Reaper of the Drifting Moon

“Ah!”

“My god!”

The warriors who joined the Jin family could not hide their surprised expressions.

It was because of the procession of bodies at the entrance of the Jin manor.

There were many victims again this time around. The countless bodies being brought in on carts weighed heavily on the hearts of the warriors.

“Hiiic!”

“Kheuk!”

Cries erupted from everywhere.

The dead bodies were the Jin family warriors.

The Jin family is a clan made up of people sharing the same blood. And since they were all related to each other, they were exceptionally close.

There were a number of Jin family members laid on the cart. All of them were someone’s older brother, younger brother, or cousins.

If the death of a friend is enough to cause them grief, what more when it comes to the death of their own flesh-and-blood? The pain was simply indescribable.

“I will never forgive them–”

“I will fight the Snow Sword Manor until all my bones are crushed!”

They declared their intention to get vengeance.

It was the same with other warriors.

They initially joined the Jin family for the purpose of making a name for themselves, but as they fought fiercely with the Snow Sword Manor, they eventually became emotionally attached with the Jin family.

Now they have come to the point where they consider themselves to be a true member of the Jin family.

A colleague who they had been drinking and chatting with until yesterday returned as a corpse. Although they hadn’t met and known each other until they joined the Jin family, they became closer than anyone else as they went through life and death together. But now, that friend has returned as a corpse. Naturally, their anger toward the Snow Sword Manor soared through the sky.

The fight between the Jin family and Snow Sword Manor went beyond being a fight for supremacy over the city of Runan. With so many people involved, the fight is in danger of becoming the starting point of another great war if the situation continues to escalate.

Because of that, many martial arts masters began to have mixed feelings at the fight between the two factions.

They expected the Shaolin Temple to mediate between the two factions, but unfortunately, the monks from the Shaolin Temple did not play the role that was expected of them.

Monk Un-hae stood among the warriors and watched the bodies being brought into the Jin manor.

“Amitabha! Amitabha Buddha!”

His face was filled with misery.

He felt helpless. All he could think of was that this was no place for him.

It was to the point where he felt resentful towards the head monk who sent him to this place.

Suddenly, a particular corpse came into his line of sight.

As soon as he saw the body, Monk Un-hae closed his eyes tightly.

“Amitabha! To think that even the Venerable Master of Heaven and Earth…”

The Venerable Master of Heaven and Earth was a Buddhist master.

Although he did not belong to the Shaolin Temple, he still treated Monk Un-hae with respect because he was a fellow Buddhist martial artist.

The consolation Venerable Master of Heaven and Earth gave to Monk Un-hae was of great help. It was thanks to him that Monk Un-hae was able to calm and steady his wavering heart.

Seeing the dead body of the person who treated him so kindly created a ripple in Monk Un-hae’s heart.

“Amitabha! Amitabha!”

He tried to calm himself by fiddling with his prayer beads, but it didn’t work.

He had been studying Buddhist scriptures and training his mind for so long, but to think that it didn’t help at times like this.

Monk Un-hae felt that his studies were lacking.

At that moment, someone quietly walked up to him.

A warrior whom Monk Un-hae did not know handed out a sealed letter to him and said,

“The Venerable Master of Heaven and Earth told me to deliver this letter to Monk Un-hae.”

“Amitabha! He left me a letter?”

“Yes! I don’t know if he expected this to happen, but he told me to deliver this letter to you if ever he doesn’t come back.”

“Hmm…”

“Well then…”

The warrior handed over the letter to Monk Un-hae and stepped back.

After looking at the letter in his hand for a moment, Monk Un-hae quickly looked for a quiet place.

Arriving at a deserted place, Monk Un-hae carefully broke the seal.

The letter only contained four words.

[Buddha inside the temple.]1

In an instant, Monk Un-hae’s eyes shook.

The meaning was clear.

Does Buddha only stay in the temple?

It was an unexpected topic.

Anyone else would have thought nothing of it, but as a Buddhist monk, Un-hae thought differently.

It could have been an accusation that Shaolin handled things without knowing the world, or it could have meant that they were so attached to Buddha that they thought of things too optimistically.

Whatever the intention of the Venerable Master of Heaven and Earth is, the words he left behind resonated with Monk Un-hae, causing him to agonize over it.

