Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Tai Chi Yin-Yang Physique (2)
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Wi Ji-hye, true to her role as a heroine in a martial arts tale, had swept all her long hair back and was clad in flowing robes that draped over her entire body—yet there was nothing rustic about her.
On the contrary, she was far more alluring than Heera, whom I'd been traveling with until just recently.
'This has to be cheating, right? How can she look that gorgeous in an outfit like that?'
Her face was completely bare of makeup, yet her beauty was impossible to look away from.
A few stray locks of hair or bits of straw on her cheeks couldn't hide her allure.
If anything, they only accentuated her pure charm.
'As expected of the main heroine... Insane.'
The faint glimpse of her collarbone peeking through her disheveled robes was enough to drive a man mad.
I wanted to pounce on her right then and there. She was the epitome of a femme fatale.
The fact that I could steal a woman like this... Today, once again, I praised 'Heroine NTR'.
"...What... do you intend to do with me..."
As I approached her, Wi Ji-hye glared at me with tears welling in her eyes.
Unlike her startled reaction earlier, her face now showed resolve.
So she wasn't just some passive heroine—this was her steeling herself. I could sense her unyielding will.
"Kyaa!"
-Thud
But I didn't answer.
Instead, I knocked her out and hoisted her up.
Either way, the plan required kidnapping her.
-Clang!
-Clang!
Then, out of nowhere, a sharp sound rang out, and two swords dropped right in front of me.
Did I... just nearly die...?
I scanned my surroundings in shock and spotted an old man clicking his tongue alongside the now one-armed squad leader.
"Damn it... You bastard! Keep your hands off that girl!"
"Well done, Number 6. Take her just like that. Anyone with spare hands, cover Number 6!"
"Stop him! I said stop that bastard—ugh, you little punk?"
"Hurry!"
I had no idea what happened, but it seemed the old master had tried to kill me, only for the squad leader to save my skin.
This world's lore was terrifying... Goosebumps prickled all over my body.
-Taat!
As I searched for an escape route to get out of there, one of the squad leaders appeared in front of me.
Blood streamed from his wounds—he must have been slashed multiple times.
This was brutal, seriously brutal.
"Number 6! Follow me!"
"Yes, sir!"
The squad leader lived up to his rank, carving a path despite his injuries.
Luckily, the Wind and Cloud Caravan didn't have any more experts on the old master's level.
With the other squad leaders joining to cover us, no one could stop us.
-Slash!
"Gaaah!"
"Block them! We have to block them, even if it kills us!"
The Wind and Cloud Caravan desperately tried to hold us back, but it wasn't enough.
We Black Wind Brigade out numbered them from the start, and even their old master couldn't help— the outcome was inevitable.
But what kind of woman was Wi Ji-hye for them to go all out like this to kidnap her... and for her side to risk their lives defending her?
Was there some secret I didn't know about?
-Clang!
"Urk! Deok-bae, you bastard! Keep your eyes forward and run!"
Ugh, nearly died again.
I'd been focused straight ahead and missed the sword lunging from the side.
I wasn't used to chaotic melees like this.
Thankfully, my senior comrade swooped in before the blade hit, saving me.
"Thank you!"
"Just run for now!"
This guy seemed totally fine—no wounds at all. Made me wonder if he'd even been fighting.
Still, he'd saved me, so... thanks, I guess.
-Tat tatak
-Tatak
"No! Protect the young lady!"
"Groooar!"
After that, the Wind and Cloud Caravan kept trying to grab our ankles, but they couldn't hold us.
After a brutal fight, my squad leader, senior comrade, and I broke free from the battlefield.
The old master's wails echoed behind us, but the squad leader's roars suggested they wouldn't chase immediately.
"Hoo..."
The battle had been far tougher than planned, leaving us battered, but we'd succeeded in the end.
Relief washed over me and my senior comrade as we let out sighs.
"Ha, haha! Hahaha... We actually pulled it off."
"Yeah, bro. That was no joke."
The realization that it was over made my whole body tremble. As the tension drained from my muscles, my legs felt like jelly—not even my own body anymore.
I wasn't the only one. After cresting the mountainside, we decided to rest briefly.
I set down the unconscious Wi Ji-hye and took a moment to recap the battle while catching my breath.
Meanwhile, my senior comrade pulled out some golden wound salve from his pouch and applied it to the squad leader's injuries, wrapping them in bandages.
"It's thanks to you, Number 6. You did well finding where the target was hiding."
"Just got lucky."
"Luck is skill too. We nearly botched the mission... Urk, you bastard...!"
The squad leader praised me as he received treatment. In gratitude, I pulled the green dagger from my inventory and stabbed him.
It was a perfect ambush—he couldn't block in his relaxed state.
His barely bandaged wound burst open, and the poison mixed in turned his face pitch black.
Turning around, I saw my senior comrade staring at me in shock.
Hey, this is how you hit someone from behind.
The kidnapping was just a means to an end—my real goal was to NTR Wi Ji-hye.
The plan was always flexible for the sake of NTR, ready for betrayal at any moment.
I'd followed Black Wind Brigade orders because they offered the highest odds of success.
