Chapter 10
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Piercing Sword Sect Luoyang Branch
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"Tch, and here comes the interrupter right at the critical moment."
"……."
"Damn, the fun's spoiled."
Nam Seong-pil clicked his tongue in quiet displeasure at the External Manager's intervention as he sheathed his blade.
I slowly lowered the hand I'd rested on my sword hilt and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
'Whew, I stepped out to settle my King Yama Debt and nearly sparked a war with the Red Dragon Gang.'
If the External Manager hadn't cut in at just the right moment, things really might've turned dicey.
'Dodged a bullet there. What a relief.'
I eased the tension from my rigid face and gave the External Manager a courteous nod.
But his face was flushed beet-red, like a man deep in his cups, and instead of acknowledging me, he unleashed a torrent of irritation.
"Jang, what in the world is all this racket?"
"Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure myself. They came at me out of nowhere, picking a fight..."
"Hah, and that's supposed to be your excuse?"
"It's the honest truth. I know it sounds absurd and pathetic coming from me, but right now..."
"Come on, Jang, let's cut the crap and be straight with each other. Yesterday, today—you keep showing up. Why?"
The External Manager's voice rose sharper with every word.
Hard to say if it was the booze fueling him or the near-bloodshed at the Fragrant Flower Pavilion's front gate—it was anyone's guess.
But one thing was crystal clear.
The friendly External Manager from last night? Nowhere to be found.
"Yesterday you're hunting down the Black Society Leader. Today you drag the Red Dragon Gang Leader here to the gate for a swordfight."
"……."
"Hah, what do you even want? You're not seriously kicking up this fuss at this hour over some casual job tip I tossed out... Or wait, are you dredging up that old debt I owe you, hoping for free drinks at the Fragrant Flower Pavilion?"
His voice dripped with disappointment.
"I never took you for someone that small-minded, Jang... but if you're insisting on collecting it this way..."
"……."
"Fine, whatever. Come on in. I'll pull every string I have—no fancy feast, but enough to eat and drink your fill."
The instant those words left the External Manager's mouth, Nam Seong-pil's eyes flashed and the corner of his lips curled slyly.
The goons standing watch behind him gaped like flies could buzz right in, then broke into sleazy grins.
One look at them, and I knew: Gwak Su-san had orchestrated this whole mess from the jump, banking on that debt the External Manager owed me.
Crunch!
My mood soured fast.
Some two-bit Black Society hack digging into my past?
That part I could swallow.
They ran a pile of legit fronts these days, but at heart, the Black Society was all about shaking down debts.
A deadbeat like me? They'd scrape every last detail from my history and squeeze it dry.
No, what boiled my blood wasn't them grilling me over old dirt or trying to shame me.
It was seeing plain as day: starting with this Fragrant Flower Pavilion stunt, they'd set their sights not on me, but on everyone around me.
Hunting down folks I'd helped purely out of goodwill, no strings attached, and wringing some payback out of them one way or another.
Forcing me into dogshit spots like today, where I couldn't even snap back with a sharp word and just stood there like an idiot.
That pissed me off—at myself most of all.
"Uhahahahaha!"
"Us lowlifes knocking back drinks at the Fragrant Flower Pavilion!"
"All thanks to our wise Leader—we're living the high life!"
"Come on, boys, let's drink till our noses twist off!"
Nam Seong-pil and his crew followed the External Manager's lead into the Fragrant Flower Pavilion.
"……."
I couldn't bring myself to trail after them. Instead, I stood alone at the grand gate, staring off at the distant peaks.
A tide of tangled emotions churned inside, rooting my feet in place.
That's when the gatekeeper sidled up, eyeing me warily.
"Uh... Jang?"
"……."
"The External Manager asked me to pass a message to you."
"...To me?"
"Yes."
He gave a slight nod, steadied his breath, then delivered it in the External Manager's stern cadence.
"The debt from that day is squared clean away with what happened tonight..."
"……."
"He sincerely hopes you'll shake off those burdens on your shoulders soon and reclaim your spot as the rising star who rocked Luoyang back in the day."
"……."
"And who knows when it'll be, but if you're still tied to the Fragrant Flower Pavilion when that day comes, he'll make sure to invite you proper, he said."
Maybe it was the spot-on impression, or learning his real feelings—either way, the knot in my chest loosened a touch.
