Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Do Yeonsan gently touched Tang Ik-gi’s cheek.

Tang Ik-gi felt chills running through his entire body, however, since his body was paralyzed, he couldn’t push away Do Yeonsan’s touch.

‘This crazy bastard–’

Tang Ik-gi realized that Do Yeonsan’s gaze was not normal.

It was filled with madness that he had never seen before.

Do Yeonsan picked up Tang Ik-gi and laid him gently in a small boat. Then, he began rowing towards his secret hiding place which was the small island.

Swoosh! Creak!

With each stroke of the oar, the chilling sound of wood rubbing against wood echoed. Every time that happened, Tang Ik-gi would visibly flinch.

While rowing the boat, Do Yeonsan muttered to himself,

“This is too easy. Just too easy…”

The one who placed the mineral that emitted poison into the well was none other than Do Yeonsan.

He had done a lot of preparation for this, but entering the Cheolsan manor was not as difficult as he had expected. Even if he pulled a cart with him, they let him in without even checking.

Do Yeonsan had always thought that the Cheolsan manor and workshop were like a great fortress, but it turned out to be nothing more than a fancy facade.

Once he entered the Cheolsan manor, he encountered no more problems or resistance.

No one approached him because his body emitted a pungent stench of feces. Even the guards in charge of security didn’t come close.

Do Yeonsan roamed around inside the Cheolsan manor as if he were in unmanned territory. It didn’t take long for him to find Tang Ik-gi’s residence.

From that point on, everything went as everyone knows.

He placed a mineral that emitted poison into the well to create confusion and then took advantage of the chaos to subdue Tang Ik-gi.

He also had a needle pierce Tang Ik-gi’s throat.

While creating something as complex as a hidden weapon of the ancient Tang clan was beyond his skill or capabilities, creating a simple projectile was relatively easy.

He just placed needles inside a small cylinder and designed it in such a way that it would launch upon pressing a trigger mechanism. He also coated the needles with diluted poison from an unknown mineral.

The unknown material he used produces poison upon contact with water. The poison was also deadly that even just a single sip or drop was enough to kill. Using such poison consequently made it difficult to dilute.

Do Yeonsan have to conduct a lot of experimentation to determine the right dosage.

Fortunately for him, he possessed a natural talent for poison.

As he touched the unknown mineral that emitted poison, he realized how to maximize its effectiveness and control its effects at will.

It was not something anyone could teach him.

The deaths of his parents and younger sibling had awakened his latent talent.

Thump!

The boat finally arrived at the small island.

Do Yeonsan grunted as he pulled Tang Ik-gi out of the boat.

He then tied Tang Ik-gi’s body to a large rock nearby.

By this time, vitality slowly returned to Tang Ik-gi’s body. The poison had somewhat dissipated. However, by then, he was already thoroughly restrained.

While tied up, Tang Ik-gi shouted,

“You bastard! Why are you doing this? Are you crazy?! Untie me right now! Then I still might forgive you!”

“Who will forgive whom?”

“What?”

“Who will forgive whom? You forgiving me?”

“You crazy son of a bitch! Have you lost your mind?!”

“You’re the one who drove me crazy.”

“Is it because I burned down the hut? That couldn’t be helped. I’ll make it up to you.”

“That couldn’t be helped? I couldn’t even salvage my father and mother’s corpses. Hehe! How amusing!”

Do Yeonsan chuckled.

Tang Ik-gi’s face, on the other hand, became pale. He sensed that Do Yeosan’s madness had gone too far.

Do Yeonsan retrieved something from his bossom.

It was a bundle of thin needles wrapped in cloth.

The needles were as fine as cow hair strands.

These needles, called cow hair needles, were the best items Do Yeonsan had crafted so far. He displays his best skill whenever he makes delicate objects like these.

Do Yeonsan held one cow hair needle and waved it in front of Tang Ik-gi.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Cow hair needle?”

“That’s right. But it’s not an ordinary cow hair needle.”

“What?”

“I refined one of the minerals that was brought into the workshop. Ah, you wouldn’t know about it, young master. Do you know what kind of mineral it is? It was imported from somewhere outside the Central Plains. It’s used for making weapons, but here’s the thing, when it comes into contact with water, it emits poison gas. Unbelievable, right? That such a mineral exists in the world. But it truly exists. You can believe it since I used a fragment of that mineral to bring you here with me.”

