Chapter 335

“You?”

Blood-Eye Ghost’s eyes widened.

He was known within the Hundred Wraith Union for his exceptionally keen senses.

With senses far superior to others, he could detect his assassination target’s movements and predict their actions, ensuring a successful kill.

He prided himself on being able to detect any movement within a five-zhang radius. But until Tang Cheolsan spoke, he had been completely unaware that Pyo Wol was standing behind him.

Goosebumps erupted all over his body.

If his opponent had harbored Killing Intent, he would already be a dead man. He had never once imagined that someone could sneak up behind him like this. That was why the shock felt even greater.

Pyo Wol silently stared at Blood-Eye Ghost.

To Blood-Eye Ghost, his very presence was an immense pressure.

“Who are you?”

“Weren’t you just blustering about killing me?”

“Then you’re Pyo Wol?”

“That’s right!”

“How are you here? Don’t tell me you knew I was coming and waited for me?”

Blood-Eye Ghost shouted as he drew his sword.

He was jumping to his own conclusions, but Pyo Wol felt no need to correct him.

He had come here to meet Tang Cheolsan, not to kill Blood-Eye Ghost.

Pyo Wol was no god; he couldn’t have known he would be here. It was merely a coincidence.

Tang Cheolsan, his face pale, screamed.

“Ki-kill him. I’ll give you a hundred thousand Nyang, so hurry…”

Tang Cheolsan’s fear had reached its peak.

The mere fact that Pyo Wol had come here told him that Pyo Wol was the one who had killed Baek Rok. And Pyo Wol’s presence here meant he was connected to Tang Sochu.

‘Tang Sochu must have sent him to kill me.’

Tang Cheolsan misunderstood completely.

He was incapable of rational thought at the moment.

He had threatened others many times, but he had never once been directly exposed to danger himself.

Blood-Eye Ghost shouted.

“This is for the best. It saves me the trouble of finding you myself.”

In that instant, his figure vanished from sight.

He had leaped toward the ceiling and executed a Stealth Skill.

One of Blood-Eye Ghost’s specialties was Stealth Skill.

When he was determined to hide, no Martial Artist could detect him. He hid somewhere in the pavilion, waiting for Pyo Wol to reveal an opening.

The Sword Art he had mastered was the Arrow Blood Sword.

Although it was a sword technique, the Arrow Blood Sword uniquely incorporated the principles of archery.

It was a technique for a One Strike Certain Kill, like an arrow shot with condensed Internal Energy and power.

The muscles of the hidden Blood-Eye Ghost swelled dramatically.

It was a phenomenon that occurred when he employed the Arrow Blood Sword.

‘I’ll sever his lifeline in a single strike.’

Blood-Eye Ghost even held his breath as he watched Pyo Wol intently.

A considerable amount of time passed, but Pyo Wol remained in the same posture as when he first appeared.

Usually, when someone vanished before their eyes, people would instinctively look around, trying to track them. But Pyo Wol simply stood there, as still as a stone statue.

To Blood-Eye Ghost, Pyo Wol’s form resembled a steadfast wall.

An iron wall with absolutely no openings.

But a wall without a crack does not exist. It just hadn’t been found yet. A crack had to exist.

That was what Blood-Eye Ghost believed.

‘I’ll settle this in a single strike.’

Blood-Eye Ghost’s already red eyes glowed even more crimson.

It was then.

Ssk!

Suddenly, Pyo Wol’s eyes moved without a sound.

In that moment, Blood-Eye Ghost felt goosebumps rise all over his body. Pyo Wol’s eyes were aimed precisely where he was hiding.

‘He knows where I’m hiding? Impossible!’

Blood-Eye Ghost tried to deny his own thoughts. But Pyo Wol’s gaze remained fixed on his hiding spot.

‘Damn it!’

Blood-Eye Ghost had no choice but to accept it.

He didn’t know how, but Pyo Wol had pinpointed his hiding place.

Left with no other option, he prepared to attack Pyo Wol.

Puk!

