A Farewell to Peace
I'd already said what needed to be said.
She opened her mouth, which didn't part easily, and slowly delivered the words.
That she was leaving.
Moyong Sehui slung a single bundle over her shoulder, hesitated for a moment, then left the room where she'd been staying and opened the sliding door.
What she saw was completely unexpected.
The entire Dan Manor household was waiting for her.
Her chest tightened with emotion, her throat closing up so tightly she couldn't speak.
She hadn't stayed long at all, yet leaving this place filled her with such regret.
But contrary to her true feelings, she spoke in a small voice.
"Thank you for everything during my stay."
"Just when you're finally becoming useful, you decide to leave. Eat this on the way."
Yu Sucheon grumbled as he handed her warm dumplings along with his words.
Jeon Akgwan nodded beside him.
They must have woken at dawn to prepare them on purpose.
Her hand trembled slightly as she accepted the gift.
Hwa Yuhwa offered her some medicinal pills.
"Take these if you get injured. So the wounds don't fester like before. One pill should heal most ordinary injuries."
"These... must be expensive..."
Hwa Yuhwa simply smiled.
She had prepared ten pills, expecting injuries and packing plenty to spare.
Moyong Sehui turned her gaze toward Dan Hyunwoo.
He silently ruffled her hair again.
"I just fixed my hair this morning."
"Take care."
"Stay healthy."
Jin Yeongyeong and Dan Yuseon.
She exchanged farewells with Dan Seoyeon and Eun Hyeongyeom as well.
True to her warm nature, Jin Yeongyeong's eyes glistened with tears. This was the same woman who acted like the Demon King of Hell toward the three villains.
After the goodbyes were finished, she stepped outside.
Yu Sucheon, Hwa Yuhwa, and Dan Hyunwoo accompanied her all the way to the main gate.
Dan Hyunwoo suddenly held out his hand and offered her something.
It was a small pouch containing twenty taels of gold.
"What is this money for?"
"Payment for the work you've done."
"This is... too much."
Fearing she might cry, she quickly turned away.
And so she left.
Even as the Dan Manor grew distant, she didn't turn back to look at the three who were likely still standing outside.
Half of her felt refreshed at the thought that she could return home once this new mission was complete.
The other half was filled with reluctance and the desire not to leave.
Pushing those feelings behind her, her feet trod the hard road.
Watching her receding figure grow smaller, Dan Hyunwoo spoke.
"If it's meant to be, we'll meet again."
It was good that she hadn't looked back.
The further she walked, the heavier the regret in her heart grew.
Keeping her lips pressed tightly together and looking only forward, Moyong Sehui headed for Shaoxing.
Shaoxing was in the same Zhejiang Province as Hangzhou.
It was roughly three hundred and fifty li away.
And it was the famous origin of Shaoxing wine.
As Hangzhou grew distant and Shaoxing drew near, her heart became complicated.
All sorts of emotions churned in her chest.
She still wanted to turn around and look back at the place she'd just left.
The Dan Manor.
The insignificant days she'd spent there had been happy ones.
She would probably never forget them.
Even if she could never return.
"Enough. Stop thinking about it."
Three days after leaving Hangzhou, Moyong Sehui was finally able to unpack her belongings at the Small Dragon Inn.
That same evening.
Moyong Sehui sat at a table in a private room.
Together with the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.
The Five Dragons: Namgung Cheol of the Namgung Clan, Peng Bogwang of the Hebei Peng Clan, Huangfu Ge of the Huangfu Clan, Dokgo Jin of the Dokgo Clan, and Yang Bicheon of the Yang Clan.
The Three Phoenixes: Dang Seohee of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Jegal Yeon of the Jegal Clan, and Moyong Sehui of the Moyong Clan herself.
It had been a long time since she'd seen the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.
Moyong Sehui frowned slightly.
Unexpectedly, there was alcohol on the private room table.
Even though they were in the middle of a mission to track and eliminate the Sapa expert Jeoksan.
As Namgung Cheol lifted his cup, he looked at Moyong Sehui and flashed a faint, sneering smile.
He's still holding a grudge about losing at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.
He had always been arrogant, and that nature had been there from the beginning.
The hierarchy in this place was also clearly divided according to each family's power.
The Five Dragons occasionally spoke to Moyong Sehui.
But they seemed to avoid Dang Seohee and Jegal Yeon as much as possible.
