Light Novel: Volume 20 Episode 23
Manhwa: N/A
The warriors of the Kowloon Assassin Guild who were stationed at the New Moon Manor had disappeared without a trace.
Normally, when so many martial artists move at once, they would leave traces of their movements, but the Kowloon Assassin Guild vanished without leaving a single clue.
It was a feat impossible for an ordinary person or group. However, for So Yeowol and the Kowloon Assassin Guild, it was not surprising or strange at all.
The Kowloon Assassin Guild had always operated in secret.
Even Pyo-wol himself had been unaware of their existence until he became entangled with them.
Sowing discord while hiding behind the scenes, they would have undoubtedly prepared a safe haven.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows.
And an organization like the Kowloon Assassin Guild would have prepared a grand and secret burrow.
Given So Yeowol’s disposition, it was unlikely that she or the Kowloon Assassin Guild would move anytime soon.
She would wait until she had completely seized control of the guild.
As someone of his kind, Pyo-wol understood her nature better than anyone.
“Finding her now that she’s decided to hide won’t be easy.”
“But we can’t just wait for her to show up, can we?”
“We need time too.”
Pyo-wol had undergone a Bone Transformation, but his body still contained energy that he hadn’t fully assimilated.
If he continued to move without fully digesting the remaining energy, he would surely encounter problems later.
He needed time to consolidate his energy.
Their current hideout wasn’t enough. They needed a new base.
“Alright, leave it to me to find a new safe house.”
“Mmm!”
Pyo-wol left the task of finding a new base to Hong Ye-seol and headed towards where Do Yeonsan and the others were.
Although the divine doctor had healed their wounds, they were all still visibly exhausted. They too needed rest.
As Pyo-wol approached, the divine doctor spoke up,
“I should return to the Qi Family Medical Hall.”
He trusted the Wind Saint to protect it, but he needed to see its safety with his own eyes to feel at ease.
“Are you going to go to Shaoyang alone?”
“This friend has agreed to go with me.”
“Friend?”
Pyo-wol looked at the person the divine doctor was referring to.
It was the Elder Assassin.
The Elder Assassin walked over to Pyo-wol and greeted him.
“I apologize for the late introduction. Please call me Elder Assassin.”
“Elder Assassin?”
“Yes. I’ll make sure that my friend will return safely at the Qi Family Medical Hall.”
The Elder Assassin smiled as he spoke.
The divine doctor finally gave in to the Elder Assassin’s stubbornness and accepted him as a friend.
The fact that the Elder Assassin was an assassin didn’t matter.
He had associated and befriended with people of even more notorious backgrounds in the past.
The issue was trust.
He didn’t fully trust the man he’d just met. But the Elder Assassin’s amiable approach made it hard to push him away.
So, the divine doctor decided to take a risk for the first time.
Behind it all was his faith in Pyo-wol.
He knew that as long as Pyo-wol was there, the Elder Assassin wouldn’t be able to pull off any tricks.
Pyo-wol stared intently at the Elder Assassin.
The Elder Assassin did not avert his gaze.
Pyo-wol said,
“Ensure not a hair on his head is harmed.”
“Don’t worry. Even though I’m old and slow, I, the Elder Assassin, am still quite capable. And I don’t want to lose the friends I’ve just made in my later years.”
“I’ll trust you this once.”
“Thank you. I will be back soon.”
The Elder Assassin bowed to Pyo-wol.
It was then that Nam Shin-woo cautiously spoke up.
“Brother, I’ll go to the Qi Family Medical Hall too. I’m worried about Master.”
“Do so.”
“Thank you, brother!”
With that, Nam Shin-woo, along with the Elder Assassin and the divine doctor, left for Shaoyang’s Qi Family Medical Hall.
It took Hong Ye-seol less than half a day to find a suitable safe house.
It was an abandoned house on the outskirts of Qiyang.
The house, deserted long ago, was quite large. A major fire had once ravaged the village where the house was located, burning most of the houses and leading the people to abandon the village.
