HDCLSSRS Ch 170
by berryChapter 170 The Badger (5)
“Shouldn’t we go look for her?”
After three days had passed, Seong Muyon finally asked the Owl.
It wasn’t unusual for Yakseon to disappear for several days after setting out on a house call. Sometimes she encountered critically ill patients unexpectedly, while other times she stayed behind to observe whether the people she had treated were recovering properly.
But whenever that happened, Yakseon always found some way to send word so that the attendants would not worry.
This time, however…
Several days had passed without a single message, and she still had not returned.
Even Seong Muyon was beginning to feel uneasy.
“…We should go to the village.”
The Owl fell silent in thought for a moment before nodding.
Without another word, he quickly prepared himself and left.
Not long afterward, he returned to the laboratory.
Alone.
“Where is Lord Yakseon…?”
Seong Muyon asked carefully.
The Owl slowly shook his head.
“She did visit the village chief’s house three days ago… but they said she didn’t stay long before leaving again.”
“What? Then where did she go?”
“I asked the villagers…. One woman said she saw Lord Yakseon leaving with a man she met along the road while she was working in the fields. They hurried away together, as though something urgent had happened….”
The Owl spoke slowly.
“Judging from the direction they left… the woman thinks the man was a young fellow from the neighboring village….”
“Then we need to go immediately! Something may have happened.”
Even then, Seong Muyon didn’t think it was anything too serious.
At worst, he imagined the villagers had prepared an extravagant feast and plenty of alcohol to thank Yakseon for treating them.
He could practically picture her lying somewhere, dead drunk after making her hangover even worse.
Yet the Owl did not move immediately.
While he remained silent, lost in thought, the other attendants stepped forward instead.
“I’ll go!”
“No, I’ll go!”
“Then let’s all go together.”
The attendants fidgeted impatiently, looking ready to burst out the door.
“You all stay here….”
The moment the Owl spoke, the commotion ceased.
“Maknae… you’ll come with me….”
“M-Me?”
Seong Muyon shuddered at the title.
Just like martial sects, the attendants also had their own hierarchy.
The Owl, having arrived first, was the eldest.
Seong Muyon, being the newest addition, had become the youngest—the Maknae—expected to respectfully address everyone else as his older brothers and sisters.
It seemed that no matter where he went, fate insisted on making him the youngest.
“We don’t know what might happen…. Among all of us, you’re the only one who can actually fight.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
With that settled, the Owl turned back toward the attendants.
“If three days pass and we still haven’t returned… you all know what to do, right?”
“Yes!”
The Rabbit Mask answered cheerfully.
“If you don’t come back? What happens then?”
Seong Muyon asked as he followed the Owl, who had already begun making simple preparations.
“We have another hideout prepared…. We’ll meet there.”
“I see.”
Over the years, Yakseon had changed residences many times.
Partly because Seong Muyon could not allow himself to be recognized.
But also because the conflicts between the various powers of the Central Plains had grown increasingly severe.
At first, they had stayed near major cities.
Gradually, they moved farther and farther into remote regions.
Eventually, they settled deep within an isolated forest, far beyond even a tiny rural village in Gansu Province.
Yakseon had safe houses hidden throughout the Central Plains.
It was an old habit born from her desire to distance herself from conflicts that had nothing to do with her.
“This time, I have no choice but to take you with me…. But be careful. If your identity is exposed, things could become dangerous….”
These days, even ordinary civilians frequently found themselves caught in the crossfire of martial artists’ battles.
That was why the Owl was willing to risk taking Seong Muyon along.
If they were drawn into a fight by chance, someone needed to be capable of protecting himself.
“I’ll die if Lord Yakseon doesn’t come back anyway.”
Seong Muyon answered casually.
It wasn’t a joke.
Nor was he trying to brush the matter aside.
The herbal medicine he consumed every day was prepared once every three months.
At present, they only had enough ingredients left for another fifteen days.
If Yakseon failed to return, the medicine would eventually run out.
Without it, his condition would rebound and become even worse than before.
In other words…
He would die.
“Even so… unless there’s absolutely no other choice, you are not to step forward. Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut.”
