Reaper of the Drifting Moon Chapter 468

August 28, 2023 • 10 min read • 883 views

The beef noodles were delicious.

It was one of the best dishes Pyo Wol had while traveling around Kangho.

He usually ate a little, but the beef noodles were so good that he emptied the entire bowl.

Gi Seon-hye finished her beef noodles at almost the same time as Pyo Wol. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she had eaten everything, not leaving a single drop of soup.

“How is it? The best, right?”

“Indeed!”

Pyo Wol agreed without hesitation.

He put down his chopsticks and spoke.

“Now tell me.”

“Huh? What?”

“You didn’t come here just to eat, there must be a reason you bought me food, right?”

“Can’t you just think of it as a favor?”

“A pure favor?”

“Ah…”

Gi Seon-hye slightly furrowed her brow.

“What do you want?”

“Actually, I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I’m telling you in advance, I won’t give up Gwia.”

“I’m curious about that snake, but it’s not that important to me.”

“Then?”

“Actually, I want to find a medicinal herb.”

“Why are you telling me this? You should talk to a herbalist.”

“Because it’s something I can’t get through normal means. It’s a medicine for madness, and there’s only a small amount of it in the world, and it’s all in one place.”

“A medicinal herb that treats madness?”

“Yes. It’s a herb called the fish-shaped herb, and it’s called that because its leaves resemble the shape of a fish. It’s not only good for curing madness, it’s also excellent for repairing damaged meridians.

“Do you need that medicinal herb?”

“Yes! I need it to treat a thirteen-year-old boy.”

“And you want me to get it?”

“If the opportunity arises, yes”

Gi Seon-hye said calmly.

“It must be in a difficult place to obtain.”

“That’s right, it’s not possible to get something out of there by normal means, which is why I’m asking you, because I’m sure you can get it out of there.”

“It’s nice of you to overestimate me, but I don’t see why I should risk my life to do it. I thought you said it was a dangerous place?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s pretend I didn’t hear it.”

Pyo Wol stood up from his seat.

Gi Seon-hye hurriedly spoke.

“The New Moon Manor is dangerous, but I believe that you can get it.”

“Did you just say New Moon Manor?”

“Yes! The New Moon Manor.”

Pyo Wol frowned slightly.

The name New Moon Manor caught his attention.

“They’ve gathered the fish shaped heart at the New Moon Manor?”

“Yes!”

“Is the fish shaped heart effective for madness?”

“Yes!”

His head was itching.

It was like a puzzle being put together.

‘The fish shaped heart and the buddhist sutras. Someone in the New Moon Manor must be suffering from madness.’

Now it made sense why they had gone to such lengths to steal the original buddhist sutras from Chengdu.

It was clear that they were desperate enough to steal the sutras, even knowing that Pyo Wol would intervene.

The question was, who was suffering from madness?

Considering that obtaining the buddhist sutras and gathering the fish shaped heart was no easy task, it must be a fairly important figure.

“Please, I need a favor. Even for someone as skilled as you, dealing with the head of New Moon Manor won’t be easy. I’m not insisting, but if you happen to meet him, could you ask him to share a bit of the Fish Shaped Heart?”

The Wind Saint didn’t tell her who Pyo Wol was, but she asked for the favor anyway, knowing that the Wind Saint was watching him.

If the wind saint was paying attention to a martial artist, they must be one of the best in the world. That’s why she was making this request.

Although her intentions were pure, her words were overwhelming to the listener.

Pyo Wol said.

“I can’t guarantee it. But if I manage to obtain it, I’ll send some your way.”

“Really?”

“I can’t make a promise.”

“That’s enough for me. After all, we plan as human beings and succeed as heaven allows!!

“So you believe in heaven?”

“In this difficult world, we have to believe in something to keep our sanity, right? Don’t we all need to hold onto something to get by?”

Gi Seon-hye stared intently at Pyo Wol.

Though his hat was pulled low, obscuring everything above his nose, the intensity of her gaze seemed to pierce through even that.

“Not everyone is like you.”

“Like what?”

“Strong, self-reliant, unshakable… Most people live wavering lives. Only a very few, like you, have a strong core and center. And those people stand at the center of the world.”

“You talk as if you know me well.”

“I don’t. But I feel like I do.”

Suddenly, Gi Seon-hye pressed her face close to Pyo Wol’s.

They were so close they could feel each other’s breath.

Gi Seon-hye gently lifted Pyo Wol’s hat to look at his face.

Seeing the hidden, pale, and handsome face, Gi Seon-hye whispered.

“Grand master Pyo Wol, right?”

“…”

“It is you. Your silence gives it away. You seem to be hiding your identity with your hat pulled down. Am I right?”

