Light Novel: Volume 17 Episode 9
Manhwa: N/A
Her skin, once as white as snow, had been tanned to a dark hue by the sun, and her once delicate hands had become rough from hard labor. Nevertheless, she remained a beautiful woman whose noble dignity had not changed.
Pyo-wol knew who the woman was.
“Yong Seolran.”
“It’s been a while.”
The woman who acknowledged Pyo-wol was none other than Yong Seolran, a disciple of the Emei sect.
She had mysteriously disappeared after the downfall of the Emei sect and had been living in a secluded village far away from the bustling province of Sichuan.
Her past glamorous attire was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she wore shabby clothes that village folk would wear, and in her hand was a hoe, a tool used to plow fields.
Although she looked good with a sword, she didn’t seem out of place in her current appearance either.
It wasn’t an appearance she could have acquired after just a day or two.
She must have been here for quite some time, completely adapting to the life here, to have such an atmosphere about her.
“Oh!”
“Ah, you’re alive.”
As soon as Yong Seolran came out, the villagers quickly retreated.
The Ghost King, who had his eyes and ears covered, frowned.
It was because the qi he emitted was blocked by Yong Seolran.
Yong Seolran spoke to the Ghost King,
“Please calm your anger. The villagers are merely on edge because they have been frequently harassed by bandits.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Yong Seolran.”
“Are you a disciple of the Emei sect?”
“How did you know?”
Yong Seolran’s eyes widened.
She had given up her martial arts to live a quiet life here.
Although she had used her internal energy to block the Ghost King’s qi, it wasn’t that apparent, and yet her opponent had accurately identified her sect of origin.
This was not something an ordinary person could do.
The Ghost King revealed his teeth and smiled,
“I smell the scent of the Emei sect on you.”
“You can tell them apart by smell?”
“The martial arts of Buddhist sects are imbued with a distinctive odor. It is not difficult to distinguish the smell of the Emei sect among them.”
At the Ghost King’s reply, Yong Seolran frowned.
A part of her was puzzled.
The Ghost King, who looked to be only about fifteen years old, spoke like a man who had been through many battles. Yet, the aura he exuded was definitely real.
It wasn’t something that could be faked.
Yong Seolran’s gaze turned to Pyo-wol.
She was asking for an explanation.
Pyo-wol spoke,
“He is the Ghost King.”
“The Ghost King?”
Yong Seolran’s face turned to one of shock.
Even though she had left her sword behind and gone into hiding in this slash-and-burn village, she hadn’t lost all the knowledge she had acquired.
‘The Ghost King is this young?’
The Ghost King is a figure sitting at one of the top ranks of the Eight Constellations.
Even if he was a being that defied common sense, accepting the fact that the Ghost King was a young boy was not easy.
But this was coming from Pyo-wol, not anyone else’s.
And Yong Seolran knew best that Pyo-wol wasn’t the kind of person who would lie or talk nonsense.
Yong Seolran addressed the villagers who were watching cautiously.
“Everyone, go back.”
“But–”
“I’ll have them sleep in my house. I promise they won’t bring any to harm you.”
“Only if you say so…”
At Yong Seolran’s assurance, the village chief looked at the villagers.
“Everyone, go back. They are Lady Yong’s guests, so don’t worry and–”
“Understood.”
“Hmph!”
The villagers dispersed in various directions and returned home.
Although they still felt uneasy, they trusted and followed Yong Seolran’s words.
From their attitudes, one could tell the standing Yong Seolran held in this village.
After all the villagers had dispersed, Yong Seolran spoke to Pyo-wol and the Ghost King,
“Although it’s a shabby place, I’ll take you to my abode.”
“Did you come here directly after leaving the Emei sect?”
“I traveled around, looking for a place that had nothing to do with Jianghu, and ended up here.”
“You look well.”
“Do I?”
Yong Seolran faintly smiled.
Other than her skin getting tanned from the sunlight and her hands becoming rough, she was as beautiful as she used to be.
Pyo-wol thought Yong Seolran’s aura had changed.
The sharp aura she used to have was gone. It was now replaced with a much warmer and relaxed aura.
Yong Seolran’s home was located in the innermost part of the village of the slash-and-burn farmers.
It was a wooden cottage with a meticulously tended field surrounding it.
Yong Seolran said,
“I planted and nurtured these myself. Harvest should just be around the corner.”
“You’ve exchanged your sword for a hoe?”
“Yes. It feels more peaceful this way. It makes me feel more generous, knowing that I don’t have to hurt people anymore.”
Yong Seolran was very satisfied and happy with her life here.
It was purely by chance that she ended up here.
Up until then, her heart had been full of troubles.
The guilt for not being able to prevent the downfall of her family had been torturing her like a plague.
Luckily, settling down in this village put an end to that.
The villagers were wary of her at first.
There was no place in the world that would welcome a woman wielding a sword.
The people here were no different.
But as they saw her lay down her sword to concentrate solely on farming, they gradually opened up to her.
The decisive moment was when a large tiger descended from the mountain.
It was a tiger the size of a house that had come down to prey on people, and she caught it without much effort.
After this incident, the villagers thought of Yong Seolran as a goddess.
Although their attitude was sometimes overwhelming, she was able to naturally blend into the community.
Yong Seolran led the two people inside the cottage.
The interior of the cottage was quite cozy.
The floor was covered with a rug made from the skin of the tiger she had caught, and a bed was placed against one wall.
Yong Seolran said,
“You two can sleep on that tiger skin rug.”
“Thank you.”
“I apologize for not offering you the bed. That’s where I sleep–”
“This is more than enough.”
