HSA 3

 “Second Young Master. There’s a village over there. Let’s rest for a while.”

One of the men in the group said.

Ak Mujin and the Crimson Kill Squad had traveled for about ten days from Heavenly Mountain, the Demonic Cult’s base, and arrived in the Central Plains. Their mission was to bring back the head of the former Crimson Kill Squad leader, ‘Jin Sang-aeng,’ and to collect the head of ‘Namgung Cheon,’ the heir of the Namgung Clan, with whom she had an affair.

The Crimson Kill Squad was almost beheaded by the Cult Leader as soon as Jin Sang-aeng’s affair was revealed, but they were barely able to survive thanks to Ak Mujin’s intervention. Deeply impressed by this, the Crimson Kill Squad and the vice-captain Seo-mok vowed to be loyal to Ak Mujin.

Ak Mujin looked at the place Seo-mok was pointing to. There was indeed a place that seemed to be a village.

He nodded. Ak Mujin entered the inn, ordered a meal, and poured the first drink that came out, handing it to the subordinate sitting across from him.

“Thank you, Second Young Master.”

“Mm.”

Ak Mujin felt refreshed after quenching his dry throat and let out a sigh. A journey without a car was this exhausting.

He suddenly had a question and asked Seo-mok.

“…How did Teacher get caught?”

“Ah, that’s… She couldn’t avoid suspicion because she applied for outings frequently starting about a year ago. She must have been doing it to take care of the child.”

Ak Mujin blinked.

Hearing that, he realized once again that this story was quite cruel to Jin Sang-aeng.

This person, Jin Sang-aeng, loved Namgung Cheon, the heir of the Namgung Clan, so much that she gave up the honor she had worked so hard to obtain, but love between the orthodox and unorthodox factions was as taboo as love between a teacher and a disciple. In the end, they became Martial World Enemies and were chased by both the Namgung Clan and the Demonic Cult, and were brutally murdered.

Still, she saved the child’s life, so she must have been able to close her eyes peacefully.

That’s what Do-hyun tried to think.

Otherwise, he felt like he would be overwhelmed by guilt and die in this situation where this terrible fiction had become reality. If he had known things would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have done this.

“Hmm…”

Seo-mok watched Ak Mujin furrowing his brow and gauged his mood. He seemed quite uncomfortable. He couldn’t even guess that Ak Mujin was worried about Jin Sang-aeng, and was only filled with the thought that her betrayal had angered him.

‘He seems to be in a bad mood. Indeed, he’s a man who said he would slay his own teacher, so I must be careful too.’

Ak Mujin calmed himself by letting out a small sigh and called the waiter who was passing by.

“Hey, waiter. I have something to ask.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Have you seen a couple and a child passing by around here? The woman must have been bewitchingly beautiful.”

Before he could finish speaking, the waiter pretended to know something.

“I saw them a day ago! They weren’t from this village, and I remember them because the child was very bright.”

Ak Mujin guessed that the child was the protagonist when he heard that the child was very bright, but his guilt only increased.

“Did they leave right away? Didn’t they say where they were going?”

“Yes, they didn’t say anything like that, but they just ate and left right away.”

Ak Mujin looked at Seo-mok, and he nodded.

They immediately got up from their seats and started moving.

Perhaps because it was not easy to move with a child, Namgung Cheon and Jin Sang-aeng’s movements were definitely slowed down. The further south they went, the more testimonies there were from people who had seen them. The more that happened, the more Ak Mujin felt excited for no reason, but he hardened his expression even more so that no one would see and think it was strange.

About two days passed, and it was the day they arrived at a new village.

They witnessed Namgung Cheon’s group in the middle of the village. Ak Mujin used his Light Body Skill and closely pursued Namgung Cheon and Jin Sang-aeng, who were leaving the village.

“Stop!”

Seo-mok shouted. There was a mountain entrance in front of them, and if they went into the mountain, things would become more troublesome.

But Mujin already knew how the story would unfold, so he didn’t feel anxious about missing them.

“There’s no chance of victory for you even if you run away! Surrender peacefully!”

Seo-mok shouted again at Namgung Cheon’s group, who were running away.

Namgung Cheon seemed to be whispering something to Jin Sang-aeng, and eventually sent Jin Sang-aeng away first and stopped alone. Jin Sang-aeng hesitated, constantly looking back while holding the child.

