Chapter 275

Pyo Wol opened his eyes to the sunlight tickling his face. He was alone on the bed, which was in disarray, as if to prove the heat of the previous night.

Hong Ye-seol had quietly left the inn at dawn.

Though they had spent a passionate time together, not a single blush-inducing word like “I love you” was exchanged.

Even as they explored each other’s bodies, neither of them let down their guard for a single moment.

It couldn’t be helped.

By nature, they were people who did not easily trust others.

Clustered together by suspicion, they held onto the thread of reason, not allowing themselves to be completely consumed by desire.

Because of that, despite spending a passionate night, his body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Pyo Wol got out of bed and put on his clothes.

Only after fastening the leather belt that held the Ghostly Rain did he go down to the first floor. But the atmosphere in the inn was unusual.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes! It’s true. How many times do I have to say it?”

“It’s just that I can’t believe it.”

“Well, I’m the same. I thought I’d heard a baseless rumor.”

“What’s going to happen now? Snow Blade Sword Manor won’t just stand by.”

“Won’t they fight to the death now? They lost their only heir.”

“I suppose so. Who would have known? That Young Master Seol would die so horribly…”

For a moment, Pyo Wol’s brow furrowed.

They were talking about the death of Seol Gwangho, the heir of Snow Blade Sword Manor.

Pyo Wol’s expression hardened as he continued to listen to their words.

“The Thousand Water Society is truly incredible. To think that Young Master Namgung of the Three Southern Families would kill Young Master Seol like that.”

“Why else would the Thousand Water Society be one of the Three Hegemons? No matter how renowned a power Snow Blade Sword Manor is in Henan, it’s nothing but a drop in the bucket compared to the Thousand Water Society.”

“This makes the situation even more complicated. I really can’t predict what will happen from now on.”

“Tell me about it. Will the Manor Lord of Snow Blade Sword Manor, who lost his only heir, just stand by?”

“Wandering around at a time like this, one could get killed by a stray blade.”

“Be careful. And don’t do anything that could be misunderstood.”

“You be careful too.”

The people’s faces were filled with anxiety and worry.

Jin Clan, and of course Snow Blade Sword Manor, had been as careful as possible to avoid harming civilians. But with this incident, it was impossible to predict what would happen next.

The fury of a parent who has lost a child sometimes caused tremendous situations that ordinary people could not even imagine. And the parent who had lost their child was Seol Gang-yeon, the Manor Lord of Snow Blade Sword Manor.

No one knew what Seol Gang-yeon, blinded by grief, would do.

‘Seol Gwangho was killed by Namgung Wol?’

Pyo Wol tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought.

Seol Gwangho losing his life to Namgung Wol was outside his range of expectations.

It was not at all strange that Namgung Wol had overpowered Seol Gwangho.

Although Seol Gwangho had gained fame to the point of earning the alias Hellblood Axe, it was, at best, confined to Henan Province.

Compared to Namgung Wol, who was renowned throughout the Jianghu, he was bound to fall short.

It was a natural result, but its repercussions were not so simple.

It didn’t seem like an answer would come from just sitting and thinking like this.

He had to gather as much information as possible.

Pyo Wol stepped out of the inn.

＊＊＊

Seol Gang-yeon stared with wide eyes at Seol Gwangho, who had returned as a corpse.

He had always been a dependable son.

Although his quick temper and aggressive nature had drawn words of concern, to him, he was the one and only blood relative he could trust and rely on.

The reason he had returned to Runan was because he wanted to find his son’s roots, Mount Tianjung. That was why he had abandoned a stable life and chosen to fight, only to lose his sole heir.

Of course, he had other children from his daughter and concubines, but they did not meet Seol Gang-yeon’s standards.

No matter what anyone said, the only one to succeed him was Seol Gwangho.

“Gwang…ho!”

He called out to Seol Gwangho in a trembling voice. But Seol Gwangho could not answer his call.

Seol Gang-yeon rose from his grand tutor’s chair and approached Seol Gwangho.

