Reaper of the Drifting Moon

After leaving the inn, Pyo-wol looked around.

He could see the Three Swords of the South Sea bustling around the stables behind the inn. They seemed to be checking the condition of the horses they rode in on.

Their gazes met.

However, the Three Swords of the South Sea quickly turned their heads away and focused back on their work.

Pyo-wol watched them silently.

Only when he already had a clear picture of their hands, movements, and muscles, did Pyo-wol remove his gaze from them.

While he could not tell their exact level since he had yet to see them in action, he still somehow had a rough idea of what kind of martial arts they practised.

‘One has learned the quicksword, the other has learned the sword that presses with force, while the last one has learned the ever-changing sword.’

He came to this conclusion by analyzing the shape of their body, the calluses on their hands, and the shape of the swords they wore on their waists.

There would be no reason for Pyo-wol to pay them this much attention if it was just a passing relationship. But it is unlikely for their relationship to remain casual.

Pyo-wol did not trust the kindness Dok Gohyang had shown him.

Very few people gave favors for no reason, and he wasn’t foolish enough to believe that someone of the Dok Gohyans stature would be kind to him out of the goodness of his heart.

The Dok Gohwang that Pyo-wol saw was a bloody swordsman.1

He could smell blood on him, as strong as his own.

It was a scent that ordinary people could not smell, not unless they were the same kind.

Only those who killed countless people like Pyo-wol, could possess such a bloody scent.

Meeting Dok Gohyang was by no means a coincidence.

Maybe it was because people of similar kinds tend to be attracted to each other.

Dok Gohyang could not be the only one.

The war between the Snow Sword Manor and the Jin family in Runan was attracting ambitious people from all over the world like a magnet. This includes Dok Gohyang.

There was no way of telling how many more ambitious people would flock to Runan in the future.

The war between the Snow Sword Manor and the Jin family has gone beyond a battle for supremacy over a single region.

Pyo-wol’s head was in a mess.

He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts. There was no point in thinking about it right now anyway.

He should just go back to Runan and figure out the situation first.

It has already been more than three days since he left Runan to chase after the Ghost Brigade. He didn’t know how the situation of the Runan had changed in that span of time.

Pyo-wol used qinggong and started running.

After running nonstop for the entire day, he saw Runan in the distance.

Pyo-wol stopped using qinggong and walked slowly.

No matter how great Pyo-wol’s internal energy was, his energy was bound to become impure since he used qinggong for an entire day.

He needed to refine his impure qi.

Pyo-wol sat on a rock slightly away from the road and meditated.

After meditating, the impure qi that accumulated inside of him became pure again. Only then did Pyo-wol stand up.

Since he had finally arrived at the outskirts of Runan, he had no reason to use qinggong again. Pyo-wol slowly walked towards Runan. But it did not take long for him to stop again.

He spotted a woman leaning on a small tree on the side of the road.

Her face looked plain and ordinary at first glance, but she becomes more charming and attractive the longer a person stares at her.

She was Hong Ye-seol.

When Hong Ye-seol saw Pyo-wol, she smiled lightly,

“I knew you’d come this way.”

“Are you waiting for me?”

“Who else would I wait for in Runan besides you?”

Hong Ye-seol slowly approached Pyo-wol,

With her hands behind her back, she carefully examined Pyo-wol’s body.

“It’s fortunate that you didn’t suffer any big injuries.”

“Are you happy?”

“Hoho! You’re in pretty good shape for someone who caused such an uproar at the Snow Sword Manor.”

Hong Ye-seol laughed like she was in a pleasant mood.

In truth, she was actually in a pretty good mood right now.

This was the first time she had ever seen Heuk-ho look so flustered.

The deaths of Ice Slayer and Dark Ghost had greatly shaken Heuk-ho’s spirit. He tried his best to maintain his cool, but Hong Ye-seol could detect the uneasiness in his eyes.

It was a very fun and interesting experience.

So she was in a great mood right now.

Pyo-wol asked Hong Ye-seol,

“How did you know I went out of Runan?”

“It’s because I haven’t seen you for the last few days. It’s unlikely that someone like you will run away in fear of Heuk-ho, so I assumed you went outside for business, isn’t that right?

Hong Ye-seol shrugged.

Although she looked ordinary on the surface, in the end, she was also an assassin.

