There was nothing left that made life worth living, but the body, as though by instinct, still sought to survive. It had become frankly tiresome.

But how could he seek death? Woo’s life did not belong to himself.

Woo placed the tree bark, which had just started smoking, carefully between the dry branches and blew on it vigorously while fanning the flickering embers. Soon there was a sudden crackle, and sparks flew. By now, the surroundings had grown dark. As the fire, bright red and growing, greedily opened its maw, Woo crouched closer to the only warmth given to him. It was painful to get too close, hot enough to burn, but for now, it was the only way to fend off the solitude that had come with the night.

In the distance, the howl of a wolf echoed. Woo swallowed a sigh. He had clearly underestimated the cruelty of the Third Overseer. How had he managed to choose a mountain where wild wolves still roamed, even in the dark realm of the Black Sky? Woo could only marvel at the Third Overseer’s almost unnatural ability to be this merciless.

Woo shot to his feet, preparing for the possible encounter with the wolves. In his haste, he momentarily lost his balance and staggered. He barely managed to stand straight again and then looked down bitterly at his injured leg, letting out a wry laugh.

After over twenty years as a martial warrior, the habits ingrained in him often caused lapses like this when moving quickly. It had been ten years since he ended up in this condition, but sometimes, he would forget entirely about his current state. Not only his leg, but even his back would hunch, and his posture would involuntarily stiffen into that of an old man’s stance.

Still, considering he had fallen from the sheer, towering cliff of the world’s edge and only injured his back and one leg, it was nothing short of a miracle. He assumed vaguely that it was his nearly indestructible body, honed to the brink of achieving Diamond Body, that had allowed him to survive.

However, no matter how strong a martial artist may be or how great his mystical skills, it is impossible to fortify one’s internal organs. Hence, after the fall, he had no choice but to lie bedridden for months, if not years. That was when he received help from Ye Jin-rang until he could stand up and walk on his own.

Despite his noble status, the Black Sky Lord personally took care of Woo. He set the broken bones, cleaned the pus from the torn wounds, and applied medicine to help them heal. Woo owed him an unpayable debt of gratitude—not only because Ye Jin-rang personally nursed him back to life but also because he had accepted Kang-oh.

Rustle—

Lost in thought, W00 flinched at the sudden sound. For a moment, he thought it might be a wolf, but if it were a real animal, it would have already attacked by now. However, the presence felt too real to simply be a trick of the wind.

Was it just a feeling? Woo, struck by an odd sense of déjà vu in the situation, slowly turned his head toward the source of the noise.

“I’ve lost my way again… May I share your fire?”

Ye Kang-oh, the third disciple of Black Sky, stood there shrouded in the night.

“H-How did you get here?”

Woo asked, utterly shocked. He immediately bit his tongue, regretting the question that slipped out unwittingly. Revealing his turmoil at Ye Kang-oh’s unexpected appearance at a place he shouldn’t be was a serious mistake. Woo, who was usually well-practiced at maintaining composure, was so stunned because, as fate would have it, he had just been thinking about Kang-oh.

“I was trying to find my way when I saw the firelight and followed it.”

Lies.

Woo could tell immediately. While their encounter by the river yesterday was likely a coincidence, meeting Kang-oh again here, after being practically exiled to this remote mountain lodge, could only be interpreted as intentional on Kang-oh’s part.

“You were just passing by, you say?”

Kang-oh nodded. Just then, a distant wolf’s howl echoed.

“There was a report of a wolf sighting.”

It was clearly an improvised excuse, but Kang-oh’s face remained calm.

He asked with a deliberately puzzled tone. “By the way, didn’t you say yesterday that you were serving your master?”

“Yes.” Woo nodded quickly, bowing his head.

“Then why were you transferred to this place?”

“I… I made many mistakes, so I’ve been punished.”

Woo’s lie was far worse than Kang-oh’s, evidenced by his visible discomfort. Kang-oh clicked his tongue as he quietly observed Woo. He had already told his master that it would be best to give Woo some time off to recover and provided medicine to treat his wounds, but he hadn’t been particularly optimistic that this would be honored.

Still, the fact that Woo had been banished to this remote place was strange.

Even more curious was the fact that Kang-oh himself had gone through such lengths to track down this insignificant servant. Kang-oh’s subordinate had reported that the Third Overseer had brought Woo to the mountain. Upon hearing this, Kang-oh had immediately risen from his seat.

Fortunately, Kang-oh had placed eyes near the Third Overseer in advance, allowing him to learn that Woo’s location had been moved. However, Black Sky’s territory was vast, and finding Woo in a desolate mountain, devoid of people, was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.

The whole situation left Kang-oh baffled by the actions of Ye Jin-rang. It seemed as though he allowed an investigation into Woo but chose to reprimand the victim rather than the culprit, the Third Overseer. Moreover, leaving Woo within the Black Sky territory instead of completely disposing of him raised more questions—as if his master couldn’t eliminate Woo outright nor abandon him completely, leaving him just within reach.

Kang-oh couldn’t even understand why Woo’s residence had been changed. Thus, instead of delegating the task of watching over Woo to his subordinates, Kang-oh decided to do it himself. He remembered that his master had always backed off when Kang-oh intervened.

“So, you’re being punished. What kind of work were you assigned?”

“I-I was just told to chop wood in the forest… or something.”

