Chapter 397

Pyo Wol tilted his head.

“Snow Flower Sword Squad?”

It was the first time he had heard the name.

At the very least, it wasn’t a name used by any sect or group active in the Poyang Lake area.

Just as Pyo Wol had guessed, they were clearly outsiders.

The martial artist’s face hardened.

He had realized his mistake.

Only a very small number of people knew of the Snow Flower Sword Squad yet.

It wasn’t a shameful name, but it was too much of a burden to reveal carelessly.

“Chyaat!”

The martial artist abruptly swung his sword at Pyo Wol.

His blade sharply dug toward Pyo Wol’s Throat Blood Point.

The Throat Blood Point was one of the vital points. To aim for it was to declare his intent to cut off Pyo Wol’s breath in a single stroke.

But his sword never reached Pyo Wol’s Throat Blood Point.

Thwack!

In an instant, Pyo Wol had closed the distance and driven a fist into his solar plexus.

It seemed like a light blow, but his breath caught in his throat.

Along with the extreme pain, the martial artist’s mind momentarily went blank.

“Keuk!”

The martial artist collapsed, letting out a groan.

His consciousness returned, but his limbs felt as if they had been disassembled, devoid of strength.

Pyo Wol grabbed his chin and lifted his head.

“Who are you chasing?”

“Do you think I’ll talk?”

The martial artist put on a rather defiant expression.

He was showing his will to not succumb to any torture. But he would soon learn just how insignificant his will was.

“Kuaaack!”

He let out the loudest scream he was capable of. Normally, his nearby comrades would have come to his aid, but unfortunately for him, there were none of his comrades nearby.

The martial artist trembled, looking at the Flying Dagger embedded in his shoulder.

The moment he had put on that confident face, Pyo Wol had driven the Ghostly Rain into him without warning.

Pyo Wol twisted the Ghostly Rain, churning his muscles.

“Kkeueueu!”

The martial artist clenched his teeth, trying to endure the pain. But he soon succumbed to it.

“An assassin! We’re chasing an assassin.”

“What assassin?”

“The assassin who killed the Seven… Sages Scholar…. Kkeu! Please, pull out the Flying Dagger….”

Pyo Wol’s brow furrowed.

The assassin who killed the Seven Sages Scholar was undoubtedly Hong Ye-seol.

‘She still hasn’t escaped Poyang Lake?’

With her abilities, she should have escaped Poyang Lake long ago.

Securing a retreat path was a basic for an assassin. A fox like Hong Ye-seol would have surely prepared two or three retreat paths.

The fact that she still hadn’t managed to escape meant that the abilities of those pursuing her were anything but ordinary.

“Who leads the Snow Flower Sword Squad?”

“Namgung… Miss Seol.”

“So that’s why it’s the Snow Flower Sword Squad? A group that protects Namgung Seol.”

“That’s right.”

“Why is Namgung Seol chasing an assassin?”

“That is… Kuaaack!”

The moment the martial artist hesitated, Pyo Wol twisted the Ghostly Rain once more. The pain, which felt like it was scraping his very bones, made the martial artist scream his lungs out.

He couldn’t maintain his sanity in the face of such horrific pain.

Pyo Wol asked again.

“Why?”

“There was a request from… Young Master Lee Geom-han.”

“Why Lee Geom-han?”

At the name Lee Geom-han, Pyo Wol’s expression hardened.

Even for him, who had no interest in the struggle for supremacy in Jianghu, it was impossible not to know of the Radiant Martial Gate.

The Radiant Martial Gate was a superpower that shared supremacy over Jianghu with the Heavenly Martial Fortress.

For the past few decades, they had never once directly used their military force. Nevertheless, people did not hesitate to place the Radiant Martial Gate above the Three Clans.

Their history was short compared to other sects, but the martial prowess shown by the Radiant Martial Gate’s founder, Lee Gwak, had been that shocking.

The absolute martial artist who ended the Great Demonic War with a single saber.

His halo still cast a deep shadow over the Radiant Martial Gate.

Lee Geom-han was Lee Gwak’s grandson.

Naturally, his talent pierced the heavens.

The martial artist called the only talent comparable to Jang Mu-guk, the young lord of the Heavenly Martial Fortress, was none other than Lee Geom-han.

