The Iron Dwarf looked around with his curved back bowed more deeply. His eyes were sharply scanning the surroundings like a hunting dog.

‘Strange!’

At some point, the signals coming from his brothers were cut off.

He thought it might be like that because they were busy chasing Nam Shin-woo, but the Iron Dwarf still remained wary.

“Damn it!”

He suddenly felt pain all over his body.

They were the wounds pierced by the ghost daggers. Fortunately, his brothers and sister were able to save him, but the memory of that day remained as an indelible disgrace to the Iron Dwarf.

“I’ll definitely kill you. To dare and humiliate me like that in front of Sulyeong.”

The Iron Dwarf gritted his teeth, remembering the man who had hurt him. 

Everyone in the Seven Stars knew that the Iron Dwarf liked Yo Sulyeong. 

Well, every member of the Seven Star actually adore Yo Sulyeong, but among them, the Iron Dwarf was particularly more obsessed with her. Maybe because his own appearance was shabby and incomplete, so he was more attracted to the gorgeous rose-like beauty of Yo Sulyeong.

“I will surely kill you horribly.”

The Iron Dwarf looked around him with a burning desire for revenge.

In the distance, he could see the glow of the flames.

The slums are burning.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on the Iron Dwarf’s lips.

“It’s Sulyeong’s work.”

He could tell just by looking at the size of the flames who started the fire. Yo Sulyeong sometimes ran wild like this. Even that destructive behavior of hers was enchanting in the eyes of the Iron Dwarf.

It was then.

Tadadak!

The Iron Dwarf could see a woman running into view. 

A gorgeous look and fantastic body.

Just by looking at the silhouette, he could tell who she was.

It was Yo Sulyeong.

There was still a great distance of more than a hundred meters between the two of them, but the Iron Dwarf could already recognize the figure of Yo Sulyeong. He had a delighted look on his face once he saw her.

Wariness could no longer be found in his expression. Just by looking at Yo Sulyeong from afar had already made him lower his guard.

His figure was already visible to Yo Sulyeong. So he didn’t know why Yo Sulyeong was still ignoring him.

It was okay though. Only a single word from her would appease and make him happy. Together with a smile on her lips.

But his smile quickly disappeared.

This is because the expression on Yo Sulyeong, seen from afar, looked unusual.

There was a sign of urgency on her face, and her eyes were shaking anxiously. Today was the first time he saw Yo Sulyeong make such an expression.

So it felt more ominous.

“Sulyeong!”

The Iron Dwarf called Yo Sulyeong in a loud voice. But Yo Sulyeong continued running towards the opposite direction as if she had not heard his voice.

“This way!”

The Iron Dwarf swung his hand towards Yo Sulyeong. 

But when Yo Sulyeong still didn’t seem to hear, he tried to move towards her.

That was then.

Puk!

He felt a stinging pain along with a sharp object.

The Iron Dwarf couldn’t even scream as he looked down at his shoulder. He saw a tip of a dagger sticking out of his shoulder.

‘This…?’

It was a dagger he had seen before.

Not only did he see it with his own eyes, but he had already been hurt by it.

It was the dagger that Pyo-wol was holding back then.

‘That bastard!’

The Iron Dwarf was about to turn around and make a loud noise. However, his voice could not come out and only lingered in his mouth.

Because something sharp had already squeezed his neck.

‘Thread?’

As soon as the Iron Dwarf noticed the presence of the thread, he reached out his hand to his waist and grabbed the chain connected to the iron ball.

Cwarreuk!

The iron ball connected to the chain flew in the direction in which the thread was extended.

However, the iron ball did not hit Pyo-wol’s body. 

This is because Pyo-wol ran to the left when the iron ball was flying right in front of him. Still in his hand was the thread which tightened around the neck of the Iron Dwarf.

“Keurgh!”

The body of the Iron Dwarf was tossed on the floor. It was because the thread came tight and threw his body away.

He lost the chain he was holding in his hand due to the shock of being hit to the floor.

‘That punk!!’

The Iron Dwarf grabbed the thread which dug around his neck with his hands. The thread dug in and blood dripped from his hand, but he couldn’t care less about the pain.

