Chapter v9c21

Human rights exist even in non-illustrious places.

Hyo-ryong felt a sense of despair from his useless friends scattered around him and considered the existence of Eun Seol-ran as the only lifeline.

Eun Seol-ran was too busy to accept Hyo-ryong’s plea for salvation at the moment.

She had just barely discovered a clue. That clue was surprisingly close to her. The key to solving the Mount Wudang incident! The clue was Bi Ryu-yeon, who was in charge of her personal protection.

Whenever the name Bi Ryu-yeon was involved, the development of events was always peculiar, and the factual statements became nonsensical and inconsistent, and testimonies became haphazard. Until then, there had been little difference in the statements of the incidents.

‘What’s so great about this man who seems so trivial?’

For her, it was an unheard-of question. The role of an investigator is to investigate these questions and suspicions. And she herself was the investigator.

She began to perform her inherent duty.

Indeed, the basics of investigation start with asking around. question means the act of seeking out and asking about rumors or facts that are not known. The basic principle of an question investigation is common sense, which is to hear testimony from those involved in the case.

Eun Seol-ran had no intention of breaking this rule. She had other worries.

What she was about to do was a kind of internal investigation. Investigating a group of insiders has a high risk of covering for each other. This directly relates to how much one can trust the testimony of the counterpart. She was always careful not to overlook this.

After meeting with Hyo-ryong, her suspicions deepened rather than being resolved.

‘What on earth happened that day that the Young lord is hiding the truth from me?’

Even if others didn’t understand, the Young lord was not supposed to act this way.

‘What could be the unspeakable truth even to me?’

Crying out loud but having things you can’t tell yourself!

To shake off these suspicions, she had to start the investigation. She felt that only by thoroughly unraveling the case and clarifying the truth would her heavy heart be relieved.

But as expected and braced for, it was not an easy task.

‘Is it Bi Ryu-yeon?’

The existence of Bi Ryu-yeon, an alien entity, had been on her mind. Even Eun Seol-ran herself did not know the exact reason. Moreover, the events of a few days ago fueled her suspicions even more.

The freedom to walk on public roads is a universal right that all people have. Public roads are not a private space created with an individual’s money.

But now, Eun Seol-ran’s sacred personal rights and freedoms were being infringed upon by others.

‘It feels uneasy!’

Eun Seol-ran quietly said. Thinking about it again, it definitely felt uneasy.

“Did someone drop some money?”

Eun Seol-ran asked while looking at Bi Ryu-yeon.

“What? Who dares!”

Bi Ryu-yeon asked back with a serious and appalling face, making even the questioning Eun Seol-ran quite startled. The unexpected violent reaction made cold sweat trickle down Eun Seol-ran’s face.

“Haha! No, it seems like someone is trying to pick up money that wasn’t even dropped.”

Eun Seol-ran’s gaze shifted slightly backward. Then Bi Ryu-yeon clearly understood what Eun Seol-ran meant.

“Ah~ That person! Diligent, but less skilled than the person yesterday. Following so ineptly, it’s so obvious without a mirror, so obvious, tsk tsk tsk!”

Bi Ryu-yeon clicked his tongue. And the content of the conversation made Eun Seol-ran’s eyes widen like a surprised pigeon.

“So there was a tail on us yesterday?”

Yesterday, there was no sense of someone following; they were completely caught off guard.

“Of course! Why would I hide such a big secret? You may not know, Miss Eun, but you’re quite popular among the secret circles these days. In fact, you have never truly been alone.”

Eun Seol-ran was taken aback by Bi Ryu-yeon’s explanation. The content was too meaningful to be dismissed as a joke.

“What should we do now?”

“Let’s start by stepping on it gently. Of course, if you wish!”

Bi Ryu-yeon smiled mischievously.

“I want to!”

Eun Seol-ran nodded.

“As you command!”

Bi Ryu-yeon’s steps came to a stop. He stood up straight and tapped the ground with his toes. Shiiiiik!

Simultaneously, Bi Ryu-yeon’s figure stretched back.

