Chapter 133

"Why are we here right now?"

Even while he was busily making pancakes on the surface of the water, Moyong Hwi really couldn't understand. Even for him, a certified genius called a child prodigy, this situation was incomprehensible. Then, Cheong-heun, who was also a certified genius, nodded his head in complete agreement with Moyong Hwi's opinion.

They were now on a boat. Of course, it wasn't that going by boat was wrong. The problem was that the boat they were on was not an ordinary boat. Why were they on this boat now?

They were not escort guards. And they were not escort goods either.

A group of people wearing martial robes of the same shape to show their professional and organizational identity.

Piles of luggage! Flags stuck at precise intervals around the luggage! The pattern on the flags had the same shape as the pattern embroidered on the chests of the martial artists' martial robes.

A flag embroidered with a lotus flower and a sword, the Lotus Sword Flag!

This was on the escort boat of the Jungyang Escort Bureau. They were now in a situation where they were being added on to the escort mission of the Jungyang Escort Bureau.

Entrusting the money to Bi Ryu-yeon from the beginning was a big mistake. Under the pretext of being responsible for the travel expenses, Bi Ryu-yeon had monopolized all the expenses of the training camp group. In the first place, it could be said that it was like entrusting fish to a cat, and entrusting the undergarments of a beautiful woman to the Young Lady Lovers' Society.

Of course, there was no way that the money that had entered Bi Ryu-yeon's hands would be spit back out. Because that would be a great violation of the laws of life and the will that Bi Ryu-yeon had.

Was that all!

Bi Ryu-yeon was not a man to end it here. He had received the salary of an escort leader from the Nanchang branch under the pretext of a protection fee, and he had taken all of it for 17 people. He was no different from a robber.

Of course, he did not inform the group that he had received the money. It was because of a very personal and rational(?) judgment that there was no need to do so.

South by boat, north by horse!

There is a saying that south of the Yangtze River, it is by boat, and north of the Yangtze River, it is by horse.

South of the Yangtze River, the lifeline that crosses the Central Plains, the waterways are developed like a net, so boats are convenient for travel, and north of the Yangtze River, there are vast plains, so horses are convenient for travel.

Especially, Nanchang, the site of the Cheonmu Academy, which was located along the side of Poyang Lake, had extremely developed waterways, so there was nothing that could follow a boat in terms of the convenience of transportation.

Therefore, the Nanchang branch of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, which was located at the center of the net-like waterway transportation, also had its own waterway transportation means. That was the escort boat.

Then what is an escort boat?

An escort boat is a boat owned by an escort bureau that is used when the escort bureau transports escort goods by waterway. Surely, no one would simply think that an escort mission is only carried out on land.

Since it is an escort mission that requires swift movement in a short period of time, it is natural that the swiftest and most convenient means of transportation would be used. There was nothing better than a boat for moving along the Yangtze River.

'But why are we on this escort boat?'

Moyong Hwi could not understand that point.

It was extremely natural to use the waterway through the Yangtze River from Nanchang, which was located along Poyang Lake, to Hubei Province, where Mount Wudang was located. But there was no reason to ride on an escort boat that was only used by an escort bureau for transporting escort goods. Weren't there plenty of other waterways?

'An escort boat only moves when transporting escort goods, and it does not move for other private matters! But why?'

But now, an exception was happening in front of Moyong Hwi's eyes. They were now being added on to the escort mission of the Nanchang branch of the Jungyang Escort Bureau.

---

The Dissatisfaction of the Yangtze River Flood Dragon, Su Jang-hae

There is no escort bureau that does not have a branch in Nanchang.
Because it is one of the two major gathering places where the logistics of the Jianghu Murim gather.
It was all thanks to the Cheonmu Academy located in Nanchang.
So how could they not have a branch here?

The escort guards here, regardless of their affiliation, were all skilled in water skills. Because if they did not use professional escort guards who were skilled in waterways, they would not be able to properly respond to whatever happened on the waterways and boat routes.

Therefore, all the giant escort bureaus that were among the eight great escort bureaus of the Central Plains had a branch specializing in waterways under their command.

Then what is the difference between an escort mission on a waterway and on land?

An escort mission on a waterway has as many difficulties as on land. At this time, there are two problems that need to be paid the most attention to.

The first is humidity. First, the management of the escort goods in preparation for humidity should not be neglected. Because if one makes a mistake, the escort goods being transported might be damaged by the river wind that contains moisture. The damage to the escort goods meant that the credibility of the escort bureau would plummet to the ground, so it was a matter that could never be taken lightly.

The second is water bandits.

