Chapter 113: Chapter 113
“Brother! I have poured the tea here!”
Jong-hyeon placed the teacup he brought down in front of Cheon-hwi, then looked up with bright eyes like a dog waiting for a command.
“You can go now.”
Jong-hyeon flinched at Cheon-hwi’s words.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Not particularly.”
Jong-hyeon, who had been sullen, suddenly remembered something and spoke with shining eyes.
“Then how about some snacks?”
“Snacks?”
“Yes! This time, there are sweets that Master separately brought from the market.”
“Aren’t those for you to eat?”
“That is true, but…”
Jong-hyeon clenched both fists tightly and looked straight at Cheon-hwi.
“I want to eat them together with you, Brother.”
“Really? Then do as you please.”
“R-really?”
“Forget it if you don’t want to.”
“No! I-I’ll go get them right away!”
Fearing Cheon-hwi might refuse again, Jong-hyeon quickly dashed out of the room.
“How long is he going to be like that.”
Cheon-hwi, who was watching the back of Jong-hyeon as he closed the door and disappeared, took a sip of the tea.
The spar that took place four days ago.
Having gained enlightenment from the spar that day, Jong-hyeon served Cheon-hwi as a sworn brother and did not shy away from doing chores.
Of course, Cheon-hwi didn’t even listen to those words and ignored him.
‘Haha, that is good!’
As even Ha Woo-jin began to join in, Jong-hyeon’s actions only became bolder.
“I should be leaving soon.”
Thinking of Jong-hyeon and Ha Woo-jin who became increasingly clingy as time passed, just as he was wondering when to leave the Zhongnan Sect.
‘Speak of the devil and he shall appear.’
Knock. Knock.
“May I come in?”
Right on time, Ha Woo-jin visited.
“Come in.”
Ha Woo-jin, who entered, handed the scroll in his hand to Cheon-hwi and said.
“A letter came for you.”
“For me?”
Cheon-hwi tilted his head.
The fact that he was staying at the Zhongnan Sect was unknown to anyone.
‘Who…’
As soon as he received the scroll, he immediately knew who sent it.
The crest drawn on the scroll.
It was exactly the same as the crest on the cloth he had given to the Branch Chief.
‘They sure found out easily.’
Still, as an information sect, they knew he was in the Zhongnan Sect and sent a letter.
‘Let’s see.’
He immediately unrolled the scroll.
Inside, only a single character was written.
And it was a welcome character.
Done.
Cheon-hwi smiled and looked at Ha Woo-jin.
“I should get going now.”
“Already?”
“I have something I need to do.”
Ha Woo-jin, who was about to stop him, nodded with a regretful expression at those words.
“Still, shouldn’t you at least tell the Sect Leader and Jong-hyeon before you go…”
“Could you tell them for me? I’m a bit in a hurry right now.”
Ha Woo-jin thought for a moment, then nodded after seeing Cheon-hwi’s expression.
“Understood.”
“Thank you.”
“Take care on your way.”
“Let’s see each other if we can next time.”
“Let’s do that.”
After lightly exchanging greetings with Ha Woo-jin, Cheon-hwi left the Zhongnan Sect without delay.
Swish… Swish…
Unfolding the Azure Cloud Footwork, the fastest among the Mount Hua Sect’s movement techniques, Cheon-hwi arrived at the branch of the Hao Sect.
‘He came out himself.’
Seeing the Shaanxi Branch Chief waiting in front of the entrance, Cheon-hwi stopped before him.
“…!”
The Branch Chief was slightly surprised at Cheon-hwi’s sudden appearance but quickly calmed his emotions and formed a soft smile.
“I have been waiting.”
After a formal greeting as usual, the Branch Chief guided the way inside.
He took out a piece of paper from his embrace.
“What is written on the paper is the identity of those who occupied the inn. And…”
The Branch Chief, while speaking, took out a thick booklet from his sleeve and held it in his empty hand.
“This booklet contains information about them.”
“You handle things quickly.”
Cheon-hwi was genuinely impressed.
The Hao Sect had gathered the information in just two days, which was vastly superior to the intelligence organizations of most sects.
“You flatter me.”
Looking back and forth between the paper and the booklet held in both hands, Cheon-hwi opened his mouth.
“Seeing as you mentioned them separately, I assume the prices are different?”
The Branch Chief nodded.
“For this paper, payment has already been completed with the advance, but for this booklet, the price is quite steep.”
Cheon-hwi’s eyes narrowed.
The advance payment was also quite an expensive price.
However, if the price of the booklet was incomparable to the advance payment, it meant they were no ordinary sect.
“How much is it?”
“One gold ingot.”
Cheon-hwi’s brow furrowed.
It was a higher price than he had thought.
One gold ingot was roughly equivalent to half a year’s operating expenses for a major sect.
‘Hmm, could I borrow using the Gold Plaque?’
Cheon-hwi thought of the Gold Plaque he had received from the Guild Leader of the Flying Wind Merchant Guild, which was in his embrace.
Just as he was about to fall into thought.
