Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel - Chapter 376 Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Chapter 376 Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Pyo Wol left the inn.

Hong Yushin left first, worried about the state of kangho and So Geoksan promised to come whenever he was called before leaving.

Now only one man remained at his side.

It was Yoo Soo-hwan, a man with strikingly deep, clear eyes.

The reason Yoo Soo-hwan hadn’t left Pyo Wol’s side was simple: he wasn’t in good physical condition.

His body had been completely destroyed before he was imprisoned in the unreturnable prison.

It had been destroyed by Dokgo Hwang.

The damage was so severe that it could not be easily repaired even after a month of treatment.

In order to restore Yoo Soo-hwan’s body to normal, he had to find a doctor who had reached the level of a supreme-ruler and receive treatment.

Fortunately, Yoo Soo-hwan said he knew such a doctor. But since it was quite far away, he had to wait until his strength was fully restored before he could go.

Until then, he decided to stay with Pyo Wol.

Yoo Soo-hwan narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly.

It was overwhelming to see the sky he thought he’d never see again. Yoo Soo-hwan looked at the sky for a long time.

Pyo Wol understood Yoo Soo-hwan’s feelings because he had felt the same way at first.

But he couldn’t wait for Yoo Soo-hwan forever.

“Let’s go now.”

“Ah! Yes! I must have taken too long. I’m sorry.”

Yoo Soo-hwan smiled and followed Pyo Wol.

Although his body was so damaged that he couldn’t use martial arts, his movements had elegance and composure.

He walked side by side with Pyo Wol and asked,

“Where are we going now?”

“To Poyang Lake!”

“Why?”

“My horse is there.”

“Ah! I see. Horses are important. Haha!”

He wondered if he was such a talkative person to begin with, or if it was because he couldn’t have a proper conversation while trapped in the unreturnable prison. But of course he continued the conversation, and it didn’t feel bad.

His speech had changed. Unlike when they first met, he now showed Pyo Wol respect and treated him as a superior.

The two of them left the inn and arrived at the pier of Eungdam in the afternoon. However, the atmosphere of the pier seemed unusual. There were traces of broken houses and objects everywhere.

Yoo Soo-hwan asked a passerby.

“Has something happened here? Everything is broken.”

“Seeing as you ask that, you must not be from around here.”

“Yes! This is my first time here.”

“Was it a month ago? No, before that there was a big fight.”

“A fight?”

“Yes! Some young martial artists fought with martial artists wearing blood capes. Their fight was that this place was completely destroyed.”

The old man who answered shook his head as if it was still terrible to remember.

Pyo Wol asked the old man.

“And what was the result?”

“In the end, the young warriors won. But the woman seemed to be seriously injured, because she was screaming in pain.”

“What happened after that?”

“What could have happened? They took a boat and went back. I don’t know what the world is coming to, when such a sword fight takes place in broad daylight.”

The old man clucked his tongue and walked away.

Pyo Wol realised that the woman the old man had mentioned was Yeom Hee-soo. She was the only woman in Nam Gung-Wol’s group.

If Yeom Hee-soo was injured, Nam Gung-wol and Yong Ha-sang couldn’t stay here any longer.

Pyo Wol was the one who used them as bait.

Although he heard that Yeom Hee-soo was injured, he didn’t feel much guilt because they had followed him secretly.

Yoo Soo-hwan asked Pyo Wol,

“Do you know these people?”

“They followed me.”

Pyo Wol told him the truth about them.

After hearing the whole story, Yoo Soo-hwan burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! It’s amazing. Using the martial arts masters of Kangho as mere bait”.

Yoo Soo-hwan, who was also considered a martial arts master in Kangho, laughed at those who had been used by Pyo Wol.

In this respect, Yoo Soo-hwan was quite unique.

He didn’t have the sense of superiority that other martial arts masters in Kangho had. He didn’t believe that he was chosen just because he was more talented.

“It’s just luck, isn’t it? Being born into a good martial arts family or being accepted as a student of a good martial arts sect. Of course, without their talents, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy such fame, but luck is still the most important factor. I don’t think they’re chosen just because they’re a bit luckier than others”.

Even when he was in the Martial Sword Alliance, Yoo Soo-hwan didn’t consider himself an exceptional person.

