Chapter 11
Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Ruckus at Azure Moon Pavilion
011
I caused a massive ruckus in the tavern hall, yelling at the top of my lungs.
Thanks to that, a crowd of people gathered,
"Eh? Isn't that...?"
"What's gotten into him? Did something happen during drinks?"
The reputation I'd built up over the past week at Azure Moon Pavilion worked greatly in my favor.
Among the brothel's patrons, I'd been exceedingly polite.
My speech might have been a bit rough around the edges, but I'd always treated the courtesans well and never caused a fuss.
Because of all that groundwork, even the guards protecting Azure Moon Pavilion hesitated to lay hands on me.
Which let me make an even bigger scene.
"I come here every day, and this is how you treat me? Do I look like a pushover?! Get the madam out here!!"
Even the other patrons were peeking out curiously, wondering what was going on.
"Young master..."
Choyeonn, who'd been with me the whole time, called out with a tearful expression.
She must have been wondering what the hell had gotten into me all of a sudden.
But Somwol, the one at the center of it all, wore a completely different expression.
Irritation, anger, bewilderment.
It felt like her affinity for me had plummeted, which was a shame, but there was no helping it right now.
I kicked the shattered dishes scattered across the floor and trampled the food.
I even hurled the gold placed in front of Somwol against the wall, kicking up a storm.
Only when Azure Moon Pavilion's madam finally arrived did I stop the commotion.
"I heard you called for me. What is it?"
The madam, whom I hadn't seen in a while, was still the picture of elegant, refined middle-aged beauty.
If she'd been ten years younger, she might have stirred my heart.
'Too bad. Even ten years younger... impossible now.'
In truth, this pavilion's madam was someone I'd met several times back in my Flowery Playboy days.
Given how much of a regular I'd been at Azure Moon Pavilion, it wasn't strange that we'd crossed paths a few times.
But something I hadn't realized back then was hitting me now.
'Not bad at all, huh?'
Baek Soeun, the Mount Hua Sect elder who'd taken Aeng-i not long ago.
She had internal energy on par with that woman.
No way someone like her was just running a brothel.
"I don't know what's going on, but there are a lot of eyes here. Shall we speak somewhere quiet?"
Exactly what I'd hoped for.
I grinned and nodded.
"Yeah. Lead the way."
"This way, then."
Even as a junior less than half her age spoke to her casually, her expression didn't flicker.
Mount Hua Sect elder Baek Soeun, who fancied herself some kind of Daoist master, wouldn't have tolerated that much.
'She snapped right back when I was a little rude.'
In that regard, this madam was no ordinary person.
Definitely Shadow Gate Sect, and a pretty high-ranking position at that.
Following behind her, we arrived at a highly secretive spot.
A room walled entirely in metal, with nothing inside but a table and chairs at the center.
'Oh, they had a place like this?'
As soon as the door closed, even the noises from outside were perfectly blocked out.
A hidden chamber in Azure Moon Pavilion I'd never seen in my previous life.
As I looked around in wonder, the madam pointed to the table in the middle of the room.
"Young master, shall we sit and talk first?"
I plopped down into a chair at her words and opened my mouth.
"Hey, madam."
"Yes, young master?"
"You see, I'm the third son of the Mok Family Clan. Ah, you know the Mok Family Clan, right? The Mok Family Clan."
I didn't particularly like pulling the family card, but right now, it was all I had.
And that background held some weight in this Shanxi region, at least.
"Of course I know the Mok Family Clan. One of the top great families in Shanxi Province, isn't it?"
'Not quite a great family...'
Still, it was undeniably one of the prominent clans in Shanxi.
Which was why I could have a private audience with the madam here.
"You know our family's youngest just got accepted as a Mount Hua Sect disciple not long ago?"
I brought up something the information-trading Shadow Gate Sect had to know about.
But the madam feigned ignorance, putting on a surprised face and responding naturally.
"Is that so? Congratulations."
She'd decided to play dumb, huh.
In that case, time to prod a little more.
"Yeah. And like you said, the Mok Family Clan is a recognized 'orthodox faction' powerhouse in Shanxi. I'm the third son of that family."
"...Indeed."
She hesitated briefly, sensing something off in how I emphasized 'orthodox faction,' but still answered in an even tone.
I grinned at her and spoke.
"Which got me thinking... maybe it's time to clean out the rats hiding in Taiyuan City."
"...Rats, you say...?"
Her speech had shortened now.
