Chapter 14
Chapter 14
14.
I Went to See the Fire
Cha Seong-tae was on par with the Gwangmyeong Jwasa of the Demonic Sect in that I wanted to beat him every time I saw him.
As my thoughts flowed, I briefly recalled the Gwangmyeong Jwasa.
A man who had risen rapidly within the Demonic Sect due to his rare talent.
He was the youngest Gwangmyeong Jwasa in history, even though he was only two or three years younger than me at the time.
The Jwasa was not originally a descendant of the Demon Clan, but a talent recruited from outside the sect.
He was a collateral relative of a Baekdo Murim family, but as mentioned earlier, rumors spread that he had sexually harassed several women who used the Bokseong style, and he was branded a public enemy. After that, he had no choice but to throw himself into the Demonic Sect.
In this life, I intended to catch the Gwangmyeong Jwasa before he joined the Demonic Sect.
Although he was a pervert, his Martial arts skills were exceptional.
I planned to beat him until he corrected his perverted behavior.
I intended to become stronger faster than my previous rivals and recruit the talents of the Martial World that I knew in advance, either as subordinates, by tormenting them like Cha Seong-tae, or by using them as slaves like the Jwasa.
In the process, I planned to beat to death any irredeemable bastards from the Mado, Baekdo, and Heukdo in advance.
Strangely enough, in those days, when someone was branded a public enemy, they tended to join the Demonic Sect. Also, those who fell out of favor with the Cult Leader often went to the Murim Alliance themselves and were imprisoned in the Prison.
It was fashionable for talents to move to opposite extremes.
I aimed to intercept talents from the middle as a mid-to-long-term goal.
The so-called Three Kingdoms Tactic.
I planned to insert myself into the Martial World, which was divided between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Sect, and create a three-way battle. Somehow, even I thought it didn't suit me very well, but a man's dreams should be big.
Cha Seong-tae, who had been vomiting and came back in, entered with his nose covered. Cha Seong-tae said in a nasal voice.
"This Purple Glow Inn should be closed. The reason for closure will be the stench."
I briefly recalled how Cha Seong-tae had died in my previous life. In fact, he wasn't a very famous guy, so even if I searched my memory, I couldn't find anything.
However, one thing was certain.
Cha Seong-tae probably got beaten to death somewhere because of that mouth of his.
"Seong-tae."
"Try to make excuses."
"It's because I'm training in Martial arts. It's not like I took a dump. What would a guy like you know?"
"It's the first time I've heard that training in Martial arts makes it smell like poop. Don't lie. For the sake of Ilyang Prefecture's dignity, the Purple Glow Inn will be closed from today, so be aware of that. Or I'll send some kids who are really good at cleaning, so choose."
"Then send them. Let's go to the Plum Blossom Brothel together first."
"Why?"
"I need to wash."
"Ah, you stink, why don't you wash in the stream?"
I forcibly grabbed Cha Seong-tae, who was covering his nose, and put my arm around his shoulder. Then Cha Seong-tae's face contorted.
"Ugh..."
"Don't overdo it."
"Yes."
Cha Seong-tae said, breathing only through his mouth.
"Isn't putting your arm around my shoulder a bit much? It's not like we're close."
"Ah, I'm getting pissed off."
When I became serious, Cha Seong-tae flinched.
"I'm sorry."
I glared at Cha Seong-tae and said.
"Let's change clothes. Take them off."
Cha Seong-tae looked me straight in the eye and replied.
"Hey, you bastard. Just put your arm around my shoulder."
I hit Cha Seong-tae once and then headed to the Plum Blossom Brothel like friendly brothers.
When we arrived at the Plum Blossom Brothel, the doorman who had been beaten by me before covered his nose with his hand and said.
"We accept drunks, but we don't accept guys who pissed their pants."
Cha Seong-tae retorted.
"Do you want to die? Get out of the way."
When I looked at the doorman, he avoided my gaze with a sullen expression, as if he still held a grudge from being beaten by me before.
I like this about my hometown.
There weren't many guys who got intimidated just because they got hit a few times.
Maybe that's why a guy like me suddenly appeared in the Martial World.
