SYM 52

“Great Hero Ha! Rocks, rocks are falling!”

Eun-hyeon screamed. A huge rock was rushing towards them.

“The folks up there must be bored. To be playing such pranks.”

The moment Ha Yeo-un leaped to the side, the rock grazed past them and fell below.

Eun-hyeon looked up again. Then he saw countless rocks falling, hidden by the large rock he hadn’t noticed before.

“Great Hero Ha!”

“Hold on tight.”

Ha Yeo-un said in a calm voice, picked up Eun-hyeon with one hand, and unfolded his fan with the other. Then, he lightly kicked off the cliff he was standing on, lifted his body, and used the falling rocks as stepping stones to fly into the air.

“Great Hero Ha!”

In an instant, Ha Yeo-un’s body floated into the air. He was so far away from the rocky mountain that the falling stones couldn’t even reach him.

Eun-hyeon looked down without realizing it, felt dizzy, and closed his eyes. His palms were wet with sweat. He couldn’t understand how he could float in the air as if he had wings. Even in this situation, Ha Yeo-un seemed relaxed, gently stroking Eun-hyeon’s head with the hand holding the fan.

Back when he was Taoist Eun-hyeon, he had used light body skill to get around, but he had never done anything this dizzying. He couldn’t even guess where Ha Yeo-un was stepping or how he was climbing the mountain.

A fierce wind ruffled his hair and scratched his face. Countless rocks fell from above like raindrops. Ha Yeo-un was climbing the mountain, moving acrobatically through them.

The dust from the rocks bouncing and breaking everywhere on the rocky mountain was overwhelming.

Ha Yeo-un infused Inner energy into his fan and waved it. Then, a strong wind rose, scattering the flying stones in all directions. At this point, it felt more like Taoist sorcery than Martial Arts.

Just as his stomach was churning and his mind was fading, Ha Yeo-un’s feet touched the ground.

“Oh dear, I apologize for making you wait so long. The scenery of the mountain was so beautiful that I got distracted while admiring it.”

Ha Yeo-un’s easygoing voice was heard. Had they arrived? Eun-hyeon cautiously opened his eyes and looked ahead.

In front of a small temple with a sign that read Godeok Temple, there was a rather large pavilion. Madam Hwang and some people he had never seen before were sitting there, enjoying refreshments.

Ha Yeo-un slowly lowered Eun-hyeon, who he had been holding.

Eun-hyeon grabbed his churning stomach, feeling seasick, and barely managed to stand up. His legs were so wobbly that he would have collapsed in an unsightly manner if Ha Yeo-un hadn’t held him.

Even though it hadn’t taken that long to climb from the bottom of the mountain to the top, it felt like a long time had passed.

“Welcome. I’m glad you took your time because you liked the scenery. I was just about to send someone to look for you because you seemed to be taking too long. Eldest Young Master, welcome.”

Seeing Madam Hwang smiling with such composure, Eun-hyeon felt a surge of anger.

“The people Mother sent already met me below, didn’t they tell you anything? The news is later than I expected.”

Madam Hwang’s eyes widened slightly at Eun-hyeon’s words. Then she smiled brightly.

“Oh my, Eldest Young Master. I’ve been thinking something was different about you since the last time, have you decided to stop pretending to be an idiot?”

“…This is all thanks to Mother.”

Eun-hyeon said with a relaxed attitude, and Madam Hwang’s eyebrows twitched.

“But Mother, where is Eun-gwang? I don’t see Eun-gwang.”

Eun-gwang, who had gone up to Godeok Temple with Madam Hwang, was nowhere to be seen. Only strangers were beside Madam Hwang.

Could it be that Madam Hwang had harmed her own son, Eun-gwang?

Eun-hyeon shook his head.

That couldn’t be. Madam Hwang, who had always seen him as a thorn in her side, cherished her son Namgung Eun-gwang. Wasn’t her hatred for him all for the sake of making Eun-gwang the next clan leader?

“Eun-gwang said he wanted to offer prayers first, so I let him. Eldest Young Master, come this way.”

Eun-hyeon glanced at Godeok Temple once and then looked at Ha Yeo-un.

Ha Yeo-un nodded lightly. It meant that it was okay to go closer to Madam Hwang.

Slowly, Eun-hyeon moved his feet, and Ha Yeo-un followed behind him.

