Light Novel: Volume 18 Episode 11
Manhwa: N/A
Ma Seo-won walked the streets of Chengdu.
A man of average build quietly followed her. A sword hung from his waist.
He was Jwa Se-gyeong, her escort and the leader of the Silver River Escort Agency.
Jwa Se-gyeong was a martial arts expert, ranked among the top three in the Silver River Escort Agency.
He followed Ma Seo-won, keeping a respectful distance so as not to disturb her.
Ma Seo-won’s face was slightly distorted.
This was because things weren’t going as she had hoped.
Just a moment ago, she had stopped by the Chengdu branch of the Hao clan.
Her plan was to gather information about Pyo-wol through the Hao clan. However, they had refused to give her any information.
Their excuse was that giving out information about Pyo-wol in Chengdu was tantamount to courting death.
Ma Seo-won had roamed the entire Jianghu with her father since her childhood. Gathering information had always been her responsibility.
Because of that, she had plenty of experience with this sort of thing. However, this was the first time she had hit a wall right from the start.
It wasn’t just the Hao clan.
Everyone she met to gather information refused to share anything.
Whether it be strong martial artists, extremely wealthy people, and even the lowliest thugs, there were no exception.
As soon as the name Pyo-wol was mentioned, they would turn around and tremble in fear.
She had never seen anyone look so terrified at the mere mention of a name before.
Ma Seo-won did not know.
The weight and fear the name Pyo-wol held in Chengdu.
Pyo-wol had not just sealed off the Emei sect and Qingcheng sect.
The Net of Heaven and Earth had been deployed just to catch him, a single individual.
It was the Net of Heaven and Earth in which every martial artists who were active in both Chengdu and Sichuan participated.
Once the Net of Heaven and Earth is activated, it is difficult for any martial artist to withstand. Many of them rush in like a pack of wolves, making it impossible to resist. However, Pyo-wol was different.
Pyo-wol had mocked the Net of Heaven and Earth, killing countless martial artists without a sound or a trace.
The Net of Heaven and Earth had collapsed, and the martials who tried to hunt him down were instead killed by him.
Many of Chengdu’s martial artists had witnessed this scene.
Even now, if they closed their eyes, that scene would flash before them.
The sight of their comrades beside them turning into lifeless corpses in an instant.
They never even saw Pyo-wol.
All they saw were their comrades’ body, no longer breathing and their body temperatures quickly cooling.
They never knew when Pyo-wol’s blade would slice their throats.
The memory was so intense that some martial artists had not slept properly for more than a year.
It was almost an unspoken taboo among Chengdu’s martial artists to discuss the events of that day.
They were afraid that talking about Pyo-wol might invite his visit.
That’s why it was only natural for them to keep their mouths shut when Ma Seowon, who didn’t know about it, pressed for information about Pyo-wol.
Ma Seo-won muttered to herself,
“It seems impossible to get any information about him through normal means.”
Ma Seo-won neatly gave up.
She didn’t think she could get any information about Pyo-wol in Chengdu anymore.
Of course, she could probably gather some usable information if she pushed hard enough. However, it didn’t seem worth the risk.
‘I was really curious about what kind of person he is.’
She had wanted to see for herself whether he was as beautiful as the rumors said. But she didn’t want to expose her own information any further by pressing the issue.
Ma Seo-won returned to the inn.
As if to prove that the Silver River Escort Agency had rented out the entire place, the inn was filled with their people.
At the center was Ma Won-ik.
“Father!”
“Did you return safely?”
Ma Won-ik raised his head to look at Ma Seo-won.
Ma Seo-won realized that Ma Won-ik’s demeanor was different than usual.
“What happened?”
“A messenger from the Snow Cloud Villa came.”
“It seems like negotiations didn’t go well.”
“He had beaten around the bush, which was as good as having rejected our proposal.”
“It’s not easy.”
“Did you have any progress?”
“None at all.”
“I thought as much.”
“People in Chengdu are more afraid of him than we thought. The mere mention of his name causes a stir.”
“Is it that bad?”
“It’s worse, actually. If you could have seen their reactions in person, you wouldn’t be able to ask any of them any more questions.”
“Hmm.”
Ma Won-ik let out a low hum.
He had thought it wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t expect the obstacles to be so high right from the start.
Ma Won-ik cautiously spoke,
“We might have to use our last resort.”
“Is the original Buddhist scripture worth that much? If we make a mistake, we might suffer great losses.”
“The losses we incur will be compensated from above. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t worry about the losses, just focus on securing the original Buddhist scripture.”
“I was shortsighted. You’re right, Father.”
“That’s my daughter.”
Ma Won-ik smiled.
Ma Seo-won smiled back before looking around.
Suddenly, a puzzled look appeared on her face.
“I don’t see chief escort Seok and a few others. Didn’t you prohibit them from going outside?”
“There are fools are everywhere.”
“So?”
“It’s obvious that they’ve found a gambling house or a brothel.”
“And you’re just going to let them be?”
“Trash has its own role to play. I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
Ma Seo-won nodded her head.
She knew best how thorough Ma Won-ik was in handling matters. Interfering further would be no different from disregarding and disrespecting her father.
“So, when is the time?”
At Ma Seo-won’s question, Ma Won-ik subtly smiled.
“The sooner you act, the easier it is to catch someone off guard.”
* * *
“Big brother! You’ve returned.”
The moment Eunyo heard from Steward Ko that Pyo-wol had entered the Red Pine Manor, she rushed over.
Eunyo’s face was full of joy.
She already knew that Pyo-wol was staying at the Red Pine Manor so she had instructed the manager of the manor to serve Pyo-wol well.
“I rested comfortably thanks to you.”
“I’m glad.”
Pyo-wol’s gaze turned to Do Yeonsan who was next to Eunyo.