In less than half an hour, the Black Assassination Squad had efficiently cleaned up the abandoned house, which was full of garbage, and created a habitable environment.
Thanks to them, Pyo-wol and his group could rest without any worries.
Hong Ye-seol instructed the Black Assassination Squad,
“Keep a strict watch around the perimeter and don’t enter the house without my permission.”
Without a word, the Black Assassination Squad bowed and left the abandoned house.
“You can rest easy now.”
Hong Ye-seol revealed a satisfied expression.
Do Yeonsan said to Pyo-wol.
“We’ll use the rooms over there.”
The room he pointed to was in the most secluded part of the abandoned house.
It has two adjoining rooms– one for Do Yeonsan and one for Eunyo.
Nodding, Pyo-wol watched as Do Yeonsan and Eunyo entered their respective rooms, eager to rest and recuperate.
Pyo-wol then entered a large room, followed by Hong Ye-seol.
When Pyo-wol looked at her with a puzzled expression, Hong Ye-seol just smiled broadly.
“You can’t move around on your own yet, can you?”
“……”
“So I’ll take care of you, just like a baby–”
Thud!
Without waiting for Pyo-wol’s reply, Hong Ye-seol closed the door.
“Hoo!”
Pyo-wol sighed, but Hong Ye-seol didn’t let that stop her.
She then walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked into his eyes.
“Hoho!”
* * *
Pyo-wol didn’t come out of his room for a full five days.
The problem was that Hong Ye-seol didn’t come out either.
Do Yeonsan and Eunyo weren’t so naive as to not know what that meant.
Still, they remained nonchalant, they had witnessed such scenes quite often.
Pyo-wol had a charm that attracted women.
Even the most stoic women would invariably find themselves swayed in his presence.
Pyo-wol never rejected the advances of women who approached him.
Having seen this repeatedly, Do Yeonsan and Eunyo were confident that even if Hong Ye-seol stayed inside for a few more days, they wouldn’t think it was unusual.
When Pyo-wol finally emerged from the room, his skin looked even whiter, perhaps a result of his recent transformation. His skin glistened under the sunlight.
Close by his side was Hong Ye-seol, her face flushed, probably because of what had occurred in the room.
Do Yeonsan and Eunyo greeted Pyo-wol warmly.
“Brother!”
“Big brother!”
They approached Pyo-wol with happy expressions.
Pyo-wol asked them,
“Has everyone been well?”
“We’re fine—”
“We’re good. Both my internal and external injuries have healed completely.”
Pyo-wol nodded at their answer.
“That’s good to hear.”
“How about you?”
“I’m doing very well too.”
Pyo-wol spoke confidently.
It was rare for him to express himself so openly like this.
It had become his habit to always be cautious and hide his true self as much as possible.
For him to break that habit and speak out indicated that he was in excellent condition.
It wasn’t just because of his recent transformation.
It was the result of five days of enlightenment and resolving all the remaining energy in his body.
It was Hong Ye-seol who had helped him the most.
Their intimate time together greatly aided in dissipating the restless energy within him.
In Taoism, the harmony of yin and yang was emphasized and highly valued.
It’s believed that the interaction of these energies not only promotes mutual growth but also leads to better development, which proved to be true in Pyo-wol’s case.
Thanks to Hong Ye-seol, Pyo-wol was able to calm the turbulent energy in his body and completely absorb it.
Hong Ye-seol said,
“I guess this means I’ve repaid my debt to you?”
“Right!”
“Hoho!”
Hong Ye-seol smiled happily.
It was then.
Whistle!
A sharp whistling sound suddenly sounded out.
The smile on Hong Ye-seol’s face instantly disappeared.
The whistling sound was a warning signal from the Black Assassination Squad guarding the area.
Pyo-wol asked Hong Ye-seol,
“What is it?”
“It’s a signal that someone is approaching the abandoned house.”
“An intruder?”
“But they don’t seem to be hostile based on the signal, so what should we do?”