There were four people sitting in the pavilion with Madam Hwang, one of whom had a shaved head and was wearing a robe, looking like a monk from Godeok Temple. Next to him were three men he had never seen before, all wearing swords, which made it clear that they were martial artists.

Eun-hyeon, whose senses were still clumsy, found it difficult to guess the three men’s martial prowess, but seeing them acting so relaxed even with Ha Yeo-un in front of them, they seemed quite confident in their skills.

One of the three had his face covered, making him almost invisible, and another was an old man with a long scar on his face. The last one was smiling and grinning at Eun-hyeon, and his neat appearance and tidy attire made him look like a young master from one of the Nine Sects.

“But who are these people? I don’t think I saw them when we departed from below.”

“These are precious people that your mother knows well. They wanted to meet the Eldest Young Master anyway.”

Madam Hwang smiled. It was a smile that seemed to find everything Eun-hyeon did amusing.

Eun-hyeon felt eyes scanning his body. It wasn’t exactly filled with murderous intent, but it felt like a snake crawling on his skin.

As he frowned at the unpleasant sensation, Ha Yeo-un subtly stepped forward and pushed Eun-hyeon behind him.

“By any chance, which of these three gentlemen created this mysterious formation technique? Thanks to it, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery with the Eldest Young Master, so I would like to express my gratitude.”

“I’m glad you liked the scenery you’ll be seeing until you die. Heh heh.”

The old man with the scar on his face was the one who responded to the story of the formation technique. The old man stroked his beard and grinned.

“They say Namgung Eldest Young Master is the most beautiful in the world, and indeed, it would be a waste to turn such a face into an Undead.”

The one who spoke to Eun-hyeon while grinning was the one who was smiling, and seeing that, the old man with the scar on his face chuckled.

“Blood Shadow Sword, it seems that your nasty taste is acting up again. No matter how neat he is, he’s still just a man.”

“Hmph, you don’t even know the true meaning of romance, yet you interfere.”

Eun-hyeon was dumbfounded to see the two of them bickering among themselves over him. It was as if they didn’t even care about Ha Yeo-un or himself.

Eun-hyeon was about to say something in disbelief when.

A tinkling sound rang out. At the same time, the strength in his legs suddenly disappeared.

“Eldest Young Master?”

Just as Eun-hyeon was about to collapse, Ha Yeo-un grabbed his arm.

“Are you alright?”

Even with Ha Yeo-un’s worried face, he couldn’t say he was okay. His strength was gradually leaving his body, and at the same time, his vision was blurring. In the foggy vision, Eun-hyeon tightly grabbed Ha Yeo-un’s arm.

His stomach, which had been churning since earlier, now felt like it was turning inside out.

He wanted to ask Ha Yeo-un for help, but no words came out.

The only sound coming out of his mouth was a wheezing sound.

“Eldest Young Master, breathe slowly.”

Ha Yeo-un put his hand on Eun-hyeon’s back and infused him with energy. A little warmth returned to his chilling body, but his blurred vision did not return.

Eun-hyeon hugged Ha Yeo-un.

As the world blurred and only shapes were barely visible, a sense of fear, completely different from before, washed over him.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I can’t see, my eyes…”

Eun-hyeon was stammering and desperately trying to say something when.

-Tinkle.

The bell sound rang out once more.

Eun-hyeon trembled convulsively and gripped Ha Yeo-un tightly.

Ha Yeo-un was the only one he could rely on now.

“Eldest Young Master!”

Ha Yeo-un infused him with energy, but it was like a jar with a large hole in it. No matter how much energy he put in, it immediately scattered.

“Ha, Great Hero Ha…!”

Eun-hyeon gasped for breath.

“…The bell sound…”

-Tinkle, tinkle.

“I can hear the bell sound…!”

His unfocused eyes wandered blankly in the air. Eun-hyeon was panting like someone about to die.

“Eldest Young Master! Namgung Eun-hyeon! Get a grip!”

Ha Yeo-un embraced Eun-hyeon’s body.

Eun-hyeon’s body temperature was chilling. It was different from simply being surprised or nervous and having cold hands and feet.

Eun-hyeon’s lips, exhaling a faint breath, turned blue.

“Great Hero Ha, I, I can’t see.”