The winner of the war between the two factions that caused turmoil throughout the world was the Jin family.
The news of Jin family’s overwhelming victory spread rapidly.
Many people were surprised by the news that the Jin family had won such a decisive victory. To those who did not know the internal situation, it seemed that Snow Sword Manor was much better positioned to win.
The sects and people who had supported the Snow Sword Manor were now in a quandary: they had assumed that the Snow Sword Manor would win, so they supported them with human and material resources. However, with the victory of the Jin family, not only were their investments wasted, they also now had to worry about the revenge of the Jin family.
This was especially true for the sects that had established themselves near Runan. This was because Runan was clearly within the Jin family’s sphere of influence.
Once the said sect decided to take revenge, no one could stop them. Luckily, however, the Jin family showed no signs of seeking revenge, since they are currently busy and focused on cleaning up the mess.
Many people were relieved by this.
With their minds somewhat at ease, the people began to admire and praise the key figures who had led the Jin family to victory.
The first name on everyone’s lips was the leader of the Jin family warriors, Jin Siwoo.
People gave him the nickname, Meteor Sword,1 and praised him for leading the Jin family to victory after the death of Jin Geom-woo and the illness of Jin Wol-myeong, when the Jin family was on the verge of collapse.
Meteor Sword Jin Siwoo has now become the most notable martial artist in Jianghu.
Quite a few others have also become talked about and gained fame. However, the name Pyo-wol was rarely mentioned.
Throughout the entirety of the fight between the Jin family and the Snow Sword Manor, Pyo-wol never officially participated.
As a result, most people thought that he did not play any role in the fight, and so whenever the fight between the Jin family and Snow Sword Manor was mentioned, he was left out of the conversation.
He remained a low-key person, but it didn’t matter to him. He did not come here in the first place to make a name for himself anyway.
Pyo-wol sat by the window on the second floor and gazed out at the Jin manor, which was far away. There was plenty of food on his table, but Pyo-wol didn’t even touch it. He just quietly stared at the distant Jin manor.
Even though it had only been a few days since the battle with the Snow Sword Manor ended, the Jin family seemed to have found a lot of stability.
Even if both sects had suffered tremendous losses, the atmosphere of the winner and loser were clearly different. Countless people visited the Jin family every day to congratulate them on their victory.
The upper echelons especially formed a line to visit the said sect.
Although the fall of the Golden Mountain Manor was not the talk of town because it was overshadowed by the defeat of the Snow Sword Manor, it was still a big issue in Runan.
The Golden Mountain Manor sect leader, Geum Shin-chung, lost his life in an assassination attempt, and as a result his sect fell apart.
Those who claimed to be loyal to Geum Shin-chung fought among themselves for a share of the Golden Mountain Manor’s vast wealth.
As a result, the Golden Mountain Manor was torn apart.
The fall of the Golden Mountain Manor was a big shock to Runan.
There was no longer any faction in Runan that could hold the Jin family in check.
Jin Siwoo was still young, and could lead the Jin Family for many more decades to come.
That meant that the Jin Family would be able to rule Runan for decades to come.
That was why the merchants lined up to enter the Jin manor. They planned to donate huge sums of money to the Jin family, wishing for their continued success.
The Jin family was achieving great prosperity because of them.
It was then.
“Why? Are you pleased?”
An abrupt voice rang in Pyo-wol’s ears.
Turning his head to face the front, he saw a middle-aged warrior holding a sword.
The one who appeared to be one with the sword even though he was standing casually was none other than the Sword Saint, Han Yucheon.
Without seeking Pyo-wol’s permission, Han Yucheon sat down in front of him and said,
“I had a visit from the Ten Thousand Man Slayer. He seems to be under someone’s orders. Is the person who ordered him the same as the one who killed Ga-young?”
“There’s a good chance it is.”
“Who is it? The one who killed my disciple.”
When Han Yucheon first met Pyo-wol, he didn’t believe him.
No matter how highly his disciple evaluated Pyo-wol, he could not fully trust Pyo-wol because of his prejudice that he was an assassin. But now he had no choice but to believe in him.
He had realized from his battle with the Ten Thousand Man Slayer that he was under someone’s command.
