Chapter 355

“Have a cup. My son sends me only the finest tea.”

Noh Taetae said as she poured tea into Pyo Wol’s cup.

The rich aroma of the tea stung his nose.

Just smelling it seemed to clear his head.

Pyo Wol nodded and lifted his teacup.

Noh Taetae smiled as she watched Pyo Wol drink his tea. Her gaze was as warm as if she were looking at her own grandson.

Just then.

Knock, knock!

A knock came from outside the door.

Then, a young man spoke cautiously.

“Great-grandmother! It is your great-grandson, Seol-pung. I heard you summoned me.”

“Come in.”

Once Noh Taetae gave her permission, a young man who appeared to be around Pyo Wol’s age entered.

The young man was none other than Noh Taetae’s great-grandson, Ju Seol-pung.

Ju Seol-pung was startled to see a strange man in Noh Taetae’s room. But instead of showing his agitation, he forced a calm expression and looked at Noh Taetae.

That alone showed how well-educated and deeply cultivated he was.

Noh Taetae smiled with satisfaction.

Among all her great-grandsons, Ju Seol-pung possessed the most outstanding abilities and disposition. That was why Noh Taetae trusted him the most.

Noh Taetae introduced Pyo Wol to Ju Seol-pung.

“This is Great Hero Pyo Wol. You must have heard of him at least once.”

“Ah!”

Ju Seol-pung’s eyes wavered for a moment.

He, too, had heard of Pyo Wol’s name.

Ju Seol-pung offered Pyo Wol a Fist-Palm Salute.

“So you are Great Hero Pyo. I am Ju Seol-pung of the Jewon Merchant Group. It is an honor to meet you, Great Hero Pyo.”

“Jewon Merchant Group?”

“You haven’t heard of it? It’s quite a well-known Trading Company in Jiangxi Province.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“Then how did you get here…?”

“By chance…”

“Hmm!”

Ju Seol-pung let out a low hum.

He looked at Noh Taetae with an expression of disbelief. Noh Taetae nodded in response.

Noh Taetae was not one to speak nonsense.

‘Does that mean he really came to the Hall of Aging Together by chance?’

As rumors spread that the Hall of Aging Together was where Noh Taetae, who had built the Jewon Merchant Group into the number one trading company in Jiangxi Province, was living in Seclusion, many people came to visit.

Ju Seol-pung had thought Pyo Wol was one of them. But Pyo Wol’s answer, different from his expectation, confused him.

Noh Taetae cleared up his confusion.

“Great Hero Pyo is tracking the whereabouts of the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe that performed on my birthday. It seems he followed them all the way here.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Ju Seol-pung understand.

Ju Seol-pung asked Pyo Wol.

“May I ask why you are looking for the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe?”

Pyo Wol looked into Ju Seol-pung’s eyes.

They were clear and clean, without a single speck.

He couldn’t tell exactly what was on his mind, but he could at least tell that he was not a man who harbored ill intentions.

Ju Seol-pung met Pyo Wol’s gaze without avoiding it. It was something impossible for someone with a weak will.

“They’ve gone missing.”

“Pardon?”

“They disappeared after their final performance here.”

“Umm!”

Ju Seol-pung let out a low hum.

His mind raced furiously.

Ju Seol-pung knew as much about Pyo Wol as Noh Taetae did. This was because all the information that went to Noh Taetae had passed through his hands.

He thought there was no way Pyo Wol would track the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe without a reason. Pyo Wol was too big a figure to do such a thing.

Ju Seol-pung asked cautiously.

“Could you perhaps tell me the reason you’re looking for the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe? Is it a personal matter? Or is there another reason?”

“It’s not personal.”

“Then you must have been commissioned by someone, or there’s an official reason. If it’s enough to move Great Hero Pyo, the person involved must be a big shot, and if such a person is involved, it must be no ordinary matter. If this goes wrong, a storm might just brew in Jiangxi Province.”

Ju Seol-pung was a Martial Artist and a merchant.

He possessed both the intuition of a Martial Artist and the sense of a merchant.

Alarm bells were constantly ringing in his head.

Just by exchanging a few words with Pyo Wol, he had sensed a crisis.

Pyo Wol was impressed by Ju Seol-pung’s wit.

