The Slave Market?
Seo Jun rummaged through his memories at the unfamiliar term. It's a slave market. So these bastards secretly capture people and sell them as slaves too.
Having finished his business, Ha Jung moved to the side of the woman lying on the bed. He hastily stripped off his clothes and collapsed on top of her.
"Your bewitching figure still sets my heart racing today, Chu Hyang."
Chu Hyang deployed every seductive trick she knew to inflame Ha Jung's desires. At first she had been nothing more than one of the slaves he had captured. But after he caught sight of her beauty by chance and took her as a concubine, their relationship had gradually transformed into a symbiotic partnership. She now enjoyed wealth and status by leveraging his power.
"Aigoo~ Your manly presence always gets me excited too, husband~"
Ha Jung proudly thrust forward his thin, short member that looked like two thumbs pressed together. Seo Jun barely managed to choke back the laughter threatening to burst from his throat.
"Get ready. Today I'll send you to heaven once more."
"Aigoo~ Husband, you're too much~"
What kind of confidence is that?
Now naked, Chu Hyang spread her legs so Ha Jung could enter her. "Husband~ Hurry and come inside me~"
Positioning himself between her thighs, Ha Jung pushed his member into her pussy.
Squish.
"Haaang~"
With his cock buried inside, Ha Jung began frantically pumping his hips.
"Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup!"
"Haah~ Haah~ Haah~ Haah~"
Chu Hyang's moans spilled out in time with Ha Jung's short, panting breaths.
Is she actually moaning? That expression looks completely fake.
From his vantage point above, Seo Jun could see no trace of genuine arousal on Chu Hyang's face. She was clearly avoiding Ha Jung's eyes and simply matching her sounds to his rhythm.
"Hup! Hup! Ugh!"
"Haaaaang~"
Roughly two minutes after penetration, Ha Jung let out a short groan and thrust his hips forward with all his strength between Chu Hyang's legs. Seo Jun clearly saw the way she frowned slightly and let out a quiet sigh.
That was quick.
After their brief encounter, Ha Jung fell asleep right on top of her. Chu Hyang remained still for a moment to avoid waking him, then pushed him aside, rose from the bed, and muttered under her breath once she had moved a short distance away.
"Premature bastard!"
Standing naked beneath the beam where Seo Jun hid, she hissed in a low voice, "I'm sure that bastard has a separate hiding place for his real valuables, but he never told me where. I need to clean him out quickly and move on somewhere else so I can live in proper luxury."
Just as Seo Jun had sensed earlier, it was obvious the truly important items were stored elsewhere. Chu Hyang seemed to have been searching for that location as well; she kept glancing around the room, scanning every corner one more time.
This woman isn't exactly a saint either.
After another quick look around, Chu Hyang yawned sleepily, lay down beside Ha Jung, and soon fell asleep.
Once a considerable amount of time had passed and both were deeply asleep, Seo Jun quietly dropped from the beam and stood before the safe he had spotted earlier. With a soft clank it opened, and he swiftly transferred the valuable-looking items into his subspace.
After clearing out the first safe, he began wandering slowly around the room.
There has to be a real vault somewhere.
He examined every nook and cranny.
Why do I keep sensing something from the bed?
No matter how many times he circled the room, the feeling persistently drew him to the bed where the pair lay sleeping.
I need to check there. How should I handle this?
Hmm. They might scream, so I'd better subdue them first and then wake them.
He tore Ha Jung's discarded pants into several long strips. Approaching silently, he first gagged the man's mouth, then quickly bound his hands and feet. He repeated the process with Chu Hyang, then forced both of them to their knees on the floor while he sat on the edge of the bed.
Their eyes widened in shock at the sudden calamity. They twisted and squirmed, trying to loosen the knots.
"Stay quiet. Make noise and I'll chop you down."
The axe spun rapidly in Seo Jun's hand. The two immediately fell silent.
"Hey. Where's the Ha clan's secret vault?"
