Dok Gohyang thought Jang Mugeuk would be furious, but contrary to his expectations, Jang Mugeuk was unmoved.
“Is that so? Is that your choice? You’re choosing a difficult path. The price won’t be cheap.”
“Taking the easy way out doesn’t mean not paying the price.”
It may seem easier to take the road that others have already cleared, but Pyo-wol knew that comfort also comes at a price.
He had to carve out his own path, no matter how hard it would be.
That’s the only way to avoid having his fate be dictated by others.
That was why he rejected Jang Mugeuk’s proposal.
He was aware that fulfilling Jang Mugeuk’s ambitions would require him to spill a considerable amount of blood, but he was uncertain of the exact number of lives he would have to take.
Of course, he knew that it was his destiny to kill a number of people and that he would kill so many more in the future, but at least that would entirely be of his own will.
He wouldn’t have to be swept away by other people’s wills and end up having countless of people’s blood on his hands.
Jang Mugeuk’s gaze turned to Dok Gohyang.
It was a look asking him if he still wanted to use Pyo-wol as a sword.
Dok Gohyang shrugged.
It was a gesture admitting that his thoughts had been wrong.
There was no way that a man who was unyielding in the face of Jang Mugeuk’s aura would willingly become his sword.
The question now was how to define and establish a relationship with Pyo-wol.
Dok Gohyang’s pride wouldn’t allow him to back down.
He had no choice but to recover his pride by subduing Pyo-wol.
Dok Gohyang’s eyes glimmered with killing intent.
Although Pyo-wol’s martial prowess was extraordinary, he and Jang Mugeuk should be able to subdue him without difficulty. Moreover, right now, Pyo-wol was tired and wounded.
Subduing him would be just as easy as taking candy from a baby.
As soon as Pyo-wol noticed Dok Gohyang’s murderous gaze, he realized that he wouldn’t be getting off easy today.
Pyo-wol gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly and said to Dok Gohyang,
“You said we were friends, but you changed your mind quickly. The heart of a man is as cruel as the sea.”
“Don’t sea breezes have unpredictable moods?”
“I know someone who risked his life to uphold his beliefs, but someone else’s ass is as light as the mountain breeze.”
“Is that someone Jin Geum Woo? I’m sorry to hear about your friend. He wasted his time chasing an illusion that didn’t exist. Look how he got himself killed in vain. That’s why there’s a saying that people should stand in line well, that way, they can make proper judgments.”
“Haha!”
At that moment, Pyo-wol couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
Jang Mugeuk and Dok Gohyang furrowed their brows at the sight.
They thought Pyo-wol was laughing at them.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just funny how—”
“What?”
“Why did you even come to Runan? You came to see if this will be the start of the turbulence you want, but you don’t know why it happened in Runan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Jin Geum-woo wasn’t like that. He had his suspicions so he moved to find out the truth. Your martial arts may be stronger than him, but his conviction is something you’re not match for.”
Both men’s faces hardened at the same time at Pyo-wol’s scathing criticism.
They hadn’t thought much of Jin Geum-woo until they came here.
Although Jin Geum-woo’s talent was praised and said to be rare among the warriors in Jianghu, they also possessed such talent. In fact, if one were to simply look at talent, Jin Geum-woo was inferior to them.
In particular, Jang Mugeuk’s talent was so astonishing that he had almost no equal in the world.
Jin Geum-woo had once visited Jang Mugeuk before. But their conversations never lasted long.
They saw things differently and had different interests. Their conversation remained perfunctory, and in the end, Jin Geum-woo only stayed for a day and left.
After that, Jang Mugeuk stopped paying attention to Jin Geum-woo, and the existence of Jin Geum-woo was forgotten in his memory.
But today, Pyo-wol mentioned Jin Geum-woo, and even said that he was superior to them.
Jang Mugeuk asked,
“Jin Geum-woo is already dead. And yet you’re saying he’s still better than us?”
“By my standards, yes. At least he had a clear idea of what he was supposed to do.”
“Tch!”
Jang Mugeuk clicked his tongue.
His face was filled with anger.
Pyo-wol’s words were clearly disrespectful to him.
Kuuuu!
Jang Mugeuk’s aura picked up again.