The prestige of the Sichuan Tang Clan, their poison arts, and Dang Seohee's silent, gloomy personality.
And Jegal Yeon, who could deduce everything from a single misplaced word, from the Jegal Clan that excelled at strategy.
They spoke to Moyong Sehui but tried not to get too deeply involved.
Because the leader of the Murim Alliance was the head of the Moyong Clan.
Naturally, the Five Dragons only chattered among themselves.
But the content of their conversation made her sigh involuntarily.
They were fiercely arguing over who would take command for this mission.
Without yielding an inch, they passionately listed reasons why each of them should be the leader.
These are the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes? It's also ridiculous that none of the Nine Great Schools are included.
Because this side refused to include them, the other side had gone and created a ridiculous "Five Dragons Four Phoenixes" on their own.
Moyong Sehui didn't touch her cup and turned her gaze to Jegal Yeon.
She was watching the Five Dragons with an expression of keen interest.
She's having some strange thoughts of her own.
It seemed she was gathering all sorts of information from the power struggle over the leadership position.
The role of leader was gradually settling on Namgung Cheol, backed by the Namgung Clan's influence.
Even here, family power was at work.
Not that she cared.
As she listened to their conversation, Moyong Sehui recalled how Sister Yuhwa always called Dan Hyunwoo "Captain."
She realized anew that when she used that title, it came from genuine respect and a heartfelt desire to follow him.
But these people...
Were childish.
Excruciatingly so.
Moyong Sehui rose from her seat.
"I'll head in first. It's not as if we'll be discussing Jeoksan at this gathering anyway."
Leaving those words, she turned and left.
Jegal Yeon followed after her.
"Can I sleep with you tonight, sis?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I want to rest alone for a while."
Using the excuse of sleeping together to try to dig up information.
With that innocent-looking face.
It was exhausting.
Just thinking about carrying out a mission with these people already made her head ache.
Moyong Sehui shook off Jegal Yeon and returned to her room.
She lay down on the inn bed and stared fixedly at the ceiling above.
It still wouldn't fade from her mind.
She thought of it again, and the longing returned.
The Dan Manor. That place she could never go back to.
I can make fish meatballs properly now...
The next day.
Using information brought by a Murim Alliance informant, they located Jeoksan.
It was a small manor.
On the way there, Jegal Yeon, who had stuck close to her side, whispered secretly.
"Sis, do you think Jeoksan is still at the manor?"
"No."
"May I ask why you think so?"
Moyong Sehui turned to look at Jegal Yeon, who asked with an innocent face.
Jegal Yeon was testing her right now.
What should she say? After a brief moment of thought, Moyong Sehui decided to give a proper answer and shake her off.
"First, Jeoksan would have noticed that the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes arrived here by today. Second, instead of holding a drinking party to choose a leader yesterday, we should have gone straight to find and kill Jeoksan. Third, rushing over in such a large group like this..."
"They'd notice us from far away."
"It makes me sigh, so don't ask me any more questions."
No matter how little experience she had, this was too much.
The limits of leader Namgung Cheol's thinking.
And just as expected, the manor was completely empty.
Namgung Cheol, who was leading the group, tried to hide his disappointed expression.
It would be better if he stepped down from the leader position even now.
At that moment, Peng Bogwang suddenly approached to open the manor's sliding door.
It was an unexpected impulsive action.
"There might be evidence inside, so we should search! If they fled in a hurry, something must have been left behind."
At his ignorant words, Moyong Sehui reached out.
"Wait! You shouldn't open the door so recklessly!"
Ping—!
Moyong Sehui's prediction was correct.
A simple trap mechanism had been installed inside the room.
An arrow flew straight toward Peng Bogwang.
Swish!
Moyong Sehui urgently used her lightness skill to shove Peng Bogwang aside.
Thud—!
"Argh!"
Fortunately, thanks to her push, the arrow aimed at his heart only embedded itself in his left shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
"Get your hand off me. It's just an arrow like this!"
Peng Bogwang pushed away Moyong Sehui's hand.
Without even a word of thanks.
He gripped the arrow embedded in his shoulder, yanked it out roughly, and threw it aside.
The arrow was caught in Dang Seohee's hand.
"...No poison."
She spoke quietly.
Then added one more thing.
"...You should go to the medical hall for treatment."
"It's fine. I won't die from being hit by an arrow."
