Reaper of the Drifting Moon

The start of the incident was an accidental meeting between the third generation disciple of the Qingcheng sect and the second generation disciple of the Emei sect in the center of Chengdu.

A disciple of the Qingcheng sect came out to collect information. And another disciple of the Emei sect also came out for a while. 

They come across each other by chance in the downtown area.

The disciple of the Qingcheng sect tried to pass by quietly. This was because it was the Qingcheng sect’s order not to bump into the Emei sect. 

However, the second generation disciple of the Emei sect was different. She received the same order, but her emotions were heightened by Gongseon’s death.

The moment she saw the third generation disciple of the Qingcheng sect, her emotions exploded.

Her mind was engulfed in anger and so she attacked the third generation disciple of the Qingcheng sect. The third generation disciple did his best to defend himself.

However, there was a big gap in the martial arts between a third and a second generation disciple. 

Naturally, the second generation disciple, who had learned the vision of their sect for a longer period of time, was bound to be superior.

In the end, the third generation disciple fled to Golden Gate, while the second generation disciple of the Emei sect pursued him to the end and inflicted serious wounds.

In response, the angry disciples of the Qingcheng sect then pursued and inflicted serious wounds on the Emei sect disciple as revenge. In the end, the warriors from both sides lost their reason and collided in the middle of Chengdu.

Cheongyeop tried to lead the disciples of the Qingcheng sect, but he could not completely stop the movement of those who were angry at the injuries inflicted on the third generation disciple.

The bigger problem is that the Golden Gates also got involved into the fight.

There was no problem with the participation of Golden Gates, but even those who were friendly with the Golden Gate and the Qingcheng sect jumped in, and the fight spread like wildfire.

The Emei sect did not stand still.

In the crisis of the second generation disciple, the White Flower Room and the Emei sect joined the fight. Even the Black Cloud Mercenary Group intervened.

“Shit!”

Zhang Mu-ryang felt like he was having a nightmare.

He and the dozen Black Cloud Mercenary Group, including Yang Woo-jeong and Go Dosa stood at the center of the battlefield in the middle of Chengdu.

Until just an hour before, he was working with two men in strategizing how to effectively attack the Qingcheng sect with the least amount of sacrifice.

But suddenly he heard the news that the disciples of the Emei sect and Qingcheng sect had collided. And so he rushed towards them to find out the truth. 

But before he could figure out the situation, the fight escalated like crazy. There’s no way to intervene.

“Kekkeuk!”

“Damn it!”

Street stalls and shops were all broken, and wounded warriors were screaming as they collapsed.

Still, the fight was not over.

The warriors of the Qingcheng sect and the Emei sect were frantically swinging their swords at each other as if they were sworn enemies, while the warriors of the Golden Gate and the warriors of the White Flower Room were fighting each other fiercely.

“Let’s defeat the reckless Qingcheng sect!”

“Enemies of the Senior Sister Gongseon!”

“Die!”

The disciples of the Emei sect attacked the disciples of the Qingcheng sect with their eyes full of malice. The courage of the Qingcheng sect warriors who responded to it was not easy.

“How dare you talk?!”

“Who do you think is responsible for all this? Didn’t the Emei sect instigate an assassin to kill Senior Brother Woo?! You really are truly ruthless people!”

“Punish the Emei sect!”

The disciples of the Qingcheng sect also swung their swords relentlessly.

Both sides had reasons to hate each other.

Their hatred exploded like a volcano.

Hatred paralyzed reason, and the paralyzed reason erupted into extreme violence.

The warriors of both factions were showing how cruel martial artists can be if they are blinded by anger.

“KUGH!”

“GEUH!”

Screams broke out incessantly, and the streets of Chengdu were stained with blood.

It was the warriors of the Qingcheng sect and the Golden Gates who won the fight. The warriors of the Emei sect and the White Flower Room did their best, but they were inferior in terms of power.

Zhang Mu-ryang, who understood the situation, told the members of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group, who was with him.

“It can’t be like this. Assemble all the Black Cloud Troops.”

“Do you mean everyone?”

“Yes. If we don’t try to overturn this fight, we won’t even get a chance to win.”

“Alright.”

After answering, the warriors of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group hurriedly ran to their residence.

“Let’s go and join the war, Go Dosa! We have to push the Qingcheng sect!”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Vice Captain Yang would lead the rest of the members to the left and attack the flank of the Qingcheng sect. If they cut them off from the back, the power of the Qingcheng sect will deteriorate.”

