novelraw Chapter 66 : Chapter 66
Chapter 66 : Chapter 66
Chapter 66 - It's Not For Me to Eat
A little over ten years ago.
That day was an exceptionally busy day.
A gisaeng house was usually busiest on holidays or the eve of a holiday.
For some reason, several big spenders had all visited Drunken Fragrance Pavilion at once.
“Hahahaha.”
“Hohoho.”
As a person’s body cannot be in two places at once.
The price of drinking with Jinhwa, the top gisaeng of Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, was usually more than two or three times the normal rate.
But they drank without hesitation and kept the woman by their side.
Usually, in such cases, it was one of two things.
They were either wealthy from the start.
Or a great auspicious event had occurred, making money of no concern.
“Thanks to Lord Huang, the matter was handled very cleanly. Your skills are as good as the rumors say.”
As the man with the bushy beard politely cupped his fist, the middle-aged man sitting opposite him lowered his head slightly.
‘Judging by the cupped fist, he seems to be a martial artist…… Who are they?’
While ceaselessly keeping up the rhythm, Jinhwa’s gaze was directed at the strangers.
The men who enjoyed the pleasures of the gisaeng house were also divided into two types.
Those who boasted about their status, and those who were reluctant to reveal their identity.
The guests who had come today were thoroughly the latter.
Dozens of people drank in their respective rooms, keeping their mouths shut about their main occupations.
However, even if others did not, Jinhwa kept her eyes and ears wide open to confirm their identities.
Because she had not received any word from the man, Yi Chan, who had left saying he would contact her soon.
With the rumor that the Diancang Sect had been annihilated circulating, Jinhwa was becoming increasingly anxious.
Perhaps she might hear news of Yi Chan and the Diancang Sect through the coming and going guests.
The reason Jinhwa was constantly pricking up her ears was all because of that.
“Hahahaha.”
But regrettably, the middle-aged man did not react to any words.
After a long drinking session, the only thing he said was to ask where the latrine was.
“If you go to the right end of the room, you will find it.”
Jinhwa said so and then went outside the room with him to wait for the middle-aged man.
It was when she was spending her time lost in thoughts about Yi Chan.
“…………!”
Watching the middle-aged man approaching from afar, Jinhwa felt a sense of incongruity.
There was nothing wrong with his walking posture itself.
But the strange thing was…….
‘There’s no sound of footsteps.’
Since Yi Chan was also a martial artist, they had occasionally talked about matters related to martial arts.
At that time, Yi Chan had warned about assassins like this.
‘You must be careful with your words around those who make no sound when they walk. For there is a high probability that they are assassins who move secretly under the moonlight.’
Jinhwa’s suspicion soon turned into conviction.
She hadn’t noticed inside the room filled with the scent of food and liquor, but as she attended to him from a close distance outside the room, a unique metallic smell pricked her nose.
‘The smell of blood……!’
Jinhwa’s sense of smell was a bit more sensitive than others.
Thus, she was able to notice the thick smell of blood emanating from the middle-aged man’s body.
In this gisaeng house, there were dozens of men dressed similarly to the middle-aged man.
Could it be that all of these men were an assassin group?
‘The situation of the sect is like a candle in the wind.’
Yi Chan had described the Diancang Sect as a precarious lamp before the wind.
Then from where was that wind blowing?
After entering the room, Jinhwa observed the middle-aged man’s appearance in more detail.
Judging by the calluses that filled his palms, he was clearly a sword user.
The words of the bearded man, ‘clean handling of the matter’, ‘robbing an empty house’, and ‘life is a series of ups and downs’, also sounded more and more meaningful the more she chewed on them.
The fact that the distance between Yiliang County and Diancang Mountain was not that far, and the rumor that the Diancang Sect had been attacked recently, also fit perfectly.
“When does Lord Huang plan to return to Hunan?”
The bearded man, who was quite drunk, asked Lord Huang.
At that moment, Lord Huang’s eyes flashed coldly once.
It was a chilling gaze that made one’s legs tremble just by looking at it.
