Chapter 445

Shhhk!

The Dagger grazed past Pyo Wol by a hair’s breadth.

At that moment, two Blood Ghosts from behind came to plunge their daggers into Pyo Wol’s vital points.

There was no presence, no sound.

The way they moved was surprisingly similar to Pyo Wol’s.

If anyone other than Pyo Wol had been the target, they would surely have been cornered. Their combined attack was that meticulous and deadly.

A human should have a fear of death. No matter how many harsh battlefields one had experienced or how many life-or-death struggles one had endured, death was bound to be terrifying. But the Blood Ghosts attacking Pyo Wol seemed to feel not a shred of fear.

They attacked Pyo Wol like a pack of mad wild dogs.

It was unclear what So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo had done, but they had clearly castrated the emotion of fear from them.

It was something impossible through ordinary methods.

Just as the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, So Yeowol, who was raised with cruel methods in the underground cavern, had created monsters even more monstrous than herself with even crueler methods.

A hole was blown clean through the forehead of a Blood Ghost who had charged head-on into Pyo Wol’s Soul Restraining Thread.

Even in that state, the Blood Ghost flailed its dagger-wielding hand, trying to attack Pyo Wol.

The instinct carved deep into its bones made its body move even after its consciousness had faded.

The Blood Ghost flailed like that until its last breath was gone.

Even watching their comrade die, the Blood Ghosts showed no emotional turmoil on their faces.

Shhhk! Shk!

They madly attacked Pyo Wol, again and again.

Although their individual levels were far below Pyo Wol’s, their Poison Qi was truly formidable.

The sight of them rushing at Pyo Wol, holding only a Dagger the size of a child’s forearm, was reminiscent of moths to a flame.

Pyo Wol drew his Dagger.

Sssst!

Every time his Dagger cut through the air, a Blood Ghost died. But not a single one let out a scream, not even a groan.

It was as if not only the emotion of fear but also the sensation of pain had been paralyzed.

Could they be called living humans just because they breathed and moved?

Pyo Wol thought not.

These were no different from puppets deprived of free will.

Puppets manipulated by the monster named So Yeowol.

The only way to ease their pain was to kill them as quickly as possible.

Shuuuu!

Three or four Blood Ghosts were skewered like kebabs on the Silken Serpent Strong Energy.

Pyo Wol swung the Silken Serpent Strong Energy sideways in that state. The Blood Ghosts’ sides were split open, and they collapsed.

Pat!

Pyo Wol leaped over them and attacked the Blood Ghosts behind.

Flesh tore, and the Blood Ghosts collapsed.

Even after seeing their comrades die, the Blood Ghosts rushed at Pyo Wol without a single sign of fear.

Pyo Wol used his Dagger to cut them down and unleashed the Silken Serpent Strong Energy to pierce them.

The difference in power was too vast from the start.

No matter how much of a secret weapon the Blood Ghosts were, raised by So Yeowol, their individual martial prowess could never compare to Pyo Wol’s.

Moreover, Pyo Wol’s martial power and senses were currently at their peak. There were not many Martial Artists in All Under Heaven who could compare to the current Pyo Wol, who had gained enlightenment through numerous fierce battles and had rested sufficiently in Chengdu.

The martial power of the Blood Ghosts was certainly formidable.

Their willingness to throw their lives away without a second thought might have instilled fear in other Martial Artists, but it had no effect on Pyo Wol.

Sssst!

Every time Pyo Wol swung his Dagger, Blood Ghosts lost their lives.

The sight of them dying without a single scream was truly eerie.

It was no different from puppets collapsing as their strings were cut, not humans.

Puk!

Pyo Wol drove his Dagger into a Blood Ghost’s chest and pushed forward.

The Blood Ghosts behind were pushed back.

Pushed back and falling, they were trampled under Pyo Wol’s feet, their bones breaking. Even in that state, the Blood Ghosts grabbed Pyo Wol’s ankles and tried to attack with their daggers.

It was a sight one would fear to see in a dream. But Pyo Wol was more vicious than them.

Pupupuk!

He unleashed the Soul Restraining Thread, definitively ending the lives of those crushed under his feet.

