Chapter 67
“Give Seol-ah to me!”
Namgung Ho’s face, his fingers pressed against Hong-seol’s shoulder, darkened rapidly.
“...It seems this child, Seol-ah, has used her Inner Energy.”
Namgung On narrowed his already slender eyes even further, as if he could not believe it.
“Does that mean...?”
Namgung Ho nodded weakly. He looked nothing like the man who had unleashed the Lion’s Roar only moments ago.
“Because she forced out every ounce of power she possessed, the meridians throughout her entire body are boiling.”
Namgung Ho patted Hong-seol’s forehead with trembling hands.
‘How could this little one have pushed herself so far...’
Namgung Ho closed his eyes.
‘It is all my fault.’
If he had known it would come to this, he never should have taught her martial arts.
He should have told her that there are many things in this world far more important than Justice and Chivalry, and that she should simply live her life happily as she pleased.
Namgung Ho opened his eyes, his strength spent.
His voice was heavy, as if his ankles were trapped in an endless swamp.
“At this rate, Seol-ah will not last the day.”
* * *
“Run without stopping!”
The group of men who had escaped the clutches of the Namgung Clan dashed away like tigers.
Their movement technique was so elusive and ghostly.
Even the warriors of the renowned Azure Sky Unit had long since given up on catching them.
How long had they been running?
They reached a stream deep within the mountains. Not even a shadow of a pursuer could be seen.
“Drink some water and catch your breath!”
Only then did the leader allow his men to rest.
The men, branded with black feather tattoos, prostrated themselves and gulped down the stream water.
“There are some left...”
The leader groaned after counting their numbers.
“Even after drawing upon their innate primordial energy, two of them were caught by those persistent bastards from the Azure Sky Unit.”
“You didn’t leave any of the stragglers alive, did you?”
“Of course. The moment they fell behind, I dealt with them using hidden weapons.”
The leader frowned and scanned the surroundings.
“Come to think of it, where is Un-bong? He was definitely by my side at the start.”
“Perhaps he was caught from behind without a sound on the way here?”
“True... It is fortunate that only three died.”
“What shall we do from here on?”
“What else is there to do? We go to another city and gather more children. If we return without meeting our quota, death is the only outcome.”
“Yes!”
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the leader’s face. The man who had been talking to him looked up, his expression puzzled.
“What is that, Boss?”
“...Is that not a black eagle?”
“But why is it circling above our heads like that?”
“How should I know? Perhaps there is a rotting carcass of some beast nearby.”
“But as far as I know, unlike other eagles, black eagles do not eat rotten meat.”
The leader, who had been quenching his thirst, snapped in anger.
“Are you saying it sees us as its prey?”
At that moment, the black eagle circling overhead dove from the sky toward the ground, as fast as lightning.
“Aaargh!”
The tip of its beak struck the leader’s eyeball with precision.
Clutching his bleeding eye, the leader issued a scream-filled command.
“Kill that wretched bird at once!”
“Yes!”
The men shouted in unison and drew the bows they carried on their backs.
Hummm.
The bowstrings aimed at the eagle were pulled taut.
Despite the men’s fierce killing intent, the eagle circled the sky without a hint of fear.
Whoosh!
The moment over a dozen arrows soared through the air in an arc, the circling eagle began its descent.
“Not a chance!”
But the arrows, already released from the strings, were aimed precisely at the falling eagle.
Just as the sharpened arrowheads were about to pierce the eagle’s body—
“Kya-hahahaha!”
With a chilling laugh, the eagle spun once, and suddenly, a woman’s white fingers snatched all nine arrows out of the air.
Only the very last arrow grazed the woman’s shoulder.
It was clear she had let it pass on purpose.
As her torn clothing parted, a black feather tattoo was revealed on her shoulder.
Unlike the men’s, it was the mark of the ‘true’ Black Eagle Gang, with its tips stained red.
Seeing this, the leader turned pale.
If someone belonged to the Black Eagle Gang and could transform into an eagle... there was only one such person in the martial world.
“P-P-Poison-Armed Eagle! How? Is it the Art of Disguise?”
“Who knows. If it were a disguise, would I need to reveal my identity so openly?”
Beneath the black bamboo hat, the woman’s delicate lips curved into a soft smile.
