Chapter 126

Yeon Mujin opened his eyes in the guest room.

A faintly familiar scent lingered at the tip of his nose.

‘Is it Ai Ja?’

When the third was defeated, the youngest stepped forward.

Bi Mokja’s ability was monstrous strength — someone who manifested the strength he was born with.

Ai Ja’s ability was Dream Soul Incense.

Ai Ja brewed Dream Soul Incense to plunge people into madness within their dreams; she was a deviant.

Sniff sniff.

‘So it’s Yellow Flower Incense, I see.’

Yeon Mujin knew this scent.

He had already smelled most of Ai Ja’s Dream Soul Incense before.

The characteristic of Yellow Flower Incense was that its effect was powerful, but the scent’s spread was narrow, meaning it could be used on only one person.

That Yellow Flower Incense was in Yeon Mujin’s room meant that the others would not inhale Ai Ja’s Dream Soul Incense tonight.

Her Dream Soul Incense was so delicate that if it mixed with other scents it would lose its effect.

Ai Ja’s Dream Soul Incense induced different dreams depending on the variety.

Some scents made one see ghosts, some made one be chased by assassins, some made one experience betrayal in love, and some made one dream of losing the closest person.

Of course, there were scents that bewildered the heart: scents that surrounded you with beauties, scents that made you dream of being the greatest master under heaven, scents that returned you to childhood memories…

Among them, this Yellow Flower Incense was a special one.

Whoever smelled Yellow Flower Incense would confront the situation they feared most.

Yeon Mujin slowly rose from the bed.

After all, it was only a dream. Dream Soul Incense also has the function of making it hard to awaken from the dream.

Creak.

He left the room faintly steeped in scent and flung open the guest room door…

Rrrrr—!

The sight of the Bukgung Family burning fiercely appeared.

“As expected.”

And a person sat hollowly in the very center of the burning Bukgung Family.

It was Bukgung Cheon, head of the Bukgung Family.

The burning Bukgung Family.

Bukgung Cheon sat quietly in a chair there, watching the family collapse.

Of course, this was not real.

It was an imagined scene conjured by Yeon Mujin’s memory.

But even as reality it would not be entirely out of place.

It was a scene Yeon Mujin had actually experienced several times.

“In this life—”

Yeon Mujin looked at Bukgung Cheon and opened his mouth.

“We haven’t even exchanged a single proper word, and yet I see you like this.”

Bukgung Cheon turned his gaze and looked at Yeon Mujin.

Is hatred really a form of affection? Seeing that odious face after so long even made him feel oddly glad.

“It burns bright, doesn’t it? Whatever it’s made of, it burns very well. The Family Lord will have no worries about freezing to death later.”

“……”

“By the way, whose flames ate it up? Kang-geon? Yeong-no? Or maybe Muk-min. They’ve burned the Glorious Flower Manor more than once. Your children are all sorts of ruffian bastards, but as brothers they all share one trait.”

Bukgung Cheon remained silent, merely staring at Yeon Mujin.

“They all have a natural talent for ruining a household.”

Yeon Mujin said it straight to Bukgung Cheon’s face.

“Lord, your parenting is a total disaster.”

It was exactly what he wanted to shout into his face.

Ugh, how many times have I been doing this damn thing?

Every time the Bukgung Family fell, every time he returned to the past, he wanted to storm into the Glorious Flower Manor, grab Bukgung Cheon’s collar, and say this.

“Sir! Your parenting is a total disaster aaaaargh!”

Yeon Mujin shouted at the burning Glorious Flower Manor.

Meanwhile, Bukgung Cheon quietly watched Yeon Mujin’s madness.

Having vented, Yeon Mujin plopped down opposite Bukgung Cheon.

“Yeon Mujin.”

His mouth finally opened.

“You stupid fool.”

As expected, he spat out cruel words.

It was natural — meant to churn Yeon Mujin’s heart.

“I had great expectations for you, and this is all you could do? I told you to revive the Bukgung Family — when did I say to do it like this? My children are not few, and you’ve failed them all? Yeon Mujin, it was a mistake to trust someone like you. You ungrateful wretch who repays kindness with enmity.”

Bukgung Cheon unleashed his fury at Yeon Mujin.

“Stupid and lacking fool. You’ve had several chances to revive the Bukgung Family. I wouldn’t have done it that way. A blabbering idiot. You can’t keep promises you yourself spat out. An incompetent, powerless man. A spineless weakling. A selfish man who only knows himself. You damned bastard.”

“……”

“Clumsy one, vulgar one, rootless one, immature and petty and slipshod one, a man of no worth, flashy on the surface but empty inside, arrogant and short-sighted, rash and heedless.”

“Done?”

“And an unqualified man.”

“Is that it now?”

“Childish fool.”

“Ugh, that was really long.”

Yeon Mujin did not refute a single word.

This Bukgung Cheon was forged from his fear. Even if he fought Bukgung Cheon here, it would be no different from shouting at the mirror in his mind.

So Yeon Mujin admitted it.

“That’s right.”

He acknowledged Bukgung Cheon’s scolding that called him a fool.

“I failed because I was lacking.”

There was a time when he couldn’t admit that.

He blamed his brothers’ incompetence and the young masters for not listening to him.

Why act so stupidly? If they’d only listened to me, I could have made them Family Lord.

He even blamed the young masters he served and cursed the heavens.

When he met them again, a secret desire sometimes arose to take revenge for their lack of faith in him.

Of course, even then Yeon Mujin returned to the past.

