Translator: Nox
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: First Blood
#1
After the ambush, the caravan rested near a shallow stream.
Mo Seo-hwa treated wounds with steady hands.
Jin-hyeon sharpened blades.
Yi Baek stood guard — unusually serious.
Even Jeongga Yeong-yeong stayed silent, clutching her satchel.
Hyeon-do sat alone on a rock, shirt off, inspecting the cut on his ribs.
It wasn’t deep.
But it had left a mark.
“First blood,” he muttered.
Not the end of the world.
But symbolically?
It meant something.
#2
Night fell.
Jin-hyeon approached.
“Thoughts?”
“It wasn’t just mercenaries. That guy was trained.”
“Assassin-type?”
“No clan tag. But not freelance.”
“Too skilled?”
“Too disciplined.”
They stared into the flames.
Then Hyeon-do stood.
“I’m going to bait him.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll leave camp. Let him follow. Then we cut him off.”
“That’s suicide.”
“No. It’s a message.”
He turned.
“They want to test me? I’ll test *them.*”
#3
An hour later—
Hyeon-do moved through the trees alone.
Quiet.
Deliberate.
He let his qi leak — just a little.
Enough to draw attention.
And sure enough—
Rustle.
Shadow.
The masked man appeared again.
Blade drawn.
This time, he didn’t hesitate.
They clashed instantly.
Steel rang.
Qi burst.
The forest shook.
But Hyeon-do wasn’t holding back anymore.
[Thunder Cage – Pulse Break!]
A lightning ring snapped outward — forcing the assassin to dodge upward.
Hyeon-do followed, leaping mid-air.
[Heaven-Piercing Fang!]
He cut through the air.
Blood sprayed.
The masked man dropped to a knee.
But even wounded — he vanished.
A smoke talisman. Escape.
#4
Back at camp—
Hyeon-do returned with a bloodstained scrap of cloth.
“Proof,” he said.
Jin-hyeon whistled.
“That’ll rattle them.”
“Good.”
Mo Seo-hwa walked over.
“Still bleeding?”
“A little.”
She knelt and applied balm.
“Don’t die yet.”
He grinned.
“No plans to.”
【To be continued in Chapter 30】
