The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, the day grew dark, and the cold cut even sharper.
Snow continued to fall, but its strength had faded.
Whether the weather turned foul or the light faded mattered little to Ogyo.
This wild dog possessed keen night vision and stamina greater than a horse's; she could run without rest for three days straight.
But now, she had to look after the collapsed Cheongdam.
She had considered hoisting her up and running while she remained unconscious, but it would be problematic if a fever returned, and she had not yet heard exactly where they were supposed to go in the first place.
"Please head west first."
That was all Cheongdam had said.
If they went further west from here, a barren desert stretched out.
Ogyo had never been there herself, but she had heard as much from Yohwa.
What business could they possibly have in such a place?
That was only one of many things she wanted to ask Cheongdam when the woman woke.
Camping in the mountains required preparation.
Carrying Yohwa, Ogyo circled the area and found a cave that could hide them from sight.
Though barren, it blocked the wind and snow, making it an unparalleled shelter in these mountains.
Ogyo gathered fallen leaves and twigs, piled them on the cave floor, and spread her outer robe over them.
It was crude, but it would keep the cold rising from the ground at bay.
She laid Cheongdam on top and covered her with Yohwa's clothes like a blanket.
After gathering the remaining branches to light a fire, the surroundings grew somewhat warmer.
"Next... something to eat."
She had emergency rations like dried meat, but with no telling how much mountain travel lay ahead, it was best to conserve food.
Fortunately, winter was nearly at its end, so obtaining food in the mountains was not difficult.
Ogyo pushed a large nearby rock to half-cover the cave entrance so it would not be noticeable, then left to hunt.
She would not take a deer; it was too large, and too much meat would go to waste.
A small rabbit and a few fish would suffice.
She might be hopeless at treating and tending others, but hunting was something she was confident in.
Even when living with Yohwa, this task had always fallen to her.
In less than half a shichen, Ogyo finished hunting and returned to the cave.
She cleaned the rabbits and fish, skewered them on thin peeled branches, and roasted them over the fire.
Rummaging through her travel pouch, she found a bottle of pepper among the poison vials and sprinkled some on as well.
Once roasted, the meat tasted quite decent.
'I should start carrying salt too.'
After receiving various teachings from Yohwa, this wild dog had at least learned a few tricks.
Before, she had not even bothered with such simple seasonings, surviving her travels on tough, bland meat and bitter tree fruits alone.
Truly, nothing in this world was as precious as learning.
The cave began to fill with the appetite-stirring scent of pepper, but Cheongdam remained asleep.
Had the poison been a bit too strong?
Ogyo quietly approached Cheongdam, who was sleeping soundly on the makeshift bed.
There was no need to wake her by force.
'She smells nice.'
Was it natural for pretty women to smell so pleasant?
Yohwa, the courtesans of Manhwaru, and this woman called Cheongdam were all like that.
Anything that reminded Ogyo of Yohwa set this wild dog at ease.
Perhaps that was why breathing in the faint fragrance emanating from Cheongdam made her feel somehow comforted.
'Yang Uisin didn't smell like this.'
From her had come an elegant, clear scent like tea leaves.
But Yang Uisin often carried sweet pastries, so Ogyo would frequently find herself drawn by the smell and visit her.
'My Master...'
Whenever she thought of Dan Gohyeong, she felt a strange tension.
Even this fierce, arrogant wild dog had never dared bare her teeth before that woman; she was no ordinary fearsome person.
Yet even such a woman was lovely in appearance.
Like Ogyo, Dan Gohyeong had trained in the Myriad Poison Ghost Sect's heart method from a young age, so her body had not grown properly.
She was not as small as Ogyo, but she too had the appearance of a young girl.
However, Dan Gohyeong despised her youthful appearance.
Among the disciples of the Myogang Odokgyo, there existed a supreme taboo: one must never treat the sect leader like a child.
Countless were those who, unaware of this, had tried to curry favor by calling her "cute" and met gruesome deaths for it.
To avoid looking like a child, Dan Gohyeong wore heavy makeup like a courtesan and favored seductive outfits that exposed her shoulders and legs.
Whenever Ogyo visited her master's chamber, she would always find Dan Gohyeong sitting askew by the window in such disheveled attire, a smoking pipe in her mouth.
With her keen nose, Ogyo particularly despised that smell.
And Dan Gohyeong always teased Ogyo for it.
"Try smoking it, just once."
"No, it's bitter."
"It's like candy."
"Liar. Master only ever lies."
"Goodness, at this rate, when will you ever grow up?"
"But you aren't that different from me, Master."
Ogyo did not yet know the circumstances behind her master's stunted growth, so she had assumed they were of similar age.
For a moment, Dan Gohyeong's eyes narrowed, but she soon smiled again.
"Still, compared to you, isn't your master more of an adult?"
"That's true."
"You should listen to an adult. Here, try a puff."
"I said no!"
Now she remembered it all.