When you are on an escort mission, you are bound to meet mountain bandits on land, and water bandits on waterways. Then it was natural that preparations would be made accordingly. In order to protect the escort goods from the groups of water bandits that sometimes appeared, one had to be sure to learn water skills.

Because there was a difference as big as the sky and the earth between a fight on land and a fight on water.

So, the escort guards of the Jungyang Escort Bureau must receive training to balance their bodies and unfold their forms on a shaking board. It is to prepare for combat on a boat.

Also, the attire of the escort guards from the Nanchang branch is also different from other places.

The attire of the escort guards who work on the waterways is a unique attire that is different from the escort guards who work on land.

They do not have any flapping parts on their clothes. And they are stuck to their bodies. Besides, the fabric of the clothes is also specially ordered and is made of a special material that does not become heavy even if it gets wet.

Because the winner and loser of a water skill are decided by how much freedom of the body can be secured.

Among these escort guards of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, there was a person who was wearing a very eye-catching water-repellent suit. He was wearing a very luxurious-looking specially-made water-repellent suit and had a long rope tied around his waist.

He was the one who was in charge of this escort mission and was also the head of the Nanchang branch. This escort mission was unusually being led by the branch head himself. It was a rare thing.

Since Nanchang was a place with developed waterways, the branch head in charge of Nanchang also had to be skilled in water skills. The one called the Yangtze River Flood Dragon, Su Jang-hae, was also one of those people. But now, it seemed that his mood was not very good.

"Addeudeuk! Ppadeudeuk!!!"

The head of the Nanchang branch, the Yangtze River Flood Dragon, Su Jang-hae, was setting out on the escort route, grinding his teeth. But he was in a situation where he was a mute with an open mouth, unable to even utter a word about his complaints.

There had never been a time when he, the head of the Nanchang branch of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, a rising power in the escort bureau industry that was gradually increasing its power these days, had any particular dissatisfaction with his life. He had been satisfied with the present and had not been greedy. But that was until a few days ago.

Until a young man with long bangs covering his eyes had come and had presented a letter in front of him.

An order!

A letter with the seal of the head of the Jungyang Escort Bureau, the Eight-Armed Divine Sword, Jang U-yang, which said to provide all conveniences with all sincerity and in the best possible condition, had enough power to turn the Nanchang branch upside down.

These days, the head of the Nanchang branch, the Yangtze River Flood Dragon, Su Jang-hae, had a complaint that was piercing the sky about the insincere and lax work attitude of the gods of heaven and earth and the judges of the heavenly realm. What were the heavens and the ghosts so busy with that they did not catch such people and left them on the ground!

"Brother! Will we be able to finish this escort mission safely?"

The chief escort leader, the Water Wind Saber, Su Sang-hae, who was in charge of overseeing the escort leaders and escort guards of the Nanchang branch, asked his older brother, Su Jang-hae, with a very stiff face.

"How can I carelessly discuss the success of the matter? We have no choice but to wait for the will of the heavens!"

"I don't trust the heavens these days. I hope we'll be safe."

The face of the chief escort leader, Su Sang-hae, was full of dissatisfaction, as if it were engraved.

"Would you be the only one with such a heart? Let's be firm in our hearts and endure!"

It was Su Jang-hae, who knew better than anyone else that it was a statement he was making to himself.

There had always been escort goods going to Mount Wudang. Although it was not every time, it was a road he had traveled hundreds of times since he was an escort leader, but this time, the road to Mount Wudang along the escort route seemed unusually far and rough to Su Jang-hae.

"Huu!"

A sigh came out on its own, without being told.

"If we run into the punks of the Black Dragon Fortress like this..."

The Black Dragon Fortress, one of the eighteen fortresses of the Yangtze River Waterway Great Hero Alliance, and the ruler of the Hubei waterway!

Although they were punks they always ran into, they had been coexisting without any particular conflict so far.

Of course, a considerable amount of treasure had gone into this. Originally, the only way to maintain a smooth relationship with the punks of the Green Forest or the water fortresses was through monetary transactions.

Perhaps it would be a practice that was hard to understand for those who were called the best rising stars of the righteous path. Because if you took away their pride, they were no different from corpses.

Su Jang-hae was worried sick. He was hoping that this time, it would pass quietly.

The people who were accompanying them now were people whose control did not work on them at all, so if any trouble were to occur, the ones who would be in trouble and would have to take the blame were the Jungyang Escort Bureau and themselves. That was something he absolutely refused.

But Su Jang-hae soon had to keenly realize how futile his simple wish was.

---

Na Ye-rin's Tightly Closed Window of the Heart

"H...hey, I think I'm going to die!"

An escort guard who was on guard
spoke to his fellow escort guard.
"It's the same for me!
I'm going to go crazy at this rate."
"I can't turn my gaze elsewhere..."

