Chapter 61: Demonic Arts (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: Demonic Arts (1)
"Proprietor! Get out here...!"
At Seo-jun’s shout—which vaguely resembled a Lion’s Roar—the entertainment pavilion erupted into a flurry of activity.
Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction and tapped Chun-bong on the shoulder.
"Keep your Stealth Qi Art active. You got that, right?"
To Seo-jun’s eyes, her technique was at a decent level, but one could never be too sure. Who knew if someone possessed a bizarre martial art capable of seeing right through her Azure Cloud Divine Art?
Chun-bong nodded, her brow furrowed deeply.
"I get it, but... Sigh..."
"What’s wrong, our dear Chun-bong?"
"It’s embarrassing, you jerk! Would it kill you to just walk in normally?!"
"Yep."
It would. He had no desire to drag things out.
"Look. They’re coming to get us already."
A group of bruisers came rushing out of the pavilion.
Seo-jun smirked and cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Just so you know, I’m entering 'Martial Arts Expert Mode' from now on."
"What are you talking about, man?"
Chun-bong shot him a bizarre look, but he ignored it.
...He also did his best to ignore Namgung Su-ah’s sparkling gaze.
"Who do you think you are?!"
"How dare you cause a scene at a place of business!"
They were right, so he had nothing to say in his defense.
However, a true martial arts expert didn't care about such trivialities. That was simply what it meant to be an expert.
"Begone...!"
Seo-jun barked, releasing his pressure.
Having reached the Super Peak Realm, his Upper Dantian was open—albeit crudely—and his aura was far more than ordinary men could handle.
"Ugh...!"
As if they had just heard the roar of a tiger, their legs gave out, terror filling their eyes.
Seeing the bruisers trembling, Seo-jun felt a pang of guilt. He coughed awkwardly before speaking.
"Bring forth your proprietor. Surely there is a branch manager here. Or you may simply guide me inside."
"That is..."
While the bruisers hesitated, a woman walked out from the pavilion.
Even seeing grown men cowering like children, she calmly bowed her head. She looked Seo-jun straight in the eye and spoke.
"The Guild Master says to bring you in."
At her words, Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong and grinned.
His expression clearly said, See? but Chun-bong wasn't in the right state of mind to care.
She sent a Voice Transmission.
[ Is that really how you're going to talk? It's giving me goosebumps. ]
[ It’s how a martial arts expert talks. ]
[ It’s hard for me to even listen to. ]
[ Why? Everyone in the Murim talks like this. ]
[ It’s awkward. And it’s just... weird! Lee Seo-jun doesn't talk like that...! ]
[ What. ]
But it was too late to take it back.
Seo-jun stubbornly maintained his persona and followed the woman into the pavilion.
Was this to be expected of Henan?
This place was on a completely different level compared to the Red Moon Pavilion in the back alleys. Its scale and atmosphere were extraordinary by any measure.
If they had this much money, their martial power would be proportional. There was a high possibility of experts being present.
The thought, Experts? In the Hao Sect? crossed his mind, but there was no harm in being cautious.
"Young Hero."
"Yes?"
Namgung Su-ah whispered into Seo-jun’s ear. Since she was taller than Chun-bong, she only had to stand on her tiptoes for her lips to reach the ear of the now-taller Seo-jun.
"This girl's heart is thumping at the Young Hero's gallant appearance."
"Ex-excuse me...?"
Seo-jun glanced at the woman walking ahead and sent a Voice Transmission.
Honestly, what he wanted to say most was, To be fair, calling yourself "this girl" is a bit much, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
[ ...Sister, do you realize your tastes are really weird? ]
[ What’s wrong with my tastes? ]
[ You like being hit. ]
[ That’s a misunderstanding. ]
[ I don't think it is. ]
[ I’m telling you the truth. I’ll prove it to you tonight. ]
"Huh?"
The sound escaped his lips, prompting the woman walking ahead to turn around.
"Is something the matter?"
"...It is nothing. Continue the way."
