Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Isn't This That Thing?
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The Rogue Market was divided into ten sections.
Stakes had been driven into a vast open lot, and ropes connecting them marked the boundaries of each section.
Within each section stood a crudely constructed building where the rogues usually lived.
There were also rogues who came here every morning and returned home at night.
Section One wasn't composed solely of rogues with outstanding skills; each section was equipped with rogues of varying abilities.
However, the proportion of skilled individuals was clearly different.
Section One had the most, and Section Ten had the fewest.
The one that caught Byeok Taesan's attention was Section Six.
The men there were all quite skilled. But that wasn't why Byeok Taesan was interested.
Their ability to conceal their skills was truly remarkable.
Most likely, not only the people living in this Rogue Market but also those who came to hire rogues had no idea that the men of Section Six possessed such incredible skills.
Considering that members of prestigious families were sometimes among those who hired rogues, this was a truly impressive feat.
And above all, it seemed that even Ma Chungsam, who was guiding Byeok Taesan, hadn't properly grasped their abilities.
Sure enough, Ma Chungsam walked right past Section Six.
The place he chose was Section One.
"This is the place, Young Master."
Ma Chungsam said, looking at Byeok Taesan with a cautious yet tense expression.
Deep in his eyes was a hint of desperation.
It included the worry of, *What if this isn't it either?*
But he couldn't pretend it was right when it wasn't. Byeok Taesan shook his head.
Ma Chungsam's pupils trembled violently.
Byeok Taesan chuckled at him and said.
"Still, you managed to blunder your way to the right answer."
Byeok Taesan turned and headed back toward Section Six.
Ma Chungsam, with a bewildered look on his face, quickly followed him.
The men in Section One who were in charge of receiving clients came out to greet Ma Chungsam and Byeok Taesan, but their expressions soured.
"Why are so many guys just window-shopping and leaving these days?"
"Tell me about it. Huh? They're heading to Section Six."
"What? They're going in? Why has Section Six been getting so many clients lately?"
"Rumor has it the guys in Section Six have been doing good work. Haven't you heard?"
"What? First I'm hearing of it."
"The rumors are spreading fast. It's like they've taken some kind of drug; they're suddenly on fire."
"What is it? Is there something I don't know? The Section Six guys were famous for being lazy."
"That's old news. They're probably the most diligent ones now. They handle their requests with incredible intensity, too."
"I smell something."
"Smell something?"
"The smell of money. Hey, go dig into the Section Six guys. There's definitely something there. Something big."
"Huh?"
"My gut tells me so. Don't you know I have good instincts?"
The man who had been responding couldn't bring himself to agree, not even as an empty platitude.
"Ah, yes... Well, I'll look into it."
He couldn't bring himself to say the man had good instincts, not even as an empty compliment.
In any case, he had his orders, so he had to move. He walked cautiously toward Section Six, muffling his footsteps.
It seemed he would have to eavesdrop on what was being said inside.
* * *
Entering Section Six, Byeok Taesan glanced around.
Unlike the other sections, there were very few rogues outside the building in Section Six.
They looked at Byeok Taesan for a moment as he entered, then quickly averted their gazes.
All the rogues here did the same.
After all, they weren't the ones who went out to get requests; the section leader took the jobs and distributed them accordingly.
If they carelessly took a request on their own, they might disappear without a trace.
They had only acted the same as any other rogue.
But Byeok Taesan knew immediately that wasn't the case.
They had just sized him up. Whether they got an accurate reading, he didn't know.
Byeok Taesan turned his head to look at Ma Chungsam, who had hurriedly followed him inside.
The rogues' gazes now fell on Ma Chungsam before shifting away.
"Is something wrong, Young Master?"
Seeing Byeok Taesan suddenly look at him, Ma Chungsam asked, wondering if there was another task for him.
Byeok Taesan watched him and shook his head.
"It's nothing."
It meant their assessment had been so subtle and natural that even Ma Chungsam hadn't noticed.
But Byeok Taesan couldn't just accept that.
"You have a long way to go."
He had no intention of letting him remain at his current level.
Ma Chungsam would soon break through his wall. By force.
'Because I'll make it so.'
Of course, he might experience death a few times as a price, but wouldn't Ma Chungsam be happy if he could break through his limits?
He once again felt that he had become a good person.
With an inwardly pleased expression, Byeok Taesan walked toward the building.
As he entered the building, he saw a considerable number of rogues.
He hadn't been inside the buildings in the other sections, so he couldn't be sure, but he imagined they were probably similar to this.
