novelraw Chapter 165 : Walls Have Ears
Chapter 165 : Walls Have Ears
Chapter 165: Walls Have Ears
Even in a jianghu as crowded as grains of sand, masters capable of unleashing sword flux weren’t common.
Now imagine word spreading that such a master was running around, braving fire and water alike, all for the sake of their clients?
Potential clients, burdened with troublesome issues, had no choice but to come running with their money bundled up.
My “client satisfaction first” ethos and my readiness to storm even the imperial palace to solve problems must’ve moved the Zhen Lords of Beijing.
Of course, such rumors spreading far and wide owed much to the Beggars’ Union disciples who were now everywhere, gossiping enthusiastically.
"Well, I guess we're finally at the point where we can afford to choose our commissions."
I murmured while gazing at the towering stack of commission requests on the desk.
Until now, I’d been running around all over the place just to find clients.
I guess you could say it felt pretty sentimental in a lot of ways.
"At this rate, even Chairman Gam Un would be jealous."
Jo Harang, once a former wanderer, said that with a look of mild surprise at how fast our business was expanding.
This ability to draw in such demand from so many people—that was the true power of a leader. For a chairman, that meant influence and say among wanderers.
“Since we have more options now, work should be a lot easier, right, boss?”
Ilhong asked that abruptly, scratching her cheek.
“That’s... debatable.”
I didn’t just pick easy jobs. I chose the ones that paid well and looked like they’d rack up some virtue.
“It’s going to get harder than this? Is that even... possible?”
Ilhong, who’d been through every job with me—except for the one at the Imperial Palace—asked, looking visibly pale.
“If it’s him, it just might be...”
Jo Harang, who hadn't been around as long as Ilhong but had been through several major incidents with me, added her bit.
"What on earth have you all been through?"
One of the Beggars’ Union disciples who had been watching us, finally opened his mouth, looking completely dumbfounded.
Back when I was disguised as Majungcheon, all I’d dealt with was a bit of back-and-forth with the Blood Cult in Shaanxi.
“It’s a long story, Park Chil.”
Park Chil—the Beggars’ Union insider who had long ago marked me as a candidate for Dragon Head Sect Leader and had helped me in many ways.
He was the man I affectionately called “Sworn Sibling.” With a branch of the Beggars’ Union set up nearby, he often dropped by the office whenever he got bored.
I’d heard my good reputation within the Union was mostly thanks to the nice things he kept saying about me.
Thanks to that, among the Beggars’ Union folks, he was now seen as a man with foresight and considered my personal contact within the group.
Though ever since he started dropping by, Ilhong’s expression had darkened for some reason.
“Park Chil, are there any requests here we should filter out?”
Who were we talking about? The Beggars’ Union—a group considered the Central Plains' largest intelligence network, built on a foundation of beggars scattered across the land.
The man before me was only a mid-level Inner Sect Disciple, but behind him stood the information network of a hundred thousand Beggars’ Union members.
“Skip this one from Branch Leader Oh.”
Park Chil skimmed through the mountain of requests, picked one out, and flicked it away casually.
“Why’s that? The job seems straightforward, and the pay’s considerable.”
“Oh Family Head is currently drowning in financial trouble. He doesn’t have that kind of money. He’s just throwing a big number around to bait you.”
Unbelievable. He dares try to hire someone of my Transcendent caliber without having the funds?
Of course, if it were a case of unavoidable hardship, I might have stepped in for the sake of virtue, but this was deliberate deceit from the start.
“Ilhong, if anyone from the Oh family comes by again, sprinkle salt at the door.”
“Got it...”
Truly befitting the top intelligence group of the orthodox sects. I nudged the pile of requests toward him, egging him on to keep talking.
“This client, for example—acting like the victim, but in truth, they’re the perpetrator. Getting involved would be dangerous. And this one could end up entangling you with the Imperial Family, so it carries significant risk...”
One by one, Park Chil swiftly analyzed the requests, efficiently extracting and organizing the crucial details.
