Kang Sogun

Jungrang looked towards White Dragon Temple where Yeon Hwasim had gone, then back at the path leading down to the river.

The river, swollen by days of heavy rain, flowed fiercely.

Clouds were moving quickly across the sky.

The sun, which had made a brief appearance in the morning, was now hidden by the clouds. As the clouds thickened, darkness fell despite it being broad daylight.

Plink!

A raindrop fell on Jungrang's sword.

'This rain is relentless.'

He didn't know why it was raining so much this autumn. The raindrops hitting his sword increased one by one.

About an hour later, a group was seen running down the small path.

A young man wearing a rain cover led the way, followed by four others.

'Is that guy Gu Yangun?'

Jungrang glared at the young man in the lead. At a glance, he looked like someone who had been raised in luxury.

Jungrang thought it was fortunate that Yeon Hwasim had not chosen the marriage alliance.

He was adorned with expensive clothes and accessories from head to toe, but he looked frivolous somehow.

Gu Yangun saw Jungrang standing firm in the middle of the small path.

"Is this as far as you go?"

He was a rather skilled escort. Because of that guy, he had repeatedly missed Yeon Hwasim and come this far. But now, he had cornered them.

Gu Yangun lifted the rain cover on his head and acted leisurely.

"Hehe. Your loyalty to your master is impressive. You're going to try and stop us here?"

Jungrang silently aimed his sword.

"Get him!"

As soon as Gu Yangun's order fell, two escorts charged from both sides.

Clang!

The sound of swords clashing pierced through the sound of the rain.

Clang. Clang!

Sparks flew as swords clashed repeatedly.

The three men swung their swords without a word.

"He's quite skilled."

Gu Yangun muttered as he looked at Jungrang. Jungrang was not being pushed back even while facing two of his hand-picked escorts.

Gu Yangun felt that Jungrang was a waste. He was a man who could become his own escort if he could just get his hands on Yeon Hwasim.

Gu Yangun gestured with his eyes to the escorts remaining on his sides and ordered.

"Don't kill him!"

The two remaining escorts jumped into the fray.

The escorts surrounded Jungrang and formed a pincer formation. Their offense and defense were precise, as if they had been working together for a long time.

Clang.

A flash of sword light.

Gu Yangun's escorts silently unfolded their swords, and Jungrang, too, did not even let out a battle cry.

Only the sound of swords clashing was loud amidst the sound of the rain.

As time went on, Jungrang's strength began to wane.

The ground became muddy as it rained.

As Jungrang pulled his left foot back and deflected the swords of the escorts charging from the left and right, the mud gave way and he slipped.

Seeing an opening, the sword of the escort in front of him thrust towards his side.

At the same time, the swords from the left and right that had been deflected by Jungrang's sword returned and aimed to strike both his shoulders.

'Behind!'

Jungrang was more concerned about the sword aiming from behind than the attacks from the three visible sides.

There was no movement!

He instinctively knew that the time had come to give up some flesh.

Before meeting the Three Blade Sect Master, Yeon Seongyeol, Jungrang had wandered as a ronin.

Sacrifice the small to gain the large.

It was an experience he had learned with his body by jumping into all sorts of fights during his ronin days.

Jungrang twisted his waist to avoid the sword thrusting at his side and at the same time pushed away the sword falling from the left with his shoulder.

The sword that was about to pierce his side narrowly missed.

Jungrang held the sword in his right hand upside down and thrust it back with all his might.

"Ugh!"

A groan burst out.

The escort who had been approaching silently from behind could not avoid the sword that shot out from between Jungrang's side and was stabbed in the abdomen.

The escort quickly retreated but could not stand properly and collapsed.

'Kuh!'

At the same time, Jungrang also let out an inward groan.

The moment the sword struck his left shoulder, a searing pain erupted. Then, the pain of flesh being torn followed.

He had tried to push it away, but his opponent had twisted the sword, and it had struck deep enough to expose his shoulder bone.

The escorts, not caring about their colleague's injury, immediately charged at Jungrang's chest, side, and thigh.

The sword wind rushed in first. It was fortunate, if it could be called that, that it was not a fatal vital point because of Gu Yangun's order.

Jungrang rolled back and jumped over the escort he had stabbed in the abdomen.

