Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: My Foot
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Right.
Who could he blame?
It was all Namgung Urin’s own fault. Back then, he had lost his mind for a moment…
Well, what did it matter if he was the Mad Dragon or some piece-of-shit dragon? There was no need for Namgung Urin to conform to the martial world's perception of him.
Having let it all go, Namgung Urin asked So Hwi.
“Looks like you've lost a lot of blood. Are you okay?”
Just then, Chanjo, who had been momentarily distracted by the Shadows, entered the owner's room.
“Oh my, Madam. Are you alright? That's a lot of blood.”
“Don't make a fuss.”
“But my goodness, there's so much blood.”
“I think I'll be fine if you just quiet down. What do you say?”
“...I'll shut up.”
Seeing that So Hwi was truly alright, Namgung Urin spoke again.
“Who are these bad women trying to kill you?”
“Not bad women, bad bitches. The *bad woman* is the Iron Blood Sect Leader next to you.”
The innocent Han Seo-hui's eyes widened, wondering why she was being called a bad woman. Namgung Urin spoke for her.
“Why is the Sect Leader a bad woman?”
“Because she reeled you in.”
“Reeled me in…”
“It's enough to make countless women in the martial world weep. Good things are meant to be shared, you know. The Iron Blood Sect Leader is a bad woman for trying to gobble you all up for herself.”
Han Seo-hui couldn't help but feel good. Perhaps that was why a wide smile spread across her face.
“You haven't bled enough yet, I see.”
“No. I've bled plenty.”
“So, why did this whole mess happen?”
“You're smart. Figure it out with that brain of yours.”
Namgung Yul was here, as were Jang Gae, Han Seo-hui, and Baekri Jang-won. So Hwi couldn't reveal that she was the Anhui branch manager of the Lower Five Gates, so she spoke evasively.
“Right, I think I get it.”
Namgung Yul, the Namgung Family Head, and Jang Gae also seemed to understand.
No, they knew who the bitch before them was. The owner of the Flower Moon Pavilion.
That's why they were looking at her with narrowed, questioning eyes.
A fight between courtesan houses that gets this bloody?
The situation was absurd.
Jang Gae thought he knew why this incident had occurred.
When Jang Gae shot Namgung Yul a look that said, ‘You idiot, don't you get it?’, Namgung Yul finally realized the cause of the incident with an ‘Ah!’
“Damn it.”
The word escaped So Hwi's lips. Judging by the expressions on Jang Gae and Namgung Yul's faces, it seemed her secret was out.
But it was better than losing her life.
“Don't worry. We'll pretend we don't know.”
Would the Leader of the Beggars' Sect truly pretend not to know?
He would just bury this currently useless piece of information deep inside. He was the type to pull it out and use it whenever it became necessary.
“I'll do the same, so don't you worry.”
You're the same!
So Hwi could only hope he wouldn't use her position as the Anhui branch manager as leverage to come to the Bright Moon Pavilion and drink for free. Of course, being a Namgung, he probably wouldn't go that far, but still… he was the type to get at least one bottle of liquor for free.
Despite the great fame of the Namgung name and his direct lineage, Namgung Yul was practically a beggar.
In short, he was a stingy old man who visited courtesan houses without spending a dime.
“Tsk.”
So Hwi clicked her tongue briefly.
Still, if she looked on the bright side, this situation could be turned to her advantage. She wasn't the branch manager of the Lower Five Gates for nothing.
Things in the world rarely go as planned, but then again, it's all about how you look at it. Your approach changes depending on your perspective.
Namgung Urin said.
“What do you want to do? You want to handle them?”
“No. You take care of it.”
While it was the way of the martial world and only natural to deal with those who tried to kill you with your own hands, So Hwi had no desire to do so right now.
Even if the place she belonged to, the Lower Five Gates, was a gathering of the martial world's dregs, she didn't like the idea of seizing power and running wild by killing her own comrades.
So Hwi herself didn't want to live that way.
‘What is this all for?’
So Hwi had only climbed to and defended this position to live a comfortable life, a result of her difficult childhood as an orphan and the hardships she faced as a courtesan. She hadn't risen to this place by killing her colleagues with fire in her eyes for the sake of power.
So Hwi, too, was slowly growing tired of this kind of martial world.
Namgung Urin gave an order to the Shadows.
“Erase these ones too.”
“Please, spare us!”
But Namgung Urin's eyes didn't waver.
When the Shadows appeared, the owner of the Flower Moon Pavilion and her group screamed like mad.
So Hwi was surprised too.
Because of the sudden appearance of the Shadows.
The Flower Moon Pavilion group struggled, desperate to live.
But their desperate pleas were useless.
That's how the world is.
That's how the martial world is.
That's how everything in the world is.
Nothing is achieved in an instant, in a single moment. Especially not the things that carry great weight.
Things must be built up, layer by layer, to shine and reach great heights. Desperation is no different. Only when the effort for what one truly desires is piled up can that desperation reach the heavens.
It meant that showing their desperation to live now was of no use.
Just as the Namgung Family, whose desperate desire for revenge cried out through the years, who strived against time, and who devoted themselves to training, could finally taste a part of the word 'revenge'.
*Swish, shk, shk.*
In the end, the Flower Moon Pavilion owner's group met their end at the hands of the Shadows' silent, lightning-fast movements.
Having finished their work, the Shadows stealthily approached Han Seo-hui.
Shadow Two said.
“My Lady.”
Han Seo-hui's expression asked why they were coming to her again.
“...Yes.”
“Why?”
“...Why? What... what do you mean?”
Honestly, she was already confused about whether to speak formally or informally to these black-clad figures, and her head throbbed as they kept approaching her and asking questions.
“Do you like our Lord even though you know his personality?”