A remarkably useful fellow indeed. Perhaps because he had foresight, his polite and respectful attitude toward me was also rather endearing.
“This one would likely lead to harm against an innocent party. Later, if you rise to a high position, someone might dig this up to smear your name. For the honor of our faction, I suggest passing on it.”
And that attitude—always concerned for the future of the Beggars’ Union—was something he’d shown from the beginning.
“Whoa now, what are you saying all of a sudden? Telling a humble troubleshooter to avoid things in case he rises to a high position?”
“Heheheh, true enough. I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I? But you never know.”
It seemed Park Chil considered my official recognition as a future leader of the Union a foregone conclusion.
Just like before, he was working his way in, trying to stay on my good side—but he did it in such a smooth and likable way that it didn’t come off as annoying.
The guy was truly talented and a decent person all around.
“Tch. That old man’s temperament is so foul, who knows how things will go in the end.”
“Still, I believe in you. Who else but the one who pleaded with the Son of Heaven for the sake of the Beggars’ Union deserves that position?”
“Well, if you put it like that...”
We both exchanged cups of tea and shared a warm laugh.
And the warmer the mood between us became, the more Ilhong’s face darkened.
Though she pretended not to care, she kept casting slightly resentful glances at Park Chil—almost like she was jealous?
Could it be... that now that someone with powerful intel and an upgraded skill set had shown up, she was feeling her own usefulness diminishing?
Was this that common anxiety of an employee fearing replacement?
‘I Don’t Mean It That Way, But It’s Funny.’
Thanks to her, I’d made it this far. And because of one thing she’d said, I’d been able to push past the wall and reach Transcendence.
There was absolutely no reason for her to feel so uneasy, and yet there she was, fidgeting and worrying all on her own.
Maybe she'd been abandoned or betrayed before? But that didn’t quite add up—she was sharp enough to realize that wasn’t the case here.
Well, we could sit down for a proper chat over tea later.
For now, work and commissions were flooding in from all sides, so I decided to make use of Park Chil’s help.
Thinking as much, I took a long sip of the steeped tea like a successful businessman.
Two slashes of sword light and blade light shattered under the moonlight.
Normally, seeing a rival ascend in skill would make one's heart restless.
But Jo Harang was genuinely pleased with the current situation.
Because now, she could once again fight at full force against the man she considered her equal.
"Mujin! Take my full strength!"
"Whoa—hey! Stop!"
Kwa-ja-ja-jak!
It was a duel between Transcendents. Though they’d chosen an empty clearing far from the office, the area quickly descended into chaos under Jo Harang’s uniquely aggressive blade arts and overwhelming blade flux.
"Hey! Calm down! Ease up! I’m still just learning to walk in Transcendence, alright?!"
“No can do! I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
With a roar like an excited tiger, Jo Harang lunged at Dan Mujin without pause.
The long sword and massive blade clashed again and again, producing harsh metallic clangs, sending bright sparks flying with every impact.
The fierce clash of sword flux and blade flux sent sharp qi waves storming out in every direction.
And standing not far away, a woman braced against the oncoming gusts of sword wind, her mood sinking deeper and deeper underground.
“Ahaha! Yes! That’s it, Mujin!”
“What do you mean ‘that’s it’?! Calm down already!”
The two Transcendent martial artists exchanged martial force with visible delight.
Somehow, they looked more in sync than usual.
Perhaps it was because they stood in such distant realms—maybe exchanging martial arts was more comfortable than a hundred words.
“Haaah…”
Ilhong sat on the ground, knees up, face buried in her arms.
“Feels like… I’m the only one falling behind.”
She had already given up on trying to support the boss with her martial arts since he’d pulled ahead so far, especially after Jo Harang joined the team.
But now, even in terms of intelligence gathering, she was falling short.
Ilhong thought about Park Chil—the Beggars’ Union disciple who brought all the latest and most sensitive information without asking for anything in return, just to stay on Dan Mujin’s good side.