Whew. Exhaling a sigh, Seo-jun hurried after the woman.
How many flights of stairs had they climbed?
Just as he started wondering if the people here had healthy knees, they finally reached the top floor of the pavilion.
Standing before a sliding paper door, the woman bowed and spoke in a quiet voice.
"Guild Master, I have brought them."
"Let them in."
The woman opened the door and gestured inside.
Seo-jun gave a slight nod and stepped in, scanning his surroundings.
The atmosphere was dim, the decorations restrained. Everything was deliberately designed to make the silhouette seated behind the bamboo screen at the far end of the room appear as someone of great importance.
"I did not expect a visit in this manner, Gwang-a-rang. And are those beside you the Faceless Snow Sword and the Flower of Namgung?"
The voice came from behind the thin screen, belonging to a man whose age was impossible to guess.
"Ho-oh."
Faceless Snow Sword? Was that Chun-bong’s title? She must have earned it during the Martial Arts Tournament.
Currently, Chun-bong wasn't wearing a veil.
In fact, it was safe to say no one knew her true face. If they did recognize her, it would be because they had seen right through her Azure Cloud Divine Art—something a veil couldn't hide anyway.
So, if Chun-bong were to get a title now, it would probably be something like 'Cutie-Pie Geum Chun-bong.'
Faceless, huh? Whose bright idea was it to slap that onto her title just because she covered her face?
"Since you're acting like you know us, you must be confident in your information. Good."
Maintaining his expert persona, Seo-jun walked toward the silhouette.
The hidden presences in the surroundings flinched. The woman who had guided them also tensed up as she watched Seo-jun.
"It would be best if you did not approach any further. The mechanical trap formation does not discriminate between people."
"Shall we test that?"
"Do you intend to cause a scene for no reason?"
"I certainly could."
"If you came to buy information, stay quiet, make your purchase, and leave."
Stopping in his tracks, Seo-jun fiddled with the wooden plaque hidden in his robe.
Would it be better to show it or not?
Given the situation, showing it didn't seem like it would yield much benefit. In that case, there was no need to hand them free information, even if it was something they might already know.
"Then..."
"And that way of speaking. It is unpleasant to the ear, so I would appreciate it if you stopped."
"What."
"It is painful to listen to a child mimicking an old man."
"That’s mean."
"Sigh... So, what is it? Do you need information on Spirit Herbs?"
"Correct! Do you know anything?"
Silence hung in the room for a moment.
The silhouette behind the screen let out a deep sigh and picked something up.
"There is almost no accurate information regarding Spirit Herbs. By the time rumors reach the ears of the Hao Sect, the herbs are either in extremely dangerous locations or have already been claimed by someone else."
"You're honest."
"Why hide what everyone already knows? With the Flower of Namgung watching with wide eyes behind you, such tricks wouldn't work anyway."
Seo-jun looked back to see Namgung Su-ah smiling brightly and waving her hand.
After waving back, Seo-jun turned his attention back to the silhouette.
"And? Is there absolutely nothing?"
"If we limit it to this vicinity, there is one piece of uncertain information and one piece of certain information."
"Oh. What’s the certain one?"
"Is the Shaolin Temple not nearby? Go and ask them for a Great Restoration Pill."
"Will they give it to me?"
"Would they?"
"Then why did you say it?"
"...Never mind."
The silhouette waved something in his hand. It looked like a scroll.
"This is the real information. Keep in mind that the Hao Sect does not take responsibility for its authenticity."
"Oh."
"That will be one gold tael."
"Oh?"
"...What now."
"It’s not that expensive."
One gold tael was roughly ten silver taels. It was a fair amount of money, but incredibly cheap for information on a Spirit Herb.
There was likely a reason for that.
"Deal. Let's go with that."
As Seo-jun nodded, the woman who had guided them approached and held out her hand.
Seo-jun reached into his robe and pulled out his coin purse.
Let's see...
