The lead assassin shouted in a furious voice.
“It doesn’t belong to you; it belongs to our sect. If you wanted to leave, you could have left quietly. Why did you steal it?!”
‘So the item they want back from her is the Boeun Coin.’
Soyo hadn’t simply left the Hundred-Split Assassin Sect. She had stolen the Boeun Coin they kept hidden and fled.
‘To think a place like the Hundred-Split Assassin Sect had a Boeun Coin?’
Greatly surprised, Bu Eunseol soon realized something.
He, too, had received his the Boeun Coin from Namgung Un.
It could have been received as payment for a contract or taken from someone else. In other words, if one knew the whereabouts of a Boeun Coin, there were various ways to obtain it.
‘So their goal is her Boeun Coin. They’ll pursue her until she returns it.’
Bu Eunseol’s mind raced like lightning.
He thought of a way to use this situation to save Soyo. At that moment, the lead assassin shouted again.
“To save a child with no connection to you, you’d betray the sect that raised you?!” Looking down at Soyo, he continued. “Or did you steal the Boeun Coin to find a way to escape our pursuit?”
In that moment, Bu Eunseol realized several things.
She hadn’t joined the Hundred-Split Assassin Sect willingly.
Like him, she possessed a Boeun Coin.
And the reason she was being pursued was because she refused to kill a child as ordered.
“If you return the Boeun Coin, we’ll let you go.” The lead assassin gritted his teeth. “And we won’t pursue you anymore.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need it to save that child.”
“For what?”
“Supreme Yin Severed Meridian.”
In short, the child suffered from Supreme Yin Severed Meridian, and she stole the Boeun Coin to find a cure.
“And… you won’t keep your promise.” At Soyo’s words, the lead assassin’s eyes blazed red.
“If you’ve thought that far, there’s no choice.” Sighing, the assassin shouted to his subordinates. “From now on…”
“Wait.” Bu Eunseol suddenly stepped in front of Soyo. “There’s no need to fight.”
The lead assassin frowned as Bu Eunseol intervened.
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol pulled an old coin from his robe.
It was the Boeun Coin created by the Divine Mountain Sage.
“How… do you have that?”
“No need to know why. But.” Looking at the distant sky, Bu Eunseol spoke in a low voice. “This Boeun Coin now belongs to our alliance, and so does this person. So stop pursuing her.”
“Our alliance?” The assassin stared at Bu Eunseol, then his eyes gleamed.
“You mean the Martial Alliance?”
“If you understand, leave.” Bu Eunseol smiled coldly.
“Unless you want to die.”
When it came to strategy, Bu Eunseol was second to none.
With a single sentence, he had pitted the Hundred-Split Assassin Sect against the Martial Alliance assassins pursuing him.
Swish.
Detecting a faint piercing sound with his Void Heart Command, Bu Eunseol raised the corner of his mouth.
“Of course, even with this, assassins of the Hundred-Split Sect’s caliber won’t back down, will they?”
Swish.
The faint sound grew clearer.
It was the sound of skilled martial artists with exceptional movement techniques approaching. In other words, thirty to forty masters were rushing toward them.
“Let’s leave the rest to the alliance’s reinforcements and get out of here.” Bu Eunseol grabbed Soyo’s sleeve and spoke nonchalantly. “They’ll be wiped out anyway.”
He immediately unleashed his movement technique.
His motion was so natural, and with a powerful suction technique from the hand holding her sleeve.
Float.
Thanks to this, Soyo’s small body was pulled along, floating into the air beside him.
As Bu Eunseol fled with Soyo, using his movement technique,
Swish, thud.
Forty assassins arrived behind the Hundred-Split Sect’s group.
Their gleaming eyes and disciplined formation suggested they were indeed from the Martial Alliance.
“When did you make contact with the Martial Alliance?!” The lead assassin, watching Bu Eunseol and Soyo disappear, gritted his teeth.
He shouted to his subordinates.
“Blood Ghost Squad, stop them! The rest, follow the sect leader!”
***
Swish, swish!
Bu Eunseol was swiftly moving with Soyo.
Even while using his inner energy to keep her floating beside him, he felt no weight.
Soyo’s body was so thin and light, likely under sixty pounds.
Thud.
