Light Novel: Volume 16 Episode 20
Manhwa: N/A
Gwan Musu was rendered speechless.
Pyo-wol had answered his question with his body.
By demonstrating his martial arts prowess, Pyo-wol made it clear to everyone that he had no reason to sneak and use assassination skills to kill Noh Kang-hyun.
There was no better proof than that.
Gwan Musu pursed his lips several times, but his voice never escaped his lips.
“Ugh!”
With his head lowered, he let out a ragged breath.
Only then did Pyo-wol shift his gaze to the martial artists he had knocked down.
None of them were dead, but they were mangled in such a way that they might as well have been.
Pyo-wol approached the last man he had taken down.
“Heeuk!”
The man looked at Pyo-wol with a face pale from terror.
He wanted to run away, but for some reason, he couldn’t move an inch.
Swoosh!
At that moment, Pyo-wol pulled out a phantom dagger from his waist.
“N-No, don’t come near me!”
The man desperately cried, but he couldn’t stop Pyo-wol from approaching.
The man quickly scanned his surroundings.
There were still many people around.
But the atmosphere had changed considerably from earlier.
The madness that had filled Poyang Lake moments ago was gone, and a suffocating silence had taken over the streets.
Fear filled the eyes of those watching Pyo-wol. They didn’t even dare to breathe out loud.
This was no longer an atmosphere where a few words and stones could spark violence.
The countless people on the street had been crushed by the momentum of a single person.
Gulp!
It was so quiet that even the sound of someone swallowing dryly could be heard as loud as a thunderclap.
In that stiffling silence, Pyo-wol suddenly opened his mouth,
“People like you are the problem.”
“Wh, What do you mean?”
“You incite people, and when it comes down to it, you would run back behind the scenes.”
“I-I can explain!”
“Then explain. So that I can understand.”
“It’s–”
The man racked his brain desperately, but his mind was blank. He couldn’t think of anything.
Pyo-wol got down on one knee, locking eyes with the man.
“I’m listening. Go ahead and tell me.”
“That, that is… I mean…!”
“Why can’t you explain yourself now? You were talking so well earlier. You were even throwing stones at me–”
“Huek! I-I’m sorry!”
“Don’t apologize. I have no intention of accepting it anyway.”
With the phantom dagger, Pyo-wol lightly traced the back of the man’s hand.
The man flinched as he felt the cold metal graze his skin. He, too, was someone who learned and practiced martial arts.
Though not a famed expert in the Jianghu, he was proud of his reasonable strength. That’s why he dared to act so boldly.
He thought that if the worst came to the worst, he could at least run away and save himself. But now, he painfully realized how naive and foolish that thought was.
He was completely powerless in front of Pyo-wol.
Whoosh!
Pyo-wol suddenly drove the phantom dagger into the back of the man’s hand.
The man’s face contorted in pain, but he wasn’t even given the freedom to scream.
Pyo-wol slightly shook his head in front of him.
It was as if Pyo-wol was warning him that if he screamed, he would kill him.
Desperately, the man suppressed his urge to scream.
Then, suddenly, a smile appeared on Pyo-wol’s face.
It was as if Pyo-wol was praising him for a job well done. This confirmed the man’s suspicions.
Whoosh!
Another phantom dagger was thrust into the back of his other hand.
‘Keuh!’
The man gritted his teeth, suppressing his screams.
The fear that even the slightest whimper would cost him his life dominated him.
Pyo-wol drew another phantom dagger.
The dagger circled and hovered over the man’s heart.
“Eueh!”
The man shuddered uncontrollably, as if he had been struck by a seizure.
His body was reacting on its own to the terror of impending death.
Foam formed at the corners of his mouth.
The man was on the brink of madness.
He was being driven to such a state because of the unbearable terror.
Furthermore, the fact that he was not even allowed to scream at will was pushing his sanity to the brink.
Thunk!
Suddenly, something inside his head snapped.
“Hehehe!”
Suddenly, his expression loosened, and he let out a strange laugh.
Focus left his eyes completely.
“Has he gone mad?”
“He’s lost his mind.”
Those nearby recognized the man’s condition at a glance.
Unable to withstand the extreme fear, the man had gone insane.
Pyo-wol retrieved the phantom dagger from the back of the man’s hand.
“Hehehe!”
With bloodied hands, the man rubbed his face, laughing hysterically.
The sight of a genuine madman terrified the people on the street.
Among them, the most terrified one was Gwan Musu, who had confidently attacked Pyo-wol earlier.
He was staring blankly at Pyo-wol, already forgetting the fact that he was supposed to be avenging the death of his friend, Noh Kang-hyun.
Only now did he regret not heeding the warnings of Noh Kang-hyun’s disciples.
The man before him hadn’t simply gained such a grand title out of sheer luck.
He truly possesses both the determination and skill befitting of his reputation.
“Re… Reaper.”
Calling him by that notorious title seemed utterly fitting.
* * *
“It’s over.”
Namgung Seol muttered.
She had been watching the situation unfold from the beginning to the end.
She’d seen Gwan Musu, who after seeing Noh Kang-hyun’s corpse, ran off in a frenzy looking for Pyo-wol with a horde of martial artists behind him.
Namgung Seol knew all too well how terrifying mob psychology could be.
While individuals are seemingly insignificant and frail on their own, when banded together, they lose their fear and unleash a hatred bordering on madness.
Sometimes, such madness would consume even the strongest of masters.
Honestly, Namgung Seol thought that even Pyo-wol would be somewhat affected by the madness.
