Light Novel: Volume 16 Episode 12
Manhwa: N/A
A fairly large fishing boat could be seen heading towards the other side of Poyang Lake.
Among the fishing boats operating in Poyang Lake, quite a few were large vessels. However, it was rare for a fishing boat to cross Poyang Lake. The lake was so vast and abundant with fish that there was no need to go fishing all the way to the other side.
The fact that this particular boat would go all the way to the other side of the lake when they could have just fished on the near shore was proof that they have another agenda.
“Who the hell are we supposed to pick up? Damn it!”
A sullen-looking man grumbled from the helm.
The man, whose appearance looked like a mix of rat and tiger, was named Lee Gu-yeol.
Lee Gu-yeol was a henchman of Deung Chol-ung, the leader of the Blood Ant Gang.
His face was filled with dissatisfaction as he traveled on the fishing boat to his destination.
Although he was someone who would not hesitate to carry out Deung Chol-ung’s orders, he did not want to undertake this particular mission.
He had nearly lost his life in a raid on the Imperial Yuan Merchant Group’s ship not long ago.
He had trusted the warriors of the Rain Sword Mountain Manor, but Pyo-wol’s sudden intervention forced him to jump into the water to save his life.
Still, he and his men were lucky.
All the warriors of the Rain Sword Mountain Manor were killed without exception. Even now, he shudders at the memory of it.
The men who had carried the attack with him had all suffered severe mental damage. They were terrified and shrunken by Pyo-wol’s inhuman martial arts.
Although they were bottom-dwelling lives who had survived rough times and prided themselves on being fearless, the sight shown by Pyo-wol was enough to instill fear deep into their hearts.
After their harrowing experience on the boat, Lee Gu-yeol and his men were reluctant to board a ship again. However, they could not defy Deung Chol-ung’s orders, so they had to get on the boat again and head for their destination.
The place they arrived at was a small dock on the other side of the lake.
There were more than a dozen people waiting for them at the dock, which didn’t have a name.
All of them had their faces covered by a wide-brimmed hat.
An eerie energy radiated from their entire bodies.
‘Shit!’
Lee Gu-yeol’s expression twisted, and a feeling of reluctance suddenly overcome him.
Whenever he felt this way, something bad always happened.
However, Lee Gu-yeol forced a smile and said the prearranged code,
“Are you the ones who came to pick the red flowers?”
“Are you the ones who came out of the ant hill?”
“That’s right.”
When the agreed code came out, Lee Gu-yeol breathed a sigh of relief.
He ordered his men.
“Lower the gangplank.”
“Yes!”
His subordinates hurriedly tried to lower the gangplank to the dock. But before the gangplank could be lowered, the hooded figures sprang up and landed on the boat.
The moment Lee Gu-yeol saw their movements, he knew.
‘They’re all experts.’
It wasn’t just because they easily climbed onto the high deck.
It was because the ship didn’t move at all, even though over a dozen people jumped on the deck at once.
Those who possessed qinggong at this level could not be ordinary warriors.
The one who seemed to be the leader spoke to Lee Gu-yeol.
“Let’s set off.”
“Yes!”
With his reply, Lee Gu-yeol gestured for his men to depart.
The men hurriedly reeled in the boarding plank and unfurled the sail.
The sail, filled with wind, moved the boat in the opposite direction.
Once the dock was no longer in sight, the warriors on the boat took off their hats.
“Whew! I feel like we can breathe now.”
“Indeed.”
The ones who had taken off their hats were an old man and nine young warriors.
The old man had grown a distinguished beard, and his demeanor was more akin to a scholar than a warrior.
The old man’s name was Noh Kang-hyun.
He was also known as the ‘Scholar as Wise as Seven Sages.’
When he was younger, he was more renowned as a scholar than a martial artist, and now that he has gotten older, the two blended together, earning him the respect and admiration of many.
The nine young martial artists who followed him were all his disciples.
They were the ones who had received his teachings from an early age and achieved excellence in both martial and literary arts.
One disciple asked Noh Kang-hyun cautiously,
“But is it really necessary for us to go there? I don’t understand why Master has to respond to Young Master Jang’s invitation.”
“Didn’t he say he had an important favor to ask?”
