CHAPTER 253

There is a grudge that is not forgotten even after many years (3)

Unlike the center of the river, where the rapids dominated, the water was calm. Ripples formed on the water’s surface by the bank, covered in aquatic plants, and then a head suddenly emerged.

“Gasp!”

The woman gasping for breath was none other than Han So-cheon.

With a pale face, she staggered out of the river, clutching her side, blood seeping through her fingers.

Each step sent waves of excruciating pain through her body.

Han So-cheon exercised extreme endurance and barely stifled a scream. It was not the time to scream. She had to move away from the river as quickly as possible.

The wound on her side had been inflicted by Cheol Geuk-jin. In return, she had left him with a deep injury as well, though not a fatal one. It had bought her a little time.

Han So-cheon had used that moment to disappear into the murky waters, allowing the current to carry her away while using her Hidden breathing technique.

The Hidden breathing technique slows one’s bodily functions to the bare minimum, allowing a person to conserve energy and hold their breath for extended periods. It was a skill known to all assassins, but only a few could execute it while gravely wounded, as Han So-cheon had.

Staggering, she continued to walk.

It would have been nice if she could rest for a while and recover her strength, but unfortunately, she didn’t have that luxury.

By now, the Hidden Blood Squad was probably tracking the place where she had escaped. She had to leave before they arrived.

Glancing around, she picked up her pace.

Because she had used the Hidden Breathing Technique, she had no clear idea how far the current had carried her.

‘I need to go north.’

At least she was sure of the direction.

As she walked, she pressed down on several acupoints to stop the bleeding from her side. However, the wound was too deep, and the bleeding didn’t stop easily.

What she needed was proper treatment, not a temporary measure. But she had no time to spare.

“So-cheon!”

A loud shout echoed from afar.

She instantly recognized the voice.

“Cheol Gwan-ho!”

He was the leader of the first squad of the Hidden Blood Squad.

They had been comrades, completing countless dangerous missions together. But now, his voice was filled with killing intent as he called her name.

Cheol Gwan-ho was approaching from the river, standing on a boat, his gaze fixed on her as if he could jump off at any moment.

Han So-cheon clenched her teeth.

She couldn’t understand it.

It was the Hidden Blood Squad that had abandoned her first. And yet, they now glared at her with the eyes of mortal enemies.

It seemed so unfair.

She was the one who had been discarded. She should be the one wearing that hateful expression.

Sh-sh-sh!

At that moment, several figures burst out of the water.

It was Cheol Geuk-jin and the Hidden Blood Squad, who had been tracking her underwater.

Still on the boat, Cheol Gwan-ho pointed in her direction. At his signal, Cheol Geuk-jin and the Hidden Blood Squad charged toward Han So-cheon.

‘Running is meaningless.’

She realized that further escape was pointless.

Even if she fled to the depths of hell, they would continue to pursue her. And with her current injuries, she had no confidence that she could shake them off any longer.

Whether she lived or died, she had to end it here.

Han So-cheon gripped her sword tightly.

‘Oraboni, give me strength.’

She lunged toward the Dark Blood Squad.

“Die, traitor!”

“Cha-hat!”

The Hidden Blood Squad reached her first, launching a fierce assault. But Han So-cheon was no longer the woman she once was.

As the “Assassin King,” her skills had risen dramatically, and she had carved out her own unique path.

Sssrk!

Before the Hidden Blood Squad assassins could react, Han So-cheon vanished.

She used stealth techniques against her fellow assassins.

The Hidden Blood Squad assassins, never expecting Han So-cheon to utilize stealth, wore expressions of shock. Those looks of surprise were the last expressions they would ever make.

Han So-cheon appeared soundlessly behind them and swung her sword.

Slice!

“Ugh!”

“Gasp!”

The assassins collapsed with low groans, their necks slashed. Without pausing to check their condition, Han So-cheon vanished again into the shadows.

“You insolent…!”

At that moment, Cheol Geuk-jin arrived at the battlefield, swinging his sword at empty air.

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and Han So-cheon’s form reappeared. Cheol Geuk-jin had accurately attacked the spot where she had been hidden.

Now exposed, Han So-cheon was forced to block his next attack.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

A low groan escaped her as she was thrown backward by the force.

At that moment, Cheol Gwan-ho leaped off the boat, joining forces with Cheol Geuk-jin.

“So-cheon!”

He called her name again, swinging his sword at her.

Han So-cheon hastily raised her sword to block, but the difference in power sent her flying backward once more.

Blood trickled from her nose and mouth—she had sustained severe internal injuries.

Pointing his sword at her, Cheol Gwan-ho spoke.

“Why did you betray us?”

“Betrayal? I never betrayed anyone. If anything, I was the one who was betrayed.”

“So-cheon!”

“Who abandoned me in the Celestial Demon Troupe?!”

Han So-cheon’s voice cracked with anger.

Leaving the Jade Heaven Alliance to seek refuge with the White Light Sect had never been her choice. She had been abandoned by the Jade Heaven Alliance and had no other option.

Cheol Gwan-ho, of all people, knew that. Yet, he said this only to unsettle her.

Lowering his sword, he continued.

“It’s not too late. Return to the Jade Heaven Alliance, and all will be forgiven. Fight alongside us once more.”

Han So-cheon’s eyes reddened.

Cheol Gwan-ho’s words were nothing but deceit.

As he distracted her, Cheol Geuk-jin was secretly closing in.

She knew it, but she couldn’t move rashly. Fending off Cheol Gwan-ho alone took all her strength.

Cheol Gwan-ho, a man strong enough to lead the first squad of the Hidden Blood Squad, was no less powerful than Han So-cheon. Moreover, she was surrounded by their leader, Cheol Geuk-jin, and her former comrades.

