Chapter 28: Under Attack
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: Under Attack
After Sun-woo and Ok-ryeong became one, their lives took on a completely different color.
No longer was there any trace of the awkward, uncomfortable tension between an aunt and a nephew; instead, they lived like a pair of newlyweds.
Sun-woo’s bedchamber, once thick with the scent of medicinal decoctions, was now filled with the musk of semen and love nectar. The water he used to draw for washing after training was now used to cleanse their bodies after intense bouts of lovemaking.
They say there is no passion like a late-blooming one.
Ok-ryeong, now fully awakened to her own desires, accepted Sun-woo’s essence anywhere and everywhere, regardless of the setting. From the bed to the training hall, the apothecary, the kitchen, and even atop the flat rocks by the valley stream—wherever they could lie down or lean over, they shared their love, soaking in happiness with every act.
For Ok-ryeong, it was no exaggeration to say she was living the happiest days of her life.
She had craved love her entire life but had never truly received it. Humans tend to yearn more desperately for something they once had and lost than for something they never possessed at all. For Ok-ryeong, love was exactly that.
Before her parents passed away, she had been loved more than anyone. Even after their death, she had endured through the affection of her master. But once her master passed, there was no one left to give her love.
That was why her thirst for it grew so deep.
Though she had chosen a life of seclusion without regret after avenging her parents, her heart had been lonelier than anyone else's. It was during that time that Lee Jae-won appeared. He had poisoned her—his own master—with Energy-Dispersing Poison and taken her by force.
Despite the violation, she had tried to treat him with love and understanding rather than anger and disappointment. she wondered if he had committed such an act only because he loved her so much he couldn't contain himself.
But Lee Jae-won made a mockery of her understanding. He used her as nothing more than a sexual outlet and then abandoned her. She hadn't received love even from the first man she gave her heart to.
Deeply disillusioned and scarred, she chose the path of a hermit. Yet, that choice only accelerated her loneliness and made her heart sick.
Self-loathing for being unloved.
Disappointment that she would never be loved.
And the despair of being unable to let go of hope despite it all.
These emotions had been eating away at her soul. Despite her martial prowess reaching the Transcendent Realm, her heart was withering away.
Then she met Sun-woo and fell in love.
At first, it was mere pity for a poor child who had suffered the hardships of the world. After hearing how he had lost his parents at a young age, she felt a sense of kinship. When she first saw his tears, she felt a surge of maternal instinct.
She had started with the mindset of an adult caring for a child, but as they lived together, those complex feelings gradually shifted into romantic affection. He was a ray of light for a woman buried in a lifetime of loneliness.
He gave her something to look forward to when she returned home, and seeing him eat the food she prepared with such gusto filled her with satisfaction. She no longer resented the emptiness in her heart caused by loneliness. Since it was empty, she could fill it all with her love for Sun-woo.
When did she start perceiving him as a man?
Her kinship became attraction, and her pity became love. And when she saw him looking at her while gripping and stroking his phallus, the emotion she felt was pure happiness.
It wasn't a one-sided delusion. She felt that he, too, truly looked at her as a woman.
She was happy. Just thinking of Sun-woo made love overflow from her heart. Even after they shared their bodies, Sun-woo continued to whisper words of love to her. He was worlds apart from Lee Jae-won, who had treated her like a beast after his forced conquest.
The lingering attachment to Lee Jae-won that had occupied a corner of her mind vanished completely. That man had only craved her body; he had never loved her.
"Hmm-hmm~"
She hummed a tune as she stirred the meat soup over the hearth. Since he had the palate of a child and preferred meat over vegetables, she prepared meat dishes for all three meals. Fortunately, Sun-woo hunted the meat himself, so she didn't find the cooking burdensome.
A smile played on her lips at their life, which felt like that of a hunter and his wife. Ok-ryeong poured her heart into the cooking for her young husband.
A field near Baekhwa Peak.
A snow-white rabbit was peacefully nibbling on grass.
Swish—
Thwack!
Suddenly, a stone flew from the thicket and struck the rabbit squarely on the back of its head.
Squeak!
The rabbit let out a final cry and died instantly. A man emerged from the bushes.