He wanted to subdue the Ten Thousand Man Slayer and find out the truth, but Ten Thousand Man Slayer was not an easy opponent.
In the end, he was unsuccessful in subduing the Ten Thousand Man Slayer, and he could not find out the truth.
That was why Han Yucheon had come to see Pyo-wol.
While people only focused on the fact that the Jin family had won, Han Yucheon knew the hidden truth behind it.
Without Pyo-wol, the Jin family could never have achieved victory.
After Han Yucheon battled with the Ten Thousand Killer, he left the Jin Family and went to the Snow Sword Manor.
There, he saw the men who lost their lives to Pyo-wol.
If it weren’t for Pyo-wol, those warriors would have been sent to the Jin manor as well. Then the damage would have been even greater, and they wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the glory of victory like they do now.
Since he had seen it with his own eyes, he could now believe Pyo-wol’s words.
“Who is it? Who ordered the death of my disciple?”
“Kowloon Assassin Guild.”
“Kowloon Assassin Guild? I’ve never heard of it.”
“That’s right. They are that secretive.”
“Tell me everything you know.”
Han Yuchun said, suppressing his anger.
Pyo-wol studied Han Yucheon’s face for a moment.
He was wondering if he could trust Han Yucheon, then he remembered what Han Yucheon had said when they first met.
—“If you… find the beast that killed that child, and allow me to take revenge, then I will be on your side. I will stand by your side and fight even if all of Jianghu curses and treat you as a sinner. I promise you this with my name as the Sword Saint on the line.”
The emotions Han Yucheon showed at that moment were definitely not fake.
“The origins of the Kowloon Assassin Guild are unknown, but one thing is certain, they are completely unlike any of the other existing factions in Jianghu. It exists, yes, but like a shadow, it has no substance. They would hire mercenaries and assassins to create the environment they want, and they would dispatch a key figure to command them.”
“Why did they work so complicatedly? With the power of their faction, they should be able to reveal themselves confidently.”
“Perhaps they believe that being in Yin Zi is far more advantageous than being in Yang Zi, or perhaps they were in trouble when they were in Yang Zi.”
“Hmm!”
“They don’t want their existence to be known, but they still want to manipulate the flow of Jianghu as they please. That’s why they do things behind the scenes, sending out exceptional talents like Lee Yul, the attendant of the Snow Sword Manor.”
“Such a group exists in the world?”
Han Yucheon asked in disbelief.
If someone other than Pyo-wol had said this, he would never have believed it. But Pyo-wol wasn’t the kind of person to lie, and he himself had seen that the Ten Thousand Man Slayer had come to the Jin Family at the behest of someone else.
There was no reason for him not to believe it.
“Then what is their purpose? What do they gain by doing this? Since they are not acting openly, then they can’t gain any honor.”
“Honor isn’t that important to them.”
“What do you mean, honor is not important? How could a Jianghu warrior not—”
“That’s the difference between then and the existing factions in Jianghu. What matters to them is results. They would do anything for that.”
“It’s hard to believe. But with such clear evidence, there’s no reason not to believe it. Hoo!”
Han Yucheon sighed.
He was a seasoned martial artist with a lot of experience.
He had a knack for detecting when someone was lying, so he instinctively knew that Pyo-wol was telling him the truth.
“Did you say they have no substance?”
“Not yet… The aftermath of what they did in Runan is considerable, so they will probably restrain themselves for a while. But someday, they will do something similar again. Until then, we can only wait and see…”
Lee Yul and the Kowloon Assassin Guild completely disappeared without leaving a trace.
No matter how good Pyo-wol was at tracking, it was impossible to track them in a state where there was nothing.
But someday they would move again.
They had to constantly move to create an environment that was advantageous to them.
“When you find out who they are, let me be the first to know. I will definitely erase them from this world. And if you need my help, come find me anytime. I will gladly help you.”
It was a promise from none other than the Sword Saint Han Yucheon.
It carried the weight of a million gold.
Pyo-wol nodded his head without saying anything more, and then Han Yucheon stood up from his seat.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
With that, Han Yucheon leapt out the window and disappeared.
Left alone, Pyo-wol briefly gazed in the direction where Han Yucheon had disappeared before bringing back his attention to his meal.
