Chapter 385

Namgung Seol’s aura was quite unique.

What made her most special were her deeply settled eyes. Unlike her glamorous appearance, her eyes were so deep and calm that it was impossible to read her inner thoughts.

It was a characteristic often found in people with deep minds.

Namgung Seol looked at Pyo Wol with her deep, serene eyes.

Her rose-like glamorous appearance and deep gaze were enough to mesmerize any onlooker.

Indeed, the customers sitting behind Pyo Wol stared at her, captivated, even though her gaze was not directed at them.

Namgung Seol stared at Pyo Wol for a long time.

Pyo Wol, too, looked into her eyes without a word.

The one who looked away first was Namgung Seol.

She lowered her eyes and opened her mouth.

“I really wanted to see you. You’re the first person Wol has ever talked about so much, Great Hero Pyo. Now that I see you in person, I think I understand why.”

“You don’t seem to have come all this way just because you were worried about your younger brother. What is it?”

“Would you believe me if I said I came to see you, Great Hero Pyo?”

“……”

“It’s true. One of the reasons I came here was to see you, Great Hero Pyo.”

“And the other reason?”

“I’m sorry. It’s a private matter……”

Namgung Seol smiled slightly as she apologized.

“Ooh!”

“Wow!”

At her smile, the men around them let out gasps of admiration.

In contrast, Pyo Wol’s eyes sank deep.

‘A well.’

Whether she intended it or not, Namgung Seol was someone who possessed the ability to make men’s hearts flutter and to bewitch them with just her gaze and expression.

Pyo Wol stood up from his seat.

“Then since you’ve seen my face, you must have no further business.”

“Ah!”

At Pyo Wol’s sudden action, Namgung Seol showed a flustered expression for the first time.

She had not expected him to act this way with her right in front of him.

A pretty face was a great weapon.

Being able to bewitch a man with just a slight smile was an even greater weapon. And she knew well how to maximize the effect of the weapon she possessed.

Most men, captivated by her appearance, would spill their guts. Even if it didn’t go that far, they would inevitably let down their guard. But her beauty had no effect on Pyo Wol.

Namgung Seol completely wiped the smile from her face and said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to test you, Great Hero Pyo.”

At her apology, Pyo Wol sat down again.

“Your business?”

“You yourself, Great Hero Pyo.”

“You came to see and judge for yourself?”

“This is a headache.”

“……”

“Because you’re too smart. It’s burdensome to keep someone who’s too smart close by.”

“That’s not for you to say.”

“Is that so?”

“Friend or foe? What is your judgment?”

“It’s on hold.”

“On hold?”

“I don’t think it’s a matter for me to judge. I feel you are someone beyond my measure, Great Hero Pyo……”

“It seems you’re supposed to meet someone at Poyang Lake. Do you plan to leave the judgment to him?”

“Ha!”

Namgung Seol sighed with a fed-up expression.

She had met countless people until now, but she had never seen anyone like Pyo Wol, who grasped the core of the matter with just a few words.

He was a difficult type to deal with.

Especially for those like her, who hid a deep mind behind a glamorous appearance.

Namgung Seol looked straight at Pyo Wol and said.

“If I were an Overlord aiming for supremacy in the Jianghu, I would kill you first, Great Hero Pyo. Because you are a being who makes people struggle in many ways.”

“Is your man also aiming for supremacy in the Jianghu?”

“No way! Ah!”

Answering without thinking, Namgung Seol realized her mistake and glared at Pyo Wol.

“How did you know I was seeing a man?”

“The clothes and accessories you’re wearing now. They’re all excessively flashy for everyday use. I don’t think a cool-headed woman like you would dress like that just to show off needlessly. There’s only one reason a woman would dress up so flashily in a way that doesn’t suit her.”

“And that’s a man?”

“Am I wrong?”

“I think you’d be a better fortune-teller than a Martial Artist.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment. I have one favor to ask.”

“……”

“Please, do not use Wol. He’s a good kid. He’s full of Chivalry, and if he continues to grow like this, he could become a giant of the Jianghu.”

“I also have one favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I hope you will not interfere in his life.”

“……”

“He is doing well even now. I’m worried that his Noona’s excessive attention might be poison to him.”

“Huu! You don’t lose a single word. I understand. I won’t say any more useless things.”

Having only incurred losses, Namgung Seol declared her surrender.

But there was one thing she had found out for sure.

‘His Martial Arts are outstanding, but what I must be more wary of is his mind.’

She was not particularly afraid of those with strong Martial Arts. But she was wary of those with strong minds. Lastly, she feared those who were strong in both Martial Arts and had deep minds.

Pyo Wol was exactly such a case.

Just as the wariness in her eyes as she looked at Pyo Wol deepened.

“What are you doing here?”

Suddenly, with a gentle voice, someone approached Pyo Wol’s side.

For a moment, a look of bewilderment appeared on Namgung Seol’s face.

It was because the person who naturally sat beside Pyo Wol was a woman.

The woman, who at first glance seemed ordinary but possessed a strange beauty that one could not take their eyes off, was none other than Hong Ye-seol.

Hong Ye-seol stuck close to Pyo Wol’s side and looked at Namgung Seol.

“Oh my! We had a guest.”

Hong Ye-seol feigned ignorance, as if she hadn’t noticed.

Namgung Seol read the strong wariness and jealousy in Hong Ye-seol’s eyes. Thanks to that, she also came to know what kind of feelings she harbored for Pyo Wol.

There was only one case in which a woman would show strong wariness and jealousy towards another woman.

It was to prevent her man from being taken away.

Hong Ye-seol clearly saw Namgung Seol as a potential rival.

Namgung Seol stared intently at Hong Ye-seol. Not to be outdone, Hong Ye-seol glared back at Namgung Seol.

