Yeom-po tried his best to regain his composure, sweating profusely. Everything had changed so suddenly when he opened his eyes, and he couldn't come to his senses for a moment.

"Why are you doing this? What on earth do you want?"

"Wrist? Right? Left?"

"No, I mean, tell me the reason why you're doing this! I'll tell you everything, so please stop!"

"It must be the right."

"No! I mean!"

Although Yeom-po shouted, Jo-rim, as if she hadn't heard, raised the axe.

"Aaargh! Please! I'll tell you everything!"

Although Yeom-po screamed again, Jo-rim paid no heed. Just as she was about to bring the axe down, Bi-sun grabbed her hand.

"Will he talk like that? Guys like this won't talk even if one or two of their limbs are gone. They're tight-lipped."

"No! I'm loose-lipped! I'm really loose-lipped! I'll tell you everything! So please!"

Bi-sun, who had taken the axe from Jo-rim's hand, poked Yeom-po's private parts with it.

"Ugh! Don't tell me?"

"Guys like this only open their mouths when their private parts are gone. We can just chop off one egg first and then cut the rest."

"Ack! No, please!"

Yeom-po shouted, sweating profusely as if the mere imagination was horrifying.

"I'm telling you, I'm really loose-lipped! Please! I don't know what you want, but I'll tell you everything! No, I'll give you everything! Please, just not there!"

"If you can't act like a man and your limbs are cut off, you'll crawl around and die."

"I'll tell you. Ask me!"

Yeom-po opened his eyes wide again and spat at Bi-sun, who was holding the hand axe.

Bi-sun, who had turned his gaze to Yeom-po because of the spit, lowered the axe and asked, "Who burned down the Gangnam Grand Inn?"

"I heard it was the Blood Killing Faction who allied with the guys from the Demonic Cult's Ghost Hand Pavilion."

"No, there were masked people who appeared after that."

"I don't know about that. I really don't know."

"The master of the Do Faction was with the masked people, wasn't he? You're close with Shin Hong, right? Didn't you frequent the Do Faction?"

"Ah..."

It was only then that Yeom-po understood why they were after him. Yeom-po and Shin Hong were like brothers.

'That fucking Shin Hong! That crazy bastard! Why did I call such a bastard my younger brother! Fuck! I'm sad. So sad. But who are these bastards?'

Yeom-po trembled all over and looked back and forth between Bi-sun and Jo-rim. Jo-rim, seeing the silent Yeom-po, shook her head and took out a dagger.

"Let's just cut and ask, shall we? He's not talking."

"Aaaargh! No, really! Wait a minute! Don't I have to sort things out! Why are you in such a hurry?"

Yeom-po shouted urgently, shook his head wildly, and then said, "A... a month or two ago? I went to the Do Faction then. I drank with Shin Hong and we talked about this and that, and he said he might become the owner of this inn. I asked him what was going on, but Shin Hong said it was a secret and would tell me later. He said he would give me a position if he took over the inn, so I should look forward to it."

"We should cut the pillar, not the eggs. Anything else you remember?"

Jo-rim's dagger was aimed at Yeom-po's private parts. Yeom-po struggled, sweating profusely.

He had sweated so much that his whole body was soaked in sweat.

"Hmph! No, I mean! Wait! Wait. That's... um... Ah, that's right! Bang-sik! Bang-sik was there. Shin Hong's right-hand man. The way they exchanged glances was unusual. He said someone would help. He said a very great person would help, and an elder from the Hao Faction was also helping."

"That elder?"

"I don't know."

"Bang-sik? Who is he?"

"There's a small guy who looks like a rat."

"Is he in Guguang?"

"Yes. Please spare me."

As Jo-rim pressed him, Yeom-po shed tears and snot and looked at the two with deer-like eyes. Bi-sun nodded, and Jo-rim also retreated with a satisfied expression.

Bi-sun struck the rope that was tying Yeom-po with the axe.

Thump!

"Hmph!"

Yeom-po, who had closed his eyes, slowly opened them when he felt no pain. He realized that the rope on his left arm had been cut by the axe.

He looked around with a sweat-soaked face, but there was no sign of the two. He felt the illusion that he had been dreaming.

-If you speak of today's events, I will take your life.

"Hmph!"

As the telepathic voice was heard, he came to his senses and looked around, but there was still no one.

"I've lived to see all sorts of shitty things. Damn bastards."

Yeom-po grumbled and untied the rope with his freed left hand. When he came out, he was even more frustrated that it was his own house.

It meant that those bastards could come to kill him at any time.

Bi-sun and Jo-rim, who were sitting on the roof, thought of Bang-sik.

"Should we let him live?"

"It doesn't matter if he tells on us, does it?"

"That's true. It's better for them to be on guard. Because those bastards will be looking for us."

The two smiled as if they had the same thought.

Yeom-po would go back and speak of today's events, and the related people who heard the story would surely be on guard against Bi-sun and Jo-rim. And there would be those who would try to find them.

"Let's go to Guguang."

"What about Sa-wol?"

"He'll come on his own."

As Bi-sun's figure disappeared into the darkness first, Jo-rim disappeared after him.

***

Son Ae-hwa, who was sitting alone in the dark stone chamber, could not distinguish how long she had been in here or whether it was day or night.

For the first fifteen days, she was so confused that she could not endure this darkness.

But as she got used to the darkness, what she did from then on was just an instinctive action to live.

She continuously practiced qi circulation and saved her breath as much as possible.

Time continued to flow like that. Although it was a situation where she didn't know when she could get out of here, she did not give up hope.

Then, from some point on, food and water did not come in. When she realized that, the thought of death came to mind.

'You're going to dry me out and kill me? You bastard.'

