Chapter 112: One Cherry Blossom Day (1)
The entire world was dyed in shades of pink.
Cherry blossom petals drifted through the air, creating the illusion of a gentle floral rain. It was an exquisite sight that no one would want to miss. There was no better remedy than this to soothe the hearts and minds of traumatized children.
The orphans of Snow Flower Academy, divided into six classes, took turns going on picnics. Today was the turn of the Peace Class, overseen by Yeon Cho-hee.
Around thirty soldiers volunteered to help supervise the children. As they arrived at their destination in the woods, a squad leader shouted to the group,
“Don’t wander too far, and absolutely do not climb up the mountain!”
However, his warning fell on deaf ears. The children were too excited, and the two hundred or so orphans quickly scattered in all directions.
So-so ran through the woods with a few other children.
“Hehe! What should we play?”
Six-year-old So-bong chased a butterfly, spinning in circles as he spoke.
“Sister So-so, can you catch that butterfly for me?”
“If we catch butterflies with our hands, it hurts them… Should I catch a frog instead?”
So-so scanned the ground, but there were no frogs to be found in a place like this.
Soon, Cho-hee approached, gently patting the children’s backs.
“Children, shouldn’t we plant our seeds first? The next time we come back here, it will be a beautiful field of flowers.”
The children asked as they untied the packs from their backs,
“Wow! I want to see it soon.”
“Will it be pretty when they bloom?”
“Of course. This place will become a beautiful, colorful world filled with sweet scents.”
The children pulled out their supplies, which had been prepared beforehand at Snow Flower Academy.
They divided their roles: some pulled out small trowels to dig, while others prepared to scatter the seeds.
Naturally, So-so’s job was to dig the ground. As her small hands efficiently shoveled the dirt, the other children clapped in admiration.
“So-so, you’re the best!”
“Sister, that’s amazing!”
Pleased with the compliments, So-so dug even faster. Her speed—digging three or four times in a single breath—was so astonishing that even a mole would have wept in defeat. Watching her, Cho-hee was left speechless.
“Hehe. Okay, guys, plant them now!”
“Okay!”
The seeds were scattered, covered with dirt, and the task was finished in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, the other children were only just beginning to get ready.
“Don’t wander off too far…”
As Cho-hee walked over to assist the other groups, the children left behind huddled to decide what to do next.
“Sister So-so, what do we do now?”
So-so scanned the surroundings, her eyes sparkling as she looked for something fun. Then, she spotted something interesting.
“Have you guys ever eaten wild cherries?”
“No…”
“Where are they?”
At the entrance of the mountain path stood a wild cherry tree.
“Right over there. Let’s go eat some!”
Since it was a bit far, the other children couldn’t see it clearly. A girl about So-so’s age, her hair tied in twin tails, asked hesitantly,
“They told us not to go up the mountain… Is it really okay?”
Despite her words, everyone was already on the move. After all, the true romance of a picnic lay in adventure.
Slipping past the soldiers’ watchful eyes, the children reached the entrance of the mountain path, bright smiles on their faces.
So-so plucked a cherry and popped it into her mouth. A massive grin spread across her face.
“It’s delicious! Hehe. Hurry up and try some.”
The six children gathered around the tree and eagerly began plucking and eating the cherries.
“It’s so sweet and sour!”
“This is amazing, Sister.”
Within fifteen minutes, everyone’s lips were stained a bright red.
Still, So-so looked around, feeling unsatisfied. A few wild cherries were hardly enough to fill her stomach.
Then, she remembered the lunch box she had brought.
“Should we eat our lunch here?”
“Yes! I’d love to!”
The children pulled various items from their packs—potatoes and dumplings they had received before leaving Snow Flower Academy.
But then, all eyes turned to So-so. From a pack almost as large as her own torso, she pulled out an endless stream of snacks: wheat cakes, sweet oil honey pastry, rice cakes, and even fresh fruit.
“Looks delicious, right? Dig in!”
Even for So-so, these weren’t snacks she got to eat every day. Yeon Seo-hwa had specially prepared them so she could share them with her friends. The children cheered and began devouring the food.
“I’ve been wanting to eat this for so long…”
“Hehe, this is so good!”
So-so smiled happily and picked up a piece of rice cake.
About half an hour passed, and just as the atmosphere reached its peak, a frantic whistle suddenly echoed from below.
Tweeeet—! Tweeeet—!
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Maybe they’re looking for us.”
The children looked at So-so in confusion, but her expression had turned grave. Gulping down her rice cake, So-so said,
“We’re in trouble.”
“Sister, what’s wrong?”
She pulled her small wooden sword from her pack and replied,
“Bad guys are attacking.”
While the other children couldn’t see anything, So-so’s sharp eyes caught the situation clearly. It was far worse than she thought.
Down below, a badly wounded squad leader screamed desperately,
“Don’t scatter! Gather the children in one place first!”
Dozens of men dressed in black had appeared from out of nowhere. Wearing masks, they were snatching children one by one and carrying them away.
The soldiers tried to fight back, but it was futile. Despite being trained military elites, they were completely overwhelmed. One soldier swung his sword frantically, shouting,
“Who are you people?!”
Clang! Clank! Clatter!
Under a storm of consecutive strikes, the soldier was forced backward. Another comrade rushed to assist him, but they could barely hold their ground.
Soldiers fell one by one, and children wailed throughout the woods. Watching the horrific scene unfold, Cho-hee went pale.
“Everyone, gather here!”
She tried to collect the children to protect them, but it was useless. Paralyzed by fear, many of the orphans couldn’t even move their legs.
“Sob…”
“Waah…”
Most of them simply collapsed to the ground, weeping.
