By Zephyria Is this living? (6)
Seong Mu-yeon patted his shoulder and continued.
“Chief, you’ve already proven your ability to even capture the young master of the great Namgung Clan, so what are you afraid of?”
“Third Young Master… do you perhaps have a plan in mind?”
The chief asked cautiously. He was almost completely won over.
Seong Mu-yeon straightened his shoulders and put his hands behind his back. It was important to show a confident attitude.
He nodded slightly.
“Of course. It’s perfect timing. You have Namgung Cheon-chu in custody, Chief.”
“Namgung Cheon-chu, you say?”
He seemed not to understand.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. You still have a long way to go, Chief! Of course, it’s true that we lack the skill to capture Baek Ryeo-il on our own! But what if we have a hostage? Especially the heir to an important allied clan?”
“Don’t tell me.”
“That’s right. If we weaken Baek Ryeo-il and then use Namgung Cheon-chu as a hostage, he’ll be helpless and unable to do anything.”
“Indeed…! A brilliant plan! That’s right. Those foolish orthodox sect guys won’t be able to spread their wings because of that weakness. I’ll prepare immediately!”
“Good, good. Let’s prepare a great gift for my Third Young Master.”
The chief and Seong Mu-yeon looked at each other and smirked sinisterly.
Of course, their goals were completely different, but the chief, unaware of this fact, decided to follow Seong Mu-yeon’s plan.
Preparations were nearing completion. A Demonic Cult warrior dragged a person in.
“Chief Heo. We caught this guy lurking around.”
“Huh? Isn’t that a beggar from the Beggars’ Sect?”
He was a beggar wrapped in rags, but Seong Mu-yeon knew his face well.
‘Honggae!’
Honggae had been beaten badly, and his eyes were swollen purple.
The chief approached Honggae.
“You rascal! What were you doing around here! Don’t tell me there are other beggars besides you?”
Honggae, caught off guard, seemed flustered, his mouth tightly shut, his eyes darting around. Then he spotted Seong Mu-yeon and his eyes widened. He recognized the familiar face.
“Seo… Seo… Seong…!”
As soon as Honggae opened his mouth, Seong Mu-yeon launched a kick.
“Agh!”
Honggae, struck hard, rolled across the floor.
Seong Mu-yeon endured the pain in his shin, which was so intense it brought tears to his eyes. He knew that even though it hurt him this much, it wouldn’t even tickle Honggae.
‘This bastard is going to sell someone out again!’
Seong Mu-yeon roughly pulled up the dazed Honggae.
“Can’t you answer me! What were you doing here!”
The chief and Georyang behind him wouldn’t be able to see his face. He silently mouthed his intentions to Honggae.
‘Say no!’
“…Yes?”
Honggae tilted his head.
Seong Mu-yeon felt a fire burning in his chest.
‘This frustrating guy.’
Seong Mu-yeon mouthed again. Honggae squinted, trying to read his lips, but couldn’t understand.
Finally, Seong Mu-yeon shouted.
“Don’t tell me you smelled something from the Beggars’ Sect! Answer that you were alone, you beggar!”
Honggae, finally understanding, nodded hastily.
“Ah, ah… Yes. I was alone. I was just looking for a suitable place to relieve myself, but oh my. What’s going on?”
It was clumsy acting, but passable.
The chief, fooled by Honggae’s acting, sighed in relief.
“I was startled, thinking the Beggars’ Sect had stormed in. Look! Put that guy in with the others! Don’t let a single one die before the Third Young Master arrives, and give them some water too.”
“Yes.”
Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t help but feel sorry for Honggae as he was dragged away by the warrior. He could only watch silently as he was imprisoned.
‘I’ll save you soon. Just hang in there, Honggae.’
“Third Young Master. It seems the preparations are complete.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Baek Ryeo-il suddenly looked around.
“…It’s quiet.”
It was early evening, before sunset.
The beggars, who usually roamed around and irritated him, were nowhere to be seen. It seemed that all the Beggars’ Sect beggars had gone to look for Namgung Cheon-chu.
Baek Ryeo-il picked his ear.
“What do I care~ It’s someone else’s problem~ I’ll just~ drink some alcohol~ Ahh.”
It was utterly pathetic.
‘I should head back to headquarters soon.’
He couldn’t stay here wallowing in misery forever.
His brief outing had unexpectedly become too long.
‘I’ll go back tomorrow.’
Just as he thought that.
