Chapter 165: Fate
Chapter 165: Fate
Rustle!
The moment a human figure emerged from the brush, my vision blurred.
I could do nothing in my current state.
So if I were to encounter Am Hyeol-hyang right now, my life would end with absolute certainty.
"Pardon the intrusion!"
"!"
But mercifully, the person who emerged from the brush was not Am Hyeol-hyang.
And it was not just one person.
Three warriors who appeared to be ronin emerged from the brush.
The one at the front smiled kindly and spoke.
"We saw the smoke and came. We were hoping to share your campfire... Oh my? It seems you've been injured?"
I stared blankly at his face as he addressed me politely.
And I couldn't help but murmur.
"... Warrior Jang?"
He was definitely someone I knew.
Several months ago, it was the loyal ronin Warrior Jang who had wound up entangled in a fight with an Owl Demon while escorting me to the front lines.
The faces of the two men standing behind him were also familiar.
"And Gong Musa, Jong Musa?"
Those two were unmistakably Gong Musa, who had said he would retire from the wandering life to support his wife and children, and the ever-taciturn Jong Musa.
When I called their names in a daze, their expressions grew peculiar.
And then their eyes, which had been observing me with momentary puzzlement, began to grow rounder.
"Could it be... Seonu Gongja?"
"Oh oh?! No, it really is Seonu Gongja! You've lost so much weight I didn't recognize you! You've become an absolute stunner!"
They began running toward me with bright smiles across their faces.
They seemed remarkably glad to see me.
I was equally glad to see them.
But this was not the time to express that gladness.
I urgently shouted at them.
"You must not come!"
When they stopped in shock at my desperate cry, I hurriedly explained.
"I am being targeted by Am Hyeol-hyang right now! He couldn't come until just moments ago because the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il was with me, but now that he knows Seo Il has left, he'll be upon me at any moment! You must all get away from here immediately!"
Even if all three of them were peak-level masters, they could not possibly match Am Hyeol-hyang.
Let alone with their strength, which was barely at the second-rate level...
If they stayed with me now, they would undoubtedly die a dog's death in the blink of an eye.
They were people who had tried to protect me even when their own lives were threatened. I could not let them come to such an end.
At that, they asked back with startled faces.
"Ah, did you say Am Hyeol-hyang?! And the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il? Then that tremendous voice we heard earlier...?"
"Yes! That voice was indeed the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il! He was signaling to Am Hyeol-hyang that he had accomplished his purpose and was now vacating the area! So any moment now...!"
Hearing my words, they exchanged glances with shocked expressions.
It was only natural for them to be shocked, given that the names Am Hyeol-hyang and Seo Il had come up.
But what they did after that was not natural at all.
Warrior Jang suddenly grinned at me and spoke.
"Then Seonu Gongja, you are in a situation where you desperately need help right now?"
At that, Gong Musa also smiled and spoke.
"Indeed. We have met again at a most opportune time. Now we can finally repay our debt to you, Gongja. Hyung-nim."
The silent Jong Musa standing beside them also smiled with a bright expression and nodded his head.
I could only stand dumbfounded at their utterly unexpected reaction.
I asked back with a flustered face.
"...What do you mean?"
I could grasp the meaning of their words right away.
It seemed they intended to risk their lives to help me.
But realizing that meaning only made me more desperate.
This was no ordinary opponent, but Am Hyeol-hyang.
There was no way they could be of any help.
I tried to dissuade them with an urgent expression.
"Warrior Jang, Jong Musa, Gong Musa. I am deeply grateful for the sentiment alone. But it cannot be. This is Am Hyeol-hyang! With your strength, you are absolutely no match...!"
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, Warrior Jang drew his blade.
Seureung!
And as he let out a 'Hap!' kihap, a blade qi began to emanate from his blade.
It was the faint blade qi that a warrior at the early stage of first-rate could produce.
It seemed he, who had still been merely second-rate when we first met, had finally ascended to the realm of first-rate in the meantime.
It would have been an occasion fully worthy of celebration if we had met at any other time.
But seeing that blade qi now, my eyes only grew more sorrowful.
There was nothing that could be done with a level like that.
So I absolutely had to stop him.
But before I could even open my mouth to say anything, he smiled and spoke to me first.
"Do you see it, Gongja? I have achieved my dream."
