Reaper of the Drifting Moon - Chapter 189

The good-natured face of the taoist, who had been laughing so hard until now, had disappeared. The light in his eyes also faded and was replaced by cold, unfeeling eyes.

Tae Kwang, who had been snickering from the side, also hardened like a stone statue.

Until a while ago, he would always throw a side remark at his Master’s words, but now he didn’t say a word.

Jjorreuk!

Woo Pyeong filled his glass with alcohol.

But he didn’t drink. He just rubbed the glass with his finger.

When he heard the news, he couldn’t believe it easily. That’s why he thought that all the big minority brains of the Wudang sect were groundless rumors.

It was already a year ago when he heard the news that a star of death had appeared in Sichuan. The information he got did not arrive through official means. He just heard through merchants traveling to and from Sichuan Province.

The news deserved to be dismissed as nonsense.

Among the news which merchants bring, there were only a few instances where they did not make a mountain of a molehill.

One assassin taking down the Emei sect and the Qingcheng sect?

It was such an unbelievable story that he thought it was absurd.

However, the reaction of the Wudang sect was different.

“My senior brother told me that he needed to find out more. So I asked the Hao clan for information. But the Hao clan was somehow reluctant to sell it to us. Can you believe it? Those gold-hungry people hesitating to sell information? So it was from then that we recognized the seriousness of the situation.”

In recent hundreds of years, few sects have had as many ups and downs as the Wudang sect.

They had suffered so much damage that they had to worry about the survival of their sect, pay the price and be criticized by the world.

Whenever they were in such a crisis, the Wudang sect broke through head-on by displaying the potential it had built up since their ancestors.

Thanks to this, they were able to almost regain their former prowess, but they never let their guard down.

It is deeply imprinted in their hearts that all the crises that the Wudang sect have experienced so far began with their carelessness and ignorance.

Although it was not possible to create a separate organization in charge of information due to their nature based on Taoism, they always kept a keen eye on the trends of the world.

That’s why they didn’t overlook the unbelievable news from Sichuan and investigated it in detail.

“The rumors were surprisingly true. That a single assassin managed to simultaneously bring down two traditional sects. We wouldn’t have believed it if we hadn’t investigated it ourselves.”

Woo Pyeong’s eyes were fixed on Pyo-wol’s face.

“We searched everywhere to find out the identity of the assassin. But no one in Chengdu was willing to talk about the unknown assassin. Can you believe it? The fact that there were many people in Sichuan, yet many are reluctant to talk about it because of their fear. No matter how Sichuan tends to be closed off and has a lot of resistance against outsiders, the people there don’t talk about the assassin as if they had made a promise.”

“……….”

“I invested quite a bit of manpower and money, but I only found out a few things. The first one is regarding the appearance of the assassin. He is said to be more beautiful than a woman and has a prominent appearance. And now, the man in front of me also has such a beautiful appearance. .”

“Is there a second one?”

“I also found out the assassin’s name with great difficulty. They say his name is Pyo-wol, isn’t it strange? He has the same name as you.”

Woo Pyeong looked straight at Pyo-wol’s face.

Pyo-wol also looked at Woo Pyeong without saying a word.

“When I first heard the name, I couldn’t have imagined that you were the said reaper of Sichuan Province. But looking at your face, I was sure. There is no other face like you in the world, and even more people with the same name exist. Don’t you think so?”

“So why ask when you already know everything?”

“I just wanted to check, because I don’t want to be vaguely sure, you don’t know, but it’s not once or twice that the main faction went over so bluntly and saw blood.”

“That’s right.”

“Hoo!”

The moment Pyo-wol answered, Woo Pyeong sighed.

Complex emotions were evident on his face.

‘The rumors were true.’

No one knows how shocked he was when he first heard about him.

The Emei sect and the Qingcheng sect were still huge sects that at one point, stood shoulder to shoulder with the Wudang sect. Since he was also a member of an old traditional sect, the Wudang sect had no choice but to feel special feelings for them.

The Emei sect and the Qingcheng sect were by no means weak sects.

Although their reputation declined because they did not participate in the War of the Demons and Heavens, their foundation was as great as that of the Wudang sect.