With that, Kang-oh casually turned his head and noticed an axe stuck in the tree stump. Being an expert martial artist with far sharper eyesight than ordinary people, Kang-oh immediately realized that the axe was too dull and rusted to function properly. He couldn’t help but laugh.

This… this almost feels like Master is intentionally tormenting this lowly servant, doesn’t it?

“How did you come to serve Master?”

Woo’s lips quivered slightly before he replied.

“When this lowly one was on the verge of death, he… saved me.”

The answer seemed like something Woo had prepared in advance.

“Indebted for saving your life, huh… Is that why you can’t leave despite being mistreated?”

“M-mistreated? No, that’s not….”

Startled, Woo quickly lifted his head and shook it vigorously.

“When we first met, I saw your body. Are you trying to lie to me?”

“T-that was p-punishment. It was because I… I was too s-slow.”

Woo bit his lip.

The stammering started after his near-death experience. He could form sentences in his mind, but getting them out verbally had become a challenge. Since there were hardly any chances to communicate with others, he never considered it a problem. But right now, in this moment, he wished he could just bite his tongue and pretend the injury was the reason he couldn’t speak. No matter what excuse he gave, it would sound like an explanation, or worse, a justification. Especially with Kang-oh’s sharp gaze seemingly piercing right through him.

“A person who lashes out just because someone is slow has no place in Black Sky.”

“Ah… it’s not like t-that…”

As he was questioned further, cold sweat started forming. His mind turned blank, and apart from shaking his head desperately, he found it difficult to even respond to Kang-oh’s questions. What’s happening to me? Why is this happening?

There was once a time when he was so brilliant that people called him “a genius among geniuses.” He had been surrounded by scholars and received extensive education. It was said that Woo, when taught one thing, could learn one hundred. But now, it felt as if his mind was frozen, completely numb to any coherent thought.

As Woo stiffened in fear, Kang-oh closed his mouth. Even someone like Kang-oh, who rarely mingled well with others, could tell that Woo’s reaction wasn’t normal. Moreover, Kang-oh wasn’t someone with such a cruel nature that he would intimidate a chick who was already frozen stiff from fear.

“Thank you for allowing me to warm myself by your fire. This is to repay you.”

Kang-oh stood up and retrieved a vial of medicinal ointment from his pocket, placing it in Woo’s hand. It was something he’d packed on his way out, just in case. He hadn’t thought he’d actually end up giving it away…

At first, Woo jumped up, as if burned, and exclaimed, “I can’t accept this!”

For the first time, Woo didn’t stammer. But before he could even realize it, his only focus was to return what Kang-oh had offered. He reached across the fire without hesitation, so hurried that he didn’t even care to check what he held in his hand.

“Careful!”

Kang-oh grabbed Woo’s wrist roughly, pulling him aside. He tore away Woo’s sleeve and threw it to the ground, stomping out the fire that had caught on.

“What on earth is this?”

A furious voice burst out from Kang-oh. He couldn’t believe the situation. First, he hadn’t expected Woo to reject the gift out of goodwill. Second, Woo had recklessly tried to return the item, even risking the flames.

“Please… take this.”

Despite everything, Woo kept his head bowed low and tried to return what Kang-oh had given him. On Woo’s arm, where there was none before, a burn from the fire was slowly taking form. Kang-oh had handed him a balm for healing, and Woo, in trying to reject it, ended up burned instead.

Kang-oh couldn’t understand Woo. It was as if returning the item was more important to him than avoiding harm altogether. Woo hadn’t even looked at what was in his hands. Foolish. No, too foolish. This didn’t seem to be mere stupidity. It was almost as if… Woo was broken in some way.

“Fine. I got it.”

Kang-oh scoffed coldly as he snatched the balm back from Woo’s hand. He considered just walking away, punishing his three subordinates, and never again concerning himself with this odd manservant. That’s what he thought. But instead, Kang-oh opened the vial of ointment and gripped Woo’s arm.

“What…?”

“Stay still.”

Cool ointment touched his skin, and Woo reflexively shivered. He recognized the scent. ‘Is this… gold ointment?’ It wasn’t an imitation but the real, top-quality kind. Otherwise, Woo wouldn’t have recognized the fragrance so clearly. After all, Woo had always been surrounded by the finest things.

Realizing that Kang-oh was applying such a high-grade ointment on him, Woo tried to pull his arm away. But with his current strength, it was impossible to escape Kang-oh’s grip.

“Stay still.”

Kang-oh growled lowly once again. Woo flinched.

“Who would dare reach their hand into the flames? If you wanted to return it, you could have just said so.”

“It’s too much for me…” Woo mumbled, bowing deeply.

Kang-oh, who had just finished applying the medicinal salve to Woo’s wounds, stood up. Woo didn’t seem willing to accept the treatment willingly, so Kang-oh even planned to apply it all over his back. He knew this kind of kindness wasn’t like him. But he couldn’t simply leave Woo in this state.

“It’s not a burn ointment, but it’s still effective,” Kang-oh said, circling around to Woo’s back.

He noticed goosebumps rising on the back of Woo’s neck through his messy hair. Being a martial artist, Kang-oh hadn’t realized it, but this servant was likely freezing in the cold night of the wild mountain. Why was it that all the details calling for his concern seemed so clear to him now?