Reaper of the Drifting Moon

The Wudang sect prepared everything needed for the birthday party early in the morning.

The podium that was built yesterday was embellished with various decorations and luxurious chairs.

Musicians also started performing at dawn.

The playing of musical instruments aroused people’s excitement, while the singing of songs attracted people’s attention. The dancers who were charmed by the songs also left their accommodations at dawn.

At the grand banquet hall where the event was held, there were numerous snacks being sold. Those who run street vendors under the Wudang Mountain were permitted to enter and do their business inside the sect today.

Numerous snacks, including sweets, were sold like hotcakes.

Happy smiles appeared on the faces of merchants given the boom that went beyond their expectations.

“I wish every day was like today.”

“Haha! I made up a month’s sales in just one visit.”

They thought it would be nice if the Wudang sect leader’s birthday was every month.

“Hmpf! Everyone is too excited.”

A one-eyed man who had been squeezing through the vendors bit his lip.

Unlike other people who were full of excitement, there was one man who was full of dissatisfaction.

It was Hong Mugwang.

Hong Mugwang was walking around alone, separated from the other mercenaries who he had arrived with at the Wudang sect.

After losing one eye to Pyo-wol, he doesn’t know why but his companions were starting to get on his nerves. And since he couldn’t take revenge on Pyo-wol, he took out his anger on his colleagues instead.

The mercenaries accepted his anger meekly at first. But they soon began to distance themselves from him at some point. That was when his irritability reached its peak.

He exploded in anger yesterday and poured out abusive language at his fellow mercenaries.

In particular, on the way to this place, he lashed out at Seol Hajin, who he always saw sticking with Pyo-wol.

The situation escalated when Seol Hajin could not stand his abuse anymore and started arguing with him.

In the end, Ko Il-pae said that it would be better for him to leave.

Now that Hong Mugwang was kicked out of the group of mercenaries, he has no choice but to wander around the Wudang sect alone.

‘It’s all because of him.’

As Hong Mugwang remembered Pyo-wol, he inevitably gritted his teeth.

If he hadn’t had a fight with Pyo-wol, he wouldn’t have been rejected by the mercenaries like this, and he wouldn’t have lost one of his eyes.

The aftereffects of losing one eye were very great.

As he tried to see the world with one eye instead of two, his viewing angle narrowed, forming a blind spot.

As a warrior, that is considered a fatal disadvantage.

Because of this, Hong Mugwang’s self-esteem also fell.

Hong Mugwang was filled with anger as he recalled Pyo-wol.

When he was with the mercenaries, he could not dare show his anger, but now that he is alone, he has nothing to worry about.

“I will definitely get revenge someday.”

Hong Mugwang vowed to take revenge.

But he knew it, too.

How futile his resolution is.

The gap between Pyo-wol and himself was so huge and great that it could not be narrowed down with just his promise of vengeance.

It was then.

“Revenge? What revenge?”

An unfamiliar voice came from behind.

“Who are you?”

Hong Mugwang looked back in surprise.

There stood a young man with a cold expression.

Hong Mugwang immediately recognized the man’s identity.

He could not help but know him. It was because the man in front of him was receiving the most attention among the people who entered the Wudang sect.

“Jang… Muyeon?”

“Seeing that you know me, you must know what I can do, don’t you?”

“That’s–”

Hong Mugwang unknowingly stepped back. He was overwhelmed by the energy Jang Muyeon gave off.

Jang Muyeon’s eyes were cold as he looked at Hong Mugwang.

While investigating Wu Jang-rak and the others, Joo Cheon-hak, the leader of the White Tiger Sword Corps, found out that Hong Mugwang could not get along with his party.

While the other mercenaries were full of vigilance and difficult to approach, Hong Mugwang was the only one who was easy to approach since he was walking around alone.

Hong Mugwang swallowed dry saliva and said,

“What do you want from me?”

“Tell me what happened that day in the Dead Forest and I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Anything?”

“I promise you, on the honor of the Rain Mountain Manor.”

“Really?”

“You’d better not make me say it twice. I’m not in a good mood right now. Instead, I’ll make sure you get what you want.”

“T, that’s great!”

Hong Mugwang hurriedly replied.

He began to recall what had happened in the Dead Forest.