It was as if sparks were flying between the two women.

Namgung Seol said with a composed expression.

“I am Namgung Seol. And you are?”

“Ah! So you were Miss Namgung. I am Hong Ye-seol.”

“So you were Miss Hong.”

“But what brings Miss Namgung here? Do you have some business with this person?”

“My business is all finished. I should be going now.”

“Oh my! What a shame. I wanted to talk more with Miss Namgung.”

“There will be another chance. Well then……”

Namgung Seol stood up with a gentle smile.

She gave a Fist-Palm Salute to Pyo Wol and Hong Ye-seol, then went outside.

As soon as Namgung Seol’s figure completely disappeared, the smile vanished entirely from Hong Ye-seol’s face.

“That vixen……”

“Do you know her well?”

“How could one not know the Thousand Year Fox of the Thousand Water Society?”

“Thousand Year Fox?”

“You didn’t know? It’s her Alias. Ah! You must have been so captivated by her face you didn’t even think to find out.”

Hong Ye-seol’s eyes, as she glared at Pyo Wol, held a small amount of anger.

Although Hong Ye-seol herself thought it was absurd, the emotion she was feeling now was clearly jealousy.

She knew that Pyo Wol had many women.

It was natural for women to flock to a man with looks like Pyo Wol’s. She, too, was one of the women who had been drawn to Pyo Wol in such a way.

But she thought she was different from other women. Unlike the other women who fell head over heels for Pyo Wol, she believed she was using him.

So she thought she would never be jealous no matter how many women Pyo Wol had. But seeing Pyo Wol talking with another woman right before her eyes, anger flared up to the top of her head.

That was why she broke her taboo and revealed herself in front of others.

Even at this moment, her heart was beating much more violently than usual. Because of that, her face was flushed red.

Whether he knew this or not, Pyo Wol said.

“Tell me more about Namgung Seol.”

“Are you interested in her?”

“I am!”

“Eek!”

For a moment, Hong Ye-seol almost lost her temper and snapped. But the moment she saw Pyo Wol’s coldly settled eyes, her anger subsided as if by magic.

Pyo Wol’s gaze was not one that a person with curiosity in the opposite sex could have.

“Huu!”

With a low sigh, Hong Ye-seol’s reason returned.

She calmed her violently beating heart and opened her mouth.

“She is the second of the three children of Namgung Yugeom, the Society Leader of the Thousand Water Society, and the only daughter. She has been famous for her beautiful appearance since she was young. But what made her even more special is her deep mind. I heard her way of thinking was different from others since she was a child. Since coming of age, she has turned her attention outside the Thousand Water Society, not within. Perhaps it’s because she thought her chances of inheriting the Thousand Water Society were slim due to her older brother, Namgung Jin. In any case, she spends half the year outside the Thousand Water Society, and no one knows where she stays. Not even her own family.”

“How strange.”

“Because of that, our Hundred Wraith Union also took an interest and watched her movements, but we found out nothing. That’s proof of how well she manages to keep her movements from being revealed.”

“A woman so meticulous wouldn’t have come to Poyang Lake for no reason. Things are getting more and more complicated.”

“Why don’t you just leave this place?”

“Me, you mean?”

“Yes!”

“Why should I?”

“I’m saying this for your own good. People like us are easy to be used and abandoned by others. You know, don’t you? How despised Assassins are, and how good we are for being used as a pretext. You are too exposed.”

She didn’t know for sure, but many people were probably watching Pyo Wol’s movements.

In fact, even inside the Inn, there were those who were paying close attention to Pyo Wol and Hong Ye-seol’s conversation. They didn’t show it, but they were straining their ears, trying to overhear the two’s conversation somehow.

But their expressions were clearly bewildered, which meant Pyo Wol had surely deployed a Qi Shield to block their voices from leaking outside.

Pyo Wol looked around the inside of the Inn and said.

“Being exposed isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“They all come to find me on their own like this.”

“……”

“You came to find me on your own, too.”

“So you’re saying you deliberately exposed your movements?”

“I’m just saying.”

“Ha! You’re a truly incomprehensible person. You are……”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment. You’re the only person whose inner thoughts I can’t guess.”

Hong Ye-seol let out a deep sigh.

Pyo Wol stared intently at Hong Ye-seol’s face. At that, Hong Ye-seol’s face turned red.

“Wh-why?”

“I was wondering if your preparations are going well.”

“What preparations?”

“Be careful! Like you said, we are the perfect type to be used as a pretext.”

“Are you worrying about me right now?”

“I am worrying about you!”

“Oh my! I’m so happy.”

Hong Ye-seol made an exaggeratedly happy expression.

Watching her reaction, Pyo Wol became certain that his guess was correct.

The target she was aiming for was a big shot. A big shot so great that someone could use it as a pretext.

It was clear that Hong Ye-seol was also burdened, so she was overreacting even to Pyo Wol’s trivial words.

‘That lake will be stained with blood.’

In Pyo Wol’s eyes, Poyang Lake, stained red with blood, was clearly visible.

The winds of the Troubled Times had already begun to blow.

Just as the blowing wind could not be stopped by human strength, the Troubled Times could not be artificially stopped either.

Once started, the strong current would only stop after destroying everything.

In its midst, the fate of an individual was no different from an ant facing a flood. They would be swept away and disappear in an instant without any time to react.

To survive in the Troubled Times, it was not enough to simply be on high alert.

One had to read the flow of the Troubled Times first and deal with it wisely.

Although often equated, wisdom and cunning were clearly in different domains.

A cunning person lives for immediate profit, but a wise person moves while looking at a much more distant future.

Pyo Wol hoped that Hong Ye-seol had such wisdom.