CH 278

Light Novel: Volume 12 Episode 3

Pyo-wol wiggled his fingers.

Sssss!

A silver object twirled between his fingers.

It was the small snake he found in the swamp.

After playing and slithering in between Pyo-wol’s fingers for a while, the snake raised its head and stared at him.

The snake’s red eyes met with Pyo-wol’s.

They looked into each other’s eyes as if they were communicating.

The snake flicked out its tongue continuously, and Pyo-wol smiled.

He had lived with countless snakes in the underground cave. He understood their physiology and way of thinking better than anyone else. Naturally, he also knew how to handle them.

The snake didn’t seem to dislike Pyo-wol either. It didn’t even hesitate to climb into his hand when he reached out to it.

He looked into the snake’s carnelian eyes and said, 

“From now on, I’ll call you Gwiya.”

Whether the name Gwiya pleased the snake or not, it twisted and slithered around on Pyo-wol’s fingers.

Pyo-wol instinctively knew that it was a behavior that Gwiya shows when he really likes something.

Gwiya had been living alone for a long time.

He, too, was hungry for companionship.

Just when he was waiting for someone to reach out to him, Pyo-wol showed up.

Gwiya circled between Pyo-wol’s fingers for a while, then slipped into his sleeve and rested against his forearm.

Pyo-wol was very fond of his new little friend. He didn’t have to waste time talking to his friend nor did he have to be self-conscious around it. 

He stroked the spot where Gwiya had settled and began to walk. 

The night was quiet.

It was already late at night and everyone had fallen asleep.

Clack! Clack!

Then a strange sound tore through the night. 

Pyo-wol stopped walking and looked toward the source of the sound.

After a moment, the origin of the sound revealed itself.

It was a small doll.

A crudely shaped doll made of wood.

Pyo-wol had seen this kind of doll before.

“Heuk-ho.”

At that moment, the doll opened its mouth as if it had been waiting for him.

“Hmph, your complexion looks good. You must be doing well lately.”

The doll spoke as if it was a person, but in reality, it was merely conveying Heuk-ho’s voice. 

Anyone who would see and hear someone’s voice coming out of the doll’s mouth would find the sight creepy. 

Pyo-wol glanced around.

The district was eerily quiet today.

Even though it was deep into the night and everyone had gone to bed, there should still be the sound of anyone snoring. But no such sound could be heard at all.

It was as if there wasn’t a single living being on the streets.

And it wasn’t just his imagination either. 

There was indeed no sign of life in the houses lined up on either side of him. 

Pyo-wol asked the doll,

“Did you kill them all?”

“They were in the way.”

The doll giggled, and then spread its arms wide.

Creak!

Every time the doll laughed, its wooden joints rubbed against each other, producing an eerie sound. This further made the doll’s appearance even more frightening. 

There were at least thirty houses lining the street where Pyo-wol was standing.

If each house had at least four people residing in it, then at least a hundred and twenty people had lost their lives at the hands of Heuk-ho.

Pyo-wol cast his gaze into the darkness.

“You killed all these people just to capture me?”

“That just shows how great your value is.”

“Does Lee Yul know this?”

“…….”

The doll suddenly clamped its mouth shut.

“It looks like you’re acting on your own. Are you confident you can handle it? You should know that going against your client’s orders is a taboo for an assassin.”

“Hmpf! So what? Even he can’t do anything about the Hundred Wraith Union.”

Heuk-ho snorted.

Even if Lee Yul and the organization behind him turned against him because of this, they wouldn’t be able to blow it out of proportion, since they still have to consider the reputation and power of the Hundred Wraith Union.

Assassins belonging to the Hundred Wraith Union are scattered all over the world, so if they couldn’t wipe them all out in one fell swoop, then the repercussions would be endless.

Even Lee Yul would not dare to attack Heuk-ho recklessly, not unless he was prepared to take on the entirety of the Hundred Wraith Union. 

Only the head of the Hundred Wraith Union could punish its members, however, even then, it was extremely rare for their leader to punish them. 

Although it seemed like he was going crazy at first glance, all of Heuk-ho’s actions were actually based on cold reason and calculation.

He was confident that he wouldn’t receive any punishment for this job. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so independently.

With how Lee Yul had blamed him for killing Bo-kyeong, it had hurt his pride. This in turn made him no longer willing to kill for Lee Yul. However, cancelling a job without a valid reason would hurt his credibility as an assassin.

