The Genius Youngest Disciple of the Wudang Sect

Chapter 149

A little while later.

Perhaps because of what happened a little while ago? Fortunately, Mi-hyang relaxed and sat next to Unjeong.

In fact, the moment she heard the words 'the youngest son of Minister Jeong of Chang'an', she had thought that the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion or someone he had sent had come.

Because that fact was something that only she, the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion, and the former manager, whose whereabouts were now unknown, knew.

Unjeong revealed to her that the reason he had come was to confirm the current situation of the Shi-yue Pavilion and if there were any rumors she had heard, and she explained in detail what she knew.

"So, to summarize the current situation... you don't know where most of the people who used to work at the Shi-yue Pavilion have gone, and it has been filled with people you don't know, right?"

"That's right. It seems most of them are martial artists from the Red Snake Gang, but I heard that the number of people who came down from the Evil Way Alliance is also very large."

"The Evil Way Alliance... in fact, the real reason we're trying to step in is not the Red Snake Gang, but the Evil Way Alliance. Right now, we can't grasp which sects are affiliated with that organization called the Evil Way Alliance, or how many people are involved."

"From what I've heard, I heard a rumor that some sects from Hubei, Henan, and even Shaanxi have joined."

"You don't know exactly where?"

"No... I don't know that."

"Of course, you don't know who the leader is either, right?"

She answered with a dark expression, nodding her head.

"Yes. That's right. In fact, the profession of a courtesan is a profession where you can find out all sorts of information really quickly. When men drink, they sit a courtesan down, and they say anything as if we have no eyes, ears, or mouth. But... I haven't sat at a drinking party even once for three months in protest of the recent situation at the Shi-yue Pavilion."

"Ah... so that's why the manager told me to think of someone else when I was looking for you, miss."

"That's right. But from today, I will actively go out to the parties again. The reason the information I just told you is bound to be inaccurate is because I can only tell you what I've heard from other courtesans. From now on, I will listen to the stories myself and gather the necessary information to tell you."

Mi-hyang's eyes were filled with a firm will.

And on top of that, they were shining brightly.

Although there are many who look down on courtesans as lowly, in fact, a courtesan must be as smart as she is beautiful.

She must be skilled in calligraphy and painting, and she must also cultivate her skills in instruments and dance, and she must also be outstanding in poetry and literature.

Only then can she deal with high-level customers, and only then can she receive good treatment in a better environment.

But Mi-hyang was the most outstanding courtesan even at the Shi-yue Pavilion, which was the best in Wuhan.

If she had grown up in a martial arts family and had learned martial arts from a young age, she might have made a name for herself as a martial artist.

"Won't it be too dangerous?"

"This is the only thing I can do... and besides, if the master of the pavilion can just return to the Shi-yue Pavilion, I can do anything."

For a moment, the words 'what is your relationship with him' came up to Unjeong's throat, but he did not let them out.

Because he felt that it was very strange for him to ask that.

In fact, there is no need to be curious about such things, and there is no reason to.

All he has to do is to do his best to carry out the mission he has been given.

"Then it might be dangerous, but please gather the internal information. I will come back in about three or four days."

"I understand."

As Unjeong, who had said all he had to say, was about to get up from his seat, she gently pulled on Unjeong's arm.

When he looked at her with startled eyes, Mi-hyang opened her mouth.

"Usually, customers who come to play at a brothel stay for at least one shichen. It hasn't been long since I came to this room, so I think it would be more natural for you to stay for a little while before you leave."

"Ah, yes. I will."

Unjeong sat down again and just stared into the air.

He didn't know what to say in this situation, and he didn't know what to do.

Because for him, who had lived his entire life in the mountains, dealing with women was more difficult than fighting with enemies.

"Since you don't seem to drink much, would you like to listen to my story for a bit?"

It was Mi-hyang who broke the awkward silence.

She skillfully led the atmosphere and began to tell her old story.

Although Unjeong was not very good at talking, he did his best to respond to her story, and the two of them talked without realizing the passage of time.

It was not one shichen, but more than two shichen later that Unjeong, who had been talking for a long time, left the Shi-yue Pavilion.

***

Hong Seong-hu, whom I had brought to the Flying Dragon Inn, had a very different personality from the one I remembered.

I had thought that he was a person with a rather serious and martial artist-like personality...

"You two don't have to go through the trouble of torturing me. I am ready to tell you everything I know."

He came out with an extremely cooperative attitude and flustered me and my master.

"I was already fed up with that group called the Evil Way Alliance anyway. I was thinking of leaving at some point, and I'm just grateful that you've created this opportunity."

"You're saying that even though I killed your subordinates in front of you? If you're playing a trick..."

"Absolutely not! Those guys were my subordinates? No. Those guys were my monitors. They were monitors who were watching me closely to see if I was doing my job properly."

Words flowed out of Hong Seong-hu's mouth like a torrent.

He's a really funny guy. I know that in about seven or eight years, when the Evil Way Alliance causes a dispute, he will be the one who fights at the forefront and dies a glorious death first, but to be able to say that with such a straight face.

"I don't think so. Should I say that it feels like you will be loyal to the Evil Way Alliance until the end and be used as a sword-bearer?"

"That's right! The reason I wanted to run away from those guys as soon as possible is because of that. Great hero!"

"What?"

"Those guys only think of me as a sword that is good to use. I wanted to quit this damn Evil Way Alliance because I felt like I was destined to die fighting for those guys someday."

I don't feel any pretense or falsehood in the guy's voice.

On the contrary, he is desperate. It even felt like I could feel his sincerity in wanting to escape from the clutches of those guys at this opportunity.

