Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel - Chapter 32

Light Novel: Volume 2 Episode 7

Manhwa: Chapter 23

“The assassin has broken through the Qingyang Pavillion¹ martial artists’ encircling net and has escaped.”

At the report of the disciple, Jeonghwa’s expression stiffened like an ironclad armor.

The Qingyang Pavillion was composed of disciples of Emei. Although their forces were shabby, they were still part of the axis where their skills were still considered as quite good since they inherited the martial arts of the Emei.

The fact that the encircling net of the Qingyang Pavillion was breached in an instant meant that the assassin’s skills were excellent.

Jeonghwa’s serious expression was not simply because the assassin’s skills were excellent.

The assassin’s superior ability was evident from the assassination of Woo Gunsang. The fact that he managed to assassinate Woo Gunsang who was said to possess the best talent among the newer generation in Sichuan meant that the assassin’s ability was excellent.

Up to that point, Jeonghwa knew well.

The problem was that the assassin grew stronger over time. She could tell just by looking at the bodies of those who had been assassinated. As more people chase him, the cleaner and more sophisticated the scars of the corpses become.

She could tell by looking at how quickly he broke through the encircling net of the Qingyang Pavilion.

Although three of Qingyang Pavilion were insignificant, they were still strong in their own way. But the assassin was said to have broken through without taking any damage.

At this level, the opponent could not be dismissed as an assassin who had only learned how to kill.

“You’re bound to see people who stand out wherever you go… but for a mere assassin… He must be eliminated. If you fail to get him, the repercussions will never end.”

As soon as it is revealed that Emei, a prestigious sect, ordered the assassination of the recently departed Woo Gunsang of the Qingcheng sect, Jianghu’s attention and criticism will be focused on them.

Even if it was not revealed, they cannot fall behind the Qingcheng sect. Or else the power of the Emei sect would be reduced even more.

“Where did that person come from…”

They must first secure or eliminate the assassin before the world knows.

The truth could be revealed if the Qingcheng sect captures the assassin first.

It was absolutely necessary to prevent such a situation.

Jeonghwa gave orders to her junior sisters and other disciples.

“Everyone will chase after the assassin. Run with all your might and catch up with him.”

“No. We cannot capture him like that.”

At that time, there was someone who interrupted her words.

The dazzlingly beautiful woman was Yong Seol-ran.

When her youngest junior sister dared to dispute her orders, Jeonghwa’s expression became more venomous.

“What do you mean?”

“Literally. The assassin possesses greater abilities than we expected. Given that he was not caught even with the inescapable net focused on him proves that fact. If we continue to chase after him like this, we will never be able to catch him and we will only be seeing the back of his head.

“Hmph! Then what do you propose?”

“We should predict where he will go next.”

“How? Are you saying you know where he will go and that we’ll wait there?”

Irrespective of Jeong-hwa’s blunt reaction, Yong Seol-ran continued to speak calmly.

“I don’t know the exact destination, but I can estimate the approximate location.”

“How?”

“The Blood Shadow Group² trained assassins in a secret place at the request of the Emei sect. At that time, we deduced that the place where the Blood Shadow Group trained assassins was near Batang. Although we failed to pinpoint the exact location, we found out that a lot of supplies were supplied through the area.”

Jeonghwa unconsciously listened to Yong Seol-ran.

The Emei sect’s fate was at stake.

Of course, the minimum safety device had to be put in place. So, they tried to find out both the location of the home base of the Blood Shadow Group and the facility of the assassins who were trained to assassinate Woo Gunsang.

Nevertheless, both attempts failed. That’s because the Blood Shadow Group moved secretly.

But it wasn’t completely unsuccessful.

A lot of materials were needed to create the place where new assassins were trained. The Blood Shadow Group obtained materials from all over Sichuan Province, and it was discovered that the materials collected had flowed into Batang.

“Batang is adjacent to the western highlands. I’m sure he’ll pass there.”

“Why do you think so?”

“It is said that some fish born in the rivers would go to the sea. And as they become adults in the sea, sooner or later they would end up returning to the place where they were born. Such an instinct is called the homing instinct. I think that assassin is also driven by his homing instinct.”

“Hmm…”

“I don’t know him personally myself, but the place he’s most familiar with is probably the one where he was raised as an assassin. Of course he would think of it as the safest place.”

“So, are you sure he will pass through Batang?”

“Yes. He must be on the way to Batang.”

“Huu…”

Jeonghwa let out a sigh.

It was well known that Yong Seol-ran was outstanding.

