Book 25 Chapter 11

Yunmi's struggle

-kidnap

"Are you okay, Yunmi Sojae? You don't look so good."

"Oh, no, it's me, Sojae. I'm fine, I just got a little distracted."

"Are you worried that the Yeonbi battle you're fighting is going to win or lose?"

"Well, it's like that, because we have no idea what's going on out there, isn't that pathetic?"

Then Na Yerin, who was sitting on the bed, smiled faintly and replied.

"No, I'm insecure, too, and I don't think that makes me pathetic."

"Ha, but I'm a coward."

Blushing, Yun Mi replied. His true self, Yun Junho, was a bully and a self-proclaimed coward. He wasn't sure if he could be of any use to anyone.

"I've guaranteed you Yeonbi, and there's a swagger and confidence in you that you haven't discovered yet."

"Well, yes, but……."

I looked down at my chest dozens of times to see if there really was such a thing, but all I could see was a cliff. I wondered if there really was anything in there.

"Besides, you even asked me to do it for you. Yeonbi isn't one to talk about trusting others, because that's how much he trusts you."

"That sounds a lot like someone."

Na Yerin knew that the person Yunmi was referring to was obviously Bi Ryuyeon.

"Yeah, they look a lot alike, sometimes I wonder if they're twins."

"Uh, yeah, definitely that."

Yunmi replied, her voice trembling with nervousness. It was the first time she had ever seen Na Yerin this close. Men rarely get this close to her, except for Bi Ryuyeon. But her current position is a chair next to the bed. He was almost too close to Na Yerin, and certainly, up close, her face was beautiful. It wasn't just proportionally beautiful; there was a mystery about her that made him wonder if she was from another world. Moreover, she was different from her old self, who was as cold as the snow in the north wind, extremely reluctant to be approached by people, and Yun Mi felt like she was being sucked in. She didn't dare to make eye contact with him. Every time she looked at him, she would spontaneously blush, making it difficult to look straight at him. Na Yerin also seemed to let her guard down a bit because he was in a female form.

The task of escorting the most beautiful woman in the Heavenly Martial Academy, Bing Baishan Na Yerin, was an honor that would have brought tears to the eyes of her followers, the Bing Baishan Movie Guard. The thought of it brought a sense of great responsibility. The problem was that it was a heavy responsibility that weighed down on his shoulders.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

"Is it okay to have something like me as an escort?"

She knew she shouldn't be thinking this way, but she couldn't seem to get over it. If Bi Ryuyeon had known about this, she would have been very angry, saying, "If you demean yourself, it's because you don't have the courage to face the world.

"I believe in you as much as the Yeonbi believes in you, so be good to me, Yunmi Sojae, even if it's just for a little while while the Yeonbi wins and comes back."

"Oh, yeah!"

Yun Mi replied cheerfully, her innocence seeming to catch Na Yerin's eye, and she couldn't help but smile. It was something she would have hated to hear, but she felt like a little sister.

But Na Yerin's smile soon turned cold.

It was an ominous feeling that had suddenly overtaken her. Her vision was warning her. That something bad was going to happen. To be careful. She'd never felt a sensation this intense before. It was so powerful that it made her head spin for a moment.

"Be careful, Yunmi Sojae."

"Yes?"

"Something is……."

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It was then that a puff of white smoke leaked out from somewhere in the waiting room.

"Ugh!"

I took a casual sip and felt lightheaded.

"Poison?"

If it wasn't that, it was surely something close to it. This was a raid.

Yun Mi quickly performed a quick deafening maneuver and grabbed her sword.

Boom!

At the same time, the door slammed open and the masked men burst in.

"I have to protect Sojae!

Yunmi hastily stepped in front of the bed and drew her sword.

Seven Swords (七梅劍)

Righteousness (奧義)

Plum Blossom Full Bloom (梅花滿朝)

Sword incense rose, and a plum-colored blade swept past the masked men, but I had already inhaled the smoke and was unable to summon my full power, so I was blocked by their swords. They were obviously well trained, but that didn't mean I could escape. I had to protect Na Yerin. Apparently, she was their target.

Yun Mi swung her sword once more, unfurling the Seven Swords, until her breath caught in her throat and she exhaled with a pah!

"Ouch!

It was too late for regrets. Yunmi took another drag of smoke. Her mind became dizzy and her legs wobbled.

"No, I can't go down like this! For the sake of the person who believed in me!

Grabbing hold of his dazed mind, he dodged the sword flying toward him, then struck again with all his might.

