Blue Wave (5)
"There! Chase them!"
"Don't let them get away! Absolutely do not lose them!"
We were still fleeing through the night streets.
But we made sure to pace ourselves so they wouldn't lose sight of us.
To keep their focus on us and ensure they kept pursuing, I was still pretending to be a wounded woman, leaning against Lady Jeongyeon for support.
Of course, I wasn't putting any real weight on her, so she shouldn't have felt any burden moving like this.
The real discomfort was on my side.
When I first agreed—no, was forced—to disguise myself as a woman, I had felt utter despair.
"You want me to cross-dress?"
What kind of outrageous nonsense was that?
Just imagining it filled me with unbearable shame.
But once the operation began, I realized the disguise wasn't the main issue.
In truth, all I had done was apply the Flesh-Bone Technique and cover myself with the Pifung Cloak—there wasn't much need to act like a woman at all.
Lady Jeongyeon's acting alone was so convincing that I merely had to go along with it.
How that normally quiet, calm lady could immerse herself so realistically into such a role was beyond me.
But that wasn't the real problem.
The real discomfort came from something I hadn't anticipated.
Physical contact.
— Young Lord Seonu, if we want it to look real, you'll need to lean on me more.
— Wh-what? Oh… yes.
From the beginning, Lady Jeongyeon demanded that I stay pressed close to her, as if she were possessed by her role.
So we had been walking in full contact—my arm draped over her shoulder, her arm wrapped firmly around my waist.
To me, this was an ordeal nearly unbearable.
In two lifetimes and over thirty years as a man named Seonu Jin, shamefully, I had only ever once experienced such close contact with a woman.
And that was when I saved Lady Dang in this very life—not even my past one.
Even then, I had been tormented by countless distracting thoughts.
But at least back then, I had the desperate urgency of saving her life, leaving no room for my mind to wander.
This time, the enemies weren't such a direct threat, so perhaps with that spare mental room… my thoughts kept drifting.
How could women, even when trained martial artists, still have bodies so soft?
The gentle sensation kept intruding on my awareness, making concentration impossible.
I felt ashamed.
Lady Jeongyeon seemed entirely focused on wielding her sword without a thought beyond battle, while here I was—distracted like this.
Ahh, disappointing indeed, Seonu Jin.
You pitiful fool.
Forgive me, Lady Na. Kuhh…
"Haahhp!"
Jeongyeon unleashed her sword techniques without hesitation against the warrior blocking their path.
Once again, it was a form from the most aggressive style of the Evisceration Sword Art of the Emei Sect.
Cha-cha-cha-cha-chang!
"Uughk! Kuaaaah!"
Splatter!
The warrior before them collapsed in a spray of blood in an instant.
Amazing.
He appeared to be of the same rank as her—mid first-class martial arts. His inner strength might have even exceeded hers.
But Jeongyeon clearly felt it.
That her martial attainment, which had stagnated at mid first-class for so long, had suddenly advanced by at least a level in this very moment.
Until now, whenever she crossed swords with an opponent, her head would always be filled with distracting thoughts, leaving her hesitant.
She struggled to strike decisively, struggled to seize opportunities.
But now, it was completely different.
"No stray thoughts at all. My sword is moving on instinct alone."
It was astonishing.
Even more surprising was that the technique she was using so freely now—the Evisceration Sword Art—was one she had rarely practiced, dismissing it as overly offensive and lacking defense.
Her body felt as though it were floating.
Her pounding heartbeat rang in her ears. Swinging her sword without hesitation, without thoughts clouding her mind—was so exhilarating.
She didn't know whether this meant she had truly grown, or if it was a temporary phenomenon. But she did know why it was happening.
"Young Lord Seonu."
The firm, steel-like muscular frame pressed against hers, Seonu Jin's body, was what kept her heart racing without pause.
Truthfully, this wasn't a feeling born just now.
Though she had always prided herself on her self-control, from the very first time he had saved her, Jeongyeon's eyes had been drawn to him.
How could they not?
Her savior, with that handsome face, those pure, selfless eyes, the gentle voice and considerate demeanor…
Not a single aspect failed to unsettle a young woman's heart.
And to discover later that he was a renowned hero, possessing great martial prowess and righteous chivalry!
Her junior sister Jeongan might never agree, being a fanatical follower of Senior Brother Hwayoungbin. But to Jeongyeon's eyes, Seonu Jin was in no way inferior to that so-called ideal of the Emei Sect.
"No… perhaps he's even better."
Unlike Senior Brother Hwa, who always seemed weighed down by sorrow, Seonu Jin possessed a brightness, yet without frivolity—a far more captivating presence.
And now his body was pressed completely against hers.