Those were words I had not expected at all.
"...Pardon?"
He was speaking to me with a bright smile.
"For a very long time, my dream was to emit blade qi. I always thought that if I could reach the realm of first-rate even once before I died, I would have no regrets left in this world. And I have finally achieved that. All thanks to the Bowon Simbeop that Seonu Gongja gave to me."
Words failed me.
Because I felt I understood what he was saying right now.
My eyes were suddenly growing hot with tears.
Then Gong Musa, who was beside him, continued his words.
"Oh ho! If you have achieved your dream, then you must have no regrets even in death now, hyung-nim? How uncanny. It just so happens that I am exactly the same way, hahahaha!"
The silent Jong Musa standing beside him was also smiling brightly and nodding his head.
I could understand it now.
That they were telling me they would die for my sake.
With those bright smiles on their faces, as if they had no lingering attachments left at all.
My throat suddenly choked up.
I forced my voice out to dissuade them once more.
"You cannot, absolutely not. Gong Musa, didn't you say you had to return home back then? That you would spend the rest of your days with your family at home."
At that, he answered with a hearty laugh.
"Hahahaha! I did say that, certainly. But once I actually reached the realm of first-rate, I found I simply could not be content shut up at home. I realized it then. In the end, it seems my fate is to die swinging a blade."
His expression as he spoke of death looked far too serene.
And in his eyes, there was not a trace of lingering attachment to be seen.
It was the gaze of a detached man that only one who had fully accepted death could possess.
I could no longer produce any sound.
It was because my voice would not come out with my throat so choked, even though I clearly needed to dissuade them.
At that, Warrior Jang spoke quickly.
"Now, time is short, so I will be brief. We promised each other long ago that when the time came to face a strong foe and keep one person alive, this is what we would do. To hide the one who must survive, and have the rest scatter and lure the enemies away."
Having said that, he looked toward the back of the forest and continued speaking.
"So, Gongja, hide somewhere nearby. We will now scatter and flee in these directions. It just so happens that we are three and Am Hyeol-hyang is one, so we should be able to buy you some time, at least to some degree. And when your body has recovered somewhat, you can flee in the opposite direction."
Tears suddenly gushed out.
"Why on earth, why on earth would you go so far for me?"
At that, Warrior Jang answered with a bright smile.
"We saw eye to eye, and we crossed the threshold of death together. Are we not already close friends? Is there any need for another reason?"
I remembered those words.
They were the words I had smiled and said to them the day we parted ways.
But now, in this moment, they were returning those very words to me.
Saying that we were already friends, so it mattered not to risk their lives...
My heart, my very heart felt like it would burst apart.
***
I decided to move quickly.
If their resolve was that firm, I could not waste time trying to dissuade them any further.
Because that, above all, would render their sacrifice meaningless.
The only thing I could do right now was to recover as quickly as possible during the time they would buy for me.
The second form of the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance.
Hyeonwol, activate.
Hwaaaaa!
Having activated the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance to temporarily block out the pain, I moved as tracelessly as possible and searched for a nearby water source.
My plan from this point on was to enter the water and recover my body.
First, I took a hollow reed to breathe underwater with, and before entering the water, I consumed the Saengsagwoe-ui's Saengsahwan I had been saving.
It was the very Saengsahwan that Saengsagwoe-ui Ma Jong-hwan had proudly proclaimed superior to Shaolin's Small Reversion Pill.
Now was the moment when I had to place my hopes in its effect.
'I beseech you, Elder Ma.'
After praying in my heart, I quickly consumed it.
And before entering the water, I suddenly gazed toward the directions where the three warriors would be heading.
They had already scattered in three directions, having told me not to reveal to them where I would be hiding.
They had done so while adding weight with sacks filled with dirt, and drawing blood from their own bodies with their blades to leave a trail.
'Please...'
I prayed fervently that they would be safe.
Then I entered the water and began breathing with the hollow reed in my mouth.
Now it was time to circulate the Honwon Mugeuk Gong.
"Huuuuu."
Exhaling a deep breath, I focused every bit of my concentration on circulating my energy.
That was the only thing I could do.
Beyond that, there was nothing I could do but pray to the heavens.
***
Am Hyeol-hyang had not actually gone far.
Having heard well of what kind of man the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il was, he had expected that Seo Il would leave immediately once his business was done.