“Then shouldn’t he be the one to come looking for you, Master?”
“I heard the situation in Poyang Lake is chaotic. He must have called because he can’t afford to move out of it. You should understand that much.”
“But–”
“Jin-beom!”
“Yes, Master!”
“It’s not that I don’t understand you. But remember, things in the world do not always go our way. Even if we suffer a loss, if it’s for a great cause, it is right for us to take action. So, please do not mention the matter any further.”
“Understood, Master!”
The disciple who had raised objections bowed his head and closed his mouth.
He didn’t think it was proper for him to raise the issue any further when his master had spoken to this extent.
‘Could there be trouble?’
He also knew that the situation at Poyang Lake was chaotic.
And that it was a precarious situation, but even though he was worried, he felt somewhat relieved knowing Noh Kang-hyun’s prestige and reputation.
Noh Kang-hyun was a man who was respected by all, regardless of his political affiliation.
His fair character and generosity towards those in need were widely known in Jianghu.
His martial prowess was also so great and remarkable that he had dealt with countless wicked people. Many people admired him for this.
Noh Kang-hyun had a great favor to repay from his youth to the Rain Sword Mountain Manor. That was why he was willing to answer Jang Hoyeon’s call and travel all the way to the shores of the chaotic Poyang Lake.
“Isn’t he asking me to mediate between the Silver Lotus Society? How can I not go?”
“It’s strange that they’re asking you, Master, to mediate.”
“What’s so strange about it? Don’t you think he believes I can easily mediate since I have connections with the Dragon Sky Valley and Heavenly Guardian Association?”
“Well, that might be the case, but–”
Noh Kang-hyun had been wandering the world, performing acts of justice all his life.
As a result, he formed many connections with many influential factions in Jianghu.
Among them were the Dragon Sky Valley and Heavenly Guardian Association.
The leaders of the Dragon Sky Valley, Yong Geomsan, and Heavenly Guardian Association, Namgung Yugum, treated him with the utmost respect as an acquaintance.
Even if the Golden Heaven Society and the Silver Lotus Society were in a bitter conflict in Poyang Lake, if he stepped in to mediate, they would not be able to just ignore him.
Such was his weight and importance in Jianghu.
Noh Kang-hyun looked at the vast expanse of Poyang Lake and said,
“Come to think of it, Young Master Jang from Rain Sword Mountain Manor is truly an impressive person. For him to ask me to mediate, it must be because he doesn’t want the matter to escalate any further than this, right?”
“Young Master Jang may be a great figure in the martial arts world, but he doesn’t seem to be completely just.”
“On what basis are you saying that?”
“It’s just a disciple’s opinion based on the rumors I’ve heard.”
“Hmp, that’s not good. For you to judge a person so harshly based on mere rumors.”
“But–”
“Shut that mouth of yours.”
“Yes!”
In the end, the disciple closed his mouth.
His eyes were filled with pitiful and regretful light as he looked at his master.
While it was clear that Noh Kang-hyun was considered a big shot in Jianghu and deserved to be respected, he was too naive and easy to be taken advantage of.
‘Jang Hoyeon probably didn’t invite Master with pure intentions.’
He had been suspicious of Jang Hoyeon’s intentions for calling his master and his fellow disciples to Poyang Lake. However, he couldn’t say anything more since his master had reacted so stubbornly.
Undaunted by the conflict between master and pupil, the ship moved forward. The wind-filled sails propelled the ship forward at high speed.
In a blink of an eye, the boat already arrived in the middle of Poyang Lake.
Looking around, they could see nothing but the horizon. It was at this moment that they realized that Poyang Lake is as big as the sea.
They could also see several boats casting nets to catch fish.
Among the boats, one man could be seen lying down, doing nothing but keeping the boat afloat.
All of these elements came together to create a beautiful picture.
It was an incredibly peaceful moment.
“How wonderful!”
Noh Kang-hyun exclaimed as he admired the picturesque and beautiful landscape.
What moved him more than anything else was the gigantic clouds hovering over the water’s surface. The clouds resembled a dragon intertwined in between the blue sky and clear waters.
He had traveled around Jianghu for most of his life, doing countless righteous acts, but he had never seen such scenery that stirred his heart so much.
Noh Kang-hyun gazed at the scene before him, mesmerized.
