Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Pyo-wol remained unaffected even with Hong Ye-seol’s threatening and borderline murderous tone, stirring her emotions even more.

Had Pyo-wol even said a single word of apology, she wouldn’t have been this angry. But Pyo-wol did not show any signs of remorse, let alone apologize.

Pyo-wol’s expression was as cold and emotionless, as if he was looking at a stone rolling down the street.

Hong Ye-seol’s shoulders shook from the extreme humiliation.

She gathered a lot of energy in her hands.

She was preparing to unleash her signature technique, the Extreme Yin Hand.

“That’s enough.”

“What?”

“I won’t let you off the hook this time.”

“…….”

It didn’t take Hong Ye-sheol long to realize what Pyo-wol meant.

It wasn’t difficult to unfold the Extreme Yin Hand.

All she had to do was to swing her hand. But the moment she did, she would completely become Pyo-wol’s enemy.

And once Pyo-wol declares someone as his enemy, there is no turning back. They would run parallel to each other as enemies until one of them dies.

And as he said, he would not let it slide.

From the few times she had clashed with Pyo-wol, she realized that she could not tell how strong Pyo-wol really was.

His assassination methods, martial arts, wits.

She couldn’t even guess the extent of it.

Such a person was the perfect enemy.

Hong Ye-seol’s mind calculated countless possibilities.

“Son of a bitch!”

Hong Ye-seol slowly released the energy she had been gathering in her hands.

She took another sip of alcohol and glared at Pyo-wol.

“You’re a real bastard.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Bastard!”

“That’s right.”

Pyo-wol replied calmly.

His demeanor only made Hong Ye-seol more infuriated. But as a skilled assassin, she quickly regained her composure.

With a calm expression she spoke,

“I suffered so much because of you. I won’t forget this.”

She was back to her usual elegant demeanor.

Pyo-wol smirked,

“Just for that–”

“Hoo! I’ll let it slide this time, but if you dare mess with me again, I won’t let it go. I will kill you even if I have to use all the power of the Hundred Wraith Union.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Asshole.”

Even though she said that, her anger had already dissipated significantly.

“Was Jang Muryang very angry?”

“What do you think? His most cherished subordinate and the person he relied on emotionally and treated like his own father died. Of course, he’s furious.”

“I see.”

“He’d probably be scouring the streets looking for you, and not just me, right now. But here you are, sitting here leisurely in a brothel, pounding some prostitute’s ass… He’ll probably collapse from shock if he finds out.”

“All the better, then.”

“What were you thinking? How could you leak my information to the Black Clouds Corps? Do you hate me that much, or is it some kind of test?”

“With this, I have just taken away one of the cards Lee Yul can play.”

“So you put me in a difficult situation just for that?”

“Perfectionists like Lee Yul can’t stand it when things don’t go exactly as the way he planned it to. If he has ten cards at his disposal, he has to perfectly execute all ten to feel satisfied. But if even one card deviates from his plans or can’t be controlled, he’ll be tormented by anxiety.”

Pyo-wol had noticed it when he first met him at the Snow Sword Manor.

How Lee Yul pursued perfection in every way.

He noticed it from his perfectly styled hair with no strand out of place, wrinkle-free clothes, restrained expressions, to perfectly concealed emotions in his eyes.

Lee Yul resembles himself, in many ways.

So that’s how he knew that Lee Yul was a perfectionist.

Being a perfectionist himself, Pyo-wol knew how to bring down such people.

Hong Ye-seol’s face showed that she was fed up, without her realizing it. For the first time, she felt sorry for Lee Yul, who had become enemies with such a person.

“What did he do to turn someone like you into an enemy?”

“He probably didn’t expect me to become his enemy. But, he’s probably confident that he could easily get rid of anyone who did.”

He was someone who had shaken not only Runan, but the entire world by using the power of the Snow Sword Manor.

That’s how capable he was.

In fact, everything was going according to his plan and actions until Pyo-wol appeared in Runan. With Pyo-wol’s appearance, his perfect plan and actions fell apart.

Right now, it’s only a small discrepancy, but as time goes on, the crack will continue grow to the point of shaking Lee Yul’s plans to the core.

Hong Ye-seol shook her head.

