Reaper of the Drifting Moon

Manhwa: N/A

The Red Flower Tavern1 is famous for its delicious alcohol in Runan. Because of this, drinkers who know of the tavern’s reputation frequently visit the place.

Inside the tavern, a woman could be seen drinking alone.

She had a seemingly ordinary appearance at first, but once a person takes a good look at her, they find themselves unable to take their eyes off of her because of her indescribable charm.

Many of those who drank near the woman would often steal glances at her. But not one of them dared to approach or make a pass on her because of the unusual atmosphere she was giving off.

“Hoo!”

The woman sighed and put her glass down on the table.

Her face was flushed as if she had drunk quite a bit. In fact, there were two empty bottles lying on the table where she was seated.

The drunk woman was Hong Ye-seol.

She should have left Runan already, but here she was still in the area, busy drinking.

Hong Ye-seol wasn’t actually fond of drinking alcohol. While one would momentarily feel good by drinking such substances, if the person drinks too much, then it will dull their senses.

For that reason, many assassins hesitate in drinking alcohol.

In particular, whenever she was tasked to assassinate someone, she makes it so that she does not drink even a single sip.

The only reason why Hong Ye-seol could now be seen drinking at the Red Flower Taven is because she has no intention of accepting assassination requests for the time being.

She just plans to stay in Runan for the meantime and watch the battle unfold between the two forces.

When she was about to pour alcohol into her empty glass,

“To think I would find you here drinking alone. This is something new.”

A dismal voice reached her ears.

Without turning her head, Hong Ye-seol replied,

“Heuk-ho?”2

“Long time no see.”

A man slumped in front of her without permission. He was a skinny man wearing a black coat.

“What brings you here? By any chance, are you here because of me?”

“Yes. I decided to take on the quest you gave up on.”

The man named Heuk-ho answered indifferently.

Hong Ye-seol’s eyes became sharp.

Heuk-ho belongs to the top five among the top ten assassins in the Hundred Wraith Union.

He was an assassin of a higher order than her.

Although she belonged among the top ten, those above her were far more cruel and secretive than her.

‘I can’t believe Heuk-ho is here.’

Hong Ye-seol did not expect this situation at all.

While she thought that another person would come take her place, she didn’t expect that it would be Heuk-ho.

It was extremely rare for a Heuk-ho to move.

Unlike most assassins, it wasn’t money that drove him. He only cares about things that are of interest to him.

Hong Ye-seol asked,

“You’re not the kind of person who takes on requests that others have given up on, are you?”

“This is an exception.”

“Exception?”

“I think this is going to be fun.”

Heuk-ho grinned.

For a moment, Hong Ye-seol felt an eerie feeling.

The atmosphere Heuk-ho gave off was so gloomy that it made even his fellow assassins feel wary.

Heuk-ho’s outward appearance is just the tip of the iceberg.

Heuk-ho’s nickname in the Hundred Wraith Union is Mad Dog.3 His moves were no different from those of a mad dog who didn’t know where to go.

“Did you know that the Four Red Lotus Ghosts are here?”

“I know. You got offended because of that and canceled the request, didn’t you?”

“You mean you came here even knowing that?”

“Who says it’s just me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“A few more people came to Runan.”

“What?”

“Ice Slayer4 and Dark Ghost5 have also moved.”

“Crazy!”

Hong Ye-seol unknowingly cursed.

The two people Heuk-ho mentioned did not belong to the top ten, but they were the closest to him.

‘Ice Slayer, Dark Ghost and Mad Dog. Plus the Four Red Lotus Ghosts?”

Hong Ye-seol felt goosebumps crawl on her skin.

If those assassins worked together, there would be no target they couldn’t kill.

Each of them had different martial arts and assassination methods, but in the end, all of them are well-versed in killing people.

No matter how strong Hong Ye-seol is, even she was not confident that she would survive if she faced all of them.

“Now tell me.”

“About what?”

“That assassin.”

“What assassin?”

“That assassin you and the Four Red Lotus Ghosts chased after.”

