Chapter v20c15

## Two Letters

– Dreams★Come True

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

Swift footsteps brushed against the dew-laden blades of grass. The grass bowed momentarily under the weight, only to spring back up as the foot lifted, leaving behind a few droplets of dew that scattered into the night air. The figure’s breath was ragged, their pace urgent.

“Huff… huff…”

The figure, gliding effortlessly over the grass without crushing a single blade, was a woman of undeniable grace. Her left hand, clutching a jade hairpin adorned with flower and phoenix carvings, was a blur of motion. The faint moonlight and starlight briefly illuminated her face, revealing the Emei Goddess, Jin So-Ryeong.

Her right hand, clutching a crumpled letter, moved as swiftly as a swallow in flight. Despite her mastery of swordsmanship and her unwavering composure, her face was etched with anxiety, as if she were racing against time.

The cause of her distress was a letter that had arrived around 9 pm. She had found it lying on her table as she was preparing for bed, with no indication of who had delivered it or how.

* * *

*To the Emei Goddess,*

*I trust you are well. I have taken your beloved niece hostage. Come to the Guan Yu Temple, thirty li west of the West Gate, by midnight. Come alone, and tell no one. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee the safety or beauty of your precious niece. I have enclosed a token of proof, in case you doubt my sincerity. Of course, you are free to ignore this message. Beheading your niece, preserving her head in salt, and sending it to you in a box would also be a fitting revenge, wouldn’t it? They say that emotional wounds last longer than physical ones. I await your arrival.*

*- The Romantic Scholar*

* * *

When she came to her senses, she was already scaling the walls of the Middle Heaven Merchant Guild, racing across the open fields. There was no time to verify the authenticity of the letter. She ran through the night, telling no one. Even if she sent someone to investigate, it would be too late. The sender had clearly calculated the time. Even if there was a 99.9% chance that her niece was safe, she would still have run this path to eliminate the remaining 0.1% of doubt. She couldn’t bear the thought of her niece being harmed. And she wouldn’t tolerate the existence of anyone who would dare use her niece, Jin-Ryeong, as leverage against her.

“Wait for me, Ryeong! I’m coming to save you. If they’ve harmed you in any way…”

The thought was unbearable.

“I won’t spare them!”

*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*

She increased her speed, her internal energy surging through her body. A disturbed mind led to a disturbed qi, and a disturbed qi was wasted energy. She pushed herself forward, oblivious to her exhaustion.

‘What if it’s a trap…?’

The thought had crossed her mind. But Yoo Eun-Seong was there.

She regretted not leaving him a message, but it was too late to turn back. There was no time.

She had to trust him and keep moving forward.

* * *

Late at night…

Yoo Eun-Seong stepped out of his room, his face stern and unreadable. He paused in the middle of the dark garden, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He saw nothing but darkness, heard nothing but the cold night wind. He repeated the same action three more times, making sure that he was alone. Finally, he turned slightly, covering his mouth with his hand, and…

*Chuckle!*

He chuckled twice.

*Chuckle! Chuckle! Chuckle!*

He couldn’t contain his laughter. He quickly regained his composure, but after taking three more steps, he turned again, covering his mouth, and chuckled twice more. He scanned his surroundings once more, then took out something from his pocket, his gaze serious and contemplative. It was a letter. And it was a letter from the woman he had loved for twenty years. A letter delivered in the middle of the night.

‘I can’t… I can’t…’

He couldn’t control himself any longer. He couldn’t maintain his serious expression. His face felt like it was melting. He couldn’t stop himself from grinning. His cheeks flushed. His eyes crinkled into crescents. It was a good thing he wasn’t drooling. His shoulders were shaking, his body itching to dance.

‘No, I can’t do this. The disciples might see me…’

But…

*Chuckle! Chuckle! Chuckle!*

He couldn’t help but grin every time he looked at the letter. This was a historic moment, the culmination of twenty years of unrequited love. The dam of his tightly controlled emotions had burst, and his feelings were gushing out like a spring.

*Hehehe! Chuckle! Chuckle! Chuckle! Mumble, mumble, mumble!*

He had to stifle his laughter.

*Gong! Gong! ~*

The bell signaling 9 pm rang.

“I shouldn’t be doing this. She said midnight, right? I have to hurry.”

He quickened his pace, eager to leave the guild. He couldn’t be late for his appointment.

“Good news, Master Yoo?”

Two guards, standing at the main gate, greeted him with a bow.

“Ah, you’re working hard tonight. I have some business outside. Can I leave?”

“Of course, Master. Please, go ahead.”

They opened the side gate, used for nighttime traffic.

“Thank you. I’ll be back soon. Take care.”

He stepped out of the guild and vanished into the darkness, the letter clutched tightly in his hand.

* * *

The moon hung low in the sky, a thin crescent.

The Middle Heaven Merchant Guild was asleep. Only a few guards were on duty, their patrols lackadaisical. Two bonfires burned in front of the main gate, their warmth and light barely enough to dispel the darkness and dew surrounding them. But they were a welcome sight to the two guards, providing some respite from the night chill. It was another uneventful night, just like yesterday.

Ten steps away from the bonfires, hidden in the shadows beneath a tree, a figure stirred. It was a man dressed in a black night suit, his face covered by a mask, the character “Calamity” emblazoned on his chest. It was Yoon Yi-Jeong.

