Book 14 Chapter 6

Limit time (Limit time)!

- Biryuyeon, late for the appointment.

There was no way the loud fireworks that erupted in the middle of the night went unnoticed by the residents' eyes and ears. And one resident, with a strong sense of civic duty, rushed to the county office to report it.

The sound of weapons clashing was also heard, so they had no choice but to respond. Furthermore, he was the duty officer for the day.

"I've stepped in it!"

It's just that kind of day that randomly harasses someone on duty.

"A robber?"

They too knew Hwapyungjang, located on the outskirts of the county. Moreover, the lord of that place and the county magistrate were quite close, so if they were negligent, they could face severe punishment later.

Lee Chil, a constable from Hwaeum County, who was dispatched after receiving the report, was running down the middle of the straight road with his colleague Sanggu. Twelve subordinates followed behind them. Their faces were full of dissatisfaction, as if they had been forcibly woken up from sleep in the duty room.

'If you're like this, how much more bothered would I be, with my experience?'

Hiding his inner thoughts, he ran diligently.

Thud!

Then something warm fell on his cheek.

"Wh-what is it?"

Is it… bird droppings?

Did some insomniac pigeon fly overhead? Even though I'm already suffering like this because of the disturbance when assigned to the night shift… It really felt like a bad day.

As Lee Chil wiped his cheek absently, he flinched. The texture was wrong. Moreover, it was the texture of something he knew very well.

Lee Chil reached for the lantern he was holding.

As expected, his guess was correct. It was blood.

"But where did this come from all of a sudden?"

It was truly a mystery.

Lee Chil, with his weak martial arts skills, could never have imagined that a shadow had soared over his head like a bird, leaping over the roofs of buildings.

Seoak Branch of the Beggar's Sect, Hwaeum County, Shaanxi Province

"Late!"

Yeom Do shouted anxiously. It was really late. According to the original plan, they should have already arrived at the meeting place. However, even though it had been an hour since they arrived first, Biryuyeon had not yet shown his face.

"Late! Late! Late!"

Time was now their biggest and most formidable enemy. Dawn was about to break. Would they be able to make it on time? If they were late for the morning inspection, there would be no excuse. Unsanctioned absence? It was unlikely to receive any praise. Less than an hour remained until the time limit.

Dokgo Ryeol cautiously circled Naye Lin from a distance. It was impossible to approach as if an invisible wall had been erected around her. In such cases, it is better to maintain a little distance rather than force your way in.

'Why is she so anxious?'

Dokgo Ryeol couldn't understand. Especially because he held a perhaps absurd assumption in his mind. However, he only circled Naye Lin like the moon, unable to speak to her.

Lee Jin Seol, who usually prided herself on her cheerful and bright personality, watched her idol from a slight distance with an anxious gaze. Behind her, Hyoryong, who had just regained his senses, stood quietly as if protecting her. No one spoke first.

On the other hand, the atmosphere among Namgong Sang, Jin Ling, and Noh Hak, the three members from the Suzaku Clan, was much more relaxed compared to others. In a way, except for Yeom Do, they were the ones who had seen Biryuyeon's hidden side the most. Therefore, they were now very faithful to their senior disciple's teachings and tried to put them into practice whenever they had the chance.

Perhaps the various experiences they had gone through gave them this composure.

"Hey, shall we bet on whether our senior disciple comes back or not?"

Noh Hak was the first to speak. However, he had to endure a barrage of glaring eyes. The looks on everyone's faces were full of condemnation. The reason was simple.

"It's not a bet!"

Namgong Sang and Jin Ling shouted in unison. The reason they criticized Noh Hak was not a trivial matter of morality or ethics. It was because he tried to bet on something that couldn't be a bet.

"But just in case… just in case, what should we do if that person really doesn't come back?"

Namgong Sang cautiously voiced his opinion. Then, opinions poured in.

"If that happens, it'll be a really big problem~."

"That's right! No matter what, our senior disciple is our senior disciple. If he can't come back, it'll be a real problem."