Her ability of collecting and analyzing information was unparalleled, and above all, she had a keen understanding of an assassin’s behavior. So when Pyo-wol didn’t show up, she assumed that he had gone out of Runan.

Hong Ye-seol asked,

“Why did you go outside of Runan?”

“…….”

“You can tell me. I won’t tell Heuk-ho.”

“…….”

“Do you still not trust me? How heartbreaking.”

Hong Ye-seol wore a pitiful expression on her face.

Her expression was deadly to the point that most men would have no choice but to fall for her, but as usual, her charm didn’t work on Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol walked away without saying another word.

Hong Ye-seol pursed her lips and followed him.

“Let’s go together.”

Pyo-wol continued to walk without paying her any more attention.

Seeing Pyo-wol like that, Hong Ye-seol showed an annoyed expression. She was starting to lose her patience after being ignored by Pyo-wol numerous times.

She was both an assassin and a musician.

She was used to being stared at and adored by countless men. Never had she had a man like Pyo-wol who frequently openly ignores her like this. So she got more annoyed.

Hong Ye-seol followed up with Pyo-wol with a steady pace. As she walked shoulder to shoulder with him, she stole glances at him.

‘How handsome, really handsome. I just can’t get enough of looking at him.’

Pyo-wol possessed a face that she wouldn’t get tired of seeing.

As Hong Ye-seol was busy looking at Pyo-wol’s face, Pyo-wol suddenly stopped walking.

“What is it?”

When Hong Ye-seol made a puzzled expression,

Cwaeaac!

A horrifying sound rang out.

“What?”

Hong Ye-seol instinctively jumped backwards.

An arrow flew and hit the spot where she was standing just a few moments prior.

Wiiing!

The arrow trembled violently as it flew with such a powerful force.

Hong Ye-seol’s brows furrowed.

More than feeling relieved of having dodged the arrow, she was more worried about the small barrel attached to the arrowhead.

Sususuc!

At that moment, arrows flew one after another.

Hong Ye-seol jumped in sequence, dodging all the arrows. However, all the arrows she dodged had small barrels attached to them.

‘What’s that?’

Puk!

Poof!

At that moment, the barrels attached to the arrows exploded one after another, causing acrid smoke cloud to build up in the area.

“Heup–!”

Hong Ye-seol hurriedly stepped back while covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve. But even then, she had already inhaled a puff of smoke.

She had only inhaled a little bit, but she could already feel her head throbbing, making her dizzy.

‘Poison?’

As an assassin, she knew very well about poison and knew how to use it. She also knew how to prepare for it.

Hong Ye-seol took out a small wooden box from her bosom.

She always carried an antidote or detox pill with her. Ingesting one could prevent the poison from spreading any further in her body.

Once she stopped the spread of the poison, she could easily remove it from her body later on.

Hong Ye-seol hurriedly took the pill.

But her crisis was not over yet.

Sususuc!

Arrows continue to fly towards her in succession.

The arrows were aimed right at her throat.

It was a frighteningly sophisticated bow skill.

Hong Ye-seol gritted her teeth as she dodged the incoming arrows.

There was still a barrel of poisonous smoke attached to the arrowhead. If she had been a step too late, she could have inhaled more of the poisonous smoke.

Even if she had taken a detox pill, there was a limit to the amount of poison she could handle.

Shiaak!

At that moment, a sound unlike any other before rang out.

Hong Ye-seol’s eyes widened.

An iron net, spread open, was flying towards her.

She had nowhere to dodge.

Before she knew it, she had herself cornered while avoiding the arrows.

Hong Ye-seol eventually drew out her sword and swung it at the iron net.

Shiak!

She imbued qi to her sword.

The sword she imbued with qi was strong enough to rip any piece of metal in two at once.

Kagagang!

Sparks flew into the air as her sword and the iron net collided. But the iron net did not break into two as Hong Ye-seol had hoped.

Only then did Hong Ye-seol realize that the iron net was made of a very special material. But her realization came a little too late, her body had been entangled in the iron net.

‘Damn it!’

Hong Ye-seol struggled to get out of the iron net. But the more she tried, the more the iron net tightened.

The iron net was made of a very special design, that the trapped person had come out of it gently. If they tried to tear the net apart with force, it would only tighten around the person.

It was then.

Papabak!

A group of warriors emerged from the bushes.

In their hands were a long spear.

