“I’m going to die.”
“What do you mean you’re going to die just because of a little misunderstanding? Just because I was concerned about my friend’s daughter in a tough situation, you think it’s… a crush, a crush? Puhuhuhup!”
I can’t hold it in. I collapsed in my seat, unable to suppress my laughter.
“I want to die! I really should die!”
Im Ha-yeon shouted, her face turning red, maybe even purple.
“Puhuhuhup. P-please don’t die… Puhuhuhup.”
I feel like my stomach is going to burst. Help me.
People often say that when one’s internal energy flows incorrectly, they suffer from a martial arts seizure, but it seems I might get one from laughing too hard.
“Are you really going to keep laughing?!”
Im Ha-yeon glared at me while trembling, her fists clenched.
You think it’s not funny?
How could she think that I fell for her at first sight and have been tormented by unrequited love?
“Let’s go down first. I’m not confident about going down from this height yet.”
I managed to compose myself and cautiously reached out my hand to Im Ha-yeon.
“D-do you even know what I’ve been thinking all this time?!”
Im Ha-yeon looked like she had no intention of going down, biting her lip and shouting in frustration.
“What did you think of me?”
I looked at Im Ha-yeon’s face, which clearly showed embarrassment, with an utterly serious expression.
“……”
“Regardless of whatever misconceptions I might have had about you, or whatever misunderstandings you had about me, none of that brought us to this point.”
The conversation we just had while holding hands wasn’t a misunderstanding.
I’ve made mistakes too. Every time I acted around her, I was aware that she could be the true heroine of a martial arts dating sim.
It’s like a mutual misunderstanding situation.
Im Ha-yeon alternately looked at my hand and my face, then suddenly lowered her head and muttered,
“Who, who liked whom first… that’s still quite important…”
“What’s more important right now is that I don’t want to let go of Im Ha-yeon’s hand, right?”
“You really…”
“A long misunderstanding can be resolved with a long story. We can talk about the rest when we get back.”
Im Ha-yeon shyly took my hand.
What’s so important about that? Getting down together is more important.
Though it’s true I might take advantage of the fact that Im Ha-yeon liked me first in the future.
———————-
“I’m getting hungry since we’ve been wandering around without dinner.”
Suddenly, I’m starving.
Worrying about Im Ha-yeon and running around in a panic without dinner made hunger hit me all at once.
“Shall we go to the pork soup place we visited last time? I heard they’re open at night too.”
“It would be perfect to order boiled meat and have a drink.”
“But you have to work tomorrow.”
Im Ha-yeon said to me, seemingly concerned.
“Let’s think about tomorrow, tomorrow.”
After sweating profusely, a cool drink sounds just right.
“You… really… Should I pour you a drink too?”
Im Ha-yeon sighed as if she couldn’t reason with me and then spoke to me with a cheerful smile.
“Is there any doubt?”
“Alright then. This way.”
Im Ha-yeon, still holding my hand, started heading towards the soup place.
“Is the conversation over?”
If it weren’t for the martial artists surrounding the pavilion…
“Who are you?”
They’re all armed with swords.
It’s clear these guys don’t come here for good reasons.
Who would walk around with swords at night? They can’t be rival gangs, robbers, or leftovers from the Black Knife or Lush Green Post Office.
No way.
Suddenly, thoughts about those I absolutely don’t want to meet crossed my mind.
“Of course, the pink-haired one is here.”
“Told you! I told you the barbarians would be tailing us!”
They look like they think the suffering is over. If they’re here to find Ha-yeon, it’s only those guys.
“Are you looking for Im Ha-yeon?”
“Yeah. We came from the Do-mun. If you don’t want to die, leave Im Ha-yeon alone and get lost.”
So they’re definitely from Do-mun.
—————–
“Do you two lovebirds know how much trouble you’ve caused us?!”
“This crap ends now.”
I had forgotten momentarily in my search for Im Ha-yeon.
That I’m not the only one looking for her.
The more I search for Im Ha-yeon, the more likely I’ll get caught by Do-mun’s watchful eye.
“Just quietly follow us.”
There are dozens of Do-mun henchmen. I definitely checked that no one was here before going up to the pavilion. Where have all these guys been hiding?
What do we do?
Im Ha-yeon and I exchanged glances in silence.
“Those lovers are thinking of running away!”
The martial artist from Do-mun shouted at us.
“Im Ha-yeon. Give up on escaping. This isn’t the Umbrella where you could escape with your eyes closed, but the Do-mun’s stronghold in Wuhan.”
“Exactly! Every alley where you think you can escape has already been filled with Do-mun’s men! Thinking you can run is a big mistake!”
