Chapter 103

Sa Hyokyung looked around with furious eyes.

Jeungsanwi, Yoseolyeong, Jo Samcheok, and himself—all four were gathered in one place.

The other three were nowhere to be seen.

Sa Hyokyung was not so naive as to not know what that meant.

He had already confirmed the deaths of Gam Il-Hae and Ja Woongpyeong. All that was left was the Iron Hunchback, and seeing as he wasn’t here, it was clear he was dead too.

“Just what bastard…?”

Sa Hyokyung’s shoulders trembled as a ferocious aura emanated from him. His robes flapped wildly in the force of his Qi.

Jeungsanwi tried to calm him down.

“Please compose yourself, Eldest Brother!”

“How can you expect me to be calm? Three of my brothers, who swore to spend their lives with me, are dead.”

“We must be even more level-headed at times like this. What he wants is for us to get agitated. Even at this very moment, he is surely hiding and watching our every move. Please, you must remain calm.”

“Hmph!”

Only then did Sa Hyokyung quell his anger, and Jeungsanwi let out a sigh of relief.

No matter what anyone said, Sa Hyokyung was the core of the Seven Stars Hall.

Only when Sa Hyokyung stood firm could they move forward without wavering.

Sa Hyokyung asked Jeungsanwi.

“Whose work do you think this is?”

“As of now, the possibility of it being him is the highest.”

“Him?”

“Pyo… Wol. With the abilities of the one who challenged the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, it’s more than possible.”

After entering Chengdu, the thing Jeungsanwi had put the most effort into was gathering information on potential threats.

Originally, the biggest targets of their vigilance were the Emei Sect and the Qingcheng Sect. But they had suffered a blow so great they had to halt their activities. The situation was the same for the other sects in Chengdu.

The Hundred Flowers Room had lost both its Boss and its young boss, and the Thunder Clan had been completely annihilated.

All of this had happened because of a single person.

A single Assassin had shaken the Sichuan Murim to its very core.

Finding him was not that difficult.

It was because he possessed a beauty that was hard to believe belonged to a human.

A man more beautiful than any woman.

It was Pyo Wol.

At the very least, there was no Martial Artist based in Chengdu who did not know of Pyo Wol. But no one would readily tell Jeungsanwi about him.

Because of that, it took a considerable amount of time to uncover Pyo Wol’s identity.

He couldn’t describe how surprised he was when he found out that the one who had heavily injured the Iron Hunchback was Pyo Wol.

‘If only we had killed him for sure back then…’

Thinking about it now, only regret remained.

He never imagined that the matter they had hushed up, not wanting to draw the attention of the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect, would return as such a disaster.

“Have you found out why he’s targeting us? Surely it’s not because his feelings were hurt over the incident with our third brother?”

The third brother was the Iron Hunchback, Oh Kyungwol.

Jeungsanwi shook his head.

“If it were something like that, there would be no reason to drag things out like this in the first place.”

“Then?”

“It seems he is connected to that child in some way.”

Jeungsanwi looked down at Nam Shin-woo, who was sprawled at his feet.

Sa Hyokyung’s eyes turned sharp.

“Are you saying it’s because of this brat?”

“I believe that is the most likely possibility.”

At Jeungsanwi’s answer, Sa Hyokyung’s face contorted.

It was as if they had run into an ambush from an unexpected place.

“For now, let’s get out of here. Until now, he had the advantage because we were scattered, but if we stick together, he won’t be able to attack us easily.”

“Let’s do that. Samcheok!”

“Yes! Eldest Brother.”

“You carry this brat.”

“Understood.”

Jo Samcheok replied and hoisted the unconscious Nam Shin-woo onto his back.

“Seolyeong!”

“Speak.”

“You take the lead. Among us, your senses are the sharpest, so try to track his movements.”

“Alright.”

Yoseolyeong nodded and took the lead.

“Everyone, be careful. We don’t know when or where he might launch a surprise attack.”

Sa Hyokyung once again warned his siblings.

“Yes!”

“Let’s go!”

At Sa Hyokyung’s word, the four began to move as one.

Yoseolyeong moved at the front with her senses wide open, while Sa Hyokyung and Jeungsanwi flanked Jo Samcheok, guarding him.

Their faces were filled with grim determination.

