EP.73 A little scratched. (2)
A little scratched (2)
Gureunghwa’s day starts early in the morning.
As is usually the case with volcanoes, rather than rising at the same time as the sunrise.
I used to wake up earlier and wait for the sunrise.
Gu Ryeong-hwa changes her clothes neatly and goes outside cautiously, in case her master wakes up at the sound.
Normally, I go to the nearby forest to practice, or do housework like fetching water and cleaning.
Today I had to go out to the city for some work.
It was something that God himself had ordered.
Gu Ryeong-hwa set off, holding the silver coin given to her along with instructions to buy some ingredients for making medicine.
Usually, when dealing with medicinal herbs, if the buyer is naive or young, they tend to give bad medicine or do bad things like tricking the buyer.
If you wear the volcano’s plum blossom suit, it’s a different story.
If I had given more herbs, I would have given more. There was no way I would dare to do something foolish to the scholar with the plum blossom pattern in Hwaeumhyeon, which is under the Hwasan faction.
Maybe that’s what God was aiming for.
Gu Ryeong-hwa went to the herbal medicine store with the necessary herbs written down by the god and bought them.
‘…it smells too bitter.’
I came out, holding a box full of plants I had never heard of before in my arms.
As soon as I got back out onto the street, I saw tantalizing foods being sold here and there.
The sun is starting to rise, so it’s time to get ready for business.
The fragrant smell and delicious-looking food slowed my steps but I didn’t stop.
More importantly, the teacher was important.
“I have to go quickly…!”
Is the master awake?
Since your body has become much weaker, you have been sleeping more and more, so I was worried that you might be waking up soon.
By the time you arrive, the meal will probably be ready.
Nam-a, the grandson of Shin-ui who lived halfway with him, was a very uncomfortable existence for Gu-ryeong-hwa.
Aside from that, the kid was an amazing cook.
Although he was a person whose thoughts and lives were completely unknown, he was quick-witted and did housework very well, which seemed impressive.
‘…I should be able to do that too.’
I wish I could do a little more so I can be there to help you until you get better.
As that thought crossed my mind, my brisk walking steps stopped on their own.
-It won’t make it through this year.
The firm voice of the god continued to linger in Gu Ryeong-hwa’s ears.
Stop.
Gu Ryeong-hwa suddenly wiped away the tears flowing down her cheeks with her sleeve.
I didn’t want to worry my teacher because he would know like a ghost if I cried secretly behind his back and then came back to calm down.
Still, the crying did not stop easily.
Once the crying starts, it’s hard to stop.
That’s why Gu Ryeong-hwa hated crying.
I thought to myself as I desperately wiped away the tears that were streaming down my face.
‘… When the master passes away… .’
What will be left for me, left alone after my teacher leaves?
There will be nothing left.
Gu Ryeong-hwa was confident of that.
family?
‘no…’
Gu Ryeong-hwa cringed involuntarily at the creepy word that suddenly came to mind.
Gu Ryeong-hwa still remembered that dark night.
A vague yet precise memory still haunted Gu Ryeong-hwa.
The day the light collapsed.
My mother was crying, and my father was looking down with a cold expression.
And Guyangcheon, who was sitting still.
I couldn’t bear to forget Gu Ryeong-hwa.
That was my mother’s last day, and it was the day everything fell apart.
What about the volcano wave then?
Since he couldn’t even figure that out, Gu Ryeong-hwa just shook his head.
Whenever someone tried to touch him, he would often growl.
Moreover, Gu Linghua was a second-generation disciple who came late, so he could not get along with the third-generation disciples.
After the Master leaves, will the volcano be able to embrace itself?
Even so, would you be able to endure it?
Gu Ryeong-hwa wiped away the tears that continued to flow.
As I walked like that, I arrived at a place where I could see the cabin.
I had to quickly come to my senses and show that I was sane.
Because I thought that was the least I could do as a disciple.
As Gu Ryeong-hwa, who had calmed down, took a step toward the hut, the figure that had been visible from outside disappeared in an instant.
In an instant, as if in smoke.
Could that be the reason?
The men who had been quietly watching the chanting continued speaking with strange expressions.
“… Where did you go?”
“You didn’t get caught?”
“You got caught by a woman who barely looks like she’s of second-rate status? It would be more realistic to say that Maehwaseon disguised herself as that woman.”
“Just shut up and take a look, I think I found something.”
A small man wearing a black hood began to inspect the area where the Gulinghwa had disappeared.
There didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual, but something felt off.
‘Is this the truth?’
If that was the case, I wondered why they had set up a formation in such a deep mountain valley, so I reached out without thinking.
Boom-!
“…!”
The hand was thrown out with a dull sensation in the air.
It was a pretty rough backlash.
The man corrected himself inwardly, touching his numb hands.
‘It wasn’t a system of numbers or anything.’
It certainly seems like there’s a method involved to blur the line of sight, but in essence, this is simply a stunner.
It was a solid, tightly packed structure, as if a bet had been placed on it.
“…Is it the work of the plum blossom ship?”
It may not be the case, but the only unmanned ship capable of such a feat in Shaanxi at the moment is the Plum Ship.
Even the branch manager, who seems like a monster no matter how you look at him, who you wonder if he’s really human, wouldn’t be able to pull off something as spectacular as this.
“I think I found something…”
I wonder if there is anyone who is looking for it in here?
‘I need to go back to the branch for now.’
Not only can you not deal with the situation right away, but if you act recklessly, you will be noticed by the Volcano Clan.
“I’m going back.”
Behind the man’s question, the plump, beefy man let out a regretful sound.
“Just go back…?”