“You crazy bastard!”

“That’s right! I’m crazy! Oh, by the way, did you know that I named the poison that is produced when that mineral dissolves in water, Luminous Blood Poison. It suits it, doesn’t it?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Just untie me already!”

“What are you talking about? We’re just getting started.”

“What do you mean? What are you starting?”

“Revenge!”

Do Yeonsan inserted the cow hair needle into Tang Ik-gi’s veins.

The needle instantly dissolved upon contact with Tang Ik-gi’s blood.

“AHHH!”

Tang Ik-gi let out a desperate scream.

The needles themselves were no different from the Luminous Blood Poison. As the Luminous Blood poison flowed through Tang Ik-gi’s blood vessels, he felt excruciating pain.

He screamed continuously and thrashed about. However, the ropes that bound his body only tightened, constricting him even more.

As he watched Tang Ik-gi writhing in agony, Do Yeonsan murmured,

“My parents must have felt the same. They must have suffered like you. I can’t imagine how they must have felt to leave their children behind and die so miserably. They couldn’t even close their eyes even in death. Their children must have haunted their thoughts, but now I couldn’t even collect their bodies because of you–”

“Keugh! I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please save me!”

Tang Ik-gi begged for forgiveness, but Do Yeonsan shook his head.

“It’s too late. I have nothing left now. Nothing at all…”

“Ugh!”

Thud!

Do Yeonsan inserted another cow hair needle into Tang Ik-gi’s body. Once again, the needle dissolved into his blood.

“AHHH!”

Tang Ik-gi let out a desperate scream.

Every vein in his body bulged out. The sight of black blood coursing through the veins was visible to the naked eye.

The pain was so intense and unbearable that Tang Ik-gi wished for death instead. However, even that was impossible with the presence of the Luminous Blood Poison coursing through his entire body.

Do Yeonsan crouched before Tang Ik-gi.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? It was like that for me, too. Every time you hit me for no reason, I suffered to the point of wanting to die.”

“Just kill me. Please–!”

“I will kill you even if you don’t beg me like that. Answer my questions first. Tell me everything you know about Zhao Yiguang. His sexual preferences, secret locations, everything you know–”

“Why… Zhao Yiguang?”

“It seems you still have the presence of mind to ask a question.”

Do Yeonsan raised another needle in his hand. Upon seeing this, Tang Ik-gi spilled out everything he knew in a state of confusion.

“I’ve never seen such a deceitful bastard in my life. He pretends to be cleaner and nobler than anyone else, but I know all about his dirty secrets.”

Do Yeonsan listened attentively to Tang Ik-gi’s words.

Tang Ik-gi revealed everything he knew in his desire to be liberated from the pain.

“Now! Kill me! Please–!”

“As you wish.”

Do Yeonsan chuckled as he lifted the remaining needle.

“Wait! N, No–!”

In an instant, a look of terror crossed Tang Ik-gi’s face.

What he had hoped for was a painless death. However, without any hesitation, Do Yeonsan mercilessly stabbed the remaining cow hair needle into Tang Ik-gi’s body.

“GAAH!”

Tang Ik-gi’s desperate screams echoed across the desolate island.

Experiencing unbearable agony, Tang Ik-gi breathed his last.

When he finally stopped breathing, his body decomposed rapidly.

Only then did Do Yeonsan rise to his feet.

“Hehehe! Huhuhu!”

Suddenly, he laughed maniacally, then burst into tears.

* * *

The Cheolsan Manor had turned into a land of death overnight.

Despite Pyo-wol’s efforts of preventing the spread of poison by destroying the well, the poison still continued to seep out little by little.

The people inside the manor had to hastily deal with the bodies of their colleagues and get out of the area.

If the incident had only ended at this point, it would have been easy enough to clean up.

The problem was that Tang Cheolsan, the owner of the manor was dead, and his only successor, Tang Ik-gi, remained nowhere to be found.

During the time when the mysterious poison was spreading from the well, Tang Cheolsan lost his life while Tang Ik-gi was kidnapped by someone.

Due to the lack of people to handle the situation, Cheolsan Manor descended into chaos.