Three of their sworn brothers, who had pledged to die on the same day, had died today. If things went wrong, that pledge could be fulfilled this very day.

They had to prevent such a situation.

Sa Hyokyung gritted his teeth as he watched Yoseolyeong’s back leading the way.

‘I may retreat in disgrace today, but I will have my revenge.’

He had never had such a humiliating day in his entire life.

The fact that he had to escape Chengdu like this without being able to do anything made him feel wretched.

As if reading his mind, Jeungsanwi spoke.

“They say a gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years, Eldest Brother! If we hand over that child and receive support, we will be able to kill Pyo Wol with ease. Please endure until then.”

“Alright! I will do so. I will endure these hardships for revenge and repay today’s humiliation without fail.”

“We will follow only you, Eldest Brother.”

“Having you here gives me strength.”

At Sa Hyokyung’s words, Jeungsanwi gave a slight smile. But his face quickly hardened like a stone.

This was not the time to be happy about receiving a compliment.

It was a time when they had to overcome the crisis with one heart.

“Seolyeong, be careful.”

“Don’t worry. He’s a man too, so what could he possibly do to me?”

“Don’t think of him as a man. He is an Assassin. Remember that there is nothing more foolish than expecting mercy from an Assassin.”

“Yes! I know that too.”

Yoseolyeong bit her red lips.

She couldn’t hide her bewildered expression.

She had never dreamed that the man she had tried to seduce would be such a terrifying being.

If she had known earlier that he was hiding such cruelty and a ferocious nature behind that handsome face, she would never have approached him so defenselessly.

‘But he’s still a man. As long as he’s a man, he won’t be able to do anything to me.’

She firmly believed in her own beauty.

For a woman, the greatest weapon was not Martial Arts, but a gorgeous appearance. In that sense, she possessed the strongest weapon of all.

Yoseolyeong was confident that Pyo Wol would never be able to attack her. On the contrary, she was certain that if Pyo Wol revealed himself, she would seduce him and wrap him around her little finger.

It was then.

“Keuk!”

A scream suddenly erupted from behind.

Startled, she looked back to see Jeungsanwi staggering.

“What?”

“Don’t move.”

Jeungsanwi shouted even as he staggered. He was trying to prevent their formation from breaking because of him.

It was then.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, Jeungsanwi’s body was dragged into the darkness.

“Sanwi!”

“Second Orabeoni!”

Sa Hyokyung and Yoseolyeong shouted simultaneously and ran forward. But the speed at which Jeungsanwi was being dragged away was several times faster than their running speed.

‘Keuk!’

Jeungsanwi looked down at his left foot.

Something invisible to the naked eye was tightening around his ankle.

Jeungsanwi struggled, trying to cut off the object constricting his ankle, but it was useless.

‘At this rate, death is the only way.’

He knew how his brothers had died.

They were all dragged into the darkness and lost their lives in an instant.

A resolute expression appeared on Jeungsanwi’s face.

He gathered Internal Power into the blade of his hand and, in a single motion, struck his own leg.

Pwack!

Jeungsanwi’s leg was severed around the knee.

“Keuk!”

Jeungsanwi, who had cut off his own leg, let out a suppressed groan. Without even a moment to cry out in pain, he stood up on one leg.

In his field of vision, he saw Sa Hyokyung and Yoseolyeong running towards him.

Watching them run like mad, Jeungsanwi shouted.

“No! Don’t come!”

Swoosh!

At that moment, Jo Samcheok, who had been left alone, disappeared from sight.

Just as Jeungsanwi had been, Jo Samcheok was dragged into the darkness with Nam Shin-woo on his back.

But Sa Hyokyung and Yoseolyeong, busy running toward Jeungsanwi, didn’t notice this at all.

Jeungsanwi’s body trembled.

‘He’s a demon. Not human.’

An unbearable terror washed over him like a tide.

Until now, Pyo Wol had not shown his face even once. He was hiding in the darkness, hunting the Seven Stars Hall.

If they had been defeated in a head-on confrontation, it wouldn’t have been this terrifying. That was something they could accept, as that was how most Martial Artists settled their scores.

This was not a duel between Martial Artists.

It was a one-sided hunt, or a surprise attack, nothing more and nothing less.

The usual him would have surely cursed and belittled it as a cowardly act.