As Cha Seong-tae and I entered the Plum Blossom Brothel, reeking of stench, the women we met along the way screamed and ran away.
Cha Seong-tae seemed amused by the sight and was enjoying the situation.
"Get out of the way. I took a dump. I pissed my pants. Hee hee hee."
I didn't want to laugh for no reason, so I moved my tongue around a lot in my mouth.
I realized that he was a guy you couldn't let your guard down around for even a moment.
* * *
I washed myself several times with water and then entered the wooden bathtub. When I soaked my body in the hot water with rising steam, the fatigue seemed to disappear.
"Ugh..."
An incomprehensible sound flowed from my mouth. It was a gift for raising the Golden Turtle Wandering Skill to the Blazing Chicken stage.
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened to the left and right, and Chae Hyang suddenly appeared with a large towel in her hand.
"I will assist you with your bath."
I looked at Chae Hyang approaching in the bathtub and waved my hand.
"What kind of bath service is a Performing Girl supposed to provide? No thanks."
"Seong-tae Oppa told me to come. I'll wipe the water off you when you're done bathing."
"That won't work."
"What?"
What else could it be? It means that the charm offensive won't work.
"Do I not have hands or feet? I can wipe the water off my body with my feet, so put the towel down and leave. Not only do men and women not sit together after the age of seven, but even Zhu Bajie and the spider demons didn't bathe together."
"Pardon?"
"How could the Shop Assistant of the Purple Glow Inn and Chae Hyang, who is said to be the most popular at the Plum Blossom Brothel, be in the bathtub together? What kind of crappy situation is this? From now on, if you receive such an order, tell them that I told you not to come and don't come. I'll talk to Cha Seong-tae. You act like a Performing Girl."
There were occasionally guys who did things they weren't told to do, and Cha Seong-tae was one of them.
Chae Hyang bowed her head slightly and replied.
"Thank you. And I'm sorry about before."
It's only human nature to accept a clean apology.
"Okay."
Just as I was wondering why she was being so polite, Chae Hyang's true feelings came out.
"But you're still going to get rid of Jo Sam-pyeong, right? I'm just curious."
"Why? Should I spare him?"
"Ah, no. I was captured by Jo Sam-pyeong and brought here. My hometown isn't here originally."
"If you have a place to return to, you should go back."
"It wasn't a very comfortable place. It was too poor, so I don't want to go back."
"Tell the other Performing Girls too. Tell them to go back if they have a place to go. This is what the Shop Assistant of the Purple Glow Inn said."
"You were so good, why were you getting beaten up so much back then?"
If you keep asking me such sharp questions, it puts me in a difficult position.
I only stuck my head out from the end of the bathtub and replied.
"You have to get beaten to get revenge."
Chae Hyang chuckled.
"That's ridiculous."
"A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years, and a Shop Assistant's revenge starts with getting beaten. You should read more books too. Don't just practice singing. You'll sing better if you read more books."
"Really?"
"No, I just made it up."
Chae Hyang tilted her head.
"Hmm."
When I waved my hand to indicate that she should leave, Chae Hyang folded the towel she had wrapped around her body, put it on the floor, and left the bathroom.
'That seductive thing.'
* * *
As I said, charm offensives don't work on me.
Dangerous moments like this come unexpectedly.
It is often said that the three things to be careful of in the Martial World are the elderly, children, and women, but my thoughts are a little different.
In fact, if you exclude the elderly, children, and women, you are left with healthy men.
Healthy men are highly likely to become Martial World people.
But you're telling me to be careful of the rest?
That means you should just be careful of everything.
The same goes for me until my Martial arts is complete.
If I get caught up in Cha Seong-tae's charm offensive during this time and neglect my training, I will eventually fall behind when competing with the masters at the top.
My conclusion is that this is a trap given by the mysteries of life, not that Cha Seong-tae intended for that to happen.
Anyway, now is not the time for that.
After washing my body cleanly and changing into new clothes, the gazes of the people looking at me were a little different than before.
Some people didn't even think that I was the Shop Assistant of the Purple Glow Inn.
When Martial arts becomes stronger in youth, appearance and impression change.
I didn't know this before because I used to get stronger as I got older.