Boom! Bang!

At that moment, fireworks once again exploded in the sky over there.

The short interval between the explosions suggested the situation was serious.

Pyo Wol pressed the martial artist’s Paralysis Blood Point and stood up.

He didn’t know why Lee Geom-han was chasing Hong Ye-seol. But he knew for a fact that Hong Ye-seol could never defeat Lee Geom-han.

The direction the fireworks were now exploding was opposite to the Southern Sky Inn.

Hong Ye-seol had come to the Southern Sky Inn and made love with Pyo Wol several times. Yet, for her to escape in the direction opposite the Southern Sky Inn was her will to not drag Pyo Wol into her affairs.

Any other woman would have asked Pyo Wol for help or relied on him. But Hong Ye-seol did not make that choice.

Bang! Boom!

The fireworks were exploding one after another.

Pyo Wol launched himself forward, chasing the fireworks.

＊＊＊

‘Damn it!’

Hong Ye-seol looked at the hand that had been clutching her side.

Her palm was drenched in blood.

It was blood flowing from the wound in her side.

‘How can a human being?’

Her body trembled on its own as she recalled the situation.

It was just one second.

The time it took for her to receive a fatal injury.

It was an attack she hadn’t even dared to think of countering.

The moment Lee Geom-han’s one second unfolded, she felt her mind go white.

Fortunately, the survival instinct etched into her body reacted first, and she barely managed to save her life.

She couldn’t remember what happened after that.

When she came to her senses, she was escaping through the back alleys of Poyang Lake.

Although her mind had gone blank, her body had reacted on its own.

She was one of the top assassins in Jianghu.

Naturally, her movements were light and her Lightness Art was outstanding.

On top of that, she had perfectly memorized the back alleys of Poyang Lake.

No matter how heaven-shaking a saber technique Lee Geom-han had mastered, it was by no means an easy task to catch Hong Ye-seol as she zipped through the alleys like a squirrel.

In the end, Lee Geom-han requested help from Namgung Seol.

Namgung Seol used the Snow Flower Sword Squad to pressure Hong Ye-seol.

On the surface, it seemed like they were just chasing after Hong Ye-seol, but in truth, they were exquisitely maneuvering their forces to drive Hong Ye-seol into a corner.

The Snow Flower Sword Squad’s pursuit was relentless.

They tore at Hong Ye-seol like hunting dogs.

The usual Hong Ye-seol would have easily shaken off their pursuit and gone into hiding.

But she had sustained a fatal wound, making it impossible to completely hide her tracks.

She had lost so much blood that her mind was growing faint. Still, Hong Ye-seol did not stop.

She knew that the moment she stopped would be the end. So she endured the pain and desperately continued her escape. But her speed had noticeably decreased.

It was then.

She saw a woman standing in the alley she was escaping into.

The moment she saw the woman’s face, as gorgeous as a rose, and her curvaceous body, Hong Ye-seol instantly recognized her identity.

“Namgung Seol!”

“I knew you’d come here.”

The woman, Namgung Seol, smiled as she looked at Hong Ye-seol.

Hong Ye-seol glared at Namgung Seol and said.

“Were you the one who unleashed the hunting dogs?”

“That’s right.”

“Why? I have no grudge against you.”

“One doesn’t always need a direct grudge to take action.”

Namgung Seol’s eyes curved into crescents.

That smiling expression made Hong Ye-seol feel even worse.

Because she was also a woman, she knew well what Namgung Seol’s smile meant.

Namgung Seol was mocking her.

She could endure anything else, but the fact that she was being mocked by another woman made her feel miserable.

Phat!

Hong Ye-seol clenched her teeth and launched herself at Namgung Seol.

She aimed her sword at Namgung Seol’s neck.

Her plan was to cut Namgung Seol’s throat in a single blow and escape.

Even as she watched Hong Ye-seol approach, Namgung Seol didn’t move. At Namgung Seol’s reaction, Hong Ye-seol wore a puzzled expression.

Crash!*

Suddenly, a powerful impact struck her.

Feeling as if she had been crushed by a giant rock, she couldn’t even scream as she was slammed into the alley wall.

