Chapter 95: Another Realization (2)

The place Yong Hwarin’s group arrived at was a shabby inn.

Upon entering, around ten escorts from the Sky Ocean Escort Agency were already waiting inside.

In addition, Hoi Unkyung—whom Yong Hwarin preferred not to encounter—was also present.

When she saw Yong Hwarin, she greeted him with a delighted expression.

“Oh, Young Master Yong, you’re here as well.”

Yong Hwarin offered a reluctant clasped-hands greeting.

“It’s been a while, Miss Hoi.”

He had considered that Hoi Unkyung might join if the Sky Ocean Escort Agency had mobilized, but he hadn’t expected her to personally participate in such a dangerous matter.

Jeong Minji spoke to Hoi Unkyung.

“We brought Young Master Yong because he has a grudge against Black Kill Sword Wonho as well. He’ll be a significant addition to our forces.”

“Well done. The Heavenly Sword Hero is a rising prodigy around Henan these days. It feels like we’ve gained a thousand troops.”

Looking at the young Hoi Unkyung, Yong Hwarin felt a complicated tangle of emotions.

‘She’s a woman who became unhappy because I didn’t love her—but because of that, I too was left unhappy.’

From her youth, she had led the Sky Ocean Escort Agency with tireless activity and strength.

Even after their marriage, that strong-willed nature of hers led her to try and control him, causing frequent emotional conflict.

‘Damn it, if I had known Hoi Unkyung was coming, I wouldn’t have come…’

Even though they had encountered each other a few times already, Yong Hwarin still didn’t feel at ease seeing Hoi Unkyung.

Soon, he shook his head.

‘No. I need to focus on capturing Black Kill Sword right now. That’s the top priority.’

Only by locating Black Kill Sword and uncovering the enemy’s base or identities could he prevent his father’s assassination.

“Have we confirmed his location?”

When Yong Hwarin asked, Hoi Unkyung responded.

“Yes, based on Brother Jeong’s account, we used a tracking hound raised at our main branch to find the target’s trail.”

Small escort agencies might not, but large agencies like the Sky Ocean Escort Agency raised tracking hounds trained to follow the scent of escort items in case of theft or loss.

The Sky Ocean Escort Agency always sprayed escort items with a scent that their hounds could easily recognize, just in case.

The tracking hounds were a breed specialized in scent-based pursuit.

To that, Jeong Suji spoke in a slightly cold tone.

“Last time, we followed the hound and fell into a trap. Are you sure it’s accurate this time?”

“Oh, the hound tracked the scent from the token Brother Jeong gave us. But it seems that token passed through many hands and misled us to another location. This time, however, we confirmed the target directly ourselves.”

As it turned out, the Three Chivalrous Sisters had fallen into the Sagaram Shadow Unit’s trap due to the tracking hound following their enemies.

But now that the Sky Ocean Escort Agency had confirmed it themselves, there could be no mistake.

‘Hoi Unkyung is the kind of person who’s meticulous even about minor details. If she says it’s accurate, then it is.’

“If Miss Hoi says it’s accurate, then I believe her.”

After speaking carelessly, Yong Hwarin realized his mistake. He had seen the smirk on Hoi Unkyung’s face.

That was the smile she showed when something pleased her.

‘Damn, I let old memories make me slip up.’

“Thank you for trusting me.”

As Yong Hwarin said that, Jeong Suji offered no rebuttal.

In truth, if asked to name the most trustworthy person in the room, Jeong Suji would name Yong Hwarin without hesitation.

He was someone I had clashed with several times before, but he had never shown any deceitfulness and always handled matters with caution and seriousness.

I knew that someone like that would be equally prudent in judging others. So if I trusted Hoi Unkyung, it made it easier on my mind to trust her.

Jeong Suji hadn’t placed much trust in Hoi Unkyung since they had fallen into a trap. No matter what, she believed the responsibility for that mishap lay with her.

“Where is he? I fear we’ll lose him if we delay here any longer.”

Feeling awkward about staying face-to-face with Hoi Unkyung, I asked.

She replied with a gentle smile.

‘Damn it, don’t smile at me like that.’

I consciously looked away from her.

I knew the meaning of that smile, and I didn’t like the direction this situation was heading.

“He’s currently attending a banquet hosted by the local office.”

“He infiltrated the local office himself?”

It was such an unexpected answer that the third of the Three Chivalrous Sisters, Jeong Daji, asked.

“We too were surprised when we identified his location. He entered the local office on his own.”

“Which local office?”

Jeong Minji asked, her killing intent rising.

“You’ve heard about the Virtuous Magistrate who recently died in Imyeong County, right?”

Hearing that, a jolt struck my chest.

A memory surfaced.

In truth, I didn’t know if the subordinates of the Self-Revolving Blood Demon would really kill Virtuous Magistrate as expected. I thought they might simply cripple one of her limbs, given her high status as an official.

“The new Virtuous Magistrate assigned to Imyeong County was hosting a celebratory banquet, and he attended that event.”

“If he went to such a place deliberately, there must be a reason.”

The second, Jeong Suji, asked in a flat, emotionless tone.

Her voice was chillingly cold despite her beautiful face.

“So I looked into it. Turns out the new Virtuous Magistrate’s daughter is rumored to be a peerless beauty.”

“As expected, he still hasn’t changed his habits.”

The murderous aura radiating from the three sisters made me flinch.

The killing intent emitted simultaneously by three first-rate martial artists was overwhelming.

“He’s a well-known Withered Petal Sound Fiend. If the Virtuous Magistrate’s daughter is truly a beauty, there’s no way he’d just pass her by. Even while being hunted, to think he’d plan to violate someone… it means he doesn’t even believe he’s being chased.”

Jeong Suji ground her teeth.

“When is the banquet being held?”