That delightful thundering in her chest had blown away all the hesitation and distractions that had stifled her for so long. She almost wished time could stop right here.
But more Blood Cultists were catching up by the moment.
Even with her newfound growth, Jeongyeon was hard-pressed.
"That wench has skill!"
"Attack all at once!"
"Uhaahhp!"
Three enemies surrounded them and lunged together, wiping the flush of exhilaration from Jeongyeon's face, leaving it tense with worry.
But then, Seonu Jin's voice came to her through sound transmission.
— Lady! Deal only with the one on the far right! Ignore the others!
The right?
Since she was supporting him on her left, focusing on the enemy to the right was the most natural.
Without hesitation, Jeongyeon ignored the two blades on her left and focused on the single opponent to her right.
Perfect trust.
"Haaat!"
Evisceration Sword Art, Second Form—
Heaven King's Thunderclap.
Shooo!
Her sword split into three bolts of lightning, piercing toward the Blood Cultist.
It was a killing move—meeting his thrust not with defense, but stabbing in turn, aiming to pierce first.
"Th-this wench?!"
Startled, the Blood Cultist tried to block. With two comrades beside him, he thought there was no need to risk his life.
But the instant Jeongyeon's blade thrust out, two streaks of light shot forth from within Seonu Jin's Pifung Cloak.
Thrown at such close range, the speed of those hidden weapons was beyond the reaction of first-class warriors.
Pshhk!
"Guuhhk!"
Clang!
One man's throat was pierced through. Another barely managed to deflect the hidden weapon—saved purely by luck.
Cold sweat drenched him as he staggered back, chilled to the bone.
Meanwhile, his comrade who had locked blades with Jeongyeon couldn't withstand her thunderous strike, coughing blood as he collapsed.
"D-damn it!"
The surviving cultist retreated, planning to regroup and attack with allies. Alone, he couldn't handle this.
But just then, another streak of light shot from the Pifung Cloak.
Pshhk!
The cultist flinched and hurled himself aside, desperate to flee.
He didn't even stop to confirm the weapon.
But in the next moment, a hidden dart buried itself in the side of his neck mid-flight.
Instant death.
Thunk!
"Khkk!"
He never even understood what had happened. He had been sure he dodged out of range—
And then his consciousness vanished.
Jeongyeon, having dispatched her own foe, glanced toward Seonu Jin—
And froze in shock.
She had seen it.
The flying dagger Seonu Jin had thrown, change direction in midair to pursue the enemy.
Like witnessing the legendary Flying Sword Art itself.
"Th-that… that!"
Only when Seonu Jin reeled the flying dagger back did they realize a thin silver thread had been connected to it all along.
Jeongyeon, eyes shining with wonder, was about to ask him about it.
But at that moment, someone very different from before came charging in from behind her.
"You arrogant wenches!"
A vicious face, and from the blade in his hand blazed a crimson glow. He was a Peak master.
At the sight of his blade aura, fear flashed across Jeongyeon's face.
Though he seemed only at the initial stage of Peak Realm, even so, that made him the equal of her esteemed senior sister, the Sword Pillar Jeong In of the Emei Sect.
Just then, three streaks of light shot out again from Seonu Jin's Pifung Cloak.
Fwoosh-shhk!
Until now, he had never needed more than a single hidden weapon per target.
But this man was unfazed.
"Foolish!"
Cha-cha-chang!
He parried all three hidden weapons without losing any momentum and came pressing down.
As the crimson blade aura slashed down toward Jeongyeon with full force, Seonu Jin suddenly flared open his Pifung Cloak.
Whooosh!
The fourth son of the Zhangshan Demonic Generals, Hyo Woo-bu, grimaced as his vision was instantly blotted out by the spread cloak.
An irritating trick.
The safe choice would've been to step back and regain clear sight. But he found that far too bothersome.
"Hmph!"
With a snort, Hyo Woo-bu pressed forward, unleashing his full power.
"Huaahhp!"
Shraaash!
It was a devastating move, like watching red lightning bolts splitting into countless branches.
Jeongyeon stared blankly as the Pifung Cloak was shredded to tatters in an instant by the crimson lightning falling from the heavens.
Though it was an enemy's technique, it was so powerful—and beautiful—that she could not help but marvel.
But then she saw it.
Seonu Jin, already back in his true form, straightening from beside her and thrusting his sword forward.
That handsome side profile curved into a fierce smile, while before him unfurled radiant wings of sword light.
It looked like a scene out of a legend.
As those wings of light wrapped around the descending demonic master, the eyes of that once-overwhelming foe filled with panic.
The demonic master gritted his teeth and swung his blade wildly in all directions.
To Jeongyeon's eyes, he looked truly desperate.
