Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 259
Chapter Title: Time Flows Like Water (3)
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The woman removed her bamboo hat. Her hair, layered in three tiers, cascaded down over her shoulders like a waterfall. Yet she still did not remove the thin veil covering her face.
Eun So-cheong stared straight at the woman. The woman did not avoid her gaze. Her pitch-black eyes, as if embedded with obsidian, were so deep that it was impossible to fathom their depths.
"Why are you heading to Mount Hua?"
"I have someone to meet."
"Who is it?"
"I'm sorry, Lady Eun. I can't tell you that."
"You're riding in our carriage for free. Can't you at least answer that much?"
"You'll find out once you reach Mount Hua."
"Hmm! You have so many secrets, sister."
It was then.
"Lady! Is something wrong?"
Jeok Yeong-cheon's voice came from outside the carriage.
Silence briefly settled inside the carriage.
Eun So-cheong frowned as she looked at the woman. But the woman's obsidian eyes showed no ripple whatsoever.
"It's nothing, just talking to myself. Everything's fine."
"Understood, Lady."
Jeok Yeong-cheon's presence moved away from the carriage.
The woman slightly lowered her head.
"Thank you, Lady Eun."
"Tch! What choice do I have? It doesn't seem like I could drive you off by force anyway."
Eun So-cheong grumbled in a low voice. Still, compared to at first, the atmosphere had softened considerably.
Silence flowed between the two for a moment.
The woman silently gazed out the window, while Eun So-cheong watched the woman's face. Though the veil hid her true features, Eun So-cheong thought it must be a beautiful face.
'Was there a woman like this in the martial world?'
Eun Ga-bo had records on most of the renowned experts of the current age. Due to the nature of their merchant business, they had to be wary of those with martial prowess.
Thanks to that, Eun So-cheong also knew most of the famous experts in the martial world. But nowhere in her memory was there a female expert with features matching the woman before her.
Curiosity swirled in her mind, but Eun So-cheong asked no more. It seemed pointless to ask, as she wouldn't get an answer anyway, and she would learn the truth once she reached Mount Hua.
Eun So-cheong decided to take it easy. Her stiff body relaxed a bit.
The woman's gaze turned to Eun So-cheong.
She too was somewhat surprised. Eun So-cheong was only about fifteen or sixteen years old. Not quite a child, but still too young to be called an adult. Yet her judgment of the situation had been swift and precise.
'The future of Eun Ga-bo is bright. Even at such a young age, her situational awareness is this sharp.'
Anyone else would have panicked and caused a commotion by now. That would have been a headache for the woman as well. But Eun So-cheong had calmly assessed the situation and responded coolly. It was a seasoned response that belied her young age.
The woman's gaze shifted out the window.
The Ho Merchant Group was heading toward Mount Hua at a rapid pace.
'Mount Hua. Where he is. I must meet him. I must!'
The woman bit her lip firmly.
Her eyes were filled with anxiety.
Though Eun So-cheong did not know, the woman had undertaken many perilous adventures to reach this place. It was more than just risking her life—she had crossed the line between life and death to get here. All to meet him.
The woman closed her eyes briefly. Exhaustion washed over her like a tide, as she hadn't rested properly. With the tension released, she fell asleep, breathing evenly. She looked so deeply fatigued that Eun So-cheong didn't dare wake her.
Though she didn't know the full story, Eun So-cheong could guess that the woman had traveled a harsh path.
It wasn't just Eun So-cheong's imagination—the path of trials the woman had endured felt vividly real. Eun So-cheong watched her for a long time with wondrous eyes.
Even in that moment, the Ho Merchant Group steadily raced toward Mount Hua. It was when Mount Hua seemed almost within reach.
Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes. Her pupils, visible above the veil, were trembling.
She bit her lip and murmured.
"Already?"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Lady Eun."
"Yes?"
"I thought I'd shaken them off, but a tail's still on us."
"What?"
"Keep heading straight to Mount Hua."
"You have to tell me the details..."
"My name is Eun Yu-kyung. Lady Eun."
"Eun Yu-kyung?"
"If you meet Hero Dam, tell him that Eun Yu-kyung came this far."
"So you've come to meet Brother Dam Ho?"
"Yes. Then..."
Eun Yu-kyung donned her bamboo hat and leaped out of the carriage.
"W-What?"
"Someone just came out of the carriage. Check if the lady is alright."
Commotion erupted outside.
Jeok Yeong-cheon flung open the carriage door and entered.
"Are you alright, Lady?"
"I'm fine, Division Leader."
"The woman who just came out of the carriage..."
"She called herself Eun Yu-kyung."
Eun So-cheong answered without panic. She seemed to think for a moment before continuing.
"I think she hid in the carriage to evade someone."
"Hmm."
"It might be best to leave this place as quickly as possible."
"Understood."
Jeok Yeong-cheon replied with a stern expression.
He hadn't noticed a stranger hiding in Eun So-cheong's carriage. If Eun Yu-kyung had ill intentions, Eun So-cheong would have already lost her life. As her protector, Jeok Yeong-cheon had no excuse, even if he had ten mouths.
Jeok Yeong-cheon hurriedly exited the carriage and issued orders.
"Run at top speed right now."
"Yes, sir!"
The Ho Merchant Group began charging down the official road with vigorous responses.
Eun Yu-kyung, who had leaped from the carriage, raced through the forest at high speed. In a direction different from the Ho Merchant Group's path.
Though she had left the carriage heading to Mount Hua, her goal remained Mount Hua. Only the route had changed.
'I was too complacent. To think they'd follow me all the way here.'
