Reaper of the Drifting Moon

A person with a particularly large body among the mercenaries raised his head and looked at Seol Hajin. The name of the man with a Zhanmadao¹ on his back, which was as big as his body, was Hong Mugwang.

He looked at Seol Hajin, who still blushing, and asked,

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“How was it?”

“It was good.”

“Did that bastard last long?”

“He was much better than those who only gained muscle for nothing.”

Seol Hajin responded with no sign of shame. Hong Mugwang frowned when he saw her appearance like that.

There were a lot of people who became mercenaries due to unavoidable circumstances, but there were also those who decided to become one by choice because they did not like being tied down by nature.

Seol Hajin belonged to the latter.

Although she was born into a dignified warrior family, Seol Hajin ended up running away. She couldn’t stand being restrained by the rules imposed by her family.

Similar to her personality, her perspective of love is also free-spirited. If she likes someone, she would go out with him, and if she doesn’t like him, she would break up with them immediately.

There were a lot of people who looked at her in the mercenary guild, but there weren’t that many people who caught her eye.

Hong Mugwang was also one of those who kept an eye on Seol Hajin.

But Seol Ha-jin had never paid him any attention. She would sleep with the people she likes, while she would ignore him thoroughly.

‘Damn it! Unnecessarily arrogant woman.’

Hong Mugwang bit his lip hard.

He expected this kind of behavior out of Seol Hajin, but he never expected that she would be embraced by another man while they were out camping.

Even though Hong Mugwang found out that Seol Hajin slept with Pyo-wol, she did not show any signs of shame.

“Fucking bitch!”

Hong Mugwang’s eyes turned to Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol got up from his seat. He was still wearing the Black Dragon Robe. Even in the dark, his white glowing skin and handsome features were clearly visible.

Hong Mugwang stared at Pyo-wol as if he wanted to devour him.

Pyo-wol could also feel Hong Mugwang’s gaze, but he didn’t really care.

Pyo-wol put on the Black Dragon Robe and walked to the stream.

“Brother!”

Soma appeared next to him like a ghost.

His head and shoulders were damp. He was wet with the dew that formed in the night.

A normal person would have caught a cold, but Soma was alive and well.

“Can I kill him?”

Soma said out of the blue.

His gaze was fixed on Hong Mugwang, who was staring at Pyo-wol from afar.

Pyo-wol shook his head.

“Not yet…”

“Okay.”

Soma didn’t ask twice.

The two washed their faces lightly in the stream. They both came to their senses when the cold water touched their skins.

“Heehee!”

Soma burst out into his characteristic laugh after washing his face.

When the two returned to the camp, the people started to wake up one by one.

“Ugh! I’m dying!”

“Damn! There’s a stone stuck on my back.”

Groans erupted from everywhere.

No matter how accustomed they were to sleeping on the floor, they couldn’t help but feel aches here and there.

Wu Jang-rak approached Pyo-wol and greeted him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“So-so.”

“You seem to be used to camping. You don’t look tired at all. I feel like I’m going to die of aching.”

“Do we have to sleep outside from now on?”

“There is no decent place to stay on the way to Bishan.”

“So we have to keep on camping.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t take you to a comfortable place.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to this.”

“We would no longer be camping on the way from Bishan to Enshi. Instead, we will be traveling by boat. You just have to be patient until then.”

“Okay.”

Pyo-wol nodded.

Wu Jang-rak is doing his job well, so there was no reason for him to intervene.

People got up from their seats and got ready for departure.

Breakfast was simple. They settled with eating beef jerky and instant rice.

After eating, they left right away.

Running into bandits is a common occurrence when traveling. But thanks to the outstanding mercenary named Ko Il-pae, that did not happen.

Ko Il-pae was well-versed not only in martial arts but also with the surrounding situation. He had a clear idea where the bandits were located.

He led the party on a road without meeting a bandit even once. Thanks to him, Wu Jang-rak and his party were able to pass through the main road without experiencing any conflict.

It was a boring yet tedious journey. But none of them complained.

It may be boring for first-timers to take such a tedious journey, but those with more experience welcomed it. It was better for everyone to travel without difficulty rather than to solve conflicts with brute force.

No one complained because they all shared the same thoughts.

