Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Infiltration
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And there was one more suspicious point.
That guy knew about the loss of the battlefield records, which had been kept under tight wraps to prevent any leaks to the outside.
If the Nangong Clan had clamped down so hard on information, where exactly had he gotten it from?
The ones suspected of starting the fire—it was impossible not to think of Paecheongseong.
“. . . Looks like I have no choice but to dig deeper.”
Nothing was set in stone yet, but if the chief administrator Dam Jin-bo’s suicide and gambling issues had truly been fabricated, then Jo Woon-chil definitely knew something.
“Do you know where this Jo Woon-chil’s gambling den is?”
“They say it’s in the northern part of Hefei. The area around it is lit up like a city that never sleeps even at night, so it should be easy to spot. . . You’re not thinking of going there, are you?”
I answered Hwa-ryeon’s question by standing up from my seat.
As I rose, everyone’s eyes turned to me.
“I need to go into that gambling den myself. It’s suspicious that he so readily showed us the ledgers, and even more so that he knew about the lost battlefield records.”
“Wait, hold on. You’re not saying you’re going alone, are you?”
I nodded at Nangong Hyun’s flustered question.
“It’s actually easier for me to go solo on something like this. Even if I get caught, I can slip away easily on my own.”
“. . . Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“I don’t see why I wouldn’t be.”
I shrugged at Nangong Hyun’s worried tone.
His face relaxed a bit at my casual response, only to furrow his brow again soon after.
“. . . I’m sorry. It feels like we’re putting too much of a burden on you alone, Young Master Goon.”
“You don’t need to worry like that. Not sure if I should say this, but I’m doing it because it’s kind of fun, in my own way.”
A conspiracy to topple a great clan, and the clash between those plotting it and those fighting to crush it.
Hmm, straight out of a wuxia novel.
I grinned as I said it, and Nangong Hyun gave an awkward smile in return.
He probably thought I was a weirdo.
“Alright then.”
“Wait.”
My master grabbed me just as I turned to leave the room.
“Huh? Why’d you call me, Master?”
“You know the exact location of the gambling den, right?”
“. . . Didn’t you say the area around it is lit up all night? It’s gotta be somewhere there.”
Or I could just ask around nearby.
My master gave me an openly pitiful look as I answered lightly.
He suddenly got up, dragged me to a quiet spot, and told me the location of a teahouse called Changcheon Tearoom.
“Changcheon . . . ? Is this connected to the Changcheon Merchant Association?”
“That’s right, it’s their secret branch. Tell the proprietor the code phrase, and he’ll give you the info you need.”
“. . . Code phrase!”
I clamped my mouth shut.
A code phrase! Secret communication via code!
It was the kind of thing you’d only see in spy movies from my past life.
And now I get to do it myself!
My heart started pounding.
“What? Why are you so excited?”
“Why? Because code phrases are romantic, that’s why.”
“. . . What nonsense is that?”
My master stared at me like I was some freak for a moment, sighed softly, then taught me the code phrase.
Oh ho. “Song Mountain’s Wall-Climbing Spring is like the elixir tea drunk by heavenly immortals.” Got it, memorized.
I bid my master farewell and hurried straight to the Changcheon Tearoom.
*
“Changcheon Tearoom . . . Here it is.”
I arrived at the Changcheon Tearoom after rushing over, calmed my racing heart as best I could, and cautiously stepped inside.
It was nearly closing time, so the place was deserted, without a single customer.
I ventured deep into the tearoom and finally spotted a man who looked like the proprietor.
“Welcome. What tea are you looking for?”
The moment I’d been waiting for arrived, and my heart felt like it would burst again.
I desperately suppressed the grin leaking out and lowered my voice.
“I heard you have Wall-Climbing Spring from Song Mountain here.”
“. . .”
The proprietor’s eyes flashed sharply at my words.
But the sharpness faded in an instant, and he continued as if nothing had happened.
“Well, Song Mountain doesn’t produce Wall-Climbing Spring, you know?”
“Really? They say its taste is just like the elixir tea drunk by the heavenly immortals. You really don’t have any?”
“. . . Well, well. You already know all about it, then. Come on in.”
The proprietor led me further inside and opened a hidden door in the floor right in front of me.
“Wow . . . !”
Whoa, a secret door! A secret hideout!
I gazed at him with an expression of pure awe, and the proprietor smirked smugly.
Ooh, kinda sleazy, but cool . . . !
We descended underground.
As soon as we arrived, the proprietor approached me amiably.
“You’re Young Master Goon Ja-seong, right?”
“Oh, you know me?”
