Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel - Chapter 395 Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel

Chapter 395 Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel

Gwan Mu-su couldn’t say anything in response.

Pyo Wol answered his question with his body.

He demonstrated his martial arts prowess, making it known to all that there was no need for him to sneak around.

There couldn’t have been a more definitive proof.

Gwan Mu-su wet his lips several times, but his voice never made it past his lips.

“Ugh!”

He hung his head, exhaling roughly.

Only then did Pyo Wol’s gaze turn to the other martial artists he had defeated.

There were no dead among them, but they were so badly beaten that death might have been preferable.

Pyo Wol approached the last man he had knocked down.

“Ugh!”

The man looked at Pyo Wol with a terror-stricken face.

He wanted to run away, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

Swish!

At that moment, Pyo Wol drew the Ghost Blade from his waistband.

“Oh, stop!”

The man desperately cried out, but he couldn’t stop Pyo Wol from approaching.

He quickly looked around.

There were still many people nearby.

But the atmosphere had changed considerably from before.

The frenzy that had heated up the crowd just moments ago had vanished, replaced by a suffocating silence that gripped the streets.

Fear filled the eyes of those who looked at Pyo Wol. They dared not even breathe loudly as they stared at him.

It wasn’t the kind of atmosphere where a few words and throwing stones could incite people to violence.

Countless people in the streets were overwhelmed by Pyo Wol’s single, powerful presence.

Gulp!

It was so quiet that the sound of someone swallowing their saliva seemed as loud as thunder.

In that state, Pyo Wol opened his mouth.

“Creatures like you are the problem.”

“What, what?”

“You incite people, and when it’s crucial, you always back away.”

“Oh… I can explain everything.”

“Then explain. So I can be convinced.”

“That’s…”

The man desperately racked his brain, but it was so blank that he couldn’t think of anything.

Pyo Wol knelt on one knee, meeting the man’s gaze.

“I’m listening. Speak up!”

“Well, that is… that’s…”

“Why can’t you explain? You were so good at talking and even throwing stones earlier…”

“Ugh! I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I won’t accept it.”

Pyo Wol lightly grazed the man’s wrist with the Ghost Blade.

The cold metal brushing against his skin made the man shiver. He was also a martial artist who had learned martial arts.

He wasn’t a famous expert in the Kangho, but he had some confidence in his strength. That’s why he could do such things.

He thought that in the worst-case scenario, he could still save himself. But now, he was painfully aware of how foolish that idea was.

He couldn’t do anything.

Whoosh!

Pyo Wol suddenly thrust the Ghost Blade into the man’s wrist.

The man’s face twisted in pain. But even the freedom to scream was not granted to him.

Pyo Wol slightly shook his head in front of the man’s eyes.

It felt as if he was implying that if the man screamed, he would die.

Desperately, the man held back his urge to scream.

For a moment, a smile appeared at the corner of Pyo Wol’s mouth.

As the man saw Pyo Wol’s seemingly approving expression, he was certain his guess was correct.

Whoosh!

The Ghost Blade dug into the man’s other wrist as well.

‘Ugh!’

The man gritted his teeth and held back a scream.

The fear that Pyo Wol would take his life if he even let out a groan was overwhelming him.

Pyo Wol drew another Ghost Blade.

The blade circled around his heart.

“Ugh!”

The man shivered as if he were being tickled.

His body involuntarily reacted to the fear of death.

Foam bubbled from his bitten lips.

The man was on the verge of madness.

Unbearable fear had driven him to this state.

The reality of not being able to scream freely pushed his mind even further into a corner.

Snap!

At that moment, something broke inside his head.

“Hehehe!”

Suddenly, the man’s expression relaxed, and he let out a bizarre laugh.

His eyes lost all focus.

“Has he gone crazy?”

“He’s lost his mind.”

The people nearby quickly recognized the man’s condition.

He had succumbed to extreme fear and gone mad.

Pyo Wol retrieved the Ghost Blades embedded in the man’s wrists.

“Hehehe!”

The man continued to laugh, rubbing his bloodied face with his hands.

The sight of the genuinely insane man terrified the people in the streets even more.

Among them, the most frightened was Gwan Mu-su, who had eagerly attacked Pyo Wol.

He stared blankly at Pyo Wol, forgetting his thoughts of avenging the seven sage scholar.

Only then did he regret not listening to the seven sage scholar’s disciples’ warnings.

The man before him was not someone who merely had a grandiose title due to good fortune.

He possessed the resolute disposition and skills befitting his title.

“Reaper.”

It felt as if the grand title was well-deserved.

***

“It’s over.”

Namgung Seol murmured.

She had been watching the situation unfold from beginning to end.

She saw Gwan Mu-su who witnessed the seven sage scholar’s dead body have a fit and seek out Pyo Wol, and also saw Gwan Mu-su falling behind him.

Namgung Seol knew all too well how terrifying crowd psychology could be.

Individually, they were insignificant and weak, but when they came together as one, they lost their fear and displayed hatred bordering on madness.

Sometimes, even the top martial artists in Kangho were devoured by such madness.