He had been spending money without much thought lately, and the purse had grown quite thin. Considering the maintenance costs for Chun-bong’s chubby cheeks, he really needed to earn some money soon.
Clink—
He handed ten silver taels to the woman. She stared at them, did some quick mental math, and then nodded.
Soon, the Guild Master tucked the scroll into a mechanism, and it dropped from the ceiling right above Seo-jun’s head.
"Is that all?"
"Unless you require anything else."
Nodding, Seo-jun took a step forward.
"What...!"
Then another step, and another.
Exactly after his third step, the floor gave way, and a barrage of arrows and needles fired from all directions.
"Aha, so this is what it feels like?"
Seo-jun leaped, blooming plum blossoms beneath his feet. He enveloped both hands in internal energy, imbued with the mental imagery of White River Returning to the Ocean.
As he spun his body and spread his internal energy wide, the projectiles were caught by the flowing energy and harmlessly fell away.
Landing safely at the edge of the newly formed hole in the floor, Seo-jun looked down.
The pit was filled with spears and blades; falling in definitely would have hurt. The way their edges gleamed suggested they were coated in poison, too.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
At the voice, he turned around to find that a group of martial artists had appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them.
A cold tension filled the air.
Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah were staring blankly at Seo-jun with bewildered expressions.
"Uh... I was just curious what the mechanical trap formation felt like?"
"...Do you have any idea how much that costs?"
"Does it cost a lot?"
"It’s a money pit."
"Oops."
Seo-jun slapped his forehead.
The Guild Master watched Seo-jun with a tense gaze. Just seeing him effortlessly neutralize the trap formation proved he was a high-level expert.
They might have money, but the Hao Sect was still the Hao Sect. Knowing how difficult it would be to stop an expert of that caliber, the Guild Master couldn't help but feel nervous.
Still, he didn't let it show on his face. That was the only bluff a weakling could put up against the strong.
"This doesn't seem to operate purely mechanically. It feels like Qi is involved, but it’s cruder than I thought."
"A higher-grade trap formation is impossible even for the Henan branch. It’s not just about the money; even if you have the funds, they aren't easily installed."
"Aha."
Seo-jun placed his hand on the floor and flowed his internal energy into it.
He didn't know much about mechanical trap formations, but it felt like the mechanism would run much smoother if he just tweaked a few parts.
"Hmm... maybe like this?"
Tap.
As Seo-jun touched a specific spot, a sword stuck at the bottom of the pit glowed with a faint Qi and shot upward like a bolt of light.
Crunch—!
Watching the sword pierce cleanly through the ceiling of the pavilion, Seo-jun looked back at the Guild Master.
"How is it?"
"How did you do that...?"
"Skillfully?"
"I see... Now I understand why your title is Gwang-a-rang."
"What, you jerk?"
And so it went.
* * *
After inspecting the mechanism, the Guild Master let out an exclamation followed by a hollow laugh.
"I don't know whether to thank you or be angry."
"I'd prefer a thank you, if possible."
"Good grief. Fine, thank you. I didn't think the performance of the trap formation could improve this much."
In terms of monetary value, his casual tweak was worth heaps of gold. It was a level of performance that might not even be achievable with money alone.
"You martial artists always draw your swords first if a conversation doesn't go your way. I installed the trap formation after being burned by those idiots a few times, but even after being warned, a whole wagonload of them still charged in. I truly wonder why they even have heads, and how they've survived this long with that level of intelligence..."
It seemed the Guild Master had a lot of pent-up frustration.
"...I've talked too much. Anyway, thank you. My lifespan has likely been extended a bit."
"Hey, don't mention it. Let's call it a bonus for the smooth transaction."
"Sigh..."
The Guild Master let out a long breath.
"This is on the house."
"Oh?"
Another scroll dropped from above.
As Seo-jun caught it, the Guild Master spoke.
"As long as you are a martial artist, this should be quite helpful. It seems a war is about to break out between the Black Lotus Union and the Murim Alliance soon. It’s nothing grand, but there is some information regarding the conflict written inside."