After the downfall of the Sword Blossom Pavilion, all eyes and attention turned to Pyo-wol. They were all wondering if he played a hand in the collapse of the Cheolsan Manor. However, since there was no evidence to suggest that he had killed Tang Cheolsan, they were no way to inquire or confirm about the matter.

The people of Cheolsan Manor searched for Tang Ik-gi.

Since the owner of the manor, Tang Cheolsan, was dead, they thought that Tang Ik-gi, as the only heir should be the one to lead the manor. However, he was still nowhere to be found.

It was only natural.

Do Yeonsan did not leave Tang Ik-gi’s body behind.

Not because Do Yeonsan didn’t want to, but because Tang Ik-gi’s body had been dissolved by the Luminous Blood Poison.

Tang Ik-gi, who had turned into a handful of poisonous liquid, disappeared without a trace.

“Heuh! Heuh!”

Do Yeonsan exhaled bizarrely.

He had gotten some sort of revenge, but it didn’t make him feel any better.

He hadn’t truly gotten his revenge yet.

The person responsible for all of his misfortune was still alive.

“Zhao Yiguang!”

Do Yeonsan gritted his teeth.

Over the course of one night, Do Yeonsan’s appearance changed dramatically.

Perhaps due to his exposure to the deadly poison, his hair had turned completely white, and madness gleamed in his eyes. His skin was also slowly turning red, but he didn’t care.

Clang! Clang!

He pounded the hammer frantically.

He realized it clearly when he kidnapped Tang Ik-gi.

The hidden projectile he created was powerful.

He just needed a more sophisticated triggering mechanism to fire the Luminous Blood Poison efficiently.

Inspiration was flowing like crazy in his mind.

It was as if an invisible entity was injecting knowledge directly into his mind.

Sinister energy flowed out of Do Yeonsan’s body as he continuously pound his hammer. But, he himself has yet to realize this fact.

All he had on his mind was his need for revenge.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of his hammering was similar to a musical instrument being played.

Madness and sinister energy spread in a deep resonance.

Every time Do Yeonsan struck the hammer, ripples spread across the surface of Lake Tai.

It was then.

The ripples that were spreading far and wide suddenly stopped by someone’s feet.

Someone was standing on the calm surface of the water.

The sight of a man standing on the water, denying the obvious fact that humans cannot walk on water, was extremely eerie.

Beneath the man’s tangled and disheveled hair, his face was partially covered by a broken mask, and from the eyes visible through the mask, a terrifying madness flickered.

His clothes were tattered and ragged like seaweed, and there was no trace of life in his thin, bony hands.

The masked man did not also wear any shoes, and his toenails were as sharp as bird claws.

He stood dazedly on the surface of the water, looking around at Lake Tai.

Clang! Clang!

The faint sound of hammering reached his ears.

He walked toward the sound of the hammering.

As if he was possessed by something.

Finally, the masked man arrived at the small island where Do Yeonsan was hiding.

Unaware of the masked man’s presence, Do Yeonsan remained focused on his hammering.

The masked man climbed up on a high rock behind Do Yeonsan and watched him hammer.

The more Do Yeonsan hammered, the greater the sinister energy seeped out of his body.

Suddenly, sinister and bloodthirsty energy emanated from the eyes of the masked man.

He smelled a scent on Do Yeonsan that was identical to his own.

It was a smell that only those who have fallen into the abyss could possess.

The more Do Yeonsan hammered, the more the sinister energy grew stronger. It was the energy that drew the attention of the masked man.

It was also for that reason that the masked man had come to this place.

The presence of a being similar to himself had lured him in.

Suddenly, the masked man lifted his head and stared into the air.

Something was tickling his senses.

The bloodthirsty energy in the masked man’s eyes became even more intense.

In an instant, an intangible energy spread out from beneath his feet.

The intangible energy spread throughout the entire island, enveloping it in a dome-like structure.

The island then became completely cut off from the outside world.

Even the sound of the hammering was completely blocked from Do Yeonsan’s ears. However, Do Yeonsan, who was so focused on his hammering, failed to realize this fact.

The masked man sat on a rock, staring at the back of Do Yeonsan for a long time.

Thud!

Rain began to fall on the surface of the dome covering the island.