With a crack, a slicing of flesh, the masked man fell, but he had no cause for celebration. Taking advantage of her struggle with the two masked men, the other two masked men flanked Na Yerin.

"No, no, no!

I screamed inside, but I was stuck with the other one and couldn't go to help.

Then there was a flash of white, and the two cloaked figures that had approached Na Yerin were stilled. In Na Yerin's pure white hand was her beloved sword. She had hidden it under the covers. With her body not yet recovered, the best she could do was to take them by surprise. The two masked men were downed, but Na Yerin cowered in pain. Her internal injuries had been reactivated by overexerting herself.

Now that she was able to focus on the enemy in front of her, Yun Me unfurled her blade as hard as she could and pushed the masked man back. She didn't even have time to think about whether she was scared or not. Just as she was about to deliver the final blow, she was suddenly blinded by a tremendous shock. Her side was burning. The masked man's sword had sliced through his side.

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

The next moment, a maddening gust of wind swept across Yunmi's body and threw her against the wall. Blood spurted from her mouth. After slamming hard into the wall, she crumpled to the floor, unable to move. Her mind was becoming increasingly disoriented, her vision blurred, and life was draining from her side. Through her fading consciousness, Yun Mi saw the man in red slowly walk into the room. His right sleeve moved of its own accord with each movement. He was a one-armed man.

The moment the man in red stepped into the room, Na Yerin felt a terrifying shiver run through her like nothing she had ever felt before. It was as if a black, wicked, and absurdly massive evil was grinning at her.

Who is it?

"I know the author!

As much as she hated to admit it, Na Yerin had to admit it. Na Yerin was stunned by the sensation that was suddenly growing in her mind. It was fear. An immense sense of dread and disgust was coloring her mind.

The man in red walked very slowly toward Na Yerin with a smile on his face. I was afraid to look at his face. It seemed she shouldn't know. She swung her sword with all her might.

White light flashed through the thick smoke. But the blade was caught in the red-robed man's sleeve.

"This is too much."

With her sword blocked, Na Yerin tried to strike again with her bowels, but she could not yet control her body properly, and her technique was completely blocked by the Redcoat. His face was revealed. He wore a bronze mask. Though she could not identify his face, she knew him.

"Oh no. You can't be so rude. I haven't seen you in a long time, and you didn't even say hello. How rude of you. A child with no manners should be punished."

The man in red smiled coyly and brought his face close to hers. Na Yerin had never felt such chilling malice before. This man wanted to destroy her completely. And it wasn't just about her; he wanted to destroy everything she was involved with. She'd felt this twisted hatred before.

"All, you……."

Her words never made it to the end. The man in red drew her blood. The man in red pulled back the blanket and lifted Na Yerin up with one hand, slinging her over his shoulder.

"Now, let's sound the prelude to doom. Cckckck. It begins now."

Soon the remaining masked men scooped up the fallen ones. Then, in a flash, they were gone. Yun Mi was the last to see them.

* * *

I woke up slightly, but my consciousness was still muddled. She knew she was moving because her body was swaying, but the scent of sleep was too strong and her head was too dizzy to think clearly. In and out of consciousness, Na Yerin thought.

"Who is he?

"Where are they trying to take me?

Her body was carried up a high staircase. But her eyelids still wouldn't open. Her body felt heavy and she couldn't move her fingertips. She was anxious. Uneasy at the fact that she was completely in enemy hands, and that she still didn't know the identity of this terrifying enemy. But what was this gnawing, gnomic anxiety creeping up from the depths of her chest? Her mind refused to go there.

The door opened and you entered a room. I heard someone running in a hurry. By the sound of their footsteps, they were very fat. She moved her head desperately, trying to figure out where she was, but it only made her headache worse.

The fat man who approached her said something, and the man in red who was lifting her up also said something. But their words sounded far away, like they were speaking from a very far away place. The sound was muffled, and she couldn't make out what they were saying. Her consciousness drifted away again.

Then her body moved again, and with a grunt, the man in red moved, this time heading down the stairs. And then she was lying down somewhere.

Fluffy.

It seemed to be a bed. After she put herself down, she heard him ordering his men to do something, but she couldn't make out what it was either. She tried to move somehow, but her body still refused to budge against her will. She tried again, and again, and again. She had to get out of this somehow. Just being in his presence felt like suffocating with his malice. I made a desperate move, and the index finger of my right hand moved slightly. With a little more effort, it moved to my wrist. A few more moves of the fingers and wrist, and she was able to move her elbow. Desperately, she moved her hand to her waistband. A piece of jewelry touched her hand. She moved her fingers to pull it off. It took longer than she thought because her fingers didn't move as much as she wanted them to. She knew she had to leave some sort of mark, some proof that she had been here.

