Chapter 20

The hour-long negotiation was finally drawing to a close.

“Half the shops owned by the Mount Heng Sword Sect, plus exclusive rights to the pleasure district. Is that correct?”

“Correct. And your sect?”

“From this moment onward, we will sell no information to any sect in Shanxi Province other than the Jin Family of Taiyuan. We will also devote all our resources to gathering and delivering information about the war.”

These were the terms they had settled on after dozens of rounds of back-and-forth.

Jin Wikyung and Wolhwa carefully checked everything one last time for loopholes, then drew up and exchanged the document.

“We’re officially in the same boat now. I look forward to working with you, Lesser Family Head.”

“Likewise.”

The moment they shook hands—

Ding.

System

• The Jin Family of Taiyuan and the Lower District Sect have formed an alliance.

• The alliance will remain in effect for the duration of the war.

Even this gets a notification.

Then again, something similar had appeared when the war with the Mount Heng Sword Sect began.

With the Lower District Sect joining us, have our chances of winning gone up a little?

The Lower District Sect specialized in information.

Wolhwa had confidently claimed that all information in Shanxi Province passed through her hands. If that was true, they would be an enormous help.

Nothing is more important than information.

I didn’t know how things worked in Murim, but I knew that much. Depending on how it was used, information could be a sword, a shield, or even a bomb capable of turning the tide all at once.

Hopefully, Wolhwa would bring us something like that.

“Then I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Please understand that I can’t go far while people are watching.”

“Of course.”

It’s finally over.

Wipeng bowed with his usual impassive expression, and I offered an awkward half-bow of my own.

“Goodbye.”

Wolhwa’s eyes curved into crescents as she looked at me.

“Young Master Jin, you have to come with me.”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you going to see me off?”

“…Why would I?”

“Because we spent such a hot night together?”

The blunt hit left me stunned for a moment. I’d told this woman to bring us information, so why was the first thing she spread X-rated information?

And in front of everyone, too.

“Oh?”

“A h-hot night? Together?”

Wipeng looked between Wolhwa and me with open interest, while an earthquake shook Jin Wikyung’s pupils.

“Taekyung, is that true? Is it really true?”

After a long silence, I answered.

“I’ll see her out.”

I grabbed Wolhwa by the wrist and dashed out. Behind me, Jin Wikyung’s mournful voice echoed.

“My little brother!”

Wolhwa was a rare beauty. With her slender figure and splendid clothing, she couldn’t help but draw attention.

“Did our family always have a beauty like that?”

“Of course not. She’s an outsider.”

“An outsider?”

“Yeah. A friend at the Gate Guard Pavilion says she’s a courtesan from Honghwaru.”

“Ah, that ridiculously expensive Honghwaru. I know the place. Wait, why would a courtesan come here now?”

“They say she came to collect the Third Young Master’s unpaid tab. She probably wants her money before the fighting turns into all-out war.”

“…Huh. The Third Young Master really gets up to all kinds of things, doesn’t he?”

Their whispers wormed their way into my ears. Wolhwa, who had been walking ahead and humming to herself, suddenly glanced back.

“Young Master Jin, why are you so far behind?”

I answered sullenly.

“If we walk together, people will get the wrong idea. They’re already spreading ridiculous rumors…”

“Oh, you mean the unpaid tab?”

Yeah. That.

“That rumor isn’t false.”

Wolhwa smiled brightly.

“When the gate guards asked why I’d come, I told them I was here to collect an unpaid tab. It isn’t a complete lie.”

“What?”

“Were you planning to announce our alliance to the whole world?”

“…No.”

But why did she have to use my name? My image was already a complete disaster.

If a rumor like this spread in the middle of a war, I’d never be able to deny it. My reputation as a piece of trash would be set in stone.

“You’ve already been falsely accused of poisoning someone. Compared to that, being known as a courtesan’s kept man isn’t so bad. Given your usual behavior, everyone will find it believable.”

That was strangely persuasive. I found myself nodding, only to realize that something in her words felt off.

“Falsely accused?”

Come to think of it, she hadn’t mentioned Lee Seogeun even once. She had negotiated the terms like a meticulous businesswoman, then formed an alliance with us as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

What exactly is she relying on?

Wolhwa smiled faintly at my suspicious look.

