A Night at Sugyeongru
Three people had been traveling toward the Demonic Cult for about two weeks now.
Stealth
“Heh heh heh! Hand over everything you have!”
Near Dongting Lake in the Hunan Province, where Changsha was just a short distance away, a dozen bandits suddenly stepped out into the open.
Yoo Eunhyeon, who had been watching them with a somewhat bewildered expression, soon turned his head back to Ju Yu-ryeon and continued the conversation he had started.
“So this is Dongting Lake?”
“Mhm. It was a place I absolutely had to see. Night walks, water games, boat rides… Even if it’s just for fun, Dongting Lake wouldn’t be right, would it? We have to go play there.”
The bandits’ faces froze for a moment at the two people’s unusually calm demeanor. But it was only a moment; they soon wore furious expressions and shouted, “W-Who are you puny brats to ignore us?!”
The bandits quickly lifted their axes and swung them toward the two.
Thunk!
The axes never reached their targets. Ho Won-jik had somehow stepped in to block the path right in front of them.
He was sent flying into the air with a single kick, and the only thing the bandits felt at the end was the sensation of their bodies soaring through the sky. Seeing this, the thieves had no further interest and turned to flee.
“Hyung-nim, noona. We handled it.”
Ho Won-jik approached Yoo Eunhyeon and Ju Yu-ryeon, reporting the situation. Ju Yu-ryeon waved her hand dismissively, stopping him.
“Enough of that talk. How many times is this now?”
“Dongting Lake is such a famous tourist spot that rich people gather here. They must have been targeting that.”
“No matter how you look at it, the government officials just left it alone?”
“Hmm. The government officials are probably only focused on the clashes between the Heavenly Martial Alliance and the Demonic Cult. And honestly, by the time the sun sets, it’s normal not to venture outside the city.”
Yoo Eunhyeon had suspicions, but he didn’t press further. It was because, right now as the sun was setting, there really weren’t many people wandering the streets, just as Ju Yu-ryeon had said.
“Are we halfway there now?”
“About that. We’re going to play, right?”
“No, we’re going to rest. No matter how much free time I have, it feels like we’ve been resting too long.”
“Even so, we can’t just pass by Dongting Lake. Eunhyeon, you’ve never been here before, have you?”
Yoo Eunhyeon had heard from others that Dongting Lake was beautiful and full of sights, so he had no intention of just passing through.
“Let’s just rest for three days. No more than that.”
“Aigoo… I guess we have no choice. We’re not here just because we came this time. If we sucked up everything from the start, we wouldn’t feel like coming back later.”
With that, the three headed toward Changsha, the largest city near Dongting Lake.
Upon entering Changsha, the three started looking around for accommodation. After asking a few people, they headed to Sugyeongru, the grand and ornate inn known throughout Changsha.
“Welcome, guests.”
“One room each, please.”
“One room… each?”
Yoo Eunhyeon rummaged through his pouch while speaking, and the servant’s eyes widened as if he had heard something he couldn’t believe. Yoo Eunhyeon paused for a moment, visibly startled by the reaction.
“Why? Are you saying there’s no room?”
“No, no. Our Sugyeongru is proud that besides regular guest rooms, we also have dedicated suites for distinguished guests, so we’re rarely fully booked except on special days… but…”
“Is there some problem?”
“Our rooms are one tael of gold per day… Would that be alright?”
The servant asked, eyeing them. They were clearly dressed like young travelers out for fun.
The servant had seen countless customers who wanted to stay one night at the highest-class inn before. Usually, such customers scraped together enough to book only one room, which was why he was looking at them skeptically.
“Three days’ worth, please.”
“Three days?!”
But when Yoo Eunhyeon casually pulled out a ten-tael gold note without a care, the servant’s worried face lit up instantly.
“Oh, thank you! If you need anything, please let us know anytime!”
“First, prepare some food for us, would you?”
“Yes, right this way.”
By now the sun was setting and they hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so the three sat down for a simple meal and began talking.
“It really is a pricey place. The food is delicious too.”
Yoo Eunhyeon, eating rice with Fish Aroma Eggs as a side dish, muttered while looking around. It was truly fitting for Sugyeongru—everywhere inside was filled with water, and the reflected light shimmering above created a mysterious beauty.
“After eating, what are you going to do?”
“Rest, of course. Aren’t you tired?”
Yoo Eunhyeon answered casually to Ju Yu-ryeon’s question. But as they sipped tea after the meal, Ju Yu-ryeon lifted her hand and clicked her tongue.
“Hmph. How long do you plan to stay? You’re wasting the night like this. Shouldn’t we at least do some sightseeing?”
“Do as you please… I need to rest. What about Won-jik?”
Even if he wanted to follow, there was no reason to rush. More importantly, he felt like taking his time to explore Sugyeongru’s interior.
“Of course I should follow noona.”
“You don’t have to. Do what you want. I’m not going to stop a man who says he’ll follow.”
Ju Yu-ryeon didn’t care much about who she went with, as she never held back when it came to having fun. As the meal was nearly finished, Yoo Eunhyeon spoke again.
“Among the staff here… I think there might be some martial artists. Be careful.”