Why is he so desperate to leave evidence?

Two faces flashed through her mind at once. In her mind's eye, the faces of Bi Ryuyeon and Yeon Bi merged into one.

She thought she was strange. She wasn't here right now. She was thousands of li away in the distance. Why did she still believe that she would come to her rescue? Why couldn't this belief be broken? It was strange to think to himself. But she had a feeling. A feeling of certainty. It was she who had told her that 'despair is the most harmful poison to the human body' and that she should never give up. Her heart was screaming at her. Never give up. To fight to stay alive.

She managed to move her arms in small increments, dropping the loose trinket against the wall next to the bed, but that was as far as she could go. The man approached her again and moved her into a small space. She tried to struggle to get out of it, but her arms and legs wouldn't move.

Drat! Drat!

She could do nothing, and then, before the lid closed for the last time, she heard the man's voice.

"Cuck. Hang in there, my little bird."

She shuddered at the mental shock of the moment.

That voice, that way of speaking…….

That sound is…… That sound is…….

But her thoughts didn't last long. The sleeping pills the man had kept in reserve had stolen her consciousness in an instant.

Na Yerin slipped back into a deep, dark sleep, unaware that in the depths of that darkness, the nightmares of her past were reawakening.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in a room. It was properly furnished, so it wasn't a prison, but she soon realized that her freedom was bound. Shackles were attached to her wrists and ankles, and they were securely fastened to the wall. Na Yerin began to draw her chi up. She wanted to turn her chi and check her condition.

However,

'The ball is not spinning…….'

The flow of qi, which should naturally circulate through the body like a flowing river, was completely cut off. It was as if a huge weir was blocking the flow everywhere.

"You've got a blood blockage.

I resisted, trying to break the blockage with a hemolysis technique to counteract the blood clot. But the bank was harder than I thought.

"Is this forbidden?

It was obviously not just a simple point, but a specialized pulmonary vein with a gold needle or equivalent.

"That's pretty powerful.

It seemed impossible to break this barrier through sheer inner strength alone. In order to bring about change, one must first move the Qi, and the most important Qi was not moving even a single step. An immobile qi was the same as no qi at all.

'…….'

Her cold, detached mind shook slightly with the slightest hint of anxiety; she'd never felt so helpless.

'류연…….'

The first thing that came to mind was Bi Ryuyeon's face. The same face that always wore a confident smile. It was a face that always gave her courage. He was the one who changed her from a cold person to a warm one. He was the one who could be counted on in times of danger. Most people didn't know what he was, but she did, his true strength. But he wasn't here now, and he had probably been transported to a place other than Kanghorando. Somehow, she was certain of that.

'Father, Mother…….'

She remembered her father and mother's faces from Kanghorando. They must be so worried now that she's gone. I couldn't imagine how heartbroken they must be.

And another,

'Yeonbi…….'

By now, he must be desperate to find himself. That was the kind of person she was. She'd saved him before, and she'd be trying to save him now.

"But I can't just sit back and wait for help.

"We have to get out of here somehow.

That way, I could ease the burden on my parents and friends.

But how?

That was the most important part, and she didn't have the means to do that right now.

Boom! Boom!

She tugged hard at the handcuffs binding her hands, but the chains on the wall didn't budge. Unless she could raise her spirit, she was just a woman now.

But she doesn't give up and tries to pull the handcuffs again and again. However, Na Yerin's body quickly becomes fatigued due to the restraint of her inner gong.

She realized once again how helpless she was. It was then that the door opened.

With a hiss, the door opened and the man in red walked in.

He was still masked, the sleeve of his right arm flapping haphazardly. It was the first time she could recognize that he was one-armed. Suddenly, a shiver ran down her spine. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

'Come on… no way…….'

He walked toward Na Yerin, each step slower than the last. The normally confident woman took an involuntary step back. But with her tied up and a wall behind her, it was almost pointless.

Na Yerin's whole body trembled violently, like a squirrel in the presence of a snake. No matter how hard she tried to control it, it was useless.

'After all, interest is……!

The man who stopped directly in front of her brought his left hand to his face. Then he pulled off his bronze mask. Na Yerin's breath caught in her throat as she saw the face that emerged.

Rattling, chills ran down my spine, and I felt like I was sinking into a slimy swamp as blackness enveloped me. The wounds of my past were screaming at me.

The nightmare grinned before her eyes. With a malice that made her soul shudder.

"Nine years? It's been a long time, my little bird."