Light Novel: Volume 20 Episode 14
Manhwa: N/A
So Yeowol quickly took out a detoxifying pill from her possession.
It was a life-saving elixir she always carried around.
She administered the pill to Song Cheonwoo, but even after taking it, his condition did not improve.
“Ugh!”
Song Cheonwoo vomited blood, writhing in agony.
A vile stench emanated from the blood he spat out.
So Yeowol thought this was somewhat fortunate. If he hadn’t vomited out the blood mixed with venom, his condition would have certainly worsened.
Only after vomiting did Song Cheonwoo’s expression ease a bit. Finally, the detoxifying pill was showing its effect.
“Terrible…”
So Yeowol shuddered.
She had not expected Pyo-wol to carry a snake in his clothing, let alone one harboring such deadly venom.
Had their response been even slightly delayed, Song Cheonwoo would not have been of this world.
“Thank goodness. You’re alive…”
She whispered as she hugged Song Cheonwoo.
Even though one of his arms had been cut off, leaving him with one arm, it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that he was still alive.
Song Cheonwoo was her pillar of support.
Without him, she wouldn’t be able to survive in this harsh world.
That’s why her anger surged even more.
She was furious at Pyo-wol for trying to take away the most precious thing to her.
“What are the Blood Wraiths even doing?!”
She unfairly blamed the innocent Blood Wraiths.
For her, it already seemed like a considerable amount of time had passed since they descended the cliff, yet there was no news. But in reality, not much time had elapsed.
Even if they had run down the well-paved mountain path, it was still too early for them to reach the bottom.
“Pyo-wol, that devilish bastard! Why couldn’t he just die quietly! Why does he have to resort to to such cowardly tactics?”
Her hatred for Pyo-wol rose like a mist.
She vowed to inflict upon him the worst imaginable pain and torment before killing him, once he was caught.
So Yeowol looked at Song Cheonwoo’s face.
He had fainted, it seemed like he couldn’t bear the pain while conscious.
So Yeowol thought it was a good thing because at least the agony had disappeared from his face.
He had passed a critical phase.
So Yeowol tightly wrapped a white cloth around the area where Song Cheonwoo’s shoulder had been severed.
When she was done, she stood up, resembling a war-torn soldier.
“Phew!”
She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked towards the steep cliff.
There was still no news from the Blood Wraiths who had descended.
“Could they have possibly let him escape?”
As a foreboding feeling gnawed at her, So Yeowol bit her lip.
Her plan to seize complete control of the Kowloon Assassin Guild by using Pyo-wol had succeeded.
Woo Dam-ha, Go Jang-myung, and even Gu Moon-hye– all those who stood in her way were eliminated by Pyo-wol.
As for her half-brother Go Il-won, he was currently leading the Phantom Fleet somewhere in the vast ocean, and thus wouldn’t be able to prevent her ascension as the leader of the Kowloon Assassin Guild.
As time passed, So Yeowol knew that the leaders of the Kowloon Assassin Guild would eventually come to their senses and likely challenge or resist her. However, she was confident she could easily suppress any such resistance.
She was the one who had the upper hand, and preparations against those who might rebel were already in place.
The problem was Pyo-wol.
If Pyo-wol survived and returned, the repercussions would be endless.
So Yeowol knew better than anyone how persistent Pyo-wol could be.
Once he set his sights on someone, he would never give up, and he would kill them by any means necessary.
“No! It can’t be! I will have his head.”
So Yeowol waited impatiently for the Blood Wraiths to bring her good news.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, a red shadow emerged over the edge of the steep cliff.
It was one of the Blood Wraiths who had descended in pursuit of Pyo-wol.
Upon his return, So Yeowol hurriedly asked,
“Where is he? Where is his head?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? Don’t tell me you let him escape?”
“When we got there, he was already gone. It seems he was carried away by the stream.”
The Blood Wraith replied.
“A stream?”
“Yes. We searched all around, but we couldn’t find any trace of him.”