Jin Ling nodded.

"Really! If that happens, I won't be belittled or nagged… It's a big problem, a big problem!"

Noh Hak, nodding continuously, seemed to be filled with an inexplicable vitality.

"If something 'doesn't' happen to our senior disciple's body… *grunt*! I'll go immediately, tear their bones and flesh apart, and leave them for forty-nine days! *grunt*!"

Noh Hak exclaimed in an impassioned voice.

"Hey, hey! Noh Hak, you! Your words are full of worry and concern, but your expression is smiling."

Namgong Sang thought that he had to manage these things thoroughly from now on, without their senior disciple.

"Ahem! …Did I… did I do that……."

After all, true feelings cannot be easily hidden, can they? Noh Hak reflected deeply.

A moment of silence.

“…But still… wouldn't it be really comfortable without him?”

At that very moment, everyone nodded at Namgong Sang's whispered prayer.

"What did I do?"

The heads of the three men snapped back. It was such a violent movement that they worried their necks might be pulled off.

Their eyes widened in unison. They didn't know when he had approached, but there stood their senior disciple, whom they feared so much.

*Smirk!*

With a meaningful smile that chilled their hearts, he stood before them.

"Wh-when were you… there…"

Namgong Sang asked in a voice trembling so much that his teeth were chattering.

"Well… when was it?"

At his smiling face, the three members of the Suzaku Clan all felt a chill run down their spines.

'I might be murdered…'

That was what they were all thinking.

'How could he approach so closely, deceiving all these people?'

Seok Ryu was disbelieving. What was even more surprising was that the people weren't that surprised.

"Why? Disappointed?"

Namgong Sang closed his mouth and shook his head.

"Of course not… Hehehehe."

A laugh that could only be produced by someone who had given up everything escaped his lips.

"When you lie, it's better to control your facial expressions!"

Biryuyeon gave friendly advice.

Namgong Sang wiped sweat from his brow and nodded continuously. His mind was already a mess of tension and confusion.

'I need to find a different topic…'

'…Annihilation (Massacre)!'

The fact that he could escalate the consciousness of such a group to this extent could be seen as a testament to Biryuyeon's immense presence.

The struggle for survival began with changing the topic. Namgong Sang and the other two desperately rolled their eyes, looking for an escape.

Danger, danger, danger!

Their instincts were sounding a fierce alarm. Their bodies trembled along with it. However, mass annihilation did not occur. Fortunately, the three core members of the Suzaku Clan were saved from the threat of death by a woman.

"Ryūyeon!"

Naye Lin realized for the first time that she could shout so loudly. It was the same for Dokgo Ryeol and Lee Jin Seol.

"Ah, Yerin! I'm back!"

Biryuyeon, tearing his gaze away from Namgong Sang, who was desperately looking left and right, reported back to Naye Lin with a bright smile. She had already approached his side.

"…"

Naye Lin nodded without a word. Her movements were elegant and graceful, but very slow and deliberate. At the same time, her eyes began to scan Biryuyeon's entire body.

Her gaze, which slowly scanned Biryuyeon's body with an unreadable expression and calm, clear eyes, suddenly stopped at one spot. It was because of a drop of liquid that had fallen to the ground.

It flowed down Biryuyeon's forearm, circled his palm, and dripped from his middle finger. It was… blood.

"Blood…"

"Yes?"

Her slender voice was so weak that it was difficult to understand at first.

"…Ryūyeon! Blood…"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was a little careless."

Biryuyeon said nonchalantly with a smile. Although his tone was bright, like a warm spring breeze, his eyes, hidden behind his hair, were not smiling at all.

"A wound? How long has it been…"

He muttered in a quiet voice and brought his left hand, from which blood was dripping, to his lips. A slightly metallic scent of blood tickled his nose.

"It's been a while!"

The taste of blood traveled through his taste buds to his brain.

"The price for letting my sacred blood flow out will be very high!"