I cupped my fists in a deep, respectful salute to the gatekeeper.
"Tell the External Manager this: I won't let his words slip by. I'll carve them deep, sort my mess out quick, and come back standing tall. Make sure he hears it."
With that, I turned on my heel and headed for the branch office. My legs, heavy as lead before, now felt worlds lighter.
Meanwhile, as Jang So-cheon hurried away from the Fragrant Flower Pavilion...
Nam Seong-pil's gang entered the annex and froze, eyes bulging at the banquet spread fit to snap the table legs.
"G-Good lord..."
"Brother, pinch my cheek. Dream or wide awake?"
"Beats me. How's a simple External Manager pulling this off?"
"This ain't just anywhere—Fragrant Flower Pavilion, Luoyang's snobbiest spot. Goes with the hype; guy's got real pull. Don't sweat the details—eat, drink, be merry."
"Mm, you're right. When's the next time we score something like this?"
"Ability's got a point. Thinking can wait; grub first."
Truth be told, Nam Seong-pil was every bit as dazed as his men.
Word was, annex access needed the Pavilion Lord's personal nod.
No public checklist on qualifications, but glance at the guests? One shared trait: apex predators in their arenas.
Not always bookworms or kung fu gods—master smiths who bent steel like dough, underworld fixers with coast-to-coast rep, ink masters whose brushes bled fame.
Top dogs from any walk, drifting in and out. Stuck the rumor: pavilion-only for the elite.
Now some Luoyang shadows mid-tier like Nam Seong-pil plops down there? Dragging his whole posse?
Leak that, and it'd scar the Fragrant Flower Pavilion's prestige—maybe spark petty beefs.
Yet the Pavilion Lord's face? Not a flicker of concern.
The squirmy one was the External Manager, who'd dropped to his knees begging her to host his crew—for the sake of his awkward benefactor.
The Pavilion Lord sipped her steaming fresh-blended tea with deliberate grace.
She seemed taken with it, letting it linger on her tongue, savoring the faint bloom of fragrance.
Her poise was elegance incarnate, radiating an aura words failed to capture.
The External Manager wouldn't dream of disturbing her reverie, perched rigidly in place.
Some fifteen minutes ticked by, steam fading to wisps above her cup.
Clink.
She set it down with a sharp ring, shattering the hush.
"External Manager."
"Yes, Pavilion Lord."
"Do you find it excessive, granting them the annex?"
Her voice, crystalline as a mountain spring, matched her lofty air. He swallowed hard.
Not from her heart-stopping beauty—no.
She never minced words, and relished scholarly back-and-forth like a poet over wine.
To parry without a scolding, you had to parse the subtext swift and nail her drift.
"Er..."
No easy reply came. Deep down, "excessive" was the only honest take.
He'd bet the whole staff agreed.
But with her broaching it post-decision...
She wanted "No."
Easy answer? Hardly. You'd unpack the reasoning next.
Lame excuse, and he'd be out on his ear.
Her creed: grunts grind tasks; bosses brood deep.
So he bit the bullet on the "wrong" call.
As he geared up to justify—
She smiled faintly. "I agree it's excessive."
"If even you see it that way, Pavilion Lord, why approve?"
She paused at his pushback, then opened measured.
"Same reason as you, External Manager."
"...Same reason?"
"I owe that man a debt. Though who knows if he even recalls it right."
The Pavilion Lord—with everything at her fingertips—indebted to Jang So-cheon?
Jaw-dropper alone; but he might've blanked it entirely?
Curiosity clawed, but he bit it back—old jianghu wisdom: pry too hard, invite hell.
She dipped her chin in approval at his tact, waving him off.
"My thanks for humoring my overreach today."
He bowed till his nose neared knees, then slipped from the inner chambers.
The Pavilion Lord stared at his empty seat, lost in yesteryear, before rising and stepping out.
Eyes on the annex's raucous din, she murmured low.
"I deemed our bond broken, scrubbed you from my heart... yet heaven grants this handmaid one more shot, it seems."
Her tone, melancholy as spring rain, lingered on faded joys. Resolve hardened her gaze; she commanded the void.
Gone the jade-on-silver lilt—now ice from the North Sea's bite.
"Bi-yeong. From tonight, shadow Brother Jang's every step. Report direct to me."
"……."
"And in three days, dig up every scrap on Black Society and Red Dragon Gang operations. Bring it all."