The bearded man seemed to realize his mistake and gave an awkward laugh.
“You’ll go when the time is right, I asked a needless question. Hahahaha!”
The atmosphere soon recovered, but Jinhwa quickly racked her brain without showing any sign.
What was the reason the middle-aged man had looked so serious?
Since they had used the title Lord Huang from the beginning, the name would not be a problem.
No, perhaps even the name Lord Huang was highly likely to be fake.
There was only one clue left.
The region called ‘Hunan’.
‘An assassin group came all the way here from distant Hunan to do a job.’
The pieces in Jinhwa’s mind began to fit together one by one, forming a single picture.
However.
There was no one to whom she could tell the completed picture.
And she shouldn’t.
She was well aware that if she carelessly spoke of the assassin group’s affair, she could disappear without a trace.
Time passed mercilessly.
The picture Jinhwa had drawn had long since receded to the back of her mind.
Because for her, who had attacked the Diancang Sect was not a very important matter.
The only thing that was important was one thing.
The whereabouts of Yi Chan.
In the first place, the reason she was interested in the attack on the Diancang Sect was because Yi Chan was once a member of the Diancang Sect.
In the distant future.
Only after enough time had passed for the name Jinhwa to change to ‘Lady Mihwa’.
She met the person to whom she could present her picture.
To a handsome man with features as if drawn, whom she had met for the first time in her life.
***
“In the end, you’re saying the identity of the unorthodox factions is an assassin group based in Hunan?”
Uma asked with a deep growl.
“I can’t be sure, but it’s the most likely possibility for now.”
“I can’t understand. Assassins usually don’t operate that way.”
“You say that like you know them well.”
“I was attacked by an assassin in Simao.”
“……Hired by debt collectors?”
“Yes.”
“Heo. You almost died trying to get a few more pennies.”
Biyoung stared at Uma with a look of pity.
Every time Jeong-i mentioned the gifts she received while working at the Blue Pavilion, Uma showed an agitated reaction.
Living while hiding one’s identity was the same, but someone was offered good things on their own, while another lived being attacked by assassins.
So how could he not feel wronged?
‘You should have been born with a more common face.’
Biyoung couldn’t bring himself to say that and turned his head away.
“He was a poor-skilled assassin. Well, how much could those already broke debt collectors have given him. If they had that kind of money, they should have just paid off their debts. Stupid bastards.”
“You’re saying they were a different class from the usual assassin groups?”
“Assassins aren’t anything grand. You give a few pennies to some guys in the back alleys who have nothing to lose, and that’s what an assassin is. But even a high-level assassin group doesn’t handle things this way. An assassin group that takes out a single sect, a single group, in large numbers? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“It is certainly a strange affair.”
Among the many commissions, murder is the most dangerous and expensive.
Although most of the masters had disappeared after the fight with the Heavenly Demon, it would have cost an enormous amount to annihilate the Diancang Sect.
It would be understandable if they were people who held a grudge against the Diancang Sect.
Who on earth had committed such an act, and for what reason?
“According to Lady Mihwa, both the bearded man and the assassins at that time had faces she had never seen before. They haven’t come to Drunken Fragrance Pavilion or the Loyal Heart Pavilion since then. It’s possible to surmise that they came here from the beginning to handle the matter and then returned to their base.”
“And that base is in Hunan?”
“Probably.”
At Biyoung’s words, Uma spat on the ground.
If it was a group with a clear affiliation, revenge would not be difficult.
But finding and attacking an assassin group from another region, not even Yunnan, was no easy task.
So much so that dealing with the Syndicate of Ten Thousand Eyes would feel like child’s play.
“What are you going to do.”
At Uma’s question, Biyoung shrugged his shoulders.
“This is not something I should handle alone. We need to make a decision after Elder Jeokseo and my grandfather return. Maybe……”
“Maybe?”
Biyoung showed a mischievous smile.
“They might come to strike this place once again.”
“…………!”
Uma’s face contorted greatly.
