Chapter 255
Jin So-eun sat dazedly staring into the campfire, lost in thought.
Well, to be precise, she wasn’t really thinking. Her mind had wandered off somewhere earlier and hadn’t come back since.
It all started when Sun Woo-jin said those words.
“We are engaged to be married.”
Engaged.
In other words, a fiancé.
Sun Woo-jin had someone like that.
It was something she had never even imagined.
But now that she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why she had assumed he wouldn’t have anyone.
He was truly an extraordinary man.
His martial arts were top-tier, his wisdom profound, his spirit unyielding, and according to the venerable Son Dae-su, he wasn’t just outstanding—he was one of the greatest in the entire history of the martial world.
And that wasn’t all.
He was not only kind-hearted but also handsome.
At this point, it almost felt like in a past life he had saved a million people, and the heavens had poured all their blessings into him alone.
No matter how vast the world was, she couldn’t imagine there being another like him anywhere.
Yet, she had believed he had no fiancée.
Jin So-eun felt utterly foolish.
She muttered absentmindedly, “What a fool I am… really.”
Well, it wasn’t surprising anymore.
She had always been a fool.
Besides, what did it matter if he had a fiancée?
She had only ever wanted to help him.
She had fallen for him on her own, wanting to be a strength for him—not because she wanted to be someone special in his life.
Yes, that was the truth.
So it didn’t matter at all.
Whether he had a fiancée or not…
It was nothing to do with her.
As Jin So-eun was lost in these thoughts, a single tear slipped from her eye.
It was so sudden she hadn’t even realized it.
“Eh? Why?” she whispered, startled.
Then that one tear quickly became a stream, pouring down her cheeks.
With the tears came uncontrollable sobs, and she had to hastily cover her mouth.
“Hic!”
She couldn’t understand it.
She was fine, she told herself.
So why couldn’t she stop crying?
“Ugh…!”
At that moment, someone grabbed her hand tightly.
Looking up, she saw Myo Ah-ran’s pale face.
Lying weakly, Ah-ran looked at her with a knowing, pitiful gaze.
That warm look broke Jin So-eun’s resolve, and she couldn’t hold back her sobs any longer.
“Sniffle…!”
Clutching Ah-ran’s hand, Jin So-eun kept crying.
It felt as if tears were endlessly welling up from a deep wound in her heart.
Jin Tae-do didn’t rush when he found the shrine.
He spread out his twenty elite men around it, surrounding the area.
With twenty masters, each with over eighty years of internal energy, completely encircling the shrine, no matter how powerful Inpa-rang’s new techniques were, they wouldn’t escape.
After carefully checking the perimeter, Jin Tae-do let out a cold smile and muttered, “This time, I won’t let them get away.”
Finally, with the encirclement complete, he drew his sword and began walking toward the shrine’s door.
Srrrk!
Since earlier, he had been hearing what sounded like a woman’s sobs from inside.
That confirmed at least someone was inside.
Why the sobbing, he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter.
The most important thing was that he had finally cornered them.
Just as Jin Tae-do was about to open the door with a fierce grin, a voice called out.
“Jin Tae-do?!”
He snapped his head toward the voice, anger flashing in his eyes.
He had ordered no one to make a sound—who dared to?
And to call his name?
‘Who the hell dares to say my name so casually?!’
But then Jin Tae-do was stunned.
Despite the darkness, his sharp eyes recognized the face watching him from a tree.
It was someone he never expected to see there.
Flustered, he blurted out, “Y-you?!”
Only then did he remember whose voice it was.
He shouted in shock, “Inpa-rang?! What are you doing there?!”
It was Sun Woo-jin.
He had expected him to be inside the shrine, but there he was, perched in a tree outside, staring at Jin Tae-do.
Jin Tae-do froze for a moment, utterly taken aback.
Then, with a sharp click of his tongue, Sun Woo-jin suddenly leapt into the forest and began to flee.
“Tch!”
Jin Tae-do’s eyes widened.
The man he had wanted to catch so badly, the one he thought he had cornered, was slipping away again.
Momentarily stunned, Jin Tae-do snapped back and shouted, “After him! Don’t let him escape!”
