Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Hao Gate
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Hao Gate
“What... what is it? Goosebumps all of a sudden...”
I shuddered from a chill I couldn’t explain.
For a moment, I wondered if the inside of the brothel was just cold, but there was no way a crowded indoor space like this could feel chilly.
“...This feels ominous.”
It was like stepping into a thicket hiding a venomous snake.
I needed to find old man Goh Heung quick and get out of here with Jo Un-chil.
To locate the missing old man, I extended my qi sense in all directions.
I already had Goh Heung’s qi memorized, so the moment it registered...
“...Huh?”
Found him.
Goh Heung was still inside the brothel.
And very close by.
I moved toward where I sensed Goh Heung’s qi.
After descending the stairs to the fourth floor, I opened the door to the room directly below the VIP suite—and lost my words at the sight before me.
“...What are you doing?”
“Shhh.”
Goh Heung had piled up various items from the tables in the room, climbed on top, and was pressing his ear flat against the ceiling.
The pose was so bizarre I couldn’t even begin to describe it.
I gaped for a moment before finally managing to ask what he was doing, and he pressed a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet.
“.......”
I quietly closed the door, sealed my lips tight, and approached. In a low mutter, he said,
“You know who that guy you were just with is? Joo Ho-jeong. The young castle lord of Tyrant Heaven Fortress.”
“...I know. He told me himself earlier.”
I shrugged in response, and he let out a deep sigh like it gave him a headache before leaping down from his precarious tower of junk.
“Any chance you saw a guy nearby with a spear? About my age, with a dumb, thoughtless face, just standing there all blank-like?”
“...There were two escorts, but no one with a spear?”
Hearing my answer, Goh Heung muttered that it seemed they hadn’t followed him all the way to the brothel and started dismantling his structure.
The pile that looked ready to collapse any second came apart in his hands and returned to its original spots in a flash.
It was a highly practiced motion.
He’d clearly eavesdropped from below like this more than once or twice.
“For Joo Ho-jeong to suddenly show up in Hefei... How the hell do I even report this...”
Goh Heung clutched his head and squatted down, sighing again.
Watching him, I voiced the possibility I’d been mulling over.
“...Could it be the young castle lord is entering the martial tournament?”
With only seven days left until the tournament, was it really a coincidence for Tyrant Heaven Fortress’s young castle lord to appear in Hefei?
No way—I’d bet Master’s beard on it.
“No chance. What battle squad idiot would drag their little lord into a mission? Unless they’re itching to lose their heads to the big lord.”
Goh Heung dismissed my question outright.
Then he offered another assessment.
“It’s not the young lord himself. They’re after the carriage attached to him.”
Carriage? Like the chariot piece in go?
“...What on earth are you talking about?”
Goh Heung scratched the back of his head for a moment before abruptly changing the subject.
“Did I ever tell you I was under Joo Do-han’s command back in Tyrant Heaven Fortress?”
“...Pardon? No, you didn’t.”
It came out of nowhere, but his expression was serious enough that I decided to hear him out.
“To be precise, the Heavenly Net Hall was part of the Heavenly Snare Division, which Joo Do-han himself led.”
According to Goh Heung, the Heavenly Snare Division consisted of the Heavenly Net Hall for intelligence gathering, the Dark Night Hall for assassinations, and the Blood Sea Hall for sabotage and area exterminations.
“As you know, right after Joo Do-han’s rebellion, the entire Heavenly Net Hall defected with the young castle lord—Miss Yoo Seol. Afterward, they disbanded the Heavenly Snare Division and brought the remaining Dark Night and Blood Sea Halls to the surface as the Dark Heaven Squad and Blood Light Squad.”
“Uh... okay, but why bring that up now...”
“You’ll see why soon enough. Just keep listening.”
Goh Heung cut me off and continued.
“But intelligence work isn’t just eavesdropping or sneaking in to steal documents.”
There were plenty of times when assassinations or sabotage were needed in the process, and they often collaborated with the Dark Night and Blood Sea Halls for those.
“As a field agent, it was even more true for me. So a lot of guys from Dark Night and Blood Sea know my face. That’s why I’m stuck doing branch manager grunt work now.”
“You’re saying someone from that old organization is with Joo Ho-jeong?”
“Bingo.”
After all that buildup, we finally got to the point.
“Back then, there was this Blood Sea Hall master named Cho Un-yeop who wielded a spear like a demon. The guy was Joo Do-han’s loyal dog—would pretend to die if ordered—and annoyingly skilled, so our side always kept tabs on him.”
