Chapter 351 Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel

Chapter 351 Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel

Chapter 351 Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel

The Kangho province was made up of a vast expanse of land. The basin was covered with vast rice fields that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, with a spider web of rivers and waterways connecting them.

Thanks to the abundant water supply, the rice farming was always bountiful, and people lived without ever going hungry.

The key to this prosperity was the massive lake at the center of the land, called Lake Poyang (我陽湖).

The fertile river water, full of nutrients that flowed downstream from the Yangtze River, made the surrounding area fertile.

As a result, many wealthy people were rumored to live around Lake Poyang . The rich and famous were drawn to the area due to the fertile soil.

Today, numerous boats entered Lake Poyang  via the Yangtze River. Among them, many were grain transport ships carrying rice produced in the fields around the lake.

The merchants and officials in the area primarily used these grain transport ships to transport goods. When the ships left the lake, they were loaded with rice, but they would return carrying different goods.

Thud!

A massive grain transport ship docked at the Lake Poyang  port. Workers from the merchant’s organization waited at the dock.

The person in charge of the organization addressed the workers.

“There’s salt from the east on the ship. It’s worth more than your daily wage, so be careful when unloading it. Once you’re done, load the ship back up with rice. Stay sharp and be ready.” akhi buy me a coffee

“Yes!”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like it’s our first day.”

The workers couldn’t take their eyes off the ship, eager to jump onboard as soon as the ramp was lowered.

There was no set wage. The more cargo they carried, the more money they made.

Those who carried even one more bag of salt or rice earned more.

That’s why the workers, like soldiers heading into battle, squinted their eyes and eagerly awaited the ramp to be lowered.

Finally, the ramp was lowered from the grain transport ship.

Just as the workers were about to board, a crew member yelled out.

“Wait! Let the passengers off first.”

At that moment, a man led a horse down from the ship.

“Wow!”

“Who’s that guy?”

Upon seeing the man’s face, the workers simultaneously gasped in admiration. The man’s face was strikingly beautiful.

The man disembarking the grain transport ship was none other than Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol stepped off the ship and looked around Lake Poyang .

He felt no particular excitement seeing the vast lake, perhaps because he had recently been in Taeho.

Distracted, Pyo Wol asked one of the workers.

“Is there a decent inn nearby?”

“Ah, if you’re looking for an inn, you should try Southern Heaven Pavilion(南天館). It’s the biggest and most luxurious place, and the food is good too…”

“Southern Heaven Pavilion?”

“You definitely won’t regret it. Well then…”

The worker hurriedly boarded the ship, not wanting to fall behind his peers.

Pyo Wol watched the workers unload bags of salt for a moment before moving on.

The scenery at the Lake Poyang  port was almost identical to Taeho’s scenery.

The only difference was that Taeho’s breeze carried a salty scent due to its proximity to the ocean, while the breeze at Lake Poyang  was refreshingly cool.

Finding Southern Heaven Pavilion wasn’t difficult, as it was large and ostentatious enough to be recognized from a distance.

The inn was so large that it even had its own separate stable. Pyo Wol left his horse in the stable and entered the Southern Heaven Pavilion.

“Welcome!”

The attendant quickly greeted Pyo Wol.

“Do you have any vacancies?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be staying for about three days, so please prepare a room for me.”

“Payment is required upfront.”

Pyo Wol handed over a few extra coins along with the amount the attendant mentioned. The attendant’s smile then widened.

“Hehe! Please use the room at the end of the hallway on the second floor of the annex in the back. That room has the best view.”

“Is there an annex as well?”

“Yes! We expanded it not long ago. It should be much quieter than this main building.”

“Thank you.”

“What about meals?”

“I’ll need some. Bring me something simple to eat.”

“Then please have a seat anywhere you’d like, and I’ll bring it to you shortly.”

“Hmm!”

Pyo Wol nodded and took a seat at an empty table.

The journey on the grain transport ship had been tolerable, but he had run out of food and had been starving. As a result, he was now extremely hungry. akhi buy me a coffee

As he waited for his food, Pyo Wol looked out the window.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long for his meal to arrive.