Heuk-ho smiled, showing his white teeth.

Only then did Hong Ye-seol realize Heuk-ho’s purpose.

He was not interested in Lee Yul’s request.

He was just interested in Pyo-wol.

Heukho is famous for his strong desire to win even against the top ten assassins in the Hundred Wraith Union.

In his early days, he attempted to pick a fight against his fellow assassins in the Hundred Wraith Union. Fortunately, that didn’t happen because of the Hundred Wraith Union leader’s intervention, but his desire to compete against the top ten assassins was always lurking in his heart. However, since he couldn’t kill them, he changed his goal to Pyo-wol, who is a famous emerging assassin in Jianghu.

Hong Ye-seol glared at Heuk-ho,

“He’s no easy target.”

“I’m different from you. Unlike you, I deal with the target properly and don’t backtrack.”

“You—?”

“I heard the story. You bumped into him and lost.”

“Who says such nonsense?!”

“If not, there’s no way you’d give up your mission halfway.”

Bang!

Hong Ye-seol could not stand it any longer and hit the table with her palm. A palm-shaped hole appeared in the middle of the thick table.

The people at the tavern became quiet. They realized that the woman who was drinking alone is actually a great master.

Hong Ye-seol glared at Heuk-ho. But Heuk-ho’s expression did not shake at all.

“Tell me about him.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“I have successfully assassinated 172 people so far. I don’t feel remorse for killing people.”

“But there are more than one or two people who got seriously injured.”

“Including you?”

“…….”

“Fine. I don’t think you’re in a good mood. I won’t ask anymore since It’ll only hurt your pride.”

Heuk-ho got up from his seat and suddenly disappeared.

Hong Ye-seol’s face hardened.

Heuk-ho’s attitude now was clearly ignoring her.

“How dare you!”

She gritted her teeth.

Just because a person is a little higher in rank than another person doesn’t necessarily mean they’re stronger.

The difference between their martial arts and assassination methods was minimal.

There is a greater chance of winning depending on the physical condition of the person on the day of the fight. On such a subject, anger rose to the top of her head at Heuk-ho who was treating her as if she’s trash.

“You shouldn’t have treated me like that.”

Hong Ye-seol’s red lips went up and drew a line.

A good idea came to her head.

* * *

“…….”

The hall was quiet.

It was a very strange sight.

Not being able to hear a single breath in a gambling den full of madness and excitement was beyond bizarre, to the point that it was scary.

There were still a lot of people in the gambling hall. But no one dared to open their mouths. They only focused their gazes at one place.

Where their eyes were directed, there was Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol was sitting upright like a stone statue. However, in front of him were heaps of gold coins piled up like a mountain.

It was as if all the gold coins in the gambling den had been gathered in front of him.

In truth, that’s exactly what happened.

It’s been half a day since he entered the gambling house.

In that time, Pyo-wol has won all the gambles.

Whether it’s dice or any game.

They were no match for him.

When Pyo-wol won consecutive games, the gambling den hurriedly put in their best gamblers. But, Pyo-wol just ended up robbing them of their money.

Any tricks were rendered useless.

Pyo-wol saw all through their tricks like a ghost.

In the end, not only the customers, but even the gamblers hired by the gambling den lost all their money.

The result is what it looks like now.

Everyone was staring at Pyo-wol.

Then someone came in and broke the silence,

“What is it? Why is the atmosphere so hot?”

The one who appeared with a rough voice was Jang Noya, the owner of the gambling den.

On Jang Noya’s left and right sides were men lined up like a folding screen. They were said to be warriors who possessed a strong force in the back alley.

It wasn’t just their appearance that was intimidating, every one of them learned martial arts so it was rumored that no one in the back alley could defeat them.

Jang Noya’s gaze turned to Pyo-wol.

“Who are you?”

“…….”

“Why are you ruining someone else’s business? Are you a guy sent by the Black West?”

The Black West is an organization that manages other gambling establishments nearby. It is in competition with the gambling den where Pyo-wol is right now.

Pyo-wol got up from his seat and looked at Jang Noya.