Thwack!
Baek Ryeo-il’s left hand snatched something. Shining next to his eye was a sharp arrowhead. He had casually caught the arrow that had flown in.
Baek Ryeo-il’s eyes narrowed.
In the direction the arrow had come from… Seong Mu-yeon was standing.
“…Seong Mu-yeon.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
The blood in his body began to circulate rapidly.
His heart beat fiercely, and all his nerves were on edge. Like a hawk that had lost its prey and wandered aimlessly, his eyes gleamed as if he had finally found it.
Baek Ryeo-il enhanced his eyesight. Seong Mu-yeon, appearing smaller than his pinky fingernail, was on a tree, his clothes fluttering, a faint smile on his face.
Confirming that he had been seen, he leaped down from the tree.
As if telling him to follow.
A sense of elation washed over Baek Ryeo-il’s usually listless face.
Whoosh!
Baek Ryeo-il’s figure disappeared.
He chased after Seong Mu-yeon without hesitation.
The Myriad Mile Scent had already dissipated, but the body fragrance left in the air seemed to be pulling him.
Cutting through the wind, leaving everything behind.
Looking only ahead.
Baek Ryeo-il chased after him.
“Hee! Faster! Run faster!”
Seong Mu-yeon urged the warrior. He had no way to escape on his own, so the swift warrior carried him on his back. But Baek Ryeo-il was catching up faster than expected.
Baek Ryeo-il, with light blazing from his eyes, was chasing them at a terrifying speed.
“Faster!”
The warrior ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
“Seong Mu-yeooon! Where are you going!”
His voice was very agitated. He seemed very angry.
That was a good thing. He needed to lure Baek Ryeo-il to the place where the traps were set.
If they made contact here, or if the Demonic Cult guys noticed anything strange, things would become more difficult.
Seong Mu-yeon’s plan was to lure Baek Ryeo-il in to safely rescue the civilians held captive in the hideout…
“If I catch you, you’re dead! Hahahaha!”
“Hee!”
He had prepared himself mentally, but Seong Mu-yeon was terrified. To commit such a daring act… He felt like he would pay a great price later.
Fortunately, Seong Mu-yeon arrived at the clearing where Chief Heo’s men were waiting, as planned. Baek Ryeo-il was only a hair’s breadth behind.
A dozen black-clad men stood between Baek Ryeo-il and Seong Mu-yeon.
“Hoo… So you came here with a plan?”
Baek Ryeo-il’s gaze was fixed on Seong Mu-yeon.
“I was right. I shouldn’t have trusted a Demonic Cult guy after all. Did you approach me with this in mind from the start?”
‘You were the one who approached me, you crazy bastard!’
Seong Mu-yeon felt wronged. But now, he had provided undeniable evidence.
Seong Mu-yeon stepped forward.
“Baek Ryeo-il! You shouldn’t have touched me! I’ll make this place your grave today!”
His face flushed as he uttered the typical villain’s lines. But the effect was good. Seong Mu-yeon could even hear Baek Ryeo-il grinding his teeth.
“We’ll see about that. Whether it becomes my grave or yours.”
As he said that, Baek Ryeo-il seemed so excited that it was hard to tell whether he was angry or enjoying himself.
Clang.
Baek Ryeo-il drew his sword. At the same time, the other black-clad men launched a coordinated attack.
Baek Ryeo-il didn’t let them surround him. He lightly kicked off the ground. Hanging from a nearby tree trunk, he slashed down the first black-clad man to rush at him.
Slash-!
At the same time, he pushed back the men who followed.
“Ugh!”
The black-clad men who hadn’t prepared in time stumbled and fell, disrupting their formation. After that, there was nothing to see. Baek Ryeo-il skillfully dealt with the black-clad men.
Chief Heo, who had been watching him fight with Seong Mu-yeon, stroked his beard.
“Hmm, he’s indeed a formidable one.”
At the chief’s gesture, Georyang stepped forward with his glaive.
“Georyang, you must weaken him as much as possible.”
“Yes!”
Thump-!
The ground shook, and a cloud of dust rose. When the dust cloud raised by Georyang settled, there were no black-clad men standing on two feet.
Baek Ryeo-il looked at Georyang and sneered.
“I wondered what confidence you had to drag me to a place like this, but all you prepared was this bear?”
“Shut up!”
Georyang swung his glaive.
Following him, even the other black-clad men who had been maintaining the secondary defense line joined the attack.