Chapter 69 To carry me without even staggering. Not bad.
After running for quite some time, Bang Woo spoke to Yeo Il.
"There may be an unpleasant smell. Cover your nose, Miss."
As advised, she lifted her sleeve and pretended to cover her nose. Before long, the faint scent of blood reached her.
They must have arrived at the center of the disturbance, for the surrounding murmurs grew louder.
After setting Yeo Il down carefully, Bang Woo reassured her.
"There are many people. I will remain by your side, so do not worry—"
"Salmak!"
A scream-like shout cut him off.
"There is no mistake! Salmak—the nightmare has returned, I tell you! My eyes did not deceive me. I saw it clearly, I swear!"
What had he seen to be so certain it was Salmak among so many possible culprits?
Pushing through the crowd, Bang Woo questioned a man.
"What happened?"
"Ah, Daoist Bang Woo."
A man who appeared affiliated with the Murim Alliance greeted him in a weary tone.
"A murder has occurred. Fortunately, there is one witness, but this peddler keeps insisting—"
"It was Wolgeom Ilsal!"
The shout struck like thunder.
Wolgeom Ilsal.
At the familiar epithet, the area fell silent.
Again.
Again Wolgeom Ilsal.
Of course, there was no certainty the peddler spoke the truth, yet hearing the name twice within a day or two made it impossible to dismiss lightly.
Who was using the name Wolgeom Ilsal?
For what purpose had Cheon Mu-ryeong permitted it?
"Wolgeom Ilsal? That Wolgeom Ilsal of Salmak?"
As confusion spread, the peddler's voice turned toward Bang Woo.
"Y-you are Bang Woo of the Blue Dragon Four of the Spear Banner, are you not? The rising talent of Mount Hua who once faced Wolgeom Ilsal?"
"..."
"I-I saw it too. I did not imagine it—I saw Wolgeom Ilsal with these very eyes! The sword shone. It shone like the moon, just as the rumors say! And with that sword, he cut down people without hesitation…!"
"Good heavens! What Wolgeom Ilsal nonsense is this? Do you not know the Three Calamities disappeared long ago?"
The man restraining the peddler clicked his tongue and addressed Bang Woo.
"It seems he suffered great shock upon seeing the crime scene and has lost his senses somewhat. Such things happen."
Bang Woo said nothing.
Though she could not see his face, Yeo Il could imagine his expression.
"No, I tell you it was not nonsense! A woman with a horrifying scar across her face—"
"Regarding that woman."
A voice so restrained it felt carved from ice spoke nearby.
"Describe her in detail."
Bang Woo's breath faltered.
[First—she was tall.]
The witness's tone was thick with fear.
[Her eyes were wide… no, it was her gaze. The kind you see in those who have lost their reason. And across her face, from cheekbone to jaw, ran a long scar.]
It matched precisely the description of Yeo Il's appearance that had spread after she left Mount Hua.
[I—I do not know why she spared me. I thought I was done for! But after glancing at me, she simply vanished. Even now my heart pounds when I recall it!]
The peddler added one final detail.
[Not certain, but… the scabbard? It had old talismans plastered all over it. A most unsettling scabbard. Truly.]
Bang Woo asked no further and departed.
It was sudden.
Yeo Il belatedly attempted to open her eyes discreetly to confirm the corpse, but it had already been covered with cloth.
It would have been useful to see the wounds.
"…Forgive me, Miss. I was lost in thought."
Bang Woo murmured to Yeo Il, whom he had lifted once more into his arms.
"Namgung Hui-myeong's match has likely been suspended. He must be searching for you. I will take you to him."
By coincidence, it sounded to Yeo Il like: Once I set down this burden, I will investigate this matter further.
She recalled Bang Woo listening to the testimony.
As the description lengthened, his breathing had slowed at times, quickened at others.
One thing was certain—the name Wolgeom Ilsal still weighed heavily upon him even after four years.
Thus, instead of nodding obediently this time, she spoke first.
"Wolgeom Ilsal."
After a moment, a heavy reply came.
"…You know of Wolgeom Ilsal?"
"Assassin of Salmak."
There was a brief silence before he answered quietly.
"Yes. An assassin so infamous that even crying children fall silent at the name. To me—the enemy who slew my master, Baek Chung, the former Sect Leader of Mount Hua, and Senior Sister Seonhye."
"Truly Wolgeom?"
"…You ask whether the culprit was truly Wolgeom Ilsal?"
Nod.
"To be honest, I doubt it."
Unexpected.
"Doubt?"
Bang Woo paused in thought before speaking.
"The peddler's description was too conventional. It was testimony anyone familiar with Wolgeom Ilsal would nod to. For someone absent without trace for four years to appear unchanged strains belief."
A plausible argument—and entirely accurate.
The current Yeo Il was practically a different person from before.
"…Yet the fact that the peddler was spared."
If she was not mistaken, his pace had begun to slow.
"That alone clouds my judgment."
Leave a witness.
Thus let the world know our name.
One of Salmak's rules.
Through this rule, all of Salmak's movements became widely known in Jianghu. Knowing it did not make them stoppable.
"If only… I could confirm the back."
His tone grew strangely uncertain, unlike his usual steady composure.
"If I could return at once and question the suspicious points again…"
His voice was oddly serene—almost entranced. A murmur as though he had forgotten her presence.
Yeo Il considered opening her eyes to examine his expression but refrained.
At this point, she did not need to see.
"To be deceived by a woman for two years… why would it be strange to be deceived once more by a peddler?"
Bang Woo.
You have not fully escaped your inner demon.
No… perhaps I myself have become his new inner demon.
Bang Woo's sensitivity often placed him in danger.
Even Yeo Il, hardened and dry of heart, sometimes fell into heart demons.
Bang Woo must have endured far greater torment.
"If she truly has returned, and if she remembers me…"
Clap!
Yeo Il struck her palms sharply together and warned in a firm voice.
"Awaken."
His steps halted abruptly.
Had he regained himself?
His scattered breath steadied quickly—likely so.
But surely—
"…Yeonwu."
To utter that name before her.
In his right mind, he would never call her that.
There was no way her identity had been exposed.
Feigning innocence, Yeo Il tilted her head.
"Yeonwu?"
Bang Woo panted briefly, as though expelling a breath long restrained. A deep sigh followed.
"…No. No. Forgive me. I showed an unseemly side."
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