Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Pyo-wol no longer thought it was worth observing the gathering of the Golden Heaven Society. It wasn’t his cup of tea to see a bunch of people showing off like that.

Just as Pyo-wol was about to stand up from his seat and head down the stairs,

“Wait a minute.”

Eum Yujeong suddenly called out to Pyo-wol.

The moment she spoke, the attention of all the Golden Heaven Society members immediately shifted and focused on her.

This was because it was extremely unusual for Eum Yujeong to speak to a person from outside of their organization.

When Pyo-wol slightly turned his head to look at her, Eum Yujeong walked over to him gracefully, wearing her characteristic smile.

The mere sight of her approaching Pyo-wol evoked jealous expressions from the men around.

Eum Yujeong walked up to Pyo-wol.

A strong scent emanated from her body.

But, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant smell.

To Pyo-wol, whose sense of smell was exceptionally sensitive, her scent was even more noticeable.

Pyo-wol stared at Eum Yujeong without saying a word.

Although she would have been normally offended by his reaction, she couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m sorry for being rude and calling you out of nowhere.”

“……”

“By any chance, are you a Jianghu warrior?”

“So what if I am?”

“It seems you have indeed mastered martial arts. I had a feeling you might. “

“What do you want?”

“Well, if you’re a martial artist, I was wondering if you would like to join us. As you can see, the Golden Heaven Society is a gathering of young martial artists.”

Eum Yujeong smiled brightly.

It was a genuine smile, different from the forced smiles she usually shows to the members of the Golden Heaven Society or Tang Ik-gi.

Seeing this, sparks seem to fly out of Zhao Yiguang and other members’ eyes.

Pyo-wol didn’t even give them as much as a glance and replied,

“I’m not interested.”

“Why? Isn’t it a great opportunity to get acquainted with the young warriors of Jiangsu Province?”

“I have no reason to get acquainted with you.”

“How unexpected. Usually, when an offer is given out like this, everyone accepts it gratefully.”

Eum Yujeong tilted her head in confusion.

It was an innocent and naive expression that seemed genuinely unaware of the reason. However, Pyo-wol could already see through her fake expression.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eum Yujeong was slyly glancing at the reactions of the martial artists of the Golden Heaven Society.

She was enjoying observing their reactions.

Pyo-wol instantly saw through the position Eum Yujeong held in this gathering.

‘The queen bee.’

In a group with many women and only one man, the man wouldn’t be able to stand out, but in a group where men are the majority and there is only one woman, she would be treated like a queen.

Although some women might feel burdened receiving such undivided attention from men, there are also others who use it to subtly manipulate and control them according to their own will.

Eum Yujeong belonged to the latter group.

She was aware of the fact that her beauty was enough to attract and captivate men, and she knew exactly how to manipulate them.

Nonetheless, her actions of approaching Pyo-wol, who is a complete stranger, and inciting jealousy among the Golden Heaven Society men, thus ultimately, making herself the center of attention was not something she calculated beforehand. It was just a natural habit ingrained in her.

The first to react was Tang Ik-gi.

“How dare you reject Lady Eum’s offer! It seems like you don’t realize how big of an opportunity her offer is!”

Tang Ik-gi approached Pyo-wol while berating him.

Pyo-wol didn’t miss how the smile at the corner of Eum Yujeong’s lips deepened.

Just as Pyo-wol had anticipated, she had orchestrated this whole situation and was enjoying it.

Tang Ik-gi completely blocked Eum Yujeong’s path and shouted,

“Apologize to Lady Eum immediately!”

“Why should I?”

“You acted rudely towards her, so you should apologize right away!”

Everyone knew his words were ridiculous and kind of forced, but no one stopped him.

Instead, they wore smiles on their faces showing that they were enjoying the spectacle.

Pyo-wol was not the type of man who easily gets excited.

His reason would always prevail over his emotions, and he knew how to control himself in any situation. However, the scene unfolding before him now was so repulsive that it made him nauseous.

Those present here are the most talented and outstanding disciples in Jiangsu. No other young martial artists could compare to them.

If all went well, they would all be leading Jiangsu Province in the future.

They had a solid foundation, and their martial skills were superior and exceptional compared to others.

With how strong they are now, it would be difficult for anyone to break the iron fortress they would build in the future. At least not anyone from this place.

Jin Geum-woo had painstakingly organized the Golden Heaven Society not just for this kind of outcome.

He had wanted the young martial artists of Jianghu to work together with the hope of countering the invisible group known as the Kowloon Assasin Guild.