‘Buddha inside the temple, Buddha inside the temple.’

Anxiety was spreading in Monk Un-hae’s mind.

* * *

Pyo-wol checked his physical condition.

He felt in good shape after a night of sleeping in the inn.

He didn’t feel much pain even after sustaining a few wounds in his recent fight against the Ghost Brigade.

His condition wasn’t the best, but it was good enough.

Pyo-wol was satisfied with his current condition.

In any case, the rest of the lacking parts could be made up on his way to Runan.

As he descended to the ground floor, he saw Dok Gohyang and Um Soso eating.

“Oh, you’re up? Let’s eat together.”

Dok Gohyang waved his hand and invited Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol walked over to the table they were sitting at.

“Sit here.”

“Where are your men?”

“Men? Ah, the Three Swords of the South Sea? They already ate and went outside. They have a lot of things to prepare.”

“Prepare?”

“There are a lot of things to prepare when travelling a long way, right? It’s their job to prepare those things.”

Dok Gohyang replied with a nonchalant expression.

Pyo-wol sat on the other side of Dok Gohyang.

“That’s a lot of food.”

“You have to eat a good breakfast for you to use your strength properly.”

He felt it last night too, but Dok Gohyang was really a heavy eater. It was to the point where it’s already mysterious where all the food he eats goes.

In contrast, Pyo-wol was still fasting.

He only ate the bare amount of food that his body needed.

The differences between the two men were striking.

Throughout the meal, Dok Gohyang talked loudly. Pyo-wol and Um Soso did not pay much attention to his chattering. They just focused only on eating.

It was a situation where an ordinary person would have been embarrassed, but Dok Gohyang just continued on talking excitedly without being bothered.

In the end, Um Soso couldn’t stand it any longer and said,

“Why don’t you finish your meal first before you speak?”

“I’m almost done eating.”

“Still, it’s polite to finish your meal first before talking.”

“Screw courtesy! Anyway, as what I was saying…”

Dok Gohyang’s words continued again.

Still, Pyo-wol did not care. He just continued eating.

Despite the shabby appearance of the inn, the food they served was quite delicious and satisfying.

Pyo-wol said to Dok Gohyang,

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Oh, this is nothing… I’ll invite you later so come over to my house. I’ll show you what it’s like to be treated really well.”

Dok Gohyang suddenly threw a square object at Pyo-wol.

It was a small gold plaque.

On its surface, the words ‘Martial Sword’ were embossed.

“What’s this?”

“It’s my identity token. If you come to the Martial Sword Sect and show them this, they will guide you to me.”

“Martial Sword Sect?”

“Huhu! Are you surprised? I’m actually a member of the Martial Sword Sect. Yesterday, I couldn’t reveal my identity because I was in a hurry.”

“That’s incredible.”

“Well, it’s nothing special. If you go there, all that you will see is the sea. Rather than the sea, I prefer the land where I can move freely like this. I really like it.”

Dok Gohyang grinned like a fool. Seeing Dok Gohyang like that, Um Soso heaved a sigh.

“Please mind your dignity.”

“Fine!”

Dok Gohyang answered half-heartedly at Um Soso’s nagging.

Pyo-wol soon stood up from his seat.

“I’ll go ahead first.”

“Oh? You’re leaving already?”

“I have a lot of work to do…”

“Just go with us. We can go look around at the surrounding scenery. Are you really in a hurry?”

“I’m not that free.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then there’s nothing we can do about it. You can go ahead. I’ll follow soon enough doing my errands.”

Dok Gohyang happily let Pyo-wol go.

Pyo-wol looked at Dok Gohyang’s face for a while and then went out of the inn.

When there were only the two of them left, Um Soso said to Dok Gohyang,

“I think it’s a mistake giving him your identity token.”

“Mistake?”

“He’s a dangerous man.”

“In what way?”

“I can’t read his mind at all.”

“As I expected. After all, it’s the first time I’ve seen you so flustered.”

“What do you mean flustered?!”

“You don’t know? When you’re flustered, your expression becomes noticeably stiff. But don’t worry, you’re still pretty cute.”

“If I were you I would refrain from saying unnecessary words.”

