Chapter 225: A Precious Guest is Coming Today
Chapter 225: A Precious Guest is Coming Today
The next morning, before our departure, I went to see the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Lord Smiling Demon, I suggest that only the two of us go to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion."
I made the suggestion because I knew his relationship with the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master was a private matter—a secret that deserved to be protected. However, the Smiling Demon gave an unexpected reply.
"There is no need for that. Let everyone come along. We will proceed with the plan as originally intended."
"You don't have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I can have Strategist Go and the others provide support from the outside."
"It’s not because of that." There was a surprising reason behind his insistence. "I want to introduce them to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master."
He was referring to the Poison King, Seo Dae-ryong, Go Wol, and even the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
"The Pavilion Master is a woman of great ambition. However, because of me, she has spent years suppressing her own desires. Meeting and interacting with people like them will be a great help to her."
I could see that the Smiling Demon truly cherished the Pavilion Master. It was clear that his feelings for her ran far deeper than mere affection.
"And above all, these are people you trust, Second Young Master. That is enough for me."
I believed his decision was a wise one. There are times when it is best to stay hidden, and times when it is best to step out into the light. This was likely the latter. At the very least, I knew no one in our group would ever bring her harm. We reached an agreement with a mutual smile.
When I left the Smiling Demon’s quarters and headed to the courtyard, I found Go Wol preparing for our departure, loading luggage onto the carriage. He looked deeply troubled for some reason.
"Strategist Go. Don't overthink it; just enjoy yourself. As a strategist, you'll have to devise countless plans throughout your life, but the chance to have me, the Smiling Demon, and the Poison King carry them out won't come often. Enjoy the moment."
Go Wol bowed his head, looking genuinely moved. The Pungcheon Cult Leader, standing nearby, didn't miss the chance to interject with a jealous remark.
"I try to score points with a hundred words, yet you always manage it with just one."
"Have faith in Strategist Go. He'll give me one point and save a hundred for you, Cult Leader."
After soothing the hearts of my only strategist and the Cult Leader, I called out loudly.
"Alright, let’s head out!"
*
The room was lavishly decorated.
The specially crafted bed was large enough for ten people to lie on, and the furniture filling the vast space consisted of rare, expensive pieces commissioned from master craftsmen. The ceramics and paintings adorning the walls were priceless; even the door handles were so costly they would shock a commoner.
In this opulent room, about a dozen women sat kneeling. They wore thin, translucent garments that revealed glimpses of skin. Their ages and features varied, but their expressions were identical.
Despair.
They stared at the floor with eyes filled with all the hopelessness in the world.
In the center of these women, who were lined up to his left and right, sat Yeo Bul-gae. His hair was white and his skin was wrinkled, but his eyes burned with a predatory passion that rivaled any young man's.
Yeo Bul-gae was reading a missive.
It hadn't been long since Ji-saeng died, and now news had arrived that Aecha was dead as well.
His wrinkled hand crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at the head of one of the women. She silently picked up the missive that had bounced off her forehead and burned it in a nearby lamp.
"What do you make of this?"
At his question, Hwang-yeom, who sat directly in front of him, answered respectfully.
"They were men who looked down on us for dealing in women, even if they didn't show it openly."
In short, he was saying it was a good thing they were dead. As Yeo Bul-gae’s right-hand man, Hwang-yeom knew his master better than anyone. Indeed, Yeo Bul-gae felt the same way. The deceased Ji-saeng and Aecha were arrogant nobodies who made a habit of looking down on others. He had never once seen them offer a greeting first.
Therefore, what concerned him more than their deaths was the cause.
"I’m asking if this was an attack from the outside."
"It is best to rule out that possibility."
"Why?"
"The investigation clearly shows they died due to internal strife. The higher-ups must have investigated with extreme scrutiny; if someone had the skill to deceive them, would we even be alive right now?"
The wrinkles on Yeo Bul-gae’s forehead deepened. "Are you anxious?"
"I could be the next target."