“But it won’t last long.”

“We just have to hold on until the other members come. If even a few cavalry join in, we can reverse this situation in one go.”

“Alright!”

Yang Woo-jeong followed Zhang Mu-ryang. Only a small portion of the horsemen that the Black Cloud Mercenary group were proud of had entered Chengdu. The rest were waiting outside Chengdu.

When the mercenaries on horseback entered, it attracted a lot of people’s attention. But Zhang Mu-ryang immediately regretted his actions. He had no idea that the situation would deteriorate so quickly.

“Everyone, stop fighting!”

The sect leader of the Fire Dragons Room, Fosanhae, arrived on the battlefield late and shouted. He tried to mediate with all his might, but he couldn’t convince the soldiers on both sides who had madness in their eyes.

Suic!

“Keuk!”

On the contrary, even he was wounded by a sword shot by a nearby warrior. The wound itself was light, but the soldiers under his command who saw him were the problem.

“How dare you attack the sect leader!”

“I can’t forgive you!”

The soldiers of the Fire Dragon Room attacked the soldiers of the White Flower Room..

“No!”

The Foshanhae tried to stop them but to no avail. The soldiers killed, defended, and fought back until the situation was at its worst. Numerous goods were broken, and many shops collapsed.

Spectators watching the fight screamed and fled, while some even took advantage of the chaos to loot nearby shops. They didn’t just steal things, they even killed the merchants who tried to stop them by setting them on fire.

The fire spread to a nearby shop, and people fetched water to put out the fire. However, there was a limit to extinguishing a fire with a bucket.

“Aigoo! What should we do?!”

“Help! Our store is on fire!”

The shopkeepers turned to the Qingcheng sect and Emei sect for help. However, the merchants’ screams could not be heard in the ears of the warriors who had been fiercely fighting for a long time.

It was as if hell had opened up.

The warriors became demons and ran wild, while the bystanders revealed their true and evil natures.

Jjoeng!

“Eum!”

Zhang Mu-ryang groaned. They only collided once, but he felt quite a shock. 

His opponent was Cheongsan, a disciple of the Qingcheng sect. Contrary to his gentle face, Cheongsan was a swordsman with terrifying skills. 

He pressed Zhang Mu-ryang with his swift movements like a leopard. Cheongsan was so swift that Zhang Mu-ryang could not keep up with him.

Because of that, he fought without taking a break. Zhang Mu-ryang clenched his teeth and looked around.

Yang Woo-jeong and Go Dosa were also fighting against the members of the Qingchengs ect, but still, the Emei sect and the White Flower Room were being pushed back.

‘Why haven’t they come yet?’

He remembered the warriors he sent to his residence. By now, they should have brought the rest of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group that were in their residence.

‘What the hell is going on?’

* * *

Drip!

Drops of blood wet the earth.

Jo Jeoksan, a mercenary of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group, stared blankly at the blood flowing from his body.

The red blood that started from his neck and ran down his shoulders and arms felt as if it belonged to someone else. But the blood that fell to the ground was definitely his.

“Keeuc!”

Jo Jeoksan groaned and grabbed his neck. He felt the cold touch of metal on the tip of his finger. It didn’t take long to notice that it was the dagger’s handle.

“You, you?”

Jo Jeoksan looked at the owner of the dagger.

A dark figure suddenly appeared on the road and suddenly attacked him as he was on his way to call his colleagues. 

It was Pyo-wol. And the dagger stuck in the neck of Jo Jeoksan was the ghost knife.

“You’re cowardly and shameless… Khyuk!”

Jo Jeoksan choked out blood from his mouth. His face was full of grievances. It was impossible for any physician to come and save him. Jo Jeoksan sensed his death.

As a member of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group, he wandered through many battlefields. Death was always near, and he thought that one day he would die too. But he didn’t know it would come so suddenly.

He never dreamed that a person who he didn’t even know would kill him. He was going to die without even knowing why. 

‘I have to bring the Black Cloud Troops to Captain–”

Even in his clouded mind, he considered it a shame that he could not carry out Zhang Mu-ryang’s orders. Jo Jeoksan’s body shook violently and collapsed helplessly.

Pyo-wol looked down at the dead Jo Jeoksan for a while and retrieved the ghost knife using the Soul-Reaping Thread. He had no personal grudge against Jo Jeoksan. 

Still, the reason he secretly attacked and killed Jo Jeoksan was because when he was about to summoned the rest of the Black Cloud Mercenary Group. He couldn’t allow that to happen or else the board he had worked so hard would be messed up.

