Chapter 105

Crack!

The instant my fist sank into that foul-smelling snout, I knew.

The only thing that bastard would be able to eat from now on was chicken-and-corn soup.

Crash! Bang!

The first man shot straight backward and lost consciousness before he even hit the ground.

Level 31. He was a martial artist who had just entered the First Rate, but he still couldn’t dodge my punch.

“Where the fuck do you get off breathing that stench all over the place and ruining my appetite?”

Every sound in the inn stopped.

But only for a moment.

“Gwangsu’s down!”

“You little bastard!”

“Kill him!”

Shing, shing, shing!

Five curved sabers were drawn at once. Five pairs of eyes gleamed with killing intent. The inn’s guests scattered, screaming.

I suddenly remembered the smell of blood coming from the man who had just fallen.

Huh. Look at these bastards.

They were used to killing. I could tell from the way they had started the fight, yet hadn’t hesitated for a moment to draw their weapons.

“What are you people?”

“The Grim Reaper.”

The answer came as they charged.

Four curved sabers thrust toward my limbs, while the remaining one aimed precisely at my chest.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Too slow.

One of the five was First Rate. The other four were Second Rate.

Their plan to take me down was ambitious, but their feet were slow, and the net of sabers they spread from the front was full of gaps.

“Next time, at least try surrounding your opponent.”

With that friendly advice, I flicked both hands toward them.

In a very brief instant, two daggers summoned from my Inventory sliced through the air.

Whoosh!

Dagger throwing. Do they call it flying-dagger arts in Murim?

I had never learned it for actual combat, but that was fine. Blade or hilt, all that mattered was hitting them.

Crack! Thud.

Yes, just like that.

The hilt of a dagger split one man’s forehead, and he crumpled without even managing to scream.

What about the other one?

Clang!

“What a cheap trick!”

Whether he was lucky or had sharper eyes than I expected, he somehow managed to block it.

I gave him a broad smile.

“Is that dagger yours?”

“You threw it at me! What kind of bullshit are you talking about?”

“What an honest boy. As a reward, I’ll give you both of them.”

Thud, thud!

“Ghk. But your hands were clearly empty…”

Thud.

“My daggers multiply infinitely.”

Stopping by the armory before leaving the Jin Family of Taiyuan had been a good idea.

I had gone in empty-handed and come out empty-handed, but my Inventory was now filled with dozens of weapons looted as spoils.

“What… what is this?”

It had all happened in the blink of an eye. The remaining three men stopped midcharge, faltered, and backed away.

“Not coming? Then I’ll come to you.”

“W-Wait, Young Hero! We were rude. We sincerely apologize and will compensate you…”

Look how quickly they changed their tune.

A moment ago, they had been calling me a little bastard. Now I was Young Hero.

“An apology?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Don’t need it!”

I clenched my fist and charged at them. I didn’t need martial arts to deal with bastards like these.

“Damn it! Get him!”

Whoosh!

One step to the side.

I dodged the curved saber chopping straight down at the crown of my head, then drove a single punch into the opening at his side.

Crunch.

Leaving him to collapse with a strangled groan, I charged at the next opponent. A System window above his head displayed Level 35.

“You bastard!”

Whoosh!

As befitted a First Rate master, he had clearly learned a fair amount of martial arts. His movements were clean, and his curved saber swept precisely toward my vital points.

But…

All of it is useless against overwhelming strength and speed.

My level and internal energy were low, but my stats far surpassed those of a First Rate martial artist. Add the combat experience I had built up in Murim, and this man was no match for me.

Crack!

The focus vanished from his eyes. The curved saber slipped from his grip before he could finish his swing.

Clang.

The last man, who had watched everything unfold, was half out of his mind.

“T-The Captain fell in a single exchange… Who are you?”

“You should exchange names with my fist. Here, this one’s called Right Hand. And you?”

I raised my clenched right fist and approached. The man swung his curved saber wildly through the air.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

“You should ask more politely.”

“Please, don’t come any closer!”

“You actually did it.”

Well, if he was going to ask that politely, I ought to grant his request.

When I stopped walking, color returned to the man’s face.

“T-Thank you! I’ll live a good life from now on!”

“No need to thank me. And you don’t have to live a good life.”

“Huh?”

“Turning over a new leaf isn’t that easy. Right, Mujin?”

Hyuk Mujin was standing behind the man before I knew it.

“Of course.”

“Gasp!”

The man sucked in a startled breath and turned around, but it was already too late.

Hyuk Mujin was in the middle of bringing the wooden chair in his hands down on the crown of the man’s head with all his strength.

Crack!

The last man collapsed with a heavy thud. Hyuk Mujin set down the chair and muttered,

“Thanks, and sorry.”

“What are you thanking those bastards for?”

“There are things.”

That look in his eyes was awfully cocky.

I was wondering whether I should give him a smack after such a long time when Hyuk Mujin, who had been searching through the fallen men’s clothes, tilted his head.

“Huh? Captain, there’s something suspicious about these men.”

“What?”

“Look at this.”

Hyuk Mujin rolled up one man’s sleeve, revealing what looked like a scar left by a branding iron.

No, it wasn’t just a scar.

It looked like…

“A tattoo?”

Crude and savage as it was, it was definitely a kind of tattoo.

One shaped like a running horse.

“Is he the only one with it?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t checked them all yet.”

“Check the others.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hyuk Mujin gathered the unconscious men in one place and stripped off their shirts.

Arms, chests, necks. The locations differed slightly, but every one of them bore a horse tattoo.

So they belong to some kind of organization…

I already knew they weren’t simple thugs. Two of them were First Rate masters, and the word the last man had let slip without meaning to kept bothering me.

