Chapter 100

"Is this really seasickness?"

"Uh-huh..."

Unable to say whether it was or wasn't, Ryeon just took a sip of water, as if it would somehow make his queasy stomach feel better.

It felt as if he had eaten something extremely spicy, and a bitter taste rose up in his throat.

It was a different feeling from the vomiting caused by seasickness, a sensation he had become all too familiar with in his past life. The sensation of blood surging up from his stomach.

Ryeon swallowed the blood that was rising and circulated the energy for harmony and purification. His vision blurred, and a metallic taste filled his mouth.

* If the drop in spiritual energy is too large, aftereffects will occur! Be careful. *

Not only did he have too much spiritual energy, but the problem was that he had used too much of it at once.

'What am I supposed to do!'

"Sister, are you in a lot of pain? Should I take the pain for you?"

"Of course not! I'm not in much pain. It's just seasickness."

Danmubee, worried about her sister, placed all the small gifts and snacks given by the people who visited Danmuchen that day on Ryeon's bed and tried to snuggle up to him.

However, Hualeun pulled her away, telling her not to bother the sick person, so she just held Ryeon's hand and whined.

'But, Hualeun really has a good sense of things. Or, is this something that can be sensed?'

He had managed to pass it off as seasickness to the adults using the energy for harmony, but why was this kid looking at him with such doubt?

'But, lying here, I feel cold again.'

Ryeon counted the time. Even if he stayed like this, his spiritual energy level would soon exceed 60 again, but at least he had bought some time. His condition would improve if he rested in bed for a while.

After getting off the canal and purifying the bustling area, if he could reduce some of the spiritual energy in the new clothes and accessories Danmubee would buy, it would be fine, wouldn't it?

'The advice to carry the light created by time was this. I should have taken it seriously when I heard it.'

He finally understood the advice he had heard at Tianbige.

It meant to carry a gemstone that had been formed under pressure for a long time!

'I used a lot more spiritual energy than I thought in my daily life.'

Not only did he use a lot of spiritual energy to make Baoyaoqing and Qinglianshui and to purify the corners of the family estate, but the more he used, the faster it replenished, which was a significant blow.

'If I don't use it, I'll die, but the more I use, the more skilled I become, and the faster I have to use it...'

"Don't worry too much, Hualeun. Once we get off the boat... I'll buy clothes and jewelry, and it will be fine."

"Is there any illness that gets better with extravagance? And how can a martial artist have such severe seasickness?"

"I'm not a complete martial artist yet..."

"Are you still a baby?"

"Our Hualeun is so smart."

"How can you say the same thing as Bia?"

Hualeun looked at Ryeon with a face that wanted to grab the back of his head. Even though such an expression on a young boy's face was endearing.

When Ryeon smiled, Hualeun made a pouting face.

"If you're a baby, go to sleep."

"If you speak rudely to your sister, you'll get in trouble."

"Yes, yes, go to sleep."

Hualeun grumbled. Ryeon, feeling the immature fingers of Hualeun's hand massaging his, closed his eyes slowly.

The sound of the water rippling in the distance sounded like a lullaby.

* * *

Danmuyen's hand was not as soft as a child's but rather thin and bony.

Upon closer inspection, the lack of scars or marks was a small comfort.

Without her sister, Danmubee became much more mature than usual and asked carefully.

"Is our sister in a lot of pain?"

"A little. But she'll be fine soon..."

Danmubee's concern was probably due to Hualeun's own attitude.

Because he couldn't hide his worry, Danmubee also seemed to think it was a big deal and was worried.

Hualeun recalled Ryeon's gaze and sighed.

"She said she's fine."

"Really?"

Hualeun nodded.

While Ryeon was awake, Danmubee kept trying to hug him and whined, but when Ryeon fell into a deep sleep, she just sat by the bed, leaning her head and watching him.

Hualeun looked at Danmubee for a while and then asked suddenly.

"Do you really like your sister that much?"

"Huh? Yes!"

Danmubee, with a face that showed the confusion of someone asked an obvious question, answered quickly and clearly.

"Why do you like her? Because she gives you a lot of good things?"

Danmubee glanced at Hualeun. Her face showed that she was upset at being treated like a child.

"My sister doesn't have to give me anything. I can give her things."

"Even the Longshudang and Bingtanghuo? Can you give them all to her without eating any?"

Danmubee flinched a little, bit her lip, but nodded.

"Of course."

"Is your sister that good to you?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

The question came back to the one he had asked earlier. Danmubee turned her head and looked at her sleeping sister.

"My sister took all of Mother's pain."

"What?"

"That's why Mother is healthy now, and I was born healthy."

"Who said that?"

"I don't know. Passersby... other adults..."

Danmubee pouted.

"I wish we could have shared it equally."

"..."

"But, she didn't do that because she really, really likes me. Is that true?"

Hualeun answered coldly.

"That's irrelevant. When your sister was born, you might not have been there."

"..."

Danmubee glared at Hualeun. Hualeun shrugged as if teasing and added.

"But your sister does like you. Really."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

What else could that deep bond be if not love?

She would try to hug him with her small body, put him to sleep, stroke him, and share her food...

Danmuyen's way of cherishing and loving her brother had a transcendent quality.

Her attitude of giving without limit, as if there was no distinction between mine and yours, was hard to believe for someone her age.

"Brother, is this really not related to me? Is my sister's pain because of me...?"

"It's not related."

Hualeun gave a definite answer with a bit of spite, but Danmubee smiled widely.

"Then I like it even more."

"Why? What for?"

"Because my sister likes a brother she doesn't even know!"

Then, as if the bold statement was a lie, she added in a deflated voice.

"And it's not because of me..."

Danmubee mumbled and then buried her head in Danmuyen's blanket.

"My sister... told me to do what I want."

Danmubee's voice was muffled by the bedding.

"When?"

"On the day the cicadas were chirping and my sister was lying down because of the heat..."

It was the day she worried about her sister and snuggled up to her.

Now, she wondered if her sister hadn't been even hotter because of her. She made a small resolution not to do that anymore and continued.

"My sister said I don't have to be the best in the world if I don't want to..."

His grandfather was a legend who saved the martial arts world and was still alive, and his father was a tragic genius who had been praised for inheriting his father's position in the martial arts world.

How deep were the expectations, both tangible and intangible, that fell on the sickly sister of the Dangmoxiancheng's son?

How heavy were they?

Had anyone ever measured that weight?

"..."

"Then, if I don't want to be the best in the world, what should I do?"

"..."

He didn't know that the heavy things were heavy, and when he realized they were heavy, he didn't know how to put them down.

He saw his sister take them all on her body.

Even if it was just words, it didn't matter. No one had ever said such things to him before.

"I like my sister. I'll grow up quickly and protect her..."

With her head buried under the blanket, she mumbled, and soon a soft snore could be heard.

Hualeun chuckled and laid Danmubee down beside him, covering her with the blanket.

He turned his head and looked at Danmuyen lying on the bed, then grabbed her wrist and slowly closed his eyes.

At the same time, Hualeun's hair fluttered slightly and then settled.

Hualeun felt the things at his fingertips one by one.

His insides were still a mess, and his breath was tinged with blood. And now, his breathing was almost inaudible, shallow, and precarious.

'What is this? Why does it keep happening?'

Hualeun let go of the wrist.

Danmuyen, lying in bed and asleep, looked as if she were dead. When he put his hand near her nose, he could barely feel her shallow, long breath, which was almost pitiful.

He had heard that she had been sick for a long time, but it was strange that no one noticed how severely she was suffering.