SYM 68

Cheong-un held the sleeping Eun-hyeon and continued running.

He passed straight through the small village where he had originally planned to stay for the night and headed to the next village.

Each time Eun-hyeon stirred in his arms, Cheong-un skillfully patted Eun-hyeon while his legs never rested.

Holding someone and using light body skill was not easy, but Cheong-un’s face showed no signs of strain.

The two traveled a considerable distance from Hefei to Xi’an without preparing a carriage or horse. It was much faster for Cheong-un to hold him and use light body skill than to ride a horse.

With a horse or carriage, they would have to stick to the main roads, but with Cheong-un holding Eun-hyeon, he was not restricted by roads.

Cheong-un used the stars in the night sky as a map, cutting across the fastest route.

He didn’t care if there was no road. He lightly stepped over the roofs of houses and went straight through forests.

“Master, shall we rest here today?”

“Hmm? Are we already there…?”

Eun-hyeon rubbed his sleepy eyes. He seemed to want to get down, so Cheong-un let him down, but he staggered as if his legs had no strength. Cheong-un supported Eun-hyeon, allowing him to lean on him.

“We passed the village we were originally going to and came to another place. It’s a bigger place than that, so there will be more to see. There’s also a hot spring here. Would you like to go?”

“Hot spring?”

Eun-hyeon’s eyes sparkled at the word “hot spring.”

Soaking in hot water would probably relieve the aching muscles all over his body.

“A hot spring. Let’s go quickly.”

“I didn’t know Master liked hot springs. I’ll have to find out about places famous for hot springs from now on.”

“No, there’s no need to go that far…” Eun-hyeon spoke, but Cheong-un was already thinking of several famous hot springs in his head.

“Let’s go inside and have a meal first. It’s morning now, so some places will be open.”

The two smiled pleasantly and entered the village.

* * *

“What’s available for a meal right now?”

“Most things are available.”

“Then give me two bowls of beef noodles, a plate of dumplings, and what kind of stir-fried vegetables do you have?”

“We have water spinach. Shall I bring a plate?”

“Yes, one water spinach. Oh, and add Kung Pao chicken.”

Eun-hyeon remembered that Cheong-un especially liked Kung Pao chicken when he was young and ordered it. It seemed like a bit much for the two of them to eat in the early morning, but he didn’t really care.

“Sirs, do you need any alcohol? We have high-quality Bamboo Leaf Wine and Jiannanchun Wine.”

“No, no alcohol. Just bring us some Oolong tea. Something decent.”

“Yes, yes!” Cheong-un flicked a coin, and the waiter quickly pocketed it.

Not long after, the waiter brought the food. The food came out quite quickly.

The smell of warm food made Eun-hyeon very hungry. Then Cheong-un handed Eun-hyeon a freshly brewed cup of oolong tea.

“It’s not as good as what you used to drink, but it’s quite drinkable. It smells nice.”

“It’s not like I’ve been drinking such good tea since when. I’m just grateful if it’s not poisoned.”

Cheong-un’s expression darkened at Eun-hyeon’s self-deprecating joke.

“…If I had known in advance, I wouldn’t have let you suffer like that.”

“It’s not U- no, Great Hero’s fault, so why are you like this?”

Eun-hyeon was about to call him Un, but he changed his words, conscious of his surroundings. Before entering the village, Cheong-un had changed back into his White-Robed Divine Dragon Ha Yeo-un appearance.

“Still, if I had known in advance, you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.”

“…There’s nothing more foolish than dwelling on the past. Come on, let’s forget the past and eat first.”

At Eun-hyeon’s words, Cheong-woon also picked up his chopsticks.

The food at the tavern wasn’t excellent, but it was enough to fill their stomachs.

Eun-hyeon roughly filled his stomach, then looked around and chuckled.

Come to think of it, he remembered how much he had wanted to return to this place and sit here like this.

“…Being here with Great Hero, it feels like going back to the old days. I missed this food so much.” Cheong-un, who had been looking at Eun-hyeon, flinched.

He knew what old days Eun-hyeon was talking about.

