Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Fifteen Divine Dragons and the Heretical Young Master (2)
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* * *
“You may enjoy yourselves in here.”
“Thank you. It's more spacious than I thought.”
Seomun Juncheok and the scions of the Five Great Families smiled in satisfaction as they entered the room Yang Jeon had guided them to.
The lavish room seemed to promise that even the wine would taste better, and they sat down in high spirits.
“I will bring you wine and food shortly.”
“Thank you.”
After ushering the young martial artists inside, Yang Jeon stepped out and let out a sigh.
*‘Why is this so draining?’*
Nothing particularly eventful had happened.
He had simply dealt with and guided the young martial artists of the Righteous Faction.
Yet, just from doing that, Yang Jeon felt as if all the strength had been sapped from his body.
“I still don't like it. Why is someone with colored eyes here?”
As Yang Jeon was heading downstairs after sending the courtesans in, an irritated voice reached his ears.
*‘Colored eyes. Come to think of it, our Young Master has them too.’*
Mixed blood was so common in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult that he sometimes forgot, but Jinmyeong was indeed of mixed heritage.
And people with colored eyes were not a common sight in the Central Plains; they were often looked down upon.
“Come over here and wipe this up, will you?”
The same irritated young man's voice sounded again.
This time, it wasn't just annoyance but a tone laced with mischief and ridicule.
“Haa.”
Descending to the lower floor, Yang Jeon sighed in spite of himself.
He saw Jinmyeong walking toward the young man and the middle-aged man standing by the door.
Why are bad feelings never wrong?
Of all people, why did that young man have to call his master?
“Sir, that person is…”
Seeing Jinmyeong approach, the Mak brothers tried to step forward, but Jinmyeong raised a hand to stop them.
The Mak brothers and the servants could only stare at Jinmyeong, their faces filled with bewilderment.
Though Im Sagyeong was officially the master of the Splendid Blossom Pavilion, was its true owner not Jinmyeong?
“Sir, the spittle on the floor…”
“Well now, customer! What brings you here?”
Just as Jinmyeong was about to speak with a smile, Yang Jeon hurriedly stepped between the two.
“Hmph. What other reason is there to come to a brothel?”
“I’m afraid this place is different from ordinary brothels. It is not a place to embrace the courtesans.”
“And what if I were to embrace one by force?”
Sama Geuk grinned.
If they said he couldn't, he was planning to smash the head of the man right in front of him.
“If it's mutually agreed upon, it doesn't matter, but…”
Before Yang Jeon could speak, Jinmyeong answered first.
“So you’re also staff here?”
“That I am. But now that you’ve confirmed this isn’t that kind of brothel, would you please leave?”
“What if I don’t want to leave?”
“What do you think? Either your legs get cut off, or your head does. One of the two.”
“Khuhuhu. You’re quite the joker.”
It was a volatile situation, as if the two were about to clash at any moment.
Just as they were about to attack each other, the Captain of the Blood Ghosts, standing beside Sama Geuk, intervened.
“My apologies.”
“What? What is the meaning of this, Captain?”
The Captain of the Blood Ghosts had suddenly stepped forward, only to apologize.
Sama Geuk’s face crumpled, but the Captain had no time to worry about that.
His gaze was fixed solely on the woman looking down at him from the second floor.
*‘What in the world is her identity?’*
He couldn't understand why such masters were present in a brothel like this.
Just looking at the young man before him and the woman watching them from the second floor was enough to send a cold sweat down his back.
- *We should leave, Young Master. We are at a disadvantage.*
Sama Geuk scowled at the Blood Ghost Captain's telepathic message but had no choice but to nod.
The Captain was not one to say such things without reason.
“It seems this brothel discriminates against its patrons, so I suppose we should take our leave.”
Just as Sama Geuk was about to exit through the same door he had entered, a sound came from above.
“Tsk.”
At the sound of a tongue clicking, Sama Geuk whipped his head around.
He saw Namgung Jin looking down at him.
“I was wondering what all the commotion was about. So it was you?”
“Hoh. So you were here too.”
It seemed the two of them were acquainted.
They glared at each other as if looking at an enemy.
“This is why I can’t stand you Unorthodox Faction bastards. Can’t even drink in peace.”
Namgung Jin shot a remark as he passed by Sama Geuk.
“Where is the privy here?”
“O-Out the door and to the left, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Sama Geuk stared at the door Namgung Jin had exited through for a moment, then grinned.
“Looks like those bastards are here too.”
“Indeed.”
“You insolent, colored-eyed mutt.”
Sama Geuk clicked his tongue as he looked at Jinmyeong.
“You’re pretty insolent yourself.”
“Tsk. And even in this situation, my escort doesn’t step in.”
“Seems your escort is smarter than you. He knows that moving recklessly here means death.”
“Interesting. I hope you’re not all talk.”
Sama Geuk seemed to have taken an interest in Jinmyeong, who continued to speak his mind even in front of him.
“Why are you going inside?”
“At first, I was going to stay because of that bastard.”
Sama Geuk pointed to the door Namgung Jin had exited.
“But now, I think you might be more fun.”
At Sama Geuk's words, Jinmyeong sighed.
Mok Jagyeong, Jang Hu… why did he keep attracting these strange personalities?
“Where did those guys go up to?”
“The fourth floor.”
“The fourth floor? Is there a more expensive place?”
“There is. The fifth floor.”
“Then guide me there.”
At Sama Geuk's command, Jinmyeong led the way without hesitation.
“Y-Young Master. I can…”
As Jinmyeong started to move himself, the servants tried to step in, but Jinmyeong waved them off.
“You seem to hold a pretty high position here.”
“I’m the owner of this place.”
“The owner? Since when?”
