Chapter 88

Hong Yushin sat in the room the Steward had given him and read the reports compiled by the branch.

In the meantime, the Steward and the Pavilion Master frequently entered and exited Hong Yushin’s room.

Finally, after reading all the booklets, Hong Yushin muttered.

“Everything else is here, but the Capital Martial Artists Registry is missing.”

The Capital Martial Artists Registry was a valuable booklet that recorded the personal details and movements of martial artists active in Chengdu and Sichuan Province.

The Chengdu branch updated the booklet once every ten days with new information and sent a copy to the main clan every two months.

Through the information obtained this way, the Hao Clan’s main headquarters could grasp the trends in Sichuan Province and Chengdu as if looking at the palm of their hand.

However, for the past two months, no information from Sichuan Province had reached the main clan.

Upon belated investigation, it was discovered that the branch chief, Oh San-gyeong, who was supposed to report, had been killed.

Oh San-gyeong was the only link between the branch and the main clan.

All information from the branch was delivered to the main clan through him. With such an important person dead, it was only natural that information from Sichuan Province was not reaching the main clan.

Because of this, for the past two months, the main clan had obtained no information about the events that had occurred within Sichuan Province and Chengdu.

“And then something like this happened?”

He looked at the booklet placed on the very top.

The booklet described a series of recent incidents in Chengdu.

“A single assassin devastated the Sichuan Murim? Am I supposed to believe this?”

The booklet contained unbelievable content.

The Sect Master of the Emei Sect, the hegemon of Sichuan, had died, Mujeong Jin-in, the strongest martial artist of the Qingcheng Sect, had been killed by a single assassin, and many sects had suffered great damage.

The contents of the booklet were not easily believable because only the results were written, not the process.

If the branch chief, Oh San-gyeong, had been alive, he would have surely commanded his subordinates to systematically collect and organize the information. But without a central figure, the Hao Clan members had only written down what they had witnessed, so the core was missing.

They hadn’t even properly recorded the assassin’s name or appearance.

If Oh San-gyeong had been alive, he probably would have tracked the assassin to the end and uncovered everything.

Name, age, birthplace, affiliated sect, and even his current whereabouts. But after Oh San-gyeong’s death, the branch’s system had become a mess, so various pieces of information were jumbled together chaotically.

“In the end, it means I have to move myself.”

Hong Yushin let out a sigh.

He immediately summoned the Pavilion Master.

The Pavilion Master of the Water Lotus Pavilion was a Mi-bu in her mid-thirties.

Dressed in a splendid silk dress, her hair was elegantly coiffed and adorned with numerous ornaments, showing off her glamour.

“Did you call for me?”

“How many Hao Clan members are currently in Chengdu?”

“There are seventy-two courtesans, about four hundred people engaged in miscellaneous tasks, and about a hundred who have entered various sects as workers.”

“Good! Then from now on, tell all the members to track this assassin’s whereabouts. Anything is fine. Tell them to collect even the most trivial detail if it’s related to him.”

“I understand.”

“And bring all the information to me.”

Having given the order, Hong Yushin rose from his seat.

The Pavilion Master looked at Hong Yushin in surprise.

“Are you going to move personally? Why don’t you at least rest from your journey? I have the prettiest girl on standby.”

“If the opponent truly possesses such abilities, the main clan must manage the information directly.”

“Hmm!”

“Set aside all other information and prioritize collecting information about that assassin. Especially, warn the courtesans not to miss a single trivial word from their customers. Do you understand?”

“Yes! I will do so.”

The Pavilion Master hurriedly bowed her head.

Hong Yushin was the Surveillance Chief from the main clan.

If she fell out of his favor, she could be demoted from her position as the Pavilion Master of the Water Lotus Pavilion to a state where she had to personally entertain guests. That was something she absolutely wanted to refuse.

Hong Yushin left the Pavilion Master behind and exited the Water Lotus Pavilion.

It had been a long time since he had personally moved to gather information. But he was confident.

Someone at the level of the Hao Clan’s Surveillance Chief had to have information-gathering skills as a basic requirement. In fact, Hong Yushin had shown outstanding ability on the front lines.

The first place he headed was the Tang Clan’s estate.

The report stated that a big fight had occurred at the Tang Clan’s estate. That piqued his interest.

