"Actually, I don't believe the rumor that Cheon Gija is dead in the first place. There's something about that rumor that just doesn't sit right with me."
Dan Hyung-u's eyes gleamed. Hyeong-pyo continued speaking as he looked at Dan Hyung-u's eyes, now shining with expectation.
"If I were to explain why in detail, it would take too long, so I'll just give you the conclusion. That rumor feels… intentional."
"Intentional?"
Jo Seol-yeon asked with intrigued eyes. Before she realized it, not only Jo Seol-yeon but even the porters nearby were drawn into Hyeong-pyo's words.
"In my judgment, yes. It's as if someone is deliberately going around proclaiming that Cheon Gija is dead."
"Then does that mean Cheon Gija is still alive?"
There was even a hint of anticipation in Dan Hyung-u's tone. It was a stark contrast to his usual manner of speaking, where he rarely let emotion seep through. Dan Hyung-u was visibly excited.
"Then who would spread such a rumor, and why?"
Jo Seol-yeon followed up with a question. Hyeong-pyo organized his thoughts for a moment, then answered while looking at her.
"That's the biggest point of suspicion. The source of the rumor is unclear. In other words, it was never a verified rumor to begin with. And yet people believed it as though it were confirmed fact. Doesn't that strike you as strange?"
"It really does."
"It could be a rumor Cheon Gija himself spread. Or it could be something someone spread as a prank. Personally, I place more weight on the idea that Cheon Gija himself did it. There must have been a reason he needed people to believe he was dead."
"Did you say it was ten years ago?"
At Dan Hyung-u's question, Hyeong-pyo nodded.
"Ten years…"
Dan Hyung-u felt confused. The sense of time in his mind refused to line up properly. The time he had spent in hell was so long it was impossible to measure.
He couldn't tell when exactly ten years ago would have been. Still, he believed it couldn't possibly have been around the time he and his friends had been captured.
If it had been then, the time he'd spent in hell would have been far too long. Though he didn't know exactly how long it had been.
As Dan Hyung-u sank into thought, Hyeong-pyo didn't continue speaking. The others were curious about what came next, but they too held their tongues, watching Dan Hyung-u's expression.
While Dan Hyung-u was lost in thought, Tang Ho-gwan suddenly stopped and raised his hand. Seeing the signal, Hyeong-pyo quickly halted the escort and ran over to him.
"What is it, Elder?"
"Take a look over there."
Where Tang Ho-gwan pointed stood a carriage. It was quite ornate, and beside it stood two men staring in this direction with sharp, piercing gazes.
Hyeong-pyo flinched briefly at their eyes, but soon calmly examined the carriage and its surroundings. Every wheel of the carriage was shattered, leaving it unable to move.
"It seems there's still someone inside the carriage."
At Hyeong-pyo's words, Tang Ho-gwan nodded. A strong tension flowed through the eyes of Tang Ho-gwan and the Tang Family warriors. The presence emanating from the two men guarding the carriage was anything but ordinary.
Hyeong-pyo decided he should go and speak to them himself. After all, the broken carriage was blocking the road, and it would have to be moved for them to pass.
The position of the carriage was devilishly clever—if they didn't move it, they would be forced to take a long detour.
Just as Hyeong-pyo was about to step forward, the carriage door rattled open and someone stepped out.
It was a man dressed in black. His build was solid, and his presence was well-contained. As soon as he stepped down, he walked straight toward Hyeong-pyo and Tang Ho-gwan and gave a polite clasped-fist salute.
"I apologize. It seems we've caused you trouble unintentionally."
At the man's courteous words, Hyeong-pyo stepped forward and replied.
"No, it looks like your carriage broke down."
"Yes. The wheel suddenly collapsed. Might you be able to help us repair it?"
At the man's words, Hyeong-pyo turned his head to look at the porters. One of the porters who had been driving the carriage quickly ran over.
"Take a look and see if it can be fixed."
At Hyeong-pyo's instruction, the porter hurried over to inspect the carriage. While he was examining it, the two men standing nearby kept their eyes fixed on him, watching closely.
"We were headed for Chengdu, but this happened the moment we entered Sichuan, so we were at quite a loss. This is a relief."
Soon, the porter finished checking and ran back to Hyeong-pyo.
"It can't be fixed. The wheel is completely shattered, and the axle is broken."
Hyeong-pyo nodded at the porter's report. The porter bowed quickly and returned to his original position.
Hyeong-pyo looked at the man as if asking what he intended to do. The man scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.
"This is quite troublesome."
"For now, we'll need to move the carriage."
At Hyeong-pyo's words, the man spoke hurriedly.
"Please wait just a moment. I need to inform the young lady first."
