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If you don’t talk to people for a long time, your mouth grows moldy.

Ju Ryeongryeong knew well what that felt like.

“……”

She closes her eyes and feels the breeze blowing.

It’s cool. But that’s all. There’s no warmth.

Only shadows surround her. It is naturally bleak as the sun does not shine here, and there aren’t even similar houses nearby.

It’s the same when she looks back. The half-built house seems more like a shabby pile of sticks than a proper home.

But what can she do?

She doesn’t know how to build a house.

Her body was sturdy from the start. It could withstand anything.

Whether lying on the ground or on a bed, as long as she can open her eyes in the morning, isn’t that enough?

That’s what she thought.

…That’s what she thought.

“Haah…”

Her sigh grew deeper with each passing day. Her mouth itched to speak.

I’m not a quiet person, you know? I actually love to talk a lot.

I prefer talking over silence. I enjoy joking around and mixing serious stories with playful banter.

But that’s impossible. It’s utterly impossible when there’s no one to talk to.

She knows the reason herself, so she endures…

“…….”

Something inside her bubbles up.

It’s about to burst.

Still, Ju Ryeongryeong managed to suppress that emotion, believing she would eventually escape this suffocating valley, and moved her hands.

Time passed. The martial arts she learned after being kidnapped gradually became familiar to her.

However, the traces still remained on her body. The annoying Nine Shadow White Bone Claw continued to swirl around her.

Even though she hadn’t wanted to learn it, those traces had devoured her entire life.

Because of that, she had to stay cooped up in the valley, drawing a picture of a future that was uncertain.

“……”

Her parched mouth craved something other than the meat of wild animals.

But she couldn’t even step near the village for fear of what might happen.

She knew just how terrible the dark energy of the Nine Shadow White Bone Claw was.

She knew that if she couldn’t control this sinister technique, it would inevitably crave blood.

“Ah, hello. Sister.”

Then she met someone.

“…….?”

For the first time in four years…

A girl approached her.

“Th-this…”

The small being in comparison to her held something in her hand. Ju Ryeongryeong flinched instinctively at the sudden outstretched gesture.

In that tiny hand was a dried fruit.

“W-would you like to eat…?”

“Are you giving that to me?”

“Yes, yes.”

Ju Ryeongryeong took a step back, just in case. Though temptation fluttered within her, maintaining distance allowed her some degree of control.

“Why?”

“W-well…”

The girl stared blankly.

The hesitating girl closed her eyes slightly.

“Y-you don’t have any friends, right?!”

“What?”

“I-I don’t have any friends either!”

“…….?”

Ju Ryeongryeong blinked. She laughed late.

Her voice, emerging after a long absence, felt oddly awkward.

But…

“What the heck. What is that?”

She was really, really happy.

…

The torn baggage scatters. Liquid seeps out, soaking the floor.

A human scream. But she doesn’t look back. The warrior who introduced himself as Mu Myung does the same.

Honestly speaking, the time spent with him was enjoyable.

He treated her nonchalantly even when he seemed suspicious.

But really, it couldn’t be helped.

Everyone has their own business, right? The only reason I boarded this ship was for one purpose.

“Don’t follow me.”

Don’t let me kill you.

“I’ll tear apart anyone who gets in my way.”

People gathered. She locked eyes with a man named Sujeok, barely clad.

“W-what…?”

He strikes with his hand.

The martial arts she had forced herself to practice hundreds of times ignite at her fingertips.

Nine Shadow White Bone Claw

Blood Hole Protection

—Crack!!

With a fierce sound, Sujeok’s head flew off. Ju Ryeongryeong charged forward without hesitation.

“Step aside. Ansasugwi.”

She tore through all the Sujeoks blocking her path. When her sword came crashing down, she smashed them to bits.

The martial arts she despised so much shone brightly at this moment. The energy surrounding her hand crashed down, and all forms dissolved.

“The heir of the White Bone Death God has come to claim your head.”

She obliterated the waist of the approaching assailant. She ripped his head off and shoved it into his belly.

She burst the groin of those attacking from behind. After grabbing their shoulders, she tore them apart.

“Gryaaaah!!!”

“This crazy witch!!!”

As painfully as possible.

As brutally as possible.

Her hands were stained with blood. Her clothes were likewise.

The floor turned red. Everywhere her vision reached, it was the same. Even the bewildered onlookers recoiled, trembling.

“…Lady So.”

A voice was heard. A familiar voice by now.

But Ju Ryeongryeong didn’t look back. She struck the last remaining Sujeok, covered in blood, with her sword.

After ripping it off, she threw it into the sea.

She spat on it.

Even after slashing more than twenty people to pieces, there was still strength left in her hands. The ferocity, which hadn’t even met with feeble resistance, still roared violently.

