Chapter 72: Jaseung, Swims Together

The twilight had settled when a carriage came to a stop in a dim forest clearing. It was the carriage of Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung.

From the horse’s seat, Ma Young-gi turned and spoke.

"We will camp here for the night."

Sitting beside him, Mujin stretched wide, joints popping.

"Agh! I’m tired."

"You’ve been dozing comfortably the whole way, what’s there to be tired about?"

At Dan Woobin’s jab, Mujin stepped down from the carriage and spoke.  

"I’m not suited for carriage rides."

It had been five days since they left the clan. In that time there had been no ambushes. Because they had taken the shortest route to the Murim Alliance, they had mostly traveled along forest paths rather than the main roads.

It was a route meant to lure enemies, which meant they could not stay at proper inns and had been sleeping outdoors the whole time.

Lee Jaseung and Baek Seolyoung stepped out of the carriage.

While the others lit a campfire and prepared food and bedding, the two of them went for a walk to look around the area.

After walking for some time, she stopped in front of a massive tree, tilting her head back to see the top.

"It’s huge. I wonder how old it is."

Lee Jaseung looked up with her.

"More than a hundred years, it seems."

"How much longer will it live?"

"Who knows. At least longer than us, I’d say."

Baek Seolyoung brushed her hand along the trunk.

"When you think about it, human life passes in a blink. Wait, why are you smiling?"

"Aren’t you a little too young to be saying that?"

"That’s true, huh?"

She gave a small smile.

One of the reasons Lee Jaseung had been able to push himself so hard was because he understood how quickly time flowed. That was precisely why he guarded against one dangerous thought.

If life ends anyway, one might as well enjoy it lazily.

It was a mindset he was most wary of.

If life ends anyway, he would live it to the fullest.

They started walking again. In the distance came the sound of water. Naturally, their steps turned toward it.

Swaaaash—

"Wow, a waterfall!"

A cascade poured down from a cliff into a broad lake below. Just looking at it felt refreshing.

In the moonlight, it was as beautiful as the lake at Heaven's Gate.

She found herself wanting to jump in.

For the past five days she had shown no sign of weariness, but it had been tiring. Traveling alone actually might have been easier.

But traveling with four men, it had been more stressful for her.

Most of all, not being able to bathe was torture. She had washed her face and hands, but not her whole body. After five days, the discomfort had reached its limit.

‘I would wash myself right now!’

But with Lee Jaseung beside her, she couldn’t do it. She also had no change of clothes with her on this walk.

"Do you like the water?"

"Of course. Is there anyone who doesn’t?"

It happened right as she turned to look at him.

Whoosh-

Lee Jaseung gave her a hard shove.

"Wha-"

She flailed and fell straight into the water.

Splash!

His push had been cushioned with a gentle amount of Qi so she could not even use her light movement technique to land. After surfacing from the water, she poked her head out and shouted.

"What do you think you’re doing!"

"You said you liked water, didn’t you?"

Baek Seolyoung stared at him in disbelief.

"Since you’re in, you might as well swim before coming out."

He turned his back as if to give her privacy.

The truth was, he had been concerned knowing she had not bathed for days. If he was feeling this uncomfortable for her, how must she herself feel?

So he had pushed her in on purpose. Drying her clothes would be easy anyway. He could use his extreme Yang Qi to do it in an instant.

When he heard nothing behind him, he glanced back.

Baek Seolyoung was nowhere to be seen.

Alarmed, Lee Jaseung dove in instantly.

Splash.

He went under the water. His martial skills gave him far better vision than most. Even in the dark, underwater, he could see clearly.

After looking around for a moment, Lee Jaseung was shocked at what he saw.

He spotted her deep below, looking back at him with a smile.

Only then, he realized that she had tricked him.

‘To be tricked so easily.’  

They both surfaced.

"Phwaa!"

She let out the breath she’d been holding.

"Hahahahaha!"

She burst out laughing.

"I’m disappointed. You fell for it so easily you know?"

He said nothing. She was right. He had reacted too quickly. If he had taken a moment to scan the water with his Qi, he wouldn’t have been fooled. But instinct had made him act before thinking.

"Don’t get the wrong idea. I came in because I wanted to swim too."

"Oh, is that so?"

She smiled again.

She liked that he had let himself be fooled. It showed he cared even the slightest bit.

Lee Jaseung began to swim, cutting through the water cleanly. She joined him after seeing him. She was in an extremely good mood.  

They swam for a long while. The water was clear and cool. He too felt a rare sense of ease.

‘It’s been a really long time.’

It had been a long time since he’d swum without worry.

They floated on their backs, staring at the night sky. She thought she could live like this for a month, forgetting everything.