Without waiting for a reply, the man ran back to the carriage. The way he lightly leapt forward was extremely smooth. Watching him, both Hyeong-pyo and Tang Ho-gwan's eyes sharpened.
When the man opened the carriage door and said something inside, a woman stepped down. She was dressed in light, practical clothing, and the moment she emerged, silence spread over the area.
She was unimaginably beautiful.
Even seeing only her profile, the men watching her couldn't tear their eyes away. Most of them stared blankly, mouths agape, unaware that drool was slipping out.
"Gulp."
The sound of someone swallowing echoed, and as if that were a signal, gasps rose from all around.
"Haa…"
Against the background of sighs that sounded almost like lamentation, the woman fully stepped down from the carriage and slightly turned her head, wearing an expression that was neither quite a smile nor not.
The men who saw her face head-on felt as though their breath had stopped. In all their lives, they had never seen a woman so beautiful. Even Tang Ho-gwan, despite his considerable age, widened his eyes in shock.
While everyone was still frozen in awe, the man who had been standing in front of the carriage ran back to Hyeong-pyo.
"Excuse me, but would it be possible for us to travel with you, at least to the next stretch of the road?"
At his words, Hyeong-pyo nearly nodded unconsciously, then startled and turned to look at Tang Ho-gwan. Tang Ho-gwan nodded back.
Strictly speaking, this shouldn't have been allowed, but Tang Ho-gwan couldn't help nodding. And inwardly, he thought that traveling together with a woman like that wouldn't be so bad.
"Thank you."
After giving another clasped-fist salute, the man ran back to the woman, carefully escorted her, and brought her over to the group.
The woman stood before Tang Ho-gwan and Hyeong-pyo and lightly bowed her head.
"I'm Umun Hye."
Her clear voice shook the men's ears. Several of them swallowed unconsciously.
"I'm Hyeong-pyo."
Hyeong-pyo hurriedly introduced himself.
Umun Hye glanced around and spoke.
"You're escorts from the Hanam Escort Agency."
"Ah, y-yes. That's right."
"Please take care of me."
As Umun Hye greeted them, the man behind her quickly stepped forward.
"For now, it would be best to move the carriage."
At his words, Hyeong-pyo gestured, and the porters rushed toward the carriage. Several Tang Family warriors hesitated, then joined in as well.
Tang Ho-gwan frowned slightly at the sight, but since it was understandable, he remained silent.
Though the carriage was large and heavy, with the Tang Family warriors joining in, the road was cleared in no time.
Once the carriage was moved and the road cleared, the man standing beside Umun Hye—Shadow Snake—quickly stepped forward.
"If it's all right, we'd like to have the young lady ride on one of your carriages…"
At Shadow Snake's words, Hyeong-pyo panicked and looked at Tang Ho-gwan. Normally, this was absolutely unacceptable. No one was allowed to ride in a carriage carrying escort goods.
That was a basic measure for protecting the cargo. The moment such a request was made, it should have been rejected outright.
But Umun Hye's beauty was simply overwhelming. And no matter what, Hyeong-pyo was still a man—one who had lived alone for over forty years, unbearably lonely.
Tang Ho-gwan frowned and stared at Shadow Snake. In the meantime, Umun Hye walked toward the carriage as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The two men who had been standing beside the carriage earlier—Golden Snake and Silver Snake—quickly moved to flank her.
Before Tang Ho-gwan or Hyeong-pyo could stop her, Umun Hye climbed onto the carriage and gently sat atop the escort goods.
"Let's go."
With those words from Umun Hye, the escort resumed. The porters moved the carriage almost unconsciously. Though it was a sudden development, it felt so natural that no one raised an objection.
Hyeong-pyo took a few steps forward before jolting in shock and looking at Tang Ho-gwan.
Tang Ho-gwan's face was badly twisted. Feeling awkward and apologetic, Hyeong-pyo quietly stepped back.
As he retreated, he realized something felt off. Something about this was suspicious. In moments like this, the only person Hyeong-pyo trusted was Dan Hyung-u.
There were five carriages carrying the escort goods in total. The carriage Umun Hye rode was the one in the center. At Hyeong-pyo's request, Dan Hyung-u walked beside the middle carriage.
There were no porters around Umun Hye's carriage. Overwhelmed by the presence of her guards, Golden Snake and Silver Snake, they had unconsciously given it a wide berth.
With only Dan Hyung-u walking alone beside the carriage, he naturally stood out.
Jo Seol-yeon wanted to go over to Dan Hyung-u's side, but she couldn't bring herself to approach, fearing she would be compared to Umun Hye.
"Sir Escort Hyeong… is this really all right?"
