Chapter 288: Geum Sohwa
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 288: Geum Sohwa
I looked at the man and woman standing next to Mujin.
I'd never seen either of them before, but I had a good idea who they were.
The man on the right was clearly from the Wudang Sect. The long robe he wore was identical to Mujin's.
'Is he somewhere between forty and fifty?'
His level of mastery was that of a fully realized Transcendent master, similar to my own.
He had a generally kind face, but the deep furrows between his brows were filled with anger.
Probably because of Mujin.
That wasn't my problem, so I looked away.
'Is that woman... the proprietor of Monghyeonru?'
When our eyes met, the woman smiled with her eyes.
It was a captivating smile, full of allure, just as you'd expect from a proprietor.
Moreover, her daring dress, which left her shoulders completely bare, instantly captured my attention. The way she posed, as if to emphasize her ample chest, fanned the flames of the lust already simmering within me from the fierce battle.
“No.”
As I was staring intently at the proprietor, Cheon Yeo-hwa covered my eyes.
Squeeze—
“...You're pressing a little hard.”
“It's just your imagination.”
“No, it actually hurts—”
“It's your imagination.”
“...”
Having no choice, I leaned against Cheon Yeo-hwa and stayed quiet.
“May I ask for your names?”
I could feel them looking at me strangely, but there was nothing I could do.
Thap.
I heard the sound of someone making a cupped fist salute.
“I am Myeongjin, a First Generation Disciple of the Wudang Sect. I am this troublemaker's senior martial brother. In the Murim, I am known as the Smiling Sword of Fortune.”
“I am Geum Sohwa, the proprietor of Monghyeonru.”
Cheon Yeo-hwa removed her hands.
I gave a slight nod, greeting them both.
“My name is Kang Hyun-woo. Please forgive me for not being able to offer a formal greeting under the circumstances.”
To be honest, my condition wasn't that bad.
I was just too lazy to move; I could have easily performed a cupped fist salute.
“So, Great Hero Smiling Sword, and you, Proprietor, what brings you here?”
“Hah, well...”
Myeongjin let out a short sigh at my question.
“I came to Seoyu County under the Sect Leader's orders to protect and supervise Mujin. But to think this troublemaker would set foot in a gisaeng house...”
He glared at Mujin, grinding his teeth.
“I-It's a misunderstanding!”
Mujin hurriedly pleaded his innocence.
“I only came here to wipe out the remnants of the Iron Snake Gang! I had no other intentions, I swear!”
“Then why are the gisaengs all talking about you? Can you swear on the name of Wudang that you didn't harbor even a shred of lustful intent while looking at them?”
“Th-That's...”
Myeongjin's contorted face was so menacing he looked less like a Daoist master and more like an Evil Demon Rakshasa.
He unleashed the aura of a Transcendent master as he stared down Mujin.
“Once this is over and we return to the sect, I'll personally train you just like old times. You have that to look forward to.”
“S-Senior Brother! Please, not that!”
Mujin, his face pale, looked at me, desperately pleading for help, but I pointedly ignored him.
How old is he? He should be able to take care of himself by now.
“And you, Proprietor?”
“I came to assist Daoist Master Myeongjin, as he was asking about Daoist Master Mujin's whereabouts.”
“You came yourself?”
Monghyeonru was, without a doubt, the number one gisaeng house in Seoyu County.
With dozens of servants, including the innkeepers, it was hard to believe the proprietor herself would make a move.
Geum Sohwa smiled as she answered my question.
“Seoyu County is currently in chaos due to the earthquake that struck in the middle of the night. Since the epicenter was close to Monghyeonru, I thought it was my duty as the proprietor to personally assess the situation.”
“An earthquake...”
The earthquake Geum Sohwa mentioned was likely an aftershock from my battle with Wang Chwiong.
The fight had been so intense that I'd had to reinforce the ground with the earth element, so it was only natural that the people of Seoyu County would have felt the resulting tremors.
I explained to Geum Sohwa that the earthquake had occurred while I was fighting a master from the Iron Snake Gang.
For the record, I didn't mention Wang Chwiong's name.
If it got out that I was the one who killed him, the Black Crow Sect or the Twelve Demonic Sects might send people after me seeking revenge.
Of course, as long as I had Mana Detection, assassins wouldn't be a problem.
The problem would be if they sent a master on par with or even stronger than Wang Chwiong.
While it wouldn't be easy for them to send such a powerful master into the territory of the Orthodox Faction, Wang Chwiong's presence was a precedent, so I couldn't completely rule out the possibility.
“To think something like that happened...”
Geum Sohwa wore a serious expression after hearing my story.
Seeing her like that, I inwardly scoffed.
“There's something I'd like to ask you, Proprietor.”
“Yes?”
From the way she was lost in thought, subtly accentuating her chest, to the way she turned her head at my call.
Every single movement was laced with a dark, hidden intent.
Truly the proprietor of a gisaeng house.
“Why is there a tunnel like this beneath Monghyeonru? And why was the Iron Snake Gang hiding here?”
This world doesn't have proper construction equipment.
There's a limit to what manpower can achieve, yet for all that, the tunnel was quite wide and deep.
It was a project that would have taken dozens of men several years to complete, but the Iron Snake Gang had only been settled in Seoyu County for two years.
