Episode 384
Pyowol bought a sword and left the workshop.
A middle-aged clerk came out to the entrance and greeted Pyowol.
“thank you. Please come again.”
When he straightened his back, which had been bent nearly ninety degrees, Pyowol was nowhere to be seen.
The clerk stared at the direction in which the moon disappeared for a moment.
“Were you simply a customer who came to buy a sword?”
The clerk frowned slightly.
It was the look you get when you’re worried about something.
The clerk felt something was wrong with Pyowol. However, he could not know exactly what the reality of the sense of incongruity he felt was. So I approached him directly and sold the sword.
He thought that if he had a conversation, he would be able to find out what the truth of the sense of incongruity he felt was. However, contrary to his expectations, Pyowol no longer felt any discomfort.
The clerk scratched his head and murmured.
“Looks like I’m done too. I’m feeling down like this…”
He trudged into the workshop.
Craftsmen were still wrestling with the iron.
They were real craftsmen.
He only focused on making weapons and didn’t know how the other workshops worked.
The real owner of the studio was the clerk.
The clerk came out through the side door at the back of the studio. Then I saw a shabby warehouse.
The clerk made sure no one was around and entered the warehouse.
The warehouse was full of iron ingots used to make weapons.
When I pushed the shelf where the iron ingots were piled up, a secret space appeared at the back. Even the artisans of the workshop did not know that such a space existed.
The clerk went into a secret room.
After descending about 20 stairs, a fairly large underground space appeared.
About a dozen people gathered in the underground space.
There were eight men and two women.
When the clerk came down, their eyes focused. Then the clerk smiled and said.
“Are all preparations going well?”
“yes!”
They answered briefly and boldly.
The clerk nodded as if he liked them.
“It’s a mission where ten bloody people are mobilized. We must do our best to support her. You never know when you might move, so be fully prepared.”
The clerk’s name is Lee Myung-hak.
Lee Myeong-hak was an assassin of Baek Gwi-ryeon.
At one time, he also boasted great skills to the point of being ten years old. However, as he withdrew from the front line and retired, his name was erased from the Ten Bloodsal.
Lee Myung-hak did not regret it at all.
It was impossible to live a lifetime as an assassin.
When you are young, you can easily overcome the tension that seems to cut off your nerves, but when you get older, there will always be a moment when you are in danger.
A crossroads also came to Lee Myeong-hak, who had been active for 15 years as a ten-year-old.
He suffered from the terrible feeling that if he continued killing, his personality would be destroyed and he would no longer be able to live as a human being.
At the crossroads of choice, Lee Myung-hak decided to retire. However, even if he wanted to retire, it was useless if Baek Gwi-ryun didn’t allow it.
Of course, Baek Guryunju did not allow it.
It was because it made no sense to let go of a useful assassin like Lee Myung-hak.
Lee Myeong-hak, who wants to retire, and Baek Gwi-ryun-ju, who does not want to retire.
The two chose a compromise.
It is Lee Myeong-hak’s resignation from the front line, but working as a support team leader.
Although they do not commit murder on the front line, they support the assassins who are committed to important missions.
By collecting information and moving the bait to distract the enemy, the Assassins of the Hundred Ghosts spread the rampage to their heart’s content.
It was Lee Myung-hak who was well versed in assassination to the extent that he acted as a ten-year-old.
Of course, his support was the best.
Because of that, the assassins who went on dangerous missions hoped that Lee Myung-hak would support them. However, Lee Myung-hak’s support was extremely rare, and it was limited to very dangerous missions.
This mission was also very dangerous. So Lee Myung-hak came out to support directly.
Myeonghak Lee muttered.
“Are you okay? It is something that can be done with just a prediction.”
＊＊＊
Yoo Soo-hwan made a puzzled expression.
It was because Pyowol returned to the inn and found a sword he hadn’t seen before.
“What is it?”