“And Cho Un-yeop is attached to the young castle lord?”
“...More precisely, he’s been assigned as his guard by the castle lord’s orders. One of the castle lord’s Four Great Protectors, no less.”
Goh Heung gravely nodded at my words and added more details.
One of the castle lord’s Four Great Protectors? Like Sin Je-gon?
“How does he stack up to Sin Je-gon?”
“...The world calls Sin Je-gon the strongest of the Four Great Protectors, but that’s just because of his flashy record. Our intel says Cho Un-yeop edges him out slightly.”
So Cho Un-yeop was the real top dog among the Four Great Protectors?
A powerhouse like that would naturally have deep inner energy by this world’s standards, but nothing registered on my qi sense.
“Looks like he didn’t come to Flower Moon Pavilion?”
“...Really? Thank goodness. Clashing with that guy would be a real pain. Let’s grab Jo Un-chil from Pavilion Lord Sung and bounce.”
Goh Heung stood, and we climbed the stairs all the way to the top floor, the sixth.
Lady Yeo, whom we’d met on the first floor, was already waiting for us.
“The pavilion lord is expecting you. Please come in.”
She led us straight to the pavilion lord’s room.
The moment the door opened, Goh Heung strode in and called out cheerfully.
“Pavilion Lord Sung! I’m back~!”
“You sure don’t make that face easy to miss, showing up so often.”
The Flower Moon Pavilion Lord chuckled and tossed back a jab.
Just one exchange, and they already felt so casual with each other.
“When I heard that young master came with you, I was shocked. What’s your connection? Surely not blood relatives.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“No way a face like that comes from your bloodline.”
“You’re crossing the line, punk?”
The two started bickering like kids.
I could clearly hear Lady Yeo’s sigh from behind me.
My face inexplicably heated up.
I quickly separated them and got to the point.
“Pavilion Lord, we’ve come to pick up the Jo guy that Hall Master Goo left in your care.”
“...You mean Jo Un-chil?”
The pavilion lord stroked his beard thoughtfully before asking me.
“By any chance, are you the young master who asked us to look after Jo Un-chil?”
“Ah, yes... sort of.”
At my response, he made a strange expression, then nodded and stood.
“Understood. I’ll bring Jo Un-chil right away.”
He told us to wait here a moment and left the room with Lady Yeo.
Once their presences faded, I immediately questioned Goh Heung.
“You said you’re allies who help each other out, but you act like lifelong buddies. What’s the real deal between you two?”
“Just allies helping each other out. That’s all.”
“How do the top brothel in Hefei and some no-name carriage company help each other?”
“You little...”
Goh Heung’s face flashed with irritation at my spot-on, realistic take on Heavenly Firmament Carriage Company.
He soon relaxed, sighed softly, and murmured low.
“It’s not about the carriage company. It’s the intelligence arm of Heavenly Firmament Merchant Group.”
“Intelligence...?”
A moment later, realization dawned, and my eyes widened.
“Wait... so you handed Jo Un-chil off to another intel outfit?”
“Well, you could call that mutual aid.”
I stared at him like he was insane.
Goh Heung just shrugged under my gaze.
“Don’t look at it that weird. No underworld intel group isn’t tangled up with them. We’ve been linked since Heavenly Net Hall days.”
“...Who are they?”
“Hmm, you’ve probably heard of them, young hero. They’re top two in the intel world—pretty infamous. The sect of the murim underbelly: courtesans, errand boys, ferrymen, porters, coachmen, you name it.”
Hearing his explanation, my eyes went wide.
As a avid murim novel fan, I had a good guess.
And sure enough, the name from Goh Heung’s mouth was all too familiar.
“Hao Gate.”
*
“Pavilion Lord.”
The Flower Moon Pavilion Lord left the room and headed straight for So-ha.
“Come in. So, did you learn anything about that young master?”
So-ha, who’d clearly been waiting, lit up and fired off her question.
The unexpectedly intense reaction brought a troubled look to the pavilion lord’s face.
“It seems... not easy. They refused to share any intel.”
“...I see.”
Just moments ago, while bantering openly with Goh Heung, the pavilion lord had exchanged coded signals.
Asking about their connection and using “blood relative” was a query on whether he could reveal the young master’s background.
The retort about crossing the line meant even any bribe wouldn’t loosen their lips—it was a flat refusal.