Episode 658: Return of the Demon Sect Officer
The sound of his own heartbeat echoed in his ears.
With each thud, the arrowhead trembled violently, as if struck by a massive force.
Dan Ri-hyuk swallowed hard.
“I have to protect her. I must. I promised. I’m the Divine Dragon of Guiyang. I’m the son of the Divine Archer…!”
He repeated these words to himself over and over, while the Blood Sword sneered coldly.
“Hey, kid. What you’re holding isn’t a toy. It’s a dangerous weapon. Why don’t you put it down before you get hurt?”
Dan Ri-hyuk glanced fearfully at Ok Ryu-hyang.
She looked a bit scared, but she mustered her courage, pressing her lips together and slowly shaking her head.
Then it happened.
“Are you deaf, brat?” the Blood Sword shouted.
The force of his voice made Dan Ri-hyuk flinch, but in that moment, the Blood Sword’s vital point was exposed.
“I have to shoot!”
It was a fleeting moment, but Dan Ri-hyuk believed he could do it.
He didn’t know why he thought that.
It felt like this was his only chance, and if he missed it, Ok Ryu-hyang might lose her life.
It seemed like a miracle, a last chance before things got worse.
In that brief instant, Dan Ri-hyuk was certain.
With a scream that was almost a battle cry, his body reacted.
“Ahhhhh!”
The arrow flew through the air.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly as the arrow soared.
And Dan Ri-hyuk saw it.
The Blood Sword’s lips curling into a smile.
He realized something was wrong.
His ominous premonition was spot on.
The Blood Sword instinctively pushed Ok Ryu-hyang aside, and the arrow, like a gust of wind, struck her chest without hesitation.
Thud!
“Gah!”
Ok Ryu-hyang let out a groan and collapsed, twisting her body.
“Ryu-hyang! Ryu-hyang!”
Dan Ri-hyuk rushed over in shock.
Ok Ryu-hyang, with an arrow lodged in her chest, was on the brink of losing consciousness.
Laughter echoed around them.
“Hahaha! You fool! Serves you right! You killed her! Didn’t I warn you? That wasn’t a toy. Dangerous things must be handled with care. Understand? Hahaha!”
“You…!”
Cradling Ok Ryu-hyang in his arms, Dan Ri-hyuk trembled with rage as he stood up.
His eyes were wild with fury.
“I’ll kill you…!”
This time, Dan Ri-hyuk pulled back the bowstring without hesitation.
“Hmph! What do you think you can do without an arrow, kid? Have you forgotten how to nock one…?”
With a whoosh, Dan Ri-hyuk released the string, and dozens of energy strands intertwined and shot forward.
Whoosh!
“Gah!”
The Blood Sword stood there, eyes wide in disbelief.
“What is this…?”
He slowly looked down.
Moments later, as if slashed by an invisible blade, blood gushed from his body.
Splat!
He coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed, his internal injuries too severe.
The commotion drew a crowd.
“What on earth is that?”
“Hey! Isn’t that Dan Ri-hyuk?”
“Look! Over there! That’s the Blood Sword! No doubt about it!”
“Yes, it’s the Blood Sword! Why is that villain here?”
“Did Dan Ri-hyuk capture him?”
“Seems like it. But who is that girl lying there?”
“Wait, isn’t that the Guiyang Phoenix?”
“Oh no! She looks badly hurt!”
The crowd murmured among themselves, but to Dan Ri-hyuk, who had failed to protect Ok Ryu-hyang, it was all just noise.
“It seems Dan Ri-hyuk stopped the Blood Sword from doing something terrible to the Guiyang Phoenix!”
“Indeed! But what about the arrow in her chest…?”
“Come on, that must have been the Blood Sword’s doing. It’s not like Dan Ri-hyuk is the only one who uses a bow.”
“True. Wow, the Divine Dragon of Guiyang captured the Blood Sword!”
“Hooray for Dan Ri-hyuk! Hooray for the Divine Dragon of Guiyang!”
The crowd began to cheer.
No one questioned the arrow in Ok Ryu-hyang’s chest.
“Truly the son of the Divine Archer!”
Dan Ri-hyuk, listening to the praise in a daze, finally snapped back to reality and turned around.
“Ryu-hyang! Ryu-hyang!”
He rushed to Ok Ryu-hyang, shaking her gently.
“Ryu-hyang! Please… say something… Ryu-hyang…!”
Fear gripped him.
Until now, he had been half out of his mind, but the gravity of the situation was finally sinking in.
Dan Ri-hyuk looked around desperately, shouting.
“Someone, please help! Anyone, help us!”
The crowd, which had been praising him, now wore worried expressions.
“It seems the Phoenix’s condition is serious.”
“Indeed. I hope it’s not a grave injury.”
But no one dared to step forward.
Most were unskilled in medicine.
“What should I do? What… Yes, I should remove the arrow first.”
He was about to grab the arrow shaft when—
“Stop!”
A familiar voice rang out.