Arriving at a nearby village, Bu Eunseol released her hand.
“There wasn’t time to explain.” Knowing she was older, he spoke respectfully after letting go of her sleeve. “Forgive my rudeness.”
“Why?”
She seemed to ask, “Why did you help me?”
“We both have pursuers, so I just used that to our advantage.”
“Why?”
This time, it seemed to mean, “Why do you have a Boeun Coin?”
“I’ve been searching for the Divine Mountain Sage for a long time. I came to the martial world this time because I found his whereabouts.” Perhaps because their personalities and temperaments were similar, Bu Eunseol understood her words perfectly and continued explaining. “Anyway, with the two forces clashing, there won’t be pursuing us for a while. Stop moving all the time and rest comfortably.”
Without waiting for a reply, he walked into the bustling village entrance.
But after walking for a while, he felt something odd.
There was no sign of her following him.
“…” Turning around, Bu Eunseol was dumbfounded.
He had assumed she’d rest and eat comfortably at an inn.
Yet there she was, rolling up her pants and stepping into the village’s foul-smelling canal, picking up floating garbage.
“Wait.” Bu Eunseol rarely meddled in others’ affairs.
But this was an exception.
Soyo’s every action drew his attention like iron filings to a magnet.
“Why aren’t you going to an inn and eating garbage from the canal?” His expression was filled with confusion, as if faced with an unsolvable riddle.
Without looking at him, Soyo continued picking up food scraps and said,
“No money.”
‘A vagrant background.’
Only then did Bu Eunseol realize her life hadn’t been easy.
And that her character was more upright than he’d thought. Despite her exceptional martial skills, she refused to beg or steal, resorting to eating canal garbage.
“You don’t need to eat that.” Bu Eunseol said calmly. “I’ll buy you a meal. Let’s go.”
“No.” She refused flatly.
Though she didn’t say it explicitly, her expression suggested she didn’t want unearned kindness.
“Thanks to you, we shook off the pursuers. I’m just repaying that debt.”
Kindness.
A small act of giving without expecting anything in return. And it could lead to unexpected bonds.
“Bu Eunseol.” For the first time, emotion flickered in her eyes.
It was indifference mixed with curiosity.
“Heir of Majeon.”
“You know me?”
“Had to come to the Central Plains.”
Soyo’s goal was to find the Divine Mountain Sage to save a child.
To do so, she likely memorized information about the Central Plains’ martial world, its notable figures, and their appearances. That’s why, unlike the Hundred-Split Sect assassins, she recognized Bu Eunseol immediately.
“And you?”
When Bu Eunseol asked, her silver eyes gleamed as she replied, “Soyo.”
“Is that your real name?”
“Just Soyo.”
She was likely abandoned without knowing her true name, given the name Soyo by the Hundred-Split Assassin Sect.
“I see.” Nodding, Bu Eunseol extended his hand lightly. “Let’s go, then.”
For someone like Soyo to reveal her name meant she was accepting his kindness.
At the Fragrant Flower Inn, in the banquet hall.
A large table, big enough for ten robust men, was laden with enough food to satisfy them all. A girl in a black martial robe and a man in a gray martial robe sat across from each other, eating.
It was Bu Eunseol and Soyo.
Chomp, chomp, clatter.
While Bu Eunseol ate a piece of braised fish, Soyo stuffed her mouth with a piece of roast duck, a spoonful of seasoned noodles, stir-fried beef, and plump shrimp, chewing vigorously.
Chew, chew, chew.
Despite her youthful appearance, her appetite surpassed that of ten grown men combined.
It was incomprehensible how so much food fit into her small mouth and stomach.
“More.” As the food quickly disappeared, Soyo pointed at the dishes.
Each time, Bu Eunseol called the waiter to bring more food. As this repeated, the waiter eventually stationed himself outside the banquet hall, taking continuous orders.
“Another bowl of seasoned noodles, fried beef, a whole roast duck, and two chickens!”
Chomp, chomp, chomp.
Meanwhile, Soyo held a bowl in one hand, scooping food with chopsticks.
“Impressive.” Despite his usual indifference, Bu Eunseol’s eyes sparkled with emotion. “Eat slowly.”
He said calmly.
