Chapter 92 : The Martial World Flows on a Melody
Chapter 92 : The Martial World Flows on a Melody
Cheon Mubaeck, who had had a grand sword dance at the Red Dragon Faction, moved with Neung-heo without resting.
The place they arrived at before the blood had even cooled was the Nakwha-ru.
"It's a place that even the Hao Faction couldn't touch."
"Is there someone behind the master?"
"I heard there's a high-ranking official."
"Then it's understandable that they're wary of the Hao Faction."
Cheon Mubaeck nodded his head at Neung-heo's words.
Although the Hao Faction was a place where all sorts of low-life people gathered, not all of the low-life people were members of the Hao Faction. If all the gisaengs, thugs, and waiters were from the Hao Faction, who would visit the gisaeng houses?
Who would comfortably talk about their inner feelings at an inn? Who would have a secret conversation while drinking at a gisaeng house?
So if it wasn't a gisaeng house that had grown in scale with the backing of the Hao Faction, they would rather be wary of the Hao Faction.
For example, the current Nakwha-ru was like that.
"I heard there's a clause in the employment conditions here that members of the Hao Faction are absolutely forbidden."
"How do they filter that?"
"It means that the backer is from the government office, so it's quite credible."
There were no guys who were as scared of the ears of the Hao Faction as the officials.
Because they did not know when a petition would be delivered to the inspectors.
The Nakwha-ru had originally kept its distance from the Hao Faction with the government office as its backer.
So it was rather prosperous. Secret meetings and those who did not want their whereabouts to be discovered by the Hao Faction. High-ranking officials and people of the martial world visited, so it was a city that never slept.
That was the reason why the Red Dragon Faction Master had met here.
On the contrary, if they had met at the Red Dragon Faction, they would have been caught by the information network of the Beggars' Sect.
"But the Hao Faction is amazing. They found a trail that even the Beggars' Sect had missed."
At that meeting, the Hao Faction had not been able to obtain exactly who he had met and what conversation had taken place.
"What are you going to do? Will the gisaengs here talk so well?"
"Well..."
The government office is the backer, so there's a troublesome being attached.
Although the government and the martial world were inviolable, in the end, wasn't this land the government's?
If he got on their bad side for no reason, all sorts of troublesome things would happen. Especially since there was the Azure Star Escort Agency. For the escort agency's business, it was better for the government to be cooperative.
"We'll have to clash for now."
"That bastard Red Dragon Faction Master. It would have been so much better if he had just talked and died."
"It's certain that it's the Blood Ghost Valley, so just this is a big achievement."
The ghosts of the valley drenched in blood.
Although the Red Dragon Faction Master had probably spat it out, thinking that Cheon Mubaeck would be scared, Cheon Mubaeck was not scared at all.
On the contrary, since his suspicion had turned into conviction, Cheon Mubaeck now had no hesitation.
"Did you make a reservation?"
Although it was still early evening, the Nakwha-ru was already lit up and was receiving customers.
"Do I have to make a reservation to enter?"
"Ah, you must be visiting our Nakwha-ru for the first time. From the third floor, only customers with reservations can enter."
"From the third floor?"
"It's the best entertainment in our gisaeng house."
The gatekeeper said quite proudly. Neung-heo nodded his head. As the master of the Lotus Pavilion, he had noticed what kind of system it was. When he glanced at the pavilion, red lanterns were hung up to the second floor.
It meant it was a brothel.
But from the third floor, blue lanterns were hung up. It was a brothel.
In other words, since the customers from the third floor were customers who enjoyed music and painting, there was a high probability that they were high-ranking officials.
If the Red Dragon Faction Master had visited secretly, it would probably not be the third floor, but higher...
If it was only possible with a reservation, wouldn't it be difficult to enter now?
Neung-heo glanced back at Cheon Mubaeck.
A question of what he would do.
In fact, Neung-heo had been a little worried, but he realized that it was unnecessary.
When he recalled the time when Cheon Mubaeck had first come to the Lotus Pavilion...
'He's just an arrogant madman. He only knows how to go straight.'
And Cheon Mubaeck, as Neung-heo had thought, was the type who hated going around in circles.
"Can I meet the master?"
The gatekeeper, as if he were startled for a moment, looked Cheon Mubaeck up and down.
A person who was looking for the master out of the blue.
It meant that he had that much position, rank, and power.
'He's too young.'
The question that appeared on the gatekeeper's face was natural.
Cheon Mubaeck was the type to use everything he could to achieve what he wanted to achieve.
For example.
"The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, Cheon Mubaeck."
Even his own reputation.
