Reaper of the Drifting Moon

When Pyo-wol pulled out a dagger right in front of his nose, Gong-jin felt terrified and stepped back.

It was then.

“There’s no need to cut open his body. Let me check.”

A middle-aged man walked out of the crowd.

The appearance of a skinny man with a nervous expression made the people nearby buzz.

“Isn’t that person Shim?”

“If it’s Physician Shim, then we can trust him.”

The man’s name was Shim Hak, a reputed doctor who is rumored to have divine powers. His medical techniques were so mysterious that he had a reputation for healing a few wounds with just acupuncture.

He was so reliable that even in the Wudang sect, if a disciple suffered a serious injury, they would send the said disciple to Shim Hak for treatment.

Shim Hak approached Hong Mugwang’s body without hesitation and examined it closely.

Gong-jin and the warriors looked at Shim Hak with tense eyes.

Shim Hak first examined the sword wounds, then looked closely at Hong Mugwang’s abdomen, eyes, and nose.

After a while, Shim Hak stood up.

His eyes became red and bloodshot like Soma’s from being on edge.

Shim Hak looked around the people surrounding him and said,

“I can guarantee that the sword wound on this young warrior’s body is not the cause of his death.”

“Really?”

“I’m saying it with my honor on the line. The sword wound is quite deep, but it’s not fatal enough to take a person’s life.”

“Then his words were true?”

The murmur of the crowd of warriors grew louder.

Shim Hak did not pay attention to their reaction, and continued,

“Like what this young man said, all of the corpse’s internal organs are damaged. Among them, the liver is seriously damaged.”

“Liver?”

“The liver is the organ that reacts greatly when the body is poisoned. It’s already obvious why the liver is damaged like this.”

“So it’s because of poison?”

“A poison which makes a person’s potential explode at once usually shows this kind of reaction.”

“Is it possible he failed from doing the bone marrow cleansing?”

“I’ve treated patients who suffered from failed bone marrow cleansing, but it doesn’t cause major damage to the stomach or small intestine.”

“Hmm…”

Gong-jin was silent at Shim Hak’s calm explanation.

This is because Pyo-wol’s words prove to be true.

Shim Hak continued,

“Above all, look at the blood shed from his orifices. The blood coming from the body’s other wounds are still wet, while the blood from his nose, eyes and mouth has already dried up. It’s a phenomenon that happens when the blood in the intestines has been poisoned with some kind of drug.”

Since a person like Shim Hak had already come to a diagnosis, there was no reason to doubt any more.

“If you don’t believe me, cut open his stomach like what that man proposed. You can see that the color of the body’s intestines are different from usual.”

“So you’re saying he fought that kid while on drugs that made him dramatically increase his strength and potential?”

“This kind of poison doesn’t have a big effect on the body if it stays still. However, the moment the person moves violently, it reacts immediately and attacks the body.”

“Hic!”

In the end, Gong-jin had no choice but to admit that Shim Hak’s words were true. His reasoning was well-organized and sound. Furthermore, he had no connection or relationship with Soma. He had no reason to defend him.

Morever, Gong-jin knew better than anyone else Shim Hak’s personality and tendencies.

In the first place, he was not a person who could be persuaded by someone. If he was such a person, the Wudang sect would not have sent critically ill patients to him.

At this time, it was already clear that Soma did not kill Hong Mugwang.

Now, the question is who poisoned Hong Mugwang.

Hong Mugwang could not have taken poison himself.

Soma may have been cleared of charge, but the truth remains to be seen.

“Who on earth gave him the poison? Once we find him, we will never let him go.”

Gong-jin’s white beard trembled.

Then Pyo-wol coldly spoke to him,

“Before that, shouldn’t you apologize to Soma first?”

“You just won’t let it go, would you?”

Gong-jin’s face was miserably distorted.

It was the first time for him, a proud member of the Wudang sect, to be driven into such a predicament.

The eyes of the numerous warriors and taoists were on him

Gong-jin closed his eyes tightly.

‘O Primordial God, why are you giving me such an ordeal?’

He resented his carelessness for stepping out prematurely.

It takes a lot of courage for a person to admit their own mistakes. This is especially true for those who occupy a high position like Gong-jin.

