Chapter 240

Hong Ye-seol pressed Pyo Wol’s arm tightly against her chest.

“L-Lover?”

Seeing this, Heo Ranju’s eyebrows shot up to the heavens. In response, Hong Ye-seol’s red lips curved into a smile.

“What is this? Don’t tell me you’re staying in Runan because of this woman? You were seduced by this foxy bitch?”

Heo Ranju looked back and forth between Pyo Wol and Hong Ye-seol.

Hong Ye-seol deliberately put on a seductive expression. An explosive charm flowed out of her, captivating the people inside the inn.

Even the martial artists of the Black Cloud Corps couldn’t tear their eyes away from Hong Ye-seol.

Hugging Pyo Wol’s arm even tighter, Hong Ye-seol said,

“It’s not strange for a man to be drawn to a beautiful woman.”

“Beautiful? Who?”

“Me? Am I not? Many men lose their minds and court me the moment they see me.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Then again, I suppose you wouldn’t understand such feelings.”

Hong Ye-seol’s eyes crinkled into a smile as she scanned Heo Ranju from top to bottom.

Heo Ranju was not one to misunderstand the meaning behind her actions.

“How dare a whore like you ignore me.”

“And you look like a tomboy without a single feminine bone in your body. That’s why men have no interest in you.”

“Wh-What? I’m extremely popular.”

“Looking like that? If I were a man, I think I’d run away.”

“Eek!”

Heo Ranju’s face turned red.

She was no match for Hong Ye-seol in a war of words.

“R-Ranju!”

Seeing Heo Ranju draw upon her internal power, a horrified Daoshi Go tried to stop her.

“Let go of me! I’m going to kill that bitch.”

“Oh my! How uncultured.”

Hong Ye-seol sneered at Heo Ranju to the very end.

“Don’t stop me. I’m going to tear that bitch to pieces.”

“Stop it! You wench. What are you doing? Hurry up and stop her.”

Unable to stop Heo Ranju by himself, Daoshi Go shouted at the Black Cloud Corps, who were standing there blankly. They rushed over and helped restrain Heo Ranju.

It took four grown men to finally calm Heo Ranju’s rampage.

Hong Ye-seol mocked Heo Ranju until the end.

“Oh my! How vulgar. What is that? So unrefined.”

“You bitch! I won’t let you off if I get my hands on you. I’ll kill you.”

“Hohoho!”

At the sight of the frenzied Heo Ranju, Hong Ye-seol burst into a derisive laugh. After laughing for a while, she took Pyo Wol’s hand and stood up.

“My eardrums will burst if we stay here any longer. Let’s go somewhere else.”

Pyo Wol nodded silently and followed Hong Ye-seol.

Just then, Daoshi Go approached Pyo Wol.

Behind him, Heo Ranju, held back by the Black Cloud Corps, was screaming at the top of her lungs, but Daoshi Go didn’t even spare her a glance.

Daoshi Go’s gaze was fixed solely on Pyo Wol.

He said quietly,

“I don’t know why you’re staying in Runan, but I pray we don’t meet as enemies this time. If we do meet as enemies again, you will pay a harsh price.”

Daoshi Go’s voice was extremely low. But within it lingered a thick killing intent.

Perhaps at any other time, he wouldn’t have dared to threaten Pyo Wol like this. But since they had no room to back down, Daoshi Go was also taking a hard line.

When a man who was always smiling revealed his killing intent, it felt even more terrifying. But Pyo Wol, unfazed by his killing intent, asked nonchalantly,

“Isn’t it very inconvenient to live in this world with only one arm?”

“It is. Especially when I take a shit and wipe, or when I wash my face…”

“Then it would be even more inconvenient if you lost both arms.”

“You?”

“Be careful. You never know when someone might come to take your remaining arm.”

“……”

Pyo Wol left Daoshi Go, who was at a loss for words, and exited the inn.

“Hahahaha!”

Once outside the inn, Hong Ye-seol laughed loudly as if relieved.

Pyo Wol stared intently at Hong Ye-seol and asked,

“What are you thinking?”

“About what?”

“Why did you step in back there?”

“Just… because it seemed like it would be fun.”

“A twisted hobby.”