Yu Su-hwan was well aware that Pyo-wol did not use this type of long sword. Since he appeared with a sword, he had no choice but to wonder.
Pyo-wol threw a sword at Yu Su-hwan and said,
“You use it.”
“yes?”
“You use a sword as a weapon, right?”
“But I haven’t recovered my martial arts yet… Well, anyway, it seems like a gift, so I’ll be grateful.”
Yoo Soo-hwan gently caressed the sword.
Indeed, it was a sword he hadn’t touched in a long time.
Although he lost his martial arts skills, he never forgot that he was a swordsman.
Yoo Soo-hwan said.
“It is a good sword. The craftsmanship is in pretty good shape.”
“It seemed so.”
“Thank you, I will use it well.”
“use? Isn’t it early yet?”
“That’s true, but it seems like the period for recovering martial arts will be shortened a bit.”
“how?”
“The faith that can heal my body is just around the corner. I thought we could meet in the South Sea.”
A smile formed on Yoo Soo-hwan’s lips.
It was at the gathering of Namgungwol and Yonghasang Yeom Heesu that he heard the unexpected news.
While talking about this and that, Yeom Hee-soo told me that he had met a strange doctor.
On my way to this place, I met a doctor wandering around the mountains in the nearby hills, and the characteristics were the same as the faith that Yoo Su-hwan knew.
“So, what’s the matter? You mean that man of faith was found moving out of the South Sea and moving nearby?”
“That’s right. So, I would like to leave for a while.”
“Are you trying to find the truth yourself?”
“yes!”
“Can you find it yourself?”
“I know the disposition of good faith best. Now that I know roughly where it is, I can find it on my own. Now that I have a good sword, I want to find him as soon as possible.”
Pyo-wol nodded at Yoo Soo-hwan’s words.
Because he understands his heart.
Ordinary people feel a sense of loss when they become weak. Even more so, if it was a warrior who had mastered martial arts to a high level, there was no need to mention it.
A soldier learns martial arts and raises his body and mind to a high level. The sense of deprivation when a person who transcended human limitations lost everything he had accumulated so far was many times more serious than the feeling felt by an ordinary person when he was weakened.
It was the same with Yoo Soo-hwan.
He pretended to be fine on the outside, but he also hid a great sense of loss.
I was worried that I would not be able to regain my martial arts skills forever. However, in front of Pyowol or other people, he could not reveal his true intentions.
“What can I help you with?”
“doesn’t exist.”
Yoo Soo-hwan said firmly.
Pyowol looked at his face for a moment and then nodded.
It was because he read the resolute will on Yoo Soo-hwan’s face. People with such a strong will do not easily change their opinions.
Even if the price is your own death.
Saying that Pyo-wol would help here was tantamount to insulting Yoo Soo-hwan.
“Good luck.”
“thank you.”
“When are you going to move?”
“I want to go right now.”
“okay?”
“yes! Because the sooner the better. It’s a big deal if he wastes time and moves to another place.”
“I guess.”
“Then…”
Yoo Soo-hwan threw a fist at Pyo-wol. And he left the guesthouse with only one sword.
Pyo-wol looked at his back for a moment as he walked away, then sat down in the seat where Yoo Soo-hwan had been sitting.
The panoramic view of Poyang Lake came in at a glance.
It was a scenery resembling Namhae, where Yoo Su-hwan was born and raised. It couldn’t be compared to the sea, but it would have been enough to create a ripple in Yoo Soo-hwan’s heart.
Yoo Soo-hwan left unexpectedly, but Pyo-wol did not feel empty.
All encounters in Gangho were like this.
I didn’t know when and when the relationship would come and break again.
A sudden relationship could have lasted an unexpectedly long time, or a relationship that was thought to last for a long time could end at once in Gangho.
Just as the meeting with Yoo Soo-hwan was unexpected, it was not strange at all if the breakup was sudden.
Pyo-wol looked at the scenery Yoo Soo-hwan was looking at and organized his thoughts.
