chapter 228

The Daughter Seeks Her Father, and the Father Recognizes His Daughter (3)

“Huff, huff!”

Lee Soo-ah gasped for breath.

She was exhausted from running away from the Shadow Chasing Squad, who was pursuing her with relentless vigor.

Lee Soo-ah’s face was pale, and sweat poured down like rain. Gwan So-chu supported her, but her legs were trembling so badly that she could barely take another step.

“This won’t do. We’ll get caught soon.”

Gwan So-chu looked at Lee Soo-ah with a concerned expression.

Lee Soo-ah confided in him, revealing her circumstances honestly. She didn’t hide the fact that she had escaped the White Light Sect to find her father, and that White Light Sect was now chasing her.

Gwan So-chu found it hard to believe.

White Light Sect, one of the Ten Sects, had sent elite forces to capture a mere girl. But he had no choice but to believe it.

He had seen the martial artists tearing through the slums, demanding the whereabouts of a young girl.

It was only a matter of time before they found Lee Soo-ah.

Sensing Gwan So-chu’s darkening expression, Lee Soo-ah spoke.

“Brother, I’ll run alone from here. Let’s part ways.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If you stay with me, you’ll be in danger too. Those people don’t value human lives. They won’t let you go if they find out you helped me.”

“Are you telling me to abandon you? What do you take me for? I’m a man who will join the Shadowless Squad. Such a man cannot be a coward.”

Gwan So-chu raised his voice.

The reality was harsh, but Gwan So-chu had always dreamed of joining the Shadowless Squad to uphold justice in the Jianghu.

He felt that in order to join the Shadowless Squad, he too had to embody these values.

“Soo-ah, listen to me carefully.”

“Okay!”

“Run north, and you’ll reach the first intersection. Turn left there and run to the end, and you’ll arrive at a yard piled with goods. There’s a particularly large tree there, and behind it is a small hole leading outside. Escape through that hole.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll inform the Shadowless Squad of this. I’ll tell them an innocent girl is being chased by the White Light Sect. They will surely protect you.”

Lee Soo-ah bit her lip for a moment but soon made up her mind.

“Okay.”

The best outcome was to get help from the Shadowless Squad, and even if they couldn’t help, Gwan So-chu might avoid danger.

‘I can’t let innocent people get hurt because of me.’

Lee Soo-ah clenched her small fists tightly.

She felt lonely and exhausted.

She wanted to cry and give up.

It seemed easier to just let herself be caught by the Shadow Chasing Squad. But she resisted the temptation.

She couldn’t give up now.

Lee Soo-ah struggled to walk in the direction Gwan So-chu had indicated.

“Don’t get caught.”

Gwan So-chu watched her for a moment before he started running.

He was heading towards the mansion where the Shadowless Squad usually stayed.

At that moment.

“Hey, kid, where are you going?”

A sinister voice stopped Gwan So-chu in his tracks.

Men he had never seen before blocked his way.

‘Those chasing Soo-ah.’

Instinctively, Gwan So-chu realized they were the ones pursuing Lee Soo-ah.

As he suspected, the men were Yoon Sa-pyeong and the Shadow Chasing Squad.

Yoon Sa-pyeong’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“Where are you rushing to in the middle of the night?”

“M-my grandmother is sick. I need to call a doctor.”

Gwan So-chu quickly came up with an excuse.

“A doctor?”

“It’s urgent, so please let me through.”

“Hmm!”

Yoon Sa-pyeong frowned at Gwan So-chu’s urgent tone.

‘Is that true?’

They had already turned the slums upside down.

They woke up sleeping people and searched their homes forcefully. Yet, there was no trace of Lee Soo-ah. He was getting impatient.

Just as he was about to question Gwan So-chu further.

“It’s a girl. Traces of the girl have been found in the north.”

A subordinate’s urgent voice rang out from a distance.

“Really?”

“Team One is chasing her now.”

Yoon Sa-pyeong stopped questioning Gwan So-chu and quickly ran in that direction.

Left alone, Gwan So-chu’s face turned pale.

“shit!”

Despite his efforts, her traces had been found.

He wanted to go back to Lee Soo-ah, but he knew it wouldn’t help. So, Gwan So-chu ran towards the Shadowless Squad’s mansion.

The road felt longer than usual.

Gwan So-chu ran for a while and finally reached Shadowless Squad’s mansion.

Bang, bang!

He pounded on the door.

“Is anyone there?”

He called out loudly, but there was no response.

Unbeknownst to Gwan So-chu, most of the people inside were too drunk to hear him. No matter how much he knocked and shouted, they couldn’t hear him.

“Is anyone there? Please, come out.”

Bang, bang, bang!

Gwan So-chu kept pounding on the door, but it remained firmly closed.

“shit!”

He rested his forehead against the door, trembling with frustration.

He hated himself for being so powerless.

“Why am I so helpless….”

He felt miserable, needing to rely on others for help because he couldn’t do anything himself.

If he had the strength, he wouldn’t be begging at someone else’s door, nor would he be asking for help so desperately.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, tears streamed down his face.

It wasn’t because of Lee Soo-ah.

His bottled-up emotions erupted like a volcano.

Gwan So-chu forgot about knocking and cried. Tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheeks and neck.

Creak!

The rusty hinges creaked as the door opened. A man appeared.

“What’s going on?”

The man’s warm voice reached Gwan So-chu’s ears.

＊＊＊

Crash!

Lee Soo-ah tumbled to the ground.

Her cheeks were swollen, and blood trickled from her nose. In front of her stood Yoon Sa-pyeong, exuding a menacing aura.

“Girl, is this the best place you could escape to?”

Yoon Sa-pyeong reached out and roughly grabbed Lee Soo-ah by the hair.

