Chapter 16

On the way back to the room, Hyuk Dojin called out to me, saying he had something to say.

As I raised my head, Hyuk Dojin paused for a moment in contemplation, then soon opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“I had intended to observe the situation a bit more before proceeding, but it seems there has been a lot of talk, so it will be difficult to delay it any further.”

“What is it?”

He said briefly:

“The wedding ceremony.”

“…”

…I had forgotten about that.

With no formal proposal or fanfare, I had forgotten that procedure still remained.

Moreover, since Hyuk Dojin and I were already sharing a room, it was even easier to let it slip my mind.

“In fact, because of Sowol’s physical condition, I was trying to settle on giving you more rest instead of a wedding ceremony. However, there are still societal perceptions that cannot be ignored.”

“The Cult Leader…”

“Father hasn’t said anything in particular, but the Murim Alliance has sent a letter saying it would be problematic to keep delaying it. I can suppress the Demon Cult’s position, but I can’t use force to suppress the justification of the Murim Alliance. So it seems we will have to proceed with the wedding ceremony, difficult as it may be.”

As Hyuk Dojin spoke, he watched for my reaction.

“I plan to keep it as simple as possible. I will prepare according to your circumstances, so…”

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

“What?”

Gazing at him as he faltered and couldn’t finish his words properly, I curled up the corners of my mouth into a thin smile.

“It was something that had to be done anyway, right? So don’t make that kind of expression. And do you really think I’ll collapse just from having one wedding ceremony? My physical condition hasn’t been bad lately, so I’ll be fine.”

Probably.

In truth, there weren’t any visible indicators, and my condition could suddenly deteriorate and cause me to collapse on any given day.

However, with my current physical state, it seemed I could endure a simple wedding ceremony.

From Hyuk Dojin’s reaction, it seemed he had worked quite hard to delay the wedding.

I couldn’t criticize the consideration revealed in even his smallest actions. And he had no reason to apologize to me.

Looking at his tightly closed lips, I opened my mouth again.

“So it will get a bit busy for a while. I haven’t really heard anything about the Demon Cult’s wedding methods… How about you? Are they not very different from the Righteous Sect?”

“…”

To break the tense atmosphere, I tried to change the subject, but Hyuk Dojin’s mouth showed no intention of opening.

He was just silently looking at me as if contemplating something.

I tilted my head.

“Young Cu…”

“Call me by my name, Sowol.”

“Pardon?”

I opened my eyes slightly wider at his sudden words.

Hyuk Dojin gathered his gaze that had been scattered around and threw it back at me as he spoke.

“It would be better if you call me by my name. That will be the first step in preparation.”

“Why the name all of a sudden…”

“I missed the chance to tell you before. From now on, it’s better to call me by my name Hyuk Dojin instead of the title Young Cult Leader. It will also help with Sowol’s safety.”

What relation did calling him by his name have with my safety? As I blinked silently, Hyuk Dojin spoke quietly.

“In the entire Demon Cult, there is only one person who calls me by my name.”

The Cult Leader, Hyuk Muhyeol.

“Everyone else calls me by the title Young Cult Leader. So if you call me by my name, others will rethink my relationship with Sowol.”

“So you mean if I call the Young Cult Leader by your name, others will think differently about me… is that it?”

“Exactly.”

Hyuk Dojin nodded and then moved his legs again. I followed behind him, matching my pace to his slowly moving steps.@@novelbin@@

Looking ahead, Hyuk Dojin opened his mouth again.

“And you don’t need to worry too much about the wedding ceremony. When I initially discussed it with the Moyong clan, we agreed to keep the ceremony to a minimum. They said an elaborate ceremony was unnecessary.”

I nodded lightly.

The Moyong clan wanted a short and simple ceremony instead of an elaborate one since the distance was far and my body wasn’t in good condition.

However, this wasn’t out of concern for me, but due to complicated vested interests.

The Moyong clan didn’t want the disgrace of being associated with the Demon Cult through this marriage.

And the Demon Cult felt the same way in reverse.

The members of the Demon Cult, who had been ridiculed by other sects as hypocritical and dirty, were ashamed to seat a woman from the Righteous Sect as the wife of the Young Cult Leader.

Therefore, neither side really cared about the ceremony itself.

The only ones interested in the wedding ceremony were the Murim Alliance and them.