He did not realize that a single prayer was held in the eyes of the women bowing their heads around him: Please, let him be next.
"Just in case, I will call in all the experts we can mobilize."
Yeo Bul-gae nodded. Usually, he would make a joke: Even King Yama wouldn't take me. He'd say I'd make Hell too filthy.
But that was a joke he only made when he felt safe. Now that he actually sensed danger, he reacted to the prospect of death more sensitively than anyone.
"Just to be safe... contact the Yin-Yang Ghosts as well."
Hwang-yeom flinched at the mention of the Yin-Yang Ghosts but quickly bowed. "Understood."
In the past, such a move would have required discussion. It cost too much to move them, and if they caused trouble in the Murim, the higher-ups would be displeased. But now, Yeo Bul-gae was glad such formalities could be skipped.
Hwang-yeom knew him so well it felt like having a second body. For instance, Hwang-yeom could pick out exactly which woman he wanted from a crowd just by reading his gaze.
"I'm not afraid of dying, but I haven't fulfilled all my dreams yet."
Yeo Bul-gae’s dream was to establish his own pavilions in every corner of the Central Plains.
Until now, he had used every foul method possible to expand. He built them, and he stole them. From sending thugs to cause scenes and spreading false rumors to drugging food or committing arson—every tactic was on the table.
One might wonder if such crude methods worked, but they were surprisingly effective. By ruining a competitor's reputation, he could eliminate them or buy them out for a pittance. Yeo Bul-gae felt a surge of pleasure whenever a rival owner committed suicide during the process.
"You must live tenaciously to achieve your dream. Here is a new dream for you, Pavilion Lord."
Hwang-yeom handed over several documents. They were materials regarding the Heavenly Flower Pavilion. Since it was the most famous pavilion in Guizhou—the region where they intended to expand—they had decided to seize it first.
As he scanned the contents, Yeo Bul-gae’s eyes gleamed with greed.
"The estimated profit is staggering."
"It earns more money than any of our current locations in the Central Plains."
"Are the courtesans beauties?"
"They are. And the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master herself is known to be very skillful."
"The Pavilion Master is a woman?"
"That is correct. She manages the courtesans and customers expertly, and the martial artists under her command respect her deeply."
"She’s just a trivial bitch in the end."
Disregarding women was his nature. He despised them so much that Hwang-yeom speculated Yeo Bul-gae had been severely abused by a woman in his youth. His pathological lust did not stem from affection, but from pure hatred.
"And her beauty?"
"I hear she is exceptionally beautiful."
Yeo Bul-gae’s eyes turned languid. His gaze drifted toward the women in the room. All of them had once been pavilion owners themselves. To the world, they had simply disappeared or died. They were women who had suddenly signed over their properties to Yeo Bul-gae and vanished. Their families had searched for them, but they were never found.
Yeo Bul-gae had been kidnapping and "collecting" the beautiful owners of the pavilions he stole. It was an atrocious secret, but the truth was well-hidden, and even if someone suspected, they wouldn't dare face him.
"The balance will finally be right."
There were nine women in the room. With the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master, there would be ten.
Hwang-yeom nodded, signaling that he would bring the Pavilion Master to Yeo Bul-gae’s bedchamber personally.
"The Black and White Twin Blades have already departed."
The Black and White Twin Blades were Yeo Bul-gae’s personal henchmen, figures largely unknown to the wider Murim. Their martial arts were formidable, but more importantly, they had been raised from childhood as cold-blooded killers who followed orders without emotion.
Since the Heavenly Flower Pavilion was a place where clumsy tricks wouldn't work, he had deployed the Twin Blades immediately. The plan was to kidnap the Pavilion Master and force her to sign the contract. The nine women here had all been broken in the same way.
"Tell them to bring her back safely! Do not touch a single hair on her head!"
It was the ever-constant demand of the lecherous old man.
*
"A precious guest is coming today."
Yeo-jeong, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Master, had ordered her quarters and the inner court cleaned since dawn. She put more care than usual into her makeup and attire.