“Young Master Jin, have you forgotten who I am?”

“The Lower District Sect’s Shanxi Branch Leader…”

My eyes widened.

Information. She had information.

Information proving I wasn’t the culprit!

I hurried to Wolhwa’s side.

“Can you clear my name? Do you really have information like that?”

Lee Seogeun’s poisoning had started this war. If we could prove that the whole thing was someone else’s conspiracy, we could stop it.

But Wolhwa’s next words shattered that hope.

“No. I don’t.”

What?

“Then why did you form an alliance with us?”

“Because I’m a merchant.”

Wolhwa continued in a light, cheerful voice.

“We of the Lower District Sect are merchants at heart. We act according to a strict calculation of profit and loss.”

“Then this makes even less sense.”

“Oh? Why?”

“The Mount Heng Sword Sect is stronger than we are. If you’re weighing profit and loss, shouldn’t you side with them?”

“You’re honest. Or perhaps I should say naïve.”

Wolhwa let out a quiet laugh.

“This is an investment. It’s the result of placing both sides on a scale and analyzing them coldly.”

“So as long as you profit, nothing else matters? Even if I really did poison Lee Seogeun?”

“Young Master Jin, what do you think it means that the Lower District Sect’s Shanxi branch devoted all its resources to this investigation, yet still couldn’t uncover the truth?”

I hesitated, but Wolhwa didn’t wait for an answer.

“It’s simple. Either you’re truly innocent, or you covered your tracks so thoroughly that not even we could find them.”

“Ah.”

“Neither possibility is a loss for me. If it’s the former, then your side has legitimacy. If it’s the latter, then it proves the Jin Family of Taiyuan is exceptionally capable.”

I was more than a little surprised. I hadn’t realized you could look at it that way.

Everything came down to a cold calculation of profit and loss. Now I understood exactly what Wolhwa meant when she called herself a merchant.

Knowing that someone like her was on our side was reassuring.

But…

“You’re overlooking one important thing. If I’m innocent, who actually poisoned Lee Seogeun?”

That was the heart of the war—the largest piece of the puzzle, and one Wolhwa had failed to find.

If the Lower District Sect had discovered the culprit’s identity, she would have brought that information today.

Wolhwa sighed.

“I’m ashamed to say we haven’t uncovered anything yet. But our sect is doing everything it can. Ah, we’re almost there.”

There were still plenty of things I wanted to ask, but I had no choice but to fall silent when I noticed the approaching gate guards.

Our alliance with the Lower District Sect is still a secret.

A four-horse carriage, apparently the one Wolhwa had arrived in, came into view. The gate guards stood in a wide circle around it, and even from here, I could feel the strange tension in the air.

Did something happen?

I channeled internal energy into my eyes and ears. My enhanced senses soon picked up the gate guards’ tense voices.

“He’s a master. No doubt about it. At least Supreme First Rate, perhaps even Peak. See the whip at his waist? He must wield it like a ghost.”

“A master of that caliber volunteering to serve as a coachman? I suppose a peerless beauty really is something else.”

The martial artists speaking to each other sounded fairly experienced, and their voices were deadly serious. A younger martial artist cautiously murmured:

“But if he’s that skilled, doesn’t his posture have too many openings? And he’s so thin…”

The senior martial artists clicked their tongues.

“Kid, this fellow and I have ten years of experience at the gate-watch office. We can tell from a person’s eyes alone. What the hell would a little shit like you know, butting into your elders’ conversation?”

“Tsk. Openings? Those look like openings to you? Can’t you see the composure and natural ease that only true masters possess?”

“Then what about his temples? Masters with profound internal energy have bulging temples.”

“That’s just Returning to Simplicity…”

Unfortunately, the conversation ended there. The gate guards noticed us standing blankly in front of the main gate and scattered.

Thanks to them, I learned the identity of the Peak master who wielded a whip like a ghost—the romantic martial artist who had volunteered to become a coachman after falling for Wolhwa’s beauty.

“Young Master, do you remember me?”

“…”

As if I could forget.

That deep voice. Those sharp eyes, practically radiating the aura of a master.

It was the coachman who had brought me to the Jin Family of Taiyuan a few days ago.

I never expected to see him here. As I stood there speechless, Wolhwa spoke up.

