Chapter 12
Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Jianghu Debut, and the Enchantress (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The main hall was in chaos.
Even though business hadn't truly begun yet, rowdy troublemakers had flooded in, turning the place into pandemonium.
Mok Ri-won, stepping out onto the top floor with Hwa Seo, peered down over the railing and scanned the scene.
‘Where are you.’
He could sense it.
A killing intent, refined to perfection.
It glided toward him silently and stealthily, like a fish swimming beneath a lake's surface, cloaked in shadows.
Mok Ri-won sharpened his qi sense, extending it wider and keener.
Only then did he spot the man standing oddly still at the entrance to the pleasure house.
‘…There.’
His face was hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat, obscuring his features, but the sturdy build and the rough, scar-covered hands below were unmistakably those of a martial artist.
The heavy aura of killing intent emanating from him revealed that his skills were far from ordinary.
In that tense moment, the warrior lifted his head.
Mok Ri-won flinched.
‘…A realm more mature than mine.’
He knew it instantly.
The man was a master who had reached the pinnacle of the Pinnacle Realm.
A brief exchange of glances.
The moment they confirmed each other's presence, the man turned and strode out of the hall.
Only then did Mok Ri-won feel the tension drain from his body. He turned to Hwa Seo.
He had to swallow his shock.
“…Little Sister?”
Hwa Seo stared at the spot where the man had vanished, her face twisted in an expression Mok Ri-won had never seen before.
Her pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Her face had gone deathly pale.
Mok Ri-won understood.
That look was born of fear.
*
The commotion settled quickly enough.
Once the guards protecting the pleasure house and Hwa Seo's personal escorts sprang into action, the thugs had no choice but to scatter.
It had gone smoothly.
One might say that, but Hwa Seo's expression remained clouded even after returning to the top floor.
The reason was simple: she had seen the man Mok Ri-won spotted.
Not through aura or killing intent, but because she already knew him—and that was how she'd found him.
‘…Pyo San.’
The sullen, pallid face etched with the deep wrinkles of hardship.
It was unmistakably the shadow of her family's hatred that had haunted her childhood.
-Young lady, it's time.
The voice signaling her torment replayed in her mind.
With it came the sensation of her organs twisting inside her.
Phantom pain.
A suffering she should no longer feel, one she knew was illusory—yet Hwa Seo still shuddered under its grip.
‘You found me…’
He had come all the way here.
Those relentless pursuers hadn't overlooked even the tiniest clue, scouring everything until they'd tracked her down.
‘Failure.’
Her long escape seemed at its end.
Or could this even be called an end?
‘The start of something far worse.’
Now that they knew she was plotting her escape, they'd grow even more obsessive.
They'd leave nothing at her side, erasing even what she already possessed.
Hwa Seo bit her lip hard, feeling the presences at the ceiling and door.
‘…I have to let them escape alive.’
These were people who had abandoned their names and faces for her sake.
If things continued like this, they'd all die by Pyo San's hand.
‘At the very least.’
If she couldn't flee, she had to ensure their survival with some plan.
“Young Hero.”
Hwa Seo called to Mok Ri-won.
He finally parted his lips, which had been sealed shut until now.
“Speak.”
“Could I ask one favor of you?”
“What is it?”
“Please escort my children to safety. So Hyang will ensure you're well compensated, I promise.”
Rustling movements stirred from all around.
Seven masked figures dropped from the ceiling, and one burst in from the door, all prostrating before Hwa Seo.
The one in front, So Hyang, spoke.
“That won't do.”
“It's an order. Obey.”
Hwa Seo didn't look at them.
She simply closed her eyes and said it.
She would accept no arguments.
It was ironic, but So Hyang and the masked figures had no choice but to comply.
Hwa Seo was lenient in most matters, but once she set her mind to something, she rarely wavered.
“I beg you, Young Hero.”
She repeated her plea to Mok Ri-won.
He gazed at her steadily before replying.
“What will you do, Little Sister?”
“I'll go to them. Handing myself over should satisfy them, leaving these ones with their lives intact.”
“You're giving up? Without even fighting?”
Hwa Seo's eyes snapped open.
Unsure what he meant by those words or his intent, she stared at Mok Ri-won.
The man before her regarded her with a calm face.
“Why should you give up? And why should they flee?”
It was the same innocent question as always, but for some reason, Hwa Seo sensed something different in it.
He wasn't beaming with his usual friendliness.
“Young Hero?”
“I know this about you, Little Sister. You're no sinner. No—you're one who accumulates good karma. The smiles of everyone in this pleasure house prove it.”
His words poured out, praising her as before, but the tone was utterly changed.
Of course it was.
Mok Ri-won wasn't the least bit amused right now.
The reason was so straightforward that even wondering ‘why’ felt like a luxury.
“Good people don't kneel. It's the opposite, in fact. The wicked are the ones who should kneel and beg for their lives.”
The current situation clashed entirely with his sense of justice.
Hwa Seo let out a hollow laugh.
Part of her even wanted to slap that insolent mouth that spouted such naive words even now.
She could ignore it.
Just pay him off, settle the debt, and be done.
Yet Hwa Seo found herself arguing back.
She couldn't explain her own rising anger.
That frustration, that unyieldingly righteous nature—it was infuriating to behold.
“Yes, you speak so rightly. But do you know this? The world doesn't flow by justice alone. Proving one's will requires immense power. Look at the situation now. You said there's a Pinnacle Realm warrior down there, right? From the aura, his skills surpass yours.”
Mok Ri-won didn't refute her.
Silent affirmation.
Hwa Seo clenched her fist and pressed on.
“What can justice do about it? Can you beat that warrior? If we resist and face him, will things improve? Listen— the martial world isn't the romantic place you imagine. Standing against him now would only lead to a horrific defeat in the end. We'd lose lives we could have saved.”
