A Filial Son
"Looking at the red moon, I wish to drink deep blue tea."
This was the secret code Tang Hwi, who had repeated countless cycles of reincarnation, had created to establish contact with the Hao Sect.
He knew the absolute importance of information, but it wasn't as if he could build a massive intelligence network from scratch in every single lifetime.
Thus, in his earlier lives, he had simply utilized the Beggars' Sect or the Hao Sect as a paying customer.
But at some point, wanting to exploit them more effectively, he had bestowed an immense favor upon them and established a permanent contact code that he could use across his reincarnations.
Of course, this didn't mean the Hao Sect always acted out of the goodness of their hearts, eagerly lining up to repay their debt.
Humans were creatures of forgetfulness, after all, and as generations shifted, there were times they had dared to betray him.
Though they don't dare to do so anymore.
Every time they betrayed him, he had dealt them a near-fatal blow. How many times had he beaten them within an inch of their lives, leaving them just enough strength to barely rebuild?
Once or twice was one thing, but after repeating this cycle several times, the Hao Sect had finally thrown up the white flag.
In the end, they had settled into a relationship where they would panic and unconditionally grant any request whenever someone appeared using that specific code.
The system was structured so that using this code would connect him directly to the Sect Leader of the Hao Sect. In other words, it established a relationship where the Hao Sect Leader would unilaterally comply with Tang Hwi's demands.
As expected, this brothel is indeed under the Hao Sect.
The courtesan's eyes had trembled with sheer panic for a split second, but she quickly regained her composure as if nothing had happened.
Seeing her reaction, Tang Hwi confirmed she was indeed an operative of the Hao Sect and chuckled inwardly.
"Sir, this humble girl does not understand what you mean."
"There's no need to play dumb and act. You know your reaction just now gave you away... and I know it too. Let's not waste each other's energy and make this easy. Nice and easy."
"...What is it you require of me?"
"I have a request. Who is the highest-ranking person here? I believe I need to speak with whoever runs this place."
"I will guide you. Please follow me."
Perhaps due to her thorough training, the Hao Sect courtesan obediently offered to lead Tang Hwi the moment she heard the code, but...
"Not right now. Officially, I came here as a bodyguard for the gentleman currently guzzling alcohol inside. Once that man passes out from the drink, I'd like to talk."
"...In that case, I shall prepare it immediately. Would it be acceptable to lace some strong liquor with Qi-Dispersing Poison and Sleeping Poison, serving them in sequence?"
"I would appreciate that."
They were perfectly in sync. The conversation flowed seamlessly without a single hitch.
This was precisely why Tang Hwi preferred the Hao Sect over the Beggars' Sect.
The Beggars' Sect, despite being mere beggars, were so overflowing with righteous chivalry that they were difficult to manipulate. In contrast, the Hao Sect, as a gathering of those from the lowest rungs of society, adhered strictly to absolute obedience to superiors.
It was a highly disciplined, hierarchical organization—something the free-spirited beggars could never replicate.
While Tang Hwi stood guard, other courtesans bustled in and out of the room.
That's some high-quality liquor. They'll probably tack the cost of that onto my request fee. Well, I suppose that doesn't matter.
As a courtesan carried the liquor past, a subtle, alluring aroma lingered in the air, tickling his nose.
It was a scent that instantly triggered a sudden urge to drink, a fragrance that could only belong to the finest of vintages.
After a few rounds of this...
"Zzz... snort... Zzz... snort..."
Loud, thunderous snoring began to echo from inside the room.
"We may go now."
"Lead the way."
With his internal energy paralyzed by the Qi-Dispersing Poison and his mind dulled by the premium liquor, the target had succumbed helplessly to the Sleeping Poison, falling into a forced slumber.
For a Super-Peak master, his defenses were utterly pathetic. Tang Hwi couldn't help but click his tongue in disapproval as he followed the courtesan.
It wasn't that he couldn't understand the man's state of mind.
After losing the battle for succession in his own clan, his pride shattered, he had fled into an arranged marriage.
And now, even in his in-laws' household, he was completely outclassed by his wife's martial realm, reduced to a mere matrilocal husband.
He must have wanted to throw everything away.
Though that doesn't excuse his sins.
Of course, that didn't mean Tang Hwi had any intention of forgiving his biological father.
If anything, he would punish him even more painfully for the sin of making his family suffer.
Guided by the courtesan, Tang Hwi ascended to the top floor of the Cheonglu and arrived in front of a certain room.
Turning around, the courtesan bowed politely and spoke.
"This is as far as I go. A person of high standing is waiting for you inside, so you may enter."
"Thank you for the guidance."
With that, the courtesan immediately vanished.
Tang Hwi opened the door and stepped inside.
There stood a mature man, his face concealed behind a veil.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Master Tang. Please understand that due to the nature of my profession, I cannot disclose my name."
"...I see. A pleasure to meet you as well."
With a noncommittal expression, Tang Hwi sat in a chair that seemed to have been placed there specifically for guests.
