Chapter 166: Forced Growth-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: Forced Growth-3
After incinerating every bandit who had ambushed them, So-yu sprinted toward the direction of their stronghold.
In-ho, who had been staring blankly at his master’s display of power, finally snapped back to his senses and chased after her.
Because he had started late, So-yu had already vanished from his sight, but since he was walking a path he already knew, In-ho was able to catch up to her quickly.
Of course, by the time he reached the stronghold, the screams of men were already echoing from every corner.
So-yu was driving straight punches into the bandits' heads; those struck by her destructive blows died instantly on the spot.
As she tore through the stronghold, a burly bandit who appeared to be the leader emerged before her, wielding a massive greatsword.
"You brat! Do you have any idea where you are?!"
His face was flushed red, perhaps from drinking, as he shouted with blustering bravado.
But that was the end of it.
So-yu’s kick flew like a bolt of lightning, crushing his skull and sending his massive frame flying.
"...It’s finally quiet."
So-yu spoke as she stood amidst the gruesome scene, a place where no trace of life remained.
"I figured you’d want to come here, so I cleared it out in advance."
So-yu looked at the arriving In-ho with an expression that seemed to ask, Didn't I do well?
In-ho could only manage an awkward smile.
"......"
While So-yu scouted the stronghold, In-ho dragged the bandits' corpses into a single pile.
Looking at the mountain of bodies, In-ho recalled a memory from that day, one he had buried deep in his heart.
A mountain of corpses—mangled, slashed, and severed.
And the flames that rose from beneath them.
Unconsciously, he grit his teeth and, just as Namgung So-yeon had done back then, he set the bandits' corpses ablaze.
A tower of humans, given the name "firewood," went up in flames.
The massive fire surged, emitting a foul stench.
In-ho did not look away from the flames.
The fire was performing its duty diligently, as it always did.
If left alone, it would consume that great tower of corpses and then vanish.
"......"
He thought of those he hadn't been able to mourn properly.
The Chief Steward, Yeonhwa, Maebwa, and the people of the Black Sky Cult.
In-ho closed his eyes and tried to recall their faces, but his vision blurred as if shrouded in mist.
"What are you thinking about?"
So-yu, having finished her sweep of the stronghold, approached him from behind as he stared blankly at the fire.
"I was just watching."
In-ho answered mechanically.
So-yu pressed herself close to In-ho’s side and naturally took his hand in hers.
"Liar."
"Pardon?"
"I said you're lying. You definitely had the look of someone remembering something."
So-yu’s eyes narrowed.
The flames were reflected, flickering within her crimson pupils.
"It’s really nothing. I was just thinking about some people."
"People? What people?"
"Just... people."
So-yu wanted to press him further at his vague answer, but she held her tongue.
*
In-ho and So-yu stayed at the stronghold for a week.
They didn't have a specific destination in mind, and the supplies the bandits had hoarded were so abundant that they lacked for nothing.
For the two of them, who currently lacked travel funds, it was as if supplies had dropped at the perfect time. Furthermore, So-yu had noticed that In-ho secretly liked the place.
So-yu planned to use this time to grow closer to In-ho.
In-ho’s heart was like something that appeared wide open yet remained firmly shut.
One moment he felt infinitely close, and the next, he acted like a stranger.
So, she chose to stay in this secluded place to increase the time they spent together.
In the mornings, they sparred; in the afternoons, they talked, asking each other things they were curious about.
They also prepared meals together and repaired the worn-out parts of the stronghold.
Despite all this, So-yu was far from satisfied.
I still don't know you.
So-yu thought to herself.
She wanted to know everything about In-ho, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
She wanted to trace the firm lines of his body with her fingers and press her nose against him to inhale his scent deeply.
What he was thinking, who he was remembering...
She was dying to know.
She wanted to take his past, present, and future into her own hands and never show them to anyone else.
Little by little, taking her time, she intended to possess every part of him.
However, her plans were shattered by a carrier pigeon that arrived out of the blue.
One day, a pigeon flew to In-ho with a slip of paper tied to its leg.
"A carrier pigeon? Did you request information from the Beggar's Sect?" So-yu asked as In-ho untied the message from the bird's leg.
"I asked the person who sent news about the Grandmaster last time," In-ho replied.
"Asked what?"
"To investigate the Grandmaster’s death. I knew you wouldn't be in any state to look into it yourself, Master."
"So, this is the reply."
"Yes. You’re going to get revenge, aren't you?"
When In-ho asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, So-yu couldn't answer immediately.
Taking revenge for Yeom-jin was a given, but So-yu agonized over whether it was right to take In-ho with her to the site of that vengeance.
In-ho opened the letter, and since he couldn't read, he showed it to So-yu.
"In-ho."
"What does it say? Does it list their headquarters?"
"No, it's not that."
"Then what?"
"They..."
As So-yu hesitated, In-ho sensed that something was wrong.
"They... are coming here."
The group that had killed Yeom-jin was coming for them.
Whoosh.
A bleak wind swept over the stronghold.