“Of course. The Provincial Master . . . Merchant Association Leader Bang Jin-myeong told me. Said you’re a young supreme expert who slew that Cheonchu in a single stroke.”
“Haha . . . No need to call me an expert . . .”
He made a show of looking exasperated at my bashful reply.
“You youngsters these days might not know, but Cheonchu Shin Je-gon was a monstrous master who once slew fifty warriors single-handedly in his youth. If the man who cut down a legend like Shin Je-gon isn’t an expert, then there’s no one in the world worthy of the title.”
“Heh, heh . . .”
Fifty slain in battle, huh.
Yeah, anyone caught by that brutal iron mace wouldn’t have stood a chance, bones or no.
I nodded inwardly as the proprietor guided me to the central table.
Once I sat, he took the seat opposite and introduced himself.
“Speaking of which, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. I’m Go Heung, formerly of the Heavenly Net Hall, currently the nominal manager of the Changcheon Merchant Association. Nice to meet you.”
Go Heung winked at me.
He had a much more cheerful vibe than I’d expected.
But true to his professionalism, he got straight to business.
“Anyway, Young Master Goon, what brings you here? If it’s about that investigation into the caravan marks you discussed with Lady Yeo earlier today, it’s still in progress.”
“Ah, no, it’s not that . . .”
I told him about Jo Woon-chil and his gambling den.
How Jo Woon-chil knew information he shouldn’t, and the blatantly suspicious gambling issue with the chief administrator.
“Ah, Jo Woon-chil. Infamous bastard. The kind who’ll sell off your kids if you can’t pay your debts—a real scumbag who goes blind with greed at the sight of money.”
“That bad, huh . . .”
“You think a guy like that would dare extort the Nangong Clan in Hefei? Oh, he’s more than capable. Thirty nyang of gold? He’d sell his own parents for that. Not that he has any—he’s a street orphan.”
Brushing aside his scathing assessment of Jo Woon-chil, I discussed with Go Heung our plan to infiltrate the guy’s gambling den.
“So? What exactly are you looking for, Young Master?”
“Whatever it is that Jo Woon-chil is hiding.”
“Uh . . . That’s kinda vague. Can you narrow it down a bit?”
I thought for a moment at Go Heung’s response as he scratched his cheek.
I knew the caravan sabotage aimed to weaken the Nangong Clan’s forces.
But the chief administrator’s suicide and the battlefield fire? Their purpose wasn’t clear.
Even my hunch that Paecheongseong’s tentacles were involved there felt a bit shaky.
To be blunt, there was a chance Jo Woon-chil had done it all alone, blinded by greed.
But when I voiced that, Go Heung immediately shook his head.
“No way. Neither Jo Woon-chil nor his thugs know any martial arts. Even as a collateral relative, the chief administrator was Nangong blood—he’d have trained in decent techniques. Killing him so stealthily that even his family didn’t notice? Impossible for those guys.”
“Then it really is Paecheongseong?”
“Well . . . If anyone in Hefei could pull it off right now, it’s them.”
The more we talked, the more tangled my thoughts became.
Afraid we’d waste the whole day just talking, I decided to move first.
“Whatever he’s hiding, he probably stashed it somewhere he knows. If needed, we can just torture it out of him, right?”
“Oho, pretty ruthless thinking for a fledgling martial artist. I’m all for it, though.”
Go Heung chuckled and stood, returning from the back with something in hand.
Up close, it was a black night suit and mask.
“If you’re sneaking in, you need the right outfit, yeah?”
Seeing it, I grinned back at Go Heung.
I’d just met the guy today, but damn, I was really starting to like this uncle.
*
Fortunately, the night suit fit me decently, so I threw my regular uniform over it and stepped outside, spotting Go Heung atop a supply cart.
“Got a delivery to make up north anyway. Figured I’d drop you off while I’m at it.”
No reason to refuse, so I hopped on obediently.
The faint aroma of tea wafted through the air once I climbed up.
“So the tearoom isn’t just a simple front, huh?”
“Hey now, Young Master, you don’t know much, do you? It’s the little details like this that make a front truly convincing.”
“Ooh . . .”
After glancing at me admiring and nodding several times, Go Heung hesitantly asked a question.
“Um . . . Young Master? If it’s not rude, could I ask you something?”
“You’re helping me this much—hard to say no. Go ahead, ask away.”
Even after I agreed readily, Go Heung hesitated oddly.
What on earth could he be so reluctant to ask?
As I tilted my head, Go Heung finally spoke.
“. . . Do you hold any grudges? Against Lady Yeo and the young lady.”