“This is salted mountain pork. It’s a little salty if you eat it alone, but if you eat it with rice, it’ll be worth it.”

“I’ll eat it.”

“Please enjoy.”

The attendant bowed slightly and stepped back.

Pyo Wol tasted the mountain pork first.

As the attendant had mentioned, it was a bit salty. However, when eaten with rice, it was a pretty good combination.

Although he was extremely hungry, Pyo Wol never rushed. He chewed each piece of meat thoroughly and planned his next move.

‘First, I’ll contact the Hao Clan branch and gather as much information as possible, then I’ll track down So Geoksan.’

If he followed So Geoksan and the Heavenly Flower Troupe’s movements, he would naturally discover Hong Yushin’s whereabouts.

As he thought while eating, his eating pace slowed even more. He had been eating for quite a while, but there was still plenty of food left on his plate.

It was when Pyo Wol was about to eat the remaining food.

Bang!

Suddenly, someone forcefully opened the door of the inn and entered.

The people who entered the inn were men dressed in shabby clothes.

They were filthy and smelled terrible, as if they hadn’t bathed in a long time. The people sitting near the entrance covered their noses and moved away from them.

People sitting at tables near Pyo Wol murmured as they looked at them.

“The Blood Ant Chamber guys are here again.”

“Why doesn’t someone arrest those people? They show up and cause trouble whenever business picks up, making it hard to live here.”

“Do you want to try dealing with them? It’s better to just ignore them and avoid getting involved.”

It seemed that the newcomers were martial artists from a place called the Blood Ant Chamber.

As the Blood Ant Chamber’s martial artists appeared, the owner hurriedly ran out. He argued with the Blood Ant Chamber’s members, his face turning red. akhi buy me a coffee

Other people couldn’t hear their voices, but Pyo Wol heard them clearly.

“No, I already paid you the protection fee for this month. What do you want me to do if you come back so soon?”

“You borrowed money, didn’t you? You have to pay interest.”

“Interest? How much did I pay in advance, and you want me to pay again?”

“Our gang leader clearly said that the interest on the money borrowed from us is high. Didn’t you borrow it to expand your annex? It’s difficult if you act like this now.”

“Damn it! Are you saying you’re going to take more advance interest?”

“Hehe! That’s just how the world works. If you don’t like it, hand over the annex to us.”

“Ugh!”

In the end, the owner handed over the interest to the Blood Ant Chamber’s martial artist with a painful groan.

“Hehe!”

The Blood Ant Chamber’s member with the money pouch laughed sinisterly as he looked around the inn.

“The newly built annex is really nice. It’s clean and spacious; it would be great if our Blood Ant Chamber ran it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying. There’s no way that would actually happen, right? As long as you pay the interest on time, there won’t be any problems. Goodbye.”

The Blood Ant Chamber members bowed slightly to the owner and left.

As they left, the owner spoke to the attendant.

“Hurry up and sprinkle salt outside the door. Ugh, disgusting!”

He shuddered as if just the thought of them made his skin crawl.

The problem started when he reached out to the Blood Ant Chamber to expand his annex. They said he could pay back the borrowed money at any time, but as soon as business picked up, they came asking for interest and protection fees.

Their greedy eyes scanned the inn.

Now, he regretted borrowing money from the Blood Ant Chamber, but it was too late to turn back.

“They say that in the absence of a tiger, a fox becomes king. That’s exactly the case here.”

The owner shook his head and went inside.

Pyo Wol watched the owner’s retreating figure before turning his gaze back to the street.

Through the window, he saw the Blood Ant Chamber members swaggering down the street.

They went into another inn and came out shortly after, holding a money pouch.

‘It seems they’re running their business with the Blood Ant Chamber.’

The name “Blood Ant” itself was extraordinary.

It was extremely rare for an ordinary sect to use the name blood ant (血蟻) or blood-sucking ant.

To Pyo Wol’s ears, it sounded like the word meant to gnaw until it turned to blood.

