Chapter 17: An Ambush (3)
Yong Hwarin’s legs trembled, and he felt like collapsing on the spot.
Truthfully, ever since his clash with the group leader, his internal energy had been completely drained, leaving him with barely enough strength to stand.
The group leader had essentially been deceived by Yong Hwarin’s bluff. He likely couldn’t imagine that a boy that young would dare to put on such a front.
Puhak!
Once the assassins had completely disappeared, Yong Hwarin vomited the internal injuries he had been holding back.
“Young Master!”
Mo Biyoung and the others rushed toward Yong Hwarin in alarm, but before they could reach him, Jaegal Byeok spoke up.
“Young Master Yong, why did you let them go? Their leader was seriously injured. You could have killed them.”
Yong Hwarin looked at Jaegal Byeok in response.
His expression clearly asked, ‘Are you really asking because you don’t know?’
Jaegal Byeok’s uncles glanced at him with faint embarrassment. Everyone else had understood, yet it seemed only the nephew was clueless.
Eventually, one of his uncles opened his mouth.
“Byeok, we were injured and had no strength left. If they had charged in, willing to die, at most one or two of us might have survived. In such a situation, scaring them off with a bluff was the wisest move.”
They had already figured out Yong Hwarin’s true intention. And the Two Wook Sword Demons had realized it as well, which was why they held Mo Biyoung back.
However, Mo Biyoung still saw Yong Hwarin as a naive, feeble scholar and had thought he was acting out of reckless bravado.
‘I see now… I really had a biased view of the Young Master.’
Even though she had witnessed his maturity several times, her prejudice hadn’t easily faded. She realized she was no different from Jaegal Byeok.
Jaegal Byeok, on the other hand, flushed with shame and lowered his head.
He was a descendant of the Jaegal Clan, hailed as the “Universal Mind of the Martial World.” To fail to recognize something so basic—he felt deeply embarrassed by his own ignorance.
Of course, Jaegal Byeok had lost his composure for a moment after all the clan’s warriors had died. But that wasn’t much of a consolation.
‘I should have assessed the situation more calmly.’
He blamed himself for being lesser than Yong Hwarin. And Yong Hwarin began to appear quite impressive to him.
Who would’ve thought that someone who looked like an invalid would grow into a dignified warrior who could drive off the leader of those assassins, whom they all had struggled against?
Even Yong Hwarin himself was surprised.
He hadn’t expected to fight so well. It was only now sinking in that his attacks had succeeded just as he had intended. He was beginning to feel a thrill for battle.
Someone who could attack and defend with the most suitable response for the situation—
Yong Hwarin suddenly thought that perhaps that was what made a true master.
*
Jaegal Byeok’s uncles stopped at a nearby village and hastily procured a few carriages. They loaded the corpses of the Jaegal Clan’s warriors onto them and set off for the clan estate.
As expected of a wealthy and influential clan from Hubei, they handled everything swiftly and efficiently. While the Jaegal Clan took care of the formalities, Yong Hwarin sought out a quiet place to regulate his breathing and restore his energy.
Just then, Jaegal Yohye approached him and spoke.
“Thank you.”
Even as she said thank you, she lowered her head reluctantly, her face stiff with pride.
Yong Hwarin chuckled inwardly.
‘She’s a little twisted, but not completely. Reminds me of how I was when I was younger.’
His nose tingled unexpectedly at the familiar sight.
As that thought passed his mind, Jaegal Yohye pulled something from her sleeve and extended it toward him.
“Take this. It’s our clan’s special medicine.”
Yong Hwarin flinched inwardly.
He knew how precious that special medicine was—only passed down to direct descendants of the Jaegal Clan.
“I’m fine.”
He politely refused, and Jaegal Yohye’s cheek twitched. Her displeasure showed clearly, but since he had risked his life to save them, she couldn’t treat him harshly.
At least she had enough courtesy to maintain minimal respect. Yet her tongue still lacked grace.
“Don’t be so stingy. Can’t you be a bit more generous? If you’re Sister Cheongyeong’s fiancé, you should act more like a real man.”
From her perspective, Yong Hwarin was refusing simply because he didn’t like her. Yong Hwarin chuckled and accepted the special medicine.
“Let’s call it even then.”
With that, Jaegal Yohye quickly turned away.
She was probably referring to both the Ha Cheolryeong incident and this one.
But her words were so absurd that Yong Hwarin couldn’t help but laugh like an old man.
As he tucked the medicine into his robe and was about to move, one of Jaegal Byeok’s uncles approached.
“Young Master Yong, I’m sorry, but could you escort us to the clan estate? Considering the assassins targeted us, I fear more ambushes. As you can see, we don’t have much fighting strength left. We ask for your help.”
They knew of his betrothal to Jaegal Cheongyeong, so it wasn’t difficult to ask the favor.
Yong Hwarin couldn’t refuse.
What they said made sense. If they continued on without an escort, it was likely the assassins would attack again.
Going to the Wudang Sect for help wasn’t an option—they had already traveled too far. It would be safer to head straight for the clan estate.
