Chapter 20
Seeing Eun Gwan-yeong return to a woman's body, Dokgo Ryeong found it fascinating.
‘…I’d heard the Bone-Shrinking Art really existed, but I never imagined you could change your size so freely. And even your body hair changes color?’
Eun Gwan-yeong was tiny.
She was so short she barely reached Dokgo Ryeong’s eyes.
Her chest was just as small; you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely.
Most striking of all were her silver hair and bewitching red eyes.
Eun Gwan-yeong’s appearance was so fascinating that Dokgo Ryeong stared at her absentmindedly. Eun Gwan-yeong covered her chest with both arms.
“…You thought they were small, didn’t you?!”
“What?”
“…I can make them bigger!”
“…Who said anything, you idiot?”
When Dokgo Ryeong raised her arm, Eun Gwan-yeong quickly lifted both hands over her head and shrank back.
“P-Please don’t hit me…!”
“…”
Seeing that, Dokgo Ryeong let out a hollow laugh.
‘This girl… She’s strong as hell, but acting like this makes her look weak.’
Dokgo Ryeong was reminded of the martial world’s age-old saying: ‘Beware of women, the elderly, and children.’
On the outside, she looked like nothing more than a cute little girl, but she was none other than a disciple of ‘that Eun Yak-byeok.’
Eun Gwan-yeong was the disciple of Eun Yak-byeok, the beauty who could topple kingdoms—known simply as ‘Eun Yak-byeok.’
Judging by the fact that she’d even been given the family name, she must have been a cherished disciple. She was surely an extraordinary martial artist in her own right.
Dokgo Ryeong’s gaze toward Eun Gwan-yeong changed.
‘…Could looking incredibly weak be her weapon?’
Was she a born martial artist who made her opponents lower their guard, only to exploit their openings?
Even now, she was flailing awkwardly, trying to shake off the oversized clothes that no longer fit her smaller body…
“Kyaah!”
Thud.
Watching Eun Gwan-yeong fail to take off her clothes and tumble dramatically to the floor, Dokgo Ryeong sighed.
“…So Baekri Sohyeon isn’t the blockhead. You are.”
“P-Please help me, Miss Dokgo!”
“You stupid girl!”
Unable to watch Eun Gwan-yeong flailing around on the floor any longer, Dokgo Ryeong helped her to her feet.
“Th-Thank you, Miss.”
“…”
Dokgo Ryeong was sure of it.
This girl was just a little clumsy, even if she was good at martial arts.
“…I don’t know if it’s wise to trust you and run away with you.”
“I-I’m confident! I really am a prodigy of the Hao Sect, you know?”
“…I guess all the talented people in the Hao Sect are dead.”
“N-No, they’re not!”
Eun Gwan-yeong protested, her face turning red.
Watching her, Dokgo Ryeong sighed.
“Haa… Just get dressed.”
“…Yes.”
Eun Gwan-yeong rummaged through the clothes she’d been wearing moments ago and pulled out a small purse.
She shook out something rolled up in black from the purse, and it quickly took the shape of stealth clothes.
“…What’s that? That’s amazing.”
“Hehe, it’s the hide of a One-Horned Flame Python.”
“…What?”
The One-Horned Flame Python was an enormous spirit beast with a single horn.
Its skin was harder than iron, and ordinary swords couldn’t pierce it. The poison it carried could break through even a supreme master’s protective energy, while the core within its body was a priceless elixir to anyone who consumed it. That was the One-Horned Flame Python.
“…Really?”
“Yes. The Sect Leader gave me this, too. Hehe.”
“…”
Seeing Eun Gwan-yeong proudly show it off, Dokgo Ryeong felt strangely irritated and wanted to smack her on the head.
Just as she raised a hand to do exactly that, she felt something missing from her grasp.
“…My flexible sword!”
“Yes?”
“That damn… flexible sword from earlier. Haa… It was a really good blade…”
“I kept it safe.”
“Huh?”
Clang!
Eun Gwan-yeong shook her foot, and Dokgo Ryeong’s flexible sword appeared.
“I made sure to grab it beforehand, hehe.”
“…Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The more Dokgo Ryeong learned about Eun Gwan-yeong, the more confused she became.
She seemed stupid, yet clever; spacey, yet careful.
‘…The most irritating kind.’
She was impossible to figure out.
“So what are we going to do now?”
“We’re going to dig!”
“Dig?”
“Yes. Then we’ll hide underground!”
“…What?”
When Dokgo Ryeong looked flustered, Eun Gwan-yeong pulled out two pieces of bamboo she’d cut earlier from somewhere.