He didn’t know how long he had fought.

Now, the only ones alive and moving on the ground were Pyo Wol and the last Blood Ghost.

The Blood Ghost gasped for breath.

No matter how much his human emotions had been castrated, his body was still that of a human.

In the face of a fierce battle, he too was bound to be exhausted.

The Blood Ghost, perhaps feeling suffocated, tore off his mask.

As Pyo Wol had guessed, the Blood Ghost was still a young boy.

Considering that it takes at least ten years of tempering to become a decent Assassin, the boy must have been raised as an Assassin before he was at least ten years old.

That meant So Yeowol had started raising Assassins right after joining the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild.

And at that time, So Yeowol herself hadn’t been very old.

Pyo Wol asked the Blood Ghost.

“Your name?”

“……”

“What is your name?”

“Jo… Il-seung.”

“I will remember it.”

For a moment, the eyes of the Blood Ghost who had identified himself as Jo Il-seung wavered.

Pyo Wol was the first person to ever say such a thing to him.

Neither So Yeowol nor Song Cheonwoo, who had raised Jo Il-seung as a Blood Ghost, had ever asked for his name.

He had always been called by a number instead of a name.

Because of that, he too had to make a considerable effort to remember his own name.

The Blood Ghost gritted his teeth and attacked Pyo Wol.

He had been trained and raised that way.

To kill his emotions and kill his opponent.

Although he had been shaken when Pyo Wol asked for his name, his body moved on its own as it had been ingrained.

Pyo Wol also ran towards the Blood Ghost.

Shwaaak!

The Blood Ghost’s Dagger grazed past his head by a hair’s breadth.

Pyo Wol, having closed the distance, struck the Blood Ghost’s heart area with Jade Destruction.

Kuuung!

As his heart ruptured, the Blood Ghost spewed Fresh Blood from his nose and mouth.

Finally, the Blood Ghost lifted his head and looked at Pyo Wol.

“My… na…me… is?”

“Jo Il-seung!”

“Heuu!”

The Blood Ghost made a bizarre expression. As if crying, as if laughing, with that strange expression, the Blood Ghost’s body collapsed.

Pyo Wol silently looked down at the Blood Ghost’s corpse.

After staring blankly at the bodies of the Blood Ghosts like a stone statue, Pyo Wol moved a moment later.

The direction he headed was where Ma Wonik and his daughter had disappeared.

Ma Wonik had definitely injured his leg because of Pyo Wol.

With such an injury, he couldn’t have gone far.

The problem was So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo.

They were raised just like Pyo Wol.

They knew all the assassin techniques that Pyo Wol knew.

Since they could see through how Pyo Wol would track their traces, they also knew how to confuse him.

Pyo Wol thoroughly searched the area. But he couldn’t find any trace of Ma Wonik and his daughter anywhere.

As he had feared, So Yeowol and Song Cheonwoo had completely erased all traces.

It was impossible to track Ma Wonik and his daughter with his usual methods.

Pyo Wol placed his hands on his waist and looked up at the night sky.

＊＊＊

Ma Wonik and his daughter completely vanished from Sichuan Province.

Eun-yo and Do Yeon-san, who joined later, also searched, but they could not find their traces.

Further pursuit was meaningless.

Pyo Wol returned to Red Pine Manor with the two of them.

“Hyung! You worked hard. You two worked hard as well.”

Guian greeted them.

“You worked hard too.”

“What did I do? Hyung and these two did everything.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Let’s talk in my room.”

“Let’s go.”

They all headed to Guian’s quarters.

In the middle of Guian’s room was a large table, and on it was a map of Sichuan Province.

The map of Sichuan Province was something Guian had made by mobilizing his entire information network, and it was extremely precise.

Needles were stuck in various places on the map, and red threads connected them.

Guian said,

“This marks the route the Silver River Escort Agency took after entering Sichuan Province.”

“They came in through Xingwen.”

“That’s right! From Xingwen, they passed through Yibin, Leshan, and Meishan.”

“That’s a route Escort Agencies don’t usually choose.”