Had she ever spoken so much in recent memory?
Swept up in emotion, Hwa Seo gasped for breath.
She still didn't know why she was saying so much.
What fueled this rage—she couldn't say.
…No, perhaps she did know.
Hwa Seo furrowed her brow and smiled bitterly.
‘I've grown fond of him already.’
She worried that foolish man might chase his romantic ideals to his death.
Maybe she just didn't want to lose her connection.
‘Have I entangled myself too deeply?’
As regret and emptiness washed over her, Mok Ri-won spoke.
“You won't know until you try.”
“…What?”
“I said you won't know until you try. Hm, no.”
Mok Ri-won rose from his seat.
His face remained serene.
He stared into space as if pondering, then turned to Hwa Seo with a smile.
“I don't get the feeling I'll lose.”
Her nape prickled.
As fury boiled over and Hwa Seo nearly rose to slap him, Mok Ri-won continued.
“You've forgotten something, Little Sister.”
She froze.
Filling her vision was Mok Ri-won, wearing a surprisingly trustworthy expression.
“Knights-errant don't lose to villains. It's a line from the Sword Hero in chapter one of Tales of the Jianghu Heroes.”
He patted his chest.
With that, Mok Ri-won walked toward the door.
“Be back soon.”
The door creaked shut.
*
Outside Suyang County, in a grand manor.
Inside the inner quarters of the building bearing a plaque reading ‘One Wheel Society’ in elegant calligraphy, two men sat facing each other.
One was a burly man fawning obsequiously—the society's leader. The other was Pyo San, who had spotted Hwa Seo at the pleasure house entrance.
“Th-thank you for stepping in personally, my lord….”
“Cut the nonsense. Just being in the same room as black path riffraff like you is humiliation enough.”
The leader flinched.
Gang Byeok-un shuddered slightly at Pyo San's demeanor.
Resentment filled him inwardly.
‘Arrogant bastard.’
He'd come offering help first, yet spoke like this—no wonder he seemed loathsome.
But Gang Byeok-un couldn't voice his complaints. Pyo San's skills were so profound that the entire One Wheel Society couldn't touch a hair on his head even if they all attacked.
“I-I spoke out of turn…!”
Gang Byeok-un bowed his head deeper.
He had to endure.
The pleasure house was the biggest in Suyang County.
Swallowing it whole brought gains too vast to ruin over mere feelings.
Gang Byeok-un quietly refilled Pyo San's cup.
He'd somehow flatter him and get the job done.
A forced smile rose on his face.
The door burst open.
“Brother! Intruders!”
The deputy leader guarding the inner quarters shouted as he flung the door wide.
Gang Byeok-un and Pyo San's gazes snapped to him.
“What? Intruders? Who?”
“I-I don't know! It's just….”
The deputy's face was ashen.
His expression was that of someone who had seen a ghost.
“…O-one. Just one.”
Context suggested a single intruder had broken in, and he couldn't stop them, so he'd rushed here.
As Gang Byeok-un's face reddened with rage and he opened his mouth to bellow, Pyo San stood.
“Must be that one.”
Gang Byeok-un looked at Pyo San, sensing he knew something.
Pyo San ignored the gaze.
“I can guess. I'll handle it.”
He left those words and brushed past the deputy toward the source of the commotion.
*
Smack!
Mok Ri-won battered the approaching black path thugs with his scabbard as he advanced inside.
A lone intrusion.
Yet no one could stop him.
Of course not.
A Pinnacle Realm warrior was firmly in the superhuman category.
Against common rabble playing at banditry like these black path fools, they stood no chance.
“Where's your leader.”
Having felled all the black path members in the garden, Mok Ri-won asked one of the fallen men with a calm face.
At that instant.
Sfx!
Something grazed Mok Ri-won's cheek, leaving a cut on his face.
Mok Ri-won raised his head.
There stood a middle-aged man with a sinister air under a wide hat—the Pinnacle Realm warrior from the pleasure house entrance.
“You've come all this way. Or should I thank you for saving me the trip.”
Casual words.
Mok Ri-won's eyes darkened.
The moment he saw him, suspicion turned to certainty.
‘…As I thought.’
The aura from this man was too pure.
“I have a question for you.”
“Ask away. For someone your age to reach such heights in martial arts, as your senior, I'll grant that much mercy.”
Senior.
Mok Ri-won mulled the word.
His mind cooled coldly.
“Senior, you said.”
“That's right.”
“I had one thought on my way here.”
Step.
Mok Ri-won took a step forward.
He voiced the question that arose.
“No matter how I look at it, something doesn't add up. Your aura is so pure—why is someone like you aiding the black path?”
“That's a misunderstanding….”
“No misunderstanding. There can't be. There mustn't be.”
Step.
Another step forward.
His once-calm face began to harden with chill, then suddenly turned icy cold.
“You dare soil the righteous path exalted by countless knights-errant— you have no right to speak.”
It was nearly a mutter.
Nearly self-hypnosis.
Yes.
The emotion Mok Ri-won felt gazing at Pyo San was rare for him: anger.
“You have no words to utter while committing villainy and trampling the good.”
To Mok Ri-won, the righteous path was sacred.
It had to be the justice that could turn even one bearing the Heavenly Slaughter Star into a knight-errant.
Thus, he could not forgive Pyo San.
“I'll teach you.”
Shing.
For the first time, Mok Ri-won's sword left its scabbard.
Above it hovered a dark star.
Sword Qi Wounds Men—the mark of a Pinnacle Realm warrior.
“Dare not speak of being my senior with that filthy mouth.”
In that instant, a bloody gleam flashed in Mok Ri-won's eyes.