Chapter v17c2

“I-I’m so sorry, Miss! If it weren’t for that lunatic blocking the carriage, things wouldn’t have turned out like this! If anything had happened to you, how could I face the master… Sob! This is so frustrating!”

The driver with the wiry beard clenched his fist, his body trembling with rage. He seemed to have forgotten about the “lunatic’s” well-being. He looked more like a bandit than a driver.

“Lunatic, you say… That’s a bit harsh. He was just walking along the road.”

A leisurely voice suddenly came from somewhere.

The driver, startled, whipped his head around, ignoring the risk of whiplash. The girl and the young man also turned their heads in surprise.

Although all three of them were shocked, their reasons were different. The bandit-like driver was surprised that the “lunatic” was still alive and unharmed. The young man was surprised that he hadn’t sensed anyone so close, sitting so comfortably. And the girl was surprised by all of that, plus the fact that the man’s old, faded clothes were spotless, despite the thick cloud of dust.

They had never received such lax training that they couldn’t sense someone within ten paces. Were their senses malfunctioning? The man in the straw hat was sitting by the roadside, less than ten paces away.

“Who are you?”

The young man asked cautiously. He already considered the man suspicious. There was no courtesy in his tone.

This was the second time the man in the straw hat had experienced rudeness in a single day. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Me?”

The young man nodded.

“Just a passerby.”

The driver exploded.

“Miss, it’s him! He’s the one who caused the carriage to overturn! If he had just moved out of the way, this wouldn’t have happened! He should have been crushed under the carriage!”

He was so agitated that he was pointing his finger at the man.

“Crushed, you say? That’s a bit heartless, don’t you think? Such disregard for human life is not good. You should respect life. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘All things are one’? We all come from the same source, so we’re all brothers and sisters.”

The man in the straw hat shook his head, his tone admonishing.

But something was wrong. There was a sense of dissonance, a feeling that something didn’t add up. The girl was the first to notice it.

He didn’t dodge? How is that possible?!

“If he didn’t dodge, how is he unharmed?”

The man’s limbs were intact, and there were no wheel marks on his body. His neat black clothes were a stark contrast to the driver’s dust-covered white robe.

She scrutinized him, but he seemed perfectly fine. He didn’t look like someone who had been trampled by four horses.

“Hmm? I don’t understand. I was just walking along the road. You’re the ones who came charging at me and overturned your own carriage. It has nothing to do with me.”

The man’s nonchalant denial infuriated the driver.

“Don’t lie!”

He was about to lunge at the man, but the man spoke.

“Is he your servant? He’s very loud. Can you make him be quiet?”

He said it casually. The girl quickly intervened, calming the driver down before he caused any more trouble.

“Calm down. I’ll handle this.”

The driver was too agitated. He tended to lash out at anyone when he was angry. The girl didn’t want any more trouble, so she stepped forward.

“May I ask why you didn’t move out of the way?”

She asked politely. The man was pleased by her courteous demeanor, unlike the two rude men.

“It seems like it’s because of you, Miss.”

He replied.

“Because of me? I don’t understand.”

She asked calmly.

“If he’s your subordinate, then you should blame yourself for his lack of manners.”

“Are you saying…”

She was quick-witted. He nodded.

“It’s common courtesy to be polite when asking for a favor. You need to show some respect if you want to move someone’s heart. I saw no reason to move out of the way for someone who couldn’t even be bothered to ask politely.”

The driver and the young man were stunned. He had ignored a runaway carriage for such a trivial reason? But the girl remained calm.

“Ah, I see. Then it’s my fault.”

She readily accepted his explanation. She seemed relieved, as if a mystery had been solved.

“Hahaha! You’re a straightforward young lady. I like you. I’ll forgive your subordinate’s rudeness for your sake. It would have been better if it hadn’t happened at all, but what’s done is done.”

He sounded magnanimous.

“Indeed. The past can’t be undone. Even if we created it ourselves, all we can do is turn away from it, ignore it, and forget it. Just like how people these days have forgotten the tragedy of the Heavenly Calamity Blood Age.”

The man looked at her with a hint of surprise. He liked her more and more.

“Miss!”

“Miss Jin!”

The driver and the young man exclaimed in protest. They couldn’t understand her behavior. They had expected her to refute the man’s absurd claims. But she had agreed with him. And now, they were having a leisurely conversation, as if they weren’t in a desperate situation. They didn’t have time for this. The storm of blades was approaching.

“You seem to be in a hurry, Miss.”

