Reaper of the Drifting Moon

“Heuk! These crazy bastards–”

Heukam ran out of the Manbeop Palace in a state of wreck.

His face was full of fear.

He had been manipulating and playing around with the minds of others all his life. He had never been afraid of anything else, but now his face was full of fear.

Jin Geum-woo, who appeared at the end, completely killed the spirit of the Xiaoleiyin Temple’s monks with a force to be reckoned with.

However, it was not Jin Geum-woo whom Heukam was afraid of.

Heukam was not afraid of warriors who insisted on a head-to-head confrontation. They might have great strength, but that’s just it. To counter them, he can just avoid them for the meantime and then in the future, wait for the perfect opportunity where he can take his revenge.

But Pyo-wol was different.

It’s not just about his strength in martial arts.

Awareness, cruelty, and even his tenacity that sees the end once he gets his hands on it.

He was different from the ordinary warrior.

Heukam had never seen such a warrior in his entire life.

No, he never even imagined that such a person existed.

When it came to having someone as an enemy, the most terrifying person to be against was Pyo-wol.

Heukam did not even dare to take his revenge. It was because he clearly saw what happened to the Xiaoleiyin Temple.

“I need to leave right now.”

Heukam didn’t even think to pack his bags. He just wants to get away from this place as soon as possible.

“I’m going to Potala Palace for now. I don’t think he would be able to chase after me to Potala Palace.”

He already had a place to escape.

Potala Palace was far from the Xiaoleiyin Temple. No matter how good Pyo-wol was, he wouldn’t be able to follow him there.

Heukam ran away like crazy.

He ran as fast as he could.

After running for a long time, he became out of breath and his heart felt like it was going to burst.

“Huff! Huff! I can take it easy now, right?”

It was a long way from the Xiaoleiyin Temple.

He thought he could finally rest a little.

Heukam leaned back against the huge tree, while breathing roughly.

He didn’t plan on taking a long break.

He was thinking of leaving as soon as his breathing calmed down.

After a short rest, his heart, which was beating violently against his chest, returned to its original rhythm.

It was now time for him to leave.

Heukam tried to move by kicking the tree that his back was leaning on.

Bang!

Then something wrapped around his neck and pulled him to a tree.

“Keuk!”

Heukam screamed as the back of his head hit the tree.

A flash of fear flashed across his face.

He could tell what was happening without even looking at it with his own eyes.

‘It’s him! He’s been chasing me!’

The thread which was squeezing his neck was proof.

The thread was squeezing his neck and a huge tree at the same time.

With the slightest movement, the thread can dig into his neck.

At that moment, without a sound, Pyo-wol appeared before Heukam.

He suffered numerous wounds, and bled out a lot, but his eyes remained emotionless. When a person is hurt, they tend to show an expression of pain or agitation, but Pyo-wol didn’t have any of that.

His eyes were completely still.

It was impossible to read any of his emotions or thoughts from his eyes.

On the contrary, it felt like it was Pyo-wol who was reading all of his thoughts. Those emotionless, stationary eyes seemed to run through his own head.

So it felt even more terrible.

Heukam didn’t want to see those ominous eyes. If he could avoid Pyo-wol’s eyes, he thought he would be able to sell even his own two eyes.

“Hiiic!”

Heukam uttered a grotesque gasp unconsciously.

Pyo-wol just stared at him blankly, not doing or saying anything. If he could just say a single word, it wouldn’t have been so suffocating.

Heukam became afraid of the horrific, and suffocating atmosphere.

“I’d rather…be killed…. this demon—”

Seuek!

The sharp thread that carried him in an instant, silently pierced his throat. Yet Heukam didn’t feel pain.

His gaze was still fixed on Pyo-wol.

“I did something wrong… so… just kill me…”

Suguk!

In an instant, the thread cut down the neck of Heukam and the tree at once.

Heukam’s head which had lost its body, fell to the floor. The head, which had been rolling for a while, crashed into Pyo-wol’s foot and stopped.

‘I’m free—’

The focus in Heukam’s eyes completely disappeared.

That was the end of Heukam.

With his death, he was completely freed from his fear of Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol looked at the head of Heukam indifferently and then turned around.

* * *

Hwarreuk!

A building with a hundred years of history was burning.

Soma and the children were looking at the scene with a relieved expression.

They were the ones who set the fire to the Xiaoleiyin Temple

This was their revenge against the Xiaoleiyin Temple, who had been tormenting themselves and their families for years.

Jin Geum-woo was by the children’s side.

Jin Geum-woo looked bloodied.

He alone killed two out of Hyeolbul’s Ten Monks, and took care of all the remaining monks. The remaining ones were then left to the children.

Jin Geum-woo considered the Xiaoleiyin Temple to be the root of evil.

He didn’t leave a single survivor behind because he thought that taking care of the situation would result in permanent repercussions for the sake of trivial recognition.

His nickname of the Blood Weaving Warrior was not for nothing.

He was the man who could be merciless to those he judged to be his enemy.

He looked at the burning Xiaoleiyin Temple with his arms crossed.

The fire was so intense that the heat spread to such a far away place.

“They’re burning.”

Soma smiled as he watched the burning Xiaoleiyin Temple. His appearance didn’t look normal at all. Unlike Soma, Guian and Eunyo did not have a change in their expressions.

But Jin Geum-woo could feel it.

The fact that they are really happy.

‘What the hell did they go through here?’

He assumed that something had to happen, but he couldn’t find out the details.

Soma hummed.

Every time he moved his neck, the Seven Rings that hung on his neck collided, creating a metal sound.

At that time, Pyo-wol, who had pursued Heukam, returned.