“You must be the head of this place, right?”

“Heh! You came to my gambling house without knowing that?”

“That’s not important.”

“It’s important to me, you wildcat-like bastard! What are you doing?! Cut off his hands and feet this instant! Oh wait– leave his nails alone, it looks pretty good, so I think it can be sold at a high price. Anyway, get his money, take off all his clothes and make him kneel!”

“Yes!”

After answering, Jang Noya’s subordinates tried to rush towards Pyo-wol.

It was then.

Ciiit!

Suddenly, a sound like a ghost’s sob resounded through the room.

Two phantom daggers traversed the air and penetrated Jang Noya’s men.

Some had their shoulders pierced, others had a hole in their abdomen. There were also many who fell after being hit in the arms or legs by the daggers.

In an instant, all of Jang Noya’s men collapsed.

Jang Noya looked at Pyo-wol with an expression of disbelief. He shuddered as if he had seen a ghost.

He had to be.

The phantom daggers that pierced the bodies of his subordinates were all floating in front of his face.

“S-Sword qi?”

The phantom daggers were actually supported by the Soul-Reaping Thread, but to Jang Noya’s eyes, it looked like sword qi.

It was only then that he realized that the handsome man in front of him was a frightening warrior so he broke into a cold sweat.

Kuuk!

“100 million!”

As the phantom dagger floating in the air pricked his neck, he involuntarily let out a whimper.

Fortunately, Jang Noya was a very quick-witted person.

“Oh! Master! This small man has committed a mortal sin.”

He quickly fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

“Where do you sell it?”

“My mouth had been talking on its own.”

Slap!

Jang Noya battered himself in the mouth a couple of times with his fist. His lips cracked and blood splattered, but he didn’t care.

Jang Noya was well aware that he was at a crossroads in his life.

The moment he makes a mistake here, he will have his life taken away.

Jang Noya wanted to live long.

He didn’t want to lose his life without spending a single penny because he was trying to save all the money he had been earning.

Fortunately, he knew what to do to save his life.

‘I’m sure he came here to gamble because there’s something he wanted.’

He didn’t think that a warrior like Pyo-wol would have entered such a filthy place just because of money.

The Pyo-wol approached him and squatted down,

Their eyes met.

“Hiiik!”

Jang Noya closed his eyes tightly again.

He knew it the moment he looked into Pyo-wol’s eyes.

The fact that he dared to go against someone he shouldn’t have.

There was still a phantom dagger floating in front of him.

Due to the fight between the Snow Sword Manor and Jin family, numerous masters entered Runan. Because of that, those who immersed themselves in the back alleys like Jang Noya were particularly cautious.

Of course, he had some understanding of the warriors who came from outside. However, he had no information about a person like Pyo-wol from the data they collected.

With his level of force, he was definitely one of the best among the warriors who entered Runan.

Jang Noya asked cautiously,

The appearance of the person in front of him was even more frightening than the smile of the king of death, Yama.

Jang Noya hit his head against the floor.

Thud!

“I-I’ll tell you anything! Please spare my life—!”

SoundlessWind21’s Notes:

Thank you for reading!

Red Flower Tavern. Raws: Honghwajujeom, 홍화주점(紅花酒店)은. 紅 hóng, gōng, jiàng – red, vermillion; blush, flush 花 huā – flower; blossoms 酒 jiǔ – wine, spirits, liquor, alcoholic beverage 店 diàn – shop, store; inn, hotel Heuk-ho. Raws: Black Tiger, 흑호. Mad Dog. Raws: 광견(狂犬). 狂 kuáng, jué – insane, mad; violent; wild 犬 quǎn – dog; radical number 94 Ice Slayer. Raws: Bingsal, 빙살(水殺). 水 shuǐ – water, liquid, lotion, juice 殺 shā, sà, shài, shè – kill, slaughter, murder; hurt; to pare off, reduce, clip Dark Ghost. Raws: Amgu, 암귀(暗鬼). 暗 àn – dark; obscure; in secret, covert 鬼 guǐ – ghost; spirit of dead; devil