He muttered quietly, a chilling smile on his lips.

"However… it's become troublesome."

"…?"

Naye Lin's eyes were filled with doubt. Biryuyeon continued in a quiet tone.

"I was educated too strictly, so I hate owing favors. Though I like owing them to others. But today, I've suddenly incurred a debt that I must repay. Hohoho!"

'Should I have unsealed the Dark Dragon after all…'

But it was a past that had already passed. Regret was useless.

"What did you say?"

"Ah, no. It's nothing. It's nothing at all…"

Biryuyeon mumbled and looked to the future.

"Stop!"

A voice with a unique resonance emanated from Biryuyeon's lips.

"Um, it won't stop just by saying that…"

However, Namgong Sang had to retract his words. The blood flowing from his chest, as if by magic, stopped.

'This is impossible! How, without even touching the acupoints?'

Certainly, the technique of pressing acupoints around a wound to stop bleeding is widely used in the martial arts world. But seeing blood stop with just a word was something he had never witnessed before.

Yeom Do, who was watching this, also had a glint in his eyes.

'Stopping bleeding with a word… Could it be the technique of Simjeomhyeol, which I've only heard about in rumors?'

Simjeomhyeol, as the name suggests, means to freely activate or release one's own acupoints with just one's mind. It is the stage of controlling the body with the mind.

'How much more does he have hidden inside?'

His ability was still insufficient to see through Biryuyeon's true intentions. Yeom Do resented his own inadequacy.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

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

"Ah! Oh no!"

Swept up in the momentary chaos, they had forgotten the most important thing.

"Morning inspection!!"

The mountain they still had to climb was impossibly far, high, and treacherous. They had to hurry.

"What should we do?"

Moyong Hwi asked. It was too late to retreat to Hongmae Valley to evacuate Eun Seollan to a safe location. Moreover, if they didn't return to Hongmae Valley by the hour of the dragon, they didn't know what disadvantages they would face.

"She's too exposed, and based on my experience, the enemy's strength is also formidable. Their hidden strength cannot be underestimated. Is there a safe place nearby where we can evade their attention?"

Furthermore, she hadn't even woken up yet. He was extremely worried.

"Master?"

Moyong Hwi asked with a desperate tone, seeking an answer.

"There is just one such place!"

Biryuyeon, not Yeom Do, who was contemplating, answered. When he smiled, Moyong Hwi became uneasy.

"N-no way? You!"

His eyes suddenly widened.

"Yes! That's right! I don't know for sure, but there are few places as safe as that!"

"That's crazy!"

Biryuyeon shook his head. His bangs swayed like feet in the meantime.

"No! It's the wisest course of action!"

"N-no way!"

Everyone exclaimed in unison.

"The people here are quite intelligent. It's precisely that place. Even the enemies won't be able to do much there!"

In some ways, his words were indeed correct. However, the question of "how?" still remained.

"What do you think?"

Biryuyeon asked Yeom Do, looking at him.

"Are you saying we should take her to Cheonmu Peak now?"

"Is there any place safer and more reasonable than there right now?"

Of course, as Biryuyeon said, but for that, they would need to overcome another hurdle. How would they make others accept her existence in the first place?

'Hmm…'

Indirect expression of intent. This was how he instructed Yeom Do in front of others. Yeom Do fell into thought for a moment. Then he suddenly turned his head and looked at Biryuyeon.

"Do you have some plan?"

If there was one thing he could acknowledge about Biryuyeon, it was his cunning. He was never the type to act recklessly without a plan for something of this magnitude.

To his question, Biryuyeon nodded without hesitation.

'Good! It's a do-or-die situation anyway! There's no turning back now. Let's trust that master of cunning for now!'

Yeom Do made a reckless decision without the consent of the assembled crowd. What blame would he receive if things went wrong later…

Finally, Yeom Do nodded vigorously and stood up.

"Alright! Let's go!"

At this time, they could not even imagine that the place they considered safest could also be the most dangerous.