Reaper of the Drifting Moon

“Well, how come there is a person like that?”

Maun frowned and looked at Pyo-wol, who was eating alone on the first floor of the restaurant.

For the past four days, Pyo-wol has only been in the room except for meals.

There was still something he couldn’t figure out even if he listened closely to what was going on in the room, but his heart wasn’t as stuffy as it used to be.

Because the fact that Pyo-wol was in the room didn’t change.

“I don’t understand. To stay in a room with a face like that. If it were me, I would have seduced a girl who passed by and went to my bedroom. Is there a girl who won’t fall over if I have a face like that?”

Pyo-wol had a very handsome face that even a man could appreciate. No, he had an atmosphere that could not be expressed by simply calling him handsome.

It’s a glamorous atmosphere that seems to attract people just by looking at him.

In fact, among the women who came to eat at the guest house, there were many who talked to Pyo-wol.

All of them, with their faces blushing, twisted their bodies and handed a letter to Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol was good to them. He didn’t say a word of dislike. He just stared at them indifferently. Nevertheless, the women liked that they received the attention of Pyo-wol.

Such a scene was repeated several times, to the point that Maun had a stomach ache.

Maun’s face wasn’t too bad either. He thought he belonged to a pretty decent category. But when he spoke to the women, they were often frightened and ran away as if he had a plague.

No woman ever showed him a warm smile, or at least not sent him contemptible glances enough to make him feel good.

As Maun, who had only had such an experience in comparison to Pyo-wol, he had no choice but to be dissatisfied.

“Anyway, women don’t know real men. Men aren’t just their faces.”

Although Maun grumbled, he did not take his eyes off Pyo-wol. However, the vigilance on his face had softened a lot.

For the past four days, Pyo-wol has not taken any action. He didn’t meet anyone else, and he didn’t come into contact with any other sects. 

Just in case, Maun even asked the waiter to check whether Pyo-wol was in the room several times. Maun thought that Pyo-wol’s daily life would be repeated as long as there were no incidents. 

Still, since Zhang Mu-ryang’s command was still ongoing, he continued to monitor, but his attention began to loosen little by little.

It was the same for colleagues who were watching from the other side.

They’d rather follow Pyo-wol when he goes out, even if it’s windy, but because he’s still stuck in the corner of the room, they too had to stay in the corner of the room.

“That man doesn’t even go out, what is he doing?”

“How long do we have to watch?”

“I don’t know! If there’s any movement, tell me then. I’ll close my eyes for a while.”

In the end, there was even a person lying on the bed and closing their eyes while watching. But no one said anything to him. Because everyone else felt the same way.

Everyone slowly closed their eyes. 

Maun and his other colleagues too… 

Then at that time, Pyo-wol began to move.

Late at night, Pyo-wol quietly left the guesthouse.

Four men were watching, but no one noticed Pyo-wol’s movement. If it was simply sneaking out of the guest house, he could do it at any time. Because Pyowol’s stealth was at a level that Maun and his companions could never notice.

What Pyo-wol was aiming for was to instill in them a false preconceived notion that he would not move. So, he pretended not to know that they were using a waiter to check that he was still in the room.

As such things were repeated for four days, Maun and others’ alertness went down. Pyo-wol knows that human concentration does not last very long.

As expected by Pyo-wol, Maun and his colleagues were focused only on the first and second days, while starting from the third day they started to loosened up. And when four days had passed, they were completely relaxed.

Their concentration and tension are now completely gone.

The first requirement of a good assassin is that he must be able to lower the enemy’s vigilance and be patient until then. To an assassin, a moment when the enemy was relaxed was a golden opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

For Pyo-wol, now was such a moment.

He moved on the roof of the pavilion at a frightening speed.

The destination was the White Flower Room, a sect consisting of women in the south of the city. The location of the White Flower Room was known in advance through Woo Seolha.

Thanks to this, Pyo-wol was able to arrive near the White Flower Room without getting lost in the crowded Chengdu.

The size of the White Flower Room was very large.

Just as Golden Gates grew up with the support of the Qingcheng sect, the White Flower Room also received support from the Emei sect. 

Dozens of pavilions that soared above the high wall showed how powerful the White Flower Room was in the south of the city.

The female disciples stood guard at the front door of the White Flower Room. However, their posture was very relaxed.