At that moment, he felt a fiery pain in his leg.

‘What?’

Before Blood-Eye Ghost could even figure out what had happened, his body was yanked forward.

Pyo Wol had pierced his calf with the Soul Restraining Thread and was pulling him.

‘Kgh!’

As soon as he landed on the floor, Blood-Eye Ghost unleashed the Arrow Blood Sword.

Piiing!

His body flew at Pyo Wol faster than an arrow.

Blood-Eye Ghost’s sword instantly pierced Pyo Wol’s head. But Blood-Eye Ghost couldn’t smile.

The form of Pyo Wol, which should have been bleeding after being pierced by his sword, was slowly fading away.

‘An Afterimage? Could it be Body-Shifting Illusion?’

Blood-Eye Ghost couldn’t continue his thought.

Puk!

A Flying Dagger had burst through his Adam’s apple.

‘Keuk!’

Blood-Eye Ghost’s eyes shot wide open.

Even without looking, he knew who had plunged the Flying Dagger into his neck.

It was Pyo Wol.

From behind him, Pyo Wol’s pale face had appeared.

“Gurgle!”

Pierced by the Ghostly Rain, Blood-Eye Ghost’s body trembled violently.

Until his last breath, the question that filled Blood-Eye Ghost’s mind was what technique Pyo Wol had used at the end.

What Pyo Wol had used was not Body-Shifting Illusion, but the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard. But Blood-Eye Ghost would never be given the chance to solve the mystery.

Pyo Wol withdrew the Ghostly Rain. Blood-Eye Ghost collapsed limply.

“Ughhh!”

Seeing this, Tang Cheolsan let out a pained groan.

His face and eyes were stained with deep terror.

To be ranked fifteenth in the Hundred Wraith Union was a level at which one could assassinate any Martial Artist in Jianghu, save for absolute masters like the Eight Constellations. He truly hadn’t known such an Assassin could lose his life so futilely.

Moreover, Pyo Wol hadn’t even used Stealth Skill, the assassin’s specialty. Instead, he had instantly found the hidden Blood-Eye Ghost and killed him in a single breath.

It was a level of Martial prowess that Tang Cheolsan could not even begin to imagine.

“Wa-wait!”

As Pyo Wol walked toward him, Tang Cheolsan raised both hands to stop him. Of course, there was no reason for Pyo Wol to stop just because of that.

“L-let’s resolve this with words. With words…”

“……”

“If you’re doing this because of Tang Sochu, I’ll cancel the request. I won’t bother you anymore, so please, let’s resolve this amicably.”

“……”

“How much will it take? A h-hundred thousand Nyang? No, I’ll give you half of my fortune. So please, just spare my life.”

Thud!

Pyo Wol finally came to a stop right in front of Tang Cheolsan.

Tang Cheolsan fell weakly to his knees and begged.

“If I die, the families of the Manor and the workshop will be thrown out onto the streets. For their sake, please show me mercy.”

“Why should I show you mercy?”

“P-people can make mistakes, can’t they? I was blinded by greed and made a mistake, so please let it go just this once.”

“A mistake…”

“There will never be a mistake like this again. If you tell me to be a dog, I’ll be a dog. If you tell me to be a pig, I’ll be a pig. So please, just spare my life.”

Tang Cheolsan maintained a groveling attitude that was impossible to see in a man of power in the Great Lake region.

It was as if his pride as the Manor Lord did not exist.

Pyo Wol had met many people, but he had never seen someone change their tune as quickly as Tang Cheolsan.

However, Pyo Wol had no intention of ever forgiving Tang Cheolsan. He knew that leaving someone who changed their face so easily alive would lead to endless future troubles.

Pyo Wol was not the type to leave such troubles behind.

No matter who it was, once they pointed a sword at him, he would either hunt them to the end and exterminate them, or utterly destroy them so they could never recover, as was the case with Eum Yujeong.

It was when Pyo Wol harbored Killing Intent.

“Kuaaack!”

“Aack!”

“It’s poison.”

Suddenly, screams erupted from outside.

