Chapter 14: Leaving Stone Willow

Chapter 14: Leaving Stone Willow

The wind carried whispers through the trees.

Mu-won stood at the village outskirts, his cloak rippling behind him. The villagers had gathered, offering what little they could—food, supplies, old weapons passed down from fathers long dead.

Seo Hana approached, a satchel slung over her shoulder.

> "You saved us," she said quietly. "And now you're leaving."

Mu-won didn't look back.

> "Staying here would invite a massacre. Jade Tiger Sect won't stop. I'm the wound they can't let scab."

> "So that's it?" she asked. "You walk off alone again?"

He turned then, eyes calm, but sharp as blades.

> "There's a difference between fleeing and choosing your battlefield. I need power. Knowledge. Allies."

"I'll come back when I can kill without doubt."

---

He walked past her, but paused.

From his pouch, he handed her a small scroll wrapped in dark silk.

> "What's this?"

> "Blood Seal Formation. Hide the village in qi mist for three days. Long enough to make them lose your scent."

Her fingers tightened around it. "You're smarter than you let on."

Mu-won offered her a rare smile.

> "I let on just enough."

Then he was gone—disappearing into the trees like a shadow.

---

Two Days Later — Outer Province Forest

Mu-won moved fast and light.

He hadn't been idle. With each hour, he studied the first veil of the Heavenly Blood Scripture. Its techniques were cruel but brilliant—shaping qi through suffering, using inner pain as fuel for destruction.

But he needed guidance.

Not on the scripture—but on how to hide it.

Using blood arts openly would bring every major sect down on him. He needed someone who could teach him how to weave deception into power.

Someone who once walked the same cursed path.

---

That's why he came here.

The ruined temple of Yeom Ji, also known in the past as the "Crimson Fox." Once a top assassin for the Southern Demon Alliance. Now? A fugitive. Hunted. Forgotten.

Rumor said she went mad after killing her own sect master.

Mu-won hoped the rumors were true.

Because only a madwoman would understand him.

---

Inside the temple

A dagger flew from the shadows.

Mu-won tilted his head and let it pass.

He didn't flinch. Didn't draw.

> "If you wanted to kill me, you'd have used poison," he said.

Silence.

Then a soft chuckle from behind a crumbling pillar.

> "A boy with blood qi and good eyes. What's the world come to?"

She stepped into view. Long hair streaked with gray, eyes dark and wild. Her body lean, scars visible even under her robes. She looked half-ghost, half-beast.

But her presence… was sharp as winter steel.

> "You're the one who embarrassed the Jade Tiger Sect."

Mu-won nodded.

> "I want to learn how to move like a shadow. Kill without warning. Hide my blood qi. Survive."

Yeom Ji walked around him slowly.

> "And what do I get in return?"

> "The name of the man who betrayed you. The one who put the bounty on your head."

"He's in my list."

Her eyes flared.

> "You know who he is?"

Mu-won met her gaze with calm steel.

> "I don't forget names. Or faces. Even from a past life."

A beat of silence.

Then she grinned like a wolf.

> "Fine, little ghost. Let's see if you can survive my training."

---

Elsewhere — In a bounty hall near the western peaks

A hunter pinned a bloodstained map to the wall.

> "He's heading west. Moving toward the demon borderlands."

Another voice chimed in:

> "Word is, he's training under Yeom Ji. The Crimson Fox is back."

Gasps.

Laughter.

And finally, hunger.

> "Raise the bounty again," someone whispered. "Let's see who dies first—him, or everyone chasing him."

---

To be continued....