Then the Ghost King said,
“I will rest there.”
The spot he pointed to was the farthest corner of the cottage. It was a bare floor without even a rug, but the Ghost King seemed to prefer it.
Without waiting for Yong Seolran’s response, the Ghost King crouched down in the corner and closed his ears again.
Yong Seolran said to Pyo-wol,
“He’s an unusual person, isn’t he?”
“Different from an ordinary person.”
“About as different as Master Pyo-wol, I suppose.”
“Is that so?”
“In my opinion, Master Pyo-wol is no different from the Ghost King. Both of you thoroughly deny the common sense of the world.”
At Yong Seolran’s words, Pyo-wol nodded his head.
Because she had a point.
For a moment, an awkward silence hung between them.
It was Yong Seolran who broke the silence first.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Then wait here a bit. I’ll prepare something quickly.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“I just have to add two more bowls of rice to what I’m eating. Please wait a bit.”
Regardless of Pyo-wol’s refusal, Yong Seolran prepared the meal.
She turned out to be skilled at cooking.
Pyo-wol didn’t know Yong Seolran well.
He only knew that she was a disciple of the Emei sect. He did not know what kind of life she had led or what experiences she had had.
However, he could only guess that she had a very high status in the Emei sect, and so would not be used to this kind of menial work.
Her master, Guhwa Satae,1 who was also the head of the Emei sect, also did not look the type of person to allow her disciples to do such chores.
As a result, Yong Seolran must have never done any of these things during her time in the Emei sect, yet here she was now, skillfully cooking rice and making side dishes.
She was even able to bake pastries in no time at all. It was a skill that could not be acquired in just a day or two so that could only mean that she had gotten completely used to this kind of lifestyle.
Yong Seolran had a faint smile on her lips, looking incredibly happy.
After placing the rice, side dishes, and pastries she had made on the table, she called out to the two men,
“We can eat now.”
At her words, Pyo-wol lightly tapped the Ghost King’s shoulder. Then, the Ghost King lifted the cloth that had been covering his eyes and ears and stood up.
The Ghost King sat down at the table as if it were natural.
The three of them thus sat down and ate.
The Ghost King ate his food at a very fast pace, while Pyo-wol ate his food as slowly as usual.
Yong Seolran was somewhere in between.
As she busily moved her chopsticks, she looked between Pyo-wol and the Ghost King alternately.
The two men really didn’t go together.
She didn’t know why these two were moving together, but just the fact that they were together made for an unusual atmosphere.
The Ghost King felt Yong Seolran’s gaze and looked back at her.
“What is it, woman?”
“Are you really the Ghost King?”
“People do call me the Ghost King, so yes.”
“I see.”
With that, the conversation between the two came to an end.
The Ghost King quickly finished his share of the food and stood up from his seat.
As he pulled the cloth back over his eyes and ears, he said,
“It looks like the two of you have a lot to talk about. Don’t mind me and continue talking.”
The Ghost King went to a corner and blocked his senses again.
He had completely cut himself off from external stimuli.
And with that, the Ghost King slipped away and immersed himself into his own world.
Only he knew what thoughts he was having or what dreams he was dreaming.
Yong Seolran looked at Pyo-wol and said,
“You’re still the same.”
“In what way?”
“You’re still beautiful, and you don’t look like you belong in this world.”
“You look much better yourself.”
“It was hard at first, you know, I’ve never lived like this before, so I made a lot of mistakes. But now, I’ve gotten quite used to it.”
“I see.”
“So what really brings you here, Master Pyo? It’s not like you’re just here to idle around.”
“I received a request.”
“A request?”
“To find the place the Ghost King wants to go to.”
“It must have something to do with the fact that he is blocking his eyes and ears.”
Yong Seolran’s gaze shifted to the Ghost King.
She assumed he must have a reason for blocking his eyes and ears like that.
Although she was curious about his circumstances, she had a feeling it was not a topic she should delve into further.
Her life had been peaceful until Pyo-wol and the Ghost King appeared.
Although she had inevitably revealed her skills against the tiger, she was able to earn the respect of the villagers thanks to it.
She was very happy with her current life that she didn’t want to disturb the peace.
However, she felt that if she asked Pyo-wol for details or got involved, it seemed like it would shatter the fragile peace she enjoyed like glass.
“Hoo!”
Yong Seolran let out a soft sigh and put down her chopsticks.
She walked over to the window and opened it.
As the window opened, a panoramic view of the village came into sight.
It was a small village with only a dozen or so households.
At night, all the lanterns and lights would go out, plunging the whole village into a pitch-black darkness. Not a single person would go out and about at this time, making it rather eerie.
At first, she wasn’t used to such scenery.
This was because the Emei sect where she had grown up never allowed its fires to be extinguished.
There was always a light somewhere in the sect, given that lanterns and torches were placed everywhere, making it safe to move around at night.
The Emei sect was larger and more magnificent than most villages.
For a woman who had spent her entire life in such a place, this was like an unknown world.
But now that she had grown accustomed to it, she couldn’t imagine leaving.
The emotional stability and peace of mind she had found with difficulty started to waver from the moment Pyo-wol appeared.
She thought her relationship with Pyo-wol had ended back then, so she never thought she’d see him again like this.
Whether Pyo-wol was aware of Yong Seolran’s complicated feelings or not, he quietly ate his food in silence.
He even looked reverent as he ate his food bit by bit.
He resembled a general who was preparing to fight a big battle.
‘Could it be that even here, a storm of bloodshed will brew?’
“Haa…”
It was a night full of unrest.
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