Chapter 311 – What’s Your Identity? (2)
Ju-yaek-seon, whose real name was Hwa Un-young, was not well-versed in Chinese characters like Hwa-si-il-mun.
In her youth, after losing her husband and child in an unwanted manner, she devoted herself to wandering the world and practicing medicine.
Her father, who was a former gatekeeper, had passed away, and years had passed to the point where her brother-in-law had taken over the position, but she never returned.
However, that didn’t mean she had no affection for the family she had spent so many years with. On the contrary, it was deeply rooted within her.
“What’s your identity?”
Because of who she was, Ju-yaek-seon felt embarrassed even considering Ma-so-hyang’s suspicious words about her identity.
“I was just trying to take it easy and ignore the crisis in my family…”
Although she wasn’t the type to be easily flustered, she knew that many men in the neighborhood, including the man in front of her, would sneer and ridicule her if they saw her true appearance.
But was that more important than protecting the ground that had raised her?
With her mind made up, she opened her mouth towards Ma-so-hyang.
“I am…”
“Just a moment.”
There was a woman who interrupted in the middle, and it was Eon So-young, who actually knew who Ju-yaek-seon was.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding. Ju-won is not that kind of person.”
“So-young…?”
Eon So-young continued to speak to Ma-so-hyang, who was flustered by the sudden defense.
“We have received a lot of help from Ju-won so far, and even if there is some hiding going on, we can’t refuse to help when we ask for it.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll help as much as we can…”
When Ju-yaek-seon looked around, she could see other women nodding their heads as well.
She didn’t think she had given that much help, but seeing them willingly offer their help with just a few words made her heart swell.
The moment when the accumulated good deeds from years of practicing medicine came back was a moment that would make anyone’s heart swell, but unfortunately, the reality was a little different.
“It’ll be difficult if there are too many people.”
Everyone shared the desire not to increase the number of people beyond ten.
Ju-yaek-seon decided to tell Ma-so-hyang the truth later and decided to keep her identity hidden from her husband for now, slightly, just slightly, pushing the women’s decision forward.
Chapter 311 – What’s Your Identity? (2)
It seemed like everyone was willing to help, so there was no need to ask Ju-won to use her reverse acupuncture technique in an unwanted situation.
Of course, some might think that it wouldn’t be okay for Ju-yaek-seon to reveal her true appearance since she was avoiding it herself, but Eon So-young hadn’t forgotten.
None of them had expected that Ju-won would have such a relationship with a man.
“Are you really okay with this?”
“It’s okay. Look at this.”
“No, just don’t do it.”
I forcibly stopped Paeng Yeon-hwa from performing a sword dance with her sword swinging.
She had recovered quickly after giving birth during the winter solstice, and she had decided to join this journey after a few days.
Someone had already been found to take care of the baby, so I didn’t want to burden Paeng Yeon-hwa with unnecessary tasks.
“Thank you so much…”
“You don’t have to be so grateful. Ju-won has done so much for us, so this is nothing.”
Paeng Yeon-hwa spoke energetically, and finally, Tang Hye-won and her mother checked the luggage for the last time. The three of them had decided to travel together.
Eon So-young, Ma-so-hyang, and Yang Ha-jeong couldn’t join them because it was too dangerous, along with Ju-yeoreen, who couldn’t be accompanied due to her status.
“Shin Soo-sungnyeo? Really…!”
“Shh, shh! Be quiet…!”
Eon So-young and Ma-so-hyang were chatting quietly, seeming to get along well since they were the same age. I hoped they would continue to get along.
But who was Shin Soo-sungnyeo? Just from her nickname, she seemed very pretty and kind.
Anyway, the five of them, including Ju-yaek-seon, set off for the Ho-buk, where the headquarters of Hwa-si-il-mun was located.
Since she was quite familiar with riding horses, I quickly drove the horse while asking Ju-yaek-seon to tell me everything she knew.
“I don’t know exactly what’s going on in the headquarters. But one thing’s for sure, it’s an urgent situation.”
Ju-yaek-seon seemed to have been a highly regarded disciple, as she had even prepared all the books that could be immediately obtained.
The urgent letter that had arrived said that Hwa-si-il-mun was under attack, so they shouldn’t get involved and should hide for a while.
“But you asked us for help because you can’t just do that, right?”
“…I’m sorry. But if it’s you guys, then surely…”
“You don’t have to apologize so many times. It’s something we decided to do ourselves, so why do you keep apologizing?”
Chapter 311 – What’s Your Identity? (2)
Paeng Yeon-hwa spoke firmly. From my perspective, she had been dependable for a long time, even during the period when she was pregnant and I was taking advantage of her. It was reassuring to know that Paeng Yeon-hwa was originally a top-notch martial artist.
“After we cross the next hill, there’s a stable owned by Tang Hye-won. We’ll change horses there.”
