Chapter 608

The atmosphere at the Seven Stars Trading Company was chaotic.

And for good reason.

They were resting peacefully when, out of nowhere, a blade imbued with Sword Qi nearly obliterated them.

The method by which the blade was wielded reminded them of the ‘Sword Qi Technique’.

In the entire world, there was only one individual capable of wielding the blade using this unique Technique.

However, no one present mentioned his name.

It was as if his name itself was taboo.

At least the people of the Seven Stars Trading Company didn’t know the situation, so it wasn’t as serious as it was for Soma or Hong Ye-seol.

They were at ease seeing Pyo Wol valiantly stand up to the mysterious attacker,

But Soma, Hong Ye-Seol, and Hong Yushin, who knew the real situation, could not be so carefree.

Hong Yushin especially looked very serious.

There is only one person who can use the Sword Qi Technique like this. It should be Sword King Lee Cheon.

Hong Yushin considered himself to be fearless.

As the chief inspector of the Hao Clan, he had seen all sorts of things and had roamed the areas considered dangerous in Kangho.

Of course, he had more courage than anyone else.

However, even he could not help but feel intimidated by the name Lee Cheong.

An absolute martial artist who, together with Jang Cheon-Hwa of the Heavenly Martial Sect, represented this era.

His martial prowess was in a different league, even compared to the Eight Constellations and the Three Saints.

Lee Cheong could truly be called the strongest under heaven.

His nickname, the Sword King, was not given in vain.

It was given to him because he had no equal under the heavens when it came to wielding a sword.

Why did the Sword King come here?

Such a martial artist would not have come just to destroy the Seven Stars Trading Company.

His true target was certainly Pyo Wol.

The problem was why he had summoned Pyo Wol separately.

If he came to label Pyo Wol as the evil of Kangho and punish him, then the situation would be grave.

‘I feel so helpless. To be in this situation and not be able to do anything’.

As the chief inspector of the Hao Clan, he should have been an important figure in Kangho, but he felt useless in this situation, which filled him with self-loathing.

‘I don’t know. I really don’t know. shit, let whatever happens, happen.’

Eventually, he gave up thinking and closed his eyes.

But he had to open them again almost immediately.

“Big brother!”

He heard Soma’s voice.

He opened his eyes to see a familiar-looking man walking in the distance.

It didn’t take him long to recognize that it was Pyo Wol.

“Big brother! Are you alright?”

Soma was the first to rush towards him, followed by Hong Ye-Seol.

Finally, Hong Yushin approached Pyo Wol.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!”

Pyo Wol nodded his head.

Hong Yushin examined him closely, wondering if he was lying, but no trace of a wound was visible on Pyo Wol’s body.

Hong Yushin cautiously asked,

“Was it the Sword King?”

“Yes!”

“So it really was the Sword King. Why did he summon Grandmaster Pyo?”

“He wanted to talk.”

“No, you mean he made all that fuss just to talk?”

“Yes!”

“That’s not logical….”

“He’s not a man who can be judged by the common sense of the world.”

“Of course, but… Ah, I give up.”

Eventually, Hong Yushin’s thoughts tangled like a knotted thread.

He gave up thinking any further.

It was obvious that something important had happened between Pyo Wol and Lee Cheong. But there was no point in prying if Pyo Wol didn’t want to talk about it.

Soma and Hong Ye-Seol knew this as well.

So they were glad that he had returned safely, but they didn’t bother to ask what had happened, thinking that he would tell them when the time came.

Hong Ye-Seol said with a smile,

“It’s fortunate you’ve returned safely. You must be tired; rest soon.”

“Hmm!”

Pyo Wol nodded and returned to his original spot.

The camping site, which had been thrown into chaos by the flying sword’s assault, had been tidied once again.

As Pyo Wol sat by the fire, Yu-mugun, the head of the Seven Stars Trading Company, cautiously approached him.

