novelraw Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Chapter 42
“Seo Musha! You have Un Jongak’s item, don’t you?”
Seo Mugyeom had no idea what Ju Jirang was doing, but her words instantly snapped him out of his confusion.
‘Paehyeolsan?’
As soon as he heard it, he pulled out the jade bottle tightly sealed in his robe. Seo Mugyeom was also aware that Ju Jirang’s acupoint sealing wouldn’t last long. It might only be a fleeting moment before Jang Doosan undid the sealed bloodpoint.
“Step back!”
Seo Mugyeom didn’t really need to shout.
Ju Jirang had already fled a good distance to avoid being hit by Paehyeolsan.
Seo Mugyeom, without knowing the details, poured Paehyeolsan onto Jang Doosan, who was focusing on breaking the acupoint seal.
“Aaaargh!”
Jang Doosan’s scream echoed chillingly.
The noise from Pyo Inhaeng’s direction abruptly ceased as if cut off.
At that moment, the Masked Man present there rushed in at frightening speed.
Charging directly toward Seo Mugyeom, the Masked Man seemed to realize the situation halfway through. When he suddenly halted, Seo Mugyeom shook his head as if telling him not to do it.
“You’re afraid of me? You’re really afraid of someone not even twenty yet?”
But the Masked Man seemed to have seen Jang Doosan behind Seo Mugyeom. He suddenly changed direction and used lightfooted movement to flee.
Seo Mugyeom considered chasing him but eventually gave up.
Catching Jang Doosan had required a lot of luck, and Ju Jirang’s help had been significant. The hidden weapons and poison were used effectively, and Ju Jirang’s surprise attack on Jang Doosan’s bloodpoint had also been crucial.
But chasing the man alone seemed like a surefire way to get himself killed.
Besides, with Jang Doosan still in front of them, perhaps they could extract some useful information.
At that moment, the sound of hooves announced Ho Jo-yeong and Ak Seol-ah’s return on horseback.
Seo Mugyeom had just been thinking that they needed to rescue Ak Seol-ah, but fortunately, Ho Jo-yeong had already gone and brought her back.
Ak Seol-ah looked terrified, as if she wasn’t fully in her right mind.
“Seo Musha….”
That was all Ak Seol-ah could manage to say, unable to form proper words.
Seo Mugyeom could guess how scared and anxious she must have been. He felt sorry for her — but also proud and impressed.
“You did well, Lady Ak. I knew you’d do well.”
When it seemed Ak Seol-ah wanted to get off the horse, Ho Jo-yeong helped her down.
She timidly approached Seo Mugyeom.
It seemed that being near him gave her the most reassurance. Watching her, Seo Mugyeom couldn’t help but smile.
Meanwhile, the Division Leader and the other warriors arrived.
“Are you hurt, Seo Mugyeom?”
“No, Leader.”
Seo Mugyeom replied and checked on the Leader. The Division Leader looked visibly exhausted and seemed to have depleted his internal energy, but he showed no signs of injury. However, several of the other warriors were severely wounded.
“No need to make that face. The fact that no one died means the Cult Leader has watched over us. We’ve brought good medicine — with proper treatment and rest, they’ll recover quickly.”
Pyo Inhaeng said, then approached Jang Doosan.
He drew his sword, not even trying to hide his fury.
Jang Doosan had closed his eyes and was fighting to expel Paehyeolsan’s poison using his internal energy.
He knew full well that trying this while surrounded by enemies was a gamble, but he had no choice. If he didn’t, the poison would rot all his blood and kill him on the spot.
Pyo Inhaeng seemed to realize this too and said nothing for now.
Following his orders, some brought over carriages and horses.
“Seo Mugyeom, get in the carriage and circulate your qi. Have Ho Jo-yeong guard you.”
“Yes, Leader.”
After Seo Mugyeom answered, Pyo Inhaeng turned to Ju Jirang.
“How are you, Vice Leader Ju?”
“I’ll be fine with some qi circulation. I’m not injured.”
“That’s a relief. We avoided disaster thanks to you, Vice Leader Ju. Well done.”
“No, I really didn’t do anything.”
Meanwhile, Ak Seol-ah carefully expressed her thanks to everyone.
“Lady Ak did well too. Overcoming fear is difficult for anyone. Overcoming fear that’s been instilled over years is even harder. If you hadn’t managed to ride away on your own, Seo Mugyeom here might not have made it.”
Hearing that, Ak Seol-ah’s face turned red. She probably felt she was receiving undeserved praise.
At that moment, Jang Doosan, who had been sitting cross-legged forcing out the poison, suddenly began to spew dark red blood.
Startled, Pyo Inhaeng rushed to him, but before he could do anything, Jang Doosan convulsed and died on the spot.
Everyone present was visibly shocked.
Even Seo Mugyeom, about to enter the carriage for meditation, stared at the corpse in disbelief.