The beating began. Resorting to fists and violence before conversation is a very bad habit.

However, paradoxically, most bad methods have the common features of being very effective or very convenient.

Yet, for the agent number eight of the Nonpareil Brigade, who was caught by this method, it was torture.

‘Kkueeeeeeek!’

Palbi, who was always loyal to his duties, was now facing a crisis of duty surpassing an accident.

However, all avenues for seeking help were blocked.

A sense of crisis loomed. He didn’t want to die at such a young age and leave a consolation prize for his family. With that thought, his mouth babbled on its own.

“Kkuaaaaak! No! It’s not you, I tell you.”

Palbi’s scream echoed in the high autumn sky.

“What?”

Eun Seol-ran cocked her head.

“That’s right. So please clear up the misunderstanding.”

Palbi’s face was a mess from an injury during work. He was more worried about whether he could properly claim his medical expenses than anything else.

“So you mean you weren’t after me?”

Eun Seol-ran asked. The fact that the target of the tail was not herself was bound to raise suspicion. Palbi quickly spoke before the waiting fist could fly.

“Yes! Of course. If you still have doubts, I can prove my identity.”

The badge he pulled from his waist clearly indicated that he belonged to the Cheonmu Academy Nonpareil Brigade. Palbi’s actions were certainly not fit for a spy. It was shameful. But the result of that action was immediate.

“Then who were you following?”

The most pressing issue was to be resolved.

“That.. that person.”

Eun Seol-ran, Na Yerin, and Mo Yong-hwi’s eyes widened. At the end of Palbi’s pointing finger was Bi Ryu-yeon.

“Then who asked you to do it?”

“I can’t tell you. Not even if I die!”

Palbi showed a semblance of a secret agent for once, but he had long since lost all points.

Eun Seol-ran’s gaze turned to Bi Ryu-yeon. Her gaze was plastered with suspicion.

‘Did this man hold enough importance to be tailed?’

He was definitely a peculiar and unique character.

‘This man could be the key.’

Now that I think about it, the only thing still shrouded in mystery in the Mount Wudang incident is Bi Ryu-yeon. His role in the incident has never been clearly revealed.

From this point on, Eun Seol-ran began to pay attention to the value of Bi Ryu-yeon’s existence.

‘There’s a need to look into this more.’

No matter how one looked at it, there were too many unresolved questions. There was definitely a need to dig deeper into the surroundings.

————————————————–

Was it said that autumn is the season of high heavens and fat horses?

The sky was incredibly high and clear blue.

Na Yerin quietly looked at the autumn sky.

Lately, for some unknown reason, her surroundings felt excessively noisy. Herself, who had hastily taken on the role of an escort that wasn’t planned from the start, the ambush, the lips stolen away again! The meeting with Maha Ryeong! The events continued to unfold, one after another. It felt as if she was being swept away by the flow of fate.

She had never felt as troubled as she did these days. Her head and heart used to be clear and calm like a serene lake, not disturbed by random thoughts or distractions. But lately, Na Yerin felt an acute increase in her thoughts. It was something that could not be resolved by denial.

She knew the cause. The person who was stirring waves in her heart and causing the chaos was, indeed, Bi Ryu-yeon. Why he was able to disturb her mind to this extent was beyond her scope.

A pair of birds chirped merrily as they frolicked in the sky.

‘I’m alone.’

She quietly said to herself.

‘Men…’

They were indistinct from beasts in many ways. Aside from standing on two legs, at least to her, that seemed to be the case. No one around her viewed men from a positive perspective. Of course, it was questionable whether any merits could be found in men who are often ridiculous, sometimes immature, and very frequently destructive.

Past unpleasant experiences were fanning the flames of her restlessness.

The man’s clenched fist trembled with rage. A seething anger that seemed to burn his soul was incinerating his entire being. He was none other than Wi Ji-cheon, the rising hope of the Cheongsong faction and the leader of the Bingbong Yeonghwa Sahodaya (Ice Peak Film Guard). Even today, he persistently stayed close to Na Yerin, watching her from nearby. Regardless of his subjective beliefs, his actions were nothing but a nuisance to Na Yerin.