But not anymore.
A gravely wounded squad leader, a senior comrade who was no match anyway, and an unconscious heroine—
Eliminate those two, and I could NTR anytime. Why follow orders in this perfect setup?
Besides, since I had to get rid of them anyway...
Why not make things more entertaining? So I hatched a new plan.
First, use Heal and Purify to wake the unconscious Wi Ji-hye, timing it so she stirs just as I kill the unguarded squad leader.
"You bastard...!"
"You never said anything about making me do this!"
"Cough! Ugh, what the hell are you... suddenly babbling about..."
"See you in the next life!"
"Urk! Ugh, graaaah!"
Mix in some meaningful words while I'm at it.
It'd confuse the squad leader, but Wi Ji-hye listening in would start piecing things together.
"Deok-bae, are you insane?! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Bro... I'll follow soon..."
"N-no, don't do this! You bastard, what the— graaah! Hiiik, b-blood! Kiiiiiek!"
Then, after saying I'll follow, kill the senior comrade too.
I appreciated him saving me once, but he'd been grating on me since he tried to backstab me.
"Hoo... I'll send these two back and catch up right away, bro..."
Finally, subtly let her overhear that I'm trying to let her go.
That should lower her guard.
"What... are you doing...?"
Alright, hooks are set—time to reel her in properly.
"Ah... You're awake?"
"What is this... Kidnapping me and now killing your comrades like this..."
As expected of a righteous heroine. She glared at me in disgust after I killed the squad leader and senior comrade.
Even though I'd kidnapped her, she couldn't forgive betraying and murdering allies?
Perfect. The more virtuous she was, the higher my plan's success rate.
"Comrades... comrades, huh... Haha...! You think those guys were my comrades?"
"...They're not? Then... were you forced into it?"
"No, they were comrades. Comrades, yes. They used to be. Haha..."
"...?"
"It's cold out here. There's an abandoned house nearby—better than staying exposed. Follow me."
"H-hey!"
I acted all mysterious as I led her to the ruin.
It was one of the spots only my senior comrade and I knew about.
Wi Ji-hye eyed me warily, watching her surroundings, but hurried after me when I pulled ahead—scared, probably.
"What if I just run off like this?"
"I'd have to find you. Night in the mountains is dangerous."
"Is that really the only reason...?"
"What else would it be?"
Her expression grew strange at my words.
A mix of suspicion, confusion, relief, and worry.
"Come inside. Sheltering from the wind will get us through till dawn."
"...Are you really going to let me go?"
"Yes. Otherwise, there'd be no reason to kill those two."
"......I don't understand. Why... exactly?"
Good, she bit the bait.
Honestly, from here on, it was a gamble. High risk, high reward!
Something I'd never try in reality—but this wasn't reality.
So, let's roll the dice.
"Hoo... It's a long story."
"I grew up without parents, but I had a little sister. Such a good kid. I would've done anything for her. She was the light and hope of my life."
"My sister worked as a busboy at an inn and dreamed of running her own one day. She'd even named it—Sibling Inn. She'd handle the guests while I cooked, she said. Every night, she'd dream about our future."
"But can the poor even dream? One day, after work, I came home to her cold, lifeless body..."
"My cute, innocent sister was loved by everyone. Even the inn's guests adored her. But one martial artist took a dislike to her, it seems."
"Because we were poor, she couldn't dress up or bathe often. He called her dirty and smelly, kicked her... Then poured his liquor over her saying he'd 'wash' her, and trampled her brutally. It was far too cruel for that poor child..."
"In the end, she passed like that. All because of one martial artist's drunken whim, in the prime of her youth..."
"When I heard, I was furious. I spat hatred at the innkeeper and guests for not helping. But they couldn't have done anything. The real enemy was that martial artist."
"From that day, I devoted my life to revenge. Dirty jobs, cowardly acts—I did whatever it took to grow stronger. That's when I learned of the Black Wind Brigade, assassins targeting martial artists..."
"I gave them everything I had and made a request: revenge on that man. But ridiculously, he was already dead... So hollow."
"With my revenge target gone, my life's purpose vanished. I wandered aimlessly. Then the Black Wind Brigade gave me a new goal: exterminate all martial artists. Absurd, right?"
"But it was alluring to me. Martial artists—all the same scum worth killing. So I joined to slaughter as many as possible."
"But the Black Wind Brigade wasn't what I thought. One day, I realized I was killing civilians. I'd become the very martial artist I hated."
"I wanted to die. But I couldn't. I had to kill more. Then one day, I saw you."
"Your eyes reminded me of my sister. The one who endured everything with a smile, never losing hope..."
"I was ashamed. I couldn't face her. So I'm quitting now..."
"I don't know why you're targeted, but please... live."
I poured out the entire improvised sob story.
Halfway through, even I lost track of what I was saying,
but I kept going, drawing from every martial arts novel I'd read.
I could barely remember what I'd said after finishing,
but seeing Wi Ji-hye quiet, it seemed to have worked somewhat.
"Head east from here, and you'll hit a big village. Wait for dawn to leave. I'll go the opposite way and draw their attention."
So I cast the final line to hook her securely.