By Zephyria 
Could Ak Mujin really be so anxious, worrying that Jin Geum-ryeon, who had the Sandow Union under his thumb, wouldn’t be able to withstand attacks from mere patrol members? Even as he acted, he couldn’t understand himself.
For a moment, Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes sharpened, and even while facing Young Master Namgung, his gaze remained fixed on Ak Mujin. Ak Mujin quickly lowered himself, grabbed a broken chair leg, and swung it at the Martial Alliance members trying to exploit Jin Geum-ryeon’s openings.
“Ugh!”
The lightly swung piece of wood accurately struck the Acupoint of one of the members, and he collapsed, unable to regain his senses. Ak Mujin hadn’t expected this, so he stared down at the piece of wood with a bewildered expression, having knocked someone down in one blow.
It was then.
“Hiyah!”
A Martial Alliance member with thick eyebrows wrapped Sword Aura around his sword and drew a light, swift line towards Ak Mujin. The area around the sword rippled menacingly.
But to Ak Mujin, the movement seemed quite slow. The results of recovering his Inner Force during the three years he was trapped in the Spirit Mausoleum seemed to be better than he had thought. He seemed to avoid the tip of the sword without difficulty, then struck the man’s wrist with the end of the wooden piece.
“Kugh…! That ugly bastard is quite skilled! Don’t let your guard down!”
Ugly, huh. He must be referring to the Human Skin Mask covering his face. It was a natural and elaborate mask, enough to make anyone believe he had a hideous face at first glance.
The man, who had almost dropped his sword, gripped the hilt tightly again and steadily threatened Ak Mujin. As soon as those words were spoken, the remaining members hardened their faces and split up in an orderly fashion. Three Namgung family members went to Jin Geum-ryeon, two Martial Alliance members went to Ak Mujin, and the remaining one checked on the fallen member.
Jin Geum-ryeon seemed to be slightly less worried after assessing Ak Mujin’s situation, but he still kept his gaze fixed.
At that moment, the Sword Aura emitted by Young Master Namgung grazed Jin Geum-ryeon’s cheek and flew backward. Only then did Jin Geum-ryeon blink once.
“You underestimate your opponent too much.”
It was just an attack that cut off a few strands of hair, not enough to injure Jin Geum-ryeon, but it was enough to draw his attention for a moment.
“Let’s stop here. I have no intention of causing trouble in the Martial Alliance’s territory.”
“But you’ve already caused trouble twice.”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
“Not even the second time?”
They exchanged attacks and words. Ak Mujin listened to their conversation while dealing with the Martial Alliance members.
“Why don’t you leave this place? Do you want an apology for what happened that day?”
At Young Master Namgung’s direct question, Jin Geum-ryeon’s eyes wavered for a moment, but he soon regained his composure. But Young Master Namgung was different. On the contrary, his face grew more and more distorted.
“Are you so upset that I didn’t side with you for a moment? That you… ended up turning your back on the Orthodox Sect…”
He swung his sword with all his might, moving forward little by little. The distance between Young Master Namgung and Jin Geum-ryeon, who had been maintaining a moderate distance, began to narrow slightly.
“You’ve come to blame me for you becoming the head of the Evil Sect!”
“…….”
Young Master Namgung spoke in an agitated voice, but Jin Geum-ryeon looked at him with an indifferent expression. Soon, Jin Geum-ryeon’s sword, Moonless, seemed to slip out of his grasp and float in the air, moving freely to block the attacks of the Martial Alliance members, as well as the swordsmanship that Young Master Namgung had painstakingly deployed, with ease.
Young Master Namgung opened his mouth without realizing it and made a blank face at the sight.
“…You overestimate yourself too much. Young Master Namgung is not that great of an existence to me.”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s voice was dry. There was no resentment, anger, or any other emotion in it.
It was clearly etched in the ears of Ak Mujin, who was dealing with the Martial Alliance members.
Only then did he realize that he had been full of hot air, so eager to pair Jin Geum-ryeon with someone, anyone. Regardless of whether Young Master Namgung and Jin Geum-ryeon were likely to be an official couple, Jin Geum-ryeon had no feelings for Young Master Namgung in the first place.
He had said so from the beginning, but Ak Mujin had refused to believe it until he said it now. Because he had to find a partner for Jin Geum-ryeon as soon as possible. That way, he would feel less guilty for ruining Jin Geum-ryeon’s narrative. But even this act was an action that only considered himself.
…Instead of verifying the ‘highly likely’ main lead, he should have found the ‘real’ main lead from the beginning!
……Ha. It’s not like I didn’t want to do that. What can I do if it turned out not to be? The main lead doesn’t have a title on his head, and how difficult is it to find the ‘real’ main lead?
But after definitely removing Young Master Namgung from the candidates, Ak Mujin’s head seemed to clear up. And at the moment when his thoughts were about to branch out, he almost just stared blankly as the approaching sword of the Martial Alliance member came into view. Of course, his body moved first.
“Take this!”
The Martial Alliance member fearlessly took the next attack posture. Ak Mujin belatedly came to his senses and tried to counterattack.
