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The rhythmic sound of the cart wheels on the stones and pits did not prevent them from lying on a pile of fabric, one of the gifts they received as a token of gratitude for saving a small but wealthy trading town from a clan of robbers. Silk and velvet gently touched the skin of the hands and face, giving warmth and comfort as the students gathered in one small pile, curled up with each other.
It was not cold outside, but the need to feel comfortable exceeded common sense, which is why a small nest was assembled from fabrics, from where each student could see the back of Hye Yeon, who all the way back watched the horses dragging them almost without stopping to Mount Hua.
Hitting the rock again, the cart swayed.
Baek Cheon winced as he felt pain in his chest, where there were several serious wounds that were slowly healing due to the strong poison. He felt like he should have put more energy into the wounds, but he was almost running out of energy, which made him feel worse. He would have asked Tang Soso for medicine, but the girl herself was not in the best condition with her head, including her eyes, wrapped, causing her to temporarily be unable to see anything. Yoo Iseol's arm was broken, and some of the fingers on both her hands were so swollen at first that they seemed like they could explode at any moment. Yun Jong and Jo Geol had injured their backs, making it difficult for them to move. In general, almost all of them screwed up in their own way at one point or another in the battle. Only Hye Yeon remained uninjured as he stood in defense of the village, but this did not help them much in the current situation.
And the pain kept getting worse. At some point, Baek Cheon slowly began to panic. But through a strong calloused hand that was gently lowered onto his bandaged chest, the man began to send his energy into his body, facilitating healing much more effectively. Thus, the poison was tamed before the arrival of doctors from the Sichuan Tang family. The young man sighed with relief, feeling most of the pain gone.
But the palm still remained in the area of his heart, where the beating of life could be clearly felt. And his head slowly rose and fell in time with the breathing of the man on whose chest they all sat so comfortably.
And it was definitely not something they had recently found out. It was just... it was much calmer than ever.
“We still have a whole hour before arriving at the sect. Go to sleep.” Cheong Myeong’s voice no longer had those sarcastic notes that were usually present when they received any injuries or made mistakes in movements. He almost never left their little makeshift nest, shouting at Hye Yeon to hurry up the horses. This time no one pulled the cart, which was quite surprising. “Doctors should arrive today.”
“Good…”
Next to him, Yun Jong muttered something in his sleep and touched his back to Baek Cheon's shoulder, muttering something again. Cho Gul snored, spread out in the shape of a star, and his right hand rested comfortably on Yun Jong.
The girls curled up together at Cheong Myeong’s left hand and slept soundly, sometimes changing positions while sleeping. Tang Soso grabbed the boy's shirt tightly with her fingers.
Cheong Myeong simply sighed, throwing his head back into a comfortable position in which he could clearly see not only the gifts and the sky, but also the heads of his descendants, which they placed on his chest. It was hard for him to believe that this could be a convenient way to sleep, but none of the children complained even once during the journey; rather, on the contrary, they were drawn to him like leeches.
If he admitted it, he would say it warmed his heart.
The children were not afraid of him, they were drawn to him as a parent.
He laughed quietly, earning an irritated, sleepy groan from him. Still, it would be impossible for him to forget the surprised expressions on the faces of his little bastards when they saw his past, wounded body in the reflection of a magic mirror that could show people's past lives.
-Dancer, official, snake, rabbit and monkey. – He muttered, holding back his laughter.
Plum petals flew past them.