He launched himself forward.
“Charge!”
His men broke the encirclement and rushed after Sun Woo-jin.
The perfect siege around the shrine collapsed in an instant.
Though it risked losing whoever was inside, Jin Tae-do was too desperate to think of that.
He was consumed by the thought that he could never let this man get away again.
Besides, it looked like Sun Woo-jin was carrying someone on his back.
At first, Jin Tae-do thought it might be Myo Ah-ran, but on closer look, it wasn’t a woman.
Who it was didn’t matter.
If he was carrying a wounded person, this was the perfect chance to catch him.
This time, he was sure he could.
“Stop right there!”
But soon, Jin Tae-do realized his mistake.
Sun Woo-jin’s figure grew smaller and smaller until he vanished into the darkness.
Even carrying someone, he was too fast to follow.
Jin Tae-do finally roared in fury.
“Inpa-rang, you bastard!”
He vented his frustration on his men who were struggling to keep up.
“You idiots! Can’t you come any faster? Bring Baek-ah here, now!”
He needed Baek-ah, the white-furred cat.
With Baek-ah, they could track Sun Woo-jin again.
But when a terrified subordinate returned holding the white cat, he said, “Master Jin, Baek-ah refuses to go that way. It keeps trying to return to the shrine.”
“What?”
Jin Tae-do’s anger flared again, but then a thought struck him.
‘Wait… Baek-ah led us to the shrine earlier. And Baek-ah was tracking not the man, but Myo Ah-ran…’
Realizing this, Jin Tae-do shouted urgently, “The shrine! Myo Ah-ran is at the shrine!”
Without hesitation, he dashed toward the shrine like lightning.
Of course, his ultimate target was Inpa-rang.
But since he had lost him, he had to secure her.
Like at Sanduhang, she could be used as a hostage.
More importantly, she knew his secrets.
He couldn’t let her go.
But when Jin Tae-do returned to the shrine, he was forced to accept the bitter truth again.
He was too late.
The shrine was already empty.
Faster than his men, he had arrived first, only to find the campfire still burning in the empty shrine.
Clenching his fists until his knuckles bled, he seethed.
“Jin Tae-do?!”
The small voice from outside startled Jin So-eun so much she felt her breath catch.
Her sobbing stopped immediately.
Using her sharply honed spiritual senses, she realized at once that the shrine was completely surrounded.
She was horrified.
‘W-when? How did this happen?’
But she already knew the answer.
It was all her fault.
She had been so lost in her tears that she had let her guard down.
Fear gripped her.
If they were caught…
Sun Woo-jin had never abandoned even Myo Ah-ran, who wasn’t even his fiancée.
If she were captured, she knew exactly how he would react.
‘What should I do? What can I do?’
She couldn’t let herself be caught and become a burden to him.
Better to die than to cause him harm because of her foolishness.
But as she thought this, she glanced at Myo Ah-ran.
Even if she died, what would happen to Ah-ran?
Her own death was her choice, but she couldn’t decide the fate of another.
As these countless thoughts swirled in her mind, a voice came again from outside.
“Catch them! Don’t let them escape!”
She felt the encirclement around the shrine breaking like a receding tide.
They were chasing after Sun Woo-jin.
Jin So-eun realized the truth.
‘Sun Woo Gong has lured them away!’
Just like him.
Though she worried for his safety, her priority was to escape.
She couldn’t be caught here and become a burden to him.
Jin So-eun quickly spoke to Myo Ah-ran.
“Myo Sojeo! We have to get out of here right now! I’ll carry you, so please hang on even if it’s tough!”
At her words, Myo Ah-ran, as if grasping the general situation, nodded resolutely.
Carrying her in such a fragile state wasn’t good for her health at all, but there was no other choice at the moment.
Jin So-eun hoisted Myo Ah-ran onto her back and hurriedly exited the shrine.
Just as she had sensed with her spiritual sight, not a single one of the men who had surrounded them remained.
“Phew!”
Letting out a short breath of relief, Jin So-eun immediately prepared to move again.
But just as she was about to take a step, she froze.
