Chapter 100. Yeon Yeong-ha
Under the moonlight, with lanterns and torches illuminating everywhere, the inside of the building could be clearly seen. It was packed with people, just like any other tavern or inn.
[20]
One step.
When he narrowed the distance by the same amount as before, the warning sound came back again.
'No doubt about it.'
The person presumed to be the prey is inside that tavern.
Dong Bong-su estimated the distance at twenty meters by eye and went in.
One meter, two meters...…..
Twenty meters.
Near the entrance. But at the entrance, there was no one except the waiter. That means...?
'Is he hiding?'
Where?
'Slightly above or below the entrance. But below is blocked by the lower structure of the building.'
The enemy is above the entrance.
Dong Bong-su raised his head and looked toward the upper part of the entrance. Naturally, it was blocked by the outer wall, so he could not see inside. He did not have piercing vision. But the enemy must be clinging to the inner wall of the tavern.
But if a person were clinging there, wouldn't everyone inside the tavern inevitably have their eyes drawn there? Normally, the very idea of someone sticking to the top of a building entrance makes no sense.
However, among the drinkers inside the Nangnang Tavern, not a single person found it strange. They were all just drinking, laughing, and chatting. Not even one person spared a glance in that direction.
Tap, tap.
Dong Bong-su slowly approached the tavern.
Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen...….
The distance closed.
[2]
"Welcome. Customer."
When spiritual vision pointed to 2, the waiter greeted him cheerfully. The distance between them was less than one meter. The waiter was not the prey.
Dong Bong-su went inside the crowded interior as if looking for a seat, then turned his head to look toward the entrance. Of course, while pretending to look straight ahead, he naturally raised his gaze toward the top of the entrance.
'......!'
Almost no light reached there, and a wall dividing the first and second floors blocked it, casting a deep shadow over that spot. Even so, thanks to his increased eyesight from leveling up, it should not have been enough to completely hide it.
And yet...…
He saw nothing. That meant he could not discern the other's existence at all with his eyes.
'Is that what concealment technique is?'
In the north, he had often encountered enemies who hid in the ground and jumped out, or disguised themselves by covering with straw mats. But he had never seen a case where he could not notice them at all. To the point where he could not tell even with his eyes wide open.....
If not for spiritual vision, he would have had no idea that something was hiding there.
'Could I become like that too?'
What does that mean?
Does that mean he can also use concealment technique?
That's right. In fact, Dong Bong-su had killed Timur Khan and leveled up several times. Naturally, there had been big changes, and among them were several skills.
Among them was the skill [Concealment Technique].
[Concealment Technique Lv.1 Proficiency: 30.0%]
In the martial world, swords have no eyes. Among them, especially the swords of wanderer-born swordsmen who rose from the very bottom of Murim are even more so. To wield such a sword, sometimes one must hide one's body. Also, to avoid such a sword, the technique of concealment is absolutely necessary.
When activated, the player's body perfectly assimilates into the surrounding environment. However, the moment you move or use a skill, concealment technique is deactivated.
True energy consumption per second: 10 JP
He had used it before, but since he had never checked in a mirror, he could not know exactly how effective it was.
If it were proven to have that level of effectiveness, it might be quite useful in actual combat.
But what was important now was not that.
Why.
'Why is a master of that level hiding so secretly in a place like that?'
Assassination?
He thought that for a moment, but the possibility was low. At this hour in Zhengzhou, what important person would appear in a place like this? If someone were to appear, they would have come long ago, and the place likely would not be here.
Dong Bong-su kept thinking.
Then what on earth could he be doing by hiding there?
A shadow within shadow. Yin... shadow....
Something that must be done by hiding in the dark.
Many thoughts came to mind, but if it was not assassination, then there was only one other thing.
'Secret escort.'
In a situation like this, other possibilities were slim.
"Um... customer. Would you mind sharing a table?"
There were no empty seats, and it did not look like any would open up soon. So the waiter naturally asked about sharing a table. It was a common business tactic anywhere. In the first place, there was no way the waiter did not know the tavern was full, and he must have intended from the start to guide him inside like this.
But for Dong Bong-su right now, whether he shared a table or not, securing a seat was not important.
'Who is it?'
He wanted to find the person worth guarding by the hidden master in the dark. Perhaps that person was the true 'event mob' newly participating in this field.
"Um, customer?"
