HSA 59

It was a night of heavy rain.

Heo Ryang, who had been thinking of finally going out to find firewood after six days of incessant rain, dejectedly raised his head, feeling the thick raindrops.

He had been waiting at home for the firewood to dry, but before he could, the rain started again.

It was a strange season.

“Ah, Father… I’m cold.”

Heo Ryang looked down at his seven-year-old son, who had insisted on helping him. The child’s lips were already turning white.

It was early winter, after all. To survive the winter, they needed to stockpile as much firewood as possible. But the wood he had gathered was already soaked and unusable.

Heo Ryang quickly unloaded the firewood from the carrying frame and instead put his son on it. He looked around, but finding nothing suitable, he took off his outer coat and covered the child with it.

“Why this sudden rain? Father will hurry down.”

The child nodded, teeth chattering. It was then, just as Heo Ryang was about to lift the frame and start walking, that—

Boom.

Thunder rumbled somewhere. Heo Ryang, and the child, startled, looked around.

“Father! What’s that sound?”

“Sounds like thunder. Let’s go inside quickly.”

Heo Ryang hurried his pace. The ground was slippery, so he carefully took each step.

Boom!

Another thunderclap echoed, and a rock near Heo Ryang shattered, its fragments scattering in all directions.

Heo Ryang was so startled that he lost his footing. The child fell from the frame, which had no safety features, and tumbled onto the dirt ground.

“Ugh!”

“Ah! Father!”

Heo Ryang was shocked by the flying rocks, but his heart sank when he saw his child rolling away. He immediately tried to get up and run to the child.

Heo Ryang felt a chilling presence and turned around. The child also sensed an unusual aura and stared into the foggy area.

Someone was standing among the rocks.

The fog slowly cleared, revealing a figure with long, disheveled hair.

Heo Ryang’s hair stood on end.

It was a woman in a white undershirt…

Yes. What appeared before Heo Ryang after the rock wall exploded was a gaunt, eight-foot-tall woman!

“…Hello…”

“Aaaargh! A m-monster!”

The low, distorted voice did not belong to the woman. Heo Ryang, terrified, abandoned the frame and, clutching only his child, didn’t know how he managed to run down the mountain.

*

The man captivated everyone in the inn the moment he stepped inside. Even in a bustling city inn where all sorts of people came and went, the innkeeper had never seen such a dignified and spirited figure.

The innkeeper couldn’t take his eyes off the man.

“Have you ever heard the name Ak Mujin?”

The man, dressed in jet-black clothes, asked in a low voice.

“Ak… what? W-well, no… I haven’t heard of it…”

The innkeeper seemed intimidated by the man’s question. He glanced at the man’s face, and even from a profile view, he was so strikingly handsome that the innkeeper immediately wanted to marry off his daughter to him.

The man was a head taller than the men standing near him. The silk clothes that hugged his muscular upper body were tailored to fit his physique perfectly, revealing his mass. His waist, tightly cinched with a belt, was slender compared to his upper body, making it impossible to look away.

The man moved his well-shaped lips and asked again.

“…Then, what about the name Ahn Do-hyun?”

“Ah… well…”

The innkeeper was deeply regretful that he couldn’t provide a proper answer to the Young master’s questions. Anyone who saw that face would be eager to offer any favor.

At the same time, he thought the name mentioned this time was somewhat unusual. Was he a foreigner? The name sounded slightly different from those commonly used in the Central Plains, so he tilted his head slightly.

The man calmly sighed and left the inn with the two subordinates who had entered with him. The innkeeper was startled. He hadn’t even noticed that there were two more people behind him.

In any case, after the tall man left, the tension that had filled the inn dissipated, and it became noisy again. The innkeeper simply stared blankly at the man’s retreating figure.

“I’ve never seen him before. Which noble family does he belong to?”

A middle-aged man, chewing on lamb skewers, asked the dazed innkeeper. The other customers were also chattering about the Young master who had just left. The innkeeper finally snapped out of it, wiped his hands on his apron, and tilted his head.

