Chapter 172: Chapter 172

“Um…… where are we going?”

With quick, short steps, Namgung So-hye followed behind Dan Woo-hyun. She had been dragged along blindly without even being told where they were going or what had happened.

‘Since he said he was going to make me work, did he want me as a companion?’

“Aren’t you going to tell me?”

Namgung So-hye, who was thoroughly annoyed, snapped with a disgruntled expression. Shouldn’t he at least tell her where they were going?

‘Could it be, is the work thing a lie and he just wants to hang out together?’

Thinking such thoughts, Namgung So-hye’s face flushed red.

Covering her cheeks with both hands, she glanced at Dan Woo-hyun.

Walking silently, he remained wordless.

‘If you wanted to be together, you should have just said so……’

A smile formed on her lips naturally as she slinked even closer to Dan Woo-hyun’s side. They were close enough that their shoulders would naturally bump as they walked.

At that moment, Dan Woo-hyun slinked slightly to the side.

The distance between the two widened again.

“Do not cling.”

“…….”

‘What? It wasn’t like that?’

Her face flushed red from embarrassment, she huffed in anger and walked quickly ahead, then stopped in front of Dan Woo-hyun and snapped at him.

“What on earth is it? I asked where we are going.”

“Changsha.”

“Is…… is that so?”

“Yes.”

Anywhere would be Changsha.

Since the place the two of them were walking was indeed Changsha.

Namgung So-hye looked at Dan Woo-hyun with an incredulous expression. Knowing that she did not ask about such a thing, seeing him act like this brought a sigh out of her naturally.

“Do you know where the place where thieves gather the most is?”

“Well…… it would be somewhere like the back alleys, wouldn’t it?”

“No, it is a gambling house.”

Thieves? A gambling house?

Namgung So-hye could not understand why such words were coming out. In the first place, since there was no possibility of a thief entering her house, she had never paid attention to it.

Wasn’t Dan Woo-hyun’s house the same.

Because the moment a thief set foot inside, they would become a corpse.

“So what does that have to do with us walking right now?”

“Did you not hear earlier?”

“I didn’t hear! So-mi woke up while you were talking to Young Hero Gwon!”

“Then is it not your fault?”

“Ugh…….”

At the single sentence that hit the mark, Namgung So-hye frowned.

She wanted to snap at him, asking if it would hurt to treat her a little more warmly.

‘No, expecting something from this man is funny in itself.’

With a sigh, she let her shoulders droop.

“The Golden Ring Merchant Group was robbed. I heard they ran away with all the alcohol and silk piled up in the warehouse.”

“What?! All of that?”

“Yes, so we came to find them.”

“The thieves?”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded.

Yueyang was left to Gwon Mu-jin. To prepare for any unexpected events, Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon were left by Dan So-mi’s side.

Now, what remained was to find the traces of the thieves in Changsha.

The first place to search, as said earlier, was a gambling house.

“Wouldn’t it be faster to go to a place like the Haomen?”

“No, they would not have let the information leak.”

“How can you be so sure? Aren’t they just simple thieves?”

“Do you really think simple thieves could take that many goods overnight without a sound?”

“Ugh…….”

Stopping in his tracks, Dan Woo-hyun looked at Namgung So-hye with an amused expression. Before long, he tapped his head and showed a playful smile after a long time.

“Your brain is not very good.”

“No! I knew that much too!”

“Anyone can make a stubborn claim.”

“I…… I am not making a stubborn claim! Really! I knew it!”

“Let us assume so.”

“……Haa.”

Namgung So-hye realized once again the fact that she could not beat Dan Woo-hyun with words.

“Come to think of it, if they are not simple thieves, why go to a gambling house?”

She asked with a bright smile.

While thinking that the ones who plotted this were not simple thieves, why on earth go to a gambling house.

A gambling house was a place where petty criminals who were not very significant gathered.

Therefore, Dan Woo-hyun also thought wrong.

“I wonder…… why indeed?”

With a smirk as if it were ridiculous, Dan Woo-hyun sneered.

Instead of answering, he asked back.

The moment she met his gaze, Namgung So-hye felt she should not get dragged in any further. She was certain an answer completely different from her expectations would come out.

“Indeed……. It is strange.”

“Let us go in for now.”

There was a fairly famous gambling house in Changsha.

It was not a place operating secretly in a back alley, but a place legally established where the stakes were not high, but that made it a place to visit without burden.

The gambling house in Changsha had a grand exterior.

The number of people entering was too many to count.

As they stepped inside that huge gambling house, it was packed with people to the point where there was no room to step.

Hearing the musty smell of men and cheers from here and there, Namgung So-hye frowned.

On one side they cried, and on another they expressed joy.

Gambling was like that anywhere, but seeing the expressions of people whose joy and sorrow crossed in one space gave a rather strange impression.

Something caught the eye of Namgung So-hye, who was looking around.

The man who was running the game swapped the dice with quick hand movements.

“Young Master Dan, over there…… that person…….”

“Leave it be. Since they came to make big money, they must be prepared to lose that much. Whether it is a scam or not.”

