Chapter 20

Pyo Wol learned for the first time that the warm sunlight he once enjoyed freely could be deadly.

It felt as if his whole body was on fire.

He felt that if this continued for just a little longer, his entire body would turn to ash.

The other children couldn’t keep their senses due to the excruciating pain, but Pyo Wol did not lose his reason.

He closed his eyes, endured the pain, and listened to the sounds around him.

Just then, a voice pierced his ears.

“Some useful ones have been made. They should be able to satisfy the client.”

The moment he heard the voice, devoid of any human emotion, Pyo Wol realized that this was the master of the Bloody Shadows Guild.

He could feel an extraordinary confidence in the voice.

Those who only take orders from others could never produce such a voice. Moreover, while the man spoke, the others remained silent.

It meant that only he had the right to speak in this place.

Pyo Wol committed the man’s voice to memory.

Another voice, Gu Juyang’s, was heard.

“Load them all into the carriages. We’ll move them to the Azure Wind Manor first to let them adapt to the outside world.”

“As you command!”

The Assassins of the Bloody Shadows Guild replied and approached the children.

They worked in pairs, grabbing the children by both arms. Then they dragged them to the prepared carriages.

The inside of the carriages was thoroughly shielded from outside light by blackout curtains. The Assassins unceremoniously shoved the children into the carriages.

“Keuk!”

“Heup!”

As the doors closed and the light from outside was completely blocked, the children, looking relieved, untied the cloths that had covered their eyes.

Pyo Wol also untied the cloth from his eyes and leaned his back against the carriage wall.

The carriage was as cramped as a cage for confining beasts. A dozen or so people were crammed into a small space that would have been full with just three or four.

Thanks to this, the children could do nothing but gasp for breath, unable to move an inch.

‘Treated like beasts to the very end.’

In the darkness, the children’s eyes blazed with fury.

They were used to being treated as less than human, but they truly hadn’t expected to be treated this way even after getting out.

They had thought things would be a little better once they were outside, but the fact that nothing had changed drove them to despair.

Pyo Wol leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

There was nothing he could do here anyway. It was better to rest even a little and conserve his strength.

It was so cramped that it was hard to even breathe, but Pyo Wol tried his best to relax all the muscles in his body and rest.

The carriage moved without stopping.

Pyo Wol, with his unique sense, realized that more than a day and a half had passed.

During that long time, the Assassins of the Bloody Shadows Guild never once opened the carriage door or gave them food. Thanks to that, the children had to spend a whole day starving.

Kkiiik!

Just as the children’s hunger reached its peak, the carriage came to a halt.

Pyo Wol sensed that they had finally arrived at their destination.

A moment later, the carriage door opened.

“Everyone, get out.”

The Assassins of the Bloody Shadows Guild pulled the children who were in the carriage out.

The children were afraid of seeing the sunlight again, but fortunately, the time they arrived was night. Thanks to that, they could get out of the carriage without fearing the sun.

The place where the carriage had arrived was a small Manor surrounded by a high wall.

Once all the children were out of the carriage, Gu Juyang spoke.

“This is where you will rest from now on. Here, you will adapt to life outside. Don’t be relieved just because you’re out. I will personally cut the throat of any lazy bastard.”

“……”

At Gu Juyang’s voice, filled with killing intent, the children couldn’t even breathe loudly. That’s how intense Gu Juyang’s killing intent was.

So much so that even these tough children were terrified.

When he gestured, the Assassins put the children into their respective rooms. Still, the rooms were better than the carriage. They were assigned four to a room.

Pyo Wol was assigned to the same room as So Gyeoksan, Go Sin-ok, and others.

Although they had been together in the underground cavern for a full seven years, this was the first time they had stayed in the same room like this.

So Gyeoksan and Go Sin-ok, at least, had met often and felt no awkwardness, but Pyo Wol was a complete stranger. Sharing a room with him was bound to be uncomfortable in many ways.

Pyo Wol noticed this as well and said,

“Don’t mind me. It’s fine if you treat me like I’m not here.”

“Kilk kilk! Who said we’d mind you?”

Having seen him a few times, So Gyeoksan replied with his characteristic eerie laugh.

The only furniture in the room was four old wooden beds and one desk. On the wooden beds were clothes to change into.

At a glance, they were cheap clothes of poor quality, but they were at least better than what the children were currently wearing.

The children’s clothes, which they hadn’t been able to change properly, were worse than rags. Not having been washed properly, they were thoroughly soaked in a foul stench, making them the absolute worst.

“I need to wash up.”

“Where are you going?”

Pyo Wol silently pointed a finger at the window.

Beyond the window, a well was visible.

“Ah!”

“A well?”

So Gyeoksan and Go Sin-ok let out cries of wonder.