That’s something for us to confirm and judge.
“Ha-yeon.”
Let’s prepare. I sent Im Ha-yeon another glance.
“Those fools won’t understand even if we speak! Im Ha-yeon, yes, go ahead and run! Do you think your man next to you would stay unharmed if you ran?”
“Let’s run.”
“Yes.”
I gathered my internal energy at the Yongcheon point in my foot and released it.
“This girl really plans to abandon her man and run away… huh?”
The swift Shadowless Body Technique.
The Ascending Skill that doesn’t require a preparatory movement. Before the martial artists could even draw their swords, we leaped upwards.
“Ka-ha!”
They probably never imagined we could escape the encirclement in an instant.
They underestimated my light body movement skills. After all, I had a genius mentor in the arts of martial arts dating sim!
I turned back to grin at the dumbfounded faces of my pursuers and began to dash away.
“Catch them!”
——————
“Damn it! Those lovebirds think they can escape with this light body movement?”
“The Postmaster of Lush Green Post Office catching them was just luck!”
“Shut up and catch them!”
“They must not get away! Close the encirclement!”
It wasn’t just a lie that they left men in every alley.
As we sprinted through walls, roofs, alleys, and between people, they were a step behind, shouting information on our moves.
“Aim for the legs of that running barbarian!”
“What the hell?!”
Just where my ankle had been, a blade grazed past. The Do-mun man looked regretful. I’m not intending to become Kang Yoon-ho just yet!
While I hesitated in surprise, other henchmen from Do-mun popped up.
What should I do?
“There!”
I heard Im Ha-yeon’s voice calling from above. When did she leap over the wall and into the roof?
Following where she pointed with her finger, I saw a path. Garbage. A wall. Two kicks, then onto the roof.
Alright, let’s go. It’s not hard to move my body.
“This way!”
“Run!”
The streets are dangerous. Following Im Ha-yeon’s lead, I sprinted for all I was worth between the roofs.
Her light body movement skills are incredible.
I paused to squeeze out my internal energy every time a new rooftop appeared, yet Im Ha-yeon showed no hesitation.
Rather, she occasionally glanced back at me, as if concerned about my struggle, thinking of the best route.
Just when Im Ha-yeon turned back at me and leaped to the next rooftop…
“Throw the spear!”
A spear pierced the air, flying towards her.
“Ha-yeon!”
No! It’s going to hit.
A perfectly placed spear’s trajectory. No matter how hard I struggle in the air, I can’t avoid a fatal hit.
Unless it’s Im Ha-yeon.
“What is this?! What’s happening?!”
“How did this happen?! It clearly passed through her body?!”
As she locked eyes with the spear…
From below, it must have seemed like the spear was passing through her body in a blink.
But Im Ha-yeon was unscathed.
“Cloud Dragon’s Eight Moves…”
Even if arrows rain down on a dragon playing on a cloud, it would deftly dodge them.
The ex-Shadowless Thief stole the secret arts of the Kunlun Sect. Moving like a dragon playing on clouds.
In that split second, Im Ha-yeon flicked her waist and changed direction in mid-air.
“What are you doing?!”
With a calm face, Im Ha-yeon called to me from the opposite rooftop.
As the guys below were aghast, I quickly leaped to the next roof.
“I said to throw it well!”
“That girl just flew in the air…!”
“Shut up and throw the spear!”
—————————
“You’re slow!”
The pursuit was relentless.
“This is my maximum speed!”
These Do-mun guys are too persistent!
No matter how much I’ve been pretending to be at the printing shop for months, tossing fake information to Si-mun, and barricading in the mansion, this is too much.
Are you all working overtime or something? It can’t be a comprehensive payment system!
“There it is!”
“I’m going to throw it! Be careful!”
Eventually, feeling frustrated, Im Ha-yeon stopped moving and grabbed me.
“What do you mean? Aah!”
Suddenly, the weight of gravity lifted from my body.
“Even men can fly!”
I was thrown.
The ground receded. The mighty currents of the Yangtze River, which were barely visible before, appeared.
Right now, I am not a human but a bird. Gugu, you get to see views like this every day.
Hey, Wright brothers, you got it wrong. Humans can indeed fly without machines.
Is this what a human airplane feels like? No, is it more like a human rocket? Maybe I should join a rocket team from today.
“Today, I’m flying toooo!”
Sadly, it will take hundreds of years for a rocket to orbit the Earth successfully.
I will ultimately be recorded as a failure, crashing back down to the ground.
“What are you saying? Catch me!”
It was a perfect catch from Im Ha-yeon.
