Reaper of the Drifting Moon Chapter 77

Published at 27th of September 2022 06:12:02 AM

“Master!”

In the midst of everyone's silence, the cry of Yong Seol-ran resounded throughout the Daejeon.

Hwahak!

Instantly, an intense aura blew like a storm in Daejeon. Yong Seol-ran's clothes were puffed up, and her dark hair rose towards the sky like seaweed.

Kwarr!

The area trembled as if it was about to collapse. Yong Seol-ran stared at the situation with anger-filled eyes.

At the sight of Yong Seol-ran getting angry for the first time, the disciples of the Emei sect were astonished. The strong pressure coming from Yong Seol-ran was not far behind in power with the Abbess of Nine Calamities.

'Oh my God!'

'Seol-ran already has reached this level?'

The Emei sect's great disciples could not help but be astonished. It was known early on that Yong Seol-ran had great talent. However, they didn't expect her to have reached this level because she was usually quiet and didn't show her prowess.

A smile crept on the corner of Guhwasata's lips.

“Seol-ran!”

“There was no need to do that. She didn't do it on purpose—”

Yong Seol-ran's rage exploded.

Seolha's death made her reveal her growth she had been working so hard to hide. Yong Seol-ran could not tolerate the behavior of Guhwasata, who only thought of people as tools.

Even when Guhwasata saw Yong Seol-ran opposing herself, Guhwasata didn't stop smiling. Because it was the look she had always wanted for Yong Seol-ran to have.

Yong Seol-ran has always concealed itself. One reason was because of the influence of Jeonghwa, who always kept her in check. 

But above all, she did not want to be taken advantage of by Guhwasata.

If she thoroughly humbled herself and stayed hidden, Guhwasata could not make use of her. However this time, since she could not hold back her anger and showed off her skills, this gives Guhwasata enough reason to make sure of her.

Yong Seol-ran knew that too. But this time, she couldn't stand it.

“No matter how wrong she is, you can't kill her like this.”

“If you have committed a mortal sin, you must die.”

“Master!”

“Seol-ran, you should also know that once you start making exceptions once or twice, there won't be an end to it. You won't understand what I'm saying now. But someday, when you rise to the top, you'll understand why I did what I did today. So stop rebelling and go back to your seat.”

“Master!”

“Come on!”

Yong Seol-ran bit her lip at the voice of Guhwasata, which sounded like a crow howling.

Now she definitely understood. No matter what she said, the old woman in front of her would never listen. 

Each person is different, but her master had a particularly harsh standard of looking at people. There was no mercy for those who did not meet the standards of the Abbess of Nine Calamities.

The same was the case with Seolha, the young mistress of the White Flower Room.

Guhwasata used this situation to intimidate the disciples of the Emei sect and the White Flower Room. Knowing that there are many people who have been used and abandoned like Seolha, Yong Seol-ran drew the line between her and Guhwasata.

If Woo Gunsang had not been killed by Pyo-wol seven years ago, she too would have been reduced to a mere tool to be used. Yong Seol-ran clenched her teeth and returned to her seat.

Guhwasata smiled with satisfaction. But that was only for a moment before she looked at the disciples with cold eyes and said,

“First, get rid of this bitch's body.”

Where she pointed, Seolha's body was spread out.

“Heuc!”

“Young mistress!”

The disciples in the White Flower Room moved the body of Seolha, swallowing their tears. A bewildered expression appeared on the faces of the disciples of the White Flower Room, who suddenly lost their sect leader and young mistress.

Guhwasata told them.

“Anyway, the White Flower Room is a branch from the same root as the Emei sect. I'll lead you guys back.”

No one dared to defy the orders of Guhwasata. They were afraid that they would end up in the same situation. 

Zhang Mu-ryang's eyes deepened.

'There is no other fox with nine tails.'

Guhwasata took over the atmosphere of the hall in an instant. Even if it had not been revealed that Seolha had done anything wrong, Guhwasata would have killed her by coming up with any excuse. It is only then that the White Flower Room can be completely subjugated.