The Qingcheng sect and the Emei sect had to fight for as long as possible. Only then will they inflict fatal damage to each other. 

If the Black Cloud Corps intervened, the situation could have ended prematurely. That’s why Pyo-wol killed Jo Jeoksan whom Zhang Mu-ryang asked to ask for support.

As long as Jo Jeoksan is dead, the support that Zhang Mu-ryang has so longed for will not come. Even if they come, it will be too late.

Pyo-wol headed to the center of Chengdu, where the fight was taking place for quite some time. 

The closer he got to the center, the more intense the scent of blood was scattered along with smoke. So many people were lying on the floor either dead or injured.

It was like a scene from hell.

No one would have expected that such a tragic scene would unfold in the middle of the city.

Chengdu was the central city of Sichuan, and it was the place where many cultural artifacts and objects were gathered.

Naturally, the security was unparalleled in comparison to other cities, and even the clans of strong families were extremely reluctant to wield their swords here.

Therefore, the perception that it is the safest place in Sichuan Province was implicitly ingrained in people’s minds. But at this moment, people’s perceptions were shattered and broken like glass.

Chengdu was not a safe place.

The fierce battle between the Qingcheng sect and Emei sect clearly planted the emotion of fear in people’s minds.

Pyo-wol looked around for a moment, then jumped up onto a tall tree standing on one side of the road. From the top of the tree, the view of the whole area could be seen at a glance. Pyo-wol sat down on a thin branch and watched the fight unfolding below.

Among them, there were some that stood out.

“How dare you send an assassin to kill my disciple?! How can the Qingcheng sect claim to be a part of Jianghu?”

Jeonghwa stared at Cheongyeop, who had a wound on his left arm, with killing intent. 

She only had one eye left and yet her eyes were still full of malice.

Cheongyeop raised his sword with a calm expression.

“It was you who touched the Qingcheng sect first. You were the one who instigated Gunsang’s assassination, and it must have been you who brought about the death of the young master of the Thunder Gates.”

“What bullshit are you talking about? We never told someone to assassinate the young master of the Thunder Gates.”

“You said the same thing seven years ago. What was the result? It turned out to be your fault in the end.”

Jeonghwa bit her lips. They had no excuse for requesting the Bloody Shadow Group to assassinate Woo Gunsang. But she couldn’t just admit it in front of everyone.

If that happens, it will be a confirmation of the immorality of the Emei sect to everyone.

Jeonghwa became determined and raised her voice.

“Don’t be silly! Why would we assassinate the young master of the Thunder Gates? I heard that the assassin used a sword technique of the Qingcheng sect, how would you explain that? You assassinated him because the Thunder Gates’s young master was about to be betrothed to a member of the White Flower Room. How can the disciples of the Qingcheng sect have so little conscience?”

Cheongyeop frowned.

Because he cannot deny those words.

It was true that the assassin who killed the young master of the Thunder Gates used Qingcheng sect’s martial arts, so it was difficult to make excuses.

Cheongyeop suddenly felt a strange feeling. It was because of the one word that kept coming up in his and Jeonghwa’s conversations.

‘Assassin.’

An assassin killed the young master of the Thunder Gates. And it’s also an assassin who killed the disciple of Jeonghwa. What the two cases have in common is that the identity of the assassin has not been revealed.

‘Maybe there is only one assassin.’

However, Cheong-yeop could not continue his thoughts. Because Jeonghwa has attacked.

“No, wait!”

“One of us will have to be buried here today.”

Jeonghwa attacked, wielding her chowry. She used the weapon to unleash the Emei sect swordsmanship, the Broken Jade Sword.1

The Broken Jade Sword was strong enough to prevent Cheongyeop from having other thoughts.

In order to face the attack, Cheongyeop also had to use the Qingcheng sect’s technique. 

There was no room for him to have a leisurely conversation.

Tuhwahak!

In front of the chowry’s formidable offensive attack, Cheongyeop unfolded the Qingcheng’s attack, Blue Cloud Drop Sword.2

As the chowry and sword collided, the air around the area shook violently.

Pyo-wol watched all the sights from the tree.

All the warriors were dancing on the board he laid out.

Editor’s Notes

Hoped everyone enjoyed the chapter~ Don’t forget to comment down below what you think of the chapter <3

Broken Jade Sword. Translations: Paok sword, 파옥검(破玉劍).Blue Cloud Drop Sword. Translations: 청운적하검(青雲赤霞剣)