He definitely said Captain, didn’t he?

Were they martial artists from another sect?

No. Their aura was too rough for that, and their clothing wasn’t uniform.

A sizable band of wandering martial artists seemed more likely.

A horse tattoo. A horse tattoo…

Then a word suddenly flashed through my mind.

It was a name I had first heard during the war with the Mount Heng Sword Sect.

“Mounted bandits?”

Someone answered my mutter from somewhere nearby.

“There are dozens of mounted-bandit groups in northern Gaoyuan. It was a great mistake for Lee Cheonbaek to hire them.”

I turned toward the owner of the languid yet alluring voice.

A woman stood on the stairs leading to the second floor, a veil draped across her face.

“Long time no see, our Young Master.”

Our Young Master?

The moment I heard those words, I knew who she was.

Wolhwa.

It was her.

Hyuk Mujin and I were led to a guest room on the top floor of the Phoenix Inn.

Calling it a guest room hardly did it justice. It occupied the entire floor, so penthouse would have been more accurate.

“It’s my first time bringing a man here. And two of them, no less.”

Bathed in the soft light, Wolhwa’s smile was dazzling.

I had felt it from the moment we first met, but she was the very definition of a femme fatale.

Even after meeting her several times, the sight of her was enough to make my stomach churn. Hyuk Mujin was beyond saving.

“I-It is the honor of three lifetimes.”

“……”

Look at that bastard’s glazed eyes.

He was completely smitten.

Wolhwa gave him a smile, then turned her gaze toward me.

“Have you been well, Young Master Jin? Ah, perhaps I can’t call you Young Master the way I used to anymore?”

The mischief in her expression made it obvious what was coming. I hurriedly waved my hands.

“Just call me whatever you like. Like before.”

“Hmm. Then how about Young Master Sleeping Dragon?”

“……That’s horrible.”

“Oh my, why? Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi sounds wonderful. If you’ve earned that much martial fame at such a young age, you could stand to be a little prouder.”

Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi, Flaming Charisma Taekyung—six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Seeing my expression, Wolhwa chuckled and put her long-stemmed tobacco pipe to her lips.

“I’m only joking. Anyway, teasing Young Master Jin is so much fun.”

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

Hyuk Mujin had regained some of his senses. He looked back and forth between Wolhwa and me.

“May I ask what kind of relationship the two of you have?”

“None of your business.”

Our relationship was too embarrassing to explain in detail.

I cut him off sharply and glanced at Wolhwa, signaling for her to play along.

Quick on the uptake, she nodded.

“He used to be a regular at my establishment. Not anymore, though.”

“……”

Like hell she understood.

Then again, after how openly she had acted in front of Jin Wikyung and Wipeng, it would have been ridiculous for her to hide it now.

Hyuk Mujin, meanwhile, seemed only half-convinced by Wolhwa’s answer.

“By ‘establishment,’ do you mean the Phoenix Inn?”

“No. This is just a side business. My real profession is something only a beautiful and charming woman like me can do.”

“Then perhaps…”

“It’s probably exactly what you’re imagining, Young Martial Artist.”

“A pleasure house?”

“Correct.”

Hyuk Mujin’s eyes widened.

“So the proprietress of the Phoenix Inn, whom I had only heard about in rumors, was a courtesan.”

“Young Martial Artist, you should watch your words. That isn’t very pleasant to hear.”

“If I offended you, I apologize. However, your words and behavior don’t exactly appear in a favorable light either.”

His sudden seriousness caught me even more off guard.

“Hey, what’s with you?”

“Captain—no, Young Master—is a direct descendant of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. Even the most beautiful woman under heaven has no right to treat him so casually. As a retainer of our family, I could not simply stand by and watch.”

“A moment ago, you said this was the honor of three lifetimes.”

“……In any case, how dare a mere courtesan treat the Young Master—agh!”

Smack!

I gave him a satisfying whack on the back of the head.

“She’s the Shanxi Branch Leader of the Lower District Sect.”

“Shanxi Branch Leader or not—what? What did you say?”

“Are your ears clogged? I said she’s the Shanxi Branch Leader of the Lower District Sect. She gave us extremely—very, very—decisive help in the recent war with the Mount Heng Sword Sect.”

“I’m fine, Young Master Jin.”

Wolhwa lowered her eyes sadly.

“I’m only a mere courtesan, after all.”

Hyuk Mujin fell silent for a moment, then bowed his head.

“Young Lady—no, Branch Leader. I apologize…”

“Then keep your mouth shut.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Wolhwa let out a quiet laugh.

“You have an interesting subordinate.”

As the saying went, it was the squid that disgraced the fish market. That bastard Hyuk Mujin was disgracing the entire Jin Family of Taiyuan all by himself.

I was too embarrassed to even look Wolhwa in the eye.

“……I apologize for all of this.”

“You’re not the one who needs to apologize, Young Master. And he wasn’t entirely wrong.”

Thankfully, she let it slide without a fuss.

After exhaling a stream of smoke, Wolhwa spoke.

“You’re on your way to the Mount Heng Sword Sect, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask what your purpose is?”

“You already know, don’t you?”

She was the greatest source of information in all of Shanxi Province. There was no need to ask how she knew.

“I wanted Young Master Jin to tell me himself… I’m disappointed.”

“Business and personal matters should be kept separate.”

“How cold. Then may I make a proposal? Or a deal, if you prefer.”

“I’ll decide after I hear it.”

Wolhwa tapped the ash from her pipe.

“Let’s go together. To the Mount Heng Sword Sect.”

“What?”

What the hell was she talking about?