Without hesitation, they impaled Hong Ye-seol.

Their actions were more like hunters rather than warriors. They drove a beast into a corner, trapping it so it cannot move, and then killing it off at once.

This was not a method that comes from a normal martial artist.

“Keuk!”

A groan involuntarily escaped from Hong Ye-seol’s mouth.

She had assassinated countless people in her life so far, but she had never been cornered and pushed to this point.

Although she didn’t know the identity of her attackers, it was clear that they knew how to deal with an assassin like Hong Ye-seol.

‘I was too careless.’

Hong Ye-seol blamed herself for her complacency, but it was too late for regrets.

Their long spear was already inching again towards her.

Hong Ye-seol gritted her teeth and prepared herself for the pain.

Shiak!

“Keugh!”

“Heuk!”

After the sharp sound, the warriors wielding long spears screamed. Daggers the size of a child’s palm were suddenly stuck in their bodies.

Pyo-wol had thrown his phantom daggers at them.

Only then did Hong Ye-seol regain her composure.

She calmly untied the iron net and walked out.

“Hoo!”

Hong Ye-seol breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.

She could see a group of warriors attacking Pyo-wol.

The warriors were mounted on well-trained battle horses as they attacked Pyo-wol with fierce momentum.

There were iron nets scattered all around the Pyo-wol.

He was also ambushed in the same way as Hong Ye-seol, yet unlike her, he managed to break free on his own.

This clearly showed the difference between Hong Ye-seol and Pyo-wol.

However, Hong Ye-seol did not feel ashamed. She had long realized that Pyo-wol’s abilities exceeded her own.

Hong Ye-seol looked at the person leading the attack from the front.

Surprisingly, it was a woman who took the lead.

The woman who was wearing black armor and attacking Pyo-wol from the front was a person Hong Ye-seol knew well.

‘Heo Ranju!’

She was none other than Heo Ranju, the vice-captain of the Black Cloud Corps.

Beside Heo Ranju was Daoshi Goh.

“Change to a Catching Tiger Defense Formation–!”

At Heo Ranju’s cry, the cavalry warriors retreated all at once.

Where they retreated, warriors with long spears appeared and got to their positions. And from a far, archers fired arrow after arrow towards Pyo-wol.

Archers, as well as spearmen and cavalry soldiers, attacked Pyo-wol in perfect unison.

Their movements were in sync, as if they were one living entity.

And at its center was Heo Ranju.

She led the attack by issuing a series of orders.

The Black Cloud Corps were horribly crushed by Pyo-wol back in Chengdu.

They lost many of their comrades because they were unable to respond to Pyo-wol’s hit and run attacks.

After that incident, the Black Cloud Corps was so desperate that they came up with this Catching Tiger Defense Formation.

This was the strongest formation they had ever created. In this formation, they were like a group of hunters hunting tigers. It was a formation specifically made to deal with a master like Pyo-wol.

There was a hint of madness in Heo Ranju’s eyes as she led the attack.

‘Were you hiding all this time to spend time with that bitch?’

She had been relentlessly tracking Pyo-wol over the past few days. But in the end, she couldn’t find any trace of him in Runan.

Just as she was about to give up, Pyo-wol unexpectedly appeared on the outskirts of Runan. And by his side was Hong Ye-seol.

It was a perfect situation for Heo Ranju to misunderstand.

Hong Ye-seol was just as furious.

All she did was stay with Pyo-wol.

She may have a slight disagreement and war of nerves with Heo Ranju, but not once did she cause harm to the Black Cloud Corps.

But now, she found herself ambushed to the point of almost losing her life.

Her anger pierced the sky.

“How dare you touch me?”

Hong Ye-seol launched herself at Heo Ranju.

SoundlessWind21’s Notes:

Black Cloud Corps vs Hundred Wraith Union…? I can’t believe Pyo-wol managed to turn Lee Yul’s pawns against each other haha. Anyway, thank you for reading!

Bloody Swordsman. Raws: 혈검(血劍). 血 – xiě, xuè – blood; radical number 劍 – jiàn – sword, dagger, saber Catching Tiger Defense Formation. Raws: 포호방진(捕虎防陣). 捕 bǔ – arrest, catch, seize 虎 hǔ, hù – tiger; brave, fierce; surname 防 fáng – defend; prevent; embankment 陣 zhèn – column, row or file of troops