* * *
From the perspective of a gisaeng house, people of the martial world were important customers, but they were also troublesome uninvited guests.
In the gisaeng house business, people of the martial world could not be excluded. Because they considered alcohol, women, and music as entertainment. They also spent money like water. Was it because they had lived their whole lives eating sword rice? Their concept of money was very lacking.
They were also uninvited guests.
It was a common thing for a sword fight to break out if things went wrong. The gisaeng houses also hired warriors themselves, and the money spent on this was not small.
The more powerful the warrior hired, the more expenses were incurred.
To get their money's worth, they had to hire a warrior with a high reputation.
The Iron-Clawed Eagle, who was hired by the Nakwha-ru, was a warrior of the peak and a famous warrior in Chongqing.
The master of the Nakwha-ru, Dang-so, called the Iron-Clawed Eagle and questioned him.
"The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, is he really as strong as the rumors say?"
"Why the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero all of a sudden?"
"That person came to see me."
At those words, the Iron-Clawed Eagle looked at Dang-so with his mouth slightly open.
Although his brow was furrowed and wrinkled, Dang-so's beauty was still the same as when she was young.
Looking at her expression, it was not a mischievous prank.
"You're saying that the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero really came to see you now?"
"I've escorted him to a room for now. He was looking for me, of all people."
"My goodness. Do you know? The Red Dragon Faction Master died this afternoon."
"Pardon? The Red Dragon Faction Master?!"
Dang-so was startled. My goodness. To think that the Red Dragon Faction Master had died. That monstrous guy? The guy whose guts were not pushed back even in Chongqing, where the Fighting God, Gwak Yong, was running rampant?
"Don't tell me..."
"Yes. That's right. They say the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero killed him."
"...!"
"They say he proudly broke in in broad daylight and destroyed him."
"Ah."
"The rumors of the martial world are usually exaggerated. I also thought that the rumor that he had saved Shaolin and had destroyed the Plum Blossom One Sword and the Zhongnan Wind Sword was exaggerated, but the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is the real deal. Because he killed the Red Dragon Faction Master."
Dang-so put her hand on her forehead.
"Why would that person suddenly... after killing the Red Dragon Faction Master... huck!"
Dang-so, recalling that the Red Dragon Faction Master had had a secret meeting at the Nakwha-ru a while ago, turned pale.
"Iron-Clawed Eagle."
"Yes, Master."
"Can you face him?"
"I'd rather bite my sword and commit suicide."
"Eum!"
At the words that came out without a moment's hesitation, Dang-so crumpled her beautiful brow.
The Iron-Clawed Eagle, who had been working at the Nakwha-ru even before Dang-so had retired.
His loyalty was trustworthy, and he was a good warrior with good skills.
So he could firmly express his opinion.
Dang-so sighed and said.
"He came to ask about the meeting that the Red Dragon Faction Master had that day."
"Was the master at that meeting?"
Although the Iron-Clawed Eagle's expression was somewhat worried, there was no fear in his voice.
Dang-so, who had received a great deal of comfort from that voice, answered.
"No, the Red Dragon Faction Master rented the entire pavilion at that time. You know the day we were closed a while ago."
"Ah, was it then?"
"Yes. I sent all the girls out, and it was a rare holiday for me too. Because he paid the money for renting one pavilion."
"Then please emphasize that point. If the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is as the rumors say, he is a righteous person. If you honestly say that you don't know anything, what would be the problem?"
The Iron-Clawed Eagle said as if he were relieved. He also knew well as a person who ate sword rice. That the people of the martial world were the kind of people who would draw their swords first if things didn't go their way.
But sometimes, on the contrary, the people of the martial world were easy to handle.
They were the kind of people who valued the reputation they had gained in the martial world as much as gold.
Especially if it was a person of the orthodox sects.
The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.
The Heavenly Dragon from the Eight Legions of Buddhism, and a hero with a sword.
Would such a person bully a gisaeng house, which was a low-life? And according to the rumors he had actually heard, weren't they all heroic deeds?
But even so, Dang-so's face could not relax.
"There was a girl who was at the scene at that time."
"Pardon? Didn't you send everyone on vacation?"
"He said it was lonely to talk, so he called the girl with the most outstanding artistic talent to pluck the zither next to him."
"This... Is it Seol-ah?"
"Yes. Seol-ah went in."
"Only that child would know what conversation took place."
"Yes."
Dang-so thought for a moment and then raised her head.
"What are you going to do? If you don't know at all, then you don't know. There are no secrets in the world. The rumor that the Beggars' Sect and the Hao Faction are attached to the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero is widespread."
