Episode 166
While Sun Woo-jin was desperately working to restore his strength, Jong-woo—the silent, sturdy warrior servant—was running with all his might, carrying a sack filled with soil.
“Amhyeolhyang…”
The reality of death still hadn’t fully sunk in.
But it was clear this was probably the end for him.
Being chased by Amhyeolhyang, the king of assassins—something he’d never even dreamed of in his life.
There was no way someone like him could survive.
“Brother Jang, Brother Gong, Brother Yang, Brother Lee…”
Perhaps because he had accepted death, memories of his comrades flashed through his mind like a slideshow.
The day he first picked up a sword, the day he ran away from home to become a warrior.
The day Jang Daeryong, his sworn brother, saved him when he nearly died due to inexperience.
The day they persuaded him to visit his parents again, only to discover their unjust deaths.
And the days they avenged his parents together.
Though there had been more hardships and sorrow than joy, he had no regrets.
And he knew well that it was all because he had met such good people along the way.
“For a wandering swordsman as common as a weed, I’ve been pretty lucky.”
That’s why he had always thought:
If he had to die, he wanted that death to mean something for the precious bonds he’d made.
If he could put a full stop to the fleeting, meaningless life of a ronin for the sake of those cherished connections, he wouldn’t ask for anything more.
And today.
It seemed that day had finally come.
So he felt he could go with peace in his heart.
He could be proud before his parents in the afterlife.
He had lived well, and he would die well.
Among the countless insignificant ronins, his life was still the most honorable.
Suddenly, the face of Yu-hyang, the gisaeng he had only glimpsed for years but had recently promised a future with, appeared in his mind.
Her face was the only lingering regret he had.
For a brief moment, he had dreamed of having a child with her and raising a family.
But that kind of life was clearly not meant for him.
There was some sadness, but he told himself it was okay.
Who in this world fades away without any regrets?
For someone like him, he had already achieved more than enough.
Jong-woo silently apologized to her one last time.
“I’m sorry, Yu-hyang. If there’s a next life…”
At that moment—
Thwack!
A metal ball shot like a ray of light from behind, piercing through Jong-woo’s chest.
He hadn’t even finished his apology to Yu-hyang.
Jong-woo’s body rolled on the ground like a lifeless doll, pierced through the chest.
Then, a ghostly shadow appeared beside him—it was Amhyeolhyang.
The assassin glanced over Jong-woo and the sack of soil he carried, muttering:
“A sack filled with soil?”
Without hesitation, the ghostly figure moved on.
He headed toward the middle path—the direction where Jang Daeryong, the warrior who had fled, was running.
At the same time, Jang Daeryong, fleeing down the middle path, and Gong O-mal, who had escaped to the left, were both running with all their might.
But it was only natural that they couldn’t shake off Amhyeolhyang’s pursuit.
Moments later, Amhyeolhyang caught up to Jang Daeryong, who had fled down the middle path, and muttered:
“Two.”
It had taken less than fifteen minutes since capturing Jong-woo to catch up with Jang Daeryong.
His fingers flicked the metal ball sharply.
Ting!
The ball shot out fiercely, piercing Jang Daeryong’s chest.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
With only a pained groan left behind, Jang Daeryong collapsed helplessly.
Confirming that Sun Woo-jin was not with him, Amhyeolhyang vanished like a ghost toward Gong O-mal, who had fled left.
Catching the third and final one was now just a matter of time.
At that very moment, as Jang Daeryong’s chest was pierced—
Sun Woo-jin’s eyes suddenly snapped open underwater, where he had been cultivating his energy.
He immediately lifted his head above the water and exhaled deeply.
“Phew!”
His energy cultivation wasn’t complete yet.
In fact, just moments ago, Sun Woo-jin had glimpsed the possibility of breaking through yet another barrier.
Not long after surpassing the eighty-year threshold of internal energy, he was now on the verge of breaking through the ninety-year barrier.
