Light Novel: Volume 16 Episode 13
Manhwa: N/A
The assassin, Hong Ye-seol, felt her mind go blank for a moment.
Her entire body felt as if it had been smashed to pieces by a giant sledgehammer. The impact was so great that she couldn’t breathe for a moment.
She knew without having to confirm it.
That she had sustained severe internal and external injuries.
Blood continued to flow from her lips.
‘What on earth?’
She had thoroughly checked all potential threats before the assassination.
It was not as if her preparation was done in a day or two.
Noh Kang-hyun was not an easy target.
His martial arts were top-notch and among the best in Jianghu. To assassinate someone like Noh Kang-hyun, she had to go all out and prepare thoroughly.
That’s why she collaborated with Lee Myung-hak and his workshop to create the Ink Thunder Bomb.1
The Ink Thunder Bomb contained a mixture of toxic poison and chemicals that even a single breath would cause the person’s internal energy to scatter and make it impossible for them to breathe properly.
But that was not all she prepared.
She also discovered the boat of the Blood Ant Chamber and had been on it since dawn. And to help her in this endeavor, she used a device made in Lee Myung-hak’s workshop.
She clung to the prow of the boat without moving, as if she had turned into a rock.
Even when the ship set sail with Noh Kang-hyun on board, she waited and waited, aiming for the right moment.
Fortunately, the boat’s path did not deviate from her prediction. The only thing she didn’t anticipate was Noh Kang-hyun’s actions.
She never thought that Noh Kang-hyun would inspect the prow of the boat.
Because of this, her hiding place was discovered, and she had no choice but to use the Ink Thunder Bomb to ambush him.
It wasn’t a perfect situation for an assassination, but luckily enough, the Ink Thunder Bomb worked and she managed to kill him.
By then, the only thing left for her to do was to escape, but she received an unexpected attack.
Hong Ye-seol held her breath from deep in the water and look at the surface.
She could see the prow of the ship that Noh Kang-hyun was on.
Then, she saw the boat tossing and turning.
The person who had thrown the qi attack at Hong Ye-seol had flung himself into the air and landed on the boat where Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples were.
She could feel his gaze scanning the deep waters below.
Hong Ye-seol felt chills all over her body.
‘What is this?’
Her location was deep under the surface of Poyang Lake.
No matter how clear the waters of Poyang Lake were, it was impossible for the human eye to find her at this depth. But the person who had thrown the qi energy at her seemed to be scanning the water beneath the surface with a frightening gaze, as if defying such common sense.
‘Is that even possible?’
It was then.
Shoo!
A beam of energy pierced through the water, heading towards her.
Hong Ye-seol quickly channeled her internal energy and moved out of the way.
Kwaang!
Immediately afterward, an explosion occurred right where she had been.
‘Kuek!’
The shockwave from the explosion hit Hong Ye-seol.
She ended up being swept away by the turbulent current, pushing her nearly dozens of meters away from where she had been. But she could not afford to relax yet.
Shoo!
Another qi energy flew towards her.
‘Heuk!’
Kwaang!
Hong Ye-seol narrowly avoided the attack again. However, things were not looking good for her.
The person on the boat was tracking her location like a ghost.
No matter how excellent she was at swimming and holding her breath underwater for a long time, she couldn’t stay underwater forever.
Being human, she would eventually reach her limit and have to stick her head out of the water to catch oxygen.
‘Who the hell is it?’
Ordinary qi attacks could only impact the surface of the water. It could not penetrate it. But the unknown person’s attack pierced the surface of the water and exploded exactly where Hong Ye-seol had been.
It was a power and precision that transcended Hong Ye-seol’s understanding.
As far as she knew, there was no warrior in the vicinity who had mastered such a technique.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
Perhaps that’s why she yearned Pyo-wol’s embrace so much.
It was probably no coincidence that the first person she thought of when she was cornered like this was Pyo-wol.
‘I must survive.’
She spread her internal energy with all her might.