The Tang Clan’s estate was the home of the Tang Clan.

Although it was now extinct, with only its old grounds remaining, its name alone held a special meaning.

“He lured the Qingcheng Sect and the Emei Sect to such a place and subdued them?”

It was hard to believe. But since it was written in the report, he had to see it with his own eyes.

To see how that assassin had overwhelmed so many heroes.

A long time had passed, so no traces of that time remained. Still, Hong Yushin tenaciously searched the Tang Clan’s estate.

As a result, he was able to find the remains of various hidden weapons and mechanisms at the Tang Clan’s estate.

Hong Yushin stared at the fine silver needle in his hand.

The silver needle was so thin it was impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.

“Was there a blacksmith with this level of metallurgy? This level of metallurgy is something you could only see in the Tang Clan at its peak. Surely the Tang Clan hasn’t been revived, has it?”

Hong Yushin’s eyes narrowed.

“Perhaps someone who inherited the metallurgy of the Tang Clan’s golden age remains. If so, that assassin might have enlisted the help of a Tang Clan artisan.”

What was fortunate was that the silver needle was not coated with poison. If someone who inherited the Tang Clan’s Poison Art remained, the situation would become serious.

The Tang Clan’s Poison Art was so truly vicious that all the martial artists of the Jianghu feared it. The reason many were reluctant to mention its name even long after the Tang Clan’s demise was because of the Poison Art.

Hong Yushin stood up.

“First, I need to find the artisan who made this silver needle. That person will surely know the assassin’s whereabouts.”

Hong Yushin hurriedly returned to the Water Lotus Pavilion.

He thought that the person who made the hidden weapons and mechanisms would be an old artisan.

Because an artisan’s skill improved with the years they had lived and the time they had spent hammering iron.

Hong Yushin was confident that he could find the old artisan quickly.

＊＊＊

The bloody disaster of a few months ago had brought many changes to Chengdu.

One of them was that the owners of many houses and shops had changed. Some sold their homes and left, unable to escape the shock of even ordinary citizens turning into rioters and looting, while others left Chengdu in despair over their ruined shops.

The types were varied.

As such, many shops welcomed new owners.

There was such a shop on the southern street of Chengdu.

To be precise, it was not a shop but a workshop.

The old artisan who was the original owner of the workshop was so shocked by the bloody disaster that unfolded before his eyes that he sold the workshop.

He wanted to live the rest of his life in peace.

The person who took over the workshop was a young artisan.

The young artisan blended into the place, stained with the old artisan’s lifelong touch, without any sense of disharmony. As if this place had been his from the very beginning.

The young artisan was engrossed in the final stages of his work.

Kang! Kang!

The red-hot iron changed its shape here and there every time he brought down his hammer.

After hammering for a while, he cooled the iron in water, put it back in the furnace to heat it up, and hammered it again…

The young artisan repeated such a tedious process countless times.

What was created through this was a small flying dagger.

After admiring his creation for a moment, the young artisan began to carefully sharpen the blade.

Swish, swish!

Every time the flying dagger passed over the whetstone, the blade was sharpened keenly.

The young artisan spent a long time and effort sharpening the blade of the flying dagger.

“Hoo!”

Only after sharpening the blade to his satisfaction did the young artisan stand up. His whole body was stiff and sore from squatting for a long time. Still, the young artisan did not show a tired or pained expression.

It was the first time in his life he had a space of his own.

No matter how arduous the work, it didn’t feel difficult at all here.

The young artisan placed the newly made flying dagger on the workbench. On the workbench were piled the flying daggers he had made before.

Including the newly made one, there were ten in total.

He put all the flying daggers into a leather pouch and left the workshop.

He locked the workshop door and stared at the entrance for a long time.

It had a shabby exterior without even a sign, but to him, it looked more beautiful than a splendid palace.

The young artisan checked the lock once more before taking a step.

He left Chengdu and walked for a long time.

The place he arrived at was the Min River, which could be called the lifeblood of Sichuan Province. The Min River was a huge river that flowed through the fertile basin of Sichuan Province.

The sediment that flowed from the upper reaches was supplied to the basin along the Min River, maintaining the fertile land.

Thanks to this, the harvest was always abundant, and the people of Sichuan Province could maintain a prosperous life.

