Chapter 75
Chapter 75
"KkyuuuOOOOooo!"”
“Don’t make noise, you idiot!”
I shoved Ju-ryeong into my sleeve and circulated Inner Energy around my feet. The moment I jumped over the wall, a Wanderer shouted.
“There! It’s there!”
“Don’t miss it! It’s worth a thousand silver! That way! Catch it!”
Judging by the voices, there were at least two Wanderers chasing me. The speed at which they were following me was unusual; they didn’t seem like third-rate Wanderers.
Can I handle these Wanderers?
My heart pounded with anxiety. I frantically rummaged through my sleeve, pulling out the first Poison I could grab.
There was no time to check what kind of Poison it was. I hurriedly opened the pouch and released the Poison powder, and the man who had been right behind me coughed and covered his mouth.
“Kehk, cough! It’s Poison!”
“Good thing I brought an Antidote pill.”
The Wanderers weren’t greatly alarmed by the thick Poison smoke. Instead, they swung their swords at me.
I tried to dodge, but I couldn’t see the trajectory of the sword. I felt my thigh burning as the hem of my pants was cut away.
Gritting my teeth, I took advantage of the obscured vision and crawled into the bushes on the mountain.
Fear froze the blood in my veins.
It wasn’t for nothing that Dang Jung had worried about my lack of real combat experience.
Real combat was completely different from sparring. Regardless of the amount of Inner Energy, my body wouldn’t move from the dense murderous intent.
I trembled and tried to move my body. The Wanderers who had taken the Antidote pill were already chasing after me.
“Where did the thousand silver go?”
Footsteps mixed with the sound of the grass rustling in the wind.
My body tensed up from the tension. I slowly took a deep breath and put my hand into my sleeve. The cool sensation of the Flying Dagger snapped me awake.
I only had one chance. I had to kill the enemy by piercing his neck quickly and accurately to survive.
Holding my breath and waiting for an opening, I threw the Flying Dagger at the closest man.
Clang!
“You damn bitch…!”
The man instinctively raised his sword and blocked the Flying Dagger, grinding his teeth. The Flying Dagger only grazed his arm and bounced off without causing a deep wound.
Damn it.
“Is it there?”
The man, having confirmed my location, dripped blood and began to rush at me like a demon.
My heart pounded like crazy as the distance narrowed with every blink.
Poison. I have to use Poison.
I frantically rummaged through my sleeve, but the man moved faster.
“Trying to play tricks.”
The man leaped forward and struck my stomach with his fist. My vision went white with pain.
I hurriedly stumbled backward, trying to get up, but my body wouldn’t listen.
I tasted blood in my throat. I must have suffered Internal Injuries.
“Why don’t you just stay still and not be a nuisance? You don’t seem to have any real combat experience.”
The man squatted down in front of me, grinning, and met my gaze.
“Does a girl who uses Poison skill have Poison flowing through her body too? I wonder.”
“Don’t touch her carelessly. Even if she was expelled, she’s still of Tang Clan blood. Those crazy bastards will come for revenge with three generations if a family member is harmed.”
“Is that so? What a shame.”
The man licked his lips and grabbed my face with his dirty hands.
I bit down hard on the soft flesh inside my mouth. I couldn’t just sit still and take it.
He chuckled as my breathing became ragged.
“You’ve got a fierce look in your eyes. Feeling wronged?”
Yes. I feel wronged, you bastard.
At that moment, Ju-ryeong leaped out of my sleeve and clawed at the man’s eyes with his front paws.
“Aaaagh!”
The man screamed, covering his eyes.
Crunch!
I also bit down on the man’s fingers with all my strength. I strained my jaw until the flesh tore and the bones broke. At the same time, I twisted the snake’s head on my earring.
Chiik!
The sound of skin burning filled the air as Poison smoke was sprayed on the man’s face.
“Uwaaagh! You crazy bitch!”
Ju-ryeong, who had come running, climbed onto my shoulder as I spat out the severed finger.
I gritted my teeth and started running in the opposite direction.
My stomach felt like it was about to burst, as if my intestines had been shaken. I kept gagging.
I glanced back and saw the shadows of the Wanderers in the hazy Poison smoke, not knowing what to do.
“What? More Poison? Cough! Cough! Anyone have an Antidote pill?”
“We used them all up earlier. Gang-il. Are you okay…? This bastard’s finger is cut off?”
“Get away! My skin is melting!”
The Wanderers seemed to be wavering between chasing me and detoxifying themselves first.
The cut on my thigh burned like fire. I lifted my Long robe and saw red blood bubbling up.
I gritted my teeth and tore off a piece of my sleeve, wrapping it around my thigh. I had a feeling that my muscles would be damaged if I did this, but there was no other way.
I had to move to escape their grasp.
I squeezed my eyes shut and plunged into the forest.
Four days had passed.
My stamina was extremely weakened as I wandered through the forest without properly eating or drinking.
It had been a long time since I lost the food pouch that Dang Juhee had packed for me.
“Kiee?”
Ju-ryeong, who had brought back the Poison pouch I had dropped, cried softly as if asking if I was okay.
My exhausted body wouldn’t move as I wanted it to. My mind was hazy, as if fog had settled in my head.
I staggered and mechanically moved my feet. I couldn’t feel anything in my thigh, where the wound had burst open several times. It seemed like the nerves were damaged.
I rubbed my dry eyes and looked around. I saw a small hut in the distance.
Could there be people? Could I ask for help?
I felt like grabbing anyone and begging them to help me.
If I grabbed them and begged, maybe at least one person would…
There’s no way they’d help.
