Chapter 334

A guest arrived at Taihu’s Finest Hall.

It was an old man in shabby clothes with disheveled hair.

A faint Blood Scent emanated from the old man’s body. Because of it, people nearby held their noses and backed away.

“Ugh! What is that smell?”

“Is that the reek of blood?”

The expressions on their faces as they looked at the old man were as if they were looking at something filthy. However, the old man, as if used to such reactions, looked around the inside of the Inn with an unconcerned face.

A strange light flickered in the old man’s eyes.

It was because he saw the person he was looking for.

It was Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol was sitting by a window with a clear view of the Great Lake.

The picturesque scenery of the Great Lake and Pyo Wol’s handsome face combined to look like a painting.

‘The world is truly unfair.’

He thought that now that he was old, all feelings like jealousy had disappeared, but seeing Pyo Wol, he realized that such emotions still remained within him.

“Hoo!”

The old man sighed and approached Pyo Wol.

He was the first to offer a Fist-Palm Salute and acknowledge him.

“Great Hero Pyo!”

“You came yourself.”

Pyo Wol turned his head to look at the old man.

The old man was none other than the old dobu, the Taihu branch chief of the Hao Clan.

“I was worried that if I sent a Subordinate, they might make a mistake after seeing only Great Hero Pyo’s appearance. And I also wanted to see the scenery of the Great Lake while I was at it. The view of the Great Lake from here is truly the finest under heaven.”

“Sit.”

“Thank you!”

The old dobu sat opposite Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol personally poured tea for the old dobu.

“It is an honor. To think I’m receiving tea from the Reaper of All Under Heaven. Hoho!”

“You didn’t come here just to spout such nonsense, did you?”

“Of course not. I said it to ease the tension, but it seems to have grated on your nerves.”

“I’m not fond of idle chatter.”

“Is that so? Then please read this. Everything I’ve found out has been organized.”

The old dobu took a small booklet from his robes and handed it to Pyo Wol.

Inside the booklet, everything about the Iron Mountain Workshop and the Manor was written down.

It was densely packed with details, such as why Tang Cheolsan’s grandfather left Chengdu in Sichuan Province to settle in this distant place, how he grew the workshop, how great Tang Cheolsan’s ambition was, and what deeds he had committed to create the workshop as it was today.

Pyo Wol read through all the contents without missing a single character.

Thud!

When there was nothing left to read, Pyo Wol closed the booklet.

It was now certain that Tang Cheolsan was the one who had commissioned the Hundred Wraith Union for Tang Sochu’s death and the Secret Transmission.

The booklet even contained details of the circumstances under which Tang Cheolsan had contacted the Hundred Wraith Union.

If Tang Cheolsan hadn’t made the request to the Hundred Wraith Union, Pyo Wol’s emergence into the Jianghu might have been delayed considerably.

“Tang Cheolsan’s whereabouts?”

“As written there, he mostly stays in the Taeyul Pavilion of the Iron Mountain Manor. The Martial Artists he has hired are maintaining an ironclad guard.”

“The layout of the Iron Mountain Manor?”

“I figured you’d ask, so I obtained the structural plans from the time of its construction.”

The old dobu took a neatly folded paper from his robes and held it out to Pyo Wol.

When the paper was unfolded, the structural diagram of the Iron Mountain Manor was revealed.

“Thorough.”

“It’s a request from none other than Great Hero Pyo, so of course I must be attentive.”

The old dobu said honestly.

The one who had brought the Sword Flower Pavilion to its knees in just half a day was Pyo Wol. He couldn’t describe how absurd it was when he first heard the news.

It was because the Sword Flower Pavilion was not a Sect that would collapse so futilely.

Although the fact that its members were composed only of women was a disadvantage, their internal solidarity was incredibly strong.

Their power, united around Go Yeon-su and Eum Yujeong, was so immense that even the Namgyeong Jo Clan or the Janggang Stronghold could not easily deal with them.

Especially thanks to Eum Yujeong, who skillfully walked a tightrope between men, there was no Sect or Martial Artist in the Great Lake who dared to stand against the Sword Flower Pavilion.

The old dobu had not known that the Sword Flower Pavilion, which had enjoyed such great power, would fall in an instant.

‘Not only is his Martial Arts outstanding, but his mind is also formidable. To cause a rift within the Sword Flower Pavilion in such a short time and induce internal strife.’

People thought that Eum Yujeong had safely escaped the Great Lake, but the old dobu knew that was not the truth.