The ones she ripped apart were merely minions; there were no Ansasugwi among the slain. How could someone who occupies this vast waterway be mixed in with such lowly creatures?

Then the solitary ship approaching now…

It must be the Ansasugwi’s ship.

“Ooh…”

A voice was heard. Ju Ryeongryeong looked up. Someone was standing on the oddly shaped ship.

A neatly trimmed beard, eyes that seemed somewhat deranged, and underneath lay muscles that exuded presence.

The aura that had no intentions of hiding swirled behind him. The water rippled in accordance with his hand.

Instinctively, she knew. That bastard is the Ansasugwi.

Ju Ryeongryeong cracked her knuckles. But the ship stopped before getting too close.

“Who are you to slaughter my poor subordinates?”

“Your mother.”

“My mother wasn’t pretty like Lady So. She was fat and ugly. Not a good parent at all, you know? She beat me every day. Hahaha! I guess you know who I am, so I’ll skip the introductions… Can I ask what brings you here?”

The Ansasugwi shrugged.

“I have a lot of stories to tell, so I can’t figure out why you, Lady So, showed up so easily. Because I’m not too well-educated, I can hardly converse. If I seem like a fool, just explain simply. Did I take your mother? If that’s the case… well, I might apologize.”

“How did you kill So Hye?”

“So Hye…? So Hye…”

The Ansasugwi pondered.

“I’m asking seriously, who is that?”

“I’m talking about the woman you killed! You bastard!”

“A woman I killed… Well, you don’t expect me to remember the names of every fish caught by a fisherman, do you? But if they looked valuable, most of the time, I’d let them go for a fee… Someone like Lady So would surely be from a wealthy family… I’ve never killed a rich kid recklessly.”

“So Hye was a poor child living in Baekmi… you bastard!”

“So Hye. So Hye. Hush hush. Just hang on a moment… So Hye… So Hye… let’s see. No way…”

The Ansasugwi’s gaze swept over Ju Ryeongryeong.

“Aha! Right! So Hye! Wasn’t she the one living in the valley? Hahaha! What luck! But isn’t she a bit too old to be called a girl now? Come on, give me a proper explanation. So she’s your younger sister, huh?”

“YOU BASTARD!!!”

—Boom!!

The ship tilted as she stomped down. People screamed.

The Ansasugwi didn’t stop laughing. Rather than fearing her, he smacked his lips and murmured.

“Calm down, Lady So. I mean, wow. You’ve got quite the temper. But generally, strange women are often pretty. I’m quite curious about the face behind that veil.”

“I will tear you apart…”

“Don’t get angry, just listen. I certainly remember that girl named So Hye. Isn’t it amusing she’s still alive?”

“…What?”

“Did you not hear me? I said she’s alive. Hahaha! What a coincidence! Who would believe that a girl who couldn’t even scream would be friends with such a master? Who would ever believe it?”

The stalled ship began to move.

Not forward, but backward.

The Ansasugwi’s ship slowly started retreating across the river.

“I’ll send a ferry tonight. It’s too risky to take you aboard this ship as is. We need to prepare for our part, too. We will wait around that area. If you’re curious about So Hye, then Lady So should directly come over here later.”

“You…!”

“Shh. We need to bring So Hye along, right? Let’s finish our postponed conversation tonight. Hahaha! It’s a delight to laugh so much today! If you wish to laugh too, please make sure to board the ship I send later.”

“Do you think I will trust you?!”

“A sane person wouldn’t, but…”

The Ansasugwi’s ship completely drifted away.

“A woman who drags a story from years past can’t be sane, right?”

Ju Ryeongryeong’s expression crumbled.

So Hye is alive? How is that possible?

She clearly heard she was dead…

What is happening?

…

Night deepened. The onlookers maintained their silence, keeping their distance from Ju Ryeongryeong.

She, who had seemed frenzied, sat on the ship, gazing blankly across the river.

The back view seemed to hold many stories intertwined with Sujeok. Yang Do-hyun came to me and muttered.

“Do you know that person?”

“I’ve only exchanged a few words here.”

Having completed a brief inquiry, the onlookers didn’t engage me further. It seemed they were just waiting for her to disembark from the ship.

Once the ferry the Ansasugwi promised arrived, they would lift anchor and depart. I knew it without looking, so I began to rise.

Beyond the blood and chunks of flesh, I stood behind her.

“Lady So.”

“…What? Did you come to scold me as a murderer?”

“I won’t speak recklessly without knowing your story. It wouldn’t be right to just label you a murderer when I’ve seen a side of you that’s not false, even if it’s only been a little over ten days.”

She looked down the river with her.

“The ferry will come, and once you board, this ship will launch straight away.”

