The man’s secret room was empty.

Yujo had turned her horse around and come here, but she wasn’t sure if she was making the right choice. To her surprise, she found this building quite easily, and she managed to open the secret door found at the staircase landing without any difficulty.

However, she didn’t realize that someone had deliberately left small clues here and there for her to find.

The room looked the same as it did yesterday, but there was no one inside.

Why did she come here? Although she didn’t know his motives, the man was still interested in catching the Heukra. Yujo quickly took off her veiled hat and grabbed some paper and a piece of charcoal. She wrote something down. Then she took a bow, some arrows, and even stole a sword before quickly exiting out of the room.

Rumble, she heard the sounds of an impending storm coming from the sky. It looked like it was going to rain soon. She swiftly got on top of the horse and tried to figure out the direction she needed to take in order to go to CheongRyu Hall. She only knew that it was located in the upper-class neighborhood near the Silk River. She had never been there before.

But if it started to rain, it would take her longer to get there. Yujo bit her lip. She didn’t have any trouble finding her way around the desert or the plains. This was no problem for her.

“Haw!”

She shouted out, and the horse began to race down the road. Behind her, raindrops began to fall from the sky.

How long had she been riding?

The dark clouds slowly began to encroach towards her. The sky grew dark, and the air was humid as if it was going to start raining any minute.

Dirt splattered as the horse raced down the path. Not long after that, raindrops drenched Yujo’s entire body.

Her surroundings were blurry. Yujo grit her teeth and lowered her body. If one followed the bank of the Silk River, they’d come across the largest lodging place in YeonSung known as CheongRyu Hall. Having raced along the Silk River for the past two hours, Yujo noticed that it was getting darker.

Considering the weather and Princess Yeowa, Yujo knew that she should turn around return home. However, anxiety continued to prick her heart. If she returned now, she knew she’d regret it.

“Just a little more. Hurry!”

Yujo pleaded the horse. They went over yet another hill, and Yujo finally saw a splendid building appear from far away.

Perched on a cliff, the beautiful building looked down over the Silk River. Like its namesake*, clear, blue waves crashed underneath it.

Princess Muyeo and Duke HyoEun would be there. And as expected, the couple was standing underneath the warm lights as they hugged their daughter.

In the end, her hunch had been incorrect. Yujo laughed at herself. What had she been so worried about? Why had she raced all the way over here in the rain? She pulled on the reins and began to turn the horse around. While this was all absolutely ridiculous, she still felt relieved. Now she needed to hurry back to her own residence.

Suddenly…

Crash!

There was a deafening roar, and in the next instant, the top of CheongRyu Hall was shattered into pieces.

“No way…”

Yujo murmured to herself. After the explosion, CheongRyu Hall was now engulfed in flames. The red flames and the black smoke rose in the wind. Even from where she was standing, she could hear the people’s screams.

“Oh my god!”

Yujo was frozen in her spot as she watched the debris rise and fall in the dark night sky. There was no trace of the princess’s picturesque family. Yujo began to rush over to CheongRyu Hall with all her might.

The image of Princess Muyeo talking about how she received scorn from others glimmered in her head.

“No, no way.”

Yujo’s voice trembled as she mumbled to herself. She didn’t want to believe it. However, half of the burning CheongRyu Hall had already been destroyed. It was as if hell was right before her eyes. People were on fire as they jumped out of windows. Some screamed as they escaped through the doors. They were all servants from Princess Muyeo’s residence.

Whoosh!

An arrow flew through the sky as it approached Yujo. It was as if it were warning her. Startled, she lowered her head. She saw figures dressed in black surround CheongRyu Hall. They held long swords and cold-heartedly struck down any of the servants that escaped the building.

What… What should she do?! Even if she ran in now, there was no way she could get anything done on her own.

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise behind her. She turned around and saw about a dozen men on horses coming closer. At the very front, she saw Jukmu. As expected, the rider on Jukmu was none other than that man.

“Duck!”

At his roar, Yujo automatically crouched down. The horses jumped over her. The men shouted as they attacked the figures surrounding CheongRyu Hall.

Oh my god! He came! He saw the note she had left behind!

She wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but she was so happy knowing that he had come. Yujo quickly grabbed her bow and pulled on the string.

It was now time for war.

As the men began to strike down the assassins, Yujo’s arrows perfectly shot into the necks of her enemies.

The sounds of swords clashing rang in the air. It was almost as if the terrifying power of all these men had caused the temperature to drop. However, the swarm of assassins didn’t go down without a fight. As the swords clashed, sparks flew.

Suddenly, someone’s name plunged into Yujo’s ears.

“Muyeo!”

Yujo turned her head in surprise.

Muyeo! Muyeo?

Over there, on the half-broken bannister, stood a woman in frayed clothes. Duke HyoEun frantically struck down his foes as he tried to make his way over to her, but the woman didn’t move a muscle. Yujo’s mouth widened.

Muyeo! It was Muyeo!

“She’s not dead.”

Yujo let out a sigh of relief.

However, a woman was now standing in front of Muyeo.

A woman in a black veiled hat.

Heukra. It was definitely the Heukra. Like a vindictive ghost that rose out of the hellfire!

And Muyeo didn’t move at all… Almost as if she were bewitched. She didn’t know what they were talking about. She couldn’t hear them at all.

However, one thing was certain. The Heukra was trying to kill Muyeo. If anything, the radiant crystal bottle in the Heukra’s hand proved it.

They were a bit too far, but she couldn’t give up.

