Chapter 76
Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Detour to Chengde
Seventeen days had already passed since we left Shenyang.
We should have arrived in Beijing several days ago, but we'd been delayed quite a bit by spending some passionate time with Moyong Hui along the way.
When we finally entered Hebei province much later than planned, Moyong Hui made a request of me.
"Darling, before we head to Beijing, could we make a quick stop in Chengde?"
"Huh? Chengde?"
I was momentarily thrown off by the familiar name that came from her lips.
Where was Chengde, anyway?
It was the headquarters of the Red Serpent Sect—and the place where I'd lived for nearly ten years in the past.
'But why go there?'
Though Chengde lay between Shenyang and Beijing, actually going there meant quite the detour.
But her next words had me agreeing right away.
"Remember when I told you about the Black Tiger Gang? The kid I saved back then lives in Chengde. I just want to check on her after all this time and see how she's doing."
"Ah, so the Black Tiger Gang was based there."
Now that I thought about it, it was obvious.
The Red Serpent Sect had been under the Black Tiger Gang to begin with.
"Is that okay?"
She looked up at me with wide, sparkling eyes.
To be honest, it was a hassle.
I'd lived there for nearly ten years, but I had no particular affection for the place, and there weren't any special beauties waiting there either.
Besides, it wasn't exactly close from here.
Distance-wise, Beijing and Chengde were about the same from our current spot.
So I just wanted to push straight on to Beijing as quickly as possible, but...
'Well, my woman wants to go.'
I, Mok Jimyeong,
was endlessly indulgent with my woman.
"Sure. If you want to go, Hui, we'll make a quick stop."
"Yay! Thank you!"
Moyong Hui, thrilled beyond measure, planted a kiss on my cheek.
Cheon Woojin shook his head at the sight.
"How do you keep giving us the slip like this?"
"N-no, that's not...!"
Her face flushed bright red at his words.
We'd put on displays of affection in front of him several times already, but she was still embarrassed.
'Chengde, huh...'
Thinking of Chengde naturally brought the Red Serpent Sect to mind.
And with it, everything that had happened with the Eun Merchant Group.
'Eun Sojeo should be fine, right?'
I'd left not only Jang Yunho behind but also the Shadow Gate Sect as a bulwark, yet the unease lingered.
The Eun Merchant Group and the Red Serpent Sect were practically sworn enemies.
True, the ringleader Chu Munrak was dead, and all the Red Serpent Sect's debts had vanished with him—but that didn't erase the misdeeds they'd inflicted on the Eun Merchant Group.
From the Red Serpent Sect's perspective, the Eun Merchant Group wouldn't look any kinder either.
'Several people from the Eun Merchant Group had died.'
Of course, Chu Munrak was the one who'd killed them all, but would unorthodox scum care about that?
Someone from the Eun Merchant Group died?
Then they'd demand compensation from the Eun Merchant Group somehow.
If the Red Serpent Sect had come calling while I was still in Beijing, I would have handled it cleanly—but they never showed.
And I had no pretext to march in there myself.
'I could've just stormed in if I wanted to...'
But if things went south, I'd end up on the Four Black Alliance's bad side.
One of their elders, Chu Munrak, gets killed, and I suddenly attack the affiliated Red Serpent Sect without cause?
The risk was too high.
'Hmm. Still, since we're heading to Chengde anyway for once, I might as well settle things with the Red Serpent Sect...'
I'd think it over slowly on the way.
Seven days and nights after entering Hebei, we finally arrived in Chengde.
'It's been a while here too.'
As I took in the nostalgic surroundings, a grubby-looking boy of about ten years old approached us.
"Are you new here? Want me to show you around?"
It was a familiar scene.
Chengde was one of Hebei's larger cities, but there was no upright faction worthy of the name to keep order.
On the other hand, unorthodox thugs who preyed on the common folk were everywhere.
This led to widespread poverty, forcing even kids like this one to scrape for coin.
'Of course, whatever they earn mostly gets snatched by those unorthodox bastards.'
For reference, back when I was a lowly Red Serpent Sect warrior collecting protection money, I'd shaken down kids like this too.
Snatching their snot-caked coins, skimming a bit off the top for booze—those were some of my few fond memories from the sect.
As I lost myself in reminiscence, Moyong Hui spoke up from beside me.
