Reaper of the Drifting Moon

The whole world was tinged with gold.

The rice fields before harvest swayed like waves in the wind, and the farmers smiled happily.

Their faces were tanned by the intense sunlight, and their whole body was sweating non-stop, but they were happy nonetheless.

Now the harvest is near.

The end of the arduous journey that has continued since spring is in sight. That is why the working farmers burst into laughter.

They failed to notice that someone was stealing the clothes they had left on the farm road.

It was Pyo-wol who walked calmly while changing into farmer’s clothes. He hung his sickle around his waist and walked like a real farmer.

Because of that, even the peasants didn’t think it was strange at all when they saw him.

Pyo-wol acted like a real farmer.

He thoroughly imitated the behavior of farmers, even their facial expressions.

One of the things Pyo-wol learned in order to survive in the dark was to imitate others.

It was So Gyeoksan who taught him the art of imitation.

So Gyeoksan was from an arts troupe that performed miscellaneous plays. He was particularly good at changing his face in an instant.

He said that the audience cannot be immersed in a miscellaneous drama simply by changing their face. The audience can only sympathise deeply when they act like an object with a completely changed face, and the key is to think from the perspective of the owner of the face.

Pyo-wol had to think and act thoroughly in the position of the owner of the face.

Imitation was the starting point.

It had to be the subject of thorough imitation.

So Gyeoksan said it in passing, but his words were deeply engraved in Pyo-wol’s mind. After that, Pyo-wol had a habit of observing and imitating the actions of others.

Its true value was being demonstrated now.

Even now, the warriors were frantic as they tried to look for him everywhere, but Pyo-wol himself was walking with a relaxed mind like a farmer.

Pyo-wol looked at the golden fields with a heartwarming smile like a real farmer.

He was truly amazed at the magnificent spectacle he had seen before.

He had quite a lot of experience wandering the river alone as a child, but he had never seen such spectacular scenery.

Pyo-wol thought that the scene in front of him was beautiful.

He himself wanted to become a farmer and live a peaceful life like this.

But he knew best how vain his wishes were.

On the way here, Pyo-wol had the blood of many people buried in his hands. In most cases, they were the ones who attacked first, but in some cases, Pyo-wol was the first one to sneak and kill them.

As long as their blood is on his hands, he will not be given a peaceful life.

Pyo-wol shook his head and threw away his thoughts.

He was simply pretending to be a farmer, but he was too immersed in it.

Pyo-wol walked hurriedly.

Because he wanted to get out of this situation.

It was when he reached the end of the farm road.

“It’s a message from the Qingcheng sect that the assassin is moving west. Everyone block the road around here.”

A group of warriors appeared and blocked all the farm roads leading out of the paddy fields.

Pyo-wol’s expression hardened.

It was not simply because they blocked their way, but because of the fact that someone from the Qingcheng sect accurately grasped his path and gave instructions.

‘I have to get out of this place in at least an hour.’

If they blocked this place, the other roads would also be guarded by soldiers.

He had to get out when the security was still loose.

Pyo-wol approached the warriors blocking the farm road with the most casual look.

“Stop!”

“Huh?”

Pyo-wol looked at the soldiers with a frightened expression.

He looked like a real farmer.

“We are searching for a criminal who has committed a grave sin. State your identity this instant!”

“My name is Yangcheol, who lives in the village over there. I’m on my way home from farming today.”

“It’s still this early, are you saying you’ve already finished farming?”

“Yes! All the weeds have been cut, so everything is done for the day.”

The soldiers who saw Pyo-wol’s frightened appearance made a lost impression. No matter how fearless they were in the world, they could not handle innocent civilians at will.

To them, Pyo-wol looked like a real farmer.

Pyo-wol rubbed mud all over his body, and changed his face to the opposite.

His appearance was like any other rural villager.

Gu Yeonseong, the leader of the warriors, looked closely at Pyo-wol.

