Light Novel: Volume 18 Episode 17
Manhwa: N/A
“How chilling.”
Ju Pyo-du muttered as he gazed at Pyo-wol’s face.
Though he wore a hood that covered his face, Jo Pyo-du could still feel Pyo-wol’s icy, unchanging stare.
It would’ve been less daunting if Pyo-wol’s eyes were filled with madness, but the lack of any sign of emotion sent chills down Ju Pyo-du’s spine.
Even though he now works as an escort for the Silver River Escort Agency, he was a seasoned warrior who had seen his share of battlefields.
He had faced numerous perilous situations and fought through many fierce encounters. Yet, without a doubt, never had his heart thudded so violently as it did at this very moment.
As Pyo-wol drew closer, his face became clearer.
A face so serene and delicate that it seemed out of this world.
Had they met somewhere else, Ju Pyo-du might’ve mistaken him for a beautiful woman. But right now, Pyo-wol’s face seemed more terrifying than any demon.
Pyo-wol had killed countless people with his beautiful face.
Among those who died by his hand, only a few were considered less skilled than him.
Truly a man worthy of the title, Reaper.
Shwooo!
A silver thread shot out from his hand.
It was so fine that it was almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.
‘Is that the Reaper’s signature technique?’
He knew Pyo-wol primarily used the Soul-Reaping Thread as his weapon. Many of his comrades had already lost their lives to Pyo-wol’s Soul-Reaping Thread.
A unique technique where Pyo-wol condensed sword qi or blade qi into a thread-like shape. No one knows how such a thing was possible, but Pyo-wol was able to use this technique effortlessly.
Whirl!
The silver thread wrapped around Ju Pyo-du’s body.
Yet, Ju Pyo-du did not resist.
As Pyo-wol flicked his hand, Ju Pyo-du’s body was lifted into the air and dragged towards him.
Thud!
His body harshly rolled in front of Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol lifted his foot and firmly stepped on Ju Pyo-du’s chest.
Ju Pyo-du’s mouth dropped open, his breath got caught in his throat.
With his foot still on Ju Pyo-du’s chest, Pyo-wol spoke,
“Where are you moving the Buddhist scriptures to? Are you really taking them to the New Moon Manor?”
“Heh heh! Why would you want to know?”
Ju Pyo-du grunted, gripping Pyo-wol’s foot that was pressing on his chest.
Just as Pyo-wol furrowed his brows, something burst from Ju Pyo-du’s chest.
Boom!
A thick cloud of smoke billowed out in an instant, engulfing both Pyo-wol and Ju Pyo-du.
“Gah!”
The moment the smoke touched him, Ju Pyo-du screamed in agony.
The black smoke that engulfed them was poisonous smoke.
It was a potent poison Ju Pyo-du obtained from the natives while he was active in the West. Once the poisonous smoke touches the skin, it melts flesh and disintegrates bone in an instant.
It’s a death where one feels the intense pain of their flesh and bones melting away.
Ju Pyo-du had used the poison on his enemies numerous times. Thus, he was well aware of its potent effects.
After returning to Jianghu, he had kept it hidden as his trump card.
He carried it with him intending to use it to ensure mutual destruction in the most dire situations.
Despite the pain of his flesh melting, Ju Pyo-du cried out,
“We’re going down together, Reaper!”
In an instant, the flesh on his face peeled away, revealing the muscle underneath. Yet, with bulging eyes, he continued to grip Pyo-wol’s ankle tightly.
The longer he held on, the more the poison would seep into Pyo-wol’s body.
It was then.
Suddenly, from Pyo-wol’s bosom, a horned snake popped its head out.
Ju Pyo-du, in his pain, thought he was hallucinating.
The snake flicked its tongue, seemingly tasting the poison. A moment later, it opened its mouth wide, sucking in the poison.
Shzzzz!
A terrifying amount of poisonous smoke immediately got sucked into its mouth, quite unbelievable for such a small snake.
The poisonous smoke that enveloped Pyo-wol disappeared into the snake’s mouth in an instant.