“Sir, are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“Um, is there any chance that the one who attacked us today might return?”

Pyo Wol shook his head at Yu-mugun’s cautious inquiry.

“That won’t happen. Just proceed as planned.”

“Ah, thank you for answering. Then please rest well, as you must be tired.”

Yu-mugun bowed and then withdrew.

His demeanor when dealing with Pyo Wol was extremely cautious.

He had no other choice.

The rebellion within the Seven Stars Trading Company and the handling of the Green Forest Bandits were reasonable to understand. However, Pyo Wol’s martial prowess, facing off against Lee Cheong, was beyond his comprehension.

‘He is surely one of the absolute masters in Kangho.’

Yu-mugun, befitting the leader of a massive guild, was well-versed in the information of Kangho.

To survive in Kangho, one must gather intelligence. Among the information he gathered were the renowned masters of Kangho.

Especially the information of absolute masters.

However, among this information, there was no one like the man before him.

“If you’re an absolute master, you can change your appearance as much as you want.

If he considered that the current appearance might not be real, the deduction wasn’t too difficult

‘It must be the Reaper. He must have changed his appearance and joined our group’.

It was already known in Kangho that Sea Gate city had been invaded by the Ghost Fleet and

the Martial Sword Alliance. Although everyone knew that Sea Dragon Manor had repelled them, the details were not made public.

This was because Sea Dragon Manor and the Hao Clan were desperately hiding the information. Although they could not fool the more informed sects, the ordinary people remained in the dark.

Yu-mugun was no exception. But he was a man of great intelligence.

He knew that Dokgo Hwang held malice towards Pyo Wol.

While people were only talking about the Martial Sword Alliance’s attack on Sea Gate City, he pondered why the Martial Sword Alliance had come to Sea Gate City.

If the one before him was Pyo Wol, all the questions were answered.

‘Dokgo Hwang was pursuing the Reaper but ended up being outsmarted instead.’

The thought of it gave him goosebumps all over his body.

Traveling with the Reaper.

It was something he had never dared to imagine.

He was more afraid than pleased about traveling with him.

After all, it was natural for a big tree to face strong winds.

He was afraid that standing beside him would mean facing some storm he didn’t see coming.

And yet, he didn’t have the courage to ask Pyo Wol to leave.

Whether it was death or life, he had to accompany him to Zhengzhou.

“May nothing happen…” Yu-mugun thought, sitting in his place.

Merchants around looked at Yu-mugun curiously, but he kept his mouth tightly shut and said nothing.

He blankly stared at Pyo Wol, who was sitting across the fire.

The day felt like a terrible nightmare.

The next morning, the merchants were on the move early.

They tidied up the place where they had slept and had jerky for breakfast on the carriage.

Pyo Wol chewed on jerky while looking ahead.

He was sitting on the roof of the carriage.

He had come out because it was stuffy inside.

Hong Yushin and Soma were sitting in the driver’s seat as usual, while Hong Ye-seol was sitting inside.

The road was rough, and the carriage jolted heavily.

It felt as if it would break at any moment, but Hong Yushin expertly guided the horses to minimize the impact.

Still, the discomfort didn’t change, but no one among them complained.

Life in Kangho was always full of discomfort.

You had to get used to discomfort.

The moment a martial artist began to seek comfort, his senses would become dull. Many who became dull and failed to show their true abilities would have false ambitions.

It was not uncommon for Kangho to become more chaotic because of such people. So seasoned people like Pyo Wol or Hong Yushin were wary of becoming too comfortable.

Pyo Wol chewed the jerky, over and over again.

He chewed a single piece almost obsessively, taking nearly a minute to swallow it.

His mind had been cluttered since meeting with Lee Cheong.

His proposal was indeed unexpected.

“Ha!”

Suddenly Pyo Wol sighed.

The more he thought, the more complicated his head became.

In the end, Pyo Woll gave up thinking.