“Here! We’ll use these to breathe, then hide underground until the Jade-Faced Young Master comes!”
“…How do you know he’ll come?”
“He’ll probably be chased here by Hero Noh Sun-pyeong. Then things will get noisy, and we’ll pop out with a ta-da!”
“…And then?”
“We run away.”
“…”
It was a plan that gave her no hope at all.
“…There are only four of us. I’m no use in a fight, so that leaves just three. The enemy has a huge force of martial artists surrounding us, plus a pursuit party. Can we break through?”
“Huh?! You know you’re no use in a fight?”
“You little…!”
“Hiiing…”
When Dokgo Ryeong raised her fist again, Eun Gwan-yeong covered her head with both hands.
“…Then what are we supposed to do? It’s true…”
“…Shit.”
Eun Gwan-yeong was right.
Right now, Dokgo Ryeong was incompetent and powerless.
She was dead weight who couldn’t help at all.
“Shit… I’ll get it back no matter what.”
“…Get what?”
“That’s none of your business. Anyway, should this deadweight just sleep under the dirt like a corpse?”
“…Please don’t put yourself down that much…”
“What do you want me to do about it?!”
“Hiiing…”
“…”
Unlike Baekri Sohyeon, who took Dokgo Ryeong’s shouting in stride, Eun Gwan-yeong reacted sadly to every little thing.
‘What a tiresome girl…’
When Dokgo Ryeong did nothing, Eun Gwan-yeong glanced at her and said softly,
“…I’ll use the Tortoise-Breathing Art on you.”
“…Now that I think about it, you know all kinds of martial arts, don’t you?”
“Hehe… I’m pretty good at all sorts of little tricks.”
“…”
The Tortoise-Breathing Art was an unusual technique that didn’t merely stop a person’s breathing, but put them into a state of suspended animation.
Assassins usually used it to hide for long periods. Someone using the Tortoise-Breathing Art could go for days without eating, and their presence would disappear completely.
‘…It really is the best way to wait for the Lust Demon.’
Thinking there must be a plan, she looked at Eun Gwan-yeong, who smiled and said,
“Oh! You should pee beforehand. Otherwise, it leaks out while you’re asleep.”
“…You’re talking like you speak from experience.”
“Ah! …That’s a secret, okay?”
“Haa…”
Dokgo Ryeong wasn’t sure what she could trust Eun Gwan-yeong to do.
Worried that she might die if she let Eun Gwan-yeong perform the Tortoise-Breathing Art on her, Dokgo Ryeong walked away.
“W-Where are you going?!”
“To take a piss! You told me to do it beforehand.”
“Ah… Yes. Be careful.”
“…”
She wondered what on earth there was to worry about.
*
Wi Ilcheong, fleeing with Baekri Sohyeon, looked around briefly and stopped.
“Phew… Let’s rest here for a moment.”
“Mm…”
After Baekri Sohyeon leaned against a tree and sat on the ground, Wi Ilcheong handed her some water.
“Would you like some?”
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
Baekri Sohyeon drank some water, handed it back, and said,
“…I’m sorry, Brother Wi. I’m so weak…”
“…You’re not weak, Miss Baekri. The Second Young Master of the Murong Clan is simply strong.”
“…Really?”
“He may be a spoiled brat, but he’s the son of a prestigious clan. He must have taken many precious medicines since childhood and undergone marrow cleansing under excellent teachers.”
“…But I have plenty of inner energy, too.”
“But you’re still not used to martial arts. Don’t be too discouraged.”
“…Okay.”
Baekri Sohyeon drew her knees to her chest and sighed.
“Haa… I want to become Senior Sister Ryeong’s fellow disciple… Can I really do that at this rate?”
“Pfft. I take it you’re not worried about escaping?”
“…That’s because you’re with me, Brother Wi.”
“It feels nice to have your trust.”
“…Yeah.”
Wi Ilcheong held out his hand.
“Shall we get going again? They’ll catch up soon.”
“…Yeah. I’ll do my best.”
Just as Baekri Sohyeon took Wi Ilcheong’s hand and started to stand, throwing knives flew between them.
Clang!
Wi Ilcheong swung his flexible sword and knocked the throwing knives aside.
When he looked in the direction they’d come from, he saw a large group of martial artists draw their swords.
‘They caught up already…!’
They were much faster than Wi Ilcheong had expected.
His gaze shifted to Baekri Sohyeon beside him.
“Miss Baekri, how’s your stamina?”
“…I’m okay.”
“Be honest.”
“…I really am okay.”
“…”
Wi Ilcheong swung his sword in a broad arc, cutting down several martial artists along with the trees.
