The Lawless Night Market
Heuksi, you say? Heuksi was a kind of all-goods marketplace. More precisely, it was a night market where all restrictions on merchandise were lifted from the usual all-goods bazaar, with merchant ethics thrown out the window. Anything could be sold, but fakes and stolen goods ran rampant, and overcharging and outright swindling were everyday occurrences.
“What, there’s actually a tourist-trap merchant association or something? No one’s stabbing each other over it?”
“If you break Heuksi’s rules, assassins from all across Murim will come running. The Black Market Lord puts up an enormous bounty, after all.”
“Black Market Lord? Heuksi has its own master? Huh? Then why does he let it stay such a mess?”
“Because it makes more money that way. That’s the kind of place it is.”
Most people from the Central Plains would hear this explanation and still only understand after seeing it for themselves. But Cheong grasped it immediately.
So it’s basically the secondhand market. A place flooded with new goods, used goods, fakes, and stolen items, where overcharging and swindling were the norm.
“So where is it?”
“The location changes every time, but a few silver pieces will get you the exact spot.”
“Whoa, if we didn’t have our Jegal here, we’d have wandered around forever. Really, having one smart friend makes everything easier.”
“You speak the truth, Sister.”
She had barely given him a compliment when he turned it into a smug self-praise. Strange. Had he always been like this? She could have sworn he used to be more modest. Maybe he was the type who showed his true colors once he got close to someone?
Cheong didn’t know it, but that was exactly right. It wasn’t just Jegal Ihyeon’s personal trait—it was a bloodline disposition passed down through the Jegal Clan for generations. Even their great ancestor, Jegal Liang, had been an insufferably arrogant man once you got close to him. In fact, he’d been twice as insufferable because he was actually competent.
Thanks to that, Cheong found herself at a loss for words just as Uimae returned, beaming.
“Uimae, you’re back!”
“Huh? Oh. What’s with that energy?”
Her presence had grown noticeably stronger. She must have taken some kind of elixir and raised her realm.
“Yeah, yeah! I’m a Peak martial artist now too!”
“You’ve attained enlightenment.”
“Enlightenment? Is that what it was?”
Gyeon Po-hui tilted her head in confusion. Jegal Ihyeon added politely,
“Enlightenment isn’t a concept that can be clearly put into words, so it’s natural not to understand it fully. Congratulations on your great achievement.”
“Thanks!”
Gyeon Po-hui might have been airheaded, but she had good instincts. She understood exactly why Cheong had asked her to handle the aftermath. She had also learned from Seol’s Central Plains common-sense lessons that the Yeomhwigung’s training methods were looked down upon in the martial world.
Cheong turned to Dang Nan-a.
“You need to work even harder, Dang Nan-a.”
“What? I’ve got poison, you know? If I use that, I’m stronger than her.”
Dang Nan-a pointed accusingly at Jegal Ihyeon. To Cheong she might act like a gentle quack doctor, but in truth she was an arrogant villainess whose beauty far outstripped her manners.
Cheong rubbed her smooth chin thoughtfully. The Tang Clan’s poisons, huh.
“Hmm. Fair. If we count the poison, I could put you at late Peak, maybe even touching early Transcendent. Then Jegal needs to train harder too.”
“Sister, isn’t recognizing one’s own shortcomings a virtue of a gentleman? This humble one is well aware of his deficiencies.”
Jegal Ihyeon smiled brightly as he answered. He was too clever to even tease. Cheong could only snort.
After that, they left the Ban-ga Iron Room and followed Jegal Ihyeon to a shabby teahouse. Was it true that the best restaurants always looked old and rustic? Cheong excitedly ordered a mountain of pastries, but when they arrived they looked like they had been made hours ago and left to dry out. They tasted terrible too. Cheong vented her frustration on the pastries—meaning she devoured them like a pig.
Meanwhile, Jegal Ihyeon stood up to speak with the teahouse owner. Cheong thought he might be complaining about the awful pastries, but he only asked about Heuksi being held near the eastern Sukap Lake, leaving out any mention of the food.
“Hey, the pastries came out like garbage and you’re asking about Heuksi? I want to see the owner’s face too.”
“You already ate them all. Besides, this is one of the Black Market Lord’s front businesses. You’re probably the first customer this year to actually order pastries. Wait, isn’t that Yongjeong tea? Why is there frost on the cup? Even if it’s a front, serving Yongjeong cold is going too far. How dare they pull such a terrible trick on guests of the Jegal Clan……”
Jegal Ihyeon looked genuinely furious. Cheong considered letting him flip the teahouse over, but instead she confessed honestly.
“Oh. I used Ice Art to chill it a bit. I like drinking it cold. Want me to cool yours too?”
“Good heavens! Sister, have you lost your mind!?”
Thwack!
Cheong delivered the Nuclear Noogie she had learned the hard way.
“Aagh!”
“You’re getting more and more out of line. Jegal, do you want to see your brother—no, me—go crazy? Should I show you?”
“No, Sister! What kind of peerless divine art is this, ow……”
Jegal Ihyeon couldn’t finish his sentence while rubbing his head like it was on fire. Cheong snorted. For someone built like a mountain, he sure whined a lot. If he ever tasted Master’s original handiwork, his head would probably split open.
“What monstrous strength…… monstrous strength……”
Jegal Ihyeon, still rubbing his head, suddenly turned serious.
“By any chance…… did you visit the Peerless Training Ground while staying at the Jegal Clan?”
“Peerless?”
