Chapter 131: Perhaps It's Ten Thousand Sword Mountain
It had been summer when he entered the hideout, but now it was winter. If not for the clothes Won Seung had brought, he would have been stuck wearing threadbare rags.
"Hmm. Come to think of it, that girl from this house went missing, didn't she? That must've been you."
Won Seung prompted her when the girl showed no sign of opening up.
"……."
"Let's go to the county office together tomorrow."
"What? Why the county office?"
"You're the victim here. We need to catch the killers who murdered your family."
The girl's face drained of color.
"That case turned the whole area upside down. You're the sole survivor. You have a duty to give testimony at the office."
"N-no, I can't."
"Can't? Why not? Don't you want revenge for your family?"
The girl stammered in panic.
"The killers are martial arts masters from the jianghu. County runners like those in Hyeon-a can't touch them. If they find out I'm alive, they'll come for me."
Gotcha!
She was clever, but still just a child. She'd fallen right into Won Seung's leading questions.
The first button was the hardest; after that, it was smooth sailing.
"What?! So the killers are still prowling around here? But why are they after you?"
"……."
The girl's lips clamped shut like a clam.
Won Seung didn't rush her. Once she'd started talking, the rest would come spilling out in time.
"Your situation's pitiful enough, so you can stay here for a while. Go rest. But if you try anything against me, you're out on your ear."
Won Seung showed the girl to a room and was cleaning up the dining area when someone knocked on the front gate.
When he opened it, there stood Manseong Ru's chief steward, Go Yeongju, of all people.
"Who might you be?"
Won Seung had worn a human-skin mask during their dealings, so he played dumb. But Go Yeongju replied calmly,
"I've brought the jirashi copies you commissioned."
He gestured to the bundles stacked on his horse.
"Looks like you have the wrong house…."
"No need to panic, Lord Joo."
Won Seung's jaw dropped. Go Yeongju continued with a straight face.
"When the branch chief delivers in person, shouldn't you at least offer a cup of tea? I've got some tales of mountains, fields, and clouds to share as well."
"Come on in."
He was busted. Won Seung opened the gate with an awkward grin. Go Yeongju led his horse inside, glancing around the house.
"Nice place. In this neighborhood, you'd have to shell out at least two hundred thousand nyang for something like this."
Spot on. He'd have tacked on another ten thousand if he'd known about the well. Won Seung marveled anew at the Hao Men's reach in Huangdo.
He led him to the parlor and served tea.
"How did you know who I am?"
"How many people in the world go by Joo Neung? I know of only four. One's the Emperor in the palace. Another's the man who revealed the truth of the Yong Family massacre twenty years ago at the Sangyang Three Talents Duel. Then there's the Black Dao gambler near Huangdo's West Gate, and the last is the top disciple of Sacheon Bokho-gwan."
"……."
Won Seung gaped in silence. A chill ran down his spine. Three of Go Yeongju's known Joo Neungs were tied to him.
"You came to Manseong Ru asking about the circumstances of Sacheon Bokho-gwan's Gyeong Cheon-so's death. And a few days later, coincidentally, two mid-level assassins