I’ll Trust You Alone. (1)

Yu Jinsan, who had gone to the Defeating Blade Clan, only returned in the morning.

No sooner had he entered the entrance of the manor than his granddaughter dashed out in a hurry.

“Why are you so late?”

Yu Seol asked in a scolding tone.

He had never left his granddaughter alone all night without saying anything.

He thought she would be fine since she was with friends, but she seemed to have been worried.

“I was quite late, wasn’t I? I was talking with Uncle Baek Gyu and before I knew it, it was this late.”

Last night Yu Jinsan had met the clan leader Baek Gyu together with Im Jeon-se.

He had intended to have a brief conversation and return, but Baek Gyu had held him and made him his sparring partner all night.

At that moment Yu Seol narrowed her eyes and asked.

“What about my snack?”

Come to think of it, his granddaughter had asked for a snack before he left yesterday.

But he couldn’t help feeling annoyed that she looked for snacks first, even though he hadn’t returned all night.

“This kid doesn’t worry about Grandpa and goes straight for snacks?”

“I’ve been waiting the whole time. You didn’t buy any?”

“Snack? What snack? You have to act cute for me to buy you one.”

Yu Seol looked unconvinced by that.

“Liar~”

Suddenly sniffing, Yu Seol grabbed her grandfather’s shoulder.

Then she put her hand into his clothes and began rummaging.

“L-l-let go of that! Where do you think you’re rummaging through Grandpa’s clothes?”

Yu Jinsan tried to shake off his granddaughter’s hand, but he couldn’t manage it.

Before long, the snacks he had hidden were seized.

They were the treats he had set aside while drinking with Baek Gyu last night.

Yu Seol, having obtained the neatly wrapped snacks, was overjoyed.

“Hehehe. I knew this would happen.”

“You’re sharp as a ghost. Are the kids still there?”

“Yeah. They’re going to eat first. I’ll make them a tasty dish.”

“Don’t try anything strange; make what you’ve already succeeded at. And nothing happened last night, right?”

“Yeah, nothing happened. Why?”

Yu Jinsan shook his head with a relieved expression.

“It’s nothing. Grandpa will be in the garden, so when the kids leave, come there.”

Yu Seol nodded and, carrying the snacks, went back into the pavilion.

Then Yu Jinsan slowly moved alone toward the backyard.

‘The night has passed, so I should start sowing seeds.’

Martial artists can regulate their sleep somewhat with their internal qi, so despite not sleeping a wink last night, he didn’t feel tired at all.

After a moment, a small jar came into Yu Jinsan’s view.

It held the seeds he planned to plant in the garden.

He hummed a tune and grabbed the jar’s lid.

“Today I’ll plant pumpkins and eggplants that Seol likes…”

Yu Jinsan suddenly stopped speaking and gaped.

It was because of the changed appearance inside the jar.

His eyes blinked incessantly, as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.

Something unbelievable had happened.

All the crop seeds had rotted.

Furthermore, the jar was full of insects.

The disgusting sight left him speechless.

Had someone sneaked in and played a prank? But that was impossible, if so, Yu Seol would have immediately caught them.

“What on earth is going on here?”

Yu Jinsan flopped down and crossed his arms.

No matter how he thought about it, nothing came to mind. Physically, it couldn’t have happened.

He sighed with a dark expression.

‘Whatever the problem is, it needs to be solved quickly.’

He had a long way to go, so this was maddening.

His original plan was to only set up the garden and then devote himself to martial arts training. Afterwards he planned to pressure the Murim Alliance leader at the top of the Justice Faction and settle scores and debts.

But being held back by something so strange was frustrating.

‘I’ll watch with my own eyes and see.’

Spurred by obstinacy, Yu Jinsan got up and headed to the market.

He bought seeds again at the market and watched silently.

He placed the jar in the same spot as yesterday. The only difference was that he left the lid open.

‘Since the intact seeds rotted in a single day, if I watch, some change should reveal itself.’

He stood with his arms crossed watching for four hours.

The newly purchased seeds showed no change yet.

As he watched absentmindedly, Yu Jinsan suddenly leapt up, something had flashed through his mind.

He looked around with a baffled expression.

Only now did he realize he had been overlooking one fact.

There wasn’t a single tuft of grass nearby.

It was in stark contrast to the overgrown wall outside the woods.

Why couldn’t plants grow in this house? He couldn’t understand it at all.

First, he needed to find out what the problem was.

He continued to watch the jar with a serious look when it happened.

It was his granddaughter who had gone out earlier to see off her friends.

Without taking his eyes off the jar, Yu Jinsan asked.

“You said you were seeing them off to the Defeating Blade Clan, why are you back so soon?”

Yu Seol did not answer the question.

Instead, she asked a strange counterquestion.

“Do you think staring like that will change anything?”

Her voice was clear, but the tone was a bit odd.

Above all, he hadn’t mentioned the issue with the seeds yet.

A sudden strange feeling made Yu Jinsan quickly turn his head.

Yu Jinsan felt a chill down his spine, there was no one behind him.

Then what was that voice from a moment ago?

‘Did I hear an auditory hallucination?’

For a martial arts warrior with heightened senses, that shouldn’t happen.

That was, unless his granddaughter was hiding and playing a prank.

“Child. Stop joking and come out quickly before Grandpa gets angry.”

If he said it like that, she should have come out immediately.

But the surroundings remained silent.

Yu Jinsan couldn’t move a single step.

He stared blankly toward the main gate of the manor.