So he couldn’t help but be astonished at the fact that those two sects suffered such a huge blow that they chose to close off their doors because of just one assassin.

In the old days, Kwonma single-handedly drove the huge power of the demonic cult out of Jianghu.

And in recent times, even Gwangmumun’s sect leader.

Those two changed the world by themselves.

In this way, beings that cannot be understood by common sense sometimes appear in Jianghu, changing the flow that many have taken for granted so far.

Each time such a person appears, Jianghu would shake greatly and greet a new era.

Those who joined the new trend or sects would be greatly revived, while those that did not were weeded out.

There were times when even the Wudang sect would be weeded out. That is why they react more sensitively to the birth of a new trend than anyone else.

It was unknown whether Pyo-wol would really become a new powerhouse in Jianghu, but it was clear that he was a new kind of martial artist that did not exist before.

‘An assassin.’

When people think of assassins, they often think of cowardly people who rely on ambushes.

In fact, most assassins preferred to attack secretly.

This is why strong people usually looked down on such assassins and feared them. To the warriors who preferred a fair confrontation, the assassins were bound to be seen as cowardly.

For this reason, the evaluation of Pyo-wol was divided within the Wudang sect. Some said there was no reason to regard him highly because his achievements were gained from cowardice while others said he was great because it was still a skill to attack secretly.

In the case of Woo Pyeong, it was the latter.

He also considered secret attacks as an ability.

If one’s ability is not backed up, no matter how much a person hides and attacks secretly, the desired result cannot be obtained.

No matter what cowardly measures Pyo-wol took, the fact still remains that he managed to deal a great blow to huge forces such as the Emei sect and the Qingcheng sect.

It was a feat that no ordinary assassin dared to attempt.

So, Woo Pyeong highly appreciated Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol was the kind of person who was bad to have as an enemy.

‘If I have such a person as my enemy, there will be no end to the aftermath.’

Some would dismiss an assassin, saying there’s nothing to be afraid of, but that would a complacent idea.

Woo Pyeong asked cautiously,

“Why did you come to Baokang? Do you have any business with the Wudang sect?”

“I’m just passing by.”

“Really?”

“I have no reason to lie.”

“That’s fortunate. To us, the Wudang sect.”

Woo Pyeong let out a sigh of relief.

It’s not that he’s afraid of Pyo-wpol, but he did not want to clash with him when there’s no problem.

It was too much for the Wudang sect to intimidate or suppress Pyo-wol simply by putting up the banner of abomination.

“If so, where are you going now?”

“Tianzhongshan.”

“Tianzhongshan is where the Jin family is located. Is it related?”

“That’s right.”

“Hu…”

Woo Pyeong unknowingly let out a sigh.

The Jin family of Tianzhongshan was one of the most famous families in the world. This is because Jin Wol-myeong, one of the Eight Constellations, exists in the Jin family.

Jin Wol-myeong’s nickname is Sunset Sword God.2

He possessed great swordsmanship, to the extent that the story of him swinging his sword to knock down the sun has been passed down.

In the early days, Jin Wol-myeong made the Jin family widely known. And recently, the Blood-Weaving warrior Jin Geom-woo made the Jin family famous once again.

People believed that the Jin family would be revived once again thanks to Jin Geum-woo.

“…but he’s now dead.”

Woo Pyeong closed his eyes.

He, too, had seen Jin Geum-woo.

It is because Tae Myeong, a first-generation disciple of the Wudang sect, interacted with Jin Geom-woo. Tae Myeong was Tae Kwang’s senior brother, and he was the most talented member of the Wudang sect.

“Although he was not a part of our sect, he constantly interacted with Jin Geum-woo. Because of that relationship, Jin Geum-woo would often visit the Wudang sect.”

“Do you personally know Jin Geum-woo?”

“There’s no way I don’t know him. Although we didn’t get to know each other because of the difference in ranks, we greeted each other happily when we met. He was especially close with Tae Myeong, and all the disciples of his generation liked him. This guy liked him too.”

Woo Pyeong looked at Tae Kwang.

When the story of Jin Geum-woo came out, Tae-kwang had a very depressed expression.