Dan Ri-hyuk turned to see his father, Dan Ri-jung, approaching with a grave expression.
Seeing his father, emotions welled up inside him.
“Father…!”
“What happened here?”
“Well… it’s…”
As Dan Ri-hyuk stammered, Dan Ri-jung cast a sharp glance at the Blood Sword.
The Blood Sword, struggling to stand, tried to flee using his martial arts.
But before he could take a few steps—
Swish! Clang!
A flash of light sliced through the air, severing his neck.
Thud, roll…
Blood spurted as the headless body of the Blood Sword fell with a heavy thud.
The one who sheathed his sword was none other than the guardian, Seong-cheol.
Meanwhile, Dan Ri-jung looked down at Ok Ryu-hyang with a serious expression.
Her condition seemed critical.
“If we remove the arrow now, the wound will worsen. We must take her to a physician.”
With that, he carefully lifted Ok Ryu-hyang.
Even after Dan Ri-jung left, Dan Ri-hyuk remained kneeling, dazed.
The crowd that had praised him began to disperse.
Rumble. Grumble.
The sky, as if mirroring his heart, let out a low rumble and soon began to pour rain.
Whoosh!
How long did he sit there, drenched in the empty street?
At some point, the rain stopped hitting him.
He turned to see Seol Seol-rin silently holding an umbrella over him.
She said nothing, but her eyes said it all.
“Let’s go. It’s late.”
“Mother…!”
Finally, Dan Ri-hyuk broke down, sobbing in Seol Seol-rin’s arms.
**
“And so, I cried like a child in my mother’s arms. My sobs were drowned out by the rain, and my tears were hidden by the raindrops. I’m sure my mother knew everything, but she pretended not to.”
Dan Ri-hyuk’s voice was calm as he recounted the story.
Sabi-ran didn’t ask what happened to Ok Ryu-hyang afterward.
She was curious, but she didn’t want to probe Dan Ri-hyuk’s painful memories.
But Dan Ri-hyuk spoke first.
“She’s… currently being treated by Master Jin-baek at the Demonic Palace. Even if she recovers… she’ll never be able to use martial arts again.”
”…!”
“She was the Phoenix of Guiyang. With her sword skills, she could have become the best in the martial world. But… the arrow I shot shattered her dreams. I strung her dreams on the bowstring and let them fly.”
”…”
Sabi-ran remained silent.
She listened quietly, knowing this wasn’t the time to speak.
The sun was rising in the east.
Dan Ri-hyuk continued.
“After that day, my father assigned a guard to me. He probably wanted to protect me from danger. But I saw it differently. I thought it was to keep an eye on me. From then on, I played a game of hide and seek with Guardian Seong-cheol. I kept running, and he kept finding me.”
Dan Ri-hyuk chuckled.
“Do you know what’s funny?”
”…?”
“The world still praises me as a hero. They say I captured the Blood Sword and saved the Guiyang Phoenix. They say the son of the Divine Archer is different.”
Indeed, his fame only grew.
He wished they would scorn him.
He wished they would dismiss him as nothing special.
Or he wished his father would tell the truth.
But his father said nothing.
He was always a man of principle.
Yet, he didn’t intervene when his son gained false honor.
“So… I wanted to escape it all. It was the first time I felt so burdened by others’ expectations. That was all. So I…”
Dan Ri-hyuk looked down at the bow in his hands.
“I really… hate the bow.”
The story ended.
The two of them sat there for a long time.
The sun rising in the east steadily shortened the shadows of the two figures.
Sabiran remained silent.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t find the right words or because her heart felt heavy.
She simply wanted to be.
At least in this moment, she was in silent communion with Danrihyuk.
How long had they sat there like that?
Finally, Sabiran stood up.
She turned to Danrihyuk and spoke.
“It seems there’s no other choice. We have to enter the palace.”
Danrihyuk furrowed his brow slightly and looked back at her.
“Have you been listening to me at all?”
“Of course. I heard your story about saving those two people.”
“What? But I clearly—”
“That day, you saved a life that could have been lost to cruelty, and today, you saved our precious comrade.”
”……!”
“What more needs to be said? As the leader of this mission, that’s an order.”
Sabiran looked at Danrihyuk with a serious expression.
“Danrihyuk. Enter the palace.”
Danrihyuk watched in a daze as Sabiran turned and walked away.
Suddenly, she stopped and glanced back.
“Oh, by the way, have you seen that friend, Okryuhyang, since then?”
“No. There’s no way I could have.”
Sabiran shrugged.
“See, that’s the problem. Sometimes you have to stop running and face things head-on. Then you might see truths that were hidden. Even if she resents you, you have a duty not to avoid it. And…”
Sabiran paused, lost in thought, before continuing.
“The reason Master Danri never explained things to others… maybe it was all because of your issue?”
”……!”
“At least the Master Danri I know wouldn’t step in for something like that.”
With those words, Sabiran resumed walking.
Left alone, Danrihyuk looked up at the sky.
The day had fully dawned.