Hong Mugwang would occasionally stare at Pyo-wol. But besides that, the peaceful times continued.

In the evening, Ko Il-pae approached Wu Jang-rak.

“There’s a camp where we can sleep in front, so why don’t we rest there today?”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Wu Jang-rak answered happily.

He deeply trusted Ko Il-pae. It was because Ko Il-pae managed to demonstrate his abilities on their way here.

Ko Il-pae was an excellent guide. He managed to gain Wu Jang-rak’s trust because his choices have never been wrong.

Just as Ko Il-pae said, a suitable terrain for camping appeared after a while.

Wu Jang-rak exclaimed,

“We will be staying here today, so everyone, get ready to camp.”

“Yes!”

Wu Jang-rak’s men and mercenaries answered and moved in a hurry.

The two groups had already worked together the day before, so their teamwork was perfect.

In an instant, preparations for camp were over, and the party were soon eating the same porridge they ate the previous day.

They were all spread out, while holding a bowl of porridge.

“I see a light over there.”

“It looks like there’s people over there.”

People’s voices were heard from afar.

Those who were eating put down their bowls and grabbed their weapons. They had a wary expression on their faces.

They already treated the people they were about to meet in such a deserted place as enemies.

They glared at those who appeared through the darkness, ready to swing their weapons.

There were about twenty people, all on horseback.

The faces of Wu Jang-rak and Ko Il-pae became even more vigilant.

Horses were expensive. Not only because of its price, but also the cost it takes to maintain. Because of that, there were only a few people on horseback in Wu Jang-rak’s party.

However, the people who appeared through the darkness were all riding horses. There was little chance that these people who were riding horses at night were ordinary people.

‘Warriors.’

It was by no means pleasant to meet other warriors in their camping area.

It’s possible that the two groups just happened to have overlapped paths, but it’s also possible for the other party to approach them with bad intentions.

One of the riders spoke in a loud voice,

“Hey, is he not the Majestic Wind of the mercenary guild?”

Ko Il-pae’s eyebrows twitched.

This was because his nickname, Majestic Wind, is only used among the mercenaries. The general public and other powerful warriors hardly knew his nickname.

Ko Il-pae asked in a loud voice,

“Who are you?”

“Haha! I’m Baek Jin-gung. There’s no need to be so vigilant.”

“One-eyed Ghost, Baek Jin-gung?”²

“That’s right!”

Upon hearing the opponent’s confirmation, Ko Il-pae placed his weapon back in. However, there was still a light of vigilance on his face.

After a while, the people on horseback entered the camp area.

One of them got off his horse and approached Ko Il-pae. He was a fierce-looking man with an eye patch on his right eye. He was the One-eyed Ghost, Baek Jin-gung.

s ound less wind21

Baek Jin-gung pretended to know Ko Il-pae.

“Long time no see, brother!”

“What brings you here?”

“I’m here because of a request.”

“What request?”

“Haha! Let’s not cross the line. I don’t think we’re close enough for me to give you the details.””

“So what’s your business here?”

“As you can see, I missed the right time to find a place to sleep while carrying out the quest. It’s hard to find another place because the sun has already gone down, so let us stay here for today.”

Ko Il-pae frowned at Baek Jin-gung’s words.

There was a hint of disapproval on his face. If it were only him and his mercenaries, he would have agreed. But it was Wu Jang-rak, and not him, who was in charge of this place.

“I’ll ask our client and decide. Wait a minute.”

“Haha! Please speak well for us. It’s not like we don’t know each other at all, right?”

“That’s why its a problem. Anyway, wait here.”

Ko Il-pae shook his head and approached Wu Jang-rak.

Woo Jang-rak asked in a low voice,

“You don’t look good. Do you have a problem with them?”

“They’re called the Demon Chasing Team.¹ They’re mercenaries like us, but they’re of poor quality. They accept quests that ordinary mercenaries wouldn’t do.”

“Are you saying they’re not doing the usual quests?”

“Yes. As long as they receive a reasonable amount of money, they will perform any quest. Even if it is something that a human should never do.”

“Hmm…”

“For that reason, when the mercenary guild looked down on them, he led the people who followed him and created the Demon Chasing Team.”