Even if he was called the Reaper of Jianghu, she didn’t believe he would be able to quell the madness of so many people.
It was clear that the moment Pyo-wol succumbed to Gwan Musu’s pressure and tried to justify himself, his authority would have been undermined.
A single flaw would appear in the otherwise impeccable reputation he had maintained up till now. That alone was a significant blow to Pyo-wol.
And if he ruthlessly took Gwan Musu’s life, he would face Jianghu’s wrath.
Even if Pyo-wol himself didn’t care, considering his future actions, the loss was undeniable.
Namgung Seol had planned to step in and help Pyo-wol either when he was stuck between a rock and a hard place or when he was faced with an extreme choice.
Namgung Seol had hoped to lure Pyo-wol over to her side by having him owe her an emotional debt. However, contrary to her calculations, Pyo-wol managed to overcome the crisis on his own, without anyone else’s help.
And he did more than merely overcome the crisis.
He took complete control of the situation, thus further solidifying his position.
Now, Pyo-wol had become an entity not so easily trifled with.
The current situation didn’t sit well with Namgung Seol.
She did not wish for Pyo-wol’s presence to grow any larger, and besides her, there were quite a few others in the Jianghu who felt the same. And most of those individuals have grand ambitions.
Ambitious people do not like sudden risers like Pyo-wol who come out of nowhere.
This was because the more fame an outlier like Pyo-wol gains, the less room they have to maneuver.
Even Namgung Seol was forced to modify her plans in Poyang Lake to some extent because of Pyo-wol’s sudden appearance.
‘Although it won’t significantly affect the overall trend, it’s still a matter of concern.’
Namgung Seol’s gaze towards Pyo-wol became even colder.
Still, it wasn’t as if it was a total loss.
Thanks to Gwan Musu and the other martial artists making a scene, she had a clear idea of Pyo-wol’s disposition and temperament.
‘He’s someone who must be eliminated if he stands on the other side.’
What was frightening about Pyo-wol wasn’t just his martial arts.
Even more terrifying than his martial prowess was his mind.
Even if he hadn’t been given information, his ability to instinctively grasp the crux of an issue and solve it in a way that was most advantageous to him, was truly frightening.
Although he might not have the power to widely interpret the state of affairs and grasp the trends like her, his sudden flashes of insight and wit were enough to make her wary.
‘That kind of person is attached to Wol?’
Only now did she understand Namgung Wol’s confidence.
Pyo-wol was a sharp dagger.
A dagger with a terrifyingly sharp edge that could cut off a person’s breath without making a sound.
Having such a weapon was akin to having an extra life.
“Hmm!”
Namgung Seol stared intently at Pyo-wol.
It was then.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Pyo-wol turned his head and looked straight at her.
Their gazes met in mid-air.
Despite the dozens of meters distance between them, strangely enough, they could see each other’s eyes clearly.
They quickly realized they had something in common.
It was that they never revealed their true intentions.
Not even through the windows to the soul— the eyes.
Both of them were so adept at thoroughly hiding their true selves, and so good at reading the minds of others, that they were repulsed by each other and built barriers around their hearts.
They stared at each other for a while.
Namgung Seol was the first to turn away.
As she quietly retreated, a warrior approached her and whispered something.
For a moment, the corners of Namgung Seol’s mouth curved into an arc.
She nodded and replied,
“Got it. Let them know I’ll be there soon.”
“Yes!”
The warrior bowed, cupping his fists, and disappeared.
Left alone, Namgung Seol once again looked towards where Pyo-wol was.
But his figure was already nowhere to be seen.
“Heh!”
Namgung Seol sported a mysterious smile.
* * *
There are some people who you just feel instinctively repulsed by.
They are those who even without any prior point of contact, but the moment you lay eyes on them, your emotions reject them.
For Pyo-wol, Namgung Seol was such a person.
It was only their second meeting.
And he had only seen her from a distance. Yet, the revulsion he felt, enough to make his skin crawl, might have been because he detected a scent similar to his own from her.
He had a feeling he would continue to run into Namgung Seol in the future.
Pyo-wol returned to the Southern Heaven Pavilion.
The inn was a mess.
There was a lot of furniture broken because of Gwan Musu’s rampage.
The inn owner and inn servant were working hard to clean up, but it wasn’t enough. Since Pyo-wol’s arrival and stay, there had been no shortage of trouble in the Southern Heaven Pavilion. Perhaps that’s why the inn owner could only look at Pyo-wol with a face filled with exhaustion.
Although he was too scared of Pyo-wol to voice his concerns, his expression conveyed a wish for Pyo-wol to leave soon.
While Pyo-wol’s stay had enhanced the reputation of the Southern Heaven Pavilion, it also frequently led to damages.
As just a mere inn owner, there was nothing he could do to stop people like Gwan Musu from rudely coming in and causing trouble. However, the innkeeper was also too terrified to ask Pyo-wol to leave.
In the end, all the inn owner could do was look at Pyo-wol with the most pitiable expression he could muster.
Under such a gaze, Pyo-wol was not unreasonable. He said,
“I’ll change my lodging today.”
“Huh? You really don’t have to…”
As the inn owner trailed off, Pyo-wol tossed him a small pouch filled with silver coins.
“That should be enough to repair the damages to the inn.”
“Th-thank you.”
Gratitude filled the innkeeper as he received the pouch, but his eyes still held fear when looking at Pyo-wol.
He may not have become a public enemy of the Jianghu, but a comparable sense of dread and fear about him had taken root in the people’s hearts.
LUNACAVE
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