Crack!

Wi Ji-cheon ground his teeth until they seemed to crush.

Always watching Na Yerin, he was one of the few people who noticed the changes in her. He didn’t talk about it, but he couldn’t help but painfully recognize that Na Yerin’s condition wasn’t the same as before! And that some cause was bringing about these changes in her, he had to feel and see it, however dreadful it might be.

Even more unbearable was the fact that he belonged to the same Black Sword faction as that bastard. Of course, the fact that Na Yerin belonged to the Black Sword faction was an ecstatic joy, but the existence of Bi Ryu-yeon, a thorn in his side, was dampening that joy by half.

‘If only that bastard didn’t exist in this world!’

Wi Ji-cheon kept repeating the same thought dozens of times a day.

Lately, Na Yerin seemed to be engulfed in confusion. Surely, her otherworldly demeanor had faded a lot. Na Yerin, who seemed to be slowly tearing down the thick walls she had built up and getting closer to reality, was not something Wi Ji-cheon could rejoice over, because the cause of that change was almost certainly the damned human named Bi Ryu-yeon.

The thief who stole the lips of the eternal idol of his heart and the goddess, that dog, that lowest of humans! The damned bastard’s name was Bi Ryu-yeon. That wretched guy had boldly taken the ecstatic red jewel which he himself wouldn’t dare dream of, and now he was stuck to Na Yerin under the guise of escorting the beauty investigator. The fact that in reality the distance between her and him was over 5 jang (approximately 15m), while the distance between Bi Ryu-yeon and Na Yerin was less than five ja (approximately 165cm), it was infuriating.

Every time a new expression appeared on Na Yerin’s face, which was as if carved from cold moonlight, Wi Ji-cheon felt as if his heart was being ripped to shreds. He was ashamed of not being able to keep the oath he made that day – to rip out Bi Ryu-yeon’s tongue, chop it up, and serve it as raw meat.

“Hoo…….”

Again, a sigh escaped from Na Yerin’s beautiful lips. It was a sigh so poignant that it would submerge the heart of the beholder in sorrow. It was a sight never seen from her before. Na Yerin had maintained an expressionless facade even if it meant being alone. That is, until that guy, Bi Ryu-yeon, appeared.

“Yahoo! Lady Na!”

It was a vibrant voice that shattered the serene silence. And then an even richer expression surfaced on Na Yerin’s cold face. Wi Ji-cheon clenched his teeth.

That sound was the voice of that cursed guy that Wi Ji-cheon could never forget.

“Hurry up! What are you doing there? Everyone is waiting! Quickly!”

Bi Ryu-yeon, who dared to shout at Na Yerin, someone to who others felt too pressured to talk properly, without caring about the gazes around her.

“I’m coming now.”

Na Yerin responded.

“Hurry up! I’m dying of boredom.”

Bi Ryu-yeon’s voice was heard again, feigning annoyance.

“Yes!”

Na Yerin replied again. It seemed Bi Ryu-yeon’s urging wasn’t so unwelcome.

With a lingering gaze at the sky, Na Yerin eventually turned and left Woon hyang jeong. Wi Ji-cheon was left alone in a space filled with silence and tranquility.

“I’ll kill you. I must kill you. Bi… Ryu… Yeon!”

Crack!

That guy was like trash. A cancerous presence. A boil of an existence. Uncontrollable flames of anger enveloped his entire body.

“This trashy bastard! This damned maggot!”

He cried bitter tears in his heart as he burned with hatred, hoping someone would respond to his heart’s cries. And the response came.

“Are you that angry? Do you hate him that much? If so, don’t hesitate!”

“Who… Who are you?”

Startled by the unidentified voice that approached without a trace, Wi Ji-cheon shouted in surprise.

“It’s you!”

Wi Ji-cheon’s eyes widened.

“Do you want power?”

The person said with a sly smile.