The whole world was tinged with gold.
The rice fields before harvest swayed like waves in the wind, and the farmers smiled happily.
Their faces were tanned by the intense sunlight, and their whole body was sweating non-stop, but they were happy nonetheless.
Now the harvest is near.
The end of the arduous journey that has continued since spring is in sight. That is why the working farmers burst into laughter.
They failed to notice that someone was stealing the clothes they had left on the farm road.
It was Pyo-wol who walked calmly while changing into farmer’s clothes. He hung his sickle around his waist and walked like a real farmer.
Because of that, even the peasants didn’t think it was strange at all when they saw him.
Pyo-wol acted like a real farmer.
He thoroughly imitated the behavior of farmers, even their facial expressions.
One of the things Pyo-wol learned in order to survive in the dark was to imitate others.
It was So Gyeoksan who taught him the art of imitation.
So Gyeoksan was from an arts troupe that performed miscellaneous plays. He was particularly good at changing his face in an instant.
He said that the audience cannot be immersed in a miscellaneous drama simply by changing their face. The audience can only sympathise deeply when they act like an object with a completely changed face, and the key is to think from the perspective of the owner of the face.
Pyo-wol had to think and act thoroughly in the position of the owner of the face.
Imitation was the starting point.
It had to be the subject of thorough imitation.
So Gyeoksan said it in passing, but his words were deeply engraved in Pyo-wol’s mind. After that, Pyo-wol had a habit of observing and imitating the actions of others.
Its true value was being demonstrated now.
Even now, the warriors were frantic as they tried to look for him everywhere, but Pyo-wol himself was walking with a relaxed mind like a farmer.
Pyo-wol looked at the golden fields with a heartwarming smile like a real farmer.
He was truly amazed at the magnificent spectacle he had seen before.
He had quite a lot of experience wandering the river alone as a child, but he had never seen such spectacular scenery.
Pyo-wol thought that the scene in front of him was beautiful.
He himself wanted to become a farmer and live a peaceful life like this.
But he knew best how vain his wishes were.
On the way here, Pyo-wol had the blood of many people buried in his hands. In most cases, they were the ones who attacked first, but in some cases, Pyo-wol was the first one to sneak and kill them.
As long as their blood is on his hands, he will not be given a peaceful life.
Pyo-wol shook his head and threw away his thoughts.
He was simply pretending to be a farmer, but he was too immersed in it.
Pyo-wol walked hurriedly.
Because he wanted to get out of this situation.
It was when he reached the end of the farm road.
“It’s a message from the Qingcheng sect that the assassin is moving west. Everyone block the road around here.”
A group of warriors appeared and blocked all the farm roads leading out of the paddy fields.
Pyo-wol’s expression hardened.
It was not simply because they blocked their way, but because of the fact that someone from the Qingcheng sect accurately grasped his path and gave instructions.
‘I have to get out of this place in at least an hour.’
If they blocked this place, the other roads would also be guarded by soldiers.
He had to get out when the security was still loose.
Pyo-wol approached the warriors blocking the farm road with the most casual look.
“Stop!”
“Huh?”
Pyo-wol looked at the soldiers with a frightened expression.
He looked like a real farmer.
“We are searching for a criminal who has committed a grave sin. State your identity this instant!”
“My name is Yangcheol, who lives in the village over there. I’m on my way home from farming today.”
“It’s still this early, are you saying you’ve already finished farming?”
“Yes! All the weeds have been cut, so everything is done for the day.”
The soldiers who saw Pyo-wol’s frightened appearance made a lost impression. No matter how fearless they were in the world, they could not handle innocent civilians at will.
To them, Pyo-wol looked like a real farmer.
Pyo-wol rubbed mud all over his body, and changed his face to the opposite.
His appearance was like any other rural villager.
Gu Yeonseong, the leader of the warriors, looked closely at Pyo-wol.
Gu Yeonseong was from the Emei sect and was favored by Guhwasata, the Abbess of Nine Calamities, because of his excellent martial arts and observation skills.
“What shall we do?”
The soldiers under his command waited for Gu Yeonseong’s instructions.
“Let him pass.”
At Gu Yeonseong’s command, the soldiers paved the way.
It was when Pyo-wol almost passed them by.
“For a moment!”
Suddenly, Gu Yeonseong stopped Pyo-Wol.
“Why?”
“Why is the sickle of someone who came back from cutting weeds so clean? If you cut weeds, then there must be some sort of traces on the sickle.”
Pyo-wol’s eyes shook for a moment. He didn’t expect that Gu Yeonseong would be able to notice such a small detail.
Gu Yeonseong did not miss Pyo-wol’s reaction.
“You must be the assassin the Abbess of Nine Calamities was talking about! Attack him!”
At the command of Gu Yeonseong, the soldiers who were guarding the road rushed towards Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol heard what Gu Yeonseong said even as he avoided the attacks of the warriors.
‘Abbess of Nine Calamities?’
He has dealt with many people so far, but no one has mentioned the name of a specific person before. Pyo-wol instinctively noticed that Gu Yeonseong had a different purpose than the other people he had faced.
Originally, he was planning to escape as soon as his identity was discovered. However, as soon as he heard Gu Yeonseong’s words, he changed his mind.
Ciit!
The sickle, which played a decisive role in revealing his identity, broke through the air.
“GAH!”
Blood gushed out from the neck of the man who was running in front of him.
Pyo-wol beheaded his head with a simple swing without much of an afterthought.
Poeng!
The man in the back threw firecrackers into the air. It was a signal that the assassin was on their location. Pyo-wol expected that sooner or later a flock of soldiers would come running to his location.
There was no time to waste.
He had to subdue the group in front of him as fast as possible to find out what they wanted.
Shiak!
Pyo-wol threw the sickle at the rushing enemies.
“Hmph–!”
“You dare!”
The warriors used qi and simply dodged the sickle.
Avoiding such attacks was easy for them.
“Damn! It would be better for you to give up!”
They rushed towards Pyo-wol in an instant. At that moment, Pyo-wol flew backwards and clapped his fingers.
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