Nothing was certain.

Kangho was so volatile that you couldn’t predict what would happen the next day. There was no use worrying in advance.

Pyo Wol lay down on the carriage roof and closed his eyes.

Clatter! Clatter!

The carriage seemed as if it would tip over at any moment, but Pyo Wol simply fell asleep.

The rest of the journey went smoothly.

There were no thieves eyeing the goods, and they were not swept into any other troubles.

Thanks to this, the Seven Stars Trade Caravan managed to reach Zhengzhou a fortnight after leaving Sea Gate city.

“We made it…”

“Haa!”

The merchants and laborers looked at Zhengzhou with expressions of joy.

Though they had been on many trading expeditions, none had been as exhausting and mentally taxing as this one.

Their joy at returning safely was thus amplified.

After arriving with the Seven Star Trading Company, Yu-mugun approached Pyo Wol and the others.

“Thanks to you, we were able to arrive safely. I sincerely thank you for the escort.”

“It’s nothing. We received payment for our service, so don’t worry about it. Thanks to you, we had a comfortable journey as well.”

Speaking on behalf of everyone, Hong Yushin responded.

Yu-mugun glanced at Pyo Wol, who was already far from the carriage.

He cautiously asked Hong Yushin,

“Would it be all right if we hosted a dinner in your honor?”

“Ah, no, that’s fine.”

“But thanks to you, we’ve come back safely…”

“Master Yu!”

“Yes?”

“You suspect his identity, don’t you?”

“……”

“Let’s just move on quietly. He doesn’t like being entangled in unnecessary relationships. He dislikes it even more when someone tries to flaunt his name. So let’s part ways quietly, as if we never had any connection. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes!”

“I’m glad you understand. Then we’ll take our leave.”

“Yes!”

Hong Yushin turned around with a faint smile.

Yu-mugun stood blankly, watching the retreating figures of Pyo Wol and his companions.

Pyo Wol and his party did not stay a day in Zhengzhou, but immediately headed for Dengfeng county.

Dengfeng county was just nearby from Zhengzhou.

If they walked diligently, they could reach it within a day.

The four headed towards Dengfeng county.

Fortunately, they arrived in Dengfeng before sunset.

Though evening was approaching, there were still quite a few people on the streets of Dengfeng. Many of them were pilgrims, seeking to enter Shaolin Temple.

Since ancient times, Shaolin Temple had been the spiritual pillar of Henan Province.

Not only martial artists but also common people visited Shaolin Temple to offer incense.

With their strong support, Shaolin Temple had been able to act as the martial leader of Kangho for a thousand years.

Though its presence had weakened in recent times, it still received reverence from many in Henan.

As soon as they entered Dengfeng county, Hong Yushin spoke to Pyo Wol.

“Let’s part ways here. I need to go to the Hao Clan branch.”

“There’s a branch here?”

“We run a branch to monitor the trends in Shaolin Temple. I’ll go there and check if there’s any new information.”

Hong Yushin knew he couldn’t enter the Shaolin Temple. It was unlikely that Shaolin Temple would easily accept the chief inspector of Hao Clan’s surveillance unit, especially with his involvement with Pyo Wol.

His role, and that of the Hao clan, was simply to connect Pyo Wol with the Shaolin Temple. Hong Yushin knew very well the line he had to keep.

It was better to discreetly exit before being disgraced at the mountain gate.

Pyo Wol nodded.

“Do that.”

“Then I’ll visit you later.”

Hong Yushin saluted and vanished somewhere.

Pyo Wol spoke to Hong Ye-Seol and Soma.

“We’ll sleep in an inn tonight and head to Shaolin tomorrow.”

“Yes!”

“Got it, brother!”

The three of them entered a nearby inn.

As if reflecting the turbulent atmosphere of the Kangho, there were numerous martial artists within the inn.

They all kept their eyes on Pyo Wol’s newly arrived party.