Chapter 81
Episode 81
"Isn’t this Oppa right?"”
He chuckled and drew his sword. I was flustered and rolled my eyes, then fumbled to put my hand into my sleeve.
In an instant, the most pot-bellied of the bandits surrounding us shouted thunderously.
“If you hand over everything you have, I’ll spare your lives!”
It was a startling situation, but somehow I felt drained. It was like hearing a textbook-perfect line that made me chuckle in vain.
Yeon-ryang seemed to have similar thoughts as he scanned the bandits and asked.
“Hey, brothers of the Green Forest. Who’s the chief?”
At Yeon-ryang’s question, a bandit wearing a tiger skin stepped forward. A mace was slung diagonally across his shoulder.
“This one is Go-bul, the chief of Jeokho Stronghold.”
“Gae-bul?”
“Go-bul! You fool, it’s Go-bul!”
Gae-bul, no, Go-bul, trembled his beard and shouted.
“Yes, Mr. Go-bul. Nice to meet you. My sister is young, and I want to avoid her seeing blood. Are you not thinking of letting us pass nicely?”
“I told you. If you hand over everything you have, I’ll spare your lives.”
“Hmm. So, that’s a no?”
“Hehehe, you ask the obvious. You’re slow on the uptake.”
Go-bul, making a phlegmy sound, spat and laughed eerily. At the same time, the bandits’ encirclement narrowed.
“Hey, Kyung-ah.”
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal clashing rang out eerily.
Despite the bandits’ threats, Yeon-ryang didn’t lose his composure. Rather, he whistled and lightly adjusted his grip on his sword.
His carefree attitude made me feel relieved as well.
He acts like a jobless uncle who just lies at home after quitting his job, but I could trust Yeon-ryang’s swordsmanship.
The bandits didn’t seem particularly strong either.
Unlike the Wanderer group, who made my hairs stand on end just by making eye contact, I felt nothing even surrounded by a dozen or so people.
As I stood there blankly, a bandit wearing a bear skin rushed at me.
“Let’s see if you can still afford to be so relaxed even after your sister is captured! Yiaaaa!”
“Ugh, geez, what the. You startled me.”
I reflexively threw Feather Needles and stepped back. The bandit with a Poison Needle stuck in his forehead shouted as if wronged.
“Keuk, you’re a coward. Hiding Hidden Weapons…!”
“What? Hidden Weapons are meant to be hidden, you know?”
Who is he to call me a coward when he’s a bandit?
As I retorted and rummaged through my sleeve, a bandit suddenly jumped in front of me and swung a greatsword.
“Sister!”
“Kyaa!”
Hair that was grazed by the blade fell off in clumps. Ju-ryeong, also startled, hurriedly burrowed into my clothes.
If Yeon-ryang hadn’t pulled me by the scruff of my neck, I would have been cut down as is.
I widened my eyes and clung tightly to Yeon-ryang, patting down my startled chest.
At that moment, a sword blade suddenly entered my side.
Reflexively, I wrapped Inner Energy around my hand and snatched the blade, and the metal I grabbed snapped in half.
Huh. Why is it breaking?
As I looked back and forth between the broken blade and the bandit, the bandit, who had thrown away the sword with only the hilt remaining, stepped back hesitantly.
“Hieeek, a mo, monster…! Bare hands…!”
“Where are you going? You have to pay the price for startling someone else’s sister.”
Yeon-ryang, chuckling as he knocked down the bandit, pointed at me.
“Our sister is strong to the point of being ignorant? I guess I don’t have to worry.”
“……”
At this point, isn’t it that I’m strong, but his sword is flimsy? It broke like a wooden chopstick.
As I threw down the metal I was holding with a sullen face, the bandits’ faces turned pale.
“A, a master. Boss. What should we do?”
“Keuk… I surrender. Drop your weapons!”
At Go-bul’s declaration, the bandits, who had been watching, dropped their weapons and surrendered. Yeon-ryang put away his sword and rebuked them.
“I told you to let us pass nicely.”
“We’re sorry. Great Hero. We were foolish…”
“Okay. It’s annoying. Move aside and let us pass.”
“Yes. Great Hero! Thank you! Be careful on your way!”
“Be careful on your way!”
Go-bul, filled with spirit, bent his back at a right angle, and the other bandits also bent their backs and stepped back.
The road opened as if the Red Sea had parted.
“Let’s go, Kyung-ah.”
Yeon-ryang, beckoning to me, began to stride ahead. I followed behind Yeon-ryang and cautiously opened my mouth.
“Um. Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“We can take their money, right?”
“……Huh?”
Yeon-ryang frowned as if he had misheard.
I looked him straight in the eye and said again.
“No, I mean, if it’s money they collected by robbing travelers, isn’t it unclaimed money? Can’t we take some? We’re running out of travel expenses.”
“……Keuh.”
At my words, Yeon-ryang’s lips trembled. He soon touched his forehead and burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Kyung-ah, don’t ever say you’re from the Orthodox Faction when you go anywhere. What is a Young Miss from a prestigious family saying?”
He was wiping away tears as he laughed, as if my words were hilariously funny.
The Orthodox Faction is the Orthodox Faction, and money is money. You need money to eat. A well-fed ghost looks better.
After laughing for a long time and calming down, Yeon-ryang slowly turned around. Go-bul, who met Yeon-ryang’s eyes, rolled his eyes.