“Whatever. Anyway, you said that you didn’t see through him, right?”

“That’s right.”

Um Soso meekly nodded.

Admit one’s shortcomings was never easy. Nevertheless, Um Soso readily admitted it because she didn’t have to pretend in front of Dok Gohyang.

Dok Gohyang is a person who is not ashamed of admitting his shortcomings.

That’s why Um Soso regards Dok Gohyang highly.

Dok Gohyang did not just become the next-in line just because he met his master.

The current sect leader of the Martial Sword Sect, Jeon Mu-ok, is the ruler of South Sea Jianghu. He is known for his nickname as the Sword King of the Sea.2

Sa Yeonhee, who was Jeon Mu-ok’s master and former sect leader of the Martial Sword Sect, was a person of excellent skills, but had no talent in teaching others.

Because he was so talented, he didn’t know how to teach someone who was less talented than himself.

Sa Yeonhee just taught Jeon Mu-ok whatever thing came to his mind. Fortunately, Jeon Mu-ok was a man with great patience. He struggled and worked hard to digest his master’s teachings.

As a result, he was able to gain a deep understanding of Sa Yeonhee’s martial arts to the extent that he ended up being called the absolute leader of the South Jianghu.

But there was something Jeon Mu-ok always regretted.

He thought that if he had been taught a little more properly, then he might have reached a higher level of achievement.

Another thing Jeon Mu-ok regretted at that time was the lack of competition.

Since he was taught by Sa Yeonhee alone, he naturally became complacent and lazy. Only when he got older and became a martial arts instructor did he realize it, but at that time, he could not improve much anymore.

He always wondered what his life would have been like if he had a strong competitor.

He didn’t want his students to feel the same way as he did. So he accepted as many as ten disciples and had them compete endlessly.

No matter who it was, he declared that the winner would be the next leader of the Martial Sword Sect.

At that time, Dok Gohyang was Jeon Mu-ok’s fifth disciple.

Unlike his other senior brothers who had already set up their own foundation within the Martial Sword Sect, he had nothing.

All he was given was a sword.

He really had started from nothing.

But he neither gave up nor despaired.

One of the lessons he learned from his father, who was a fisherman, was that the moment he cannot do anything if he gives up.

His father went out to sea to catch fish even when there was a storm, only to never return.

He did not give up and went out to sea to feed his family.

At that time, the back of his father who was going out to sea was deeply imprinted in Dok Gohyang’s heart.

Even if it was a sea where nothing but death awaited, he still chose to go.

So just like his father, Dok Gohyang decided to jump into the competition where nothing but death awaited him.

Dok Gohyang eliminated his senior brothers one by one and moved forward.

Even when he was driven to the brink of death numerous times, he never gave up.

Even when he heard them call him a cold-blooded man without blood or tears for driving his seniors brother to death, Dok Gohyang never wavered.

Eventually, he was able to overcome all of his senior brothers and stand on the top.

Dok Gohyang got to his current position with his own power.

And with Um Soso watching Dok-go-hwang’s actions right next to her, she believed in him more than anyone else.

Dok Gohyang reached out and touched Um Soso’s face.

“I like everything about you, but it’s a pity that you don’t have room in your heart.”

“Young master!”

“No wonder you can’t see through him. Do you know why?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s simple! He’s just better than you. But there’s no shame in not being able to read the mind of such a person.”

“That means he’s really dangerous.”

“Fufu, he’s not dangerous. He’s useful.”

“Pardon?”

“If we use him well, he’ll make a really good knife. Even now, I can smell the fresh scent of blood from him.”

Dok Gohyang grinned.

SoundlessWind21’s Notes:

Thank you for reading!

Buddha inside the temple. Raws: [내사재불(內寺在佛).] 內 nèi, nà – inside, interior; domestic 寺 sì – court, office; temple, monastery 在 zài – be at, in, on; consist in, rest 佛 fó, fú – Buddha; of Buddhism; merciful person; Buddhist image; the dead (Jap.). Sword King of the Sea. Raws: Haewanggeom, 해왕검(海王劍). 海 hǎi – sea, ocean; maritime 王 wáng, wàng, yù – king, ruler; royal; surname 劍 jiàn – sword, dagger, saber