A Familiar Presence
“You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”
Suddenly seized, Yoo Eunhyeon startled and turned to look at the woman.
It was not simply the grab that had shocked him. When he tried to slip free using his internal energy, she caught him with a practiced seizing technique, and that made it clear: she too was a martial artist, and by no means a shallow one.
Yet the woman still held his wrist with an unreadable expression, not letting go. Like him, she wore a faintly startled look as she simply stared at him in silence.
“That can’t be… But the energy I felt just now was unmistakably…”
Surprise colored her face, yet the emotion beneath it seemed closer to curiosity than wariness.
Yoo Eunhyeon, forced to look at her again, felt the sense of déjà vu from moments earlier grow even stronger. More precisely, it was not the woman herself but her presence—something about it that he felt he had encountered before.
This… feels similar to what I sensed when I met the Taoist master or the Lord…
The thought sent a sudden chill racing across his skin.
Hadn’t getting tangled up with those two already landed him in this mess?
Deciding there was nothing to gain from further entanglement, Yoo Eunhyeon shook off the hand gripping his wrist and spoke curtly.
“Do you have some business with me?”
“You… wait, no. This isn’t the place for it. Come with me for a moment.”
“W-wait. Where to?!”
Yoo Eunhyeon had no idea what this was about, but the woman answered with complete confidence, as if wondering why he would even ask.
“Not far. There’s something I want to check.”
Without so much as glancing at his reaction, she strode off into the street. Faced with that assured back that clearly expected him to follow, Yoo Eunhyeon let out a long sigh despite himself and trailed after her.
Fortunately—or perhaps not—she truly did not go far. She settled into a teahouse right outside the merchant house and, the moment she sat, spoke urgently.
“Did I startle you by calling you over so suddenly? I’m Sa Yeo-un. What’s your name?”
The abrupt informal speech made Yoo Eunhyeon’s face twist at once. From the way she talked at people and paid no mind whatsoever to others’ gazes, it was plain how she had lived until now.
He was already thinking he should never have followed, but he could hardly walk out without hearing her out. With a thoroughly unimpressed look, he answered shortly.
“Yoo Eunhyeon.”
If she was going to be this brazen, there was no need for him to stay polite either. His brief reply did not seem to bother Sa Yeo-un in the slightest.
“Pretty name. I like it.”
“What business do you have with me?”
“I’ve got a few questions.”
“Doesn’t seem like the attitude of someone who wants to ask something.”
“Just listen.”
Her absurd answer made Yoo Eunhyeon’s face scrunch up again.
But only for a moment. Sa Yeo-un’s next question instantly deflated his momentum.
“You’ve learned martial arts, haven’t you? Where did you learn it? Especially the internal energy method.”
That he practiced martial arts was something any martial artist could probably tell at a glance. But she was the first to specifically single out his internal energy method. Yoo Eunhyeon was deeply startled inside, yet he answered as calmly and flatly as he could.
“From a book.”
“A book? What book? What’s its name?”
“Any reason I should tell you that?”
“No. But if I’m asking something I don’t need to know, doesn’t that mean there’s a reason?”
Even at his words, Sa Yeo-un did not so much as blink. Then she suddenly wore a meaningful smile, and Yoo Eunhyeon, feeling oddly needled, muttered inwardly.
Just fishing? Damn it. Not like I can just spill it either…
As he listened, he realized Sa Yeo-un was not only talkative but sharp-tongued as well. In his earlier talk with Jin Seung-hyeok he had had Gong Si-hak’s advice to lean on, but Yoo Eunhyeon had never held a conversation like this before and was inevitably on the back foot.
Still, he could not speak honestly, so he shook his head.
“Why are you even asking something like that in the first place?”
“Somehow you give off a feeling similar to someone I know. But talking with you, it also seems a little different… Was it just my imagination after all?”
Her low voice and the way she studied him suggested she was not entirely certain.
“Of course it’s different. I’ve learned some martial arts, but I’m just a farmer. What I know is only enough for self-defense.”
“What kind of farmer learns martial arts for self-defense?”
“Not just that. It helps with farming too.”
Remembering the recent attack, Yoo Eunhyeon clenched his teeth. Whether she found that part believable or not, Sa Yeo-un nodded.
“Coming out of Wonjeong Sanghoe, you clearly have quite a bit of money. Tch. Whoever they are, I keep telling them not to mess with people who aren’t of the martial world… It’s because of bastards like that that demonic path martial artists get cursed so thoroughly.”
The muttering that followed was too quiet to reach Yoo Eunhyeon’s ears, but he could clearly sense her open irritation as she grumbled.
“So we’re done here, then?”
“Wait a second. You’re going to be that cold? Fine. I get that you learned it for self-defense. But you still haven’t said who you learned it from. Tell me.”
“I don’t see any need to, and I’ve got nothing more to say. I’m leaving.”
“You sure about that? If you walk out now, that tracker tailing you is going to keep being a nuisance.”
Sa Yeo-un’s voice, which had been light and joking until now, changed. Yoo Eunhyeon, who had been about to turn away, paused. She propped her chin on her hand, wearing a knowing little smile as she continued.
“Looks like the merchant house put them on you. I don’t know what you did in there to get a tracker, but you don’t seem like the type who did anything bad… You’ve got a lot of secrets, don’t you?”
At her words, Yoo Eunhyeon’s expression hardened as he looked back at her. Sa Yeo-un waved a hand dismissively, as if it were nothing.
“Heh. Don’t look at me like that. Truth is, I’m being tracked myself right now.”