Ko Il-pae’s gaze at Baek Jin-gung and the Demon Chasing Team was not pretty.

When both of them were still in the mercenary guild, the two argued several times because of the differences in opinions. He personally never wanted to be in the same space as the Demon Chasing Team again, but the decision maker in the group was Wu Jang-rak.

He had no choice but to follow his decision.

Wu Jang-rak asked,

“Do you think there will be any problems if we take them to our camp?”

“I don’t think so.”

“If that’s the case then let them join. We might earn their resentment if we rejected them for no reason.”

“Alright.”

Ko Il-pae replied.

He went to Baek Jin-gung and delivered the words of Wu Jang-rak.

“The client has allowed it. It’s okay for your party to stay with us. But if you cause trouble, we’ll kick you out right away.”

“Haha! Do you think we’re the same young people back then? We don’t want trouble, either. Anyway, I’ll never forget this favor.”

Baek Jin-gung beckoned to the Demon Chasing Team. Then the Demon Chasing Team got off their horses and settled in an open space. soundlesswind21

Before Baek Jin-gung went to his party, he looked at Seol Hajin.

“It’s been a while. Are you still dressing up as a man?”

“You’re noisy. Shut up.”

“Heh heh! As I’ve heard you say–”

“Ugh! Bad breath.”

Seol Hajin covered her nose with one hand and fanned herself with her other hand.

Then Baek Jin-gung’s face went red.

“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Why not now?”

Seol Hajin rolled up her sleeves and cracked her fingers.

Baek Jin-gung laughed at her provocation.

“Later— There’s no rush.”

If it were an ordinary person, he would have rushed in shame, but Baek Jin-gung went back to his party with a calm expression on his face. Just by looking at him, anyone could tell how good his temperament is.

Baek Jin-gung and the Demon Chasing Team gathered in a circle and talked.

There seemed to be an invisible wall between the Demon Chasing Team and Wu Jang-rak’s party. They were obviously in the same room, but they treated each other like the other party doesn’t exist.

Seol Hajin approached Pyo-wol and Soma, who were eating at one side.

They didn’t even look at Baek Jin-gung and the Demon Chasing Team. They were only focused on their meal. The two seemed to have no regard for the Demon Chasing Team.

Seol Hajin thought that Pyo-wol was great. s o u n d l e s s w i n d 2 1 . c o m

If he was like a normal person, you’d have to keep flirting with each other since we had a split last night, but Pyo-Wol didn’t have that at all.

He was acting as if nothing happened.

Seol Hajin wanted to do the same, but when someone does it to her, she couldn’t help but be disappointed.

Pyo-wol suddenly raised his head and looked at Seol Hajin.

“What is it?”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“About them.”

Seol Hajin looked at the Demon Chasing Team.

Pyo-wol shook his head.

“Not at all.”

“They’re dangerous people, they’ve long forgotten about morals and human etiquette. I don’t know who they’re after this time, but it’s best not to get involved with them as much as possible.”

“Are they human hunters?”

“That’s right! Those human horses mainly hunt humans. I don’t know who their goal is this time, but there’s demand for a beautiful man like you. Whenever they receive a quest, they would faithfully carry it out regardless of the person’s status. Because of that, they had several conflicts with captain.”

“Captain? Ko Il-pae?”

“Well, I’m the captain now. Anyways, be careful. I don’t want to see the man who I’ve already been with become someone else’s prey.”

“Of course.”

Soma suddenly asked,

“Can I kill them?”

“Not yet.”

“Hmpf!”

“Hold on a little bit.”

“Okay!”

SoundlessWind21’s Notes

Thank you for reading!

1. Zhanmadao. Raws: 참마도.
   • A single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword.
2. One-eyed Ghost. Raws: Shuyan Ghost, 안귀(蜀眼鬼).
   • 蜀 shǔ – name of an ancient state
   • 眼 yǎn, wěn – eye, eyelet, hot, opening
   • 鬼 guǐ – ghost, spirit of dead, devil
3. Demon Chasing Team. Raws: Chuma-dae, 추마대(追魔隊).
   • 追 pursue, chase after, expel
   • 魔 demon, evil spirits, magic power
   • 隊 team, group, army, unit