That’s why he made the conditions for joining the Golden Heaven Society so difficult.

He wanted to make sure that only the right people were accepted. However, his good intentions were being exploited by the likes of Zhao Yiguang, leading to the privatization and abuse of power.

Their actions at the moment were an insult to the deceased Jin Geum-woo.

At that moment, Pyo-wol’s expression changed.

His calm pupils now emitted a red glint that had never been there before.

The red glint in Pyo-wol’s eyes had already disappeared back then when he gained a newfound enlightenment at Tianzhongshan. The fact that the red glint in his eyes reappeared meant that Pyo-wol’s state of mind was currently disturbed.

“……”

The moment Tang Ik-gi saw the red glow in Pyo-wol’s eyes, he involuntarily swallowed dry saliva. He felt an inexplicable sense of dread. But, backing down now was out of the question.

Everyone was watching him.

If he backed down here, he might lose the temporary membership position he had obtained with great difficulty.

“What are you trying to accomplish by glaring at me like that? Look straight and apologize to Lady Eum instead!”

“Let me ask you a question.”

“What do you want to ask?”

“Do you really want to join the Golden Heaven Society? If you do, then you should know that you will just end up as their plaything.”

“What do you know?!”

Tang Ik-gi burst out in anger.

Because Tang Ik-gi’s attention was solely focused on Pyo-wol, busy glaring at him, he failed to see it. The fact that Eun Yujeong was smiling right behind him.

Just as Pyo-wol had anticipated, she was enjoying the current situation.

More precisely, she was enjoying her power and authority.

But Tang Ik-gi remained oblivious to her schemes.

He was like a worker bee feeling a sense of superiority as he had the queen bee’s attention on him. Furthermore, as someone who is not yet fully integrated into the swarm, he strived to appear impressive in front of her.

And it wasn’t just Tang Ik-gi.

The others were ready to jump in as well.

Only Zhao Yiguang and Bok Hojin managed to maintain a calm expression as they observed.

“Eek!”

Tang Ik-gi suddenly swung his palm open.

His palm was now stained red.

Three Yang Divine Palm.1

It was a martial art technique of the Tang clan. However, its true essence had disappeared, leaving only an empty shell.

As a result, the power behind the technique was less than a third of its original strength. Nonetheless, it would still be difficult to find an opponent on the shores of Lake Tai who can handle the technique upfront.

That was why Tang Ik-gi was naturally confident that he would be able to inflict significant damage on Pyo-wol.

Pwook!

However, the moment intense pain surged through his shoulder and collarbone, Tang Ik-gi realized something had gone wrong.

“Keugh!”

A groan escaped his mouth.

Pyo-wol’s index finger deeply embedded itself in Tang Ik-gi’s shoulder.

Pyo-wol’s finger had pierced through Tang Ik-gi’s shoulder like a dagger.

Tang Ik-gi’s eyes widened in pain, unable to continue unleashing his technique, the Three Yang Divine Palm. Furthermore, the pain not only seemed to paralyze his body but as well as his head.

“…….”

Silence descended on the floor.

The young skilled members of the Golden Heaven Society could only stare at Pyo-wol’s fingers with their mouths tightly shut.

They hadn’t expected Pyo-wol to possess such formidable martial arts skills.

Penetrating a martial artist’s muscles with a sharp blade already proved to be difficult, let alone twisting them like tofu with a blunt finger.

No one present in the inn was capable of such a feat.

And yet, to think the person who performed such a difficult task did it effortlessly, with a calm expression on his face as if it was nothing. On top of that, he had a delicate appearance like a woman.

Their opponent was a master beyond their wildest expectations.

“Keuk!”

Tang Ik-gi couldn’t bear the pain and let out a desperate scream. The intensity of his scream was enough to send shivers down the spines of the spectators.

Crack!

Pyo-wol applied more force to the finger that pierced Tang Ik-gi’s shoulder and pushed it down. Tang Ik-gi’s eyes rolled back in response, and he fell to his knees.

The pain that shot through his muscles and nerves was more than he dared to bear.

He had never even imagined such excruciating pain before.

Tang Ik-gi weakly fell to his knees.

“P, Please!”

Tears and mucus streamed down Tang Ik-gi’s face as he pleaded. However, Pyo-wol didn’t even spare him a glance.

Pyo-wol’s gaze was fixed on Eum Yujeong, who pushed and incited Tang Ik-gi from behind.