“Still, that kind of thing is…….”

Namgung So-hye cast a displeased look.

But she did not bother to step forward.

Those who lost let out disappointed groans, yet they did not stand up from their seats and were busy betting money again. Even if they revealed the trick here, those were people who would go elsewhere and gamble again.

There was no need to save such people.

Then why on earth did Dan Woo-hyun come to a place like this?

At that moment, someone approached.

With a small frame, his face was also extremely ordinary, but the moment he approached, Namgung So-hye unknowingly grabbed her sword.

Seeing the way he walked, she sensed he was not ordinary.

However, the man stood in front of Dan Woo-hyun and clasped his hands.

“I have been waiting. Please come inside.”

“Yes.”

Did they make an appointment in advance?

At the very natural words of the man, Dan Woo-hyun also nodded and followed behind him.

The man, who guided them to a room at the innermost part of the gambling house, offered a seat with a large table.

The three of them took their seats and sat there.

Before long, a woman entered and served tea and simple refreshments.

Slurp-

Dan Woo-hyun naturally drank the tea and spoke.

“Did you find them?”

“From the moment I received the letter, I put all our effort into it, but it was not easy. Because the traces were erased so quickly…….”

Gu Muak, the leader of the Haomen, groaned.

He took pride in the fact that their information was second to none compared to anywhere in the Central Plains, but this matter was not easy.

It was extremely rare to have no traces to this extent.

“Even the Haomen cannot find them? How interesting.”

“Haha, thank you for holding us in high regard…… but there are things that cannot be done. Also, wasn’t the time too tight?”

They started the investigation at most a few hours ago.

It was a time far from enough to find out something.

If given a few days of leisure, Gu Muak was confident in finding out which bastard stole it, of course the bastard’s face and name, as well as where he lived and the color of his underwear.

But there was also something gained.

“Just in case, I also investigated the Hunan Merchant Group.”

“What came out?”

“Nothing. However, it seems there is a big transaction tomorrow. Seeing how they are keeping quiet and silencing people……”

“There is something?”

“Yes, also a few well-known rogue cultivators in Hunan have vanished…… I suspect this matter might be their doing. Since they are guys who mainly handle dirty work.”

“I see.”

Slurp-

Swallowing the tea, Dan Woo-hyun half-closed his eyes.

This matter was definitely done by Mak Chung-heon of the Hunan Merchant Group. The timing and situation matched too perfectly.

To move the stolen goods, they would at least have to form a large trade caravan.

“Anything else?”

“Particularly clear evidence has not come out yet. If you give me more time……”

“No need. Find out where those Hunan Merchant Group bastards are going and when they depart, and send a letter.”

Dan Woo-hyun searched his pocket and threw a pouch on the table.

Looking at the heavy object, Gu Muak showed a bright smile.

Since he was a supreme master and not some random person, there must be a significant amount inside.

Gu Muak’s eyes sparkled as he bowed politely.

“Thank you for the transaction.”

“Yes.”

Dan Woo-hyun stood up from his seat.

Namgung So-hye, who was quietly watching the whole situation from the side, frowned as she looked back and forth between Gu Muak and Dan Woo-hyun.

How much did he spend just to hear these few words of information?

Moreover, considering the time it took to come here from Yueyang, there was no deficit like this deficit.

“Young Master Dan, who on earth is that person that you came all the way here to meet him in person? Moreover, wasn’t that money given too much compared to the information?”

“Do not worry. More importantly, let us go quickly.”

“What?”

Dan Woo-hyun suddenly pulled Namgung So-hye’s hand and moved.

Each step he took was very fast, unlike usual.

It seemed to be because he heard the story that the Hunan Merchant Group was going to do something.

But, looking at his expression, something was strange.

Namgung So-hye tilted her head as she was led by Dan Woo-hyun’s hand out of the gambling house.

Right after Dan Woo-hyun left, Gu Muak grinned. In this way, he built a connection with him and made him owe a debt.

Such a sudden request required the Haomen to pour in a considerable amount of manpower.

It meant it was never a matter to be resolved with money alone.

“Still, it is fortunate that he is a sane human being. I thought he might not even give the information fee by force……”

A smile did not leave his face. In any case, he got a considerable amount of silver coins in his hands.

Besides, Gu Muak was satisfied just by making Dan Woo-hyun come from Yueyang to Changsha.

Since it made it clear that they were just transaction partners, not in a hierarchical relationship.

“Let’s see……”

Gu Muak reached for the pouch. Lifting it up, a fairly heavy sensation was felt from his hand.

Soon, the moment he untied the pouch and looked inside.

Gu Muak lost his words and ended up dropping the pouch.

Clatter-!

Money spilled out of the pouch that fell to the floor.

Spreading in all directions, it was neither silver nor gold.

It was iron coins.

An absurdly large amount of iron coins were inside, but even if all of them were counted, they would not even be worth two taels of silver. There was even a stone the size of a fist inside.

“God damn it!”

Gu Muak’s curse echoed shrilly.

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