Indeed, if the rumor that the Diancang Sect had recovered its main mountain spread, the group that had viewed them with displeasure might come rushing in again.
“That’s why we need to build up our strength. We’ve roughly wrapped things up, so let’s set out as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”
Han Hoe, the strategist of the Tiger-Bear Stronghold.
The incident related to him had been concluded for the time being.
From how he knew about the existence of the safe, to the information syndicate connected to him.
As a result, they had gained an alliance with the Syndicate of Ten Thousand Eyes, but it remained to be seen how long that precarious relationship would last.
“How are you going to deal with those two?”
“I’ll hand Han Ryeong over to the Syndicate of Ten Thousand Eyes.”
“Lady Mihwa will try to kill him, won’t she?”
“She promised she wouldn’t. Of course, she might cripple his martial arts and throw him out like Jeongmin, whom you defeated, Senior Brother.”
In fact, for the Syndicate of Ten Thousand Eyes, which had lost most of its Second Line Leaders, every single swordsman was a precious asset.
And unlike the other subordinates, Han Ryeong had a justification of his own.
The justification that Lady Mihwa had ‘first’ intended to use him as a disposable pawn.
“The one called the First Line Leader must have a headache too. Then, what about Han Hoe?”
“I’ll hand Han Hoe over to the authorities. To let him live, he hasn’t paid for his crimes, and to kill him, he has cooperated with the Diancang Sect.”
“He’ll be locked up for at least ten years.”
“Still better than dying, right?”
At Biyoung’s words, Uma grinned.
“That’s true. He has to be alive for the day to come when he can get his revenge on you.”
“Could you please not make dangerous prophecies with such a scary face?”
The two men chuckled for a moment.
“I was originally planning to start with everyone at the same time, but I think I’ll have to proceed with you first, Senior Brother.”
“Proceed? What do you mean by that?”
“You’ve suffered going back and forth with me, and the sooner this work is done, the better.”
Saying so, Biyoung took something out from his bosom.
A silk fortune pouch that looked luxurious at a glance.
Biyoung took out a lustrously colored pill from within it.
Uma’s beady eyes widened as he looked at the object.
“What is this?”
“It’s the very thing that made you shed tears of blood when you heard about it, Senior Brother.”
“Shed tears of blood?”
“What do you mean you don’t remember? You made the most aggrieved face in the world when you heard that Senior Sister had received it as a gift.”
What is this about?
When did I?
Uma, who was searching his memory, suddenly flinched.
He had finally realized the meaning contained in the conversation they had just had.
“Then this is……!”
Uma leaned his upper body forward and looked down at Biyoung’s palm.
On his palm was a single spirit pill that sparkled with six colors.
Its light was so brilliant that it felt like a jewel rather than a spirit pill.
“The Six-Flower Pill!”
“That’s right.”
“Where did you get this?”
“Lady Mihwa gave it as a token of apology, saying her subordinates did something she hadn’t ordered.”
“For an apology gift, it’s quite an amazing object……”
As Biyoung playfully shook his palm back and forth, Uma’s face moved along with it as if under a spell.
“Kikikik.”
“You bastard, are you making fun of your senior brother?”
“Ahem. Relax your face. I might change my mind.”
“Change your mind?”
“This, it’s not for me to eat. It’s for you to eat, Senior Brother.”
“Wh-what!”
This time, even Uma couldn’t help but stutter.
What kind of object was the Six-Flower Pill?
It was the spirit medicine of spirit medicines, for which even the elders of high-ranking sects would fight tooth and nail.
And he was going to give this to me?
“Ahem. As a rising star of the Diancang Sect, this level of investment is only natural.”
Normally, he would have wanted to smack that nose that was soaring to the sky.
But now, Uma was just looking at Biyoung with a face full of faith.
“Biyoung! I knew you were a really cool guy!”
“The loan shark is quite bad at lying.”
Biyoung said so, but he still placed the Six-Flower Pill in Uma’s hand.
“The really important part is after you eat the Six-Flower Pill. Focus from now on.”