To be honest, Namgung Seol thought Pyo Wol would be somewhat affected by the madness.

Even if he was called the reaper in Kangho, she didn’t think he could suppress the madness emitted by so many people.

The moment Pyo Wol succumbed to Gwan Mu-su’s pressure and started making excuses, it was clear his authority would be undermined.

It would leave a blemish on his previously impeccable reputation, and that in itself would be a major blow to Pyo Wol.

However, if he took Gwan Mu-su’s life without mercy, he would incur the wrath of Kangho.

Even if Pyo Wol himself didn’t care, it would be a significant loss when considering his future moves.

Namgung Seol had planned to appear and help Pyo Wol when he was unable to do anything or faced an extreme choice.

She intended to pull him towards her side by incurring an emotional debt from Pyo Wol.

However, contrary to her calculations, Pyo Wol overcame the crisis on his own without anyone’s help.

It wasn’t just overcoming the crisis.

He had completely taken control of the situation and further solidified his position.

Now, Pyo Wol had become an untouchable existence.

This was an unwelcome development for Namgung Seol.

She didn’t want Pyo Wol’s presence to grow any larger. There were quite a few people in Kangho who felt the same way, and most of them were ambitious individuals.

Ambitious people don’t welcome someone like Pyo Wol who suddenly appeared.

As an alien existence like Pyo Wol gained fame, it narrowed the scope for them to rise.

Namgung Seol herself had to make some adjustments to her plans in Poyang Lake due to the sudden appearance of Pyo Wol.

“Still, it won’t affect the overall trend, but it’s annoying.”

Namgung Seol’s gaze at Pyo Wol grew colder.

At least, it wasn’t a complete loss.

She had clearly learned Pyo Wol’s disposition through Gwan Mu-su and the warriors.

“Someone who must be eliminated if on the opposite side.”

What was scary about Pyo Wol wasn’t just his martial arts.

What was even scarier was his mentality.

His ability to instinctively grasp the core of a problem without any information and resolve it in the most advantageous way for himself was truly frightening.

Although he didn’t seem to have the ability to read the bigger picture and understand the current trends like Namgung Seol, his flashes of brilliance were enough to make her feel cautious.

‘So, that’s who is by Nam Gung-Wol’s side?’

Now she understood the source of Nam Gung-Wol’s confidence.

Pyo Wol was like a sharp dagger, silent and sinister, capable of cutting one’s breath in an instant. Possessing such a dagger was like having an extra life.

“Hmm!” Namgung Seol stared intently at Pyo Wol.

It was then that Pyo Wol turned his head and looked straight at her, as if sensing her gaze. Their eyes met in the void. Despite the considerable distance between them, they could clearly see each other’s eyes.

They soon discovered something they had in common: they both never revealed their true intentions, even through the windows to the soul – their eyes. They were both adept at hiding their thoughts and reading others’ minds, which led them to feel repelled by each other and build a wall around their hearts.

For a while, they looked at each other.

Namgung Seol was the first to look away. As she quietly stepped back, a warrior approached her and whispered something in her ear.

For a moment, a faint smile appeared on Namgung Seol’s lips.

She nodded her head and replied,

“Alright, I got it. Tell them I’ll be there soon.”

“Yes!”

The warrior bowed and disappeared.

Left alone, Namgung Seol looked once more in the direction of Pyo Wol. However, his figure was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh!”

Namgung Seol wore a mysterious smile.

***

There are people who instinctively feel repelled by others.

Even without any connection, their emotions reject the person from the moment they lay eyes on them.

For Pyo Wol, Namgung Seol was such a person.

It was only their second encounter.

They had only seen each other from afar, yet the repulsion he felt towards her was as if hives were breaking out all over his body. Perhaps it was because he sensed a similar aura from her.

He had a feeling that he would continue to clash with Namgung Seol in the future.

Pyo Wol returned to the Southern Heaven Pavilion

The inn was a mess.

This was due to Gwan Mu-su causing a ruckus and breaking many items.

The innkeeper and the helper were busy cleaning up, but it was not enough. Ever since Pyo Wol had stayed at Southern Heaven Pavilion, problems never ceased. The innkeeper’s face was filled with fatigue as he looked at Pyo Wol.

He was too afraid to say it, but his expression seemed to convey that he wished Pyo Wol would leave soon.

While Pyo Wol’s presence had raised the reputation of Southern Heaven Pavilion, there were also many cases of collateral damage.

When people like Gwan Mu-su showed up and caused trouble, the innkeeper had no way of stopping them. However, he was too afraid to ask Pyo Wol to leave the inn.

In the end, the innkeeper could only look at Pyo Wol with the most pitiful expression he could muster.

Pyo Wol, not feeling guilty enough to back down, said,

“I will move to another place to stay today.”

“You don’t really have to…”

Pyo Wol threw a small purse filled with silver coins to the hesitant innkeeper.

“That should be enough to repair the broken items.”

“Th-thank you.”

The innkeeper gratefully received the purse, but the fear in his eyes remained as he looked at Pyo Wol.

He hadn’t become the enemy of the entire Kangho, but a fear that rivaled it had taken root in people’s hearts.