Still, just in case, Ak Mujin gestured to his subordinate to search Cheon Dan-ho’s body. One of the subordinates groped Cheon Dan-ho’s body, but all that came out were a few daggers and a money pouch, nothing special.
Ak Mujin pretended to stroke his brow, then crossed his arms and looked down at Cheon Dan-ho.
“Tell me where that person went.”
Then, Cheon Dan-ho hesitated for a moment. Somehow, his attitude had been strange all along. Yes, it wasn’t so much ‘suspicious’ as ‘strange’. Ak Mujin carefully examined his behavior, but nothing came to mind, so he was somewhat frustrated.
“Are you saying you’re going to a place of certain death?”
“Well, you never know if it’s a place of certain death until you go there.”
“Yes. That guy seemed like a greenhorn who hadn’t even dried behind the ears yet…, cough.”
Cheon Dan-ho’s words sounded like he had been careless. Ak Mujin didn’t care who the opponent was. Frankly, even though he was just an extra, he had given him so much setting that there weren’t many who could beat him now.
Seo-mok put the knife closer to his neck, urging Cheon Dan-ho.
“Cough, cough. He said he was going to the Yellow River to discuss how to deal with the secret manual, ahem. I, keuk, I escaped when they were careless….”
Cheon Dan-ho coughed, but he said everything he knew. He had stolen the secret manual and ran away, but he was strangely calm.
Ak Mujin still felt uneasy about it. But still, the secret manual was the top priority. He didn’t have time to worry about it for long.
Discussing it meant he wasn’t alone? But no matter how many there were, they were bound to be kids, so Ak Mujin was confident that he could easily subdue them.
Moreover, the fact that he had escaped meant that he had been taken away by them, so Ak Mujin instantly felt nothing but contempt for Cheon Dan-ho. He gestured to Seo-mok.
“Shall we cut off his head since we’ve extracted the information?!”
The subordinate who had searched Cheon Dan-ho’s body shouted.
No, please don’t say things like that.
“No. You three take Cheon Dan-ho back to the main base. We’ll deal with him there. Seo-mok, you follow me.”
“Yes!”
Seo-mok and the other subordinates answered in unison and moved busily.
“…Don’t try too hard for just a secret manual.”
Cheon Dan-ho said to Ak Mujin in a low voice as he was being dragged away by the subordinates.
At that moment, a light bulb went on in Ak Mujin’s head. He finally realized why he had been feeling uneasy about Cheon Dan-ho all along. His voice was filled with ‘resignation’. For some reason, Cheon Dan-ho seemed to have given up on something.
But Ak Mujin didn’t say anything more and hurried away with Seo-mok.
Judging from Cheon Dan-ho’s testimony, it seemed that the one who had inflicted the fatal wound on him was still a child. It was understandable, considering that he wasn’t ruthless enough to cut off Cheon Dan-ho’s breath altogether.
Then the answer was clear.
It was none other than Jin Geum-ryeon’s close friend, So Seung-ji!
Why hadn’t he thought of him first?
So Seung-ji was a lay disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, grew up in a wealthy family, and didn’t stand out much as a child, but his Martial Arts gradually increased as he left Mount Hua and began to work in earnest. So Seung-ji was at a time when he was quite famous, so he could have easily dealt with Cheon Dan-ho.
Ak Mujin wondered if it was right to take the <Manbi Seollok> from So Seung-ji. But would So Seung-ji’s setting change drastically because of a story that didn’t appear in the original? It didn’t seem likely.
They hurried their steps and were able to arrive near the Yellow River around evening. Since Ak Mujin knew So Seung-ji’s appearance, it wouldn’t be difficult to find him.
And soon, they were able to find a man with his hair tied up in a topknot and wearing a golden robe in a small pavilion a little away from the Yellow River.
As Ak Mujin expected, he wasn’t alone.
“Young-ji, what kind of secret manual is this?”
“I don’t know. What does it say?”
Ak Mujin suppressed his presence and hid with Seo-mok in the bushes near the pavilion. He was extremely nervous, so he could hear the voices talking in hushed tones. There were three shadows, one called Young-ji was a woman, and the others seemed to be men of the same age.
“The title is… <Manbi Seollok>. What do you think, brother?”
“I don’t know. I just came down from the mountain, so I don’t know anything.”