At first glance, half of them looked as if they hadn't learned any martial arts.
Of course, to Byeok Taesan's eyes, they were merely concealing their skills.
The other half exuded a moderate amount of presence.
They revealed just the right amount, and their control was truly exquisite.
All eyes focused on Byeok Taesan.
A man who appeared to be the section leader was sitting in the spot furthest from the entrance. He possessed a remarkably refined and restrained aura, unlike a typical rogue.
Naturally. He wasn't a rogue, but a team leader of the Secret Heaven Group.
Byeok Taesan scanned the people inside. He first needed to determine who among them was from the Secret Heaven Group and who wasn't.
Typically, a team in the Secret Heaven Group consisted of one team leader and twenty members.
That was just the basic initial setup; the composition could change very flexibly depending on the situation.
For instance, the Divine Doctor of the Ages had one team leader and twelve members.
Here, there were over thirty people visible at a glance.
But judging by the atmosphere, there seemed to be more. It was clear that a good number of them were out on missions.
'Only five of them aren't from the Secret Heaven Group.'
Perhaps the ordinary rogues who weren't part of the group were also out on missions.
Or perhaps they had intentionally not recruited ordinary rogues.
Byeok Taesan walked straight inside and stood before the section leader.
The section leader, sitting perched on the stairs, simply tilted his head and eyes slightly to look up at Byeok Taesan.
"If you're here with a request, please see the man over there."
The section leader gestured with his chin toward a man sitting some distance away.
The indicated man stood up and approached Byeok Taesan.
"You can tell me about your request. It's a bit uncomfortable here, shall we move over there?"
Byeok Taesan paid the man no mind and spoke to the section leader.
"I'd like to speak with you alone. Shall we go inside for a moment?"
The section leader's eyebrow twitched. He wondered what this was all about.
But that thought didn't last long.
"I have something to discuss regarding the Black Moon."
The moment those words were spoken, the section leader's gaze changed completely.
He shot to his feet and spoke to Byeok Taesan with an utmost respectful posture.
"Please, come inside. I will greet you properly in there."
Byeok Taesan nodded and followed the section leader into a room prepared inside.
* * *
As Byeok Taesan took the seat of honor, the section leader stood respectfully before him and bowed his head.
"Yuk Taegu greets the Young Master."
"How many men do you have under you?"
"Fifty."
Byeok Taesan's eyes gleamed.
"That's quite a lot."
"We specialize in intelligence gathering, infiltration, and information manipulation, so we require more personnel."
He had thought as much. Their ability to hide their strength was quite impressive.
"I have a few things for you to do."
"Just give the order."
"Take over the Rogue Market."
"Yes. It can be done immediately."
He had already laid the groundwork in all the sections, just in case an order like this came.
The other section leaders didn't know it, but a significant number of their skilled rogues had been loyal to Yuk Taegu for a long time.
After saying that, Byeok Taesan called for Ma Chungsam, who was still waiting outside the room.
"Come in."
As Ma Chungsam cautiously opened the door and entered, Byeok Taesan spoke to Yuk Taegu.
"This man is from the East Lake Escort Agency."
"The East Lake Escort Agency... so that place was one of ours after all."
"You knew?"
"I only suspected."
"Since you know anyway, that's good. The two of you, coordinate well."
Yuk Taegu and Ma Chungsam bowed their heads simultaneously.
"As you command."
They do not question orders. They simply execute them.
Yuk Taegu looked cautiously at Byeok Taesan and asked.
"But... how did you know about us? To be honest, we are a bit different from the other teams, so very few people know of our existence."
Byeok Taesan smirked.
"Who do you know that knows?"
"As far as I know, only the leader of the Moon Shadow Division."
The Moon Shadow Division was the organization that managed intelligence within the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
It was superior to any other intelligence organization in the world.
While the Secret Heaven Group was not directly under the Moon Shadow Division, a significant number of its teams belonged to it.
Furthermore, the Secret Heaven Group was obligated to cooperate actively with the Moon Shadow Division.
Among them, Yuk Taegu was special.
He was practically a direct subordinate of the Moon Shadow Division's leader.
That's why he was still puzzled. How on earth did this person know his identity?
In Yuk Taegu's eyes, Byeok Taesan was clearly a high-ranking official.
It wasn't just because he mentioned the Black Moon; he had confirmed it through other means.
It was a simple question-and-answer session, but it was a necessary process to utilize the Secret Heaven Group.
And to use Yuk Taegu's team, one had to be able to answer questions that were a little different from those for other Secret Heaven Group teams.
