Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Black Inn
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"Man, some things never change no matter how much time passes."
Nangong Hyeok let out a hollow chuckle as he stared at the cryptic code scrawled on the wall like graffiti.
How could it stay the same after more than sixty years?
Did these guys even know the code had been cracked?
Muttering to himself with various doubts, Nangong Hyeok strode into what looked like an abandoned hall.
A booming voice echoed from inside the ruin.
"Who's there?"
A burly man with an enormous build appeared before Nangong Hyeok.
"It's the Black Inn, right?"
The Black Inn was said to buy and sell anything under heaven.
Not just goods, but people too, so of course they dealt in information.
There were limits to getting intel from the Nangong family.
It was better to hop one wall than to get dragged around digging for scraps inside.
The giant flinched.
He narrowed his eyes and scanned Nangong Hyeok from head to toe.
'Who the hell is this guy?'
Spouting "Black Inn" right off the bat, dressed in night travel garb in the dead of night...
Was there anyone like him around here?
It was dark, but from what he could make out, the guy was on the skinny side.
Tall, sure, but so scrawny he didn't look big.
His voice had this sleazy, underhanded ring to it, and his attitude was arrogant, like he was hawking some high-class stolen goods.
Sniff sniff.
The giant, Pa Ho-un, caught a whiff.
It was the distinct scent of a customer, honed over ten years in the Black Inn.
"Come to sell some loot?"
Nangong Hyeok let out a hollow chuckle.
"Nope."
"That's what they all say at first."
"I said no."
"Stolen goods ain't nothing to be ashamed of."
Pa Ho-un plopped down and rubbed his hands together.
"Hand it over. I'll check it out and name my price."
"I'm here for some info."
"Fine. Show me the goods' condition, and we'll trade for info."
"Hah, kid. You the branch chief or what?"
"That depends on how the deal goes."
Nangong Hyeok sighed.
The code and vibe hadn't changed, but had the people gotten dumber?
Tsk tsk. Clicking his tongue, Nangong Hyeok glanced around.
Pa Ho-un grinned.
"Don't worry. The Black Inn values trust above all. We don't kill dealers over their wares."
That was the kind of crap third-rate rookies pulled.
"As long as the goods check out, who cares where they came from? We can fence anything... Hey, what're you doing?"
Pa Ho-un paused as he watched Nangong Hyeok feel along the wall.
"Whoa, don't touch that. The wall's crumbly and might collapse. Oof, I said stop."
Grope grope!
Why the sudden weirdness? And that spot...
"You know what you're touching? No, wait, it's not like groping it opens it up or..."
Clunk!
With the sound of mechanisms shifting, a crack appeared in the wall.
Nangong Hyeok and Pa Ho-un's eyes met in midair.
"Here it is."
"What the...?"
"Why's it all the same?"
A new space yawned open, revealing a passage leading underground.
The true face of the Black Inn.
A secret tunnel to the basement, where top-tier goods were stored.
Pa Ho-un's pupils shook.
"H-How did you... No, what the hell..."
"Enough. Follow me."
"Hey, you can't just barge in there! Hey, you! Didn't I say I used to throw punches back in the day?"
Nangong Hyeok was already descending the passage.
Pa Ho-un panicked and thundered down the stairs after him.
"Hey! I was the Sichuan Iron Fist back in the day! You know that's a nickname that only works among thugs, right?!"
"This the whole place? Pathetically small."
The underground Black Inn was smaller than expected.
Not even half the size of Cheoncheon Martial Pavilion, let alone a regular Nangong warehouse.
He narrowed his eyes at Pa Ho-un.
"You're demoted, huh?"
"Demoted? I'm here in Hefei 'cause I'm capable! You think anyone can waltz into the tiger's den?"
Pa Ho-un snorted and eyed Nangong Hyeok.
'Damn, but who is this guy? How'd he open the secret passage? And so casually?'
Unknown identity made it hard to act rashly.
He'd bluffed, but bashing him felt off.