"Eum!"
"They will soon find out that Seol-ah went into the room alone. Are you planning to hide it until the end?"
Dang-so shook her head.
If no one had gone in at all, she could have been more confident, but it was already too late.
But the Nakwha-ru was not just a gisaeng house that sold alcohol.
Wasn't the Nakwha-ru a place that prided itself on having cut ties with the Hao Faction in the first place?
If it became known that a conversation that had been held in secret at such a place had leaked out, the advantage of the Nakwha-ru would be lost.
But it was also not something to ask the high-ranking officials who sponsored the Nakwha-ru, since the government and the martial world were inviolable. What if the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero turned it upside down after getting involved?
Dang-so said with a hardened face.
"There's no choice. I have to be direct. If that person is a hero worthy of being called a great hero as his title suggests, he will understand."
Dang-so's choice was the direct approach.
* * *
"I'm sorry, but we cannot give you the information you want."
"..."
Neung-heo looked at Cheon Mubaeck with a sullen face from the side.
Cheon Mubaeck looked at Dang-so, who had spoken boldly, without any change in his expression.
It wasn't that he was glaring. It wasn't a gaze with any special emotion.
But was it because of that?
Although Dang-so had spoken boldly, her heart was pounding. She was also flustered by his surprisingly young appearance, and she had also felt a slight sense of looking down on him, but she thought that he was indeed the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero.
She felt as if her body were completely stiffening with just one look.
When Cheon Mubaeck was silent without saying anything, the Iron-Clawed Eagle, who had been brought along, interrupted.
"Sword Hero, I earnestly ask you. We are only telling the truth. That day, the Red Dragon Faction Master rented the entire pavilion, and we do not know who he met. Only Seol-ah here went in, but she said she couldn't even see his face because she was just plucking the zither behind a screen."
Dang-so added.
"So please understand our situation. Young Master, no, Great Hero."
It was so earnest that even Neung-heo, who had been about to shout from the side, shut his mouth with an awkward expression.
Since he also ran the Lotus Pavilion, he could fully understand what the situation was.
'But still, this guy, once he makes up his mind, he gets it even if he has to turn everything upside down.'
As soon as he had confirmed the connection with the Red Dragon Faction, he had beaten the Red Dragon Faction Master to death in broad daylight.
When he could not get all the information he wanted, he had come straight to the Nakwha-ru without resting.
He was not just bold, but even reckless.
So there was no way Cheon Mubaeck would back down here...
"I understand."
"Huh?"
A pleasant, soft voice.
It was a voice that made the listener feel comfortable, and the slight smile on his lips was also pleasant to see.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the room became as gentle as if a bonfire had been lit.
Dang-so and the Iron-Clawed Eagle, who had been tense, were surprised by the unexpected situation, but they soon relaxed to some extent.
Because the faint external qi that was flowing from Cheon Mubaeck was now controlling the emotions in the room.
"Because I want what I want, I shouldn't oppress others."
"As expected..."
"Great Hero...!"
Dang-so and the Iron-Clawed Eagle made an impressed expression. Of course, Neung-heo, who was next to them, just had his mouth wide open.
'This crazy bastard. Who was the bastard who beat up Im Hong and forced him to sell the treasure map for half a nyang?'
Cheon Mubaeck did not care about Neung-heo's gaze.
"Thank you very much. Great Hero."
"No. Ah, but... is that a five-stringed pipa?"
"Pardon? Yes."
Seol-ah, who had been suddenly pointed out, was startled and grabbed the pipa that was on one side.
She had been brought to this place because she had plucked the zither that day, but since the situation was what it was, she had been scared and had been quietly silent.
In the midst of that, when Cheon Mubaeck suddenly pointed her out, she was not just surprised, but her face turned red.
Cheon Mubaeck grinned. It was a smile as if to say not to worry.
"Then, may I try playing it once?"
"Pardon?"
"I like to play instruments, so since I've come to the Nakwha-ru, how about we share some music with each other?"
Cheon Mubaeck said that and naturally received the pipa.
Seol-ah handed over the pipa with a dazed face and was soon surprised.
The pipa was not an easy instrument to handle. But when Cheon Mubaeck held the pipa and took a posture, that posture was not ordinary.
Dang-so, who was next to him, also opened her eyes wide. Because before she had retired, the gisaeng who had been famous for playing instruments the best at the Nakwha-ru was none other than her.
That's how natural Cheon Mubaeck was.
His long fingers drew a graceful curve as if they were dancing.
And.
The moment he plucked the strings.
Jjing-.
Everyone in the room was drawn in.
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