Chapter 432

Myriad Flower Pavilion was a brothel located in the southern part of Chengdu.

It was a brothel that had recently made a name for itself, known for the exceptionally high quality of its courtesans. Perhaps for that reason, it attracted an unusual number of flies.

Usually, there were no problems.

This was because the Steward and martial artists guarding Myriad Flower Pavilion possessed considerable martial prowess.

They were all martial artists who had learned martial arts, and they possessed the strength to subdue any common ruffian or drunkard with just a single finger.

Trusting in them, the courtesans could sell their smiles with peace of mind. The Steward and martial artists who had protected the courtesans in such a way were now sprawled on the floor.

“Kaak! Ptui!”

A large man spat phlegm as he looked down at the Steward and martial artists.

He was the main culprit of this situation.

Iron Mountain Hunter, Geum Bu-san.

Geum Bu-san was a martial artist active in the western part of Sichuan Province.

As the word ‘Hunter’ in his alias suggested, he was a former hunter.

However, a mysterious figure who recognized his talent in his youth took him in as a disciple, and he came to possess a powerful physique and immense strength.

Thanks to this, he was able to build quite a reputation in western Sichuan Province, and younger men who followed him emerged.

The large men currently around him were all his followers.

“Hehe! Hyung-nim, take it easy.”

“Our Hyung-nim is furious.”

“Heeheehee!”

They watched Geum Bu-san’s rampage without any thought of stopping him.

On the contrary, they laughed and chattered as if it were amusing.

In their arms were women of slender build. They were the courtesans of Myriad Flower Pavilion.

Geum Bu-san’s men roughly handled the courtesans’ delicate bodies as if kneading dough.

The courtesans’ faces turned deathly pale, unable to react at all.

“These fucking bastards, looking down on us because we’re from the countryside? Huh! What, you said we can’t enter Myriad Flower Pavilion? Say it again. Say it again, you sons of bitches!”

Geum Bu-san, his anger still not subsided, seethed as he looked at the Steward and martial artists collapsed on the floor.

This was his first time entering Chengdu.

From the moment he entered Chengdu, he was filled with anticipation.

“I’ll finally get to experience the pleasure district of Chengdu that I’ve only heard about in rumors.”

With a heart full of excitement, he had sought out Myriad Flower Pavilion, but the Steward had turned them away. The reason was that they did not fit the class of Myriad Flower Pavilion.

Geum Bu-san and his men’s attire was too shabby.

Their behavior was also rough, frightening many of those around them. For the Steward, it was a natural measure.

The problem was that Geum Bu-san had no intention of listening to the Steward.

“Hahaha! Our Hyung-nim is the best.”

“Anyway, we have to teach a lesson to these bastards who looked down on us for being country bumpkins.”

Geum Bu-san’s men chattered as they gulped down their drinks.

The atmosphere of terror they created made all the patrons of the wine house wear fearful expressions.

Geum Bu-san’s men enjoyed such an atmosphere.

It felt as if the whole world was theirs.

“Chengdu is nothing special.”

“I know, right? Our Hyung-nim is the best.”

It was then.

“Tsk!”

One of the patrons who had come out due to the commotion clicked his tongue.

“What? Who was that?”

Geum Bu-san didn’t miss the small sound and glared, his eyes bulging.

He rolled his goggle-like eyes, scanning the patrons.

“What? Which bastard looked down on us again?”

At that moment, one of the patrons stepped forward. He was the one who had clicked his tongue.

“That’s enough.”

“Does this bastard want to die?”

Geum Bu-san raised his fist, as large as a pot lid.

If he were to strike the patron with that fist, trained like steel, the man would surely be crushed like minced meat.

Despite Geum Bu-san’s threat, the patron didn’t even blink.

“They said you were country bumpkins from the west, and it seems to be true. Seeing as you can’t grasp the situation at all.”

“What?”

“Isn’t it strange? That the streets of Chengdu are this quiet.”