It might have looked like she had accidentally killed Seolha in an emotional outburst, but there was a meticulous calculation behind it.

'This is going to be harder than I thought.'

The outstanding appearance of Guhwasata made it more difficult.  Guhwasata was in no way weak. Along with the Qingcheng sect's Mu Jeong-jin, Guhwasata could be said to be the strongest in Sichuan. Guhwasata was the most difficult opponent that Zhang Mu-ryang had ever met.

At that time, Guhwasata spoke to Zhang Mu-ryang.

“Captain Zhang.”

“Yes!”

“You have to move.”

“What?”

“I hope for the Black Cloud Mercenary Group to hunt Pyo-wol.”

“Are you saying we're the only ones who're going to catch the  assassin?”

“Just because of that one assassin, the White Flower Room and the main sect suffered a lot of damage. In addition, the relationship between the Qingcheng sect was irreparably damaged.”

Guhwasata's eyes were shining eerily. Her words continued.

“If we let him go wild like this, he'll cause a lot of damage before we even fight against the Qingcheng sect, so we have to get rid of him before that. In a way, dealing and catching him was more urgent than the Qingcheng sect.”

“Hmm! Three hundred and fifty men of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group are moving to catch one assassin? It seems like a business that doesn't fit the bill?”

“I'll make sure the Black Cloud Mercenary Group is located near Chengdu, not outside of Sichuan.”

“……………”

“I'll also stop any sect in Sichuan from daring to bet on other things. And I'll also give you a new foreign trade right. How is it? Wouldn't this be appropriate enough?

“Haha! There's really no reason to refuse this. Could you write it down, please?”

“I'll write it.”

Guhwasata happily answered. 

There was a deep trough in Zhang Mu-ryang's forehead. He found it strange that Guhwasata easily agreed to the terms and conditions.

Zhang Mu-ryang looked at Go Dosa. Go Dosa nodded. His gesture meant that they should accept the offer.

—This is a golden opportunity to lay our foundation in Sichuan. If we miss it, an opportunity like this will never come again.

It was an urgent time so Go Dosa sent him a message.

Zhang Mu-ryang made his decision.

“Okay. Pyo-wol. We'll definitely capture him. So you'll have to keep your promise.”

“I promise under the honor of the sect leader of the Emei sect. Bring me the head of Pyo-wol.”

“Alright.”

When Zhang Mu-ryang answered, Guhwasata immediately wrote down the promise in writing. Guhwasata wrote without hesitation.

Zhang Mu-ryang cherished the documents written by Guhwasata in his arms.

With this document alone, it was possible for them to take root in Sichuan. Once they took root, they had the confidence to raise the Black Cloud Mercenary Group no less than any other clan in Sichuan Province.

Moreover, they even obtained a new foreign trade zone. It was like digging a gold bars in the open air.

At that time, Guhwasata poured cold water.

“I don't think you should like it too much. If you don't manage to bring Pyo-wol's head to me, that whole document will be invalid.”

“That will never happen.”

“You look confident.”

“You wouldn't be able to imagine. What kind of work we've been doing. What other things we can do.”

“Can words do anything? I don't believe in talkative humans.”

“Fufu! I'll show you the results.”

Zhang Mu-ryang got up. There was no reason to be here after receiving the reward documents.

Zhang Mu-ryang went out with Go Dosa. As the two disappeared, a disciple carefully said to Guhwasata.

“Can we trust them?”

“How can I bear to trust a mercenary in one day? Trust is not important. His ambition is what matters.”

“Ambition?”

“Yes. He needs a justification to settle in the Sichuan Province. Once settled, it's his ambition to attract more mercenaries and build a sect that no one can beat.”

“Isn't it more dangerous then? If we bring such a dangerous person into Sichuan, we will be in trouble forever.”

“That's right, isn't it? If the Black Cloud Mercenary Group can really put their beaks down on Sichuan.”

Guhwasata gave a meaningful smile.

* * *

Seolha's body was piled up and dumped on the outskirts of the city.

