Chapter 339 Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel

Pyo Wol brought his hand to the snout of the Imoogi and closed his eyes.

“What…?”

Gyeongmusaeng blinked in confusion.

The Imoogi had been preparing for over a thousand years to ascend to the heavens.

Despite their long years of training, not all Imoogis were able to reach the skies.

Only the Imoogis that perfectly harmonized with the energy of the universe could become dragons and ascend to the heavens, while the rest were left behind on the ground without gaining enlightenment.

Those Imoogis that failed to ascend would often become vicious in their sense of loss.

The Imoogi that Gyeongmusaeng rode on had failed to ascend and was weakened by the shock.

This allowed Gyeongmusaeng to easily subdue it. If it had been in a better condition, it would have been impossible to control it without a sacrifice.

Since then, Gyeongmusaeng had treated the Imoogi like a pet, but he had to struggle to calm it down when it became aggressive.

Gyeongmusaeng had thought that it was impossible for anyone other than him to communicate or control the Imoogi.

However, his confidence and fixed ideas were shattered by Pyo Wol.

The Imoogi enjoyed Pyo Wol’s touch and playfully stuck out its tongue.

This was evidence that Pyo Wol was communicating with the Imoogi. It was even resting its head on Pyo Wol’s ear as they communicated.

“What’s going on?”

Gyeongmusaeng was so surprised that he didn’t know how to react.

Pyo Wol removed his hand from the Imoogi and it looked at him with its eyes closed.

Pyo Wol murmured to the Imoogi while looking into its eyes.

“I see.”

The Imoogi shuddered all over, making a sound like steel grinding against steel.

Gyeongmusaeng had controlled the Imoogi for a long time, but he had never seen this kind of reaction before.

He yelled at the Imoogi.

“What are you trying to do? Get off already!”

At his shout, the rain that had been pouring down like a column was sent crashing down, creating huge waves in the lake.

Pyo Wol looked at Gyeongmusaeng with a slightly furrowed brow.

Gyeongmusaeng’s eyes were full of anger.

He was not the same cold person he had seen before.

Pyo Wol said to him.

“It would be better to release him whenever possible.”

“What?”

“He is grieving being tied to you.”

“What nonsense! The Imoogi is grieving? You’re spouting nonsense that can’t even be taken seriously.”

“He hasn’t given up on becoming a dragon yet. But he can’t practice anymore because he’s bound to you.”

“Huh! Do you think you can seduce me with such nonsense about reading the thoughts of an Imoogi? You’re mistaken.”

Thump!

Gyeongmusaeng kicked the head of the Imoogi, causing it to retreat.

“It’s our first meeting, so I’ll forgive you. But if you spout such nonsense again, you’ll regret being born.”

The swirling energy around Gyeongmusaeng and the Imoogi disappeared without a trace.

In their place, rain began to fall again.

“Why is master Pyo outside?”

“When did he go out?”

Only then did the people inside the inn realize that Pyo Wol was outside.

When Gyeongmusaeng disappeared, the effects of Silver Art Technique disappeared as well.

To the eyes of the people, it appeared as if Pyo Wol had suddenly appeared outside by crossing through space.

Ignoring the commotion of the people, Pyo Wol looked at the place where Gyeongmusaeng and the Imoogi had disappeared. Although it was not visible to others, Pyo Wol’s eyes could see the ripples of the Imoogi’s energy.

Pyo Wol shook his head slightly and entered the inn.

“Gyeongmusaeng, Ghost King, and the Imoogi… something is happening in Taeho.”

***

“Following the Sword Flower Pavilion, even the Shadowless Pavillion  was devastated by the man called the Reaper. It’s like a disaster.”

An eight-foot tall middle-aged man sat in a Throne, gazing at the enormous Taeho.

He was on the largest island among the forty-eight islands in Taeho.

It used to be an island where fishermen lived, but as they settled here, the natives were all driven to the mainland.

A large stronghold entered the island where the natives had disappeared.

It was the Long River Fortress of the Green Forest lineage.