With his eyes wide open, Ju Pyo-du trembled, murmuring,
“In… insane… How can a mere creature…”
The small snake, seemingly satisfied after tasting the poison, flicked its tongue and retreated back into Pyo-wol’s clothing.
The small snake was Gwiya.
For Gwiya, poison was a delicacy.
The rarer the poison, the more delectable it was.
“Wh… what… the hell…”
Those were the last words Ju Pyo-du left in this world.
His body melted rapidly, instantly turning into a small puddle of blood.
Pyo-wol tore his gaze away from Ju Pyo-du and looked at the river.
In the brief moment he was held by Ju Pyo-du, the boat had drifted further away.
A normal person would have been discouraged and given up by now, but not Pyo-wol.
He had no intention of giving up the chase.
Even if it meant chasing after them for a thousand miles.
Pyo-wol’s pursuit continued.
* * *
Guian stood in the middle of the ruined Snow Cloud Villa.
The devastated scenery of the Snow Cloud Villa was eerily desolate.
It had been raining heavily, and the ruins were even worse.
Guian had collected the bodies of all those who lived in the Snow Cloud Villa.
He particularly took care to bury the bodies of Yu Gi-cheon and Wu Jang-rak.
In the middle of the Snow Cloud Villa, Guian mumbled to himself,
“Why go to such extremes? To go through all this for a mere Buddhist scripture…”
It didn’t make sense to Guian’s common sense.
Even if the scripture that came from the West was precious, it was still just a single scripture.
The book wasn’t even a martial arts manual containing hidden martial arts, unless it was a Shaolin temple, it wasn’t worth much.
“Did they really commit such acts to donate it to the temple?”
Guian shook his head.
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
There had to be another reason.
Guian thoroughly searched the villa.
Everything was burnt to the ground, but Guian didn’t give up.
He picked his way through the charred wreckage, and before he knew it, his body was covered in soot. Still, Guian continued his search with determination.
“Huh?”
Guian’s eyes shone as he sifted through the rubble.
Hidden beneath the debris was an entrance to an underground space.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Guian entered the basement.
Unlike the completely burnt surface, the underground chamber was only blackened at the entrance, but the interior was still intact.
“This is the place.”
Guian realized that this was the place where Buddhist scriptures were stored.
Because papers annotated with interpretations of the scripture were attached to the wall.
Then on one side of the room was an empty shelf. There’s a high chance that it’s where the original scriptures used to be stored.
Whenever he had time, Yu Gi-cheon would come down here to spread out the scriptures and interpret them.
Like many successful individuals, he, too, wanted to leave a meaningful legacy. The annotated versions of the original scriptures were precisely that.
So, whenever he had some free time, he would come down here and interpret the scriptures.
Luckily, the Shaolin Temple was delayed in picking up the scriptures, so Yu Gi-cheon was given ample time to interpret them at a leisurely pace.
Guian closely examined the interpretations made by Yu Gi-cheon.
He looked at it for a long time, and then a spark of interest appeared in his eyes.
It wasn’t the annotated scripture that caught his attention, but personal reflections written by Yu Gi-cheon himself.
[While reading the scripture, I felt the turbulence in my heart calming down. No matter how filled with madness one may be, reading this scripture would naturally purify their heart.]
“Purification of madness?
Guian murmured, stroking his chin with his hand.
He could have moved on, but something about it lingered in his mind.
“Perhaps the scripture was needed to control someone’s madness?”
It was still just speculation.
Guian felt the need to dig a little deeper and look into it in more detail.
He stepped outside, trying to organize his thoughts.
It was then.
Whoosh!
With intense flapping of wings, a messenger falcon landed on his forearm.
It was the same falcon he had sent to Pyo-wol.
Tied to the falcon’s leg was a letter from Pyo-wol.
After reading the entire letter, Guian mumbled,
“It’s likely that the person my brother is chasing has the original scripture. In that case, it would be best to send Eunyo and Do Yeonsan in the direction where he is.”
