Light Novel: Volume 20 Episode 22
Manhwa: N/A
Pyo-wol opened the door and walked out of the room with Hong Ye-seol.
Nam Shin-woo was the first to spot them and rushed over.
“Brother!”
“Eh?”
“Big Brother!”
Do Yeonsan and Eunyo also hurried toward Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol looked at each of their faces and asked,
“Are you all okay?”
“We’re fine!”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Brother… you seem to look even better than before?”
Do Yeonsan scrutinized Pyo-wol from head to toe.
It wasn’t just that his wounds had healed, but there was also a change in his aura as well.
Do Yeonsan couldn’t explain it, butPyo-wol seemed to have a much more thicker and stickier energy than before.
Then as if remembering, Do Yeonsan unwrapped the gauntlets he was wearing on his forearms.
“This, brother!”
It was something he had worn while disguised as Pyo-wol.
Do Yeonsan liked the gauntlets which Tang Sochu had put a lot of effort into making. However, Do Yeonsan couldn’t fully utilize its capabilities and unleash its full power.
The gauntlet was a tool that would only show its true worth when worn by Pyo-wol. Thus, Do Yeonsan handed it back without any hesitation.
Clank!
Pyo-wol strapped the pair of gauntlets onto his forearms.
He liked the feeling of them enveloping his hands and forearms.
Do Yeonsan also took off the blood-red robe and handed it to Pyo-wol. Without declining, Pyo-wol accepted and donned the robe.
As Pyo-wol flexed his fingers, Do Yeonsan asked,
“Brother, what are you planning to do now?”
“I’m going to the New Moon Manor.”
“What?”
Do Yeonsan’s eyes widened in surprise.
It was the same for everyone else.
Nam Shin-woo and Eunyo were speechless, and even Hong Ye-seol and the Elder Assassin blinked in astonishment.
Despite having healed from a critical injury and undergoing Bone Transformation, it was still time for recuperation.
Usually, after achieving a great breakthrough, one needed time to assimilate the enlightenment. Only then could one fully integrate the newfound knowledge as their own.
There was no way Pyo-wol didn’t know this, so everyone had thought that even though his wounds had healed, he would take a few more days to recover. But Pyo-wol’s decision surpassed their expectations.
Hong Ye-seol cautiously asked,
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit more?”
“Isn’t it strange?”
“Eh? What is?”
“It’s too quiet.”
“What do you mean?”
Hong Ye-seol frowned.
Pyo-wol, looking at the corpses of the Blood Wraiths, said,
“These are just a part of their entire force. If these had not returned, they should have sent reinforcements by now. But it’s still quiet.”
“That’s because–”
“I know So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo. They’re not negligent people. They’re as persistent as I am.”
“Is that so?”
“Both of them staying quiet until now? It doesn’t make sense logically.”
“So, you want to check it out?”
“Yes!”
“You really are unstoppable. You’re out of your mind.”
Hong Ye-seol shook her head in disbelief.
She thought of herself as quite a venomous person, but Pyo-wol was on another level.
He was more venomous than the snake hiding in his clothes.
“I take that as a compliment.”
Pyo-wol began walking. He was followed naturally by Do Yeonsan, Eunyo, Nam Shin-woo, and the divine doctor.
Watching this, Hong Ye-seol sighed deeply but did not try to stop Pyo-wol.
She signalled the Elder Assassin and the Black Assassination Squad to move.
The Elder Assassin approached Hong Ye-seol.
“Heh!”
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Just because you two look so good together–”
“Who? Me and that guy?”
“Who else is here?”
“You’re senile, old man.”
“Hehe, I can see why the union leader risked her life like that. A man needs to have such a poisonous heart. He is truly the hope of us assassins.”
“Who’s the hope?”
“The man the union leader likes.”
“Elder Assassin!”
“At first, I doubted him, thinking his reputation was exaggerated. But now that I’m seeing him with my own eyes, I realized. He’s the only one who can stand at the pinnacle of assassins.”