He seemed to have sensed that something was wrong.
“Our sister says so, Mr. Chief.”
“Yes, yes. Great Hero.”
“Do you have anything?”
“……Pardon?”
Yeon-ryang, with his sword scabbard on his shoulder, smiled mischievously.
The scar across his eyes twisted savagely.
\ \ \
“Is this all? Really, there’s nothing more?”
“G, Great Hero… That’s really all there is. Sniff, our business hasn’t been very good lately either.”
Go-bul, kneeling, answered in a subdued voice.
I looked down at the crown of his head and said with my arms crossed.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Please believe me. Great Hero. This is really all…”
“Do you want to eat Poison and cough it up, or just cough it up?”
“……I’ll give it to you.”
At my threat, Go-bul made a tearful face and gestured to his subordinate.
Then, one of the smallest bandits ran and took out a small jar from somewhere.
The jar was full of silver coins.
As the corners of my lips slowly rose, Yeon-ryang shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.
“I didn’t know you had a talent for extortion. Is it a family trait?”
“How can you say such a disappointing thing? Please don’t treat me the same as those Poison-crazed people.”
I said seriously and pushed the silver coins into my pocket.
They’re really crazy. There’s not a single normal person there.
Anyway, thanks to the brothers of the Green Forest, it seemed I could travel around for a few months without worrying about money.
As I put the thickened pouch in my arms, Yeon-ryang waved his hand towards the kneeling bandits.
“Get up when we leave. Thanks for the allowance. I’ll use it well.”
“Sniff… Be careful on your way, Great Hero…”
“Be careful on your way…!”
Some of the bandits who had been beaten by Yeon-ryang with his scabbard seemed to be crying, but I didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy.
If you point a knife at someone and threaten them, you should know that you can be treated the same way.
I snorted and moved my feet.
Yeon-ryang was constantly beaming, as if he had found it fun to rob the bandits’ pockets.
“Hiyah. Our sister is so brave. How did you think of robbing a mountain stronghold? I was so surprised.”
“I didn’t rob a mountain stronghold. They brought it to me on their own.”
“How is that bringing it on their own? You threatened them with Poison Needles?”
“That’s not Poison Needles. It’s just a bunch of bundled grass.”
“……Kyung-ah. Are you really from the Orthodox Faction? Not a con artist’s daughter?”
Yeon-ryang clicked his tongue and looked at me. I shrugged my shoulders.
“Say that in front of the Tang Clan gate. I wonder how long it will take for a Flying Dagger to be stuck in Oppa’s crown.”
“Oh, scary. So scary. ‘Never make enemies of those who wear Green Robe even if they die,’ they didn’t say it for nothing.”
Yeon-ryang, pretending to tremble with a face that wasn’t scary at all, looked at me and grinned. He walked backwards, making eye contact with me, and asked.
“Kyung-ah. I’m curious about something.”
“What is it?”
“What’s your name?”
“Oh.”
Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves.
There seemed to be no point in telling him my real name when I was on the run.
After thinking for a moment, I made up Kyung-ah’s name.
“……Kyung-ah.”
“Kyung-ah, is it. I see. Kyung-ah.”
Yeon-ryang repeated the name I had told him several times, then subtly began to call me comfortably.
“Kyung-ah. Oppa is hungry.”
“Ah, yes.”
“We’ve crossed a mountain, how about having a bowl of spicy noodle soup over there?”
“Hold it in.”
At my blunt reply, Yeon-ryang, holding Ju-ryeong, pretended to wipe his eyes with Ju-ryeong’s fluffy tail.
“Fur ball, look at your owner. She won’t even feed an Oppa who isn’t worth his money.”
What are you talking about? It hasn’t even been an hour since you ate.
He had eaten a lot of snacks before crossing the mountain, and he had just eaten at the inn, but watching him pretend that he couldn’t even get a bite of gruel was dumbfounding.
I glared at Yeon-ryang, who was standing in front of the noodle shop, and snorted.
……I was joking about him being a jobless uncle, but he’s really acting like a jobless uncle asking his niece to buy him tteokbokki*.
I swallowed a hollow laugh and waved my hand to mean I understood.
He was so slick, there was a likable side to him even when he acted annoyingly.
“Then let’s just eat one bowl and go.”
“Good. Aren’t you eating, Kyung-ah?”
“I’m okay.”
“Okay. Owner! Give us a bowl of noodles here.”
Yeon-ryang shouted cheerfully and put the bowl to his mouth as soon as the food came out and poured it all in at once. A vacuum cleaner was no different.
I shook my head and paid for the noodles.
Anyone would think he had parasites in his stomach…
……Ah. He does.
I realized that Yeon-ryang had the Blood Sound Curse in his body and covered my mouth.
Come to think of it, he had the Curse, didn’t he? I didn’t see him taking the antidote, so is he okay? Where does he get the antidote from?
The antidote for the Blood Sound Curse had to be taken every three months.
What if he misses the timing…
“What are you thinking so deeply about?”
Yeon-ryang, who had come over at some point, lowered his body and brought his face close, as if asking what was wrong.
There was no trace of pain on his healthy-looking face. Relieved, I awkwardly raised the corners of my lips.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Yeon-ryang isn’t stupid, so he’ll go get the antidote on time. Whatever.
