Chapter 20

A cart pulled by an old donkey was traveling along the official road near Infinite.

Though no one held the reins, the donkey knew the way well.

Three old people sat side-by-side behind the cart.

Old people who seemed ordinary, yet were not.

A woman with a headscarf sat in the center, flanked by two old men wearing bamboo hats.

The old woman, with her small eyes crinkling with laughter and a blue sickle hanging at her waist, was none other than Twin Blades Yang Hwa-young.

Of course, the old men on either side were Thunderbolt Sword Naeng Isang and Demon Sword Cheon Mu-ak.

Three generations of the Ten Greatest Experts of the Martial World.

It was as if an entire giant Sect was being carried along in a small cart.

Many Martial Artists were heading towards Infinite along the road.

Yang Hwa-young waved at them one by one. When no one returned the greeting, Yang Hwa-young chuckled.

"People, so heartless."

The reason the Martial Artists didn't return the greeting was the same reason Naeng Isang was slightly annoyed.

"Is it really necessary to dress like this?"

Naeng Isang and Cheon Mu-ak had taken off their splendid Martial Artist uniforms and robes, which they had worn all their lives, and were wearing old hemp clothes worn by rural villagers. Yang Hwa-young, with her headscarf and sickle, looked every bit the country woman, but Naeng Isang and Cheon Mu-ak felt awkward in these unfamiliar clothes.

Of course, it was Yang Hwa-young's order, disguised as a suggestion.

"It'll be troublesome if junior Martial Artists recognize us."

Naeng Isang was better off. The Demon Sword, who had suddenly become the youngest, even had to carry a carrying frame to hide their swords. Even now, the Thunderbolt Sword and demon sword, wrapped in rice straw, lay horizontally on the carrying frame beside the cart.

"At your level, what do you need those bits of metal for? Let's sell them and have a drink."

At Yang Hwa-young's taunt, Naeng Isang, already in a bad mood, raised his voice, suggesting they sell her Twin Blades first. Seeing this, Cheon Mu-ak laughed silently.

Incredible! Someone daring to talk back to Supreme Demon Empress!

The Supreme Demon Empress was chuckling as she watched someone talk back to her!

Demon Sword Cheon Mu-ak was originally a cold and cruel person.

Junior demons were so respectful to him that they couldn't even meet his eyes. After living that way for so long, traveling with Twin Blades and Thunderbolt Sword was a truly refreshing experience. Yesterday, he even ran errands to buy dumplings. Ah! If it weren't for Yang Hwa-young, he would have simply starved to death.

After traveling for a while, Naeng Isang, bored, spoke again.

"What's the reason for taking a cart?"

"Why? Isn't it charming?"

"......"

"What's the rush? We're just going with the flow."

"That cloud seems faster than us."

"Why is someone who has learned Jeonggong Martial arts so impatient?"

"How is this the fault of Martial arts? I'm just getting more impatient as I get older."

"The more you are, the more you should turn back. Tsk, you're not even as good as a donkey."

The only person in this Jianghu who could call Thunderbolt Sword Naeng Isang worse than a donkey now looked at the Demon Sword.

"Are you impatient like this guy?"

Cheon Mu-ak shook his head with a stoic expression.

"I'm fine."

Naeng Isang stared at Cheon Mu-ak, slightly dumbfounded. He asked with his eyes if he was serious, and Cheon Mu-ak subtly turned his head away.

There was no way he was serious. He was burning with impatience inside at the slow pace. One person emitted lightning from his sword, and the other was called the demon sword. But neither dared to defy Yang Hwa-young's will.

Rustle, rustle.

Yang Hwa-young took out the sickle from her waist and scratched her head.

"I should wash my hair when I get to Gaekjak."

As the blue blade moved back and forth in front of him, Naeng Isang subtly leaned back.

"Someone of your caliber is afraid of something like that?"

"I'm afraid of that, if nothing else."

"Nonsense. It's true what they say, you get uglier as you get older. It's itchy even after I scratch it."

"Why don't you bring back a handsome old man to wash your hair and scratch your back?"

"No need. What would I do with an ugly old man?"

"Then find a young one, at least."

Then Yang Hwa-young narrowed her eyes.

"You've really changed a lot. Who would have thought you'd say something like that?"

Naeng Isang looked embarrassed.

"I guess so."

Twenty years had made him that way. The loneliness he had endured for the sake of a single mission had changed him like this.

Yang Hwa-young looked at the Demon Sword with an amused expression.

"Do you know what this friend said when he first met me twenty years ago?"