Hong Ye-seol swam at a fast pace, but the boat that Noh Kang-hyun and his disciples had been on was chasing her at a rapid pace.
That meant they knew exactly where she was going.
The person on the boat was driving her into a corner.
Finally, Hong Ye-seol’s breath had reached its limit.
She couldn’t hold her breath any longer.
She had to make a decision.
She rushed to the surface.
She headed for a boat that was fishing nearby.
Splash!
As someone suddenly sprung from the water, the fishermen who had been fishing on the boat became startled and jumped up.
“Hik!”
“What’s this?”
Unperturbed by the fishermen’s gazes, Hong Ye-seol caught her breath and looked at the boat where Noh Kang-hyun had been.
“You’ve come out, assassin!”
On the prow of the boat stood the person who had attacked her.
He was a handsome man with long hair.
A man in his late twenties with a rugged appearance and refreshing smile. He also held a sword that curved gently in his hand.
It was a long sword, much longer than an ordinary one.
The moment she saw the man, Hong Ye-seol felt her chest tighten. The man’s eyes were putting pressure on her, making it difficult for her to breathe.
‘Was there such a person in the Jianghu?’
Whoever this person was, he was not in her intelligence network.
The man looked straight at Hong Ye-seol and asked,
“Who did you kill? And under whose orders? You assassin!”
“……”
“Ho! So, you’re choosing to remain silent?”
The man laughed, baring his white teeth.
‘A lion?’
For a moment, Hong Ye-seol felt as if a giant lion was baring its teeth and laughing at her.
Swish!
At that moment, a fearsome qi energy flew at her.
She had no time to think.
Hong Ye-seol dived back into the water.
The terrifying energy attack missed her head by a whisker, yet it didn’t cause the slightest damage to the fishing boat.
The man had skillfully controlled his attack to avoid causing any damage to the fishing boat.
‘A righteous martial artist.’
What he did was a behavior often done by martial artists belonging to the orthodox factions. Besides that, there were only a few martial artists who could throw an energy attack so accurately, especially at the man’s age.
A chill ran down Hong Ye-seol’s spine.
Although she had been active as an assassin for a long time, this was the first time she had faced such an opponent.
Crash!
The qi attack came crashing down the spot where she had been.
Hong Ye-seol bit her lips hard.
Her lips burst, and blood flowed out.
‘This won’t do.’
She could never shake off her opponent with ordinary methods.
She needed to do something more extreme.
Artificial movements tend to interfere with the waves. It was clear that the opponent would not miss even such a subtle change.
Hong Ye-seol went deeper into the water.
Fortunately, Poyang Lake was very deep.
The problem was that the pressure she felt increased as she went deeper into the water.
Under normal circumstances, she would not have been able to endure for long and would have had to rise to the surface again.
But, Hong Ye-seol had a trick up her sleeve.
It was the Turtle Breathing Technique.
A method that is capable of making the body’s condition similar to that of a dead person. If Hong Ye-seol decided to use the Turtle Breathing technique, no one would be able to detect her presence.
The only downside was that she would not be able to move her body at will for as long as she was using the said technique.
While Pyo-wol could move around freely while using the Turtle Breathing technique, Hong Ye-seol’s proficiency and mastery were far from being as advanced as Pyo-wol’s.
Hong Ye-seol surrendered herself to the flow of the current, still using the Turtle Breathing Technique.
* * *
“Would you look at that? Did she use the Turtle Breathing Technique? Her presence suddenly completely disappeared.”
The man murmured as he peered into the lake.
He could clearly feel the assassin’s presence a moment ago, since the more she struggle and move, the stronger her presence became. But now her presence had completely disappeared.
There was only one possibility.
“Quite impressive! Thinking of escaping by using the Turtle Breathing Technique.”
The man crouched on the boat and closely watched the flow of the water.
Despite appearing to be completely still, water in a lake has a certain flow.
The man possessed the insight and intellect to grasp the flow of the giant lake.
The man ordered Lee Gu-yeol,
“Steer the boat over there.”