“Yes.”
The two packed lightly for whatever might await them.
Their bundles contained a few emergency medicinal herbs, a little money, and provisions prepared specifically for Seong Muyon.
The attendants leaned over the low stone wall, seeing them off as they departed.
Yaksu Village officially belonged to Gansu Province.
However, with Qinghai bordering it to the west and Sichuan to the south, the distinction held little practical meaning.
It was little more than a tiny rural settlement.
After walking for an entire shichen, Seong Muyon and the Owl finally arrived at the entrance to the village.
The farming village was so small that it did not even possess a stone marker bearing its name.
Even the name Yaksu Village existed merely as a convenient way for neighboring villagers to distinguish it from surrounding settlements.
“…Why isn’t anyone here?”
No matter how small a village might be, strangers usually attracted at least a little curiosity.
Yet after entering the village and passing several fields…
They hadn’t encountered a single person.
“I have a bad feeling about this….”
The Owl quickened his pace.
Before long, the peaceful rural scenery gradually began to change.
Fields that only days ago had been filled with villagers sowing seeds with plows and hoes had been violently churned apart, exposing the raw earth beneath.
In the distance…
Black smoke drifted lazily into the sky.
“……”
Seong Muyon and the Owl exchanged glances.
Something was wrong.
Every thatched cottage they passed stood empty.
The farther they ventured inward, the more the village resembled little more than ruins.
The acrid scent of something burned lingered heavily in the air.
The unease that had quietly crept into Seong Muyon’s heart transformed instantly into suffocating tension.
Then—
“AAAAAH! Stay away!”
Someone suddenly burst out from the undergrowth, screaming hysterically as he ran toward them.
The man was clearly one of the villagers.
His coarse hemp clothing was torn to shreds, covered with dried grass and dirt as though he had rolled through the forest.
Pure terror was written across his face.
Close behind him…
A swordsman moved with astonishing speed.
“Help! Somebody help!”
The distance between the two rapidly closed.
At this rate…
Blood would surely be spilled.
“We have to save him first!”
The Owl blocked Seong Muyon as he rushed forward.
“Wait.”
“What? Ugh!”
Before he could react, the Owl swiftly struck several of Seong Muyon’s acupoints.
Even as that happened, the chase continued.
The swordsman was already within striking distance.
There was no time to question what the Owl was doing.
Shoving him aside, Seong Muyon sprinted forward.
But at times like these…
Even a single heartbeat determined life or death.
With only one zhang left between himself and the fleeing villager—
Seong Muyon watched helplessly as the swordsman’s killing blade slashed toward the man’s back.
Then—
A stone came hurtling from somewhere with incredible force.
It struck the ground precisely beneath the villager’s feet.
“Urgh!”
Running at full speed, the man’s balance suddenly gave way.
His body pitched forward.
The swordsman’s blade stabbed only empty air.
The stumbling villager was naturally thrown forward—
Straight toward Seong Muyon.
Seeing the large man hurtling directly at him…
Seong Muyon instantly realized his fate.
…Damn it.
Crash!
The two tumbled together across the ground in a tangled heap.
Stars burst across Seong Muyon’s vision.
The crushing weight pressing him into the earth robbed him of even the ability to groan.
“Ugh….”
The villager must have struck the ground hard.
Even after they stopped rolling, he remained unable to move.
Seong Muyon, flattened beneath him, could only lie there like a pressed leaf.
A moment later, the weight finally lifted.
Narrowing his eyes, Seong Muyon looked up at the person standing above him.
“Are you all right?”
The newcomer stood with the sun behind him, making it impossible to see his face clearly.
Yet there was something about his calm, refined voice and gentle manner of speaking that inspired trust almost instinctively.
Only then did Seong Muyon remember—
This was no longer the safety of Yakseon’s secluded laboratory.
Startled, he hurriedly touched his face.
Fortunately…
Despite everything that had just happened, the badger mask remained perfectly in place.
Taking the hand the stranger offered, Seong Muyon rose to his feet and opened his mouth to thank him.
“……”
“……Are you injured anywhere?”
To his bewilderment…
No sound came out.