The Shadowy Waterfall and the Unraveling of a Hidden Pursuit
Sa Yeo-un moved without the slightest whisper of sound, suppressing her presence as if she refused to allow even a single breath to escape. Yoo Eunhyeon followed her like a shadow.
After weaving through the forest several times, the two finally reached a hidden waterfall deep in Taiyuan.
Among them, the spot Sa Yeo-un had chosen was a round rock ledge near the waterfall. The roar of the water masked any noise, and the low, scooped-out terrain was perfect for hiding a body.
“What are you doing? Sit.”
Once they arrived, the two sat quietly to catch their breath. How long had they been there? A moment later, Sa Yeo-un let out a long sigh and muttered.
“Haaa… I heard you suffer when you come home from a run. Even I who’ve run away from home this time feel pretty tired.”
“You ran away?”
“Of course. This is exactly the thirty-third time.”
Sa Yeo-un’s answer was unexpected, but the moment Yoo Eunhyeon heard it, the scattered situations in his mind suddenly began to line up.
“So that means you’ve been pursued too…?”
“Yep. It’s the people my dad assigned.”
Right after Sa Yeo-un spoke, Yoo Eunhyeon’s eyes gradually narrowed. For a moment he was too stunned to speak, but he couldn’t hold back the surging anger that rose in him later. He opened his mouth again.
“But what kind of event happens often enough to make that worth it?”
“Running away is always the same. I leave the house after fighting with the adults there, what’s the big deal?”
“No, I mean, isn’t there a reason why the thirty-third fight with your parents is different?”
“It is different. But this time it’s a real big problem. Because of marriage.”
“You’re not even old enough yet, and you’re already worrying about marriage?”
“You think men’s things are easy to say? If you were about to be forced into marriage too, you wouldn’t be able to say that either?”
Sa Yeo-un said it as if she found Yoo Eunhyeon’s reply rather unappealing. Still, he only shrugged his shoulders.
“So you ran away because you didn’t like it? Because you ran away, you wanted to turn your dad’s heart?”
“No. No matter if I ran away or even if I decided to end my own life, my dad is the type who never bends once he’s set something in stone.”
“But then? Why run away and suffer like this?”
“There’s one way. I want to kill that marriage partner my dad chose. If I die and disappear, no matter how much of a dad he is, he won’t be able to force a marriage.”
Sa Yeo-un spoke calmly, clearly satisfied with her own plan. Yoo Eunhyeon’s eyes widened in shock, and he asked in disbelief.
“You’re going to kill a person?”
“Or is there another way?”
“……”
When Sa Yeo-un asked that, Yoo Eunhyeon instinctively shut his mouth. No other ideas had come to him, just as she’d said.
Yet there was one clear point. What she’d just said was never a joke, and it meant Sa Yeo-un was not the kind of person one could easily look down on.
“Do you know where that person is? Or his name or anything?”
“No. I don’t.”
Yoo Eunhyeon asked again in disbelief at Sa Yeo-un’s bold declaration.
“Then how are you going to find and kill him specifically?”
“I don’t have the information, but the trackers who came looking for me will have it. And I have a rough direction. I have to go to Jinan in Shandong… so I can’t be caught here.”
At the mention of Jinan, Yoo Eunhyeon flinched slightly.
Jinan was near Mount Taesan, where he was born and raised. But thinking it was just a coincidence, he shook his head and asked.
“That doesn’t seem like the best option.”
“What can I do? I have zero information on the opponent. First I have to go there and investigate.”
“You’re amazing, really.”
“Even so, it feels good to finally spill it all. But what about you? You’re a farmer, right? Why come all the way here without planting crops?”
Smiling as if she’d truly felt refreshed, Sa Yeo-un asked about Yoo Eunhyeon this time.
Of course there were reasons he’d come this far, but he couldn’t tell her everything.
Still, when the other party was being so open, there was no need to lie. Yoo Eunhyeon answered simply and decisively.
“My in-laws live nearby, so I came for a visit. Farming… I guess I’m just taking a break for a while.”
“Eh? Did you really just decide to take a break from farming in the middle?”
“Of course not. There’s a situation where I can’t do anything else.”
“Where did you originally live?”
Yoo Eunhyeon flinched at Sa Yeo-un’s question. But deciding it was better not to hide anything more, he answered as calmly as possible.
“At the foot of the mountains near Taesan.”
“Hmm? That’s the same place I’m heading to?”
“It’s nearby.”
“Haaa…… If I fail to kill that person, I might end up hiding in the mountains planting crops too?”
“That might be better? No matter how you look at it, you’re not the type to plant crops.”
“Why? Living close to nature and just tending crops and stones should be fine.”
“See? You’ve completely lost it. Listen.”
With a nonchalant tone, Sa Yeo-un’s attitude made Yoo Eunhyeon let out a deep sigh. After thinking for a moment, he raised a finger.
“I might learn martial arts too. If anyone can just watch a secret manual and follow it, they can become a master, right? What’s so hard about that chaos?”
Yoo Eunhyeon’s exaggerated shrug made Sa Yeo-un’s expression harden. To those who had walked the path of martial arts for their entire lives, that remark would never sound like sweet music.
Yet in Yoo Eunhyeon’s eyes, Sa Yeo-un’s words were the same. Whether the opponent had gotten angry or not, from the perspective of a farmer named Yoo Eunhyeon, it was a statement that could never be ignored.
“……I see. Switching positions makes it clear. Still, I didn’t look down on farming. Sorry.”
