonghyo. Do you like Romance of the Three Kingdoms?”

“Half and half.”

A lonely smile hung on Baek Cheong-yeong’s lips as he followed beside me.

“I liked it when I was young. But it was different when I grew up.”

“Because Mao Zeping is a Romance of the Three Kingdoms fanatic?”

All the Heroes of Dongchang had their aliases decided by Mao Zeping, and most of them borrowed the courtesy names (字) of famous generals from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

“Yes. The moment I was given the name Bonghyo, and Xiaolin was given Unjang, we became beings ensnared by Mao Zeping.”

“For someone like that, you seemed to work quite diligently under Mao Zeping.”

“Well, he was my biological father, after all. But those feelings all disappeared when I became a monstrous human.”

“…….”

The reason Baek Cheong-yeong tormented Mao Zeping so terribly was precisely because he was now a ‘monstrous human’.

“……Mao Zeping was wrong first, so I won’t say anything.”

“It’s alright. I don’t think my current self is too bad either.”

Perhaps because Baek Cheong-yeong was the first monstrous human created by Hwanryong, he viewed himself objectively and was well aware of his own abnormality.

“Living like this isn’t bad either.”

Nevertheless, Baek Cheong-yeong accepted his changed self. And the goal of his life was Hwanryong, who could be called his lord, and his half-sister Xiaolin.

“Are you perhaps lusting after Hwanryong or Xiaolin?”

“……”

Bonghyo covered his mouth with his Black Ox Fan. It wasn’t out of embarrassment or being hit where it hurt, but an action to prevent profanity from spilling out in response to my question.

“Phoenix-nim, are you insane?”

“If ‘insane’ is him holding back, then how much worse was the profanity he originally intended to say?”

“May I?”

I showed my ear to Baek Cheong-yeong, and Baek Cheong-yeong whispered what he wanted to say to me.

Sogonsogon.

“……Hey.”

“Sogonsogon.”

“Are you messing with me?”

This bastard actually said ‘sogonsogon’ out loud. Baek Cheong-yeong chuckled and backed away from me, but then lowered his Black Ox Fan and hardened his expression.

“How could I speak harshly to Phoenix-nim? However, Phoenix-nim must understand this. I am not someone who harbors such lust for my lord and my younger sister.”

“Then what? Honestly, both of them are beauties, aren’t they? Hwanryong just needs to come out of Mao Zeping’s body, and Xiaolin is currently….”

“Phoenix-nim.”

Baek Cheong-yeong wore a brighter smile than ever before.

“I have loyalty to my lord and familial affection for my sister. If you call that lust, it is a considerable insult to me. I have never harbored lust for either of them, and I never will.”

“……I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Baek Cheong-yeong’s expression turned serious as he reprimanded me. I, too, readily admitted my mistake.

“I, on the other hand, wonder if Phoenix-nim was the one who harbored lust for them.”

“…’Was’?”

“Yes. Because…”

Baek Cheong-yeong’s eyes pierced through me.

“Our future, which you can call your past. In that place, you were lovers with them, weren’t you?”

“…….”

I couldn’t say anything to Baek Cheong-yeong’s question, which pierced through my truth.

“It seems you keep returning to the past for some reason…. May I dare to guess that reason?”

“Yes. Go ahead and say it.”

His expression was so serious that I unknowingly allowed Baek Cheong-yeong’s challenge.

“You returned because you couldn’t protect the one you loved, didn’t you? To the past.”

“……Puhuhu.”

Laughter burst out spontaneously.

“It’s the opposite.”

“Huh?”

I placed my hand over my chest.

“Please think of it as me coming to the past to protect the one I love.”

“……You’re definitely hiding something, *kkeueung*. Alright. If you say that much, I won’t pry any further.”

Baek Cheong-yeong raised both hands and laughed heartily.

“Hwa! The command of a monstrous human, it’s truly terrifying. My body moving against my will, contrary to my intentions.”

“……Huh?”

What kind of ghost-eating nonsense was this? At my question, Baek Cheong-yeong cleared his throat and raised the corners of his lips.

“Hmm-hmm. It’s because there are two people next to me who are curious about who the bluebird’s pure heart is directed towards. If I were in my right mind, I wouldn’t have even asked this, you know?”

At Baek Cheong-yeong’s words, I grasped the whole story.

“Hwanryong ordered you? To sound me out about who my love is?”

“Yes.”

Baek Cheong-yeong readily answered my question. And then, with a bewildered expression, he replied to me.

“If by any chance you were to ask about this matter, Hwanryong-nim commanded me to convey these words.”

Baek Cheong-yeong cleared his throat and recited Hwanryong’s message to me.

“‘I will protect you, no matter who you are’…? Phoenix-nim. What does this mean?”

“Huh.”

Laughter spontaneously escaped me. As expected, perhaps because they chose to abandon their physical body and live as a spirit, they seemed to have noticed the existence of ‘me’ within the Azure Flame Phoenix.

“Hwanryong, where are they now?”

“…They’ll be back soon. Please wait in the office. Oh, while you’re here…”

Baek Cheong-yeong wore a meaningful smile.

“Would you like to see the Black Scorpion too?”

“…….”

It’s definitely not because I’m interested that I’m going to the office. Absolutely not.

* * *