“Since a little while ago.”
He had heard that this brothel had undergone a massive change recently.
He’d heard everything from its name to its appearance had been altered; it seemed it was because the owner had changed.
“You do have money, right? It’s two hundred nyang for the two of you.”
“Two hundred nyang?”
“One hundred nyang per person.”
Sama Geuk glanced at the Blood Ghost Captain.
“Since a friend is the owner, I can pay two hundred nyang, but it seems I’ll have to drink alone.”
“When did I become your friend?”
“How cold.”
As soon as he reached the fifth floor, Sama Geuk handed over a hundred silver nyang.
“I will wait outside.”
When Jinmyeong didn't leave after receiving the hundred nyang, the Blood Ghost Captain stood right by the stairs and spoke.
“You might startle the courtesans or servants coming up.”
“…I will be here.”
Jinmyeong stared at the Blood Ghost Captain for a moment before heading downstairs.
“How was he?”
“He is strong.”
“Do you know his identity?”
The Blood Ghost Captain gazed silently at the stairs Jinmyeong had descended.
“A master of his level, and of mixed blood with colored eyes… only one person comes to mind.”
“Right? I thought so too.”
“Is that why you acted so friendly, calling him a friend?”
A master with colored eyes.
There was likely only one person who fit that description.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s suddenly emerged rising star, the New Demonic Sword Controller, Jinmyeong.
“Was this place under the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s control?”
“It’s possible.”
They didn't typically verify the affiliation of every small establishment like a brothel, let alone a branch office.
In fact, most people assumed places like brothels were under the control of the Underworld Sect.
“I see. So this place belongs to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
Sama Geuk muttered to himself as he entered the sole private room.
As the Captain of the Blood Ghosts stood watching the room Sama Geuk had entered, lost in thought, he saw a single courtesan and several servants carrying food ascending the stairs.
“Well now. This is certainly worth a hundred nyang.”
Sama Geuk exclaimed in admiration upon seeing Yuran enter.
“Am I really supposed to just watch a woman like this play her instrument without being able to hold her?”
Yuran flinched at the longing in Sama Geuk’s voice.
“For now, just play that instrument you’re so proud of.”
At Sama Geuk’s words, Yuran hesitantly took her place.
As she cautiously began to play the seven-stringed zither, Sama Geuk started to drink, listening intently to its melody.
* * *
“I never thought you’d become friends with that man.”
“Friends, my ass.”
Meanwhile, Jinmyeong had returned downstairs and was talking with Yang Jeon.
“Still, I didn't expect the Heretical Young Master to show up in a situation like this.”
“I didn’t expect it either.”
“But it seems he’s figured it out.”
“It would be strange if he hadn't.”
Unless he dyed his hair, Jinmyeong's identity was all too easy to figure out.
“He wouldn’t spread rumors, would he?”
“Who knows. I can’t say.”
If it became known that the establishment belonged to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, they could lose customers.
That seemed to be what Yang Jeon was worried about.
“But has that ever happened before?”
“Pardon?”
“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Heretical Alliance, the Righteous Alliance… they all run merchant guilds, security escorts, and inns.”
To operate a large organization, money was essential.
The Nine Great Sects One Union accepted the children of merchant families as disciples to receive support, and they also helped the clans established by their secular disciples in exchange for money.
“If you start trying to ruin all of those, it means war.”
If a faction ran short on funds to operate, they would eventually become desperate, and it would ultimately lead to war.
That was why there was an unwritten rule not to interfere with intelligence-gathering branches or money-making ventures like merchant guilds.
“You don't know much, do you?”
“Considering I’ve only ever been within the main cult, how would I know so much?”
Yang Jeon sighed at Jinmyeong's show of knowledge.
Of course, Jinmyeong himself had only learned this fact at the Flowing Cloud Escort service in Shaanxi.
“Anyway, the leaders of the Righteous, Heretical, and Demonic factions all want to maintain this delicate balance. It seems they try to avoid anything that could lead to war as much as possible.”
“…Are you really our Young Master?”
The Jinmyeong in Yang Jeon’s memory was not like this.
“Why the sudden question?”
“I’m just curious about what happened to you during that year you were gone.”
“What was I like?”
“What were you like? You drank every day and picked fights with your subordinates. I was so worried you’d get beaten up by the subordinates who were about to quit.”
He thought he’d heard this story before.
He’d heard that quite a few martial artists had quit because they couldn't stand Jinmyeong's temper.
“Come to think of it, you make it sound like it was all my personality’s fault that those guys quit.”
“Of course, it was more likely because they saw no future in you, Young Master.”
If Jinmyeong had been a worthy candidate for Young Cult Leader, they would have stuck by him despite his foul temper.
“But was I ever actually hit?”
“Even if you were abandoned by the Cult Leader, do you think there was any idiot who would actually raise a fist to you, Young Master?”
“That’s a relief. I was worried I’d have to hunt them down and kill them.”
Just as Jinmyeong and Yang Jeon were exchanging such idle chatter, Im Sagyeong, the master of the Splendid Blossom Pavilion, rushed over to find Jinmyeong.
“Y-Young Master. Do you have a moment?”
Seeing Im Sagyeong breaking out in a cold sweat, it seemed something major had happened.
“What is it? Did the Righteous Faction kids and the Unorthodox Faction bastard get into a fight?”
“Yes. They did.”
He had only asked just in case, but Im Sagyeong was nodding his head furiously.
Yang Jeon felt a headache coming on and instinctively looked at Jinmyeong.
And the moment he saw the smile forming on Jinmyeong's lips, a shiver ran down Yang Jeon's entire body.
“Let’s go.”
Without delay, Jinmyeong immediately moved toward the place where the fight had broken out.