Book 8 Chapter 8

The arrival (登場) of Bi Ryuyeon

"Wait, before you touch anything, you should always use the

Don't you even have the basic common sense to ask the owner's permission?"

The body of the assassin disguised as a botman was yanked backward.

The assassin was nowhere to be seen, for Bi Ryuyeon had come up and grabbed him by the back of the head.

By "other people's stuff," she meant, of course, Na Yerin, whom Bi Ryuyeon was claiming as her own.

"Who… who is this?"

Bai Tanzhi, the White Council President, stammered in disbelief. As a master of stealth, he had been caught red-handed, and now he was being told to take down his sales sign. Of course, it was a sign of fate that he had to take down anyway, as the raid had failed, leaving his key experts nearly dead.

"Well, who?"

The aura emanating from Bi Ryuyeon's body contained an unknown power that left him dumbfounded. Even though he was behind her back, Bai Tanzhi could definitely feel it. Bai Tanzer felt a strange sense of sympathy for the mouse in front of Salmosa. A wave of regret washed over him, as he realized that he had been blinded by money and had taken the job for nothing.

"Boom! Sum"

Boom! Flash!

He had a chance to draw his sword because Bi Ryuyeon dragged him by the hindquarters once and let go. His sword was short and sharp, as expected of a hitman. It was also coated with an extreme poison that could easily kill a man with a single stroke, and the blade was black as pitch, thanks to a darkening treatment to give it an advantage in darkness.

It's a common practice in this business to poison things to get the job done, because you can't kill your target in one fell swoop if you don't have a short dagger.

"Hmmm, that looks like a pretty good deal, I can smell the high price tag."

Bi Ryuyeon, who had once spent years in the forge and was a qualified swordsmith, could see the value of Bai Tanzer's black poison sword at a glance. Bai Tanzer was still too wary to make a rash move. Unfortunately, his caution had robbed him of his last chance for a counterattack.

"But what am I going to do, I don't think I'll be swinging that sword anymore!"

"Moo… what do you mean?"

"That's right!"

Bi Ryuyeon smiled slightly.

The Scourer!

With a flash of light, the wrist of the White Tanzanian, which was destined to swing the poisoned blade once more, was sliced clean off and separated from the rest of his body. It was a blow too soon.

"Kaaaahhhh!"

The unfortunate assassin, White Tanzor, who was once again unable to use his right hand for chopsticks, let out a tearing scream. Blood gushed from the freshly made cut on his wrist, staining the ground red.

"But what do you mean by someone else's stuff is yours?"

It was Na Yerin who objected to Bi Ryuyeon's passing remarks on the matter in a cold tone. She looked at Bi Ryuyeon with eyes that showed no hint of amusement.

"Well, what is that?"

Bi Ryuyeon shrugged her shoulders, both hands pointing to the sky.

Chaing!

Na Yerin's sword parried a slash from an assassin stabbing her in the back. Though her gaze was directed toward Bi Ryuyeon, her sixth sense was clearly peering into the Thirty-Sixth Defense as if through the palm of her hand. She was not so unskilled as to fail to read the unpleasant killing intent that splashed into her gap.

Eek!

Na Yerin's blade snapped the assassin's armor in half, then inflicted cold judgment on his body. A bone-chilling chill forced its way into the assassin's body, cutting off his life support.

"You're not an assassin, are you?"

After handing over the poor bogeyman with his wrists slashed to Bi Ryuyeon, Yan Dao said in a menacing tone with an impressed expression. Bai Tanzer, the head of the White Council's vassals, was ridiculous.

To fail so easily, and to do so as the head of the White Council, the most prominent of the free-for-alls, was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Hahaha… that… yeah, sure, I'm not going to do something horrible and terrifying like an assassin or something."

Yeomdo tried to appear deliberately languid, but he had no intention of loosening his grip on the white-haired titan's entire body.

"Yes! Then you are! You're not an assassin, that's for sure! The sword strapped to your back is not an assassin's dagger, and the sword that fell over there is not yours either, is it?"

The poisoned sword that Yindo pointed to still had Bai Xiaochun's wrist attached to it. The white tanzer laughed harshly.

"That… yeah, there's no way that's mine, hehehe……."

He wasn't a fool, and he didn't think it was his, but the strange power emanating from Yidou's body made him dare to say anything else.

"I'm not a vigilante, that's unfair. I only pulled that out in self-defense because I thought the mugger was after my luggage, believe me!"

With tears welling up in his eyes, Backtanzer begged.

"Of course! Of course! I've known all along."

Yeomdo nodded.