Swish!

The three swords that had lost their target stabbed into the empty air.

'A tenacious bastard!'

The more Jungrang held on, the more Gu Yangun liked him.

As the escorts charged again, Jungrang turned and ran.

He wouldn't last long if he continued to fight in a situation where he couldn't use his left shoulder.

Jungrang hesitated for a moment at the fork in the road and then, contrary to his original plan, ran towards White Dragon Temple.

"Stop!"

As the escorts were about to give chase, Gu Yangun called them to a halt.

"Check his injuries."

Gu Yangun pointed at the fallen escort.

The escorts took care of their colleague.

"The wound is deep, but his life is not in danger."

"That's a relief. His sword was quite something. To break through the combined attack of the four of you. I didn't know the Three Blade Sect had a master of swordsmanship."

Gu Yangun looked at the back of Jungrang disappearing into the rain, then at the path leading down to the river.

'He used his head, but it's no use. He probably planned to fight for a bit, then slip away and lure us down the wrong path.'

Gu Yangun had seen Jungrang hesitate for a moment at the fork in the road, looking at the river.

Jungrang was the bait, and Yeon Hwasim had clearly gone down towards the river.

"This way."

One of the escorts said.

"This path leads to the river. The river is swollen and cannot be crossed."

"That's what Yeon Hwasim was aiming for. She thought we wouldn't follow because it seems impossible. There must be a plank road."

Gu Yangun insisted on his own judgment.

Jungrang had initially thought of fleeing towards the river, the opposite direction of where Yeon Hwasim had gone, but had given up.

Seeing the river that seemed ready to overflow at any moment, he thought that even if he acted as a lure, the enemy would not follow.

If the enemy wasn't fooled, it was better to follow Yeon Hwasim and rely on the advantage of the terrain to block the enemy.

Jungrang's brief hesitation had an unexpected result. Gu Yangun was overconfident in his own intelligence.

"In any case, leave a mark in that direction. Even if he went that way, we can send the Heaven's Mandate Brigade to follow his tracks."

Gu Yangun went down the path towards the river.

The escort left a mark towards White Dragon Temple and followed him.

***

As the mountain gate of White Dragon Temple came into view through the rain, Yeon Hwasim's heart pounded.

It wasn't a long distance from Wuhan to Yueyang.

The key was to avoid the surveillance of the Heavenly Martial Faction, which was spread everywhere. Although she was caught at the last minute, she had made it to White Dragon Temple one way or another.

The mountain gate of White Dragon Temple was deserted.

With the continuous rain, the footsteps of incense-offering visitors had also ceased.

Yeon Hwasim ran towards the temple, but halfway there, she turned towards the hill overlooking Dongting Lake.

'It's the same as back then.'

A cloudy sky. On-and-off rain and a vast lake.

A year ago, her maternal uncle, the last of her mother's family, had passed away. She had come to Yueyang for a visit while attending the funeral on behalf of her father.

She had visited White Dragon Temple and seen him on the hill by the lake.

At that time, he was sitting in the pavilion, tilting his wine cup. The Xinjiang Samrang had come, and they had died in an instant.

'Did he see me?'

When he looked her way, she had quickly hidden behind a willow tree, but she thought their eyes had met for a moment.

Even after coming down the hill, she couldn't stop thinking about him. She was scared because she had witnessed him killing people, but she was also curious.

When Yeon Hwasim reached White Dragon Temple, the pouring rain stopped, and the sun came out as if nothing had happened.

'It's unfamiliar!'

Even though it had only been a year, the memory and the scene before her eyes were slightly different.

She had thought it was a gentle slope, but it was a steep cliff, and the willow tree was not as thick as she had thought.

Yeon Hwasim hid her body behind the willow tree and looked down at an angle.

At the end of Yeon Hwasim's earnest gaze was the pavilion.

There was no one in the pavilion.

"Hoo."

The excitement disappeared, and despair washed over her.

As hope vanished, self-reproach for her foolishness surged, and her legs gave out.

Yeon Hwasim leaned against the willow tree.

Thinking about it, it was a really foolish thing to do.

To risk danger to find someone she had only seen once in passing.

Yeon Hwasim had intended to ask him for a favor. There was no guarantee that he would listen.