There was no escape left for her.

Sensing her impending death, Han So-cheon looked up at the sky.

‘Oraboni, please take care of our children.’

She was sure Lee Gwak would raise the children well. Trusting him, she could accept her own death.

The only regret she had was not seeing his face one last time.

A fierce determination filled her eyes.

‘Even if I die, I won’t die alone.’

Han So-cheon summoned the last of her strength.

If she was to die, she would go down in a blaze of glory.

Her first target was a Hidden Blood Squad assassin approaching from the left.

She vaguely remembered his face, but his name escaped her. She didn’t want to remember.

Sssrk!

Her sword cut through the air.

The approaching assassin fell back, his forehead pierced.

In that instant, the rest of the Hidden Blood Squad launched their all-out assault. Cheol Gwan-ho, dropping his pretentious expression, also attacked.

Sssrk! Sssssrk!

Blades flashed in and out of sight.

The fight between assassins continued in eerie silence.

She didn’t know how many strikes she had exchanged.

Her entire body was soaked with sweat.

Whether the liquid running down her arms was sweat or blood, she couldn’t tell. Her body was drenched in blood—hers and others’.

She didn’t know how many she had killed. Nor did she care.

All she focused on was blocking, evading, and counterattacking. Like a demon, Han So-cheon rampaged across the battlefield.

Sssrk!

She only came to her senses when she felt a blade pierce her chest.

A sword had silently thrust through her, completely penetrating her chest.

“Ah!”

Clang!

Her sword dropped to the ground.

The sword piercing through her chest felt unreal.

It was as if everything around her was a dream.

In the distance, she faintly heard Cheol Geuk-jin’s voice.

‘You wretched bitch, I finally caught you.’

The sword in her chest belonged to Cheol Geuk-jin.

He, too, was drenched in sweat.

Though he had anticipated a difficult hunt, the losses had been far greater than expected. More than half of the Hidden Blood Squad he had brought with him had fallen to Han So-cheon’s sword.

Cheol Geuk-jin signaled to Cheol Gwan-ho with his eyes, and Cheol Gwan-ho raised his sword, aiming for Han So-cheon’s neck. He was preparing to sever her head, ensuring her death.

“Farewell, So-cheon!”

Without hesitation, Cheol Gwan-ho swung his sword.

‘Goodbye…’

Han So-cheon closed her eyes.

Sssrk!

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, a choked groan echoed through the air.

When Han So-cheon opened her eyes, she saw Cheol Gwan-ho staggering backward, clutching his neck.

Blood poured from between his fingers.

His wide eyes were filled with shock.

“Who are you?!”

Cheol Geuk-jin shouted as he pulled his sword out of Han So-cheon’s chest.

His eyes were shaking.

It was a formless blade that had sliced through Cheol Gwan-ho’s neck.

Someone had stealthily approached, completely fooling their perception, and unleashed the invisible strike.

Ssssh!

The sound of another attack cutting through the air filled the surroundings.

Cheol Geuk-jin instinctively leaped backward.

Thud!

The ground where he had just stood was gouged out by a deep slash. Had he not dodged, he would have been split in two.

“What…?”

His palm felt suddenly damp.

The moment was so perilous that sweat drenched his hand.

Since the day he’d wielded a sword, he had never felt such a sense of danger.

“Who are you?”

Cheol Geuk-jin glared at the figure who had hurled the formless blade.

The person who had swiftly severed Cheol Gwan-ho’s neck and launched an attack at Cheol Geuk-jin was now holding Han So-cheon in his arms.

“So-cheon!”

His anguished voice echoed through the forest.

Whooosh!

The intensity of his shout sent birds flying and animals scattering in all directions.

“Ugh!”

Cheol Geuk-jin’s face twisted in pain. The man’s voice carried such overwhelming power that it shook his very mind.

Quickly, Cheol Geuk-jin raised his internal energy to protect his mind from the shock.

Meanwhile, the man who had saved Han So-cheon pulled out a small paper pouch from his robes. Inside was a mysterious white powder.

The man hastily sprinkled the powder onto Han So-cheon’s chest. White foam bubbled up as the blood began to stop. The powder was a potent hemostatic agent.

‘I can save her.’

The man gritted his teeth.

Though her chest had been pierced, fortunately, her heart and lungs had narrowly avoided damage. The sword had been sharp enough that the wound was clean and smooth.

In the past, it might have been impossible, but now he could save her.

The man took out a small wooden box from his sleeve.

Opening it, he revealed a red pill, the size of a small child’s fist.

It was the Resurrection Pill.

A legendary elixir said to bring someone back from the brink of death, as long as they still had a breath left.

The pill had been given to him by the supreme physician before his journey, just in case of an emergency.

The man placed the pill in his mouth, where it quickly dissolved into a liquid. He then gently poured the liquid into Han So-cheon’s mouth.

‘Live, So-cheon. For me, for the children… Please!’

As if responding to his desperate wish, color began to return to Han So-cheon’s face. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and her eyes slowly opened.

“So-cheon!”

The man’s voice echoed in her ears.

Han So-cheon blinked.

“A dream?”

She thought she must be dreaming. Nothing she saw made sense. How could this be happening?

Reaching out with trembling hands, she touched the man’s face.

It was warm.

Despite the years that had aged him, it was the face she had longed to see for so long.

“Is it really… you, Oraboni?”

“So-cheon!”

“Is it really you?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“A-ah…”

The moment she heard his voice, tears streamed from Han So-cheon’s eyes.

The warmth of his embrace, the tenderness in his gaze, and the familiarity of his voice—all of it confirmed that the man holding her was truly Lee Gwak, the man she thought she’d never see again.