Pyo Wol opened the door of the brothel and stepped inside.
In an instant, everyone's gaze was fixed on him.
The courtesans, in particular, looked at him with sparkling eyes.
However, before they could throw any greetings his way, the chief officer of the brothel rushed out to greet Pyo Wol.
"Please come in."
The chief officer of the brothel was the temporary local governor of the Hao Clan.
"Hong Yushin?"
"The Lord is currently receiving a guest inside."
"A guest?"
"Yes! A sudden guest who arrived unexpectedly..."
The chief officer seemed reluctant to say more.
Pyo Wol did not ask any further questions.
His relationship with Hao Clan was based solely on necessity and was not hierarchical.
They had to maintain some level of decorum for each other's sake.
Pyo Wol waited outside the door, expecting the guest to come out first.
The chief officer whispered, "It seems the meeting is taking longer than expected. Would you like to wait inside the room instead of standing here? I will bring So-ok inside."
"Never mind."
"So-ok seems to be waiting for my lord. If it's okay with you..."
Just then,
Creak!
The rusty hinges screeched as Hong Yushin's door opened. Someone stepped out behind him.
It was a gentle-looking Taoist.
Although not as beautiful as Pyo Wol, he had a noticeable appearance wherever he went.
Hong Yushin followed the man out to see him off.
At that moment, the man turned his head and looked at Pyo Wol.
The man's gentle expression suddenly turned sharp.
"You didn't have to come all the way here. Or did you come here because I'm here?"
The man muttered incomprehensible words.
Hong Yushin, who was standing behind him, hardened his expression.
Suddenly, the man drew his sword and attacked Pyo Wol.
Neither Hong Yushin nor the chief officer who had escorted Pyo Wol could stop him.
The man instantly charged into Pyo Wol's personal space, and the sword in his hand pierced Pyo Wol's throat.
"Ah!"
The courtesans who saw the scene screamed.
In their eyes, it looked as if the man's sword had pierced through Pyo Wol's head. But it was just an illusion.
"Tsuuu!"
As the man's sword pierced through, Pyo Wol's body seemed to dissolve like steam in the air slowly.
"Afterimage?"
The man's eyes sharpened even more.
It was an unexpected ambush.
The strike was as sharp as a nuclear explosion, so much so that no expert could have dared to avoid it.
But the opponent disappeared, leaving only a ghostly afterimage as if mocking the man.
They would have been bewildered by the afterimage if it had been an ordinary fighter, but the man was different.
The man's head turned back.
There, Pyo Wol had revealed himself.
"Shiak!"
The man's sword flew towards Pyo Wol.
It was a smooth and natural series of moves, like water flowing.
It was indeed a dazzling reaction.
His judgment, quick thinking, martial arts - no flaw to be found.
"Kang!"
However, his attack was blocked by the small dagger held by Pyo Wol.
Pyo Wol had parried his attack with the ghost steps.
"Chahat!"
Although his attack was blocked, the man did not panic and continued his relentless sword strikes like water flowing uninterrupted.
"Wow!"
Hong Yushin involuntarily exclaimed in admiration.
As someone who had encountered and experienced countless martial artists, this was the first time Hong Yushin had ever seen a martial artist exhibit such graceful swordsmanship.
Just as tiny droplets of water can come together to penetrate a large rock, so too did the condensed power of water have the ability to overcome anything in the world.
The man's sword strikes were just like that.
Soft like water, yet containing tremendous destructive power.
If it were an ordinary martial artist, their body would have likely been sliced apart before three seconds had passed.
The man's swordsmanship was like a work of art, smoothly penetrating every element.
Meanwhile, Pyo Wol deflects the man's graceful attacks with his short dagger.
It was a feat made possible by enhancing his reaction speed with black lightning.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have questioned why he was attacking or deemed it a rude gesture, or perhaps become so flustered that they would make multiple mistakes.
But Pyo Wol was not an ordinary person.
The man didn't know why he was being attacked, but it was clear that the man had hatred towards him.
Attacking with animosity was synonymous with being involved in a personal grudge.
There was no point in asking for a reason from someone like that.
The man was like a fierce current.
If caught in it, you could be swept away to the river's lower reaches in an instant.
Around this time, he needed to cut off his opponent's pulse.
And Pyo Wol knew precisely how to cut off his opponent's pulse.
"Seeit!"
Suddenly, the range of the ghost blade expanded.
A ghost blade, only as long as a palm, flew out and attacked the man.
"Kuk!"
For the first time, a bewildered expression crossed the man's face.
The ghost blade that had attacked him was now in Pyo Wol's hand.
Finally, the man realized that there were threads of qi attached to the end of the ghost blade that were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye.
It was the soul-reaping thread.
Swish!
As Pyo Wol waved his hand, the ghost blade hanging from the soul-reaping thread danced freely like a sword dance.
Clang!
The ghost's blade clashed with the man's sword.
The problem was that there was not just one ghost blade.
Suddenly, one of the ghost blades raised its head like a venomous snake.
The soul-reaping thread was also controlling the second ghost blade.
The two ghost blades attacked the man by moving through the air horizontally.
"Damn it!"
For the first time, the man regretted his decision.
Without hesitation, he attacked as soon as he spotted his opponent, but his opponent's martial arts were much stronger than he had anticipated.
It seemed impossible to break through the barrier of two ghost blades controlled by two lines of soul-reaping thread in a short time.
Kataang!
The man swung his sword heavily, bouncing all the ghost blades away before retreating quickly.
By the time Pyo Wol tried to attack again, he had already jumped down onto the roof of the brothel.
Putting away his sword, the man spoke.