And he had to do everything again from the beginning.

“At the time of the First Young Master I failed for clumsiness, at the time of the Second Young Master I failed for weakness, at the time of the Third Young Master I failed because I couldn’t read people’s hearts, at the time of the Fourth Young Master I failed for being reckless, at the time of the Fifth Young Master I failed because I was a bungler, and at the time of the Sixth Young Master I failed because I couldn’t inspire trust.”

It was truly so.

Looking back, he was so ashamed; it was all mistakes.

“I’ve failed in such a multitalented, diverse, brilliantly five-colored, variegated, and ever-changing way. If the heavens asked who has failed the most in the world, I’d be the first to raise my hand and run forward. There were times I failed so bafflingly, and times I watched myself fail and couldn’t let go, dragging out the downfall. You picked the wrong person to ask. I’ve committed every kind of stupid mistake there is.”

Each time he returned by regression, Yeon Mujin vowed.

This time I’ll make everything perfect. Not a single error will be allowed; I’ll accomplish it while perfectly controlling everything.

Naturally, it was a vow that had never come true even once.

Even as he repeated the same life, all sorts of unexpected things occurred: someone who died in a previous life survived in the next, a fugitive he once chased became his drinking companion, a comrade martial artist turned into an implacable enemy.

Having been broken and frustrated countless times, Yeon Mujin learned one thing in the process.

Yeon Mujin was lacking.

He was lacking and needed help. Alone, things absolutely did not go well.

So.

“This time, I’ll try to be different.”

Bukgung Cheon asked.

“No — you’ve always failed, so this time will be the same. The people you’ve cultivated will all betray you. The reputation you painstakingly polished will become ashes overnight. Flying Swallow Manor will vanish into a heap of ashes and the manor master you serve will fail!”

Bukgung Cheon pointed at the burning Glorious Flower Manor and said.

“Like this!”

Flare!

The flames roared up and grew huge, as if about to devour Yeon Mujin.

Yeon Mujin reached his hand into the flames that had come right up to him.

Though the fire should have leapt and his skin should have burned any moment, the hand in the flames was unscathed.

It wasn’t hot at all.

Yeon Mujin thought this was the essence of fear.

“If you ask whether I can do it, I don’t know either. In my experience, when I pushed forward with confident certainty that it would work, it often didn’t. Instead it left many emotional scars. So I decided not to overthink it.”

“Instead of thinking and agonizing, I decided to just try. Even if betrayed, I’ll place my trust again. Fortunately, your youngest daughter is somewhat different. Tell her one thing and she learns two or three — not ten, but a couple — and she doesn’t become cowardly when disadvantaged, nor overly calculating when looking after her own interests.”

“Yes, she’s a bit different from the men — I mean your sons. Is it because she’s a daughter? She’s somewhat unlike those who caused me countless failures before. She lacks useless pride…”

Yeon Mujin mumbled, turning his hands over and over in the flames as if grilling squid.

The fragrance of Yellow Flower Incense, which plunges people into heart deviation and drives them mad, was for Yeon Mujin nothing more than a passing night’s dream.

After rambling for a while, he suddenly turned his head and Bukgung Cheon was already gone.

The flames of the Bukgung Family that had surrounded Yeon Mujin also vanished.

There was nothing around him — only silence and stillness, as if it had always been that way.

Yeon Mujin looked at his hand and clenched and unclenched his fist a few times.

Then he spoke toward the place where Bukgung Cheon had been.

“Let’s meet again.”

The thick Dream Soul Incense that had wrapped around his nose dissipated.

Yeon Mujin rose from his seat.

“Se-gwang, what’s with your complexion? The skin under your eyes is dark as if you didn’t sleep a wink all night.”

“Actually, I had a rough sleep. I don’t remember exactly what the dream was, but it was a terrible nightmare.”

“Oh? You too? I had the same.”

Members of the External Protection Troops who had woken early gathered and talked about last night.

Those who hadn’t slept a wink, those who had terrible nightmares, those who woke up covered in cold sweat… the External Protection Troops all had a dreadful night.

Bi Mokja, who listened closely to their stories, snickered.

There was no doubt that Ai Ja’s Dream Soul Incense had taken full effect. Even those who hadn’t been fully intoxicated by the Dream Soul Incense had endured a terrible night.

“As expected, my sibling.”

If Ai Ja had truly set her mind to it, they wouldn’t have opened their eyes alive today.

“Yellow Flower Incense’s effect is extremely powerful.”

“I wonder if she brewed it too strongly. If the so-called captain of the External Protection Troops had stopped breathing, the young master might have been angry.”

“Didn’t you hear Big Brother? It’s his own fault.”

A-Bi-Gyu-Hwan grew up being scorned by others, so the pride was very strong and the bonds among the siblings were very deep.

Anyone who disrespected their honor would often be retaliated against without question.

This time was no different.

Last night, Ai Ja brewed the most powerful Yellow Flower Incense to take revenge on Yeon Mujin.

The weak-hearted would have died before dawn. Even if Yeon Mujin didn’t suffer that much, there would certainly be aftereffects from the Dream Soul Incense.

Ai Ja was confident that, at the very least for twenty-one days, Yeon Mujin would not properly eat, lie down, or sleep.

Then the External Protection Troops’ members said.

“The captain is coming down.”

“Captain, good morning!”

“Did you have a good night?”

“Oh, did you all sleep well and wake up?”

Yeon Mujin came down yawning loudly, his face looking perfectly fine.