“Hmph! It’s obvious. They’re all scared shitless by my presence.”

“By you, you say?”

“I’m the Iron Mountain Hunter. Don’t you know the Iron Mountain Hunter? Dozens of martial artists have been beaten to a pulp by me.”

“Impressive. But not enough to cause a ruckus in Chengdu as you please.”

“What the hell are you blabbering about? Can’t you speak so I can understand?”

“Fine! Then I’ll tell you. Why the pleasure district of Chengdu is so quiet, and why no one else is rushing over despite seeing the commotion you’re causing.”

“Yeah, what is it? If the reason isn’t convincing, you’ll die by my hand today.”

Geum Bu-san waved his huge fist in front of the patron’s nose. But the patron continued speaking without batting an eye.

“Do you know of the Reaper?”

“Reaper? Is that an alias? Sounds pathetic. Who would use such a tacky alias.”

“It seems you don’t know. That’s why you’re country bumpkins. If you knew even a little about that alias, you wouldn’t be laughing and chattering like that.”

“What about the Reaper? There’s someone who uses that alias? So you’re telling us to be careful? That’s hilarious! You idiot!”

Geum Bu-san snorted.

He felt like he might have heard it once somewhere. But he thought it was pathetic then, and his opinion hadn’t changed now.

“Reaper or whatever, if he appears before me, I’ll smash him to pieces with my Six Harmony Great Scattering Fist.”

“I’ll pray for your soul.”

“This bastard, really…”

His anger flaring to its peak, Geum Bu-san struck the patron with his fist. And with his full internal power, at that.

Slice!

At that moment, a sharp cutting sound echoed.

“Huh?”

Geum Bu-san blinked his eyes.

An utterly surreal scene was unfolding before him.

His arm, severed around the forearm, was flying through the air.

“My arm?”

A fiery pain suddenly shot up from his forearm.

Geum Bu-san belatedly let out a scream.

“Kuaaack! My arm!”

“H-Hyung-nim?”

“What the?”

Geum Bu-san’s men, who belatedly saw the arm flying, let out gasps of alarm.

Someone was standing behind Geum Bu-san.

As if he had been there from the very beginning.

The moment they saw him, an inexplicable sense of crisis assaulted their minds.

“Hyung-nim! Behind you…”

“Watch out!”

They warned Geum Bu-san.

Geum Bu-san clutched his severed forearm and turned around. Then he saw the man standing behind his back.

An utterly ordinary physique and a pale white face.

The moment he saw that face, more beautiful than a woman’s, Geum Bu-san froze.

“You, who are you?”

“The one with the tacky alias!”

“Then you’re the… Reaper?”

Only then did Geum Bu-san realize the man’s identity.

The owner of the tacky alias that Geum Bu-san had been mocking just moments before.

He was none other than Pyo Wol.

“This son of a bitch, my arm…”

Shaking off his fear, Geum Bu-san swung his remaining fist at Pyo Wol’s temple. But his fist never reached Pyo Wol’s body.

Slice!

“Kuaaack!”

Geum Bu-san shrieked.

The fist that had been swinging toward Pyo Wol was severed around the forearm.

The Soul Restraining Thread had been unleashed once again.

“Uwaaah! My arm! My arrrm…”

Geum Bu-san fell to his knees and screamed. But his scream was not to be finished.

Because Pyo Wol had lightly slit his throat with his hand.

A line of blood was drawn along the path his hand had traced.

“Gurgle!”

His throat half-severed, Geum Bu-san died.

“Uwaaah!”

“C-Crazy!”

Geum Bu-san’s men were horrified.

Geum Bu-san was the strongest expert they knew. Such an expert had been killed by Pyo Wol without being able to put up much of a fight.

Only then did they realize that the man with the bewitching face was the Reaper the other man had spoken of.

They scattered in all directions like grasshoppers.

They thought that if they dispersed, Pyo Wol wouldn’t be able to kill them all. But that was to think too little of Pyo Wol.

