Light Novel: Volume 19 Episode 3
Manhwa: N/A
Pyo-wol and Baek Ho-gyeong sat facing each other with a bonfire between them. At Pyo-wol’s side were Eunyo and Do Yeonsan.
Baek Ho-gyeong asked,
“What’s your relationship with her? Is she your woman?”
“You have a fine face but the mouth of a dog.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the nonsense you’re spouting.”
“You!”
A subtle killing intent appeared in Baek Ho-gyeong’s eyes.
It was a look that could make an ordinary person wet themselves, but it couldn’t create a crack in Pyo-wol’s face.
Staring at Pyo-wol’s face, which remained unchanged, Baek Ho-gyeong spoke,
“Who is your master?”
“None.”
“None? Then how did you learn martial arts? It shouldn’t be possible to reach such a level of skill without learning from a proper master.”
“You’re quite curious.”
“Ha! My nature has really mellowed. In the past, I would have torn out your tongue and ripped you to shreds right away…”
Baek Ho-gyeong clicked his tongue.
This was the first time he had encountered someone as stiff as Pyo-wol.
He wanted to settle things once and for all right then and there, but he couldn’t because he felt uncomfortable.
There was something about Pyo-wol that made people instinctively uneasy and tense.
The higher one’s martial arts skills, like Baek Ho-gyeong, the more sensitive one’s senses become. The more sensitive the senses, the greater the anxiety they felt.
Baek Ho-gyeong suddenly looked at Do Yeonsan.
His gaze intensified.
“What are you?”
“Me?”
“I’ve never seen a being as discordant as you. Your body doesn’t seem to be trained in martial arts, yet I can feel a strong power. You even have traces of a foreign soul. What on earth are you? Why are you so mixed up?”
Baek Ho-gyeong was no ordinary martial artist.
Just a quick glance at Do Yeonsan, he could tell that the young boy was not normal.
He continued to speak,
“In a way, you remind me of him….”
“Who?”
Pyo-wol questioned.
“There is someone like that. A monster I can’t kill as I please.”
“Are you talking about the Ghost King?”
“Why would I care if that old man lives or dies?”
“Then?”
“You’re quite nosy for someone who doesn’t answer any questions. If you want to know, tell me about yourself.”
Baek Ho-gyeong shot a look at Pyo-wol.
“Enough.”
“You’re really such a devious bastard. Not only is your attitude so off-putting, but you’re also suspicious. I don’t know how a guy like you managed to emerge in Jianghu. If I had the time, I would have cut you open to take a closer look. What a pity.”
Despite the murderous tone in Baek Ho-gyeong’s voice, Pyo-wol’s expression remained unchanged.
This only irked Baek Ho-gyeong even more.
He really wanted to engage in battle with Pyo-wol right then and there, but he had other pressing matters to attend to.
Now was the time to focus on the task at hand, not increase the number of his enemies.
If there was anyone who would have endless repercussions if turned into an enemy, it would be Pyo-wol.
If Pyo-wol’s assassination skills were truly as formidable as the rumors suggested, then even Baek Ho-gyeong would not be able to rest easy.
He had the confidence to overpower Pyo-wol in a head-to-head fight. However, Pyo-wol’s nature was that of an assassin.
An existence that naturally thinks of fleeing or hiding when at a disadvantage.
If Pyo-wol were to lurk and hide in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike, even he could not be at ease.
Baek Ho-gyeong spoke to Pyo-wol,
“I will stop paying attention to your group, so you should stop paying attention to me. Then, nothing will happen.”
“As you wish.”
“Look at the way you talk. You sure have a personality that would receive a lot of love.”
“Should we mutually lose interest?”
“Yes! Let’s do that.”
It was then.
Lee Shin-pil approached them with a bowl of gruel in his hand.
He spoke to Baek Ho-gyeong,
“If you haven’t eaten, please eat this.”
“What is it?”
“This is the leftover gruel we ate for dinner.”
“Hmm!”
“This is all we have to offer. If it’s not to your liking, I’ll throw it away.”