The others all fixed their gazes on Han Seo-hui, as if they were curious too.
“...Ah, yes.”
She wanted to lash out and ask if they really had to ask such things in front of everyone, but it was difficult, as they seemed to have a very close relationship with Namgung Urin, though she wasn't sure what it was.
“What, and how, do you know him?”
“...Do I have to go into that…”
“We want to hear it, My Lady.”
“Well... I mean... he's handsome... and... he's also kind...”
Just then, Shadow Three, who almost never spoke, cut Han Seo-hui off and opened his mouth.
“My foot.”
Han Seo-hui's eyes went wide. *Why would he say that? What did I say wrong?*
Watching and listening from the side, Jang Gae, Namgung Yul, and Baekri Jang-won's eyes widened as well.
It was incredibly fascinating.
It was beyond just speaking like humans; they were no different from people with distinct personalities.
Beside them, Namgung Urin glared at the Shadows, but it had no effect.
Unfazed by Namgung Urin's scowl, the other three Shadows clutched their sides in laughter.
“Kekekeke. She said he's kind.”
“Kikikiki. That's hilarious.”
“Ehehehe. Total fraud.”
Jang Gae laughed along, thinking the Shadows were absolutely right.
“Ho ho. Hohoho.”
Namgung Yul laughed too. His nephew, kind? Frost in June would be more believable.
“Hahahaha.”
Baekri Jang-won, who didn't even know Namgung Urin well, simply laughed along with them.
“Hehehe.”
So Hwi, still bleeding, laughed in disbelief.
“Heeheehee. Aah!”
Even as pain shot through her reopened wound from laughing, So Hwi couldn't suppress her mirth.
“Pfft. Puhahahaha.”
Chanjo didn't want to laugh at Namgung Urin, but he couldn't stop the laughter from bursting out.
Facing this scene, even Namgung Urin couldn't bring himself to lift his head. He just felt sorry for Han Seo-hui, for making her think he was kind.
But still!
Isn't this too much?
“Are you all going to be like this!”
But the laughter didn't stop.
“Hey, you don't have time for that! Hurry up and clean this place so you can reopen for business!”
Namgung Urin shouted at Chanjo.
‘Does he think he's the owner or something?’
“Uh. Ah, got it.”
And so, Chanjo hurried outside.
“Now that things are settled, everyone should go back and rest. We have to leave tomorrow.”
Han Seo-hui stared at Namgung Urin with a dazed expression.
“Young Lord…”
“Sect Leader, don't mind them. They're just like that.”
*It doesn't seem like they're 'just like that,'* she thought.
“Yeees…”
“You should go back and rest too, Sect Leader. I have something to discuss before I go.”
“You will come, won't you?”
It was her way of saying she had many questions and wanted him to come to her room.
“Yes.”
With that, everyone left the owner's room with Han Seo-hui.
“Hey! Where are you guys going?”
The Shadows were following Han Seo-hui.
“My Lady told us to follow.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Sect Leader…”
Namgung Urin called out to stop Han Seo-hui.
“I have a lot of questions. And I'd like to get to know them better. Is that okay?”
“...But... they're…”
“Well then, I'll go and wait for you.”
Han Seo-hui turned her back and simply disappeared. The Shadows happily trotted after her.
“...No…”
Those things…
Have they forgotten who their master is…
And.
There was no way the Shadows would say anything good about him.
He considered forcibly summoning them back… but then… Han Seo-hui would probably have even more questions about his personality.
If he left them, she would hear strange things.
“Ah, hell.”
In the end, it was the same either way.
Namgung Urin shook his head to clear his distracting thoughts and turned to So Hwi.
As Namgung Urin approached, So Hwi spoke to him.
“What are those things? The Namgung Family is using some strange sorcery. Are you even allowed to do that?”
“It's not strange sorcery, it's an absolute martial art. You've probably heard of it. The Primordial Chaos Art.”
Now that they all knew, there was no point in hiding it.
“Primordial Chaos Art? The one from two hundred years ago?”
“Yes.”
“You learned it? Really? I heard it was an art that couldn't be mastered.”
“I mastered it. And for the record, this isn't information. If you leak what you saw and heard today, you'll end up like the woman lying over there.”
“Not woman, bitch.”
“Whatever.”
“...Got it.”
It was a shame, but what could she do?
Still, So Hwi had survived a near-death experience today, and furthermore, she had gained something new. Hadn't she just gotten acquainted with the leader of the hundred thousand beggars, the Beggars' Sect Leader?
She wasn't sure if she and the Beggars' Sect could share information with each other, but it seemed they could share information through Namgung Urin, for Namgung Urin.
In the end, this created an opportunity for So Hwi to further expand her influence within the Lower Five Gates.
It was a huge gain.
The Lower Five Gates sharing information with the Beggars' Sect?
It was undoubtedly something that would make everyone shake their heads and call it madness.
Yet, So Hwi had been given the opportunity to do just that. It was nothing short of a great blessing from the heavens.
No.
It was a blessing bestowed by Namgung Urin.
Namgung Urin said.
“What now?”
“...What?”
“You owe me your life again, don't you?”
“...Thank you.”
“Is that all it's worth?”
So Hwi pushed out her blood-soaked cleavage and said.
“I'm bleeding a little, but I can wash up and get ready in a jiffy. How about it?”
“You saw, didn't you? I'm a taken man now.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“...It has nothing to do with it?”
“Of course not. What's the big deal?”
“...Forget it. Wake up. If that's what you want, go find some other guy.”
*As if there's anyone else in the whole martial world with a face like yours.*
Tsk.
“Hmph. So what is it?”
“I need you to do a job for me.”
The corners of So Hwi's lips curled up.
This was what she wanted.