After staring like that for a short while,

A shaft of light flew in like a hawk from the opposite wall.

The silhouette approaching as if walking on the sky was clearly Yu Seol.

“You were hiding over there and playing a prank on Grandpa just now, weren’t you?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I just got here.”

Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to be lying.

When Yu Seol played pranks, she couldn’t suppress her laughter and it showed immediately.

“It’s nothing. Really nothing…”

“Grandpa looks strange. Is something wrong?”

If he explained in detail, it would only worry her.

After a brief moment of thought, Yu Jinsan asked his granddaughter with a serious face.

“Child. Do you remember where Man-ho lives?”

She couldn’t not remember, she had a prodigious memory that never forgot anything once seen.

“Yes. But why?”

Yu Jinsan handed his granddaughter a bundle of talismans he’d prepared and said.

“Go and ask what these things are and come back.”

As he remembered, Man-ho was a very skilled teller.

In the past he had even pinpointed the exact location where his son had died.

Not only that, by combining two characters he wrote, one could form the character for sincerity, and that had been enough to persuade the sage Sama Hyeon of Sichuan.

Man-ho might be able to shed some light on this.

“Alone?”

The destination was near Mount Asama south of river Hansu, on the border between Shaanxi and Sichuan.

If Yu Jinsan went with her, it would take at least a day even at top speed.

But with his granddaughter’s speed, four hours would be more than enough.

“Wouldn’t it take too long if I went with you? Grandpa has some things to sort out, so fly there and back quickly.”

“Okay. But can we invite mister Man-ho to our house? I want to show him around.”

There was no reason not to. It would actually be helpful for him to see things firsthand.

The problem was how long it would take him to come here.

Although Man-ho was a teller and shaman, he had learned martial arts to avenge his son’s wrongful death.

With his light footwork speed, it would take him at least two days to arrive.

“It’s not nearby, so I don’t want to burden him. Don’t force him, if he’s busy, just come back.”

“Okay. I’ll ask, and if he doesn’t want to, I’ll just come back.”

Yu Seol’s nod looked reliable.

It felt like she had been a baby just yesterday, and now she was old enough to be entrusted with errands.

He couldn’t help feeling proud.

“Our granddaughter has grown up already. Be careful and come back safely.”

Yu Seol nodded and gently patted her grandfather’s shoulder.

“Grandpa, you keep the house well too.”

The situation was a bit awkward, but Yu Jinsan decided not to dwell on it.

The granddaughter packed a small bundle and set off without delay.

Left alone, Yu Jinsan continued to watch the seeds, but nothing changed even as night fell.

‘At this rate there’s no answer to this.’

In any case, when his granddaughter returned he would probably find some clue.

There was no need to overexert himself like this.

Just as he was about to get up,

[You’re left alone. Fi.na.l.ly.]

A woman’s bizarre voice slowly echoed in his head.

It definitely wasn’t just a transmitted sound.

Yu Jinsan quickly looked around.

But only a gloomy wind blew endlessly.

Was some unknown presence taunting him?

Suddenly he felt anger rise, when he thought about it, there was no reason for him to be afraid.

“You wicked woman, how dare you play tricks here! Come out at once!”

He was a martial arts warrior by name; whether the opponent was human or ghost, he’d knock them down if they appeared.

But no further strange phenomena occurred.

As dusk deepened, the sense of gloom thickened.

Being alone in the vast manor, he couldn’t bear the silence.

After a quick walk around, Yu Jinsan returned to his quarters and lay on the bed, not forgetting to set his beloved Dragon Slaying Spear by his head.

‘Seems like Man-ho is coming with her.’

In the pitch-black darkness he stared blankly and thought of his granddaughter.

If she had only been talking and coming back, it would have been plenty of time.

That she hadn’t arrived yet probably meant she was accompanying Man-ho.

His thoughts returned to the words that had just been heard in his head.

‘…Finally alone? Is some spiteful thing targeting me?’

Now that he thought about it, the strange phenomena never occurred when he was with Yu Seol.

Whether by chance or not, these things only happened when he was alone.

He’d find out in two days anyway.

Lost in thought, Yu Jinsan slowly closed his eyes.

Having stayed up sparring with Baek Gyu last night, he was feeling drowsy.

As he was gradually slipping into sleep,

“…Gah!”

Yu Jinsan suddenly choked and let out a scream.

Every sensation in his body felt like it was being sucked under the bed, and he couldn’t regain his senses.

Moreover, his limbs wouldn’t move as if they were pinned under a huge rock.

When he forced his eyes open, he saw wrists as white as snow.

From neck to toe, countless grips were pressing down on his entire body.

He couldn’t shake them off; even breathing was difficult.

What kind of absurd situation was this?

Using his internal qi did nothing, he remained immovable.

He had never been rendered so helpless before.

Blood vessels bulged in his eyes and his whole body began to twitch.

Suddenly a lion-like roar erupted somewhere and vibrated in his ears.

“Graaaandpaaaa!!!”

It was Yu Seol’s roar, packed with tremendous internal energy.

The whole manor shook as if it would collapse.

It seemed like a sound wave sent from a very long distance.

And at that moment, Yu Jinsan heard that unpleasant voice again.

[What a pity. I could have taken you.]

The pale hands that had been pressing him evaporated like smoke.

At the same time, a familiar voice outside sounded urgent.

“Elder!”

It was Man-ho’s voice.

He had already arrived. Yu Seol had probably carried him through the air.

Yu Jinsan sank down, his face pale, and drew ragged breaths.