Ju Seol-pung had a sharper mind than anyone he had ever met.

His meeting with Noh Taetae and Ju Seol-pung was purely coincidental, but their reactions and intelligence moved Pyo Wol’s heart.

Pyo Wol decided to show them a small favor.

“The Surveillance Chief of the Hao Clan has gone missing.”

“The Hao Clan?”

“Good heavens!”

At the unexpected words, Noh Taetae and Ju Seol-pung were horrified.

As merchants, the two of them knew the influence of the Hao Clan better than anyone. They, too, had made great use of the Hao Clan while running the Jewon Merchant Group.

Although they now had a certain level of their own intelligence network, in the early days, they had bought and usefully employed information from the Hao Clan.

Therefore, they knew what a formidable figure the Surveillance Chief of the Hao Clan was. The Hao Clan’s Surveillance Chief held power and authority greater than the Sect Leader of most sects.

For such a Surveillance Chief to go missing was by no means a small matter.

“Then there must be some connection between the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe and the Hao Clan’s Surveillance Chief. And you, Great Hero Pyo, are tracking that connection.”

Although Pyo Wol had only said a few words, Ju Seol-pung had accurately inferred the information he wanted from them.

Pyo Wol was once again impressed.

He had never seen anyone with a mind as brilliant as this, other than himself.

He was the type who would be quite a headache to have as an enemy.

If they had met as enemies, Pyo Wol would have eliminated Ju Seol-pung first.

Ju Seol-pung said to Pyo Wol.

“Our Jewon Merchant Group will also cooperate in tracking the Heavenly Flower Acrobatic Troupe. Among the people who attended my great-grandmother’s birthday banquet, there must be some who had contact with the troupe. If we talk to them, we might get a small clue.”

“They must have already scattered. Is it possible?”

“It might not be possible elsewhere, but here in Poyang Lake and Jiangxi Province, it is. I will bring you good news soon.”

“One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Find out if a group of more than ten people has recently stayed at any of the inns around Poyang Lake.”

“Why is that?”

“The Hao Clan’s Poyang Lake branch suffered a disaster a few days ago.”

“Good heavens!”

Ju Seol-pung’s eyes widened.

Although their interactions had become infrequent recently, the fact that he had been completely unaware that a Hao Clan branch had been annihilated sent a chill down his spine.

“It’s not a publicly known location. It’s like a secret branch.”

“The fact that such a place was annihilated is an even bigger problem. It means someone else found out about a place we didn’t know of and launched an Ambush Attack. I understand. I will mobilize the Jewon Merchant Group and the Escort Agency to look into this matter.”

“Mm.”

Ju Seol-pung clenched his teeth.

The most important things to him were the Jewon Merchant Group and the Escort Agency.

They were the fruits of the blood and sweat of his great-grandmother Noh Taetae, his grandfather, his father, and countless relatives.

He could not tolerate anything that threatened the Jewon Merchant Group and the Escort Agency, which were everything to his family.

“Give me just one day, and I will surely find the ones who annihilated the Poyang Lake branch.”

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

Pyo Wol rose from his seat.

Noh Taetae spoke with a regretful expression.

“It’s late. Why don’t you just stay the night?”

“An uninvited guest has received this much hospitality; that’s enough. Any more would be a burden.”

“If you say so, I can’t force you.”

“I enjoyed myself today. I hope you continue to be healthy.”

“Thank you for the kind words. Hearing them from the Reaper, I feel like I’ll be fine for a few more years.”

Noh Taetae gave a bright smile.

Pyo Wol watched her for a moment, then launched himself outside.

As soon as he disappeared, Noh Taetae’s expression turned serious.

She said to Ju Seol-pung.

“Seol-pung!”

“Yes! Great-grandmother!”

“You must have felt it too, right? That an unusual current is flowing through Jianghu.”

“Yes! As it happens, the atmosphere in Poyang Lake has also been unusual, so I have been keeping an eye on it.”

“If we deal with this complacently, the storm will sweep away our family business entirely.”

“From now on, I will put the Jewon Merchant Group and the Escort Agency on high alert and closely watch Great Hero Pyo’s movements. It seems the direction of the storm will change depending on his actions.”

“I’ll leave this matter to you. Your grandfather is too old, and your father is weak at improvisation, so he can’t handle this kind of variable well. Only you can react swiftly.”

