Light Novel: Volume 18 Episode 12
Manhwa: N/A
Pyo-wol raised his head to look at Do Yeonsan.
Do Yeonsan’s face was flushed red.
“What’s wrong?”
“You need to go outside now.”
The atmosphere around Do Yeonsan was unusual.
Instead of asking for the reason, Pyo-wol went outside.
As soon as he stepped out, he understood why Do Yeonsan had such an urgent expression.
Not far from their manor, flames were rising.
The flames were soaring high into the sky with terrifying momentum.
Although rain was pouring down heavily, they were not enough to put out the fire.
The problem was that the place currently engulfed in fire was a place Pyo-wol knew.
“Snow Cloud Villa.”
Without thinking any further, Pyo-wol leaped into action.
“Let’s go together.”
Do Yeonsan followed Pyo-wol.
Bang!
Pyo-wol broke down the door to the Snow Cloud Villa and rushed in.
The inside of the villa had already been completely engulfed in flames.
The bright flames and thick smoke obscured everything in sight.
Pyo-wol stopped breathing and looked around.
Seeing anything with his eyes was already impossible.
He heightened his other senses.
His senses were sharp and acute enough that he could detect even the slightest change without missing a beat. But even with his senses, he couldn’t detect any signs of life.
That meant that there was no one alive inside the Snow Cloud Villa.
Whoosh!
Pyo-wol swung his hand toward where the flames were fiercest. His movement caused a powerful wind to rise up, momentarily quelling the flames.
In the center of the subdued flames, he found people lying down.
“Hey!”
Pyo-wol shouted and ran towards them, but they didn’t move.
He recognized their faces.
One was Wu Jang-rak, whom he had met not long ago, and the other was Yu Gi-cheon, the owner of the Snow Cloud Villa.
Neither showed any signs of breathing or movement.
Pyo-wol quickly examined their bodies.
Wu Jang-rak had a sword wound on his neck.
The sword mark was so sharp that without Pyo-wol’s sharp eyesight, it would have been impossible to detect.
‘He was killed by a single sword strike.’
Wu Jang-rak was also a martial artist who could be considered an expert.
Such an expert had lost his life without any signs of struggle.
‘A frighteningly swift swordsmanship.’
The sword strike was so precise that even Wu Jang-rak couldn’t properly resist.
Wu Jang-rak’s eyes were wide and filled with disbelief.
It meant that he hadn’t anticipated the sword strike.
Pyo-wol shifted his gaze to Yu Gi-cheon.
Yu Gi-cheon was also already dead.
He had the same sword mark on his neck as Wu Jang-rak.
“Hey!”
Pyo-wol called out, but Yu Gi-cheon didn’t move.
Pyo-wol frowned slightly.
He felt no sympathy for Yu Gi-cheon, but he knew that Soma had a certain fondness for him.
He knew that Soma would be sad once he found out that Yu Gi-cheon was dead.
Pyo-wol hoisted the bodies of Yu Gi-cheon and Wu Jang-rak over each shoulder and went outside.
Whooosh!
Immediately after he exited, the flames flared up more fiercely.
Pyo-wol laid the corpses of Yu Gi-cheon and Wu Jang-rak on the ground and looked at the Snow Cloud Villa.
Even in the pouring rain, the flames showed no signs of going out.
“Big brother!”
“Brother!”
Eunyo and Guian rushed toward the Snow Cloud Villa belatedly.
Their faces were filled with confusion.
“The Snow Cloud Villa–!”
“What happened, big brother?”
Eunyo looked at Pyo-wol while blocking the hot air with her sleeve.
Her face was full of despair.
Pyo-wol replied,
“They were ambushed by someone. Both Yu Gi-cheon and Wu Jang-rak are dead.”
“What–”
Eunyo was left speechless, her mouth agape.
She had just come from an underground gambling house.
She hadn’t expected that the Snow Cloud Villa, which was just around the corner from where she was, would face such disaster while she was gone.
“They were killed by swift sword strikes They died before they could even resist.”
“What about the culprit?”
“We can’t tell for now.”
Pyo-wol looked at the burning Snow Cloud Villa.
A fire that refused to go out despite the rain.
It was the worst situation.
The fire would erase all traces, and with the addition of water, any remaining evidence would be ruined as well.
It was the worst of all possible conditions.
Eunyo then suddenly shouted,
“Could it be the Silver River Escort Agency?!”
“What do you mean?”
“That is–”
Eunyo told Pyo-wol everything she had found out so far.
She told him how she came to know about the Silver River Escort Agency and why she found their actions suspicious.
Pyo-wol suddenly recalled his last conversation with Wu Jang-rak.
“Wu Jang-rak also mentioned that he was going to meet the Silver River Escort Agency.”
“Did he? The Silver River Escort Agency becomes even more suspicious then.”
“Where are they now?”
“They’re at Gu-jang Guest House.”
“Let’s go there.”
“Yes!”
Pyo-wol left the aftermath of the Snow Cloud Villa to Guian and Do Yeonsan, and headed for Gu-jang Guest House with Eunyo.
“Huh?”
As they approached Gu-jang Guest House, Eunyo frowned deeply.
No matter how late it was, the guest house would always have a few lanterns lit.
This is for guests who come late at night or early in the morning.
If the lights were completely out, such guests would turn away. For this reason, it was customary to keep one or two lanterns lit at the entrance of the guest house until dawn.
However, the lights at Gu-jang Guest House were completely extinguished.
Had there been even one light on, there would have been a slight warmth, but the air was chilly.
Eunyo hastily opened the door of the Gu-jang Guest House and went inside.
“Jang Noya!”
However, there was no response from Jang Noya.