The elected leader Namgung Cheol spoke.
"Since you're fine, let's pursue them. We can still catch up."
At Namgung Cheol's words, Moyong Sehui looked at the footprints Jeoksan had left behind.
The tracks leading into the mountains were being dyed by the sunset.
"The sun is setting. If we're going to pursue now, we need to prepare for camping first."
"What's there to prepare for camping? Let's just go. And the decision is mine to make as the leader."
"Then go on ahead. I'll prepare and follow later."
Moyong Sehui turned sharply and headed back toward the inn.
Namgung Cheol's hand, which had been reaching out to stop her, froze in midair.
He wanted to grab her, but their families held similar status, so he couldn't voice it.
Damn it... That bitch...
Suppressing his rage, Namgung Cheol glared at Moyong Sehui's back with a tightly clenched fist as Jegal Yeon passed by and said,
"I'll prepare with Sehui sis and follow along. Oh! Dang Seohee sis says she's going to prepare as well."
Dang Seohee, who had been hesitating behind them, followed after Jegal Yeon at those words.
Namgung Cheol's face flushed bright red.
With three of them gone, he would either have to wait for them or prepare together before pursuing Jeoksan.
His eyes followed Moyong Sehui's retreating figure.
"In the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, we had mudfish instead of phoenixes. And two of them at that."
Before entering the inn, Moyong Sehui bought various things at the market as she saw them.
Jegal Yeon asked,
"Will all of that fit in your bundle?"
"Jeoksan has gone to Xiaoshan. And Xiaoshan is a large mountain. It takes seven days and nights to cross on foot. Even with lightness skill, it takes three days. But since we're following tracks, it will take even longer."
"I suppose so."
Jegal Yeon and Dang Seohee also bought large quantities of jerky and packed them into their bundles.
Moyong Sehui sent a slightly annoyed glance toward Jegal Yeon.
She was probing again.
Moyong Sehui let out a shallow sigh.
She had been too tired since yesterday.
Today is a night without moonlight.
Moyong Sehui turned her head and gazed toward Xiaoshan, visible only as a hazy shape in the distance.
Today, they would have to stop the pursuit as soon as the sun set.
Thick darkness that made it impossible to see even an inch ahead would cover the mountain.
This pursuit was rushing headlong toward a long-term battle.
The sun set, and thick darkness fell.
Today's pursuit ended here.
Moyong Sehui broke off tree branches and marked the footprints left by Jeoksan and his subordinates as she spoke.
"Let's camp here for the night."
At Moyong Sehui's words, Namgung Cheol's face crumpled into a frown.
He didn't like that she was freely offering opinions even though he was supposed to be the leader.
Still, it was a flat area midway up the mountain with plenty of trees and grass—a good position that wouldn't leave them vulnerable to ambush.
So he simply glared at her in silence.
Leaving Namgung Cheol behind, Moyong Sehui scouted the surroundings and fell into thought.
About twenty sets of footprints from Jeoksan and his subordinates. And there are eight of us.
No matter if they were the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, Jeoksan was not an easy opponent.
Mad Sword Flying Assassin.
Just as his nickname suggested.
It meant he swung his sword like a madman, but also that he killed as if flying.
The number of Murim Alliance warriors he had already killed reached one hundred.
His subordinates were formidable as well.
Moyong Sehui confirmed there were no lights near the mountain.
They must have already crossed the peak and be camping while heading toward the next one.
"We can light a campfire today."
Moyong Sehui returned to where the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes were gathered.
And she immediately sighed.
The seven of them were sitting there blankly, just munching away at their jerky.
"Aren't you going to light a fire?"
"Jeoksan might see the light from our fire and run even farther."
Namgung Cheol answered.
Moyong Sehui pointed at the person shivering beside them.
"You haven't forgotten that Young Master Peng was hit by an arrow, have you?"
"Well..."
"We haven't even followed half of Jeoksan's trail yet. The distance is such that they won't notice if we light a fire."
"But..."
She understood.
What Namgung Cheol's expression was saying.
They hadn't prepared anything at all.
No flint, nothing else.
Looking up at the sky, Moyong Sehui suppressed her rising anger.
This is driving me crazy. I really want to go back. To think they came completely empty-handed.
However, she knew everything necessary for perfect camping.
It was time to put what she had learned from Dan Hyunwoo to use.