Eum Yujeong’s eyebrows knitted together.

‘An extraordinary master.’

She never expected Pyo-wol to be such a strong martial artist.

She had thought that at best, he would be on their level, so she had dared to play such a trick. Since as long as they were on the same level, she believed that they could handle anything.

However, contrary to her expectations, Pyo-wol was an extremely strong warrior.

Eum Yujeong’s pupils flickered restlessly.

She was trying to figure out how to get out of this mess.

Eum Yujeong swiftly took control of the situation and greeted,

“I failed to recognize that a great master has appeared right in front of me. May I humbly ask for your name?”

“Now you’re asking for my name?”

“I apologize. I acted rudely because of my lack of awareness. I hope you’ll be generous enough to forgive me. If you could kindly let me know your esteemed name, I’ll make sure to repay the disrespect and rudeness I have committed today.”

Eum Yujeong assumed a submissive posture that seemed almost excessive.

She realized that she wasn’t going to be able to play queen bee like how she usually does in front of the other members.

If she wanted to survive in Jianghu, she would have to have at least this level of awareness.

At that moment, Zhao Yiguang and Bok Hojin, who had been silent until now, also stepped forward.

Zhao Yiguang stood next to Eum Yujeong and said,

“Brother Tang is probably regretting his actions deeply by now, so how about ending this confrontation and withdrawing your hand?”

There was intense tension in Zhao Yiguang’s eyes.

Even if he ruled like an emperor among the martial artists of this place, he couldn’t casually confront someone as powerful as Pyo-wol.

Jianghu is the kind of place where strength prevailed, and it was not uncommon for people to be killed for not recognizing their opponent’s level.

It was the same with Zhao Yiguang.

He was feeling a strong sense of crisis at the moment.

Depending on how he handles the situation now, his position in Jiangsu Province would change.

If he ended up handling the situation poorly, then the reputation he painstakingly built up until now would crumble. But if he handles it well, then he would be able to solidify his position as the leader of the young martial artists in Jiangsu Province.

Pyo-wol stared intently at Zhao Yiguang.

The moment their eyes met, Zhao Yiguang felt his heart sink.

‘What kind of eyes…’

He had never seen such deep, and emotionless eyes before.

He felt like he was looking at an emotionless doll.

Zhao Yiguang tried to maintain a calm expression and said,

“I’d like to apologize on behalf of brother Tang for the disrespect he had committed. I will personally ensure that such incidents do not occur again. I swear this in honor of the Nanjing family, so please forgive us this one time.”

His voice and attitude were extremely polite and respectful.

If Pyo-wol chooses not to withdraw his hand here, then he would become nothing more than a narrow-minded person.

Pyo-wol asked Tang Ik-gi,

“Is your father’s name Tang Cheolsan?”

“T-That’s right.”

“He belongs to the branch side of the Tang family, right?”

“W-Who said we’re part of the branch family? We’re direct descendants.”

“In any case, it appears you’re part of the branch side of the Tang family.”

“W-Why do you ask? A-Anyway, please release your finger. It hurts too much.”

Tang Ik-gi begged with tears streaming down his face.

Snap!

When Pyo-wol pulled his finger out, blood spurted out.

Tang Ik-gi couldn’t even let out a scream, he only trembled in pain. There was also a clear streak of pee on his pants.

“Tch!”

Bok Hojin clicked his tongue and quickly helped Tang Ik-gi in stopping the bleeding.

Zhao Yiguang turned to Pyo-wol and said,

“Thank you. We will never forget the kindness you’ve shown us.”

“Whether this is out of kindness or not, we’ll find out later.”

“By the way, we still haven’t heard your honorable name yet. If you would kindly tell us, we will make sure to remember it, to avoid making the same mistake.”

“Pyo-wol.”

“Pyo-wol? The Reaper?”

Zhao Yiguang’s eyes widened.

“Is he really the Reaper?”

“Oh my goodness!”

A wave of commotion spread among the members of the Golden Heaven Society.

Soundlesswind21’s notes:

Thank you for reading!

Three Yang Divine Palm. Raws: 삼양신장(三陽神掌). 三 sān – three / 3 陽 yáng – positive (electric.) / sun / male principle (Taoism) / Yang, opposite: 神 shén – deity / soul / spirit / unusual / mysterious / lively / expressive / expression / look / CL: 個｜个 / (slang) awesome / amazing 掌 zhǎng – palm of the hand / sole of the foot / paw / horseshoe / to slap / to hold in one’s hand / to wield