Chapter 22

Book I Chapter 22

…

Seok Manji is the youngest daughter of the Seok clan leader who is against the current leadership of the Man family in Yemo town.

The Seok clan has always wanted to take down the Man clan because of the current sufferings of the people in the town.

On the surface, the town is thriving and its economy is booming. But in secret, people are disappearing causing too many conspiracies to arise within the shadow of the taverns that talk about the dark dealing of the underworld.

The evil sect, they say, is involved in this mysterious disappearance.

But who would have known that one day, when Seok Manji was strolling outside in the town… she would accidentally meet a fine young man.

And that young man is Man Chulwoo, the youngest son of the mayor of the town.

The two knew that their love would never blossom, but what the mind says sometimes the heart would not obey.

The two began a secretive relationship, and would often meet in the forest outside of town.

And in this festival, she grabbed this chance while her brothers and sisters are busy enjoying themselves in the town's festival to sneak out.

But who would have known that she would actually meet a more outstanding young man than her lover, and many of them at that, in this dark and gloomy forest which seemed to have suddenly lit up?

As the group left, Seok Minji recovers from her astonishment and then turns to the bushes.

She was suddenly stunned to discover that the young man hiding in the bushes is now gone.

"Umm… This is not an enchanted forest… right?" she said while feeling a bit afraid.

How could she suddenly meet many handsome young men in this dark place?

Her heart was in a panic as she drags her maidservant back to town.

…

Meanwhile, Hyuna was in a predicament as she could not go back. She did not want her seniors to force her to act as Senior Gong's pretend fiancée.

While thinking deeply in a corner, she suddenly has an idea.

She decided to go back to town and then prepares to act on her idea.

She also thinks that it was a wonderful idea as she would only be able to do this at least once in her life, so she decided to do it now.

As soon as she enters the town, she carefully dodges those areas where her fellow sect members are roaming around.

She soon found an open clothing shop and enters it.

Inside there are many women choosing clothes. Her trained eyes quickly found a pair and grab them.

Without hesitation, she enters a vacant dressing room and quickly removes her clothing.

She then puts on her clothes which are Wei and Jin Ruqun or hanfu dress style which is like the dress of her senior sisters in the sect.

After putting on the dress, she quickly arranges her hair according to what she could remember which was taught to her by her mother.

Then she prepares a veil to cover her face just in case.

She then removes the rune glyph on her palm and then puts them near the bend of her elbow which can be covered by her long sleeves.

After checking herself in a shiny bronze that resembles a mirror, she could not help but feel a bit awed.

"I did not expect that I would be this beautiful…" she said while feeling a bit proud of herself.

She then walked out of the dressing room with her old clothes already wrapped in a bundle.

She paid for the dress and walked out.

A few women look at her with envious eyes as they watch her youthful vibe and pleasant scent seemingly enlighten everyone in the store.

"What a beautiful young lady…" someone commented.

Before walking out of the shop she has already covered her face and walked down the road.

As she passed by a stall, a wind suddenly gushes by and her veil partially moved to reveal a portion of her face.

At this time, Ji Eun was walking while looking around.

Their two eyes met and she showed a hint of worry and horror on her face.

Ji Eun also has a look of amazement on his expression.

She did not expect to see Senior Ji in this place out of all places.

But then suddenly she recalled that she is now a woman after all.

She politely nodded like a noble lady and then walked to the side while looking at the stalls.

Ji Eun could not help but frown, but then shifted his gaze the other way then carry on looking for Wu Jin.

Unknown to the two, a particular young man saw the face of Hyuna and he was dumbstruck.

He has not seen someone as beautiful as that young woman.

She might look young, but her body and temperament are already like a ripened apple ready for the picking.

That gust of wind as clearly showed her curvy figure that could already be considered that of a young woman who is already 18 or 19.

The young man's eyes did not leave the figure of Hyuna as he followed her like a stalker.

Soon, she suddenly turns a corner and the young man quickly followed behind her.

But then the young man was flabbergasted as he discovered that the figure he was following suddenly vanished in thin air.

"We… Where is she…" the young man muttered.

Suddenly he heard a rustling sound and a figure appears behind him.

The young man almost got scared as he thought that figure was a ghost.

But before he could say something, a strong hand gripped his throat and lifted him up from the ground.

His eyes are bulging as the air escaped his lungs.

"Who are you… and why are you following me?" asked a voice that he could consider the voice of an angel.

But right now, his mind is a buzz as this little angel in front of him actually has the strength of a devil.

As of this moment, Hyuna is using a single rune which could enhance her strength 1.5 times.

She did not want to hurt this young man and just wanted to know the reason why he stalks her.

"Ack…" the young man could not talk and coughed.

She then released him making him fall to the ground and lean helplessly on a wall.

"Don't make me repeat my question…" she threatened.

"I… I am Man Chulwoo… the youngest son of the town's mayor." He said as he tried to catch his breath.

Hyuna frowned but then her eyes squints while looking at him.

"Even if you are the mayor, if you follow me again, I will surely kill you." She said as she suddenly walked away.

Man Chulwoo rubbed his neck and a slight smile appears on his face.

"What a feisty girl… I like it," he muttered.

He could not help but recall those beautiful eyes and her lovely face under that veil.

His hand shifted and a small bottle could be seen in his hand followed by a light wisp.

He then puts the bottle in his pouch as he showed a faint smile.

"You can escape me now little birdy… but I will still find you… Hehe…" he said with a crafty grin.

As he stands up, that crafty grin disappears and a scholarly man once again covered his expression.

…

At this time, Hyuna sensed that something is wrong with the direction she is walking. It seems that she is lost, but deep in her heart, she is trying to deny it.

This is because… she could see that the alley she is in right now has no people. If she is heading in the right direction, she would already be in a place where there are many people now.

Hyuna shook her head and then looks at the sky. She wanted to jump on the roof of the houses and try to find the right direction. But if she does this and was seen, then that would mean more trouble. She did not want to create more trouble than she already is in.

She suddenly stopped and thought for a while then turn in a certain direction.

"Let's try walking in this direction…" she muttered.

But before she could take a step, she suddenly heard a voice that seems a bit familiar to her.

Driven by her curiosity, she stealthily leaned against the wall and tried to listen to the conversation.

It seems that there are two people talking on the other side of the wall. One is a woman, and the other one is still unknown.

However, as she leaned on the wall, she discovered something.

"There is a simple array formation on the wall…" she muttered with a hint of surprise.

But a slight smirk appears on her face as this formation was actually newly installed.

Maybe it was installed when she was leaning on the wall.

So she quickly takes out her carving knife and then began etching some rune arrays on the wall.

She has been reading her mother's book until she turned 13. Such a simple formation is not something that could stop her from eavesdropping.

Soon, she was able to finish the rune array and activates it by completing the last rune.

When the rune was activated she is now able to hear what those two people are talking about.

As she heard the two voices, her expression changed and she suddenly froze on the spot. She truly did not expect to be able to hear such information which made her somewhat regret listening to the conversation.