“I hear the two of you are acquainted. Last time, you passed through life and death together and formed a deep friendship that transcended age and status…”

No. That’s not what happened. Please stop.

I tugged at Wolhwa’s sleeve, but it was already too late. The coachman smiled gently and opened his mouth.

“Even now, whenever I close my eyes, the memories of that day remain vivid. The Heavenly Axe… He was truly a formidable bastard.”

The gate guards, who had been listening intently, exclaimed.

“Oh!”

“The Heavenly Axe… Surely he means that Heavenly Axe from the Eighteen Strongholds of Green Forest?”

“Wasn’t he an infamous Peak master of Green Forest? To kill a man like that, this gentleman must be…”

“…”

They seemed to have gotten something seriously wrong.

I had no idea where to begin correcting them—or where to stop.

As I stood there blankly, the coachman suddenly pulled me into a hug.

“If not for you, Young Master, I would have been in serious trouble.”

This man had a strange way of putting things. Without me, he would’ve been drinking a cup of makgeolli¹ at the summit of Mount Beimang² by now.

“Could you let go of me first? Then we can talk…”

I was just about to pry him off when someone muttered:

“Yama Whip.³ The master of the whip arts who vanished without a trace more than ten years ago. It’s him. It has to be.”

A ripple passed through the gate guards.

“Yama Whip? You mean that Peak master who traveled the realm beating down remnants of the Demonic Path?”

“I’ve heard that name too. A master who stood between the orthodox and unorthodox paths, with no known sect or past… Come to think of it, didn’t his trail disappear somewhere near Shanxi?”

“Then the Third Young Master—no, our Young Master—is acquainted with Great Hero Yama Whip.”

“And that’s not all. He must have played a major role in taking down the Heavenly Axe.”

“Oh! Ohhh!”

Hot, admiring gazes poured in from every direction. Perhaps realizing that something was wrong, the coachman tried to pull away, but my hand clamped firmly around his shoulder.

“Young Master?”

I gave him the brightest smile in the world.

“To meet you again like this—Yama. Whip. Great Hero!”

My words were oil thrown onto a fire.

“Woooah!”

The excited gate guards stomped their feet, while Wolhwa doubled over, desperately trying to hold back her laughter.

Ding.

System

• Rumors about the Poisoner are dying down!

• Rumors about the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi are gaining credibility!

• Fame increases by 20!

• Passionate supporters have appeared!

As the beautiful System notifications rang out, a famous saying came to mind.

The perfect lie… is a true story.

The young man stared at the ceiling with his eyes wide open. The light had gone out of his once-bright black eyes, and his face was twisted with fear and pain.

“Seogeun. My son.”

A large, rough hand caressed the young man’s face. The intense poisonous energy that had seeped in through the skin was stopped by internal energy that surged up instinctively.

“How did this happen to you?”

The middle-aged man’s voice was thick with grief.

He had grown up a complete orphan and spent decades in Murim.

He had met countless people and watched just as many leave. From his days as a green twenty-year-old wandering martial artist to the moment he became the master of a sect, he had accumulated more memories than he could count.

“Did it hurt? Were you so bitter that you couldn’t even close your eyes?”

He gazed down at his son’s wide-open eyes. Every blood vessel had burst, staining them red.

His son had barely reached twenty. Bloody tears flowed from the eyes of the father standing before his poisoned child.

“My son.”

The poisonous energy that had entered through his hand was spreading throughout his body. Within only a few breaths, his head began to spin and his limbs went numb.

Such a deadly poison.

He could vividly picture his son’s final moments—his entire body locked rigid, unable even to struggle.

“I will remember this pain.”

The next moment, immense internal energy rose like wildfire and drove back the poison. The poison consuming his insides vanished in an instant, as though torn apart by a pack of hundreds of wolves.

“I will repay them a hundredfold. A thousandfold.”

The Sect Leader of the Mount Heng Sword Sect, Blood Wolf Sword Lee Cheonbaek, left his son’s corpse behind and walked away.

When he opened the pavilion door, he saw the black night sky and the torches flickering beneath it.

Around two hundred fully armed men stood outside. The man at their head bowed.

“Father.”

Lee Cheonbaek nodded to his eldest son.

“Go. Tonight… our revenge begins.”

That night, around two hundred martial artists departed the Mount Heng Sword Sect.