Book 14 Chapter 6

限界時間!

- Late for an appointment

The loud fireworks display at night could not have gone unnoticed by the residents, and a resident with a strong reporting spirit rushed to the prefectural office to report the incident.

The clanging of the armory's weapons echoed in the air, and he had no choice but to leave. Besides, he was the master weaver of the day.

"I stepped on a turd!

I have one of those days where I randomly harass someone at work.

"Is it a robbery?"

They were familiar with Hua Pingzhuang, a place on the outskirts of the county. Moreover, the owner of the place was quite close to the prefect of the county, so if they neglected it, they might be punished later.

Podu Ichil, a prefectural police officer in Hwaeum County, is running down the middle of the boulevard with his coworker Sanggu, followed by 12 of his subordinates. His face was full of frustration as he was forcibly woken up from his sleeping quarters.

"You guys are doing it too, so why should I bother?

With that in mind, he ran hard.

Poof!

Then something warm landed on his cheek.

"What, what?"

Seriously, bird shit?

Did some insomniac pigeon fledgling fly over my head? Or did I just get assigned to the night shift and there was a ruckus and I'm suffering for it……. I felt like I was having a bad day.

Ichil wiped his cheek absentmindedly. The feel was wrong. And it was the feel of something he knew all too well.

Ichil reached for the lantern he was holding.

He was right: it was blood.

"But where did this come from?"

The devil was in the details.

Ichiro, with his lack of martial arts skills, could not help but notice the shadow that flew over his head like a bird of paradise, leaping across the roofs of the hall and the pavilion.

Seomyeon Seongseo Hwahmyeon Open Seoak Bunta

"I'm late!"

Yeomdo shouted restlessly. We're really late. According to the original plan, they should have already arrived at the meeting point, but it had been a day and a half since they had docked here, and Bi Ryuyeon was still nowhere to be seen.

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

Time is their greatest enemy, and it's almost dawn. Will they make it in time? If they were late, there would be no excuse. Breaking the rules and going out without permission would not be well received. There was less than a minute left before the time limit.

Cautiously, the poisonous spirit circled around Na Yerin in silence. It was as if she was surrounded by an invisible wall, unapproachable. In times like this, it was better to keep a little distance than to force your way in.

"What's all the fuss about?

Dokgo-ryung was incomprehensible. All the more so because he had a theory in his head that might be absurd. But he could only hover around Na Yerin like the moon, never speaking to her.

Even Lee Jin-sul, who usually prided herself on her cheerfulness, watched her idol from some distance with an uneasy gaze. Behind her, Hyo-ryong, who had barely regained his senses, stood silently, as if to protect her. No one dared to speak first.

On the other hand, there was a much more relaxed atmosphere in the place where the three men from the Zhu Jia Clan, Qin Ling and Luo Hak, were gathered. In a way, they were the ones who had seen more of the hidden side of Bi Ryuyeon than anyone else, except for Yidao, so they were now very faithful to the teachings of their master and tried to put them into practice whenever they had the chance.

I didn't realize that all of their experiences had given them this freedom.

"Hey, do you want to take a bet on whether the big brother comes back or not?"

He was the first to speak up, but he was met with a barrage of glares. Everyone's gaze was filled with accusations. The reason was simple.

"That's not a bet!"

Namgungsang and Jinling shouted in unison. The reason for their condemnation was never a matter of morality or ethics. It was because they were betting on something that could not be bet.

"But what if… just in case… what if… what if… what if… what if… what if he doesn't come back?"

Mr. Namgungsang cautiously voiced his opinion. Then the comments poured in.

"That would be a big deal."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a big deal if he doesn't come back."

Jinling nodded.

"Seriously, if that happens, you won't have to take the brackets, you won't have to take the gargle, you won't have to……. It's a big deal, it's a big deal!"

The old man nodded, and his words were inexplicably energized.

"If anything 'doesn't' happen to the bodies of the Great Brothers…, eek! I'll run down there right now, separate their bones from their flesh, and leave them there for forty-nine days! Eek!"

Old Hak exclaimed, his voice filled with fury.

"Hey, hey, hey, Nohak, you! Your words are full of worry and apprehension, but your face is smiling."

Namgungsang felt that even now, without his grandfather, he must thoroughly manage these matters.

"Uh-oh! …my, did I do that……."

After all, sincerity cannot be easily faked? Noh Hak pondered.

A moment of silence.

"…but then again, it would be nice to have……. without it, right?"

It was at this point that we all nodded in agreement at the prayer-like murmur of the South Palace.

"What did I do?"

The three men's heads snapped back. The motion was so violent that I wondered if they were going to be pulled out.

Their eyes widened in unison. When it came, they didn't know when, but there he stood, the man they feared so much.

Boom!

With a meaningful smile that chills their hearts…….

"Uh, uh, since when is there……."

Namgungsang asked, his voice shaking enough to make his teeth clatter.

"Well…, since when?"

The sight of the three of them grinning from ear to ear sent chills down their spines.

'I might get killed…….'

That's what they had in common now.

"How did you get this close to fooling all these people?

Pomegranate was unbelievable. And I was even more surprised that people weren't more surprised by it.

"Why, are you disappointed?"

Namgungsang remained silent and shook his head.

"Well, that can't be……. Hehehehe."

I laughed, the kind of laugh that only someone who's had both their liver and gallbladder removed can make.

"You better work on your facial expressions when you're lying!"

Ryuyeon Bi was kind enough to offer some advice.

Namgungsang nodded vigorously, breaking out in a cold sweat. His mind was already a jumbled mess of tension and confusion.

'Well, unless I find something else to talk about…….'

"…don't…kill!

