Chapter 9. The Secret in the Study

“Brother, I’ve come to pay my morning respects. Did you sleep well last night?”

Hugong tilted his head, then chuckled.

“Yes, and it looks like you slept well too. Seeing how your eyes are all swollen.”

“Haha! It’s all thanks to you, brother.”

Yun burst out laughing with his swollen and bruised eyes.

He was incredibly cheerful.

‘That kid, he’s a man.’

Just then, Yun said something unexpected.

“Brother, there’s a place you need to go with me for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Father wishes to see you.”

“Huh??”

Yun’s father was Beomhang’s ‘uncle’.

Hugong was surprised because he had never seen this uncle before. Of course, Hugong hadn’t been interested and hadn’t asked, but common sense dictated that the uncle should have visited first. His nephew had been on the verge of life and death after taking poison.

“Yes, I’ve been thoughtless. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

***

“You were here.”

“Oh, welcome.”

When he entered the room with Beomyun, it was the family head who greeted him first.

The other person was sitting on the bed.

The middle-aged man, clearly ill, had a haggard face and looked exactly like Yun.

Hugong could understand the situation.

‘It wasn’t that he didn’t visit, but that he couldn’t.’

How could someone who was bedridden visit someone else who was sick?

Somehow, it was hard to find a healthy person in the Cheonhwa Library.

The family head had attempted a joint suicide, the uncle was bedridden, and one of the cousins had been indulging in alcohol and gambling.

Was that all? The maids and guards were mostly tired and had gloomy expressions. Songhwa had only recently brightened up.

“Just as I heard, you’ve changed a lot. I heard the story. You scolded Yun?”

“…Yes.”

“Thank you. Thank you. I never thought I’d see this day… This uncle is so happy.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, Hugong’s hand was held by his uncle, Beomgang.

The hand was slender and weak.

“What’s wrong with your body? My memory…”

“Uh, that’s…”

At that moment, their eyes met.

Uncle Beomgang’s pupils wavered.

For a moment, the uncle looked embarrassed and lowered his head.

Hugong did not miss that reaction.

‘He’s avoiding my gaze?’

The uncle was afraid of his nephew.

The uncle opened his mouth, his gaze vaguely averted.

“It’s not really a disease. It’s just a sickness of the heart, so I’ll get better soon.”

“If it’s a sickness of the heart, then the cause is…”

Beomhang, of course.

Hugong guessed without difficulty.

To be unable to meet his eyes, he must have been deeply hurt by Beomhang.

All the ills of the Cheonhwa Library were indeed Beomhang.

Hugong continued, his voice filled with anger.

“…it must be because of Yun.”

As Hugong finished speaking and looked at Yun, Yun, who was standing behind him, was startled and moved back awkwardly, leaning on his crutch.

The uncle smiled faintly.

“That’s right. It’s because of that kid.”

“I’ve neglected my younger brothers until now. But don’t worry anymore.”

“Hehe, thank you. Don’t mind me and scold him harshly whenever you have a chance. If Yun didn’t drink so much, would I be lying here like this?”

“Of course.”

The conversation went on in a peaceful atmosphere, and only Hugong left the room.

The three people who remained in the room, including the family head, were silent for a while.

A moment later, Uncle Beomgang’s complexion changed.

“Father, is that Beomhang?”

“Of course it is.”

“He’s a different person. That… is not Beomhang.”

The family head, Beomcheon, chuckled.

“Didn’t I tell you? His personality completely changed after the Blood Rain Poison.”

“Even so, how could this happen… I… I…”

As his son couldn’t continue and his eyes welled up with tears, the family head took his hand.

“Now that the eldest has changed like that, you should also shake it off and get up.”

“Father, I can breathe now. It feels like a stone has been removed from my chest.”

Beomyun, who had been listening to the conversation between his grandfather and father, also silently wiped away his tears.

His father had been wasting away because of his eldest brother.

He had tried to persuade his eldest brother to change his mind, but had ended up with a sickness of the heart like a curse.

Anyone who faced his eldest brother would have their heart broken like that. They would become listless as if their vitality had been sucked out, and they couldn’t muster any energy. That’s why Beomyun had also been busy running away under the pretext of criticism.

“Father, eldest brother definitely told me to live properly while he was beating me. He’s no longer the brother who cast a shadow of death.”

“Oh, yes. You should stop running away too. What’s the big deal about getting hit? If you can take a hit, take it, and get closer.”

“Yes.”

The three generations in the room embraced each other and sobbed, creating a sea of tears.

But the emotional moment did not last long.

It was because of what Yun said while sobbing.

“Our family will prosper now, right? Since the genius of geniuses, eldest brother, has stretched his wings. I really hope that eldest brother’s memory never comes back. Then how…”

Beomyun couldn’t finish his sentence and flinched.

His grandfather and father were staring at him with hardened expressions. The pupils of the two, which had been filled with emotion just a moment ago, were now shaking like an earthquake.

Yun also realized it and flinched.

Come to think of it, if eldest brother’s memory returned, it would be a catastrophe again.

Uncle Beomgang clutched his chest.

“Breath, my breath is suddenly…”

“My child, breathe. Breathe!”

The family head shouted in surprise.

***

Hugong’s thoughts on memory were different.

‘It would be great if I could find that Beomhang fellow’s memories…’

Hugong hoped that Beomhang’s memories would be completely absorbed.

He was gradually gaining weight and regaining his energy.

He had definitely escaped from his frail state. But was Hugong’s goal merely to be in the category of an ordinary person?

