Chapter 21 : It's Not Me
"Dinner is ready! Young Master!"
"Yes. Thank you."
Jin Sohyun mumbled as he ate the warm meal Siu had brought.
Dinner was a warm soup boiled with various vegetables and meat, and a dish made by stir-frying duck meat.
Normally, one would avoid lighting a fire during camping to avoid attracting the attention of thieves or bandits, but the escorts of the Song'o Escort Agency and Jin Gahyeon didn't seem to mind much.
"Your skill is quite outstanding. To think I'd eat such food while camping."
This was all thanks to the old master, Gongsun Su, who was purely admiring the stir-fried duck meat.
"We have specially brought along Master Chef Jang, who has been a chef at the family estate for a long time."
"Hehe... so that was it."
Leaving behind the two who were chatting affectionately while eating, Jin Sohyun, who had finished his dinner in an instant, wet his throat with the water he had received in a water bottle and looked back.
'They've gotten quite close.'
For people who were following for the sake of protection, they had gotten excessively close.
'Don't they eat?'
Jin Sohyun, who still thought that the people following him were from his family, scratched the back of his head and slowly got up.
"Oh? Young Master! Where are you going?"
"I have something to check for a moment."
'The Young Master is getting up on his own!? Is something big happening?'
Siu, who felt that something was unusual through her long experience, hurriedly finished her meal.
Jin Sohyun, who had gotten up from his seat, sat next to Jin Gahyeon and quietly asked Gongsun Su.
"Um... Elder Gongsun."
"What is it?"
"It might be nosy, but I was wondering if we should offer a meal to the people who have been following us for a while..."
Although he was the laziest person in Shanxi, as a scion of a prestigious family, he knew that if he were to employ people, he should at least feed them on time.
If the reason why they were quietly following without even eating properly was to protect him, shouldn't he at least provide them with a meal?
But Gongsun Su, who had heard Jin Sohyun's words, made a curious expression.
"The people who are following us? What do you mean by that?"
"Yes?"
Jin Sohyun pointed behind him and said.
"The people who have been following us since we left the family estate. There were about ten of them at first, but now there are over twenty."
"What is that..."
Gongsun Su put down the tableware he was holding.
'This brat felt a presence that I couldn't? And the presence of those who have been following us since we left the Jin Family?'
At first, Gongsun Su thought that Jin Sohyun was joking, but for that, his eyes as he looked at him were too pure.
'It's not a face that is lying. In that case... is someone really following us?'
But he had not heard such a thing from Jin Seomok.
What if Jin Seomok had secretly attached people because he didn't trust Gongsun Su, and hadn't told him in advance so as not to hurt Gongsun Su's pride?
'Whichever is the answer, I have to find out.'
Whatever the truth was, now that he knew they were being followed, he had to find out the truth.
"I will go and see, so stay here. Cheong, prepare for any unforeseen circumstances."
"Yes, grandfather!"
Gongsun Cheong nodded and raised his internal energy, circulating it throughout his body.
Gongsun Su, who was watching this, got up from his seat and naturally stretched.
"I'm going to take care of some business for a moment, so if anything happens, call me."
"Yes, Elder Gongsun."
As Gongsun Su walked in the direction Jin Sohyun had pointed with his hands behind his back, Siu, who had approached his side at some point, looked around.
"What's wrong, Young Master?"
"Hmm... I don't know."
"For now, let's go back to the carriage. As naturally as possible."
Jin Gahyeon, who had realized that the situation was unusual, returned to the carriage as naturally as possible.
Siu, who had returned to the carriage, anxiously gripped Jin Sohyun's sleeve.
"Nothing bad will happen, right?"
At the sight of the frightened Siu, Jin Gahyeon said in a calm voice as if it were no big deal.
"Don't worry. Elder Gongsun went to check. Elder Gongsun is very strong, so no one will be able to threaten us."
"Yes. You're right, Young Lady."
While Jin Gahyeon was comforting Siu, Jin Sohyun realized that the people who had been following him were not from his family.
'Then who are they?'
There were few people who could follow so secretly.
—Sohyun.
—Yes, Master Bi.
—Remember. When you go out into the martial world in the future, be careful of the person standing behind you.
—Why?
—Because he will stab you in the back.
—Why would he stab me in the back?
—The reason is not important. Just remember one thing. Those who approach you from behind without a presence have by no means approached you with goodwill. And if you give them your back... you will die.
Bieunggaek's teachings flashed through Jin Sohyun's mind.
'If I had known this would happen, should I have brought my flying swords?'
Since descending the mountain after finishing his training, Jin Sohyun had not even touched his flying swords.
In the first place, there had been no occasion to use his martial arts.
Moreover, since the escorts and Gongsun Su were accompanying this merchant trip, he had even less need for his flying swords.
"Tsk..."
Jin Sohyun, who felt a sense of regret at the absence of his flying swords, tapped the shoulder of Siu, who was gripping his sleeve tightly.
"Kyaak!"
"Oh my! You scared me!"
Jin Sohyun, who was also startled by Siu's sudden scream, frowned.
"You scared me!"
"I was more surprised because you suddenly touched me, Young Master!"
"More importantly, Siu."
"Yes?"
"Do you have any money?"
"Money?"
As Siu rummaged through her bosom and took out a small money pouch, Jin Sohyun naturally snatched it.
"...Why my money?"
"I'll just use it for a moment. I might need it."
"D-Don't tell me... you're not thinking of using it as ransom, are you? That much small change is only enough for the ransom of a servant like me!"
"It's not like that."
Jin Sohyun fiddled with the iron coins in the money pouch and recalled Kang Cheon's voice.
—Master Kang.
