Chapter 21

Pyo Wol silently stared at the Dagger in his hand.

It was a misshapen Dagger with serrations on its spine, like a saw-toothed blade. It wasn’t a shape commonly seen in the Jianghu.

It was a vicious weapon, created solely to sever a person’s life as efficiently as possible.

Human imagination was truly remarkable, casually creating such weapons to kill fellow humans.

Not just Pyo Wol, but the other children were also given identical Daggers.

It was different from the cheap weapons they had used until now. Its weight, durability, and sharpness were all incomparably superior.

Although it was the first time they had received Daggers of this shape, the children handled them as skillfully as if they had used them for a long time.

For children who had handled countless weapons in the underground cavern, this level of unfamiliarity was not a problem.

Pyo Wol tucked the Dagger into his clothes.

He wanted to throw it away, but if he did, he would immediately be caught by the surveillance of the Bloody Shadows Guild’s Assassins.

The fact that Pyo Wol used bare-handed Martial Arts was a secret.

The weapons provided by the instructors were used merely for show; until now, he had thoroughly learned all his Killing Methods using only his bare hands.

While the other children were learning the weapon techniques taught by the instructors, he researched how to kill efficiently with his bare hands. To him, a weapon like this was just a nuisance.

“What are you thinking so hard about? Kehkeh!”

Just then, So Gyeoksan approached him.

As Pyo Wol stared at him without a word, So Gyeoksan sat down beside him and continued.

“What, are you nervous thinking about going on a mission soon?”

“Well, to some extent…”

“The hypocrite is lying again.”

“…”

“You, a guy who hides his emotions so thoroughly, is nervous? The dogs in this neighborhood would all laugh. Kehkeh!”

“You’re the one who seems nervous, chattering on and on like that.”

“Hmph! Who says I’m nervous? I cast aside fear long ago. Nothing in this world can scare me.”

So Gyeoksan snorted.

He moved the misshapen Dagger in his hand back and forth as he continued.

“I wish we could be sent on a mission as soon as possible. I feel like I can only be rewarded for all the hardship I’ve endured once I take someone’s head.”

A thick killing intent seeped into So Gyeoksan’s voice.

It was the same for the other children.

Although they didn’t say it, they too felt similarly to So Gyeoksan.

A strange feeling, a mixture of fear and excitement.

Because of it, they were emitting more killing intent than necessary.

Pyo Wol understood their feelings.

He too was suppressing his killing intent as much as possible, but he was also somewhat excited.

‘The target must be that man, Woo Gun-sang, right?’

If he could, he wanted to sneak out and identify Woo Gun-sang. He felt that would calm the excitement he was feeling to some extent.

Since coming to the Azure Wind Manor, he had not seen any children other than those in his room.

The Bloody Shadows Guild was managing them by keeping them thoroughly separated to prevent the children from colluding with each other.

Beside him, So Gyeoksan continued to chatter about something. But his voice didn’t register. It just sounded like noise.

Just then, a voice was heard from outside.

“Equip the gear you were given and come outside immediately.”

Pyo Wol and So Gyeoksan looked at each other, then hurriedly equipped their gear and ran outside.

With the two of them in the lead, children from the other rooms quickly joined.

Familiar faces like So Yeowol, Lee Min, and Song Cheonwoo all gathered in one place.

A moment later, Gu Juyang appeared.

In his hand was the usual Hell Flute.

A look of tension automatically appeared on the children’s faces.

They instinctively realized that the jade flute in Gu Juyang’s hand was the object that controlled the Gu Poison Hiding in Wait within their bodies.

The horrific memory of that time still remained vivid as a feeling of terror.

Gu Juyang scanned the children’s faces one by one before opening his mouth.

“From now on, you will move secretly to a certain location. From this moment, you will move according to this man’s orders.”

Behind Gu Juyang was a man wearing a mask.

He was Death Sword, the strongest of the Ghost Soul Seven Swords. After the retirement of the First, Second, and Third Swords, he had been acting as the de facto leader of the Ghost Soul Seven Swords.

Gu Juyang handed the Hell Flute to Death Sword.

