Chapter 148

Chapter 148

The forest interior where one couldn’t properly distinguish objects, submerged in darkness.

Seueueu.

……Ueo?

At the faint wind sound, a dull-witted yokai that had been looking around tilted its head and rubbed its head with its mangled hand, then continued on its way. And beside it, Seohwa with narrowed eyes.

‘They really don’t notice.’

At the sight of the yokai passing right next to her without detecting her presence, Seohwa inwardly sighed in relief and looked at the rock ahead. Jang Il would surely be hiding there.

—Don’t stop breathing.

—……Excuse me?

Before leaving the village.

Jang Il had advised Seohwa thus. If you don’t want to be detected by yokai, don’t stop breathing.

It was a different direction from ordinary stealth techniques. The breath one exhales. The footsteps one takes. Controlling even the heartbeat to make no sound—wasn’t that the commonly known stealth technique?

But the stealth technique Jang Il taught was different.

—Stealth isn’t about hiding well. It’s about making the opponent unable to see you.

—……What do you mean?

—Exactly what I said. Making them unable to recognize they’re looking even while looking. Making your presence feel so natural that being there is unremarkable. That’s what ultimate stealth means.

What happens if you hold your breath?

Naturally, since you’re holding your breath, at first no sound comes out. But humans are ultimately animals that must breathe. While you can hold your breath briefly, holding it for more than a moment isn’t easy for humans.

The breath you inhale after holding it necessarily comes with a rebound, larger than usual. Even when hiding for several hours to assassinate masters, you could lose your life from a single rebound.

Conversely, that’s why it must not break.

Inhale, exhale.

Without leaving even a slight gap, she continued breathing. Inhaling and exhaling the same amount uniformly, Seohwa looked around and was impressed. Just by breathing differently, there were no irritating breath sounds or heartbeat sounds at all.

—For a first-timer, you’re doing well. Usually people maintain breathing but can’t control their heartbeat.

—Oh my, young miss hasn’t learned voice transmission yet.

At Jang Il’s voice transmission reaching her ear, Seohwa shook her head up and down slightly so as not to make sound. Then the voice transmission immediately continued.

—Do you know hand signals?

Nod.

—Then, you can answer with hand signals. Just remember two things. Maintain breathing. Keep composure. If you remember just those two things, I’ll erase the rest of your presence.

Erasing one’s own presence was one thing, but was it possible to erase someone else’s presence?

Over there. Confirm.

While harboring such doubts, Seohwa nodded in agreement and slightly turned her gaze to indicate the direction to proceed. Slightly to the right of the direction with notably abundant moss.

—Northeast. The direction where Anhwahyeon is. Is there a reason?

Leader. Why? Didn’t arrive. Confirm.

—You want to confirm why that Sect Leader hasn’t come here?

Agree.

—Not a bad direction. If there are variables, better to investigate them. Even if we escape, going toward Anhwahyeon would be better.

Seureureuk.

Agreeing with Seohwa’s opinion, Jang Il arrived beside Seohwa with a seeping movement and raised his internal energy. Internal energy pressing down heavily on the surroundings.

—Can you move while maintaining breathing?

Nod.

—Then let’s move immediately. We don’t have much time.

Hearing Jang Il’s words, Seohwa nodded slightly in agreement and slowly stepped forward to begin moving. The surrounding environment gradually receding.

‘……It’s definitely dark.’

The night forest is dark.

While that’s the common perception, whether a night forest is actually dark or not varies depending on the environment. How densely the trees grow, and how faint the moonlight is.

Tonight was a waning moon very close to full.

Though there were differences in degree, if someone with internal energy focused their vision, distinguishing objects wasn’t difficult. A martial artist’s eyes could amplify and receive even very small amounts of light.

And yet.

‘I can’t see anything properly.’

The light coming from above couldn’t advance, and even the moonlight captured in dew didn’t reach Seohwa’s eyes. Dark, damp, and unpleasant air.

Would it feel like this to enter a giant creature’s stomach?

It was as if the darkness was devouring the light. Watching with pale eyes a yokai passing by as if nothing could be seen, Seohwa suddenly turned her head at Jang Il tapping her shoulder.

—The road is lonely, so let’s talk. About anything.

Detection. Concern.

—Don’t worry so much—we won’t be detected easily. My stealth technique is the best in the martial world. It can’t be seen through at an ordinary level.

Colleague. Detected.

—That kid didn’t find me. I let him find me. If I’d hidden again, he wouldn’t have found even my shadow.

—……Well, that’s not the important part, is it? As long as we’re not detected. More than that.

Jang Il, who’d made an excuse-like sound, subtly changed the subject.

—What kind of person is your Sect Leader? Everyone seems to believe without doubt that once the Sect Leader comes, the incident will be resolved.

—Is it difficult to answer?

Negative.

It wasn’t that.

Seohwa, who waved her hand, fell into thought for a moment. When asked what kind of person Baek Riyun was, there was no clear answer that came out.

‘Sect Leader-nim is…….’

A person like the epitome of a righteous hero.

At first, she thought that. A person like the model of the righteous hero that the Orthodox Murim espouses. Someone who can’t stand to see injustice.

But over the past few months, Baek Riyun was somewhat different from that image.

