Chapter 130

Neung Sowoon touched the upper part of his chest and frowned.

A minute wound could be felt at his fingertips. It was a tiny hole, just big enough for a single thread to pass through.

The wound was so small that an unknowing person would have mistaken it for a simple mole. But the pain from the wound was more excruciating than any larger injury.

Pyo Wol’s Soul Restraining Thread had pierced Neung Sowoon’s shoulder blade from the back and penetrated through to the front of his chest. It wasn’t a life-threatening wound, but it was enough to shatter Neung Sowoon’s pride.

Neung Sowoon bit his lip and stared out the window.

“I couldn’t do anything. Nothing at all…”

The fact that he had been helplessly defeated by Pyo Wol, far from avenging Ximen Pyeong’s death, tormented him.

It was the first time he had felt so powerless since entering the Jianghu.

For him, who had run a path of success, this first complete defeat brought great frustration.

“Hah!”

He let out a sigh.

If he had his way, he would have pursued Heuk Am, who had kidnapped Won Gayoung. But he gave up, knowing that following in his less-than-perfect condition would only make him a burden.

Above all, he had the responsibility to recover Ximen Pyeong’s body. Because of that, Neung Sowoon swallowed his tears and remained in Chengdu.

Knock, knock!

Just then, someone knocked on his door.

“May I come in?”

The owner of the voice was none other than the Shadowless Hermit, Yoo Shinpoong.

“Please come in, Yu Daehyeop!”

As soon as Neung Sowoon answered, Yoo Shinpoong entered with his niece, Lee Soha. But they were not the only two who came in.

A man he had never seen before was following them.

When Neung Sowoon showed a puzzled expression, Yoo Shinpoong introduced him.

“This is Great Hero Hong Yushin of the Hao Clan.”

“Ah! The Hao Clan.”

“He is currently in charge of all the Hao Clan members in Chengdu.”

At Yoo Shinpoong’s explanation, Neung Sowoon’s eyes lit up. He made a Fist-Palm Salute and greeted him.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Hong Daehyeop!”

“It is an honor for me to meet Neung Sohyup as well.”

Hong Yushin also greeted him politely.

He had met Jin Geum-woo before, but this was his first time meeting Neung Sowoon.

“What brings Hong Daehyeop here?”

“It is because of the assassin named Pyo Wol, who left with Jin Sohyup.”

“…”

“He is a very dangerous man. Our Hao Clan has been tracking him until now, but we have found out almost nothing.”

“And so?”

“Let’s cooperate. We must gather information on him in advance so that we can respond immediately if a problem arises in the future.”

Hong Yushin was not one to easily reveal his thoughts or feelings. But when it came to matters related to Pyo Wol, he couldn’t easily remain calm.

Pyo Wol was the worst being he had ever faced.

He couldn’t dare say Pyo Wol’s martial arts were the strongest, but in terms of danger, he was terrifyingly incomparable to any other martial artist.

Pyo Wol’s actions up to this point proved it.

Just how dangerous a being he was.

That was why Hong Yushin broke the custom of not revealing his identity to outsiders and personally came to see Neung Sowoon.

Pyo Wol was well worth the effort.

If they didn’t prepare in advance starting now, they would be helpless when the threat he posed became a reality in the future.

Neung Sowoon stared at Hong Yushin for a moment before nodding his head.

“I understand. I will cooperate.”

“A wise decision, Neung Sohyup!”

“But I don’t know what meaning cooperation has.”

“What do you mean?”

“To this day, I still don’t know what technique I was struck by.”

Neung Sowoon untied his upper garment and showed his wound.

“If I don’t even know what technique I was hit with, what kind of countermeasures can we possibly establish?”

At Neung Sowoon’s sorrowful words, Hong Yushin pressed his lips together.

Heuk Am felt every single hair on his body stand on end.

‘It’s him.’

He sensed Pyo Wol’s presence because of Won Gayoung, whom he was carrying on his shoulder.

Won Gayoung’s heart rate, which had shown no significant change until now, had suddenly increased.

An increased heart rate meant she had reacted to some external stimulus.

The moment he realized something had stimulated Won Gayoung, Heuk Am expanded his senses. But he felt nothing.

He looked around, but nothing came into view. There was no sign of life, not even a person’s shadow.

He wondered if he was being overly sensitive. But Won Gayoung’s heart was still pounding hard.

