Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Jin Seol-ah covered her mouth with both of her hands without realizing it.

The moment she heard Han Yucheon’s words, it felt as if her own tongue was being cut off.

‘Ah!’

Jin Seol-ah trembled.

Han Yucheon’s killing intent was too scary for her. She was still too young to handle this kind of aura.

Han Yucheon did not openly reveal his killing intent. Nevertheless, Jin Seol-ah couldn’t help but shudder in fright.

‘I’m scared!’

Jin Seol-ah is also a warrior born in a martial family so she learned martial arts from a young age. Thanks to that, she had met many warriors and been exposed to killing intent, but Han Yucheon was on a different level.

Just being in the same space as him made her feel suffocated, making her whole body tremble like an aspen tree.

She couldn’t bear to be in Han Yucheon’s presence.

Pyo-wol and Han Yucheon were staring at each other.

They looked as if they were going to stab each other at any moment.

Jin Seol-ah couldn’t breathe properly and stepped back. However, neither Pyo-wol nor Han Yucheon paid attention to her.

Jin Seol-ah didn’t notice that the two had already started fighting fiercely.

It wasn’t necessary to move and swing a sword to injure another person.

Han Yucheon is a warrior who was close to the highest level that could be reached with a sword.

He doesn’t have to hold a sword in his hand to harm his opponent.

Han Yucheon’s eyes turned to Pyo-wol’s mouth.

At that moment, Pyo-wol’s eyes turned to Han Yucheon’s wrist. Han Yucheon seemed to flinch slightly, but soon his eyes turned to Pyo-wol’s chest.

Pyo-wol’s eyes looked at Han Yucheon’s feet.

Han Yucheon’s eyes grew cold.

They were not having a staring contest.

Their eyes were inspecting and provoking each other.

Where their eyes were directed was where the sword was going.

Ordinary warriors would not be able to understand the idea of using their eyes as a substitute for a sword, but a warrior who had reached Han Yucheon or Pyo-wol’s level could tell what kind of swordsmanship their opponent was going to use just by looking at their opponent’s eyes.

Their eyes were looking at each other, but they were in a world of their own in their heads.

In their world of imagination, they were exchanging attacks at each other.

‘This guy—!’

A light of admiration flashed on Han Yucheon’s face.

This kind of confrontation would not harm the opponent physically, but it could leave a big scar on the mind.

It’s some sort of side effect.

Han Yucheon was quite surprised that Pyo-wol understood his intentions and engaged in a mental battle with him.

This kind of confrontation is actually impossible unless the warrior is a master of a similar level as Han Yucheon.

He had roamed Jianghu for a long time, so he had met with numerous warriors and engaged in a psychological warfare. They were all the top masters of the current Jianghu.

Even when he heard about Pyo-wol from Won Ga-young, he did not acknowledge him.

He thought that no matter how strong Pyo-wol’s martial arts was, he would not be able to escape the limits of an assassin.

There is a clear limit to an assassin’s martial arts.

Although there were certain advantages to their quick and silent attacks, further development could not be expected since their situation leading to the rise is blocked.

Han Yucheon thought that Pyo-wol might have been lucky enough to have the upper hand against the Qingcheng and Emei sect in Sichuan, but he would ultimately reveal the bottom and extent of his martial arts in a head-to-head confrontation.

However, now that he had personally met Pyo-wol, his level far exceeded his expectations.

More than anything, he was shocked with how Pyo-wol managed to understand and even respond to his swordplay mentally.

Han Yucheon stopped their imaginary battle. He collected the swords he had been manifesting with his eyes.

There was no point in testing Pyo-wol any further.

He had had no choice but to acknowledge him.

Han Yucheon is cold-hearted and ruthless to those who he did not acknowledge, but he was also someone who would be infinitely lenient towards those he acknowledged.

Han Yucheon opened his mouth,

“I apologize. You indeed deserve to talk in front of me. Ga-young’s evaluation of you is not wrong.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that you’re someone who can easily kill others, but you won’t die easily yourself. You’re the first person Ga-yeong rated so highly.”

Han Yucheon’s eyes, as he spoke, contained his longing for Won Ga-young.