She bit her lip with the determination to live no matter what.

***

Martial artists were coming and going around the village located not far from the main headquarters of the Martial Alliance.

Since the wall of the main headquarters was visible, it was a place with the name 'Martial Village'.

More warriors of the Martial Alliance came and went than in other places, and about a li away was Jeongju Fortress.

On the third floor of an inn located at the entrance of the Martial Village, Jin Sa-wol was looking out with the window half open.

"Scouting again today?"

When Seo Mun-ryeon, who was sitting behind, asked, Jin Sa-wol nodded.

"The weather is good again today. It has to rain."

"How do you know when it will rain?"

"It will come if we wait."

"What if that maid trapped in the prison dies before that?"

"They won't kill her."

Jin Sa-wol, who recalled his deal with Zhuge Qing, thought of Son Ae-hwa as a hostage. But it was just his thought.

There was a sufficient possibility that only a dead body remained.

"What about your subordinates?"

Jin Sa-wol turned his head and looked at Seo Mun-ryeon, who was sitting in a chair. She was moving a thread with both hands and making various shapes. It seemed she was bored.

"They're on standby like yesterday."

After making a star shape with both hands, a round spider web appeared next. It was a strange hand movement.

"Is it training?"

"Hand-Switching Blood Thread Art. There are few who learn it. Only the very outstanding geniuses chosen by my family learn it."

It was Seo Mun-ryeon who called herself a genius.

"What about Jo-rim?"

"Sister?"

Seo Mun-ryeon, who had brought up the word 'sister', stopped her hands and put away the thread. Since she had called Jo-rim 'sister', it seemed the two knew each other well.

"Are you close?"

"She was the sister who gave me piggyback rides when I was young. She taught me the basics of the Hand-Switching Blood Thread Art. But..."

"But?"

"My father sent her far away. I don't know if it was because I got hurt or if she fell out of favor..."

Seo Mun-ryeon muttered and then sighed.

The matter between the two was something they could talk about when they met.

"I see she was a gisaeng house master."

Seo Mun-ryeon did not answer.

Jin Sa-wol turned his eyes out the window again. He saw dark clouds rolling in from afar. He felt the wind getting stronger and the temperature dropping.

"I hope it rains tonight."

Jin Sa-wol muttered and looked at the sky.

Swish! Pitter-patter! Drip! Drip! Swish!

When night came, a rainstorm began to blow, and it rained so much as if the sky had a hole in it.

Because of the pouring rain, the Martial Village was engulfed in silence.

On a rainy day, and at night at that, no one went out. Except for those with a special reason.

Whoosh!

Jin Sa-wol, wearing a hood, climbed a tree overlooking the wall of the Martial Alliance.

The reason he didn't wear a mask was because of the water. If the water wet his face, that would also be annoying.

Next to him, the masked Seo Mun-ryeon appeared.

She, who was standing on the tree, was wearing clothes that revealed her figure. Because of the rain, her figure was even more prominent.

Jin Sa-wol looked at Seo Mun-ryeon's unusually large chest. He hadn't noticed when she was wearing clothes, but seeing her soaked in the rain, she looked different.

"What are you looking at?"

As if she had felt his gaze, Seo Mun-ryeon covered her chest. Jin Sa-wol turned his head and then said, "Let's go."

"Hmph!"

Seo Mun-ryeon snorted and then moved. A short while later, a group of eleven masked people were seen jumping over the wall of the Martial Alliance. They were Seo Mun-ryeon and her subordinates.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Screech!

"Intruder!"

"There's an intruder!"

It was not long after that a loud noise echoed within the alliance. Immediately after, Seo Mun-ryeon and her subordinates were seen jumping over the wall of the alliance and coming out. There was no need to stay long.

***

Guarding on a rainy day was a very difficult task. Even if they were wearing raincoats, they could not stop the rain from seeping into their bodies.

"Ah, I'm so annoyed. Of all things, it has to rain when it's my night watch."

"It's just bad luck. Should we just take a day off tomorrow? Say we caught a cold."

"Will that work?"

"Haa..."

As the two warriors guarding the entrance of the prison were grumbling, a loud noise echoed from far away.

Warriors holding torches rushed out and scattered to the left and right.

Although there were pine resin fires around the prison, they could not light them because of the rain. The lanterns hanging under the eaves were all there was.

"An intruder?"

"What crazy bastard is it?"

Snap!

"Huh?"

The warrior who had turned his head at the sound of a neck breaking saw his comrade sitting down and his eyes widened. Immediately after, he felt a strong impact on the back of his head and then closed his eyes.

Jin Sa-wol laid the falling warrior's body on the side and then entered the prison.

Was it because of the rain? Or was it because they didn't think an intruder would come? The number of guards was not large.

It was not a difficult task to subdue them either. After putting about a dozen guards to sleep, he approached the stairs leading to the basement.

"Huh?"

The two guards who were sitting at the entrance of the stairs stood up.

"Who is it?"

"It's not time for a shift change."

Sreuk!

Before the two warriors' questions had even ended, Jin Sa-wol went behind them and struck the back of their heads.

Thump! Thump!

As the two fell, Jin Sa-wol took the keys and went down to the basement.

Thump!

Son Ae-hwa, who had raised her head at the sound of the door opening, found a blurry shadow.

"Finally, today is the day I die... Kill me."

Son Ae-hwa said in a voice that sounded like she was about to pass out. If she was going to die anyway, it was better to die quickly.

"It's me."

As a low voice echoed, Son Ae-hwa's eyes widened. Because she knew too well who the owner of the voice was.

Son Ae-hwa trembled all over.

"You... you bastard."

(End of Chapter)