Betrayal is death.
A principle etched in her bones, but it felt brand new, all over again. Maybe because this time, she was the one who'd betrayed them.
"Yeo-il."
But then again... betrayal felt like it was always going to happen to her.
Especially now.
"Yeo-il, Yeo-il..."
The heavy smell of blood hung in the air.
It wasn't far off. Yeo-il looked down at her left arm, shredded from being on the run for so long.
'I didn't expect to escape easily.'
Yeah, it was just as tough as she'd expected.
Of course, it was. She was up against Salmak. Ruthless killers who'd hunt you down to the ends of the earth.
And it was her group, too.
What was Salmak, anyway? The group she'd given everything to?
A killer crew that became public enemy number one, throwing the whole martial arts world into chaos.
They were known for their brutality, leaving a bloody trail in their wake.
"I've said it until I'm blue in the face."
And Yeo-il was generally, no, always at the forefront of that blood-soaked path.
"I, your brother, value you greatly."
Her alias, infamy, and misdeeds made countless people tremble, but Yeo-il didn't feel a damn thing.
She was a killing machine, so what did they expect?
"You're one of a kind."
Dim, purplish eyes pierced through the gloomy darkness and stared at Yeo-il.
The man facing her stood alone.
But Yeo-il knew. One wrong move, and Salmak's assassins would rain down on her, ending it all.
The man tried to sweet-talk her, his smile sickly sweet.
"Come back now, and I'll forgive everything."
"..."
"You know me. I don't break my promises."
"..."
"Everyone screws up. I'm a forgiving man, so why wouldn't I forgive a little mistake?"
The man reached out his hand.
A hand, even whiter than his robe, reached out, catching the moonlight. A dreamy smile spread across his pale face.
"Take my hand, Yeo-il. Let's go back like nothing ever happened. No one will say a word about it."
Forgive a traitor?
It was a load of crap, but the guy had the power to back it up.
But what did any of that matter?
Yeo-il spat on the man's hand.
"Go to hell."
And just like that, without a backward glance, she took off, running faster than the wind.
In a flash, she was more than ten yards away, and a booming laugh echoed through the night.
"Yes, that's you!"
And then, the order was given.
"Capture her alive."
Feeling them closing in, fast as ghosts, Yeo-il suddenly hesitated.
'Why am I running away?'
Wouldn't it be better to just die?
Yeo-il didn't care if she lived or died.
She was the one who deserved hell. Her whole life had been hell, so what difference would dying make?
But she was running like hell.
Perhaps it was because of the jade ring.
[Take this. This ring is all I have.]
Over ten years ago. In that hellhole where they'd kidnapped a hundred kids... because of the kid who gave her the jade ring and disappeared...
[If you ever see my parents, please give them my jade ring, Yeo-il. Tell them I had a good life, and I went peacefully... Tell them I was happy, and I didn't suffer...]
Those memories were still crystal clear.
Strange adults who beat and tortured them.
The times they were forced to kill to survive.
Days spent filling their bellies with venomous centipedes.
Corpses piling up like mountains day after day...
[Are you the only ones who survived? Welcome to Salmak.]
From a young age, Yeo-il was Salmak's puppet. Following their kill list, she took out names one by one.
Yeo-il was obedient.
She was an excellent assassin, a useful tool.
Until she realized that something was wrong with herself.
"Hahaha... No matter how fast you are, there are assassins everywhere, like a spiderweb. You think you can get away from me?"
The man's voice echoed from afar.
Just like he said, she could feel them all around her now, not just behind.
Yeo-il pushed herself faster, leaving them in the dust.
But she knew it wouldn't last.
Should she just kill them all? But she couldn't bring herself to draw her sword. She just kept running, running...
How many hours had passed like that?
The sun rose.
The sun set.
It felt like the sun had risen again several times.
'A day. No, two days... Is it four days?'
Her legs gave out. She couldn't run another step.
Yeo-il, soaked in sweat, collapsed to the ground, crawling.
She couldn't stop here.
'They'll find me soon.'
Nothing else came to mind. She fumbled for the jade ring in her chest, but even that was too much, and she thought, 'So, I'm really going to die.'
I'm going to die.
It's finally over.
Yeo-il closed her eyes and accepted death.
Some time later.
A shadow fell over her. She couldn't sense anyone there.
The old man, craning his neck and examining Yeo-il, shook his head with a displeased expression.
"Tsk, tsk. What luck, finding some piece of trash lying around."
After clicking his tongue for a long time, he hoisted the sprawled body like luggage and began to walk.
"Damn it. I must've done something bad to deserve picking up this garbage."
Karma, it's karma.
The grumbling voice disappeared into the quiet mountains.
Strangely, not even a speck of dust was left where the old man had stood.
She spent four years with the old man.
Not content with just picking up Yeo-il, he picked up the Seol siblings before the year was even over, and then took in a troublemaker the following year.
In a dilapidated old house that was no different from the ruins of Xinjiang, five of them lived together, including Yeo-il and the old man. It was a time that was both long and short.
After the old man passed away.
It had only been half a year since she descended the mountain with Seol-yeong, along with the old scroll that was like a will.
'Has it already been that long?'
Yeo-il unfolded the scroll, its edges tattered and unsightly, inside the violently shaking carriage.
On the faded painting depicting a waterfall, black letters, much clearer than the painting, were densely written. She scanned through the miscellaneous list and picked out a suitable number.
Entry number 29.
She remembered it being the most pointless thing the old man had written.
You should taste something sweet at least once. I've thought about it for a long time, and tanghulu would be good. It must be from Mount Tianzhu in Anhui Province.
Seriously? This was in his will?
Leaving aside the content, Yeo-il clicked her tongue at the old man's terrible handwriting and rolled up the scroll again.
'How many years has it been since I came to Mount Tianzhu?'
Back when Salmak was hunting her down, she never thought she'd end up in Anhui for some stupid tanghulu.