The Murim Alliance had been against the Demon Cult expanding its influence beyond Guangxi into the Central Plains from the beginning.

It made sense, as Demon Cult had been quietly extending its influence to most cities near the Yangtze River, including Honam, Guizhou, Shaanxi, and Henan.

So from the Murim Alliance’s perspective, they needed a means to suppress the Demon Cult. And that means was me and the wedding ceremony.

Perhaps the Murim Alliance is hoping I will die.

Not just them, but Demon Cult itself may feel the same way. Most of them weren’t pleased that I was alive.

The Murim Alliance may want me dead so Demon Cult has an excuse to withdraw, while Demon Cult dislikes a woman from another sect being placed above them.

“So you don’t need to worry too much. We’ll invite the minimum number of people and keep it as simple as possible.”

In any case, the important thing was to officially inform the Murim Alliance that we held the wedding ceremony.

I lightly agreed to Hyuk Dojin’s words.

“I’ll prepare the attire and necessary items. For now, it’s best if Sowol rests and recovers her strength.”

“I’m quite alright now.”

At my immediate response, Hyuk Dojin slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Is that so?”

His slightly raised chin showed he didn’t quite believe me.

I narrowed my eyes.

“You don’t believe me?”

“How could I not believe my future wife?”

“Then what was that expression just now…”

“What expression?”

He showed an utterly harmless look, opening his palms.

“Is there a problem?”

I stared at him, now tilting his head slightly.

Had that much time passed already?

For both Hyuk Dojin and myself, we had reached the point where we could engage in such playful jokes so lightly.

At times like this, I found it amazing how quickly I could adapt to an unfamiliar place.

Hyuk Dojin smiled at me broadly, then took out a small bottle from his robe and handed it to me.

It was the mineral water he gave me once a day.

I silently looked at the bottle he handed me, then raised my head.

“But does this actually have any effect? I can’t really tell…”

“Originally, medicines need to be taken consistently over a long period to show effects.”

If that was the case, then the medicine had already proven to have no effect after how long I had been taking it. After all, I had never stopped taking medicine throughout my life.

I had swallowed countless bitter medicines every single day.

Yet the result was always the same – no effect.

I silently looked at the bottle, then slowly tilted it to my mouth. As always, the liquid swarmed around my tongue before instantly disappearing like a melting rock.

I took the bottle from my mouth and handed it back to him.

As he put it back into his robe, he slowly opened his mouth.

“By the way, I heard you’ve also been taking medicine from Hwa Ui.”

“Ah, that?”

It was the medicine Hwa Ui had given me, saying it would help restore my energy.

While it didn’t noticeably improve my physical condition, it did make me feel less fatigued after taking it.

“Well, I am taking it.”

“How is it? Does taking my medicinal drink along with that medicine help at all?”

To be honest, the answer was ‘I’m not sure.’

Compared to six months ago when I left the Moyong clan, my condition had definitely deteriorated. And there was no chance of returning to how I was back then just by taking medicine now.

However, I was in better shape than when I had first arrived at Demon Cult.

“It’s help…”

“…”

Before I could finish my response with ‘helpful’ while smiling, Hyuk Dojin stopped in his tracks with a stiff expression, and I halted as well.

Hyuk Dojin was staring ahead with a hardened face.

What was he looking at…?

Following his gaze, I turned my head. In the direction Hyuk Dojin was looking, a young man was standing with his hands on his hips, smiling.

At a glance, he seemed around Hyuk Dojin’s age, but there was something odd about his presence.

“Long time no see, Young Cult Leader.”

The man’s mouth opened and his voice flowed out.

However, Hyuk Dojin showed no reaction to the voice addressing him, simply staring at the man silently.

“Ten years, has it been?”

The man’s mouth opened again, but Hyuk Dojin remained rigid.

Wondering what was going on, I called out to him quietly.

“Hyuk Dojin…?”

“Calling him by name, I see. You must have pleased the Young Cult Leader’s heart.”

The man slowly approached. His long black hair was tied back, flowing over his shoulders to the front.

He had a slender, dangerous-looking smile and a soft face.

Suddenly, I saw Hyuk Dojin’s face reflected in the man’s.

It was as if the man’s smile had been taken from Hyuk Dojin’s and placed on his own mouth – their smiles were so alike.

Exactly like twins.