The days when he was still a young boy, not yet free from immaturity, and he would sit face to face with his Master at a small restaurant, holding his hand.

The food wasn’t different from what they had ordered now. Kung Pao chicken, Sichuan-Style Spicy Shredded Pork, and noodles, which could be easily found anywhere in the Central Plains.

But those things were irreplaceable to Cheong-un, no matter how precious the food.

“Did Master also miss it?” Cheong-un deliberately omitted the subject.

As if asking if he missed the food. But inside…

Master, did you also miss me?

“I’ve never forgotten it for a moment. I always missed it. Come to think of it, it seems very strange.”

“What is it?”

“I thought that a hometown can’t necessarily be the place where you were born. Perhaps a hometown is the place where you put your heart the most.”

Seeing Eun-hyeon looking into the distance with a somewhat wistful look, Cheong-un was suddenly afraid. It felt as if Eun-hyeon would leave far away as it was.

Cheong-un grabbed Eun-hyeon’s hand. Eun-hyeon, surprised, looked at Cheong-un.

Cheong-un smiled awkwardly and quietly let go of his hand. He couldn’t bring himself to say that he grabbed it because he was afraid that his Master would leave to a distant place where his hand couldn’t reach.

At that time, a noisy voice was heard, and a group entered the tavern.

“Ugh, I told you, let’s eat first.”

“Damn it. I’m afraid we’ll end up doing all the work for someone else.”

It was a group of three martial artists. They were constantly talking loudly, but no one paid attention to them or expressed dissatisfaction.

Rather, everyone avoided them for fear of getting into a fight with those carrying swords.

The three called the waiter, ordered food, and started talking again.

“…I don’t think this case is normal.”

“What do you mean? It’s just about finding a young girl who ran away from home without knowing anything.”

“If it was a simple runaway, we would have found her already. There are many strange things happening in this area these days. Let’s be careful first.”

“Yes, I agree with the Light Sword’s words.”

“Money is important, but we only have one life. There’s no need to move rashly. Let’s eat first.”

“We need to find the daughter quickly to save face with Master Jang… I’m afraid I’ll get on his bad side for trying to look good.”

He didn’t know who Master Jang was, but he seemed to be quite powerful in this area.

Eun-hyeon stopped listening after this. The runaway case of a rich family’s daughter was not of particular interest to Eun-hyeon.

He was about to finish his meal and get up from his seat.

“Excuse me, are you perhaps White-Robed Divine Dragon Great Hero Ha?”

One of the talking men cautiously approached and clasped his hands in greeting.

“…Do you know me?” “

Cheong-un smiled and raised his head.”

At first glance, it seemed like he was welcoming him, but Eun-hyeon could guess his uncomfortable mood from Cheong-un’s slightly frowned brow and the corner of his mouth that was raised on only one side.

“Ah, it’s an honor, Great Hero Ha. I greeted you once before with Great Hero Peng. I am Yang Il-so, the Light Sword. I am also a disciple of Jongnam.”

“Ah, you were Great Hero Peng’s friend.” Cheong-un nodded perfunctorily as he received the greeting.

That guy from the Peng family was unnecessarily sociable, and since he had been traveling with him, these unnecessary things kept happening.

He didn’t remember him even after hearing his name, so he didn’t seem to be a very important person.

He had transformed into Ha Yeo-un’s appearance because he thought this appearance would be familiar to his Master, but it seemed like it was not a good choice after all.

“But what brings Great Hero Ha here?A faint tension appeared on Yang Il-so’s face.

The amateur was afraid of losing his rice bowl.

“Hmm, I just stopped by for a while because I had something to do, but why are you asking, the Light Sword?”

“He had only stopped by here by chance to rest, but Cheong-un deliberately said it in a way that would cause misunderstanding.”

He had no intention of telling the guy who interrupted his time with his Master the answer he wanted.

The level of The Light Sword was barely between second-rate and first-rate, and his companions were similar. It was ridiculous for him to try to check him at that level.

A faint smile appeared on Cheong-un’s lips, but Eun-hyeon was the only one in this place who knew that it was a sneer.