“The clash between the two forces won’t end quickly. There won’t be any pursuit for a while.”
Chewing a mouthful of food, Soyo said, “Eat a lot when you can.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes darkened.
It was a common habit among vagrants. Days with decent food were rare. So they stuffed themselves to bursting when they could.
An ordinary martial artist might have asked about her circumstances during the meal.
But Bu Eunseol asked nothing. He truly just wanted to buy her a meal.
Soyo. She was the person who had sparked the most curiosity and interest in him.
Surprisingly, she spoke first.
“With the Boeun Coin, can you ask anything?”
Having stolen the Boeun Coin, she seemed to lack detailed information about the Divine Mountain Sage.
“Probably.”
“Have you met him?” She spoke casually, as if addressing a subordinate.
But Bu Eunseol didn’t mind. Not only was she older, but her life as an assassin likely meant she never learned etiquette.
“I know someone who has.” Bu Eunseol recalled So Okrim’s round face, smiling with white teeth. “According to her, the title of martial world sage isn’t a lie.”
“Hm.” Soyo’s eyes showed deep thought, tinged with urgency despite her calm demeanor.
“Is the child you’re saving family?” From the lead assassin’s words, Bu Eunseol had guessed she left the sect to save a child, stealing the Boeun Coin for that purpose.
“Not family.”
He hadn’t expected an answer. But surprisingly, Soyo shared her story willingly.
“But… looks exactly like my younger sibling who starved to death.”
That single sentence told Bu Eunseol everything.
While on an assassination mission, Soyo must have seen a child who looked identical to her deceased sibling. The Hundred-Split Sect, which never spared witnesses, would have ordered the child’s death.
She refused and saved the child.
But the child had Supreme Yin Severed Meridian. Learning there was no cure, she stole the Boeun Coin and fled.
“I see.” Understanding her situation, Bu Eunseol nodded.
Assassins lived closed-off, dark lives outside their missions. After a mission, they were said to feel overwhelming emptiness.
Most assassins drowned that void in alcohol or women. But Soyo endured that painful life, longing for her lost sibling.
When she found a child resembling her sibling, she saw it as fate and threw away everything.
“Go first.” Looking at the distant sky, Bu Eunseol said, “I’ll stay in this village a bit longer to rest.”
In truth, he was lying.
The Martial Alliance warriors weren’t fools; their clash with the Hundred-Split Sect wouldn’t last long.
And the sect had a clear goal: to recover the Boeun Coin.
Since Bu Eunseol was said to have it, they’d pursue him instead of Soyo.
He was acting as bait to let Soyo reach the Divine Mountain Sage first.
“Maybe the Hundred-Split Sect and the Martial Alliance assassins wiped each other out.”
The lies flowed effortlessly.
Even he didn’t know why he was showing her such kindness.
“So go to Myogaso without worry.”
“Why?”
“I told you, I’m staying to rest.”
But Soyo asked again with cold eyes, “Why?”
She knew.
Bu Eunseol was deliberately acting as bait to free her from pursuit.
She was asking, “Why are you helping me?”
“Hm.” Understanding her meaning, Bu Eunseol fell silent briefly.
Then he answered honestly,
“As I said before, I don’t know.”
From the moment he learned she fled the sect to save a child, he wanted to help her. It was due to the righteous qualities within him, but he didn’t fully understand why he made that choice.
“Don’t worry. I have the strength to handle it. Even if both the Hundred-Split Sect and the Martial Alliance pursue me, I can escape.”
“And?”
“That’s it. No ulterior motive.”
A brief silence followed.
Had she accepted his kindness?
Soyo stood and left the inn without a word.
Bu Eunseol stayed the night at the Fragrant Flower Inn. He washed off the grime and slept comfortably for the first time in a while. But there was still no pursuit from either the Hundred-Split Sect or the Martial Alliance.
“That should be enough.”
With a half-day lead, both groups would surely pursue him. While he delayed them in a fight, Soyo could reach Myogaso safely.
This might mean he’d miss his chance to meet the Divine Mountain Sage.
Despite longing to meet him, Bu Eunseol was helping Soyo sincerely, without knowing why.
“Time to go.” He left the village, heading for a remote mountain path.
But something unexpected happened.
Glance.
