Reaper of the Drifting Moon Chapter 551
The repercussions of Yong Ha-sang’s death were enormous.
Not only the Silver Lotus Hall, but even the Golden Heavenly Hall was in turmoil.
Although he was forced to resign after being defeated by Lee Geom-han, he had done a good job of leading the Silver Lotus Hall until then.
Once he ascended to the leader’s position, he had prioritized strengthening his power over fighting with the Golden Heavenly Hall, earning some resentment around him, but he hadn’t done anything particularly wrong.
For this reason, the martial artists of Silver Lotus Hall harbored no ill will towards Yong Ha-sang.
Moreover, there were still a considerable number of martial artists in the Silver Lotus Hall who were supporting him
Furious over the death of Yong Ha-sang, they swore vengeance.
Now, it was the Golden Heavenly Hall that was in a predicament.
To anyone looking, it seemed obvious that the culprit was Golden Heavily Hall. However, the Golden Heavenly Hall hadn’t even mobilized its forces, let alone killed Yong Ha-sang.
Yet, everyone was pointing fingers at the Golden Heavenly Hall as the murderer of Yong Ha-sang.
If Yong Ha-sang had died as the leader of the Silver Lotus Hall, it wouldn’t have been an issue.
After all, the two forces were embroiled in a fierce war.
The problem was the timing.
Yong Ha-sang had stepped down as the leader of the Silver Lotus Hall, becoming a wandering martial artist.
No matter how important the patronage of Kangho was, it was against the martial code to directly attack and kill a martial artist who had resigned and was about to retreat into seclusion.
Some argued what was wrong with killing an opponent during the Kangho Great War, but the public sentiment of Kangho wasn’t so simple.
To kill a figure as prominent as Yong Ha-sang and not face backlash, a solid reason was needed.
Knowing this, the Golden Heavenly Hall had no choice but to be taken aback by the death of Yong Ha-sang.
They could feel the public sentiment rapidly souring against them.
The leader of the Golden Heavenly Hall, Jang Mugak, immediately convened his top advisors.
“Who the hell did this? Surely, our martial artists didn’t kill Yong Ha-sang?”
“Absolutely not.”
The one speaking in a soft voice was Jang Ho-yeon, the young master of Rain Mountain Manor.
“Am I the one who is supposed to be reasonable now?? In any conflict, a legitimate reason is crucial. Yong Ha-sang’s death has turned public opinion against us.
“That public sentiment can be turned around easily.”
“How so?”
“People’s memories have limits, and public opinion is naturally fickle. If we are given a bit of time, we can quickly restore the public sentiment. What’s important now isn’t worrying about public sentiment, but finding out who killed Yong Ha-Sang. That’s what truly matters.”
“Hmm!”
Jang Mugak’s expression became much more relaxed.
“You’re right. I let my emotions get the better of me.”
He openly acknowledged his mistake.
Jang Ho-yeon admired Jang Mugak’s attitude.
It wasn’t easy for a man in Jang Mugak’s position to admit a mistake so openly.
Jang Mugak then asked Jang Ho-yeon,
“So, what should we do next?”
“First and foremost, we need to find the real culprit. If we can do that, not only can we win back the public sentiment, but also use it to our advantage.”
“And how do we do that?”
“If we search from the bottom up, we’re bound to find something.Fortunately, I know someone who’s quite useful for this sort of thing.”
“You have someone like that?”
“I’ve been getting a lot of help from him since I came here. He’ll definitely dig up the information circulating at the grassroots level.”
“In that case, I’ll leave it to you.”
Jang Mugak gave a smile.
His most reliable friend, Dokgo Hwang, was away, seeking revenge for Eom Soso.
In his absence, the person filling the void was none other than Jang Ho-yeon.
Jang Ho-yeon rose from his seat, saying,
“I’ll get it done quickly.”
“Hmm!”
Jang Ho-yeon immediately left the grand hall and headed towards his destination.
It was a small building attached to one side of Golden Heavenly Hall.
Being tucked away in a remote corner, it escaped the gaze of most people.
When he opened the door, he saw a group of people sitting here and there.
At first glance, they were very dirty and didn’t look like they belonged in the Golden Heavenly Hall. And indeed, their status was quite low.