“How is life in Chengdu?”
“It’s good.”
“Is it?”
“It couldn’t be better.”
“It seems so.”
At Pyo-wol’s words, Do Yeonsan stared into empty space as if pricked.
Eunyo naturally joined their conversation.
“I’m glad to see you look well, big brother.”
“Thank you.”
“We should eat together for the first time in a long time.”
“We should.”
“I’ll ask Steward Ko to prepare it.”
“Alright.”
“Then get some rest, big brother.”
Eunyo left the room with a smile on her face.
As if on cue, Do Yeonsan followed her.
The way Do Yeonsan blushed, knowing Pyo-wol’s attentive gaze was on them, was quite cute.
‘So connections can also form like this.’
Pyo-wol never expected Do Yeonsan would take a liking to Eunyo, nor that Eunyo would accept his feelings.
Pyo-wol thought it was a good thing.
He himself had no intention nor the circumstances to settle down with someone, but the two were different.
They weren’t exposed to Jianghu like he had, so if they kept living like they were now, they could lead a normal life like others.
“I should also start getting myself together.”
He had been leading a lax lifestyle ever since he returned to the Red Pine Manor.
He had even completely stopped practicing martial arts to give his tired body a break. But, he couldn’t afford to rest forever not unless he wanted to die.
As long as he was alive, he must always practice martial arts, especially if he wanted to continue surviving in Jianghu.
If he took a day off, he would have to train for two days to regain back his original sense. Such was the nature of martial arts.
Now that he had rested, it was time to train to regain his touch.
Pyo-wol headed headed towards the training grounds.
The training grounds was surrounded by a high wall, and its floor was paved with hard bluestone.
Pyo-wol stood in the center of the training grounds and closed his eyes.
“Hu!”
He took a deep breath.
As he exhaled the breath that filled his lungs to the brim, he twisted his body in various directions.
The first step was to loosen his stiff body.
After loosening his body for a good while, Pyo-wol began to move in earnest.
Sssssh!
He began to move across the training ground.
Like a snake, he slithered across the ground.
He was executing Snake Steps.
When he first learned Snake Steps, his movements had been monotonous. He might be fast, but his direction didn’t change much beyond the sliding motion. But now, it was different.
It was like watching dozens of snakes scatter and reconvene.
The most characteristic feature of Snake Steps was its silence.
There was no sound of footsteps, not even the whistling of slicing air.
Pyo-wol’s Snake Steps contained the insights he had gained over time.
Footwork techniques usually contain the essence and identity of one’s martial arts.
The characteristics of Snake Steps were, in fact, characteristics of the Starving Demon Secret Arts.
It was stealthy and slippery as a snake, never missing a weak point.
After Snake Steps was Black Lightning.
As he deployed Black Lightning, lightning stimulated his nerves.
His physical reaction speed increased several-fold, enabling him to attack.
Following Black Lightning was Jade Destruction.
Thump!
His fist burst through the air.
Air exploded in succession.
After loosening his body with Jade Destruction, Pyo-wol pulled out the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Ten threads of Soul-Reaping Thread came out from his ten fingers.
Sssssh!
The ten threads of Soul-Reaping Thread cut through the empty air chaotically.
He didn’t find maintaining ten threads of Soul-Reaping Thread exhausting anymore. Given his current condition and strength, he could probably keep it up all day.
Pyo-wol then withdrew nine strands, leaving only one, and focused his internal energy on it. Then, the once faint Soul-Reaping Thread became vivid.
He transitioned from the Soul-Reaping Thread to Snake Qi Thread.
Sssssh!
Pyo-wol, while using Snake Steps, swung the Snake Qi Thread.
The darkness was torn apart by the Snake Qi Thread.
But Pyo-wol was not satisfied.
Buzz!
He infused lightning into the Snake Qi Thread.
It became the Black Lightning Snake Qi Thread.
The young faint lightning in the Snake Qi Thread lit up the darkness.
The Black Lightning Snake Qi Thread deployed by Pyo-wol was dazzlingly beautiful.
If a stranger saw it, they might say he was performing a mystical dance. However, the power behind the dance was lethal.
As he deployed Black Lightning Snake Qi Thread, Pyo-wol drew a picture in his mind.
Ant Hell.1
It was his unique way of fighting, giving the enemy the illusion that they could win if they got closer, and thus making them expose their weaknesses little by little.
Pyo-wol was trying to harmonize Ant Hell with the Black Lightning Snake Qi Thread.
He had no enemies nor sparring partners physically present before him.
But in his mind, he had a clear picture of his opponent.
The powerful enemies he had fought so far came back to life in his mind and attacked him.
Pyo-wol deployed his martial arts against them.
To others, it might have looked like he was dancing alone, but through Pyo-wol’s eyes, the enemies attacking him were vividly visible.
He mixed in Demon Shadow Exchange and even spread the Spider Silver Net.
In this way, Pyo-wol unfolded all the techniques he had mastered and understood.
He forgot everything else and focused solely on his martial arts.
He forgot about the passage of time, the place he was, and even the fact that he was practicing martial arts.
Thud!
The only reason he came to his senses was due to the drops of water hitting his skin.
The cold sensation broke his immersion and brought him back to reality.
Rain was pouring down.
Raindrops that initially fell one or two at a time soon thickened into streams.
Pyo-wol stood in the middle of the courtyard, getting drenched in the rain.
Thick steam rose over his head and shoulders.
Although his immersion was shattered because of the rain, he felt very great.
It was because it felt like all the separate techniques he had been practicing all along had come together as one.
It was as if the beads that had been shining separately had finally been connected by a single string and formed into a necklace.
“Hoo!”
Just as Pyo-wol exhaled the breath he had been holding.
“Brother!”
Do Yeonsan called out to him with an urgent expression.
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