All Pyo-wol had to do was to say the word and the Black Assassination Squad would eliminate the intruder without a trace.
Pyo-wol shook his head.
“Let them in.”
“Alright.”
Hong Ye-seol gave a long whistle in reply. Then short whistle quickly sounded from outside in response.
The Black Assassination Squad would now stand down.
Creak!
A moment later, someone cautiously entered the abandoned house.
The intruder looked around the inside of the house for a moment before smiling broadly upon seeing Pyo-wol.
“So you were here after all. Great Master Pyo!”
“Hong Yushin!”
Pyo-wol recognized the intruder immediately.
He was none other than Hong Yushin, the chief inspector of the Hao clan.
Hong Yushin smiled and walked over.
“I was worried about you, but thankfully, you’re safe.”
“And you?”
“I’m fine, thanks to you.”
“That’s good!”
“It’s just regrettable that we couldn’t finish the job properly.”
Hong Yushin sighed.
He was certain that the Kowloon Assassin Guild would continue to be a thorn in their side.
He had hoped that Pyo-wol, while he and the Wind Saint were buying time, would have completely dealt with the guild.
Eliminating the Kowloon Assassin Guild’s influence alone seemed like it would reduce the chaos in Jianghu.
That’s why he took the risk of deploying the elites of the Hao clan. However, contrary to his expectations, the Kowloon Assassin Guild stubbornly persisted.
Before coming here, he had also stopped by the New Moon Manor to examine the traces. He had confirmed that a significant number of forces had escaped the New Moon Manor safely.
He immediately mobilized the Hao clan to track down the Kowloon Assassin Guild. But they had indeed disappeared without leaving a trace.
It was nearly impossible to evade the Hao clan’s attention in Jianghu. Yet, the elites of the Kowloon Assassin Guild had managed to accomplish this near-impossible feat.
In the end, Hong Yushin had no choice but to admit the Hao clan’s defeat.
“Damn it!”
Failing to completely crush them when he had the chance would surely lead to future troubles.
Hong Yushin hoped this wouldn’t be the case this time.
The first thing he did after losing track of the Kowloon Assassin Guild was to find Pyo-wol.
Locating Pyo-wol wasn’t easy.
The Black Assassination Squad had thoroughly erased their tracks. But the power of the Hao clan was immense.
Eventually, they found out the location where Pyo-wol was staying.
Hong Yushin looked around the interior of the abandoned house and remarked,
“It looks completely abandoned from the outside, but not so much on the inside.”
“You’ve had a hard time.”
“It seems so. Do you mind if I sit down for a moment? I’ve walked a long way and my legs are sore.”
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Hong Yushin sat down on a chair in the courtyard.
Thick beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. It wasn’t just because the weather was hot and he had walked a long way.
A master like Hong Yushin wouldn’t sweat so much just from that. It was the tension that made him sweat profusely.
Pyo-wol crossed his arms and asked,
“What brings you here?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have something to ask, don’t you?”
“How did you know?”
Hong Yushin’s eyes widened.
Pyo-wol had hit the nail on the head.
His intuition was beyond ordinary. It seemed that nothing could be hidden in front of Pyo-wol.
“Hoo!”
Hong Yushin sighed deeply.
Pyo-wol looked down at Hong Yushin wordlessly.
Hong Yushin just stared at the ground for a while.
It was only after a long while before he looked up again.
“I’d like to stay and search for the Kowloon Assassin Guild, but it seems I can’t.”
“Is there a problem?”
“I’ve been ordered by the headquarters to return immediately.”
“Why?”
“The situation at Poyang Lake is critical.”
“What do you mean?”
“Assassin organizations, specifically the assassin sects, are gathering at Poyang Lake.”
“Assassin sects?”
“Yes! Many of them are converging around Poyang Lake. If they join forces with the Golden Heaven Society and the Silver Lotus Society, countless lives will be lost.”
“So?”
“I would like to ask Great Master Pyo to prevent the assassin sects from accepting their commissions.”
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