Chapter 250: Chapter 250

Dan Woo-hyun looked up at the sky.

He might have been feeling the lingering aftereffects of the finished battle, but it was a strange feeling that prevented anyone from easily approaching him.

“Sigh…”

He had delivered death so perfectly that resurrection would be impossible, so it was only natural to feel relieved, but why did his heart feel so heavy?

Was this also a remnant of the past?

Thinking such thoughts, he turned his head.

“Are you all right?”

Jang Sam-tae, who had run over in a hurry, asked.

Dan Woo-hyun looked at Jang Sam-tae with a strange expression.

“Are you not afraid of me?”

“Yes?”

Even though he knew he had blurted out something unexpected, Dan Woo-hyun asked in all earnestness.

A thousand years ago, and even now, the reality was that he could not escape the destiny of slaughter.

Although it was said that the energy of the Heavenly Death Star had vanished, escaping that destiny and that yoke was a harder task than he had thought.

And Jang Sam-tae was the being who had been closest to him.

Especially now, there were over a thousand corpses of the Blood Demon Cultists in this place.

Furthermore, if anyone were to witness a fight that did not even seem human right before their eyes, they would inevitably be terrified. Yet, on the contrary, Jang Sam-tae’s face was no different from usual.

Although his body was trembling, that alone was not enough to think he was frightened of Dan Woo-hyun.

“…No, I was already scared of you originally, so why would I suddenly be scared all over again?”

“Haha.”

At those words, Dan Woo-hyun burst into laughter with a strange expression. He could clearly feel that it was by no means a lie.

Then, suddenly looking at something, he wore a puzzled expression.

“What is that?”

What Dan Woo-hyun pointed to was none other than the bundle Jang Sam-tae was carrying on his back.

It looked quite heavy, but he was carrying it very preciously.

“What else would it be? It’s money.”

“Tsk, tsk, did you commit theft in a place like this? That habit of your hands goes nowhere.”

“No! You told me to do it, Manor Lord?!”

“Hmm,” Dan Woo-hyun thought to himself.

Then, he let out a short exclamation, “Ah!”

Since it was a place that would disappear anyway, who would say anything no matter what was taken? He finally remembered that since Jang Sam-tae had come all this way, he had told him to increase their fortune a bit.

“Is that so.”

“Let’s not just gloss over it, please…”

Jang Sam-tae, who felt like he had momentarily become a truly wicked thief, pouted his lips and sighed.

Sometimes, when looking at Dan Woo-hyun, it seemed like playing with people was his hobby.

“Then is the work here finished now?”

“Yes, but wait a moment.”

Wondering what he was thinking, Dan Woo-hyun lightly moved his body. Walking and walking through what was no different from a ruin, he headed somewhere and stood before a collapsed pavilion.

“What is this place?”

“Just watch.”

Dan Woo-hyun even rummaged through the ground as if checking something with his foot.

Something began to reveal its form from amidst the ruins, but Jang Sam-tae did not know exactly what it was.

Before long, Dan Woo-hyun reached out and picked it up.

A single book was held in his hand.

He casually tossed it toward Jang Sam-tae.

“It seems relatively intact and useful.”

“Th… What is this?”

“It is a secret manual.”

Jang Sam-tae broke out in a cold sweat.

However, Jang Sam-tae could not understand why he was giving him such a thing. Even without this, Sa Do-hak had yelled at him, asking why he was learning martial arts like a mixed stew.

“We must salvage what can be salvaged. Even more so if there is someone who needs it.”

“Is this something I need?”

“Yes.”

“For what?”

Jang Sam-tae asked, looking at the martial arts secret manual.

Before long, he recalled the words Dan Woo-hyun had spoken a moment ago.

“Wind Cloud Hidden Shadow Steps… Isn’t this a lightness art?!”

“Yes.”

“But I know how to use lightness arts?”

Jang Sam-tae could not hide his embarrassment.

If it was a lightness art, Jang Sam-tae was more confident than anyone else. Although it was only because Dan Woo-hyun was an exceptional human being, he even had the confidence that he would not be easily caught by others.

Yet he was telling him to learn another lightness art?

Even now, in a situation where he could not properly digest the finger technique Dan Woo-hyun had taught him, it was absurd to tell him to learn a martial art he did not even need.

“If you learn that, you might be able to run away from me.”

“I, Jang Sam-tae! Will risk my life to master it!”

Rumble!

Jang Sam-tae shouted loudly and cheered inwardly.

When it came to learning lightness arts, he would not fall behind anyone. Moreover, since Dan Woo-hyun had said such words, he would definitely master it and live a life where he would never be caught again.

Thinking those thoughts, he burned with fighting spirit.

Before long, Dan Woo-hyun looked at Jang Sam-tae and smirked.

A dream is best when it is not shattered.

* * *

Returning to the inn, Dan Woo-hyun and Jang Sam-tae looked at the woman in front of them.

Mae-hyang was sleeping peacefully, huddled in the hallway in front of the room as if exhausted.

Jang Sam-tae tapped her shoulder with an absurd expression.

Only then did Mae-hyang gently open her eyes and look at Jang Sam-tae. At first, her vision was blurry, but gradually her focus returned and she blinked her large eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Why was she sleeping in the hallway with the room right in front of her?

Even more so, a woman and not a man.

“…You came?”