Following Tang Hye-won’s guidance, we rode our horses at breakneck speed. Riding horses was also a tiring activity, but it was better than running to Ho-buk Castle on foot.
It was difficult to ride horses late at night, so even during our rest, Tang Hye-won took the opportunity to gather information by going around.
“They might already be fleeing since Hwa-si-il-mun has been destroyed.”
Ju-yaek-seon seemed shocked by the news that Tang Hye-won had just shared with us.
Hwa-si-il-mun’s power might be weak compared to its reputation, but the fact that they had been able to maintain their power until now was because even the strongest martial artists couldn’t avoid death.
It wasn’t difficult to destroy them, but what was the point if they realized later that they had lost the means to heal themselves when they were on the verge of death?
Fortunately, they had prepared some medical supplies, which was why we didn’t hear any news of Hwa-si-il-mun survivors fleeing while we were on the road. All that was left was to hurry to their stronghold.
Thanks to changing horses and marching on, we arrived at Ho-buk Castle in just two days.
“Are you okay, Ju-won?”
“Yes… I’m okay.”
Ju-yaek-seon had only slightly developed her inner energy, and it didn’t seem like she had properly trained in martial arts, but fortunately, she kept up with us.
Perhaps it was because she was worried about the letter of appointment, but thanks to that, we were almost at Hwa-si-il-mun’s stronghold.
We urged her to hold on and hoped that she wouldn’t be sad, and we continued on our way.
“Aaaah!”
“Tsk…”
Nok-ryeong bit her tongue while hearing the screams of some unknown subordinates being torn apart.
Although she wasn’t directly under her command, there were already several dead subordinates in what seemed like an easy task.
At first, they sent some subordinates disguised as patients to start the mission, but once the Hwa-si-il-mun bastards activated their medical supplies, this fierce battle had been going on.
“Keep changing defenses and keep going in! If you stay still, you’ll be caught in the medical supplies!”
The man next to me continued to shout, taking charge of everyone. He seemed to have a good eye for seeing through the core of the situation and moving his subordinates accordingly.
If we continued like this, it was only a matter of time before Jin-sik was completely destroyed. Once that happened, except for the top-notch martial arts masters, Hwa-si-il-mun would crumble in an instant without any force to fight back.
However, the man who received Nokryeong’s gaze was extremely frustrated.
“What is this woman doing?”
If her name was Ryeong-ju, she would be a master of an incredible level. If she had stepped forward, there would have been far fewer sacrifices.
But she had only come to monitor (to prevent the situation from getting out of hand), so it was a waste of her talent.
But this nonsense was coming to an end. It was clear that Jin-sik was slowly crumbling with a loud noise, and even though they had held out for days, the enemies had reached their limit.
“Now we can finally complete what the leader has commanded.”
The Hwi-haen was borrowed from Ho-ryeong, but the head role was given to the Sa-gwi brothers, who were under Hwang Du-myeong, not his subordinates.
Since this plan was first proposed by Hwang Du-myeong, he was given the command, and if he succeeded here, his position within the Eun-ryeong-hoe would expand.
They had been attacking with firm determination, and now they were trying to completely break down Jin-sik by overwhelming their subordinates. But suddenly, instead of Jin-sik collapsing and the entrance opening, a middle-aged man with a weak impression appeared.
“Who are the deceased you are looking for?”
Everyone knew that it was practically the same as saying, “Who the hell are you guys?”
“Don’t engage with him! Jin-sik is trying to buy time with words! Kill him immediately and kill all the Hwa-si-il-mun members and their descendants!”
Il-gwi had carefully arranged his subordinates to prevent anyone from escaping while that man was buying time.
“Hey, everyone’s life is precious. Why do you have to throw away your life by taking the lead?”
As the servant kept babbling, Il-gwi snickered, but Nokryeong warned him.
“You shouldn’t let your guard down. His martial arts are certainly not inferior to yours.”
As a creaking sound was heard, Il-gwi finally realized that the man next to him was a master of a considerable level, but it was already too late.
“Retreat…!”
The presence of lightning that blinded their vision made Il-gwi realize that the man next to him had shouted, “I’ll kill them all.”
The sudden white lightning had left almost half of the people who were already in the line of fire incapacitated.
Il-gwi had thrown a shuriken at the newcomer who had appeared in the empty space created by their retreat, and with a flickering gaze, he muttered to himself.
“So, you’re Hwa-un-ak…!”
“You have a good eye. As you said, I am the current leader of Hwa-si-il-mun, Hwa-un-ak.”
Hwa-un-ak, the middle-aged man, calmly pulled out a few arrows from his quiver, and his demeanor did not give off the impression that he was about to lose his temper.
Nokryeong, who had been watching him from behind, was curious whether Hwa-un-ak’s words meant, “You finally recognize me,” or “Are your eyes just for show?”