And then—she couldn't see what happened next.
Shoo!
Or… maybe she did.
Just a single streak of light flashing—
And then, before she could even process it, Seonu Jin's sword was already buried through the man's heart.
Jeongyeon could only stare blankly.
She had no idea what had just happened.
It was as if the entire middle process—the thrust, the clash, the piercing—had been erased.
As though she alone had skipped through time.
Only when a sudden voice rang out did she realize what sword technique he had just performed.
"One Strike, One Kill? Are you a disciple of Mt. Jeomchang Sect?"
Startled, Jeongyeon turned her head.
A middle-aged man with a fierce face was watching Seonu Jin with a sly smile.
The overwhelming aura radiating from his body was chilling to behold.
And it wasn't just him—two men at his sides were clearly formidable experts as well.
Seonu Jin looked at him calmly, as if he had expected this all along, and replied evenly.
"Not an official disciple of Jeomchang Sect, but you could say something like that. And you—who are you? A demonic master of the Blood Cult?"
Seonu spoke with complete composure, unshaken.
That composure eased Jeongyeon's heart—just a little.
But the voice that rang in her ear by sound transmission the next moment was nothing like his calm exterior.
— He's far beyond me. Likely a master with at least eighty years of inner cultivation. We'll need to escape with all our strength. When I count to three, you must get on my back. Be ready. One, two…
At the same time—
Bisa-yeong and Jeongan had discovered the place they suspected the women were imprisoned.
Deep inside the Gogeom Sect compound, close to the main hall, unlike other buildings, this one was guarded by two sentries.
And it wasn't as if they were guarding against intruders from outside—they seemed to be preventing anyone from leaving within. It had to be the place.
Jeongan asked Bisa-yeong via sound transmission.
— Young Lord Bi, what now?
Bisa-yeong gauged their martial prowess carefully.
Both guards were likely mid-to-high first-class level—comparable to himself.
Jeongan too was about mid first-class. Normally, engaging them here in the heart of enemy territory would've been unwise.
Any disturbance could draw in countless foes.
But now, perhaps it was possible.
His friend Seonu Jin had drawn almost all the enemies away, leaving the surroundings eerily empty.
Bisa-yeong focused his senses on the area and whispered by transmission.
— My lady, listen carefully…
Moments later, Jeongan, heart pounding, circled the building to the guards' flank.
According to Bisa-yeong's plan, if she rushed at them bare-faced, he would handle the rest.
Terrifying as it was, and utterly baffling why she had to remove her mask, she wanted to try.
She chose to trust him.
Taking a deep breath so as not to alert the guards, she counted to three in her heart, clenched her teeth, and charged.
One, two, three!
Pow!
Though she came from the flank, the distance was enough that the guards spotted her at once.
"Huh?!"
"An intruder!"
Chang!
Chang!
Drawing their blades, they stared at her with strange expressions.
She didn't know why—but she had no time to ask.
Because in that instant, as their attention was locked on her, Bisa-yeong's blade flashed from behind, silent as lightning, and slashed their necks.
Splatter!
Two heads burst skyward in sprays of blood before crashing down.
The men likely never even realized they had died.
Jeongan, eyes wide at first, broke into a delighted smile.
"Kyaaah! Young Lord Bi, you're amazing! As expected of the Swift Flying Eagle!"
At her praise, Bisa-yeong coughed awkwardly and turned aside.
"Humph. It was just a sneak attack from behind. Come on, let's get inside."
But he couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
Then—
A chill stabbed the back of his neck. He hurled himself aside instantly.
Pow!
Shoo!
He was right.
A blade had sliced cleanly through the space he'd just vacated, sharp enough to freeze his heart.
"Hooh… your skills aren't much, but your sense and movement aren't bad."
The man spoke while his greedy eyes roved over Jeongan.
In that brief instant, he had slashed at Bisa-yeong with one hand, while the other grabbed Jeongan's neck and sealed her acupoint.
Bisa-yeong didn't yet know it, but this was the Zhangshan Demonic Generals' second brother—Demonic Blade Myeong Daesul.
By cruel chance, they had run into him as he came to fetch the women.
Sealed and immobilized, Jeongan quickly grasped the situation and cried out desperately to Bisa-yeong.
"Young Lord! Run! He's a master!"
And Bisa-yeong knew it too—perhaps even better. He had crossed blades with many Peak masters before.
This one was at least Peak initial stage, possibly higher.
But he clenched his teeth, leveled his blade, and growled:
"I will not abandon my lady."
Myeong Daesul sneered mockingly, releasing Jeongan's throat, and leveled his blade at Bisa-yeong.
A crimson blade aura stretched long from the edge.