Searching the first floor, Eunyo soon found Jang Noya and the inn servant. The two were lying unconscious behind the counter.
Someone had hit their pressure points.
They were lucky enough not to have lost their lives.
Pyo-wol looked around the guest house and said,
“There’s not a single person in here.”
He sensed no human presence at all.
It wasn’t that people were sleeping so deeply that he couldn’t sense their vital signs. Rather, there were simply no people at all.
It made no sense for such a large, spacious guest house to be completely devoid of guests.
Eunyo hurriedly woke up Jang Noya.
“Jang Noya! Jang Noya!”
“M, Miss?”
“What happened?”
“Uh–”
Jang Noya wore a confused expression for a moment. However, he quickly gathered himself and said,
“I remember the head of the Silver River Escort Agency asking to meet me… I only remember up to that point…”
It seemed like his memories were suddenly cut off.
Jang Noya couldn’t remember anything else, but this was enough.
This confirmed that the leader of the Silver River Escort Agency was the one who had rendered him unconscious.
Pyo-wol said,
“Let’s go to the stable.”
“Yes!”
The two headed towards the stable where the horses were kept.
As expected.
There was not a single horse in sight, not even the one the Silver River Escort Agency had ridden.
“What about their cargo?”
The Silver River Escort Agency had definitely arrived with carts and wagons full of goods. As far as Eunyo had heard, the Silver River Escort Agency hadn’t disposed of their goods yet.
Creak!
Upon opening the door to the warehouse, the cargo brought by the Silver River Escort Agency could still be seen stored inside.
Eunyo frowned and said,
“Did they leave all their cargo behind?”
Pyo-wol walked over to the cargo and swung his hand.
Bang!
With a loud noise, a large box shattered.
The inside of the box was empty.
He smashed another box, it was the same– it was still empty.
They had arrived in Chengdu with empty boxes from the start.
The cargo was merely a decoy to attract attention.
It was clear from the beginning that they had planned to abandon the wagons and carts.
“Silver River Escort Agency. They claimed to be an affiliate of the New Moon Manor, right?”
“That’s what they said, but there’s a chance it’s only a front.”
“I suppose so.”
Pyo-wol nodded his head.
Eunyo said,
“Should we track them down?”
“We should.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Not now.”
“What?”
Eunyo’s eyes widened, not understanding.
“Because of the rain, all traces have been erased. Chasing them now will only confuse us and won’t yield any results.”
“But we can’t just give up, can we?”
“Of course not.”
A cold smile tugged at the corners of Pyo-wol’s mouth.
Of all the places that had been harmed, it had to be Snow Cloud Villa.
Considering the relationship between him, the Snow Cloud Villa, and Jang Noya, this was virtually a challenge against himself.
Pyo-wol wasn’t the kind of person who would stand by and let someone attack him.
“Ah! By the way, big brother, I have actually captured one of the chief escorts of the Silver River Escort Agency in the underground gambling house.”
“What happened?”
“Well, it’s like this…”
Eunyo explained that a few escorts from the Silver River Escort Agency lost all their assets while gambling in the underground den.
“Did you set this up in the gambling den?”
“Yes! I captured them after they ran up huge debts. I was planning to use their debts as an excuse to put pressure on the Silver River Escort Agency, but they were one step ahead of me.”
Eunyo bit her lip hard.
The chief escort wasn’t the only one who visited the underground gambling den.
He had brought several of his fellow escorts with him, and they gambled with gusto.
They were lucky and won a lot at first. However, the fate of those who enter the gambling den is always the same.
In the end, they were cleaned out of all the money they brought, forcing them to borrow large sums from the gambling house. And even then, that money was lost.
No matter how good a gambler the chief escort was, he was no match for the gamblers in the gambling house.
As a result, he and his companions were held captive in the gambling house.
All of this was orchestrated by Eunyo.
Having taken the chief escort and others as hostages, Eunyo had let her guard down to some extent.
This was the price of her carelessness.
The Silver River Escort Agency abandoned one of their chief escort and his group and attacked the Snow Cloud Villa.
At that time, Pyo-wol was also engrossed in his martial arts and didn’t notice.
Coincidence and fate had conspired to bring about today’s death sentence.
“So, you’re keeping them right now in the underground gambling den?”
“Yes! Would you like to go and see?”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Eunyo replied, leading the way.
Splash!
Meanwhile, the rain had gotten heavier.
The two walked through the pouring rain and arrived at the underground gambling den.
As soon as they opened the door and entered, they sensed a strange atmosphere.
There were no guests, and the gamblers were all watching her.
Eunyo asked,
“What’s going on? Why is the atmosphere like this?”
“I’m deeply sorry, miss!”
At that moment, a stranger emerged from among the gamblers.
He was Geum Jo-kyung, the owner of the underground gambling den.
“What do you mean, you’re sorry?”
“That is–”
“Go ahead and tell me.”
“The chief escort and other escorts from the Silver River Escort Agency we had caught are all dead.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. I clearly locked them in a room, but they are all dead.”
“How?”
“I don’t know the reason. It looks like they were poisoned, but I don’t know how they ingested the poison.”
“What?”
Just when Eunyo was making a bewildered expression, Pyo-wol stepped forward.
“Where are the bodies?”
“Ah, they are over there.”
Geum Jo-kyung personally led Pyo-wol to the bodies.
Pyo-wol knelt on one knee and examined the bodies.
“A poison pill was hidden in their molars.”
All of the bodies were missing one molar.
It wasn’t that their molars had been missing from the beginning, but that it had been melted away shortly before Pyo-wol’s arrival.
As proof, they still had the remains of their molars in their mouths.
Pyo-wol touched the melted remains of their tooth with his finger and muttered,
“Interesting…”
luna-cave
You cannot copy content of this page