Yoo Eunhyeon glanced at the staff walking around while speaking. Ju Yu-ryeon also discreetly checked them once, then nodded.
“As I thought? You felt it too?”
“It was no ordinary presence. Why are there Murim people in an inn? They’re not even hiding their martial skills.”
Yoo Eunhyeon asked with a suspicious look, but Ju Yu-ryeon answered casually as if it was nothing.
“Well, that could happen. Changsha is under the strong influence of Heokgeonmun, so it makes sense they wouldn’t interfere in places where money circulates.”
Heokgeonmun was one of the major Demonic Cult sects ruling Hunan and Gansu, just like the Tiger-Chasing Sect, belonging to the Six Pillars of the Demonic Heaven.
Ho Won-jik, listening from the side, chimed in.
“Noona is right. They’ve strategically placed their disciples here, openly showing off their martial arts as their territory. They say Heokgeonmun especially profits from big loans and illegal investments centered around the Black Kerchief Trading House.”
“Are you the same?”
“N-No, we’re different. The Tiger-Chasing Sect doesn’t operate inns like this, but we do things like escorting or assassinations that require direct strength.”
“That seems a bit too weak for your standards.”
“Hyung-nim is just too strong. A farmer being this strong… that’s cheating.”
“Heh. Eunhyeon is a bit of a cheater.”
Ho Won-jik got fired up at the joke, and Ju Yu-ryeon burst into laughter.
“Anyway, that there are Murim people isn’t that surprising. There’s no need to worry about danger. For an inn of this level, even rich nobles stay here, and if something like bandits or thieves happens in such a place, it would actually cause even bigger losses.”
“Exactly as noona said. No matter how much we’re Demonic Cult, we don’t like losing.”
Yoo Eunhyeon also nodded after hearing the two’s explanations. He had simply asked out of curiosity rather than because he was bothered by the fact that there were Murim people.
And this time he raised his finger with a quite concerned expression.
“Actually, there’s a whole different big problem.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Our money is running out.”
Yoo Eunhyeon pulled out his pouch and shook it. Ju Yu-ryeon looked at Ho Won-jik and asked.
“What about you?”
“N-Noona. I don’t have any money left either. I gave all my money to hyung-nim from the start.”
Ho Won-jik had handed over all the money he had brought with him when he joined the group. Just the money he had taken from the Tiger-Chasing Sect amounted to thirty taels of gold.
Adding the money Yoo Eunhyeon had gained from selling Hoan Stones and the savings he had accumulated, it exceeded twenty taels of gold. Together, their money was certainly not a small amount…
“…So only ten taels left?”
“We’ve been staying too luxuriously. Not so much that we’d go hungry, but since this is the last place, we have to be careful with our spending.”
“It’s fine. I can have fun even with no change left. That aside… we really don’t have much time left today, do we? Let’s get ready and head out.”
Ju Yu-ryeon shouted casually, heading to her room, and Ho Won-jik hurriedly followed. Watching them, Yoo Eunhyeon leisurely emptied the remaining tea.
Soon after returning to his own room, Yoo Eunhyeon washed his body with the prepared bathwater, opened the window to let in the wind, and quietly sat on the bed to let it dry.
“It’s quite refreshing, even if not as much as home.”
He recalled the memory of washing his body in the stream near his farm after hard work and letting the night breeze dry it. A faint smile touched the corners of his mouth at the thought.
Yoo Eunhyeon sat by the window, facing the wind. Before long, his eyelids drooped and he fell asleep right there.
*
“Mmm… How long has it been?”
Waking from his nap, Yoo Eunhyeon walked to the window that was swaying in the wind and looked outside. The small lamp that had barely lit the darkness was already gone, meaning it was already deep night.
Normally he would have closed the window and gone back to sleep, but since he was completely awake, Yoo Eunhyeon got up from his seat and frowned.
“It’s good that fatigue passes quickly, but at times like this it’s troublesome.”
After cultivating martial arts, he barely felt fatigue. Even if he did, resting for a moment would restore him instantly. Sleeping on time and waking a bit early was fine, but the only drawback was that falling asleep late and waking up made it hard to fall asleep again.
“Yu-ryeon and Won-jik still aren’t back yet.”
Though a bit late, they still followed their original plan and slowly began to walk around Sugyeongru’s interior.
The lights were dimmer than at dinner, but the decorations of Sugyeongru that had been made to reflect in the mirror-like water and bounce back still showcased their beauty. Following the reflected light, Yoo Eunhyeon headed downstairs, and before long his feet were moving toward the area where the lights were gathering.
And in the inner courtyard of Sugyeongru, the huge mirror-like pond reflecting the full moon in the water caught Yoo Eunhyeon’s gaze as he walked along.
“Is that the side building?”
It was neither small nor large. It looked ordinary, but Yoo Eunhyeon sensed something strange from there. His eyes that could feel natural energy saw a swirling, distorted aura surrounding the building as if it were alive.
Yoo Eunhyeon, walking toward the side building out of curiosity mixed with boredom, suddenly had someone appear in front of him and block his path.
“Guest, are you taking a walk?”
A man smiled at Yoo Eunhyeon, looking different from the servant he had met in the evening. An unknown aura stirred subtly in his eyes.