Reaper of the Drifting Moon

“W-Wait!”

Bagak!

At that moment, Geum Woo-sin’s head bounced back.

He received a kick from Pyo-wol.

Geum Woo-sin’s spirit was instantly blown away.

He fell over like a log.

“Master!”

“Damn it!”

His body crashed even before the defense corps warriors had time to move.

Thud!

“Keuk!”

A dull sound and a frustrated groan rang out at the same time.

Even though he felt pain as if his body would break, Geum Woo-sin got up again.

Although he was hit by Pyo-wol’s unexpected blow, he still had learned the martial arts of the Shaolin Temple. As such, his reaction was also quick.

The problem was that his opponent was Pyo-wol.

When he got up, Pyo-wol appeared in front of him like a ghost.

“Keurgh!”

Geum Woo-sin gritted his teeth and tried to perform his martial arts. But before he could move, he felt a fiery pain in his shoulder.

Before he knew it, a phantom dagger was already deeply embedded in his shoulder.

“KARGH!”

Geum Woo-sin screamed and rolled on the floor.

There was another phantom dagger in Pyo-wol’s hand.

Without a word, he put a dagger close to Geum Woo-sin’s neck.

At the eerie feeling of the blade on his neck, Geum Woo-sin hurriedly spoke,

“W-Wait! I was wrong! I will return the horse so please forgive me!”

He desperately begged, forgetting his face.

No dignity as the captain of the Golden Mountain Manor defense corps could be found with his tearful appearance.

Sueuk!

Even though Geum Woo-sin begged for forgiveness, the phantom dagger did not stop inching closer to his neck.

“I’ll return your horse! I’ll also give you enough compensation! So please forgive me!”

Geum Woo-sin knelt down and continued to beg.

Only then did the phantom dagger that had been digging into his neck stop. But it was still too early for him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Pyo-wol’s phantom dagger was still on his neck, ready to decapitate Geum Woo-sin at any moment.

Geum Woo-sin hurriedly took out the pouch he had in his pocket and offered it to Pyo-wol.

It was a pouch containing 100 gold coins. This was all of Geum Woo-sin’s accumulated wealth, which he had tenaciously collected and saved.

However, no matter how precious the gold was, it couldn’t be compared to his life.

“Please spare me, my lord! I was blinded by greed and coveted your lordship’s horse! Please forgive me!”

He grabbed Pyo-wol by the hem of his pants and begged.

Pyo-wol looked at Geum Woo-sin without a word.

He felt strange because it was his first time experiencing it.

Most of the warriors he had dealt with so far considered pride and face more important than life. They would rather die than bow their heads. However, Geum Woo-sin was the opposite.

He possessed the attitude and mentality that it would be okay for him to lose face as long as it could save his life. It felt rather fresh.

Pyo-wol looked at the defense corps warriors.

Maybe it’s because three people have already been killed by Pyo-wol, but the defense corps warriors couldn’t even dare to attack.

Pyo-wol noticed that their organizational skills were like grains of sand.

They showed no loyalty towards Geum Woo-sin. It was just a relationship based on money.

Pyo-wol collected his phantom daggers and said,

“The next time I see you again, I’ll cut your throat.”

“Yes, yes! It will never happen!”

Geum Woo-sin nodded repeatedly.

When Pyo-wol flicked his hand, the phantom daggers that were stuck in the bodies of the defense corps warriors were retrieved. Seeing this, the warriors were once again astonished. For them, it was a skill that they could not have dared to imagine.

‘Oh my! It’s telekinesis!’

‘Crazy bastard! He changed horses with someone like that?’

They thought it was a miracle that Geum Woo-sin’s head was still attached to his neck.

They hated Geum Woo-sin for swapping horses without knowing that the original owner is a master of such high caliber.

Some even glared at Geum Woo-sin without hiding their contemptuous expressions.

Pyo-wol grabbed the pouch and approached his horse.

Neigh!

The horse still seemed to recognize Pyo-wol even if he had been with another group for a few days.

The horse grunted and welcomed Pyo-wol. Such a reaction once again confirmed that Pyo-wol was the owner.

Pyo-wol rode on the back of the horse.

Until then, Geum Woo-sim and the defense corps warriors just stared at Pyo-wol without moving as if they had become stone statues.

The expression on Geum Woo-sin’s face was clear that he was afraid that Pyo-wol would change his mind and attack. Fortunately, however, Pyo-wol did not look back nor attack them anymore. He just continued to be on his way.

When he was sure that Pyo-wol’s figure had disappeared from his sight, Geum Woo-sin stood up.

“Damn it! I let it slide this time. What do you mean you’re going to cut my throat next time we meet? Don’t make me laugh! At that time, it will be me who will cut your throat!”