The wall crumbled, and Hong Ye-seol was half-buried in it.

“Cough!”

Hong Ye-seol spat out blood.

The red blood soaked her chin and chest, but she didn’t even have the strength to wipe it away.

It felt as if her entire body was being finely dismantled, and she couldn’t even breathe.

“Heok! Heok!”

Only after a long effort was she finally able to catch her breath.

Then, she heard someone’s voice.

“My, my! What a troublesome assassin.”

Hong Ye-seol strenuously looked in the direction of the voice.

From the immense shock, all the capillaries in her eyes had burst. Because of that, her eyes turned red as if they would pour out blood at any moment, and her retinas lost focus, making it impossible to see the speaker clearly.

Nevertheless, she knew who the owner of the voice was.

It was the man who had been chasing her ever since the moment she assassinated the Seven Sages Scholar.

Because of his relentless pursuit, she had ultimately failed to escape Poyang Lake and was cornered into this state.

He was none other than Lee Geom-han.

Lee Geom-han sheathed his saber and approached Namgung Seol.

“Are you alright?”

“Thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry. I tried not to trouble you if I could help it.”

“Assisting you is my mission. There’s no need to be sorry at all.”

“Thank you for always understanding.”

Lee Geom-han smiled.

Namgung Seol gazed at him with a profound look in her eyes.

Anyone could see that the two were lovers.

Hong Ye-seol’s lips twisted.

“Look at you two… putting on a show.”

“I’m sorry. We got caught up in the mood in front of an injured person.”

Namgung Seol apologized to Hong Ye-seol with a face that wasn’t the least bit sorry.

Lee Geom-han and Namgung Seol walked side by side toward Hong Ye-seol, who was stuck in the wall.

Even watching them, Hong Ye-seol couldn’t move a single finger.

Her injuries were so severe that it was a miracle she was still alive.

She was only alive because Lee Geom-han had held back; if he had truly harbored killing intent, Hong Ye-seol would no longer be of this world.

Lee Geom-han asked Hong Ye-seol.

“Who hired you?”

“Hired me?”

“The one who told you to kill the Seven Sages Scholar. You must know.”

“I don’t know.”

“Surely you don’t expect me to believe that? An assassin of your caliber carrying out a killing without even knowing the client’s identity? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Think… whatever you want. What I said is the truth.”

“Tsk! Stubborn, as expected. To not talk even in this state.”

Lee Geom-han clicked his tongue as he looked at Hong Ye-seol.

He had already guessed it, but Hong Ye-seol was clearly the most stubborn of the stubborn.

Lee Geom-han shrugged and looked at Namgung Seol.

“What should we do? Should we torture her? I’m not confident in torture.”

“There’s no need to go as far as torture.”

“Why is that?”

“Everyone has a weakness. If you touch that weakness, you can find out the truth without having to resort to torture.”

“An assassin that stubborn has a weakness? Come on!”

Lee Geom-han waved his hand as if it was impossible.

He had been chasing Hong Ye-seol for days. So he knew better than anyone how stubborn she was.

He couldn’t believe that Hong Ye-seol had a weakness. But Namgung Seol’s expression was confident.

Namgung Seol came closer to Hong Ye-seol and said.

“Pyo Wol!”

“……”

“You came here, far away from the Southern Sky Inn, on purpose to protect him, didn’t you?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“You like him, don’t you.”

“You crazy bitch…”

“Did you know? That he almost became a public enemy of Jianghu today, too? He managed to get through the danger by some stroke of luck. But here’s the thing. What do you think will happen when people find out he’s connected to you? Do you think he’ll be able to get through the danger so easily then?”

“You?”

“People only see what they want to see, and believe what they want to believe. It’s not that difficult to mislead people. He’s already on the bad side of the heroes, so if we just leak the information that he’s connected to you…”

Namgung Seol trailed off, but it was clear enough what she was trying to say.

Hong Ye-seol shouted.

“You think he’d even bat an eye at that?”

“Probably not. But since he’s human, he’ll be shaken. He’s perfect now, but a flaw will be exposed. Aren’t you curious? About what will happen after that?”

“I am curious. What will happen…”

Someone other than Hong Ye-seol answered.