"Your eyes are red?"

"Are you talking about someone else? What about your eyes? You even have dark circles under your eyes!"

"Because the sound of groaning doesn't stop every night! I can't even sleep!"

"I don't know if we're all going to collapse at this rate, oh dear!"

"Ah!"

Without anyone saying who was first, the two let out a pathetic sigh. It was questionable whether they would be able to sleep properly tonight.

Once again, the face of the fairy appeared in front of their eyes.

They rolled their eyeballs once again to see the face of the fairy.

The gazes of the two, which had secretly turned like a cross-eyed person, once again became hazy.

The appearance of Na Ye-rin, who was sitting in the sunlight, receiving the fragments of light that were breaking on the surface of the water, was a beautiful sight that was outstanding enough to be believed to be a heavenly fairy.

Her dazzling appearance, which was reminiscent of the beauty of a fairy, was breathtaking to those who were watching. The escort guards, the boatmen, and the sailors who were on guard around the escort boat were also busy trying to get a glimpse of her beauty even once. It was to the point where they might all turn into cross-eyed people soon.

For them, who had always lived an ordinary life, the beauty of Na Ye-rin, as well as Lee Jin-seol, Namgung Sansan, and Jin Ryeong, was no exaggeration to say that it was a heavenly beauty. There were already countless escort guards who were losing sleep at night because of Na Ye-rin and the other three.

Their appearance was so beautiful that even the old geezers, the head of the Nanchang branch, the Yangtze River Flood Dragon, Su Jang-hae, and the Water Wind Saber, Su Sang-hae, were captivated.

The jet-black, ebony-like hair, which had fully absorbed the sunlight, spread softly on the dazzlingly white nape of her neck. Her beautiful appearance was so outstanding that even a sculpture carved from white jade, which had captured the moonlight, would be put to shame.

Only her surroundings had a beauty and mystery that was reminiscent of a landscape of another world, as if it were isolated from this world.

Bi Ryu-yeon, on the one hand, was happy at her beautiful appearance, but on the other hand, he was sad.

Because he had strongly felt a feeling of being cut off from the world, of refusing to get along with the world, from her appearance. She had put a lock on her own heart with her own will. That point hurt Bi Ryu-yeon's heart. But he could not forcibly turn her heart, which was refusing to get along with the world on its own.

Bi Ryu-yeon approached Na Ye-rin, who was staying in a world separate from the world, melting in the sunlight, and spoke with a smile.

"Don't you think it's going to rain?"

"What are you talking about?"

Na Ye-rin had to regret her action of unconsciously looking up at the sky.

The current weather was in a state where it could absolutely not rain. The sunlight was shining down on the earthly world brightly, as if in protest.

"It's a silly thing to say."

Bi Ryu-yeon smiled blandly. Na Ye-rin hated herself for being caught up in his way of speaking, even for a moment.

"Then is your business finished? Then I would like you to go back now."

Her reaction was still as cold as the north wind and the cold snow.

"Oh, oh! Can't you entrust the key to me?"

"What key are you talking about? I don't remember having locked a lock that needs a key."

Na Ye-rin made an expression that she could not understand. Bi Ryu-yeon said in a surprised voice.

"You don't have one? What a sad thing to say! Of course, it's the key to open the tightly locked door of Miss Na's heart."

Bi Ryu-yeon's smile shone brightly in the sunlight. At his words, Na Ye-rin made a strange expression. No one had ever said such a thing to her until now.

"Are you telling me to entrust the fish store to a cat now?"

Of course, it was something to be suspicious of.

"Oh! So I was actually a cat, not a person? It's the first time I've learned that. Meow!!"

Despite Na Ye-rin's cold answer, Bi Ryu-yeon was still all smiles. His heart was not so soft as to be hurt by a single word like this.

On top of that, he even raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, pretending to be a cat. He must have done it to look cute in his own way.

Kuk!

For a moment, there was a slight reaction from Na Ye-rin. This alone was an amazing development. The smile on Bi Ryu-yeon's lips became even brighter. It was the first time he had received such a friendly reaction.

"Uweeeek!"

But the small smile that had barely been shown was only for a moment. The by no means beautiful sound that was heard from the opposite railing brought her back to reality. Na Ye-rin once again became serious and stiffened her expression.

Bi Ryu-yeon's gaze was turned to find the source of the unidentified strange sound. As expected!

The culprit this time was also Moyong Hwi. His grand seasickness still had no intention of stopping. It seemed that he had a deep-seated grudge against a boat in his previous life. Bi Ryu-yeon suddenly felt a strong urge to punch Moyong Hwi.