Otherwise, it would not have been possible to directly adopt a disciple who was younger than her by skipping the recruitment period. But she really didn’t expect that her brain was going to excel to this extent.

‘She’s really a bitch who has it all.’

From the depths of her heart, a burning feeling arose which she knew was jealousy. But Jeonghwa tightly suppressed her emotions.

The rest of the disciples were watching.

She cannot show the ugly jealousy she was feeling towards her junior sister else she would not be able to save face.

Jeonghwa said with a calm expression,

“You have a point. All right. I’ll follow your advice. But if we lose the assassin because of you, I’ll hold you accountable. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Yong Seol-ran nodded her head with no fear on her face. Seeing her appearance like that made Jeonghwa even more pissed off.

Jeonghwa gave orders to the disciples.

“We will go to Batang first and wait for the assassin.”

“Yes!”

Jeonghwa and the Emei sect warriors got on the horse they had prepared in advance.

Dozens of horses rushed towards the Batang with all their might.

* * *

Pyo-wol’s face was filled with a tired light.

Pyo-wol was proud of his stamina, but no matter how strong he is, the fact that he could not take a proper rest and march through the force led to the exhaustion of his physical strength.”

He had numerous wounds all over his body.

It was a wound suffered in the process of breaking through the inescapable net.

Pyo-wol tried to break through the inescapable net without fighting as much as possible, but doing so was impossible in the first place.

Fortunately, none of his injuries were fatal enough to render him unable to move.

In his mind, he wanted to go hide somewhere and rest. But now that the inescapable net were becoming more and more dense, taking a break was no less than an act of suicide.

Pyo-wol moved non-stop.

He had a clear destination.

He was using all of his six senses to reach his destination.

Immediately after coming out of the underground cave, the Blood Shadow Group moved the children in a wagon that could not see the outside.

During the long journey, they couldn’t see the scenery outside so they didn’t know which way to go.

They had to let themselves stay in a wagon which was dark. The same was true for Pyo-wol. However, while resting as much as possible, he tried not to miss the outside path for even a single moment.

He was in the carriage, but all of his senses were spread out wide. He remembered all environmental changes: the road conditions, the smell of the air, humidity and sounds.

Pyo-wol was finding his way based on all that information.

He didn’t even know the name of the place he was passing by.

He didn’t know where the road would lead him to. However, he instinctively knew that if he followed this way, he could go to the place where he had been trained.

Pyo-wol believed in his own instincts and senses.

After living in the dark for seven years, his senses became mysteriously sensitive.

It was thanks to his more developed and accurate senses that was way better than a beast that he had ever been able to survive. Pyo-wol’s senses became more sensitive and sharp as he broke through the inescapable net.

It seemed like he was making progress while going through a life-and-death crisis.

‘It is not that far.’

Pyo-wol sniffed the air.

It was damp and had a characteristic musty scent. It was the same scent he smelled while riding in the wagon.

Pyo-wol felt that his destination was near.

A large village could be seen in the distance. He didn’t know the name of the town, but he knew he had to make a detour.

The problem was that there’s a large river running through the village.

A large river, more than twenty meters wide, was flowing in front of the village.

Fortunately, there’s a bridge leading to the village.

It was when Pyo-wol had almost reached the bridge.

Dududu!

Suddenly, a strong vibration was felt on the ground.

When he turned around, he saw a group of people running up to him leaving smoke and dust in the air.

“It’s him!”

“Catch him!”

The people who ran while roaring were the martial artists of the Qingcheng sect led by Mu Jeong-jin.

The warriors of the Qingcheng sect did not stop for a single moment and caught up with Pyo-wol. The moment he saw the uniform they were wearing, Pyo-wol immediately recognized their identities.

‘Qingcheng sect!’

He knew he was going to be pursued, but he found it unexpected for them to be caught up so quickly.

Although the distance was still far away, he felt an awful energy.

It was the energy that was radiated by Mu Jeong-jin who was at the forefront.

The moment Pyo-wol saw him, he felt a strong sense of crisis.

He instinctively realized that he was a master who was at a different level from any other warriors he had ever faced.

‘He’s an opponent I can’t handle right now.’

His skin was tingling, as if being stabbed with an awl.

Even though there were still hundreds of meters left between the two of them.

He does not want to face him.

Pyo-wol turned his body and sprinted with all his might.

“Do you think I would let you escape?”

Mu Jeong-jin roared like a lion and threw his sword.

Sswaaang!

His sword flew over hundreds of miles in an instant.

