Chapter 11 (4)
Chapter 11 (4)
"Step right up! Sweet, honey-glazed yakgwa!"
"Let me introduce this item from the far Western Regions...!"
"For the refined men of leisure enjoying a boat ride on Dongting Lake, an elegant fan is a must! Here...!"
Wow. People are swarming like crazy.
I'm not joking, it's so packed there's literally no space to squeeze through.
My first impression upon arriving in Agyang was that there were so many people, you wouldn't even notice if someone disappeared.
Ugh, this is suffocating me to death.
If I keep going like this, I'm going to die of frustration first.
I first slipped into a visible alleyway.
Luckily, there aren't many people here.
Alright, let's organize what I need to do.
Find the Black Spot.
Find Ha-yeon's location.
Request information about women with both fame and ability that I don't know about.
The problem is the Black Spot.
How should I find the Black Spot?
I heard before that once my skill and rank as a Ronin are established, they'll come looking for me first.
If that's the case, I'll take a mission that looks moderately difficult and hard-carry it, and the Black Spot will make contact first.
'What a hassle.'
As soon as I thought of that plan, the thought of it being a hassle popped into my head first.
Yeah, honestly, I think so too.
Besides, I'm just a Wood Tablet, right?
Even if I can hard-carry, as long as I'm a Wood Tablet, the missions I can take are limited.
Unless I get lucky and a war between sects breaks out, and they're scraping the bottom of the barrel for Wood Tablets to fill the numbers.
Can't be helped.
Shall I go with Plan B?
Since I need to know the geography of Agyang, I spent the day walking around and checking the general layout.
Agyang was certainly a city of leisure and pleasure.
Even to me, with my modern aesthetic sense, Dongting Lake showed different scenery depending on the time, telling me with its whole body why one must enjoy a boat ride.
It would be a great atmosphere to go on a date on a boat under the soft moonlight here.
The center of Agyang had gambling dens, brothels, and inns, and the best position to view Dongting Lake was occupied by a three-story pavilion called Agyangru.
And the outskirts were mostly buildings where commoners lived, and sects that had settled here.
Among them, I checked the locations of gambling dens or places where Heukdopae gathered in the outskirts.
Don't know where the Black Spot is?
Then I can just make the Black Spot come find me, right?
Walking around the streets of Agyang until sunset, I identified locations where it would take time for the government soldiers in charge of security to arrive.
Usually, people should be thinning out by this time, but instead, even more people were moving about.
If I had to find a commonality, it's that well-dressed men in scholar's robes were moving toward Dongting Lake with a few women each?
"Oh."
The sight of Dongting Lake, now forming a wave of orange, made it clear why they were moving.
Those men in scholar's robes are children of wealthy families, and they are busy moving to enjoy boat rides with women.
And there was a huge boat made like a pavilion, and they were loading countless food ingredients and various items onto it.
Just looking at it, it's a luxury cruise ship.
A luxury cruise ship where you can enjoy the charm of Dongting Lake, eat, drink, and sleep to your heart's content.
Should I rent it for a few days later and have an orgy party with only my women?
It would be impossible with just a few dozen gold taels, but there are plenty of ways to make money, so I can earn it slowly.
As more time passed and it became completely night, the lanterns hanging on the boats created a different kind of charm on Dongting Lake.
People leaving for boat rides left, and those going to sleep for tomorrow returned to their homes or lodgings, making the area deserted.
Well, shall I start moving?
For your information, Plan B is set to be noisy.
I'm looking forward to seeing how long the Black Spot stays quiet.
"Wahahaha!"
"Six!"
"Four!"
"Yes!"
"Damn it! My salary!!"
A gambling den in Agyang.
Various pathetic humans gathered there, crossing the boundary of joy and sorrow through various types of gambling.
There are gambling dens for general customers, but inside, there is also a place for big spenders.
"Fuck! This is a scam! It's a scam!"
Among them, someone who lost a lot of money started to get angry, unable to accept the result.
"You're all in on it! You sons of bitches! My money! Give me back my money!!"
However, those who caused such a ruckus ended up having an interview with burly security guards.