However, Mae-hyang did not answer and instead looked back and forth between Jang Sam-tae and Dan Woo-hyun with a somewhat sleepy gaze. Seeing her let out a slight sigh of relief, she seemed to have felt anxious that they might not return.

Before long, as if she was gradually waking up, she jumped up from her seat and shouted.

“More than that, we have a big problem!”

“Wh… What?”

“Everyone is in an uproar! They say the immortal of Jangbaeksan is angry! It was truly no joke! Strange people even fled!”

Fussing, Mae-hyang raised her voice.

Thinking of that time, her face was even pale from how scared she had been.

It was to the point of thinking that she had done well to remain in this place without fleeing in such a situation.

Jang Sam-tae smiled faintly.

“The deity did get angry. But why did you stay here instead of running away?”

It was the part that was hardest to understand.

The entire village was as silent as a dead mouse. Since only silence lingered as if no people existed, they had surely all fled in surprise at the sound coming from Jangbaeksan.

The fact that it was heard despite being a considerable distance away was also evidence that made them realize once again that the power of Dan Woo-hyun and the Blood Demon was at the level of a natural disaster.

At that moment, Mae-hyang turned her head as if somewhat embarrassed.

“That’s… because you told me to stay still here…”

“Huh?”

“I mean… you told me to stay here! And what if I fled and couldn’t meet you? I have nowhere else to go…”

Differing from how he had thought of her as a strong-willed woman, Mae-hyang glared at Jang Sam-tae with an expression that looked as if she would shed tears at any moment.

That gaze was full of resentment toward Jang Sam-tae.

However, Jang Sam-tae just stared blankly as if he had forgotten how to answer Mae-hyang’s words, and Dan Woo-hyun, who was watching the two of them, chuckled.

“So it is. That is good, meeting a good maiden.”

“Ah… M-Manor Lord, it’s not like that… this is…!”

Jang Sam-tae flustered and could not speak properly. Because it was the first time in his life receiving such interest from a woman, he could not get a grip at all on how to speak or how to act.

Tapping the shoulder of such a Jang Sam-tae, Dan Woo-hyun opened the door to his room.

And although he paused as if he had discovered something, he did not show it to the others and naturally moved his steps to walk inside.

Thud!

As the door closed, a strange atmosphere flowed between the two, Jang Sam-tae and Mae-hyang.

“It has been a long time.”

Entering the room, Dan Woo-hyun exchanged greetings and took a seat.

Then, the figure in the room poured tea as if it were natural and carefully pushed the cup in front of him.

“Truly. It has been so long that I had even forgotten your face…”

“Is that so.”

The figure looked out the window, and Dan Woo-hyun lifted the teacup.

Without anyone bringing up a word, time flowed.

“You have changed a lot.”

“Yes, and so have you.”

“Fufu, a thousand years have passed, after all.”

The figure spun around and looked at Dan Woo-hyun.

As she smiled brightly, it felt as if the world lit up.

Even Dan Woo-hyun, who was said not to be swayed by a woman’s beauty, wore a dazed expression for a brief moment.

“In the past, you tried not to keep anyone by your side… but now you have people. If the Three Heavens who ascended to the immortal realm heard this story, they might be angry.”

“Did those children ascend?”

“Yes, they drove out the Heavenly Martial Emperor and became the new Eight Immortals. Thanks to a certain someone, that is.”

“I see. Then the Scroll of the Martial God…”

At Dan Woo-hyun’s question, the woman paused for a moment.

Closing her eyes as if thinking for a long time, she soon took a step toward Dan Woo-hyun.

Whoosh!

She took a step, but she could not be seen.

At the window side where she had been standing, countless flower petals fluttered. A sweet yet somehow seductive scent pricked the nose and drifted through the room.

“Someone must have needed a new Martial God and Blood Demon. Someone who knows you and the Blood Demon…”

Approaching his side before he knew it, she made a bewitching sound. That single whisper in his ear was of the kind that was sweet yet drew people in.

Dan Woo-hyun thrust his hand out.

Like swinging a sword, the edge of his hand flashed.

Then, the figure of the woman beside him vanished, and flower petals fluttered in that place once again, and before he knew it, she sat on the opposite side and smiled brightly.

“Is it the Heavenly Martial Emperor…”

“It might be, and it might not be.”

The woman touched her lips with an alluring gesture.

Every single action was a charming movement as if tempting a person.

If the person in this place was not Dan Woo-hyun but Jang Sam-tae or other people, they would have been unable to endure her temptation and tried to pounce.

“Did you come all the way here to tell that story?”

“I came to deliver my gratitude. If the Martial God had not stepped forward, this girl would have had to live in hiding for the rest of her life. Is this the second time?”

Dan Woo-hyun smiled faintly.

It was not something he did to help someone. In the end, it was a deed done for Dan Woo-hyun himself and for Dan So-mi, so there was no need to receive gratitude from anyone.

“Enough. It was something done for myself…”

“Giggle, indeed. In any case, I am truly glad to see you again like this. I pray that the day will come when I can repay this favor once again.”

The woman bowed her head while saying those words.

Before long, the moment she turned her back with a bright smile.

Rustle!

As many as nine tails revealed their form, and soon, along with a thick mist, the woman’s figure vanished. It was a sight that anyone who saw it would mistake for a dream rather than reality.

Dan Woo-hyun leaned his back against the chair with a smile.

“Nine-tailed fox… you have grown a lot.”

Recalling the ties of the past, he was newly surprised that the link was still connected.

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