The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

“Aargh!”

“Ugh!”

“Guh…”

Various screams erupted as people fell one by one around Hyuk Dojin.

The dragging chaos was quickly resolved with Hyuk Dojin’s intervention.

Hyuk Dojin sighed in the midst of the mess where not a single table or chair remained intact.

He probably didn’t feel good about knocking down his fellow cult members with his own hands.

The man from the Mount Heng Sect gathered the Demon Cult members and threw them out the door, then dusted off his hands. Then he approached Hyuk Dojin, who had complicated feelings, and laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! You’re amazing, young man! I never imagined someone like you who doesn’t seem to have learned any martial arts would be able to defeat those big guys! Thanks to you, justice has been served!”

“Ah… yes.”

Hyuk Dojin raised his eyebrows with a sour face. I chuckled at his appearance.

Is it really justice to knock out fellow cult members with fists and throw them out into the heavy snow?

But the Mount Heng Sect man was busy speaking his mind regardless of Hyuk Dojin’s feelings.

“Ah! Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Cha Jinmok, the second disciple of the Mount Heng Sect.”

“Second disciple?”

“Mm! I’m a disciple of the sect leader, Monk Seonhak. And those guys behind are my disciples and fellow disciples. We’re on our way to Hunan to participate in the martial arts competition held by the Murim Alliance.”

“I see.”

“What about you? Judging by your skills, you don’t seem to be an ordinary wanderer… Seeing how well you use your fists, are you perhaps a disciple of Kunlun?”

“I have no sect. I’m a wanderer who doesn’t belong anywhere. Right now I’m wandering the martial arts world with my wife.”

Cha Jinmok’s eyes rolled around to land on me. He stared intently at my face hidden under the bamboo hat, then turned his head back to Hyuk Dojin.

He seemed to have a hard time believing Hyuk Dojin’s words, but he didn’t particularly press the issue.

“A wanderer with no sect using such fist techniques… Haha, they say the world is wide and there are many strange people, but I never imagined a young man like you would be such an excellent fist fighter. I wish those guys behind could learn from watching you.”

“You flatter me.”

Hyuk Dojin shook his head. I stared at him blankly for a while, then slowly approached. That talkative-looking man didn’t seem strange even if he kept chattering for a full hour.

As I approached, Cha Jinmok’s eyes turned to me. I bowed my head once to him, then pulled on Hyuk Dojin’s collar.

“I’m tired.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Hyuk Dojin lightly embraced me, then looked at Cha Jinmok. Then he turned his head to look around the wrecked interior of the inn and spoke quietly.

“I’ll go up first. Please take care of the aftermath.”

“Hmm, alright.”

After confirming Cha Jinmok’s nodding answer, Hyuk Dojin turned his body with me. He slightly turned his head to confirm the gazes of people still looking at us, then sighed.

As soon as we returned to the room, I untied my bamboo hat, sat on the bed, and immediately opened my mouth.

“We’ve already had over twenty conflicts just coming from Guangxi to Hunan. Isn’t this a problem? At this rate, we’ll easily reach a hundred times before we get to Henan.”

“It should be fine once we pass Hunan.”

Hyuk Dojin also spoke in a tired voice as he took off his coat with a weary face. I stared at him blankly, then stretched my back.

It had already been a month.

At first, I was suggested that it would be better to travel by carriage, but I flatly refused.

There was something I wanted to do most once my body got better.

It was touring the martial arts world.

I wanted to see with my own eyes the famous scenic spots known for their beauty. So we rode horses sometimes, walked other times, and slowly moved our feet towards the martial arts competition in spring, taking our time.

But the Central Plains wasn’t as beautiful as I thought. Perhaps because of my unusual appearance, we encountered countless conflicts while walking on the road, and even while eating, we were often accused of being Demon Cult members and fought just because of one word about being from Guangxi.

In Liaoning, which is a thousand miles away from Guangxi, they didn’t react very sensitively to the Demon Cult, but in nearby regions like Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei, they immediately drew their swords at the mere mention of Demon Cult or Evil Path.

When I heard the reason, I could somewhat understand their resentment since Mount Heng gets smashed first and then Hubei next whenever the Demon Cult comes out to exert its influence.

“Hubei is under the influence of the Murim Alliance, isn’t it? With the Feilong and Jegal clans, and even the Wudang Sect of Mount Wudang. There are people grinding their teeth everywhere, isn’t this dangerous?”

“It’s fine. Rather, it’s less likely to have conflicts like this in areas under the Murim Alliance’s influence. Hunan is causing disturbances due to backlash against the Murim Alliance’s decision, but regions close to the Murim Alliance will try to appease them as much as possible.”

“Haa, is that so?”

My worries didn’t disappear despite his words. I stared blankly at the ceiling, then opened my mouth as I watched Hyuk Dojin sit in a chair.

“By the way, who was that person just now? Do you know him?”

“I don’t know him.”

“But didn’t you react when he said he was the second disciple?”

At my question, he let out a low exclamation and then chuckled.

“I reacted to Monk Seonhak, not him. Mount Heng Sect’s grudge against the Demon Cult is not recent, but Monk Seonhak is the sect leader of such Mount Heng while also having quite a friendly stance towards the Demon Cult. I heard he’s a drinking buddy of my Martial Uncle… Well. I don’t know the details, but my Martial Uncle once said that if we ever see disciples of Mount Heng in the martial arts world, we should forgive them once, so that’s all.”

Man Do’s drinking buddy. To think the Vice Cult Leader of the Demon Cult and the sect leader of one of the Nine Renowned Sects are friends.

