Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Infiltration
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It was a completely unexpected question, one I hadn't even imagined.
Resent my master and Hwa Ryeon? Why?
“Uh... I’m not sure why you’re asking that.”
“...You didn’t even consider it. Now I’m the one who’s surprised.”
Go Heung gave an awkward smile as he explained the reason for his question.
“First off, let me apologize. I already heard about you from the merchant leader.”
“What exactly did you hear?”
“That Hero Yeo only taught you the Three Calamity Meridians and basic martial arts knowledge, and that the Dark Heaven Troops killed your household.”
“Hmm... And so?”
Go Heung coughed awkwardly at my question and continued.
“You already know this, but Hero Yeo was actually a fairly renowned expert in the martial world. She spared no expense on unique martial arts and elixirs for Miss Hwa Ryeon and her disciple, Lady Yoo, but she only taught you a single third-rate martial art and that was it. Aren’t you resentful about that?”
“Not at all. Do I have any reason to resent her?”
Learning martial arts from my master had been a transaction where I paid money as compensation, pure and simple.
From the start, I had fully understood that at a rural third-rate martial hall, I’d only learn third-rate martial arts, and I chose it anyway.
So my master had no reason or obligation to provide me with unique martial arts or elixirs.
I couldn’t understand why I should resent her for that.
“Of course, my master did parade me around as her chief disciple to throw off suspicion or whatever, but honestly, how much help could that have been?”
“Well... true.”
I shrugged at Go Heung as if to say, See?, while he nodded in agreement.
But his questions weren’t over yet.
“Then what about the Dark Heaven Troops’ attack? Your longtime household servants were killed too. What about that...”
“As Leader Go said, that was the Dark Heaven Troops’ doing—or on a larger scale, Tyrant Heaven Fortress’s. Not my master’s or Hwa Ryeon’s.”
The ones who killed my family were the Dark Heaven Troops and Tyrant Heaven Fortress.
It was those ruthless bastards who tried to kill not just me, but my entire family, simply because I’d learned martial arts at the Heavenly Wind Martial Hall my master ran—not my master or Hwa Ryeon.
And I’m supposed to resent those two for it?
“That’s what they call displacing anger—taking out your grudge against A on B, right?”
“......”
Having heard my full response, Go Heung stared at me with a strange expression for a moment before chuckling softly.
“A bit unexpected? You’re different from what I imagined. Much more cool-headed and bold.”
Hearing that decent evaluation, I smirked and asked.
“So, did I pass?”
Go Heung’s smiling face froze at my loaded question.
He let out a deep sigh.
“...Sharp mind and quick on the uptake. When did you figure it out?”
“From the start. Your expression gave it away.”
Go Heung’s expression.
It was the face people made when trying to falsely reassure someone.
The same expression worn by countless people who’d stood before me in my past life.
People desperately hiding that I wouldn’t live much longer, trying to give me false hope—it was very similar.
Of course, Go Heung wasn’t trying to give me hope; he was just probing to learn about me as a person.
“If I showed any sign of betraying Hwa Ryeon, you’d eliminate me by any means necessary... something like that?”
“...Young hero, just to be sure, are you from this world? How do you see through it so clearly...”
Well, uncle, if you read a lot of wuxia novels, you could do it too. Lots of characters like you show up in them. Minor roles that only appear briefly.
I stifled a giggle at the thought I couldn’t voice aloud, and Go Heung sighed again.
“Damn, I was rated as the top operative even in the Heavenly Net Hall, and now a twenty-something kid sees right through me. My instincts are shot.”
“You were praising me as a supreme expert earlier.”
“That’s got nothing to do with martial arts.”
Grumbling, Go Heung cleared his throat once more and spoke quietly, spilling the truth.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I’m not specifically trying to kill you or anything. To Miss Hwa Ryeon, you’re an important asset.”
“Then what?”
“I was trying to ease any resentment with various compensations. Like... elixirs or something.”
“Actually, I resent Hwa Ryeon and Master very, very much.”
“Too late, buster.”
“Tch.”
I stuck out my tongue playfully, then suddenly noticed the merchants tidying up their shops.
For shelves with so few goods left, their faces were uniformly grim.
Countless people were sighing heavily.
Narrowing my eyes at the sight, I heard Go Heung’s voice.
“Wondering why they all look so down?”
“Yeah. Is this...?”
Just as the thought crossed my mind, I asked, and Go Heung nodded.