Instead of subtly pushing Pyo-wol down as he had done earlier, he was now openly showing his strength.
A formidable amount of pressure weighed on Pyo-wol.
However, Pyo-wol did not remain helpless like before.
By operating the Thunder-Splitting Snake Spirit Cultivation Technique,1 he was able to breathe more easily.
Pyo-wol observed Jang Mugeuk.
He observed everything about him, from his physique, the shape of his hands, his aura, the look in his eyes, and even his smallest habits.
He didn’t want to become entangled with Jang Mugeuk, but since he already did, he had to learn and analyze every detail about him.
That was Pyo-wol’s survival strategy.
Now was the perfect opportunity to grasp Jang Mugeuk’s strengths and weaknesses.
“How arrogant!”
Jang Mugeuk realized what Pyo-wol was thinking and frowned. Then his aura increased like a snowball.
The pressure on Pyo-wol doubled.
It was the kind of moment where sparks could fly at any moment.
Whistle!
A sharp whistling sound was heard.
It was a sound that was so loud and cold, yet an ordinary person would not be able to hear it.
Jang Mugeuk’s complexion immediately changed.
“An annoying person has arrived.”
Dok Gohyang said with a sigh.
“Is it him?”
“Yes.”
“Tsk!”
“Well, he’s a person with a big heart.”
Jang Mugeuk shook his head.
The frightening aura he was releasing just a moment ago melted away like snow. Thanks to that, Pyo-wol could breathe more comfortably.
Jang Mugeuk said to Pyo-wol,
“You’re lucky.”
“Time will tell who’s lucky.”
“I hope that confidence stays with you. I’ll see you later.”
Jang Mugeuk flew away and disappeared into the darkness.
Dok Gohyang looked at Pyo-wol and said,
“We’ll have to entertain another friend today. He is really troublesome, so we have to be on our best behavior. See you soon, my friend!”
“Looks like he’s stronger than you guys.”
“Well, he is from the family known for being the best at handling swords in the world. Let’s meet again later.”
Dok Gohyang winked at Pyo-wol, then immediately followed suit after Jang Mugeuk.
Only when the two of them had completely disappeared did Pyo-wol let out a faint sigh.
“Ha!”
Although he didn’t show it, he was quite tense.
The pressure he felt from Jang Mugeuk and Dok Gohyang was beyond imagination.
They had already surpassed the limit of advanced-level martial artists.
Pyo-wol himself had also gone beyond the normal level, but those two had gone beyond the normal level for a long time already.
Even the words, sleeping dragon, seemed insufficient to describe them.
In particular, it was difficult to forget Jang Mugeuk’s eyes.
It was the first time Pyo-wol had seen such an ambitious gaze.
“Perhaps the turbulence has already begun…”
Pyo-wol shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts.
It didn’t matter now.
It was clear that Jang Mugeuk and Dok Gohyang found the whistling very unpleasant. Whatever his identity was.
If so, neither of them would be able to move easily. At least not tonight.
Pyo-wol left the slums.
He didn’t think that the Snow Sword Manor would only send troops to him. If they had moved such a large force at this time, Runan would have been turned upside down.
Considering the criticism that would be heaped upon the Snow Sword Manor, they would find it hard to move their forces like this again.
‘If that’s the case, the Snow Sword Manor will surely try to end everything today.’
Perhaps they would even send out their entire army to the Jin family.
Pyo-wol couldn’t predict how the Jin family would fare against the Snow Sword Manor. After all, he didn’t know how much power the Snow Sword Manor possessed.
‘But they won’t go down so easily.’
The power of the Jin family itself could not be ignored, but more importantly, there were still Shaolin monks and Han Yucheon staying in the manor.
They might be trying to maintain neutrality for the meantime, but it would be hard for them to continue doing so once they watch countless people dying in front of them.
If the Shaolin Temple monks and Han Yucheon were to join forces, their combined power would be overwhelming.
This way, the Jin family will not collapse overnight.
After summarizing his thoughts, he headed for the Snow Sword Manor.
Now that all of the Snow Sword Manor forces had left their headquarters, this was a golden opportunity.
The way to Lee Yul was open.
Pyo-wol didn’t hesitate and began to move.