After crippling Eum Yujeong’s Martial Arts, Go Yeon-su had secretly placed a request with slave traders.

She could not forgive the Disciple who had tried to abandon her and escape.

Eum Yujeong would surely be reduced to the miserable fate of having to receive men in some remote brothel.

The one who had orchestrated this entire situation was Pyo Wol.

It was something a Martial Artist who only tried to solve everything with brute force could not do.

The reason Pyo Wol had let Eum Yujeong go so readily was not because he was merciful.

The old dobu knew well how miserably those who had become Pyo Wol’s enemies had fallen.

In the current Jianghu, there was no other Martial Artist like him.

Many thought of him as a mere Assassin, but Pyo Wol was an existence that could not be defined by the word Assassin alone.

‘Why on earth did the Jianghu create such a monster?’

The old dobu thought that the will of heaven was unknowable.

The sound of Pyo Wol’s voice at that moment broke the old dobu’s train of thought.

“Still no news of Hong Yushin?”

“None!”

“Is that so?”

“Hoo! We are doing our best, but at this point, I don’t think I can guarantee that we will find Captain Hong.”

“So you’re going to give up the search?”

“How could I? It’s just a simple complaint. I’m just saying it’s difficult.”

The old dobu rose from his seat.

He felt that if he continued to converse with Pyo Wol, his old heart would not be able to take it.

The old dobu offered a Fist-Palm Salute to Pyo Wol.

“I will be on my way.”

He immediately opened the Inn’s door and went outside.

Left alone, Pyo Wol fixed his gaze on the structural diagram of the Iron Mountain Manor.

Like most manors, the structure of the Iron Mountain Manor was very complex. It seemed impossible to completely memorize the layout just by looking at the drawing. But Pyo Wol was able to shove the diagram into his head without difficulty.

Pyo Wol ignited the Samadhi Fire. The paper and booklet in his hand instantly burned to ash.

Pyo Wol scattered the ashes into the Great Lake and then rose from his seat.

＊＊＊

Tang Cheolsan’s expression was extremely grave.

“The Sword Flower Pavilion collapsed just like that?”

Normally, he would have watched the fall of the Sword Flower Pavilion with a joyful heart. After all, there was nothing more enjoyable than the downfall of a powerful competitor. But the emotion he felt now was closer to terror than joy.

The fact that the Sword Flower Pavilion had collapsed in such a way meant that the Iron Mountain Manor and Workshop could also easily be brought down.

Tang Cheolsan stared at the paper placed before him with gloomy eyes.

The paper contained a rough summary of information about Pyo Wol. It was difficult to obtain detailed information, but it wasn’t hard to track Pyo Wol’s movements, where he came from, and how he got here.

What Tang Cheolsan focused on was the place where Pyo Wol had first appeared.

“Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Surely, he’s not related to that brat, is he?”

He thought it couldn’t be, but an ominous feeling began to gnaw at his heart.

Tang Cheolsan was not simply a man of good means. His sixth sense was just as developed, and his ability to detect danger was outstanding.

And his intuition was telling him.

That Pyo Wol might have some connection to Tang Sochu, for whom he had placed the commission.

He thought that Pyo Wol’s arrival here was by no means a coincidence.

“Dammit! What the hell are the Hundred Wraith Union’s Assassins doing?”

His palms were slick with sweat from his anxiety.

There had been no contact from the Assassin who had originally taken the commission. No matter how lazily they worked, good news should have arrived by now. The fact that there was no contact meant there was a high probability that things had gone wrong.

It was then.

Sreuk!

A window opened without a sound, and someone slipped into his room. Yet Tang Cheolsan, failing to notice, muttered to himself.

“Was it a mistake to trust the Hundred Wraith Union?”

“Surely not?”

At the voice that came from behind him at that moment, Tang Cheolsan felt a chill run down his entire body.

When he turned around, he saw a man wearing a black martial arts uniform and a bizarre mask. Tang Cheolsan was once again startled by the mask, which depicted a ghost with its tongue sticking out.

“Wh-who are you?”

“Someone from the place you commissioned.”

“You mean the Hundred Wraith Union?”

“That’s right! I am the Blood-Eye Ghost, ranked fifteenth in the Hundred Wraith Union.”

“I-I called for the middleman…”

Tang Cheolsan stammered.

Even when he had placed the commission before, he had not met the Hundred Wraith Union directly. There was a kind of middleman who connected them, and he had placed the commission through him. Because of that, he never had to meet an Assassin from the Hundred Wraith Union directly.

