Episode 409
Her skin, which had been white as snow, was tanned by the sun, and her smooth hands became rough from hard work. Even so, she is a beautiful woman with an unchanging elegance.
Pyo-wol knew the womanâs identity.
âagave!â
âlong time no see.â
The woman who pretended to be an egg on Pyowol was none other than Amipaâs disciple, Yongseolran.
After the fall of Amifa, she suddenly disappeared and was residing in a secluded village far from Sichuan.
The colorful costumes of the past are no longer to be found. Instead, he was wearing shabby clothes worn by villagers, and he was holding a hoe used for plowing the fields in his hand.
I thought it looked good even when holding a sword, but I didnât feel a sense of incongruity in my current appearance either.
It was a look that couldnât come out after a day or two.
I donât know how long Iâve been here, but Iâve completely adapted to life here, so I must have felt that kind of atmosphere.
âHuh!â
âI bought and lived.â
When the agave came out, the villagers hurriedly retreated.
Wrinkles formed on the forehead of the ghost king who covered his eyes and ears.
This is because the momentum he radiated was blocked by the agave.
The agave said to the ghost king.
âJust take your anger out. Itâs because the villagers have become very sensitive after being tormented by bandits.â
âWho the hell are you?â
âItâs called agave.â
âAre you a disciple of Amipah?â
âHow did you know?â
The agave widened its eyes.
While living buried here, he completely let go of martial arts.
In order to block the ghost kingâs momentum, he used his internal energy, but it was not revealed on the outside. Even so, the opponent correctly guessed her origin.
It wasnât something normal people could do.
The ghost king showed this and laughed.
âYou smell like Amifah.â
âCan you tell by smell?â
âUnwritten martial arts have a unique smell. It is not difficult to distinguish the smell of amipa among them.â
Agave frowned at the ghost kingâs reply.
On the one hand, I felt curious.
I was suspicious when the ghost king, who seemed to be only fifteen or six years old, spoke as if he were an old man who had gone through all of childbirth. But the momentum I felt from him was real.
It was not something that could be decorated with bravado.
Agaveâs gaze turned to Pyowol.
is asking for an explanation.
Pyowol said.
âHe is a demon king.â
âGhost King?â
Agaveâs face was stained with shock.
No matter how much he left his sword and hid in the slash-and-burn village, he did not lose even the knowledge he had acquired.
âYou mean the ghost king looks so young?â
It is the highest being among the eight constellations.
It was not easy to accept such a young boy as a ghost king, even though it was an existence that deviated from common sense.
But it was Pyowolâs words, not someone elseâs.
Agave knew best that he was not one to lie or talk nonsense.
Agave said to the villagers who were watching.
âEverybody go back.â
âButâ¦â
âI will sleep at my house. I promise I will never do you any harm.â
âIf you are, thenâ¦â
The village chief looked at the villagers at the agaveâs definite answer.
âEveryone go back. Itâs Yong Sojeoâs guest, so donât mindâ¦â
âOkay.â
âKuhm!â
The villagers scattered and went home.
It was still uncomfortable, but since it was the words of the agave, they believed and followed it.
The status of the agave in this village could be seen by their attitude.
When all the villagers had scattered, Agave said to Pyowol and the Ghost King.
âItâs shabby, but Iâll take you to my place of residence.â
âDid you come here right after leaving Amipah?â
âI went to many places. I searched for places that had nothing to do with Gangho, and eventually came to this place.â
âYour face looks good.â
âis that so?â
Agave smiled slightly.
She was just as beautiful as before, except that her skin was sunburnt and her hands were rough.
Pyowol thought that the atmosphere of the agave had changed.
The sharp atmosphere like before has disappeared and it has become much warmer.
Agaveâs house was located in the innermost part of the slash-and-burn village.
Around the wooden mook, a field that had been carefully cultivated was spread out.
said the agave.
âThese are the things I planted and raised myself. The harvest is not far now.â
âDid you carry a hoe instead of a sword?â
âyes! That part made me feel comfortable. Thinking that I donât have to hurt people anymore makes me feel more generous.â
Agave was very satisfied with her life here.
It was by accident that I came here.
Even then, her heart was filled with anguish.
It was because the guilt of not being able to prevent the downfall of Samantha haunted her from time to time.
Fortunately, when I settled here, such anguish disappeared.
The villagers were wary of her at first.
There was no one in the world who would greet a woman who came with a sword.
So were the people here.
However, seeing her focusing only on farming after leaving her sword behind, she gradually opened her heart.
The decisive moment was when a big tiger came down from the mountain.
She caught the tiger the size of a house that came down to prey on people without much effort.
After this incident, the villagers thought of the agave as a goddess.
The attitude of the villagers was sometimes burdensome, but she was able to naturally blend into the village.
Agave brought the two into the prison.
The inside of the mook was quite cozy.
The tiger skin she had caught was spread as a rug on the floor, and a bed was placed against one side of the wall.
said the agave.
âThe two of you should sleep on that tiger skin.â
âthank you!â
âIâm sorry I couldnât put you to bed. Thatâs my bedâ¦â
âThis is enough.â
Then the king said.