While crossing a ridge, a small figure appeared ahead.
It was Soyo.
“Why didn’t you go?”
“Same path.”
“You could go ahead.”
“That’s fine, but…” Soyo looked at him with a resolute expression. “This is safer.”
Her expression and eyes showed no jest or hidden motive.
Bu Eunseol nodded faintly.
‘She’s not foolish.’
She knew he was Majeon’s renowned heir, exceptional in martial arts and strategy.
She had weighed her options.
Reaching Myogaso while Bu Eunseol bought time versus traveling with him. Which was more advantageous?
She concluded that traveling with him was safer.
‘That’s why she explained her situation.’
Only then did Bu Eunseol realize why Soyo, who disliked speaking, shared her story. Having assessed his abilities, she likely wanted to gauge his character.
To see if he was trustworthy as a companion.
‘Not a bad choice.’ Bu Eunseol nodded at her decision.
Even if he could fend off pursuing assassins, he couldn’t stop those lying in wait ahead. Moreover, with his wit to pit the Hundred-Split Sect against the Martial Alliance, she calculated that traveling with him was far safer than going alone.
“Alright, let’s go together.” Nodding, Bu Eunseol began walking.
Chirp, chirp.
As night fell with the sound of crickets, Bu Eunseol found a suitable spot to camp and lit a fire.
Soyo naturally gathered leaves to make a bed.
No words were exchanged, but they fulfilled their roles as companions. At dawn, they resumed their journey, crossing ridges with their movement techniques.
When hungry, Bu Eunseol roasted provisions from an inn or caught fish.
Soyo gathered firewood, lit a fire, and cooked the meat.
They spoke no words, yet their actions were perfectly in sync. No conversation was needed. They didn’t even need to look at each other.
Even a glance conveyed their intentions.
Swish, swoosh!
Even when Bu Eunseol used his Swift Beyond Shadow at a high level, Soyo kept up.
Once, to test her movement technique, he widened the distance with full speed.
Though the gap grew significantly, she soon caught up. Her assassin instincts and tracking skills allowed her to find him even if he hid his presence.
‘Her skills are remarkable.’
With such prowess, she must have been a top-tier assassin in the Hundred-Split Sect. Bu Eunseol could understand why they pursued her so relentlessly. If she leaked their unique assassination techniques, it would be a disaster.
‘But her speech seems influenced by the Cold Soul Technique.’
Though her personality was cold, her tone and demeanor were frozen, as if she couldn’t think normally.
Assassins often trained in the Cold Soul Technique to suppress fear and emotions.
For assassins who seized opportunities to fulfill contracts, composure and patience were paramount. Having mastered the Cold Soul Technique, her speech and demeanor likely carried that rigidity unintentionally.
‘But… this journey isn’t bad.’
Traveling with Soyo to Myogaso brought Bu Eunseol an unfamiliar sense of calm and peace.
Her indifferent, cold demeanor reminded him of his own childhood.
Despite her age, she seemed like a spirited young girl in his eyes.
No long conversations were needed; it felt like they’d exchanged hundreds of words. Her gaze was comforting. Whether animal or human, meeting a kindred spirit brought ease. For the first time, Bu Eunseol had met someone like him in the martial world.
‘It feels a bit strange.’
Until now, those he traveled with had opposing personalities.
But Soyo matched him in every way, even in insight.
Even when choosing a campsite, the timing, location, fire-building, and bedding arrangements—their tastes aligned perfectly.
Chew, chew.
The only stark difference was their appetites.
Her eating capacity was unbelievable.
While Bu Eunseol ate a single piece of dried jerky, she devoured an entire bundle.
Yet her eating didn’t seem crude.
Her earnest, serious focus on filling her stomach was almost solemn.
Swish.
At that moment, a piercing sound echoed from the distant sky.
About eighty in number.
Bu Eunseol, who had closed his eyes briefly, didn’t use his movement technique and waited calmly.
Thud.
The arriving assassins were none other than the Hundred-Split Sect members he’d seen before. Their clothes were torn, covered in dust and blood, as if they’d been through a fierce battle.
“You…”
The lead assassin glared at Bu Eunseol, grinding his teeth.
“You, who has no connection to the Martial Alliance, dared to spout nonsense!”