The maidservants and attendants moved busily. They had experienced this many times before; whenever the Pavilion Master said a precious guest was coming, one inevitably arrived. At first, they thought she had received prior word, but after seeing so many guests arrive unannounced, they realized she possessed a special intuition.
But today, it seemed even she was wrong.
The people who entered the inner court were not precious guests, but unwelcome intruders.
The Black and White Twin Blades, dressed in contrasting robes, burst into the courtyard.
The Pavilion Master ordered the attendants inside. Simultaneously, the martial artists guarding the inner court appeared. Though they had the advantage in numbers, the Black and White Twin Blades were not intimidated. Their combined aura overwhelmed the area, causing tension to cloud the faces of the Heavenly Flower guards.
The Pavilion Master asked calmly, "Where do you come from?"
The one in black, the Black Blade, spoke. "Our master wishes to see you. Let us go."
His tone was cold and blunt, devoid of emotion. He sounded like a block of wood speaking.
"And who is your master?"
"You will know when you get there."
"I am sorry, but a precious guest is arriving today. I must postpone your invitation until another time."
Of course, such words meant nothing to the assassins.
"There is no one more precious than our master."
With those words, the two strode forward. Four of the eight martial artists blocking their path leaped forward simultaneously. The other four surrounded the Pavilion Master to protect her.
Swords and sabers clashed in a blur.
The guards were experts who had protected the pavilion for years, but the skill of the Black and White Twin Blades was on another level. Before ten moves had passed, two of the guards collapsed, their bodies deeply slashed.
Just as the Twin Blades raised their weapons to deliver the finishing blows, the Pavilion Master leaped forward and blocked their path.
"If you want to kill these people, you will have to kill me as well."
Since their mission was to bring her back alive, the Twin Blades lowered their sabers. She immediately pressed the acupoints of the injured guards to stop the bleeding.
"Get treated and wait. I will be back."
"You cannot, Pavilion Lord!"
The other martial artists tried to step in, but she stopped them firmly.
"Everyone, stop!"
At her command, the martial artists froze. They knew that if they continued to fight, they would only die in vain. This was the first time such monstrous masters had invaded since the pavilion's founding.
"If you lose your lives here for nothing, I will never be able to live with the guilt. Fall back and protect the pavilion. A precious guest will arrive today; you need only relay this matter to him."
Forcing the martial artists to retreat, she stepped toward the Twin Blades. She showed no fear. Seeing her composure, the Twin Blades looked at each other and tilted their heads. They had kidnapped many women, but never one so calm.
The Pavilion Master stared intently at the two men. "I have a knack for seeing people's fates. However, the futures of you two are as dark as pitch. I cannot see them at all."
The Black Blade gave a cold laugh and strode toward her. Just as he reached out his hand to suppress her demonic acupoints...
A single bolt of Finger Wind streaked through the air like a flash of light.
Pee-ing! Thwack!
The attack pierced the back of the Black Blade’s hand, leaving a clean hole. As the Black Blade let out a short scream and tried to stop the bleeding...
Pee-ing! Thwack!
This time, the elbow of his other arm was pierced.
"Ugh!"
The moment the Black Blade instinctively crouched...
Peeng! Thwack!
His shoulder was pierced. The attacks were so fast he couldn't even attempt to dodge. The moment he turned toward the source of the Finger Wind, a succession of them followed.
His stomach, waist, and knees were pierced in rapid sequence. The rain of Finger Wind left his body completely tattered.
"Aaaaaaaagh!"
The Black Blade let out a gut-wrenching scream, as if releasing a lifetime of suppressed agony.
Pee-ing! Thwack!
Finally, his forehead was pierced, and he collapsed forward.
The Finger Winds had flown in so rapidly that the onlookers only saw the final moment of his death. Even the White Blade could only stand by and watch his partner die in an instant.
Only then did everyone’s gaze turn toward the source of the attack. A bright smile spread across the Pavilion Master’s lips.
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, wearing his white mask, was walking toward them with steady, rhythmic steps.