Chapter 128

“Ugh!”

Jin Geum-woo let out an involuntary groan.

He was in the house of an old Physician.

Inside the house, the old Physician lay dead, his spilled blood long since hardened and swarming with flies.

It meant a considerable amount of time had passed since his death.

Jin Geum-woo had thought Heuk Am was hiding in a Physician’s house in Chengdu. Because he had inflicted a serious wound on him.

So he had mobilized the Hao Clan members to search the homes of Chengdu’s Physicians. But Heuk Am’s trail was nowhere to be found.

The old Physician before him was someone who had long retired from practice. That was why he hadn’t been caught in the Hao Clan’s information network.

‘How could we have found him?’

Heuk Am had clearly treated his wounds here before killing the old Physician.

Unaware of this, he and the Hao Clan members had been searching in all the wrong places.

He trembled at Heuk Am’s cunning. But the one who surprised him even more was Pyo Wol.

Despite the countless Hao Clan members who had rushed to search, Pyo Wol had found this place in an instant.

He had watched from the side to see how he found this place, but he couldn’t figure it out at all.

All Pyo Wol had done was scan the surroundings a few times. In a way, it seemed like he had found this place by sheer luck.

But Jin Geum-woo soon dismissed his own thought.

‘It’s not a coincidence. He must have his own Secret Transmission that an ordinary person wouldn’t know.’

The word coincidence didn’t suit someone like Pyo Wol.

The Pyo Wol he had seen was a more meticulous and rational person than anyone else.

He must have deduced this location through some kind of calculation that he himself could not comprehend.

The problem was that there was no way for him to know by what principle of calculation he had figured out that Heuk Am had stayed here.

Pyo Wol paid no mind to the old Physician’s corpse and examined the wall.

Many of the Medicinal Herbs hanging on the wall were gone.

“He obtained Medicinal Herbs here.”

“Why would he need Medicinal Herbs?”

“Controlling a human’s mind is never simple. Especially to subdue those with strong mental fortitude like Martial Artists, ordinary methods are not enough.”

“The man uses Gu Poison. But you’re saying he needs the help of Medicinal Herbs?”

“The more methods, the better.”

“Hmm!”

“To venture another guess, the Gu Poison that parasitizes the human brain is probably not something that can be easily obtained. If it were that common, there would be no reason to touch the Medicinal Herbs.”

“That makes sense.”

Jin Geum-woo nodded his head.

Pyo Wol’s reasoning was plausible.

‘How frightening! To think that far just from a few missing Medicinal Herbs.’

It was a simple deduction in hindsight, but he hadn’t thought of it, while Pyo Wol had grasped the hidden truth in an instant.

Even when looking at the same phenomenon, their perspectives and viewpoints were completely different. No matter how hard Jin Geum-woo tried, he could never have a viewpoint like Pyo Wol’s. Pyo Wol was a different breed of human from him.

Pyo Wol meticulously examined the Physician’s house.

Heuk Am had tried his best to thoroughly hide his tracks. But in Pyo Wol’s eyes, the traces he left were clearly visible.

‘He stayed here for a long time even after killing the Physician. He’s a bolder man than I thought.’

After manipulating Ximen Pyeong, he had taken the opportunity to abduct Won Gayoung when she was alone. It was something an ordinary person would not even dare to imagine.

He was sinister, quick-witted, and his ability to execute was even more formidable.

In some ways, he was just like him.

The tenacity to never forget a grudge once it was formed and the venomous mind bent on revenge were identical, as if cast from the same mold. That made it even more unpleasant.

The very existence of someone in the world who resembled him made Pyo Wol feel displeased. But thanks to that, it was easier to understand Heuk Am’s actions.

Pyo Wol thought thoroughly from Heuk Am’s perspective.

‘If it were me…’

Now that he had treated his wounds and obtained Medicinal Herbs here, he would be looking for an opportunity to take revenge on Jin Geum-woo.

Pyo Wol went outside. Then he looked for the optimal place to watch the Four Seas Pavilion, where Jin Geum-woo’s party was staying.

Finding the place was not very difficult.

It was a small house across from the Four Seas Pavilion.

The family that appeared to be the owners of the house were already dead. They were all piled up in one room, rotting away.

“Have you ever seen such an atrocity?”