“Guh!”
“That’s a sinister sword technique! Be careful!!”
As the martial artists hesitated under the force of Wi Ilcheong’s sword energy, he quickly sent Baekri Sohyeon a voice transmission.
[Miss Baekri, go on ahead to the Pajeo River.]
[…What about you, Brother Wi?]
[At this rate, the pursuers will keep chasing us. I need to buy some time. I can manage alone, but I don’t know if I can escape while carrying Miss Dokgo as well.]
[…Will you be all right?]
Hearing Baekri Sohyeon’s worried voice transmission, Wi Ilcheong smiled.
[I’ll catch up soon. I promise.]
[…Okay.]
Baekri Sohyeon looked at Wi Ilcheong for a moment, then quickly leapt away.
She knew what kind of person Wi Ilcheong was and how faithfully he kept his promises, so she trusted him and went.
“One of them is getting away!”
“After her!!”
Several martial artists charged after Baekri Sohyeon, but Wi Ilcheong wasn’t about to let them go unchallenged.
He extended his sword once more, blocking the martial artists trying to get behind Baekri Sohyeon.
“I don’t like being surrounded by dreary men, but… indulge me for now.”
“You bastard! How dare you run your mouth!!”
“…I don’t want to incur enmity with the Murong Clan.”
Wi Ilcheong glared at the Murong Clan’s martial artists as he spoke.
“But if we do become enemies… I’ll see it through to the end. So, even now, do you have any intention of stopping?”
“How could I let someone protecting our family’s enemy go?”
“…Senior Noh. You caught up already?”
“I’d chase that Mad Demon’s daughter to the ends of the Central Plains.”
Shing.
Noh Sun-pyeong drew his sword and said,
“I’ll pursue you even as a vengeful ghost after I die. Why don’t you give up?”
“…I see I have no choice.”
Seeing Wi Ilcheong adjust his grip on his sword, Noh Sun-pyeong shouted,
“Attack!!”
“Waaah!!!”
Even as he swung his sword at the charging Murong Clan martial artists, Wi Ilcheong’s thoughts kept drifting behind him.
In case anyone was pursuing Baekri Sohyeon.
So he could buy her a little more time.
“Hah… hah…”
The battle between the Murong Clan and Wi Ilcheong continued throughout the night.
Wi Ilcheong would block the martial artists with a powerful sword strike, make them hesitate, then flee—only for them to chase after him again.
At times, he scooped up dirt to block their vision, felled trees to block the path, and when even that failed, stopped to fight for a while again.
The most troublesome one was Noh Sun-pyeong, as expected.
Noh Sun-pyeong hadn’t gotten old for nothing. He kept up the pressure on Wi Ilcheong carefully and patiently to the very end.
He mingled with the other martial artists, waiting for a chance to strike. The moment Wi Ilcheong’s stance faltered, he would thrust at him, and each time Wi Ilcheong would startle and barely manage to block the attack.
But Wi Ilcheong’s efforts weren’t in vain. The number of pursuers gradually dwindled until only Noh Sun-pyeong and fewer than a dozen martial artists remained.
“Hah… Phew…”
Wi Ilcheong caught his breath for a moment and took out his waterskin, but realized it was completely empty.
‘…I need to end this fight soon.’
Though he had an immense amount of inner energy, he’d been forced to rely on powerful attacks that consumed a great deal of it to face so many opponents. And he’d been using his movement skills to the utmost while fleeing, so even his reserves were starting to run dangerously low.
Just then, he heard the sound of water nearby.
‘…We’re near the river. In that case…!’
Wi Ilcheong looked around at the nearby trees and spotted a mark left by the Hao Sect on one of them.
Thinking it was probably a mark left by Eun Gwan-yeong, he followed it and found two pieces of bamboo sticking up from underground, almost impossible to spot unless you looked closely.
Wi Ilcheong went over and plugged the bamboo tubes. A moment later,
“…Shit! Cough… Gack…!”
Dokgo Ryeong burst up through the dirt.
“Oh, fuck… I thought I was going to die… You’re here?”
“Ha… Haha…”
Wi Ilcheong laughed when he saw Dokgo Ryeong.
“…What? Why are you laughing?”
“Ah… It’s nothing. Seeing you just as you always are, Miss Dokgo, puts me at ease.”
“Why does that sound like you’re insulting me?”
“I really don’t mean to. Haa… I’m so relieved.”
Watching Wi Ilcheong plop down on the ground, Dokgo Ryeong asked,
“…Lust Demon.”
“Yes.”
“…Where’s the blockhead?”