After a moment of agony, Gong-jin opened his mouth,

“I’m sorry, I was rash and hastily pointed you out as the culprit. Forgive me for my mistake.”

Gong-jin bowed to Soma.

His appearance of honestly admitting his mistakes and bowing down left a great impression on the warriors gathered here.

Some warriors even felt ashamed. They reacted the same as Gong-jin. They criticized Soma without hesitation.

“Kheup!”

“Um!”

However, no one had the courage to apologize to Soma like Gong-jin did. They all just turned their heads away and coughed awkwardly.

Soma said to Gong-jin,

“I told you. I didn’t kill him.”

“Yes. I was wrong.”

“Don’t worry, I forgive you!”

“Thank you.”

“But just this once. If you threaten me again without proof, I will fight back.”

“Heh heh…”

At Soma’s threat, Gong-jin turned his gaze away with an awkward expression. He finds it embarrassing to keep looking into Soma’s eyes.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Pyo-wol walking towards somewhere.

The direction Pyo-wol’s footsteps were headed was towards Jang Muyeon and the White Tiger Sword Corps.

Jang Muyeon’s face stiffened as he saw Pyo-wol approaching him.

He had been smiling like a winner just a moment ago, but he couldn’t do so anymore.

‘Just when the rice is already cooked…’

It was Jang Muyeon who instigated Hong Mugwang.

He persuaded Hong Mugwang to do his bidding by saying that he would be protected by the Rain Mountain Manor.

He was also the one who gave Hong Mugwang drugs. He deceived Hong Mugwang by saying that it was a pill that temporarily increases a person’s vitality, but in fact it was a poison called Black Blood Pill. 1

The Black Blood Pill causes a person’s inherent potential to explode, thus making them squeeze out power beyond their limits.

The price?

It was the death of the user.

But Hong Mugwang believed his lies and took the Black Blood Pill.

Another side effect of Black Blood Pill is that it paralyzes the person’s cognition. It would prevent them from thinking rationally and would amplify their anger.

So upon seeing Soma, Hong Mugwang’s anger exploded. His anger toward Pyo-wol was expressed towards Soma.

Everything went as Jang Muyeon’s expected up to this point.

Hong Mugwang died due to the side effects of the Black Blood Pill, and the Wudang sect’s taoists tried to take the sword Gongbu away from Soma.

Jang Muyeon would then later on try to purchase the sword from the Wudang sect at a reasonable price.

Everything was going smoothly according to his plan.

But everything went awry the moment Pyo-wol stepped forward.

He didn’t expect Pyo-wol to see through the truth in an instant.

As Pyo-wol got closer, Jang Muyeon’s chin twitched.

His emotionless and unwavering eyes were looking straight at him. He was staring at him as if he knew all the truth.

Jang Muyeon wanted to pick up his sword and dig out Pyo-wol’s eyes right away. But he couldn’t do so because of the eyes around him.

If he attacks Pyo-wol here, it is like implicitly admitting that he is guilty of something. So he only looked at Pyo-wol, trying not to show any reaction.

Pyo-wol finally arrived in front of Jang Muyeon.

Everyone held their breath as they watched Pyo-wol and Jang Muyeon. They were not idiots. All of them thought there must be a reason why Pyo-wol approached Jang Muyeon like this.

Pyo-wol looked at Jang Muyeon without saying a word.

Jang Muyeon tried hard to keep a calm expression, but he couldn’t hide the flustered emotion in his eyes.

Pyo-wol kept staring into his eyes.

Jang Muyeon became furious.

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

At that moment, Pyo-wol smelled a faint scent coming from Jang Muyeon. A fragrance that he would never smell unless he was conscious of it.

‘The scent of wild chrysanthemum.’

It’s a scent that doesn’t suit a man who has learned martial arts. This is because it’s the type of fragrance that only a very small number of women use.

As far as Pyo-wol knew, there was only one person in Wudang Mountain that smelled like wild chrysanthemums.

Hong Ye-seol.

Hong Ye-seol and Jang Muyeon.

A charming woman and a wild young master.

The two met secretly, leading the woman’s scent to linger around this man.

Pyo-wol looked around.

Hong Ye-seol was nowhere to be seen.