And something about this masked guy's aura didn't sit right.
What was it.
'Like dealing with a superior... a higher-up?'
Pa Ho-un's pupils shook.
Lately, he'd heard the jianghu was restless. Had HQ sent someone?
The Black Inn, ever sensitive to info, could pull that off.
'That's it! That's why he knows it so well. Like it's his own house...'
Ten years in the Black Inn had sharpened his instincts.
This was an opportunity.
Didn't know why, but if he wanted customer treatment, play along.
'Definitely from HQ.'
Pa Ho-un rubbed his thick hands together, warming them up.
Shh! Rustle rustle! Scrub scrub!
"Aigoo! Let me assist you. From here to there is recent Hefei trends, and this side covers all of Anhui Province. As you see, neatly organized, just waiting to be reported."
Nangong Hyeok glanced over.
"Got any old info?"
"Of course. We keep key intel up to ten years."
"Only ten?"
"We have twenty-year stuff too. Jianghu Secrets: Twenty Years! Anhui limited: Thirty Years! Hefei only: Forty..."
Pa Ho-un peeked at Nangong Hyeok's mood.
Even from the exposed eyes above the mask, dissatisfaction dripped.
An awkward silence hung briefly.
"...H-How old we talking?"
"Seventy years."
"Seventy... years?"
Keeping intel over ten years was huge.
But not ten or twenty—seventy.
Still, the guy was clearly from the Black Inn.
No clue what he was testing, but give it everything.
"...What info specifically? Tell me, and I'll have it in three days—no, two!"
Nangong Hyeok pulled out some Black Inn records and turned.
"Yeah?"
"Yes!"
"Why so eager?"
"The customer is king. That's the Black Inn way."
Nangong Hyeok smirked.
"I want info on the Demonic Blood Tribulation."
Pa Ho-un's face, who'd been hemming and hawing, lit up.
"Demonic Blood Tribulation? Haha, I know that one inside out. Back then, our Black Inn nearly got wiped out by those damn demonic bastards. They flipped out and smashed heads just for peeking at the profits..."
"War God bastard... Tell me about Heaven's Gold."
"Huh? Oh, right. The War God was incredible. Top of the Ten Great Masters, hero of heroes who beheaded the demonic leader, the benefactor who let our Black Inn reopen safely..."
"Fuck."
Pa Ho-un's voice trailed off at Nangong Hyeok's curse.
'The Black Inn treats me like a hero?'
Damn, back then they were the ones yapping about chopping the Righteous Heaven Alliance Lord's head.
'Wow, I really was something. Even the Righteous Heaven Alliance's enemies respect me.'
Nangong Hyeok clicked his tongue.
'But why don't they remember me? No, why's it so twisted?'
The deeper he dug, the more absurd it got.
He hadn't lived badly enough to be erased entirely.
Pa Ho-un's eyes darted around.
As Nangong Hyeok's brow furrowed and relaxed, Pa Ho-un's eyes spun faster.
"...A clash of equals, a heaven-and-earth gamble where demonic and orthodox paths met in one place."
"Nope."
"Huh?"
"Keep going."
"The battle raged day and night for a full month..."
"Nope. Seven days."
"Oh, right? Anyway, they fought relentlessly, no regard for day or night. The Righteous Heaven Alliance and demonic paths clashing endlessly for heaven's hegemony and fate..."
"Heaven-and-earth dragged on forever. Keep fighting? So what was the result?"
Pa Ho-un clamped his mouth like a mute, then quickly answered.
"The Alliance swept the demonic remnants, and surviving elites gathered. They cornered the fleeing demonic leader into a gorge."
"Hmm... This part's kinda close."
"The demonic sovereign was on another level. That strength... The suicide squad got wiped out..."
"Huh? Lots survived, though?"
He'd fought the Demon Lord to the death, not the Alliance.
So no demonic suicide squads or whatever.
Grabbed some remnants, a few died.
The real near-annihilation was when they betrayed him.