It was obvious that if he let go of the thread because it hurts, it would continue to dig into his neck.

The Iron Dwarf raised all of his strength against the thread. 

If it was an ordinary thread, it would have been cut off immediately, but unfortunately, the thread was a product made with great care by Tang Sochu.

The tensile strength was unmatched in comparison to other threads.

“Kekkuek!”

The thread gradually dug into his neck.

The Iron Dwarf’s eyes were red and bloodshot.

His gaze turned to Pyo-wol, who was holding the tip of the thread.

Pyo-wol was looking at him while wearing a reddish-red long robe.

Like a snake looking at its prey, the inorganic eyes without a single trace of emotion made the Iron Dwarf terrified.

The Iron Dwarf realized that no matter how hard he struggled, he could not escape the thread.

At that moment, what the Iron Dwarf chose was to use the power of Pyo-wol to move forward.

With the thread tied around his neck, he attacked Pyo-wol with great speed. Although he lost his weapon, he was also confident in using his bare hands.

Cwaaac!

A tremendous force was spewed out of the hands of the Iron Dwarf.

A technique called the Demon Fist1 was unfolded.

He never imagined that he would be able to kill Pyo-wol with the Demon Fist. He judged itbased on the ghost-like abilities that Pyo-wol has shown so far. Instead, he hoped he would be able to loosen the thread  by shaking Pyo-wol. 

When the thread around his neck is loosened, he will be able to scream and ask Yo Sulyeong for help. And once he did, he will be able to get out of the hands of this demon-like bastard. 

But his expectations did not come true.

Because Pyo-wol disappeared right in front of his eyes.

Pyo-wol used Black Lightning and retreated. His speed is faster than the speed at which the Iron Dwarf is advancing.

Bang!

The thread, which had been loosened for a while, was pulled tight again, and the figure of the Iron Dwarf fell forward.

The Iron Dwarf had his head smashed into the ground.

Kwac!

At that moment, Pyo-wol trampled the head of the Iron Dwarf with his foot.

“Kekkuek!”

The Iron Dwarf clenched his teeth and raised his head. However, the more he did, the more power Pyo-wol used against his head.

Buddeuk!

A faint crack sound came from the bone on his neck.

If force was continuously applied like this, it was clear that the bones in the neck of the Iron Dwarf would break like a millet.

‘Why is he doing this?! Why?’’

The Iron Dwarf wanted to scream.

He didn’t even know why Pyo-wol had attacked him. He admit that he had an argument with him because of his own fault, but he didn’t know that would be enough reason for him to die without even being able to scream like this.

The eyes of the Iron Dwarf turned to the direction where Yo Sulyeong was.

He gathered his last strength and called for Yo Sulyeong.

“Su…ly…eon…”

Gagak!

At that moment, the Iron Dwarf’s neck was broken.

In the end, the Iron Dwarf could not call Yo Sulyeong by her name properly and died.

Only then did Pyo-wol retrieve the ghost dagger that had been placed on the shoulder of the Iron Dwarf and lifted his head.

In his eyes, he could see Yo Sulyeong moving away.

Yo Sulyeong continued to run, unaware of the fact that the Iron Dwarf had died close to her. If she was even a little cold-hearted, or had enough leeway, she could have known that the Iron Dwarf was in trouble.

However, Jae Woong-pyeong, who was right next to her, was killed by an assassin that she failed to detect so she was devastated by the shock. So, without noticing that the Iron Dwarf was dying, she proceed to look for Sa Hyo-kyung.

Pyo-wol looked indifferently at her back as she walked away, and then quietly followed behind her.

The Iron Dwarf had his eyes wide open as if he could not believe his own death.

Even when looking straight into his eyes, Pyo-wol felt no guilt.

Just as he was not a very good person, the Seven Stars was not that good either. They set the slums on fire to catch Nam Shin-woo, and had already killed quite a few people.

Just as the Seven Stars killed others, Pyo-wol had secretly attacked and killed the warriors of the Seven Stars.

Three people have already lost their lives to him, including Jae Woong-pyeong, Gam Ilhae, and the Iron Dwarf.

Pyo-wol could easily kill them by taking advantage of their carelessness.