In the place where everyone was gathered, only she was nowhere to be found.

Pyo-wol’s eyes narrowed.

Seeing this, Jang Muyeon unknowingly flinched.

At that moment, Pyo-wol opened his mouth,

“Have you slept with her?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hong Ye-seol.”

“That—”

Jang Muyeon, who was caught off guard, stammered.

Pyo-wol’s voice grew colder.

“Where is she?”

“How would I know that?”

Jang Muyeon’s answer added confidence to Pyo-wol’s speculation.

“Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west.”2

“You keep talking bullshit. What are you on about?”

Jang Muyeon shouted, but Pyo-wol didn’t care about him anymore.

Jang Muyeon would think he was the one who led all this work himself, but he was nothing more than a pawn in the chess board.

There was someone else who manipulated this series of events.

Pyo-wol approached Woo-sung.

Woo-sung glared at Pyo-wol with a frown on his face.

He wasn’t stupid either.

He noticed that something strange was going on. But he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Pyo-wol said to Woo-sung,

“You’d better go to the library right now.”

“What?”

“Maybe it’s too late.”

“No way? Sound in the east, strike west—?”

Only then did Woo-sung realize something and his face turned white.

Due to the series of disturbances, many of the Wudang sect’s disciples flocked to Qingliu Temple. This left the other places empty.

He doesn’t know why Pyo-wol mentioned the library, but it was clear that something had happened there.

“All of you, follow me.”

Woo-sung took the disciples and hurriedly ran to the library, while Gong-jin headed to Shangqing Temple where the other elders were.

In an instant, the Wudang sect taoists left the scene.

Only the warriors remained.

Jang Muyeon and the White Tiger Sword Corps were also nowhere to be seen. Taking advantage of the chaos which caused the Wudang sect taoists to hurriedly flee, they also escaped from the Wudang sect.

Pyo-wol approached Soma.

“Are you okay?”

“I can endure it.”

Soma shouted loudly while puffing his chest.

His eyes, which had been red just a moment ago, had returned to normal before he knew it.

“Let’s go!”

“Where?”

“You have to return back the suffering he gave to you.”

“Okay!”

Soma’s eyes changed.

If it wasn’t for Pyo-wol, he would have been falsely accused, making him the enemy of everyone.

If Pyo-wol hadn’t proved his innocence, he would either be imprisoned by the Wudang sect by now, or he would have lost his life due to the combined efforts of the taoists.

Although he may have the form of a child, Soma was not foolish.

Seeing how Pyo-wol treated Jang Muyeon, Soma realized that Jang Muyeon was behind all of this.

Soma did not care about the reason why Jang Muyeon set up this trap. The important thing is that he suffered hardship because of him. And now, he must give back as much as he suffered.

That was the principle that Soma had learned while following Pyo-wol.

Once a person is down, it is a warrior’s nature to swarm like wild dogs and bite them.

So he shouldn’t withdraw or shrink just because he had been hurt. He should inflict and return the same amount or even more wounds to them. That way, in the future, they won’t look down on him and act like this.

Soma looked around at the remaining warriors.

The warriors who had been staring at him with great hostility until a little while ago turned their heads and avoided his gaze.

They, too, sensed that things were going to take a strange turn.

‘Damn it!’

‘What’s going on?’

They did not know the full truth behind the matter, but it was clear that they greatly misunderstood something.

They couldn’t look at Soma properly, and were embarrassed.

“Hmpf!”

Soma snorted then followed after Pyo-wol.

SoundlessWind21’s Notes

Yay for action!

Dark Blood Pill. Raws: Heukhyeol-hwan, 黑 hēi – black; dark; evil, sinister 血 xiě, xuè – blood; radical number 143 丸 wán – small round object; pellet, pill Make a sound in the east, then strike in the west. Raws: Seongdonggyeseo, 성동격서(撃東撃西). One of the tactics in the Chinese military law book Thirty-six Strategies. In any battle the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage. Even when face-to-face with an enemy, surprise can still be employed by attacking where they least expect it. Create an expectation in the enemy’s mind through the use of a feint. Manipulate the enemy to focus their resources somewhere before attacking elsewhere that is poorly defended. Tactically, this is known as an “open feint”.