It was an invitation to listen because it was interesting. The Demon Sword turned his head and showed interest. As if he had a choice.

"As soon as this friend saw me, he drew his sword and..."

"Ah! Are you going to tell that story again?"

Naeng Isang blushed as if embarrassed.

Yang Hwa-young imitated Naeng Isang with an amused face.

"He lowered his voice and said, 'Supreme Demon Empress, I don't care about your past misdeeds. But if you ever step on even my young Master's shadow, I'll kill you on the spot.'"

The Demon Sword looked back and forth between the two with a surprised expression.

"By young Master, do you mean?"

"Lee Geon's father."

"Ah!"

Naeng Isang sighed deeply and said.

"I didn't know what was what back then."

Yang Hwa-young cackled.

"You were in your prime back then. You could unleash eight streams of Thunderbolt at once. You probably don't have the energy to do that now, do you?"

The Demon Sword blurted out a question.

"Why did you let him live?"

In other words, why didn't you just kill that bastard? The Demon Sword was certain that even eighty streams wouldn't be enough to defeat Yang Hwa-young. To the Demon Sword, the Supreme Demon Empress was like an idol.

Yang Hwa-young subtly examined Naeng Isang's expression. It was a statement that could have offended Naeng Isang, but Naeng Isang didn't seem particularly displeased.

The Demon Sword belatedly realized his mistake. But he didn't apologize separately.

In terms of seniority, Naeng Isang was one level higher, but he was a member of the Orthodox Sect. Depending on the situation, demons generally didn't consider seniority when it came to members of the Orthodox Sect.

In fact, the Demon Sword wanted to fight Thunderbolt Sword once.

Was he confident of winning? He thought he had a fifty percent chance.

Of course, that didn't mean Cheon Mu-ak was being rude to Naeng Isang.

Yang Hwa-young and Naeng Isang were close, and Yang Hwa-young wanted Cheon Mu-ak to treat Naeng Isang as a senior.

In any case, the two were still quite awkward with each other.

"Why did I let him live?"

Yang Hwa-young grinned and continued.

"He was quite cute back then."

"Please stop."

Naeng Isang's face flushed.

At Naeng Isang's embarrassed reaction, Cheon Mu-ak chuckled without realizing it. He quickly became expressionless, afraid of being caught laughing.

Sensing the change in his expression, Yang Hwa-young asked Cheon Mu-ak.

"But are you always so quiet?"

Cheon Mu-ak had only said what was necessary on the journey so far.

This time as well, Cheon Mu-ak simply replied, "Yes." Yang Hwa-young shook her head.

"You're no fun."

There were two decisive factors in Cheon Mu-ak's decision to join this trip. The direct factor was Yang Hwa-young. The respect for her, who was called the Supreme Demon Empress, was the same for all demons.

For the Demon Sword, the second reason was actually decisive.

"Is she doing well?"

At the Demon Sword's question, Yang Hwa-young and Naeng Isang subtly exchanged glances.

Yang Hwa-young replied calmly.

"She's doing well."

Watching Cheon Mu-ak nod silently, Yang Hwa-young asked.

"Have you met her?"

"Yes. I met her a few times when she was young."

"I see."

Yang Hwa-young nodded.

Cheon Mu-ak looked like he wanted to ask something. But Yang Hwa-young made the first move.

"You'll find out one by one as you go along. So don't be impatient."

"Yes."

Cheon Mu-ak replied politely.

The Demon Sword of the world was acting like a well-behaved younger brother in front of Yang Hwa-young. Of course, he was actually much older than her son.

Yang Hwa-young yawned and stretched.

"I'm hungry."

"Then let's hurry up with our lightness skills."

At that moment, Yang Hwa-young sniffed.

"Ah! It smells delicious."

In the distance, two people were sitting facing each other on a flat rock by the road, eating.

The middle-aged man and the young woman were none other than Jeong I-chu and Jeong Charyeon. The food in front of them was rice balls that Ahn had carefully packed for the two of them, who had skipped breakfast because they had left early.

"I'm sorry."

Jeong I-chu, who had taken a bite of the rice ball, finally teared up.

"Father."

Tears welled up in Jeong Charyeon's eyes as well.

She was on her way with her father to apologize to the Palm Heart Clan. Her father's feelings were beyond words.

It would have been enough if she had simply accepted their demands in the first place. Charyeon's heart ached, as she felt she had hurt her father's pride.

"I'm sorry."

Jeong Charyeon lowered her head with a mortified expression.