The Legend of Red Cloud - Chapter 36

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 36. A Soft Lingering Aftertaste
When So Yeoyun returned, Yong Hyeon asked her a question.
“How did it go?”
“We agreed to meet again tomorrow.”
“That’s obvious. The real question is how much you found out.”
Yong Hyeon pressed closer, urging her forward, but Yeong Jeong’s voice cut through the moment.
“Yong.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t push so hard. So Yeoyun is doing her best as well.”
“But…….”
“Yong.”
When Yeong Jeong called his name again, his tone soft but firm, Yong Hyeon finally stepped back.
“Forgive me. I’m just anxious…….”
“No need.”
So Yeoyun shook her head slowly, and Yeong Jeong approached her.
“I apologize. But I hope you understand — we don’t have much time.”
“I know. We have to hurry.”
At her words, Yeong Jeong nodded.
“This is our duty. I won’t apologize again.”
So Yeoyun’s head bobbed slowly in agreement at his words.
***
The next day’s routine for the Red Sand Squad was no different from the day before.
They ran without pause, tumbled, sprinted.
That day, they skipped lunch as well.
The instructors bellowed that lunch was a luxury for criminals, their voices never ceasing.
Oddly enough, those very instructors who shouted so loudly didn’t manage lunch either.
They were too busy driving the Red Sand Squad members to exhaustion.
When the Uigi Order finally ended, So Yeoyun came to collect Jwa Ryang again, true to her word.
This time, though, she waited a little longer, giving him a chance to wipe away the sweat.
Dong Pil watched with a bitter expression as the cleaned-up Jwa Ryang and So Yeoyun walked away together.
“The ending’s written plain as day, but what’s he thinking, Jwa Ryang…….”
His muttered words carried a concern that belied his usual tone.
***
So Yeoyun was silent as she walked beside Jwa Ryang.
Truthfully, the path they walked held little beauty.
How could the road around Uigi Fortress, where prisoners endured harsh training, ever be beautiful?
It was bleak, if anything.
The area surrounding Uigi Fortress was barren wasteland — designed to stop anyone approaching without permission and to make it easy to spot those trying to escape.
Between the two of them walking that desolate path, there was only silence.
In that long quiet, Jwa Ryang glanced sideways at So Yeoyun’s profile.
Long, delicate brows, skin pale as snow, lips stained red, skin that looked impossibly soft compared to his own rough features.
He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d walked alone with a woman like this.
Though he’d always joked with the Red Sand Squad members about going to Kiru, it had been more than ten years since he’d actually set foot in such places.
Ever since Dongjeong Shipal Fortress fell, women had become like a story from a foreign land to Jwa Ryang.
Of course, before that, it couldn’t be said he was ignorant of women.
It would be an outright lie to claim that water pirates had ever kept their distance from wealth and women.
Perhaps that’s why, even as he understood clearly why she was approaching him, his heart raced.
After all, it was the approach of a beautiful woman like her…….
So Yeoyun’s voice reached Jwa Ryang’s ears as he drifted in thought.
“I’m… boring, aren’t I?”
“Ah! No, that’s…….”
So Yeoyun smiled at his flustered response.
“I’m naturally not very entertaining.”
Just before Jwa Ryang had come out to meet So Yeoyun, Ryu had casually thrown out a remark — that he should make the woman enjoy herself.
Whatever her intentions in approaching, it was a woman he was meeting, so he should do it properly.
Whether he stumbled over his words or fell flat on his face, the woman had to be having fun.
It had surprised him then that it was Ryu, not Dong Pil, who said such a thing.
Now, remembering Ryu’s advice, Jwa Ryang seriously considered whether he should throw himself down and roll.
So Yeoyun’s voice reached him again.
“I don’t… know men very well.”
So Yeoyun continued speaking to Jwa Ryang, who stared at her with startled eyes.
“So I don’t really know what men like, either.”
Watching So Yeoyun voice the very thing she’d been struggling to say, Jwa Ryang could well imagine the courage it had taken her to speak those words aloud.
He himself hadn’t managed to say it—not yet.
Perhaps because of that, Jwa Ryang asked a question he shouldn’t have.
“Why go to such lengths?”
So Yeoyun, caught off guard, didn’t grasp his meaning at first and simply looked at him.
“I’m sorry?”
“Why bother trying to make me feel something for you?”
“That is… well…”
Now understanding his words, So Yeoyun faltered, flustered, and couldn’t manage a proper answer.
Jwa Ryang spoke into her silence.
“I will.”
So Yeoyun, once again slow to catch his meaning, waited as Jwa Ryang continued.
“I’ll be the one to do what you’d like.”
Understanding him at last, So Yeoyun’s eyes widened.
So Yeoyun returned empty-handed again that day.
The only intelligence she’d brought back was that he smiled easily—hardly worth the effort.
Yong Hyeon shook his head, and Yeong Jeong watched with concern.
Under the weight of their gazes, So Yeoyun lowered her head and sat in quiet stillness.
It was a posture rarely seen from someone who always carried herself with such sharp precision, but Yeong Jeong and Yong Hyeon, both pressed for time, failed to notice the shift in her.
It was Yong Hyeon who broke the silence.
“We can’t afford to move at this pace and come back with nothing. I’ll step forward and try a different approach myself.”
Yeong Jeong spoke up, responding to Yong Hyeon’s words—delivered with a look of displeasure directed at So Yeoyun.
“How so?”
“Guard Captain So approached one man, but another has shown interest. I thought I’d make him my target.”
At Yong Hyeon’s words, So Yeoyun lifted her head, alarm crossing her face.
Yeong Jeong saw her reaction but nodded his approval to Yong Hyeon.
“A sound strategy. Competition brings out more than we expect.”
Yeong Jeong watched the distress deepen in So Yeoyun’s expression but deliberately looked away.
Personal feelings had to yield to the mission now.
***
A new day had broken.
The dining hall of Uigi Fortress was crowded with people, though the sun hadn’t yet risen.
Given the fortress’s schedule—work beginning before dawn—breakfast ran from the Myo Hour Initial to the Jin Hour Initial.
Every guard, every instructor, and everyone receiving the Uigi Order gathered to eat at that time without exception.
The Hwangsan Squad, also under the Uigi Order, ate then as well, and so did the Red Sand Squad.
Watching Hui Jun and Yi Myeong exchange nods, Ryu turned to Yi Song with a question.
“Still no word about Hui Jun’s friend?”
“Give it a few more days. These things take time to look into properly.”
It had only been four days, after all.
Yi Song turned his gaze from Ryu, who nodded in agreement, toward So Yeoyun, sitting among the guards at a distance.
“She looks gloomy.”
Her expression was darker than usual.
Dong Pil picked up on Yi Song’s observation.
“Probably because she’s doing something she doesn’t want to do.”
Jwa Ryang flinched slightly at Dong Pil’s words but quickly recovered, returning his attention to his meal.
Dong Pil glanced at him with an impassive expression.
Yet his eyes, like those of the other Red Sand Squad members watching Jwa Ryang, were full of concern.
In Dong Pil’s experienced judgment of women, Jwa Ryang was in danger.
The woman had clearly approached him with purpose, yet Jwa Ryang had allowed himself to be shaken by something so straightforward as a honeypot scheme.
Though Dong Pil had tried to steer things toward a light, physical affair, Jwa Ryang’s responses suggested he wasn’t taking it that lightly at all.
And that worried Dong Pil greatly.
A person with a wounded heart—especially one wounded in matters of the opposite sex—loses their focus and judgment for some time.
When such a person stood near a battlefield where life and death crossed in an instant…
That was what troubled Dong Pil.
Plainly, the bond between that woman and Jwa Ryang would end the moment the Uigi Order concluded.
And after returning, the Red Sand Squad would likely be deployed to an operation shortly after.
It was what would become of Jwa Ryang at that moment that worried Dong Pil most.
He knew the danger better than anyone, having lived through it himself.
Whether or not Dong Pil’s worry registered with him, Jwa Ryang simply continued his meal in silence.
After finishing breakfast, as the Red Sand Squad members filed out of the dining hall, Yong Hyeon approached them.
Specifically, he approached Dong Pil.
“Hey there—do you have a moment?”
At Yong Hyeon’s question, Dong Pil pointed to himself. “You mean me?”

