Chapter 60
After that, Pyeonghyeon continued crying for quite a while. But I couldn’t afford to calmly comfort Pyeonghyeon. If the men came back to the warehouse while we were like this, we’d be in serious trouble.
I coaxed Pyeonghyeon while using the sickle to cut through the ropes. Only after I had untied the ropes around both of our feet did I finally look around.
“Now, how do we get out of here…?”
When I muttered worriedly, Pyeonghyeon spoke in a heavily choked voice.
“There’s a window over there.”
“A window?”
I looked toward where Pyeonghyeon was pointing. There was a small window set considerably higher than my height. It was too small for an ordinary adult to pass through, but for children like us, it was large enough to squeeze through easily.
‘That’ll work.’
But how were we going to climb up there?
After thinking for a moment, I immediately said,
“I’ll lift you up. You get out first.”
“What? No! If I get out first, how will you get out? Absolutely not…”
“Hey, are you just going to let me sacrifice myself however you please? I’m getting out too, you know? I have a way, which is why I’m saying this. Look at this…”
I took off the dubong I was wearing.
Then I picked up the sickle and began tearing the dubong lengthwise. Before long, the young lady’s dubong had become several strips of cloth.
I took the long pieces of cloth and began tying them together one by one. Soon, a rope made of cloth was completed.
I pulled on the rope and said,
“You take one end of this rope with you when you climb over. Then the rope will extend outside, right? Hold on to the rope from there. I’ll climb up to the window using it.”
Pyeonghyeon gave me an anxious look. But since there was no other clear method, Pyeonghyeon eventually nodded.
I crouched down directly beneath the window.
Pyeonghyeon hesitated before grabbing onto me and carefully standing up. Their expression turned pained, perhaps because their injured ankle hurt. But they endured it and climbed up, placing one foot at a time on my shoulders.
I firmly grabbed Pyeonghyeon’s feet and slowly stood up. I wobbled a little, but I was still able to stand completely upright without anything going wrong.
Pyeonghyeon reached out a hand.
Just a little… there wasn’t quite enough height.
I rose onto my tiptoes and pushed Pyeonghyeon upward as far as I could.
Just a little more, just a little more…
Thump.
‘Got it!’
Just as I felt relieved that Pyeonghyeon had grabbed the window frame…
“What, you’re already back?”
“……!”
I swallowed my breath.
Voices were coming from outside.
“Why do you all look like that? Did something happen?”
“They say when bad luck comes, it comes all at once…”
“Why?”
I could feel Pyeonghyeon’s gaze. I shook my head and pushed Pyeonghyeon’s feet upward.
Pyeonghyeon’s body gradually moved through the window.
“Apparently there’s been chaos at the main headquarters. Not only the experts from the main branch who were outside, but even the vice-leader heard the news and hurried there.”
“What? What happened?”
“Some expert apparently came in and wreaked havoc inside. Sounds like the place was reduced to ruins in an instant.”
“What?”
Their conversation was becoming increasingly serious. I was interested too, but I didn’t have the time to pay attention right now. Besides, the more distracted they were by their conversation, the better for me.
Before long, Pyeonghyeon’s body had completely passed through the window. A thump came from the other side. My heart lurched, and I hurriedly looked toward the door.
Fortunately, they were completely absorbed in something else.
“How skilled was this expert? Surely it wasn’t the Murim Alliance?”
“Doesn’t seem like it was the Murim Alliance. They say the person released venomous insects. Half of the brothers from the main branch were taken down by those poisonous insects.”
“Poisonous insects… Wouldn’t that make them from the Sichuan Tang Clan?”
“Why would the Tang Clan come all the way here? Besides, those Tang Clan bastards proudly walk around wearing green robes. If it were them, we would have recognized them right away.”
“Then who the hell was it…?”
I kept my attention focused outside while pulling on the rope extending through the window. The rope grew taut, as though Pyeonghyeon had tied it to something.
I grabbed the rope and braced my feet against the warehouse wall. Then I carefully began climbing up, one step at a time.
“I don’t know either. Anyway, it looks like we’ll have to deal with this matter ourselves. Both of them looked completely occupied.”
“Can’t be helped, then. Shall we move the kid first?”
“Yeah, that would be best.”
‘No!’
My heart suddenly seemed to turn cold.
They looked ready to open the door and come in at any moment. I hurriedly climbed the rope.
Clomp, clomp.
Footsteps approached the door.
Thud!
At the same time, I reached out and grabbed the window frame.
“Now, let’s open the door and see… Huh? Where did it go?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, I could’ve sworn I put the key here. Where did it go…? Wait a second.”
‘Phew…’
I secretly rubbed my chest in relief and grabbed the window frame as I pulled myself through and out the window. On the other side, Pyeonghyeon was looking at me anxiously.
“Found it!”
“You need to keep your head on straight. This is why you’re always getting chewed out by the leader.”
“Okay, okay, I got it. Geez, you’re such an impatient person.”
Click, click.