Where on earth had these attackers come from? Their intent was clearly abduction. The number of captured children had already surpassed fifty.
Just then, the masked man who appeared to be the leader shouted to his men,
“This is enough! We’ve gathered enough, pull back!”
The masked men slung the children over their shoulders and began to retreat. But then, the leader’s gaze fell upon an elegant, beautiful woman.
“Bring that woman as well!”
“Yes, sir!”
Two masked men rushed toward Cho-hee. Although she knew some martial arts, her skills were meager and no match for them. Having always relied on her sister, she had zero real combat experience.
“You will regret this…”
Thud!
One of the masked men swiftly struck her pressure points, paralyzing her, and slung her over his shoulder. Since she had never stood on the front lines, they didn’t seem to recognize that she was also from the Demonic Cult. With most of the guarding soldiers dead or incapacitated, there was no one left to stop them.
As they ran, one of the kidnappers laughed mockingly.
“Haha! This was a piece of cake. We should have come here from the start.”
“Compared to the struggle of snatching them one by one, this is a jackpot.”
They were the Black Fog Squad, henchmen of the Silver Flower Crone. Due to the strict surveillance of the government forces and the daily census conducted in every village, their kidnapping activities had been severely restricted lately. Encountering such a large group of children outside was the perfect opportunity.
“Our shortage is completely resolved today.”
“Finally, this tedious chore ends today.”
As they traveled further, they met up with two carriages and a dozen more masked men waiting. The carriages were already packed with children.
“Move out!”
Having completed their mission with ease, the Black Fog Squad began to escort the carriages away. However, before they could go far, one of them shouted in alarm,
“L-Leader! Look behind us!”
The men looked back.
An absurd sight met their eyes. A little girl, barely waist-high, was sprinting after them, clutching a sword. Her astonishing speed and light movement technique made it clear that she was no ordinary child.
“Give me back my friends!”
The men in black were dumbfounded.
“What is this tiny acorn?”
They couldn’t afford to stop for a single brat. The leader pointed to one of his men.
“Go deal with her!”
One man stayed behind to block her, while the rest continued forward.
A moment later, a dull, bone-crushing sound echoed from behind.
Crack—!
They expected the matter to be resolved, but the scream that followed defied their expectations.
“Aaagh!”
The leader looked back to see his subordinate writhing on the ground. Meanwhile, the distance between them and the little girl had closed even further.
“Where did this little chick come from…?”
Inside the carriage, some of the children spotted So-so and burst into tears.
“So-so, what do we do… sob.”
“Waah… Save us, Sister!”
So-so furrowed her brows. Pushing off the ground with her short legs, she soared into the air like a sparrow.
Two squad leaders of the Black Fog Squad leaped forward, their swords flashing with sword qi. The moment their blades clashed in midair, So-so’s body spun like a mini-tornado.
Boom! Crash!
“Kh!”
“Urgh!”
The two men groaned as they were blown backward. Her unfathomable internal energy and lightning-fast movements were simply unbelievable.
Now recognizing her martial prowess, the Black Fog Squad stopped letting their guard down. A dozen more masked men joined in, forming a sword formation in front of So-so.
At that moment, Yeon Cho-hee shouted from the shoulder of the retreating kidnapper,
“Go! Run and get your father!”
So-so hesitated as she held her stance. This was not a force she could defeat on her own.
Furthermore, the leader of the Black Fog Squad standing at the front was emitting an aura that constantly put her on edge.
One thing was certain: she could not rescue everyone by herself. So-so stomped her feet, her eyes filling with tears of frustration.
“Everyone, what do I do…”
Yeon Cho-hee screamed once more with all her might,
“Hurry!”
There was no more time to waste. So-so turned on her heel and dashed away.
The Black Fog Squad members waiting in formation stared in disbelief. Her movements were far too fast for them to pursue. Swearing under their breath, they could only watch her tiny figure vanish into the distance.
A thick tear rolled down So-so’s cheek as she sprinted.
The distance to Chang’an was only about ten li. Pushing her light movement technique to its absolute limit, she rapidly closed the distance.
Soon, the guards at the western gate of Chang’an Fortress came into view.
Whoosh—!
A gust of wind whipped past, slapping the guards’ faces.
“Wh-what was that?”
“Did something just run past? It looked like So-so.”
While the guards stood bewildered, So-so was already darting toward the Wolf Fang Squad’s barracks like a bolt of lightning.
In no time, the barracks entrance was in front of her. She didn’t hesitate for a second.
Thud—!
She threw the door open so hard it nearly shattered. But it was the time when the uncles usually went for training, and the barracks was empty. Well, except for one person.
A massive man lay on his back with his hands clasped behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling. Il-gwang had been in this state since yesterday. He slowly turned his gaze toward the door.
“What is it…?”
So-so stood at the entrance, hands on her hips, panting heavily. Her face was flushed with frustration, and tears welled in her eyes.
“Uncle, where did my father go?!”
“Why…?”
Before she could explain, So-so burst into tears. Overwhelmed by emotion, she ran over, grabbed his sleeve, and sobbed,
“Bad guys took my friends. And they took my teacher too… sniff…”
The vacant expression on Il-gwang’s face vanished instantly. His rugged features contorted like a furious grizzly bear, and his thick lips trembled as he growled,
“Who did it?”
“I don’t know… sob…”
He had heard about the picnic location when he dropped his niece off this morning. The guards were supposed to protect them, so the fact that they had been defeated meant this was a grave emergency.
“Your father went to meet his wife.”
Leaving behind those words, Il-gwang bolted out of the barracks. The door frame shattered as his massive body crashed through it.
Crash—!
Grinding his teeth, Il-gwang spat out a voice dripping with murderous intent,
“How dare they touch her… Today, they all die.”