Chapter 77
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: What, a Eunuch? (2)
Having completed his journey, Kang Moo-jin returned to the Diamond Escort Agency, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
"...?!"
The entire crew of the Diamond Escort Agency was waiting for him outside the compound, all of them wearing welcoming smiles!
"Son. Did everything go well?"
The head of the Diamond Escort Agency and his father, Kang So-gong, greeted him with a bright smile on his face.
"You're back."
"Heard the rumors."
His two older brothers, who led the Vanguard Unit and served as chief escorts, also welcomed Moo-jin with broad grins.
"Greetings, Young Leader!"
"Greetings, Young Leader!"
The subordinates under Kang Lip-dang and the escorts of the Golden Escort Unit offered formal clasped-hand salutes, greeting Moo-jin respectfully.
"Welcome back."
"Safe travels?"
"Great Hero Kang. You must be exhausted."
Even Hwang Do-o-jol, who had been beaten by Moo-jin on the way to Hwangdo and demoted to escort leader, bowed with proper formality.
The five experts who used to wander the outskirts had put on a bit of healthy weight compared to before.
Just as Moo-jin had predicted, the life of an escort—no risk of death, no getting fleeced by clients, no being hunted—filled them with satisfaction.
"Uncle!"
Kang Soo-yeon, who had been diligently practicing her fist techniques lately, waved at him with an adorable smile.
Rumor had it she was smashing up every boy in the neighborhood who fancied himself tough. Sure enough, the calluses on her knuckles were no joke.
"What's everyone doing out here?"
Moo-jin looked puzzled at the sight of them all gathered without earning any coin.
"They all heard your stories and couldn't contain their excitement."
"Stories?"
"Word's already spreading like wildfire through Shanxi Province. People can't stop talking about your exploits."
Kang So-gong's face brimmed with pride for his youngest son.
No matter where you went in Shanxi, tales of Kang Moo-jin echoed, accompanied by endless praise.
As a father, having a son this remarkable filled him with uncontainable joy.
"They say you showed off some incredible martial arts against Mount Hua and Mount Zhongnan? Kid, our escort requests have skyrocketed because of it."
"Father was so thrilled he was dancing up a storm. I saw you twirling around with my own eyes."
Moo-jin's brothers teased their father, smirks playing on their lips.
Pride for Moo-jin shone in their smiles as well.
"You know escorts rarely take pride in their work, right? But we're different. All thanks to you."
"The escorts say people look at Diamond Escort Agency members with envy now. We're not even hiring, but dozens apply every day."
Moo-jin's chest tickled warmly at the praise from his father and brothers.
Smashing things? Sure, he was used to that. But this kind of acclaim? Still felt awkward.
Of course, separately from that, Moo-jin's shoulders were inching upward bit by bit.
"So tell us yourself—what happened? Everyone's dying to hear it."
"Ahem. Well, nothing much."
"Just a little, Young Leader!"
"We want to hear your feats straight from you!"
Moo-jin shrugged and scratched his head.
"Alright, a bit then?"
"Woooah!"
"Woooah! Young Leader!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the escorts of the Diamond Escort Agency unleashed a thunderous cheer that shook the ground.
As everyone roared in excitement, exactly two people stood there with dirt-smeared grimaces.
"Urgh..."
"No hole to crawl into..."
The two covering their faces with their hands behind Moo-jin were none other than Volcanic Sword Demon Un-cheon and Whirlwind Divine Sword Poong-hyun.
"This is so... embarrassing here..."
A week had already passed since Moo-jin returned to the Diamond Escort Agency.
Thanks to his stellar achievements in Shaanxi Province, requests flooded in, piling up the work.
Escorts and leaders were sufficient in number for now, but they lacked people for paperwork, so even Won Yu-hwa had rolled up her sleeves this time.
The regular escort deal with the Plum Cloud Merchant Group had been handed off to Yu-hwa, who had built rapport with Mount Hua Sect.
"Hm."
Moo-jin scratched his chin, gazing at the now-deserted training grounds as everyone bustled about.
"What're you doing, brother? No work?"
"None."
"...? Everyone else is swamped, but not you?"
"Got kicked out for ripping up papers again."
Moo-jin excelled in martial prowess, mental acuity, and more, but writing with a brush or handling accounts? Not his forte.
In fact, he'd just been booted from the office by Kang Moo-seon and was wandering aimlessly.
"You?"
"Me too... nothing right now. The reclamation squad's all out on escorts."
"Didn't Second Brother tell you to help with accounts?"
Ma Du-gwang looked at Moo-jin with sad eyes.
"Brother. I'm illiterate."
"...Right."
Ma Du-gwang the illiterate and Moo-jin, who was no better, sat on the bench staring uselessly at the sky.
And that's when someone entered the agency.
"Are you here?"
"...?"
A man in worn black martial robes, his face half-hidden under a deeply pressed black hat, gave a slight bow toward Moo-jin.
"I've come to make a request. Golden Ghost Indestructible Great Hero Kang."
"...Secret escort?"
Kang Moo-jin cocked his head sideways.
A secret escort involved delivering unknown cargo in strict confidence—a risky, shady job.
"You're entrusting a secret escort to our Diamond Escort Agency?"
Moo-jin recalled the secret escort to Mount Zhongnan Sect that had led to multiple ambushes.
"Something like that. More precisely, I'm entrusting it to you, Great Hero Kang."
"To me?"
"Yes. That's right."
The man pulled his black hat even lower, avoiding Moo-jin's gaze.
He seemed oddly reluctant to show his face.
"But who are you? If you're hiring, reveal your identity."
