Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Fifteen Divine Dragons and the Heretical Young Master (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gomaru was a gisaeng house on Dongting Lake that wouldn't have been strange to see disappear at any moment.
It had no courtesans, and the building was so old that customers had long since stopped coming.
But then, a new, young owner suddenly appeared, changed its name to the Bright Flower House, and customers began to flock in.
“See? It’s doing better than you thought, right?”
“I’m truly surprised. I never imagined it would be to this extent.”
“Me neither.”
Jinmyeong answered honestly.
“Pardon? Weren’t you certain it would succeed?”
“How could anyone be certain of something like this? Especially for a gisaeng house that’s not really a gisaeng house.”
A gisaeng house that’s not really a gisaeng house.
Yang Jeon thought the description fit perfectly.
How many gisaeng houses in the Central Plains could there be where one couldn’t embrace a courtesan?
“I think it’s about time we stop the half-price promotion.”
“Won’t we lose customers then?”
“Perhaps. But I don’t think so.”
Despite it being a gisaeng house where you couldn't touch the courtesans, the number of customers continued to grow.
They had opened the second and third floors, and more and more people were willing to spend a lot of money seeking a quiet place.
“It’s quite strange. Unlike the first floor, the second floor and above aren’t even cheap, are they?”
“I know. Isn’t it strange?”
You couldn't even embrace the courtesans; you could only talk with them and listen to them play music.
Of course, unlike the first floor, you had the feeling of having a courtesan all to yourself, but he still didn't see the need to spend so much money.
“Just accept it for what it is. People feel at ease when someone listens to their stories.”
“If the Young Master says so, then it must be so.”
In the past, Yang Jeon would not have believed Jinmyeong’s words.
But seeing the current situation, everything Jinmyeong said felt like the absolute truth.
“It’s a bit of a shame that the fourth and fifth floors haven’t been opened yet.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
It seemed that fifty and one hundred nyang of silver were quite a burden, as no one readily ascended to those floors.
‘We need the truly rich to come.’
Not just people with a bit of money, but those who could be called the silver spoons, the diamond spoons of this era.
‘The children of the Five Great Families or the famous merchant guilds of the Central Plains. It would be great if those people came.’
It was disappointing that not a single person of that caliber had come in the roughly three months that had passed.
“Let’s not return to the original prices all at once. For now, let’s raise them to about eighty percent.”
“We’ll still be taking a loss.”
“If we stop the half-price deal right now, we’ll lose customers. We need to maintain a certain number of patrons.”
If the fourth and fifth floors were bustling, they wouldn't need customers on the first floor.
But since they were only receiving guests up to the third floor, every single customer on the first floor was precious.
After all, they needed the patrons on the first floor to continue spreading rumors about the Bright Flower House.
“Let’s hire four more, besides Yuran.”
“We still haven’t chosen the master of the fourth floor.”
“Right. Let's pick those five and then spread the word.”
Among those five, Yuran, the master of the fifth floor, would surely be included.
“We should hold a popularity poll.”
“Pardon?”
“Just ask the customers who they like the most, tell them to pick only one person.”
A hundred days had already passed since they opened the gisaeng house under the name Bright Flower House.
By now, there were surely courtesans who were popular with the customers.
* * *
“Here is the ranking of the courtesans as chosen by the customers.”
“Yuran really is the most popular, isn’t she?”
About ten days later, Yang Jeon brought Jinmyeong the popularity rankings of the courtesans.
And indeed, Yuran had taken first place.
“They say they feel like they need to protect her.”
“From what?”
“Well… from other men?”
Yuran was popular for her beautiful appearance and innocent atmosphere, but it seemed she also had something that stimulated people's protective instincts.
“Isn’t that why you brought her here, Young Master?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“I just brought her here because I felt sorry for her.”
Jinmyeong felt no protective urge toward Yuran whatsoever.
“Then why did you pay five nyang of silver to bring her here?”
“Right? Now that I think about it, I did pay a lot, didn't I?”
It wasn't as if he had felt something for Yuran either.
What could he have felt for a Yuran whose face was swollen from her father's beatings and who was rail-thin from not being able to eat properly?
“It just felt like something I had to do.”
He had paid five nyang of silver to bring Yuran, but for the others, he had only paid one nyang.
“Do I have some kind of foresight?”
“Pardon? Is that true?”
It was a simple joke, but for some reason, Yang Jeon thought it might be possible.
After all, had anything Jinmyeong done ever ended in failure?
From his meeting with the Vice Cult Leader to his meeting with the Great Elder.
“Don’t take my jokes so seriously.”
Jinmyeong shook his head, looking at Yang Jeon’s grave expression.
In reality, the only thing he had gained using his knowledge from the novel was his martial arts.
Everything else was not in the novel, so he wasn't getting any help at all.
A woman named Yuran had never even appeared in the novel.
“So these are the five.”
Jinmyeong looked at the names of the five most popular courtesans.
“I should give them names too.”
“Pardon? Give them names?”
“Like a moniker. We need to make it a hot topic.”
Yang Jeon still had a look of incomprehension.
Giving a courtesan a moniker was something he couldn't quite understand.
“Is that how it is?”
“And since Yuran is the representative courtesan, let’s give her the name Myeonghwa.”
“Myeonghwa Yuran, the representative courtesan of the Bright Flower House.”
“…That’s not funny, so let’s not do that.”
Jinmyeong looked at Yang Jeon’s dissatisfied expression.
“You know what to do now, right?”
“I just need to go to the Underworld Sect, correct?”
“That’s right. Ask Seong Haru to spread rumors about the Five Flowers.”
“Understood.”