For a moment, Soma smiled brightly.

“Ah! It’s brother!”

He greeted Pyo-wol while jumping on the spot like a puppy seeing snow for the first time.

Jin Geum-woo made a confused expression since Soma’s appearance didn’t fit him at all.

“I killed them all, brother! Every single one of them— Hee-hee!”

Soma looked up at Pyo-wol like a puppy waiting for praise.

After stroking Soma’s hair with his hand, Pyo-wol approached Jin Geum-woo.

Pyo-wol said,

“I owe you. I’ll pay you back”

“You don’t have to pay it back. I was also indebted to you. I wouldn’t have been able to save Ga-young without you.”

“That was that, and this is this.”

“Well, you’re pretty uptight too. Can’t we just accept goodwill as goodwill?”

“There is no such thing as kindness without a price in the world.”

“We lived in that kind of world, so it’s probably natural to have that kind of mindset.”

Jin Geum-woo nodded with an expression of understanding.

His appearance looked annoying, but Pyo-wol didn’t say anything. After all, it was true that he received help.

Jin Geum-woo asked.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I’ll be back.”

“To Chengdu?”

“Yes.”

“I think we can go together. My party is still there.”

Pyo-wol nodded and looked at Soma and the children.

Like a puppy waiting for its owner, they were looking at Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol told them.

“You guys go home too.”

“Go home?”

Soma asked out of the blue.

“………..”

“Will my father and brother welcome me when I go back? Can I live with them?”

“………..”

“Can two people handle me? Can I live like nothing happened? I’m not confident. I’m afraid that I’ll get angry and hurt them without realizing it.”

“What do you want to say?”

“Brother, please take me with you. You are stronger than me. Even if I run wild, you will be able to handle me. So you should raise and take me– huh?”

That was then.

Eun-yo, who had been quiet until now, approached and took Pyo-wol’s hand.

“Take me with you too.”

“………..”

“To my Mom and Dad, I’m already considered dead. I have nowhere to go.”

Then came Guian

He stood behind Pyo-wol as if it was natural.

Seeing this, Jin Geum-woo smiled.

“The bumps came one after another all of a sudden. Congratulations! You now have someone you could call as your colleagues.”

* * *

Mundu was a man in his late thirties.

His appearance was similar to any other people who lived around Namling Forest. His hair was grown up to his shoulders, and he wore ordinary clothes. But he was by no means an ordinary person.

He was a monk at Potala Palace, a sect with the longest history in Xizang.

The Potala Palace has been watching the Xiaoleiyin Temple for a long time. Since the said sect could be said to be their biggest threat.

They wiped out the Daleiyin Temple, which can be called their original sect. The force shown in their process of taking them down was enough to stimulate the vigilance of Potala Palace.

For that reason, the Potala Palace would entrust a disciple to stay near the Xiaoleiyin Temple. They were tasked to secretly monitor the Xiaoleiyin Temple’s actions.

Mundu was an example of a disciple who has been dispatched to be on the lookout.

He kept his hair up for a long time and kept a close eye on the Xiaoleiyin Temple, while hiding the fact that he was actually a monk from the Potala Palace.

Mundo looked at the Xiaoleiyin Temple’s recent move in a precarious way.

A few years ago, the Xiaoleiyin Temple kidnapped children and turned them into wolf children. Children were also kidnapped in the village where Mundoo was staying.

Watching the children being kidnapped right before his eyes, Mundu did nothing.

Because if he made his move, his identity would be exposed.

It didn’t matter if he lost his own life, but he could be the cause of a head-on collision between the Potala Palace and the Xiaoleiyin Temple.

When the two factions with the strongest powers collided, destruction was inevitable.

‘I can’t help it. If I make a mistake, the entire Xizang might be engulfed in a sea of destruction. I have to prevent such a worst situation.’

Mundu excused his cowardice like that.

When Yeop So-pyeong, one of the residents of the village where Mundo was hiding, struggled to find his son, he turned a blind eye.

Then an unknown man came.

A man with whiter skin and a beautiful appearance than a woman.

The moment he saw him, Mundu felt an unknown chill. So he continued to hide his identity even more.

It was a cowardly act, but he had no qualms about it because no one knew his true identity.

Without hesitation, he entered Namling Forest where the Xiaoleiyin Temple is located.

And ten days have passed.

Mundu thought that the man must have died from the hands of the Xiaoleiyin Temple warriors. But suddenly, a fire erupted in the middle of Namling Forest.

Mundu quickly ran into Namling Forest.

The array, which had previously hindered the entry and exit of outsiders, had been lifted.

As he got closer to the Xiaoleiyin Temple, he felt an intense heat.

The burning temple of the Xiaoleiyin soon appeared in front of Mundu.

A temple with hundreds of years of history was engulfed in flames and screaming.

“Ah–!”

Mundu unwittingly covered his mouth with his hand.

Because it was a sight he had never imagined.

He believed that the Xiaoleiyin Temple would survive forever. No matter how much he tried to imagine the Xiaoleiyin Temple collapsing, he could not do it.

Even if the entire Potala Palace attacked, it would not be possible for them to destroy the Xiaoleiyin Temple.

At best, the two it was all I could do.

As such, there was a strong perception in his head that the Xiaoleiyin Temple is resilient in nature.

The Xiaoleiyin Temple, which seemed unlikely to collapse, was now burning.

Not a single survivor was seen.

It was a perfect annihilation.

“Unbelievable!”

Mundu trembled in fear.

A single man has done what the entire Potala Palace could not have done.

A man whose identity and name remained unknown.

“Oh my god! A reaper has come to Jianghu.”

SoundlessWind21’s Notes

Thank you for reading!