Although they weren’t very close, he still treated Tae Kwang kindly whenever he stopped by the Wudang sect.

Woo Pyeong asked cautiously,

“Is it because of Jin Geum-woo’s death that you are going to Tianzhongshan?”

“……….”

“I guess I’m right. Were you two very close? Enough for you to leave Sichuan and head for the Tianzhongshan which was so far away?”

“We’re not exactly close.”

“Then why?”

“It’s just because I have lingering feelings.”

“Regret?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, everyone has their own circumstances.”

Woo Pyeong did not ask any more questions.

He wondered what the point of contact between the assassin Pyo-wol and the highly-reputed warrior Jin Geum-woo was. But the world is wide and the relationship is inextricable, so it was difficult to know when and where they would meet.

Jin Geum-woo wandered all over the world as if he had a wanderlust. Seeing him wandering around the world aimlessly despite having his home in Tianzhongshan, he talked a lot.

If it was Jin Geum-woo’s wanderlust, he would have visited Sichuan Province at one point, and it was clear that he had formed a connection with Pyo-wol at that time.

When he heard Jin Geum-woo’s name in a place he hadn’t expected, Pyo-wol’s eyes shook momentarily.

He never thought he would hear Jin Geum-woo’s name here. So his cool heart was slightly shaken.

Woo Pyeong continued as if he was recalling his memories.

“He was a good man, a man who lacked nothing, both as a human and as a warrior. I still can’t believe that he died.”

“Do you know how he died?”

“I don’t know, the Jin family was hush-hush about it… The funeral was also held very quietly. They didn’t invite anyone who was close to him during his lifetime.”

“You don’t know why?”

“Compared to the reputation of the Jin family, little is known about their internal circumstances. Only information about Jin Geum-woo’s grandfather, Lord Jin Wol-myeong, is known.”

“So they’re closed off.”

“That’s right! But it’s not that strange. It’s not uncommon for families to have such a closed nature.”

Places commonly referred to as Noble Families3 were the places where blood relatives gathered. The representative example was the Five Families who ruled the Jianghu together with the Nine Great Sects in the past.

They had a very closed disposition.

After coming to Jingeum, the family that was so large that it was called a Noble Family had almost disappeared. After going through two strong wars, all of them collapsed or disappeared.

However, a fair number of smaller families survived, most of which tended to be closed. If a person doesn’t share the same surname, they won’t be recognized.

As a result, the internal affairs of these families were rarely known to the outside world.

Unless a person is a blood relative of that family, they will never know what’s going on inside.

The same was true of the Jin family, the home of Jin Geum-woo.

“In the end, you won’t know until you go to Tianzhongshan. But even if you enter the Jin family, it won’t be easy to find out what happened. They will never reveal their humiliation to outsiders.”

“Are you saying that Jin Geum-woo is a disgrace?”

“They consider the death of Jin Geum-woo shameful. This is because a member of the Jin family died in a foreign place.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Soma roared.

Even Soma, who usually lacked common sense, knew how ridiculous the situation was.

“Jianghu is a place where things that don’t make sense happen all the time.”

“Dirty!”

“Yes, it’s dirty. It’s like a swamp. So once you fall in, you can never get out.”

Woo Pyeong muttered bitterly.

He immediately changed his expression and looked at Pyo-wol.

“Be careful. The Hao clan might be holding off on the information about you, so not much is known, but there will come out a sect that will pay great attention to you like the Wudang sect. Don’t think that they will treat you like our sect. Because the reality is that, the job of an assassin in Jianghu is not properly treated as equal to that of a warrior.”

Assassins were almost treated as public enemies in Jianghu.

In particular, after the Hundred Wraith Union gained power, such ideas and beliefs intensified.

The Hundred Wraith Union has committed countless murders, and among those killed by them, many were big names in Jianghu.

Because of that, many people openly look for assassins, and once they were revealed to be assassins, they became targets of pursuit.

“If anyone finds out that you’re an assassin, you’re sure to have a difficult time. So hide yourself as much as possible.”

“Why are you telling me that? As you said, even the Wudang sect don’t have a good perception of assassins.”

“I tend to trust my eyes more than Jianghu’s rumors.”