Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Henan Qing Mountain (1)
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Maewol hadn't set fire to the brothel owned by the courtesan house madam.
The courtesan named Cheongneung, who was said to stand between the madam and Maewol. It was Mount Sang Pavilion, the brothel she managed.
She's a real madwoman. No matter how I looked at it.
Even so, who in their right mind thinks of torching a building that massive?
Luckily, high-end brothels like that don't take in that many guests to begin with.
And the people staying in those wooden high-rises long-term seemed to have been drilled on fire evacuation procedures.
So there were no deaths or serious injuries. Yeah, that's a real relief.
But even so, it's no small matter.
What if someone had gotten hurt or worse? How was she planning to deal with that guilt?
In any case, the completely gutted Mount Sang Pavilion became the talk of the town in all of Chang'an.
But there wasn't a peep anywhere about the Shadowless Gate executives who got massacred or the two missing Demonic Cult guys.
Three days after the Shadowless Gate executives died, the Demonic Cult guy's body turned up.
I'd been curious when it'd be found, so every day after lunch, I'd take a stroll over there and poke around.
On the third day, a few guys were gathered, buzzing about something.
Meaning the dead guy's been found. And the ones who found him were Shadowless Gate members.
With that poison needle still stuck in his back, they won't suspect a thing.
No doubt about it. What's there to suspect?
What they're puzzling over is who killed that guy.
A bunch of mysteries.
Why did the Demonic Cult suddenly slaughter Shadowless Gate executives?
And why is one of them dead here, of all places, with a stab straight through the heart?
Now that they've pieced the situation together, their heads must be throbbing.
That night, I headed to Fragrant Flower Pavilion to meet Maewol.
I considered going as a customer, but I didn't feel like it. So I snuck in instead.
But Maewol didn't even flinch when she saw me.
She must've known I'd come.
"How's Shadowless Gate holding up? Anything going on?"
"They've appointed a new branch manager. The guy who was second-in-command in the escort division got promoted."
"Really? That's hilarious. The courtesan house madam's still alive and kicking, and they put the escort division's number two in charge?"
"That's exactly why the matriarch is furious. She was raging about how they could do this to her."
"Are they suspecting her of ties to the Demonic Cult?"
"There's some suspicion, but the matriarch's dismissing it as baseless conjecture. And it's not just that keeping her from branch manager. The bigger issue is that she's a woman who doesn't practice martial arts."
"I see."
It would've been easier if the courtesan house madam had become branch manager.
That way, Maewol would've had better access to key information.
But in the end, taking over Shadowless Gate as a woman has its limits.
If the current madam and her second-in-command Cheongneung disappeared, Maewol would take over as madam, right?
But that's as far as it goes. Madam and branch manager are different beasts. There's a clear ceiling.
Besides, you can't just casually get rid of the madam and Cheongneung.
If Maewol became madam after that and nothing else happened, all the suspicion would land squarely on her.
Above all, the problem is that Maewol has no martial arts.
Without martial prowess, you can't handle murim affairs smoothly.
But I don't want to give her a dantian. No, more accurately, I can't.
Maewol's out in the open.
If she suddenly developed a dantian and internal energy one day, someone would desperately want to know how.
Even if it meant illegal methods.
To anyone who's lost their dantian, Maewol would become someone they'd do anything to pry the secret out of.
I can't take over Shadowless Gate through Maewol.
Destroying it is a different story.
I figured I'd smash it and swallow it whole while I was at it, but that's proving tougher than expected.
Should I spare just the courtesan house and turn it into an intel network?
The info courtesans gather isn't negligible. But compared to Shadowless Gate now, it'd be a fraction of the volume.
It'd be a fallback, but not the best option.
So I'll keep it in mind, but it's not my main goal.
I need to think more about Shadowless Gate and the intel network.
No clean resolution in sight.
With that, I left Fragrant Flower Pavilion and returned to Ink Sword Grove.
I must've underestimated them.
I thought it'd be all-out war right away. This lukewarm standoff is disappointing.
Meager results for the effort isn't satisfying, even if I didn't pour in that much.
Bitter taste. Not easy.
In any case, with intel from Shadowless Gate getting harder to come by, getting dirt on the Namgung Family's deficits is tougher now.
Time for more direct measures? Guess that's the only way.
"Seolha."
"Yes, young hero."
"Let's go to Namgung Yeonhwa."
"Yes. But... young hero? You don't need to bring me along when you visit Hwa-a."
"Then I'd have to recount everything to you later. And a man entering a lady's room alone isn't proper."
Seolha flashed a subtle smile and sidled right up next to me.
She seems pleased. That grin says it all.
And so, Seolha and I went to Namgung Yeonhwa's room.