'Master was pretty, but she didn't smell good.'
Far from pleasant, she had reeked of a thick, heavy, poisonous scent.
But even so, her touch had been gentle.
While lost in old memories, a butterfly suddenly flew in and landed on the sleeping Cheongdam.
Where had a butterfly come from on such a cold day?
"Shoo."
Ogyo waved her hand to chase it away, but the butterfly, fearless, refused to leave and kept circling nearby.
Suddenly, Ogyo stopped.
She froze for a moment, then sprang up as if struck by lightning and rushed to Cheongdam.
She tore off the scent pouch tied at Cheongdam's waist and held it to her nose—a dizzyingly intense fragrance poured from it.
The butterfly had been drawn by this scent.
To only realize this now.
This was Thousand-Li Incense.
Created through a special preparation method to produce a thick, long-lasting fragrance, it tamed butterflies to seek out distant scents.
It was a device made to monitor and track someone.
Ogyo knew of it because it was also an item favored by the Geumuiwi.
She immediately threw the pouch into the campfire.
But it was already too late.
The fact that the butterfly had come this far meant their location was already exposed.
Ogyo stepped outside the cave.
Had the enemy not arrived yet? But they would soon.
'Hmph, this is actually better.'
She despised being chased.
If the pursuer were Yang Uisin of the heavens, she would have no choice but to flee, but what reason did she have to fear a rabble?
Ogyo immediately unwound the thread from within her bracer.
Fortunately, this mountain was the wild dog's domain.
And the hour was nearing night.
Every condition favored her.
"If I kill them all, there'll be no need to hide anymore."
The wild dog grinned and leaped up into the trees.
*
The scent pouch imbued with Thousand-Li Incense was an item prepared by Cheongdam's father, Song Geumseong.
Until now, the letters he had sent to Im Cheonak had all been ignored, but it seemed the pouch sent to his daughter had been safely delivered.
Originally, he had intended to use this scent to locate Cheongdam within Jeokhamun and secretly extract her, but who could have imagined the situation would turn out like this?
Someone among the guests waiting outside the mountain gate had witnessed Ogyo and Cheongdam leaving together on a side path, and through the butterfly, they had been able to infer the direction they had taken.
Jeokhamun and Bichwigak had temporarily ceased fighting and hurriedly pursued them.
The snowfall had actually been a stroke of luck.
The scent had not scattered and had accumulated on the ground, making them far easier to track.
But when they saw the butterfly fly nonstop across the narrow path and into the Giryeon Mountains, all were aghast.
To think they had covered such a distance in that short time.
The one who had taken Cheongdam was undoubtedly a formidable expert.
'According to the witness, it was a young girl, but how... Could she have accomplices?'
If so, to what end?
Were they a group after the Cheongpungdan after all?
Song Geumseong gritted his teeth.
To recover his daughter, he had fought against Jeokhamun, enduring countless losses.
Now, pride was no longer the issue.
If he could not obtain the Cheongpungdan from his daughter, the very survival of the sect would be in jeopardy.
By the time the disciples of Jeokhamun and Bichwigak reached the foothills of the Giryeon Mountains, all except a few experts showed clear signs of exhaustion.
Many disciples had been unable to keep up and lagged far behind.
One butterfly had not been enough, so they had to release all they had brought just to get this far.
The butterflies fluttered chaotically around a certain cave.
Fortunately, it seemed the other side had stopped to make camp as darkness fell.
The disciples of both sects held their breath and spread their formation wide around the cave.
The opponent was undoubtedly an expert and possibly not alone.
But even if that were the case, the enemy was already a rat in a poison jar.
No matter how outstanding, how long could they last against these numbers?
The respective sect leaders signaled their disciples with their hands.
A vanguard composed of those with outstanding skill stepped forward.
"Go!"
Torches flared to life in every direction, and several disciples drew their swords in unison and rushed forward.
"...Aargh!"
Simultaneously, a scream echoed through the night.
"What happened?!"
Song Geumseong hurried toward the scream.
"Sect Leader, be careful!"
At the cry of a disciple collapsed in the darkness, he stopped in his tracks.
A pitch-black forest.
Only the dim glow of the torches lit the surroundings.
"This is..."
Song Geumseong belatedly discovered something thin directly in front of his eyes.
It was a thin, transparent thread.
Stretched taut, it faintly reflected the light in the darkness.
He looked at the fallen disciple; a long gash crossed his face as if cut by a blade, likely from running into this thread.
He himself had nearly suffered the same fate.
To think the leader of a sect would be caught by such petty trickery.
He was on the verge of exploding with rage.
"It's a trap! Everyone, be on guard!"
Song Geumseong shouted quickly, but the surroundings had already descended into chaos.
"Who's there!"
"Bring the light over here!"
"Wait...!"
The torches went out one by one, and darkness swallowed the area.
Someone was tearing through the gloom, attacking the disciples at will, but they were impossible to track with the eye.