It's true that I've become a little more handsome than before, but anyway, I'm different from the perverted Jwasa of the Demonic Sect.
I wasn't a person who met women with Martial arts, desire, status, and coercion, so I left the House of pleasure and headed straight back to the Purple Glow Inn.
On the way to the Purple Glow Inn, I saw flames rising from somewhere. People were rushing to see the fire, as if they were going to watch a fire.
"Looks like there's a fire."
I followed them, pushed through the spectators, and looked, and what was burning was none other than the Purple Glow Inn.
"..."
It seemed to have gone awry in a strange way. I chuckled in absurdity. I never thought I would see my house burn down twice.
I muttered to myself without realizing it.
"Why do you keep setting fire to my house? What did the house do wrong?"
Does the inn have a destiny of its own?
The blazing flames seemed to be staring at me.
As if telling me not to have a cozy home in this life either.
* * *
Of course, there was no way Cha Seong-tae would have done this.
Jo Sam-pyeong, the Poetry and Painting House Lord, who had returned with his subordinates, was looking at the Purple Glow Inn, and his subordinates were throwing torches at the Purple Glow Inn.
Jo Sam-pyeong is the most handsome of The Jo Brothers. He was in charge of bringing in innocent women with his handsome face, so it was inevitable.
Seeing his face after a long time made me think that he was even more annoying.
Someone said from the crowd.
"What are you going to do when Jaha comes back and you burn that place down!"
"How can you burn someone else's house like that! You'll be punished by heaven!"
Jo Sam-pyeong turned his head to the place where the voice came from and said this.
"Bring Lee Jaha. Where is he?"
The crowd in Ilyang Prefecture is fierce. Someone said from the crowd.
"Damn gigolo bastard."
"Who is it! Don't hide like a rat, come out. You son of a bitch."
When Jo Sam-pyeong shouted, silence finally fell.
I wondered why Jo Sam-pyeong was coming out so confidently, but a man in Black Robe, whom I had never seen before, was watching the situation with a cold expression nearby.
He certainly seemed to be a better master than Jo Sam-pyeong.
I, who had been watching the Purple Glow Inn burn, opened my mouth.
"Sam-pyeong, your brother's grave is behind the inn, what are you going to do if you set fire to it without taking out the body?"
Jo Sam-pyeong turned his head sharply in the direction I was in and glared at me.
"Who the hell is it?"
I pushed people aside and stepped forward.
"It's me. You son of a bitch."
Jo Sam-pyeong didn't recognize me right away, so he scanned me up and down and asked.
"Who are you?"
This guy doesn't recognize me either, is the beauty effect of Martial arts this great?
I looked at Jo Sam-pyeong and said in a calm tone.
"Why are you burning down an innocent house? How are you going to compensate for it?"
Only then did Jo Sam-pyeong look surprised.
"You, are you Jaha? What, you bastard? What happened to you? Why are you talking like that?"
In the meantime, Jo Sam-pyeong told the Black Robe man next to him as if he was tattling.
"Neng Sunbae, this is the guy."
The man called Neng Sunbae tilted his head with a dissatisfied expression and said in a subdued tone.
"Jo Sam-pyeong."
"Yes, Sunbae."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Yes?"
"You don't mean to tell me to kill the Shop Assistant, do you? I came to get a congratulatory drink because your brothers are starting a faction, but I'm very disappointed. You're not thinking of creating a faction with the skills to not even kill a Shop Assistant, are you? The whole Martial World will laugh at you. My name shouldn't be mentioned in such ridicule."
The Black Robe man looked at me up and down and said to Jo Sam-pyeong.
"Kill him. If your skills are so poor that you can't even kill a Shop Assistant, then you should just go to your brothers' side. Even if you admire the Martial World, you should have at least a minimum of conscience."
Jo Sam-pyeong replied with a flustered expression.
"No, Neng Sunbae."
"And why am I your Sunbae? I've never had a junior like you."
Anyway, the words the Black Robe man spat out were right, so I chimed in.
"Jo Sam-pyeong, that's right. You should have a conscience. Let's have the loser burn to death. Come here."
The atmosphere became truly grim because of my last words.