“E, Excuse me, but who are you?”
Lee Gu-yeol asked cautiously.
The man in front of him had not been on the boat from the beginning.
He was someone who had jumped over from a nearby boat.
From Lee Gu-yeol’s perspective, the man was an intruder who had come into the boat without permission.
The problem was that the intruder’s martial arts were beyond imagination.
The man may had appeared to be swinging his sword casually, but a half-moon-shaped sword energy broke through the surface and exploded deep below the water.
This was the first time Lee Gu-yeol had ever seen such a sword technique of that level, so his eyes were filled with a mixture of wonder and fear.
The same was true for Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples.
They did not even have the time to grieve their master’s death since they were feeling a strong sense of caution towards the man who had suddenly come in.
They all have been taught by a great martial artist.
Naturally, they immediately recognized that the man’s level was out of the ordinary.
The man possessed the kind of strength that even Noh Kang-hyun in his lifetime wouldn’t dare to boast about.
Noh Kang-hyun’s leading disciple stepped forward and bowed to the man.
“Thank you for your help. I am Gong Ji-pyo, the head disciple of Noh Kang-hyun. May I know your esteemed name? We will definitely repay this favor.”
“What favor? We haven’t even captured the assassin yet. Save your gratitude for after we do.”
“But–”
“By the way, was the person who fell victim to the assassin Noh Kang-hyun? It’s a pity, considering he was a noble man of Jianghu.”
The man looked genuinely sorry.
If only he had noticed the assassin’s movements earlier, he could have prevented the unfortunate outcome.
It was a mere coincidence that the man had been in the area.
He needed some time alone.
So he had cast his boat adrift and was lying down, deep in thought.
The gently rocking boat on the calm lake was the perfect environment for contemplation.
Lost in thought, he had drifted off to sleep.
He had been dreaming when suddenly there was a commotion from a passing fishing boat.
Seeing Noh Kang-hyun being killed by an assassin, he didn’t hesitate to jump aboard.
He was well aware of Noh Kang-hyun’s reputation.
Noh Kang-hyun’s death could potentially cause great chaos in Jianghu. That’s why he had hurried to catch the assassin.
The only way to prevent chaos was to find out who had commissioned the assassin.
Gong Ji-pyo asked the man once again,
“Please let us know your honorable name.”
“Tsk!”
“Although we were unable to prevent our master’s death due to our lack of ability, we are not people who fail to recognize a favor. So, please tell us your name.”
“I can’t help it then. My name is Lee Geumhan.”
“Lee Geumhan?”
“Yes!”
“B, By any chance, are you from the Frenzied Warrior Sect?”
Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples’ eyes widened in shock.
The man neither said yes nor no to their question.
But his attitude convinced Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples.
They knew the man’s identity.
“So you’re the Sword Maniac, Master Lee Geumhan?”
“Haha! This is quite embarrassing.”
The man, Lee Geumhan, wrinkled his nose and laughed. However, Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples who were looking at him couldn’t laugh.
Lee Geumhan.
They knew the weight his name carried.
The Frenzied Warrior Sect was known as one of the top martial arts sects in Jianghu along with the Celestial Martial Sect.
Lee Geumhan was a young martial artist whose strength was unparalleled even among the crazed warriors of the Frenzied Warrior Sect, who were obsessed with martial arts.
He was the only martial artist who Jang Mugeuk, the successor of the Celestial Martial Sect, considers as a rival.
Lee Geumhan’s nickname was Sword Maniac.
A title he received for his reputation of being obsessed with swords.
He was a martial artist who appeared to be a cheerful and good-natured person on the outside, but could transform into a madman as soon as he held a sword.
That was who Lee Geumhan was.
Lee Geumhan suddenly touched a black stain on Noh Kang-hyun’s corpse. It was the trace of the Ink Thunder Bomb.
Lee Geumhan sniffed the scent of the Ink Thunder Bomb on his finger.
“Is it a mixture of potassium nitrate and sulfur?”
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