Previously, the Snow Sword Manor also expanded their scale by running a money-lending business, lending money, and squeezing the poor by collecting interest.

It seemed that the Blood Ant Chamber was also growing in size using the same methods.

‘Is it  just the Snow Sword Manor  and the Blood Ant Chamber?’

Since Pyo Wol arrived in the Kangho, he had encountered many such groups in most of the cities he passed through.

On the other side of the peaceful martial world, such sinister deeds were taking place, and the people’s discontent had reached its peak.

Yet, none of the martial world’s sects listened to the people’s voices. No wonder the cannibalistic couple had been able to commit their atrocities for such a long time.

Pyo Wol sensed that the peace in the martial world wouldn’t last much longer.

Since ancient times, when the people’s grievances reached their peak and the world was in chaos, ambitious individuals revealed their true colors.

They were not called ambitious individuals from the beginning.

Their ambition surfaced during troubled times, and as they tried to reach the top by any means necessary, they were naturally classified as ambitious individuals. akhi buy me a coffee

Pyo Wol had seen several martial artists who could become ambitious individuals.

When the troubled times truly begin, they would cast off the masks they’ve been wearing so far and sprint with all their might for their ambition.

The winds of chaos were blowing, but no one knew of this fact.

The situation became more complicated.

Pyo Wol got up from his seat and was about to head to the guesthouse when a voice stopped him.

“Isn’t that master Pyo Wol?”

Pyo Wol sat back down and looked at the entrance of the inn.

A young martial artist with an elegant appearance and an outstanding aura was standing at the entrance.

He immediately approached the table where Pyo Wol was seated.

Pyo Wol instantly recognized the man’s identity.

“Nam Gung-Wol!”

“What brings master Pyo Wol to this place?”

The man was none other than Nam Gung-Wol of the Thousand Kingdom School..

Even Pyo Wol, the reaper, was slightly surprised by the unexpected encounter. However, he soon hid his agitation and calmly replied.

“I just stopped by on my journey. What about you?”

“Didn’t you know? The Thousand Kingdom School is located at the Yellow Mountain, about 300 li away from here.”

“Really?”

“Yes! So, I often come here. It’s quite a coincidence that we meet again like this.”

Nam Gung-Wol smiled innocently.

He considered Pyo Wol a comrade.

It was because they both supported Jin Manor against Snow Sword Manor.

What other people thought about Pyo Wol wasn’t important to him. What mattered more was how he perceived Pyo Wol. akhi buy me a coffee

To Nam Gung-Wol, Pyo Wol was a trustworthy person and a comrade to rely on. That’s why he reacted so warmly.

“If I had known you were here earlier, I would have come sooner.”

“I just arrived. Even if you knew earlier, we couldn’t have met any sooner.”

“I see. Still, it’s fortunate we met like this. I felt regretful when we parted ways at Jin Manor.”

“Do you often come to Poyang Lake?”

“Yes! I came here today for a gathering.”

“A gathering?”

“Recently, there have been people dividing up the teachings. They chose the Southern Heaven Pavilion as the meeting place, but I never expected to see master Pyo here. I should thank my friends for that.”

Nam Gung-Wol sat down right in front of Pyo Wol.

“Is it okay for you to spend time here if you have a gathering?”

“They still have a long way to go before they arrive. They’re coming from far away, so it will take another hour or two before they get here.”

“Didn’t you come too early? You’ll have to wait a long time.”

“Haha! The alcohol at the Southern Heaven Pavilion is exceptional. I was planning to spend time alone having a drink. But now that I’ve met Lord Pyo Wol, it’s even better.”

Nam Gung-Wol laughed heartily.

When he gestured, the waiter hurriedly approached.

“Did you call?”

“Bring me the drink I always have.”

“Yes! I’ve already prepared it.”

“As expected!”

Nam Gung-Wol tossed a few coins to the waiter.

The waiter thanked Nam Gung-Wol and quickly ran to the kitchen.

Nam Gung-Wol suddenly frowned and said,

“Anyway, with Lord Pyo Wol here, the peace in this place must be coming to an end.”