As Jang Ho-yeon appeared, they quickly stood up.
“Good heavens! Who is this? Why has Master Jang come to this humble place? What brings you here?”
The man who approached Jang Ho-yeon in a swaggering manner was Deung Cheol-woong, the leader of Blood Ant Chamber.
Deung Cheol-woong’s expression as he looked at Jang Ho-yeon was far from pleasant.
Despite being the foremost contributor in helping Jang Ho-yeon and the Golden Heavenly Hall establish their position in Poyang Lake, he had been virtually neglected ever since.
That’s why his feelings towards Jang Ho-yeon were not very favorable.
Jang Ho-yeon looked at Deung Cheol-woong with cold eyes.
Feeling the chill, Deung Cheol-woong subtly turned his head away to avoid Jang Ho-yeon’s gaze.
‘Damn it! Staring at me like that again.’
As brave as he was, he couldn’t face Jang Ho-yeon in a fight.
He knew full well that he could lose his life with a flick of Jang Ho-yeon’s finger.
Jang Ho-yeon spoke up,
“I have a favor to ask.”
“A… favor?”
“Yes. A favor.”
“What favor?”
At the word ‘favor,’ Deung Cheol-woong’s face softened slightly.
It was a word that was essentially no different from an order, but it had a better ring to it.
“I need information from the underworld.”
“Information?”
“Yes! I need to find out who killed Yong Ha-sang.”
“Wasn’t it the Golden Heavenly Hall?”
“Be careful with your words.”
“It wasn’t?”
“If it was, I wouldn’t be giving this order.”
“Hmm!”
Deung Cheol-woong showed a fascinated expression.
“If you do this right, I’ll give you the authority to manage all the supplies that come into the Golden Heavenly Hall. With that much power, no one in Poyang Lake will be able to ignore you.”
“Really?”
“I swear on my honor.”
“Alright then.”
Only then did Deung Cheol-woong crack a satisfying smile.
Jang Ho-yeon may have neglected him and the Blood Ant Chamber so far, but he knew that Jang Ho-yeon always kept his word.
The supplies coming into the Golden Heavenly Hall were truly tremendous.
Just one year of managing it would bring in more profits than a decade of managing the Blood Ant Chamber.
It was well worth the effort.
The foundation that the Blood Ant Chamber had in Poyang Lake was still intact.
“Hehe! Just wait a little. I’ll bring good news in no time.”
“I look forward to it.”
***
Yong Ha-sang’s body was in a stone coffin.
The stone coffin contained ice crystals to keep the temperature cold.
It was a measure to preserve Yong Ha-sang’s body fully preserved.
Thanks to this, Yong Ha-sang’s corpse remained intact without decaying, even days after his death.
Namgung Wol silently gazed at the stone coffin containing Yong Ha-sang’s body. His face was filled with a gloomy expression,
He felt as if Yong Ha-sang’s death was entirely his responsibility.
Namgung Seol was standing next to Namgung Wol.
She was silently staring at Namgung Wol.
“Hoo.”
Only after a long time did Namgung Wol take a deep breath and look at Namgung Seol.
“Thank you, For indulging my unreasonable request. I was able to say my goodbyes thanks to you.”
“It wasn’t a difficult request.”
“I really didn’t expect him to die this way.”
“What will you do now?”
“I have to go.”
“Without seeking the beast who killed young master Yong? Staying in the Silver Lotus Hall will be faster in finding the monster.”
“Sister, you find the monster in your way. I will find it in mine.”
“So you don’t want to be together till the end. Fine! I won’t hold you back any anymore”
Namgung Seol’s expression turned cold.
She was hurt by her younger brother, who pushed her away until the end.
As if he suddenly remembered, Namgung Wol asked,
“By the way, what are you going to do with the body?”
“I’ve sent a letter to the Dragon Mountain Manor. A reply should come soon.”
From Poyang Lake, where the Silver Lotus Hall was located, to Dragon Mountain Manor was more than 4,000 Li.
Even if the letter was sent by the fastest method, it would take almost two weeks to reach the Dragon Mountain Manor.
They probably still didn’t know about Yong Ha-sang’s death at Dragon Mountain Manor.