The fact that she was able to raise the consciousness of a group of people to this level was a testament to the power of her presence.

The struggle for survival began with a change of subject. The three, including Namgungsang, desperately rolled their eyes and looked for a way out.

Danger, danger, danger!

Their instincts were screaming alarm. They shuddered in unison. But the spectacle of annihilation was not to be. By a stroke of luck, the three key members of the mastermind group were saved from certain death by a woman.

"Ryuyeon!"

It was the first time Na Yerin had ever known she could shout so loudly. It was the same for Dokgo-ryung and Lee Jin-sul.

"Oh, Yerin, I'm back!"

Tearing her gaze away from Namgung Sang, who was desperately rolling his eyeballs from side to side, Bi Ryuyeon reported to Na Yerin with a wide grin. She was already at his side.

"……."

Na Yerin nodded wordlessly. The motion was very graceful and dignified, but it was also very gentle and slow. At the same time, her eyes began to sweep across Bi Ryuyeon's entire body.

Her gaze slowly swept over Bi Ryuyeon's entire body with an unreadable expression and quietly calm eyes, then suddenly stopped at a single spot. It was a drop of liquid on the ground.

It was… blood… running down her forearm, circling her palm, and dripping down her middle finger.

"Blood……."

"Yes?"

Her thin voice was so faint it was hard to make out at first.

"…Ryuyeon! You're bleeding……."

"Oh well, no big deal, I guess I let my guard down a bit."

Bi Ryuyeon chuckled and said nonchalantly. It was a cheerful tone, like a springtime breeze, but the two eyes hidden behind his hair were not smiling at all.

"Is it a wound? How long has it been……."

He spoke in a quiet voice and brought his left hand, dripping with blood, to the corner of his mouth, the slightly fishy scent of blood tickling the tip of his nose.

"It's been a while!"

The flavor of blood travels through your taste buds and into your brain.

"The price for letting my holy blood out of my body will be very high!"

A wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he muttered quietly.

"But…, it's getting annoying."

"……?"

Na Yerin's eyes were filled with questions. Bi Ryuyeon continued in a quiet tone.

"I've had such a strict upbringing that I hate being in debt, even though I love owing other people money. But today I've got a debt to pay, and I'm going to have to pay it off, hoo hoo hoo!"

'Maybe I should have unsealed the Muklong after all…….'

But what was done was done. There was no point in regretting it.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing, it's nothing, it's nothing……."

She stammered and waited for the next one.

"Stop!"

A voice with a distinctive resonance emanated from Bi Ryuyeon's mouth.

"I…, you can't stop me from doing that……."

But Namgungsang had to take back his words. Like a lie, the blood from his chest stopped flowing.

I'm like, "No way, I don't have a clue.

Obviously, the technique of tourniqueting the blood vessels around a wound is widely practiced in the martial arts. But I'd never seen someone stop the bleeding with a word.

As he watched, his eyes lit up.

'A word can staunch a wound……. Is this some kind of rumored deep-blooded trick?

Heart point acupuncture literally refers to the practice of freely acupuncturing or releasing the body's acupuncture points using only the mind. This is the stage where the mind controls the body.

"How much stuff do you still have in there?

Still a mystery!

Yin resented his inability to see through his own inexperience.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

At that moment, a bell rang in the distance, signaling the start of the day (around 0400).

"Ouch!"

You've gotten caught up in the moment and forgotten what's most important.

"Sunshine check!!"

There was still a mountain to climb, and it was far, far away and high. We had to hurry.

"How do I do that?"

Mo Yonghui said, "The time to return is too short to take Silver Snow Lan to the safety of the Mo Family from now on. Moreover, there was no telling what kind of disadvantages she might face if she couldn't return to Hongmae Valley by Myoushi Town.

"She's too exposed, and from what I've seen, the power of her enemies is frightening, as is their hidden power. Is there a safe place around here where she can escape their attention?"

And he wasn't even awake yet! He had enough to worry about.

"Boss?"

It asked in a pleading tone, begging for an answer.

"There's only one place like that!"

It was Bi Ryuyeon who answered instead of Yeomdo, who was trying to think of something. His smile made Mo Yonghui feel uneasy.

"Seriously, you!"

His eyes widen in surprise.

"Yeah! That's right, I don't know about that, but there are few places as safe as that."

"That's crazy!"

Bi Ryuyeon shook his head. The hair in front of him swayed like his feet in the process.

"No, it's the smartest thing to do!"

"No way!"

People shouted with excitement.

"The people here are pretty smart, that's the place to be, and the enemy won't be able to get to them easily."

In some ways, he was right. But the question remained: How?

"What do you think?"

Bi Ryuyeon looked back at the Yeomdo and asked.

"It's…, you're talking about taking her to the Heavenly Pavilion now?"

"Is there a safer, more reasonable place to be right now?"

Of course, that's what she said, but to get there, she had to overcome another hurdle. How would she convince others of her existence in the first place?

'Off…….'

Indirect communication. This was how he instructed her in public. Yeomdo was lost in thought for a moment. Then he suddenly turned his head and looked at Bi Ryuyeon.

"That there's some kind of defense?"

If nothing else, it was a Yeomdo that I thought I had to give him credit for. He was definitely not the type of person who would do something like this without a backstory.

In response, Bi Ryuyeon nodded without hesitation.

'All right, all right! There's no turning back now. We'll just have to trust that dumbass for once!

It was a reckless decision, made without the consent of the people in charge. So that when things go wrong later, you'll have someone to blame…….

Finally, Yeomdo nodded vigorously and jumped to his feet.

"Okay, let's go!"

Until then, they hadn't realized that the places they thought were the safest had the potential to be the most dangerous.