This was different from the night they had destroyed Blue Dragon Manor. Back then, they had been able to attack openly and loudly because the manor was located on the outskirts of the city. But attacking a merchant guild in the middle of a bustling city required stealth.

Lee Si-Geon waited until Yoo Eun-Seong had disappeared into the darkness, then turned to Yoon Yi-Jeong.

“Your prediction was correct. Well done.”

“You flatter me, Master.”

“What about the Jin woman?”

“I saw her scaling the wall half an hour ago. She was too fast for me to follow…”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s enough that we know she’s not here.”

He wasn’t concerned about anyone else.

“Then all that’s left is to walk in there and get the key.”

He nodded, satisfied.

“Indeed. Without any effort. We can deal with those lovebirds later, Master.”

Yoon Yi-Jeong agreed.

The balance of power, which had been slightly tilted in their favor, had now shifted completely, with the removal of two key figures. His wicked grin reflected his confidence. The meal was cooked, and all that was left was to eat it. The rest was just cleanup. Or so they thought.

The Middle Heaven Merchant Guild’s Nanchang branch was in grave danger. The future of Yoo Gyeong-Yeong and her brother was hanging by a thread. But they had overlooked one crucial fact. The world was vast and unpredictable, beyond human comprehension. The chaos of chance, with its unknown origins and unpredictable consequences, often led to unforeseen events. And sometimes, it swept away the carefully constructed towers of reason and logic, leaving behind nothing but a barren wasteland.

The cruel whims of fate had turned their best-laid plans into their worst nightmares. The web of karma was too tangled to unravel, its ultimate cause impossible to pinpoint. But one thing was certain. It had happened. Sometimes, the most random and inexplicable events changed the course of history.

It wasn’t their fault. They weren’t incompetent. They had done their best. They had given it their all. But if they had to blame someone, it would have to be heaven’s will – or rather, its fickleness.

* * *

## Wings of Blood Wind

– The Thirteen Bloods Appear

“Most of the Middle Heaven Merchant Guild’s forces are still inside… But are these men enough, Master?”

Yoon Yi-Jeong asked, making sure.

“Don’t worry! We have reinforcements this time. Without those two lovebirds, wiping out this measly guild will be a piece of cake for them.”

He didn’t consider the possibility of choking on that piece of cake.

“You mean ‘them’? Where are they…?”

He saw nothing but darkness, felt nothing but the presence of his men hiding in the shadows.

“Want to know?”

Lee Si-Geon grinned.

“They’re always where the blood flows. Right here, right now!”

He raised his arm, and a blood-red shadow appeared behind him, as if materializing from thin air. It was a red haze.

‘There’s only one? But there are supposed to be thirteen…’

Yoon Yi-Jeong thought, puzzled, when the shadow split in two, then four, then eight, until there were thirteen distinct figures. Thirteen men, dressed in blood-red robes, lined up behind Lee Si-Geon, their appearance as ominous as a flock of vultures.

“Let me introduce you. These are my trusted allies, my wings of blood wind, who will bring a storm of blood! The ‘Thirteen Bloods’!”

He grinned cruelly, imagining the carnage they would unleash.

‘Those are the ones! I’ve heard the rumors. The bloodthirsty madmen, the harbingers of blood wind, who serve the organization for one reason only: to kill, kill, and kill again! They say that wherever they appear, blood flows freely…’

Even Yoon Yi-Jeong, a seasoned commander, couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine.

‘He brought all of them? He’s serious this time!’

Lee Si-Geon addressed the Thirteen Bloods.

“Three of you stay here and protect me. The rest of you, split into two groups. One group will retrieve the key, the other will eliminate the leaders of the Middle Heaven Merchant Guild, including Branch Manager Jang Woo-Yang. According to our intel, the girl is in a hut at the back of the guild. You know where the Branch Manager lives.”

“Yes, Master!”

The blood-red figures vanished, their robes fluttering like flames.

“We’ll attack when we get the signal that Jang Woo-Yang is dead. Until then, we wait.”

“What should we do with them?”

Yoon Yi-Jeong asked, referring to the captured hostages. Lee Si-Geon clutched his wounded shoulder.

“Do you even need to ask?”

The pain from his wound was still burning.

“Kill them all!”

He grinned cruelly.

* * *

“Ugh, I drank too much last night…”

The old man groaned, getting out of bed. He had indulged in a bit too much free food and alcohol last night.

“Where’s the outhouse…? This is annoying… I can’t just incinerate it with my internal energy…”

He could, but he chose not to.

“I remember a guy who tried to vaporize his urine with his internal energy because he was too lazy to go to the outhouse.”

Everyone had expected him to fail, but he had surprised them all. And then he had died.

“He died from uremia, I think.”

The undissolved toxins had accumulated in his kidneys, poisoning him from the inside out. He had died a few days later, pissing blood. No one had tried to replicate his feat since then.

“Yawn~ This is so annoying.”

He yawned and shuffled towards the outhouse. But he was being watched.

“What should we do, Big Brother?”

Fifth Blood asked First Blood.

“What do you mean? Just kill him.”

Kill, kill, kill!

It was their only skill, their only specialty.

“Yes, but we have to follow protocol.”

“What protocol? Since when did we care about protocol when killing people?”

“Alright, I’m going.”

“Make it quick and clean.”

“Don’t worry, Big Brother.”

“He’s eager for blood, isn’t he?”

That old man was as good as dead. First Blood was certain of it. But he was about to be proven wrong.