“That is...”
Geum Sohwa trailed off, glancing nervously between me and Myeongjin.
“...I'm sorry, but I don't think I can speak about it here.”
The way she kept eyeing Myeongjin and Mujin from the Wudang Sect was practically an advertisement that screamed, 'I've done something illegal.'
Myeongjin seemed to have noticed as well. After a moment's thought, he stepped forward.
It seemed he intended to turn a blind eye, given that she had helped him find Mujin.
Seeing this, Mujin cautiously lowered his arms.
“I heard you became sworn brothers with my junior.”
“Well... something like that.”
Myeongjin gave a friendly smile and took a small wooden box from his robes.
“In my experience, being complacent just because you're young always leads to trouble later. I recommend you treat your internal injuries as quickly as possible.”
Tiring—
[Information on the newly acquired item is being collected.]
[Taecheongyosangdan (太淸療傷丹)
Grade: Epic
A high-quality injury-healing pill manufactured by the Wudang Sect.
It rapidly aids in the recovery of internal injuries.
It also has a minor effect of expelling impure energy accumulated in the meridians.]
“On behalf of my junior brother, I offer you my sincerest thanks. If it weren't for your help, Daoist Kang, this troublemaker would have charged into the Iron Snake Gang's den alone, only to be dragged out by me, beaten to a pulp.”
“He's not that thoughtless...”
I cut myself off mid-sentence.
Anyone else, maybe not. But with Mujin, it was a very real possibility.
Myeongjin gave a bitter smile.
“He might not have even made it out alive. Not even if I had done everything in my power to help him.”
His expression was somewhat dark.
He seemed to have faintly sensed the aftershocks from the battle with Wang Chwiong.
“If the Sect Leader were here, he would have spared no praise, calling you a great fortune for the Orthodox Faction of Murim.”
“You flatter me.”
Myeongjin smiled lightly and asked me a few things—where I was from, if I had a title, who my master was, and so on.
I answered with a suitable mix of lies to avoid any future problems.
As our short conversation was ending, Myeongjin was about to call Mujin when he caught sight of him secretly lowering his arms.
“That little brat...!”
Mujin froze on the spot.
I imagine he'll be disciplined to within an inch of his life for this when he gets back to the Wudang Sect.
Not that it's any of my business.
Myeongjin cleared his throat and composed himself. He offered me a formal cupped fist salute.
“Once again, I thank you. Your accomplishments will serve as good motivation for my junior brother. After all, he is the child who will one day lead the future of the Wudang Sect.”
'...Child?' With that build?
“There is a mountain of things I'd still like to ask, but you need to recover from your injuries, and the night is late, so we shall take our leave.”
At Myeongjin's glance, Mujin shot to his feet like a soldier who'd been snapped to attention.
“There's something I'd like to ask you about this incident. Would you have some time tomorrow afternoon?”
I nodded lightly at Myeongjin's suggestion, and we agreed to meet at a nearby inn.
After the two of them left, only three of us remained in the tunnel, including me.
I moved away from Cheon Yeo-hwa's embrace and approached Geum Sohwa.
“Now, may I have an answer to my question?”
“I will tell you if you promise to keep it a secret.”
I looked at her and let out a small laugh.
“Do you, Proprietor, trust a verbal promise?”
“...A wise answer to a foolish question.”
A faint smile spread across Geum Sohwa's lips. She tucked a stray strand of hair back into place and continued.
“All I can say is that this tunnel was indeed dug by Monghyeonru, and the Iron Snake Gang happened to discover and use it.”
“I heard you were on bad terms with the Iron Snake Gang. Why did you just let them use it?”
“...Because we were being blackmailed.”
“So Monghyeonru, which has refused the Iron Snake Gang's demands for tribute all this time, caved to blackmail?”
“We can't rely on the authorities' help forever—”
“I wonder.”
I cut her off.
“Was it that you couldn't get help from the authorities, or that you didn't need it? Were you ever really at odds with the Iron Snake Gang in the first place?”
Hearing my words, Geum Sohwa fell silent.
A heavy silence descended, and the look in her eyes as she stared at me did a complete one-eighty.
“Hah...”
The gentle smile and the goodwill that had been visible in her eyes were gone.
An atmosphere as cold as a blade emanated from her as she glared at me.
“Young Master Kang, what exactly are you trying to say?”
She was still using honorifics, but her voice was utterly cold.
The air was thick with tension, as if a single wrong move would lead to harsh words, but I simply held my smile and looked at Geum Sohwa.
“Seoyu County is quite a fascinating town.”
“Pardon?”
“For a mere proprietor, not even a bodyguard, to be a Peak Realm master.”
“?!”
My casually thrown-out words sent ripples through Geum Sohwa's eyes, and the color drained from her face.
As she stood there, clearly flustered, I continued in a cold voice.
“You asked what I was trying to say?”
Even Myeongjin, a Transcendent master, hadn't been able to discern Geum Sohwa's level of mastery, despite standing right next to her.
Even I wouldn't have known she practiced martial arts if not for my Mana Detection.
As far as I knew, there was only one martial art that could conceal one's energy so completely.
“On the contrary, I'm the one who should be asking the questions. What is your relationship with Old Monster Mangong, and why has a proprietor like you learned the martial arts of an assassin?”