“It’s fine. Hand it over.”
Baek Ho-gyeong reached out and took the bowl of gruel.
He’d been wandering around all day and hadn’t had a proper meal.
While the contents were nothing special, it was still sufficient for a meal.
Baek Ho-kyung gulped down the gruel.
He handed the bowl back to Lee Sin-pil and said,
“What’s the name of your merchant group?”
“It’s called Zigong Merchant Group.”
“Good! I’ll take special care of you. If any problems arise, feel free to use my name.”
“Th, thank you.”
Lee Shin-pil wore an expression of extreme joy.
Although they were being protected by Pyo-wol this time, they couldn’t expect him to stay with them forever.
In Jianghu, there weren’t many forces bold enough to ignore the name Baek Ho-gyeong.
If they could use Baek Ho-gyeong’s name to get through unexpected crises, nothing could be more reassuring.
Getting Baek Ho-gyeong’s protection for just a bowl of gruel was a great deal, worth a hundred thousand times more.
Lee Shin-pil bowed his head once more.
“Thank you very much.”
“That’s enough. I want to rest, so leave.”
“Yes!”
Lee Shin-pil took the bowl of gruel and left.
Once he was gone, Baek Ho-gyeong leaned his back against a small rock with his arms crossed.
He closed his eyes, but sleep did not come.
It was because he was conscious of Pyo-wol right in front of him.
The same was true for Pyo-wol.
At any other time, he would have closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep by now, but he couldn’t.
Baek Ho-gyeong emanated a dangerous aura.
His entire body reeked of blood, as thick as Pyo-wol’s.
That meant he had killed many people.
More than that, it wasn’t easy to read his mind.
In Jianghu, nothing was as dangerous as a master whose thoughts you could not read.
Baek Ho-gyeong possessed both of these qualities.
That was why Pyo-wol could never let his guard down.
Pyo-wol also leaned his back against a small rock. His eyes were closed, but his senses were fully alert. This way, he could react at any moment in case Baek Ho-gyeong attempted a sudden ambush.
And so the night passed.
It was a night that seemed longer than ever.
As dawn approached, Baek Ho-gyeong rose from his seat.
He looked around with cold eyes.
All the warriors of the Zigong Merchant Group were deep in sleep.
If he wanted to, killing them would be easier than flipping the palm of his hand.
Although he told Lee Shin-pil last night that he could use his own name, he didn’t feel ashamed to go back on his word.
These people had done nothing wrong to him.
If they were guilty of anything, their fault would only be being in the same place at the same time as him.
Baek Ho-gyeong was a warrior who walked on the edge of life and death.
He had no regard for the world’s opinion and reputation.
If he was offended, he would kill, if he was greedy, he would steal. That was his life.
He had lived like that up to now, and would continue to do so in the future.
It was then.
Pyo-wol, who was leaning against a rock, opened one eye and looked at him.
It was as if he could sense the murderous intent boiling in Baek Ho-gyeong’s heart.
Baek Ho-gyeong chuckled.
‘A sharp guy!’
Just by how Pyo-wol managed to sense the slightest faint murderous intent he harbored and open his eyes, he was certainly not an easy opponent.
That momentary murderous intent was his test.
Pyo-wol’s perception was sharp enough to pass his test easily. His actual martial strength must be even more formidable.
“Let’s stop for today. I’ll see you later.”
“It might be better for both of us not to meet.”
“I hope so, too, but somehow I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again in the near future.”
“So do I.”
“In that case, we’ll see each other soon.”
For people like Baek Ho-gyeong and Pyo-wol who had reached such heights, their intuition was almost like foresight.
If both felt the same intuition, it was only a matter of time before it became reality.
Baek Ho-gyeong disappeared without a sound.
Pyo-wol quietly watched the place where Baek Ho-gyeong had been.
At that moment, Do Yeonsan and Eunyo opened their eyes at the same time.
They looked at the spot where Baek Ho-gyeong had been with bewildered expressions. After a moment of stunned silence, they realized that Baek Ho-gyeong was gone and jumped to their feet.