It was too much to be considered a mere temporary phenomenon.

Won Gayoung was seeing something he couldn’t. And that place was right behind Heuk Am.

Heuk Am quickly turned his body to look behind him. But there was no trace of a person, not even the shadow of an animal.

Only a vast, empty plain entered his sight. On the plain, there was no cover whatsoever to hide one’s form.

Moreover, he had currently raised his senses to their peak. His nerves, sharpened like a finely honed sword, would not miss even the slightest change.

No matter how great an expert, they could not deceive his senses. For the first time, Heuk Am doubted his own senses.

Because Won Gayoung’s heart was still pounding violently.

Her gaze was naturally directed behind him.

‘Could it be?’

Heuk Am executed his footwork and spun his body.

He rotated as fast as a spinning top, so the entire surrounding scenery came into view at once. But nowhere could a person be seen.

Heuk Am’s pupils trembled.

There was clearly nothing in his sight. But Won Gayoung’s reaction was telling him someone was there. It was driving him mad.

‘Deceiving my senses so perfectly? Impossible.’

Because of his hideous appearance, Heuk Am had to be wary of others’ gazes since he was young. Thanks to that, all his senses had developed to an abnormally sharp degree.

Not even the greatest expert of the Small Thunder Sound Temple could dare to deceive his senses. So Heuk Am had never once doubted his senses. But today, for the first time, he began to doubt himself.

Yíxīnshēng’ànguǐ.*

They say doubt breeds demons in the heart, and that was Heuk Am’s state right now.

He had always been the one to instill fear in others, not the one to feel it.

Today, for the first time, he was feeling fear.

At this new, unfamiliar feeling, Heuk Am couldn’t hide his bewildered expression. His agitation was transmitted directly to Won Gayoung, who was slung over his shoulder.

Won Gayoung could understand Heuk Am’s agitation.

She herself was just as agitated as Heuk Am.

Won Gayoung’s face was turned toward Heuk Am’s back. In her eyes, she could clearly see Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol was following Heuk Am, truly like a ghost.

He moved exactly as much as Heuk Am moved.

When Heuk Am took a step, he also took a step. When Heuk Am turned back, Pyo Wol also moved just as much as his head moved.

Seeing Pyo Wol move no more and no less than what was needed to avoid Heuk Am’s line of sight, Won Gayoung felt like she was losing her mind.

‘A gh-ghost?’

Won Gayoung was shaken.

No one could witness such a scene and not be shaken.

It was the same for Won Gayoung.

Pyo Wol’s movements, which defied her common sense, far transcended the limits of a human being.

‘How can he predict this person’s movements and move in advance?’

It was an impossible movement unless one had entered Heuk Am’s head and completely read his thoughts.

Won Gayoung didn’t know that Pyo Wol had perfectly matched his entire being to Heuk Am’s physical reactions. Even if she had known, she wouldn’t have believed it. That’s how incomprehensible Pyo Wol’s shocking movements were to her common sense.

As Heuk Am walks, so does Pyo Wol.

Like a ghost, without any presence.

But the entire scene was clearly visible to Won Gayoung’s eyes.

She could feel Heuk Am’s agitation.

Heuk Am also knew someone was following him. But no matter how much he heightened his senses or how quickly he acted, he couldn’t see Pyo Wol’s presence, so his fear only grew like a snowball.

He was clearly there, but not being able to see him was driving him mad.

‘Are you mocking me?’

Heuk Am bit his lip.

If this person could so thoroughly deceive his senses, he could attack and take his life at any moment. Yet, the very act of following at a slight distance was no different from mocking him.

‘This demonic bastard!’

Heuk Am trembled with rage.

His blood ran dry.

The helplessness of knowing an enemy was following him but being unable to do anything tormented him.

Pyo Wol’s intention was obvious.

It was to bleed him dry and kill him.

He had never dreamed he would be reduced to such a state.

As time passed, the pressure Heuk Am felt grew even stronger.

Pyo Wol did nothing.

He neither attacked Heuk Am nor revealed himself.

He just quietly followed from behind.

Such actions from Pyo Wol drove Heuk Am even crazier.

It felt like an invisible noose was tightening around his neck.

At this rate, he felt like he would go mad before he even reached the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

It was a fear he had never experienced in his life.

He had never known that this form of fear could exist.

