Extra 5 |
“A trip?”
At Woon-seong’s words, Ah-young’s eyes widened as she asked.
“That’s right. She’s ten years old, so I have to give her a view of the world, but I think it’s too dangerous to send her alone…”
Woon-seong explained that he wanted to go with her and Ah-young chuckled.
She then lightly nodded her head.
Ten years old.
That was pretty young, but at the same time, Yu-seol was no longer young enough to be confined within the headquarters of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
There had never been another time when the Heavenly Demon had so much influence, since the three nearby provinces were the domain of the Cult of Heavenly Demon.
Even if she traveled outside of the Heavenly Mountains and Xinjiang, there would be no dangers like before.
There was a need to see the world outside of the Heavenly Mountains and Xinjiang at least once.
“I’ll let you go.”
Ah-young wanted to go all together, but couldn’t.
The Cult couldn’t suddenly be missing both their Cult Leader and Divine Lady.
“Thank you.”
Knowing the hard work to come, Woon-seong expressed his sincere gratitude while Ah-young grasped Woon-seong’s hand.
“Seol-ah’s skills are excellent, but she’s still young.”
“I know.”
“That’s why, please… There’s no need to show her the whole wide world. However, I want her to know that the Cult is not the entire world.”
Although she allowed it, Ah-young was still Yu-seol’s parent. Therefore, Ah-young continued to worry tirelessly; Woon-seong silently listened to her.
After Ah-young’s nagging ended, Woon-seong nodded seriously.
“I will do that.”
And so, Woon-seong and Yu-seol’s trip to Zhongyuan was decided.
2.
“Woahhhh.”
Yu-seol’s mood on the trip with her father seemed to be good.
No.
It was not just good, she was very happy. Unable to keep it hidden, her lips kept twitching up into a smile and she kept humming an unknown tune.
Seeing such a happy Yu-seol, Woon-seong let out a soft smile.
She was now ten years old.
She was still young, but it was easy to tell whether she had inherited Ah-young’s disposition or his own.
Ah-young’s, obviously.
Such a cheerful personality was exactly like Ah-young’s in childhood.
“Happy?”
When Woon-seong asked, Yu-seol’s eyes widened and she nodded her head.
“Yes!” She quickly added, “It’s the first time I’m going out of the Cult with my father!”
Yu-seol responded with a cheerful voice and Woon-seong responded with a small chuckle, but then turned stern.
“You know what to be careful about, right?”
“Yes.”
“Even so, I will say it once more. This is a journey to explore the world. It is not an inspection by the Cult Leader and Young Lady, but a trip by ordinary martial artists.”
“Yes. I won’t go anywhere and tell people that my father is the Leader of the Cult!”
When she clenched her small fists, Woon-seong nodded and reached out with his hand.
He lightly stroked Yu-seol’s head. “Yeah. That’s it.”
It was then.
“Leader, we have arrived.”
A voice came from outside. The litter was set on the ground with a slight shake and the door was opened.
Beyond that, the Flowers of the Dark Night appeared.
“We have reached the bottom of the Heavenly Mountains.”
The litter would only be used until here. From here on, they would have to walk on their own feet.
“Wooh!”
With a cute cheer, Yu-seol got out of the litter first, followed by Woon-seong.
When he turned his head, he saw the Flowers of the Dark Night waiting by the opened door with polite expressions.
“You can head back now.”
“Understood.”
As soon as his words fell, the Dark Flowers drabbed the litter and disappeared.
If someone not so skilled saw this, they would think that a whole palanquin and several people had suddenly disappeared into thin air.
However, there was one who did not leave.
It was Baek Woon-ji, now the leader of the Flowers of the Dark Night.
“You can head back too.”
“But…”
“Do you think that I cannot protect us at my level?”
When Woon-seong said this, Baek Woon-ji hesitated for a moment before quietly shaking her head.
“Oh, no. I will head back now.”
She then kneeled lightly in an apology and disappeared.
Woon-seong looked at the spot where Baek Woon-ji had been for a moment.
To some extent, he knew about Baek Woon-ji’s feelings.
Of course, that did not mean that Baek Woon-ji had followed him on this trip and tried to cross the line. She merely wished to stay by his side a little more.
Even so, knowing or not, Woon-seong could not accept Baek Woon-ji’s feelings.
There were two reasons.
The first was his position as Leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Although he had no regrets about the position of Cult Leader, his wife was someone slightly oblivious to the orthodoxy of the Cult, and at the same time, was the daughter of his master.
There was a need to be respectful to his master’s memory.
And second…
In fact, the second reason was more important than the first.
I’m not the kind of person who can love two women at once.
It was not that he didn’t have feelings, but that he was not good at expressing his emotions. That was why he was apologetic towards Ah-young.