Gu Yeonseong was from the Emei sect and was favored by Guhwasata, the Abbess of Nine Calamities, because of his excellent martial arts and observation skills.

“What shall we do?”

The soldiers under his command waited for Gu Yeonseong’s instructions.

“Let him pass.”

At Gu Yeonseong’s command, the soldiers paved the way.

It was when Pyo-wol almost passed them by.

“For a moment!”

Suddenly, Gu Yeonseong stopped Pyo-Wol.

“Why?”

“Why is the sickle of someone who came back from cutting weeds so clean? If you cut weeds, then there must be some sort of traces on the sickle.”

Pyo-wol’s eyes shook for a moment. He didn’t expect that Gu Yeonseong would be able to notice such a small detail.

Gu Yeonseong did not miss Pyo-wol’s reaction.

“You must be the assassin the Abbess of Nine Calamities was talking about! Attack him!”

At the command of Gu Yeonseong, the soldiers who were guarding the road rushed towards Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol heard what Gu Yeonseong said even as he avoided the attacks of the warriors.

‘Abbess of Nine Calamities?’

He has dealt with many people so far, but no one has mentioned the name of a specific person before. Pyo-wol instinctively noticed that Gu Yeonseong had a different purpose than the other people he had faced.

Originally, he was planning to escape as soon as his identity was discovered. However, as soon as he heard Gu Yeonseong’s words, he changed his mind.

Ciit!

The sickle, which played a decisive role in revealing his identity, broke through the air.

“GAH!”

Blood gushed out from the neck of the man who was running in front of him.

Pyo-wol beheaded his head with a simple swing without much of an afterthought.

Poeng!

The man in the back threw firecrackers into the air. It was a signal that the assassin was on their location. Pyo-wol expected that sooner or later a flock of soldiers would come running to his location.

There was no time to waste.

He had to subdue the group in front of him as fast as possible to find out what they wanted.

Shiak!

Pyo-wol threw the sickle at the rushing enemies.

“Hmph–!”

“You dare!”

The warriors used qi and simply dodged the sickle.

Avoiding such attacks was easy for them.

“Damn! It would be better for you to give up!”

They rushed towards Pyo-wol in an instant. At that moment, Pyo-wol flew backwards and clapped his fingers.

A gleam of suspicion shone on Gu Yeonseong’s face.

Because Pyo-wol’s actions seemed meaningless.

That was then.

Ciit!

A horrifying sound rang out from behind their backs.

“Kurgh!”

“Urrgh!”

The soldiers behind Gu Yeonseong screamed.

“What?”

As Gu Yeoseong looked back in surprise, he saw the soldiers who were following him suddenly fall down with blood pouring from their necks.

It was the sickle that had just been dodged that had decapitated them.

The sickle, as if a living creature, came back in a large curve in the air and landed in Pyo-wol’s hand.

“–Huh, how?”

At that moment, Pyo-wol once again threw his sickle.

Gu Yeonseong instinctively swung his sword and deflected the sickle.

Pyo-wol lifted his finger. The sickle, which was about to fall on the ground, flew towards Gu Yeonseong again at a frightening speed.

The handle of the sickle was connected to a thread so thin that it was invisible to the naked eye. It was So Tae-myung’s fishing line that Pyo-wol stole after killing him.

The silver thread was made of Cheonjamsa (silk thread) so fine that it was hard to distinguish it with the naked eye, and was as sharp as any other famous sword.

“Such a waste—”

Gu Yeonseong, who finally understood the situation, exploded in anger.

He performed the Nanchi Wind Sword Technique¹, one of the best techniques of the Emei sect, and strictly defended his whole body.

However, Pyo-wol’s real target was not the sickle.

His left hand pulled the blade out of his waist and threw it. It was the weapon of an unknown man whom Pyo-wol killed while escaping from the inescapable net.

Peuck!

“Keuk!”

The blade was precisely nailed in Gu Yeonseong’s shoulder.

The unpredictable attack disturbed the Gu Yeonseong’s posture.

