Reaper of the Drifting Moon Chapter 508

Sea Hawk Pavillion was a faction created by the fishermen of Dongting Lake to protect themselves.

The fishermen were treated as lower-class citizens along the shores of Dongting Lake.

Although they could barely make ends meet due to the abundance of fish, they were the most exploited group.

Because of this, they felt the need to defend themselves, so they began to band together.

Among the fishermen, there were those who had learned martial arts, and they formed the core of the group.

At first, they were weak, but as time passed, they began to establish a system, and more and more skilled martial artists joined. Over time, the Sea Hawk Pavillion formed a force that could not be ignored.

As a group that started from fishermen, the Sea Hawk Pavilion had many ships. They ranged from small fishing boats to large transport ships.

Sea Hawk Pavillion used these boats to run various businesses.

Especially recently, the power of Sea Hawk Pavilion has expanded explosively.

This is due to the increased demand for boats as a result of the Kangho Great War in Poyang Lake.

Although there was quite a distance between Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, the boats of Sea Hawk Pavillion traversed the two lakes without hesitation.

Sometimes they transported members of the Golden Heavenly Hall, and at other times they carried people related to the Silver Lotus Hall, reaping substantial profits.

Thanks to this, Sea Hawk Pavillion was experiencing its heyday.

It was rumored that half of the ships floating in Dongting Lake belonged to the Sea Hawk Pavilion. Of course, the rumor wasn’t true, but it was a fact that the Sea Hawk’s power was tremendous.

Sal-no pointed to a few of the boats floating on Dongting Lake and said,

“That one belongs to Sea Hawk Pavillion, and that grain transport ship is owned by Sea Hawk Pavillion too.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Indeed. But they could never have owned so many ships if they had earned money through legitimate means.”

“So, they’re running a business using boats outwardly, but secretly operating a killer gate?”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t know who the head of the faction is, but he must be quite a strategist.”

“The pavilion leader’s name is Chu Yeon-seung, known to the outside world as a gentleman, but in reality, he is a very sinister ambitious man. Over twenty martial artists have already lost their lives to him. They were all potential competitors that could threaten Sea Hawk Pavillion.”

Chu Yeon-seung’s martial arts skills were not particularly impressive to the outside world. And it was the same in reality. But he had a hidden martial arts skill.

It was the Red Hidden Flying Dagger Technique.

It was the signature skill of the assassin, Red Hidden Flying Assassin, who had operated in the shadowy regions of Kangho a hundred years ago.

Chu Yeon-seung, who had accidentally acquired the Red Hidden Flying Dagger Technique, learned it secretly. And he passed on the Red Hidden Flying Dagger Technique to a few trustworthy followers and had them operate as assassins.

“Chu Yeon-Seung currently has his feet in both the Golden Heavenly Hall and the Silver Lotus Hall. He hasn’t definitively chosen a side, and he keeps making choices depending on the situation. Quite a cunning old fox.”

What was surprising was not just Chu Yeon-Seung’s crafty personality, but also Sal-no’s intelligence.

In terms of information about the world of assassins, no one could surpass him.

Thanks to this, Pyo Wol was able to easily obtain information without moving himself.

Pyo Wol asked,

“What’s the main base of the Sea Hawk Pavilion?”

“As far as we know, it’s a village called Gungshi Village on the south side of Dongting Lake.

“Gungshi Village?”

“It’s a fairly large village with a population of about three thousand. It seems like a normal village, but Chu Yeon-Seung’s subordinates are stationed all over the place, maintaining a solid security network. It would be impossible to access Sea Hawk Pavilion, where Chu Yeon-Seung resides, by ordinary means.”

“Ordinary means, you say.”

“Indeed.”

Sal-no responded with a smile.

“How long will our boat stay in Dongting Lake?”

“We’ll probably be here until tomorrow morning.”

There was a lot of cargo on the Unmado river boat.

A large number of goods were unloaded at Dongting Lake, and new ones were loaded. The passengers were the same.