“Husband!”

“Go quickly!”

“Husband!”

“Father!”

Namgung Cheon even threw Hidden Weapons at Jin Sang-aeng. Jin Sang-aeng had no choice but to enter the mountain.

“I will return today with your head and your family’s heads.”

Ak Mujin suppressed his desire to abandon the plot and let Namgung Cheon go, and maintained a relaxed attitude.

The Crimson Kill Squad was stationed behind Ak Mujin. No matter how much of an heir of the Namgung Clan he was, it was absurd for Namgung Cheon alone to face thirty of the Demonic Cult’s elite soldiers, the Crimson Kill Squad.

Namgung Cheon glared at Ak Mujin, who was leisurely gesturing to his subordinates while holding a sword, and glanced to see how far away Jin Sang-aeng was behind him.

“Ten of you, chase after Jin Sang-aeng.”

“Yes, Young master!”

As soon as Ak Mujin’s order was given, the Crimson Kill Squad members who had divided into groups hurriedly began to move.

Seeing this, Namgung Cheon suddenly lunged at Ak Mujin. Although there was little chance of victory, his calculation was to eliminate the leader first.

Meanwhile, Ak Mujin was distracted by the Crimson Kill Squad members chasing Jin Sang-aeng, and was a step late in deflecting the sword flying straight at him with his fan. As a result, the blade grazed his cheek, and his hair was cut and fluttered down to the dirt floor.

“How dare you!”
Ak Mujin heard a thunderous shout from behind.

It went without saying that Seo-mok, who had been watching Ak Mujin’s safety all along, noticed it. He drew his sword without hesitation and leaped towards Namgung Cheon. Then, the rest of the Crimson Kill Squad members followed him, launching their respective weapons at Namgung Cheon.

Whoosh-

Ak Mujin’s eyes widened. More than twenty people were mercilessly attacking Namgung Cheon alone, but Ak Mujin couldn’t bring himself to tell them to stop.

Should I just give up on the plot? Is returning to reality really more valuable than this person’s life?

Even though this is a world within someone’s novel, isn’t each person’s life just as real as in reality? As if to prove it, Ak Mujin also felt the same amount of pain in this dreamlike world when someone inflicted it upon him.

Even as Ak Mujin was in turmoil, Seo-mok wielded his sword relentlessly.

Namgung Cheon fell to the ground after a hundred or so moves. He seemed like he would last quite a while, but in the end, he couldn’t survive.

It was only natural. From the start, he had only resolved to sacrifice himself to buy Jin Sang-aeng time to escape.

Ak Mujin glanced askance at the fallen Namgung Cheon, then closed his eyes tightly.

He tried to think lightly of it.

Right, there is no greater or lesser value in life. That means that Ak Mujin, who has witnessed countless sacrifices while being a part of the Demonic Cult, doesn’t need to consider Namgung Cheon’s death as particularly special now.

Besides, even I will die and exit this world!

“…Take good care of the head.”

Even though Ak Mujin was trying to think as lightly as possible, he hid the slightly trembling fan in his waistband and concealed his hands within his sleeves. A man holding a hexagonal box emerged from the Crimson Kill Squad and collected the corpse. Ak Mujin found it difficult to watch, so he turned his head away and gazed at the distant mountains.

Seo-mok watched Ak Mujin’s actions and muttered inwardly.

‘Indeed, he doesn’t even bat an eye at the sight of a child’s parent’s corpse. He’s already looking for the next target. I wonder if he would even kill a child cruelly.’

“Let’s go!”

Whether he knew Seo-mok’s thoughts or not, Ak Mujin shouted as soon as he saw the Crimson Kill Squad member put Namgung Cheon’s head into the salt-filled box and seal it.

As the goal drew closer, Ak Mujin’s thoughts became increasingly complicated. He began to resent himself for thinking that he would soon be able to see the protagonist.

He even considered deliberately delaying and letting Jin Sang-aeng escape, but if he did that, the birth of the ‘protagonist who avenges his parents’ would be nonexistent.

If that happened, Ak Mujin would be stuck in this world forever, with no corner to return to.