But as soon as he was certain he could move again, he stopped cultivating without hesitation and emerged from the water.
He had kicked away the chance to break through the ninety-year barrier.
For a martial artist, such an opportunity was incredibly rare.
Many never saw it even after a lifetime of waiting.
So Sun Woo-jin might have just thrown away a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
But he didn’t care.
“That kind of thing.”
He sneered fiercely, looking toward the direction where the three wandering warriors had lured Amhyeolhyang.
Jang Daeryong had clearly told him to finish cultivating and flee in the opposite direction.
But Sun Woo-jin had no intention of following that advice.
Instead, without hesitation, he launched himself toward where they had gone.
Bang!
His body shot forward like a bolt of lightning, his form becoming a streak of light.
Without a moment’s pause, he unleashed the third form of the Moonlight Returning Sword Dance.
Moonlight Returning Sword Dance, Third Form: Phantom Moon.
Suddenly, the world was shrouded in a veil of vibrant colors.
Whoooosh!
It was a dangerous move.
The third form of the Moonlight Returning Sword Dance was still beyond what Sun Woo-jin could fully control.
But it was less risky than charging headlong into the direction where Amhyeolhyang lurked.
In fact, what Sun Woo-jin was doing might have been downright foolish.
He was throwing away the chance the three wandering warriors had bought with their lives.
But his resolve was firm.
“I will never lose my precious people so helplessly again!”
That determination was the very meaning of Sun Woo-jin’s second life—a vow.
Breaking that vow and clinging to life held no meaning for him.
Of course, some might question, “They were just people you met briefly, not precious ties from a past life, right?”
But now Sun Woo-jin could answer confidently.
They were indeed his precious people.
Hadn’t he told them before?
“We understood each other’s hearts and crossed the brink of death together. Aren’t we true friends?”
And this time, they had echoed those words back to him.
So Sun Woo-jin’s dilemma wasn’t whether to save them or not.
It was whether he could save them—and how.
Flying like a streak of light, he began thinking of how to face Amhyeolhyang.
“Facing him head-on, there’s no chance of winning.”
That was obvious.
To keep charging after being beaten would be foolish.
So the only option was to lure him in, then escape.
Though even that wasn’t guaranteed.
“Last time, I was ambushed from behind while running.”
But back then, he hadn’t known Amhyeolhyang was chasing him.
He hadn’t unleashed the third form of the Moonlight Returning Sword Dance either.
So if he gave it his all while escaping in that form, maybe he could avoid Amhyeolhyang’s ambush.
That was Sun Woo-jin’s hope—and probably his only chance.
“My greatest strength is my new technique, no matter what anyone says.”
With that conclusion, Sun Woo-jin gathered his internal energy and shouted:
“Amhyeolhyang! I’m here! Where are you, Amhyeolhyang?”
His powerful voice, charged with energy, echoed in all directions.
At that moment, Amhyeolhyang was just about to throw a metal ball at Gong O-mal.
“Hmm?”
Hearing Sun Woo-jin’s voice, Amhyeolhyang smiled faintly.
He withdrew the metal ball he had aimed at Gong O-mal.
Killing him would be too easy, but since he had found Sun Woo-jin quickly, he thought he might as well spare him.
After all, they needed at least one person to gather their comrades’ bodies.
With that decision, his form turned ghostly again, moving toward the direction of Sun Woo-jin’s voice.
Swish!
At the same time, the nine-section whip wrapped around Amhyeolhyang’s waist came alive, writhing around his body.
Clack!
He didn’t need the whip to snipe wandering warriors.
But against Sun Woo-jin, this much was necessary.
Sun Woo-jin surged forward like the wind.
Even in that state, he focused all his senses, alert to his surroundings.
His current speed was about half of his maximum.
At this rate, Amhyeolhyang would catch up soon.
And his intuition was right.
His eyes flashed.
“He’s coming!”
Sun Woo-jin’s senses warned him of danger.