"I'll have to ask Ok-ryeong to make roast rabbit today."
The man was Sun-woo. Since he no longer had to pretend to be ill after becoming intimate with her, he had begun roaming all over Baekhwa Peak. He hunted and brought back animals for Ok-ryeong to cook.
Usually, she prepared meals centered on vegetables, claiming they were better for his health. But if he brought meat himself, she would cook it, saying it had to be eaten before it spoiled. Knowing this, Sun-woo went hunting every day.
Fortunately, Baekhwa Peak was secluded and teeming with wildlife. With his martial arts, hunting was relatively easy.
Snikt, snikt.
Sun-woo pulled a dagger from his belt and began skinning and gutting the rabbit. Even if he took it back whole, Ok-ryeong would handle it, but he felt bad making her do everything.
His mindset had changed since they became intimate. Before, he had kept a wall around his heart and maintained his distance, thinking of himself as someone who would eventually leave. He didn't want to inflict a deeper wound on a woman who was already covered in scars.
If the most attractive character in the novel was the Phoenix Hall Master Kang Ha-yoon, the one who evoked the most pity was Ok-ryeong. She was a woman so kind-hearted that she couldn't even bring herself to hate the man who had raped her.
Though he had used a trick to hide in her home to avoid Lee Jae-won, keeping his distance had been Sun-woo's last shred of conscience—so that she wouldn't be hurt when the time came for him to depart.
But despite the walls he built, her kindness, maternal warmth, and consideration had slowly chipped away at them, like a light drizzle soaking through clothes. And when he finally heard her anguished cry, Sun-woo realized the truth.
He had already fallen in love with Ok-ryeong.
Her beautiful appearance, her mature body that radiated feminine charm, and her selfless kindness toward a complete stranger—what man could help but love her?
Sun-woo could no longer hold back. How could one hide such a massive emotion as love? He whispered his love to the weeping woman, and thus, the two became one.
He didn't care about what would happen later. He simply chose to be faithful to the raw emotions he felt in the present.
After confirming their love, they continued their life like a pair of newlyweds. Sun-woo hunted, and Ok-ryeong cooked. And when the day's work was done, he would run to her and pour out his passion again and again, and she would joyfully accept him.
To be honest, he was happy. He was so happy that it actually made him worried.
'Sigh... what am I going to do?'
While he was glad to have confirmed his love for her, several complex dilemmas weighed on his mind.
The first was his identity. Because he loved her, he felt he had to tell her the truth. That he was actually from another world, currently possessing the body of Lee Jae-won's disciple, Jang Sam. That he had been framed and fled, and that he had deceived her to use her home as a refuge because Lee Jae-won found her presence uncomfortable.
A relationship built on lies rarely ended well. Because he loved her, he needed to set things right. But whenever he looked at her, the words wouldn't come out. She was already so fragile. If she found out she had been deceived, she would fall into utter despair.
The second was his return. His desire to return to the modern world—with its family, friends, and the comforts of civilization—rather than staying in this troublesome and primitive Murim remained unchanged. But if he were given the chance to go back, the fate of Ok-ryeong, who would be left all alone, was a problem.
When he had impulsively surrendered to his emotions, he hadn't a care in the world, but now that the deed was done, the deferred anxieties came rushing back. It was selfish, but Sun-woo didn't want to give up either his return to the modern world or Ok-ryeong.
That was why his worries ran deep. If the chance to return to the modern world truly appeared, what choice would he make?
"Sigh..."
His sighs grew heavier. He decided that putting out the immediate fire was the priority. He would find an opportunity to tell her about his identity. He would worry about the rest later.
While lost in thought, Sun-woo finished cleaning the rabbit, skewered it on a branch, and began to move. If he left now, he would arrive just in time for lunch.
It was then.
Phew!
He heard the whistle of an arrow cutting through the air.
Thud! Thud!
The arrows landed right in front of him. Sun-woo scanned his surroundings.
"Who's there!"
Phew! Phew!
Thud! Thud!
Instead of an answer, more arrows flew his way. Sun-woo used the Wind-Dust Step to kick off the ground and darted into the cover of the trees.
Thud! Thud!
Crash! Boom!
