Incognito Royal Inspector Makes Her Entrance!
Merchants have to be good talkers by nature.
Because to survive, you gotta sell your wares, and if the price or quality isn't overwhelmingly superior, it's ultimately your mouth that decides the day's sales.
So when Hayeon explained what happened yesterday, it was so straightforward even someone with a brain as simple as mine—Namgoong Juhee, second to none in short-sightedness—could grasp it immediately.
To sum it up:
1. The Shinyangmun punk you met yesterday tried to fuck you.
2. Shinyangmun's in bed with Wudang Sect.
3. Decide if you're smashing just Shinyangmun or taking it all the way to Wudang over this.
"Fuckin' bastards."
That was my one-word curse after hearing the whole story.
And who could blame me? Sure, my body's a drop-dead beauty, but my mind's still all man. Hearing I'd almost gotten knocked up by some dude made my skin crawl and bile rise in my throat.
"Hehe, don't worry, Hee-ah. Your girl Hayeon already wiped those scum off the face of the earth."
Hayeon flashed a sweet smile and lifted the head in her hand to show me. She was clearly fishing for points, but I just barely furrowed my brow.
A beauty grinning while holding a severed head... it was kinda off-putting. Didn't peg her as normal either.
"Uh... thanks. That was a close one for real."
"Hehe, Hee-ah. You gonna thank me with words only? Can't let that slide—merchant's blood and all."
"Fine. What do you want?"
"What I want... what I want..."
Hayeon suddenly zoned out, her face flushing red as she waved her hands frantically. What the hell was she thinking?
I gave her a pitiful look, and only then did she snap out of it. Getting that gaze from me must've shocked her good.
"Hehe, I'll tell you later. For now, I'm curious about your take, Hee-ah. Shinyangmun? Or Wudang Sect? How far we going?"
"Why even ask? Smash 'em both, obviously."
No hesitation whatsoever.
Hayeon's eyes widened just a fraction.
"You sure that's wise?"
"Huh?"
"Wudang Sect. They're Hobuk's flagship faction—one of the Nine Great Sects."
"Yeah, so?"
Hayeon shut her mouth.
So? What does she think the Nine Great Sects even are? I knew she wasn't the thoughtful type, but this level of recklessness...
She was about to say something when—
"You think you can just lop off the tail and run? Those Shinyang bastards have been living high off Wudang's name all this time. They gotta answer for it too."
Her heart skipped a beat at that.
In her casual attitude, she'd forgotten—but this was who I was.
If she prioritized her own safety above all, she never would've picked a fight with the Black Kitchen back in Hefei. Smashing up gambling dens and brothels wasn't about justice—what else could it be?
And she never backed down from the strong, so I'd benefited too. Facing down Kang Musa's heavenly might without flinching—that's what a true hero looks like, she'd thought.
If I'd heard that, I'd have called it a huge misunderstanding. I just did it for the lulz.
Blissfully unaware, Hayeon smiled and nodded.
"Hehe, as expected of you, Hee-ah. The more I see, the more amazed I am."
"Huh? At what?"
"Exactly. Wudang can't stay out of this."
"Right? Gonna carve 'em up good. What about you, Yeon-ah?"
"Carve 'em up...? You're so brutal. But yeah, I agree."
Hayeon quietly mulled it over.
No matter my temperament, I was no hero. If anything, I was closer to villainy.
She knew it well.
But she wasn't ashamed. It was precisely because she was a villain that certain moves were possible.
"Heroes have their ways, merchants have ours."
"Huh? What's that sudden nonsense?"
"Nothing. Shall we clean up Shinyangmun first? Takes about three days from here to Wudang."
"Oh yeah. Gotta crush those Shinyang fuckers too. You wanna rest here, Yeon-ah?"
"Hehe, where the needle goes, the thread follows, right? I'm coming with."
From ancient times, "needle and thread" was a metaphor for husband and wife. Some say it comes from the thread's need for the needle; others, from how the thread slips into the hole like copulation.
But no way I'd know that. Clutching my Noksu sword, eyes bulging with intent to raze Shinyangmun, I was all fired up. Hayeon watched and chuckled softly.
Shinyangmunju Bokun was a shrewd man.
Building Shinyangbang from nothing proved it, as did swiftly rebranding as an upright faction once established.
But shrewd doesn't mean good.
Bok Dong-su dragging in and killing women daily? Impossible without Bokun's say-so—and he indulged too.
He kept four first-rate warriors as personal guards. Bodyguards in name, private soldiers in truth. They killed the displeasing and manipulated opinion on Shinyangmun. Plenty of outsiders and locals died by their hands.
Thus, Shinyangmun was righteous in name only—same dirty deeds as Shinyangbang.
Yet Bokun got elder treatment, not thug. Gotta love that "righteous" label.
"Hm... Dong-su still not back?"
"No, sir. Yesterday he bragged about bringing back that Namgoong wench, then nothing."
"Tch... Coulda just grabbed any Namgoong bitch and been done. Stubborn fool."
Bokun snorted and eyed his guards.
"When Dong-su returns, tell him we've got business at Wudang Mountain. Prep time."
"The Hobuk Branch, sir?"
"Yeah. Time to get started."
The Hobuk Branch was a sparring tournament for Hobuk's young experts. Prizes: a Taecheong Dan and an audience with Wudang's leader. Few chased it, though. Junior matches hinged on who popped the best elixirs. Wudang's top disciple always won.
"Dong-su ain't winning shit, but we need face time."
"I'll relay it when he returns."
"Good. Ugh... where's the steward? Piles of work here."
Bokun's brows furrowed.
Word of Bok Dong-su and the steward's deaths hadn't reached him yet. If he'd heard some crazy bitch named Namgoong Juhee might storm in, it wouldn't stop at a frown. He'd probably line up disciples as meat shields and bolt. Then play righteous elder in some new village, peak realm or not.
But the dead tell no tales.
So he lounged, reviewing reports, as Juhee and Hayeon closed in.
"Uh, Clan Leader?"
A tentative voice from outside as he worked. Barely audible—Bokun hated interruptions during business, throwing fits over it. But ignore urgency, and it escalated to beatings disguised as spars. Servants had no choice.
"Fuck! Who's out there?! I said no calling during work!"
"W-well... a guest insists on seeing you..."
"Fucking idiot..."
Bokun stormed out himself. Rough words, but clan leader meeting guests?
Slap!
"Fuck! Guests come every day! Handle it yourself!"
His temper was the issue. Unless top-tier status, his elitism screamed, "Me, clan leader, wasting time on peasants?"
"B-but she insists she's someone important..."
"Ha! Important? Says she's important, so she is? Then I'm the emperor! Boom, emperor now?"
Blasphemous words that could brand him a rebel.
Yet no one stopped him. In Shinyangmun, Bokun was emperor.
Unless some inspector whipped off a mask...
"Incognito royal inspector appears!"
"...?"
All eyes blinked toward the voice. A secret inspector here?
Utter confusion.
"Can you believe these traitorous fucks, Yeon-ah?"
"They deserve death."
"Right?"
There stood a lunatic claiming inspector status and a smiling woman. Female inspectors? Never heard. And that glaring red hair? Crazy bitches. Bokun spread his arms and bellowed.
"What're you waiting for?! Drag those wenches to their knees before me!"
He didn't say kill—yet. They were stunning. Fun first.
Whether it'd go as planned? Doubtful.