“Well… if he were that tall and dignified, I would have heard rumors about him…”

“Hey, you were thinking of marrying off Cho-hui, weren’t you?”

The innkeeper was startled by the pointed question.

“H-how did you know?”

“Hehehe. It’s written all over your face!”

“Really…”

The innkeeper clicked his tongue and approached the table where the middle-aged man was sitting. He felt a bit awkward and wanted to change the subject quickly. That’s when he naturally remembered what Mr. Heo had told him that morning.

“By the way, Brother Hong, did you hear about Mr. Heo?”

“What news?”

The middle-aged man, called Brother Hong, put down his empty skewer and took a sip of tea. The innkeeper narrowed his eyes and replied.

“Mr. Heo saw a monster last night.”

“A monster?”

“In the back mountain. Apparently, a rock broke, and an eight-foot-tall female monster appeared.”

Hong pondered the word “monster,” stroking his chin, and then asked,

“…Was she pretty?”

“Oh, come on.”

The innkeeper chuckled at the absurd question. When Hong started laughing heartily, the innkeeper eventually burst into laughter as well.

*

“Lord Ryeon, you have arrived.”

The man, who was so tall that he towered over his two subordinates, strode confidently into the main hall. The four leaders of each faction, standing to the left and right of the main hall, bowed their heads to greet him.

“I am late. I apologize.”

The man, after taking his seat, quickly gestured for a subordinate in the lower seat to hand him a scroll. He unfurled the scroll and frowned as he listened to the reports from each of the faction leaders.

After the first three leaders had finished, it was finally the turn of Im Jin-muk, the leader of the Black Dragon Stronghold. He bowed his head and began his report. The man sitting in his seat quietly scanned the scroll.

Im Jin-muk had only recently ascended to the position of leader of the stronghold, so this was the first time he had seen the new Lord of the Four Paths so closely.

‘So, this is the “Demon-Slaying Sword” Jin Geum-ryeon.’

“Demon-Slaying Sword” Jin Geum-ryeon.

Rumor had it that he would slay any Demonic Cultist he encountered, regardless of their questions or answers. The nickname “Demon-Slaying Sword” was said to have originated from that.

However, it wasn’t as if he was sympathetic to the orthodox sects. Although no one knew what grudge he held, rumors also circulated that if the orthodox sects provoked him, he wouldn’t kill them as he would Demonic Cultists, but he wouldn’t let them return unscathed either.

From the perspective of the Four Paths Alliance, which was neither orthodox nor Demonic Cult, Jin Geum-ryeon’s actions seemed to suggest he was on their side.

As if to prove it, Jin Geum-ryeon had risen to the position of Lord within three years of joining the Four Paths Alliance. In fact, he had reportedly had no intention of joining any group, but he had been promised the position of Lord due to the persistent persuasion of the previous Lord of the Four Paths.

How skilled must he be for the faction leaders to have no complaints, even though he had become Lord so soon after joining? Moreover, Im Jin-muk knew that Jin Geum-ryeon was only twenty-three years old.

He secretly harbored a daring thought of wanting to fight Jin Geum-ryeon and glanced at him.

Jin Geum-ryeon, seemingly oblivious to such gazes, finally looked up from the scroll and dismissed Im Jin-muk back to his original position.

“As you know, I have only recently been appointed to this position and am still quite inexperienced. I hope you will all assist me, even if I am frustrating.”

“Of course, Lord Ryeon.”

Jin Geum-ryeon handed the scroll to his subordinate and picked up another one. It was a thin roll of paper, and when he unfurled it, it revealed a map. Jin Geum-ryeon’s face hardened even more as he looked at it.

“Where is the report from the Qinghai investigation?”

“Th-the Qinghai region report has already been reviewed, Lord Ryeon.”

The leader of the Hao Gate stepped forward and said.

Jin Geum-ryeon, upon hearing the answer, seemed somewhat disappointed and slightly slumped his shoulders. His subordinates and the faction leaders, sensing Jin Geum-ryeon’s mood, nervously exchanged glances.