Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel - Chapter 561

Chapter 561

Swoosh!

When King Gujin unleashed his sword energy, a large branch of the tree was neatly cut off.

Immediately afterwards, King Gujin landed on the tree.

He furrowed his brow.

There was no one around the tree.

“No one? But I certainly felt a presence.”

Deung Cheol-woong hurried out of the guesthouse.

“What’s going on?”

Despite Deung Cheol-woong’s question, King Gujin didn’t answer.

A moment ago, he had felt an obscure gaze spying on his dwelling.

It couldn’t possibly be a mistake.

It was unthinkable for a martial arts master of his caliber to mistake someone’s gaze.

‘Who is it?’

King Gujin looked around, searching for the owner of the gaze. But he couldn’t find anyone on the street.

The night was late and the streets were almost empty. The occasional passersby were all drunken patrons.

‘Was it really a mistake?’

Just when King Gujin began to doubt his senses,

Zing!

He felt someone’s secret gaze once again.

It wasn’t a mistake.

Someone was definitely watching him in secret.

“Over there.”

King Gujin flung himself towards where he felt the gaze.

It was the rooftop of the building right next door.

Swish!

King Gujin spread his arms like a bat and flew, landing on the roof. However, there was no one

on the roof where he landed.

His face contorted in frustration.

“Dare to make a fool of me? Come out, you scoundrel!”

Whoom!

He roared with anger.

Leaves rained down from the trees at the sound of his voice, filled with inner energy.

King Gujin didn’t miss the fleeting glimpse of someone behind the trees at that moment.

“Over there.”

King Gujin propelled himself towards the tree in front.

In a flash, a black shadow hidden in the tree evaded him and fled.

“Think you can escape? Hyaa!”

With a loud shout, King Gujin pursued the shadowy figure.

Whoosh!

They sprinted through the street at a terrifying speed.

King Gujin’s Qigong, the Drifting Wind Wolf King Steps, was the talk of Kangho.

King Gujin moved like a wolf sprinting at full speed through the wind.

Nobody could stop his mad dash.

He repelled everything in his path and pursued the black shadow.

“Argh!”

“Eek!”

People collided with King Gujin and were thrown aside screaming.

Among them were martial artists, but the result was the same.

Everyone was flung away like broken branches, flying in all directions.

It was a reckless charge.

If he had any respect for the people around him or the martial arts sects stationed around Poyang Lake, he would not have been able to do this.

It was a mad act that only King Gujin could pull off.

But no matter how hard King Gujin executed the Drifting Wind Wolf King Steps, he couldn’t catch the sprinting shadow figure in front of him.

The shadowy figure was like a mirage.

A phantom within reach but yet untouchable.

Moreover, unlike King Gujin, the figure skilfully avoided all the people on the street. But the gap between them didn’t close, it widened.

This was proof that the shadow figure’s qigong skills were superior to King Gujin’s.

‘Damn! How is this possible?’

King Gujin bit his lip.

He was extremely proud of himself.

He thought he was the best not only in martial arts but also in qigong. But the shadowy figure’s qigong skills shattered his pride to pieces

“I will never forgive you, scoundrel!”

He couldn’t forgive the shadowy figure who had shattered his pride.

Shriek!

King Gujin unleashed his sword energy at the figure’s back.

The crimson sword energy shot straight ahead. However, the shadowy figure, as if it had eyes on its back, shifted slightly to the side to avoid the attack.

Crash!

The sword energy only managed to demolish an innocent wall.

At this, King Gujin’s rage surged to his head.

Determined to tear the shadowy figure to pieces, King Gujin continued his pursuit.

Fortunately, the distance wasn’t increasing any further.

It was clear that the black shadowy figure was luring him in.

It didn’t matter, though.

The scoundrel might think he’s luring him, but the moment he reaches his destination, he will soon regret his decision.

The black shadow left the bustling streets and entered a reed field by Poyang Lake.

The reeds, taller than a grown man, rippled like waves in the wind.

‘This is your trap, isn’t it? But it won’t work on me.’

Without a hint of hesitation, King Gujin plunged into the reeds.

The wall of reeds, obstructing his view, made it impossible to locate the black figure.

“Chyaaa!”

King Gujin roared as he fiercely swung his sword.

Swish!

A potent sword energy erupted in a straight line from his blade.

Reed leaves, sliced by the energy, soared into the air.

Through the falling reed leaves, the standing figure of the Black Figure was visible.

King Gujin strode towards them.

“Finally done running? Reveal your identity now.”

Sreeeng!

In one fluid motion, King Gujin drew out his Golden Emperor.

Holding the Gongpo and the Golden Emperor in the other, his momentum was truly fearsome.

The Black Figure too, seemingly giving up on fleeing, stood motionless.

With Gongpo pointing at the black figure, King Gujin spoke.

“Whether you reveal yourself or not, you will die by my hand. If you wish for a quick death

without pain, it would be best to reveal yourself.”

“That sword, you still have it.”

“What?”

At the Black Figure’s words, King Gujin wore a perplexed look.

The figure had spoken as if he knew him from the past.

Despite his suspicious gaze, the black figure continued speaking.

“Gongpo, that was the name of the sword…”

“Who are you?”

“It’s always like this. Those who are robbed weep and never forget the day, but those who rob and plunder easily forget”.

“Stop spouting nonsense and reveal yourself, bastard!”

At that moment, the black figure removed the hat attached to the Black Blood robe. The moonlight revealed a beautiful face that could hardly be described as masculine.

King Gujin recognized the man’s identity in an instant.

“You… you’re that assassin.”

“King Gujin!”

“Heh, you’ve really grown a spine. Daring to challenge me even though you’re nothing but an

assassin.”

“You’re as hasty as ever.”