It was that moment. The person wielding the sword in front of him disappeared in an instant.
“Let’s go to the Sandow Union, us….”
The Water Lily Fragrance gently wafted over.
Jin Geum-ryeon, who had approached and stood behind Ak Mujin, hugged his body tightly so that he could not move at all. Belatedly blinking his eyes, he looked around, and the member who had tried to attack Ak Mujin was sent flying far away and collapsed against the wall.
He coughed up blood with a large wound from his left shoulder to his right lower abdomen. Ak Mujin’s eyes widened. The people in the inn were the same.
“Chu Yong!”
The Martial Alliance and Namgung family martial artists, including Young Master Namgung, shouted in unison. Just as two people were about to go to Chu Yong and the rest were about to rush at Jin Geum-ryeon, Moonless moved around Ak Mujin softly and flexibly, but quickly and strongly, creating Sword Aura.
No one could easily close the distance.
“Jin Geum-ryeon!”
Ak Mujin had been watching Jin Geum-ryeon’s efforts to avoid hurting Young Master Namgung and the other martial artists. The fact that he only blocked the attacks appropriately and did not counterattack proved this. That was why this overreaction was surprising.
Now that the Evil Cult Lord had injured a Martial Alliance member, the situation would only get worse. Even if it wasn’t a war, there would be more friction than now. Ak Mujin’s eyes suddenly went dizzy, even though he wasn’t the Sandow Union’s strategist.
Ak Mujin turned his head with greatly shaking eyes to look at Jin Geum-ryeon, but Jin Geum-ryeon stubbornly buried his eyes in his right shoulder and did not show his face. Even during that time, Moonless was diligently moving to block the members.
“Anywhere is fine as long as it’s not here. Let’s go somewhere else.”
Jin Geum-ryeon was purely pleading. But Ak Mujin couldn’t leave this place like this. If they left without cleaning up, the two groups would become even more twisted. He steeled his heart and tried to persuade Jin Geum-ryeon.
“Even so, to Young Master Namgung….”
“…Are you really going to abandon me to Young Master Namgung and leave?”
Huh? How did you know?
Jin Geum-ryeon slowly raised his head with his face flushed red. His eyes were either glistening because he was holding back tears, or because he had been burying them in his shoulder all along, and his eyebrows couldn’t stay still and twitched.
Although he was trying to suppress it, Moonless’s movements, influenced by his violently fluctuating emotions, also became rougher, and screams began to be heard from over there. Young Master Namgung also flinched when he heard his name from beyond Moonless, but he couldn’t dare to approach.
For some reason, Ak Mujin suddenly felt dizzy to the point where his head was hazy. But if he just stood by and watched, there would be more than one or two casualties, so he had no time to worry about his condition. He hurriedly replied.
“No, no. What is Young Master Namgung that I would abandon you to him? It’s not like you’re a stray dog that I can just leave behind.”
He wanted to appease Jin Geum-ryeon and somehow resolve the situation. Ak Mujin barely, really barely, moved his body slightly away and faced Jin Geum-ryeon. Jin Geum-ryeon still didn’t let go of his arms and stared at him with anxiously trembling eyes.
“Let’s go anywhere. Anywhere you want. Huh?”
Only then did Jin Geum-ryeon’s sharply raised eyebrows soften. Seeing that the words he had spat out haphazardly to appease him seemed to be working, Ak Mujin patted his arm and induced him to calm down even more. Jin Geum-ryeon calmed his heavy breathing and blinked once.
Moonless, which had been rampaging, seemed to slowly stop moving, and as if realizing that no one was attacking anymore, it obediently returned to Jin Geum-ryeon’s grasp. The Martial Alliance members and Namgung family martial artists, who had been very tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief, but they couldn’t dare to attack again. Young Master Namgung also quietly watched Jin Geum-ryeon with wary eyes.
Jin Geum-ryeon, who had received and stored Moonless, said to Ak Mujin.
“I won’t force you to accept my feelings. I’m satisfied just with you giving me a place by your side. But….”
Jin Geum-ryeon’s face was very serious as he said those words. And after closing his mouth with a gloomy look for a moment, he continued.
“Don’t try to give my heart to anyone you want.”
What a perceptive guy….
Ak Mujin felt a bit of sympathy because his pleading attitude was like a pathetic puppy that didn’t match his size, but after confirming that Young Master Namgung was not his match, he actually felt relieved.
Jin Geum-ryeon’s teacher, the Yin Person with the Water Lily Fragrance. Mae-yeong, the protagonist of the all-time illustration, could be confidently said to be the most likely candidate. In fact, ‘Ahn Do-hyun’ could most easily access ‘Geum-ryeon x Mae-yeong’.
He had been traveling all over the Central Plains, so it was not easy to meet him, so he had been postponed to the back of the line…, but he should have targeted Mae-yeong from the beginning.
Ak Mujin’s heart, which had been feeling sorry for Jin Geum-ryeon until just now, was now filled with a near-mad conviction and began to beat uncontrollably.
Okay. I’m sorry for barking up the wrong tree. But now that things have been clearly settled, I’ll take you to ‘your real match’, not ‘just anyone’!