Namgung Yeonhwa was improving by the day.
Blocking the errant energy headed to her brain and the stuff damaging her organs seemed to make the biggest difference.
Her gaunt frame had filled out a lot; she no longer looked skeletal.
Like withered leaves coming back to life.
"Uh... young hero? Isn't today not your treatment day?"
When Seolha and I arrived together, Namgung Yeonhwa asked with a puzzled look.
"No, it's not about that. I'm here about your brother."
"Ah, Brother Hwi."
Namgung Hwi. The Namgung Family's third son, whose death hasn't been confirmed.
The boy who wasn't at the family during the massacre, so his fate remains unknown.
Not a boy anymore, though. Two years older than Namgung Yeonhwa, so he should be twenty-two now.
"You really have no idea where he is? Not even a guess?"
"No... If I did, I'd have told you already."
I wondered if she still didn't fully trust me and was holding back, but that didn't seem to be it.
She really doesn't know.
Namgung Hwi had escaped that day with Namgung Yeonhwa and Seolha, thanks to family members carving a path.
But if they were sending them out anyway, why scatter them separately?
Maybe Seolha and Namgung Yeonhwa were decoys, and he was the real priority?
I don't know. Possible, but too cruel.
Better not to think that way.
It's just speculation with nothing confirmed.
Disrespectful to the Namgung Family members who opened that escape route for the kids, too.
"Your brother was nineteen back then, right? Still young, not much worldly experience, so his world wasn't that big. Anything will do—even the smallest thing. Habits he mentioned, things he admired, places he wanted to visit... Or somewhere he'd hole up after escaping."
"...I've thought about it plenty over the last three years."
"Sure, you've done your best. But now we need even more effort. Brainstorm with Seolha."
"Yes, young hero."
"Got it, young hero."
"Eat more."
"I-I'm eating plenty!"
"Eat even more. You look better with some meat on your bones. Anyway, I'm off."
Namgung Yeonhwa's face flushed red, and Seolha gave the girl an enigmatic smile.
Hard to read what Seolha's thinking with that expression.
But at least it's not jealousy, so I let it slide.
After that, things stayed quiet for a while.
Chang'an was peaceful.
No sudden brawls between Shadowless Gate and the Demonic Cult, no deaths.
I'd hold Seolha whenever I got the chance, and she'd eagerly welcome me each time, looking delighted.
Namgung Yeonhwa upped her food intake and her dantian dismantling was progressing smoothly.
Ordinary days. The surroundings changing slowly, like the seasons.
When I left the cavern, spring was in full swing.
Now it's getting a bit hot. This body doesn't suffer much from heat or cold, though.
Otherwise, I'd have frozen or baked back in the cave already.
Anyway, the lush greenery is nice to look at.
Bugs are annoying, but once you learn to circulate protective energy, they're no issue.
I'm bug-proof. No worries at all.
Maybe that's why Seolha's been sticking closer to me lately.
Even murim folk hate bugs. They're creepy.
About a month after entering Ink Sword Grove, and Namgung Yeonhwa's dantian work was over halfway done.
One day, Seolha came rushing to me in a panic and urgently called me over.
"What's up?"
"Hwa-a! She thought of something!"
"Really? Let's go."
Heading straight to the room, Namgung Yeonhwa saw me and exclaimed with flushed excitement.
"Zhejiang!"
"Zhejiang? Zhejiang Province?"
"Yes! There's a merchant group there connected to the family! Puyong Merchant Group or something..."
"Rejected."
"What!?"
"Any merchant group tied to the Namgung Family? The culprits behind the massacre would've scoured it already. They'd have flipped every privy in every worker's house."
"B-but."
"Think harder. It can't be that obvious."
Namgung Yeonhwa looked utterly dejected. But no, that's not gonna cut it. No way.
A few days later, she called us again, this time with a bit of smug pride.
"Brother was really close with this guy from a sect in Hunan Province! Not many people know about it..."
"Rejected."
"Why!?"
"The family got attacked. You think a 'trusted acquaintance' would take him in under those circumstances? And no matter how great this guy is, a non-martial house isn't sheltering him."
"No..."
"There you go. Rejected."
Another disappointed look from Namgung Yeonhwa. But this one might be worth checking.
Hunan Province, though? That's pretty far.
A few more days passed. She called us again, speaking in a somewhat deflated tone.
"Maybe... this could be useful? Brother really loved the Qing Mountain Legend. He once said he wanted to visit there himself someday..."
"Qing Mountain Legend?"
As I asked with genuine curiosity, a spark of hope lit up Namgung Yeonhwa's face.
And then she started explaining what she knew.
About the Qing Mountain Legend.