I looked at him with narrowed eyes and said, "You... you have a weakness, don't you?"

"Yes...?"

"If you don't have a weakness, it doesn't make sense no matter how I think about it. If you wanted to run away, you should have run away a long time ago, why are you rubbing up against them like this?"

"That's not it..."

"Well, either your family or a loved one is being held hostage, or you borrowed money and they said they would let you go if you paid it all back... it must be one of the two."

Although I just said something that was likely to happen, he was so surprised that his eyes widened.

I let out a small laugh and asked him, "Which one is it? A person? Or money?"

"It seems there is no longer any meaning in hiding it from you, great hero, so I will tell you everything honestly. The reason I am attached to the Evil Way Alliance is all because of money. I got into a lot of debt from gambling a long time ago, and the person who lent me money was a loan shark affiliated with the Evil Way Alliance. They made a proposal to me, who couldn't pay back the money. They said they valued my martial arts skills highly, and if I acted as a strike force leader, they would forgive my debt with my salary."

"How long did you agree to work for?"

"Three years. This is the second year."

Then, originally, the Ghost-faced Cudgel should leave the Evil Way Alliance next year, but he is unable to leave even in the future.

I don't know if he has become addicted to the salary he is receiving, or if he is unable to leave because he has a new weakness.

"Good. Tell us everything you know. Then I will somehow create a way to release you."

"How?"

"That is, either we dismantle the Evil Way Alliance, or we pretend that we killed you and then you go to a place far from here and live. There are many ways. But whichever way it is, the success rate can be said to depend on how much you cooperate."

"What if there are things I can't answer?"

"I can't help it if you can't say it because you don't know, but if you're trying to keep your loyalty to the Evil Way Alliance..."

I half-drew my sword and made him feel the cold edge, and then I continued, "Is there anything else but death?"

"Aigoo, I have no loyalty. I said that because I was worried that I might not know as much as you think. Great hero."

He answered while fidgeting, and I asked him a few questions.

If he had ever met the leader of the Evil Way Alliance directly. Which sects are currently affiliated with the Evil Way Alliance.

But as he said, he didn't know much.

Not only had he never met the leader of the Evil Way Alliance directly, but he also didn't seem to know properly which other sects were affiliated with the Evil Way Alliance besides the Red Snake Gang.

He said he had seen a few people from the Evil Way Alliance passing by, but since he was not interested in others, he didn't even think of finding out who was who.

The only thing he is interested in is money.

The money he owed was a larger sum than he had thought, and the fastest way to pay it back was to stick with the Evil Way Alliance, so he had been sticking with them until now.

And they had promised to give him twice his current salary if he continued to stick with the Evil Way Alliance even after he had paid off his debt.

Hearing this much, I think I know why he couldn't escape from the Evil Way Alliance even after several years.

But that doesn't mean that the information I got from him was useless.

"Go Mun-tak... so the Red Snake Gang leader was originally a suspicious person, but he was not that outstanding in martial arts. But I don't know what talent they saw in him, but the leader of the Evil Way Alliance took him as his disciple."

"Disciple? The Red Snake Gang leader is the disciple of the leader of the Evil Way Alliance?"

"That's right. I heard it with my own ears. He said that he had learned a new martial art from his master and had gained great power. In fact, Go Mun-tak said he was going to train for several months, and then he suddenly appeared with his martial arts so strong that he seemed like a different person."

"That was the most useful information you've said today."

"Is that so? I'm really glad I could be of some help."

He said with a bright smile, and for some reason, I found that face unlucky, so I hit the guy's head.

"Don't smile like that. What are you so proud of to be smiling like that when you've betrayed them?"

"It's not a betrayal. I was never sincerely on the same side!"

"Hoo... if only you couldn't talk."

I turned my head away from him, who was still smiling brightly even after being hit on the head, and said to my master, who had been listening to our conversation from the side, "Master. For now, we have a conclusion. Anyway, it means that we have to catch that guy named Go Mun-tak or whatever and beat him up to get an answer, right?"

"That's right. You're the type to just do it first and think about the consequences later, aren't you?"

"That's right."

"But this time, you're moving very cautiously."

"That's because you weren't here before, master."

My master pointed at himself and said, "Me?"

"Yes. Since I only have one body, if someone noticed this place and charged in while I was causing a scene somewhere, I wouldn't be able to stop them. In fact, if the master of the Shi-yue Pavilion dies in this fight, we will lose our justification to interfere, won't we?"

"I see what you mean. But you can't just drag the master of the pavilion around the battlefield, and you can't trust your senior brothers alone to protect this person. So you were tapping the stone bridge as you crossed, but now it means that even if you are somewhere else, I am here to protect the master of the pavilion."

"That's right. Conversely, you can charge in and I can protect him."

As expected, my master understood my meaning completely even though I had only said one word.

Although it's only one person, as I was about to talk about the operation that will change in the current situation where it feels like a thousand troops and ten thousand horses have joined, the inn door opened slightly and Senior Brother Unjeong, whom I had sent to the Shi-yue Pavilion, slipped into the inn.

Although he doesn't seem to have drunk, his face is strangely flushed.

"Senior brother. You've returned safely."

"Yes. I did as you told me, and there was no big problem."

"Did you meet the person named Mi-hyang?"

"Yes. I met her well."

"How was it?"

"Yes. She was like a fairy."

"Yes...?"

After saying it reflexively, as if he had realized what he had said, Senior Brother Unjeong's face began to turn red.

Although I don't know the other things because I haven't heard them yet, I think I know this one thing.

Senior Brother Unjeong seems to have definitely fallen for that person named Mi-hyang.