âI rest here.â
The place he pointed to was the most remote corner of Mook. It was a bare floor without even a good rug, but the ghost king seemed to like it.
The ghost king crouched down in the corner without listening to Agaveâs answer. And I closed my ears again.
Agave said to Pyowol.
âYou are a peculiar person.â
âItâs different from normal people.â
âItâs as different as Pyo Daehyeop.â
âis it?â
âFrom my point of view, there is no difference between the ghost king and Pyo Daehyeop. Both of them are people who completely deny the common sense of the world.â
Pyowol nodded at Yongseolranâs words.
Because what she said was right.
There was an awkward atmosphere between the two for a while.
The first to break the silence was Agave.
âHave you eaten?â
âyet!â
âThen wait a moment. It will be ready soon.â
âThere is no need for that.â
âAll I have to do is put two more bowls of rice on the side dish I eat. Please wait a moment.â
Ignoring Pyowolâs request, Agave prepared a meal.
He was good at cooking rice and making side dishes.
Pyowol did not know agave well.
I knew only that she was an Amifa disciple, and I had no idea what kind of life she had lived or what kind of experiences she had.
Still, the only thing I could guess was that he was of a very high rank in Amipah, so he wouldnât have done such chores.
Her master and the leader of the Amifah family, Jiuhuatai (ä¹ç¦å¸«å¤ª), was not the type to watch his pupils do odd jobs.
Because of this, Agave had never done anything like this while on Amifa. She is now skillfully cooking rice and making side dishes.
It was not like I had done it in a day or two. It meant that I was completely used to this kind of life.
He seemed very happy with a soft smile on his lips.
Agave placed the rice and cold hwagwa she had made on the table and called the two.
âLetâs eat now.â
At her words, Pyowol tapped the ghost kingâs shoulder. Then, the ghost king stood up, undoing the cloth that had covered his eyes and ears for a moment.
He sat down at the table as usual.
The three of them sat down and ate.
The ghost king ate the food very quickly, and Pyowol ate slowly as usual.
Agave was in the middle.
Agave diligently moved her chopsticks while looking at the Pyowol and the Ghost King in turn.
It was a really odd combination.
I donât know why these two move together, but the fact that they are together made the atmosphere unusual.
The ghost king looked at him to see if he felt the gaze of the agave.
âWhat? female.â
âIs it really the Demon Kingâs Grand Hyeop?â
âIt is true that people call me the Ghost King.â
âokay.â
After that, the conversation between the two ended.
The ghost king ate all of his share of food in one go and got up from his seat.
He said again covering his eyes and ears with a cloth.
âYou seem to have a lot to say, but donât mind me.â
The ghost king went to a corner and blocked his senses again.
It is completely cut off from external stimuli.
So the ghost king sank into a world of his own.
Only he could tell what he was thinking or dreaming.
The agave stared at the moon.
âItâs still the same.â
âwhat?â
âStill beautiful and still out of this world.â
âYou look much better.â
âIt was difficult at first. I donât know if you know it, but Iâve never lived a life like this before. So there were a lot of mistakes. But now Iâm used to it.â
âI guess so.â
âWhy did Pyo Dae-hyeop come here? Youâre not the kind of person who would go on a leisurely excursion.â
âI have a request.â
âPlease?â
âI will find the place where the ghost king wants to go.â
âI think it has something to do with covering your eyes and ears.â
The agaveâs eyes turned to the ghost king.
For some reason, I must have closed my eyes and ears like that.
I was curious about his situation, but I had a hunch that I shouldnât ask any more.
Her life was peaceful until Pyowol and the Ghost King appeared.
Although he showed his confidence against the tiger, he was able to live with the respect of the villagers thanks to that.
She was very happy with her current life and did not want to disturb the peace she was enjoying.
However, if Pyo-Wol was asked about the details of the situation or became involved, the peace as dangerous as glass would be shattered.
âafter!â
The agave sighed quietly and put down the chopsticks.
She went to the window and opened it.
When the window was opened, a panoramic view of the town came into view.
It was a small village with only a dozen households.
At night, all the lanterns were turned off, and pitch-black darkness fell, and no one went out, so it was gloomy.
At first, I wasnât used to this kind of scenery.
This is because the Amifa she grew up with all her life was an undying sect.
A light was always on somewhere in the hall, and lanterns and torches were lit everywhere, so it was not dangerous at all to walk around at night.
Amipa itself was bigger and more colorful than most villages.
To her, who had spent her entire life in such a place, this place was like an unknown world.
Now that Iâm used to it, I couldnât even imagine leaving this place.
The peace of mind he had found with difficulty was shaking from the moment the moon appeared.
I thought my relationship with Pyo-wol was over then, but I never dreamed that I would see him again like this.
Pyo-wol was eating in silence, whether or not he knew the complicated agave heart.
The way he ate the food little by little even made him look pious.
It looked like a general who was about to face a big fight.
âCouldnât it be that bloody winds are blowing all the way here?â
âha!â
It was a night full of anguish.