'If you knew, you'd let it go now…….'

Backtanzer screamed inside. But it showed no sign of letting go.

"But… it's all good."

Yeomdo said quietly.

"Yes?"

White Tanger stared at Yeomdo with a questioning look on his face. Something didn't feel right.

"Why, he's an assassin!"

Again!

"Kaaahhhh!"

It wasn't until his wrists were snapped like reeds by Yindo's unyielding grip, and every muscle in his body twisted beneath the harsh grasp of his bony fingers, that he realized that Yindo had already assumed he was an assassin. He'd been asking useless questions and spinning his wheels all this time, even though he knew he was one, but he wanted to act like he wasn't. In other words, Yindo knew inwardly who he was, but he wanted to act outwardly like he wasn't. It was just a childish complaint from a grown man. Only Baek Tanser had used the dragon for nothing.

"Off!"

Once again, the pitiful screams of the White Tangerine echoed through the air.

"Why are you here?"

It wasn't inside the academy, it was in the middle of a crowded marketplace. There was no reason for her to be here.

"Coincidence. Coincidence!"

"Hmmm……."

The attitude of suspicion was clear.

"Can't you be a little more welcoming? This is really upsetting, and I'm afraid there's something between us……."

Bi Ryuyeon said with a smirk on her face.

"What came between us?"

Na Yerin received Bi Ryuyeon's words in a cold tone. The words sent a chill down her spine.

"Ew, I'm too embarrassed to say that."

It was hard for Na Yerin to see Bi Ryuyeon suddenly squirming in front of her. Inevitably, she had to turn her head first.

"Goodbye then!"

Na Yerin's attitude was that she had nothing more to say.

"Wait!"

Bi Ryuyeon turned and called out to Na Yerin.

"What's going on?"

Reluctantly, Na Yerin looked back. She said.

"But I'm an enabler, so don't I deserve at least a thank you?"

The way he held his tongue, it was as if he wanted to continue the conversation. Na Yerin's face turned toward Bi Ryuyeon again, her deep, nocturnal, lake-like eyes staring back at him. Bi Ryuyeon felt a little uncomfortable with Na Yerin at this time.

"I don't remember getting help."

At this point, a black mass fell from the sky in front of Na Yerin.

Thump!

Na Yerin, Mo Yonghui, and Eunseulan's gazes simultaneously converged on the black mass. It was a corpse, a corpse that could be clearly identified as an assassin at a glance. Even after seeing it, Bi Ryuyeon was still smiling.

"So you don't think these guys are going to……."

Bi Ryuyeon smiled and nodded.

"By any chance, the owner of the flash that helped me earlier is……."

Only then did Na Yerin remember the flash of light that had stopped the twin brothers' assault.

"It was my move, of course."

If so, she had been saved by Bi Ryuyeon.

"Go… Thank you, is that it?"

Na Yerin's gratitude was very stiff. Bi Ryuyeon couldn't help but feel inadequate.

"I've never received such a stiff thank you before, and I'm very sad right now."

Ryuyeon Bi expressed her frustration.

Then a woman's beautiful voice, like a spring breeze, tickled Bi Ryuyeon's ears.

"Thank you for saving my life, Confucius. Or should I call you a lifesaver now?"

The voice was none other than the quadruple-headed Eun Seolan.

"Ah, you must be Shirou, the one who is the subject of all those stormy rumors!"

Bi Ryuyeon said, taking a bow in return.

She had heard all about the silver snowflakes at the Association, so she knew for sure. Lately, she's been keeping them busy. An encounter with a new world…….

"Oh, you're welcome, the girl is a quadrupedal silver agave. Thank you again to the Society for your help."

Anyone who doesn't like being greeted by a beautiful woman with a smile must be crazy, homosexual, or a pervert. Fortunately, Bi Ryuyeon was not a pervert, so he was able to rejoice in her gratitude from the bottom of his heart.

"Come on, the Dead Sea is the East Sea, it's only right to help others when they're in trouble!"

Bi Ryuyeon said with a smile on his face (though it was only visible under his nose). If anyone else who knew him had heard it, they would have been stunned or plummeted. Because we all know that when he does something for free, it's as rare as beans in a drought.

"How generous of you to say, you know what a pact is, even as an official of the prestigious Heavenly Martial Academy!"

"Sure!"

Without saliva in her mouth, Bi Ryuyeon answered abominably. Watching from the sidelines, he thought that this was a story that all of Kang Ho's associates would bite their tongues to death. Why was he watching this today after losing to Beemu yesterday? He had become the one who saw the unseen, and now he had a shitty look on his face. Regret washed over him. The chicken skin of his entire body stood up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's up?"