"Pyo Wol, right? My name is Jang Hoyeon."
"...."
"You don't seem to know. Should I tell you? I'm the older brother of Jang Muyeon, whom you killed."
"Rain Mountain Manor."
"That's right!"
Jang Hoyeon nodded his head.
With his arms crossed, Jang Hoyeon asked, "Where is Gongpo?"
"Did you come all the way here chasing after that sword?"
"Yes. If you give me Gongpo, I won't ask about the crime of my brother's death."
"Is Gongpo more important than your brother? He would be disappointed if he knew you felt that way."
"He wasn't a good brother. At best, he was an annoying rival. His death is not something I care about."
Jang Hoyeon spoke with contempt.
Contrary to his gentle appearance, he was very ruthless.
He had come here today to confirm if Hao Clan was performing his request well.
His request to the Hao Clan was to find Pyo Wol.
When he asked Hong Yushin earlier, he said he had yet to find him.
But now he met Pyo Wol in front of his house.
It was clear that Hong Yushin had intentionally not told him his whereabouts.
"Tsk!"
Hong Yushin made a complex expression.
He told Jang Hoyeon to wait a little longer but didn't expect to run into Pyo Wol immediately.
There was no excuse.
This would significantly damage the Hao Clan's credibility.
Hong Yushin had to take the blame.
Hong Yushin had to take responsibility for it.
Jang Hoyeon said, "If you give me the Gongpo, I will forget everything that has happened until now. That sword is only strong, it has no other use. Even if you have it, it is useless."
"Don't you think it's cheeky to ask for something that doesn't belong to you?"
"There's always a rightful owner of a valuable object."
Jang Hoyeon replied calmly without changing his expression.
The onlookers, including Hong Yushin and the courtesans, were dumbfounded by his fearless attitude.
"I never knew the master of Rain Mountain Manor could be so shameless."
"He must have a steel plate on his face."
Although the faces of those watching were contorted with disbelief, Jang Hoyeon was not ashamed.
He truly believed what he said.
He believed that treasures have their owners and that the owner of the Gongpo was Rain Mountain Manor.
Pyo Wol raised both hands and said, "As you can see, I don't have the Gongpo."
"Hmph! That little brat you're always hanging out with probably has it. Tell him to offer the Gongpo quietly. The moment he refuses, Rain Mountain Manor and I will side with Snow Sword Manor."
The corners of Jang Hoyeon's mouth dried up.
He was not a fool.
He was already aware of how the war between Snow Sword Manor and Jin Manor was progressing and that Pyo Wol had close ties with Jin Manor.
The fight between Snow Sword Manor and Jin Manor reached the worst possible situation, where countless factions were involved, and even Shaolin Temple declared its participation.
It was already chaotic enough, but now it was turning into a full-fledged war.
If the Rain Mountain Manor also participated in the battle, it would be like opening the gates of hell.
Anyone would be afraid of such a situation.
Most people would hope that the situation is resolved and not get any worse, at least anyone in their right mind.
Jang Hoyeon was using this to his advantage by threatening Pyo Wol.
"I will completely back off if you give me Gongpo instead. What do you think? That's my proposal."
"It's okay even if you don't back off."
"Are you intentionally inviting trouble for yourself?"
"We won't know who will be in trouble until the end."
"Hmph! Will you grovel like a thug and cling to me? Anyway, I'll give you a day to think about it. Consider which decision is truly valuable."
Jang Hoyeon flew out of the brothel instantly and disappeared.
After he vanished from sight, Hong Yusin approached Pyo Wol.
"Ah, I'm in a bind. Even Rain Mountain Manor might get involved in this mess."
"It won't be that easy."
Hong Yusin looked puzzled at Pyo Wol's response.
"What do you mean?"
"To blindly cause trouble, the person's mind has to be simple."
"Simple-minded?"
"People with excellent brains never act without a plan. They review and prepare for the same thing several times, including contingency plans, before they intervene. They avoid making things worse by intervening recklessly if possible."
"Are you sure?"
"Their goal is Gongpo. Until they obtain it, they have to be cautious."
"What exactly is Gongpo?"
"It's just a slightly tougher sword, literally."
"Why do they want that sword?"
The history contained within it may have caught their interest.
"Hmm! In that case, it seems like Jang Pyeongsan, Jang Hoyeon's father, wants that sword."
The chief inspector of the Hao Clan, Hong Yushin, knew in detail about Jang Pyeongsan, the lord of Rain Mountain Manor.
Although Pyo Wol said Rain Mountain Manor was unlikely to intervene, Hong Yushin's worried expression did not disappear.
If Rain Mountain Manor were to intervene, the fighting between the two factions would become an uncontrollable situation.
"Phew! How on earth did we come to this point?... Oh, what's been happening here since this morning?
"Is it because of Seol Kwang-Ho?"
"Are the rumors true?"
"Yes! We've already confirmed it in the main sect. Because of it, Snow Sword Manor has been completely overturned. Snow Sword Manor is now nothing more than a den of chaos. It's rumored that Seol Kang-Yeon's eyes have completely flipped."
"What about Nam Gung-Wol?"
"It's been determined that he suffered significant injuries."
"Really?"
"Huff! Nam Gung-wol said he participated in a personal capacity, but most people will not believe his words. They will probably think he represented the thousand kingdoms school."
Hong Yushin's face darkened.
He felt that the chaos had already begun.
From Shaolin Temple to Rain Mountain Manor and even to the thousand kingdoms school.
The fight between the two factions dragged in the factions of other influential figures like a whirlpool.
It was even scary to think how much bigger this whirlpool would become.
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