Chapter 97: The Woman I Loved (1)
The banquet seats were easy to distinguish, as the spots where the rchant union mbers and the martial arts hall mbers gathered were clearly separated.
“That’s a good thod. If you find him, blow this signal flute.”
Hoi Unkyung took out a flute, small as a bamboo joint, and handed it to Yong Hwarin and Jeong Minji.
The Three Chivalrous Sisters and Yong Hwarin admired the ticulousness of Hoi Unkyung’s arrangents.
Because of that, Yong Hwarin couldn't help but feel suspicious.
‘No matter how close she is to Jeong Family Manor, there’s no reason for Hoi Unkyung to be this deeply involved in capturing the Black Kill Sword. And given her personality, she never does anything that doesn’t benefit her. Then, it ans she must be after sothing…’
Watching for a mont as Hoi Unkyung and the escorts disappeared, Yong Hwarin headed toward the banquet seats where the newly appointed Mae Cheongbo was seated.
Yong Hwarin investigated mainly among the young attendees of the banquet, but found no one particularly suspicious.
Even after investigating for about half a si-jin, the Black Kill Sword had not been found.
As expected, neither Hoi Unkyung nor the Three Chivalrous Sisters seed to have found him either, as no signal flute had sounded.
‘Where could he be hiding?’
Sitting down for a mont to observe the passersby, Yong Hwarin suddenly stood up after seeing an official walking by carrying a book.
“Even if I’ve lived a past life, the mories are so old that I’ve forgotten most of them. Seems like I can only rember the small details once I see them again…”
It was sothing he had felt before, but this part was always the most distressing.
Because he had regressed thirty years into the past, his mories were imprecise, and many had been lost entirely.
Mae Yeongyeong too, remained only as a mory of a woman he had once loved; the detailed recollections of their ti together didn’t surface.
But seeing the official carrying the book, he recalled the place where he had first t Mae Yeongyeong — the archive of the Provincial Administrative Office.
‘At the ti, I had visited the archive of the Provincial Administrative Office to obtain information on the Great Dabie Sect. It was an opportunity I barely secured by offering a gift to the branch leader. That’s where I t Mae Yeongyeong. And every ti I went to the archive, she was always there. That’s how we ca to know each other and grew close.’
If so, it was highly likely that Mae Yeongyeong was still in the archive of Imyeong County’s administrative office.
Yong Hwarin approached a guard and asked,
“Excuse , but where is the archive located?”
The guard looked at Yong Hwarin for a mont before replying.
“Why do you ask? The archive isn’t a place regular people can enter.”
The guard’s tone was curt because Yong Hwarin wore a shabby martial arts uniform.
“I need to et soone who’s supposed to be near the archive, so I asked.”
Yong Hwarin spoke in a calm, composed tone without showing surprise, and his deanor subdued the guard’s suspicion.
“If you go to the right, the building with the red roof tiles is the archive. But be careful — if you cross the Winter Gate and enter the archive, you’ll have no excuse even if you die.”
The guard added this out of concern that Yong Hwarin might accidentally wander into the archive.
“Understood.”
When Yong Hwarin bowed deeply in thanks, the guard returned to his post, standing upright with his spear.
‘Finally, I found it.’
Yong Hwarin’s heart stirred with anticipation at the thought of seeing the woman he had once loved in a past life.
Deceiving the attention of the guards stationed at the archive, Yong Hwarin climbed onto the roof and quietly entered through a window, silently ascending onto a roof beam.
The archive was situated away from the banquet hall, so the festive noise did not reach here.
“Tch! I can’t believe I have to guard the archive on a day like this. So unfair.”
When one of the guards grumbled, the other responded.
“What can we do? We’re the lowest rank, after all. But at least we’ll get a hearty al tonight. Let that be our consolation.”
One of the guards gave a pat, and the other no longer grumbled.
The governnt office's archive was large, ant for storing miscellaneous docunts and paperwork.
Moreover, the archive held not only official papers but also general books.
It was a place where, on occasion, one could find rare collections of poetry.
'Mae Yeongyeong loved poetry.'
I moved toward the section of the archive where the poetry books were stored.
Thankfully, there were no guards stationed inside the archive, so moving around wasn’t too difficult.
After crossing two large beams and turning right, I saw a woman sitting by a sunlit window, reading a book.
'Ah, it’s her.'
From atop the beam, I couldn’t see her face clearly.
But her figure was exactly the sa as the one I rembered from my past life.
How could I not recognize her?
She was the woman who had loved the most in my previous life.
She was a woman who could see not appearances but souls, and who had comforted my sorrowful spirit.
An urge surged up in —I wanted to leap down and embrace Mae Yeongyeong.
But I composed myself, mindful of my current situation.
'If I let emotions control , I might ruin everything.'
She was softly reciting poetry.
'Back then too, Mae Yeongyeong used to recite the poems of Li Qingzhao.'
Li Qingzhao was a famous female poet from the Song Dynasty.
Mae Yeongyeong liked female poets, especially not only Li Qingzhao but also Li Ye and Xue Tao of the Tang Dynasty.
I too had liked the works of female poets, so we always had things to talk about. Through those poems, we ca to feel fondness and understanding toward one another.
As I sat dazed, imrsed in the sound of Mae Yeongyeong's quiet recitation, I sensed soone approaching from outside.