Thanks to him, she felt her place in the office slipping away bit by bit.
So this is what it felt like to be pushed aside.
Ka-gang! Cha-cha-chang!
The office was thriving, but Ilhong’s heart felt unbearably hollow.
There was a time when the office’s success felt like her own joy.
“They say the Beggars’ Union hears what’s said in daylight, and the Rogues’ Guild hears what’s said at night…”
If the Beggars’ Union was the greatest intelligence group among the orthodox sects, then the Rogues’ Guild was the equivalent in the unorthodox and black paths.
But lately, the Rogues’ Guild had begun acting more like a profit-driven organization than an intelligence network.
And now, there was this man standing before her—someone who had already reached Transcendence at such a young age with incredible talent, and looked poised to claim the title of successor.
Once, they had been fellow beggars scraping by in alleyways. And now, look how far apart they’d grown, just like that.
“Ugh…”
Lately, even members of the Imperial Family seemed to be eyeing him.
That beggar she’d known since childhood… she had no idea how far he might go.
“Would someone like that… really have any reason to help me…?”
At first, she thought he might be helping her because she was the Rogues’ Guild successor.
But for someone now unofficially recognized as a successor to the Beggars’ Union, that probably didn’t mean much anymore.
And so, Ilhong stewed in silence, overwhelmed with frustration.
“I said I’d be the one doing the leading, but in the end, I’m the one being dragged along…”
She’d tried to harden her heart, but as the walls around it began to melt, she ended up swept up completely—at his mercy.
“What am I supposed to do…”
Anxious feelings written all over her face—just a teenage girl, swept up in the chaos of emotion.
Thus, in the middle of the night, one girl quietly agonized over something that wasn’t even a problem to begin with, all because they hadn’t talked.
A royal edict allowing Beggars’ Union disciples to enter was announced.
As a result, Beggars’ Union disciples flooded into Beijing en masse.
Once they started beating down those who had once scorned beggars and even began establishing branches left and right, one particular faction in Beijing fell into utter chaos.
That faction had, until now, monopolized all intelligence within the Imperial Capital.
Now, however, they were forced into competition with the Beggars’ Union—the Rogues’ Guild.
"That bastard… I had a feeling he wasn’t ordinary, and now look."
And even within the Rogues’ Guild, there was one woman who had seen this coming.
She was the Pavilion Master of the Mysterious Pavilion, Il Hyehyang—currently disguised as the floor manager of Honghwa Brothel.
“They say the Beggars’ Union is already pressing the Rogues’ Guild with both visible and invisible pressure.”
According to the intelligence gathering in Mysterious Pavilion, the Beggars’ Union’s movements were no joke.
They clearly suspected that the Rogues’ Guild was behind the recent beggar purge incident and were now retaliating.
Ever since they swarmed in after the decree was announced, Il Hyehyang had a feeling something was brewing.
“On top of that, our internal state is the worst it’s ever been…”
While the Rogues’ Guild was always loosely structured with weak group cohesion,
they had still shared a core ideal—protecting each other as outcasts banded together.
But after a coup that replaced the previous Guild Master, the new one was a man only concerned with personal profit, and the morale of the guild members had dropped sharply.
A house built on sand. The Rogues’ Guild members were all but flimsy support pillars—if they started to waver, the whole structure would collapse.
Typical signs of an organization in decline.
“So, that’s why you came to me at this late hour in secret, Pavilion Master of the Mysterious Pavilion?”
At the man’s question, Il Hyehyang silently nodded.
“Yes, Pavilion Master of the Shadow Pavilion. In this ruthless murim, you’re the only one I can still trust.”
A man once suspected of having a secret affair with the new Guild Master—Black Diagnosis Bird.
A man rumored to have a child with her, thanks to a few cheeky beggar kids.
That very man now stood before her—Pavilion Master of the Shadow Pavilion.
“Trust is appreciated, but… what do you want from me?”
To his question, Il Hyehyang offered a faint smile and said,
“Same as before. It’s time we changed ships.”