Ch. 37. Met the Ghost Valley Doctor.
"Cult Leader-nim, it is Jwa-hobeop."
I guess it's time to go out.
"Right. Let's head out."
I put on simple, inconspicuous outdoor clothes.
Jwa-hobeop and five Heuk-rin-wi were waiting for me outside.
Apparently, they ended up drawing lots again this time.
Gwak Ok, Seo Hong-ryeong, and the other three are the ones going for the first time.
"Alright, let's go."
##
After leaving the Cult, we first wandered around the marketplace.
It seems Gwigok Uiseon is quite the eccentric.
With disheveled white hair and walking barefoot, he looks like a beggar from the Beggar Sect at first glance, but they say he always carries a medicinal herb pouch at his waist.
"Let's stop by that inn for a moment."
Information is best found at an inn, right?
The second floor was full today, so we had no choice but to sit in a corner on the first floor.
This was the inn in front of which I first met Bichi.
I clearly came wearing plain clothes, but because Jwa-hobeop and the Heuk-rin-wi are beauties, they draw attention.
After being seated by the waiter, everyone kept staring at us.
That's when someone approached.
Looks like a thug? A hooligan?
Why are these types everywhere?
"Wow, why are there such beautiful ladies..."
He flinched when he saw me.
"...with a handsome guy...?"
I am handsome, after all.
Jwa-hobeop and the Heuk-rin-wi were about to react to his words, but they stayed quiet after hearing the rest.
If it had been an insult to me, I might have stood up right away.
"What is it?"
He pointed at Jwa-hobeop.
"Ahem, nothing else, but the person I serve would like to have a word with the lady here. Would that be alright for a moment?"
I glanced at the table he came from.
A long-haired man with a rather refined appearance, who didn't seem like he would hang out with thugs, was looking at us—or more accurately, at Jwa-hobeop.
He's got a good eye, I'll give him that.
"My apologies. We came here on our own business today. Please tell him that."
"No, well, it's not actually a request..."
As he said that, he gripped the corner of our table.
Crack.
It broke, didn't it?
The waiter, who was watching from afar, caught my eye with a pitiful expression.
"Hey, why would you break that? If you pay for it now and back off, I'll forgive you."
"Who's forgiving whom? You look like some gigolo!!"
Thwack.
Thud.
Jwa-hobeop immediately stepped forward and struck his neck.
Her movements are still too fast for my eyes to see.
He collapsed to the floor, trembling and foaming at the mouth as if knocked unconscious.
Rattle.
"How dare those bastards!"
The group that had been watching us, the ones who sent this thug, stood up.
Except for the long-haired man in the center.
"You touched our youngest? Do you know who we are?"
"Well, at most, you're just thugs who know a little martial arts."
"Heh heh, you don't know us. That's why you're acting like this."
Suddenly, the waiter ran over and wedged himself between us.
"Oh my, sirs, this is troublesome if you do this here."
If the situation escalates, the inn will be the one to suffer.
He whispered to me.
"Those people are the famous Five Eagle Brothers. It would be best to apologize."
At the waiter's introduction, the four of them looked at me as if they were puffed up with pride.
Five Eagle Brothers, huh...
If it's 'Eagle'...
A hawk, or an eagle...
No way!
Is it those five brothers?
But there are no women?
I was smiling while reminiscing in my head, and that must have bothered them.
"How dare you laugh while your elders are talking?"
"Oh my, sir, this person doesn't know any better, that's why."
I'm the Cult Leader of the Hwanrak Cult, which is quite large here in Zhejiang, yet they don't know my face but know the Five-Whatever Brothers...
The Cult Leader was disappointed.
"Ah... I made a mistake. Now that I hear it, you must be very important people. Let's see..."
"Earlier, some old beggar was acting like a piece of shit, today is just one of those days!"
I ignored his words and turned on Tirsena.
【 Give me a rough rundown on these guys. 】
As I suddenly started typing on a keyboard in the air, they watched in silence, looking dumbfounded.
Jwa-hobeop and the Heuk-rin-wi looked moved, thinking I was receiving a revelation again.
Hmm... so these are the kinds of guys they are?
They're pretty big pieces of trash, aren't they?
"Five Eagle Brothers. Jeok Pung-gae, Na Pung, Deung Won-gwang, Seo Il, and the one lying on the floor is Gok Ya-do."
They flinched when I said their names.
"Hmph, I guess you're a guy who's heard of us after all. It's not too late even now..."
I raised my hand to cut him off.
"Yesterday, you raped a young woman who came to the mountain to pick herbs."
Flinch.
"Today, you extorted money from merchants in the marketplace..."
"You bastard!! What are you saying!!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he drew his sword and tried to swing it at me.
However...
Clack!
Jwa-hobeop, who had appeared in front of me at some point, caught his blade.
I believed in you.
"And you're hanging out with Namgung Jeong-san, the fifth son of the Namgung Sega?"
At my words, the long-haired, pretty-looking man who had been watching us from behind frowned.
But wait, if it's the Namgung Sega, the Clan Leader is the Murim Alliance Leader Namgung Hyeok, right?
Why is a kid from such a prestigious family hanging out with thugs like these...
"Grrr!!"