Those whose destination was Dongting Lake would disembark here, and new passengers bound for Poyang Lake would board.

In the meantime, the boat had to load fresh water and food.

Given all these preparations, a day would pass quickly.

“We have enough time.”

“Yes! We do.”

Sal-no politely answered.
＊＊＊
Despite being in his early fifties, Chu Yeon-Seung boasted a physique and youthfulness that could match a man in his thirties.

His bronze skin further emphasized his strength.

“Lord Seung, Have you come out?”

“Greetings, chief.”

As he appeared, the people working at the pier bowed their heads and greeted him one after another.

Faces full of admiration looked at Chu Yeon-Seung. After all, it was thanks to Sea Hawk Pavilion’s presence that they could work in peace here.

Most of the people living in Gungshi village earned their living by fishing in Dongting Lake.

Before Sea Hawk Pavilion came, they had been exploited by many. But since Sea Hawk Pavilion established itself, no one dared to exploit them anymore.

Therefore, a significant number of people respected Chu Yeon-Seung and the Sea Hawk Pavilion. However, not everyone looked at him with such admiration.

Some people secretly glared at Chu Yeon-seun as if they were looking at a sworn enemy.

Regardless of whether he was aware of such views, Chu Yeon-Seung walked past the dock towards the largest boat.

Among the ships docked at the dock, the one with a particularly outstanding large hull was the Sea Hawk Pavilion’s flagship.

On the deck of the ship, dozens of Sea Hawk Pavilion’s top martial artists were lined up.

As Chu Yeon-Seung appeared, they greeted him in unison.

“We sincerely welcome you, chief.”

“Hmm!”

Chu Yeon-Seung responded with a satisfied smile to the warm welcome.

The people on this ship were all Sea Hawk Pavilion’s elites and Chu Yeon-Seung’s close confidants.

Only those Chu Yeon-seung truly trusted were allowed to board.

“What about security?”

“We’ve set up double, triple layers.”

With his head lowered, Oh Seok-gyeong responded. Chu Yeon-seung, wearing a satisfied smile, spoke.

“I’ll receive the report in the cabin.”

“We have prepared it. Please, come in.”

“Hmm.”

Nodding his head, Chu Yeon-seung entered the cabin.

Oh Seok-gyeong and the close aides followed him in.

The cabin was luxuriously decorated. On one side, a large bed adorned with silken, gold-stitched sheets was placed, and on the other side, there was a table and chairs for meetings.

Chu Yeon-seung sat in the chair in the center and said,

“Report”

“Yes! We’ve received three requests from the Golden Heavenly Hall, and there’s also been contact from Silver Lotus Hall. However, Silver Lotus Hall is only at the contact stage, so we’ve ruled them out for now.

“Is the Silver Lotus Hall still hesitating?”

“It seems that moral principles are holding them back.”

“How stupid! To win a war, you have to mobilize all your resources. They will fall behind in the competition because of such morality”.

Chu Yeon-seung scoffed at the Silver Lotus Hall.

“They’re still hesitating, but I’m sure they’ll give us a commission sooner or later.”

“Until then, the Silver Lotus Hall must be thoroughly excluded. They need to see more of their key people assassinated before they come to their senses and join us.

“We will do as you command.”

“What are the commissions from the Golden Heavenly Hall?”

“Two of them are for the assassination of figures from the Silver Lotus Hall, and one of them is
……”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s a request to eliminate his lover.”

“His lover?”

“Yes! The client has requested us to remove the lover whom he has been involved with for
several years. He also wants us to disguise the act as a deed of Silver Lotus Hall so he won’t be suspected.”

“Do it! It’s not that difficult.”

“But….”

“What?”

Seeing Oh Seok-gyeong hesitate, Chu Yeon-seung furrowed his brow.

“Well, the lover is too young…. Moreover, the woman was not aware that her partner was already married.”

“What’s that got to do with us?”

“But still….”

“Pull yourself together. We are assassins. Fairness has nothing to do with us, and we have no business knowing about our target’s situation.”