The sound of trees splintering echoed as arrows embedded themselves into the trunks. This was clearly a martial artist firing arrows infused with internal energy.
Since he didn't know the archer's position, Sun-woo moved toward areas with the most cover, straining to pinpoint the source.
Phew!
Slice—
An arrow aimed precisely at his head whistled past. Sun-woo jerked his head aside just in time. The arrow grazed his cheek, leaving a shallow cut that began to bleed.
'There.'
But the close call wasn't for nothing. By waiting until the arrow was right in front of him, Sun-woo managed to locate the archer. Far off to the north, atop a large boulder, a masked figure was nocking another arrow.
Sun-woo activated his Wind-Dust Step and charged toward the masked man. Realizing his position had been compromised, the masked man quickly turned to put distance between them.
Archers in the Murim usually prioritized maintaining distance, and as a result, they often possessed exceptionally fast movement techniques. The masked man was no exception, as he began to retreat at a high speed.
The masked man's movement technique was quite fast, but it fell short compared to the Wind-Dust Step, one of the finest techniques in the world. Before long, the gap narrowed. In a panic, the masked man turned and fired an arrow at the pursuing Sun-woo.
Clang!
Startled by the sudden shot, Sun-woo raised his dagger and deflected the arrow. However, the internal energy behind the shot was so great that the dagger began to crack.
Cr-crack!
Snap!
Clatter.
He managed to deflect the arrow, but the dagger was ruined beyond use. It had been a cheap blade intended only for butchering animals, so its durability was abysmal.
Seeing Sun-woo's weapon break, the masked man stopped and nocked another arrow. He intended to settle this in a direct confrontation.
Phew! Phew! Phew!
The masked man fired arrows with incredible rapid-fire speed. Sun-woo was forced onto the defensive. The internal energy in the arrows was too formidable to deflect recklessly. As the masked man fired, he began to widen the gap again, and Sun-woo couldn't get close while dodging the barrage.
'This isn't working.'
Without his Overlord Ghost-Face Armor or his sword, facing an archer without taking damage was nearly impossible. He had to be prepared to take a hit.
Sun-woo concentrated his internal energy and lunged forward, using his palm-edge like a blade to strike down the arrows head-on.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His skin was grazed and blood sprayed, but Sun-woo pressed on relentlessly. He wished he could manifest Blade Aura on his hands, but that was impossible for him as he hadn't yet reached the absolute peak of the Super-Peak Realm. While any Super-Peak martial artist could manifest Astral Qi on a weapon of fixed shape, doing so with bare hands was a feat reserved only for those who had reached the very pinnacle of the realm.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
Finally, an arrow buried itself in his shoulder, but Sun-woo didn't falter. He kept moving forward.
'You son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you.'
Fury boiled within him. He was determined not to let the man die easily once he caught him.
Feeling the pressure as Sun-woo closed in, the masked man poured every ounce of his internal energy into a final arrow.
Boom!
The arrow flew toward Sun-woo with such force that it sounded like a sonic boom. Sun-woo stared the arrow down. It was too fast to dodge without taking damage. His body wouldn't be able to keep up. The target was his heart.
Sun-woo circulated the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art.
Internal energy equivalent to three Gapja surged from his body, beginning to envelop him. It was a technique he had never tried before, but he had to manifest it now to survive. The layer of energy surrounding his body began to thicken.
Bang!!!
Just as the arrow was about to strike his chest, the internal energy surrounding him thickened further, blocking the arrow's path.
Zzzzzzt!
A struggle of power began between the arrow trying to pierce him and the energy trying to stop it. Although the initial impact was halted, the arrow still carried immense force, and it began to drill through the layers of Sun-woo's energy.
Cr-crack!
One layer.
Cr-crack!
Two layers.
Cr-crack!
Three layers.
It finally reached the fourth and final layer.
Pop!
The arrow finally lost its momentum and shattered. The masked man’s eyes widened in shock.
"Ho... Protective Qi!?"
It was the manifestation of the absolute defense technique that only a handful of Super-Peak masters could achieve.
"You're dead, you piece of shit!"
Sun-woo grabbed the masked man by the throat and slammed him into the ground.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed across Baekhwa Peak.