As he asked, Seo Jun watched Ha Jung's eyes carefully. The kneeling man's gaze flickered past Seo Jun's shoulder, then began trembling and darting left and right.
It's here.
He tapped the floor beneath the bed lightly with the axe handle. Ha Jung's eyes shook violently.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Clang~ Thud! Clang~
Mixed with the dull wooden sounds came the sharp ring of metal. Seo Jun examined the area more closely and discovered a hidden ring beneath the bedding.
He pulled it. With a low rumble, one section of the bed floor opened like a door, revealing a large hidden space.
Ha Jung thrashed wildly, eyes bulging, desperately trying to crawl toward the bed. It made no impression on Seo Jun whatsoever. Chu Hyang simply stared with a look of utter despair, mouth agape, realizing the vault she had been searching for had been right under her nose the entire time.
Seo Jun descended into the opening and his mouth fell open.
"Wow. No joke."
Even by his rough estimate, the value of the goods stored in this small warehouse roughly matched everything he had collected so far.
If I clean this place out too, that'll be around fifty million jeon.
He opened his subspace and rapidly swept gold, jewelry, jade statues, and everything else inside. Among the items, a peculiar necklace caught his hand. It was a beautiful piece featuring geometric patterns in gold set into black jade. The moment he touched it, a cold, chilling energy crawled up his arm.
Huh. Could this be one of those mystical artifacts from martial arts stories? I need to figure out exactly what it is.
There were also several books. A quick glance revealed they were bribe ledgers belonging to the Ten Attendants' Ha Un, recording the sale of official posts. They contained detailed entries spanning many years—who had bought which position, when, and for how much.
I should hold onto these as well.
After carefully gathering every last item, Seo Jun emerged to find the pair staring at the open secret vault with devastated expressions.
What to do with them?
Killing Ha Jung required no hesitation. But the woman called Chu Hyang gave him pause. Some lingering modern sensibility—that she too might simply be a victim of her era—made him hesitate.
Sigh. When have I ever been a good man?
Gripping the axe in his right hand, Seo Jun approached them. The moment they saw his face, both began shaking their heads frantically while still on their knees, desperately pleading through their gags.
Thwack! Thwack!
Once his mind was made up, Seo Jun's actions held no mercy. With two precise strikes to their skulls, he confirmed their deaths.
"Even if I'm not a good man, the world will be slightly better off without the likes of you in it."
He slipped quietly out the window and vanished into the night.
The next day, Nono County was thrown into chaos when the deaths of Ha Jung and Chu Hyang became known. Soldiers responsible for public security searched the entire county, inspecting anyone carrying weapons and attempting to track down the culprit. Yet the uproar faded within a few days. Ha Jung had lost the people's support long ago; after making a token effort to appear diligent, no one showed any real interest in pursuing the matter further.
Seo Jun remained at the inn for three days, waiting for the atmosphere to calm while considering how to deal with the Black Mountain bandits. Even if he warned the authorities about their impending raid, no official would trust him. Still, pretending he knew nothing about it left him uneasy.
Hmm. It's clearly not loyalty or some grand sense of justice. Is this what they call sympathy? It feels like that kind of emotion has been growing inside me lately.
Let's head to Wuji County nearby. That's where Anxi County is, along with the beautiful Gyeon sisters. I'll collect some karma while I'm at it. Yes, I'm simply curious. That's all.
In any case, he had never believed he could handle every problem himself. Anxi County and Wuji County were only two hours away at a full gallop, so a swift response might still be possible if he moved quickly.
I should set out for Anxi County tomorrow.
While organizing his thoughts and eating breakfast, Seo Jun overheard a group at a nearby table.
"They say the slave market opens today."
"It was delayed because of Ha Jung's death. Apparently it's finally happening."
"Think there'll be any decent goods?"
"Hard to say. The slave market has always been mostly luck. I heard some of the merchandise this time came from Youzhou."
The group was discussing the slave market that had been postponed for several days due to the recent incident.