‘An unpredictable person.’

For his disciples’ growth, he would do everything he could, but he wasn’t simply kind. He often played mischievous pranks and sometimes showed displeasure over trivial things.

She still remembered when Baek Risan bought honey candy from the market for everyone to eat, but bought red ginseng candy for Baek Riyun’s portion, and he sulked and didn’t speak for about half a day. Though he seemed perfect, he was quite clumsy in daily life. However.

‘A warm yet strict person.’

‘Someone reliable yet…… worrisome.’

Baek Riyun was too multifaceted to be expressed in one word. If she had to say.

Wouldn’t it be right to call him a person more human than anyone else in this world?

—Hmm.

Watching Seohwa fidgeting with her hands and making a troubled expression, Jang Il scratched the back of his neck and sent another voice transmission.

—It seems difficult to express with hand signals.

Agree.

—I see. Well, there’s not much you can say with hand signals. It’s also arrogant to define a person in one word.

It would be hard to hear from young miss.

Muttering inwardly, Jang Il shrugged his shoulders, and Seohwa thought for a moment before sending a hand signal.

Your. Precious. Person.

—Hmm? What’s that about? Are you saying I’m a precious person?

Negative.

—……Ah, asking if I also have a precious person?

Positive.

—Well.

A precious person.

Walking along while stroking his chin, Jang Il wore a bitter smile. Then came his answer.

—There is. No, there was.

There was.

Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

At Jang Il’s words implying there wasn’t one now, Seohwa, slightly flustered, sent hand signals. But Jang Il shook his head unconcerned.

—It’s fine. It’s long past. Even bringing it up doesn’t particularly hurt. Rather, now it’s a memory.

What kind. Person.

—……What kind of person they were.

After thinking for a moment, Jang Il continued.

—A person I should have served with utmost devotion. Yet to me, like a daughter.

—Born blessed in everything. Talent, appearance, and even status.

A position where she could grasp anything she wanted. A status where receiving everyone’s worship and living that way was natural.

Yet she wasn’t constrained by her status. She didn’t regard Jang Il who served her as a subordinate but as an older uncle, and she dealt with everyone with her genuine nature without pretense.

—An irrepressible tomboy who caused many accidents and gave me many headaches…… but a wise person.

Just, if there was one flaw in her.

Perhaps that she had too much compassion, to the point of prioritizing others over her own safety?

Condition. Confirm.

—It’s fine. It’s long past.

‘Getting senile in my old age.’

Wearing a bitter smile at Seohwa’s concern as she looked at him worriedly, Jang Il shook his head and looked ahead. The wall gradually approaching in his qi sense.

“You can speak now. I don’t sense yokai presence in this area.”

“……Is it safe?”

“Yes. You might not have noticed while concentrating on conversation, but you just passed by Baekgwi.”

“……What?”

“If you see the yokai-filled Baekgwi banquet with your bare eyes, even someone with excellent mental strength will lose composure at first. So I used a little trick.”

Jang Il, who had somehow pulled out a long ornamental sword from his bosom and twirled it in his hand, held the sword forward slightly. Unlike other places where distinguishing objects was faintly possible, the front where one couldn’t see even an inch ahead.

“A wall.”

“A wall?”

“Try entering. See if you can enter.”

At Jang Il’s words, Seohwa swallowed and brought her hand to the darkness filling ahead. Her hand seemed to be pushed in for a moment as she pushed, then bounced back out by some unknown repulsive force.

“This is…….”

“A formation. And it seems to be a type mixed with magic arts. This is getting troublesome.”

“Can’t you break it?”

“I don’t know formations in detail, but from the feeling, well, it doesn’t seem like the type that can be broken by force.”

Jang Il, who’d stabbed his sword deep into the darkness, watched the sword slowly being pushed back out and shook his head.

“From its appearance, it seems to block not only going out from inside but also entering from outside. Your Sect Leader probably couldn’t enter because he was blocked by this formation too.”

“Ah…….”

“In the end, to receive external assistance, we have no choice but to smash this formation. Do you have any idea how to break it?”

“Sect Leader-nim said that with most formations, breaking them from inside is more often the correct answer than breaking from outside.”

“Is there anyone in your group who knows formations well?”

“……That’s probably.”

“Thought so. Formation experts aren’t that common. Tsk.”

This is getting troublesome.

Watching Jang Il sigh, Seohwa bit her lip and looked around to find anything. But a landscape where nothing could be seen.

‘How…….’

Even wracking her brain, she couldn’t see a way to break through. Whether breaking the formation or escaping through the life gate, she needed some clue to even attempt it.

‘If only there were some small clue.’

Yokai. Or demon heads.

She didn’t know who the opponent was, but they were people who’d even installed a formation she’d never heard of to isolate the village. The possibility of the situation improving if they just held out was low.

Anxiously biting her nails, Seohwa placed her hand on the darkness blocking ahead. And.

‘What should I do…….’

At the moment Seohwa squeezed her eyes shut in the seemingly hopeless situation.

……Ureureung.

At the vibration faintly reaching her ear through her hand from beyond the darkness, Seohwa’s eyes flew open.

A sound she’d heard before.

Kwareureureung……!

That was.

The sound of her master’s Byeokroe striking down.