I heard the sound of the lock being opened from outside.
I turned my body and hung from the opposite side of the window. Then, being as careful as possible, I lowered myself to the ground.
Tap.
The moment I hurriedly retrieved the rope…
Creak
“Kids, have you been doing all ri–huh?”
I immediately hoisted Pyeonghyeon onto my back.
Then I began sprinting madly in the opposite direction. From the warehouse growing farther behind us, I could hear the men shouting in confusion.
Soon, a loud cry pierced my ears.
“Chase them right now!”
***
“Huff, huff, huff…”
I ran like crazy.
I ran hard enough to understand exactly what it meant to squeeze out every last bit of strength I had. Maybe I was even running harder than when I was being chased by the masked men.
And there was a reason for that. Death was right at our throats.
With the masked men, it had been an unknown terror because I didn’t know what would happen if they caught me. But with these men, the moment they caught us, it was a certainty that they would kill us.
Fortunately, or unfortunately… the warehouse wasn’t very far from the mountain.
Let’s run to the mountain first. Run into the mountain and hide ourselves. In the bushes, a cave, anywhere…
“Stop right there!”
But I couldn’t continue thinking. Because one of the men was chasing us from directly behind.
‘Already?’
When had he caught up this far?
Had he been following us since we escaped? Did he discover us climbing through the window?
All sorts of thoughts flooded my mind, along with regret.
If only I’d climbed the rope a little faster. If only I’d cut the rope a little faster. No, I shouldn’t have escaped through the window in the first place… But regretting it now was too late.
Even at this very moment, the distance between the man and us was steadily shrinking.
It couldn’t be helped. The man was an adult, while we were nothing more than children. On top of that, I was carrying Pyeonghyeon on my back.
At this rate, we’d be caught. I knew it, I knew it, but still…
‘I can’t give up.’
I promised Pyeonghyeon. I promised I wouldn’t leave them behind. I promised I wouldn’t let them be dragged away by those men.
This time, I absolutely couldn’t just stand by and watch…!
“Pyeonghyeon, I’m sorry!”
I practically threw Pyeonghyeon off my back and set them down. Then I turned around and ran back in the direction we’d come from.
“Unnie!”
“Run ahead!”
The man chasing us was directly in the direction I was heading. He faltered when he saw me suddenly charging straight at him. Before the man could react, I slammed my head into his abdomen.
“What the!”
The startled man was knocked to the ground by my body. We became entangled and rolled across the ground. I recovered first, sprang to my feet, and backed away.
The man belatedly staggered to his feet. His eyes glinted coldly.
“So, that’s how you’re going to play it?”
Shing!
He drew the sword hanging at his waist. I stopped breathing.
‘Can I dodge it?’
My only experience fighting anyone had been against Young Master Wang and the masked men.
I had been able to avoid Young Master Wang because he was clumsy, and I had managed against the masked men because they had mistaken me for a young lady. But this man would try to kill me without hesitation.
If I couldn’t dodge it, I’d die.
“I’ll kill you!”
The man took a stance and immediately brought his sword down toward me. Just as I was about to step backward…
“Flying Stream Plunging Down Sword Technique!”
Pyeonghyeon’s voice pierced my ears.
“It’s the Flying Stream Plunging Down Sword Technique of Guangxi’s Decheon Sect! The move he just used, that downward slash, is Overflowing and Falling Downward! That move slashes downward from above and then extends forward again, so you mustn’t dodge backward; you have to dodge to the side!”
“What?”
I stared blankly with my mouth open. Perhaps I wasn’t the only one startled, because the man froze in the exact posture in which he had been bringing his sword down.
Pyeonghyeon’s words didn’t end there.
“Normally, Overflowing and Falling Downward requires you to firmly anchor your lower body and maintain a flawless sword strike, but that man’s posture is a complete mess. He probably neglected his training or was expelled from the sect!”
“How do you know that…!”
The man was aghast.
“When using that technique, your back is left exposed. Move to the side and grab the acupoint called Zhishi… the acupoint on the back of the waist. If you seize it, you can win! Hurry!”
I had no time to think anymore. While the man was distracted, I moved to the side as Pyeonghyeon instructed and reached toward his waist.
‘But where the hell is the acupoint on the back of his waist?’
But the man wasn’t going to simply stand there.
While I hesitated for a moment, he hurriedly turned his body and covered his weakness. Then he quickly swept his sword toward me.
“Splattering Foam Fourfold Scatter! He’s aiming for your head. Lower your body, quickly!”
I hurriedly ducked. Just as Pyeonghyeon said, a cold blue blade passed over my head.
“The next technique is Touching Stone, Hidden Rumble! It’s a technique where he strikes downward diagonally several times, but there’s an opening at his side during the technique. Roll to the right and kick his side!”
This time, I rolled to the right before I even had time to think. Sure enough, the man was striking downward diagonally with his sword.
I immediately twisted my body and kicked the exposed side of the man.
Thud!
‘It landed!’
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