By Zephyria 
Seong Mu-yeon opened his mouth, but only a weak gust of wind escaped, as if his vocal cords had hardened like stone.
Then, Seong Mu-yeon felt a chill in his heart as a familiar emblem engraved on the opponent’s chest caught his eye.
‘Hwasan Sect!’
The plum blossom insignia of the Hwasan Sect was emblazoned proudly on the young Swordsmen’s attire.
“…Osori cannot speak.”
Owl approached Seong Mu-yeon, who was patting his throat in vain.
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon realize that Owl had sealed his blood point to block his voice in order to conceal his identity.
“Ah, my apologies.”
The young Hwasan Sect disciple was slightly flustered but quickly regained his composure. Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t bring himself to look him straight in the eye and lowered his gaze.
“I’ve seen you before. You are Yakseon Daein’s attendants, aren’t you?”
Only after he turned his body towards the fallen enemy could Seong Mu-yeon steal a glance at his back. His unusually tall height was the first thing that caught his eye. He seemed to be a youthful young man who had just come of age or was about to.
“Ugh…”
By the time Seong Mu-yeon rolled on the floor, the enemy had already fallen. The young Hwasan Sect disciple had pierced the enemy’s shoulder with a clean strike.
He stepped firmly on the chest of the fallen enemy, who was groaning in pain, and mercilessly drew his sword.
‘Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like someone I know.’
Seong Mu-yeon’s time in Hwasan was only a few months, and he didn’t know all the thousands of Disciples who lived there. If he knew someone with such a noticeable height who wielded a killing sword without hesitation, he would have remembered.
“What happened here…?”
Owl asked amidst the enemy’s pained groans.
“We were tracking the Divine Demon Sect’s Venomous Ox-Demon General. We followed rumors of Evaporating Serpent Venom appearing in the vicinity and reached this village. But it seems it had already been looted by the Demonic Cult, so we were gathering survivors and searching the area.”
‘We’…?
‘That means he’s not alone.’
This time, he lowered his body next to the village youth who was sprawled out on the ground.
“This person… I don’t recognize him, so I don’t know where he came from. It seems he was separated and encountered demonic cultists in the forest.”
“There’s nothing wrong other than scrapes from falling… It seems he fainted from shock…”
Owl approached and examined the village youth closely before speaking. When none other than the attendant of Yak Seon, the foremost physician, spoke, the disciple nodded. Even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after three years, and Owl was not just a village school dog, but the best dog in the Central Plains.
“We… have come to escort Yakseon Daein. Is he here…?”
Owl asked cautiously, and the disciple paused before raising his head, and Seong Mu-yeon lowered his gaze again.
Even though he wasn’t close to him, Seong Mu-yeon was always at the center of controversy, so anyone who had been in Hwasan during that time could recognize him, so he couldn’t relax.
“He’s here? No, I haven’t seen him.”
He seemed slightly surprised. He muttered something and then lifted the youth onto his shoulder. Even though he was carrying a large man who seemed to weigh at least twice as much, his posture didn’t falter at all. It was an unexpected display of incredible strength for someone with such a slender build.
Then, he grabbed the Demonic human who had fainted from the pain by the scruff of the neck.
“Perhaps the villagers know, so would you like to come with me? I’ll guide you to where they are hiding.”
“…Please.”
Owl glanced at Seong Mu-yeon and hesitated for a moment before nodding. In any case, they had to find out Yak Seon’s whereabouts.
The two followed the Hwasan Sect disciple and moved their steps.
‘Is this okay?’
Of all people, it had to be the Hwasan Sect.
Seong Mu-yeon let out a faint sigh. It was ironic that after hiding so well for three years, the moment he stepped out into the world, he would meet the person he wanted to avoid the most.
That also meant that the world was in chaos.
Seong Mu-yeon looked at the desolate village scenery with a miserable heart.
The shadow of the enemy, which had been slowly approaching, had finally reached even this small village.
Even Seong Mu-yeon, who had been living deep in the mountains, could sense the subtle changes. Every rumor he heard was ominous, and even the villagers who used to live without locking their doors were now never alone and wary of the threat that could come at any moment.
“Once we find Yakseon Daein, let’s leave this place immediately…”
Owl whispered so quietly that the disciple walking ahead couldn’t hear.