The Elder Assassin’s expression was dazed, looking almost enchanted by the very idea of Pyo-wol.
“Tch!”
Although Hong Ye-seol clicked her tongue, she didn’t scold him.
She had the same thoughts as the Elder Assassin.
The Elder Assassin watched Pyo-wol’s back and thought,
‘A man of his stature should be able to handle the leader.’
Hong Ye-seol was not an easy person to get along with.
Famed for her intelligence from a young age and with a strong character, she was a talent everyone coveted.
It’s no wonder she rose to prominence.
She was the epitome of ‘hiding a sword in a smile.’
People who cover their murderous intent behind their smiles.
Such people never trust or rely on anyone easily.
Hong Ye-seol was no different.
She never allowed anyone to get close to her easily. But with Pyo-wol, she was openly showing her true feelings. It meant she trusted him that much.
‘He’s really an amazing person, in more ways than one.’
The Elder Assassin chuckled as he followed.
Pyo-wol was truly heading to the New Moon Manor.
It took a full day from the village where he received treatment to the New Moon Manor. During that time, Pyo-wol didn’t rest and kept moving.
It was hard to believe that he had suffered a life-threatening injury just a short time ago.
Tap! Tap!
Every time he struck the ground, Pyo-wol’s body shot forward like an arrow.
He had always been known for his exceptional lightness of movement, but the qinggong he was displaying now were at a different level.
Everything that exists must fall to the ground, but Pyo-wol seemed to defy this law of nature. He was as weightless as a feather.
Hong Ye-seol and the Elder Assassin watched Pyo-wol’s back, their expressions filled with awe.
As fellow assassins, they recognized how extraordinary his movements were.
‘Incredible…’
‘He’s in a different realm from us.’
There was too much of a gap for the two to even feel jealous.
Unaware of their thoughts, Pyo-wol continued to run, exercising his qinggong.
After running for a while, they finally saw the New Moon Manor in the distance.
Only then did Pyo-wol and his group slowed down.
The Elder Assassin cautiously spoke up,
“From now on, we’ll have to approach stealthily–”
It wasn’t anywhere else, but the Kowloon Assassin Guild’s base, the New Moon Manor.
He was right to be extremely cautious, as there would be many elite troops. But Pyo-wol was unperturbed and continued on his way towards the New Moon Manor.
The Elder Assassin tried to hold Pyo-wol back.
“Wait–”
“He’s not someone who listens to others.”
Hong Ye-seol dissuaded the Elder Assassin.
“But–!”
“He’s not reckless either. If he acts like this, there must be a good reason for it.”
“Mm!”
The Elder Assassin could only let out a resigned grunt at Hong Ye-seol’s firm attitude.
Hong Ye-seol also followed Pyo-wol without hesitation.
“Hoo!”
The Elder Assassin sighed deeply.
Logically, this shouldn’t have been the approach. But Pyo-wol was a being who utterly defied common sense. To follow Pyo-wol, the Elder Assassin had to abandon his conventional wisdom.
Eventually, he led the Black Assassination Squad, carefully following Pyo-wol.
The New Moon Manor was getting closer and closer.
The Elder Assassin, with his senses on high alert, looked suspicious.
It was too quiet.
Considering the scale of the New Moon Manor, such silence was impossible.
A manor of that size would never sleep.
People needed to be active day and night for the manor to function. With so many people moving, there would inevitably be some noise. But now, there was no sign of life from the New Moon Manor.
It was as if it were completely empty.
They reached the front gate of the New Moon Manor. Strangely, there were no guards at the gate.
“What’s going on?”
For the Elder Assassin, such a scenario was unthinkable.
Knowing how meticulous the Kowloon Assassin Guild was, his suspicions were only heightened.
It was impossible for an organization like the Kowloon Assassin Guild to leave their main gate unguarded.