She was already worried about how the Dragon Mountain Manor would react to the death of their only heir.
The leader of Dragon Mountain Manor, Yong Geom-sang, was a man of such martial prowess that he became nicknamed Iron Tyrant Dragon.
As the master of the Dragon Mountain Manor, one of the three great sects, his martial arts prowess was ranked within the top ten in the world.
No one could predict what he might do in his anger.
If Yong Geom-sang were to intervene in the Kangho Great War, neither the Heaven Martial Sect nor the Mad Martial Sect could remain passive, as they had been.
If they all joined in, the carnage would be unparalleled in comparison to any previous Kangho war.
The best scenario would be if the Dragon Mountain Manor simply mourned the death of Yong Ha-sang and moved on. But everyone knew it wouldn’t be that easy..
As Namgung Wol moved forward, he spoke,
“I am really leaving this time! Take care.”
“Hoo!”
Instead of responding, Namgung Seol let out a sigh.
She could no longer hold Namgung Wol back.
Nothing was more foolish than trying to hold on to someone whose heart had long since left for good
Namgung Wol left the Silver Lotus Hall, leaving Namgung Seol behind.
Upon reaching the dock, he boarded a boat without looking back.
The boat that carried him quickly moved away from the pier.
Only when the Silver Lotus Hall was no longer in sight did Namgung Wol let out a soft sigh.
“Hoo!”
The past few days have been like a nightmare.
At the very moment he was leaving the Silver Lotus Hall, the body of Yong Ha-sang was discovered, plunging him into immense distress.
The death of Yong Ha-sang felt like it was his fault.
He wondered if things would have turned out differently if he had believed in him till the end.
Such thoughts tormented him ceaselessly, leaving him sleepless for the past few days.
Now, his eyes were bloodshot.
In his heart, he wanted to go to a quiet place and sleep to his heart’s content.
Yet, Namgung Wol resisted such desires and kept his eyes ahead.
The small boat that carried him cut through the placid water of Poyang Lake.
The boatman then asked,
“Should I keep going this way?”
“Indeed. Continue upstream along the Yangtze. I’ll let you know when to stop.”
“Understood.”
Despite the boatman’s puzzled expression, he rowed diligently.
The boat, albeit small enough to carry only a couple of people, sped across Po-yang Lake at a surprising speed.
It was possible because the boatman had lived his entire life on boats.
After a day’s travel, the boat arrived at the confluence where the Yangtze meets the Poyang Lake.
During this time, Namgung Wol crouched on deck, occasionally dozing off.
The boatman spoke carefully.
“Great Hero! We’re now at the confluence where the Yangtze merges.”
“Huh?”
Rubbing his eyes, Namgung Wol looked around.
As the boatman had said, it was the confluence where the Yangtze River merged with Poyang Lake.
As expected from the confluence, the water was very turbulent. It was impossible to row against such currents in a small boat.
“Dock the boat over there.”
Namgung Wol pointed to the riverbank and spoke.
The boatman rowed hard to approach the shore.
Due to the strong current, the boatman was drenched in sweat.
Namgung Wol handed him five silver coins.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Oh my! So generous of you.”
“Now, return safely.”
Namgung Wol kicked the boat and flew towards the riverbank.
He flew almost five zhang before landing on the sandy beach.
“Wow!”
The boatman exclaimed in admiration at Namgung Wol’s movements.
He had seen quite a few martial artists on Poyang Lake, but none exhibited such impressive Qigong skills. But his admiration was short-lived.
The boatman soon turned the boat around and went back the way he came.
Namgung Wol glanced at the retreating boat for a moment before using his qigong. Since he had taken a short nap on the boat, his physical condition wasn’t bad.
Namgung Wol chose to disembark and use his qigong because he did not want to reveal his destination to Namgung Seol or anyone else.
He was certain that Namgung Seol would interrogate the boatman to find out his destination.
Knowing her tendencies, Namgung Wol had to use his Qigong.
After running for a while, he emerged from the woods to a breathtaking view.
A cliff lay ahead, overlooking the Yangtze River.
A large courtyard was located at the end of the cliff.
On the signboard of the courtyard were three characters: Sol Family Pavilion.
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