Originally, the Green Forest was unified by a massive force called the Heaven High Castle.

However, over time, the Heaven High Castle was split into two valleys and the four fortresses.

Long River Fortress belonged to the Four Fortresses.

While other forces had settled inland, only the Long River Fortress had Taeho, adjacent to the sea, as its base.

The purpose was to avoid competition with other forces, but above all, it was advantageous to expand the influence because Taeho was close to the sea.

The eight-foot tall man was Bok Seong-wan, the owner of Long River Fortress.

Bok Seong-wan’s nickname was Iron Rhinoceros.

Far in the west, there was said to be a huge ox with a horn on its nose. It even attacked tigers with the horn on its nose.

The ox with the horn on its nose was the Rhinoceros.

Bok Seong-wan’s personality and martial arts were similar to his. Hence the nickname Iron Rhinoceros.

Bok Seong-wan was very ambitious.

He had realized the importance of Taeho early on. So, he worked hard to expand his influence and power in Taeho.

Thanks to that, he was able to establish a significant force in Taeho.

There were more than tens of thousands of ships anchored at the pier. Each ship was a large vessel capable of carrying dozens of people.

Long River Fortress stationed large ships at strategic points along the Janggang River and collected tolls.

They made reasonable compromises with ships belonging to large factions or forces, but mercilessly collected from small ships and insignificant forces.

As a result, Long River Fortress was able to build their own kingdom on the island. They built a proper fortress, not just a stronghold, and created a self-sufficient system.

Thanks to that, Bok Seong-wan was able to focus on Long River Fortress without being affected by external factors.

One of Bok Seong-wan’s biggest concerns was the relationship with the powerful forces around Taeho.

The representative places were Namgyeong Clan, Iron Mountain Manor, and Sword Flower Pavilion.

No matter how strong Long River Fortress was, the power of the three factions was also considerable. So they tried to avoid conflict and maintain a harmonious relationship as much as possible.

He sent his son Bok Ho-jin to the Golden Heavenly Hall and to mingle with Jo Ik-gwang and others for that reason.

The power of the three factions was great enough to require such care.

However, in just two days, two of the factions had been virtually ruined.

Sword Flower Pavilion’s reputation hit rock bottom, and Iron Mountain Manor lost its master and was adrift.

All because of one person.

Pyo Wol.

A man who suddenly appeared in Taeho one day.

After he appeared, Taeho’s once-solid order was falling apart.

Even the Shadowless Pavilion of Kunshan, which had been confronting Namgyeong Clan, tried to use Pyo Wol but ended up being disgraced instead.

Bok Seong-wan couldn’t understand this situation with his common sense.

If those factions were so easily destroyed, there would have been no reason for Bok Seong-wan to put so much effort into building relationships with them.

Because of Pyo Wol, the martial arts world of Taeho and Kangho was shaking as a whole, and this situation was causing Bok Seong-wan to feel conflicted.

“Is it a crisis? Or an opportunity?”

The three factions are crumbling or shaking.

It was a golden opportunity for Long River Fortress to expand its power.

He didn’t know when such an opportunity would come again if the collapsed or shaken factions managed to regain control.

However, the reason Bok Seong-wan hesitated was because Pyo Wol still hadn’t left Taeho.

“Sometimes heaven sends beings that people cannot understand with common sense, there are hardly any cases where getting involved with such beings turns out well.”

Although Bok Seong-wan seemed like someone who would thoughtlessly charge in based on his appearance, he was actually as cunning and deep-minded as a fox.

That’s why he was most cautious about acting emotionally.

“What should I do?”

He kept pondering, but no clever solution came to mind.

Eventually, he decided to put off making a decision.

It was then.

“Lord!”

One of his close subordinates hurriedly ran over.

“What’s the matter?”

“Big trouble.”

“Big trouble?”

“Yes! The ship that went on patrol around the outskirts of Taeho has sunk.”

“What?”

Bok Seong-wan’s eyes widened in surprise.

In the calm waters of Taeho, there was only one reason for a ship to sink.

“Were they attacked?”

