Chapter 055. A Deal of Hatred and Sorrow (5)
How much time had passed after that?
Cheongyeon had been quietly watching Jeongyo sleep when she finally rose from her seat.
When she stepped out of the sickroom, she saw strands of silkworm thread floating near the ceiling of the hallway.
They stretched forward in a long line.
Cheongyeon immediately realized it was a formation created by Heonwon.
Without saying anything, she followed the threads.
They led her toward a quiet courtyard behind Beopsindang.
As she walked, the threads began twisting together into increasingly complicated shapes.
Then, between two large pine trees, they formed an enormous passage made from pure white cocoons.
Cheongyeon stepped inside.
At the end of the passage stood a small thatched hut.
The place felt sacred and completely separated from the outside world.
It was a mental space created by Heonwon.
Inside the hut was a small altar.
Incense burned throughout the room.
As Cheongyeon watched the smoke rise, her mind slowly became hazy.
It felt as though time was flowing out of control.
Someone with a weaker mind would have lost themselves before long.
"You came."
Cheongyeon turned around.
Heonwon sat on a bamboo mat in the form of a transparent spirit body.
His hands were held in a meditation seal.
His long narrow eyes, faded white hair, sunken cheeks, and exhausted expression made him look like a lonely wolf.
Heonwon rose and approached her.
The moment Cheongyeon saw him properly, she became shocked.
"What happened to you?"
Her eyes widened.
"You're covered in wounds."
Bloodstains covered Heonwon's plain cotton clothes.
Apparently, he had been attacked while escaping State Preceptor Nam Wan's pursuit.
"I'm fine."
His voice remained calm.
"More importantly, you need to leave this place immediately."
Cheongyeon looked at him.
"Last time, I withdrew because you refused to go."
His tone remained quiet, but there was a hidden forcefulness behind it.
"This time, we no longer have that luxury."
Heonwon had cared for Cheongyeon since she was a baby.
The way he treated her was almost that of a parent.
But unlike what Heonwon expected, Cheongyeon did not approach him.
She only stared.
There was even caution in her eyes.
Heonwon noticed it immediately.
"You used to trust and follow anything I said."
His gaze sharpened.
"What changed?"
Cheongyeon bit her lip.
"I'm not the one who changed."
She looked directly at him.
"You did, Senior Brother."
After hearing Jeongyo speak about Heonwon's past actions, Cheongyeon had begun to question him.
The Heonwon in those stories felt different from the senior brother she knew.
She had always thought of him as a lonely and stubborn man.
Yet apparently, he also had a talent for stirring people up.
More than that...
The way he led Jeongilhoi felt strangely self-righteous.
It seemed as though he was using ordinary people to provoke the ruling class by digging up the past.
"Why did you bring the Jeongilhoi people to the royal tomb ceremony?"
Cheongyeon's voice became serious.
"Even if you only wanted to make a point, being misunderstood as heretics just means those people will be chased."
Heonwon gave a hollow laugh.
"We already expected the ruling class of Hui Kingdom to suppress us."
He looked directly at her.
"We have done nothing wrong."
His voice became firmer.
"Why should we hide from them?"
Cheongyeon did not answer.
Heonwon continued.
"You don't understand."
His expression darkened.
"You don't know how much injustice fills this world."
Then his eyes hardened.
"Or how much more blood we will have to shed."
Even while listening to him, Cheongyeon felt uncomfortable.
Perhaps part of it came from the guilt she felt toward Jeongyo.
"I don't want people getting hurt."
Her voice shook slightly.
"But I especially don't want Jeongyo getting hurt."
She clenched her hands.
"There was no reason to involve a child."
Heonwon said nothing.
"Jeongyo's condition is serious."
Cheongyeon continued.
"She became so desperate that she stopped taking care of herself."
Her eyes became sharp.
"Someone used that child's guilt against her."
Waiting for Heonwon's answer made Cheongyeon's heart burn.
She desperately wanted him to change his mind.
Even if he could sometimes be blunt and strict...
Cheongyeon had always believed Heonwon was warm inside.
But his answer was colder than she expected.
"Joining Jeongilhoi was Jeongyo's own choice."
Cheongyeon's expression froze.
"So was entering Beopsindang and staying beside you."
"..."
Heonwon continued without hesitation.
"Her situation is unfortunate."
His voice remained steady.
"But this is also a road someone must walk if we want a better world."
There was not the slightest hesitation in his attitude.
As though sacrifice was unavoidable when working for the greater good.
While speaking, Heonwon remembered himself at an age even younger than Jeongyo.
[That boy has intelligent eyes.]
The hand of a monk had once lifted a starving boy from the ground in a slash-and-burn farming village.
To that child...
It had felt no different from the mercy of Buddha.
Afterward, Heonwon respected and followed Monk Wongwang more deeply than he respected his own parents.
He copied passages from scriptures onto paper so they could be distributed to commoners.
He took care of every small task.
No one showed more devotion.
He wanted to repay the monk.
He wanted to be acknowledged.
He wanted to spread the monk's teachings across the world.
Because of his own experience...
Heonwon believed he understood Jeongyo's blind devotion better than anyone.
He continued.
"Master foresaw everything."
Cheongyeon looked at him.
"The tragedy that would fall upon the people of Jeongilhoi."
He paused.
"And the fate of this world."
"..."
"Before he died, he left me one final instruction."
Heonwon's eyes settled on Cheongyeon.
"I was to protect you, the Child of Truth who descended from the heavens."
His expression became gloomy.
"There is tremendous power inside you."
His voice lowered.
"And the time for that power to awaken is close."
Cheongyeon's fingers tightened.
"It is the day all of us have been waiting for."
Heonwon believed that to punish the corrupted world, they needed overwhelming power strong enough to sweep everything away.
After that...
They would lead the chosen people and rebuild the world.
That was the future Heonwon had dreamed of for a very long time.
"Senior Brother."
Cheongyeon shook her head.
"I don't want that kind of destiny."
Her voice trembled.
"What I want is simply to live as myself."
She took a slow breath.
"I want to put down all those grand roles and do my best with the life I have now."
Her words were sincere.
"And if a new world really can come, like you say..."
Cheongyeon looked directly into his eyes.
"I want everyone to go there together."
Heonwon's expression hardened.
"Good people."
"Bad people."
"Important people."
"People no one considers important."
Her eyes became bright.