Although he appeared fine on the surface, his body was in a terrible state. He had sustained severe internal and external injuries from the back-to-back battles.
He had somewhat treated his internal injuries with meditation, but his physical strength had seriously declined. He needed to eat well in order to recover his strength.
Therefore, Pyo-wol ordered several times more food than usual.
He chewed the food thoroughly.
Swish!
Just then, something squirmed and moved under his clothes.
A moment later, a silver snake peeked out from in between his neck and collar. It was his pet snake, Gwiya.
Pyo-wol gently stroked Gwiya’s head with his left hand, the one he didn’t use to hold chopsticks. Gwiya closed its eyes and stuck out its small tongue as if it was feeling good.
With one hand touching Gwiya and the other continuously using chopsticks, Pyo-wol continued to eat.
As he continued to eat, he could feel heat rising in his body.
It was a good sign.
Heat in the body was a sign of active physical activity.
Pyo-wol enjoyed the response of his body while gently stroking Gwiya.
However, his peace did not last long.
“We need to talk.”
Someone came up the stairs and approached Pyo-wol with a familiar voice. Pyo-wol turned his head to see Hong Yushin coming towards him.
At that moment, Gwiya quietly disappeared into his clothes.
The snake was extremely reluctant to appear in front of anyone other than Pyo-wol.
There was a deep shadow in Hong Yushin’s eyes.
He sat down across without even asking for Pyo-wol’s permission. It was highly unusual for him not to show courtesy to others.
Pyo-wol looked at him for a moment before speaking,
“You must have had a hard time.”
“Hoo!”
Instead of answering, Hong Yushin let out a deep sigh.
He was someone who rarely showed his true emotions, but right now, he was so mentally exhausted that he let out a sigh involuntarily.
“When the Jin Family was attacked, the Runan branch was also attacked.”
“Really?”
“They were like ghosts. They hunted down and killed only the key personnel as if they knew everything about the branch. Because of that, the branch system was paralyzed and unable to respond properly.”
The attackers had a perfect understanding of the Runan branch’s system.
Their lightning-like assault completely disrupted the command structure of the Runan branch.
Only Hong Yushin was able to escape safely.
In the end, the Runan branch suffered massive losses, and Hong Yushin had to stay up all night for the past few days to deal with it.
Hong Yushin shed tears of blood as he cleaned up the mess. Many of those who lost their lives were people close to him.
As always, facing the death of someone you know causes great emotional pain.
In the midst of this pain, Hong Yushin managed to rebuild the collapsed Runan branch, and then decided to come here in search of Pyo-wol.
Hong Yushin asked straightforwardly,
“Who are those people?”
“…….”
“You know, don’t you?”
“I warned you that there were people watching you. You’re the one who chose to ignore my warnings and let your guard down. Will you even believe me if I tell you?”
“That… was my fault. That won’t happen again.”
Hong Yushin bit his lip.
It was clear that Pyo-wol had given him a warning.
If he had responded properly at that time, then the disaster wouldn’t have happened. That made it all the more tragic.
“I promise. If you provide me with clues about them, we will really delve into it properly this time.”
“…….”
“And I promise to give Master Pyo my full support. I will arrange it so that you can obtain any information you need from any branch. How about that?”
It was an undeniable fact that the Hao clan had the most extensive information network in the world.
No other sect in the world could match the Hao clan in terms of quantity, if not quality.
It was not a bad offer for Pyo-wol.
What Pyo-wol lacked the most right now was information on the entire Jianghu region.
If he could obtain vast information, analyzing it would be possible even with his own strength alone.
“Kowloon Assassin Guild.”
“Pardon?”
“They’re calling themselves the Kowloon Assassin Guild, and Lee Yul, the attendant of the Snow Sword Manor, is one of their members.”
“Kowloon Assassin Guild… Kowloon Assassin Guild.”
Hong Yushin repeated the name several times.
SoundlessWind21’s Notes:
Thank you for reading!
Meteor Sword. Raw: 유성검(流星劍). 流 liú – flow, circulate, drift; class 星 xīng – a star, planet; any point of light 劍 jiàn – sword, dagger, saber