Cheong’s expression asked Jegal Ihyeon, What’s that? Is it something you eat?
“Peerless refers to the Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin in the Records of the Grand Historian……”
He spent nearly half a quarter of an hour explaining that it meant “a scholar without equal in the realm,” signifying the greatest talent. It was quite the feat. Only then did Cheong understand the occasional meaning of “peerless” she had seen. Ah. So that’s what it meant.
Having shown off his knowledge to his heart’s content, Jegal Ihyeon moved on, apparently forgetting about the training ground.
“It would be best to eat a hearty dinner beforehand and then head to Sukap Lake. Heuksi does sell snacks, but there’s a chance you might end up eating human flesh, so it’s better not to touch anything there at all.”
The idea of eating dinner first was welcome. Eating heartily was even better. But the thought of only watching at the night market felt cruel.
“Then what if I eat something besides meat……”
“If you wish to eat centipedes, spiders, or scorpions, I won’t stop you.”
“Hmm. I ate way too much of that when I was living as a beggar. Tasted awful. Wait, they wouldn’t serve it raw, right? If you season it and grill it, would it be different?”
Dang Nan-a suddenly cut in.
“Wait, you were a beggar?”
Cheong froze for a moment, at a loss for words.
“Um, Nan-a. What exactly do you mean by that? Are you saying the noble young lady of the Tang Clan won’t share a table with a beggar?”
“No no no, that’s not what I meant! I was just surprised, that’s all. I didn’t say it to hurt your feelings. Sorry, Cheong-ah. We’re friends, right? Yeah?”
“Yeah. Friends. You don’t have any other friends besides me. Be grateful.”
“Yeah. Thanks……”
Her flustered, rambling apology made her look exactly like a lonely loser with no friends. Cheong decided to let it slide.
After that, they ate dinner and left Jumadian. Since any recognizable insignia was forbidden, they couldn’t take the Jegal Clan’s luxury carriage. Even if they could, riding in a carriage would mean getting robbed or having other passengers steal it, so they had to walk. And so they walked, chatting among themselves. The early spring night was dim, and there wasn’t much scenery to enjoy.
“How unexpected. I didn’t think you would serve her food. I thought if it were you, Sister, you’d put a bowl on the floor and tell her to eat spoiled rice like a dog.”
Dang Nan-a nodded beside her. Cheong looked at them in disbelief.
“What exactly do you people think I am? And no matter how much you hate someone, you don’t mess with their food. Even if it’s someone you’re about to kill on the spot, you should at least feed them before you do it.”
The Nammen Sect martial artist flinched at that. More precisely, no matter how much of a bastard someone was, you shouldn’t deny them food. If you really had to kill them, you should feed them poison instead. Making them watch while others ate was just too cruel.
It wasn’t some grand principle. It was simply that Cheong had suffered too much over food in her life.
While they talked, they crossed over a hill. Behind them lay a large lake, and spread across the plain was a massive night market. Over a thousand yellow lanterns glowed, and the cluster of tents looked as grand as a small city.
“Sister, you should take off the veil now. In Heuksi, covering your face is not allowed.”
“Huh? You said insignia that reveal your affiliation are forbidden. But now I have to show my face too?”
“That’s a story that goes back to the origins of Heuksi. In the past, the Black Market……”
In short, it was a place where you must neither hide your identity too much nor reveal it too openly. Even if you met someone you knew, you were not to speak of it outside. You were to treat it as a chance encounter in a dream and pretend it never happened. That was why revealing insignia were forbidden. Officially, someone who had never visited Heuksi shouldn’t be walking around wearing one.
But faces had to be shown. This was a rule the Black Market Lord had unilaterally imposed to prevent troublemakers.
“So it’s the sellers’ tyranny.”
Still, not having to wear the veil was good news. Cheong cheerfully took it off and handed it over. Of course, Gyeon Po-hui was the one who had to carry it.
“Hey, Nammen guy. Where do we go now?”
“Ah, the tooth merchants are always in the deepest part.”
“To make sure their merchandise doesn’t run away.”
Jegal Ihyeon added the explanation. Did that guy’s mouth ever get tired? Did he have muscles there too?
Tooth merchants referred to human traffickers in the Central Plains. The term was so old that it had its own six-character job title, showing just how widespread the human trafficking culture was in ancient, uncivilized China. The same was true in Cheong’s homeland. Human traffickers were the most beloved profession among the Chinese people, ranking second in scale worldwide, with a systematic distribution process and even disassembly and export based on classification—an extremely efficient and scientific system. Of course, since they weren’t number one, the Tang Clan’s pride was wounded, so they claimed that getting caught meant execution. In reality, about sixty percent of the profit from selling a person went to the communist nobles, so execution was more of a performance than an actual punishment.
For reference, the homeland, paradise, and great founding nation of human trafficking—the overwhelming number one in the rankings—was the populous country beyond the high mountain ranges southwest of the Central Plains. In that country, the entire population (women weren’t counted as people) consisted of sex offenders and armed robbers who also moonlighted as pickpockets. If you traveled there alone, your chances of returning were only fifty-fifty. Women were guaranteed a one-way trip. Men could try their luck if they believed in statistics.
Anyway, the group passed through Heuksi without issue. Then, a delicious savory smell wafted through the air, making their mouths water. After quite a while, they finally saw a flag that read “Wang Bujing.” An entire alley was lined with iron griddles cooking food, so the smell spread far and wide. And surprisingly, the source of the delicious aroma was skewers of every kind of insect imaginable.