“Of course. It was my own doing that dragged this all in. I’m truly sorry for putting you through this. I feel bad for making you witness such a scene.”

“You’re not a murderer, Lady So.”

“After killing so many, it’s kind of funny to deny it.”

Ju Ryeongryeong rested her chin in her hand.

“Do you know? Mu Myung, So Hye is alive. Is that… possible?”

“…….”

“So Hye is my friend. There was a bit of an age gap, but we were friends. Back when I was just learning these martial arts, I couldn’t control my killing intent and lived alone. Funny, right? I never intended to learn it, but post-learning, my life was swayed by it. Even so, I held back. I didn’t want to commit random murder. Hanging out together, laughing while eating, could lead to waking up to a corpse in front of me. I figured it was better to be alone than to endure that sick feeling.”

“You’ve carried a lot, haven’t you?”

“So much. I don’t know. Honestly speaking… I should never have been greedy at that time. I met So Hye around that time. She was the only one who approached me while I was struggling with loneliness. We became good friends. I think she would have felt like a sibling if I had one. You know, I learned to dry fruit from her?”

Ju Ryeongryeong muttered.

“I got lax treating a child who’s seven years younger than me. While practicing the Nine Shadow White Bone Claw, I taught her a bit, but only to a point that wouldn’t harm her. Of course, there were no side effects. So Hye wasn’t completely devoid of talent; she managed to keep up quite well. She always praised me as the best… it was kind of amusing. I felt for the first time like there was a meaning to me learning martial arts.”

“…….”

“I intended to stop there. Just self-defense. But So Hye thought differently. She admired my appearance and said she wanted to be a warrior of renown herself. After I warned her not to, she didn’t come around for a while. She was really stubborn, you know? And then after a few months, out of the blue, she came back and told me what?”

“What did she say?”

“She said she became a trainee officer. Not here, but with another station. I was so flabbergasted that I just stood there, and she sneaked by my side. So Hye was always like that. Her eyes are like Bambi’s. When you look up at her from below, you can’t say a word.”

Ju Ryeongryeong chuckled softly.

“What should I have said back then? I should’ve broken her legs.”

“Did she end up getting involved with the Ansasugwi?”

“That’s right. The Bi-Rang Station that So Hye joined suffered catastrophic damage. All the ships were looted, all the official items were stolen, and everyone aboard was drowned, I heard. But I only found out three years later. I was tracking down traces and stirred the other Sujeoks… One who had his arms torn off said it was not their doing that the ship sank. It was the Ansasugwi, and they had pinned it onto the powerless Sujeoks alongside him. I thought So Hye had been too busy working that she couldn’t come? But it turned out she couldn’t come for a reason. Even if So Hye learned martial arts from me… she hadn’t learned enough to be strong enough to beat that Ansasugwi.”

“……”

“No. Mu Myung, doesn’t that seem a bit off? After finally getting the hang of controlling my killing intent, I went to my friend, only to hear she’s dead! Damn it! Because of me! If I hadn’t taught her martial arts, she wouldn’t have become affiliated with that station, would she? I puked so hard. I really vomited hard. My stomach just revolted—ugh… I couldn’t even speak. I just vomited everything I had eaten, dried fruit flying out.”

“…Lady So.”

“So that’s why I’m here. To kill the Ansasugwi. To massacre all those damned Sujeoks. But… But So Hye is alive? I heard everyone was drowned…?”

I glanced at the distant ship.

Parting the water, a small vessel was coming towards this way.

I lowered my voice.

“Lady So. It’s likely a trap.”

“I’m fine. I can handle it.”

“This isn’t something that can be solved with sheer strength.”

“Even so, I have to go. If I don’t see it with my own eyes… I feel like I’ll truly regret it.”

Ju Ryeongryeong turned to me.

“Thank you. For treating me well. Thanks to you, I’ve enjoyed myself for the past few days. Except for So Hye, I haven’t talked to anyone like this for a long time. I’ll go to Eungmin. Following the location’s course.”

“……”

“Thanks for the jerky. It was delicious. Really. So….”

Ju Ryeongryeong smiled softly.

“Let’s just leave things as they are. That’s only right. Goodbye, Mu Myung.”

She jumped down. The ferry she had just boarded shook as if about to capsize.

The boat carrying her swiftly moved away. The onlookers raised their voices.

“Raise the anchor!”

“Set sail! Now!”

Having started to move hastily, I looked toward the Ansasugwi’s ship.

Ear Sword Bai Ya cried out. For the first time, before I spoke, it let out its voice first.

I felt constrained.

The dried fruits I had eaten until now seemed to stick in my throat.

“…Huh.”

This course is the right way. I was restless, and I had to hurry to Eungmin.

…But.

Ear Sword Bai Ya cried softly.

I reflected on the brief journey I had talked with her.

 

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