She was an exceptionally clever and intelligent disciple.

She was his favorite student since she was highly talented and quick-witted. Rather than being a disciple, she was more like his real daughter. So the sense of loss he felt was inevitably great.

Han Yucheon walked and said,

“Let’s walk for a while.”

Pyo-wol nodded and walked with him.

The reason why Pyo-wol didn’t attack Han Yucheon even when he showed his killing intent was because he saw the great sense of loss in his eyes.

Jin Seol-ah did not dare to follow the two and only looked at their backs.

Pyo-wol continued walking with Han Yucheon, not caring about Jin Seol-ah.

The first to speak was Han Yucheon,

“You’re here because of those children’s deaths, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I always told Ga-young that if she stays with a child like a Geum-woo, she won’t live long, so she had to be careful. But that girl didn’t listen to me. Now she came back as a cold corpse.”

“What’s the cause of her death?”

“It was a sword wound.”

“A sword wound?”

“It is a small wound on the forehead, the size of a child’s fingernail. To a stranger, it would have looked nothing more than a scratch by a tree branch. But through that wound, a huge amount of energy went inside of her and completely destroyed her brain. It’s similar to an internal attack.1”

“She looks fine on the outside, but her inside must have been completely crushed.”

“Exactly. My cute student died so miserably. I couldn’t even imagine it. That’s why I can’t forgive Jin Geum-woo for coaxing her to go to Jianghu. If it were not for Jin Geum-woo, Ga-young would not have died.”

“That’s just sophistry.”

“Sophistry?”

“Her choice was not because of Jin Geum-woo’s coercion. She chose it herself. You just needed someone to resent, so you vent it all out on the Jin family.”

“Maybe. But it doesn’t matter. I’m not a person with a big heart anyway.”

“What if the real culprit who killed them is revealed?”

“Then I will do everything in my power to exterminate everything related to the real culprit.”

Han Yucheon exuded a terrifying aura.

The horrific aura he gave off was nothing as compared to before. All the mountains, rivers, trees and plants seemed to be screaming.

Han Yucheon asked,

“Why did you bring up the real culprit? Did you find out anything?”

“I’m looking for it.”

“Do you think you can find it?”

“I’ve never missed a single thing I tracked down.”

“Even though there’s no evidence?”

“I don’t have proof yet, but I have a feeling. I’ll be clear soon.”

Han Yucheon frowned at Pyo-wol’s answer.

Because it was not easily believed.

After the death of his disciple, he tried to find the real culprit in every way. But he couldn’t find a single piece of evidence. So it was hard to believe that Pyo-wol had already found evidence.

“Really?”

“You’ll find out in a little while.”

“If you… find the beast that killed that child, and allow me to take revenge, then I will be on your side. I will stand by your side and fight even if all of Jianghu curses and treat you as a sinner. I promise you this with my name as the Sword Saint on the line.”

* * *

There is another famous group in Runan besides the Jin family and the Snow Sword Manor.

Golden Mountain Manor.2

It is a rich manor that is known to have built a mountain out of gold.

The Golden Mountain Manor is as huge as the Jin family and the Snow Sword Manor combined. No other faction could compare to them in terms of size alone.

No one knew how exactly rich the Golden Mountain Manor was except themselves.

However, many people believed that if the Golden Mountain Manor decided to let go of their wealth, they would be able to rescue all the poor people in the world.

Many of those who were visiting the Golden Mountain Manor for the first time found themselves overwhelmed by its scale.

The huge pavilions and complex structure which was like a city on its own towers all over the people.

Because of that, those who first visited the Golden Mountain Manor couldn’t help but be intimidated that they couldn’t straighten their shoulders.

The Golden Mountain Manor, like other manors, is largely divided into an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard.

The Golden Mountain Manor is at the height of splendor.

Pavilions were built by world-class famous artisans and were as splendid as the imperial palace.

The same goes for furniture and various decorations. They were also made by master craftsmen. Selling just one pottery standing in the corner of the hallway was enough for an ordinary family to live on for ten years. And such objects were all over the place.

The largest and most splendid hall in the Golden Mountain Manor is the inner courtyard.

