Chapter 165
Rustle!
The moment a shadowy figure emerged from the bushes, my vision blurred.
Right then, I was utterly powerless.
If I were to encounter Amhyeolhyang now, my chances of survival would be no more than ten percent.
“Excuse me!”
“!”
But, thankfully, the person stepping out from the thicket wasn’t Amhyeolhyang.
And it wasn’t just one person.
Three warriors, looking like ronin, pushed through the bushes.
The one leading them smiled warmly and said, “I saw the smoke and came over. Mind if we share your campfire… Oh? Did you get hurt somewhere?”
I stared blankly at his kindly face.
Then I couldn’t help but mutter, “…Warrior Jang?”
He was definitely someone I knew.
A few months ago, he had taken me to the front lines and even got caught up in a fight with Hyogwi. He was the loyal ronin warrior, Jang.
The two standing behind him were familiar faces as well.
“And Warrior Gong, and Warrior Jong too?”
They had said they were retiring from being ronin to support their families—Gong and the usually taciturn Jong.
As I called out their names in a daze, their expressions shifted oddly.
Their eyes, which had been studying me with curiosity, gradually widened in surprise.
“Could it be… Seonwoo Gongja?”
“Oh?! It really is Seonwoo Gongja! You’ve lost so much weight I almost didn’t recognize you! You’ve become quite the handsome man!”
They broke into bright smiles and started rushing toward me.
They seemed genuinely glad to see me.
I was equally happy to see them.
But now was not the time for greetings.
I shouted urgently, “You can’t come here!”
Startled, they stopped in their tracks, and I hurriedly explained.
“I’m being targeted by Amhyeolhyang right now! Until just a moment ago, Dokan Gwegeom Seo Il was with me, so you couldn’t come. But now that he’s gone, Amhyeolhyang will strike at any moment! You all need to get out of here immediately!”
Even if they were all top-tier warriors, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Amhyeolhyang.
And with their second-rate skills? It was a death sentence.
They had risked their lives to protect me before, and I couldn’t just let them get slaughtered.
They looked at me with shocked faces and asked, “You said Amhyeolhyang? And Dokan Gwegeom Seo Il? So that terrifying voice we heard earlier was…?”
“That’s right! That voice was Seo Il’s! He told Amhyeolhyang that he had achieved his goal and was stepping aside! So now…!”
They exchanged startled glances.
Hearing the names Amhyeolhyang and Seo Il was enough to shock anyone.
But what they did next was completely unexpected.
Warrior Jang suddenly grinned and said, “So, Seonwoo Gongja, you’re in desperate need of help, then?”
Warrior Gong smiled too. “Indeed. We’ve met at just the right time. Now I can finally repay my debt to you, brother.”
Even the usually quiet Warrior Jong nodded and smiled brightly.
I was dumbfounded by their reaction.
Bewildered, I asked, “…What do you mean?”
I understood their meaning perfectly.
They were willing to risk their lives to help me.
But knowing that made me even more desperate.
This wasn’t just any opponent—it was Amhyeolhyang.
They couldn’t possibly help.
I pleaded with them, “Warrior Jang, Warrior Jong, Warrior Gong. I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart, but no. Amhyeolhyang is no ordinary foe! You can’t possibly stand against him!”
Then, without waiting for me to finish, Jang drew his sword.
Shing!
With a sharp shout of “Hap!” he released his energy.
A faint sword energy, the kind a low-level first-tier warrior could muster.
When I first met him, he was only second-tier, but it seemed he had finally reached first-tier.
Under different circumstances, that would have been cause for celebration.
But seeing that energy now, my heart sank even further.
That level wouldn’t be enough.
I had to stop him.
Before I could say anything, he smiled and said, “See, Gongja? I’ve fulfilled my dream.”
I was caught off guard.
“…Huh?”
He smiled brightly and continued, “For a long time, my dream was to release sword energy. I always thought that if I could reach first-tier before I died, I’d have no regrets. And now, thanks to the Bowon Method you gave me, I’ve finally done it.”
I was speechless.
Because I understood exactly what he meant.
Suddenly, my eyes grew hot.
Then Warrior Gong picked up where he left off.
“Oh! So now that you’ve fulfilled your dream, you have no regrets even if you die, brother? That’s amazing. I feel the same way, ha ha ha!”
Warrior Jong, standing beside him, nodded with a bright smile.
I realized then—they were saying they were ready to die for me.
Smiling so brightly, as if they had no lingering regrets.
My throat tightened.
Forcing myself to speak, I tried to stop them again.
“No, absolutely not. Warrior Gong, didn’t you say you wanted to return home? To spend your remaining days with your family?”
He laughed heartily. “Ha ha ha! I did say that. But now that I’ve reached first-tier, I can’t just stay cooped up at home. I realized I’m destined to die swinging a sword.”
His expression when talking about death was so bright.
There wasn’t a trace of regret in his eyes.
Only the calm gaze of someone who has fully accepted death.
I couldn’t find my voice anymore.
I knew I had to stop them, but my throat was too tight to speak.
Then Jang hurriedly said, “There’s no time, so I’ll be brief. We once faced a powerful enemy and agreed that if one of us had to survive, we’d hide that person while the rest scattered to lure the enemy away.”
He looked toward the forest behind us and continued, “So, Gongja, you hide somewhere nearby. We’ll scatter in this direction. There are three of us and only one Amhyeolhyang, so we should be able to buy some time. When you’ve recovered a bit, escape in the opposite direction.”
Tears suddenly welled up.
“Why… why are you willing to go this far for me?”