Hearing those words, the leader’s face washed over with horror.
“Could it be... the Return to Youth?!”
The legendary realm of achieving enlightenment and returning to a youthful body.
Witnessing it firsthand, the leader’s jaw dropped in shock.
The woman’s sharp gaze swept over them thoroughly.
“Are you the ones who have been using the name of our Black Eagle Gang for your own selfish ends?”
“W-Who told you that!”
The woman reached into her robes, pulled something out, and tossed it.
The moment the round object, looking like a pig’s bladder, rolled and tapped the leader’s foot—
“Uwaaaah!”
The man recoiled in terror.
“Un-bong!”
It was the head of his subordinate, whom he had assumed was taken by the Azure Sky Unit.
“This fellow said that you kidnapped a child from the Namgung Clan?”
“No. I know the faces of the young masters of the Namgung Clan, and there was no such child.”
“There must have been.”
At her confident tone, the man who had exchanged blows with Deng Soso frowned.
“Boss, could it be... that cat beastkin?”
“Damn it!”
Instinctively sensing that something was wrong, cold sweat ran down the leader’s spine.
“I will not forgive the sin of kidnapping children and committing such vile acts in the name of the Black Eagle Gang.”
The Poison-Armed Eagle spread her ten fingers wide. Already, fake iron claws were fitted onto them.
They were the ‘Fierce Eagle Claws’ that the Poison-Armed Eagle favored.
Seeing them, the men stepped back involuntarily.
“I’m thirsty. I’ll finish this quickly and go have a drink.”
The Poison-Armed Eagle flicked her red tongue and licked the edge of her lips.
“Pay for the sin of staining the name of the Black Eagle Gang and laying a hand on my prey with your lives!”
Kuaaaah—!
The men’s screams echoed for a long time.
* * *
Half a day had passed in the blink of an eye.
Time in the Namgung Clan flowed helplessly.
“My child, you are so delicate, why did you...”
Bing Yuhwa kept calling out to Hong-seol in a hoarse voice.
“My child, my dear child...”
Lying on the bed in her quarters, Hong-seol’s face looked as peaceful as if she were merely sleeping.
But her once-vibrant lips had lost their color, and her small body was alternating between burning like a fireball and turning ice-cold.
“Sob, my child...”
It felt as if the nightmare from three years ago, when she lost the child in her womb, was repeating itself. A grief that felt like her insides were being torn apart swallowed Yuhwa.
The Clan Lord, Namgung On, wore a somber expression as he weakly patted Yuhwa’s shoulder.
Beside them, Namgung Ho had been holding his forehead in agony, having not even taken a sip of water for a long time.
“...”
Namgung Baek had retreated into his own quarters, his face as expressionless as it had been in the past.
“I beg of you. Please, save the little one.”
“Please save sister!”
Heuk and Jeok had gone to the shrine within the Namgung Clan, bowing their heads and praying over and over again.
The estate of the Namgung Clan was thus entirely submerged in sorrow, each in their own way.
The outer courtyard training ground, which used to overflow with the sounds of warriors training, had closed its doors.
The Medicine Hall, which had been busy boiling medicinal decoctions, was empty, not even a wisp of steam rising from it.
Even the kitchen of the Azure Sky Pavilion, which had produced sweets and red bean cakes for Hong-seol, had long since seen its firewood go cold.
Everyone mourned the impending death of young Hong-seol.
Just then, a guard stood at the doorway of Hong-seol’s quarters and scratched his head.
“Excuse me, Head of the Medical Hall.”
“What on earth is the matter?”
It was the Clan Lord, Namgung On, who answered. Bing Yuhwa was on the verge of exhaustion from crying so much.
“I apologize. Two old men of unknown origin have been causing a commotion at the main gate, demanding to be let in.”
To bring up such a trivial matter in a situation like this.
Namgung On’s head throbbed. His only thought was that he needed to replace the guards.
“If they are beggars, have the Steward feed them appropriately and give them a few coins to send them on their way.”
The guard hesitated before continuing.
“The thing is, they have been making a scene, insisting they must see the Head of the Medical Hall.”
“Yuhwa?”
At that moment, Namgung On felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his spine.
“Describe their appearance! Quickly!”
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