Yujo stopped breathing and pulled the arrow back on her bow. Raindrops fell on her body and dripped down her stiff lips. She didn’t hear the clash of swords or the sound of the rain.

Only the target.

She only saw the Heukra.

The moment the Heukra raised the crystal bottle, Yujo pulled her arrow back even further and let go.

Whoosh! The arrow left her fingers.

The Heukra’s veiled hat flew off. Startled, the Heukra turned her head. Having lost the accessory that had kept her hair up, half of the Heukra’s face was now covered by long, black hair.

However, the woman had only turned her head towards Yujo, so Yujo was the only one who got a clear look at the woman’s face. She saw it so clearly.

The face of a beautiful heavenly maiden.

However, for some reason, it looked familiar.

“No…”

Yujo whispered.

Her lips parted. No way. There was no way that person could be the Heukra. Wasn’t that the person who had asked her to catch the Heukra in the first place? What kind of crazy bastard would ask to be caught?

However, her eyes didn’t lie.

“Jewol…”

Yujo was completely shocked as she called out his name.

Their eyes met. Jewol as well as Yujo… They both recognized each other. She wasn’t sure which party was more shocked. However, they both felt as if their world was crashing down around them.

Suddenly, a gleaming sword flew towards Jewol. Startled, Jewol hid his face with his hand. He was gone in the next instant. The remaining figures around him escorted him as he made his escape. While all this was going on, Duke HyoEun grabbed the collapsed Princess Muyeo and embraced her.

Yujo’s fingers trembled as she held her bow. She couldn’t do anything. All thought had left her head.

Suddenly, an assassin roared as he charged after her.

Whinny!

The horse neighed. Yujo avoided the sword and fell off her horse. As her body plunged into the mud, she was a total mess. The sword aimed at her neck and plunged down. She rolled her body and barely managed to evade it. Mud splattered as the sword struck the ground.

The man quickly chased after her. Yujo continued to roll as she searched for her sword. The assassin’s sword swung down as it aimed for her neck, but she evaded it again. The assassin then kicked her. A sharp pain radiated from her ribs, causing a groan to escape her lips.

The sword swung down once again. By chance, Yujo managed to grab the sword out of the hands of a fallen man and raised it up.

Clang! Sparks flew as their swords met. Lying in the mud, Yujo was being pressed down by the assassin’s sword.

She blocked it to the best of her ability, but the man’s strength was no joke.

“Ugh!”

Yujo grit her teeth and did her best to fight against it, but the assassin’s sword was now approaching her neck.

Brother Yuha!

Thud!

Suddenly, the assassin’s body flew away.

“What are you doing? Get yourself together!”

Yujo returned to her senses and looked at the person who had saved her. It was him. The independent official!

“Hurry!

At his words, Yujo tightened her grip on her sword.

Cut them all down.

Don’t think anymore. Yujo merely cut down the enemies in front of her eyes.

It was strange.

Although it didn’t seem like they got along at all, they were completely in sync.

She didn’t realize this during the previous times they met, but his sword and hers worked in complete harmony.

His sword was strong and blunt. However, Yujo’s sword was flexible and subtle. While her sword was no match for his strength, she was able to accurately cover his weaknesses.

As the battle progressed, Yujo felt an electrifying thrill run down her spine. She felt as if her own skills had improved three-fold. However, the figures were impressive warriors themselves. On top of that, their murderous intent was incredibly persistent.

Yujo finally saw Duke HyoEun carry Princess Muyeo as he escaped CheongRyu Hall. As soon as Duke HyoEun frantically entered a carriage, five of the men who had followed the man here escorted them away.

Now all they had to do was take care of the rest of the assassins so that they couldn’t chase after the carriage. Yujo’s hands clenched on her sword.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, someone grabbed her hair.

The assassin’s knife plunged into her chest in an instant. If it went any deeper, it would reach her heart. The moment she felt a sense of emergency, a sword flew in the air and struck the assassin’s forehead.

Startled, Yujo looked in the direction the sword came from.

The independent official. It was him.

But he had thrown his own sword. Had he lost his mind?!

An enemy saw that he had thrown away his sword, and his eyes gleamed.

“No.”

Yujo murmured. The man’s eyes met with hers. The assassin’s sword gleamed as he raised it in the air.

No!”

In the next instant, it slashed the man’s back.

“No!”

Yujo quickly pulled out the sword from the assassin’s forehead. Then she slashed at the other assassin like crazy. Blood gushed out, and her whole body was drenched in it.

“Get up! I said get up!”

She heard the sharp sound of a horn from far away. She saw another swarm of enemies racing up the hill. With this man injured as well, there was no way she could fend them off on her own. And wasn’t there too many of them?

Drenched in blood and rain, the man was gasping for breath. His teeth were clenched in pain. He looked up at her and spoke.

“Run away. Hurry.”

Run away? Then what about you?

Yujo looked into his eyes before looking at the enemies approaching them on horseback. She turned around and saw that the cliff was behind them.

Below them, she could see the whirling, black water. Blood would leave an open wound more easily in water. And it would bleed much faster.

“Get up.”

Yujo whispered.

“I’m not going anywhere without you.”

She grabbed him and dragged him over to the cliff before jumping down.

Crash! They plunged into the water. The water rapids were a lot stronger than expected, and she had a hard time finding her bearings. The man’s body had left her grasp in the process.

Yujo looked around her. Her nose and mouth was full of cold water. She saw the flames above the cliff flickering in the dark.

“Hey!”

Yujo shouted out. However, she still didn’t see any trace of the man.

“Damn it.”

Curses spilled out of her mouth as she plunged back into the water.