SSIDNC 69

Chapter 69

‘Not staggering even while carrying me—impressive.’

Bang-woo said this to Ye-il after running for a while.

“You might notice an unpleasant smell. Cover your nose, young lady.”

Following his advice, she lifted her sleeve to pretend to block her nose. Soon, a faint scent of blood wafted through.

As they approached the center of the commotion, the murmurs of the crowd grew louder. Bang-woo carefully set Ye-il down and tried to reassure her.

“There are many people. I’ll stay by your side, so don’t worry…”

“Salmak!”

A scream cut through his words.

“It’s definitely him! Salmak—the nightmare has returned, I swear! My eyes aren’t deceiving me. I saw him clearly with my own eyes!”

How could the witness be so certain, singling out Salmak from all the possible suspects?

Pushing through the crowd, Bang-woo asked a man nearby,

“What’s happening?”

“Oh, Master Bang-woo.”

A weary voice greeted him. The man seemed to be part of the Martial Alliance.

“There’s been a murder. Fortunately, there’s one witness, but this merchant keeps…”

“It was Wolgeom Ilsal!”

The shout was like a lightning strike.

Wolgeom Ilsal. Just the mention of the name silenced the surrounding area in an instant.

‘Again.’

It was Wolgeom Ilsal again.

Although he couldn’t be sure if the merchant’s claim was true, hearing it twice in just a few days made it impossible to ignore.

Who was using the name of Wolgeom Ilsal this time?

And why had Cheon Muryeong allowed it?

“Wolgeom Ilsal? Salmak’s Wolgeom Ilsal?”

Amid the chaos, the merchant—the witness—spoke to Bang-woo.

“Ah, if it’s Bang-woo, you’re the Bang-woo from Changpae Saryong, right? The Hwasan sect’s prodigy who faced Wolgeom Ilsal?”

“……”

“I—I saw him too. It wasn’t a hallucination. I saw Wolgeom Ilsal with my own eyes! His sword shone. Not as the rumors say, like a bright moon, but he cut people without hesitation with that sword…”

“Hmph! Wolgeom Ilsal? Don’t you know Samjae disappeared long ago?”

A man restrained the merchant and clicked his tongue at Bang-woo.

“The witness must have been shocked by seeing the murder scene. It happens sometimes.”

Bang-woo said nothing. Even without seeing his face, she could guess his expression.

“No, no, you don’t understand! A woman with a terrible scar on her face—”

“That woman…”

A voice, so perfectly restrained it seemed sculpted, cut sharply close to her ears.

“Describe her in detail.”

Bang-woo’s breathing faltered.

[First of all… she was tall.]

The witness spoke with deep fear.

[Her eyes… sharp, almost insane. You could feel it. There was a long scar stretching from her cheek to her jaw.]

The description matched exactly the image of Ye-il that had spread in the world after she left Hwasan.

[I don’t know why she spared my life. Luck? I thought I was done for. But she looked at me and just disappeared. Even now, thinking of it, my heart races!]

The merchant added finally:

[…I’m not entirely sure, but, uh, her scabbard? It had old talismans stuck all over it. A very unsettling scabbard. Truly.]

Bang-woo didn’t press further and left.

His sudden departure meant Ye-il could no longer secretly check the corpse—it was already covered.

It would have been good to see the scar.

“…Sorry, young lady. I was lost in thought.”

He whispered to Ye-il in his arms.

“Nangong Heemyeong’s duel was probably interrupted. They’ll be looking for you, so I’ll take you there.”

For Ye-il, his words sounded like: “After dealing with you, I’ll investigate this incident further.”

She recalled how attentive Bang-woo had been while listening to the testimony.

Through the long description, his breathing had sometimes slowed, sometimes quickened. One thing was clear: the name Wolgeom Ilsal still had a strong impact on him, even after four years.

This time, rather than simply nodding, she first spoke.

“Wolgeom Ilsal.”

Soon, a heavy question came.

“…You know Wolgeom Ilsal?”

“Salmak’s assassin.”

After a brief silence, he answered quietly.

“Yes. An assassin so notorious he could silence a crying child. To me, he’s also the one who killed my masters, Baekchung and Seonhye of the Hwasan sect.”

“Really… Wolgeom?”

“…Are you asking if the murderer really is Wolgeom Ilsal?”

She nodded.

“Honestly, I have doubts.”

Unexpected.

“Doubts?”

At Ye-il’s question, Bang-woo hesitated, then replied:

“The merchant’s description was too generic. Anyone familiar with Wolgeom Ilsal would simply nod in agreement. But a person whose whereabouts were unknown for four years being unchanged now… it’s hard to believe.”

A reasonable argument, and accurate. The current Ye-il was a completely different person from back then.

“…But the fact that he spared the merchant.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, Bang-woo’s pace gradually slowed.

“That alone makes me unable to judge coldly.”

Leaving a witness alive.

Thus, the whole world would know their name.

One of Salmak’s rules. This rule ensured Salmak’s movements were widely known across the martial world. Knowing didn’t mean you could stop him, though.

“I wish I could have seen the back…”

Unlike his usually composed demeanor, his voice carried a rare awkwardness.

“If only I could go back and question him about suspicious points…”

His voice was eerily calm, as if forgetting Ye-il’s presence.

She opened her eyes, about to check his face, then stopped. She didn’t need to look—she could already tell.

“I was fooled by one woman for two whole years… what’s wrong with being fooled by a merchant once more?”

Bang-woo.

He hadn’t completely freed himself from his inner turmoil.

‘Or… maybe, in this case, my presence has become his new inner torment.’

His heightened sensitivity sometimes put him to the test.

Even the emotionally dry Ye-il occasionally fell into inner turmoil. Bang-woo had more suffering to endure.

“If he truly has returned, if he remembers me…”