The warriors of the Seven Stars were strong. But they knew nothing about Pyo-wol. They didn’t even know he was going after them. They believed that they were in control of the situation in Chengdu, but it was actually Pyo-wol who was in control of everything.

Pyo-wol followed Yo Sulyeong silently like a snake.

* * * patreon.com/soundlesswind21 * * *

“Uncle, look here!”

Lee So-ha suddenly waved her hand.

Yu Shinfeng approached her with a questioning look.

“What is it?”

“This man.”

Lee So-ha pointed to a dead body with her hand. A person with a crooked back was lying on the floor.

Yu Shinfeng’s expression hardened like a stone.

He couldn’t help but know him. There was only one warrior in the world with such distinct characteristics.

“It’s the Iron Dwarf.”

He had met him only a few days ago, so he still remembers his face clearly.

The Iron Dwarf’s eyes were red and bloodshot. Even though he had stopped breathing, his face was full of disbelief.

It was difficult to see his figure anymore, so Lee So-ha turned her head and said,

“Did he kill him, too?”

“After attacking Gam Ilhae, he even went for the Iron Dwarf. He’s determinedly going for the Seven Stars.”

“Does he have a grudge against the Seven Stars?”

“I don’t know, but it’s clear that he has great assassination skills. Gam Ilhae and the Iron Dwarf both possess great martial arts and senses, but to attack and kill them so easily– It’s not something an ordinary assassin can do.”

“Isn’t this… the work of the Hundred Wraith Union?”

“The Hundred Wraith Union has never been active in Sichuan.”

“Then who is that assassin?”

“I think it was his fault this time too.”

“Huu…!”

Lee So-ha let out a sigh.

She felt like vomiting at any moment. It wasn’t because of the corpse of the Iron Dwarf. It was because of the brutal skill of the assassin who killed him.

Gam Ilhae lost his life without knowing how he was going to die, and while the Iron Dwarf still seemed to resist, he didn’t seem like he managed to hold out for a few seconds.

“It’s really amazing. It seems that guy has learned how to effectively kill people. I’ve never seen such a skill in my life.”

“What is his true identity? How did he even learn how to kill people like this?”

“Hu…! How will we know? It seems like I can only assert this one thing. Any person who has him as an enemy will not be able to sleep comfortably for the rest of their life. How can they sleep if an assassin with such skill is aiming at them?”

“Ugh! He must be an expert who’s an old monster. I’m sure he had his face covered with a mask because he has an ugly face.”

Lee So-ha trembled as if she found her imagination terrifying.

Yu Shinfeng shook his head and said,

“People who have seen him say he is very handsome and young.”

“I’m sure that’s a lie. There’s no way a young, handsome man could do something so terrible.”

Lee So-ha shook her head, denying Yu Shinfeng’s words.

Lee So-ha is still having romantic thoughts about Jianghu. She had a preconceived notion that a handsome man would ultimately be good.

Yu Shinfeng wanted to tell her that his niece’s thoughts were wrong. But he knows that seeing it for herself is much easier to accept than saying a hundred words.

“Let’s go! Judging by his actions, I don’t think he is going to stop at this  point.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I’m trying to figure out the situation with my own eyes. I don’t know what kind of resentment he has with the Seven Stars, but he shouldn’t kill people like this.”

“Uncle, do you think it will be okay to meddle in someone’s business?”

“I’ve lived my life as a warrior with a sympathetic heart. How can I overlook something like this? The Seven Stars is not a sect that walks the path of the Dao. And although their members are eccentric, they still resemble a sect to some extent, so we can’t just ignore them.”

At Yu Shinfeng’s words, Lee So-ha made a dissatisfied expression for a moment.

She didn’t want to get involved in this any more. Since she is still a woman who belongs in Jianghu, she is instinctively reluctant to dip her feet in bad things. 

However, Yu Shinfeng is different.

He made a name for himself in Jianghu by fighting with a sympathetic heart throughout his life. To pretend not to know injustice even after seeing this was to deny his identity.

‘I wish I could just walk away…’

Lee So-ha sighed secretly. 

Hope you enjoy the chapter~