Stranded (1)
There were two paths from Hobuk to Sichuan, and both were mountain routes.
It was all because of the naive young lady by Namgoong Juhee's side.
With the Maegeomdan having seized control of the entire river, taking the waterway meant becoming fish food and praying those fish swam to Sichuan. Even that slim chance required swimming upstream, making it next to impossible.
"Hey! This sucks! Is there really no other way?!"
A rude tone.
But Namgoong Juhee showed no real emotional ripple.
"You! Answer me! Hey! Where the hell are you going?!"
Instead, she hopped over a few rocks and vanished from Dang Hwaeun's sight in an instant.
Dang Hwaeun blurted out,
"Hey! Sorry! I'm sorry! Huff… Sorry…."
"I didn't go anywhere."
"Hey! You wanna die for real? Cut the pranks!"
Tears welled up in Dang Hwaeun's round eyes.
It had been three days since Namgoong Juhee started traveling with her.
One thing she'd realized: teasing Dang Hwaeun was hilarious.
As the pampered jewel of the Dang family, she had a high nose and zero manners, but no skills to back it up. A Peak realm master who couldn't climb a mountain alone. Pretty as hell, but with a shitty personality—like a cat.
And like a cat, another thing about Dang Hwaeun: leave her alone in the mountains, and she'd die.
Not to a wild beast, but captured by the Maegeomdan swarming the slopes. Might even be better off dead.
"No more pranks?"
"Obviously!… Ah, fine. Hey! Where now?!"
"Then hurry up. Gotta find a spot to crash before nightfall."
And so, whenever Namgoong Juhee hit a mental block, she'd tease Dang Hwaeun.
Coming up with plans to shake the Maegeomdan and Heukgwi-bo was tough, and her reactions were just too damn satisfying.
"……This is tricky."
"What'd you say?"
"Was thinking of ditching you here, Dang Sojeo… Ow."
"Meant to hurt."
Taking on Chugwi and Heukgwi-bo at once wasn't something raw power alone could handle.
For starters, Namgoong Juhee might even be outmatched in strength. She'd killed Geumjeonggeom, ranked 72nd among the Hundred Masters, but Chugwi was a whopping 30th. That's forty-two whole steps higher.
Plus, Namgoong Juhee's own condition was crap. Lingering internal injuries from last time, blurry vision in her right eye.
Clashing head-on with the Maegeomdan was flat-out impossible.
"My legs hurt."
"What a coincidence. Mine too."
"That's it?"
"Want a piggyback?"
"Gross. Piss off."
Thus, Namgoong Juhee and Dang Hwaeun picked the roughest mountain path of all.
The hardship was expected.
Mountaineering in the murim world was extreme sports with bandits and beasts thrown in.
But beyond that, there were plenty of other bullshit factors.
"Ah! Fuck these goddamn mosquito bastards!"
"Endure it."
"That's why I said let's burn mosquito coils on the way up!"
"Light a coil, and the Maegeomdan'll sniff it out like mosquitoes, right?"
First off, the mosquitoes were fucked.
Swarms of the white-striped abominations. Soaked in sweat, Namgoong Juhee and Dang Hwaeun were an all-you-can-eat buffet to them.
"Hey."
"What."
"Isn't this the same spot from earlier? You even find the path right?"
"Wanna do it yourself, Dang Sojeo?"
"I'll forgive you this once. Do better next time."
The terrain was shit too.
Mountains naturally built up excess yin energy without human touch.
Too much yin led to inexplicable phenomena science couldn't explain.
Prime example: natural formations.
Step in, and you'd loop the same spot until you found the life path—eating up time and stamina.
But a living formation meant no one came here.
The Maegeomdan's encirclement hadn't reached this far. Small mercy.
"Hey, Dang Sojeo."
"Huff… huff… Don't talk. Feels like I'm dying."
"You stink of sweat."
"What? No. I don't? I don't smell like sweat! And you think you don't? Ugly… half-faced bitch!"
Namgoong Juhee smirked at Dang Hwaeun, who couldn't quite say "ugly" outright.
"Think about how you're gonna pay up two carriages' worth from Eonhwa Merchant Group. Don't forget the Hwang Dok Dan either."
"I'll handle it, jeez."
"Who knows if you'll flip when we hit the Dang family?"