No one would hire an assassin who could not be trusted. 

So Heuk-ho planned to kill Pyo-wol to finalize his deal with Lee Yul. He thought that Lee Yul would no longer have a problem with him as long as he killed Pyo-wol. 

Above all, Heuk-ho feels a strong aversion towards Pyo-wol.

From the moment he caught sight of him, a deep-seated anger had risen within his heart like a wildfire. 

He hated him to the point where just being in the same room with him made him feel sick to his stomach.

He wanted to draw dozens of lines on Pyo-wol’s handsome face.

Creak! Creak!

Hundreds of dolls appeared on the roof of the mansion.

They were identical to the one standing in front of Pyo-wol.

The dolls have completely surrounded Pyo-wol.

Controlling these dozens of dolls at the same time was difficult for even Heuk-ho.

With so many dolls moving around, it was inevitable that his creation and skill would be discovered. So in order to protect his secret, Heuk-ho had killed all the people on the street beforehand.

Thump! Thump!

Pyo-wol stamped his foot on the ground several times as he looked around at the dolls.

He felt a strong vibration under his feet.

Upon seeing Pyo-wol’s actions, Heuk-ho yelled, 

“Don’t be silly–!”

Boom!

At the same time as his yell, the doll in front of Pyo-wol exploded, sending countless steel needles towards him.

Pyo-wol wielded the Soul-Reaping Thread, creating a barrier around his body.

Boom!

At that moment, the doll behind Pyo-wol’s back also exploded, spewing out needles in all directions. 

“Hmph, do you think you can continue blocking it?”

Upon seeing the scene, Heuk-ho burst out laughing,

This street was completely under control by Heuk-ho’s dolls.

There wasn’t a single place in the district where Pyo-wol could hide and escape to. 

No matter how quickly he wielded the Soul-Reaping Thread to protect his entire body, he still clearly had a limit.

Puff, puff, puff!

The dolls exploded one after another, still throwing a barrage of needles everywhere. 

The whole area was soon covered in countless needles.

Heuk-ho’s attack was reminiscent of the Tang clan’s legendary Rain of a Thousand Flowers.1 Although it was as beautiful as a scattering of flower petals, the needles that came out of the dolls’s explosion were filled with nothing but killing intent.

The needles that filled the sky pierced through everything on the street.

Whether it be the thick stone walls, clay-walled houses, or even the corpses of the people inside their houses, nothing could escape the explosion of the needles. 

“Hehe!”

Heuk-ho emerged from the darkness.

He was certain that Pyo-wol was dead.

The trap he had set was perfect.

It was impossible to get out of a trap like this alive, even for Heuk-ho himself.

Heuk-ho’s eyes were cold as he stared into the area where needles were concentrated. But he found nothing there.

“What?”

For the first time, a puzzled expression appeared on his face.

Bam!

Suddenly, something popped up, causing the ground to shake.

Pyo-wol had popped out of the ground, covered in mud and dirt.

At the moment the needle exploded, Pyo-wol protected himself with his hands, and stepped on a strong foundation. He even added an extra force with his weight.

This caused the ground to collapse, revealing an empty space.

It was a sewage canal. 

Pyo-wol had stomped his feet before the explosion of the dolls just so he could check if there was any space underneath. Fortunately, as he suspected, there was a sewage canal beneath the street.

Pyo-wol hurriedly jumped into the canal.

The street was covered with needles, but the canal he just jumped into was safe. 

Even if he had to get covered in filth and be exposed to a horrible stench, he could endure it. As long as Pyo-wol could preserve his life, he would do anything. 

“Shit!”

Heuk-ho’s eyes widened at the sight of Pyo-wol, who unexpectedly hadn’t taken any damage. 

At that moment, Pyo-wol charged at him.

As Pyo-wol was rushing towards Heuk-ho, he channelled his qi to the Black Dragon Robe he was wearing, causing it to instantly turn black. 

So while Heuk-ho knew that Pyo-wol was rushing straight at him, but in an instant, his figure was shrouded in darkness.

Heuk-ho instinctively swung his sword to block the front.

Boom!

Sparks flew and his body was knocked backwards.

He had narrowly managed to block Pyo-wol’s phantom dagger with his sword.