She blamed herself for her carelessness at the last moment.
Whoosh!
It was then.
A sharp whooshing sound echoed through the air.
'A hidden weapon?'
Eun Yu-kyung launched her body into the air and swung her sword sheath.
Clangclangclang!
Sparks flew from the sheath as metallic sounds rang out repeatedly.
Eun Yu-kyung's face twisted slightly. Deformed coins fell to the ground. They were coin darts.
"That's far enough, Saintess."
In that instant, five men appeared, blocking her path.
Yellow, cyan, red, black, white.
They were short dwarves dressed in five different colors. Their faces were identical, as if cast from the same mold.
"Five Elements Demon Children. You've chased me all this way."
"Did you think you'd escape unscathed after betraying our cult?"
The black-clad dwarf spoke coldly. He was the eldest of the Five Elements Demon Children, the Black Moon Demon Child.
"I never betrayed the cult."
Eun Yu-kyung coldly murmured as she removed her face veil.
"Hmph! Nonsense. A kill order on the Saintess has already been issued throughout the cult. You think you can escape?"
The Five Elements Demon Children surrounded Eun Yu-kyung.
Her expression hardened rigidly.
The Five Elements Demon Children were renowned experts even within the Demonic Cult. They were tenacious and relentless. Above all, they possessed brutal temperaments and exceptional martial arts.
If she couldn't eliminate them here, reaching Mount Hua would be impossible.
'At least that's a relief? I won't cause trouble for them.'
Eun Yu-kyung thought of the Ho Merchant Group of Eun Ga-bo, to whom she owed a brief debt.
She had only boarded Eun So-cheong's carriage out of necessity, but she didn't want her to come to harm because of it.
It was then.
"Hmph! Worried about Eun Ga-bo?"
As if piercing through her thoughts, the Red Moon Demon Child spoke gruffly.
"Think they'll survive after associating with the Saintess?"
"Then?"
"The Five Elements Extermination Squad has been dispatched. They won't climb Mount Hua."
"Is that so?"
Eun Yu-kyung clenched her fist without realizing it.
The Five Elements Extermination Squad was the Demonic Cult's unit for hunting down traitors. Like starving hyenas, once they targeted prey, they never let go.
Shing!
"He's on Mount Hua."
Eun Yu-kyung drew her sword and said.
At the word 'he', the Five Elements Demon Children flinched. But they soon composed themselves and continued.
"Hmph! Even he can't know what happens outside Mount Hua."
"No need for talk. Attack!"
The Five Elements Demon Children charged in unison.
Shadows of yellow, cyan, red, black, and white enveloped Eun Yu-kyung.
Boom!
As they spread their palms wide, powerful energy surged like a tsunami. Eun Yu-kyung swung her sword to protect her entire body.
Falling Moon Divine Sword.
The secret sword art, transmitted only to one successor within the Demonic Cult, unfolded.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The silver sword light formed a hemisphere, shielding her from the Demon Children's palm strikes.
The Five Elements Demon Children circled around her, unable to touch her for the moment. But they showed no impatience.
Time was on their side, not hers.
"Deploy the Five Elements Heaven-Shaking Formation."
At the Black Moon Demon Child's shout, the Five Elements Demon Children moved in perfect unison. The colors yellow, cyan, red, black, and white blended, disrupting Eun Yu-kyung's vision.
'The Five Elements Heaven-Shaking Formation holds the mysteries of soul-seizing. I must not be deluded by it.'
Eun Yu-kyung half-closed her eyes. Relying on hearing instead of sight.
In that instant, the Red Moon Demon Child lunged.
"Kiyop!"
With a bizarre shout, powerful palm force exploded forth.
Eun Yu-kyung used the Blood Moon Emerging from Water technique to defend while executing the Moonlit Night Soul Cry stance to strike at the Red Moon Demon Child.
Boom!
"Urk!"
The Red Moon Demon Child couldn't withstand the rebound and was flung back. Eun Yu-kyung rushed to finish him off. But her attack didn't reach; she was repelled backward instead.
The Cyan Moon Demon Child and White Moon Demon Child had intervened at the critical moment to save him.
"No chance."
"Stretch that neck out long, Saintess."
Their voices shook Eun Yu-kyung's spirit. But she was not one to be neutralized by mere words.
Like a flower blooming in the darkness, her body traced brilliant lines. Each time, sword qi exploded like fireworks.
Unable to suppress her momentarily, the Black Moon Demon Child spat in fury.
"You think you can slip through our hands, Saintess? No chance. Even if you escape, the Ho Merchant Group of Eun Ga-bo won't. Just for meeting you, they'll be massacred."
She knew they were saying it to disturb her mind. So she tried to maintain maximum calm.
"Heh heh! We'll kill all the men, chop off their limbs, and drag the women back to the cult to breed."
"For the crime of meeting you alone, they'll be slaughtered. You bitch!"
They no longer even pretended politeness, yammering on.
The voices of the Five Elements Demon Children burrowed into her ears like evil spirits.
She gritted her teeth, thinking briefly of Eun So-cheong.
The moment she imagined Eun So-cheong and the Ho Merchant Group being massacred because of her, a flaw appeared in her movements.
The Black Moon Demon Child did not miss that split-second opening. Like an eel slipping through the gap in her sword qi, his small hand struck her side.
Thud!
"Hup!"
Eun Yu-kyung's eyes widened as she staggered back. A faint trace of blood appeared at her mouth. She had sustained considerable internal injuries.
The Black Moon Demon Child smirked triumphantly.
"Heh! Even if he comes, he can't save you."