“Hoo! You’re more suited to being a schemer than an assassin. No, maybe you’re a strategist in the guise of an assassin…”

Who would have imagined it?

That behind that beautiful face was such a brilliant mind.

The Hundred Wraith Union was a sword that anyone could use.

It was infinitely sharp, but as long as one paid a fair price, anyone could use it.

That was the nature of an assassin, and the Hundred Wraith Union was a gathering of such assassins. But Pyo-wol was different.

He was an assassin, but that’s not all there was to him.

It was far too unfair for someone of his calibre and strength to be simply called an assassin just like them.

Hong Ye-seol couldn’t believe that someone like him could exist in the same era as her.

‘Maybe this guy will bring about the end of the Hundred Wraith Union…’

She shuddered with a foreboding feeling.

She wished it was just her imagination, but she had a feeling that her thoughts might soon become a reality.

Hong Ye-seol stared intently at Pyo-wol.

The effect of the alcohol had already dissipated, she no longer feels intoxicated. Her mind was now clear as if she had just been hit by a cold wind.

After a moment, she spoke up.

“I think we need to redefine our relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“Being your official girlfriend doesn’t suit me, but I hate to be your mistress even more. Let’s just be lovers! You and me!”

“…….”

“Surely you wouldn’t kill your lover just because she has slightly different affiliation and opinions than you, right?”

Hong Ye-seol stretched out her white hand and wrapped it around Pyo-wol’s neck, looking at him straight in the eye.

Her face had turned red in no time.

Pyo-wol wrapped his arms around her slender waist like an ant and said,

“You never know, I might kill you tonight.”

“That’s not bad.”

Hong Ye-seol smiled brightly.

* * *

Seol Kwang-ho looked around.

It was a pitch-dark night with no moon in sight, but he could still clearly see the faces of the martial artists following behind him.

They were working directly under his organisation, the Secret Shadow Group.

His organization wasn’t originally this large.

At best, it was just an organisation meant to have its members serve as his bodyguards. The only reason his organization grew in size was because the fight between the Jin family and the Snow Sword Manor intensified, bringing many warriors into the Snow Sword manor.

Seol Kwang-ho selected young and passionate newcomers among them and recruited them into his organization. As a result, the Secret Shadow Group became the strongest force in the Snow Sword Manor.

Over the course of several battles, the group became an elite group, causing his confidence to be at an all-time high.

More than twenty Jin martial artists had died at his hands.

Not a single one of them was weak.

As he continuously fought battles, Seol Kwang-ho only grew stronger.

He had already earned the nickname Bloody Axe of Hell, causing many people to fear him.

Seol Kwang-ho liked the name of the Bloody Axe of Hell.

His father, Seol Kang-yeon, ordered him to refrain from doing external activities for the time being.

This was because he didn’t want Shaolin Temple to get involved.

There were rumors that the Shaolin Temple had dispatched a new batch of martial artists. It would actually take several days for them to arrive, given the distance from Songshan Mountain to Runan, but that was enough to overwhelm Seol Kang-yeon.

Therefore, Seol Kang-yeon ordered Seol Kwang-ho to remain inactive for the time being and just observe the overall situation.

But Seol Kwang-ho didn’t understand his father’s order.

Even if it was the Shaolin Temple, he thought that it would be difficult for them to intervene in the fight between the two factions without a proper reason.

There was no evidence that suggests that Bo-kyeong’s death was the handiwork of the Snow Sword Manor. It was merely suspicion. If so, the Shaolin Temple would not be able to actively intervene for the time being.

They had no choice but to wait and see.

And if by any chance, the scales were to tip in the Snow Sword Manor’s favor, then the situation would be too much for even the Shaolin Temple to bear.

‘This is our chance, we have to deal a heavy blow to the Jin family and seize the momentum before the Shaolin Temple intervenes.’

Some might assume that Seol Kwang-ho was a fool with his large frame, but the group following him knew how wrong that assumption was.

Although he was as big as a bear, Seol Kwang-ho was cunning like a fox.

He thought this was the perfect opportunity to act.

No one would expect the Snow Sword Manor to move now. Therefore, he had to act quickly to deal a heavy blow. That was the reason why he led his group towards the Jin family.

The Jin family had built a fortress-like defense. However, even the strongest fortress had holes for ants to crawl through.