“I have heard of your recent fame. ‘The Reaper’? What a ridiculous nickname. Has it filled you with a touch of confidence? Enough to dare challenge me.

King Gujin unleashed a formidable killing intent.

The aura he emitted caused the reeds around him to tremble wildly.

His appearance was still as ferocious as ever.

Pyo Wol looked deeply at King Gujin.

Earlier, when Pyo Wol had clashed with King Gujin, he had backed him into a corner with his assassination skills. But if the duel had lasted any longer, it would have been impossible to predict the outcome.

King Gujin boasted a level of cultivation and martial prowess that matched his age. Compared to him, Pyo Wol was a mere fledgling in Kangho.

Although he had managed to inflict serious injuries on King Gujin, he had ultimately failed to suppress him completely. As a result, King Gujin stole the Gongpo and disappeared, while

Soma joined the Wudang Sect.

If he had killed King Gujin back then, Noh Tae-tae would not have lost her life.

While death was never far off, there was a significant difference between dying naturally and being killed by another.

Finding King Gujin hadn’t been difficult.

He made no attempt to hide.

Most people would hide somewhere out of sight after causing such a huge incident, but not King Gujin.

Having lived a life where he never cared about the eyes of others and lived as he pleased, hiding was not even a consideration.

Given the circumstances, it wasn’t difficult for Sal-no to find out where King Gujin was. It was so easy that it was almost anticlimactic.

King Gujin’s killing intent intensified.

He was once the infamous King Gujin, a figure who blazed like fire within the Eight Constellations. Although age had etched wrinkles on his face, it had also deepened his martial prowess.

Being ferocious didn’t make him foolish.

He didn’t neglect the martial arts because he was self-indulgent.

On the contrary, he devoted himself more to martial arts in order to live freely.

Thanks to this, his martial arts had significantly strengthened since the past.

While he couldn’t match Pyo Wol’s Qigong skill, he had supreme confidence in his martial arts.

Furthermore, he had two legendary swords at his disposal.

Gongo and the Golden Emperor.

Thanks to the two swords he obtained from different places, he was able to fully unleash his Heavenly Wolf Blood Fang Sword technique

There was a big difference between being able to exert all your strength and not being able to.

“Go ahead and struggle to your heart’s content. You assassin!”

King Gujin roared, charging towards Pyo Wol.

Shwoooah!

His two swords spewed crimson sword aura.

Crossed in an X, the sword aura flew towards Pyo Wol at a terrifying speed.

Kwoong!

There was an explosion where the sword aura had collided. But there was no sign of Pyo Wol’s flesh or bones.

He had vanished without leaving a trace.

“Futile.”

Sneering, King Gujin swung his sword towards the left.

He had sensed Pyo Wol’s stealthy movement.

Swish!

A crescent-shaped sword aura was fired off in rapid succession.

King Gujin trusted his senses.

His senses were as sharp as a wolf’s, not missing even the slightest movement or hint.

No matter how covertly Pyo Wol moved, he couldn’t deceive King Gujin’s senses.

Kwakwakwak!

Explosive sounds continued to emanate from where the sword aura had burst.

The reed field was overturned and reed leaves covered the sky. But Pyo Wol’s trail was nowhere to be found.

He had successfully deceived King Gujin’s senses and completely disappeared.

“Coward!”

King Gujin growled.

He believed that a true martial artist should confront his enemy head-on.

Strength against strength.

Fighting with brute force was the virtue every martial artist should possess.

Thus, he despised the category of assassins who only lurked in the shadows, waiting for an

opportunity to strike.

“Hide as best you can. The moment I see a single hair of yours, you’ll be torn into ten thousand, no, a million pieces by my hands.”

King Gujin prowled through the reed field.

His figure resembled a venomous wolf.

It wasn’t without reason that he was known as the Wolf King.

Searching for Pyo Wol amidst the falling reed leaves was almost impossible, but King Gujin trusted his senses.

Whist!

Just then, he heard a faint sound.

It was such a small sound that King Gujin would never have heard it if he hadn’t maximized his senses.

“Haah!”

King Gujin swung his sword with full force.

Tiing!

A slight metallic sound followed, and a slender silver thread shot out.

It was the Soul Reaping thread made of qi.

King Gujin threw his body in the direction from which the Qi thread had come.

“So, you were hiding there.”

Kwagagagak!

He successively unfurled the deadly arcs of his Celestial Wolf Blood Fang Sword.

A storm of sword aura, potent and terrifying, raged on.

The storm from his two swords perfectly destroyed a circle ten metres in diameter.

“Hahaha! How audacious, a mere assassin dares to challenge me. I’ll grind you to dust.”

King Gujin was about to burst into laughter when a dark shadow rose behind him.

Contrasting the Black Blood Robe, there stood a man with a pale face. It was Pyo Wol.

His face was eerily calm, devoid of human emotion.

In his hands, he held two daggers that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

As if on a leisurely stroll, Pyo Wol moved behind King Gujin.

It wasn’t until Pyo Wol was within sight that King Gujin noticed.

“What the—?”

King Gujin’s eyes widened.

He had not sensed Pyo Wol’s approach.

It was as if he was seeing a ghost appear before him.

His shock quickly turned into rage.

“You bastard!”

King Gujin swung the Gongpo with all his might.

Pyo Wol simply tilted his head to dodge King Gujin’s attack, then jabbed a dagger towards his neck.

“Kruuk!”

Ddaang!

In haste, King Gujin used his sword to deflect Pyo Wol’s dagger. But Pyo Wol didn’t just have one dagger.

Just like King Gujin wielded two swords, Pyo Wol was also equipped with two daggers.

Shiiit!

The two daggers relentlessly targeted King Gujin’s vital points.

A powerful sense of danger engulfed King Gujin.

“You bastard!”