“Un Jongak really had a dangerous poison. If Seo Mugyeom hadn’t noticed, we would’ve suffered the same fate. Seo Mugyeom saved all our lives.”
Pyo Inhaeng spoke as if to say there was no point in lamenting the dead. Then he looked up at the sky.
“Looked like it would pour any second, but it’s all noise with no rain.”
As if to prove his words cursed the sky, a torrential downpour began just then.
Like upending a giant bucket, rain poured down and everyone glanced bitterly at Pyo Inhaeng.
Pyo Inhaeng looked aghast and wronged.
He had only made a comment.
He wasn’t someone who controlled clouds or performed mystical sorcery — it couldn’t be his words that made it rain.
With nothing to do but chuckle wryly, Pyo Inhaeng climbed onto his horse. They had to find shelter on a nearby mountain.
The others quickly mounted horses or got into the carriages and left the area.
Jang Doosan’s body was also loaded into a carriage and taken along.
The blood left behind gradually washed away in the pouring rain.
Ak Seol-ah and the Guardian Ten Division warriors continued their journey to the Imperial City.
Three days had passed since Jang Doosan’s death without further ambushes. But Pyo Inhaeng and Seo Mugyeom never let their guard down.
Even staying vigilant, it was still possible to express affection toward someone one liked.
Pyo Inhaeng had thought bringing warriors like Seo Mugyeom and Ho Jo-yeong would make this mission less dull.
But these days, he hardly even saw them.
Though they hadn’t gone far — since they were still traveling together — they clearly avoided him and stayed hidden whenever they could.
The reason was obvious.
Seo Mugyeom had much he wanted to say to Ak Seol-ah. Ho Jo-yeong had many things he wanted to try with Ju Jirang.
Just like Seo Mugyeom and Ak Seol-ah, Ho Jo-yeong and Ju Jirang had quickly grown close — it was common to see them holding hands now.
With that atmosphere spreading, others also seemed somewhat giddy.
Normally, Pyo Inhaeng would have let them enjoy the mood a bit, but he wasn’t in the position to do so.
He was racking his brain trying to figure out which faction Jang Doosan belonged to. He also needed to determine whether the target was the Ak Clan or the Divine Martial Sect.
On the surface, it seemed Ak Seol-ah was the target, but he couldn’t ignore the slight possibility it was the Divine Martial Sect. If that were true, they needed to prepare.
Even if the original target was the Ak Clan, by taking on Ak Seol-ah’s escort, the Divine Martial Sect might have become their enemy as well.
Pyo Inhaeng was mulling this over when he finally summoned Ju Jirang.
Among those they brought, Ju Jirang, being Vice Division Leader, was part of the Guardian Ten Division’s leadership.
Though he had only called for Ju Jirang, Ho Jo-yeong tagged along like mud stuck to a shoe. Clearly, he had been right beside her when summoned, but pretended otherwise — which Pyo Inhaeng found particularly annoying.
“I summoned only Vice Leader Ju. Why are you here?”
“I thought you might want some tea, Leader.”
And then, as if on cue, he began brewing tea with exaggerated devotion.
When camping outdoors, they couldn’t afford such luxuries, but now that they were staying at an inn, he indulged.
“It's been raining often these days. I heard even locals haven’t seen such persistent rain before.”
Without being asked, Ho Jo-yeong kept talking.
“You seem awfully cheerful. At least stop pretending not to be.”
Ho Jo-yeong flinched at that. Pyo Inhaeng frowned as if seeing through him.
Had it been early in the mission, Ju Jirang might have flinched or gotten scared when Pyo Inhaeng spoke like that. But by now, she had a good sense of what kind of person he was.
Seeing Ju Jirang’s calm face even as he scolded Ho Jo-yeong only annoyed Pyo Inhaeng more.
These days, no one seemed afraid of him. Not that they were disrespectful — it just didn’t sit well.
“Why is it so hard to even see Seo Mugyeom’s face lately? It’s not like he has somewhere to run off to. Where is he hiding himself?”
At this, Ho Jo-yeong laughed.
“You can scold me all you want, Leader, but please go easy on Mugyeom. Seeing him happy with Lady Ak makes me happy too.”
He didn’t even realize he had spoken out of turn.
“You said I can scold you? You think I’ve been bullying you? You dare say that? Have you lost your mind?”
Pyo Inhaeng shouted, and Ho Jo-yeong quickly apologized. But he didn’t look afraid, nor did he pale.
He knew that despite the scolding, the person who cared most about Seo Mugyeom was none other than Pyo Inhaeng himself.
“Please try this, Leader. I went to the market earlier and bought some because it tasted good. It’s a kind of crepe filled with red beans and vegetables. They say it’s a must-try local specialty. I thought of you and bought some.”
He had learned how to bribe quite well now.