But in such a situation, what if there was one more person to take care of?
I feel sorry not only for Ah-young, but also for Baek Woon-ji.
All Woon-seong could do was hope that as time passed, Baek Woon-ji would let go of her feelings and find someone else.
As Baek Woon-ji left, Woon-seong turned his gaze away.
He stretched his hand out to Yu-seol, who was watching the birds on the mountain fly to and fro off to the side.
“Stand up.”
“Yes, Father!”
As Woon-seong called, Yu-seol ran to him with a cheerful expression.
She then grabbed Woon-seong’s hand with her little one.
“Let’s go.”
Thus, the two’s journey in Murim began.
*
In fact, walking to Zhongyuan was not easy for a 10-year-old child.
It was a difficult journey.
Even more so for Yu-seol, who had grown up as the princess of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
However, Yu-seol didn’t show any fatigue at all. Rather, she seemed to enjoy walking around while looking at the scenery.
Perhaps it was because it was the first time she had exited the Heavenly Mountains. It seemed that she was curious about everything that the ordinary people, people not of the Demonic Cult, did.
“Wow.”
How far had they walked?
Now walking through a market square, Yu-seol stopped in front of a small stall selling yakitori.
Yu-seol stopped at the stall and stared at the sizzling chicken skewers on the fire, then at Woon-seong.
She had never seen anything like that.
When Woon-seong looked to see why they had stopped, he could tell that she really wanted to try one.
Since his daughter was cute, Woon-seong took some coins from his pockets and bought a skewer.
He then handed it to Yu-seol.
“Thank you!”
Yu-seol did not forget to thank Woon-seong in an excited voice and began to eat the chicken skewers.
“Hm hm.”
Although it was just yakitori, she had a delighted expression, as if she had obtained everything in the world.
All of this was a new experience for Yu-seol, who had spent most of her life in the depths of the Demonic Cult.
Thus, Woon-seong wanted to let Yu-seol have as many kinds of experiences as possible.
If possible, it would be better if they were about what you needed to do in Murim though.
It was then.
Yu-seol, who had been walking with a chicken skewer in one hand, stopped abruptly.
“Huh?”
Yu-seol’s gaze was fixed to the side of the road and Woon-seong titled his head to follow it.
At the side of the road…
It was two siblings who seemed to be about the same age as Yu-seol.
They were still young, but not dressed properly. Of the two, one appeared to be the older sibling, as she held the younger in her arms, They had quite the wretched appearance, as if they hadn’t eaten or washed properly for several days.
Woon-seong immediately understood.
They’re orphans.
He had seen orphans several times while traveling through Murim, but it was Yu-seol’s first time seeing orphans.
And so,
“Father.”
Yu-seol called for Woon-seong in a slightly subdued tone. She then glanced at the yakitori in her hand and asked, “Can I give this to them?”
It was a question birthed from compassion.
Even so, had Yu-seol been five years older, Woon-seong would not have allowed it.
Today though, he nodded.
“If you would like to.”
Yu-seol was too young to understand that it was better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish.
When Woon-seong granted her permission, Yu-seol smiled brightly and ran and handed over her chicken skewer to the children.
Not only that, she also took off the fur hat from her head.
As winter approached, it seemed that she felt pity for their thin clothes.
When Yu-seol returned, there was no sign that she felt regret for not finishing the yakitori.
And…
Aside from Woon-seong and Yu-seol, there was a gaze that landed on the two children who had been given chicken skewers.
Wait. Not one, but many.
Seven or so?
Woon-seong quickly identified their location and numbers, but did not immediately act.
Maybe it will be a good experience for Seol-ah.
Instead, he glanced at the naive Yu-seol, who was smiling brightly, with a meaningful expression.
*
These eyes were not so secretive. Instead, they stubbornly followed.
Judging from their gait and ability to hide their presence, Woon-seong deduced that they were not people who had trained in martial arts.
They weren’t even healthy men either, so rather than assholes…
They’re beggars from the neighborhood.
It was easy to deduce their purpose.
The appearance of an outsider, who had never been seen before. People who were dressed in fine clothing.
There was only one thing they could do for the local beggars.
As if to lure them in, Woon-seong deliberately moved towards a darker place.
Yu-seol, who knew nothing, followed Woon-seong into the distance.
As they exited the markets, narrow alleys with less people were revealed.
However, the people did not emerge immediately because there were still bystanders around.
So Woon-seong went into an even narrower alley, as the beggars likely wanted.
And finally.
Once Woon-seong entered a dead-end alley, the men, who did not even realize they had been lured, appeared.
They called out to Woon-seong and Yu-seol with beady eyes, as if they had been waiting.
“Oh my!”
“Rich man passing by there, stop for a moment.”