He screamed in the direction where Pyo-wol had disappeared. The defense corps warriors looked at Geum Woo-sin with a pitiful expression.

‘Captain…’

‘Tsk tsk!’

Fortunately, no one died.

They knew very well that it was not because the defense corps and Geum Woo-sin handled the issue well, but rather because Pyo-wol had no intention of killing him.

Geum Woo-sin turned his head and looked at his men.

The defense corps warriors hurriedly adjusted their expressions and turned away from his gaze.

“I’m sure you know what will happen to you if I manage to hear what happened today from the outside? You’d better think that you won’t be able to live here again.”

At his threat, the defense corps warriors quietly nodded their heads.

Geum Woo-sin tried to stopped the bleeding from his shoulder and murmured,

“Who the hell is he anyway? I didn’t hear there was such a man in Jianghu.”

The faint glow of fear still lingered on his face.

* * *

Tianzhongshan1 has long been a famous mountain for its spirituality.

The energy of Tianzhongshan is so mysterious to the point that it is called the center of the sky. Since ancient times, there has been no end to the number of people greedy for Tianzhongshan.

Because of this, disputes have been continuing on for a long time.

When one faction establishes itself on the said mountain, another faction would attack and try to take down the place, and while the two factions declined and left their place due to a long fight, thieves would come in, set up their own hideout and run wild.

It may be because of the long luck of the mountain, but once a particular faction is established, the said faction would flourish greatly. However, their prosperity did not last long, and the vicious cycle of other clans coveting the place continued to be repeated.

As such, the owner of Tianzhongshan has changed countless times.

Each time that happened, nearby residents would suffer indescribably great pain. This is because those who became the owners of Tianzhongshan would rob or collect money from nearby residents by offering and exchanging their protection.

Such history has been repeated for hundreds of years.

It was only a few decades ago when the nearby residents found stability.

A new owner was born in Tianzhongshan after driving out the previous existing faction.

It was the Jin family.

Even though the Jin family drove out the previous reigning faction and became the new owner of Tianzhongshan, they did not collect a protection fee.

They insisted on earning a legitimate income, and did not use force or intimidate the nearby residents. As a result, the lives of the residents have also become more prosperous.

The residents praised the Jin family’s principles and prayed for their long reign.

Those who became rulers in Tianzhongshan had all built large manors. But only the Jin family remained uniquely as a clan village.

Just like the Tangjiatuo in Chengdu, they live together by forming a village consisting of only those who carry the Jin family name.

There were no large pavilions or fences in the Jin family.

There are only small villages and people using the Jin family name.

No matter what anyone says, the central figure of the Jin Family was Jin Wol-myeong, the Sunset Sword God.2

He was one of the eight constellations and one of the strongest in the world.

Because of him, the Jin family was able to lower its beak deep into Tianzhongshan.

In its heyday, as many as three hundred people lived in the Jin family. However, the number has dwindled recently, and there are only about 200 people left.

The largest house in the Jin family was the residence of Jin Wol-myeong.

In Jin Wol-myeong’s residence, two people were facing each other.

One was a young man in his early twenties, and the other was a cold-looking man in his mid-forties.

The young man was looking at the paper held out by the middle-aged man with a serious expression.

The young man’s name is Jin Siwoo.

As the second grandson of Jin Wol-myeong, he is also a key figure in leading the current Jin family.

Jin Si-woo, who had been looking at the paper for a long time, opened his mouth,

“So this is an IOU that my grandfather borrowed from the Golden Mountain Manor?”

“As you can see, the agreement of Master Jin is written.”

The man with a cold impression replied.

Jin Siwoo looked at him with a furrowed brow.

The name of the man in front of him is Cha.

He was in charge of the Yeomwangdae of Golden Mountain Manor.

Yeomwangdae3 is an organization dedicated to recovering the money borrowed from Golden Mountain Manor.

There was no one who did not know that Golden Mountain Manor’s patriarch, Geum Shin-chung, lends out money to people in urgent need only to almost rob them all of their property.

However, Jin Siwoo didn’t know the Jin family would be one of their targets.

The signature at the end of the IOU was clearly that of his grandfather, Jin Wol-myeong.

However, as far as he knows, Jin Wol-myeong had never borrowed money from the Golden Mountain Manor. Their situation was not urgent enough for them to borrow money, nor were their financial circumstances tight.

So when a person from the Golden Mountain Manor comes to visit with an IOU that his grandfather had signed, Jin Siwoo had no choice but to be flustered.

“When did my grandfather borrow money from the Golden Mountain Manor?”

“He borrowed it at the end of last year. At that time, our patriarch gave him 10,000 coins of gold.”