The Five-Whatever-Brothers guy tried to swing his sword, but the sword held by Jwa-hobeop showed no signs of moving at all.
"You can see how this is going to end, right? Do you want to just pay for the repairs and disappear quietly? Or do you want to be humiliated?"
"Hmm... I apologize for causing trouble due to my unnecessary stubbornness."
Only then did Namgung Jeong-san, who had been watching from behind, step forward and perform a fist-and-palm salute.
"I was foolish and am only now introducing myself. I am Namgung Jeong-san."
He wants me to reveal my name, right?
"I am Ja Ung-cheon, the 12th Cult Leader of the Hwanrak Cult."
I also returned the salute and introduced myself.
Twitch.
Upon learning my identity, his eyebrows twitched, but he immediately returned to normal.
"The young lady was so beautiful that I made a mistake. Please forgive me."
As he said that, he handed money to the waiter.
And he looked at me.
He seems to be hinting that since he paid for the repairs as I said, we should end it here.
"Our Jwa-hobeop is indeed a beauty. Very well, I will accept your apology."
At my words, he performed a salute and went outside.
Just as the Five-Whatever-Brothers were about to leave,
I called out to the guy who had tried to swing his sword.
"Hey you."
"What is it? Young Master..."
He upgraded from 'you bastard' to 'Young Master'.
"That old beggar I mentioned earlier. Did he happen to be barefoot and carrying a medicinal herb pouch?"
"That is correct. Do you know that gentleman?"
It's Gwigok Uiseon.
He was here after all.
"I'm asking because I think I might know him. Did you happen to see where he went?"
"Half an hour ago, I saw him at a place selling accessories inside the marketplace over there."
"Thanks. I'll buy you a drink next time."
He bowed to me and left.
As for the drink... I'll definitely buy you one next time.
Thugs who go around raping women need poison, not liquor.
How dare they rape a woman who might have joined our Cult...
I cannot forgive this.
"Waiter. We must be going too. Sorry for the commotion."
I handed him 10 jeon and headed to the place the Five-Whatever-Brothers had told me about.
##
"Welcome. We have many pretty accessories."
The shop owner welcomed us as we entered.
Since a handsome man brought six beautiful women, he probably thought he'd hit the jackpot, so I feel a bit sorry.
"Did an old man with white hair pass by here earlier? Barefoot, carrying a medicinal herb pouch."
"Ah... that, I don't remember..."
"You all, pick one out each."
At my words, Jwa-hobeop and the Heuk-rin-wi excitedly started picking out accessories.
"Oh my, Young Master! I remember now. He asked about a pharmacy and said he needed to find some medicinal herbs, then left."
Money is indeed the answer.
"Thanks. Please ring this up."
I pointed to them, who were already wearing the accessories.
They're fast...
"Yes, that one is 17 nyang... so the total is 103 nyang, but I'll make it 100 nyang for you."
...Expensive.
Still, I checked with Tirsena, and they are all genuine.
I should think about a separate business that could make money later.
I can't rely on Blood Jade Tea forever.
If I keep getting drained like this...
"Thank you, Cult Leader-nim!!"
"Then let's head to the pharmacy."
##
In front of the pharmacy,
"No! I'm telling you, we don't have that."
I ran into a man coming out of the pharmacy with a troubled expression, accompanied by a loud voice.
White hair, barefoot, medicinal herb pouch at his waist.
That's him.
It's definitely Gwigok Uiseon.
"Greetings."
I approached him and performed a fist-and-palm salute.
"Who are you? Do you know this old man?"
A polite tone, unlike his appearance.
"Are you perhaps Gwigok Uiseon-Elder?"
"That is correct."
"I am Ja Ung-cheon, the Cult Leader of the Hwanrak Cult."
He stroked his beard.
"Yes, for what business have you called this old man?"
A slightly wary look.
This gentleman knows about our Cult.
It's only natural to be wary of a cult.
"Actually, we were looking for you to ask for your help."
"Help? I don't know if there's anything I can help with."
"It's a bit difficult to talk here, so perhaps we could drink some tea at an inn..."
He raised his hand to cut me off.
"My apologies. I have work to do, so I don't have time."
Damn... this is troublesome...
"If you are looking for something, we might be able to help."
Jwa-hobeop, who was next to me, stepped forward.
"What I am looking for is not something easily obtained."
"If you could at least tell us what it is, we will do our best. After that, please listen to what we have to say..."
"I am looking for Blue Spirit Moss. In large quantities."
Huh?
That is?
Jwa-hobeop and I made eye contact.
Seo Hong-ryeong, who went to Ghost Snake Valley with us, also had her eyes light up.
"It seems I can help you."
"What..."
"I have quite a lot of Blue Spirit Moss."
He suddenly grabbed my hand.
"Th-that... is that true?"
He must have been incredibly desperate.
"I have no memory of ever telling a lie in my life."
"Oh, oh... thank you, spirits."
Now he kneels and sheds tears.
"This is no time for this. Sell it to this old man. Then I will do whatever you want."
"Very well. It's at the Cult, so let's go together."
"Let's do that. Let's go quickly."
We returned to the Cult with him in his hurry.
#### Service Cut ####