Sa Yeo-un, seeming to have gained enlightenment from Yoo Eunhyeon’s words, sighed, then immediately apologized without hesitation. The one who was taken aback was actually Yoo Eunhyeon.
“No. No need to apologize yet…”
“Why? That wasn’t a wrong statement, was it? If you really were like me, you’d at least try farming, right?”
Although he’d expected anger, when Sa Yeo-un smiled brightly and seemed to accept it right away, Yoo Eunhyeon scratched his head.
After all, Sa Yeo-un knew nothing about farming, yet she had spoken that way. Maybe he had been too sensitive.
“I was probably being too harsh too. I wasn’t making light of learning martial arts.”
“If that was the case, I wouldn’t have said it in the first place. It’s fine. It’s better than just talking empty words.”
And with Sa Yeo-un saying that, Yoo Eunhyeon’s wariness had also decreased a lot from the beginning.
But just as that slightly warmer atmosphere settled, a harsh, tense feeling suddenly wrapped around them. The two sprang to their feet from their seats.
“Hmph. Looks like we couldn’t shake them.”
“What? This time it’s not just two of them, is it?”
“Indeed. At least five… Hmph. With this number, they’re almost certainly the ones chasing me.”
“Your family’s people? Five or more? This isn’t a joke.”
“Yeah. If I delay any longer, I’ll be caught. It’d be troublesome if I got caught here. It’s a shame, but we have to part ways now.”
“I don’t mind, but…… is that okay?”
“Even if they chase me, the people following won’t harm me. And with five of them, not two, it’s impossible to run away while dragging you along.”
Sa Yeo-un, having reassured Yoo Eunhyeon, smiled brightly as if to show off.
“It’s a pity I couldn’t find out who taught you that inner energy method. Missing the target like this is unusual for me…….”
“……”
“You’re not going to say anything to the end, huh? Fine. Then I have no choice but to postpone it. Next time, you have to tell me, right?”
Now that there was truly no more time for conversation, Sa Yeo-un leapt forward and dashed away. Yoo Eunhyeon watched her go and let out a long sigh.
“Whew. She’s finally gone. What if I meet her again later? Ah…… I don’t know.”
If he hadn’t used a lie to avoid an uneasy heart, the meeting with Sa Yeo-un might not have been bad. But that was all; he had no desire to get involved with her again.
After Sa Yeo-un left, the traces of the pursuers chasing her completely vanished. But Yoo Eunhyeon, out of caution, stayed there for a moment until it grew quiet, then quietly stood up.
“I’m sure Aunt will worry. I’ll head back quickly.”
Now that there was no hesitation, Yoo Eunhyeon unleashed his light body technique and flew back toward Taiyuan.
*
And as Yoo Eunhyeon returned to Taiyuan, two figures appeared at the fork in the road.
“That guy’s definitely not ordinary, right?”
“Yes. It’s confirmed. It seems worth the effort to guard the fork.”
The figures who had revealed themselves were Go Ji-han and Gu Pyo from the Heavenly Martial Alliance’s Jeongeumdae.
“Hmmm…… Even so, they didn’t give up. There’s a harvest, after all.”
“That’s what I said. When those demonic cultists suddenly appeared, I really panicked and ran.”
“Since it’s the opponent, it can’t be helped. Thanks to that, I got involved too.”
“But how did that guy manage to talk up close with such a scary woman?”
“When did I ever say that talking to beauties costs your life?”
“I forgot to add ‘safely’ in front.”
“You’ve picked everything already? Pathetic brat…… Still, seeing that you didn’t follow him back, it seems the guy didn’t know the woman’s true identity. Was it just a coincidence?”
“Then what should we do? It doesn’t seem related, so shall we just leave him be?”
“No. It’s clear he talked for quite a while. Just that content alone seems worth investigating. First, we need to figure out the guy’s identity. There was a tracker who followed him from the start, right?”
When Go Ji-han asked, Gu Pyo nodded, recalling the tracker who had pursued Yoo Eunhyeon.
“He was a tracker for the expedition merchant group. He just ran away when I scared him. He wasn’t particularly skilled…… The opponent seemed to have noticed the pursuit, too?”
“Why from the expedition merchant group?”
“I don’t know. They said it was information gathering for recruitment…….”
“Is there a chance it’s been manipulated?”
“It’s possible. The tracker was just an ordinary guy. Even if the one who gave the orders had another motive, the tracker himself wouldn’t know anything.”
“There’s a possibility…… We still can’t just leave it. We’ll track him.”
After Gu Pyo’s answer, Go Ji-han spoke, but his frown deepened as he looked at the one still standing blankly.
“What are you doing? I said to track.”
“Can I go too? Honestly, it was a close call even before I got spotted by the demonic cultists. That guy. He’s not ordinary. He seems to have quite sharp senses.”
“Yeah…… With your level, you might get spotted. It’s fortunate you know how to take care of yourself. We need one person to watch here anyway…… Fine. I’ll go.”
“Take care.”
And while waiting for the answer, Go Ji-han glared at Gu Pyo sprawled out nearby.
“Damn it. My luck that I have to run this hard while leaving my underling behind. Hey you! Stop slacking and get back to write the report for your boss!”
“No. I can’t write it until you come back and give me the results.”
“At least draw up a plan or something. When I come back, I’ll write the results and report right away. Do I have to tell you every little thing?”
“Ugh. You make me work twice as hard. Understood.”
Though he wanted to smack the still grumbling Gu Pyo, Go Ji-han clenched his teeth, thinking he might lose track of Yoo Eunhyeon if he delayed. He only poured out more curses before dashing off.