“…”

Gi Seon-hye smiled and returned the hat to its original position.

“Keep hiding like this from now on.”

“…”

“Because if other women see you, they won’t leave you alone.”

“And you?”

“I wonder.”

Gi Seon-hye smiled slyly.

***
“Yawn!”

“The sun is warm, I’m sleepy.”

The soldiers guarding the main gate to Soyang yawned.

There was still a long queue of people at the gate, waiting for their turn to enter, but not all of them were allowed to enter.

To enter a walled city like Soyang, you had to have a confirmed identity. The soldiers would only let those with confirmed identities into Soyang. Otherwise, only those who cleverly slipped a few silver coins into their pockets could enter the city.

There were many people trying to get in, but the soldiers at the gate were slow.

There was no reason for the soldiers to hurry.

If they couldn’t let them in today, they could let them in tomorrow.

Those in a hurry would slyly slip them some silver coins. It was not too late to let them through.

However, even such actions had to be done cautiously.

If you do this to a high ranking official or a powerful master, it could cost them their lives.

Just then, a man in dark red robes entered the soldiers’ field of vision.

The man had disheveled hair and a beard that covered his chest.

All that could be seen of his face were two eerie eyes and a nose.

“Gulp!”

As soon as the soldiers saw the figure, they swallowed their saliva.

It was because they felt an eerie aura from the figure.

The soldiers met more people than anyone else. Naturally, their intuition was exceptional.

They instinctively realized that the figure was not an ordinary person.

One of the soldiers asked the executive.

“What should we do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Should we just let him pass?”

“Do what’s right and let him through.”

“Without taking any money?”

“Do you want to risk your life for a few coins?”

“Well, not that, but…”

“Just pretend to check properly and let him pass.”

“Understood.”

The soldier reluctantly replied.

Finally, the strange figure approached them closely.

All the soldiers at the gate froze. The figure was intimidating even from a distance, but up close it was hard to breathe.

Despite the soldiers being right in front of him, the figure didn’t even glance at them.

His eyes were fixed on the sign hanging above the city gate.

“So…yang!”

His voice was as dry as his appearance.

The figure strode straight towards the city gate.

“Hold on…”

“Stop.”

The soldiers blocked the figure’s path, intending to at least pretend to inspect him.

Bang!

Like pumpkins hitting the ground, the heads of the soldiers blocking the figure’s path exploded.

The soldiers’ eyes widened in shock.

The sight of their comrades’ heads exploding right in front of them was surreal.

“Ahh!”

“It’s a murder.”

“Run!”

Screams erupted from the people waiting in line.

The murder had taken place right in front of their eyes.

The horrific sight of a man’s head being blown off left them stunned.

Even though murders were common in the world of martial arts, witnessing such a gruesome scene was not an everyday occurrence.

The soldiers were also frozen in place.

“My… goodness!”

“What do we do?”

They didn’t know what to do about their comrades’ deaths.

Normally, they would have rushed in to take revenge. In a way, they would have. But the gap was so vast, they didn’t dare.

The figure spoke.

“Anyone else want to stop me?”

“…”

“I have memorised all your faces. If there is any trouble today, I’ll hunt you down and kill not only you, but your entire families.

The soldiers were speechless and trembled at the threat.

They believed that the figure’s shocking display of power would enable him to carry such a threat.

The soldiers remained silent.

The Squad Leader, who was supposed to be taking responsibility for his men, discreetly turned his head to avoid seeing the figure.

He looked at them, then strode to the gates.

The soldiers hastily opened the gate and let him in.

“Phew!”

“Unbelievable…”

Only after the figure disappeared did the soldiers breathe a sigh of relief.

They didn’t dare to seek revenge or escalate the situation.

Although their comrade’s death was unfortunate, they were simply grateful that they had not been targeted.

The squad leader yelled at them.

“You bastards! What are you doing without cleaning up the body? Are you going to leave it like this?”

“Yes!”

“Get to it!”

They answered and began to deal with their comrades’ corpses. However, handling the remains of bodies with exploded heads was not easy.

Even if it had been a stranger’s corpse, it would have been disgusting, let alone the body of a colleague who had just laughed and talked with them.

“Ugh!”

“Damn it!”

Some of the soldiers gagged as they handled the corpses.

Some froze in place, sobbing.

The squad leader understood their feelings.

To common folks, they might seem like grim reapers, but in front of such a powerful figure, they were no different from rabbits standing before a tiger.

“Damn it!”

The squad leader clenched his teeth.

Losing his men was not an easy thing to bear.

He didn’t even know how to break the news to their families.

The squad leader looked at the city gate where the figure had disappeared and muttered.

“Who on earth is this monster? What is his purpose in coming here?”

There was already a thick smell of blood in the air.