The high-ranking operative, as if he had prepared in advance, poured a cup of freshly brewed, warm tea and handed it to Tang Hwi, treating him like a highly esteemed guest.
"I never expected to receive a Special Guest. I heard you have a request. What is it you desire?"
"Everything on my father, Namgung Bu-ryun."
"What do you mean by 'everything'?"
The Hao Sect manager asked for clarification on the request without questioning Tang Hwi's identity.
His refusal to ask, as if he had already memorized Tang Hwi's face long ago, made Tang Hwi inwardly praise the Hao Sect's efficiency. He spoke again.
"I mean literally everything. From the color of his undergarments on any given day, to where he squanders his money, what kind of courtesans he prefers, his suspected hidden traits, and any corruption he's involved in. All of it."
"...Gathering that level of information requires a significant expense, even for an insignificant nobody. You must know that when the target is a Super-Peak master, the cost multiplies exponentially."
"Stop playing games."
Tang Hwi said, casting a sideways glance at the wall.
"As a Special Guest, you are obligated to accept any request I make. And in return, it matters not whether I pay in gold or with my martial strength. You know this well... Yet, you still try to test me. Should I take this as an insult?"
"My apologies, Young Master Tang. Please, appease your anger."
"I accept your apology."
Immediately after, the man's throat bobbed slightly. Tang Hwi's heightened senses picked up the subtle fluctuations of energy as the man sent a sound transmission.
Early Master Realm. Not bad.
The mere ability to send a sound transmission meant his control over his internal energy was quite respectable.
A moment later, another presence appeared. A figure silently materialized, placed a report in front of the manager, and vanished just as quickly.
After briefly scanning the document to verify its contents, the manager handed the files to Tang Hwi.
"This is a portion of what you requested. It details his daily routines and his current martial realm. Since it doesn't contain the more trivial details yet, those will take about three days to compile..."
"I have received the files. How would you like to handle the payment?"
"We have plenty of funds, so we would prefer to request your martial assistance at a later date. Would that be acceptable?"
"Of course. I still hold the right of refusal, do I not? If I deem your request unreasonable compared to what I asked for, I will decline."
"Naturally. You are, after all, our Special Guest."
Tang Hwi gathered the documents and left the room.
The veiled man stood still for a long moment before slowly walking over to a wall.
There was a small groove in the wall. Grabbing it, he slid it aside, and the wall parted like a sliding door.
Behind it lay a hidden chamber, where an exquisite woman sat waiting.
The woman, possessing a voluptuous chest and wearing an outfit so revealing she was practically naked—half of it fashioned from translucent Thousand-Silk that left nothing to the imagination—was gently twirling her hair.
"Young Sect Master. It appears the Special Guest detected your presence."
"As I thought. I did feel a strange sensation."
"Even though I was masking your presence, he glanced directly toward this wall as if it were completely useless. And above all... I could not read his martial realm."
"Hmm?"
The woman smiled with her eyes, finding this quite unexpected.
"So, the notorious playboy suddenly achieved the Master Realm. How is that even possible? He's like the protagonist of some third-rate street novel."
"How shall we proceed?"
"What do you mean, 'how'?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
"A Special Guest isn't called that for nothing. If we refuse him, he'll probably beat us down to the brink of collapse again."
"Still, he has not reached the Transcendental Realm. If he is merely a Master Realm expert, the Hao Sect is more than capable of handling a direct descendant of the Five Great Clans."
"Left Protector. Can you guarantee you'll be able to say those same words a year from now?"
"......."
The man addressed as the Left Protector instantly fell silent.
No one knew what had happened, but Tang Hwi had rapidly elevated his martial realm in an incredibly short span of time. His growth was so explosive that anyone else would have suspected him of practicing some forbidden demonic art.
What realm would such a monster reach in a year's time?
Perhaps the youngest Transcendental Realm master in history would be born.
To recklessly try and kill someone with that kind of potential? It might be possible right now, but they would never survive the wrath of the Tang Clan afterward.
"The young master said it himself: do not test him. I also think you need to fix your habit of trying to test our clients, Left Protector."
"My apologies."
The Left Protector bowed his head in silence.
Just as she said, he had deliberately asked to test whether she, as the Young Sect Master, would make the correct decision.
And just like Tang Hwi, the Young Sect Master had seen right through him and reprimanded him.
"For now, do your absolute best to gather information on Namgung Bu-ryun so that the quality satisfies him. Everything from which courtesan's breasts he fondled and how many times, to the exact capacity of his stomach. All of it."
"Yes. I shall prepare it."
"That will do... Ah, right. Come to think of it, what is Mother up to these days? Is there any sign of her reconciling with Father?"
"......."
"Sigh..."
The Left Protector's silence prompted a deep sigh from the Young Sect Master.
"They say a fight between husband and wife is like cutting water with a sword, but this... this feels more like a boulder being shattered to pieces."
As their daughter, her sighs never ended over her parents' endless marital warfare.