The voice that answered had a bit of playfulness in it.
“Which place’s secret manual is it?”
“I wonder.”
Young-ji replied.
“It might be the one from the guy we cut down.”
This time, the playful voice said.
“Hmm.”
As the man who seemed to be the oldest was pondering, the one with the playful tone said.
“Hey, by the way, I think someone’s nearby.”
Ak Mujin’s eyes widened for a moment. Unless it was a master surpassing Ak Mujin’s level, they wouldn’t be able to notice his presence. But the fact that this young man had noticed Ak Mujin’s presence meant that he was a master surpassing him?
At that time, something small flew up.
Rustle –
“Oh, it’s a grasshopper.”
Young-ji said with a laugh.
Ak Mujin sighed at the word grasshopper. So did Seo-mok.
“Hmph, is that so.”
“Anyway, if it’s the secret manual of that guy from before, shouldn’t we send it to the Martial Alliance?”
It wouldn’t be good if the secret manual went to the Martial Alliance. Ak Mujin finally decided to reveal himself.
“I’m sorry, young heroes. I’ll have to take that secret manual.”
Ak Mujin slowly walked up to the pavilion.
Because of the sunset, his shadow was long. Therefore, he still couldn’t clearly see what the three of them looked like.
“…Who are you?”
The man in the golden robe turned to Ak Mujin and asked warily. He looked noble at first glance. Beside him stood a woman in purple clothes, and behind him was a man in a white robe, the tallest of them all, but he couldn’t see him well because of the shadows.
“I’m the owner who lost that secret manual, but it seems that the young heroes happened to get their hands on it, so I had no choice but to step out to get it back.”
Ak Mujin cupped his fist in his palm and smiled faintly.
At that moment, the man standing at the very back stepped forward.
As the shadow receded, the man’s face was revealed.
Ak Mujin froze on the spot as soon as he saw that face.
Ak Mujin couldn’t possibly fail to recognize the man in front of him.
It was none other than Jin Geum-ryeon, the protagonist of <Namgung Clan’s Illegitimate Child Hides His Strength>!
He was wearing dark clothes, but his tall height, which seemed to be well over 190cm at first glance, and his broad shoulders revealed his physique. His drooping eyes made him look relaxed and languid, but his shining eyes were sharp enough to resemble a beast, and his thick, upward-sloping eyebrows made his impression even stronger.
And what about the nose that stood tall in the center of his face? His nose, which seemed a little big compared to his small face, harmonized with his features and didn’t stand out or interfere with his appreciation at all. The lips below his nose were smiling faintly, which harmonized well with his still slightly youthful, sharp jawline. Even if his face became more mature, it seemed that the atmosphere would only deepen and not spoil the harmony.
Jin Geum-ryeon’s fully grown appearance was the same as the childhood appearance that Ak Mujin remembered, but it was also the protagonist’s appearance that the original author, Ahn Do-hyun, had been thinking about in his mind.
“You are….”
Just as Ak Mujin was admiring the protagonist’s face, Jin Geum-ryeon spoke.
Ak Mujin hurriedly turned his head in an instant. This wouldn’t do. The original story was about to go awry again, so who cared about the secret manual that the previous Cult Leader had stolen! Moreover, according to the original story, Jin Geum-ryeon should still be in Mae-yeong’s arms at this time, but he didn’t know why he was already here.
“I’m sorry for bothering you. I think I mistook you for someone else.”
Ak Mujin turned his body to run away in a hurry, even though it was embarrassing.
At that time, something black and long stopped near Ak Mujin’s ear with the wind.
It was Jin Geum-ryeon’s scabbard.
Seo-mok, who was watching from afar, had his hand on the hilt, ready to draw his knife.
“I think I know you, please stop for a moment.”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s pleasant, languid voice said. Wasn’t there a bit of a distance between ‘please stop’ and the threatening action he was doing with the scabbard now? Ak Mujin’s heart was pounding, wondering if Jin Geum-ryeon had recognized him.
Honestly, he wasn’t unafraid of death.
But what he feared more was dying at the wrong moment, wasting his life in vain. There was no way Ak Mujin could stop.
“Let’s go, Seo-mok!”
Seo-mok, who was far away, hesitated in confusion when Ak Mujin gave up the manual and turned around, but when he kicked off the ground and began to use his lightness skill, she started moving with him.