A hint of dissatisfaction showed on Jo Seol-yeon's face. Seeing her expression, Hyeong-pyo gave a bitter smile.
"Of course not. This is the first time something like this has ever happened."
Even Hyeong-pyo, who had spent decades as an escort, had never experienced anything like it—so how flustered must everyone else be?
Yet not a single porter seemed flustered. They were too busy sneaking glances at Umun Hye whenever they got the chance. And the Tang Family warriors were no different.
Seeing this, Jo Seol-yeon let out a quiet sigh.
"Haa… I'm worried."
Hyeong-pyo still wore a bitter smile as he nodded. At present, the only people on the escort mission who still seemed to have their wits about them were Jo Seol-yeon, Hyeong-pyo, Tang Ho-gwan, and Dan Hyung-u.
This is practically sorcery.
Thinking that to himself, Hyeong-pyo shook his head. There wasn't much distance left. At most, they would reach their destination in about seven days. Yet a sigh escaped him, as he had a feeling that the road ahead would be far more difficult than the one they had already traveled.
Umun Hye sat atop the carriage, quietly surveying her surroundings.
Those are porters. Thirty of them. And the escort guards… only one?
An escort mission having only a single escort guard was unthinkable. No matter how many Tang Family warriors accompanied them, things simply weren't done that way.
[This escort mission was attacked, and almost all of the escort guards were wiped out. And the Hanam Escort Agency has now fallen after being assaulted by someone.]
It was Shadow Snake's voice transmission. Having read Umun Hye's expression, he conveyed what she would naturally be curious about.
Umun Hye nodded at the message. In that case, it made sense.
Still, even so, the Tang Family's reaction was somewhat unexpected. After losing even the escort guards, she had yet to find a reason for them to stubbornly cling to the Hanam Escort Agency.
And she had yet to identify the master who had repelled the Black Snake Group's attack.
No matter how I look at it, there's no one of that caliber here.
Tang Ho-gwan looked the most capable, but there was no way he could have faced the Black Snake Group alone. Even combining all of the Tang Family warriors, it would have been the same.
Then how did they stop the Black Snake Group?
Umun Hye's eyes gleamed as she examined the people around her more carefully. But no matter how closely she looked, she couldn't find anyone remarkable.
Just as disappointment began to crease her brow, a porter walking beside the carriage she was riding caught her eye.
Hmm? That's odd.
For a mere porter, he was carrying a sword. If the escort guards had still been alive, they wouldn't have tolerated such insolence. Since there were no escort guards left, it seemed they had given swords to the strongest-looking porters instead.
Hmm… but even so, he doesn't look strong at all.
In Umun Hye's judgment, there were several porters who were fairly capable. That was by porter standards, of course—but even so, they were far better than the porter walking beside her now.
Come to think of it…
Curiosity flickered in Umun Hye's eyes.
Everyone present reacted in much the same way. At the center of it all stood Umun Hye. Everyone—even Jo Seol-yeon—would sneak glances at her whenever they had the chance.
But there was one person who didn't look at Umun Hye at all. And that person was a man. None other than Dan Hyung-u.
Umun Hye cautiously glanced sideways at Dan Hyung-u. To her eyes, he didn't look impressive in the slightest.
He was reasonably handsome, but compared to the many promising young talents she had seen before, he wasn't particularly outstanding. Moreover, he didn't even seem to have trained in martial arts.
You can tell just by his steps.
A true master revealed themselves from the way they walked. Dan Hyung-u's footsteps were far removed from those of a master. Even masters pretending not to be skilled couldn't erase the traces of martial arts ingrained in their steps.
The unique footwork forged through relentless training inevitably seeped into one's gait, no matter how hard one tried to hide it.
Dan Hyung-u's steps were ordinary. The walk of someone who had never learned martial arts—regular, yet with hidden irregularities within.
Because Umun Hye was most confident in footwork and movement techniques, her eye for such things was exceptional, and she never doubted her own judgment.
She observed Dan Hyung-u for quite some time—covertly, of course. Yet throughout that time, Dan Hyung-u never once cast a glance at Umun Hye. It was as though he had no interest in her at all.
That can't be.
There was no way that could be true. Someone who saw her and still showed no interest? And a man, no less? That was impossible.
Umun Hye assumed either Dan Hyung-u hadn't noticed her, or he was enduring it through superhuman restraint.
Impressive.
Given how striking her appearance had been, there was no way he hadn't seen her. That meant he was restraining himself—and that truly was impressive. Her beauty was enough to ignite even the last remaining spark in the hearts of assassins whose emotions were long dead.
"Hey."
In the end, Umun Hye spoke to Dan Hyung-u first. She believed that she could endure it after seeing him once—but after seeing him again, that would be impossible.