“Hoho! I hear that a lot.”

Hong Ye-seol laughed and hugged Pyo Wol’s arm even tighter.

The body of a highly trained assassin was full of elasticity. The part of his arm she touched felt so vibrant it seemed it would spring away.

If Pyo Wol hadn’t known about her, or if his willpower had been weak, he would have succumbed to her temptation—that was how charming she was.

Even after leaving the inn, Hong Ye-seol seemed to have no intention of letting go of Pyo Wol’s arm. She walked on, arm in arm with him.

Pyo Wol didn’t bother to pull his arm away and matched her pace.

Hong Ye-seol, humming a tune as if in a good mood, said,

“Hm-hm! Walking like this isn’t so bad. Should we just go ahead and start dating?”

“Stop talking nonsense and get to the point.”

“Oh my! So rough. I like rough men.”

“Shall I show you what real rough is?”

“Hoho! That sounds good too. But I’ll pass for today. As you can see, the wounds you gave me haven’t fully healed yet.”

Hong Ye-seol feigned weakness but did not let go of Pyo Wol’s arm. Instead, she pressed closer and whispered,

“Someone has come to Runan to replace me. Be careful.”

“Who is it?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t say any more than that. I’m just telling you to be on your guard. His target is you, not Jin Clan.”

“Me?”

“Yes! You. So be careful. If you die by his hand, I’ll be truly sad.”

“Then why not just tell me his identity?”

“I’m sorry. But we’re still family, so I can’t say more. If you’re curious, find out for yourself. With your abilities, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find out.”

Hong Ye-seol suddenly kissed Pyo Wol on the cheek.

As Pyo Wol frowned and looked at her, Hong Ye-seol released his arm and leaped back.

“I’ve definitely warned you.”

Hong Ye-seol said once more, then vanished abruptly.

Pyo Wol stared in the direction she had disappeared and thought.

‘It must be one of the Ten Blood Assassins.’

The only ones within the Hundred Wraith Union whom Hong Ye-seol would feel competitive with were the Ten Blood Assassins, who were on a similar level.

It was clear that one of the Ten Blood Assassins had come here to replace Hong Ye-seol. And there was a high probability that it was someone of a higher rank than her.

‘It’s unlikely only one assassin came.’

Hong Ye-seol spoke as if only one assassin had come, but Pyo Wol didn’t believe her words.

If he were Lee Yul, he would have been furious the moment Hong Ye-seol broke the contract. And he would have prepared a more certain countermeasure.

Rather than simply calling in one assassin to replace her, he would call in several assassins of a similar level, even if it cost more. That was the surest way to restore his shattered pride.

‘Bringing in the Black Cloud Corps must be his doing as well, right?’

Having faced the Black Cloud Corps once before, he knew how well-trained they were.

Last time, they were toyed with because they had no information on Pyo Wol, but it would be different if they clashed this time. It was clear they would have already prepared thorough countermeasures.

The Black Cloud Corps was not a simple group of wanderers. They were no different from a well-trained army.

They knew better than anyone how to maximize their military force as a group and knew how to employ military strategy.

They hadn’t seen much success in their fight against Pyo Wol, but if a group battle were to occur, they would display great power.

The fact that even the Black Cloud Corps had been mobilized was proof that Lee Yul was painting a bigger picture than expected.

Lee Yul wasn’t simply trying to reclaim hegemony over Mount Tianzhong and Runan. It was clear he was looking at something more.

Pyo Wol turned his head and looked in the direction where Snow Blade Sword Manor was.

＊＊＊

The atmosphere at the Jin Clan residence was unsettled.

It was because of Sword Venerable Han Yu-cheon’s statement.

His declaration that he had come to watch the fall of the Jin Clan family was enough to chill the atmosphere of the family, which had been gaining momentum.

Having made such a declaration, it would have been common sense for him to find lodging outside the Jin Clan residence. But Han Yu-cheon insisted on staying within the Jin Clan estate.

He acted as if he would turn the Jin Clan residence upside down if he wasn’t given a place to stay, so Jin Si-woo had no choice but to give him a room.

The humiliation Jin Si-woo felt in the process was beyond words.

He had clenched his teeth so hard that his gums had all burst and bled.