Kkukk! The man ground his teeth at the giant’s regretful sound.
That piglet must be acting like that because of the girl who just disappeared.
“What’s the problem again, Doseom?”
“… That girl just now. She was pretty, but can’t I just have a taste and leave, sir?”
The man’s eyebrows furrowed at Du-seom’s words.
“Please, you idiot, I told you not to mess around with anything. Is that what you call talking?”
Despite the man’s scolding, Doseom just licked his lips as if he was disappointed.
“… No, but it’s been so long since I’ve had a taste of it… I think it would be good for the colon to enjoy it too.”
“Stop talking nonsense, what kind of pleasure do you get from tasting a little kid who hasn’t even grown properly? Come to your senses, you little shit.”
“By the way, there’s a girl wearing a volcano-themed outfit. Wouldn’t the branch manager like it if we grabbed her and took her away?”
“He’s just a kid anyway, so why bother getting his energy up…! For fuck’s sake, just don’t touch the kid!”
“That’s right, you shouldn’t touch the child.”
“Okay, let’s just go back now… .”
The man opened his mouth to speak, then closed it.
At the same time, the actions of the men who had been loitering in front of the building all stopped.
Because I heard a voice I had never heard before in the gap of conversation.
The hesitation was brief.
The man immediately took out his sword and swung it in the direction from which the voice had come.
Shhh!
Even though I swung my sword with all my might, it just passed through the air.
I definitely heard a noise here…?
Knock knock knock!
“Krrrrr…!”
The sound of bones snapping was heard, along with the sound of two islands boiling with phlegm.
When the man turned his gaze, the two islands’ huge bodies were slowly collapsing.
He’s not as big as the branch manager, but he’s almost as big.
Kuung!
The giant fell so easily with a heavy sound.
You could tell he was dead by the strangely broken neck.
“You… what are you doing?”
The man asked.
A boy standing proudly behind the fallen islands comes into view.
Black hair with a very slight red tint and red eyes that look like they’re full of blood.
From the boy’s red uniform and upright posture, one could tell that he was not just any ordinary warrior.
The boy’s gaze turns to the man.
With quivering lips, the boy answered the man’s question.
“Do whatever you want with it, you punks.”
Sparks flew along with harsh insults.
******************
The once quiet forest suddenly became a mess.
Kkwaddeuk-!
A fiercely raging flame engulfs the surrounding area.
The man, Bae-chong, could not understand this ironic situation.
What the hell is that crazy monster talking about?
I just went out to explore the neighborhood, and this was something I didn’t expect.
I thought I was moving safely, avoiding the volcanic waves, but I never thought I’d meet this guy.
I glanced around and looked in the direction of the two corpses.
There are no visible signs of trauma other than the neck being twisted to death.
It was only for a moment, so that’s only natural.
‘There is no hesitation in killing.’
It was a temperament that a boy of that age could not possibly have.
This might be especially difficult for martial artists who primarily use their hands.
How could a boy who hasn’t even become a statutory officer do this?
‘furthermore.’
Whoosh! Whoosh!
“Fuck…!”
I barely managed to avoid the flames coming from all directions, using my sword to block them.
What on earth is this crazy swirling flame?
‘Chemical arts…? There probably isn’t a sect in Shaanxi that uses chemical arts…!’
The flames, which appeared hot and messy, had clear rules even in the gaps.
Bae-chong could see that all these flames were moving according to the caster’s intention.
Just by looking at it, you can tell that the boy has reached a point where he doesn’t dare do anything.
He was saying that he, who was above first class, couldn’t do anything to that young boy.
‘A monster in human skin?’
The moment when Bae-chong clenched his teeth.
“Kwaaaaah!”
One of the colleagues who came with him has his head grabbed by the boy’s hand.
The boy filled his hands with fire and burned them.
“… Huh… Huaah!”
The screams of those burning to death echoed throughout the forest, but the boy’s sharp eyes remained emotionless as before.
“I made a little mistake.”
The boy’s words.
Bae-chong felt goosebumps run through his body at the sound of that voice.
A bottomless pit where you can feel nothing.
It felt like I was in that deep place right now.
“I should have burned that piglet to death from the inside out, but it’s been a while since I’ve killed anyone, so I made a mistake.”
How can the sight of someone tapping their hand look so familiar?
Moreover, the appearance suited him.
Bae-chong asked, hiding his cold sweat.
“… What the hell are you doing?”
“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I told you to do whatever you wanted.”
“Do you know who we are…”
“Who could it be? They are the princess’s little rascals.”
“…!”
The boy’s answer instantly froze Bae-chong.
“How do you do that…”
The boy took a step toward Bae-chong and smiled.
The blazing flames were still hot, and the boy caught and killed another of his men as he approached.
“Kkaaaak!”
The screams rang out again.
“Let me ask you something too.”
Fireball.
To Bae-chong, the boy who was slowly approaching him looked more and more like a flame than a human.
The flame approaches slowly and asks.
“I didn’t know much about you guys, but I found it interesting.”
In Bae-chong’s eyes, it seemed as if the world was melting.
How can a person have such an appearance?
It’s different from the fear I felt when I saw the branch manager.
The fear was the same, but the level was different.
What on earth am I facing…?
Soon, the gathered flames catch on to one of Bae Gun’s arms.
“… Kkeueuup…!”
I couldn’t even scream as I watched my arm burn away, crushed by fear.
Just run backwards with hesitant feet.
The flames continued speaking as they looked at the cannon.
“Why you guys.”
Red pupils were shining brightly in the torn eyes.
“Do you have magic?”
The boy’s question and the thick smell of coal.
Bae-chong couldn’t say anything.