Pyo-wol did not miss the gap and adjusted his sickle using the silk thread to attack Gu Yeonseong’s left leg.

The sickle cut precisely the Gu Yeonseong’s popliteal tendon.

“Kurgh!”

In the end, Gu Yeonseong screamed and collapsed.

Pyo-wol climbed on Gu Yeonseong’s chest and wrapped his neck with the Cheonjamsa thread.

“Kekhuek!”

Gu Yeonseongcouldn’t even scream and let out a strange moan.

The fear of having the thread digging into his neck little by little made him contemplate.

“Sah, save me…”

“Who is the Abbess of Nine Calamities?”

“T-that, keuk!”

When Gu Yeonseong hesitated, Pyo-wol gave the thread more power. Then, silk thread further dug deeper into the throat of the Gu Yeonseong.

“Gu, Guhwasata, the Abbess of Nine Calamities! The sect leader of Emei sect!”

“The Emei sect’s Abbess of Nine Calamities?”

“Y…Yes! I answered your question— my…my life–”.

“Did the Abbess of Nine Calamities directly commanded you?”

“Not only me, but all of the disciples of the Emei sect! We were ordered to help the Qingcheng sect capture the assassin, no matter what!”

“ In the first place, was the Emei sect always so active and helpful towards the Qingcheng sect?”

“N…Not really. We were originally like cats and dogs before… So I thought it was strange.”

“You thought it was strange?”

“Y-Yes… That’s…”

Gu Yeonseong faithfully answered all of Pyo-wol’s question.

The purpose was somehow to pass time.

Even at this moment, the martial artists who saw the firework signal would be running. He thought that he would likely survive if he just took the time until they arrived. So he talked about everything he knew.

Pyo-wol listened to him without missing any detail. Even the minor things.

‘It’s her…’

All of the pictures that used to be torn apart in his head were now put together.

Someone who knows Woo Gunsang.

Someone who feels inferior towards him.

Someone who has the patience to invest seven years’ worth of time.

A person who possesses enough wealth to pour a huge amount of money into the plan.

Someone based in Sichuan.

Guhwasata, the Abbess of Nine Calamities, was an existence that satisfies all these conditions.

There was no definite evidence, it was only his hunch. But Pyo-wol was confident that his guess was certain.

“Over there!”

“It’s him!”

A group of soldiers appeared from the other side of the road.

They were the ones who saw the fireworks and followed the signal.

Gu Yeonseong looked at Pyo-wol with a wicked grin.

“Since they’re here, it’s over for you as well! If you want to live, then release m—”

Scratch!

In an instant, the Cheonjamsa thread cut off his neck like tofu.

Gu Yeonseong lost his breath with a vicious smile on his face.

Pyo-wol recovered the Cheonjamsa thread and got up.

“Bastard!”

“Stay there!”

The warriors were coming.

Pop! Pop! Bang!

Firecrackers bursted from all over the place, and whistles rang out.

Pyo-wol glanced at them and started running in the opposite direction.

‘Abbess of Nine Calamities, right?’’

She was the culprit in all of this.

The ambitions of the Guhwasata drove the lives of Pyo-wol and the other children to hell.

Regardless of his will, he was raised as an assassin, and the blood of countless people was buried in his hands.

He will never be able to go back to his normal life again.

All the martial artists of Sichuan were on his tail.

Even at this moment, the Qingcheng sect was suffocatingly coming towards him.

Even if he can shake off those who were chasing right behind him, others will soon come and replace them.

His desire will never end until he dies.

‘Even if I were to die, I would not go to hell alone.’

If you want to bite a mad dog, you must be prepared to be bitten yourself.

At this moment, Pyo-wol was like a mad dog.

Editor’s Notes

Now we know how and where Pyo-wol got the golden threads in the manhwa (ch23) which he used to choke the enemy (Gu Yeonseong).

1. Nanchi Wind Sword Technique. 난피풍검법(披風創法).