‘Poison?’

Pyo Wol opened the window and looked outside.

People were screaming and running about in a frenzy.

Some were already dying, bleeding from their Seven Orifices.

“What? What is this?”

Tang Cheolsan shot up and looked out the window.

Seeing the members of the Iron Mountain Manor dying, Tang Cheolsan couldn’t hide his bewildered expression.

“How could this happen?”

Anyone could see they were symptoms of poisoning.

Forgetting his fear, Tang Cheolsan shouted at Pyo Wol.

“This is your doing. You used poison to ruin the Iron Mountain Manor. You vile bastard! You cursed bastard! You won’t find peace even in death.”

Puk!

At that moment, the Ghostly Rain embedded itself in his forehead.

Tang Cheolsan died without even a scream.

That was the end of Tang Cheolsan.

Pyo Wol left Tang Cheolsan’s body and went outside.

The Manor Lord was dead, but the members of the Iron Mountain Manor didn’t even notice. Saving their own lives was their priority.

Pyo Wol glanced around for a moment before walking toward a certain spot.

It was a well near Tang Cheolsan’s residence.

The poison that had afflicted the people was spewing from the well.

The poison was truly vicious.

Even Pyo Wol, who wouldn’t bat an eye at most poisons, felt a pain in his lungs.

Pyo Wol peered into the well.

Inside the well, something was bubbling and emitting a poisonous smoke.

It was clear that someone had thrown something that generated poison into the well.

Kwang!

Pyo Wol threw a punch, collapsing the well.

Only after the well was completely destroyed did the leakage of poisonous smoke stop. But by then, there were already many victims.

Dozens of people died in agony after being poisoned.

Their appearance as they died, vomiting blood from their Seven Orifices, was too gruesome.

Even in death, they wore the most tormented expressions a human could make.

It was then.

“The Young Master has been kidnapped.”

Someone’s urgent voice was heard.

Pyo Wol went in the direction of the voice.

It was Tang Ikgi’s residence.

The martial artists of the Iron Mountain Manor were talking with towels covering their mouths.

“It’s him. That Do-je from the workshop kidnapped the young Manor Lord.”

“That crazy bastard…”

“After him, quickly!”

The Subordinates, unaware that their Manor Lord Tang Cheolsan was dead, began to pursue the one who had kidnapped Tang Ikgi.

‘Do-je?’

The image of a boy came to Pyo Wol’s mind.

“Ughp!”

Tang Ikgi struggled. But with no strength in his limbs, he couldn’t move an inch.

His whole body ached as if he had been beaten with a sledgehammer. The fact that he couldn’t even scream made him even more terrified.

Tang Ikgi had returned to the Iron Mountain Manor late last night.

He had exhausted so much mental energy that he had fallen asleep as if fainting, and when he opened his eyes, the outside was noisy with extreme chaos.

Just as he was about to look outside to see what was happening, something struck his body, and he ended up in this state.

Rattle! Rattle!

The cart he was on was rattling.

It was a cart that carried the feces and urine discharged from the Iron Mountain Manor. He was being carried in a filthy cart he would never normally go near.

Tang Ikgi managed to lift his head and look at the person driving the cart.

A boy of small stature was relentlessly whipping the horse pulling the cart.

‘Who are you?’

Tang Ikgi shouted, but his voice never left his mouth.

His vocal cords were also paralyzed.

He rolled around the cart like a piece of luggage. Still, the paralysis did not subside.

The furiously racing cart came to a stop near the reed beds of the Great Lake. The driver stopped whipping and looked back.

Only then could Tang Ikgi see the face of his kidnapper for the first time.

‘You, you are?’

The one holding the whip bent down and looked into Tang Ikgi’s face.

The boy was none other than Do Yeon-san, the Do-je of the Iron Mountain Workshop.

‘This bastard! Untie me at once!’

Tang Ikgi’s eyes widened.

Out of habit, he glared first.

At his reaction, Do Yeon-san smiled brightly.

“You’re still fine. What a relief.”