Meeting a mere Assassin from the Hundred Wraith Union was an unsettling affair, let alone a being ranked fifteenth.

Tang Cheolsan swallowed dryly and asked.

“Why did you come in person, Lord Blood-Eye Ghost?”

“Ah! To apologize.”

“Pardon? What…”

“About that commission you made before. I looked into it, and it seems Baekrok was assigned to it.”

“Baekrok?”

“Yes! An Assassin of our Union. The problem is, that guy was too greedy and tried to carry out commissions from Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, and so on all at once. He planned to follow a trading company and carry out his killings while moving between Yunnan and Sichuan, but a problem arose.”

“A problem?”

“He died along the way.”

“If he died, what about the commission?”

“Of course, it failed. The problem is that Sichuan Province, where the bastard died, is too far away, and he was acting independently, so it took the Hundred Wraith Union too long to grasp the truth. If you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have known until the end. We don’t really care about our colleagues unless we’re close.”

“Mmm!”

Tang Cheolsan let out a groan.

He had thought things might have gone wrong, but he had never dreamed that the Assassin who had taken the commission had died.

“So you’re saying nothing from my commission was carried out.”

“That’s right! That’s why I came instead of the middleman.”

At Blood-Eye Ghost’s answer, Tang Cheolsan saw a glimmer of hope.

“Does that mean you will carry out my commission instead, Lord Blood-Eye Ghost?”

“If the price is right?”

“But I have already paid the price?”

“Hah! There’s a huge difference in rank between Baekrok and me. Naturally, there’s bound to be a big difference in the commission fee as well.”

“So if I pay an additional fee, you will personally carry out the commission?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Even if the target is the Reaper?”

“Hah! Rumors in the Jianghu often get blown out of proportion like a snowball.”

Behind the mask, Blood-Eye Ghost laughed.

Originally, Blood-Eye Ghost was not someone who would move for a commission like Tang Cheolsan’s. He only moved for much larger commissions, commissions that paid much more money.

The reason he had come here despite that was due to his personal ambition.

‘A vacancy has opened up in the Ten Blood Assassins because of that Pyo Wol. If I kill Pyo Wol, I’ll be able to enter the Ten Blood Assassins.’

That was why when Tang Cheolsan made the re-commission, he had dropped everything, even bypassing the middleman, to come here himself.

To become one of the Ten Blood Assassins, one needed a merit that no one could deny.

Especially for him, ranked fifteenth, he needed to make a strong impression to leapfrog the higher ranks.

Pyo Wol was a Martial Artist who had risen as the new Killing Star of the Jianghu.

Because of Pyo Wol’s powerful actions, some people perceived him as a more fearsome existence than the Hundred Wraith Union.

For Blood-Eye Ghost, it was a matter of pride.

Blood-Eye Ghost had lived his entire life as an Assassin. Not only did he have great pride in himself, but he also held the great ambition of one day becoming the master of the Hundred Wraith Union.

For him, this commission was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Tang Cheolsan spoke cautiously.

“Very well. I will commission you.”

“A good choice. You will absolutely not regret it.”

“The price?”

“One hundred thousand Nyang of Gold.”

“Hah!”

The amount was so enormous that Tang Cheolsan let out a gasp. But Blood-Eye Ghost continued nonchalantly.

“You have to admit it. The man is a big shot. The one who killed Baekrok, who was carrying out your commission, was him. Do you think he’ll leave you alone? No matter how large a sum of one hundred thousand Nyang is, if you think of it as the price of your own life, it’s rather small. What will you do? Will you cancel the commission as is?”

“Th-that’s…”

“You’d better choose quickly. My time here is not very long.”

“If I make the commission, will you kill him for sure?”

“I am the Blood-Eye Ghost. To this day, not a single person who has become my target has kept their life.”

“Very well. If you kill him, I will give you one hundred thousand Nyang.”

“No taking it back. I really hate people who go back on their word.”

“O-of course.”

“Then I’ll be back with good news before the sun rises tomorrow.”

It was when Blood-Eye Ghost spoke confidently and began to rise.

Suddenly, Tang Cheolsan’s face turned ashen.

“Th-th…”

“What?”

“Behind you…”

Tang Cheolsan pointed a finger behind Blood-Eye Ghost.

In that instant, Blood-Eye Ghost felt a chill run down his spine and quickly looked behind him. Pyo Wol was standing there.