Pyo-wol twisted his body at the last minute to avoid the ruthless sword.

Bang!

Mu Jeong-jin’s sword struck deeply on the floor of the bridge with a deafening sound.

Pyo-wol felt goosebumps all over his body.

It was clear what the result would have been if the sword had hit his body if he was too late to dodge.

‘If I get caught in this state, I will die.’

A strong sense of crisis made Pyo-wol move even more. But when he almost reached the edge of the bridge, he had no choice but to stop.

Because new warriors appeared from the other side.

The group, which consisted mainly of women, was the Emei sect.

“He’s there!”

It was Jeonghwa who shouted with a sharp voice at the forefront.

Thick dust sat on the heads and shoulders of the disciples of the Qingcheng and Emei sect.

They have been chasing with their horses for half a day without a break. Even the horses were exhausted and collapsed because they ran with all their power. Thanks to that, they were able to arrive and wait in Batang faster than Pyo-wol.

When Pyo-wol arrived, Jeonghwa was actually surprised. Because Yong Seol-ran’s prediction was accurate.

While admiring Yong Seol-ran’s talent, she gave the orders to her disciples.

“You must kill the assassin before the Qingcheng manage to capture him!”

“Yes!”

The Emei disciples rushed simultaneously towards Pyo-wol.

The Qingcheng sect was behind Pyo-wol while the disciples of the Emei sect were running in front of him.

Since both sides were the forces that ruled Sichuan, they gave off terrifying energies.

Both sects harbored great hostility towards Pyo-wol. Their hostility and murderous intentions could be felt vividly through the air.

Pyo-wol jumped into the river without hesitation.

“Catch him! You must not miss him.”

“Follow him!”

Among the disciples of the Emei and Qingcheng sect, those who were good at swimming followed Pyo-wol into the river.

There was no hesitation in their actions.

The faces of those who were chasing after Pyo-wol were filled with madness.

“He’s going upstream! Everyone, chase him!”

Pyo-wol dived deep into the water and moved, but Mu Jeong-jin found out the direction where Pyo-wol was moving with his superhuman eyesight.

The soldiers of the Qingcheng sect, who could not jump into the water, ran straight up the river.

The soldiers of the Emei sect, who arrived late, hurriedly followed the soldiers of the Qingcheng sect.

Jeonghwa approached Mu Jeong-jin and greeted him.

No matter how urgent the situation was, she had to say hello because the distribution of the Qingcheng people in the area was far greater.

“Emei sect’s Jeonghwa meets Qingcheng’s Mu Jeong-jin.”

“You’re here too. How is the Abbess of Nine Calamities?”

“Yes. Thank you for your concern. Master has expressed her condolences on the death of Woo Gunsang, and ordered us to help the Qingcheng sect as much as possible.”

“Thank you. Please tell her we will not forget this favor.”

“Yes, I will surely deliver your words.”

“But how did the Emei sect know the assassin’s path in advance and manage to come here first?”

Mu Jeong-jin’s eyes shone sharply. His eyes felt eerie, but Jeonghwa did not express any outward reaction.

“It was predicted by the youngest of our junior sisters.”

“Predicted?”

“Yes. After gathering a lot of circumstantial evidence, she expected the assassin to escape here.”

“Are you talking about the person who Gunsang was about to marry?”

“That’s right.”

“What a pity! If such a child became the wife of a disciple from our sect, the whole of Sichuan would have been blessed.”

“I share the same sentiment.”

“I wish I could see her separately later. Would that be okay?”

“Of course.”

“Our talk has gone on too long. We’ll continue our conversation later after we catch that assassin.”

“Yes. We will go first then.”

Jeonghwa took the lead by running ahead first before Mu Jeong-jin.

Mu Jeongjin muttered as he looked at Jeonghwa’s back face as she moved away,

“…They have other intentions.”

The Emei sect he knew was not such a hateful sect.

In particular, as the Qingcheng sect expanded rapidly, the Emei sect felt a sense of crisis and kept them in check. Although a friendly atmosphere has been formed in recent times because of the marriage talks, they have always been wary of the Qingcheng sect.

The Emei sect actively going out to catch the assassin?

It doesn’t make sense.

The Emei sect that Mujeong-jin knew was not a sect that actively engaged in work that gave no benefits to them or whatsoever.

Seeing them come out acting like this was enough proof that they have a different intention.

‘Or is there something going on?’

Mu Jeong-jin’s sharp gaze tenaciously followed Jeonghwa and Emei disciples.