In fact, he saw very little in the Dead Forest.

He got out of the forest before he got the chance to see and experience anything. However, he knew for sure that Pyo-wol was away and did something.

Jang Muyeon listened carefully to his story.

“So you’re saying that a person named Pyo-wol killed my uncle?”

“I think so.”

“Think?”

“Ah, no, I’m sure. The little guy who is with him also has monstrous abilities, and is cruel beyond measure. When he came back from the forest, he gave off a strong smell of blood. It’s clear that he was the one responsible for killing the Heavenly Silver Marketplace’s sect leader Hwa.”

“So you’re saying that a man named Pyo-wol killed my uncle and robbed him of the sword, Gongbu?”

“That’s right.”

Hong Mugwang responded vigorously and looked at Jang Muyeon.

Jang Muyeon’s expression, which was already as cold as ice, became even more rigid.

Hong Mugwang froze and could only stare at him.

It was long after that when Jang Muyeon opened his mouth again,

“Did you say it was because of him that you lost your eye?”

“Yes! It was only because he conducted a cowardly surprise attack that he managed to take my eyes.”

It was a ridiculous story.

There was no reason for a master enough to kill Hwa Yu-cheon, the Heavenly Silver Marketplace sect leader, to secretly attack a mercenary.

Jang Muyeon already knew that Hong Mugwang was lying. But he didn’t bother pointing it out.

He could still put Hong Mugwang in to use.

“Do you want to get revenge on him?”

“O, of course I want revenge.”

“I’ll help you.”

“Huh? How?”

Hong Mugwang’s eyes widened.

“You just have to do what I tell you. How about it? Can you do it?”

“But…”

“You don’t have to worry about anything. The Rain Mountain Manor will protect you.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Hong Mugwang’s eyes changed.

* * *

As Pyo-wol was about to leave the Qingliu Temple early in the morning, Soma asked,

“Brother, where are you going?”

“The Scripture Pavilion.”

“Why go there?”

“I have something to read.”

“Is that so?”

Soma looked disappointed.

He found it a pity that Pyo-wol was going to be busy and away. But he soon nonchalantly replied,

“Okay, have a safe trip!”

“How about you?”

“I’ll just be up on a tree.”

“Without attending the banquet?”

“I don’t like it because there’s a lot of people.”

Soma did not want to explore the Wudang sect anymore since he had already done it yesterday. In particular, more people came in today than yesterday so the Wudang sect was really crowded.

Soma didn’t want to mix in with so many people as he toured the Wudang sect.

“Okay. I’ll be back.”

“Yes, brother!”

Soma climbed a tall tree and watched Pyo-wol leave the Qingliu Temple.

After leaving Qingliu Temple, Pyo-wol headed straight for the Scripture Pavilion.

Since Chongjin had already let the other disciples know of Pyo-wol’s visitation, the Wudang sect’s taoists let Pyo-wol enter without hesitation. However, their hostility towards Pyo-wol remained.

Pyo-wol didn’t care about their gaze.

This kind of reaction was already expected. He had no time to waste his energy on such a trivial matter.

He could only stay in the Wudang sect until today. So he had to finish finding the information he needed within the day.

As soon as he entered the Scripture Pavilion, Pyo-wol took out a book and held it.

It was a book called Sect Movements in Anhui Province.1

As the name suggests, it was a book containing rough information about the sects and families in Anhui Province.

It was a book written three years ago.

The information in the book was also from three years ago. The ones written recently were kept separately, while this one was left inside the Scripture Pavilion. So they think that there will be no problem even if an outsider like Pyo-wol sees it.

Although the information was from three years ago, it was very useful to Pyo-wol.

This is because it is possible to guess what kind of sects or families exist and how powerful they are in Anhui Province at least a year ago.

Three years was a long enough time for the world to change. However, unless there was a major incident that shook the world, the power relations among the sect would remain fixed. It could not be easily changed.

So even information that is dated three years ago was useful enough for Pyo-wol.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion, there were books that not only roughly recorded the situation in Anhui Province, but also about the other sects throughout the world.

Likewise, those books were also written three years ago.

Pyo-wol read all the books calmly.

Pyo-wol was able to read the book more calmly because he was not sneakily stealing the information like what he did when he had come earlier.

