The plain during the night was very cold, unlike during the day where it was hot. When the sun goes down, the temperature rapidly drops, causing one’s breath to become visible naturally.

For that reason, when they were homeless, they had to make a bonfire to maintain their body temperature.

Pyo-wol did not need a bonfire because of his cloak which was impervious to the cold and hot weather. But Soma, Eunyo, and Guian, who were still young, needed it to maintain their body temperature.

The three children were like siblings.

They were sleeping together.

Pyo-wol looked at them silently.

For some reason, Soma stopped growing at the age of seven. Eunyo almost lost her sight, and her Guian also lost something precious.

It was impossible for them to live a normal life, who grew up being abused at the Xiaoleiyin Temple. Knowing that, the children followed Pyo-wol.

For the duration of their journey, the children never once complained that it was difficult. Although their body was that of a child, the mental power of the children exceeded that of some adults.

Thanks to this, Pyo-wol did not feel tired even when he traveled with the children.

Then the man sitting across from him opened his mouth.

“Are you really going to take those kids to Chengdu?”

The man was Jin Geum-Woo.

Pyo-wol nodded his head.

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s your choice, so I won’t stop you. But just know this one thing. Taking responsibility for those children is not going to be easy. They’re too strong, and they might cause a lot of trouble.”

“But they’re better than Seo Mun-pyeong, though.”

“Tch!”

Jin Geum-woo clicked his tongue at Pyo-wol’s unexpected answer.

Because Seo Mun-pyeong was like his rebellion.

Seo Mun-pyeong, who is one of the prominent figures in Jianghu, was manipulated by the Heukam and had hurt many people.

No excuses could cover for Seo Mun-pyeong’s faults.

In return, he lost his neck to Pyo-wol, but when he thought about Seo Mun-pyeong, Jin Geum-woo was not at ease. Seo Mun-pyeong might have been a killer to Pyo-wol, but to him, he was a dear brother.

Even now, two thoughts were still conflicting in his head.

The thought that Seo Mun-pyeong should take revenge and the wish that he has committed a mortal sin collide.

Because of that, Jin Geum-woo’s eyes when looking at Pyo-wol were complicated.

If you go a little further, the Western Plateau, the entrance to Sichuan Province, appears. It didn’t take long to reach Chengdu, which can be said to be the base of Fyo-Yeol, after passing the Western Highlands.

Before that, I had to make a choice.

Jin Geum-woo looked at Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol was looking at the bonfire indifferently.

Even though he was young, he had been through all sorts of hardships, so he could see what he was thinking just by looking at his eyes. But it was impossible to read Pyo-wol’s thoughts.

It was as if he had enclosed his heart with an iron wall.

He thought that it would be impossible for any warrior to break through the iron wall of Pyo-wol  and read his mind.

At that time, Pyo-wol was seen sitting cross-legged.

It’s going to be a fortune teller.

The wounds Pyo-wol suffered at the Xiaoleiyin Temple were so deep that it would not be strange if he died instantly. However, Pyo-wol healed his wounds with a mysterious ability.

After one night, his wounds were noticeably healed, to the point that it looked like the wound was almost completely healed.

As evidence of that, his pale complexion was gleaming softly on his face.

It seemed that the inner and outer wounds would be almost completely healed after tonight’s meditation was over.

Jin Geum-woo turned his head and looked around.

Originally, one’s meditation had to be performed in a quiet place where no one was disturbed. Because it was such a dangerous and delicate work.

If someone is to be disturbed during medidation, they could fall into a qi deviation or make their condition worse.

‘Is he audacious, or does he have that much faith in–’

At Pyo-wol’s seemingly reckless act, Jin Geum-woo clicked his tongue and stood up.

Time passed slowly.

It was early in the morning when Pyo-wol finished meditating.

Pyo-wol opened his eyes and checked his physical condition. There were still some uncomfortable places, but this was still the best condition.

“Good!”

“That’s a relief.”

At that moment, Jin Geum-woo’s voice was heard.

“Didn’t you sleep?”

“How can I sleep when my friend is cultivating? I was standing there.”

“I don’t need to protect me”

“Well, I guess so. There’s nothing to worry about. I did it because I wanted to protect you.”

Jin Geum-woo got up.

A powerful force was emanating from his body.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what that meant.

Pyo-wol quietly got up.

Jin Geum-woo said.

“No matter what the result is, I will forget the grudge that killed Seo Mun-pyeong in this fight.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t forget.”

“I guess so, but my heart is not like that. I don’t want to live with such a burden in my heart. The debt that you haven’t paid off is bound to take my mind off it.”

“You live a complicated life.”

“Wasn’t Jianghu originally complicated? A lot of warriors are tangled like a wire. If you don’t unravel it well from the beginning, in the end, it will become so tangled that you can never solve it on your own.”

Jin Geum-woo answered with a calm expression.

That was the answer that Jin Geum-woo came up with.

Maybe Seo Mun-pyeong was an excuse.

Now his blood was boiling hot.

After seeing Pyo-wol’s martial arts at the Xiaoleiyin Temple, the blood that had risen did not cool down, but rather, the heat was increasing as time went on.

He wanted to fight the man in front of him.

He wanted to hit him with all my might.

Jin Geum-woo’s warrior’s instinct was fueling his  will to win.

Normally, he would have calmed down such feelings with a cool-headed reason, but now he didn’t want to.

He wanted to fight against Pyo-wol with this heart.

He didn’t know if his burning heart would cool down if he went back to Jianghu.

This was the best time to fight Pyo-wol.

The heat emitted by Jin Geum-woo was delivered to Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol was different from Jin Geum-woo.

There was no needless competition in him.