Slice!

Swish!

Cutting sounds echoed from all over.

The bodies of the fleeing men were cut to pieces.

There were no screams.

There was no pain.

Because they died in an instant.

Pyo Wol had spread a Spider Silver Net around the men.

Unaware of this fact, they had rushed toward the silver threads, so it was only natural that their bodies were sliced apart.

“Good heavens!”

“It’s really the Reaper.”

The patrons who witnessed the scene covered their mouths with both hands.

It was a cruel sight they had never seen before in their lives.

Compared to this, the violence Geum Bu-san had inflicted on the Steward and the others was like child’s play.

The decisive methods they had only heard about in rumors.

No, a cruelty beyond that sent shivers down their spines.

“The Reaper has truly returned.”

Seeing it with their own eyes made it feel real.

The return of the Reaper, who had driven not only Chengdu but the entire Jianghu into terror.

＊＊＊

The news of Pyo Wol punishing Geum Bu-san and his men quickly spread throughout Chengdu.

People trembled at Pyo Wol’s cruelty.

He had returned after a long time, but his cruel methods were the same as ever.

He had returned stronger, and more terrifying.

There were those who had coveted the hegemony of Chengdu while Pyo Wol was away.

For generations, the hegemony of Chengdu had been contested and won by the Tang Clan, the Emei Sect, and the Qingcheng Sect in turns. When they were still strong, no one dared to covet the hegemony of Chengdu.

This was because all three sects possessed a power that other sects could not hope to match. But the Tang Clan had been annihilated long ago, and the Emei and Qingcheng Sects had become closed-off by Pyo Wol. And Pyo Wol had left Chengdu.

Any ambitious person would have coveted the hegemony of Chengdu.

Chengdu was not a small city.

It was a huge city that had once been the capital of the Han Dynasty.

The interests derived from this city are by no means small. No, they are so enormous that they could easily cover the annual budget of a decent sect for several years.

Naturally, many wanted to become the master of Chengdu. But they suppressed their ambitions, not knowing when Pyo Wol might return.

However, time dulls one’s senses, and people’s patience reached its limit.

It was right at that moment that Pyo Wol returned.

When people’s patience had reached its limit.

It was the very moment they were slowly preparing for a war to seize the hegemony of Chengdu. But those who heard what Pyo Wol had done at Myriad Flower Pavilion abandoned their ambitions as if by agreement.

They acknowledged and accepted that no matter how great their ambition, it was impossible to realize as long as Pyo Wol was around.

As much as they desired the hegemony of Chengdu, it was not more important than their lives.

Geum Bu-san’s death had served as a fresh reminder of just how fearsome a being Pyo Wol was.

After dealing with Geum Bu-san and his men, Pyo Wol took up residence in Myriad Flower Pavilion.

Myriad Flower Pavilion completely bolted its doors and accepted no customers.

Not a single courtesan came outside.

One could guess what was happening inside Myriad Flower Pavilion without needing to see it with their own eyes.

As time passed like this, one day a group of people entered Chengdu.

They entered Chengdu with a flag bearing the four characters ‘Silver River Escort Agency’ at their forefront.

Including the Escort Chief, escorts, and porters, it was a large group of fifty people in total.

People’s gazes were focused on the large group that had entered Chengdu after a long time.

An escort agency was, literally, a group that profited by transporting goods. The more goods, and the greater their value, the more immense their profit.

In that respect, it was clear that the Silver River Escort Agency would gain a huge profit from this escort mission.

The number of carriages they brought was ten in total.

The ten carriages were fully loaded with rare items that were not easily obtainable in Sichuan Province.

The Silver River Escort Agency moved toward its destination, surrounding the ten carriages in an iron-clad formation.

At that moment, a brothel with its doors bolted shut caught their eye.

“Myriad Flower Pavilion?”

“Is that the place where the Reaper is staying?”

“Be careful not to catch his eye.”

A hushed conversation passed between them.