Yet her expression remained unchanged.
"Ah, too small a word for them, maybe? After all, they're a major unorthodox pillar like the Shadow Gate Sect."
"I'm afraid I don't follow."
Whether she thought I was just fishing or desperately wanted to believe it, she kept dodging to the end.
I shrugged at her.
"Guess the Mok Family Clan alone can't handle it? Should I send word to the Murim Alliance?"
Only then did her expression harden.
As I'd said, the Mok Family Clan couldn't take on the Shadow Gate Sect alone.
The madam before me right now was far stronger than my father, our clan's top expert.
But if it was the Murim Alliance, that changed things.
The symbol of the orthodox factions, where all the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families belonged.
Only something like the Four Black Alliance could stand against them.
And the Murim Alliance wouldn't normally budge for the third son of the Mok Family Clan,
'That's why I mentioned Aeng-i first.'
If it was word from a Mount Hua Sect disciple—one of the Nine Great Sects—the stodgy Alliance might actually move.
And if the Murim Alliance moved?
Not the Shadow Gate Sect itself, but a mere branch pavilion like Azure Moon Pavilion would crumble in an instant.
Of course, wiping out the entire network-heavy Shadow Gate Sect would be tough.
But the madam right in front of me? She wouldn't survive.
Hide her identity and evade the Murim Alliance's pursuit?
No way that was possible.
'If it was, I'd still be living large as the Lecherous Demon.'
In my case, I'd been hunted not just by the Murim Alliance but the Four Black Alliance and Demonic Cult too.
Slightly bigger scale, sure.
Either way, an individual couldn't beat an organization.
Not even running was an option.
In other words, I held not Azure Moon Pavilion hostage, but the madam's life itself.
She seemed to grasp what I meant, her eyes turning ice-cold.
I smiled casually at the sight.
"What, gonna silence me?"
Truth be told, there was a chance, and it made me a bit nervous.
The gap in our martial arts was like heaven and earth.
'But I won't go down easy.'
After all, I'd survived nearly a decade with the entire martial world as my enemy.
Compared to that, the madam here was child's play.
'Dangerous child's play, mind you.'
And I had another ace up my sleeve.
My daily visits to Azure Moon Pavilion were infamous.
Plus, with the huge scene I'd made earlier, even the patrons knew I'd gone off to meet the madam.
If I suddenly vanished?
The Mok Family Clan wouldn't sit idle.
In the end, it might even drag in the Murim Alliance like I'd threatened.
The madam seemed to realize as much, the tension easing from her eyes.
She asked me in a slightly deflated voice.
"What is it you want from me, young master?"
True to her information-trading roots, she nailed my psychology.
With my mind much more at ease, I muttered.
"Well, as someone who likes Azure Moon Pavilion, it'd break my heart if it disappeared. You know I've been coming here every day lately, right?"
She waited calmly, without a hint of irritation at my nonsense.
Bored by the lackluster reaction, I loosened up a bit more.
"So, I won't necessarily spread it around. Can't this stay our little secret?"
"...What would it take for you to keep it secret?"
She was starting to get anxious; her voice rose slightly.
Should I push a little harder?
"Hmm...? What do you think, madam?"
She pondered briefly at my words, then cautiously spoke.
"Shall I offer you my body, young master?"
"Crazy. Why would I want your body?"
My true feelings slipped out before I could stop them.
The madam frowned slightly, but it couldn't be helped.
'She's impossible, I tell you.'
Running a brothel made her think cheap, huh.
Not that what I wanted was much different...
"Somwol's Shadow Gate Sect too, right?"
"..."
No answer.
She stared straight at my face, gauging my intent.
"How do you think I figured out this place is Shadow Gate Sect? Somwol—she used lightness skill."
Only then did she piece it together; the madam's face stiffened.
Tsk tsk. So slow on the uptake.
Though I'd been shaking her psyche nonstop since we met, it was still disappointing she hadn't connected the dots sooner.
"Somwol instead of you."
"Instead...?"
"You offered a body. Offer hers instead."
"Young master, Somwol is..."
The madam started to say something but clamped her mouth shut.
'What? Is Somwol in some important position?'
Didn't change what I wanted, though.
That had been my goal from the start.
"If this Shadow Gate Sect hideout gets exposed, do you think only you die? Somwol goes down too, right? And to begin with... I found out because of her."
The madam hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"Could you possibly come back tomorrow?"
Her eyes already looked resolved.