In the steps that ca closer, I detected traces of a martial artist.
'From the light and rhythmic footsteps, that person is clearly trained in martial arts.'
If a martial artist had co here, it was easy to guess who it must be.
'So he’s here.'
The Black Kill Sword must have investigated where Mae Yeongyeong stayed. He likely found out she often ca to the archive.
“What is this about? Outsiders are not allowed in here! Leave at once!”
Perhaps mistaking him for soone who had lost their way during the banquet, the guard’s voice rang out.
“That won’t do.”
“What are you doing?”
“You scoundrel!”
After a short shout, the sound of the two guards collapsing to the ground followed.
Startled, Mae Yeongyeong stood up.
Creeeaak!
The archive door opened, and a man dragged the two unconscious guards inside.
The guards were all knocked out.
From the mont the Black Kill Sword entered, I hid my presence using the Stealth Technique Dragon Concealnt Heavenly Art taught by the Demonic Master.
The Black Kill Sword stared at the startled Mae Yeongyeong.
“W-what is going on? Why did you attack the guards?”
Mae Yeongyeong trembled slightly and asked the man who had appeared after knocking out the guards.
“Hehehe, well now. I didn’t realize from afar, but up close your figure is truly a work of art.”
The man who entered the archive had an incredibly handso face.
He had the appearance of a noble young master, but his voice was unusually thin and grating to the ear.
‘That bastard must be the Black Kill Sword.’
Mae Yeongyeong spoke with a startled expression.
“Step back! Do you know who I am?”
Still, as Virtuous Magistrate’s daughter, she had spirit.
“Hehehe, I know you’re Virtuous Magistrate’s only daughter. I went through the trouble of searching this entire governnt office for two days just to find you.”
Mae Yeongyeong recognized that this man was no ordinary person and said,
“Leave now and I won’t hold you accountable for your cri.”
“What nonsense are you babbling? Do you think the guards will co if you scream? Right now, music is blaring for the banquet—your screams won’t be heard from outside. And before you get a chance to scream, I’ll press your pressure point.”
Mae Yeongyeong stepped back nervously and asked,
“Who are you?”
“Hehehe, so quick to ask. I have many aliases, but people call the Black Kill Sword of Withered Petal Sound Fiend.”
Black Kill Sword Wonho spoke proudly of being from Withered Petal Sound Fiend.
“Black Kill Sword of Withered Petal Sound Fiend! What are you doing here?”
Mae Yeongyeong was shocked.
The stories surrounding Withered Petal Sound Fiend were often topics among won.
Moreover, the Black Kill Sword of Withered Petal Sound Fiend was so infamous that even Virtuous Magistrate’s daughter had heard of him more than once due to the high bounty on his head.
“Why else? I’ve co all this way to have a taste of you.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? If you don’t leave, I’ll kill you!”
“Do your worst! What, will you kill with those legs of yours?”
As he approached with a lecherous gleam in his eyes, Mae Yeongyeong backed away in a panic and stumbled against a table.
At that mont, Black Kill Sword Wonho darted forward, reaching out to strike her pressure point.
Just as I was about to leap down to attack Black Kill Sword, my body froze.
Mae Yeongyeong had grabbed his outstretched hand and, with her other hand, struck toward his Adam’s apple.
“Huh?”
Black Kill Sword was caught off guard by the sharp counterattack and stumbled back.
To my astonishnt, Mae Yeongyeong was attacking with exceptional Golden Silk Technique. Black Kill Sword was flustered, unable to easily escape her technique.
I was just as surprised as Black Kill Sword.
‘Mae Yeongyeong knew martial arts? Back then, I had no ability to detect it even if she did.’
Because she had never ntioned martial arts, I had simply assud she didn’t know any.
‘I should have considered that, as a woman from a martial household and daughter of a high-ranking official, she might have learned martial arts.’
Not realizing even that made feel foolish.
The two exchanged blows using their arms and legs, but as ti passed, Mae Yeongyeong was clearly being pushed back.
No matter how much she had trained, she couldn’t defeat Black Kill Sword.
Though surprising that Mae Yeongyeong knew martial arts, it wasn’t enough to suppress him.
“Hahaha, as expected, it’s always more fun when a woman resists!”
Realizing she had no chance of winning, Mae Yeongyeong cast her eyes outside.
“It’s no use. Those guards were the only ones here. Everyone’s at the celebration, and no one’s paying attention to this place… Even if you scream, no one will hear you.”
The banquet music was so loud it could be heard through the archive’s Winter Gate.
Mae Yeongyeong’s gaze darkened.
‘Am I to lose my purity to such a wretched villain?’
She resolved that if she could not overco him, she would take her own life in the end.
I knew how virtuous Mae Yeongyeong was.
‘If I wait any longer, Yeongmae could die.’
Delaying any further felt like a disservice to Mae Yeongyeong.
Still, I waited for the decisive mont.
“Hehehe, co here.”
While Black Kill Sword Wonho was lost in lustful thoughts, I descended behind him and, in an instant, struck his pressure point.
Black Kill Sword Wonho stiffened up and was thrown into a panic.
Even if he had been distracted by Mae Yeongyeong’s beauty, there was no excuse for failing to notice soone hiding so close by.
“Wh-who are you?”
Black Kill Sword Wonho’s body was frozen, unable even to turn his head, and he asked.
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