“If you are worried about money, how about making a trade?”
“A trade? What is it?”
“You just need to sell information to me.”
“I don’t really have anything to sell.”
“No. You will have something.”
“What is it?”
At that moment, the Branch Chief’s eyes became sharp.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, he pierced Cheon-hwi with his gaze and parted his lips.
“It is the Young Hero’s esteemed name.”
“My name?”
Cheon-hwi stroked his chin.
‘Shouldn’t he know my name?’
If they were an organization that gathered information this quickly, they surely would have known his identity by now.
But for him to say it like this…
‘Oho.’
The corners of Cheon-hwi’s lips twisted.
What this man wanted was one thing.
Connection.
Since he couldn’t give the information for free, he wanted to form a connection through a transaction of buying his name.
“It seems you’ve figured me out to some extent?”
“It is still just the tip of the iceberg.”
“And yet you are making this proposal?”
“It is because I am certain that the Young Hero is not an ordinary person.”
“You have a good eye.”
The Branch Chief’s eyes sparkled.
Cheon-hwi’s words and actions of not denying it instilled great certainty in the Branch Chief.
“This eye played a big part in how an insignificant person like me rose to become the Branch Chief of Shaanxi.”
“Is that so?”
They stared at each other for a brief moment.
“It’s Cheon-hwi.”
Cheon-hwi met the Branch Chief’s eyes and revealed his Daoist name.
The Branch Chief, as if he had known all along, was not surprised and said with a smile.
“It is an honor to hear the Great Hero’s esteemed name.”
With those words, the Branch Chief handed the paper and the booklet to Cheon-hwi.
“I will wait for you to visit this branch again should you have need in the future. We will deliver information more certainly and quickly than the Beggars’ Sect.”
“More than the Beggars’ Sect? Are you confident?”
“You could say our Hao Sect gathers all kinds of information in the world.”
“Still, the Beggars’ Sect has a tremendous amount of disciples.”
At Cheon-hwi’s words, the Branch Chief formed a meaningful smile.
“The Hao Sect is not to be underestimated either.”
“Oho.”
Satisfied with the confident words, Cheon-hwi nodded.
“Good. If I ever need to buy information later, I’ll visit the Hao Sect first.”
“Thank you.”
The Branch Chief bowed his head.
Leaving him behind, Cheon-hwi exited the branch and unfolded the paper first.
“Huh?”
And the moment he saw the writing, his brow creased.
It was because an unexpected sect that he hadn’t thought of at all was written on the paper.
“Nine Dragons Gang?”
Cheon-hwi tilted his head.
Speaking of the Nine Dragons Gang, it was a sect that was once called the tyrant of Raknam County, but now they had been pushed back by the Ghost Heaven Sect and were in the position of being second-in-command.
‘Weren’t they part of the Murim Alliance?’
Cheon-hwi dug up the vague information he knew about the Nine Dragons Gang.
A righteous faction belonging to the Murim Alliance.
And that the current sect leader was a master of weapon arts known as the Nine Dragons Flying Radiance and was highly renowned as an expert.
Because of that, it was strange.
“They aren’t from the Unorthodox Faction? The guys in the inn were definitely emitting an evil aura.”
Most of the people in the inn had emitted a faint evil aura amidst their killing intent.
“This smells fishy.”
Cheon-hwi immediately narrowed his eyes.
It reeked of a terrible stench.
“I need to check what this is about.”
Cheon-hwi immediately opened the booklet.
In the thick booklet, various detailed things about the Nine Dragons Gang were written.
The Gang Leader’s whereabouts and the sect’s achievements.
Was that all.
Even the reasons why the sect’s disciples had gone outside recently were written.
He read on, turning the pages.
Clack.
After a while, he closed the booklet.
“…It was worth the high price.”
Cheon-hwi’s eyes sank deeply.
The booklet also detailed why they had moved and what their objective was.
Along with that, he marveled at the Hao Sect’s intelligence capabilities and instantly understood why the Branch Chief had been so confident earlier.
Even mundane information and shameful secrets about the Nine Dragons Gang were written in detail.
As well as information so terrible that the Nine Dragons Gang Leader would go berserk if he found out.
It was even written that the person who had entrusted the assassination request for Princess So-hee to the Nine Dragons Gang Leader was currently staying at the Nine Dragons Gang.
“I should hurry.”
Cheon-hwi raised his internal energy.
He had to find out the mastermind and everything else while that person was staying at the Nine Dragons Gang.
Fwoosh!
The paper and the booklet, burned by igniting the True Fire of Samadhi, became ashes and disappeared high into the sky as Cheon-hwi’s figure suddenly vanished.
* * *
Raknam County’s Red Flower Pavilion.
In the courtesan house named after the elegance of the nearby Mount Hua’s plum blossoms, there were three famous specialties.
First was the Red Flower Pavilion’s unique famous liquor, Fire Liquor, known to be brewed by the courtesans themselves, and the second was the performances and paintings presented by the courtesans who possessed both literary and martial arts skills.