"Hey, customer. It's troublesome if you cause a scene here. Huh?"
"Hi...hick..."
"Leave while I'm asking nicely."
Unless they were martial artists, to ordinary people, the big and fierce-looking security guards were the scariest beings in the world.
The security guards who kicked out one troublesome customer like that.
At the same time, a young, sturdy man walked into the gambling den.
The young man checked his surroundings for a moment, then approached a security guard guarding one wall.
"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
The somewhat trained security guards only act fierce toward troublesome customers; if it's a question they can answer, they answer sincerely.
However, the man's question was far beyond the range that the security guards could answer.
"What do I have to do to go to the Black Spot?"
"...What?"
"The Black Spot. I heard there's a Black Spot somewhere, but I don't know where it is."
"What is this crazy bastard?"
The Black Spot operated by Haomun is known to those who know, but it's not a place you can just tell anyone about.
The security guard had heard and answered all sorts of questions as a gambling den guard, but since this was the first time he'd heard such a novel piece of bullshit, a curse came out before he knew it.
"What?"
"Is something wrong?"
Since you have to be quick-witted when working as a security guard in a place like this, other security guards sensed something strange in their colleague's reaction and a few nearby approached.
"Ah, perfect timing. Do you guys know where the Black Spot is?"
"Huh?"
"What is this guy saying?"
"Hey, kid. This isn't a playground. Hey, throw this guy outside."
The other security guards also reacted with disbelief at the man's question, grabbing his arms to throw him out the entrance.
"Ouch."
In an instant, a word that should only come out when feeling pain came out of the young man's mouth in a dry voice that showed no pain at all.
"I felt pain because you grabbed my arms hard."
"What is this bastard babbling about?"
"He looks like a crazy guy, just throw him out."
"You are forcibly trying to tear off my arms. In other words, I have felt a threat to my life. With this, self-defense is established."
"Ha, what kind of crazy..."
Whoosh!
In an instant, the bodies of the two security guards who were holding the man's arms as if hugging them soared into the air and hit the wall hard.
"Keuhuk!"
"Keuhak!"
The two security guards screamed in pain as if their backs were bursting and lost consciousness.
"At...attack! It's an attack!"
"Inform the higher-ups!"
A phenomenon impossible with simple strength.
Realizing that the opponent was a martial artist who had learned martial arts, the security guards began to run around shouting busily.
"Uwaaaah!"
"W-what!"
The customers who were enjoying gambling were surprised by the sudden situation and ran away, and the gambling den instantly became a scene of chaos.
"To call the dog's owner, you have to beat the dog."
The young man moved freely among the security guards surrounding him and easily knocked them down.
The security guards of the gambling den, who had only learned third-rate martial arts, could not stop the movements of the man who had learned proper martial arts at all.
"Can't you stop!"
At that moment, two muscular giants who seemed to use fist and kick techniques appeared.
"How dare you cause a scene here...!"
Pow! Bang!
One of the two tried to say something to the man, but as the man, who had rushed in like an arrow, swung a kick, he hit the wall and fainted instantly.
"Huh...heuhuk!?"
The remaining one was shocked by the sight of his colleague being knocked down in one blow at a speed beyond his perception.
It's natural, because the man is only a second-rate warrior, no matter how generously you rate him.
In the first place, it would be strange if the skills of such gambling den security guards were good.
"Hey."
"Y-yes?"
"Do you know where the Black Spot is?"
"B-Black Spot...? I don't really..."
It's not a lie.
He didn't have the skill or credibility to go to the Black Spot.
The man, who felt the truth in his expression and voice,
"Really? Then I'll have to ask the higher-ups."
Thwack!
He hit the guard's head, knocked him out, and strode inside.
"Keu...keureuk..."
"Hmm, this is the third time, but there's really no harvest."
It's already the third time I've made a mess, focusing on gambling dens that are far from where government soldiers can reach.
But there's no contact from the Black Spot.
Are they scared and hiding instead?
"This bastard says he doesn't know the location of the Black Spot either. If even guys with this kind of position don't know, just how much Ronin work do I have to do?"
I grumbled while sitting on the body of the fainted gambling den owner.