“….”

“Oh Seok-gyeong!”

“Yes!”

“We are assassins. Sympathy is forbidden for us. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“So, what should we do?”

“We will accept the request.”

“Good!”

Only then did Chu Yeon-seung relax his stern expression.

Chu Yeon-seung managed the ordinary Sea Hawk Pavilion and the assassins’ guild separately. In the flagship he occasionally visited, only assassin-related matters were handled.

Oh Seok-gyeong was like a pupil handpicked and nurtured by him. Oh Seok-gyeong’s talent was exceptional, to the extent that Chu Yeon-seung had passed on most of the secrets of the
Red Hidden Flying Dagger technique to him.

Oh Seok-gyeong handled all matters related to the assassins’ guild.

However, his only flaw was his hesitation when it came to handling such distasteful requests.

‘If it weren’t for that, he’d be even more useful.’

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

Still, among his subordinates, there was no one as talented as Oh Seok-gyeong.

Chu Yeon-seung said to Oh Seok-gyeong, “I will stay here tonight.”

“…..”

“Why, do you have a problem?”

“No.”

“Then leave and bring in the girl you’ve prepared.”

“Yes!”

Oh Seok-gyeong retreated with his subordinates.

Left alone, Chu Yeon-seung started to undress and sat down on the bed.
His face was flushed with excitement.

After a while, Oh Seok-gyeong’s voice came from outside.

“We will let her in.”

“Hmm!”

As soon as permission was granted, the door to the cabin opened, and a young girl cautiously entered.

She looked only about sixteen years old. Her face was pale and there were clear traces of tears
around her eyes.

It was clear that she had been crying heavily before entering.

She was a fisherman’s daughter.

Although she was young, her beauty was exceptional, and rumors about her were already widespread in the vicinity.

Chu Yeon-seung had also heard rumors about the girl and had his eye on her.

Moreover, he was already married and had grown children. He couldn’t openly covet the girl, so he had to go through a cumbersome process.

He had lent money to the girl’s father, knowing that he was in a difficult situation. Naturally, the girl’s father could not repay the debt and had to send his daughter in lieu of payment.

There were many girls in Gungshi Village who were ruined in this way. The fact that no rumours spread was because Chu Yeon-seung thoroughly kept everyone’s mouths shut.

The people staring at him in the harbour were the parents whose daughters he had ruined.

The girl also knew about Chu Yeon-seung’s secret rumors. And she knew what would happen to her soon.

“Come here.”

“Yes!”

The girl trudged towards Chu Yeon-seung, step by step.

Her trembling figure looked pitiful, like a bird soaked in rain. The sight fueled Chu Yeon-seung’s lust even more.

“Come quickly.”

“Yes!”

The girl closed her eyes and quickened her steps.

Soon, she would feel his hot breath and she would be defiled.

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

Even with her eyes closed, she felt Chu Yeon-seung reaching out for her.

The girl waited for Chu Yeon-seung’s next move with her eyes closed. But strangely, no matter how long she waited, she did not feel Chu Yeon-seung’s touch.

Eventually, the girl cautiously opened her eyes and looked at Chu Yeon-seung.

What she saw was an unbelievable sight.

Chu Yeon-seung’s body was frozen in the position of reaching out to her.

There was a long wound on Chu Yeon-seung’s neck, and blood was continuously pouring out from the exposed flesh.

“Ugh…”

A faint groan came from Chu Yeon-seung’s lips.

He tried to turn around with an expression of disbelief. But he had lost so much blood that he didn’t have the strength to move a finger. The only reason he hadn’t fallen yet was because someone was supporting his body from behind.

It was the very person who had inflicted the wound on his neck.

He hadn’t sensed any sound or sign.

Until the person had cut his throat.

‘Who are you? You…’

But Chu Yeon-seung’s thoughts didn’t make it out of his mouth.

Because Chu Yeon-seung was dying.

“Aaah!”

The girl’s scream echoed in the cabin.