Seol Gwangho lay on the floor, carried on a stretcher.

His entire body was covered in numerous wounds, but the most fatal was the gash on his neck.

It had split his thick, log-like neck almost in half. Because of it, his head dangled loosely, looking as if it would fall off his body at any moment.

“Keuk!”

Seol Gang-yeon clutched his son’s head and shed hot tears.

Although Seol Gang-yeon was called a cold-blooded man, in the face of his son’s death, he was no different from an ordinary person.

The martial artists of Snow Blade Sword Manor watched Seol Gang-yeon with mournful faces.

Seol Gwangho, who had willfully led the Shadow Unit out, returned to Snow Blade Sword Manor this morning as a cold corpse.

According to the survivors’ testimonies, Seol Gwangho had fought Namgung Wol for over three hundred exchanges.

Seol Gwangho had unleashed the Great Eight Desolations Axe Art with all his might, and Namgung Wol had countered with the Thousand Water Society’s secret transmission Sword Art.

In the beginning, Seol Gwangho seemed to have a slight advantage, but as time passed, Namgung Wol began to seize the initiative.

Namgung Wol had also suffered considerable injuries, but despite that, he did not retreat a single step and consistently pushed Seol Gwangho. As a result, he was able to claim victory.

The young martial artists led by Oh Ju-gang had won a great victory against the Shadow Unit. The surviving members of the Shadow Unit were only able to retrieve Seol Gwangho’s body and return.

Everyone was at a loss for words at the devastating defeat.

While they had repeated victories and defeats in their fierce battles with Jin Clan, no defeat had been as fatal as this one.

It was not a simple defeat.

Although many feared Seol Gwangho for his explosive temper, he had nevertheless led the war against Jin Clan from the front lines.

At the death of such a man, the martial artists of Snow Blade Sword Manor felt a sense of powerlessness.

The word ‘defeat’ lingered in their minds.

Their morale had hit rock bottom.

“Hoo!”

After a long while, Seol Gang-yeon collected his emotions and stood up.

The front of his clothes was stained completely red with his son’s blood. But he paid no mind to the blood on his clothes.

Having composed himself, Seol Gang-yeon’s eyes were as cold as ice.

Extreme anger can sometimes make a person’s reason sharper than ever, and that was Seol Gang-yeon’s state right now.

Seol Gang-yeon commanded his subordinates.

“Clean Gwangho’s body and place it in the Great Simplicity Hall. We will hold a formal funeral after we bring down the Jin Clan Manor.”

“Yes!”

The subordinates replied and collected Seol Gwangho’s body.

Seol Gang-yeon left them behind and headed for his own quarters. His top executives, including Lee Yul, followed him.

“The rest of you wait outside. Only the Steward may enter.”

“Yes!”

The executives replied and remained outside, and only Lee Yul entered Seol Gang-yeon’s quarters.

Once the two were alone, Seol Gang-yeon glared at Lee Yul.

“Why did you let Gwangho go there alone?”

“It was an action Young Master Seol took on his own accord. By the time I found out, he had already left Snow Blade Sword Manor.”

Lee Yul answered without a hint of wavering.

“I trusted you.”

“I know.”

“So I returned to Runan as you wished. Even though there was no need to return.”

“I know.”

“I gave you full authority.”

“I know that as well.”

“And this is the result. Do you understand? This is the result.”

Crash!

Seol Gang-yeon slammed his fist on the table.

The thick table made of red sandalwood split apart and tumbled to the floor.

It was as if a storm was raging inside the room.

It was a storm emanating from Seol Gang-yeon.

His anger was directed at Lee Yul. An ordinary person would have been so terrified their legs would have given out, unable to even stand properly, but Lee Yul stared back at Seol Gang-yeon without batting an eye.

It was something that could never happen in a normal liege-vassal relationship.

Seol Gang-yeon suppressed his anger with effort and said,

“Since this happened because of you, you will clean it up.”

“I will do so.”