“Ah, ah!”

Her small body lifted off the ground as he yanked her hair. The pain was excruciating, but Lee Soo-ah couldn’t even scream, only kicking her legs helplessly.

She didn’t make it out of the siege fortress. She was captured by Yoon Sa-pyeong and the Shadow Chasing Squad just before she found the hole.

The consequences were brutal.

Yoon Sa-pyeong needed to vent his frustration and effort spent tracking her down. Only then could he feel at ease.

Crash!

Lee Soo-ah’s small body flew again and hit the wall.

“Ugh!”

She lay on the floor, groaning.

Her whole body felt shattered.

Yoon Sa-pyeong’s violence was too much for a young girl like her to endure.

Smack!

Yoon Sa-pyeong’s palm struck her hard, turning her head.

The merciless violence made Lee Soo-ah’s pupils glaze over.

She couldn’t even raise her head and drooled.

Yoon Sa-pyeong grabbed her hair again.

“Try running away again. This time it ends with you, but next time it will be your brother.”

“No, please!”

“You’re just a tool to control the Assassin King. Nothing more. Do you think anyone cares if your body is ruined?”

Yoon Sa-pyeong drew a small dagger from his waist.

Just as he said, Lee Soo-ah was an effective tool to control the Assassin King. They couldn’t kill her, but damaging her a little wouldn’t matter.

The sharp blade glinted in front of Lee Soo-ah’s eyes.

Lee Soo-ah tried to muster her strength to break free from Yoon Sa-pyeong’s grip. But he was the leader of the Shadow Chasing Squad, and his power was incomparable to hers.

Yoon Sa-pyeong’s hand was like a steel clamp, immovable.

The dagger inched closer to her face.

“I’ll carve a mark on you. One that will never fade… So you’ll never think of stepping outside again.”

Yoon Sa-pyeong was serious.

If he scarred her face, it would anger the Assassin King, but right now, he didn’t care about future consequences. His heart was filled with rage.

The thought of suffering because of this little girl made him want to end her life. But the leader had ordered her to be brought back alive, so he couldn’t do that.

“Aah!”

Unbearable fear made Lee Soo-ah’s eyes quiver.

No matter how brave or composed she tried to be, she was only a six-year-old child. Too young to handle such terror.

Feeling the cold metal against her cheek, Lee Soo-ah closed her eyes tightly.

Yoon Sa-pyeong sneered at her reaction. He was about to apply pressure when.

Suddenly, he felt a chilling sensation down his spine.

Swish!

At that moment, a sharp whistling sound filled the air.

Yoon Sa-pyeong instinctively swung his dagger.

Clang!

With a metallic sound, the dagger flew out of Yoon Sa-pyeong’s hand.

His face twisted in pain.

The rebound force shook his bones. Since becoming the leader of the Shadow Chasing Squad, he had never experienced such pain.

“Who are you?”

Yoon Sa-pyeong forced strength into his hand and shouted in the direction the projectile had come from.

At that moment, a man emerged from the darkness.

His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were untidy as if he had hurriedly come running. But his eyes shone brightly even in the dark.

The moment Yoon Sa-pyeong saw his eyes, he felt a shock like his heart had dropped.

He didn’t know why.

Just looking at the man’s eyes made his whole body tingle, and his nerves reacted involuntarily.

The man’s gaze was fixed on Lee Soo-ah, who was held by her hair.

Yoon Sa-pyeong, still holding Lee Soo-ah’s hair, shouted again.

“Who are you?”

“……”

“If you are from the Shadowless Squad, step back. I have already finished talking with your leader.”

“……”

Still, the man did not respond.

His bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Lee Soo-ah, held in Yoon Sa-pyeong’s hand.

Lee Soo-ah blinked.

Strangely, she couldn’t take her eyes off the man. Although she saw him for the first time, he didn’t feel unfamiliar.

Lee Soo-ah stared at the man, forgetting she was held by Yoon Sa-pyeong.

Then the man spoke.

“Are you… Soo-ah?”

“Who… are you, sir?”

“My name is Lee Gwak.”

Lee Gwak felt his throat tighten.

It was as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand; his throat ached, and his chest churned. Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off Lee Soo-ah.

Tears welled up in Lee Soo-ah’s large eyes, turning red.

“Daddy?”

“Yes! I am your father.”

Lee Gwak answered with difficulty.

“Huff! Huff!”

Behind him, Gwan So-chu, who had followed with effort, was panting heavily.

He had told Lee Gwak everything.

That there was a child named Lee Soo-ah.

That she was seeking help.

And that her father was Lee Gwak.

That Lee Soo-ah had come all this way to find her father.

At first, he thought it was a lie. So he had been skeptical on the way here. But the moment he saw Lee Soo-ah’s face, he knew.

This child was his daughter.

His pounding heart.

His dry, parched lips.

Her face, which seemed a mix of his and Han So-cheon’s, told him that Lee Soo-ah was his daughter.

Just as Lee Gwak recognized his daughter at a glance, Lee Soo-ah also realized that Lee Gwak was her father.

Tears welled up in Lee Soo-ah’s large eyes and soon streamed down her cheeks.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Lee Soo-ah cried out, her voice hoarse.

Her intense reaction made Yoon Sa-pyeong frown.

“Are you saying you’re this girl’s father?”

“Yes!”

“Ho! So you are the man of the Assassin King? Perfect. If you want to save this girl, throw down your weapon and surrender.”

Yoon Sa-pyeong’s eyes gleamed.

He lifted Lee Soo-ah higher, threatening Lee Gwak. Despite the pain of her hair being pulled, Lee Soo-ah struggled in vain.

At that moment, Lee Gwak spoke to Lee Soo-ah.

“Close your eyes, Soo-ah.”