She didn’t know where to go.
‘Come to think of it, where should I head? And no matter where I go from here, if I leave this place, I won’t be able to meet Seonwoo Gongja anymore. Then…’
Until now, Jin So-eun had always followed Seonwoo Jin’s guidance. The thought of deciding her own destination was terrifying beyond words.
As she hesitated, unable to do anything, a sudden sound cut through the air.
Swoosh!
Several figures dropped right in front of her—warriors, all wielding swords.
Startled, Jin So-eun stared at them.
“!”
Jin Tae-do suppressed his anger as he waited for his men in front of the empty shrine.
To track Myo Ah-ran, he needed Unmyo Baek-ah, and to control Baek-ah, he needed his own subordinates.
If only he could handle Baek-ah himself, but the spirit beast would obey no one but those particular men.
There was no other way.
But the first to arrive at the shrine wasn’t his men.
Whoosh! Tap, tap!
With movements as fluid as one body, Jin Tae-do scrutinized the six sword masters who had just landed before the shrine.
Six Nodosas—he didn’t recognize their faces, but their white martial uniforms and blue headbands marked them as members of the Hyeongsan Sect.
Moreover, Jin Tae-do himself had been the one to inform the Hyeongsan Sect that Inparang was heading this way.
Hiding his sharp gaze behind a friendly smile he often wore in public, Jin Tae-do greeted them warmly.
“Welcome, esteemed guests from the Hyeongsan Sect! Thank you for making the long journey.”
The lead Nodosan bowed respectfully in return.
“You must be Jin Jangmunin of Haenam. I am Jaseong from Hyeongsan.”
‘Jaseong Jin-in, huh…’
Honestly, Jin Tae-do had never heard of him, nor seen his face before.
But he quickly sensed that this man’s martial prowess was no ordinary matter.
And the other sword masters standing behind him, expressionless to an unnatural degree, were undoubtedly top-tier as well.
‘Six supreme sword masters… And judging by the atmosphere, there might be something even beyond just six. That traitor Wi Jeong-guk must be dead serious.’
Regardless, if such strong reinforcements had come, it could only be to his advantage.
Jin Tae-do smiled broadly and welcomed them.
“So you are Jaseong Jin-in. It’s an honor to meet such formidable warriors.”
Jaseong returned an awkward smile.
In truth, he had hurried ahead of the other Pansan group to quickly deal with Inparang and return.
Because as a member of the Liuhap Sword Masters, he wanted to avoid drawing attention.
But instead of defeating the enemy, he had ended up meeting Jin Tae-do.
He didn’t like the sharp gaze Jin Tae-do was giving the Liuhap Sword Masters behind him.
But now that they had met, there was no turning back.
Jin Tae-do maintained good relations with Wi Jeong-guk of the Hyeongsan Sect; he couldn’t just kill him.
‘No choice. Given the circumstances, I’ll have to use this man to achieve my goal as quickly as possible.’
Jaseong thought to himself.
Then he said to Jin Tae-do,
“Regrettably, even though we encountered Inparang, we couldn’t catch him and lost his trail. We had a wounded person to carry, so we simply couldn’t keep up. His new technique is truly formidable.”
At those words, Jin Tae-do couldn’t help but frown slightly.
It wasn’t just hearsay—he had just experienced that technique himself.
Jin Tae-do asked,
“Do you have any method to track him?”
Jaseong sighed and shook his head.
“Unfortunately, no. Honestly, we were at a loss.”
Hearing this, Jin Tae-do smiled faintly.
If they had no way to pursue him, then he could use that to his advantage.
As if waiting for this moment, he proposed,
“Then come with us. I will guide you.”
Jaseong’s expression brightened immediately, and he hurriedly asked,
“Does that mean you, Jin Jangmunin, have a way to track him?”
Jin Tae-do didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked behind himself and spoke slowly.
“They’re coming. As long as we have the spirit beast Unmyo, that bastard will never be able to shake us off completely.”
In Jaseong’s eyes, the sight of Jin Tae-do’s subordinate running toward them, panting and carrying a white, furry cat-like creature, was coming into view.