In the Jianghu, an Assassin was no different from a subhuman creature that only engaged in surprise attacks. In fact, Jeungsanwi had thought so himself until now.

But from this moment on, his thoughts changed.

An Assassin was not a being to be taken lightly.

Nor should they be mocked.

At the very least, one should not judge Pyo Wol to be on the same level as other Assassins.

Now he understood.

He understood why great sects like the Qingcheng Sect or the Emei Sect had been so helplessly defeated by Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol was an Assassin of a different class.

He was clearly showing what the maximum potential of an Assassin could be.

Belatedly, Sa Hyokyung and Yoseolyeong realized that Jo Samcheok had been dragged into the darkness and turned around.

Shwaak!

At that moment, something flashed before Jeungsanwi’s eyes.

Jeungsanwi thought the world was tilting. But in reality, it was his body that was tilting.

His perfectly fine right leg had been severed by the Soul Restraining Thread.

Thud!

No sooner had Jeungsanwi collapsed to the ground than someone walked out of the darkness.

The pale white face, contrasting with the pitch-black darkness, looked like a demon in Jeungsanwi’s eyes.

But his face was more beautiful than any woman’s. That made him feel even more frightening.

Jeungsanwi raised his hand and pointed at Pyo Wol.

“You?”

At that moment, Pyo Wol swung his hand.

Jeungsanwi thought something sharp was slitting his throat.

That was the last sensation Jeungsanwi felt in this world.

Jeungsanwi’s throat was slit, and a fountain of blood spurted out.

He had ended Jeungsanwi’s life with the Soul Restraining Thread.

“Uwaaah!”

“Second Orabeoni!”

Just then, Sa Hyokyung and Yoseolyeong, realizing Jeungsanwi’s death, ran over like mad.

Pyo Wol stood in place and watched them.

He no longer hid in the darkness, nor did he avoid them.

Pat!

Pyo Wol’s form seemed to flicker, and then he appeared in front of Sa Hyokyung, who was running at full speed.

He had unleashed Black Lightning.

“You bastard!”

Sa Hyokyung roared like a beast and threw a punch.

Kwaaa!

Fist Qi of terrifying power rushed toward Pyo Wol. But Pyo Wol unleashed his Serpentine Steps and lightly dodged the Fist Qi.

Sa Hyokyung continuously unleashed his Ultimate Techniques to attack Pyo Wol. But Pyo Wol deflected or dodged all of those attacks by a hair’s breadth.

‘Impossible!’

A light of despair flickered in Sa Hyokyung’s eyes.

Pyo Wol was like a ghost.

He pinpointed the exact moment of his attack and retreated, and when he retreated, Pyo Wol would close the distance by that much.

Pyo Wol’s reactions, as if he knew in advance what Technique Form he would unleash, made the hair on his entire body stand on end.

Pyo Wol was performing Synchronization, a state of perfectly matching his breathing and life signs with his target.

That was why he could read Sa Hyokyung’s reactions in advance and react preemptively.

Since this was the first time he had experienced this kind of Martial Arts, even the seasoned Sa Hyokyung couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Eldest Orabeoni!”

Yoseolyeong joined in to help Sa Hyokyung. But Pyo Wol’s reaction was several times faster than her movements.

Shhh! Shhht!

A sound like a ghost’s wail tore through the darkness.

Ghostly Rain had been unleashed.

“Hut!”

Yoseolyeong almost instinctively threw her body back and swung her sword.

Kakang!

She managed to parry the Ghostly Rain by a hair’s breadth.

Having narrowly saved her life, she gasped for breath and quickly got up.

As she raised her head, her pupils widened as if they would tear.

“Eldest Orabeoni!”

Sa Hyokyung stood with his mouth agape.

A Silver Thread, so fine it was indistinguishable to the naked eye, was wrapped around his neck. It was clear that the moment he moved even slightly, the Silver Thread would mercilessly dig into his neck.

Behind Sa Hyokyung stood Pyo Wol, holding the Silver Thread.

In the brief moment that Yoseolyeong was dodging the Ghostly Rain assault, he had wrapped the Silver Thread around Sa Hyokyung’s neck and taken the position behind him.

“Keuk!”

The Silver Thread dug into Sa Hyokyung’s neck.