When she was done socializing with the beauties, she noticed Mo Yonghui's presence and greeted him warmly.

"……."

But Mo Yonghui was not at all happy to be greeted. He was not happy at all. Mo Yonghui's complexion was stiff and showed no sign of easing.

"He's a little blunt."

Bi Ryuyeon shook her head as if she had no choice. Even in the presence of a beautiful woman, nothing changed.

"Gee, is that how it works?"

Eunseulan asked expectantly.

"It's just the way he was born, and his bluntness and morbidity were declared incurable a long time ago, and the general consensus is that, barring a breakthrough miracle cure, it's unlikely to be cured any time soon… Nowadays, I think they've added to that the absurd diagnosis of woman-aversion… It's still early days, but if it's true, it's very serious!"

Bi Ryuyeon crossed her arms and nodded with a serious face.

"Oh my God, that's a big deal!"

Eun Seolan immediately agreed with Bi Ryuyeon that the porridge was good. They had already put Mo Yonghui's reaction to the back of their minds. Eun Seolan suddenly felt the urge to play with Mo Yonghui.

"Unless you're desperate to grow old and die a bachelor, that's a big deal. I don't know if I could get a relationship with that."

"That's not going to happen because I'm getting married in an arranged marriage."

Mo Yonghui shouted, clearly agitated.

"Look at that guy, stiff as a log, he thinks jokes aren't a language of this world."

"You're way too interested in other people's life histories and language systems, and I don't want any more of that."

Mo Yonghui said in a voice as cold as the icy winds of the North Sea.

"Alas… no……. Now it looks like I've got misanthropy and anthropophobia on the side."

Mo Yonghui's inner armor and the walls he had built around himself were indeed absurdly thick.

"You must be really close friends, to know that much detail."

Suddenly, Mo Yonghui looked like he was about to vomit. Who on earth met the intensely personal and subjective criteria of a 'close friend'? It was a sense he would never understand.

"He's just a friend who shares a room with me. When you get a chance, Sojae, I'd like you to help him with his gynephobia, because as the closest person to him, I'm worried about him."

She's been smirking a lot lately.

"You're paying me too much attention, and I'm not going to put up with it anymore."

Mo Yonghui had reached the end of his patience and was ready to draw his sword. Any more teasing would mean risking his life. Although she was confident of protecting herself, Bi Ryuyeon decided to stop teasing. Even the best toys can break if you play with them too hard. Even the best candy lasts longer when it's eaten sparingly.

"Look, it's all hardness and no softness, and if you say anything more, I'm going to stab you, you don't get the joke."

Bi Ryuyeon shook her head, ending the topic of Mo Yonghui. Seeing that, Eunseulan smiled wryly.

"Now that we've done our job, shouldn't we go home?"

A chilling voice like a blizzard!

Bi Ryuyeon's words and actions were interrupted by Na Yerin's interruption. It was clear that Na Yerin's words had an icy edge to them.

"Ugh! Are you pouting?"

Bi Ryuyeon asked.

"No way."

Na Yerin flatly and emphatically denied it.

Her face still showed no change in expression, but Bi Ryuyeon could clearly see that she was different from her usual self. However, it was still impossible for her to figure out the cause.

"I'm sorry, but I can't go yet!"

"Why?"

Na Yerin asked in a sharp tone.

"I've still got something to pick up."

Bi Ryuyeon laughed softly. It was the smile of a man who had ninety-nine of them inside him.

"Didn't I get enough thanks for my help earlier, I won't take any more… Ugh!"

Na Yerin's next words were cut off by Bi Ryuyeon's sudden action. Suddenly, Bi Ryuyeon's lips were on her mouth.

It was a dreamy, sweet moment.

side!

All around her, the men who had come out to the bustling city for a change of scenery, from celestial guards to common soldiers, had turned pale. Ever since Na Yerin had entered the city, dozens of men had been staring at her, chasing her, and clinging to her, cluttering her vision and senses. Na Yerin's beauty was well known, even to the common soldiers who roamed the grounds of the Heavenly Academy, unable to enter. She was an idol inside and out, and even if she never understood it herself, it didn't change the reality.

Na Yerin looked at Bi Ryuyeon with a dumbfounded expression. He was smirking in front of her. For some reason, she hated herself for not being able to hate this man, even though this was the third time she had been tricked. It was at moments like this every time that this man would make a sneaky move in front of her that she couldn't even catch with her own eyesight.