What Pyo-wol needed the most was information about the current Jianghu.

Because he spent most of his time in Sichuan, he lacked knowledge about Jianghu in general.

The Wudang sect’s Scripture Pavilion was a treasure trove of information.

The books that Wudang sect taoists read every day and casually flipped through gave Pyo-wol great information.

The same information could differ in quality depending on who analyzes and accepts it.

The Wudang sect taoists who pursued Taoism indulged in martial arts books more than these miscellaneous books. On the other hand, Pyo-wol did not pass over even the smallest information.

As if putting together a fragmented picture, Pyo-wol gathered trivial information and recreated it into a big picture.

Flipping!

Pyo-wol continued to read books without a break.

He only took his eyes off a book when it was getting dark inside the Scripture Pavilion.

After reading books all day, the sun had already set before he knew it.

Just then, the door to the Scripture Pavilion opened, and a middle-aged taoist entered.

He was Woo-sung who was responsible for the Scripture Pavilion.

He said to Pyo-wol,

“Stop. You should get out now. The time that sect leader gave you is over.”

The eyes of Woo-sung, who was still looking at Pyo-wol, were full of hostility.

Pyo-wol silently closed the book he was holding in his hand.

In the end, he couldn’t get any information about Kowloon. Still, it wasn’t too bad since he got to learn about all this information about Jianghu.

He got up without hesitation. Pyo-wol knew that he would not be able to obtain any more useful information even if he stayed longer than this.

‘Why is the sect leader so considerate of him?’

Not only the Woo-sung, but most of the taoists guarding the Scripture Pavilion thought so.

The taoists, who did not know of Pyo-wol’s identity, secretly expressed their dissatisfaction with Chongjin’s decision. However, the rules of the Wudang sect were so strict that they did not dare to protest.

Pyo-wol came out of the Scripture Pavilion and looked around.

When he entered the Scripture Pavilion, the entire Wudang sect was noisy, but now it was quiet.

Pyo-wol asked Woo-sung,

“Is the birthday party over?”

“That’s right. It ended successfully, and many warriors have already gone down the mountain.”

There was great pride on Woo-sung’s face who answered.

As he said, the Wudang sect leader’s birthday party ended in great success.

The dance of the third-generation disciples.

The martial arts demonstration of the second-generation disciples.

The lectures of the first-generation disciples.

And the simple sword fight, which was the last among all the events prepared, drew enthusiastic response from the martial artists.

After this event, the prestige of the Wudang sect increased. People who came started to think that the Wudang sect is the greatest sect in Hubei Jianghu.

With this, the Wudang sect achieved the result it wanted.

Even though they were exhausted from preparing and carrying out the event, the reason why the smiles on the faces of the Wudang sect students did not disappear was because of that.

On the other hand, the faces of the taoists guarding the Woo-sung and the Scripture Pavilion were filled with annoyance. They could not participate in the event because they were busy monitoring Pyo-wol so he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

Woo-sung said bluntly,

“Now that the event is over, you too should go down Wudang Mountain tomorrow.

“I’ll do that.”

“I’m warning you. Be quiet, and go down the mountain like a dead rat. I will never forgive you if you do anything wrong.”

“You have too much pride in yourself.”

“What?”

Woo-sung’s eyebrows rose to the sky at Pyo-wol’s unexpected words.

“In my experience, it’s always the frightened dogs that bark so much.”

“How dare you call me a dog?!”

“Don’t become a dog that barks recklessly because of your pride as a member of the Wudang sect.”

“Pyo-wol!”

Woo-sung tightly gripped his sword.

He wanted to draw his sword and cut off Pyo-wol.

But he couldn’t unsheathe his sword.

Pyo-wol looked at Woo-sung as if he knew that.

Woo-sung’s shoulders trembled.

SoundlessWind21’s Notes

Thank you for reading~

Sect Movements in Anhui Province. Raws: 안휘성문파동향(安徽省門派動向). 安 ān – peaceful, tranquil, quiet 徽 huī – a badge, insignia 省 shěng, xiǎn, xǐng – province; save, economize 門 mén – gate, door, entrance, opening 派 pài, mài, bài, pā – school of thought, sect, branch 動 dòng – move, happen; movement, action 向 xiàng – toward, direction, trend