Looking at him, he seemed like a pretty successful gambling den owner, but if even a guy like this doesn't know, I can't imagine how much I'd have to suffer if I did Ronin work honestly.
It's a good thing I gave up on the orthodox method of doing Ronin work and waiting for the Black Spot to approach.
I pushed the guy's emergency funds, which he was trying to grab in a hurry thinking it was an attack from another organization, to one side.
If I go around robbing here, the tail will get long.
My purpose is to find the Black Spot, not robbery.
I have to distinguish between when I should and shouldn't do something.
Anyway, thinking that there was no point in staying here any longer to get information about the Black Spot, I leisurely passed the security guard I had knocked out and went out of the gambling den.
First, I entered an alleyway to hide my tracks and headed toward the next destination I had marked...
"Hey. Come out."
Caught by my spiritual sense.
Three on the right wall.
Four on the left wall.
Six in each direction at the corner that turns left and right in front.
...
...
...
Oh? Look at these bastards?
They're determined to embarrass me, huh?
Since you guys aren't answering, I look like an idiot posing all by myself.
"So you're not coming out, is that it?"
I put my left hand behind my back, raised my right hand, and stuck out my index finger.
I'm giving off the aura of Chairman Frieza, who runs a true enterprise.
Phew!
"Keuk!"
One of the martial arts obtained from the Shadowless Divine Thief's secret vault, the Finger Technique Meteor Single Kill.
It's a finger technique that shoots out powerful finger wind; it's simple and powerful, so I learned it because I liked its versatility in various situations.
And once I learned it, I thought I could play Chairman Frieza, so I had fun and learned it diligently.
Phew-phew-phew-phew!
I kept firing the finger wind of the Meteor Single Kill, aiming for the legs and lower bodies of the guys hiding behind the wall.
"Attack!"
"Strike!"
"Haat!"
"Heu-eup!"
Admitting that they had been discovered, they jumped over the wall and attacked me.
Well, I understand they mean to attack and subdue me all at once, but,
"Do you think I didn't even anticipate that much?"
These guys are underestimating me way too much, aren't they?
"Let's talk after you each take a hit first."
I can feel it.
That these guys are just trash that doesn't even reach the soles of my feet.
They are likely from the Black Spot.
They probably want to confirm why I'm looking for the Black Spot.
Thwack-bang!
I fired the Dominating Nine Dragon Palm, a palm technique that compresses internal energy and strikes the opponent from a distance as if exploding, at the guys who attacked me, adjusting it to be moderately weak.
It's a palm technique where I threw away internal energy control for power, but since I ate the Humanoid Child Ginseng, it's not a big problem for me, as I'm in the top tier in the martial arts world in terms of internal energy quantity.
I'm not joking, if I use this at full power?
A part of the body just disappears.
I was surprised when I used it against a rock.
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!
"Keuak!"
"Ueueok!"
Even if I lower the power, there's no problem in catching people.
"Wahahaha! Is this all? Try harder! Wadat-dat-dat-dat!"
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-kung!
I won't kill you!
Whether your arm breaks! Or your spine breaks!
Even if you vomit blood from your seven orifices, as long as you don't die, there won't be a problem negotiating with the Black Spot!
Bang-bang-bang-ku-kwang!
"This is exciting! As expected, for a man, it's an explosion!!"
It's fucking fun!
The fun of firing off martial arts to my heart's content!
Every time I make a hand gesture, it goes bang-bang!
This is why martial artists try to learn martial arts and show off!
If it were 2 years ago, I don't know, but now I don't need to worry about anything anymore, so I'll reveal my true nature to my heart's content!
I'll show you the pinnacle of fucking awesome asshole behavior!
"W-wait... surrender... puheok!"
"What!? I can't hear you! It sounded like you said something like 'surrender', but my ears must have heard wrong!"
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
"I said surrender, you damn bastard!!"
"Sorry! I'm deaf so I can't hear well!"
"Uwaaah! You son of a bitch!"
"Don't curse, you fucking asshole!"
"A moment ago you were deaf... keuaak!"
Don't worry!
I won't kill you!
I will never kill you!
Instead, I'll just make you suffer enough to die!