‘If Hong Ye-seol is aiming for it, he’s definitely not going to be an ordinary opponent.’
Normally, Pyo-wol had no reason to care about Hong Ye-seol’s murder. Because she had a life as an assassin, and the life of an assassin is completed by killing someone.
The problem is that the target she received the request for is in Poyang Lake.
Lake Poyang was like a volcano on the verge of an eruption.
Geumcheonhoe and Eunryeonhoe.
Jewon top and blood room.
Numerous conflicts were taking place as the interests of numerous warriors and sectarians were intertwined around them.
It was true that he was maintaining his balance now, but it was so close that someone could break it with just a tap of his finger.
In such a situation, an assassin named Hong Ye-seol appeared.
The intensity of the volcanic eruption will depend on who she assassinates.
Hong Ye-seol, whom Pyo-wol knew, was a very proud person.
It was to the point where he was dismissed from the mission because he had jointly put another assassin in the killing.
Such a person gets help from other assassins.
The store clerk was an assassin, and Hong Ye-seol had stopped by the studio.
That meant that this mission was so important that he had to kill his ego and enlist the help of another assassin.
There was too little information to infer Hong Ye-seol’s goal.
The easiest way to get information was to subdue the assassin Hong Ye-seol had contacted. However, if that happened, it could have provoked Hong Ye-seol and brought about the worst results.
‘It’s difficult!’
Pyo-wol was confident in his brain fight, but the situation at Poyang Lake was so complicated that he could not easily draw a picture even with his head.
At times like these, I wanted to forget everything and have a drink. But now I didn’t want to change my rules and start drinking.
Alcohol is good when drinking, but it loosens the nerves and makes the body react less.
So no matter how complicated the screening was, I couldn’t rely on alcohol.
Pyo-wol ordered tea from Jeom So-yi instead.
After drinking a cup of well brewed tea, my head felt a little refreshed.
“after!”
It was time for Pyowol to sigh quietly.
Someone opened the door of the inn and came inside.
For a moment, the eyes of the guests in the inn were focused on the newly appeared person.
Usually, when I get so many people’s attention, I feel awkward or shy, but I didn’t see that at all with the new guest.
The new guest looked around the inn for a while and then came straight towards Pyowol.
Only then did Pyo-wol turn his head and look at the guest.
The guest was a woman.
She is also a very beautiful woman.
The moment Pyowol saw her, he thought of Binghwa.
It was because I felt the cold beauty like a flower made of ice.
A sword hung from her waist. She is not an ordinary woman, but an unmanned person.
As Pyowol looked up, the woman opened her red lips.
“Pyowol Daehyeop, right?”
“you are?”
“Looks right. My name is Namgungseol.”
“Namgung?”
“I’m Wally’s older sister.”
“You came from thousands of times.”
“that’s right.”
Namgungseol nodded.
Everyone knew that Thousandshoe was a group formed by the Namgung family as the main axis and the five generations of the past.
After the Great War of Macheon, many martial artists were accepted from outside, and the traces of the Five Greats faded. However, Namgung was still in charge of hosting thousands of times.
Even though it is not inherited by bloodline, the reason why Namgung continues to serve thousands of hoeju is that it shows outstanding ability in martial arts.
Namgungseol was the same.
From an early age, she was known for her great talent.
Even though she is a woman, she has revealed her genius enough to aim for the next chairperson.
Thousands of times it was the opinion of thousands of times that if her brother, Namgung-jin, had not been there, she would have become the head of the house unconditionally.
Namgung Jin, her brother and the older brother of Namgung Wol, was truly a genius. Namgung-jin, who showed his genius early on, took the position of minority and disallowed competition from others.
Namgungseol also did not show any particular desire for the position of Huiju. However, there were rumors that he was so greedy for martial arts that he devoted most of his time to training.
Namgungseol asked.
“Can I join you for a moment?”