—Yes?
—What do I do if I don't have my flying swords?
—When you don't have your flying swords... well, there's no guarantee that such a situation won't arise. For example, when you're sleeping...
Having said this, Kang Cheon took out an iron coin from his money pouch and held it between his two fingers.
—The name of this martial art is Coin Throwing. It's one of the hidden weapon techniques of the Sichuan Tang Clan, the main sect of poison and hidden weapons.
A simple martial art that literally uses money as a hidden weapon.
Although hidden weapon techniques and the Flying Sword Technique were similar in that they basically involved throwing a weapon, Kang Cheon extremely disliked comparing his Flying Sword Technique to hidden weapon techniques.
—The difference between the hidden weapon techniques of the Tang Clan guys who just throw needles and this master's Flying Sword Technique is like heaven and earth! How dare you compare such a low-level hidden weapon technique to this master's Flying Sword Technique! So just learn this Coin Throwing roughly. After all, Coin Throwing is a martial art that's only good for use when you get into a fight at an inn!
Jin Sohyun, who had roughly learned Coin Throwing from the rampaging Kang Cheon, quickly packed Siu's money pouch in his bosom.
'I won't have to fight, but... let's just take it in case.'
Jin Sohyun firmly believed that he would never have to fight.
By his side were the peak master Gongsun Su and his disciple Gongsun Cheong, and although it was a new escort agency, they were accompanied by a skilled escort head and escorts.
'A novice martial artist like me won't have to step up.'
Having found peace of mind, Jin Sohyun crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
Waiting for Gongsun Su to return, saying it was no big deal.
***
Thud— Thud—
Gongsun Su, who had moved away from the group with his hands behind his back, was, contrary to his relaxed-looking face, thoroughly scanning the darkness with all his senses.
'I still don't feel anything... are they assassins who can avoid my senses? But that's impossible.'
That would mean that Jin Sohyun's senses surpassed Gongsun Su's.
'Did he have a dream?'
Did the lazy bum have a nightmare because he was seeing the world for the first time?
Gongsun Su, who had finished patrolling the area, turned his back and went back the way he had come.
"As expected. There's no way someone is following us..."
Gongsun Su snapped his neck back.
Screech—!
A sharp blade grazed his face.
If he had been even a little slower, the blade would have pierced Gongsun Su's cheek.
"...not!"
Gongsun Su quickly twisted his waist and kicked the side of the black-clad man who had appeared in front of him with his right foot.
Poong—!!
Gongsun Su, who had kicked the black-clad man at lightning speed, befitting his title of Thunder Roar Kick, retrieved his straightly extended right leg and said indifferently.
"Who are you?"
"..."
Naturally, there was no answer.
'To block my Lightning Flash Kick... he's no ordinary skill.'
Although it was a Lightning Flash Kick delivered without a supporting foot, so its power and speed were lacking, it was not a blow that a mere assassin could block.
Gongsun Su lightly bit his lower lip at the presence of the assassins he felt from all directions.
'To think that so many were by my side, and I didn't feel their presence at all... they are all first-rate assassins or higher.'
Not just any riffraff, but professional assassins.
Their appearance here was by no means a coincidence.
"Did you come to kill me? If so, you have made a mistake."
As Gongsun Su seriously raised his internal energy, the ground he was standing on vibrated, and the ground under his two feet caved in.
At the intense pressure emitted by the Thunder Roar Kick, the black-clad men all drew their swords at once.
—Prepare for the following attack. The Thunder Roar Kick is not an easy opponent.
In the ruthless martial world where the smell of blood was rampant, the meaning of an old man was different.
To have survived in the martial world for a long time meant that one was that much stronger.
"This old man will give you a special, expensive lesson."
Swish—!
Gongsun Su's figure disappeared in an instant.
Following that, Gongsun Su, who had appeared in front of the furthest black-clad man, stomped the ground with his left foot and at the same time thrust his right foot like a spear.
Bang—!!
The assassin who was hit squarely by his kick was sent flying at a tremendous speed and crashed into a tree.
Thud! Crack!
With the sound of breaking bones, the assassin who had collapsed under the tree could no longer get up.
His back was broken.
Gongsun Su's attack was not over.
As soon as he had sent the first assassin flying, he moved at lightning speed and attacked the assassins who had surrounded him one by one.
The black-clad man, who was watching his swift movements, narrowed his eyes.
'Is that the Flying Thunder Body of the Thunder Roar Kick?'
Gongsun Su's Flying Thunder Body, which he performed using his two legs that had been trained to be as hard as rock, was named so because its speed was like lightning.
Moreover, Gongsun Su's kicking technique, which was performed at a tremendous speed, was not a type of martial art that the assassins could dare to face.
Pababak—!!
The number of assassins falling to Gongsun Su's lightning-fast kicking technique was increasing, but the black-clad man did not waver.
He just stared at Gongsun Su with an indifferent gaze.
Meanwhile, Gongsun Su, who was pouring out his internal energy without reservation and felling the assassins, felt a strange sense of unease.
'They came to kill me, but they only prepared this much?'
Gongsun Su, whose pride was hurt, became even more enraged and raised his internal energy.
But at some point, Gongsun Su's movements came to a halt.
—There were about ten of them at first, but now there are over twenty.
The forgotten words of Jin Sohyun suddenly struck Gongsun Su's head.
'Come to think of it...'
The number of assassins facing him was a little over ten.
And come to think of it, something was strange.
An assassin revealing himself? There was no way first-rate assassins would make such a basic mistake.
Incomprehensible questions appeared one after another.
And before long, Gongsun Su's mouth fell open.
"Your target... is not me."
(End of Chapter)