“Exactly. It’s not that they sold a lot—it’s that they have nothing left to sell. Fallout from the Nangong Clan’s escort failure. When escorts don’t work properly, distribution grinds to a halt.”
“They want to sell, but there’s nothing to sell.”
Go Heung followed my gaze to the merchants, his face full of pity.
“This eastern district is where merchants affiliated with trading companies gather. That’s why it’s hitting them harder. They rely on large-scale escorts for their goods.”
“And the Nangong Clan had a tight grip on their direct escort agency?”
“You bet. They virtually monopolized large-scale escorts. That’s why the impact is so severe now.”
As he spoke, something suddenly occurred to me.
“Tyrant Heaven Fortress must have known this would happen and pushed ahead anyway.”
“...Yeah, probably. Man, to think the Tyrant Heaven Fortress I once served would end up like this. Their original banner of protecting the common folk from the martial world has lost all meaning.”
Go Heung shook his head with a bitter expression.
“Honestly, when I first heard about wiping out Tyrant Heaven Fortress, I wondered about it, but seeing this makes me think the lady’s right.”
No sooner had Go Heung’s brief lament ended than the area ahead brightened suddenly.
Realizing we’d reached the gambling den district, I turned to look ahead and couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
“...Wow.”
They called it a city that never slept even at night, and the lanterns hanging everywhere truly lit up the streets like broad daylight.
The carriage slowly entered the glow.
It felt like stepping into a completely different world as the atmosphere shifted.
-Hahaha~!
-Hahaha-!
Laughter echoed from all around, and the vivid red lights grew stronger the deeper we went.
A perfect pleasure quarter.
There was nothing like this in Gun River County, so I looked around in genuine wonder.
Go Heung teased me playfully at the sight.
“Tone down the country bumpkin vibe a bit, will you? Someone might think you just rolled in from the sticks.”
“Not wrong. I really did come from the countryside.”
Retorting to Go Heung, I eagerly took in the sights until I sensed a huge crowd gathered somewhere.
-Waaah-!
Cheers rang out right on cue, and my eyes fell on a massive two-story building.
As I stared at it, Go Heung explained.
“Figured it out right away? That’s the gambling den run by that bastard Jo Woon-chil. Extra packed today, huh?”
“Packed” wasn’t empty flattery—the number of people inside felt enormous.
Hundreds, maybe even over a thousand.
“How do you plan to infiltrate? Want me to help?”
“No. I’m good.”
I looked up at the top floor of the building.
These kinds of places always keep the important stuff at the highest level.
People or objects alike.
*
The brighter the light, the deeper the shadows it casts.
What that means is, thanks to the street lanterns’ glow, shadows formed behind the gambling den, letting me easily climb to the top floor using them.
Go Heung, who’d looked dumbfounded when I first said I’d leap onto the roof to infiltrate, was now down below gaping up at me with his mouth wide open.
Smirking inwardly at the sight, I slowly approached the window.
Fortunately, no one seemed to be inside.
Reassured, I climbed through the window into the room.
The moment I entered, I was speechless at the opulent interior.
“Huh, how much did all this cost?”
The room was packed floor to ceiling with luxury goods.
It was obvious at a glance that this was the owner, Jo Woon-chil’s, private quarters.
I glanced over the extravagantly decorated luxuries.
Porcelain coated in melted gold, ornate jewelry embedded with dazzling gems.
And, unbelievably, a golden Buddha statue that looked to weigh about thirty nyang sat squarely on the table.
“Why’d this guy throw a fit demanding one all the way at the front lines when he already has this in his room?”
Chuckling wryly, I snapped back to reality belatedly.
This wasn’t the time to gawk at luxuries.
I needed to find whatever Jo Woon-chil was hiding.
In other words, a secret safe or something.
I began thoroughly searching Jo Woon-chil’s room.
I lifted the rugs on the floor, inspected the central table meticulously.
After investing all that time... the results weren’t great.
“What, why is there nothing here?”
Not even a hidden secret ledger?
After searching like this and finding zilch... maybe it’s not in this room?
I couldn’t hide my dismay at the unforeseen situation.
There was only one room on the top floor.
If it wasn’t here... I might have to search the entire building.
“Just thinking about it is nightmare fuel... Huh?”
Shuddering, I idly fiddled with the golden Buddha on the table when a strange sensation drew my gaze down to it.