“Yes, we’re being pursued.”

Her voice lacked the usual urgency of someone being chased.

“Hmm, shouldn’t you be running away?”

“No. It’s too late.”

She replied, her voice dejected. She looked adorable.

“You’re a smart young lady. I like that. And you’re brave too. You’re a hundred times better than a whole gang of men.”

The man in the straw hat smiled, praising her.

She was a rare gem, a young lady with both beauty and brains. She had realized that it was too late to run away, so she had decided to face her pursuers head-on. It was a wise decision, considering the circumstances.

“The Emei Sect has gained a fine disciple.”

He said, smiling. The girl’s eyes widened.

“Oh my, how did you know? I’m Jin So-ryeong, a disciple of the Emei Sect… But I’m not carrying any identification.”

“Why are you surprised?”

He chuckled.

“You eat, sleep, walk, stand, sit, and lie down according to the Emei Sect’s teachings. You cultivate your Qi and practice your martial arts according to their methods. Even your breathing, the most basic act of life, is done the Emei way. Am I wrong? Your every action and movement embodies the Emei Sect. Only a blind man wouldn’t be able to tell.”

“Is that so? Then most people in this world must be blind.”

“Hahaha, you’ve finally realized it? I thought a bright young lady like you would have figured it out sooner.”

He agreed with her.

“Congratulations. You’ve just discovered one of the secrets of the hidden world.”

“So you know what sect I belong to as well?”

The young man interjected, his voice filled with disbelief and jealousy.

The man in the straw hat glanced at him, his gaze sweeping from head to toe.

“The sword at your waist is thin and light. But it must be very fast. Your sect values speed over strength, pursuing the principle of shooting down the sun. You’re a descendant of the Empress.”

He had correctly identified the young man’s background.

“Y-Yes, you’re right. I’m Yu Eun-seong, a disciple of the Mount Cang Sect.”

One coincidence could be dismissed, but two were hard to ignore. Jin So-ryeong and Yu Eun-seong had to acknowledge the man’s keen eye.

He was definitely not an ordinary person. Who was he?

And then, it happened.

“They’re coming.”

The man in the straw hat said, raising his index finger.

“They are!”

Jin So-ryeong replied.

The sound of dozens of hooves shattered the silence. A group of riders, kicking up a cloud of dust, was approaching them. It was like a tidal wave of death.

The driver’s face turned pale. Jin So-ryeong and Yu Eun-seong’s faces were etched with tension. Jin So-ryeong tried to appear calm, but she couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear. She was only seventeen.

“M-Miss, it’s the Thousand Horses Fort! They’ve caught up to us… Those bastards… What do we do, Miss?”

The driver asked anxiously, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly. The thunderous sound of hooves was getting louder. He regretted wasting time talking to that mysterious man. If they had just kept running, they would have been much farther away. He didn’t realize that his mistress had already decided to stand and fight.

“Miss Jin!”

Yu Eun-seong also looked to her for guidance. She was the youngest, but she was clearly the leader of the group. The man in the straw hat watched them with amusement.

He could easily guess what they were worried about. He could hear it too. The source of the noise that had been bothering him.

“We have to run away before they get any closer!”

Yu Eun-seong shouted. But Jin So-ryeong shook her head.

“It’s too late. We’ll just waste our energy running. We have to fight.”

The path she had chosen might not be the safest, but it was the best option they had.

“Damn it, we were so close…”

She bit her lip in frustration. She wanted to scream. She had been pretending to be calm, but she was reaching her limit. Her heart was pounding.

*I’m still not strong enough.*

She thought to herself, a bitter smile on her lips.

But she wouldn’t give up without a fight.

She still had one last trick up her sleeve.

Oh Ma-kwang, the master of the Thousand Horses Fort, was clearly furious. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have personally led a group of eighty men on a thousand-li chase after two teenagers. He was known for being lazy and delegating tasks to his subordinates. As the name of his fort suggested, he had a thousand horses at his disposal. He had once been a horse bandit, and his men were skilled riders. That was how he had amassed his fortune and built his fort.

“Halt!”

He raised his hand, and his men stopped in unison. Their horsemanship was impressive.

His eyes met Jin So-ryeong’s. A mocking smile appeared on his lips.

“Well, well, well. What’s this? I thought you’d be running away with your tail between your legs.”

Based on his decades of experience, he had expected them to be exhausted by now. But they weren’t running. They were standing there, facing him, their expressions defiant. It was unusual. He was used to chasing fleeing figures, their backs turned towards him. And he always enjoyed stabbing them in the back. It was rare for him to see their faces.