This is because such a mind was nothing short of a luxury for the assassin.

The reason why he wants to fight Jin Geum-woo is that he got a little enlightenment in a fierce battle with the monks of the Xiaoleiyin Temple.

He needed an opportunity to explore his enlightenment. So he accepted Jin Geum-woo’s request.

Pyo-wol looked at the sleeping children.

The children were fast asleep and didn’t even move.

Pyo-wol left the children and moved far away. Jin Geum-woo followed him without saying a word.

Their appearance soon disappeared behind the hill.

At that moment Soma opened heiseyes wide.

Eunyo and Guian also jumped up as if they hadn’t slept at all.

Guian opened his mouth.

“Who do you think will win?””

“Naturally…”

“Naturally?”

“Brother.”

“The iron tower looking man looked pretty tough, too.”

Eunyo looked a little worried at the answer of Guian.

“Their flow of energy is different. Brother is like a needle, while the steel tower like man is like a hammer.”

“You mean brother is sharp, while the iron tower man is intense, right?”

“That’s right!

Eun-yo’s dog-like explanation was perfectly understood by Guian.

Guian called Soma.

“What do you thi— huh?

Their eyes blinked.

This is because they couldn’t see Soma, who was by their  side just now.

Soma was already on the hill when Guian and Eunyo found him. Before they knew it, Soma was sitting on a hill and watching the fight between the two.

“Cowardly…”

“Let’s watch it together.”

Guian and Eunyo rushed up the hill.

When they arrived on the hill, they could see the fight in front of them at a glance.

“Wow!”

Their exclamations dispersed in the wind.

* * *

They left for Chengdu.

“Wooow!”

“Is this Chengdu?”

“There’s a lot of people!”

Soma and the children exclaimed unknowingly.

It was the first time for children to see such a huge city with a lot of people.

The huge pavilions, mansions, wide roads, and many people filling the streets were enough to make the children feel tired.

They were children who only lived in the desolate Xizang.

The only place where they saw a lot of people was in the Xiaoleiyin Temple. Even so, there were only hundreds of people in the said sect.

It was the first time for them to see so many people coming and going.

They were overwhelmed by the panoramic view in front of them.

Jin Geum-woo smiled when he saw the expressions on the children.

“They’re definitely from the rural areas.”

It made him feel good that the children, who had always shown a mature appearance on their way here, showed an age-appropriate reaction for the first time.

Jin Geum-woo turned to Pyo-wol.

“We should break up now. It’s been a pleasure to be with you.”

There was a look of genuine regret on his face.

The confrontation with Pyo-wol gave him a lot of enlightenment. Thanks to this, his military prowess had risen incomparably in the past.

This achievement was never easy to achieve.

The confrontation of the day served as an opportunity for the two to recognize each other.

Although they may not be able to exchange comfortably due to their different tendencies and status, they have established a friendship that can at least communicate and receive correspondence.

Jin Geum-woo said.

“If you have to come out of Sichuan, you can stop by Tianzhongshan. Because that’s my home.”

“That will never happen.”

“You’re still so shy, well, that’s nice! If you won’t come, I’ll be the one to come back. I’ll be in Sungdo around this time next year, so see you then.”

Jin Geum-woo smiled boldly.

Soma murmured when he saw the figure.

“It’s so mysterious. What’s good about him?”

“That’s right.”

Eunyo agreed with Soma.

Pyo-wol’s attitude was consistently cold during his journey here. Nevertheless, Jin Geum-woo was still nice to Pyo-wol.

The children couldn’t understand such a true black sheep.

Jin Geum-woo said goodbye to Pyo-wol.

“I’m going to go now. I’ll see you next time. Friend!”

“Ah, don’t talk nonsense.”

“Hahaha!”

Jin Geum-woo strode with a big smile.

Pyo-wol began to walk in the opposite direction after looking at the back of Jin Geum-woo, who was moving away.

The place where Pyo-wol headed was Xintian Road.

It was a place that has recently been in the spotlight as a good place for high-ranking officials and powerful people of Chengdu.

A large mansion at the point of Xintian Road was seen after passing through a colorful street where ordinary people dare not approach.

The mansion where the red pine trees rising above the fence stood out was the Red Villa.

Thud! Thud!

When he knocked on the door, someone carefully stuck out their head.

The middle-aged man who opened his eyes wide as soon as he saw Pyo-wol was Steward Goh.

Go bowed his head with tears in his eyes.

Although he couldn’t speak because his tongue was cut off, he was expressing his welcoming feelings with his whole body.

Pyo-wol introduced the children to Steward Go.

“They’re going to live with us from today, so give each of them a room of their own.”

Steward Go looked at the children with a surprised look.

Soma smiled and waved his hand, Eunyo hid behind Pyo-wol with a shy look, and Guian looked at Steward Go calmly.

Go was surprised and happy at the different reactions of the three children.

It was nice to see Pyo-wol, who returned after a long time, and the fact that he brought someone else here made him even happier.

Go bowed his head and brought Pyo-wol and his children into the Red Villa.

Pyo-wol told the children.

“Steward Go can’t speak because his tongue is cut off, so act on your own.”

“Don’t worry. We have that much sense. Do we just have to live here from now on?”

Soma looked around the inside of the Red Villa with an excited expression.

It was the first time in his life to have such a large and colorful mansion, so he was excited.

It was the same for other children.

Eunyo could hardly see her eyes, but she could roughly guess the size of the Red Villa by using the senses of her whole body.

Above all, she felt good energy in the Red Villa.

There was a light of relief on Eunyo’s face.

The fact that she had a house to live in at ease gave her relief.

‘So this is the house we’re going to live in. I’m going to protect it from now on.’