She had imagined it all by herself, nurtured that imagination into hope, and came all this way with the expectation that there might be a possibility.

'You fool...'

As she was reproaching herself, she suddenly came to her senses.

Jungrang would still be fighting the enemy. As a price for her reckless hope, she and Jungrang were in danger.

She felt sorry for Jungrang.

She had left with the determination to die, but she didn't want to leave this world with Jungrang's life on her conscience as well.

'I have to check.'

Yeon Hwasim ran towards the back of White Dragon Temple with a sliver of hope.

As she went up the sloping path, there was a small thatched hut on a hill with a clear view of the lake.

"Is anyone there?"

Yeon Hwasim approached and called out a few times before pushing the door of the thatched hut.

Creak.

The door opened, and a dark interior came into view.

The thatched hut was empty. It was neatly organized, but it didn't feel like anyone was living there.

"..."

Once again drained of energy, Yeon Hwasim stood there blankly for a moment, then, as if a thought occurred to her, she turned and ran back towards White Dragon Temple.

In front of the Hall of Supreme Bliss, there was a young monk selling incense to visitors. Since there were no visitors, he was lying on the table, bored, fiddling with his prayer beads.

When Yeon Hwasim appeared, the young monk jumped up and stared at her.

"Monk, do you know the person who lived in the thatched hut on the hill behind the temple?"

The young monk just blinked his eyes and couldn't take his eyes off Yeon Hwasim's face.

"Monk?"

Yeon Hwasim asked again.

A shy expression was evident on the young monk's face.

"His name is Kang Sogun?"

The young monk stammered as he opened his mouth.

"He left a long time ago."

Hope surged in Yeon Hwasim again. There was still someone who knew him.

"Where did he go?"

The young monk pointed to the lake.

"He went to the lake? When?"

When she asked hastily, the young monk just shook his head.

Yeon Hwasim fell into despair again. On the other hand, a sense of defiance also rose.

'No. I can't give up.'

She was thinking of asking the head monk when she heard the sound of swords clashing from the direction of the mountain gate.

Clang! Clang!

Her heart sank.

The enemy had clearly followed her.

Yeon Hwasim bit her lip, not knowing what to do, and then ran towards the mountain gate.

Kang Sogun's whereabouts were important, but Jungrang's safety was also important.

A fierce battle was taking place in front of the mountain gate.

Jungrang was fighting four enemies. Around him, about twenty warriors were surrounding them.

"Stop!"

Yeon Hwasim shouted as she crossed the mountain gate.

The enemies who were fighting Jungrang took a step back.

Jungrang was not in a good condition. The blood flowing from his left shoulder had soaked his lower body.

Yeon Hwasim's heart sank.

Jungrang looked at Yeon Hwasim while being wary of the enemy. His face was very tired.

Tears welled up in Yeon Hwasim's eyes.

Jungrang had taken care of her like a real older brother.

Yeon Hwasim hurriedly approached, sprinkled wound medicine on Jungrang's shoulder, and tied it with a cloth. Fortunately, there were no other injuries.

When Jungrang's treatment was finished, Bang Geon stepped forward.

"I am Bang Geon, the first team leader of the Heavenly Martial Faction's Heaven's Mandate Brigade. I have come to escort Miss Yeon."

Bang Geon cupped his fists in a salute and observed Yeon Hwasim.

He had seen her briefly in her male disguise, but seeing her up close like this, she was truly a beauty.

'They said she was the number one beauty of Hubei, and she really is a peerless beauty.'

Yeon Hwasim glared at Bang Geon.

"Why is the Heavenly Martial Faction chasing me?"

"I believe the Third Young Master will answer that question."

"Where is your Third Young Master?"

Bang Geon was bewildered.

He had followed the mark, met Jungrang, and been chased and chased all the way here.

Bang Geon didn't know that Gu Yangun had gone down towards the river.

"You will be able to meet him if you follow us."

Yeon Hwasim looked at Bang Geon and the warriors. The warriors all had sharp, gleaming eyes.

Yeon Hwasim saw the word "Heaven's Mandate" written on the warriors' chests.

'They say the Heaven's Mandate Brigade is undefeated in a hundred battles, and their spirit is truly magnificent.'

(End of Chapter)