“As you know, when a new Virtuous Magistrate is appointed, a grand banquet is held over two days. It’s scheduled to begin tomorrow.”

“Then time is short. Even if we set out immediately, we’d barely arrive by tomorrow morning.”

Jeong Minji and Jeong Suji stood as they spoke.

Hoi Unkyung also stood and murmured.

“If we arrive late, a young woman’s life may be ruined. We must leave quickly. Mae Yeongyeong… I wonder if she knows her fate rests in our hands.”

I stopped dead in my tracks on my way to the stables.

Then, in a slightly trembling voice, I spoke toward Hoi Unkyung.

“Who did you say just now?”

It was the first time Hoi Unkyung had seen such a forceful tone from me, and she furrowed her delicate brows.

But hearing the tremor in my voice, she sensed something and answered.

“I said Miss Mae Yeongyeong.”

I hadn’t misheard.

After a pause, I asked again.

“By any chance, is the name of the newly appointed Virtuous Magistrate Mae Cheongbo?”

Hoi Unkyung looked at me with a hint of suspicion.

“How do you know the new Virtuous Magistrate?”

“Is it him?”

As I pressed the question, the escorts nearby fixed their eyes on me.

“The new Virtuous Magistrate appointed to Imyeong County is indeed Mae Cheongbo.”

“Hmm!”

Mae Yeongyeong… I never expected to hear her name in a place like this.

Even though I had come back to life, I didn’t think I would ever encounter her again.

‘Even in a life lived anew after regression, past connections don’t simply vanish.’

Mae Yeongyeong was one of the five women I had encountered in my life.

‘I thought there would be no chance of meeting her again since she was part of the local office…’

To me, Mae Yeongyeong was an especially significant woman.

Among the five women who had been part of my life, she was likely the first with whom I had shared mutual affection.

She was a woman who had even liked my once-fat body.

My time with Mae Yeongyeong had been special.

Back when I was part of a trading company, my family was suddenly ambushed and destroyed.

The Heavenly Central Sect wasn’t weak enough to be exterminated overnight by the Great Dabie Sect in a war.

With support from the Lee Family of Shaanxi and the Geum Family of Shaanxi, we had managed to maintain a balance, so it made no sense for us to be wiped out in a single blow.

The truth was, there had been a hidden force behind it all.

The Great Dabie Sect had proposed a ceasefire, and the Heavenly Central Sect, naïvely, had accepted it. The next day, they were ambushed on a massive scale and completely annihilated.

After leaving the Heavenly Central Sect, I had been secretly funding them with military support. While working with a trading company, that was the only thing I could do for my household.

But when the clan was driven to the brink of extermination, I fell into despair and wandered aimlessly for a long time.

It was during that time that I met a woman—Mae Yeongyeong.

Her father, Mae Cheongbo, was the Investigator of the Henan Branch.

An Investigator was an official tasked with interrogating criminals.

The Sky Ocean Escort Agency had been delivering daily goods to the Henan Branch and regularly visited to maintain favor with the branch.

That was when I saw Mae Yeongyeong.

I began frequenting the branch just to see her.

But within a few months, Mae Cheongbo was transferred far away to Yunnan, far from Henan.

I later learned that it had been Hoi Unkyung who, upon discovering the relationship between us, had manipulated the Head of the Right Provincial Administration of the Henan Provincial Administration Office to have Mae Cheongbo transferred to Yunnan.

And that incident had become the reason I let go of the last trace of affection I had held for Hoi Unkyung.

“Young Master Yong, do you know her?”

“N-no.”

Hoi Unkyung looked at me with suspicious eyes as I brushed off her question vaguely.

“Let’s go. We’ll need to ride through the night if we want to reach Imyeong County.”

Instead, I felt myself heating up inside.

Even if we had no relationship now, she had once been a woman who had comforted me in my previous life.

She was now in a situation where she could be violated by Black Kill Sword.

And my father’s assassination was tied to all of this. I couldn’t help but feel a deep, tangled connection with Black Kill Sword.

After riding for quite a while, we stopped at an inn to grab a quick bite.

I didn’t speak with the others because my mind was too preoccupied.

The others noticed that I was deep in thought and chose not to disturb me.

Hoi Unkyung became sulky, displeased by my silence.

She had already been disappointed by my lack of words during the journey, and now that I remained completely unresponsive even at the inn, she couldn’t help but feel let down, having quietly hoped we might grow closer.

As she watched me, a conversation from a nearby table caught her attention and reminded her of something she had forgotten.

“Things are a bit chaotic in the murim lately. Haven’t you heard the rumors? About over a hundred elite warriors from the demonic sect Iron Hawk Gate crossing from Shaanxi into Henan recently?”

“Iron Hawk Gate… Isn’t that the sect founded by Iron Hawk Blood Blade, a famous master of the Dark Echo Valley and one of the Three Thousand Demons? The founder, Iron Hawk Blood Blade, went into seclusion in the Dark Echo Valley, but their influence is no joke. If a power like that is moving, wouldn’t that mean war?”

“Exactly. Whoever the enemy sect was, if you hear they were wiped out shortly afterward, then it was probably their doing.”

Hoi Unkyung saw this as a good opportunity to spark a conversation with me.

“By the way, Young Master Yong, the news of Iron Hawk Gate, one of the demonic sects of Shaanxi, crossing over into Henan is spreading throughout both regions. Do you know anything about them?”

I was so lost in thought that I only half-heard her words.

“I don’t.”

Even if I did know, I didn’t want to speak to Hoi Unkyung. After I replied curtly, Hoi Unkyung, perhaps feeling hurt, just poked at her food without eating.

Looking at her, I spoke.

“If everyone’s done eating, let’s move.”

This wasn’t the time to be sitting around leisurely.

I urged the group to continue on.

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