“Damn it!”
“The leader is personally pursuing him.”
“Really?”
A faint sense of relief appeared on So Yeowol’s face.
The leader of the Blood Wraiths was someone she deeply trusted.
With his outstanding tracking skills and assassination techniques. he had been recognized as the best among the Blood Wraiths, and thus earned the position of leader.
In fact, his prowess was comparable to that of So Yeowol in her prime.
With such capability, So Yeowol was confident he would surely find and eliminate Pyo-wol.
* * *
Swish!
The net spread wide over the water’s surface.
The net soon sank into the water, entangling a large object within.
“Alright! Pull it up.”
The men aboard the boat began to hoist the net.
A large object entangled in the net was soon lifted onto the deck.
Thud!
As soon as the object hit the deck, two men rushed over and untangled the net, revealing the object’s identity.
It was a person.
Pale-skinned like a corpse, the man was none other than Pyo-wol.
“It’s him.”
“Quick, get him out.”
The men pulling Pyo-wol out of the net were Do Yeonsan and Nam Shin-woo.
Behind them was Eunyo.
Eunyo checked Pyo-wol’s pulse.
It was faint, but she could feel his heartbeat.
“He’s still alive.”
“Thank goodness.”
“It’s too early to relax. There must be pursuers. We need to leave this place quickly. Shin-woo, start the boat.”
“Yes!”
Nam Shin-woo responded and began preparing to move the boat.
Do Yeonsan turned to Eunyo and asked,
“Will brother be okay?”
“His condition is severe. We need to take him to a divine doctor as soon as possible.”
“Hmm!”
Do Yeonsan nodded.
Even at a glance, Pyo-wol’s condition didn’t look good.
The fact that he was still alive was nothing short of a miracle, given his deplorable physical state.
The only reason he was still alive was due to his body being trained to the extremes, and his Turtle Breathing Technique.
As soon as Pyo-wol fell into the stream, he instinctively deployed the Turtle Breathing Technique, halting all bodily functions.
This allowed him to drift down the stream, eventually reaching the winding river below the mountain.
The river was quite wide.
With its gentle current, all the locals living nearby relied on fishing there for their livelihood.
Had Pyo-wol not stopped his bodily functions and ended up in a coma, his wounds would have worsen as he drifted away. Still, he was in critical state and needed to get treated as soon as possible.
Eunyo spoke up,
“Let’s move according to the plan.”
“Got it.”
Do Yeonsan nodded his head and whistled. Then the fishing boats that had been fishing nearby began to gather around the boat they were on.
In no time, over a dozen boats clustered around Do Yeonsan and the others.
Do Yeonsan addressed the fishermen,
“From now on, just do as I explained earlier.”
“We just need to drive our own boats and scatter in all directions, right?”
“Yes!”
“And we shouldn’t pick up anyone who calls us from the shore?”
“That’s right!”
“Understood.”
The fishermen nodded in unison.
“Okay, let’s get moving.”
“Got it.”
“Right!”
At Do Yeonsan’s command, the fishermen scattered in all directions.
Upstream, downstream, and along the tributaries that connected like a spider’s web– they all steered their boats.
The boat driven by Do Yeonsan headed downstream.
All of this was part of Eunyo’s plan.
After sufficiently resting, Eunyo had followed the Red King to this location.
By the time she, Do Yeonsan, and Nam Shin-woo arrived, the New Moon Manor had already been thrown into chaos.
Eunyo, Do Yeonsan, and Nam Shin-woo dispersed to gather information.
As a result, they discovered that Pyo-wol had ascended the mountain behind the New Moon Manor.
Eunyo had initially wanted to go up the mountain to help Pyo-wol escape, but it was already impossible since the New Moon Manor’s forces had already secured the area.
Left with no choice, Eunyo scouted around the mountain for a possible escape route for Pyo-wol.
“This is the only place. The only valley that joins the mountain to the river is here.”