“Right! The road is rough, so it’s not suitable for transporting goods. Passing through this way is impossible without the cooperation of those who know the local situation well.”

“Are you saying someone is cooperating with them?”

“That’s what I think.”

“You wouldn’t say that without any basis. Tell me everything you’ve found out.”

“There’s a place called the Forbidden Demon Manor.”

“Forbidden Demon Manor?”

“This is what’s interesting. It’s a Manor in Xingwen, but it doesn’t engage in any external activities. The owner of the Manor is also completely unknown, yet the Manor’s finances are quite affluent. When I looked into their spending, it far exceeded the budget of manors or sects of a similar size.”

“So?”

“To get to the point, they guided the Silver River Escort Agency and provided various kinds of help. I suspect that they were a ghost Manor created from the start to clean up after someone.”

It wasn’t just because they helped the Silver River Escort Agency.

Even after mobilizing the Hao Clan to dig into it, he couldn’t find out anything about the true nature of the Forbidden Demon Manor.

In Guian’s common sense, it was an impossible feat.

When people live together, various stories naturally leak out. But there was nothing like that with the Forbidden Demon Manor.

It was impossible unless someone was controlling the information.

If the Forbidden Demon Manor had been in or around Chengdu, he would have found out in no time. They were cunningly located on the very outskirts of Sichuan Province, escaping the notice of Guian and the Hao Clan.

Above all, right after this incident occurred, the Forbidden Demon Manor was shut down. As if it had been decommissioned, the people disappeared, leaving only the building behind.

After listening to all of Guian’s explanation, Pyo Wol was lost in thought.

Guian, Eun-yo, and Do Yeon-san silently watched Pyo Wol.

All three were second to none in All Under Heaven when it came to being quick-witted.

They knew well enough to stay quiet when Pyo Wol was lost in thought like this.

A moment later, Pyo Wol said,

“I am chasing the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild. They are…”

As Pyo Wol’s words continued, the expressions of the three also grew serious.

‘Nine Dragons Assassination Guild…’

‘To think that those who received Training with Orabeoni have joined them?’

‘Is it some kind of secret Sworn Alliance?’

The three were each lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Pyo Wol finished his story.

The first person to speak was Guian.

“I really didn’t know such an organization was operating in the shadows of Jianghu. In a way, it was a stroke of luck that you discovered them, hyung. Though it must have been a disaster for them. I’ll ask just one thing, hyung! Are you going to keep fighting them? You could just back off at this point. No matter how much they spread their evil influence across All Under Heaven, they won’t be able to touch Sichuan Province. We already have it under perfect control. Do you still have to keep fighting them?”

Guian’s expression was more serious than ever.

His already dark pupils grew even blacker.

Pyo Wol looked into Guian’s eyes and said,

“The grudge is already deeply entangled. They’ve suffered great losses because of me. Even if I back down, they won’t forget their resentment.”

“So in the end, we have to fight until one of us falls. Got it! I understand. I’ll do my best to help you, hyung.”

“You’re being quite proactive.”

“Because it’s your business, hyung.”

Guian did not like receiving the attention of others. That was why even after coming to Red Pine Manor, he only stayed in the basement and extremely refrained from going outside.

The only thing he was interested in was building an information network in Chengdu. As if he thought that was the only thing he could do.

If it wasn’t related to Pyo Wol, he would never have taken an interest in the Nine Dragons Assassination Guild.

“From now on, I’ll cooperate with the Hao Clan and focus on uncovering their true nature. If we start digging from the Forbidden Demon Manor, we should be able to find something.”

“Thank you.”

“Think of how much I owe you, hyung. There’s nothing to be thankful for, and no need to feel burdened. Your business is my business.”

At Guian’s declaration, Eun-yo smiled and stepped forward.

“That’s right! If it weren’t for Orabeoni, we wouldn’t be here either. Orabeoni’s enemy is our enemy.”

“I’ll help too, hyung!”

Do Yeon-san also stepped up to lend a hand.

They were sincere.

They owed a great debt to Pyo Wol, but Pyo Wol never expected anything in return from them. Now was the time to repay his grace.