“There’s no need to run anymore.”

Jin So-ryeong replied, her voice firm. Had she come up with a brilliant plan?

“Oh? Is that so?”

He wasn’t fooled by her bravado. His face, which had been calm and amused, suddenly hardened. He had seen the firework tube in her hand.

“Is that…?”

She didn’t answer. She pulled the fuse.

A red flare shot into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke.

A triumphant smile appeared on her lips. Murmurs arose from the ranks of her pursuers.

*They’re wavering!*

That was what she had been aiming for. She spoke, her voice confident and clear.

“I prepared this just in case! You’re a man of experience, so you must know what that red signal means. It’s the Red Lotus Signal, a distress flare used by the Emei Sect! It’s fired when an Emei disciple is in danger! You’re standing on Emei territory! My fellow disciples will be here soon! I suggest you leave before you get hurt. I’ll overlook your previous rudeness. It would have been better if this hadn’t happened at all, but…”

The Thousand Horses Fort’s ranks stirred. The name of a Nine Great Sect was still a force to be reckoned with, even for evil sects. No one had ever crossed a Nine Great Sect and lived to tell the tale. Except for one group, which had become a symbol of terror.

Jin So-ryeong waited anxiously for their response.

*Please let this work…*

The murmurs suddenly stopped. She stared at them, her gaze unwavering. Oh Ma-kwang, the leader, spoke, his voice polite.

“Very well. We apologize for our rudeness, Miss. We’ll be on our way.”

She was about to sigh in relief, but then…

“…Did you really think I would say that, you arrogant little bitch?”

His polite facade crumbled, his voice turning rough and vulgar.

“You’re just a little girl, and you dare to mock me? You have some nerve! Don’t you agree, boys?”

He turned to his men.

“Hahaha! Of course! We’d be the laughingstock of the Jianghu if we fell for such a cheap trick!”

They laughed, some making lewd jokes.

“But Boss, she’s kind of cute. Why don’t we take her with us and teach her a few things? We can show her what real fun is.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Jin So-ryeong’s face flushed red with anger and humiliation. Her shoulders trembled. She had never been treated like this before. She didn’t know how to react.

“Shut up!”

Yu Eun-seong stepped forward, his voice booming.

“You filthy bastards! How dare you insult her! If you insult her again, my sword won’t stay silent!”

His face was red with rage. He couldn’t stand to see the woman he loved being humiliated. He wanted to charge into their midst and swing his sword like a madman, regardless of the odds. But his anger seemed to have no effect on them.

“Oh? Isn’t this the young master who got his ass kicked by me the other day? How’s that arm of yours? Still hurting from my Sawtooth Saber?”

It was Oh Gyeong, the second-in-command of the Thousand Horses Fort, mocking him mercilessly. Yu Eun-seong hadn’t expected an apology, but he hadn’t expected to be ridiculed either.

“Shut up! I was just careless that day! Do you think I’m afraid of your filthy blade?”

Yu Eun-seong’s face flushed red again, remembering his humiliation.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You’re still so young. So easily provoked. It’s good to be passionate, but how can you hope to overcome this situation with such a volatile temper…?”

The man in the straw hat clicked his tongue. The young man was still half-baked. He needed more training, more experience.

“Aren’t you afraid of the Emei Sect? How can you be so calm after seeing the Red Lotus Signal? My fellow disciples will be here soon.”

But Jin So-ryeong’s voice was trembling. Oh Ma-kwang laughed.

“Hahaha! You’re a bold one! Did you really think I would fall for such a flimsy bluff? Do you think I, Oh Ma-kwang, the master of the Thousand Horses Fort, would cower before the Emei Sect? You’re forgetting one thing. Your signal won’t reach the Emei Sect from here! So drop the act and prepare to be stripped bare! My axes will peel your skin off layer by layer!”

Jin So-ryeong swayed, her legs almost giving way.

“H-How… How did you…?”

Her previous confidence was gone. Her face was pale.

He was right. The Red Lotus Signal, their lifeline, wouldn’t reach the Emei Sect from here. It was too far, and the wind would scatter the smoke. If it weren’t for that mysterious man… She wanted to demand compensation, but it was too late now.

“We were so close… Just a little bit further…”

She muttered, her voice filled with regret. If they had just run a little bit faster, they would have reached Emei territory. And then, the Red Lotus Signal would have been their salvation.