Chapter 55
Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Shenyang Strategy
If one considered the heart of the martial world to be Henan Province, home to Shaolin Temple and the Murim Alliance, then Liaoning Province—where the Moyong Clan was based—could be described as sitting at the very edge of the Central Plains martial world.
The Four Black Alliance had taken root right below it in Anhui Province.
Thanks to that, the Moyong Clan's influence on the Central Plains martial world was rather negligible.
And yet, the reason the Moyong Clan was counted among the Five Great Families...
It was all because of the Ming imperial family.
'They say three generals in the Ming army bear the Moyong name. That says it all.'
Unlike typical orthodox faction martial artists who revered justice and chivalry while honing their martial prowess, the members of the Moyong Clan fundamentally trained to become military officers.
The Peng Clan of Hebei was close to the imperial court in Beijing as well, but there was a huge gap compared to the Moyong Clan, which directly produced generals.
Because of all this, back in my Lecherous Demon days, I had paid little attention to the Moyong Clan.
There was never any reason to get involved.
'Sword Phoenix is the exceptional case.'
Moyong Hui, who had earned fame as the Sword Phoenix despite bearing the Moyong name, was the outlier.
According to intel from the Shadow Gate Sect, that was only possible because she was a woman.
If she had been a man, she would surely have become a general by now and been thrown into some battlefield.
In any case, for all those reasons, this was my first time in Shenyang, the Moyong Clan's stronghold...
"It's way bigger than I expected!"
Not quite on the scale of Beijing, but still far larger and more developed than most cities.
It even looked more populous than Taiyuan, where I'd been staying.
'I was picturing some backwater village...'
As I marveled at the surroundings, Cheon Woojin smirked beside me.
"My lord, could this be your first time in Shenyang?"
"What? You've been here before?"
"Heh, of course. Actually, I met you on the way to Hebei after stopping here with my father."
News to me.
I'd never had reason to dig into this guy's past.
Listening along, a sudden question popped into my head.
"Then have you ever been to the Moyong Clan?"
"...No. Never that far."
"What the hell were you and your father even doing wandering around? Coming all the way to Shenyang and skipping the Moyong Clan."
"Just sightseeing and traveling. While he taught me martial arts."
Truly enigmatic people.
And yet, the Martial Emperor only gained his fame about three years later, after ending the Great Orthodox-Demonic War.
"Anyway, whatever. Since you've been here, you know Shenyang well?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Heading to a place called Righteous Fate Pavilion."
"...You're coming all this way and still hitting up a brothel? No, more importantly, my lord—if it's your first time in Shenyang, how do you even know the name?"
How?
Somwol had told me in advance it was a Brothel Hall branch.
Liaoning was such a remote border region that there hadn't been a single Shadow Gate Sect brothel along the way here.
So I'd been footing the bill myself at every stop, but since they ran one here in Shenyang, of course I'd head there.
"Doesn't matter. Do you know it or not?"
"...As you know, traveling with my father meant no brothel visits for me."
"Tch, useless."
If he was gonna act like he knew Shenyang, he should've actually known.
Cheon Woojin scowled and grumbled at my words.
"We've finally reached Shenyang like we planned, and you're talking about whoring it up? Isn't that weird?"
The real reason he was grumbling like this was something else.
He'd blown through the two silver nyang I'd given him as stipend.
"Told you to watch your spending."
"Who can even survive on two silver nyang?!"
"Normal folks get by for a whole month on that."
"Sure, but..."
Truth was, two silver nyang wasn't pocket change.
A typical commoner would struggle to earn even one in a month.
'The issue is, normal commoners never set foot in a brothel their whole lives.'
And since I'd gotten used to splurging after Eun Garyeon handed me twenty gold nyang, two silver was peanuts for keeping up with me.
In short, Cheon Woojin was just sulking because he couldn't join me at the brothels alone.
"Whatever. Scout out where Righteous Fate Pavilion is and meet me at that tavern over there. Figure it out in fifteen minutes, and I'll cover your brothel tab tonight as a special treat."
"For real?!"
His eyes went wide in shock.