Creak!
Pyo-wol boldly opened the gate and entered.
The landscape inside the New Moon Manor was visible through the wide-open gate. But something about the scene was off.
There were only corpses scattered everywhere, there was no human warmth at all.
The interior of the New Moon Manor was a mess, as if it had been attacked.
“What’s this?”
“What happened here?”
Do Yeonsan and Eunyo looked around for any survivors, but found none.
The divine doctor furrowed his brow and muttered,
“Could it be an attack from another sect?”
“It looks more like infighting to me.”
The Elder Assassin interjected smoothly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You can tell by the wounds on their bodies.”
“What about them?”
“Seems you don’t understand, being a doctor and all.”
“If you’re underestimating me because I’m a doctor–”
“Just look closely.”
Ignoring the divine doctor’s irritation, the Elder Assassin picked up a sword lying nearby and inserted it into a wound on a corpse.
The divine doctor’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.
The sword fit perfectly into the wound.
The same was true of the other bodies.
The weapons scattered around matched the wounds on the bodies exactly.
“What in the world…”
The divine doctor had a confused look on his face.
Meanwhile, Pyo-wol had ventured deeper into the New Moon Manor.
The inside was even worse than the outside.
There were hundreds of corpses in sight.
All of them being seemingly warriors of the New Moon Manor.
Do Yeonsan approached and whispered,
“Did they really fight amongst themselves?”
“It seems so.”
“Really?”
“Mm!”
Pyo-wol nodded, examining the bodies closely.
Some were dead with each other’s swords plunged into their chests.
It was evident they had fought each other.
Do Yeonsan looked at the bodies with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Why would they turn on each other?”
“Maybe they couldn’t bear the sight of a rolling stone ruling over their heads.”
So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo had been on the periphery of the Kowloon Assassin Guild.
Although So Yeowol inherited the blood of the lord of the guild, they were still distant from the core of power.
As far as the other executives were concerned, So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo were mere usurpers who took advantage of the chaos to seize power.
Initially, they followed So Yeowol’s instigation to kill Pyo-wol, heading to Tianyuan Temple. However, when So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo led the main force to attack Pyo-wol, those who remained behind developed their own ambitions for power.
With Go Jang-myung and Gu Moon-hye both dead, it was a situation ripe for power struggles.
Anyone could become the new master of the Kowloon Assassin Guild if So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo were eliminated. It was strange not to be tempted by such an opportunity.
They tried to seize control of the New Moon Manor in the absence of So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo. However, the resistance from those loyal to So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo was fiercer than expected, and the situation got prolonged until the duo returned, leading the Blood Wraiths.
Pyo-wol could clearly see the series of events unfold in his mind.
The battle was fierce.
Even the unattended wounds on the corpses spoke of the intensity of the fight.
It was impossible to tell who the winner was at this point. But Pyo-wol guessed that it must have been So Yeowol.
“They must have been worried about me. Because the ones they sent after me never returned, so they assumed I was still alive. They would have wanted to send more pursuers, but it was too late. So, they moved their base, in case I attacked.”
Just as Pyo-wol knew So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo, they knew him well too.
The Pyo-wol they knew wasn’t the kind of person who would give up and hide after being defeated once. He was the kind of person who needed to retaliate in a greater way to get even.
They must have thought that if Pyo-wol was indeed alive, he would return to the Kowloon Assassin Guild as soon as he recovered.
If Kowloon Assassin Guild was at full strength, they would have waited for him to return. However, due to the repeated internal conflicts, the forces of the Kowloon Assassin Guild in the New Moon Manor had deteriorated greatly, so they decided to relocate entirely.
The Kowloon Assassin Guild always had a contingency plan with alternative bases to relocate to in the worst-case scenario. It was clear that they intended to lie low there until they could fully recover from the internal turmoil.
“How cunning of you, So Yeowol!”
Pyo-wol clicked his tongue.
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