He had handed over the power of life and death over the children to Death Sword.

Death Sword’s eyes glinted brutally.

“Anyone who disobeys an order dies by my hand. Anyone who is slow to act also dies. Anyone who does something foolish also dies. If you don’t want to die, you’d better be quick-witted.”

His threat made the children’s expressions stiffen.

He was an active Assassin. He harbored a killing intent that was incomparably more brutal than that of the retired First, Second, and Third Swords.

Naturally, the degree of pressure the children felt was different.

“Let’s go!”

Death Sword moved first.

The children followed him out of the Azure Wind Manor. And a dozen or so Assassins moved along with the children.

Gu Juyang watched the receding backs of the children with cold eyes.

Death Sword and the children moved under the cover of night.

Shashashak!

In the pitch-black darkness, only the sound of rustling grass echoed.

Death Sword couldn’t help but admire the children who followed him without falling behind.

‘The Hyung-nims raised them well.’

An Assassin who had reached his level could gauge the children’s skill just by looking at their breathing and their slightest movements.

The children had achieved an outstanding level of accomplishment that was hard to believe for their young age.

The fact that not a single footstep could be heard despite twenty-eight children moving proved his guess.

The individual skills of the children were by no means inferior to those of the Bloody Shadows Guild’s Assassins. In fact, a few of them seemed even more outstanding.

The thought that it was a waste suddenly occurred to him, but he deliberately tried not to think any further.

They were just disposable pawns, to be used once and thrown away.

Their position was different from the existing Assassins belonging to the Bloody Shadows Guild.

There was no need to grow attached, no reason to feel pity.

By the time they reached their destination, the sun was already rising. They had run for an entire night.

The place he arrived at was a small, wild mountain. From there, a large mountain far away was clearly visible.

The massive mountain, with its numerous peaks connected like a blue fortress, overwhelmed the viewer.

Even the clouds could not cross the mountain, instead swirling around its waist.

The children were overwhelmed by its immense majesty.

Pyo Wol was no different from the other children.

Even when he had wandered All Under Heaven before becoming an Assassin, he had never seen a mountain that huge.

‘The target is on that mountain.’

Pyo Wol intuitively knew that the massive mountain before his eyes was the final destination.

The being known as Woo Gun-sang was probably somewhere on that mountain.

Death Sword commanded the children.

“Everyone, take cover here.”

As soon as his command fell, the children dug into the ground and hid like moles.

Death Sword’s Telepathy reached the ears of the children, who were hiding in their shelters, camouflaged with leaves.

—Your target is on that mountain. If you go up as I tell you, you will find a terrain identical to the Hall Complex where you stayed. The person in the Bright Moon Hall among them is your target.

The Telepathy ended there.

Only then did the children realize the truth of why such a Hall Complex had been built in the underground cavern.

The Bright Moon Hall was a small hall on the outskirts of the Hall Complex.

They already knew the path to the Bright Moon Hall like the back of their hands. The children were not afraid of infiltrating the Bright Moon Hall.

They were just curious.

Just who was in the Bright Moon Hall that they had spent a whole seven years raising them as Assassins.

Only Pyo Wol knew who was in the Bright Moon Hall.

‘Woo Gun-sang.’

The woman was beautiful.

She was not very tall, but her skin was as white as snow, and her long, flowing hair was as glossy as silk and as black as jet.

Her slightly lowered eyelashes were very long, and the pupils beneath them were so dark and clear they seemed to purify the very soul of the beholder.

The woman wore a light blue top with a peacock feather pattern and a layered skirt over her lower skirt, a look that was both elegant and captivating.

The woman walked alone through a garden in full bloom.

The garden, which a skilled gardener had cultivated with great care over many years, was reminiscent of a celestial realm, with countless flowers blooming in harmony.

“Haa!”

The woman suddenly let out a sigh.

Her face was full of sorrow.

The woman reached out a snow-white hand and caressed a fully bloomed flower.

Crumble!

She had tried to touch it carefully, but the petals instantly crumbled and turned to dust.

“Ha!”

It was when the woman sighed and withdrew her hand.

