Chapter 197: Chapter 197

It was pure coincidence that Dan So-mi discovered it.

So-mi, who had been running around and playing, stopped at one place and stared intently ahead.

There was a person there.

Using bushes to cover the entrance, they were hiding their body inside a small cave-like place.

Their entire body was covered in blood, and even their breathing was rough. Torn and cut wounds could be seen here and there.

Dan So-mi, turning pale, carefully poked her head toward that place.

“Ugh…!”

Whether he felt a presence, the man opened his eyes.

For a moment, a fierce light flashed in them, and a startled Dan So-mi hid her body between the bushes. Even the white cat was surprised and crawled into Dan So-mi’s arms.

“A-Are… you okay?”

She asked cautiously.

It was clearly a situation where any young child should have run away, but although shivering, she was staring intently at the other person.

The man ground his teeth as he looked at Dan So-mi.

“Get lost.”

The sharp word pierced her ears. That voice filled with killing intent made goosebumps break out across her entire body.

Dan So-mi, who had turned stark white, swallowed hard, turned around, and ran away.

“Sigh… damn it…”

The man, no, Chu Mun-won, frowned as he watched the disappearing child.

His mental strength was severely depleted. Although a little internal energy remained, maintaining his body with only that was a considerably difficult task.

“Those bastards…”

Chu Mun-won ground his teeth hard.

The sound of teeth breaking rang out. That was how much anger had risen to the top of his head. He felt blood flowing from the torn and cut places.

A body that could not feel pain was truly inconvenient.

If he had not seen it with his eyes, he probably would not have even known that blood had flowed this much.

Chu Mun-won tore his clothes to stop the bleeding and gasped for breath.

Because he had lost too much blood, he needed to replenish moisture as soon as possible to move his body even a little.

However, his body did not move easily. He tried thinking in his head that he must move, but his body did not listen, as if it were no longer his.

“Damn bastards…! I will definitely kill you!”

In the beginning, he had sufficiently overwhelmed the opponents. If he had pushed forward like that, he would have been able to win.

However, two more people suddenly appeared, and the fact that Ma Jang-gang was included among them was the cause of the defeat.

That guy possessed skills even stronger than what he had heard, and whenever he tried to press him, others intervened from here and there to swing their swords.

In particular, Namgung So-hye’s swordsmanship was sharp and fast, and it was somehow different from the ultimate arts of the Namgung Clan known to the world so far.

When he predicted the sword path and avoided it, the blade followed as if mocking him.

Ma Jang-gang was also scary, but what embarrassed him the most was precisely Namgung So-hye’s mysterious sword technique.

Seeing that she made most of the wounds on his entire body, no further explanation was needed.

‘I must move.’

Chu Mun-won forced himself up from his spot. In an instant, his legs lacked strength, and he lost his balance and fell.

Thud!

He frowned at the state of his body that would not listen.

However, he could not give up here.

Standing up again and again, he put strength into his legs.

It was when about an hour had passed like that. Chu Mun-won, who was only now able to stand slightly by his own will, walked slowly, trying to find water.

However, even when he focused on sounds, the sound of water could not be heard. It might be because it was quite far away, or because his sensory perception had weakened due to extreme consumption of internal energy.

Taking a long, deep breath, he sharply pulled up his sensory perception.

At that moment.

Along with a rustling sound, Chu Mun-won’s head turned. Gathering internal energy in one hand, he raised his hand, intending to swing it immediately.

The moment he realized that what appeared in front of his eyes was not the enemy he had thought, Chu Mun-won’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You… didn’t you run away?”

“I went to get water and came back. Here, water!”

Dan So-mi stretched out her hand and handed over what she was holding. It was a crude bowl made by weaving nearby trees.

But the contents inside were definitely water.

Chu Mun-won looked at Dan So-mi with a strange expression. However, as if he could not escape the temptation of water, he reached out and accepted it.

He did not harbor suspicions of poison or traps in his head. Right now, he immediately needed water that could wash away this dryness.

He gulped down the water.

The water went down refreshingly through his throat, which was beyond dry and shriveled.

The moment he drank, life returned to his body to some extent.

“Phew… it’s good. Where did you fetch it from?”

“Over there.”

Dan So-mi pointed to a place with her finger. He did not know exactly where she was pointing, but perhaps with this child’s vocabulary, she could not explain it properly.

Chu Mun-won chuckled and laughed.

“Here!”

“What is this again?”

“I picked it up on the way. Hehe.”

Dan So-mi burst into a bright smile.

Watching that quietly, Chu Mun-won wore an absurd expression. What was held in her hand was definitely mushrooms and wild berries.

Hearing that she had even picked up things a person could eat while fetching water in that short time, he felt a slightly awkward feeling.

But to survive right now, one had to fill their stomach with anything.

“Give it here.”

“You should say, ‘Thank. You!’ That’s what my dad said. He said if someone else gives you something, you must say thank you.”