“Make sure you exact the price for my son’s death. If you fail, I will not forgive you. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“I don’t care how many people die. I won’t care even if all the residents of Runan die. I don’t care if the Jianghu criticizes me for it. You know what my words mean, don’t you?”

“Yes!”

“I will be watching. You may leave.”

“I will absolutely not disappoint you. Then…”

Lee Yul bowed his head to Seol Gang-yeon and exited the room.

As soon as he was outside, Lee Yul’s expression completely changed.

“Foolish…”

It was a curse directed at Seol Gwangho, who had unilaterally led the Shadow Unit out.

If Lee Yul had known of Seol Gwangho’s actions beforehand, he would have stopped him by any means necessary.

The result brought on by Seol Gwangho’s thirst for glory was truly fatal.

The morale of Snow Blade Sword Manor had plummeted, and people were anticipating defeat.

Lee Yul knew well that ordinary methods would not be enough to raise the fallen morale.

If left as it was, Snow Blade Sword Manor would crumble into disarray.

Some kind of drastic measure was needed.

Returning to his own quarters, Lee Yul opened his mouth.

“Dokyeong!”

“Yes!”

As always, Baek Dokyeong appeared without a sound. But his expression was quite serious.

It was by no means common for Baek Dokyeong to make such a face in front of him.

“What is it?”

“A message has come from the Ghost Dance Unit.”

“How long has it been since they left?”

“They say Captain Mok has passed away.”

“What?”

Lee Yul thought he had misheard. The news was that shocking.

“They say they were hit by an Ambush Attack right after leaving Runan and arriving at a temporary base. Captain Mok and many others were killed or injured.”

“Who on earth?”

“It’s… Pyo Wol.”

“That man again? I’m really getting tired of this.”

Lee Yul clicked his tongue.

It seemed the damage caused by Pyo Wol alone was greater than the damage sustained while fighting Jin Clan.

Pyo Wol was like a mosquito.

He resembled a mosquito in how he constantly hovered around, being a nuisance. But his destructive power was incomparably greater than a mosquito’s. That made him even more of a headache.

“They relayed that in the worst-case scenario, the Ghost Dance Unit may forcibly extract you, my Liege.”

“That will never happen.”

“But as you know, if the Ghost Dance Unit intervenes, there is nothing we can do.”

Baek Dokyeong looked at Lee Yul with a worried gaze.

The Ghost Dance Unit was not a presence above Lee Yul. But in certain special cases, they could intervene without Lee Yul’s permission.

One of those was Lee Yul’s safety.

If they believed his safety was at risk, they could intervene regardless of his permission and carry out an operation to forcibly extract him.

Lee Yul bit his lip firmly.

The Ghost Dance Unit would be acting as ordered, but if they intervened, his own standing would plummet.

The reason Lee Yul had been able to act so independently was because he had never once failed until now.

A single failure would leave a fatal stain on his career.

If that happened, he might no longer be guaranteed the independent operational command and authority he had enjoyed until now.

He had to prevent that worst-case scenario at all costs.

“Summon the Slayer of Ten Thousand.”

“What? But…”

“I need a game-changing move. The current situation cannot be overturned with ordinary measures.”

“But he is an uncontrollable figure. If things go wrong, he might make matters worse.”

“That’s why I’m calling him.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve already dragged Shaolin into this, so what’s the big deal about the Slayer of Ten Thousand? It might even be for the better.”

Lee Yul was not a man to be consumed by anger.

He was coolly assessing the current situation.

What he needed now was a mad dog that would bite everyone.

Slayer of Ten Thousand (Maninsal).

His name and identity were unknown.

But everyone feared him.

Precisely because he was one of the Eight Constellations.

A demonic practitioner who had killed so many people as to earn the alias Slayer of Ten Thousand.

Under normal circumstances, he could never be moved. But he owed Lee Yul a great debt. If not for that, he would never have been moved.

In effect, the strongest card Lee Yul could play was the Slayer of Ten Thousand.