It was something others wouldn’t believe if they heard it, but thinking of Man Do’s carefree face, it wasn’t particularly strange.

I turned my head to look out the window. It was still snowing heavily.

I wonder if the mountain road will still be blocked tomorrow. I sighed and turned my head, and Hyuk Dojin’s face was right in front of me. I stared at him intently and tilted my head.

“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you going to wash up?”

“I should.”

At my answer, Hyuk Dojin nodded as if pleased, then slipped his hands under my back and legs and lightly lifted me up.

Startled, I grabbed his clothes and raised my eyes, and his voice settled languidly.

“You must be tired, so I’ll wash you.”

“No, wait…”

I had allowed it once before when caught up in the mood. Since that day, Hyuk Dojin would often throw out his claws saying he would wash me.

I had already fallen for it twice. I shook my head and hurriedly grabbed his clothes.

“That… that’s a bit…”

“Is it not okay?”

Hyuk Dojin slowly lowered the corners of his mouth as if disappointed at my refusal.

This, this…!

He didn’t use to do this before, but now he deliberately acts pitiful whenever he makes that expression, knowing that my heart weakens. I glared at Hyuk Dojin.

I absolutely won’t fall for it!

But when not only the corners of Hyuk Dojin’s mouth but also the corners of his eyes drooped pitifully, I couldn’t resist anymore. I let go of his clothes and sighed.

“Alright… do as you wish.”

As soon as those words fell, he returned to his calm face as if nothing had happened.

“I’ll wash you thoroughly today too.”

“Are you going to do strange things?”

“What do you mean by strange things?”

“That…”

Isn’t there only one strange thing to do in the bathroom? Do I have to say it out loud?

I looked at him with resentful eyes, and Hyuk Dojin let out a low exclamation. He shook his head. As I looked at him with suspicious eyes, his mouth opened nonchalantly.

“I won’t do strange things.”

“Really?”

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

Well, that’s not it but…

I shook my head. Hyuk Dojin opened the bathroom door as if pleased and dipped me, still clothed, into the wooden bathtub filled with warm water.

To enter the water without even taking off clothes. I turned my head, and Hyuk Dojin was slowly undressing.

The neat clothes he was wearing flowed down, and underneath, his collarbone, firm chest, and sculpted abdominal muscles covered my eyes. If I looked down further…

“Where are you looking?”

“…”

When I raised my head, Hyuk Dojin had already taken off all his clothes and was reaching out his hand. His hands slowly undressed my wet clothes. I hurriedly shouted at his hands.

“You said you wouldn’t do strange things!”

“Don’t we have to take off clothes to wash?”

“That, that’s…”

While I was hesitating, his hands very skillfully undressed me. When the last piece of clothing covering my chest fell away, Hyuk Dojin entered the water, hugged me from behind, and kissed my neck.

“Strange things… you won’t do them, right…?”

“Yes, I won’t.”

When I turned my head, Hyuk Dojin was smiling lecherously.

“I’m just going to have marital relations.”

“W-wait…!”

His hands moved as if they had been waiting.

“Ah…!”

“So it’s not strange, is it?”

“Wait a moment! That’s just wordplay…!”

“And don’t you like it? Isn’t that why you kept asking if I wasn’t going to do it?”

“When did I…?!”

I hurriedly shouted and turned my body. At that moment, Hyuk Dojin’s lips approached and kissed me. In the hot bathtub, his tongue, even hotter than that, languidly stirred inside my mouth.

When his lips finally parted, Hyuk Dojin tilted his head with a faint smile.

“If you don’t like doing it here, you can refuse.”

He grasped my thigh with his large hand and lifted it lightly. After pulling me close to his body, he let out a languid voice.

“Then I won’t do it next time.”

I lowered my gaze at his confident words and eyes, as if saying I wouldn’t be able to refuse.

“…Be quiet.”

With a small chuckle, he gently embraced me.

* * *

It felt like I had sweated a lot instead of washing in the bathroom. When I laid my tired body on the bed, Hyuk Dojin came next to me and used his arm as a pillow for me.

I lay on his outstretched arm, pressed my body close to him, and stared blankly at the wall before quietly speaking.

“Is this why you said we should come just the two of us, without needing other people?”

I had been feeling lately how vigorous Hyuk Dojin’s sexual desire was.

We didn’t do it this much when we were in the Demon Cult, but as soon as we came out, he started eagerly expressing his desires like a dog with its leash removed.

He lightly shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalantly.

“We’ve just started enjoying our newlywed life, but to have to endure for four months. I’m not a Shaolin monk, so why should I have to endure such anguish and suffering?”

He lightly kissed my forehead and laughed refreshingly.

“If the two of us move together, we can enjoy everything we want to see and eat without hindrance. Especially… including doing this and that.”

His hand slowly lifted my clothes. I narrowed my brows and pinched his hand that was faithful to his desires.

Hyuk Dojin withdrew his hand, looking disappointed and licking his lips.

“Even apart from that, I wanted to have time alone with Sowol. There were always many people around us, weren’t there? I’m the one who always wants to be with Sowol, but it seemed like other people were enjoying it more.”

He quietly hugged me and kissed my nape. I closed my eyes tightly at the ticklish feeling that ran through me.

His voice quietly rang out as he buried his face in my neck.

“I don’t need anything else right now, just being close to Sowol whom I love like this.”

“Love, you say. If someone heard, they’d think we were a couple separated for a long time unable to see each other.”

“What can I do if I miss you even when I can’t see you for a little while?”

“Then…”

I closed my eyes at his languid voice and quietly answered.

“We’ll have to see each other every day.”

I quietly closed my eyes, welcoming the faint red lantern light.