“That’s…”

The subordinate hesitated and couldn’t answer.

“Why can’t you answer?”

“They say it happened because they collided with a huge snake.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“All the survivors say the same thing. It was a really huge snake…”

“Are they saying that because they crashed into a snake and sank?”

“It’s not just one or two people, but all the survivors are saying the same thing, so it doesn’t seem to be a complete lie.”

“What? I’ll ask them myself.”

Bok Seong-wan abruptly stood up from his seat.

Regardless of the reason, the fact that Long River Fortress’s ship had sunk was no ordinary serious matter.

He had to find out the reason himself.

As Bok Seong-wan started to move, his son Bok Ho-jin came into view. Bok Ho-jin was wearing colorful clothes.

Bok Seong-wan knew that he wore those clothes when he went to land.

Bok Seong-wan was angry at Bok Ho-jin.

“While a ship has sunk, where is the young master going? Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m sorry, Father! Jo Ik-gwang asked me to meet him.”

“Jo Ik-gwang?”

“Yes! He seems to be concerned about the fall of Sword Flower Pavilion and Iron Mountain Manor and asked me to discuss countermeasures.”

Bok Seong-wan’s anger subsided at Bok Ho-jin’s answer.

It was right for him to meet Jo Ik-gwang for such a reason.

“Alright. I’ll look into the sunken ship issue, so you go meet him.”

“Thank you, Father. I’ll be on my way then.”

After exchanging a hug with Bok Seong-wan, Bok Ho-jin boarded the ship.

As soon as he got on, the ship left the dock.

“The young master is on board. Open the gate.”

The helmsman shouted loudly.

There were wooden walls surrounding the dock, so the water gate had to be opened in order to leave.

Soon, the gate leading to the outside opened, and the ship carrying Bok Ho-jin slid across the water surface like an arrow.

Bok Ho-jin stood at the front of the ship, looking back at Long River Fortress.

“Hmm!”

The tall wooden walls surrounding Long River Fortress felt sturdy.

Unlike other places, Long River Fortress was located right in the middle of Taeho, making it difficult to access.

In addition, a wooden outer wall had been built around the dock, preventing anyone without permission from entering.

Seeing it with his own eyes, he felt somewhat relieved.

Like Bok Seong-wan, Bok Ho-jin also felt uneasy about the current situation.

He couldn’t believe that the entire Kangho was shaking because of Pyo Wol alone. However, it was an undeniable reality, so he couldn’t ignore it completely.

That was why he was going to see Jo Ik-gwang.

Jo Ik-gwang, who seemed to have similar thoughts, had sent a messenger to request a meeting.

The ship quickly headed towards the land.

***

Swish!

As Pyo Wol sat by the window of the guest room, Gwia crawled all over his body.

Gwia had been behaving differently since the encounter with the Imoogi, doing things he didn’t do before.

Pyo Wol just sat still, letting Gwia move around freely.

He too was stimulated by the appearance of the Imoogi and the old man.

He was reminded of how vast the martial world was and how many extraordinary people were in it.

Although it was said that the Imoogi had been subdued when he was weak, it would have been impossible without the absolute martial arts backing him up.

The old martial artist was a man qualified to suppress the Imoogi. Meeting such a person was enough to stimulate Pyo Wol.

It was then.

Swish!

The sound of a skirt being dragged was heard.

Someone was approaching Pyo Wol’s seat, dragging their skirt.

As Pyo Wol raised his head, he saw a woman with an icy expression and gaze approaching.

The woman, wearing a black marten fur scarf around her neck, was someone Pyo Wol had seen before.

She was the woman he had eaten Ojomyeon with, at a street vendor when he first entered Taeho.

As Pyo Wol stared intently, the woman opened her mouth.

“It’s nice to meet you again. I’m glad to see you, Pyo Wol!”

“Your name was Jo Yuseol, right?”

“It’s an honor that the renowned Pyo Wol remembers me. But you left something out. To be precise, I’m Jo Yuseol, the eldest daughter of the Namgyeong Clan.”