I bit my lip and tried to pull myself together, fighting off the weakening feeling.
Unless someone had a hobby of making their life difficult, who would help a Martial Artist covered in blood and being chased?
Even if there was someone, I shouldn’t trust them. They would be helping with an ulterior motive.
So I couldn’t trust anyone. The only person I could trust was myself.
I slapped my cheeks and moved forward.
One step. Another step.
The hut I limped towards seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, with its roof collapsed.
It was doubtful that it could even provide shelter from the dew for one night, but I couldn’t afford to be picky.
Neither painkillers nor Wound Remedy worked. I had to hide in a safe place, even if only for a little while, to eat the Elixir Pill and absorb Spiritual energy.
I looked back and saw the trail of my leg dragging through the bushes.
I hadn’t been able to erase the trail from the middle, so a skilled hunter would find me quickly.
Even if I hid in the hut, I would only be able to hold out for a short time.
I stared silently at Ju-ryeong. Ju-ryeong’s black fur, which used to be glossy, was now covered in dust.
You’re suffering because you met the wrong owner.
I smiled bitterly and stroked Ju-ryeong’s head.
A spirit beast that understands human words, a precious black sable. If he stayed with me, Ju-ryeong wouldn’t be in good shape either.
“Ju-ryeong. Go now.”
“Kkuung.”
“I can’t be with you anymore. Run far away.”
Ju-ryeong blinked his big eyes and bit my sleeve as if he didn’t want to.
“Go quickly. Now!”
Ju-ryeong staggered back as I shouted and pushed him away. I watched Ju-ryeong’s retreating figure and curled up.
He’s a smart one, so he’ll live well wherever he goes. This was better for Ju-ryeong and for me.
The half-collapsed hut smelled rotten. But I didn’t have the luxury of being picky about where to hide.
I crawled into the narrow hut like a wounded animal digging into a burrow.
My skin was scraped and pricked by the rough grass and gravel, but my body, which was half-numb, didn’t feel the pain.
With trembling hands, I took out the Elixir Pill from my chest. But my hand, which didn’t even have the strength to bring it to my mouth, dropped the Elixir Pill.
The Elixir Pill rolled across the floor and became covered in dirt. I desperately reached out and put the Elixir Pill in my mouth.
I crunched on the dirt in my mouth, but I swallowed it all. I had to eat it. Even if I died from eating it, I had to eat it.
I shed tears and sat cross-legged. No matter how much I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, my vision remained blurry.
But even crying was a luxury. If I had any energy left to sit down and cry, I had to pour it all into circulating Qi.
Dang Jung wasn’t here to guide my Qi, and Deokju wasn’t here to be my Guardian.
The moment I started circulating Qi, biting my lip, the Qi of the Elixir Pill that had gone down my throat raged like crazy.
I felt that something was wrong.
The Qi of the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill, which I hadn’t completely digested, and the Qi of the new Elixir Pill were colliding, and the flow of my Inner Energy was becoming a mess.
Move!
Move, damn it!
I gritted my teeth and tried to control the flow.
My fingernails dug into my skin, and drops of blood dripped down.
But instead of going to my Dantian, the Spiritual energy touched my body’s meridians and bounced around in all directions.
An uncontrollable Qi was trying to swallow me.
I felt a burning pain all over my body. It was like being swept away in a stormy sea.
Thud!
Thud!
Every time the uncontrolled Spiritual energy rampaged through my body, my meridians twisted and scattered my Inner Energy.
I felt like I was going to throw up, but then a hot lump of blood came up my throat. It felt like my insides were twisted.
My body, unable to withstand the continuous shock, collapsed.
I tried to get up, scraping the dirt floor, but I couldn’t muster any strength. My consciousness gradually faded.
I could feel it instinctively.
Ah, this is the end.
The death I had tried so hard to avoid was now on top of me, strangling me.
A groan that was neither a laugh nor a cry escaped my lips.
Maybe everything was predestined from the beginning.
I had been trying to act like everything was okay, but I was an outsider.
The role this world had given me was an extra who wasn’t even mentioned in a single line of the novel.
If fate wouldn’t change, I wanted to be freed from the pain that was tearing my body apart.
At the moment when I was about to give up everything, I heard a sharp cry.
“Kieek! Kie!”
Ju-ryeong was roaring as if asking what I was doing.
Why did that idiot come back?
I sobbed. I was upset that Ju-ryeong might get hurt. At the same time, I was glad that Ju-ryeong had come back.
Even though I had been kicked out of the family, even though I was alone, dying alone in a place like this…
I was lonely.
It was then.
I felt someone approaching in the distance. I held my breath at the sound of a powerful Martial Artist’s footsteps.
“Furball. You want me to go in here? It’s too narrow.”
“Kyoo! Kiee!”
“Alright, alright. Wait a minute. Is your owner in here or something? It’ll collapse if I just touch it. I think I’ll have to take the roof off…”
“Kyak!”
“You’re small as a bean, but you’ve got a bad temper. I said stop rushing me.”
The Martial Artist chuckled and strode closer.
Crack!
With a loud noise, dust and debris poured down on my face.
The stinging sunlight touched my face, as if he had removed the roof of the hut. Tears streamed down my face from the intense stimulation.
I struggled to lift my eyelids. I saw a figure looking down at me in the light.
“Hoh? I thought some Unorthodox Faction guy who got stabbed had rolled in here, but that’s not it. Who is this young lady, dying in a place like this?”
“…Don’t want to, die.”
“Don’t want to die?”
Barely managing to reply was my last memory.
I fainted.