His disciples felt the same way.
“I’ve always heard Poyang Lake being compared to a small sea, it truly lives up to its reputation.”
“Indeed, just by looking at it, I feel my heart soaring.”
“How beautiful.”
The emotions the disciples felt were no different from Noh Kang-hyun’s.
Lee Gu-yeol looked at them and sneered inwardly.
‘Idiots! What are they talking about? What’s so special about this scenery?’
For Noh Kang-hyun, it was a spectacle he could only see once in his lifetime, but for Lee Gu-yeol, who had spent his whole life around Poyang Lake, it was nothing but a monotonous repetition of the same scenery.
He felt contempt for Noh Kang-hyun and his party, who made a spectacle out of an ordinary landscape.
Noh Kang-hyun, drawn by the scenery, moved towards the prow.
Lee Gu-yeol called out to him,
“Be careful. If you stumble, you’ll fall into the water.”
“Heh heh! Don’t worry.”
Noh Kang-hyun laughed and stepped forward.
Standing at the prow, he embraced the wind blowing at him.
It had been a long time since he felt so refreshed.
“Musu, I don’t know how he’s doing. If we meet again, we’ll have to drink for three days and three nights to settle scores.”
His friend lived a few hundred miles from Poyang Lake on Baiyun Mountain. Noh Kang-hyun had sent him a letter, asking to meet at Poyang Lake.
“It seems like things will go well–”
Noh Kang-hyun’s words suddenly stopped.
He saw something clinging like a spider on the prow of the boat.
It didn’t take long to recognize that the object that looked like aquatic plants at a glance was, in fact, a person.
It was a person dressed in black.
The person was hiding beneath the gently curving prow, with their body pinned to the boat.
For a moment, the person looked up at Noh Kang-hyun.
“What?”
The moment Noh Kang-hyun saw the unknown person’s emotionless gaze, he felt an ominous sense of foreboding.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the black figure that had been hanging on the boat’s prow threw something into the air.
It was a ball the size of a child’s fist.
Pop!
The ball exploded in mid-air, and black smoke billowed out like crazy.
The black smoke instantly obscured the vision of the people on the boat.
“What is it?”
“I, It’s an ambush!”
Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples cried out in alarm.
They hurriedly rushed to the side of the boat where Noh Kang-hyun was. However, the black smoke obscured their vision causing their pace to become slower.
“Damn it!”
“Master!”
Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples swung their swords, creating a gust of wind.
Whoom!
A strong wind arose, but it was not enough to push away the black smoke.
“How dare an assassin–!”
Shiiing!
From within the black smoke, the sound of a sword being swung could be heard, along with Noh Kang-hyun’s angry roar.
“Master! Are you all right?”
“This smoke… keugh!”
Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples coughed repeatedly.
The black smoke was not simple fog.
It was laced with various substances, making it difficult to breathe.
Even a few breaths made their breath caught in their throats and their chests felt tight.
Clang! Clang!
Even then, the sound of clashing weapons continued to echo from within the black smoke.
The disciples found some comfort in knowing that Noh Kang-hyun was still holding on. They did not believe that their master would be assassinated and killed by an assassin.
Their master was too powerful to be killed by a mere assassin.
They had no doubt that Noh Kang-hyun would soon suppress the assailant.
It was then.
“AHH!”
A piercing scream suddenly echoed.
The disciples recognized it as Noh Kang-hyun’s scream.
“Master!”
“Damn it!”
They could no longer concern themselves with the black smoke.
They pushed through the smoke and moved forward. Then they saw Noh Kang-hyun, kneeling on the deck.
In front of Noh Kang-hyun stood the assassin, clad in black robes and a mask.
The assassin was holding a sword dripping with blood, which was no doubt Noh Kang-hyun’s.
Then, Noh Kang-hyun’s head slowly dropped.
He had breathed his last.
“Master!”
“Aaah!”
The disciples attacked frantically. But the assassin deftly avoided their attacks and jumped into the water.
It was at that moment,
“Would you look at that? Is that an assassin?”
With a faint voice, a strong qi energy flew from a small boat nearby and struck the assassin.
Crash!
“Gah!”
The assassin was hit by the qi attack and plunged into the water.
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