“Come out! Come out, I said.”

Finally, Heuk Am spasmed, firing his palm energy wildly in all directions.

Kwa-kwa-kwang!

The ground hit by the palm energy was overturned, and dust clouds rose. But Pyo Wol was nowhere to be seen.

If he had been injured, there should have been at least a bloodstain, but there was no such trace at all.

‘Was I mistaken?’

Heuk Am had now reached the point of doubting his own judgment.

‘No, it’s not that! He definitely exists.’

The burden of Won Gayoung on his shoulder was now starting to feel heavy. He hadn’t felt tired even while crossing the western highlands of Sichuan Province, but now it felt like a weight of ten thousand pounds was crushing his shoulder.

‘Wait! Do I need to take this wench all the way?’

In that instant, a vicious light glinted in Heuk Am’s eyes.

He had kidnapped Won Gayoung to deal a heavy blow to Jin Geum-woo, but on second thought, there was no reason to take her all the way to the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Jin Geum-woo wasn’t the problem.

The problem was Pyo Wol, who was following him like a ghost even at this very moment.

He thought that if he just got rid of the burden that was Won Gayoung, he could become a little freer from Pyo Wol’s pursuit.

‘Good!’

Strength entered the hand wrapped around Won Gayoung’s body.

The moment thick veins popped out on the back of his hand, he threw Won Gayoung’s body into the air.

With her major acupoints sealed, Won Gayoung couldn’t even scream as she flew.

Heuk Am spread both his hands wide towards Won Gayoung.

He was unleashing the Demonic Fire Palm, one of the special techniques of the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

The Demonic Fire Palm was a terrifying palm technique that could instantly kill even an expert with profound internal power by tearing their heart meridian to shreds upon impact.

Moreover, Won Gayoung was in a situation where she couldn’t react at all. The only thing she could do was squeeze her eyes shut.

“Keuk!”

At that moment, Heuk Am’s scream echoed.

A flying dagger was embedded in his hand, which had been about to unleash the Demonic Fire Palm. Because of it, he couldn’t even begin to execute the technique.

Thanks to that, Won Gayoung was safe from the Demonic Fire Palm.

Although she fell helplessly to the ground, she could endure that much pain.

“Ugh!”

Heuk Am clutched the hand struck by the flying dagger and let out a beast-like groan.

He looked around with an expression of disbelief. As expected, Pyo Wol was nowhere to be seen. But in the eyes of Won Gayoung, who was sprawled on the ground, she could clearly see Pyo Wol standing behind Heuk Am.

Under the blazing sun, his unusually pale face seemed to glow on its own. That made him feel even more alien and frightening.

“Huuuh!”

Saliva dripped from Heuk Am’s lips.

His eyes were fixed on the flying dagger embedded in his hand.

Now it was certain that Pyo Wol was chasing him.

This small flying dagger in his hand was proof that Pyo Wol was there.

Heuk Am pulled out the dagger, threw it to the ground, and ran like a madman. He didn’t even spare a glance at Won Gayoung, whom he had gone to great lengths to kidnap.

There was no time to hesitate here.

The only thought in his head was to flee to the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

Heuk Am executed his Lightness Art at the fastest speed he could muster.

Ssk!

Pyo Wol stared indifferently at Heuk Am’s retreating back.

Now, Heuk Am would guide him to the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

His job was to follow him, just as he had been doing.

Pyo Wol moved his feet to follow Heuk Am.

Won Gayoung looked at Pyo Wol with pleading eyes.

Her entire body was still paralyzed. If she were left in this state, she would surely become food for beasts or dry to death under the blazing sun.

‘Save me.’

She pleaded with Pyo Wol. But Pyo Wol passed by indifferently without giving her a single glance.

‘Save me! You demon!’

Won Gayoung’s scream did not reach Pyo Wol.

In an instant, Pyo Wol disappeared from Won Gayoung’s sight.

Won Gayoung stared in the direction Pyo Wol had disappeared with despairing eyes, then lost consciousness.

“Are you okay?”

She regained consciousness after hearing someone’s voice.

At first, she thought she was hearing things. But she soon realized that someone was holding her in their arms.

Won Gayoung carefully opened her eyes. Then she saw the face she had longed for even in her dreams.

“Geum-woo… Orabeoni.”

Jin Geum-woo was holding her in his arms.