"Uh-oh-oh-oh-oh!"

Watching Bi Ryuyeon's surprise kiss from the sidelines, Eunseulan's face was even redder than the evening sunset, but her eyes were shining with interest.

"Boom!"

The squeal that erupted from Eunseulan's mouth wasn't a tearing scream, but a cute, adorable voice that couldn't help itself.

Their kiss didn't last long; it was only a moment, but the fact that it happened at all was unmistakable.

"Huh? Not this time?"

Bi Ryuyeon asked Na Yerin in a curious tone, because his prediction had gone spectacularly wrong.

"Like what?"

Her voice had grown even colder. She still seemed to have a hint of Bi Ryuyeon Yan on the tip of her lips.

"What, I mean the sword of Nasor is still in its scabbard, not drawn."

Quick as a flash, Bi Ryuyeon was already standing a step back from where she had been. He had ducked out of the way of her sword strike, which he had expected to unfold after the surprise kiss. But there was no attack, which left him puzzled.

Na Yerin was puzzled, too. She didn't understand why she hadn't drawn her sword like she had every time. "I'm not sure," she said in a puzzled voice.

"Gee… I missed the opportunity, but I didn't forget."

It was a lie. Surely she had forgotten for a moment that she was supposed to draw her sword and cut this man down, that she was supposed to give him a severe punishment.

"Hmmm, is that so?"

Bi Ryuyeon looked at Na Yerin with a grim expression. It almost broke Na Yerin's immobility. But she managed to regain her composure. Her face turned cold again.

"But first, let's hear your explanation."

The words flowed from her mouth as cold as the North Sea ice, freezing the hearts of those who heard them. It was a declaration that she would no longer be subjected to Bi Ryuyeon's words.

"It's kind of a way of saying thank you."

"You're still a rude person who doesn't ask for permission."

"I knew they weren't going to let me do it yet, so don't worry too much about it, it's just two times turned into three."

How could she not care? Na Yerin was clearly a strict woman. It was natural for her to be bothered. But why should she let herself be swayed by a man who didn't have the slightest idea of delicacy……. She had to admit that she didn't see him the same way as the other men, but she couldn't tell what the difference was. All she knew was that thinking about him made her feel very angry.

For the first time that day, she felt resentful of him. She hated him even more because she felt like he had a place in her heart.

And her inability to stop him infuriated her even more.

"Silver Sojae, I Sojae. Well, should we get going? I've got a bunch of stuff to go and debrief."

Mo Yonghui intervened to intercede and hasten the process. After such a grand affair, it was impossible for me to be quiet. I'm sure I'll be called here and there to report on things. Besides, for the sake of Eunseulan's safety, I had to return to the Celestial Academy as soon as possible in case of a second attack.

"Then I look forward to our next meeting."

Bi Ryuyeon said goodbye to Eun Seol-ran.

"Ho-ho-ho, somehow I have a feeling that day will be very close, check it out."

At Bi Ryuyeon's farewell, Eun Seol-ran smiled meaningfully.

Bi Ryuyeon took a deep breath and turned away, then disappeared into the crowd, accompanied by Yan Dao, who was in charge of the aftermath, chatting with the Heavenly Martial Academy patrols who had rushed to the scene after hearing about the incident. He had already gotten a satisfying result today, so he had no complaints.

Eunseulan's eyes lit up as she watched Bi Ryuyeon's back as she turned away. But it happened too quickly for anyone else to notice.

Only Na Yerin turned her gaze away for a moment to glance at Eunseulan. But she didn't speak.

"Wouldn't it be great to have someone like that by your side?"

Eunseulan looked at Na Yerin and said. Na Yerin was smiling. Even in the face of something as horrific as this massive assassin's raid, she had the guts to laugh. Clearly, this fact alone showed that she was no ordinary woman.

"Well… I hope I didn't cause any trouble."

Na Yerin replied in an emotionless voice.

"He's a funny guy, by the way."

"Yes, and a knack for making things very difficult for others."

Na Yerin's ratings pale in comparison to those of Agave.

"I have a strong feeling I'm going to run into that person again soon, and you know what? My premonitions are pretty good!"

Eunsulan looked at Na Yerin and smiled broadly.

Soon after, her hunch was confirmed.

Two days later, Bi Ryuyeon receives an official letter announcing that she has been assigned as an escort to Eun Seol-ran, the investigator of the Black Heaven Blindness. The reason: the investigator's own strong wishes and demands.

Thus, the number of escorts of Silver Snow Lan was now three.

But her momentum didn't stop there; she was preparing to blow people away again.