Jin Geum-woo raged upon seeing the family’s bodies. But whether he did or not, Pyo Wol paid him no mind and approached the window to look at the Four Seas Pavilion.

The entire view of the Four Seas Pavilion came into sight at once.

Pyo Wol looked at the Four Seas Pavilion for a moment, then examined the traces left in the room. In truth, there wasn’t much to call a trace.

Finely cut scraps of leather, a wad of cotton, and an iron piece of unknown purpose were all that remained.

Pyo Wol instantly understood Heuk Am’s intentions.

“He plans to cross the western highlands.”

“What do you mean? Why would he cross the western highlands?”

Pyo Wol said, holding a leather scrap in his hand.

“The leather is oiled.”

“So what?”

“Oiling leather makes it waterproof.”

“And so?”

“Those who intend to pass through humid places prepare like this. He must have made a Wind Cloak here.”

“How can you be so sure he’s crossing the western highlands with just that?”

“This cotton is probably what’s left over from lining the inside of the leather. It means he has to pass through a place that cold. And this piece of iron is useful for walking on slippery surfaces. If you attach it to the bottom of your shoes and step on ice, you won’t slip. The only place in Sichuan Province that currently meets these conditions is the western highlands. It connects to Tibet, but the snow on the summit is still piled up to a person’s waist.”

“Ah!”

At Pyo Wol’s explanation, Jin Geum-woo couldn’t help but let out a cry of admiration.

He couldn’t believe that such a deduction was possible with just a scrap of leather, a small wad of cotton, and a piece of iron.

Pyo Wol smiled.

Because if he were in Heuk Am’s position, he would have prepared in the same way. In fact, the Wind Cloak he was wearing now had a similar function to the one Heuk Am had prepared here. Of course, his Wind Cloak was made by Tang Sochu and was incomparably superior.

Even after that, Pyo Wol relentlessly tracked Heuk Am’s traces.

He also found the street where Heuk Am was presumed to have abducted Won Gayoung. From then on, Pyo Wol’s pace quickened.

‘Abducting a woman and escaping the heavily guarded Chengdu is by no means an easy task.’

At the time Won Gayoung was abducted, Hao Clan members were roaming all over Chengdu.

Secretly escaping Chengdu while carrying an adult woman was definitely not an easy task.

Pyo Wol inquired whether any carts had moved between last night and dawn. As a result, he found out that a cart for disposing of filth had left Chengdu this dawn.

A man had bought the horse and cart from a person who cleared filth for a considerable sum of money.

Pyo Wol asked the original owner for a detailed description of the horse and cart.

Jin Geum-woo was burning with impatience.

Now that they knew he had escaped by cart, they had to track Heuk Am as quickly as possible, and he thought Pyo Wol was wasting time with useless questions. But knowing that there was always a reason for everything Pyo Wol did, Jin Geum-woo forced himself to be patient.

Finally, after finishing all his questions, Pyo Wol left Chengdu. But the direction Pyo Wol was heading was strange.

He took a route in an odd direction, not the main road leading toward the western highlands.

Jin Geum-woo could no longer hold back and asked.

“Hey, why are you going this way, leaving the shortest route to the western highlands?”

“It was an old horse.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The horse he bought was old. A cart pulled by an old horse that could die at any moment can’t go very far. He must have chosen a waterway. That way would be more convenient for hiding the woman, and it would save a lot more time.”

“Ah!”

Jin Geum-woo wore an abashed expression.

He could only be amazed.

Pyo Wol was a completely different species from him.

He was skilled in tracking, and he combined the numerous pieces of information that Jin Geum-woo had casually overlooked to derive the optimal result.

No matter how hard he tried, he could never have the same perspective as Pyo Wol. So he had no choice but to admit that they were in completely different leagues.

This time, too, Pyo Wol was right.

The horse and cart that Heuk Am was presumed to have ridden were found by a river far from Chengdu.

The overworked old horse was gasping for breath and convulsing. Heuk Am had worked it to its limit.

Pyo Wol scanned the riverside with a sharp gaze. And before long, he discovered the body of an old boatman.

Heuk Am had clearly killed the boatman here and stolen his boat.

“Congratulations! She’s still alive.”

“Really?”

“There are footprints that seem to belong to a woman. Seeing as they are shallow and their direction is erratic, her movements must not be free.”

“Or her mind has been suppressed, like Pyeong.”