“You’re being tracked?”
“Ah, don’t worry. Even if they find out, it won’t cause you any trouble.”
“So it’s not your side’s tracker, then?”
“If it were mine, they wouldn’t be this clumsy. They’d be terrifying enough that I couldn’t sit around this comfortably.”
“Not dangerous, but terrifying? What kind of family do you come from?”
When Sa Yeo-un deliberately lowered her voice as if to scare him, Yoo Eunhyeon asked back, completely lost.
She kept smiling, however, and continued as if testing him.
“First answer whether you’re going to tell me who you learned from or not. Then I’ll answer what you’re curious about. Isn’t it unfair if only I have to answer?”
“You don’t think the one who suddenly grabbed a person and is doing all this is being more unfair?”
“I do think it’s unfair. So answer, because it’s unfair.”
“No. Why are you even bothering me like this in the first place?”
“Because you’re lying.”
“I haven’t lied.”
“Is that so?”
Sa Yeo-un gave a short laugh and quietly drew up her internal energy. Feeling the energy flowing from her, Yoo Eunhyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
The feel of the internal energy coming from Sa Yeo-un was similar to what he himself cultivated.
That distinctive quality of having no distinctive quality—that very sensation—was coming from her.
“Still going to claim you’re not lying after this?”
Even as he thought he had been caught, Yoo Eunhyeon’s mind raced in complicated circles.
Then that means Sa Yeo-un has learned the same internal energy method… How is that possible? A disciple of Sa Unsik? Or someone connected to the Demonic Cult?
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his head, but unfortunately he had no information that would let him settle on an answer.
“Is that so? Fine. If you’re going to keep lying to the end, I have no choice. I’ll just have to stick to you. With me around, you won’t be able to shake the tracker either, will you?”
“Tch. Do whatever you want. Follow or don’t.”
But he still could not tell Sa Yeo-un the truth, so Yoo Eunhyeon simply turned and walked out.
Watching him go, Sa Yeo-un wore an amused expression and murmured to herself.
“It’s definitely Mahon Cheongong… I’m in a hurry, but I can’t just leave something this interesting alone.”
With that, she opened the door and followed Yoo Eunhyeon outside.
As he walked, Yoo Eunhyeon glanced back over his shoulder.
He did not need to look to know Sa Yeo-un was following, but he did it anyway to make a point.
When he glanced back, she only shrugged. Yoo Eunhyeon let out a long sigh and kept walking.
Honestly, if it had only been the clumsy pursuer from Wonjeong Sanghoe, he could have shaken Sa Yeo-un off with ease. The problem was that even a clumsy tracker forced him to use light-body techniques to lose them—and showing that to Sa Yeo-un, who was right behind him, was more than a little awkward.
She’s already suspicious about where my internal energy comes from. Showing her that would leave a really bad taste…
He was about to reach Uiseon Suga and finally see his mother; the last thing he wanted was to make things bigger.
Even if I wanted to consult Auntie, I can’t exactly drag these two along…
The tracker was one thing, but Sa Yeo-un was clearly someone from the Demonic Cult. Whether it was right to move around with someone like that in tow was a judgment Yoo Eunhyeon simply could not make right now.
In the end he had no choice but to wander the streets in circles, hoping that at least one of the two would eventually tire and drop off. Of course he knew perfectly well how ridiculous that hope was.
Huh? Wait a second… for real?
Suddenly Yoo Eunhyeon sensed that the presence of the clumsy tracker following at a distance had vanished, and he stopped walking.
Only for a moment. The presence revived almost at once, and he clicked his tongue—then his eyes narrowed as if he had realized something.
The tracker’s atmosphere feels different… It’s not just my imagination. The presence itself has changed.
If the previous tracker had been clumsy, the one targeting him now was different.
Aside from the instant the presence shifted, the traces were almost impossible to find. No matter how hard he tried, it was so secretive he could barely sense it at all. This was clearly a skilled tracker.
Damn it. If they’re switching out and tracking me, there’s no end to—
And just as he was thinking that, someone who had approached from behind tapped him on the shoulder.
“Wh-what?”
So focused on the suddenly changed tracker’s presence that he had failed to notice anyone coming up behind him, Yoo Eunhyeon whirled around in shock.
“You…”
Sa Yeo-un stood there. Whatever he had been about to say died in his throat.
It was not the easygoing face he had seen until now. Her rare, serious expression caught his eye.
To the silent Yoo Eunhyeon, Sa Yeo-un spoke quietly.
“You felt it too, right? The tracker changed.”
“This one seems like a proper tracker. Did they switch?”
“Switch? This isn’t the time for such lucky talk.”
She stepped right up in front of him and muttered under her breath.
“They were dealt with. This one’s on a completely different level from the clumsy tracker who was following you until now. They cleared out the obstacle and started the real pursuit.”
“Dealt with?”
At her sudden words, Yoo Eunhyeon could only be flustered. He had a rough idea what “dealt with” meant without needing to ask.
“Who exactly did the dealing?”
“I have someone in mind… but more importantly, the situation isn’t good. This tracker is moving faster than I expected.”
At her meaningful words, Yoo Eunhyeon frowned. After a brief silence, Sa Yeo-un gestured to him.
“Just follow me for now.”
As the presence closing in from behind grew clearer, Yoo Eunhyeon nodded without a word.
There was no need to say out loud that they no longer had the leisure for conversation.
In the next instant, Yoo Eunhyeon and Sa Yeo-un both kicked off the ground at the same time and launched themselves forward.