Seol Kwang-ho had found a hole in Jin manor’s defense network after several battles.

The path they were currently taking was that hole.

Splash! Splash!

The sound of splashing water echoed with every step they took.

They were moving along a shallow stream where the water only reached their ankles.

The water here was usually deep enough to reach their chests during the summer, but at present, the water level had decreased significantly that it was only ankle-deep.

If they continued up the stream, they could easily reach the Jin manor.

If this had been an ordinary stream, the Jin warriors would have a great defense set up. But since this was a place where sewage from Jin manor was mixed and discharged, the place smells. Therefore, only a minimum number of soldiers were guarding the area.

The stench grew stronger and stronger.

This could only mean that they were getting closer to the Jin manor.

Seol Kwang-ho looked back at his troops and sent them a signal. His troops in turn nodded, ready to fight at any moment.

Although the Secret Shadow Group was said to be strong, they couldn’t take down the Jin family with just this number of warriors. But if they could launch a surprise attack, they could definitely inflict significant damage.

Hit and run through a surprise attack.

That was the core of Seol Kwang-ho’s plan

He had formulated this plan because there were outside warriors within the Jin family troops.

He’d recruited some of the warriors the Jin family had taken in.

They had eliminated the guards at the river and were waiting for them. If they joined forces, they had a good chance of winning the fight.

“No risk, no glory.”

Seol Kwang-ho advanced, carrying a large axe on his back.

They had reached the area guarded by the Jin family warriors.

Seol Kwang-ho wrinkled his nose.

He could smell the stench of blood.

Then a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

He thought that the warriors he had recruited had done their job.

“Let’s go!”

He shouted to the Secret Shadow Group.

They had to attack and run as quickly as possible.

He and his troops tried to pick up the pace.

Shiak!

Suddenly, a sharp sword qi sliced through the darkness.

Kaang!

“Who are you?”

Seol Kwang-ho shouted as he swung his axe and deflected the sword qi.

At that moment, a young man emerged from the darkness.

“No wonder your movements were suspicious.”

The man muttering in a low voice was none other than Namgung Wol.

Namgung Wol had come out for a night stroll when he spotted some suspicious movements.

It was the movements of the people Seol Kwang-ho had recruited on his side.

He had chased them all the way here, and found Seol Kwang-ho and his troops.

The smell of blood that Seol Kwang-ho had just caught was the blood of those who had been captured by Namgung Wol.

Namgung Wol had killed them all.

Seol Kwang-ho’s eyes widened and he glared at Namgung Wol.

“Namgung Wol! How dare you interfere with my work?”

“The word ‘dare’ doesn’t really suit you.”

“Hik!”

Thick veins popped out on Seol Kwang-ho’s hand as he held onto the handle of his axe.

Namgung Wol was a burdensome opponent even for him, but he afford to back down and retreat without gaining anything after coming this far.

Seol Kwang-ho shouted,

“You alone can’t handle all of us alone!”

“Who said I’m alone?”

At that moment, a group of young martial artists began to reveal themselves one by one from behind Namgung Wol’s back.

At the forefront was Oh Jugang, holding a sword instead of a bottle of wine.

Despite his usual drunken state due to the loss of his comrade Jin Geom-woo, he was now sober. For some reason, he didn’t feel like drinking today.

Instead, his eyes were filled with a chilling determination.

“You’d better not think of letting a single one of them escape this place.”

“Who are you to say that? Attack!”

Seol Kwang-ho commanded as he pointed his axe towards the Jin warriors.

“Charge!”

“Kill them!”

The Secret Sword Group rushed forward, clashing with Oh Jugang and the Jin warriors.

Meanwhile, Nangong Wol approached Seol Kwang-ho with his sword drawn.

In the dark night without a single beam of moonlight, only Namgung Wol’s sword gleamed with a silver light.

Although he had a bad feeling about this fight, Seol Kwang-ho forced himself to snort.

“The Heavenly Guardian Association? I’ll let you know that my Eight Great Wild Axe Technique is also formidable.”

He swung his axe with all his might at Namgung Wol.

Namgung Wol met his attack with his sword and muttered,

“Geum-woo! Are you watching? This is my memorial service for you!”