“That’s right. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Whatever it was, Dong Pil couldn’t bring himself to care. Their scheme was transparent enough to predict outright.
Yet because Jwa Ryang remained connected to them, Dong Pil consented without resistance.
“Very well.”
As Dong Pil stepped away, the other Red Sand Squad members headed back to their quarters.
They had barely half a watch period of rest remaining.
Once the others were out of earshot, Yong Hyeon fixed Dong Pil with a meaningful look.
“You seem rather interested in our escort, So Yeoyun.”
So Yeoyun.
At the name, Dong Pil felt a bitter smile rising inside him.
Knowing her true name was So Yeoyun, he found her alias—dropping only the middle character—absurdly transparent.
But he could hardly let that show.
“I may be, but she doesn’t seem to return the interest.”
“Would you like my help? To be honest, I find the Great Lord far more appealing than that fierce-looking woman.”
Dong Pil’s eyes gleamed at Yong Hyeon’s words.
It occurred to him that this might be an opportunity to make Jwa Ryang feel, unmistakably, that his relationship with So Yeoyun mustn’t deepen.
“Is it… possible?”
“Of course it is. That’s precisely why I’m offering.”
Yong Hyeon’s smile held the quiet confidence of assured success.
Stepping closer, Dong Pil lowered his voice. “How exactly?”

“Come here after the day’s duties are done. I’ll bring So Yeoyun out. The rest… I’m confident you’ll manage.”
Yong Hyeon patted Dong Pil’s shoulder twice in a gesture of affirmation, then withdrew.
It was meant, it seemed, as a mark of friendship—but Dong Pil barely restrained the urge to sever that hand.
In any case, they were simply toying with Jwa Ryang and himself.
Grit.
Teeth clenched, Dong Pil turned toward the quarters.
The exhausting day of rolling and running had finally come to an end.
When Jwa Ryang departed for his bath, Dong Pil silently followed.
It was regrettable, but as long as words wouldn’t suffice, he couldn’t simply stand by.
A wound would come of it, yes—but at this point, it could still be shallow.
After hurrying through his bath with Jwa Ryang, Dong Pil made his way to the restaurant where he’d promised to meet Yong Hyeon.
When he arrived…
Yong Hyeon stood alone, his expression plainly bewildered.
“What is it?”
At Dong Pil’s confused question, Yong Hyeon answered.
“Well, she said she’d come, but…”
That much was true.
When they left the quarters, So Yeoyun had followed obediently according to Yong Hyeon’s plan.
But she’d excused herself midway to attend to something, and when the appointed hour came and went, she never returned.
As Yong Hyeon stood there bewildered, Dong Pil’s eyes caught sight of So Yeoyun walking in the distance—alongside Jwa Ryang.
Following Yong Hyeon’s startled gaze, Dong Pil turned and saw them too.
Beneath the deepening crimson of sunset, two figures walked at an unhurried pace, laughing together.
And as Dong Pil watched them, an unbidden thought surfaced: they made rather a handsome pair.
He started at the thought—but the lingering aftertaste that followed felt strangely, softly not unpleasant.
It was confusion, pure and simple.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————