"Hmm, then could you tell us about a good restaurant around here?"
The kid's face lit up in a beaming smile at her words.
He'd scored a hit.
'Tch. Back in the day, he'd have been too scared to even look me in the eye...'
Seeing these brats—who used to bolt at the sight of me during my collections—grinning like this made me want to smack one just on principle.
Finding the ones who'd hidden was always such a pain.
"Right this way!"
The ten-year-old scampered ahead, leading us somewhere.
Moyong Hui glanced back at me belatedly and tilted her head.
"Darling? Is something wrong?"
"...Nothing at all."
Even I couldn't bring myself to share these feelings with her.
'Sigh. Hard to stay an upright sect successor type.'
Today, I'd held back admirably.
As I basked in self-satisfaction, the kid turned back to us.
"You coming?"
"Yeah, we'll be right there. Come on, darling."
I had no desire to follow the little punk, but for Moyong Hui's sake, I trudged along half-heartedly.
The restaurant we ended up at was a familiar one to me.
'Of course it's here.'
Cheonsung Restaurant.
Despite the fancy name, this rundown dump was infamous for
'overcharging outsiders.'
The owner was a real sleaze.
He'd give the kid guides a few coppers per customer they brought in, using that to spot outsiders.
And if you were one, he'd jack up the bill fivefold.
What if the customer got mad and refused to pay?
'The unorthodox thugs would come running.'
This was that kind of neighborhood to begin with.
Kids had to be cunning to survive, and adults ruthless and brazen.
Part of me wanted to boot our little guide away and head to a place I actually knew, but...
"Thank you. Here's a tip."
I decided to hold off once more, watching Moyong Hui hand the kid a few coins with a warm smile.
'Tch, if Hui likes it.'
I could raise hell when it came time to settle the bill.
No need to rough up the kid just yet.
"Enjoy your meal!"
Wearing a windfall grin, the kid bolted off somewhere.
Moyong Hui watched his retreating figure fondly and spoke.
"Darling, isn't he plucky for such a young kid?"
"Yeah, sure."
Plucky enough to be downright sly.
He was probably slinking around to the back door right now, collecting his kickback from the owner.
The silver lining? The food here was decent enough.
They only gouged outsiders, so I'd come often during my Red Serpent Sect days.
The place was bustling as we stepped inside.
"My lord. Must be popular. It's packed."
"Yeah, figures."
Like I said, the food wasn't bad.
We took a quiet corner table and ordered a few dishes I'd enjoyed before, plus a bottle of liquor.
"By the way, Hui, where's this kid you're meeting?"
"You have to go pretty deep into the city from here. Walk about half a gak—thirty minutes—and you'll hit a market..."
The market she mentioned? I knew exactly where.
Chengde was far too familiar to me, after all.
As we chatted idly waiting for our food, four rough-looking warriors swaggered over to our table.
"Hey, pretty thing. Ditch the gigolo and have a drink with us?"
"Heh~ She's a real looker."
They were clearly smitten with Moyong Hui's beauty and here to try their luck.
'Are they insane?'
She was stunning, sure—but hitting on her with a guy right here?
No idea where they got the guts.
Moyong Hui brushed them off casually; she was used to this sort of thing.
But if they'd back down that easily, they wouldn't have approached.
They swaggered closer and spoke again.
"Oi, gigolos. Clear out for a bit."
[My lord, what should we do?]
Cheon Woojin sent me a sound transmission asking for orders.
Looking at him made me want to sigh.
'Sigh, worse than Jang even.'
Back then, Jang would've jumped in before Eun Garyeon could say a word.
Sure, he'd gotten pummeled for biting off more than he could chew—but a proper subordinate would've flared up first in a situation like this, right?
'These faces... where have I seen them?'
The thugs looked vaguely familiar.
After a moment's thought, I finally dredged it up from memory.
'Red Serpent Sect!'
It took a while because they looked much younger than I remembered.
They were former low-level warriors from the sect, same as me.
Not that we'd been close.
'I didn't have any real friends there to begin with.'
Even if I'd been kicked out of my clan in disgrace, I was still from an upright sect family.
The Red Serpent Sect was a sewer of scum, so how could I have gotten chummy with them?
'I needed a pretext to hit the Red Serpent Sect, and here it falls into my lap.'
Had to be karma for sparing that kid earlier.
Living kindly really did pay off.