“It’s ten thousand gold coins… That’s hard to believe.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. This IOU is genuine. If you want, you can even invite an expert to determine whether this is forgery or not.”

Jin Siwoo glared at Cha In-geol, who answered calmly.

He might be said to be a bit inferior to his older brother Jin Geum-woo, but he was also a renowned warrior in Jianghu.

At a young age, he boasted such outstanding qualities enough to achieve seven stars in swordsmanship, which his grandfather Jin Wol-myeong created.

However, the level of martial arts and the ability to negotiate were different.

Cha In-geol, the head of the Yeomwangdae at Golden Mountain Manor, is a person who is good at collecting the loaned out money and interest.

No matter how high his opponent’s martial arts are, he does not shrink in their presence. He also does not give in just because they are from a prestigious sect.

Cha In-geol’s notoriety for getting the money by all means was prevalent in Henan.

Jin Siwoo was also one of those who didn’t like Cha In-geol. However, back then he had no reason to bump into him so they passed each other like cows and chickens. But today, Cha In-geol had come to visit to collect the money his grandfather borrowed, so Jin Siwoo found it very confusing.

He knew his grandfather was not the kind of person who would borrow money from the Golden Mountain Manor.

10,000 gold coins.

It was an enormous sum that they could never repay given the finances of the Jin family.

Cha In-geol calmly accepted Jin Siwoo’s fierce glare and said,

“As written on the IOU, the end of next month is the date of the repayment. By then, I ask you to pay back the borrowed 10,000 gold coins together with the 7,000 gold coins in interest.”

“Um!”

“Just in case, there’s no such thing as postponing the return date.”

“What if I can’t pay it back by then?”

“Hmpf! I have never been unable to get the money we lent.”

“Are you threatening the Jin family?”

“How dare I threaten the Jin family?”

Cha In-geol smirked.

His words might imply that he wasn’t threatening the Jin family, but it was clear that he looked down on Jin Siwoo.

Cha In-geol got up from his seat and said,

“Do not underestimate the power of this paper. You might not recognize the power of this paper under our hands, but let’s say we bring it to other places, such as the Snow Sword Manor. I’m sure it’s going to be really interesting to see what happens when this paper falls into their hands.”

Jin Si-woo’s expression hardened at Cha In-girl’s threat.

Snow Sword Manor4was the previous owner of the Tianzhongshan before the Jin family. They were driven out of Tianzhongshan by the Jin family and thus were forgotten from people’s memories.

Jianghu’s heart was ruthless. They weren’t relaxed enough to pay attention even to the losers.

It was only several years ago when the Snow Sword Manor, which used to be erased from public attention, began to be mentioned again.

After being forgotten by people for decades, they must have struggled to reappear in Henan, trying to regain their former power.

They naturally coveted their old home in Tianzhongshan, where the Jin family settled, so they were in conflict with the Jin family everywhere.

Fire is sure to happen if the IOU is handed to the Snow Sword Manor.

“Remember, the end of next month. If you don’t pay back the 17,000 gold coins by then, this loan certificate will go to the Snow Sword Manor. You know better what’s going to happen next.”

Cha In-geol smiled and went outside.

Left alone, Jin Siwoo’s shoulders shook in contempt.

They would not have dared to open their mouths like this when the Jin family was fine. But here they are now, revealing their fangs and laughing at them.

“I can’t believe the Jin family has fallen this low.”

Jin Siwoo left the room and moved to the annex in the back.

When the door of the annex was opened, a strong scent of medicine flowed out. Despite the strong and suffocating medicinal scent, Jin Siwoo looked into the room without a frown.

There, an old man as skinny as his neck was lying with silver acupuncture points all over his body.

He was Jin Wol-myeong, the spiritual supporter of Jin family and one of the eight constellations.

SoundlessWind21’s Notes

Thank you for reading! I’m doing my best to catch up to the backlog chapters because of the holidays. Hoping for your patience & understanding

Tianzhongshan. Raws: 천중산(天中山) Literally means: center of the sky. Chinese characters: 天 tiān – sky, heaven; god, celestial 中zhōng, zhòng – central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain 山 shān – mountain, hill, peak Sunset Sword God. Raws: Nakilshingeom, 일신검(落日神剣) 落 fall, drop; net income, surplus 日 sun; day; daytime 神 spirit, god, supernatural being 剣 sword, dagger, saber Yeomwangdae. Raws: 염왕채. Snow Sword Manor. Raws: Xue Dojang, 설도장(雪刀荘). 雪 xuě – snow; wipe away shame, avenge 刀 dāo – knife; old coin; measure 荘 zhuāng – village, hamlet; villa; surname