Not that it was costing me anything, really.
'It's free at Righteous Fate Pavilion anyway.'
Brothels run by the Brothel Hall never charged me.
Zero downside for me.
"Yeah. Hurry up. I'll be at that tavern having a drink."
But Cheon Woojin shouted brightly.
"Your command! I'll be right back!"
And vanished in a flash.
'Tch tch, liking brothels that much...'
This guy was hopeless.
If the Martial Emperor saw his son like this, he'd probably slap him silly.
'Makes my own dad seem impressive.'
He'd put up with my Flowery Playboy phase for a full five years.
He started dropping hints around year three, but still kept the allowance coming the whole time.
I headed into the tavern and ordered some food and drinks.
But Cheon Woojin returned before the food even arrived.
"What? Back already?"
"My lord! I found it!"
"You sure? Did you check it yourself?"
I eyed him suspiciously.
Shenyang was huge.
I'd given him a tight fifteen minutes, but he'd returned in under eight.
Cheon Woojin declared confidently, however.
"Saw it with my own eyes!"
"Where?"
"Just past that alley up ahead."
Damn.
If I'd known, I wouldn't have ordered food and wasted the money.
But since the drinks and food were already coming, I sat him down first.
He plopped into the chair, beaming with pride.
Then cautiously opened his mouth.
"So, my lord, how exactly do you plan to seduce Sword Phoenix? We're here now—time to spill."
How?
Honestly, I didn't have a solid plan.
'Well, I do have one.'
It just seemed impossible no matter how I thought about it.
During my time taking Eun Garyeon in Beijing, I'd realized something huge.
I, Mok Jimyeong...
Was surprisingly bad at picking up women.
Back in my Lecherous Demon days, women had been a dime a dozen, but post-regression? Impossible.
Deep down, I'd love to just force them all, but...
It'd been nearly half a year since regressing, and the only woman I'd actually seduced and taken was Eun Garyeon.
Sure, I'd trained hard in martial arts and taken courtesans like Somwol or Ayoung from the Shadow Gate Sect... but they were pros.
Still, Cheon Woojin stared at me eagerly, waiting for an answer.
This was all because I'd put him off until we reached Shenyang.
'Sigh, all my fault.'
Time to come up with a real plan.
I decided to share the scheme I'd been mulling over.
"First idea: show up in a dire, dangerous moment for Sword Phoenix and rescue her."
"Oho! Solid plan. So she's in some dire situation right now?"
"Nah. Just chilling safely inside the Moyong Clan."
"...Then how...? No, what are you saving her from?"
Cheon Woojin tilted his head, not getting it.
I explained in more detail.
"She'll leave the Moyong Clan eventually. We time it for then—you charge at her with your sword. She's probably peak pinnacle realm or so, so you can handle her. Then I swoop in to save her."
"...Pardon?"
"If there's no hardship or danger, we make one. You create it, and I save her fashionably late."
He listened, then spoke with a dead-serious face.
"My lord, have you lost your mind...?"
Insolent, but I'll let it slide.
Even I thought it sounded insane.
But he didn't stop, picking it apart point by point.
"First off, do you know when she'll leave the Moyong Clan to wait? And even if you pull it off, what's to say she'll fall for you?"
"I have ways to find out when she leaves, and saving her in such a dramatic moment—how could she not fall?"
It worked on Eun Garyeon.
Shadow Gate Sect could track her movements.
Cheon Woojin sighed at my response.
"Sigh... Fine. But then what happens to me?"
"To you?"
"If I threaten Sword Phoenix, won't the Moyong Clan hunt me down?"
"That's your problem."
He ground his teeth at my indifferent reply.
"This from my lord..."
His rising irritation had me stroking my sword hilt, which made him belatedly flash a smile.
"My lord, instead of that, why not just visit openly?"
"Openly?"
"Yes. It's late today, so maybe not, but tomorrow morning—we go to the Moyong Clan."
Not thrilled, but then I recalled he was Sword Phoenix's husband in the other timeline.
"And then?"
"Then..."
He really hated playing the villain, so he started persuading me with everything he had.