On the Way to Anhui – 5

The scorching sun beat down. Even with the sun’s rays stinging his skin, Kang In-ho walked on aimlessly.

Where he was going, how much was left, how much further he had to walk today…

He had no thoughts.

No, he couldn’t think.

“……”

That night. He wept endlessly, watching the mountain of burning corpses.

How tragic was the death of those with whom he had shared emotions?

Having lived a little over thirty years, loss was still a foreign experience to him.

When he closed his eyes, they appeared before him.

Yeonhwa, her head severed, Maehwa, half her face melted away, the Chief Manager, his chest pierced, staring with wide eyes.

The more he dredged up the memories, the more nauseous he felt, and the more curses welled up inside him.

But he couldn’t erase them from his mind, nor could he bury them.

Burned to ashes in the flames, they left a black mark on his heart, not his head.

A feeling of emptiness, a feeling of having lost something.

Was this the feeling the Chief Manager had, with a hole in his chest? He wondered. But no answer came.

He stumbled along the unkempt dirt path.

He nearly tripped over stones several times, but Namgoong Soyeon, who was clinging tightly to his side, stopped him.

“Whoa! Be careful! You keep spacing out…”

Namgoong Soyeon said, pulling his arm closer, hugging it tightly.

She subtly pressed his arm against her chest, carefully watching his reaction, wondering if it was a clever ploy.

But he, as stiff as wood, simply kept walking forward.

It had been like this constantly.

He walked in the direction she set, and only rested when she told him to.

Mechanical answers to whatever she said, no reaction to her subtle attempts at seduction.

What was the reason?

Had his love for her faded?

Namgoong Soyeon shook her head.

No.

It must be because he hadn’t fully regained his senses yet.

It was said that the Poison Devil, Jegal Hwi’s poison, was very potent.

Not only did it threaten life, but it was also said to control the mind of the poisoned person.

“You’re… still poisoned.”

Ah… poor man. How did he end up suffering like this?

Thinking of the hardships and suffering Inho must have endured, Namgoong Soyeon’s eyes filled with tears.

“Gang Gongja~”

She called him with a sweet smile.

“Yeah.”

Inho replied. Until recently, he had been speaking to her formally, creating a sense of distance, but after some careful ‘education,’ he had returned to his original way of speaking.

Her ‘education’ was having a significant effect on Inho’s return to ‘normal.’

But it wasn’t enough.

The ‘original’ Kang In-ho wasn’t like this.

Namgoong Soyeon thought so.

“Gang Gongja. I love you.”

“…Me too.”

A response that sounded like it was coded.

Soyeon puffed out her cheeks.

“Tell me in more detail~”

“I feel the same way about you.”

“Gongja…”

“……”

She muttered coldly, but Inho resisted to the limit.

“I think I need some education today.”

“…I love you.”

Inho answered immediately at the word ‘education.’

Soyeon found that reaction so endearing that she licked his neck with her tongue.

Lick, lick.

‘Ah… how good would it be to sink my teeth into this neck and drink his blood?’

Soon, she shook her head vigorously.

Was the Bloodlust Surge coming already?

It seemed that the cycle of the surge was shortening when she was next to Inho.

“Gongja, the sun is strong today, so let’s prepare camp in that forest over there.”

Although it was still midday, she declared the end of today’s march.

After arriving at the forest, Soyeon quickly finished preparing the campsite and spent time talking until sunset.

But all the talking was just Soyeon speaking and Inho giving half-hearted answers.

And so, night came.

Namgoong Soyeon said that Inho seemed weak from the long journey and that she would prepare a nutritious meal to help him regain his strength.

Then she disappeared somewhere, and Inho desperately hoped that a wild animal would attack him while she was gone.

But contrary to his wishes, he was fine, and Namgoong Soyeon returned sooner than expected.

“Kind Soyeon has prepared dinner~”

She came back with something slung over her shoulder.

What looked like a bundle of cloth from a distance was…

“There’s nothing as delicious as the blood of a young woman. I’ve prepared some especially for Gang Gongja today~”

It was a person.