True to its name, Golden Mountain Manor, its room shone in gold.

Since both the room’s huge pillars and roof were painted gold, it shines brightly when viewed from a distance.

Many of the objects in the Golden Mountain Manor were also in the color gold.

Even the dining table was gilded.

Two people were sitting at a golden table, eating.

A tall middle-aged man in a golden long robe and a slender woman. The middle-aged man had gained so much weight that his features could not be seen properly.

There is a mountain of food piled in front of him.

The middle-aged man gobbled up his food as if he was possessed. His appearance is reminiscent of a hungry ghost.

In contrast, the woman who looked like she was in her early twenties and sat opposite of him, ate her food in small bites and with dignity.

The appearances of the two were in great contrast to each other.

“Burped!”

After finishing his last meal, the middle-aged man rubbed his stomach and burped.

The woman on the other side also put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a white handkerchief.

When the two finished their meal, a cautious voice was heard outside the door.

“Sect leader! The captain of the defense corps has returned.”

“Tell him to come in.”

“Yes!”

The middle-aged man roughly wiped the seasoning off his mouth with his sleeve. The seasoning was all over his golden long sleeve, but he didn’t care.

“Thank you for the meal. The food is quite tasty today.”

“He has the best skills in Henan. You should know how much money I spent to get him, dad.”

“Of course I know. Isn’t that why I scolded you for spending money on useless things?”

“Are you ready to apologize now?”

“Heh heh! But I still think you spent too much money. I can’t believe you spent so much money to hire a chef. You could have at least paid for it in two monthly payments, but you didn’t even make the slightest effort.”

“Dad! You have to pay that much money to hire the right people!”

The woman’s words made the middle-aged man snort. But the woman was not disappointed or upset. She knew her dad was originally that kind of man.

The Golden Mountain Manor’s sect leader, Geum Shin-chung.

That’s the status of the middle-aged man. And the woman is Geum Suryeon, the daughter of Geum Shin-chung.

Geum Suryeon was fanatically fond of gold and wore gold jewelry all over her body like his father. Even the clothes she was wearing were engraved with gorgeous patterns embroidered with gold thread.

The threads weren’t just in gold color, but are made with real gold.

Geum Suryeon resembles her father in everything except her appearance.

A maniacal obsession with gold, a cold heart, even quick calculations.

For that reason, she received a significant amount of authority from Geum Shin-chung and took part in the operation of the Golden Mountain Manor.

While the two of them were arguing about the cost of hiring the chef, the door opened carefully and a man went inside.

The young man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, bowed his head toward Geum Shin-chung as soon as he entered the room.

“I, Geum Woo-sin, pay my respect to uncle.”

“Good work.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“So why are you so late?”

“T, That’s…”

Geum Woo-shin couldn’t hide his embarrassed expression.

Geum Shin-chung interrogated him.

“As per schedule, you should have returned the other day, so why are you so late?”

“Oh, actually, I had some work to do.”

“What happened? Were you caught exchanging horses?”

“Hic!”

At that moment, Geum Woo-shin was so surprised that his heart almost jumped out of his mouth.

He never dreamed that Geum Shin-chung would know that he was caught trying to swap his horse with Pyo-wol in an inn and was humiliated.

He was horrified by the fact that this incident even reached Geum Shin-chung’s ears even though he clearly clamped down the mouths of those who were with him.

Geum Shin-chung’s eyes, which are buried in his fat, shone terribly.

“It’s all good! It’s only natural to be greedy when you see a good horse. Since you’re young you’re allowed to be greedy like that, but I can’t forgive the fact that you couldn’t achieve your goal, and even brought shame to our name.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“What happened? Be honest with me.”

SoundlessWind21’s Notes:

Thank you for reading!

Internal attack. Raws: 내가중수법처럼 (內家重手法). a terrifying technique to attack enemies using internal energy. Leaving the outside alone and attacking the inside to destroy it. Golden Mountain Manor. Raws: Geumsanjang, 금산장(金山莊). 金 jīn – gold; metals in general; money 山 shān – mountain, hill, peak 莊 zhuāng – village, hamlet; villa; surname