Seong Mu-yeon nodded, but his uneasy heart didn’t calm down easily. For some reason, he had a bad feeling that the journey to find Yak Seon wouldn’t end easily.
* * *
The villagers were huddled together in a shabby warehouse building.
They had been stiff with fear at the approaching presence in the darkness, but they breathed a sigh of relief only after seeing the face of the Hwasan Sect disciple.
The villagers didn’t seem to be in good condition, having suffered so much from the sudden disaster. The inside of the warehouse was also disorganized and messy.
“Have you seen Yakseon Daein…?”
Owl pushed past the disciple and asked urgently. The villagers were startled by his unusual, gloomy appearance, but they soon realized that he was Yak Seon’s attendant and relaxed.
“Yes! Yakseon Daein was with us.”
One of the villagers nodded with a bright face. But Yak Seon was nowhere to be seen. He was someone who would stand out in any market, so he wasn’t here.
“Where is he now…?”
“The Daein said that the situation was unusual and accompanied a few young men from the village to ask for help from a larger town. The Demonic Cult attacked soon after he left… but thankfully, the disciple here helped us. In any case, the Daein will be back soon with people.”
At those words, Seong Mu-yeon let out a sigh of relief. It seemed Yak Seon was safe. But the relief was only temporary.
“Man-deuk!”
When the disciple put down the village youth he had been carrying on his shoulder, people rushed over with pale faces.
“Ma, what happened to Man-deuk? He was the child who left with Yakseon Daein…”
“…”
A chilling silence descended.
“…This person was being chased by demonic cultists.”
The disciple said with a sigh, and the air grew even colder.
“Th, then what happened to the others? What about Yak Seon? Man-deuk! Wake up and explain!”
But no matter how much they shook him or slapped his cheeks, the fainted youth didn’t wake up easily.
Seong Mu-yeon and Owl exchanged glances. Both of them looked visibly uneasy. It was highly likely that they had been attacked while going to ask for help.
As of now, they couldn’t be sure of Yak Seon’s safety.
“Where did he say he was going…? When did he leave…?”
Owl began to question the villagers. Meanwhile, the disciple was overwhelmed with guilt, his shoulders drooping in dejection.
“I’m sorry. I’d like to go out and search the forest, but I can’t leave my post until my master returns…”
Even as he made a distressed face, his hands were quick and nimble as he tied up the limp limbs of the Demonic human.
“Ah, no. Don’t say that. If Gang Dojang hadn’t helped us, we would already be dead.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
Suddenly, Seong Mu-yeon turned his head and noticed the drooping shoulders. The inside of the warehouse was a bit dark because the light didn’t come in well, and only then could he carefully observe the young disciple hidden in the shadows.
‘What is it?’
Seong Mu-yeon felt a strange sense of déjà vu from him.
He was definitely unfamiliar…
But somehow familiar.
Before his head could realize it, his heart began to pound first.
‘Could it be…’
“I’ll tell my master as soon as he returns. He will definitely find him.”
“How can I thank you enough…”
“It’s only natural.”
The realization slowly consumed him like a spreading stain.
The young man’s handsome profile, the way he spoke, and his voice.
When all the pieces finally fell into place, Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
‘Gang Woong?! Ga, Gang Dojang?!’
The first person he met after coming out into the world was none other than Gang Woong of the Hwasan Sect.
Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t believe his eyes.
‘Little Gang Woong has grown up this much?’
It wasn’t unreasonable that he didn’t recognize him. Only three years had passed, but the small boy who barely reached Seong Mu-yeon’s chest had grown into a tall young man who surpassed him.
Some things remained the same.
“If anyone is hurt or uncomfortable, please tell me immediately.”
It was his calm demeanor and warm smile. If you looked closely, you could find traces of his old self in his cheeks, which still had some baby fat, and in his thick voice, which had gone through puberty.
As the shock subsided, Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes welled up with tears. He felt the weight of the past three years anew. It was a long time, enough for a small boy to become a reliable adult.
Seong Mu-yeon also remembered how ruthless his sword was. His heart ached when he thought about what must have happened for him to wield a sword that unhesitatingly took the opponent’s life in a single strike.
‘Wait a minute… The fact that Gang Dojang is here means…’
The tears disappeared at the sudden thought, and his body stiffened as if struck by lightning.
The fact that there was a young disciple who wasn’t even of age yet meant…
That his master was also nearby.