Raven sipped her tea slowly. A thin wisp of steam rose from the surface of the cup, carrying a bitter aroma that was strangely soothing. The reflection of the campfire danced within the liquid, swaying faintly, as if hiding something darker beneath the apparent calm.
For a moment, she simply sat in silence.
Listening.
The soft crackling of burning wood, the faint laughter of servants in the distance, the passing footsteps… all blended into a quiet backdrop, yet it was never truly silent.
And amidst it all, he realized.
His gaze shifted slightly, without appearing overtly suspicious.
He was being watched.
"I guess I stand out too much," he muttered to himself.
"An ordinary traveler shouldn't be able to take down a bear that big so easily."
His gaze briefly flickered toward Han Min-ji, then to Gwi-heon standing not far away.
"In that case… I'll have to be more restrained from now on."
He looked back down at the cup in his hand.
"But that old man…" he thought again, softly.
"He's pretty sharp."
For a moment, his memory flashed back to the time Gwi-heon tried to read his power.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile crossed his face.
"If I hadn't concealed it, he might have realized it from the start."
He moved his finger slightly, as if sensing something invisible.
"With the Death Qi coating my body… it's impossible for a living person to sense it."
His gaze dimmed.
"Unless… death itself chooses to reveal itself."
Raven fell silent for a moment, then finished the rest of his tea in a single slow sip.
He stood up.
"Thank you for the hospitality," he said briefly, his tone flat yet still polite.
The commotion around the camp began to die down. Raven stood for a moment amidst the soft, dancing light of the campfire, then his gaze turned toward the forest not far from there.
He walked slowly toward it.
"Where are you going, Jin?" Seo-rin asked quickly.
"Your resting place has been prepared. I've already had the servants set it up."
"I just want some fresh air. I'll be back later," Raven replied without turning around.
Kyle, Lisa, Hana, Kevin, and Karin simply exchanged glances. They were already used to Raven frequently disappearing on his own, as if the world had another layer that only he could see. As usual, none of them dared to stop him.
From the other side of the campfire, Seo-rin watched Raven's back slowly vanish into the darkness of the forest. She opened her mouth to call out, but his steps were too quick to stop.
"…He didn't even wait," she murmured softly, biting her lip gently.
For a moment, she stood there, hesitant. Then, as if gathering her courage, Seo-rin turned and walked toward the group Raven had left behind.
As her figure approached, Lisa and Karin instinctively straightened their backs, their shoulders tensing.
Hana tried to smile, though it looked unnatural.
Kyle and Kevin raised their small hands, greeting her as best they could even though they knew Seo-rin didn't understand their language.
Seo-rin, unaware of the language barrier, opened the conversation warmly. "Aren't you tired? You all look completely exhausted from what I've seen," she said with a gentle smile.
Lisa, Karin, Hana, Kyle, and Kevin exchanged glances, their eyes darting back and forth, wondering who should speak first or if any of them could answer correctly.
The silence stretched on for a few seconds.
Kyle whispered, "What did she say?"
Kevin just shrugged.
Seo-rin repeated it more slowly, but they still didn't understand.
Silence once again….
"Uh… did I say something wrong? Or do they think I'm weird?" Seo-rin thought, still smiling uneasily to cover up the increasingly ambiguous atmosphere.
Awkward….
Hana, unable to bear watching the awkwardness deepen any further, finally moved.
She pointed to her mouth, making a gesture as if she were speaking… then suddenly crossed her fingers to form a "no" sign.
Seeing that strange gesture, Seo-rin was momentarily confused by what Hana was doing, but within a few seconds she began to grasp Hana's meaning that they couldn't communicate because of the language barrier.
"Ah, so that's it…" Seo-rin thought quietly.
"They can't use the same language as here. I think they thought I was strange earlier because I was trying too hard to get close."
She exhaled in relief, but her mind was still racing.
"But… why can Jin communicate so smoothly?"
She pushed that question aside for the moment and began to focus on something more urgent.
"They clearly need a good cleaning."
Finally, Seo-rin took a breath and tried something else.
She pointed at Lisa's messy hair, then pointed at Karin and Hana. After that, she grabbed the ends of her own hair and made a motion as if she were fixing her hair.
They watched her, confused.
Then Seo-rin pointed to the river, which glistened in the moonlight. With her cheeks slightly flushed, she mimed scooping up water and washing her face.
Lisa immediately blinked rapidly.
"…Oh."
Karin covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Hana finally got it and whispered, "Is she asking us to… take a bath?"
Seo-rin nodded quickly, smiling happily that her attempt at communication had succeeded.
The three of them, realizing their appearance was a complete mess with wrinkled clothes, dust, mud, and disheveled hair finally nodded in acceptance of the invitation.
Seeing they agreed, Seo-rin turned and called out to Min-ji and several guards.
"Prepare an area by the riverbank. Make sure it's safe. And you, the male guards,
none of you are to come near."
The male guards immediately stood at attention with disciplined expressions. "Yes, miss!
Then Seo-rin looked at Kyle and Kevin while pointing in the opposite direction of the river.
A very clear hand gesture: "Far away, go, and don't come near."
Kyle was surprised.
Kevin raised his hands in surrender.
"We're being kicked out," Kevin muttered.
"Well… makes sense," Kyle replied resignedly.
Finally, the men walked away, accompanied by several guards.
Meanwhile, Seo-rin walked toward the river with Lisa, Karin, and Hana, along with a female servant carrying a lantern. The night air grew gentle; the sound of flowing water was soothing.
The winter moon cast a silvery glow onto the river's surface, creating a scene like a shimmering sheet of glass.
On the other hand…
Raven walked deeper into the forest. The farther she moved from the campfire's light, the quieter the world around her became.
There was no sound except the rustling of the undergrowth and the sound of his own footsteps.
Finally, he arrived at a small clearing surrounded by large trees, where moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves.
Raven took a slow breath.
His body still felt heavy; his energy hadn't stabilized since the clash with the bear earlier.
And he knew… this new body of his needed time to adapt.
He sat cross-legged on the mossy ground, straightening his back.
Then, slowly…
Raven began to meditate.
Clearing his mind.
Allowing the two opposing energy streams life Qi and death Qi to flow through his body's meridians.
In the silence of the night forest, the only sound was his calm breathing.