After a while, Baek Seolyoung spoke.

"I really want to do well."

"You’re doing well already."

"I want to do even better. Is that greed?"

"Sometimes you should be greedy."

She smiled.

"Why are you so gentle today?"

"Sometimes… you need days like this."

Her smile deepened. She thought he could be quite good with words.

Lee Jaseung swam to the waterfall.

Standing beneath it, the rush of water over his head and shoulders washed away all fatigue.

He turned back toward the lake.

Baek Seolyoung was gone again.

"I won’t be fooled twice."

The lake was still and quiet.

Then his eyes sharpened the next moment.

Splash.

He dove quickly.

Underwater, he saw her. But this time, a man was wrapped around her, gripping her neck.

Several others were around them, wearing leather armor studded with fish scales.

Lee Jaseung recognized them instantly.

Water Ghosts!

They were specialists in underwater combat, unbeatable in their domain. It was said they had been born and raised in the water.

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

They fired harpoon-like weapons. Bubbles trailed the swift projectiles.

Twisting his body, Lee Jaseung dodged while keeping his eyes on her. She was losing her consciousness.  

Fortunately, the one holding her had not used a dagger to kill her. He meant to keep her alive as a hostage to fight against Lee Jaseung.

Lee Jaseung dodged again. The enemies weren’t in a rush.

The underwater was their domain. They were able to hold their breaths for more than a quarter hour, so time was on their side.

But Lee Jaseung remained calm as well.

He first noted that there were in total nine of them, including the one who held Baek Seolyoung as hostage.

Of course, he had his eyes locked onto Baek Seolyoung the whole time. Any moment, and she would lose consciousness.

She saw him through her fading vision.

Lee Jaseung’s gaze told her.

Don’t worry.

She also sensed that he was holding back because of her.

In that case?

So she let her body go limp, closing her eyes. Her chest felt like it would burst, but she went still as if dead.

Satisfied, her captor released her. He had stalled long enough using her as hostage.

That was when Lee Jaseung drew his daggers, nine in total.

The Water Ghosts smirked.

Attacking underwater was almost impossible. Even if thrown, a dagger’s speed would drop and they’d be able to dodge easily.

But as she lost consciousness, the blades in his hands began to emit a cold blue light.

Swooooosh!

The Water Ghosts’ eyes widened.

The next instant, the daggers shot forward from his hands.  

It was the second and third form of his technique.  

The speed was nothing like the harpoons fired earlier. It was almost as if they were thrown in the open air.

Thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk-thuk!

Each dagger pierced the throat of the Water Ghosts.

He could throw his weapons that fast underwater? Even while dying, they were in disbelief.

Normally, even his Yama’s Dagger Art could not show such power underwater. But he had infused the blades with extreme Yin Qi.

If it had been pure Yang, it would not have worked as the water was inherently Yin.

He had gained this Yin Qi from the liquor Yim Sayeon had given him, one hundred eighty years worth of immense Qi.

With that power at its peak, the blades severed their lives instantly.

He pulled Baek Seolyoung to the surface.

She was unconscious.

Without hesitation, he pried her mouth open and breathed air into her. Then he climbed onto her abdomen and pressed down on her chest.

He survived wars. He knew exactly how to save a drowning person.

At last she coughed up water and opened her eyes.

"Whew."

He lay back beside her, breathing hard. He was slightly nervous just now. Even with his confidence in saving her, there was always a chance of failure.

She noticed the Water Ghosts’ bodies floating in the lake and understood he had saved her.

"Phew."

She lay down next to him.

The night sky still shone beautifully. Her voice trembled slightly.

"I thought I was going to die."

When someone had grabbed her foot and choked her, terror had gripped her.

The moment she swallowed water, her mind froze. She didn’t know how to escape from that situation. She had never faced such an attack after all.

"How did you kill them all?"

"I’m strong even underwater."

"You’re bragging, aren’t you?"

"I think I’ve earned it."

She sighed again.

"I’ll admit it. If not for you, I’d be a virgin ghost now."

She realized too late that it wasn't something to say right in front of Lee Jaseung. Her face started to flush red. Thankfully the moonlight hid her blush.

She glanced at the corpses drifting in the reddened water.

It felt as if the grisly scene was telling her, there will be no more beautiful scenery for you. This is what you will see from now on.

Just then, Lee Jaseung spoke suddenly.

"Thanks for surviving."

Her lips curved into a smile. If he hadn’t said that, she really would have felt sorrow.

But hearing it, the sadness vanished as if it had never been there. She wasn’t sure why.

If he felt the same way she did, maybe her words would work the same for him.

In hoping that, she replied quietly.

"Thanks for saving me."

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