But contrary to that expectation, Seo Il had remained at Seonwoo Jin's side for more than a day.
It was something that could only irk Am Hyeol-hyang.
But as an assassin, he did not grow impatient.
Deciding to take a longer view, he had put more distance between them, keeping outside the range of Seo Il's senses but close enough not to lose track of their whereabouts.
And after a day had passed, he could finally tell that the time he had been waiting for had come.
Seo Il had left while shouting at the top of his lungs, as if to announce that he was going.
- Wahahahaha! Farewell now, hahahaha!
To go so far as to do something like that just to advertise his departure, the man was surely as despicable as the rumors claimed.
The fact that he would simply leave was something fully within Am Hyeol-hyang's expectations.
But the exceedingly blatant nature of his actions instead planted a slight suspicion in Am Hyeol-hyang.
'His departure was the natural course of things. With his duel against the Sword Saint fast approaching, he would have to leave quickly. But the fact that he wasted so much time at Seonwoo Jin's side is a bit suspicious.'
Feeling a slight sense that something was off, Am Hyeol-hyang did not move immediately even after Seo Il left.
Because he did not discount the possibility that Seo Il had set a trap targeting him.
Seeing that Seo Il had spent a long time with Seonwoo Jin, it occurred to him that there might have been some transaction between the two.
But when Seo Il did not return even after a long while, Am Hyeol-hyang was finally able to confirm that he was truly gone.
Then he began to move.
The king of assassins became a shadow once more and began tracking his prey.
Seuseuseuk!
Finding the campfire site where Seo Il and Seonwoo Jin had stayed was not difficult.
However, there, Am Hyeol-hyang discovered traces of three people, not the one he was pursuing, and had to furrow his brow.
'Three, then... this is odd. They clearly joined later, and now they're splitting up and moving in three directions.'
Apart from their traces, no separate trail indicating Seonwoo Jin's movement could be seen.
The only thing was that the footprints of all three had suddenly deepened, as if they were carrying something heavy.
It seemed they had probably picked up something weighty and moved, to confuse him.
'What's more, all three left traces of blood. They're brazenly drawing me to follow after them.'
Having assessed things to that point, Am Hyeol-hyang smiled faintly.
It was a shallow trick, and judging by the depth and traces of the footprints, they were all at best at a first-rate level, meaning they undoubtedly couldn't have gotten very far.
And seeing them go to such lengths, it also seemed that Seonwoo Jin was currently in no condition to move on his own.
Indeed, considering the injuries he had sustained back then, that was a natural outcome.
In the end, Am Hyeol-hyang decided to take his time.
'It probably won't take long to catch all three in any case. And if Seonwoo Jin is still not with them, I can simply ask them where he is.'
Having thought that, Am Hyeol-hyang first began moving like a ghost once more, this time toward the trail heading furthest to the right.
It was the direction that the taciturn Jong Musa had taken.
***
At the same time.
Breathing through a hollow reed and hiding underwater, Seonwoo Jin was circulating the Honwon Mugeuk Gong while in the Biwol state of the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance.
Then, after a moment, an immense heat that started from his lower abdomen began surging throughout his entire body like a tidal wave.
Shwaaaaa!
'This is...?!'
Seonwoo Jin could not help being astonished by the tremendous heat, the likes of which he had never felt before.
It was clearly a scorching, lava-like heat, yet it was not the destructive energy of Extreme Yang.
Rather, it was the energy of Soyang, which protected the body's vitality and restored injured areas.
It seemed this was indeed the energy of the Saengsahwan.
Saengsagwoe-ui Ma Jong-hwan's Saengsahwan was showcasing its incredible medicinal efficacy.
Seonwoo Jin could only feel genuine admiration for its tremendous power.
'Truly remarkable! As expected of the Elder Goe-ui!'
Shwaaaaa!
The energy of the medicine, surging in like a tidal wave, was restoring his damaged muscles and bones in an instant.
The same went for his thigh, a third of which had been torn apart, and his right chest which had been pierced through.
As if time were being reversed at high speed, his injured body was rapidly regenerating.
Marveling at the mysterious efficacy of the Saengsahwan, Seonwoo Jin prayed and prayed again in his heart.
'Elder Goe-ui, thank you. But it must be faster. Just a little, just a little faster...'