episode_0167

***

I had to make a choice.

Should I stay here and face my teacher’s enemy whose identity I don’t know?

Or should I step aside for a while and plan for later?

They had to choose.

And the choice was with Soyou.

“I have to leave this place.”

“But, Master. He is the enemy of the ambassador.”

Inho asked the unexpected question, and Soyou glared at him.

“Did you teach me to face the enemy without any preparation?”

“No.”

“I also want to avenge my teacher. That’s why I have to step down this time.”

It was half true.

Soyou had a strong desire to meet them right away and burn them to death.

However, in a pandemonium where all kinds of deadly creatures would be rampant, it was nearly impossible to fight while protecting Inho’s safety.

After all, they were the ones who killed their teacher.

So it was right to step down this time.

Furthermore, she was thinking of taking Inho away to a safe place for a while.

I really hated being separated from him even for a moment, but it was an inevitable choice if I wanted to see Inho for a long time.

“Then… can we move from now on?”

“In the letter, it says to come to the Murim Alliance. It looks like they are planning to send a guide.”

“Then I guess I should meet that guide.”

“That’s right. Fortunately, the meeting place is not far from here. It’s a day away, so you should be able to go. Pack your bags.”

As soon as Soyou spoke, Inho quickly started packing his bags.

He put easy-to-eat foods like beef jerky in his travel bag.

After simple packing, they came down the mountain.

Even though it was a steep slope, their legs did not stop.

After driving all day like that, they arrived at the agreed upon location.

A man named ‘Yunseok’ was waiting for them in a corner of the guest room.

“Nice to meet you. Yeomryun-gong.”

He introduced himself as a member of the information gathering group operated by Maeng, and took out a map from his pocket, saying to stop talking about trivial things.

“Unfortunately, there is no chance of completely defeating them. Because a surveillance network has already been established nearby.”

He spoke while tracing the map with his finger.

“I can’t believe a surveillance network was created so quickly. That’s strange. How did you know we were here?”

Ownership expressed doubts about the hostile forces that appeared without any warning.

“That part has not been revealed yet. I think it’s because Yan Lun-gong’s face is known. Has your face been revealed to the public recently?”

At Yunseok’s question, Soyou and Inho’s eyes frowned.

It was because I remembered the chaos in the market.

“……”

As the two remained silent, Yunseok clicked his tongue.

“It looks like it was there. What can I do? It’s not like I knew things were going this way.”

“Then, is there a way to escape?”

When In-ho asked, remembering the desperate battle, Yun-seok nodded.

“Forced breakthrough. That’s the only way.”

Yunseok’s finger pointed to a spot.

“The mountain here is steep, so even if pursuers get involved, we won’t be easily surrounded. My first goal is to cross to Sacheon through here around sunset.”

“It would definitely be difficult to set up a chase network in a place like this. But… this also has the disadvantage of being difficult to move around easily.”

Soyou, who was looking at the map, added more words.

“Daewon Yoon. This may be an unreasonable request, but could you help Inho while moving?”

“Rather, I wanted to tell you. Since I am not stronger in martial arts than Yan Lun-gong, I hope that I can assist the strong fighter and that Yan Lun-gong prepare for any enemy attacks that might come.”

Soyou slowly nodded his head at Yunseok’s words. It was the moment when each person’s role was decided.

“The time for the sun to set is coming soon. Lastly, I will check the operation.”

The three men and women turned their attention to the map.

***

Night in the mountains came quickly, as always.

As Yoon-seok said, from the moment we started running up the mountain, the enemies began to chase us.

I don’t know if it was their intention to understand the fugitive’s strength or to drain their strength, but they chased after them while maintaining an appropriate distance.

“Fucking surprise.”

Inho looked at the memorization that had just passed over his head, and his heart pounded.

It was a shame because it was a place where visibility was difficult, and if it had been broad daylight, it was clear that the back of the head would have been pierced.

– Chang!

Of course, this is the trajectory that memorization takes.

Because Soyou was blocking all the memorization coming at Inho.

“The number of flights is decreasing.”

Soyou said, swatting away the flying memorizations with his hands.

The number and intensity are gradually increasing. It felt like I was trying to see how far I could stop it, and it didn’t feel good.

They continued to run along the mountain path and even stepped into places that were not paths.

The fugitives ran in a straight line, stepping on sharp rocks.

Yunseok helped Inho, who lacked accomplishments, stumble a few times.

“It seems like the wide siege is narrowing.”

“If we continue like this, we’ll be surrounded, right?”

Soyou closed her eyes for a moment due to Inho’s worry.

She assumed various numbers and chose the most obvious one.

“Inho.”

“Yes.”

“You must be safe.”

“What is that? Master!!!”

Soyou, who was running with him, slowly started to fall behind, then turned and ran in the opposite direction.

“Master!!!”

Soyou, who was running towards his pursuers, got further and further away.

In-ho also turned and tried to chase after her, but Yun-seok grabbed him by the back.

“Do not do anything reckless. Lord Yan Lun will be safe.”

In-ho struggled to get away from Yun-seok, but his grip was so strong that he did not lose his posture even as he flew through the sky.

“……”

Yunseok, half carrying his seal, quickly climbed over the branches and crossed the mountain.

Yunseok ran for over 30 minutes and stopped at a clearing surrounded by trees.

Carrying an adult man over a mountain would have been difficult for most warriors, but his breathing was not impaired.

When Yoon-seok let go of his strength, In-ho, who was clinging to him, fell to the ground with a crash.

“I have to go to my teacher.”

Inho stood up with strength on his knees, thinking of Soyou fighting alone.

” Yan Lun-gong will be fine.”

“I know very well that you are strong. However, I don’t know how strong the enemy is, so I can’t just wait.”

When In-ho spoke while glaring at Yun-seok, who seemed calm, Yun-seok raised his hand to stop him from speaking.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what does it mean?”

“The target was not Yan Lun-gong, so it meant that she would be safe.”

At the words that came out of Yunseok’s mouth, Inho’s thoughts stopped.

– My heart is pounding

The instinctive sense of crisis was faster than the brain’s understanding.

My heartbeat accelerated and my head began to spin.

Facts that were previously overlooked come back into question.

‘Hao Wen protects the client’s identity, so why did the Murim Meng know where we are?’

‘Why did you think that Yoon Seok was a member of the Murim League based on just one sentence written in the letter?’

‘The enemy was so numerous in number, why did they threaten us instead of attacking us?’

and

“The person who delivered the news of Master Master’s death… where did he belong?”

Inho felt like he was playing on a huge board.