The power of the Underworld Sect was indeed formidable.
It was only yesterday that they had created the concept of the Bright Flower House's Five Flowers, yet rumors were already spreading throughout Dongting Lake.
In fact, people began to flock to see these Five Flowers.
“From now on, you five are not to show yourselves.”
But the more people gathered, the more Jinmyeong hid the five women away.
It was a clear message: to see even one of the five, you had to pay at least fifty nyang of silver.
“Fifty nyang.”
“Fifty nyang just to drink is a bit of a waste.”
“To just drink for fifty nyang.”
How could it not be a waste?
“That’s what they’re saying.”
Jinmyeong smirked at Yang Jeon's report of the customers' conversations.
“There’s a saying. Those who check the price of an item can’t afford to buy it.”
“Pardon? How can you buy something without looking at the price?”
“It means that for the truly rich, the price of an item doesn’t matter. To them, fifty nyang or a hundred nyang is all the same.”
Listening to Jinmyeong, Yang Jeon nodded and smiled.
It wasn’t because he fully understood Jinmyeong’s words.
It was because of the people entering through the door.
“The people the Young Master has been waiting for have finally arrived.”
“Indeed. They’re here at last.”
Five young men stepped inside.
Their clothes were so splendid that anyone could tell they were the sons of noble families.
“Come in, everyone. This place has become quite famous in Dongting Lake recently.”
“Hmm. It seems quite crowded.”
Unlike the young man who confidently led the way, the other four men did not look pleased.
“Don’t worry. The first floor may be like this, but it gets much quieter as you go up.”
At the words of the young man in the lead, Seomun Juncheok, the other young men reluctantly nodded.
“Brother Seomun, are you sure this is alright? I heard this place is quite expensive.”
“Brother Namgung, are you perhaps worried about me, Seomun Juncheok? I appreciate your concern, but since we’ve become friends, please allow me to treat you to this much.”
A smile graced Jinmyeong’s lips as he listened to Seomun Juncheok’s boasting.
‘They’ve finally come.’
Seomun Juncheok, the eldest son of the Seomun family, which, though not one of the Five Great Families, was constantly vying for a spot among them.
And he had brought the heirs of the other Five Great Families here.
‘Namgung Jin, Paeng Hogun, Dang Gi, and Jegal Jihwan. All the members of the Fifteen Divine Dragons from the Five Great Families are gathered here.’
Except for the female member, Moyong Cheong.
“Welcome!”
At a signal from Jinmyeong, a waiter immediately rushed toward them.
“There are five of us. Can we go to the fifth floor?”
“If you go to the fifth floor, it will be five hundred nyang. Is that acceptable?”
Even Seomun Juncheok couldn't help but flinch at the mention of five hundred nyang.
“Brother Seomun, it seems more expensive than I thought.”
“I-It’s fine. I can afford this much, having had the chance to meet Brother Namgung like this.”
Though Seomun Juncheok feigned confidence as he took out his money pouch, his face was twitching.
“The fifth floor is lacking in space. How about going to the fourth floor instead? It’s two hundred fifty nyang, but we’ll charge you only two hundred.”
Yang Jeon approached Seomun Juncheok.
“Hmm.”
Seomun Juncheok couldn’t answer easily.
Unlike his Seomun family, which was not one of the Five Great Families, the four men behind him were all from them.
If he followed Yang Jeon’s suggestion and went to the fourth floor, he felt they would look down on him, thinking that was all the Seomun family amounted to.
“That doesn’t sound bad. Brother Seomun, let’s do that.”
As Seomun Juncheok hesitated, Namgung Jin’s voice reached his ears.
“It’s a little disappointing, but if Brother Namgung says so, I have no choice.”
It seemed Namgung Jin held the most influence among them, as the others, who had been wearing dissatisfied expressions at Yang Jeon's words, nodded in agreement.
“They say the fifth floor is cramped, so wouldn’t it be better to have more space to enjoy ourselves?”
As if Namgung Jin’s words were the final verdict, the other four men nodded, indicating they would follow his lead.
“Is this the place that’s so famous these days?”
It was just as Yang Jeon was about to lead them to the fourth floor.
The entrance opened, revealing a young man and a middle-aged man.
‘For that guy to show up here? This is getting interesting.’
A smile spread across Jinmyeong’s face as he saw the young man.
The Heretical Young Master, Sama Geuk.
The grandson of the Leader of the Heretical Alliance, Sama Dosang, had made his appearance.
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t look all that impressive.”
“Still, there must be a reason it’s famous.”
“But I heard you can’t touch the courtesans here, right? What happens if you do?”
Sama Geuk grinned and looked at the middle-aged man, the Blood Ghost Lord.
“Wouldn’t it be best to spend our time here quietly?”
“Why has the great Blood Ghost Lord become such a coward?”
“……”
The Blood Ghost Lord had to swallow the words, ‘It’s because of you.’
If he weren't tasked with protecting the Heretical Young Master, cherished by the Leader of the Heretical Alliance, he wouldn't need to be so cautious.
“Hey.”
Instead of waiting for the Blood Ghost Lord’s reply, Sama Geuk called out to someone.
“Hey, you there! Yes, you! The one with the colored eyes!”
Sama Geuk had pointed at Jinmyeong, who was secretly observing the situation from among the customers.
He had somehow managed to spot Jinmyeong in the crowd.
“I really don’t like it. Why is someone with colored eyes like you in a place like this?”
Sama Geuk spat on the floor and then gestured toward Jinmyeong.
“Come over here and wipe this up, will you?”
At Sama Geuk’s words, Jinmyeong smiled and began to walk toward him.