Do Yeonsan looked around and asked Pyo-wol.
“Brother, where did the old man go?”
“He’s gone.”
“He just left?”
Do Yeonsan looked at Pyo-wol with an incredulous expression.
Although he hadn’t said anything because he was overwhelmed by Baek Ho-gyeong’s oppressive aura, he too had sensed that something was off about Baek Ho-gyeong’s atmosphere.
That’s why he also stayed alert, losing quite a bit of sleep. Although losing that much sleep wouldn’t tire him, it still made his nerves on edge.
Eunyo spoke,
“That’s a relief. His aura was really unsettling…”
Being blind, her other senses were heightened.
Especially her intuition, which was unparalleled.
Ever since Baek Ho-gyeong joined them yesterday, she had been uneasy. She was distressed by the razor-sharp qi that Baek Ho-gyeong unconsciously emitted.
To escape the discomfort, she forcibly shut off all her senses and went to sleep.
Now that Baek Ho-gyeong was gone, her overly reactive senses gradually calmed down.
Eunyo looked at Pyo-wol.
“Do you think he has anything to do with yesterday’s incident?”
“I’m not sure.”
Although he answered as such, Pyo-wol thought otherwise.
When a person reaches Pyo-wol’s cultivation level, they can roughly tell what kind of martial arts someone uses just by looking at their physique.
Baek Ho-kyung’s hands, in particular, were abnormally developed.
His hands did not just have calluses, but each joint of his fingers resembled bamboo.
Either he had been born with them, or he practiced a special technique.
Nonetheless, it didn’t match the wounds on the bodies they had seen yesterday.
That was why Pyo-wol did not think that Baek Ho-gyeong was the culprit.
At that moment, Do Yeonsan muttered,
“I just hope we never see that old man again.”
Eunyo nodded, agreeing with him.
* * *
Even when Baek Ho-gyeong suddenly disappeared, the people of the Zigong Merchant Group were not surprised. On the contrary, they were relieved.
Accompanying a willful expert like Baek Ho-gyeong would also bring a considerable mental burden for them. Now that he had left on his own accord, they couldn’t be happier.
Lee Shin-pil shouted,
“Let’s pack up and leave this place!”
“Yes!”
The laborers began to move energetically in response.
They put out the bonfire and tied the horses to the wagons, preparing to leave.
In the meantime, others checked their physical conditions while chewing on the jerky they had received in advance.
Finally, when all preparations were complete, the Zigong Merchant Group left their campsite.
Do Yeonsan also sat in the coachman’s seat and drove the horse.
Although they drove along the main road for quite a while, no villages or cities appeared.
They had no choice but to camp again when the sun set.
After several days of camping like this, they were far from well-groomed.
Their hair was a mess, and their faces and bodies were full of dirt. If a stranger saw them, they would look no different from beggars.
The only people who looked somewhat decent were Pyo-wol and Eunyo.
Pyo-wol was always in top physical condition and always kept his hat pressed to his head, so there was no place for the dust to settle.
Eunyo maintained cleanliness by washing herself thoroughly whenever they passed by a stream. But even then, she was starting to look increasingly shabby in the face of continuous camping.
The biggest problem was the bandits targeting the group’s goods.
It seemed that a particularly large number of bandits were active in the area.
Even after one bandit group was annihilated by unidentified experts, others still attacked the Zigong Merchant Group without fear. However, they could not achieve what they wanted.
Just as they were about to attack the Zigong Merchant Group, Do Yeonsan stepped in and defeated them all.
Do Yeonsan subdued the bandits and took away all their horses. For the bandits, this was a fate worse than death.
Without horses, they could no longer be called bandits.
The Zigong Merchant Group attached the horses that Do Yeonsan had taken to the rear of their formation and moved on.
Just then, a large city appeared before their eyes.
It was the city of Yuqing.
“Phew!”
“Wow! A city!”
Both the escorts and laborers burst into cheers.
LUNA-CAVE
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