Eunyo immediately had Do Yeonsan and Nam Shin-woo enlist the help of nearby fishermen.
They offered a substantial sum of money for a one-time favor to act as they desired.
For fishermen who relied on catching fish for their livelihood, the silver offered by Do Yeonsan and his team was an irresistible temptation.
Eventually, all the fishermen agreed to follow Eunyo’s commands.
Late at night, Eunyo led all the boats out, waiting for Pyo-wol to escape. She stayed up all night in anticipation.
Her wait was not in vain.
As the sun began to rise in the east, Pyo-wol was seen drifting down from the valley.
Do Yeonsan quickly threw a net to rescue him.
“We need to get him to the divine doctor as soon as possible.”
They had to deceive their enemies and block any means of pursuit, which is why they had enlisted all the fishing boats.
With each boat moving in different directions, it was impossible to track them down. Even if it were possible, by the time they could, the boat carrying them would have already escaped.
It was then.
“Look over there.”
Do Yeonsan suddenly pointed in a direction.
It was the the point where the valley that carried Pyo-wol merged with the river.
Red shadows appeared there.
Though they were too far to make out clearly, it didn’t take them long to realize that they were the ones who had been tracking Pyo-wol.
The pursuers were taken aback by the vastness of the river.
It was not a size they could swim across to continue their pursuit. They all tried to find a boat, but all the boats in the area had already been bought by the Eunyo.
The Blood Wraiths tried to wave and call to the boats, but the boats all turned away and ignored them.
“What?”
The leader of the Blood Wraiths furrowed his brows in frustration.
It was impossible that none of the numerous boats would respond to their call.
The boats on the river scattered in every direction, completely ignoring them.
“He’s definitely on one of those boats.”
The problem was they couldn’t determine which boat carried Pyo-wol, and even if they could, they had no way to board it.
No matter how good they were at swimming, it was impossible to catch up with boats that had moved so far away.
Still, they couldn’t just give up.
The leader commanded the Blood Wraiths,
“You guys follow the boats downstream. If anyone tries to land, seize the boat and pursue them. The rest will come with me upstream.”
The Blood Wraiths did not answer.
They were trained to never speak unless necessary.
The Blood Wraiths split into two groups and began their pursuit.
They ran along the riverbank, keeping an eye on the boats, But there were too many boats to keep track of.
As several tributaries branched out and boats dispersed along them, some completely escaped their view.
The boat Eunyo steered was among those that slipped away.
Do Yeonsan said,
“We’ve completely shaken off our pursuers.”
“Now drive the boat at full speed.”
“Understood.”
Up until then, they had been moving at the same pace as the other boats to avoid suspicion. But with the pursuers gone, they could now move at full speed without fear of being noticed.
Nam Shin-woo unfurled the sail to catch the wind fully.
The boat moved with a speed incomparable to before.
Eunyo could finally relax and attend to Pyo-wol.
As she laid Pyo-wol’s head in her lap to examine his wounds—
Swish!
Gwiya crawled out from within Pyo-wol’s clothing.
Gwiya coiled itself on Pyo-wol’s chest, as if to protect him. The snake looked like it was ready to strike and sink its venomous fangs at anyone who approached too close.
Eunyo then spoke to Gwiya,
“I would never do anything to harm my brother, so could you please move aside for a moment?”
Seemingly understanding Eunyo’s words, Gwiya relaxed and moved away from Pyo-wol’s chest.
Eunyo breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, she quickly took out a wooden box from her possession.
Inside the box was a pill wrapped in gold leaf.
It was a pill called Life-Saving and Wound-Healing Elixir.1
The divine doctor had given it to her in case of emergency.
Eunyo hurriedly administered the Life-Saving and Wound-Healing Elixir to Pyo-wol.
Gurgle!
The pill quickly melted and slid down Pyo-wol’s throat.
Pyo-wol’s complexion improved slightly. Still, it was too early for them to be completely at ease yet.
“We need to join the divine doctor as soon as possible.”
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