“That works out. I was planning to go there as well, so let’s travel together.”
Among the three uncles, the one in the best condition took the reins of the carriage.
Yong Hwarin and the others rode alongside the carriages, splitting front and back to escort them.
Just like that, Yong Hwarin found himself acting as a guard for the Jaegal Clan.
“Young Master Yong, what do you like about Sister Cheongyeong?”
Jaegal Yohye suddenly flung open the carriage door and asked bluntly.
Yong Hwarin merely glanced at her and didn’t answer.
She asked again.
“Come on, tell me. Do you like her because she’s strong? Or because she’s beautiful?”
Jaegal Cheongyeong was renowned in the Jaegal Clan for her martial prowess. She was also a beauty, which meant marriage proposals from other martial clans poured in.
But Yong Hwarin ignored Jaegal Yohye’s pointless questions. His mind was on something else—the reason behind the assassins’ attack.
Even if it wasn’t directly related to him, the reason and objective piqued his curiosity.
“Clan Head, why did the assassins attack?”
Jaegal Jinmu, the acting head of the clan, couldn’t avoid the question.
Yong Hwarin had saved their lives and was now escorting them to the clan estate. He had the right to ask, and Jaegal Jinmu had a duty to answer.
But he couldn’t reveal everything. So he told a partial truth.
“Young Master Yong, I’m not sure of the exact reason, but it seemed they were trying to kidnap Yohye.”
“Lady Jaegal?”
“They mercilessly slaughtered our warriors, but they didn’t harm Yohye.”
“Then what did they want from kidnapping Lady Jaegal?”
“That I don’t know. But what’s clear is that there’s a hostile force against our clan.”
“If they’re trying to kidnap her, that means they have something they want to demand.”
At that, Jaegal Jinmu let out a sigh of admiration.
‘They say Young Master Yong may be frail, but he’s sharp. I should watch my words.’
Yong Hwarin watched the clan head’s tightened face, waiting for an answer. But when none came, he asked no more.
‘There’s definitely something going on.’
He sensed they were hiding something, and that made him suspicious.
Still, he reminded himself that getting too involved in another sect’s affairs wasn’t wise, so he let it go.
Jaegal Jinmu, meanwhile, focused solely on steering the carriage and staying alert.
The group was nearing their destination—just two counties away from the Jaegal Clan estate.
They pressed onward, tightening their grip on the reins, spurring the horses faster.
That was when they reached the entrance of Chunyang County Road.
Heeheeheeheeeng!
The horses suddenly reared, letting out high-pitched cries as the driver yanked the reins to stop them.
The cause was a massive tree blocking the road.
It hadn’t fallen naturally—someone had clearly cut it down and placed it there.
Yong Hwarin dismounted and said,
“Check the surroundings carefully.”
The wounded warriors of the Jaegal Clan got off the carriage. Only Jaegal Yohye remained inside.
Jaegal Byeok also got down, leaning on his sword.
“Byeok, get back inside.”
At Jaegal Jinmu’s command, Jaegal Byeok shook his head.
“I’ve recovered enough.”
“Then stay close to the carriage.”
Then Jaegal Jinmu called out toward the forest.
“Who goes there? Show yourself and grant me the honor of seeing your face.”
Even Yong Hwarin could sense the pressure from the forest. Which meant the enemies weren’t beyond his level.
But this time, there were too many of them.
More than fifty warriors emerged from both sides of the forest. Among them were several first-rate martial artists.
Some wielded bows, others held bamboo tubes.
It was clear this would be an even tougher fight than before.
“You’ve shown up in masks, which means you must want something from us. Do you know we are from the Jaegal Clan?”
Jaegal Jinmu tried to use the clan’s reputation to get them out of the situation.
“Of course. Why else would we be masked?”
Since the masked men didn’t answer, Yong Hwarin replied in their stead.
‘Can we really fight them off on our own?’
Improvisation could only take them so far.
They had managed to trick the Blood-Dyed Assassins thanks to prior intel, but they knew nothing about these masked attackers.
They would have to rely solely on martial skill.
“Young Master, whatever happens, don’t leave our side.”
The Two Wook Sword Demons and Mo Biyoung closed in around Yong Hwarin.
They didn’t care what happened to the Jaegal Clan. Their only concern was protecting their Young Master.
The masked assailants said nothing more. The attack began silently.
A flick of the wrist from the central figure triggered the charge.
Mo Biyoung and the Two Wook Sword Demons formed a defensive formation, giving Yong Hwarin no need to even draw his sword.
Clearly, the attackers were after Jaegal Yohye.
They concentrated their assault on the carriage where she was hiding.
The ones falling were mostly masked men, but it was still a losing battle for the Jaegal Clan and Yong Hwarin’s group.
They had already spent their energy fighting the Blood-Dyed Assassins. And these attackers hadn’t even used their full force yet.
“I’ll fight too.”
When Yong Hwarin said this, Mo Biyoung objected.
“Please leave this fight to us. You haven’t fully recovered from your internal injuries.”