They diligently climbed the mountain after Jin Sang-aeng. As the undergrowth thickened, the corpses of the Crimson Kill Squad members who had gone ahead to chase Jin Sang-aeng increased one by one. Among them were people whose faces were already familiar, and Ak Mujin’s heart stung.

It was then.

“Stop, Jin Sang-aeng!”

Seo-mok shouted. Only then did Ak Mujin’s eyes catch sight of Jin Sang-aeng’s colorful clothes fluttering between the pine trees.

“Why would I stop when it’s obvious you’re going to kill me!”

Jin Sang-aeng’s voice came from beyond the pine forest.

“Don’t you already know the outcome!”

Seo-mok retorted.

“Master, there’s no chance of winning, so please stop now.”

Ak Mujin had been contemplating for a long time while chasing Jin Sang-aeng into the forest, but he decided to follow the novel’s plot for now. His slow, cold voice emerged.

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“How many years have I been taught by you? If I speak well to the Cult Leader, he might spare the child. Please consider this disciple’s last favor.”

Ak Mujin sincerely wanted to extend as much goodwill as possible.

‘So, this is how he coaxes Jin Sang-aeng out.’

Seo-mok unconsciously turned to look at Ak Mujin and muttered inwardly with admiration.

Perhaps Ak Mujin’s words were persuasive, as the sound of the pine trees rustling subsided. The reason he had rushed to see this scene in the first place was not just to see the protagonist.

This scene was also where the protagonist met his ‘fortuitous encounter,’ his master.

While they were fighting to take Jin Sang-aeng’s life, the person who would soon become his master would appear in a dazzling display and mediate. He was heartbroken by the guilt of having to kill even Jin Sang-aeng, but he decided to take solace in being able to witness the protagonist’s master, Mae-yeong’s, splendid swordsmanship from the sidelines.

“Is that true?”

Jin Sang-aeng’s weary voice came from afar.

“Don’t you trust your disciple?”

Then, after a moment, Jin Sang-aeng appeared between the pine trees, holding a child’s hand.

The child, who looked to be no more than five years old, had a nervous expression as he tightly gripped his mother’s hand.

Ak Mujin felt goosebumps all over his body.

This child was the protagonist of the story he had written, Jin Geum-ryeon, born from his fingertips.

Jin Geum-ryeon rolled his large eyes around, looking at the Crimson Kill Squad with fear.

‘My baby, it’s my baby! He’s so handsome, just like my protagonist!’

Ak Mujin wasn’t originally the type of writer to cheer for male characters like this. However, when he actually faced a being to whom he had personally given every minor setting, his heart couldn’t help but pound wildly.

Of course, he used Demonic Art to calm his mind in order not to show it.

“Mother, draw your sword.”

Jin Geum-ryeon said, shaking the hand he was holding, and Jin Sang-aeng looked down at the child and smiled bitterly.

“There are people that even your mother can’t beat.”

At those words, Jin Geum-ryeon gripped his mother’s hand even tighter. Although he was still young, he seemed to know what would happen in the future now that the situation had come to this.

“Please, spare at least the child, for the sake of the affection you’ve shown me during my training under you.”

Jin Sang-aeng appealed to Ak Mujin’s emotions. Seo-mok snorted at that. In Seo-mok’s opinion, Ak Mujin was not someone who would ever be swayed by emotions.

However, Mujin was shedding a liter of tears inside.

‘Ah, damn it, I should have just had him born into the Namgung Clan. I feel so bad for him.’

When he was writing it, he didn’t think it would be such a heartbreaking situation.

Ak Mujin was about to reply with a heart full of regret.

At that moment, a group of people running could be heard from behind Jin Sang-aeng.

“It’s Jin Sang-aeng!”

“Jin Sang-aeng is here!”

Judging by the clothes of the group that was getting closer, they were from the Namgung Clan.

The group discovered the Crimson Kill Squad beyond Jin Sang-aeng and flinched for a moment.

They had encountered a Demonic Cult group at the place they had arrived chasing Jin Sang-aeng.

“Mother!”

Jin Geum-ryeon cried out pitifully and clung to Jin Sang-aeng’s leg.

Ak Mujin had written the story himself, but his heart ached, and he found it difficult to look at Jin Sang-aeng and Geum-ryeon.

‘The situation is more serious than I thought?’