"You insolent mongrel!"
Song Geumseong drew his sword and charged fiercely into the dark after the enemy.
But the distance only grew.
Fast.
So fast that even he could not hope to catch up.
The surroundings were too dark to make out the enemy's form.
All they could tell was that the enemy was as small as a squirrel.
The Jeokhamun fared no better.
In fact, their situation was worse than Bichwigak's.
Jeokhamun was a sect of rough men built on rocky mountains.
From the start, they were unaccustomed to petty tricks.
Unable to detect the thread traps installed throughout the forest, numerous disciples were already injured. Even those still standing could not properly wield their signature heavy swords in the dark, obstacle-filled woods, leaving them helpless against the enemy.
"The enemy is alone! What disgrace is this, failing to capture a single person!"
Only Im Cheonak's thunderous roar echoed hollowly.
Meanwhile.
Ogyo sat on the branch of a tall tree, looking down at the forest that had become a scene of carnage.
They were many in number, but few among them were worthy of being called experts.
The fact that so many had been caught by a simple trap consisting of nothing more than threads strung between trees made that obvious.
And once the torches had been put out as well, they floundered among themselves, their formation collapsing in an instant.
After that, by hiding in the darkness, he was able to deal with the isolated ones one by one with ease.
Of course, there were experts among them—including the sect leaders of the various schools—who would not go down so easily, but there was no need to face such people in the first place.
No matter how large a giant might be, if one kept stabbing at its weak points, it was bound to fall.
If he continued shaving away their strength like this, they would have no choice but to retreat.
‘I don’t even need to kill them all.’
Before the fight began, Ogyo had been prepared to annihilate the enemy, but seeing that their response was clumsier than expected, he decided to hold back.
If he used throwing knives coated in deadly poison, or drew up his internal energy and scattered his blood poison in every direction, he could kill far more of them with much greater ease—but there seemed to be no need to go that far.
Had he encountered this many people in a bright, open place, the course of the battle would have been entirely different.
But this place, right now, was the perfect stage for Ogyo.
‘Next is that one.’
Having found another prey, Ogyo leapt down from the tree.
At that moment, someone who had been hiding in the shadows suddenly appeared and thrust a blade at Ogyo.
“……!”
He twisted his body on instinct and avoided it, but the edge tore through his collar.
The instant Ogyo touched the ground, he kicked off and widened the distance between himself and his opponent.
It had been a thrust.
An unbelievably fast one at that.
As expected, they were not to be taken lightly.
There were experts mixed in among them.
Ogyo drew a throwing knife and took stock of his opponent.
It was a young man.
He looked especially frail and shabby.
There were even bruises on his face, as if he had been beaten somewhere.
And yet his eyes alone were cold enough to chill a man to the bone.
His skin prickled.
The instincts of a stray dog were telling him.
Of all the people here, this one was probably the strongest.
“Th-thief brat. G-g-give my sister-in-law back.”
What should he do?
He did not seem like an opponent he could not defeat, but it also seemed difficult to settle things immediately.
If he ended up surrounded by the enemy in the meantime, that would be troublesome.
It would be better to avoid him.
It would be advantageous to eliminate the weaker ones first.
But……
‘This guy is too fast…… Can I shake him off?’
Ogyo swallowed dryly.
There was no time to delay.
His opponent was raising his sword.
“Please…… I d-don’t want to hurt you.”
……No, it would not work.
He had no certainty that he could escape safely.
Rather than carelessly showing his back to this man, it would be better to be surrounded by the other fools.
Then he had no choice but to fight.
“Don’t talk nonsense. If I was going to hand her over obediently, I wouldn’t have taken her and run in the first place.”
“……I-is that so.”
“You’re the ones tormenting her.”
“Huh? What did you just say……”
The man put on a blank expression and, for an instant, the strength left the hand gripping his sword.
Ogyo seized that opening, scattered three throwing knives at the man, and kicked off the surrounding trees as he soared into the air.
With his left hand, he pulled on the threads to retrieve the three throwing knives, while with his right, he scattered new ones.
Yeonyeon Hyeollak, Third Form. Soul-Returning Flying Snake.
“……Urgh!”
To respond to the throwing knives flying at him from the front and rear at the same time, the man rapidly spun his body and swung his sword.
However, one blade he failed to block left a scratch on his forearm.
‘Got him!’
The throwing knives were coated in a potent paralysis poison, so this should be enough to bind his opponent’s feet.
He was lucky.
For some reason, his opponent had let his guard down to an absurd degree, allowing him to decide the outcome in a single technique.
But that was Ogyo’s misjudgment.
Before the poison could paralyze the man’s body, he immediately corrected his stance and charged toward Ogyo, who was still suspended in the air.
Ogyo grabbed a nearby branch and quickly tried to twist his body out of the way, but the man’s sword was far too fast.
The incoming blade pierced Ogyo’s shoulder.