Although he could have had ambitions to become the leader of the Martial Sword Alliance, he wanted to live freely without such ambitions. That’s why he tried to distance himself from the conflicts between the martial arts factions. He closed his ears and deliberately kept his distance.

Although he had failed to judge the situation correctly and had been betrayed by Dokgo Hwang, his thoughts hadn’t changed.

Pyo Wol asked him,

“What will you do when you regain your martial arts?

“Shouldn’t I settle the score with Hwang?”

“Dokgo Hwang?”

“Yes! I have no great ambitions for the Martial Sword Alliance, but I can’t stand being humiliated by him as a martial artist.”

Pyo Wol nodded.

It was the nature of the Kangho to return what they had suffered.

If you just took it without fighting back, you would be seen as weak rather than kind, and that was not an acceptable image in Kangho.

No matter what kind of life Yoo Soo-hwan chose in the future, the fact that he had been humiliated by Dokgo Hwang would follow him like a stigma.

It was Yoo Soo-hwan’s natural right to erase that stigma.

No one could interfere.

“So I’ll stay with you, Grandmaster Pyo, at least until I regain my martial arts. I trust that you won’t abandon me who has lost my martial arts. Hehe!

Yoo Soo-hwan grinned with a mischievous look on his face.

Pyo Wol just looked at him without saying anything.

Fortunately, a large ship arrived at the dock in the afternoon.

It was a freighter that had come down from the upper reaches of the river, picking up passengers at various docks along the way. These passengers’ fares went to the captain and crew.

The two people sat down on the large cargo on the deck.

The river breeze blew gently through their hair.

There were more passengers on the boat than just the two of them. Passengers who had been picked up at various stops were sitting among the cargo, chatting away.

“Isn’t it too dangerous to go to Lake Poyang now?”

“I’m worried too, but what can we do? We can’t even tell them we can’t trade now.”

“Ugh! It’s driving me crazy.”

“The situation is very serious. Once the trade in Poyang Lake is over, we’ll stop our activities for a while and keep an eye on the overall situation.”

“I feel the same way. How can we do business in such an unstable atmosphere? If we get involved in the wrong battle, we’re doomed.”

“I just hope we can finish this business trip safely.”

The merchants’ conversation was not ordinary.

Pyo Wol’s brow furrowed slightly.

Lake Poyang was his current destination.

It was where the Je-won merchant group was based, where people like Nam Gung-Wol and other skilled fighters gathered.

It was there that they formed the Anti-Golden Heavenly Hall and became tightly united.

There was no group or person who could threaten them.

That was the situation at Poyang Lake as Pyo Wol knew it.

Has the situation changed since then?

Something had clearly happened during the month he had been away.

Then, of course, Yoo Soo-hwan joined the merchants’ conversation.

“Did Poyang Lake flood or something? Why do you all look so gloomy? You all look like you’ve seen the end of the world. Haha!”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a first-time visitor to Poyang Lake, and your conversation seemed unusual, so I thought I’d try to get some information.”

“Hmm!”

“Ah, I’m not a suspicious person. Let’s have a drink together since we met like this.”

Yoo Soo-hwan took a bottle of alcohol out of his bag and shook it.

It had been prepared in advance by the Hwayeong Inn.

Yoo Soo-hwan had a gentle appearance with deep, clear eyes. Despite the hardships he had endured for several months, he still managed to smile brightly.

His infectious laugh disarmed the merchants’ suspicions.

One merchant feigned reluctance.

“Drinking in broad daylight?”

“Well, what’s the harm? It’s not like we have anything else to do on the ship, is it?”

“True.”

“So what’s the problem? Have a drink.”

Yoo Soo-hwan filled a wooden cup with alcohol and handed it to the merchant, who drank it with his eyes shut.

“Ah! I don’t care.”

He drank it all in one gulp.

That was the beginning.

The merchants drank and talked, and Yoo Soo-hwan continued the conversation naturally.

Pyo Wol thought that Yoo Soo-hwan was a natural-born human being when he saw how effortlessly he talked to the merchants.

He was the second disciple of the leader of the Martial Sword Alliance, a super power.

One might expect him to have a sense of superiority and arrogance, different from others, but there was no such atmosphere from Yoo Soo-hwan.