And the last one was a specialty considered the best even within the Red Flower Pavilion, which was the person located on the top floor of the Red Flower Pavilion.
It was Myeong-wol, the dancer of the Red Flower Pavilion whom everyone living in Raknam County called the greatest beauty in Shaanxi.
The occasions when such a Myeong-wol received a guest exclusively were only a few days a year, and today was that very day.
“My Lord, please drink.”
At Myeong-wol’s charming voice, a middle-aged man with a thin beard smiled widely and raised his cup high.
“Haha, since Myeong-wol poured it, this incredibly strong Fire Liquor feels very refreshing.”
“Oh my, My Lord.”
Myeong-wol lightly tapped the middle-aged man’s chest with her hand while covering her mouth with her sleeve.
At the same time, she cast a sidelong glance at an older man sitting opposite them, who was gulping down alcohol while ignoring the women.
‘Why did that person come here?’
She was full of questions.
Rightfully so, the older man wearing martial arts attire made of black and white was not a person who would ever come here.
Nine Dragons Flying Radiance Seo Woo-gil!
Let alone a courtesan house, he was a person who had absolutely no involvement in matters related to women.
Yet he had visited the Red Flower Pavilion.
Together with a middle-aged man she had never seen before.
“Pour me another cup!”
The middle-aged man raised his cup.
Myeong-wol quickly lifted the liquor bottle and slowly poured it into the middle-aged man’s cup.
“Kueu! It is good, good! Haha.”
The middle-aged man tried to hug Myeong-wol.
However.
“My Lord, you are too strong.”
Myeong-wol stealthily pulled her body away.
At that moment, the middle-aged man’s expression stiffened.
“…Are you saying you dislike my embrace?”
“N-no, I am not. My Lord.”
Just as Myeong-wol was breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Great Lord. If you come here, it is best to listen to Myeong-wol’s zither performance.”
The Nine Dragons Gang Leader saved her.
“Ah, right! I was so nervous in front of the handsome Great Lord that I forgot I had to show you a zither performance!”
“Hmm, hmm. Is that so.”
Although they were flattering words, the middle-aged man nodded, seemingly satisfied just hearing it from a beautiful woman.
“Then play the zither.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Myeong-wol quickly caught on to the intention, stood up, and placed the zither lying in the center onto her lap.
Soon, delicate, jade-like hands were revealed from within her sleeves.
Her pale fingers slowly plucked the strings of the zither.
Thrum… Thrum…
Two short sounds of the strings.
However, that alone caused silence to fall over the boisterous Red Flower Pavilion.
It wasn’t just their floor.
It could be heard from the floors below, and the courtesans who had been playing naturally stopped their hands and perked up their ears.
Stopping a performance suddenly was something to be angry about from the guests’ perspective, but no one could think to do so.
It was because the sound of this zither performance that echoed had captivated their ears that much.
After a brief performance ended.
Thruuum…
Leaving a lingering final note, Myeong-wol smiled softly.
“How was it?”
The middle-aged man came to his senses.
“It was an amazing zither performance! Hoho, with this level of skill, the Imperial… Ahem.”
Myeong-wol’s eyes widened.
‘The Imperial Family? Then that middle-aged man is?’
It was then.
[Forget the words you just heard.]
A freezing cold voice struck her mind.
‘Th-the Nine Dragons Gang Leader?’
Due to the presence felt behind her back, she couldn’t bring herself to turn her head.
She merely tried to bow her head to somehow hide her pale complexion.
Just then, the Nine Dragons Gang Leader stood up.
“Great Lord, it is time to go now.”
“Already?”
The middle-aged man spoke regretfully.
“We do not have time.”
But the Nine Dragons Gang Leader was firm.
“Doesn’t that person also not have time to wait any longer?”
At the Nine Dragons Gang Leader’s continued words, the middle-aged man smacked his lips as if it was a shame and stood up.
“Fine.”
As the two prepared to leave, the courtesans who were next to the Nine Dragons Gang Leader and Myeong-wol hurriedly bowed.
“Take care on your way.”
“Let’s see each other again next time.”
“Please take care of yourselves.”
“Alright! I will come again next time!”
The middle-aged man with a reddened nose laughed loudly and spoke as he left, and the Nine Dragons Gang Leader silently walked, following behind him.
After a while, the sound of the two descending the stairs disappeared, and Myeong-wol and the other courtesans let out sighs of relief.
“That was dangerous.”
At Myeong-wol’s words, Cheong-hwa, who had been on the Nine Dragons Gang Leader’s left, pressed firmly on her chest as if her heart was still pounding and spoke.
“I was really surprised! Who would have known that the Nine Dragons Gang Leader would come to our courtesan house?”
“Did we make any mistakes?”
“No.”
“No.”
When the two quickly answered, Jeok-hwa, who had been on the Nine Dragons Gang Leader’s right, asked.
“But who could the middle-aged man be?”
“We’ll have to find out now.”
Myeong-wol raised her eyebrows.
“Hurry up and go tell the Hao Sect disciples to find out the identity of that person.”
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