Still, it was because of the pride that the White Flower Room is a well-known sect in Sichuan, so no one would dare to attack it. Even if someone attacked, they did not worry too much because if the emergency bell rang, the masters inside would come pouring out.

Their negligence was a great opportunity for Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol hid in the White Flower Room, avoiding people’s eyes at once.

It was the first time he had come to the White Flower Room, but Pyo-wol was already familiar with the topography of the area, the arrangement of personnel, and the location of the military headquarters.

It was thanks to Seolha.

Pyo-wol remembered all the words she had said inadvertently.

Pyo-wol looked at the leftmost front building. It was an empty guest hall that was opened only when important guests came to the White Flower Room. It was now being used by the disciples from the Emei sect.

Pyo-wol went up to the roof of the empty audience at once. Emei’s disciples were on the alert around the empty audience hall, but they did not notice the presence of the Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol jumped on one of the tiles on the roof and infiltrated into the pavilion.

* * * 

“Junior sister should return to the main sect as soon as the sun rises.”

“Senior sister!”

At Jeonghwa’s cold words, Yong Seol-ran looked at her in surprise. It was completely unexpected for her.

“Even if Junior sister is here anyway, there is nothing you can do. It would be better for you to go back to the main sect and stay by master’s side.”

“But, Master ordered me to help.”

“If we hadn’t signed a contract with the Black Cloud Mercenary Group, of course I would have received the help of Junior sister. But the contract with the Black Cloud Mercenary Group went well, and there’s nothing for Junior sister to do anymore. So go back.”

“I can’t.”

“Junior sister! Aret you not going to listen to my orders?”

Jeonghwa’s voice grew colder.

Yong Seol-ran looked at Jeonghwa without saying a word for a moment.

‘Haaa!’

Yong Seol-ran was about to let out a sigh. She’s known for a long time that Jeonghwa was terrified of her.

Yong Seol-ran never showed any signs of becoming the sect leader. She hadn’t even thought of that. Still, Jeonghwa was wary of Yong Seol-ran as a potential competitor.

No matter how much Yong Seol-ran expressed that she had no intention of being the sect leader, Jeonghwa did not believe her.

In one of the eyes of Jeonghwa, the feelings of distrust and hatred toward the Yong Seol-ran were visible.Yong Seol-ran forcibly suppressed a sigh and opened her mouth.

“We don’t know when we will face the Qingcheng sect in Chengdu, so shouldn’t I stay here?”

“What are you so worried about? The White Flower Room will help us here. If that doesn’t work, we can use the Black Cloud Mercenary Group as a shield. There’s no need for Junior sister to be here. That’s just a huge waste of human resources.”

“Senior sister!”

“No matter what my junior sister says, my intentions will not change. I will send a separate letter to Master, so you can go back safely.”

“Okay. If it’s Senior sister’s will then—”

In the end, Yong Seol-ran accepted Jeonghwa’s opinion. It was because she realized that no matter how much she objected, Jeonghwa would not accept it. 

If she continues to argue with Jeonghwa over this, in the end, all their conversations will come back to the beginning.

“Go back as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

“I’ll do that.”

Yong Seol-ran got up and went outside.

Jeonghwa looked at Yong Seol-ran’s back with her remaining eye.

Tak!

When the door finally closed, she vomited out the words he had been wanting to say for a long time.

“Hong! That cheeky bitch. How dare you act like that in front of me.”

Jeonghwa hated Yong Seol-ran the most in the Emei sect. Just being in the same room with her was considered terrifying to the point of shuddering.

Although she hated Yong Seol-ran from the moment she first entered, her hatred reached its peak after she lost one eye to an assassin seven years ago.

Even before the loss of her eyes could go away, she was greatly scolded by her teacher, Guhwasata, the Abbess of Nine Calamities.

The reason was that the relationship with the Qingcheng sect was worsened by not handling the assassin properly. As a result, she was almost exiled for two years.

If the conflict with the Qingcheng sect escalated and no electric power was needed, she would have had to spend her whole life in the small hermitage of Mount Emei.

It was such a dramatic comeback, but her anxiety did not go away.

She couldn’t sleep well because she thought that one day she might be abandoned as a hermitage again. Anxiety turned into hatred, and the hatred turned to Yong Seol-ran, who had gone into the underground cavity with her.

Because she took responsibility for everything and was exiled to a small hermitage, while Yong Seol-ran was not punished at all.