“Hah! I thought I was going to die!”
Lucky for me, I wasn’t a single-use rocket.
“Because of you, we’ve come a long way. Where do we go now? An inn? Mansion? Tea Bookstore?”
“Now that we’ve been discovered, any of those places will be surrounded. Let’s focus on shaking off the pursuit first.”
I squeezed out every bit of internal energy to avoid becoming a second rocket launch.
—————-
“Catch them!”
Just give up already.
Is every Do-mun thug in Wuhan here?
How much do you all want Im Ha-yeon? What’s the reason for this?
“If we catch that girl, we’ll forgive the gambling debts!”
Well, that’s understandable.
“Haah! Haah!”
While I momentarily lost the Do-mun guys and caught my breath in an open area, I started feeling short of breath.
“What’s wrong?! Are you okay?!”
“My internal energy…”
What I possess is five years’ worth of internal energy. There’s no way I can sustain the Shadowless Body Technique at this level all night long.
“Ah.”
Im Ha-yeon’s face showed surprise for a moment.
“There it is! Over there!”
“Climb on me!”
Im Ha-yeon crouched down, showing her back to me.
“No, just go alone. I’ll escape in another direction.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Maybe it would be better to split up and break through the encirclement.”
This is a hassle now. It might be better to let her escape alone.
“Do you think I don’t realize you’re trying to be bait?!”
“That’s not it.”
“Stop saying nonsense and climb on!”
Im Ha-yeon’s urgent voice pierced my ears.
“Im Ha-yeon. This is it.”
Aren’t you tired? Where are all the Do-mun guys coming from?
The Do-mun thugs drew their swords and began to encircle us slowly.
“Just run ahead.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Alright. Run, Im Ha-yeon. The girl who ran away from the courtesans she called sisters won’t abandon a man.”
All the courtesans from the Umbrella theater who had been attacked were dead.
If she runs away leaving me behind, it’ll be a threat from the Do-mun guys.
“Don’t cower. You’ve taken a breath, so you can run again.”
“How long do you think your man will keep running? If caught, he’ll make you live in misery for life. I’ll have you resent me for saving you for life.”
The martial artist from Do-mun grinned at me with a sinister smile.
“Stop worrying about me.”
I stood in front of Im Ha-yeon, glaring at the Do-mun martial artist.
“Im Ha-yeon! If you come with me now, you’ll be a fugitive courtesan for life, but he’ll remain unscathed. What do you think?”
“Don’t fall for their nonsense. They can’t touch me.”
Can you really handle this? Do you really think you can make a fool of the Tang family’s precious gem?
“This is not Sichuan, it’s Hubei Province.”
The Do-mun man frowned and spoke to me.
“There are people in Wuhan who will get angry.”
Do you have the guts to touch this year’s rising star that Si-mun Hyang-ju has his eyes on?
“You touched our Do-mun Hyang-joo’s possession. Do you think Si-mun Hyang-ju will protect you?”
We’ve only held hands. Remarkably, just holding hands.
I hadn’t even considered moving to the next stage yet, yet they’re being harsh about it.
“Since when has Ha-yeon been a possession of Do-mun?”
I held Im Ha-yeon’s hand tightly, as if to say I wouldn’t let go.
“You…”
Her voice dripped with honey, but let’s save that for later.
Should I provoke the Do-mun guys by asking Im Ha-yeon if she really belongs to Do-mun, or should I buy myself some time with other words?
While I was pondering how to conserve energy and find a way out…
“Claiming someone else’s child as yours is laughable.”
Many figures appeared behind the Do-mun guys, all at once.
“What on earth?!”
“Why are the gamblers going crazy when there are no gambling dens nearby? I’ve discovered an entertaining scene.”
Suddenly, in the center of the crowd, a heavily made-up woman spoke sarcastically to the martial artists.
“Hey?!”
“Ha-yeon, do you know them?”
She seemed to recognize them.
“Who do you think you are to be here?!”
“Oh my. Since they’re selling their lives to gamble, I guess they don’t know the phrase ‘singing without whoring’?”
“These wenches!”
The Do-mun guys clearly displayed their hostility toward the group.
There are many martial artists among the crowd, but I also see some elegantly dressed beauties scattered around.
Who are they?
The latecomer among the group approached us without caring about the Do-mun guys.
As she drew closer, a strong scent of perfume and alcohol wafted toward us.
Wait a minute.
Is this faction with courtesans similar to the Do-mun?
No way?
“Have you come from the Courtesan House?”
“Correct. We, from the Courtesan House, have come to retrieve our girl, Im Ha-yeon.”