The problem was the progress of his cultivation art.

First, his essence, energy, and spirit had to be united.

Only then would his dantian open and his cultivation art accelerate, but because a different body and mind had been combined, his consciousness, soul, and body were like oil and water, not mixing.

In this state, recovering his martial arts was a distant prospect.

But if he could absorb Beomhang’s memories, the situation would be different.

Only then would his essence, energy, and spirit merge and unite, and only then could he say that this body was his own.

Late at night, as he sat lost in thought with a cup of tea in front of him, Songhwa was needlessly going in and out, back and forth.

‘How distracting.’

It wasn’t that Hugong couldn’t guess the reason.

As he was lost in serious thought, Songhwa had read the shadow on his face and was worried. She couldn’t bring herself to ask what was wrong and was just watching him.

“Songhwa.”

“Yes, young master.”

As if she had been waiting, Songhwa scurried over and bowed her head.

“I have many worries.”

“Pardon? W-what are you worried about?”

Songhwa stuttered. She was already anxious because of her master’s poor complexion, and her heart was already shrinking.

“I’ve been thinking hard.”

“Y-you’ve been thinking?”

“Yes, thinking. And then I found out.”

“Could it be…”

Songhwa couldn’t bring herself to say the words ‘your memory…’ and swallowed hard.

Hugong nodded his head.

“Your guess is correct.”

“Huk!”

“Today’s dinner portion was smaller than usual. It was probably three bowls, right?”

“Ah!”

Songhwa’s face, which had turned pale, bloomed in an instant.

Then she spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Young master! Shall I deploy the late-night snack?”

“You haven’t gone yet?”

Songhwa disappeared in a flash.

A little while later, Hugong called his two younger brothers and they ate meat on a grill in the backyard of the pavilion.

Indeed, when one was troubled, eating was the best.

After eating his fill, Hugong’s mood improved, and he patted his full stomach, forgetting about his memories and everything else. Then Yun and Bumong burst out laughing and patted their stomachs as well.

“Brother, isn’t my stomach sound louder?”

“Eldest brother, my stomach is the biggest, so the sound is refined.”

Hugong chuckled.

“You funny guys. What a strange competition.”

“Haha, we have to win in some way.”

At the end of his laughter, Yun expressed his gratitude quite seriously.

“Brother, thank you.”

It contained many meanings.

Bumong also smiled and opened his mouth.

“Me too. Since I was little, I had to go to the study to see you, eldest brother, but spending time together under the moonlight like today is so nice.”

Hugong nodded generously.

“Now you two look like people. In that sense, how about we grill another plate of meat?”

***

Deep in the night, Hugong couldn’t fall asleep easily. He tossed and turned, and his restless mind was, of course, about his memories.

‘Did I just swap bodies with Beomhang?’

This was not good. This body was under Beomhang’s consciousness, and without the union of essence, energy, and spirit, his martial arts level would just hover around the second or third rate and end in a struggle.

But the problem was that what he wanted was a ‘transfer of memories’.

If it were about recovering lost memories, time would be the solution, and he could simply hope for it by keeping his mind at ease, but if it were a transfer of memories, wouldn’t a more special trigger be needed?

If he couldn’t achieve the union of essence, energy, and spirit until the end of his life…

‘That can’t happen.’

Hugong got out of bed.

He had to do something. Whether it worked or not.

He slowly looked around the room. It was a space that Beomhang had seen, a space where his scent lingered. He walked slowly, touching the walls, staring at the landscape painting on the wall for a long time, and sitting blankly at the table.

There was no change, and nothing came to mind.

His heart grew heavy.

Just then, Bumong’s words came to mind.

– When I was little, I had to go to the study to see you, eldest brother.

Yes, the most familiar place for Beomhang.

The place where the most traces were left.

If Beomhang had lived in the study, there was a greater possibility than in his room. He immediately headed to the study. After a short corridor from his bedchamber, the room on the right was Beomhang’s personal study.

On the other hand, he also felt a sense of anticipation that he might be able to find out whether Beomhang had performed the soul transmigration.

When he lit a lamp and entered, the study was filled with books on three sides of the walls. Hugong, who was slowly examining the books from the nearest one, was soon disappointed.

‘How long has this been neglected?’

He didn’t know since when, but it seemed he hadn’t been in and out for quite a while, as each book was covered in a thick layer of dust. As he was examining the bookshelf, Hugong stopped in his tracks.

“Huh?”

While every book in the study was covered in dust, only one book was clean.

A book on the shelf of miscellaneous books on the left wall.

It was a book titled ‘Winter’ (冬).

Not only was there no dust, but the book was also inserted upside down. It seemed that Beomhang had not only looked at it until recently, but the fact that it was upside down also had its own meaning.

Hugong pulled out the book.

It was bulging as if something was inserted in the middle of the book. His eyes naturally narrowed. Under suspicion, he first examined the contents of the book. It was a collection of essays. The prose was by various authors, and from what he had skimmed, there was nothing unusual about the contents. He opened the bulging part inserted in the book.

It was a bundle of letters.

There were five letters, and the date indicated at the bottom of each letter was different.

The sender was one person.

– Juyang.

‘Juyang. Hmm, if Beomhang was communicating with the outside world, that’s a different story.’

The possibility that Beomhang had completed the soul transmigration with the help of an outside accomplice could not be ruled out. The letters became important.

Hugong took out only the letters and put the book back in its place correctly.

At that moment, the bookshelf collapsed forward with a crash.