It was unfair for Yong Seol-ran, but her hatred was too great to change Jeonghwa’s heart.

That was then.

“Auntie! May I go inside?”

A familiar voice was heard outside. The frost-like energy that stood on Jeonghwa’s face disappeared, and a smile took over.

“Yes. Come in.”

“Okay!”

Hearing the answer, Seonha entered the room. She walked lightly and came right in front of Jeonghwa.

“I saw Yong Seol-ran come out. Did you ask her to leave?”

“Yes.”

“You did well. I was uncomfortable with her staying here too.”

“Certainly, Junior sister has a unique atmosphere that makes others uncomfortable. I don’t like her atmosphere either.”

“That’s right.”

She smiled softly and nodded her head.

“But what’s going on for you to visit?”

“I’m just here to talk to my aunt because I’m afraid my aunt will become enemies.”

“How can you be so nice?”

Jeonghwa looked at Seolha with a satisfied expression on her face. She sat close to Jeonghwa’s side and showed her aegyo.

“Are you with a man? You seem to be more beautiful.”

“No.”

“It doesn’t matter if you meet someone. Just don’t give out your heart. The men of the family are unbelievable, so if you give them all of your heart, only you will be hurt.”

“I know.”

“Ho-ho! It seems that there is a man you are dating.”

“There is, but he’s worth using.”

“Really?”

Jeonghwa showed curiosity. Then, Seon-ha was excited and explained.

“You know that the young master of the Thunder Gates is dead, right?”

“Isn’t that why we came out? But what’s the connection?”

“The person who killed Nam Ho-san might be the person I met.”

“Are you sure?”

The atmosphere of Jeonghwa has changed. Because it was such a shocking story.

“It’s not certain.”

“Then why are you talking like that?”

In fact, she wasn’t even sure that Pyo-wol killed Nam Ho-san. Because Pyo-wol didn’t agree to the deed until the end. She assumed he had killed him, but there was no evidence.

“I’ll check it out first.”

“Okay.”

“If you’re sure, I’ll bring him to aunt then.”

“If that’s your idea… But what’s his name?”

“I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

“Jeonghwa!”

“It’s because I don’t want to make a mistake with my aunt. I’ll tell you when I’m sure.”

“Okay. I hope it’s not too late.”

“It won’t take that long.”

“Then do it.”

“Thank you, Auntie!”

Seolha smiled.

This is because Jeonghwa, who was so harsh on the other disciples of the Emei sect, was infinitely merciful to her.

All of a sudden, Pyo-wol came to mind.

‘Did he really kill him?’

They have already slept together twice. Still, the fact that she couldn’t fully understand his true feelings made her scared. She felt like she was haunted.

Jeonghwa, who saw Seolha’s hard face, made a puzzled expression.

“Why was that…”

At that moment.

“Kyaa-ak!”

“Collection!”

Suddenly, a tearing scream was heard from outside. Jeonghwa and Seolha looked at each other in surprise. They rushed out to run to the place where the scream was heard.

It was the room opposite Jeonghwa’s dwelling.

Several Emei sect’s disciples had already gathered in front of the room. Their complexions were pale white.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, Gongseon’s private house—!”

The Emei sect’s disciples were unable to speak.

Jeonghwa pushed them away and entered the room.

A woman was lying in the room as if asleep. She was Gongseon, a direct disciple of Jeonghwa. Gongseon was one of the two great disciples of the Emei sect, and was taught by Jeonghwa.

So she called Jeonghwa Master, and Jeong-hwa also considered her to be her direct disciple.

“Gongseon!”

Jeonghwa hurriedly hugged Gongseon.

At that moment, Gongseon’s neck ripped open, and fresh blood flowed down like a waterfall and wet Jeonghwa’s chest.

“No! This can’t be! Who the hell did this to Gongseon—”

Red blood stood in Jeonghwa’s one and only eye.

“Qing, Qingcheng sect! They’re the ones who sent an assassin to kill junior sister Gongseon!”

“We must take revenge now.”

The Emei sect’s disciples demanded revenge.

Gongseon resembles Jeonghwa and has a toxic personality. So she also bought a lot of resentment from the other disciples. But that was the story while she was still alive.

As long as she was a disciple belonging to the same sect, they had to take revenge no matter what her personal circumstances were.

Jeonghwa muttered while holding Gongseon’s body.

“Qingcheng sect! I will never forgive you. I’ll make sure to kill all of you.”