Dan So-mi, getting upset, pulled back the things she had offered and puffed up her cheeks.

For a moment, Chu Mun-won’s face distorted, but perhaps because he could not bring himself to hit her, he muttered with an unwilling expression.

“Th-Thank you.”

“Hehe, here!”

Chu Mun-won greedily ate up the things Dan So-mi offered.

He just had to eat and drink even a little faster to recover his body.

For a while, Chu Mun-won, who chewed the things he put in his mouth like crazy, patted his full stomach and sat down on the spot. Although blood was still coming out little by little, with this much vitality, there was no problem.

‘I will kill them all.’

Chu Mun-won released killing intent as he thought of the faces of those who came to mind. He would absolutely not leave them alone. He would crush them using everything he possessed.

He intended to return what he had suffered a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

“Mister, your eyes look strange!”

“Hmph, they’re originally like this.”

Chu Mun-won snorted and looked to the side. He saw the child wearing a fascinated expression.

At that innocent face, he let his guard down without realizing it.

“There are herbs here too.”

So-mi, smiling brightly, busily took out herbs from her bosom. What did she hide in that small body for things to keep coming out?

Chu Mun-won muttered in disbelief.

“You managed to bring only herbs. The food too, but for children like you, it must have been a difficult task…?”

“Hehe, it’s my specialty. I often went out with my dad and ate like this.”

Chu Mun-won narrowed his brow.

Were they struggling because they had no money? If not, he would not have climbed the mountain carrying such a young child.

‘Well, doing whatever it takes to live is the way of the world.’

He clicked his tongue.

“How old are you?”

“Hmm, seven… no, I’m eight years old this year!”

“At that height, with that body?”

Chu Mun-won quietly looked at Dan So-mi.

No matter how he looked at it, she only looked about five or six. It might be that she became thin because she went around picking wild greens in the mountains.

“Ugh… I hear that a lot… Jiyak and Jinrang are much bigger than me, you know? But only So-mi is small. Still, Grandpa and Dad say So-mi is prettier. Hehe.”

Because she could not eat properly, her growth was clearly slow. Chu Mun-won felt strangely bothered looking at this child’s appearance. As he treated his body with the herbs So-mi had brought in patches, he thought.

Though it was only food, water, and herbs, if one received something, they had to return it.

“Will you go with me?”

“Yes?”

At the out-of-the-blue words, Dan So-mi’s eyes widened.

She blinked her two eyes and looked at Chu Mun-won for a while.

“I will give you everything. Delicious food, nice clothes, everything you want.”

“Hehehe.”

Dan So-mi scratched her cheek.

A somewhat awkward look appeared on her face.

Watching that, Chu Mun-won laughed. Even if she was a young child, if one spoke this blatantly, she was bound to understand what it meant.

“Will you go together?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“No. So-mi likes it now. I have Dad, I have Grandpas, I have big sisters. Oh! I also have Mister Gwon.”

Dan So-mi, who was thinking, tilted her head.

Did she forget someone, or was it just her imagination?

“Nice clothes and delicious food are good, but… I like my family now more, and I love them. So So-mi is not going anywhere else. And if So-mi goes… Dad will be sad.”

“I see.”

It was a word that showed Dan So-mi’s sincerity. The moment he heard it, he realized that what touched his heart was by no means a lie.

Chu Mun-won clicked his tongue.

Since a kid kicked away a stroke of luck that might happen once in a lifetime, how could it not be funny?

At that moment.

“So-mi-ya! So-mi-ya!”

A voice was heard.

The voice that had been heard from afar gradually drew closer. At the anxiously calling voice, Dan So-mi jumped up from her spot and waved her hand.

“So-mi is here!”

Waving her hand widely, she looked at one place.

At the same time, Chu Mun-won’s gaze naturally turned as well.

‘Did this child’s mother come?’

Although it was a slightly far distance, she was a fairly young woman.

In an instant, Chu Mun-won’s eyes narrowed as he checked the woman’s face.

Hoyeon Ji, who was approaching hurriedly, also stopped.

The two faced each other. Hoyeon Ji trembled with a pale face, and Chu Mun-won, searching his memory, wore a shocked expression.

Soon, he stood up from his spot.

He changed his expression several times and also sighed. After laughing, frowning, looking at the sky, and letting out a chuckle, he fiercely glared with his eyes.

Soon, he cracked his joints and stretched his body.

At that strange appearance, Dan So-mi tilted her head.

“Child, is your home by any chance the Hunan Dan Family?”

“Wow! How did you know? Is it because Grandpa wrote the signboard very big?”

Dan So-mi burst into laughter with a curious expression.

At that moment, Hoyeon Ji’s desperate cry rang out.

“Run away, So-mi-ya!”

Enjoyed the chapter?

If you like our work, consider supporting us on Ko-fi. This site solely runs on donations. Every donation helps us keep translating!

Support on Ko-fi