Dozens of boats were floating leisurely on the vast Min River.

They were all fishing boats.

On the large and small fishing boats, fishermen were wrestling with their nets.

The young artisan narrowed his eyes and looked at the boats. After watching the boats for a long time, a smile appeared on the young artisan’s lips.

A particularly small boat came into his view.

It was a small boat that could barely fit one or two people. But there was no one visible on the boat.

It was as if the boat was floating alone.

The young artisan shouted towards the boat.

“I’m here.”

Because it was so far away and the sound of the flowing river was added, the young artisan’s voice was quickly buried and disappeared.

Just as the young artisan was about to shout again.

Someone’s upper body appeared on the boat. It seemed he had been lying down and then sat up.

He immediately started rowing towards the young artisan.

Because of the distance, it took a long time for the boat to reach the shore. Still, the young artisan waited patiently without a single complaint.

Thud!

When the boat finally reached the shore and the man on the boat showed himself, the young artisan almost let out a curse without realizing it.

“Whoa, damn!”

Skin that shone white under the scorching sun, a beautiful face that made it hard to tell if he was a man or a woman, and a dark atmosphere. The man had an appearance that did not seem of this world.

He had seen the face several times already, but he just couldn’t get used to it.

The man was none other than Pyo Wol. And the young artisan was Tang Sochu.

As Tang Sochu just stared blankly, Pyo Wol spoke first.

“What are you just standing there for?”

“Just envious.”

“What?”

“Wondering what it feels like to live with that face.”

“You didn’t come here just to talk nonsense, did you?”

“Ah! This is finished…”

Tang Sochu handed the leather pouch he was holding to Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol took out a flying dagger from the leather pouch and examined it. The flying dagger with its keenly sharpened blue blade was the Ghostly Rain.

In the fights against Guhwa Satae, Mujeong Jin-in, and others, the Ghostly Rain had been severely damaged. Some were even broken beyond repair.

Because of that, Pyo Wol had asked Tang Sochu to fix the Ghostly Rain.

Tang Sochu chose to make new ones rather than fix them. There was a limit to what could be done by simply repairing them.

He had to find good quality iron to make them harder. That’s why it took a long time to make the Ghostly Rain again.

The Ghostly Rain was one of the reasons Pyo Wol was staying here.

A smile crept onto Pyo Wol’s lips.

He was very pleased with the newly made Ghostly Rain.

The balance was more perfect than before, and the sharpness was doubled.

The combination of the Soul Restraining Thread and the Ghostly Rain increased the power of his Killing Method.

Pyo Wol stored the Soul Restraining Daggers in his leather belt.

Tang Sochu asked Pyo Wol, who had a satisfied expression.

“By the way, why do you have a boat out if you’re not even going to catch fish?”

There were no nets or fishing rods to be seen on the boat Pyo Wol was on.

Pyo Wol answered calmly.

“I wanted to try it.”

“What did you want to try?”

“Lying on a boat doing nothing and looking at the sky.”

“……”

At Pyo Wol’s calm reply, Tang Sochu was at a loss for words.

He knew that Pyo Wol had lived for a staggering fourteen years without seeing sunlight.

He asked himself if he could have maintained his sanity if he had been locked up for such a long time like Pyo Wol.

The conclusion was that he was not confident.

He prided himself on being quite tenacious, but he couldn’t dare compare himself to Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol’s vengeful spirit, which had endured for so long and finally completed his revenge, was of a kind that he could not dare to imitate.

To think that the wish of such a tenacious man was merely to do nothing and look at the sky.

He somehow understood, yet felt a bitter feeling.

Pyo Wol said.

“Stay and eat before you go.”

“It’s fine. What’s there to eat when you haven’t caught a single fish…”

“I can just catch one.”

At Tang Sochu’s refusal, Pyo Wol extended his hand towards the river.

At Pyo Wol’s sudden action, Tang Sochu watched, wondering what kind of trick this was.

Pyo Wol closed his eyes for a moment and focused his senses.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and made a gesture as if pulling something. Then, a large fish leaped into the air from the water as if caught on a fishing line.

Pyo Wol had fished with the Soul Restraining Thread.

Seeing the unbelievable sight with his own eyes, Tang Sochu shook his head.

“You’re insane!”