“She should still be fine for now.”

“Why do you think so?”

“If he intended to suppress her mind, there would be no reason to go to such lengths to abduct her. There must have been some reason to take her to the Small Thunder Sound Temple, and a need for her to remain conscious.”

“Hmm!”

Jin Geum-woo nodded his head.

He now believed whatever Pyo Wol said. Finding this place was proof of that.

Jin Geum-woo did not harbor any doubts about Pyo Wol’s actions.

There was nothing Pyo Wol did that didn’t have a reason.

What seemed like a useless act at a glance was, upon closer inspection, a necessary process.

Jin Geum-woo collected numerous pieces of information that he had casually overlooked, reprocessed them with his own senses and Secret Transmission, and then made a cold judgment. And his judgment had never been wrong so far.

That was why Jin Geum-woo trusted Pyo Wol.

As time passed, Pyo Wol’s tracking speed also increased.

Now, Jin Geum-woo didn’t ask Pyo Wol probing questions. There was no reason to.

All he had to do was trust and follow Pyo Wol.

Even under the worst conditions, Pyo Wol would always find Heuk Am’s traces. Watching such a Pyo Wol, he felt a sense of dread.

‘If I were to make an enemy of such a man, there would be nowhere to hide in All Under Heaven.’

If it was a Martial Artist who preferred a direct confrontation, even if that person was the World’s best Expert, Jin Geum-woo would not be afraid.

Because even if he were defeated, he could accept it himself. However, when he imagined an Assassin like Pyo Wol targeting him, a chill ran down his entire body.

For days and nights, Pyo Wol would hide and observe him. And he would dig into everything about him to find a fatal weakness and exploit it.

Just imagining it made him feel suffocated.

The pride of a Martial Artist did not exist for an Assassin.

An Assassin was a being who could use any despicable method without hesitation.

Pyo Wol was a man who stood at the pinnacle of Assassins.

He couldn’t even imagine how terrifying Pyo Wol’s Killing Method would be.

He was confident he would never lose in a direct confrontation, but the thought of Pyo Wol ambushing him made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Whether he knew Jin Geum-woo’s thoughts or not, Pyo Wol was focused on tracking Heuk Am.

Before he knew it, puffs of breath were coming from Pyo Wol’s mouth.

Seeing that, Jin Geum-woo realized that they had climbed high into the western highlands.

The northwestern part of Sichuan Province bordered Qinghai Province, and the southwestern part shared a border with Tibet. And a high plateau that seemed to pierce the sky drew the boundary line.

Theoretically, one could easily cross over to Qinghai Province or Tibet just by crossing the highlands. But the process of crossing the highlands was not so simple.

Spring had already arrived in Sichuan Province, but the snow here had not yet melted. The snow was piled high enough to sink up to one’s waist, and fatal dangers lurked everywhere.

Among them, the most dangerous were the unpredictable avalanches and the deep cliffs hidden beneath the snow.

One wrong step could send you plummeting down a thousand-zhang cliff. That was why even people familiar with the mountains were reluctant to enter the western highlands from autumn to early summer.

But Pyo Wol, as if he could sense it, dodged such dangers like a ghost. He would take a wide detour, leaving a straight path, which was puzzling, but later it turned out that the spot was a cliff covered with snow, or an avalanche would occur after they had passed, which happened frequently.

No matter how earth-shattering his Martial Arts were, in the face of the power of mother nature, Jin Geum-woo was no different from a tiny ant.

Rumble!

Even Jin Geum-woo couldn’t close his gaping mouth in front of the avalanche that destroyed the mountain ridge with tremendous force.

If he had been swept away by the avalanche, he too would have surely lost his life.

Pyo Wol didn’t even glance at the avalanche.

He was focused solely on the task of tracking Heuk Am.

No other matter could distract his attention.

‘The traces are getting clearer.’

Until now, Heuk Am’s traces had been faint. But from a certain point, Heuk Am’s traces were getting stronger.

Heuk Am was an exceptionally cautious man.

It was only because it was Pyo Wol that he could track his trail; if it had been anyone else, they wouldn’t have even dreamed of tracking him, as he had so thoroughly hidden his traces.

The fact that such a Heuk Am was no longer paying attention to his tracks meant only one thing.

‘He’s noticed he’s being followed.’