For the past seven years, they hadn’t been able to wash properly. There wasn’t even enough water to drink, so they couldn’t afford to waste it on washing.

While they were just marveling, Pyo Wol had already reached the well.

Under the faint moonlight, Pyo Wol took off his clothes and poured water drawn from the well over his body.

The cold sensation on his body made him realize that he had returned to the world.

‘I’m finally out.’

Pyo Wol poured water over his body once more.

“Let’s wash together.”

So Gyeoksan threw off his clothes and ran to the well. Behind him followed Go Sin-ok and another child.

For the first time in seven years, they washed to their heart’s content and ate their fill. And they rested as much as they wanted.

For the next seven days, Pyo Wol gradually increased his time under the sun.

At first, just standing for half a shichen was agonizingly painful, as if he would die, but after seven days, he could endure for several shichen without a problem.

The same went for his eyes.

At first, he moved with his eyes almost closed, relying only on his hearing, but after some time, he was able to walk around with both eyes open even in broad daylight. However, the space they could move around in freely was not very large.

At most, the backyard was all they could wander. Still, the children wore happy expressions.

The blue sky visible over the high wall, the scent of fresh air, the sound of insects, and the flowers blooming at the base of the wall made them happy.

It was a scene they thought they would never see again.

They took in their fill of the scenery that the children who died in the underground cavern had wished to see just once.

‘I could die right now and be happy.’

Some children even shed tears of intense emotion.

Pyo Wol wasn’t that moved, but he was quite touched.

He keenly felt how precious the scenery he had taken for granted in his childhood was. But Pyo Wol knew.

He knew that this happiness he was feeling now would not last long.

The Bloody Shadows Guild had raised them for a clear purpose.

Pulling them out of the darkness meant that the time to use them had come.

Now that they had perfectly adapted to the sunlight, there was no reason to wait any longer.

Pyo Wol’s guess soon became a reality.

“From now on, we will distribute weapons, so keep them well. You will be using them soon.”

The Bloody Shadows Guild provided the children with swords, various hidden weapons, silver thread, and tools used for disguise.

The smiles vanished from the children’s faces.

They too felt that the time to be deployed on a mission was approaching.

Gu Juyang’s residence was set up in the Great Moon Hall, the largest building in the Azure Wind Manor.

The Azure Wind Manor was originally a place prepared by the owner of a trading company to spend his later years. He had hoped to live comfortably with his beloved concubine and die in peace, but his wish was not granted.

He was assassinated in a raid while sleeping in his concubine’s arms, dying with a scream. The servants who worked there all left, and the Azure Wind Manor naturally fell into ruin. The abandoned Azure Wind Manor thus became a safe house for the Bloody Shadows Guild.

The young assassin who had assassinated the old master of the Azure Wind Manor was now a middle-aged man, occupying the main chamber.

Across from Gu Juyang sat Im Sayeol, his mask removed.

Just as Pyo Wol and the children had, Im Sayeol and the instructors also had to struggle to adapt to the sunlight they were seeing for the first time in seven years.

The younger ones adapted a bit more easily, but the older ones like Im Sayeol had to suffer for quite a while.

While going through hell, Im Sayeol once again keenly felt that he had grown old. Indeed, his face looked considerably older than it had seven years ago.

Gu Juyang stared intently at Im Sayeol’s face before speaking.

“You’ve worked hard all this time.”

“I only did what I was supposed to do.”

“Thanks to the sacrifice of you and the others, Uncle, the Guild’s funds have become more plentiful. I don’t know how I can repay this kindness.”

“There’s no kindness to repay. If it weren’t for the former Unit Leader, my fate would have been to die a stranger on the road.”

Im Sayeol replied with a placid expression.

The one who had led him, with no way to make a living, down the path of an assassin was none other than Gu Juyang’s father, Gu Jang-pyeong.

If not for him, Im Sayeol would have long since died a stranger somewhere. To repay that debt, Im Sayeol served Gu Juyang, continuing his loyalty across generations.

Jjoreureuk!

Gu Juyang poured liquor into the cup placed before Im Sayeol.

“Uncle, you have done your part. Now, rest easy.”

“Are you permitting my retirement?”

“Of course. Not only you, Uncle, but I have also made arrangements for I-geom and Sam-geom to step down and rest comfortably.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it! You’ve dedicated your entire life to the Bloody Shadows Guild, so I should at least bestow that much favor.”

Gu Juyang also filled his own cup with liquor.

Im Sayeol watched him with a gaze full of mixed emotions.

He had dedicated his entire life to the Bloody Shadows Guild to hear that one phrase: that he could retire completely.

He didn’t know how much of his life was left, but he was satisfied enough with the fact that he could live the rest of his life without any connection to the Bloody Shadows Guild.