Without even checking around, he activated his explosive step and veered diagonally.
Bang!
The metal ball, unable to track his sudden acceleration, just grazed past his head.
Shreeeek!
The sound of it tearing through the air came only after it passed.
The speed was incredible.
If he had been even a moment slower, it would have pierced his heart.
Dodging instinctively without confirming the attack was the best choice.
Sun Woo-jin immediately changed direction again, using his explosive step to dash the opposite way.
Bang!
He flew at his top speed.
From here on, it was a battle of technique.
Amhyeolhyang was somewhat impressed.
Having fought once before, he believed one well-aimed metal ball at full power would be enough to catch Sun Woo-jin.
But both Sun Woo-jin’s evasive moves and the speed of the new technique he was showing were at a level that Am Hyeol-hyang hadn’t anticipated.
“Hmm, was he holding back his true strength before? Or did he grow that much in such a short time?”
She couldn’t say which was true.
But it didn’t matter.
He’d dodged once, but there was no way he could keep it up forever.
Besides, she hadn’t even given it her all yet.
A faint smile crossed Am Hyeol-hyang’s lips as she thought,
“Maybe it’s time I pick up the pace.”
With a sudden burst, Am Hyeol-hyang—who had always moved like a ghost—pushed off the ground for the first time, propelling herself forward with incredible momentum.
Her speed far surpassed even Sun Woo-jin’s top velocity.
“!”
Sun Woo-jin, focusing all his senses on Am Hyeol-hyang, gritted his teeth at that moment.
The distance between them was closing rapidly.
Her new technique was far more impressive than he had expected.
It seemed his plan to head straight to the place where Master Gwanggeom was waiting was doomed to fail.
After a moment, when she judged the distance just right, Am Hyeol-hyang slipped a metal ball onto the end of her segmented blade as she ran.
Then, spinning her body fiercely, she swung it with all her might.
Shhhhk!
Faster than sound, the metal ball shot toward Sun Woo-jin in an instant.
Whoooosh!
Shhhhk!
Watching the result after throwing the ball, Am Hyeol-hyang frowned slightly.
“Hmm.”
Once again, she had missed.
The moment the metal ball was launched, Sun Woo-jin had immediately activated his explosive advance, moving diagonally.
The ball grazed his side but missed its mark.
Am Hyeol-hyang nodded to herself.
“As expected, impressive.”
But she wasn’t too disappointed.
If the ball only grazed his side at this distance, then closing the gap further would guarantee a hit.
It was only a matter of time.
Her legs pushed off the ground once more.
Paang!
Accelerating even more, Am Hyeol-hyang began closing the distance to Sun Woo-jin again.
And shortly after, when the gap had narrowed to about ten jang, she moved her segmented blade once more.
At this range, there was no doubt the metal ball would pierce through Sun Woo-jin’s body the moment it was thrown.
She slid three metal balls onto the front of the blade’s head.
She had never gone this far before, but Sun Woo-jin had impressed her enough to deserve this level of respect.
In her mind, she sent him a final message.
“Sun Woo-jin, you’ve been truly remarkable. I will forever keep your name etched in my memory.”
With that thought, Am Hyeol-hyang spun her body fiercely again, swinging the segmented blade.
Shhhhhh!
Like a whirlwind, three metal balls shot out from the blade.
Whoooosh!
They surged forward as if teleporting, heading straight for Sun Woo-jin’s back.
“!”
Sun Woo-jin sensed the moment Am Hyeol-hyang launched the metal balls.
He immediately activated his explosive advance.
Paang!
But even he knew deep down—
This time, he couldn’t dodge it.
He had to try something different.
Otherwise, it would be the end.
Then, it happened.
A voice echoed inside Sun Woo-jin’s mind.
—This seems like the most dramatic moment for me to appear. Don’t you think?
It was the third time he’d heard that voice—a cheerful, almost salvational presence to the current Sun Woo-jin.