Everyone gathered at the Jin Clan residence thought Han Yu-cheon was going too far. But no one dared to say to Han Yu-cheon, ‘You are wrong.’

It was clear that the moment anyone spoke up, their head would fly off.

Pyo Wol returned to the Jin Clan residence when the atmosphere was just that grim.

“Where have you been?”

The first person to greet Pyo Wol was Jin Seol-ah.

Still at a sensitive age, she was reacting sharply to the change in the Jin Clan family’s atmosphere.

She felt there was no one in the Jin Clan family she could trust.

She had her biological brother, Jin Si-woo, but he was too busy to pay her any mind.

In the end, Jin Seol-ah had just waited for Pyo Wol, the person she trusted most, to return.

“Once you leave, you don’t come back for ages…”

“Why are you so worked up?”

“Hmph!”

Jin Seol-ah turned her head away with a pouting expression.

Pyo Wol didn’t bother to console her.

He didn’t have the luxury to deal with a child’s whining right now.

Pyo Wol walked past Jin Seol-ah. She quickly followed behind him.

“Really! Don’t you have any manners? When a woman is sulking, you should console her. What on earth…”

She chattered on and on behind him, but Pyo Wol didn’t even spare her a glance.

Kuuuu!

A feeling, as if a sharply honed sword was aimed at his brow, was being transmitted from a distance.

Pyo Wol was not one to misunderstand what that meant.

Someone possessing immense martial arts was watching Pyo Wol.

Currently, within the Jin Clan residence, there was only one martial artist who had reached such a level.

‘Han Yu-cheon!’

He had experienced his presence once before, so he remembered this feeling distinctly.

“Why… Ugh!”

When Pyo Wol stopped, Jin Seol-ah, who was following him, bumped her nose into his back.

Jin Seol-ah was about to get angry at Pyo Wol but flinched when she saw his grave expression.

“What?”

“Step back.”

“Yes!”

Pyo Wol’s expression looked so serious that Jin Seol-ah stepped back without a word. Then she looked in the direction Pyo Wol was staring.

A middle-aged man, holding a sword to his chest, was walking from that direction.

In an instant, Jin Seol-ah’s face turned deathly pale.

She had recognized the man’s identity.

He was none other than the Sword Venerable, Han Yu-cheon.

Han Yu-cheon was walking straight toward Pyo Wol.

It was by no means a coincidence.

Han Yu-cheon’s gaze was fixed on Pyo Wol’s face.

Pyo Wol’s face was etched into his unwavering pupils.

Han Yu-cheon stopped in front of Pyo Wol.

The two men stared at each other for a while without a word.

The first to speak was Han Yu-cheon.

“So it was you.”

“……”

“The owner of the gaze that was secretly observing me yesterday.”

Han Yu-cheon’s voice was as desolate as a blizzard in the dead of winter.

Even though he wasn’t speaking to her, Jin Seol-ah trembled like an aspen leaf. But Han Yu-cheon didn’t even glance at her.

“What is your name?”

“Pyo Wol!”

“You are Pyo Wol?”

In that moment, Han Yu-cheon’s gaze grew even colder.

A Sword Hero who had reached such a level could inflict serious internal injuries on an opponent with just his gaze. That was because his gaze itself was no different from a well-honed blade.

For that reason, many people dared not meet his gaze and would turn their heads or lower their eyes. But Pyo Wol remained completely still, even under his blade-like gaze.

Pyo Wol’s demeanor grated on Han Yu-cheon’s nerves.

“Just as Ga-yeong said, you are an arrogant one.”

“Ga-yeong? Won… Ga-yeong?”

“That’s right. I am that child’s master, Sword Venerable Han Yu-cheon.”

Han Yu-cheon finally revealed his identity to Pyo Wol. Still, when there was no change in Pyo Wol’s expression, his eyebrow twitched.

It was a different reaction from what he had expected.

“Just as Ga-yeong said, you have quite a firm will. To maintain such a stiff posture even when facing me.”

“You have a habit of overestimating yourself. Not everyone has to kneel before you.”

“There have been others besides you who have said such things. Do you know what happened to all of them?”

“……”

“I cut out every single one of their tongues.”