Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: A Kid Like You Won't Work on Me
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"Coming from the Shanxi Yu Clan means they're here to reclaim their goods? But that's strange."
It was true that Mu-yeon had sold the Shanxi Yu Clan's items to the Hao Gate. However, the deal had been conducted in complete secrecy, with no leaks.
In the Hao Gate, only the Sichuan branch chief, Mun Seok, and the Gate Leader herself knew about it.
So how had the Shanxi Yu Clan found out and come straight to the Hao Gate? And to the Sichuan branch where the transaction took place, no less...
Dang Wol-hwa's curiosity was piqued. And so...
"Should I handle them appropriately and send them on their way again this time?"
"No, I want to meet them myself."
"...The Gate Leader herself?"
...She made an uncharacteristic decision.
"It's about time I showed my face publicly now and then. The Hao Gate needs to act a bit more boldly. And I'm curious how the Shanxi Yu Clan tracked us down."
"...Understood. I'll prepare the meeting."
After Mun Seok bowed and left, the Hao Gate Leader immediately prepared to receive the guests. All the while speculating about who they might be.
**
Since this was a public meeting, she received the guests not in the basement of a rundown inn on the outskirts of Sichuan, but in the reception room of the Blue Moon Pavilion.
They were moving to a new hideout tomorrow anyway, so she could afford to be bold.
Creak-.
As Dang Wol-hwa opened the door and entered, a young lady was waiting for her.
The rumors were true—the Shanxi Yu Clan's precious pearl had come in person.
'Yu Somyeong... was it?'
She slowly took in Yu Somyeong, who was staring at her intently.
Yu Somyeong had a youthful beauty that made her seem just on the cusp of adulthood. Her face was slender and pure, her posture steady and demure—a perfect example of a righteous sect's later-generation talent.
"My apologies for being late. I am Dang Wol-hwa, Leader of the Hao Gate."
"...Ah?"
Yu Somyeong looked shocked that the Hao Gate Leader had come herself. But as Dang Wol-hwa offered a fist salute first, she quickly composed herself and returned the gesture with proper etiquette.
"...My apologies. I am Yu Somyeong of the Shanxi Yu Clan."
'Hoo?'
Dang Wol-hwa felt a spark of interest there.
No matter how much the Hao Gate had grown, it was still part of the unorthodox paths. Many dismissed the Hao Gate and its leader.
Especially the young later-generation disciples of the righteous sects, whose pride was immense, tended to look down on the Hao Gate even more.
But Yu Somyeong showed no such attitude. If anything, she seemed genuinely trying to show respect.
This improved Dang Wol-hwa's internal assessment of her.
"What brings you to the Hao Gate?"
"......"
In response, Yu Somyeong silently took something out and placed it on the table.
Thud.
It was a fragrant pill, and the moment Dang Wol-hwa saw it, she knew exactly what it was.
"It's the Yu Clan's heirloom elixir, the Jade Flower Pill. It was found in Sichuan."
"......"
Jade Flower Pill. She'd seen it recently when confirming the goods, so she knew this was authentic.
But how had it turned up in Sichuan...? The Hao Gate hadn't sold it...
The question was answered by Yu Somyeong's next words.
But...
"The man who had it was a wine merchant from Huguang. He said he encountered bandits while traveling, they stole his wine, and he gave them this as payment."
"...Pardon?"
...The story was utterly absurd.
Mu-yeon had possessed the Shanxi Yu Clan's goods before selling them to the Hao Gate. So that meant Mu-yeon had sold the elixir to a wine merchant for booze...
......
...No, he'd traded that precious elixir for mere wine?
As someone with a strong merchant's instinct, the Hao Gate Leader couldn't comprehend it.
But...
'Hehehe, so even the great hero has his sloppy side.'
...In the eyes of the Hao Gate Leader, already head over heels, it only made him more endearing.
Of course—when you crave a drink, you can sell elixirs or manuals for it.
In any case, she quickly pieced it together.
Mu-yeon had traded the elixir to a merchant for wine in the past, it had surfaced in Sichuan, and that led Yu Somyeong here.
Like catching a rat while backing away from an ox...