But Byeok Taesan answered every question without hesitation.
At this point, he could almost believe he was the leader of the Moon Shadow Division himself.
But Byeok Taesan was definitely not the leader. Yuk Taegu knew the leader very well, having met him in person several times.
Byeok Taesan stared silently at Yuk Taegu.
He didn't really need to answer this question. Even if he just let it go, Yuk Taegu would faithfully carry out his instructions.
Still, Byeok Taesan gave him a simple answer.
"Just because."
"Pardon?"
"I just knew."
Yuk Taegu stared blankly at Byeok Taesan. *I just knew?* How was he supposed to take that?
Yuk Taegu quickly came to his senses.
He bowed his head slightly.
"Yes. Understood. I will begin the assigned task immediately."
Byeok Taesan nodded and rose from his seat.
His business here was finished.
Just as he was about to leave the room, Byeok Taesan stopped and looked back at Yuk Taegu.
"Ah, and besides the East Lake Escort Agency, have you found any others?"
Yuk Taegu bowed his head and answered.
"We have. But as you know, nothing is certain."
"It's fine. Pass the information to that guy."
Byeok Taesan said, gesturing with his chin toward Ma Chungsam, who was standing in a corner.
Yuk Taegu glanced at Ma Chungsam, then bowed his head again to Byeok Taesan.
"Understood."
Yuk Taegu gazed silently at Byeok Taesan's retreating back, lost in thought.
'He just knew? How could he just know? From the looks of it, he didn't even know our team was here in the first place...'
Yuk Taegu felt that something impossible had just happened, yet strangely, he also had a feeling that it was possible.
'Wait... isn't this that thing?'
Within the Heavenly Demonic Cult, there were several anecdotes about the Heavenly Demon that had been passed down like legends for ages.
What he had experienced today felt strangely similar to one of them.
Yuk Taegu watched Byeok Taesan's receding back and swallowed dryly.
He was a little confused.
* * *
Seo Dogun was staying at the largest inn in Wuhan.
He was using the entire grand and expensive rear courtyard of the inn. Dozens of warriors were scattered around his room, standing guard.
Every one of them was a remarkable master, but they were all Go Jungwang's men, not Seo Dogun's.
Seo Dogun's own subordinates were currently on their way to Wuhan.
Even so, they numbered only a few dozen, and it would be challenging to accomplish anything with just them.
Especially since the current situation in Wuhan was a complex mess involving the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, the Namgung Family, and the Jegal Family. A single misstep could get both Go Jungwang's and Seo Dogun's men wiped out.
Therefore, Seo Dogun had no intention of bringing his own men into Wuhan just yet.
His plan was to deploy them only when necessary, to handle key tasks swiftly before pulling them out.
So for daily matters, he had no choice but to use Go Jungwang's men.
Go Jungwang's men and Seo Dogun's men were certainly different.
For one, Go Jungwang had far more men. But in terms of individual strength, Seo Dogun's side was overwhelmingly superior.
Seo Dogun sat at a table laden with a few simple dishes, drinking wine.
Sitting across from him was the man who had been overseeing matters in Wuhan.
Seo Dogun's gaze was still greedy.
For now, there wasn't even a needle's-width of an opening, but he was always watching, ready to snatch the opportunity when it came.
That was how coveted the man was.
The man didn't even touch his wine cup.
"The Leader of the Thousand Gold Alliance has contacted the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, the Namgung Family, and the Jegal Family."
Seo Dogun smirked.
"Is that so? He's certainly capable."
Seo Dogun looked at the man with a covetous gaze.
There was no way the Leader of the Thousand Gold Alliance could have pulled that off. The ability to contact all four of those groups was entirely due to this man's capabilities.
"It's time to start moving in earnest. Now that we've diverted their attention, let's go get what's rightfully ours. And pick up a little extra while we're at it."
At Seo Dogun's words, the man's eyes flashed.
"Are you planning to strike at the ones who unified the dark arts factions?"
"That, and... the more people, the better, right?"
The man looked straight at Seo Dogun. Seo Dogun enjoyed the gaze and continued.
"The Rogue Market in Wuhan is quite large, I hear. And if we take down just ten guys, we can easily take it over?"
"That is correct."
"We'll devour them all at once. I'll handle the dark arts side. You take Black Moon Sword and go to the Rogue Market. Can you do it?"
"Of course."
As the man bowed his head, Seo Dogun looked at him with a satisfied expression.
A faint crimson light was flowing from Seo Dogun's eyes.