An old woman who appeared to be in her sixties entered the garden.

The old woman was impressive with her gray monastic robes, reminiscent of a carrion crow, and her sharp, glaring eyes. An immense pressure could be felt from the entire body of the old woman, who walked in using a strange staff in her hand as a cane.

As soon as she saw the old woman, the woman bowed her head.

“Master!”

“Alone again, are you? Seol-ran.”

“The breeze is nice.”

“You’re as needlessly sentimental as ever.”

“I’ve worked hard all this time. Don’t I deserve to enjoy this much leisure?”

An ordinary person would not have been able to stand up to the old woman’s gaze, but the woman answered with a calm expression, without a hint of being intimidated.

“Do you still resent your Master?”

“I don’t resent you. I’m just disappointed. It’s my life, after all. I think you should have at least asked for my understanding to some extent.”

“What a spoiled thing to say. I took a young girl who was begging on the streets, washed her, fed her good food, and even taught her Martial Arts to make you what you are today. What, understanding?”

The eyes of the old woman, who was over sixty, shone more fiercely than a tiger’s.

The woman frowned slightly.

The old woman’s gaze posed no threat to the woman at all. But the old woman was her Master.

If it weren’t for the old woman, the woman might have starved to death long ago, or become the plaything of some rich man and lived a miserable life.

Whatever the old woman’s intentions, the fact that she had received her grace remained unchanged. That was the only reason the woman followed the old woman.

“Well, it’s just a figure of speech. A Disciple should naturally follow her Master’s command. So don’t get too worked up. It’s bad for your health.”

At the woman’s words, the old woman’s gaze grew even fiercer. But the woman’s expression still did not change.

At the sight of such a woman, the old woman wrinkled her nose.

The only person her authority did not work on was this woman. Everyone feared the old woman, but only she was unfazed.

Of course, she had the talent and ability to be so, but above all, she had guts. That’s why it felt even more regrettable.

The fact that she couldn’t make the woman a legitimate successor and had to use her as a political tool like this.

The woman asked the old woman.

“Is today the day?”

“That’s right. If they don’t give a definite answer by today, we’ll have to execute the plan we’ve prepared.”

“But that would increase the burden significantly.”

“Do you think I prepared for seven years without considering that much of a burden? You just need to follow where this Master leads.”

“Of course, I am always prepared to follow my Master.”

Despite the woman’s somewhat sarcastic tone, the old woman did not get angry.

Today was a very important day for the old woman.

Because of that, she hadn’t slept properly since last night, and her eyes were bloodshot.

It was the first time she had felt such a mental burden since becoming the head of the Sect.

‘Poor soul.’

The woman looked at the old woman with pity in her eyes.

It was then.

“Master!”

With a loud shout, a woman who appeared to be in her early to mid-forties ran into the garden.

Her rough footsteps trampled and scattered the flowers, but she didn’t care.

The forty-something woman arrived in front of the old woman and the woman in an instant.

“Senior Martial Sister!”

The woman made a Fist-Palm Salute to the forty-something woman. But the forty-something woman ignored her greeting and spoke to the old woman.

“Master! We’ve received a message from them.”

“Is that so? What did they say?”

“They have made the proposal we wanted.”

“It is done.”

Thud!

The old woman unknowingly slammed her staff hard on the ground.

The impact dented the ground, and countless flower petals flew into the sky.

The old woman’s face was filled with excitement, but conversely, a shadow was cast over the woman’s face.

‘So it ends up like this after all.’

With this, the woman’s fate was decided.

The old woman looked at the woman.

“From now on, you must do well. The fate of our Sect depends on how you act.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do well.”

The woman said calmly, trying hard to hide her emotions.

The old woman also knew the woman’s feelings. But she ignored them. The burden she carried was too great to understand and accommodate her disciple’s personal feelings.

Just then, the forty-something woman interjected into their conversation.

“But there is one problem.”

“A problem? Ah!”

The old woman’s expression contorted.

Her already wrinkled face looked even more hideous.

“Was today that day?”

“Yes! What should we do?”

At her disciple’s question, the old woman’s expression hardened.

“Hmph!”