Guian immediately returned to the Red Pine Manor and began composing a letter to send to Eunyo and Do Yeonsan.
After tying the note to its leg, he whispered to the falcon,
“You know Eunyo, right? Go to Eunyo.”
The falcon nodded its head up and down as if it understood him.
Guian released the falcon.
After briefly circling above the Red Pine Manor, the falcon soon soared into the southern sky at a terrifying speed.
Left alone, Guian had no time to rest.
“I’ll need to collaborate with the Hao clan for this matter.”
Once he goes outside of Sichuan, his information network will weaken.
Now was the time to rely on the Hao clan’s strength.
* * *
Pyo-wol raced through a nameless mountain.
Rivers do not flow in a straight line. They would turn around when blocked by a mountain, or twist and turn across a vast plain.
Such was the mountain where Pyo-wol was speeding through right now.
The boat carrying the martial artists of the Silver River Escort Agency was winding its way around the mountain he was crossing.
The terrain prevented Pyo-wol from running alongside the river like before, so he chose to run across the mountain.
He had already been running nonstop for a day.
He couldn’t afford to take a break.
Since even the slightest pause would see the ship disappear from his sight.
Rives never flow in a single stream.
They can branch into tributaries, connecting with smaller rivers.
If he lost sight of the boat and it vanished into another tributary, finding it again would be near impossible.
Therefore, Pyo-wol had no choice but to run continuously.
No matter how strong his martial arts skills were, it wasn’t easy for him to run nonstop for days on end. But, he raced on without a change in his expression.
Snap!
Breaking through the grass, a vast open field surprisingly appeared before him.
The boat carrying the martial artists of the Silver River Escort Agency was currently making its way across the river stream that flowed through this open field.
A glint shone in Pyo-wol’s eyes for a moment.
He could see the river narrowing in the distance.
‘This is my last chance.’
No matter how great his stamina, he couldn’t chase a boat for days on end. He was only human, after all, he also has his limits.
He had to catch up before reaching his limit.
The narrowing section of the river in the distance was his only opportunity to board the boat.
Gathering his internal energy, Pyo-wol leaped into the air, employing his qiggong.
The marshland ended, and a reed field stood in his way.
He decided to sprint directly atop the reed leaves.
What he was doing was a type of qinggong known as Grass-Treading Flight.
Up until now, Pyo-wol had never learned any special qinggong. However, chasing the boat with all his might, he learned it naturally.
Papapap!
The reeds swayed dramatically with his passage, but none one broke. This was because Pyo-wol had exquisitely controlled his strength.
Seeing Pyo-wol executing the Grass-Treading Flight, the people on the boat’s deck began scrambling around.
Pyo-wol quickened his pace even more.
The boat was now entering the narrow section of the river.
He had to catch up before the boat passed through.
“Ha!”
With a powerful shout, Pyo-wol kicked off the last reed leaf and soared into the air.
Upon reaching the zenith of his jump, he executed the Bow-body Projectile Shadow.
His body arched like a bow and then using its momentum, he shot himself forward like an arrow. However, there was still a considerable distance between him and the boat.
At that moment, Pyo-wol released the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Whoosh!
The Soul-Reaping Thread wrapped itself around the boat’s mast.
As Pyo-wol pulled hard on his end, his body flew toward the boat.
“Damn it!”
“Stop him!”
Seeing Pyo-wol flying towards them, the martial artists drew their swords in alarm.
They unleashed a series of sword strikes towards Pyo-wol as he descended onto the deck.
The entire deck was engulfed in a flurry of sword strikes.
Swish swish swish!
Dozens of swords slashed at Pyo-wol.
“We did it!”
“We’ve caught him!”
The martial artists who had attacked Pyo-wol wore triumphant expressions.
They believed their swords had sliced Pyo-wol into dozens of pieces.
But, in the next moment, a look of horror appeared on their faces.
That was because Pyo-wol’s body, which they thought they had slashed, vanished right before their eyes.
“W, What?”
“An illusion?”
Swish!
In that moment, Pyo-wol quietly landed behind them.
LUNACAVE
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