Heuk-ho is also one of the top ranked assassins in Jianghu. 

So although Pyo-wol had hidden himself in the darkness, Heuk-ho had accurately sensed Pyo-wol’s location with his highly developed senses.

Ka-ka-kang!

In an instant, Pyo-wol’s phantom dagger clashed with Heuk-ho’s sword dozens of times.

The two raced down the streets, attacking and stabbing at each other with their weapons.

Sparks burst forth in the darkness, and the fiery display continued until the end of the street.

Tatatatak!

This time, the two of them sprinted along the wall.

While it was impossible for an ordinary person to run on a wall, it was no problem for the two assassins. 

They knew how to efficiently cut off their opponent’s breathing.

They relentlessly attacked each other’s vital points nonstop, trying to catch each other off guard.

Despite their frenzied movements, they didn’t utter a single breath or cry.

All that could be heard was the sound of a metal hitting metal— the collision of Pyo-wol’s phantom dagger against Heuk-ho’s sword.

Kakakang!

The clashing sound reverberated through the quiet streets, like a tugboat plucking a zither.

Cold sweat dripped down Heuk-ho’s back.

Although he hadn’t screamed, his entire body was covered in scratches. All of them had been inflicted by Pyo-wol’s phantom daggers.

Some of the wounds were quite deep.

If he hadn’t dodged in time, then he would have been killed.

Pyo-wol’s attack was that deadly.

“Bastard!”

Heuk-ho’s skull-like face twisted into an ugly grimace.

As much as he hated to admit it, Pyo-wol’s martial arts were one level above his own. Pyo-wol’s movements were much more concise and deadly.

The problem was, he knew that this was not the bottom and end of Pyo-wol’s skill set.

Unlike him, who was already gasping for breath, Pyo-wol’s expression didn’t change at all. It’s possible that he might be feigning nonchalance, but it didn’t seem that way to Heuk-ho. 

There was no way he could beat Pyo-wol by normal means.

The moment he acknowledged that fact, Heuk-ho’s eyes became even more sinister. 

It was strange for an assassin to seek normal methods.

Heuk-ho was prepared to kill Pyo-wol by any means necessary.

“Now!”

At that moment, something exploded behind Pyo0wol.

Bang!

The doll that Heuk-ho had hidden exploded, spitting out a stream of needles. 

Pyo-wol took off the Black Dragon Robe he was wearing and swung it.

Thud!

The needles got deflected by Pyo-wol’s robe and soon fell to the ground.

At that moment, Heuk-ho darted forward and swung his sword.

Slash!

A long gash appeared on Pyo-wol’s side.

Luckily, it was only a superficial wound. He managed to twist his waist in time, thanks to his superhuman reflexes. But if his reaction had been just a little slower, he could have suffered a fatal wound.

Pyo-wol gritted his teeth, suppressing back the pain. He then released the Soul-Reaping Thread.

An invisible, and intangible thread flew out, aiming for Heuk-ho’s throat. But Heuk-ho managed to instinctively sense the danger and jumped back.

At the same time, an explosion occurred at Pyo-wol’s right side.

Heuk-ho had hidden the doll there as well.

Boom!

Pyo-wol was caught off guard by the unexpected explosion.

He may have swung his Black Dragon Robe, but in the end, three needles still managed to pierce him. 

The needles pierced his shoulders, abdomen, and thigh.

A smile crept onto Heukho’s face as he witnessed Pyo-wol’s injuries.

“It’s over.”

The needles contained in the dolls were coated with an extremely poisonous substance.

No matter how resistant the person’s body is to poison, they would instantly be paralyzed.

Heuk-ho laughed as he approached Pyo-wol.

Pyo-wol’s face had turned a sickly shade of purple.

It was proof that the poison was taking effect.

“Hmph! The poison is called the Thousand Day Affliction.2 It’s an extremely potent poison that will keep a person bedridden for a thousand days once they’re poisoned.”

It is impossible for a human being to live a thousand days lying in bed.

They would most likely die before they even reach a hundred days.

Pyo-wol wouldn’t even survive a hundred days.

Because Heuk-ho would kill him now.

It was then.

Heuk-ho suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ankle.

He looked down. 

He saw a silvery rope-like object bite his ankle before slithering away.

“A snake?”

SoundlessWind21’s Notes:

Thank you for reading!