Jang smiled brightly. “We’ve been through life and death together, and our hearts are connected. Aren’t we already close friends? What other reason do you need?”
I remembered those words.
The ones I had said to them with a smile when we parted.
And now, at this moment, they were returning those words to me.
We’re already friends, so risking our lives is no problem…
My chest tightened as if my heart would break.
I decided to act quickly.
If their resolve was this strong, I couldn’t waste time trying to stop them.
That would only make their sacrifice meaningless.
The only thing I could do now was to recover as fast as possible during the time they bought me.
I, Lee Sik of Wolhwan Geommumu, activated Hyunwol.
Fwoooosh!
I triggered Wolhwan Geommumu to temporarily block the pain, then moved as quietly as possible to find a nearby water source.
I planned to recover my body submerged in water.
I grabbed a hollow reed to breathe underwater and, before entering, took the Saengsa Hwan pill from Saengsa Goeui.
It was the very pill they claimed was better than the Shaolin summoning pill.
Now was the time to rely on its effects.
“Please, Elder Ma,” I prayed silently, then swallowed it quickly.
Before entering the water, I glanced toward the direction the three warriors had gone.
They had already scattered in three directions, telling me not to reveal where I would hide.
They carried sacks filled with dirt to weigh themselves down and cut themselves to leave blood trails.
“Please…”
I prayed fervently for their safety.
Then I slipped into the water, holding the hollow reed in my mouth to breathe.
Now it was time to circulate the Honwon Muguk Gong.
“Huuuu…”
Exhaling deeply, I focused all my mind on the energy circulation.
That was all I could do.
The rest was up to fate.
Amhyeolhyang hadn’t gone far.
He had heard about Dokan Gwegeom Seo Il and expected him to leave quickly once his business was done.
But contrary to that, Seo Il stayed by Seonwoo Jin’s side for over a day.
Amhyeolhyang couldn’t help but feel irritated.
But as an assassin, he didn’t rush.
He decided to watch longer, keeping his distance just outside Seo Il’s detection range, careful not to lose their trail.
After a day passed, he finally sensed the moment he’d been waiting for.
Seo Il left, shouting loudly as if to announce his departure.
“Wahaha! Take care now! Hahaha!”
Doing something like that just to let others know he was leaving—he was as despicable as they said.
Seo Il leaving was well within Amhyeolhyang’s expectations.
But his blatantly obvious behavior only made Am Hyeolhyang grow slightly suspicious.
‘It was only natural for him to leave. The duel with Geomseong is imminent, so he must hurry. But lingering by Sun Woojin’s side like that—that’s a bit fishy.’
Feeling that subtle unease, Am Hyeolhyang didn’t move immediately after Seo Il left.
He couldn’t shake the possibility that Seo Il had set a trap targeting her.
Given how long Seo Il had stayed with Sun Woojin, she suspected there might have been some kind of deal between them.
Yet, as time passed and Seo Il didn’t return, Am Hyeolhyang finally became certain he had gone for good.
That’s when he began to move.
The king of assassins once again melted into the shadows, starting to track his prey.
Sssssk!
Finding the campfire where Seo Il and Sun Woojin had stayed wasn’t difficult.
But there, Am Hyeolhyang frowned upon discovering traces of not one, but three people—not the one he was chasing.
‘Three people…? Strange. They must have joined later, but now they’re splitting off in three different directions.’
Aside from their tracks, there was no sign of Sun Woojin’s movement.
However, all three sets of footprints suddenly deepened, as if they were carrying something heavy to confuse any pursuers.
‘And they left bloodstains too. They’re practically daring me to follow.’
Having pieced this together, Am Hyeolhyang let out a faint smile.
Though they’d tried a cheap trick, judging by the depth and pattern of the footprints, these three were at best first-rate fighters—they couldn’t have gotten far.
And since they resorted to such tactics, it seemed likely that Sun Woojin was currently unable to move on his own.
Considering the injuries he’d sustained, that was only to be expected.
In the end, Am Hyeolhyang decided to take it easy.
‘Even if I catch all three, it won’t take long. And if Sun Woojin’s not among them, I can always interrogate the others.’
With that in mind, he ghosted off toward the footprints farthest to the right—the direction the taciturn bell warrior had taken.
At the same time.
Breathing quietly like hollow reeds, Sun Woojin hid beneath the water’s surface, circulating the energy of the Moonlight Phantom Sword Dance’s Flying Moon technique while practicing the Hunwon Muguk Gong.
Suddenly, a tremendous heat began to surge from his lower abdomen, spreading through his entire body like a tidal wave.
Sssshhhhhh!
‘What is this…?!’
Sun Woojin was stunned by the overwhelming heat he’d never felt before.
Though it was as scorching as molten lava, it wasn’t the destructive, extreme yang energy that would harm his body.
Instead, it was a nourishing yang energy that protected his body and healed his wounds.
This had to be the energy of the Saengsahwan.
The miraculous medicinal power of the Saengsahwan from the Majonghwan of the Saengsagoe was manifesting.
Sun Woojin couldn’t help but marvel sincerely at its incredible potency.
‘Truly amazing! As expected of Elder Goe!’
The medicinal energy surged like a tidal wave, rapidly repairing torn muscles and fractured bones.
His thigh, ripped by a third, and the punctured right side of his chest were healing just as swiftly.
It was as if time itself had been rewound, his damaged body regenerating at an astonishing speed.
Awestruck by the mysterious efficacy of the Saengsahwan, Sun Woojin prayed silently in his heart.
‘Thank you, Elder Goe. But it has to be faster. Just a little faster…’