No matter what the waiter said, Dong Bong-su did not care and just wandered around the tavern interior. As Dong Bong-su moved, the distance indicated by spiritual vision fluctuated up and down.
But sometimes, that changing amount had nothing to do with the distance to the entrance. That meant there was another master inside the tavern.
'As expected....'
It must be the one being guarded by the master hiding above the entrance.
Dong Bong-su narrowed down the target according to the warning sound of spiritual vision. The waiter kept asking whether he would share a table, but that was none of his concern.
Dong Bong-su's eyes indifferently rummaged through the tavern.
That bearded man sitting over there, that skinny man with slit eyes in the back, that fat man right in front muttering nonsense while drunk.
None of them.
Dong Bong-su's eyes kept scanning those within the range of spiritual vision.
Then, at some moment.
" ...! "
He saw 'something'. Yes. Something.
It was hard to describe it any other way.
In his previous life and in this life, Dong Bong-su had never seen such a being. It was different from Tang Wu or Eulji Tae, the Twenty Great Masters Under Heaven, and also different from Byeonggwae. It was also different from Zhong Zhihang whom he had seen recently.
Above all, it was clearly different from Dong Bong-su himself... some kind of existence.
That being was sitting alone in a corner seat of the tavern, resting its chin on its hand. Because of its posture, its gaze was naturally fixed in one direction.
Where its eyes were directed was Dong Bong-su. It was staring at him as if it had been waiting for him.
That being.
It was dressed as a man, but was clearly a woman, looked very young, and was also beautiful. Perhaps because she was smiling so innocently, she looked even more so.
But when Dong Bong-su faced that childlike smile, goosebumps rose all over his body. A thrill he had never felt in his life wrapped around his entire body.
It, or rather she, stood up and approached him.
[2]
Spiritual vision informed him that a formidable enemy had approached within two meters. And she was smiling brightly two meters in front of him.
Dong Bong-su's expression grew even more languid.
'She sees right through me.'
It was certain. She recognized him.
And.
He also recognized her.
He did not know exactly what she was.
But he could clearly tell that she was some kind of existence to which common sense did not apply. As if she were some kind of thing that had suddenly appeared inside this New Murim Online.
'A bug.'
She opened her mouth and said.
"Even though this is the third time we're meeting, you make my heart pound insanely every time. You."
"......"
Third time?
Dong Bong-su could not understand her words.
He never forgets someone he has seen once. But she was saying it was the third time. And there was no way her words were a lie. He could not read it, but he could feel it.
It was the truth.
"Nice to meet you. I've already told you twice, but since you probably won't remember, I'll tell you again. This time, make sure to remember my name."
She had already told him twice...?
Again, it was consistent with what she said earlier. But still, Dong Bong-su could not remember her.
"Yeon Yeong-ha. My name is Yeon Yeong-ha."
Yeon Yeong-ha.
It was the first time Dong Bong-su heard her name. But strangely, it also felt like he had heard it before. If he had heard it, then he had heard it, but it felt like he had heard it before. As if a fragment of an old memory was faintly trying to surface somewhere in his mind, then sinking again.
It was a truly unfamiliar sensation for him.
So he said.
"What are you?"
***
In some secluded valley of Yunnan, where rare flowers and precious herbs bloomed in profusion.
A short old man with sharp eyes was examining the flowers with his hands clasped behind his back.
Under the moonlight, petals that shimmered faintly like distant stars.
In that vast valley with no end in sight, the old man was leisurely strolling alone, admiring the splendid scenery.
Because the moon was high in the sky, his shadow was much shorter than him, and whenever the old man moved, it moved with him as if a black stain were rippling.
Then, at some moment.
Though there was no way the moon could writhe, his shadow swayed like a flower in the wind.
As if it had something to say.
"What is it?"
The old man looked down at the shadow and spoke.
"There has been a message from Elder Noh."
The shadow answered.
The old man's eyes changed. It must have been news he had been waiting for.
"And Yeong-ha?"
"She has arrived safely in Zhengzhou, they say."
"Huhuhuhu. Safely? You say safely? Do you not know who that child truly is?"
" ... I am sorry, Hall Master. This subordinate forgot for a moment what kind of existence that person is. Please forgive me."
"Safely. Safely, indeed."
"........"
"Hearing that, I feel like it's really the beginning now."
"Yes? What do you mean by that...?"
"It means that the world will not be at peace. From now on."
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