"No. All dead."
"All dead, so how'd the story spread?"
"One survivor!"
"...And then?"
"That's how the epic battle got recorded, right? The demonic leader was a monster."
Not a heroic tale or legend, just bullshit rumors—Nangong Hyeok clicked his tongue.
"Monster, sure."
"Sigh, he withstood Spear King’s spear and Blade King’s blade barehanded, rivals to the War God among the Ten Greats..."
"...Spear King and Blade King?"
"Yes!"
Nangong Hyeok's head tilted slightly.
'This rings a bell...'
Felt oddly familiar.
No, like something he'd lived through?
When did Spear King and Blade King ever team up on someone?
Those prideful bastards never ganged up.
He recalled their usual lines.
- I don't do team-ups. That's for losers without confidence. Why fight dirty?
- I'd be a bastard if I teamed up.
But once.
Those two became dirty bastards.
When they ganged up on him.
'A gorge.'
Memories sprouted vividly.
It wasn't a gorge but a plain, but anyway, Spear King and Blade King charged him.
The Alliance swarmed from all sides...
Nangong Hyeok stared into space, then down at the ground, sighing deeply.
"...What's the demonic leader's title?"
"Divine Demon."
"Not Demon Lord?"
"Demon Lord's one of the Four Great Demon Lords. Got his head lopped by a Ten Great Master."
What the hell?
Damn.
Without him, the closest to world's best was cannon fodder?
This was getting unsettling.
'Then who's the demonic head? Divine Demon? Who mixed that with my story?'
Doubts thickened.
"Ah! I remember."
"What."
"Hahu Young!"
Nangong Hyeok's eyes widened.
His name popping up here?
"Yeah, what about him? Spill! What?"
"It's a name."
"...What?"
"Divine Demon Hahu Young."
Blink.
"What?"
What'd this guy just say?
Some demon?
Divine Demon?
Divine Demon Hahu Yoooouuuung?
"Divine Demon?"
"Yes. That's right."
"...Me?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, no. Not me. Fuck. I mean, Hahu Young's the Divine Demon? Ha... Fucking hell."
A deep sigh burst from Nangong Hyeok.
He, who'd fought the demonic horde to pieces, turned into their leader.
"What bullshit."
Damn, shouldn't have come out.
* * *
"Practicing martial arts?"
Nangong Baek's brow furrowed.
The suspicion he'd harbored was confirmed.
Baek Geom, who'd watched Nangong Hyeok all day, reported.
"Yes. He practiced Flash Thirteen Thunders."
"Flash Thirteen Thunders! So he's really learning proper martial arts."
"But at a pathetic level. Trajectory was off, nothing like the one I know. Clumsy and amateurish..."
"Nine Yin Severed Meridians, naturally. A man struck by a woman's curse—how could he execute it properly?"
Hearing the report, Nangong Baek thought maybe Nangong So had let her guard down.
Nangong Baek snorted.
Nangong Jangcheon had no luck with children.
Nangong Ryong's skills were exquisite but lacked emperor's charisma; the second was doomed by the curse; the third, no need to mention.
"With a body like that, even harder."
"Sturdier than expected, though. Contrary to rumors, his grit was impressive."
Interest flickered in Nangong Baek's eyes.
"True. Pouring in spirit pills like that—progress would be weirder. Matches what the Medical Hall said."
"Still strain on the body..."
"The Medical Hall's Jangcheon's man. They could've coordinated stories."
Nangong Baek's lip curled.
"Even if true, means his body's good enough for family arts, right?"
"Yes. Seemed to handle internal energy decently."
"And still demanded spirit pills?"
Something's fishy.
No, definitely hiding something.
"Need to see the elders."
Baek Geom said quietly.
"Go tonight?"
"Tonight?"
"Yes. After the Medical Hall, he hopped a wall."
"Really?"
Nangong Baek burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! My nephew's helping me out. Good—time to move."
Nangong Baek's eyes flashed sharply.