"……Hmph!"
Dang Hwaeun snorted and flung something at Namgoong Juhee with a whoosh!.
The Dang family token she'd shown earlier.
"Why toss this now?"
"You're the idiot. Figure it out."
Caught off-guard by the spot-on jab, Namgoong Juhee racked her brain again.
Tokens were for honored guests only.
Just flashing one got you riches and top treatment from most clans.
Here, it even meant Namgoong Juhee could kill Dang Hwaeun, take the token to the Dang family, and still score a reward.
In other words, Dang Hwaeun was entrusting her life to Namgoong Juhee.
"Want me to kill you?"
"……One token's worth like thirty Eonhwa carriages easy."
"Okay. Right this way, client."
"Ugh, seriously."
Dang Hwaeun snickered and kept walking.
Damn, she really was pretty.
If not for the dogshit personality.
And so, Namgoong Juhee and Dang Hwaeun wandered for the true path a good while.
Then it hit them.
They had zero talent for escaping formations.
Namgoong Juhee's short-sightedness lacked the finesse needed, and Dang Hwaeun was an utter incompetent for a Peak realm—pathetic, even.
No wonder they couldn't break out.
"……We're screwed."
"Hey! What now? We trapped?"
"Looks like it."
"Fuck! Hey! Gimme back that token!"
"Can't give and take back. We'll get out eventually."
"How?!"
Namgoong Juhee's solution was simple.
Formations didn't vanish just 'cause someone entered.
So wait for someone else to stumble in—that was her logic.
"But natural formations form where no one's around, right?"
"Yep."
"So how's anyone coming?"
"If they don't snag you, Maegeomdan'll widen the net."
"We took this backroad to dodge Maegeomdan!"
"Too bad."
"Argh! Where'd you pick up this mess?!"
Dang Hwaeun stomped in fury.
All she could do, really.
Separately, Namgoong Juhee didn't mind the situation much.
Not 'cause she could shack up with a beauty like Dang Hwaeun.
No one could enter until the formation broke.
They couldn't stall forever in the outside world.
Namgoong Juhee had caused a ruckus, and her red hair stood out anywhere.
That's why she'd rushed up the mountain despite her shitty state.
But trapped in here?
Time flowed slower inside formations.
She could heal, snag spirit beasts or elixirs unseen outside.
Worst case, stuck till they croaked of old age… but they'd figure it out.
Namgoong Juhee stretched with a yawn and headed for the tree cluster.
Slash!
"Wh-what! Why the hell?!"
Dang Hwaeun bounced aside like a startled cat.
So damn jumpy, useless in a fight, just yapping on the sidelines—purely ornamental.
"What else? Building a house."
"Oh. That? Call me when it's done. I'll rest up."
"The hell? Get to work."
"Work? I'm Dang Hwaeun! Of the Sichuan Dang family!"
"And I'm Namgoong Juhee."
Pity she was the type to work even goldfish.
From then on, for the first time in her life, Dang Hwaeun learned what labor meant.
. . .
"Cough! Whew… Fuck."
After setting Dang Hwaeun to chop wood, Namgoong Juhee hacked up phlegm behind her.
Followed by a trickle of red blood.
Of course, her injuries hadn't healed.
She'd taken down twenty-five Peak masters and Geumjeonggeom.
Won the Hobuk Branch without recovering, fought in the boat brawl, then climbed this mountain.
Injuries that'd heal with rest had worsened.
But Namgoong Juhee felt wronged this time.
She'd planned a month lounging and gorging on the boat to recover.
The boat fight was light rehab, but the surprise Peak ambush and climb were wild cards even for her.
"Cough! Whew… Got lucky."
Namgoong Juhee pulled a black elixir from her bosom.
Tae Cheong Dan.
Prize from the Hobuk Branch win.
Absorb this fully, and she'd grow stronger than before.
Restore damaged vitality, toughen up more than ever, assimilate remaining inner energy to cement her insights.
Then, finally fuse Je Wang Geom Hyeong perfectly into Luk Hap Sword.
"Just a bit more recovery, then take it."
But she had time now.
Eat it raw, and it'd just patch vitality—waste.
Better build her body with formation herbs first, then absorb the Tae Cheong Dan.
Namgoong Juhee tucked it away, oblivious to the eyes watching from behind.