Yasan was a place where unrelated people among the people of Chengdu were thrown away.

At least if the White Flower Room was still alive.

The White Flower Room completely belonged to the Emei sect, and the Guhwasata treated Seolha as a criminal who sold the Emei sect Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the disciples of the White Flower Room to build her a grave with an altar.

“Hik!”

They returned to Chengdu in tears.

Krrr!

A herd of wild dogs was the first to smell the corpse and approached. The wild dogs drooled with their noses stuck. It was when the head wild dog opened its mouth and was about to pluck Seolha's body.

Pouck!

A stone flew from somewhere and smashed the head of the wild dog. The startled wild dogs looked in the direction the stone was flying and became cautious.

Then a man appeared from the darkness.

The man in the splendid robe was Pyo-wol.

When Pyo-wol appeared, the wild dogs were confused and ran away. This is because they instinctively felt that Pyo-Wol was a different being from them.

Pyo-wol moved towards the bulwark where Seolha's body was contained.

When he lifted up the coffin, he saw the dead body of Seolha, with her head broken and in a miserable state.

Pyo-wol hugged Seolha's body.

He didn't feel sorry for her since they were in a situation where they had used each other. Still, he thought that the body should be buried in the right place.

Pyo-wol moved Seola's body to a sunny place. He dug the ground himself and buried her body nicely. They couldn't even make a burial mound for fear of the tomb being found by the Emei sect.

Pyo-wol sat by the tomb and looked at Chengdu.

Chengdu was like a blast bomb on the verge of an explosion.

The battle between the Emei sect and the Qingcheng sect made it so. However, it was Pyo-wol that induced and created such a situation.

As Pyo-wol promotes a crisis between the two factions, all the other factions in Chengdu and Sichuan are split into two sides and are about to face an extreme confrontation.

Many people have died so far, but more people will die in the future. Still, Pyo-wol did not regret his actions.

He couldn't even imagine turning back now.

Whatever the outcome, he had to go to the end.

Even if the end is his own death.

Pyo-wol lay on the side of the grave and looked up at the sky.

The blue sky caught his eye. It was a landscape he could not even imagine when he was in the underground cave.

Pyo-wol murmured with the sky right in front of his eyes.

“I won't say I'm sorry, we've been using each other anyway. But I'll make sure you get revenge. She's going to suffer more than you did.”

Pyo-wol lay still for a long time and did not move.

It was after the sun had set over Seosan Mountain that he got up. He came down the hill through the darkness where he could not see an inch ahead.

Pyo-wol took a step towards Chengdu. The road to Chengdu was quiet. Thanks to this, he was able to be free from public gaze, but Pyo-wol half-covered his face with a scarf.

In a sense, he was now a celebrity.

His handsome face attracted people's attention. He could move freely when his identity back then was not known, but now he can't.

The Qingcheng sect may not know him, but the Emei sect will now know for sure who he is.

The death of Seolha proved that fact.

To some extent, that was also the intention of Pyo-wol. He could have done his assassinaion without revealing his identity, but in that case, the fear felt by the opponent would be halved.

That was the reason Pyo-wol deliberately leaked his identity.

If it weren't for that reason, it would have taken them much longer to figure out the identity of Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol quietly entered Chengdu.

There was a guest house booked in advance on the outskirts of Chengdu. He went inside the guest house, but no one paid any attention to him. Even though his face was half-covered with a scarf.

Most people were indifferent to the affairs of others. It was the same for those in the guest house. People were busy chatting and talking about what happened in Chengdu today.

“The Abbess of Nine Calamities has entered Chengdu?”

“I'm telling you! As soon as she entered the White Flower Room, she killed Young Miss Seolha in a single shot.”

“No, why Young Miss Seolha?”

“Who knows? You too, be careful. If you get on the Emei sect's nerves by mistake, you might end up like that.”

“Hik! They're scary.”

The man trembled as if he was terrified just by imagining it.

Pyo-wol sat down and listened to their stories.

Even the smallest details could be important information to him.

Chapter end