Even the sharp-eyed merchants thought of Yoo Soo-hwan as a curious individual, never suspecting that he was a martial artist.

Such an affinity could not be learned; only those who were born with it could show such characteristics.

It was something he couldn’t do even if he died and woke up.

S/N: Lol

Instead of interfering, Pyo Wol waited for Yoo Soo-hwan to return with the results.

It took quite a while for Yoo Soo-hwan to return.

His face was flushed with drunkenness and the smell of alcohol wafted from his mouth, indicating that he had had quite a few drinks.

Yoo Soo-hwan sat down next to Pyo and asked Wol and,

“Do you know Jang Ho-yeon?”

“Jang Ho-yeon? The young master of Rain Mountain Manor?”

“Yes! It seems that after Grandmaster Pyo left, he led his elite troops to Poyang Lake.”

“And?”

“He seems to have inquired about Grandmaster Pyo’s whereabouts.”

Pyo Wol closed his eyes.

The situation became clear.

Jamsan Mountain in Hebei Province, where Rain Mountain Manor was located, was not far from Lake Poyang.

It wouldn’t have been difficult for them to find out that Pyo Wol was at Poyang Lake.

Pyo Wol was the enemy who had killed Jang Ho-yeon’s younger brother.

Although they were from different factions and had no affection for each other, the brother shared the same bloodline. There was plenty of reason for revenge.

More importantly, they had not yet given up on Gongpo.

They must have followed Pyo Wol and and entered Poyang Lake.

.

Yoo Soo-hwan continued.

“Then they must have clashed with Nam Gung-Wol’s group. They don’t even know why they fought. The problem is that their conflict went beyond a typical factional fight.

“It seems that there were many casualties.”

“Yes. Jang Ho-yeon’s men were severely damaged, and many people from Nam Gung’s side were also injured.”

If it had been a simple clash, it would have ended there.

If Jang Ho-yeon was the young master of Rain Mountain Manor, then Nam Gung-wol carried the power of the Thousand Kingdom School on his back.

Both sides knew that a clash of great powers would only lead to mutual destruction. So they tried to settle personal matters as much as possible.

But this time was different.

For some reason, Jang Ho-yeon escalated the situation.

He called on the factions from Kangho Province under the influence of Rain Mountain Manor to come to Poyang Lake.

Nam Gung-Wol also asked for help from the factions associated with the Thousand K

ingdom School, and they clashed at Lake Poyang.

Both sides suffered many casualties, and the merchants said that the shores of Poyang Lake had become a battlefield.

“The question is, why did they fight so fiercely? The merchants don’t seem to know the reason either.”

“I think I know.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“It’s not a fight between Jang Ho-yeon and Nam Gung-wol. It’s not a fight between Rain Mountain Manor and Thousand Kingdom School either.”

“Then?”

“It’s a fight between Golden Heavenly Hall and Anti Golden Heavenly Hall.”

“Anti Golden Heavenly Hall?”

Yoo Soo-hwan looked confused.

He knew about the Golden Heavenly Hall, but the Anti Golden Heavenly Hall was a new story to him.

“Nam Gung-Wol, Yong Ha-sang and Yeom Hee-soo formed a group at Poyang Lake. It was formed with the intention of opposing the Golden Heavenly Hall, which had been taken over by Jang Mugak.

“So Jang Ho-yeon must have discovered the existence of the Anti Golden Heavenly Hall while inquiring about Grandmaster Pyo’s whereabouts.”

“That’s probably it.”

“From Jang Ho-yeon’s point of view, he couldn’t tolerate the Anti Golden Heavenly Hall. In the end, the clash was inevitable.”

The Golden Heavenly Hall wasn’t a simple friendship group.

The martial artists in the Golden Heavenly Hall were all successors who would lead the next generation. Jang Mugak’s control of the Golden Heavenly Hall was a preemptive move to become the absolute leader of the next generation.

In such a situation, the emergence of the Anti-Golden Heavenly Hall was not a welcome event.

The Golden Heavenly Hall had to dismantle the Anti Golden Heavenly Hall at any cost, even if it meant making sacrifices.

It wasn’t just a power struggle between successors.

Poyang Lake was the scene of the next generation’s battle for supremacy.