The closer he got to the Snow Sword Manor, the more his speculations proved true.
The Snow Sword, which should have been bustling with activity, was silent and desolate, to the point of being eerie.
Many warriors had left to attack the Jin family, so only few warriors were left to defend the Snow Sword manor.
Even when security was tight, Pyo-wol moved around the Snow Sword Manor like it was his own home. It wasn’t difficult for him to infiltrate the crumbling defenses.
Pyo-wol was able to infiltrate the Snow Sword Manor without much trouble.
Many of the troops had left, so the manor was quiet inside.
Pyo-wol would occasionally see some guards here and there, but they didn’t notice his presence at all.
Pyo-wol made sure to move while avoiding them.
It was then that Pyo-wol’s eyes caught sight of a man standing alone in the backyard, staring into the night.
His body was huge, his stomach bulging.
He was a middle-aged man with a bulging stomach that made it look hard for him to even breathe.
The man was none other than Seol Kang-yeon, the sect leader of the Snow Sword Manor.
Seol Kang-yeon looked up at the sky and muttered,
“He’s still my son, so I have no choice but to avenge him.”
His eyes were bloodshot.
He was brooding over his anger.
He wanted to attack the Jin family as well, but unfortunately, his body was in no condition to perform martial arts properly.
After recruiting Lee Yul, he had left everything to him and neglected improving and training his martial arts. As a result, he had gained so much weight that it was not easy for him to move. Now, he had no choice but to be left behind, brooding over his anger, unable to go to Jin manor.
His anger was so terrifying that even his subordinates did not dare to approach him. That’s why he was alone.
A man who should never be alone was alone.
It was a chance that would never come again.
But at that moment, Pyo-wol smelled something.
It was a dangerous smell that could even paralyze his sense of smell just by sniffing it.
The moment a strong wind blew, Pyo-wol was able to identify the nature of the smell he had caught.
“Is it a trap?
There were many invisible things hidden in the area.
They had shamelessly put Seol Kang-yeon as bait, waiting for Pyo-wol to take the bait like a fish.
As far as Pyowol knew, there was only one person who could make such a bold move at the Snow Sword Manor.
‘Lee Yul!’
Lee Yul had dug a trap and was waiting for him.
He was a man who didn’t let his guard down even for a moment.
Not only did he mobilise Heuk-ho and the Black Cloud Corps, but he had also set up a trap using his own master, Seol Kang-yeon, as bait.
He had prepared for the worst situation.
It was the first time Pyo-wol had encountered such a cautious and meticulous person.
By now, he was feeling mentally exhausted. But he couldn’t keep fighting this tedious battle forever.
It was time to end it.
Seol Kang-yeon was burning with anger, not even realizing that Pyo-wol was watching him.
Pyo-wol walked towards Seol Kang-yeon.
Seol Kang-yeon, sensing an unfamiliar presence, turned around and shouted,
“Who are you?!”
“…….”
“I said, who are you?”
“A fish that bit the bait.”
“What?”
Pyo-wol’s unintelligible answer made Seol Kang-yeon frown.
Suddenly, he realized that Pyo-wol’s atmosphere was strange. The aura he was giving off was miles different from the warriors of his sect. Furthermore, his appearance was strikingly beautiful.
Suddenly, something popped into his head.
“You must be the Reaper who has been gaining notoriety lately.”
Although he entrusted everything to Lee Yul and neglected handling most of the affairs in his sect, he still had ears.
Among the names he heard, the most frequent was none other than Pyo-wol.
An assassin whose appearance was more beautiful than a woman’s.
True to the rumors, Pyo-wol’s appearance was indeed beautiful. One look at him and Seol Kang-yeon knew it was him.
“How dare a lowly assassin sneak into our sect?! What is the attendant doing? Quickly capture this unwelcome guest!”
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
Thank you for reading!
Thunder-Splitting Snake Spirit Cultivation Technique. Raws: 분뢰사혼심법(分雷蛇魂心法). 分 fēn, fèn – divide; small unit of time etc. 雷 léi, lèi – thunder 蛇 shé, yí, tuó, chí – snake 魂 hún – soul, spirit 心 xīn – heart; mind, intelligence; soul 法 fǎ – law, rule, regulation, statute; France, French