Im Sayeol raised the cup of liquor Gu Juyang had poured.

This single cup of cheap, strong liquor tasted more delicious than any other he had ever drunk.

Gu Juyang also raised his cup with a slight smile.

Unlike Im Sayeol, he only wet his lips slightly.

Im Sayeol was now a man in complete retirement, but he was different.

Drinking too much dulled the nerves and affected judgment. For an assassin whose life and death could be decided by a single moment’s judgment, alcohol was no different from poison. Because of that, he had never drunk more than a single cup of alcohol. Under any circumstances.

Suddenly, Im Sayeol spoke.

“They are truly a waste of children.”

“……”

“Their talents and abilities are too outstanding to be used just once and thrown away.”

“I know.”

Gu Juyang nodded his head.

Through the regular letters Im Sayeol sent, he was well aware of how frighteningly the children trapped in the underground cavern were developing.

If he could fully absorb those children, the Bloody Shadows Guild could certainly rise to become the number one assassin group in Jianghu. But he couldn’t do that.

The terms of the contract with the client were such from the beginning.

The client wanted assassins made up of completely new faces, not existing ones.

Gu Juyang thought the reason was to thoroughly conceal the client’s identity.

In fact, despite accepting a massive commission worth five hundred thousand Nyang of gold, Gu Juyang didn’t even know the client’s identity.

If the Bloody Shadows Guild hadn’t accidentally discovered the underground cavern, they would not have accepted this commission.

It was nearly impossible to raise a new legion of assassins hidden from the world’s eyes.

The one who first discovered the underground cavern was the former Unit Leader, Gu Jang-pyeong.

He discovered the underground cavern by chance. An underground cavern that bore traces of being artificially refined by someone.

After several years of investigation, Gu Jang-pyeong concluded that this underground cavern was likely a secret facility operated by one of the former Thirteen Branch Sects of the Demonic Cult. However, he couldn’t find out exactly which branch sect’s facility it was.

In truth, it didn’t matter who the original owner was.

What was important was that the underground cavern was a long-abandoned facility and had the optimal environment for training new assassins away from the world’s eyes.

He could have taught them martial arts from the beginning and put them into the underground cavern, but Gu Juyang did not. Instead, he threw children who had learned nothing into an extreme environment and taught martial arts only to the survivors, training them as assassins.

He judged that method to be far more efficient.

In fact, the amount they spent to raise the children as assassins was a mere one hundred thousand Nyang of gold.

By investing just one hundred thousand Nyang, they had made a profit of over four hundred thousand Nyang.

More than ten times the number of surviving children had lost their lives, but their deaths could not evoke any emotion in Gu Juyang.

They were children randomly kidnapped from all over Jianghu anyway. Most were orphans wandering Jianghu without any connections, and no one cared about their disappearance or death.

It perfectly matched the client’s requirements.

“Their abilities are a waste, but it can’t be helped. Our relationship with them ends here.”

“Hmm!”

“You too, Uncle, stop worrying about them and just enjoy your retirement. Taking a pretty girl as a concubine would be nice too.”

“Have you figured out who the client is?”

“I don’t know either. To stay in this business for a long time, you have to respect boundaries.”

The corner of Gu Juyang’s mouth twisted up.

If he put his mind to it, finding out the client’s identity wouldn’t be difficult. But this was a commission worth a staggering five hundred thousand Nyang of gold.

Someone who would invest that much money and seven years of time was likely no ordinary figure. There was no reason to needlessly poke such a figure and make an enemy.

No matter how much the Bloody Shadows Guild had the scale and ability to be among the top ten assassin groups in Jianghu, it still couldn’t escape the limitations of an assassin group.

No matter how great an assassin group was, it couldn’t compare to the prestigious Orthodox Factions of Jianghu.

If just one of the prestigious Orthodox Factions of Jianghu stepped forward, an assassin group like the Bloody Shadows Guild would be annihilated in an instant.

The only exception was the Hundred Wraith Union, the number one assassin group in the martial arts world.

The Ten Blood Assassins, the strongest assassins the Hundred Wraith Union boasted, were already legends in the martial arts world.

Even the Two Powerhouses, Three Clans, Three Hegemons, and Three Manors, which could be called the current backbone of the Jianghu, were wary of the Hundred Wraith Union.

Gu Juyang’s goal was to raise the Bloody Shadows Guild into an organization on par with the Hundred Wraith Union.

Until then, he couldn’t be too careful.

“Once this commission is completed, the Bloody Shadows Guild will take a great leap forward. Then, catching up to the Hundred Wraith Union won’t be impossible.”

“Hmm!”

Gu Juyang’s eyes were full of the light of ambition. But the eyes of Im Sayeol, who was looking at him, were shaking with unease.