Sensing something off, Ma Du-gwang narrowed his eyes and approached.
"Even for a secret escort, you gotta see the client's face before taking the job, right?"
"My circumstances prevent me from showing my face."
The black-hatted man smoothly retreated in step with Ma Du-gwang's advance, leaving no footprints—clearly well-versed in martial arts.
"Ha! What a joker! You say you'll pay upfront, fine. But the rest comes after delivery. How do we collect if you won't show your face!?"
"There's no rest. I'll pay the full fee upfront."
"What?!"
Ma Du-gwang's eyes narrowed in shock.
Full payment upfront?
What if the escort failed or they just took the money and ran?
"Rookie? No fool pays everything upfront."
"I trust Great Hero Kang. If I can't trust the top man in the Central Plains, who can I trust?"
"Hmph."
Ma Du-gwang eyed the man suspiciously still.
"I'll pay five times the usual secret escort rate. All upfront, and no refund even if it fails."
"...!"
Customarily, failed escorts required double repayment for the goods.
No need for that at all?
'Something stinks.'
Ma Du-gwang eyed the black-hatted man dubiously.
Hiding his face, offering big money—something was off.
No ulterior motive, and he'd act normal.
"Brother. Doesn't something smell fishy?"
"Probably 'cause I haven't bathed since yesterday."
"No, it's been three days... That's not it! This request is suspicious."
"It is."
Moo-jin nodded in agreement.
To him, this secret escort reeked of suspicion in multiple ways.
"Here's the upfront payment: fifty gold taels."
"...!"
Whoosh-!
Moo-jin unleashed his lightness skill, darting to the man and seizing both his hands.
"Request accepted. Honored client!"
"... "
Ma Du-gwang sighed at the money-mad fool—no, Kang Moo-jin.
'Wasn't he a Shaolin lay disciple?'
Is it okay for a lunatic like that to love money this much?
Whoosh-
An Ji-so, branch chief of the Underground Network's Taiyuan branch, dashed to his office using lightness skill.
Thud- clack-
He hastily pulled a few books from the shelf against the wall. Mechanisms whirred to life, slowly parting the shelf from the wall.
An emergency escape route he'd built against raids.
Grrrind-!
But the shelf jammed halfway open.
The damn mechanism had broken mid-activation.
"Damn it! Not now...!"
An Ji-so forced his body into the child-sized gap.
He managed to squeeze his legs in, but his waist was the problem.
Fattened from recent boozing, it was stuck fast!
"Damn. Move! Move!"
As An Ji-so wriggled his waist into the hole—
Creak-
The office door opened, revealing Kang Moo-jin.
"G-Great Hero Kang?! What brings you here? You could've sent word—I'd have come to you...!"
"... "
Moo-jin sighed softly at An Ji-so's feigned ignorance.
'Crazies everywhere.'
An Ji-so naturally extricated himself, brushing off the dust.
"Haha. Misunderstanding. Just testing the new mechanism."
"Sure."
"Hahaha. What can I do for you?"
"Here for a request."
"Oh, not to smash... Ahem. A request, got it."
An Ji-so quickly corrected himself, signaling a subordinate outside for tea.
"What kind?"
"A secret escort came into the Diamond Escort Agency today."
"Oh... Really?"
An Ji-so played dumb, but Moo-jin saw right through the lie.
Not because of any special talent, but his pupil was quivering wildly.
Even a toddler could spot it.
"Looks like you know who it is."
"Wh-wh-what do you mean?"
An Ji-so's hand shook like an earthquake as he took the tea from his subordinate.
Tea nearly splashed everywhere.
Thud-
Kang Moo-jin placed one gold tael on the table. An Ji-so's tremor stopped instantly.
"I'll pay for the info. Tell me about him."
"Well, Great Hero Kang, do you know of Shanxi's Five Great Righteous Factions and Three Great Evil Factions—or rather, now Two Great Evil Factions?"
"Mm. Heard of 'em."
Shanxi lacked the Nine Great Sects and One Gang or Eight Great Families; instead, mid-sized clans and sects filled the void.
That was the Five Great Righteous and Three Great Evil.
With Crimson Flame Gang smashed, it was down to Two Great Evil.
"Rumor has it they've allied to take down the Diamond Escort Agency."
"...? Why us?"
Escort agencies weren't righteous or evil sects.
If anything, neutral, chasing coin over justice or villainy.
No reason for righteous and evil to team up against them.
"No big reason. Like, 'cousin buys land, my belly aches.'"
Shanxi's righteous and evil powers eyed the Diamond Escort Agency's growth warily.
Amassing wealth, training mighty warriors, expanding influence province-wide—they were a thorn in the side.
"Plus, everyone's calling the Diamond Escort Agency the richest in Shanxi."
"Not quite. We're not even the biggest."
The Diamond Escort Agency was Shaanxi's second-largest.
Top spot went to Hangsan Escort Agency, trading with Hebei, Peking, and nomads from near Mount Hang for over a century.
Though after sealing the Plum Cloud deal, they were now just a handspan behind.
"True or not, perception matters. Great Hero Kang, many evil faction scum are already eyeing us."
"They must be begging to die."
Moo-jin unwittingly crushed his teacup to powder.
The agency he'd built through blood and sweat—filth from evil factions targeting it? Unbearable rage.
"Y-you'll pulverize my neck!?"
"...? Slip of the hand."
"Ah, good. Relieved."
An Ji-so sighed in relief.
"Anyway, back to it—that black-hatted man is one of them."
"Them?"
"Yes. Great Hero Kang."
An Ji-so glanced around cautiously, as if ears were everywhere, then spoke carefully.
"They..."