That made Dang Wol-hwa ponder even more.
She'd originally planned to age the Shanxi Yu Clan's goods for a few years and sell them at a premium. But now the owner had come knocking, and with the urgent move, the Hao Gate was short on funds.
It'd mean less profit, but a quick sale now wouldn't be bad.
The moment she decided to sell the Shanxi Yu Clan's goods to Yu Somyeong right then...
"Young lady, actually..."
Thud.
"Have you perhaps seen this man in Sichuan?"
Before Dang Wol-hwa could continue, Yu Somyeong placed something else on the table. It was...
"......"
...Mu-yeon's portrait.
"...Why are you looking for this man?"
"...I have something I must repay him for."
Her tone and demeanor made it clear: what she had to "repay" was vengeance.
But...
"......"
The Hao Gate Leader was perceptive. She was good at reading others' emotions.
And she could see it.
The reason Yu Somyeong sought Mu-yeon... wasn't just revenge.
Could this girl also...
"...Ah! Isn't this the guy who does bandit work?"
"Y-Yes! Have you seen him?"
"I have, but... haa..."
"If you know anything, please tell me! I must... I must find him."
Noticing the desperation in Yu Somyeong's voice, Dang Wol-hwa continued innocently.
"He was a real lowlife... After coming to our pavilion, he indulged in drink and song every day, calling in courtesans nightly..."
"C-Courtesans?"
"He stayed in the Seven-Day Chamber and summoned four courtesans every night without fail, bedding them all..."
"F-Four every night in the Seven-Day Chamber, not missing a single day...? Th-This mad bastard-!!"
It was too much for a girl just coming of age—Yu Somyeong's face turned beet red, on the verge of bursting.
She was so agitated she even cursed, which was hardly befitting a noble clan heir, startling Dang Wol-hwa.
And as if that wasn't enough...
"You lecher! Lust demon! Pervert! I knew he was that kind of guy-!! You scum-!! Why did I ever fall for someone like that..., ah, no-! Nooo-!! I don't like perverts like that-!!"
Yu Somyeong clutched her forehead, muttering to herself as if in a dissociative fit. Dang Wol-hwa watched the scene with a touch of fear until Yu Somyeong looked up at her.
Her bloodshot eyes fixed on Dang Wol-hwa as she asked.
"Where did that lust demon go? Do you know his location?"
She seemed to care more about finding Mu-yeon than her clan's goods.
Dang Wol-hwa told her...
"I think he headed toward Zhejiang Province."
...The exact opposite direction from Mu-yeon's base at Wuyi Mountain.
Normally, giving such an easy answer might raise suspicion, but Yu Somyeong was too worked up to notice.
"Zhejiang... Zhejiang... Gate Leader, I won't forget this favor. I'm in a hurry, so I'll take my leave."
"Yes, go quickly."
Yu Somyeong bolted out, leaving the guarding Mun Seok outside utterly bewildered.
Puzzled, he entered the room...
"Gate Leader, why is the Yu young lady from the Shanxi Yu Clan running off like that..."
"Pfft-, heh, heh, heh."
...The Hao Gate Leader was in the room, covering her mouth in delighted laughter.
"Gate Leader, what happened?"
"Oh, nothing. I just eliminated one rival."
"Pardon?"
Mu-yeon had no shortage of rivals eyeing him. She didn't know the details, but Yu Somyeong seemed to be one of them.
But Yu Somyeong was an utterly naive girl. She was no match for the Hao Gate Leader, who had clawed her way up from the bottom.
Watching Yu Somyeong dash toward Zhejiang with lightness skill through the window, Dang Wol-hwa burst out laughing again.
"Ahahaha, look at her charging off cluelessly."
"...Heh heh."
Mun Seok couldn't help but feel a bit flustered watching the Hao Gate Leader.
She wasn't the type to express her emotions so openly. She always hid them behind a mask.
But now she was shedding that mask, showing her true self... and Mun Seok was glad for it.
One thing was clear. Ever since Mu-yeon visited... she'd changed.
"A kid like you won't work on me. Hehehe."
"...Gate Leader, you still need to maintain some dignity."
...Though it didn't seem like entirely a good change.