“Leave it to me, Great-grandmother!”

“And spare no support for Great Hero Pyo. Grant him whatever he desires.”

“I will do so.”

“Hah! I knew it was too peaceful. The higher the mountain, the deeper the valley, and the longer the peace, the higher people’s desires pile up. It’s about time for those desires to be unleashed.”

At Noh Taetae’s lament, Ju Seol-pung clenched his fists.

‘There will be no bloody storm that threatens the Jewon Merchant Group. I, your great-grandson, will make sure of it.’

＊＊＊

Pyo Wol left the Hall of Aging Together and began to walk.

It was late at night, so the residential area was quiet. There were occasional patrols, but they couldn’t even spot Pyo Wol’s shadow, let alone his face.

The meeting with Noh Taetae and Ju Seol-pung was a great gain. With this, he could now effectively gather information in Poyang Lake.

Pyo Wol was someone who knew best how important information gathering was. In particular, Pyo Wol knew well how much power one could wield by securing information one step ahead of others.

Pyo Wol walked towards an inn by the shore of Poyang Lake.

Wind blew through the reed field, bathed in the pouring moonlight.

Tssst-tssst!

The reed field rippled like waves, creating a magnificent sight.

Pyo Wol stopped in the middle of the reed field and watched the scene of the waves under the moonlight.

Reed leaves, swept by the wind, scattered in the air.

The next moment, Pyo Wol’s figure disappeared among the reeds.

A short while later, someone appeared with a bewildered expression at the spot where Pyo Wol had been standing.

It was a man with his face covered by a mask.

He hurriedly looked around. But Pyo Wol was nowhere to be seen.

“What the…?”

He let out a sound without realizing it.

The man heightened all his senses to track Pyo Wol’s whereabouts. But the blowing wind and the sound of the rustling reed leaves swept by the wind disturbed his senses.

“Damn it!”

The man cursed.

He was none other than Yeom Huisu’s trusted subordinate, Wolgui.

An Assassin painstakingly raised in Hwayeongchae, he usually served as Yeom Huisu’s bodyguard.

Although his name was not known in Jianghu like the Hundred Wraith Union or the Slayer of Ten Thousand, he had immense pride in his Killing Method.

Even for him, the existence of Pyo Wol was a burden.

His opponent was a man who had earned the Alias of Reaper.

He was acclaimed as having reached the pinnacle of assassins.

It would be a lie to say that secretly tracking such a person wasn’t burdensome. But as he tailed Pyo Wol all day, he gradually regained his confidence. It was because Pyo Wol seemed completely unaware of his pursuit.

‘The Reaper is nothing special after all.’

He inwardly looked down on Pyo Wol. He also judged that his fame was overrated. So, he was about to stop tracking Pyo Wol and return to Yeom Huisu to report.

At that very moment, Pyo Wol had vanished without a trace.

‘Did he just go back to the inn quickly?’

It was then.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine.

At the same time, he felt an intense sense of danger.

“Hah!”

Wolgui let out a sharp breath and looked around. But all he could see was the reed field, shimmering like waves under the moonlight.

‘Don’t tell me I was discovered?’

In that instant, the worst-case scenario popped into Wolgui’s head.

Wolgui bit his lip.

The only being who could make him feel this level of danger was Pyo Wol. Only he could conceal his presence so perfectly while pressuring him.

Only then did Wolgui realize that Pyo Wol hadn’t left him alone because he hadn’t detected his trail.

Pyo Wol must have known about his tailing all along. The reason he had let him be was clearly because he had judged him to be no particular threat.

It was a blow to Wolgui’s pride, but his opponent was a man who had more than enough ability and qualification to do so.

Whoooosh!

At that moment, the wind blew strongly.

The reed leaves scattered in the wind, blurring his vision.

“Keuk!”

Wolgui’s face contorted.

It was because he felt an intense pain in his shoulder.

A single reed leaf was embedded in his shoulder like a Flying Dagger.

Only then did Wolgui realize that the wind that had blown was caused by Pyo Wol.

A look of terror appeared on Wolgui’s face.

He saw an illusion as if every reed leaf in the vast reed field had become Pyo Wol’s weapon.

“Rea… per.”