Chapter 87
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Night Market Bait
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The Seo Mun Clan's Hangzhou branch hall was about half a day's ride from the city center.
With West Lake at its back, it wasn't a desolate spot by any means, but it was quite a ways from the stunning vistas Hangzhou was famous for.
The clouds had parted, revealing the moonlight on this night.
Seo Mun-ha slipped out of the branch hall late at night, accompanied by Baek Ri-seol, whose cheeks were faintly flushed as she walked with an awkward gait.
'I should have brought Su-hyang along.'
Not long ago, she had achieved a breakthrough.
Her martial arts, accompanied by enlightenment, had shattered a major wall, allowing her to step into the long-awaited realm.
Baek Ri-seol had no shortage of experience as a martial artist, yet everything felt utterly novel whenever she got involved with him.
'...If I'd known it would be like this.'
She let out a small sigh at the absence of an advisor.
Even someone as worldly as Baek Ri-seol had never walked a night road alone with a man.
'Will it look strange?'
Her plain outing clothes felt embarrassingly inadequate today, but the darkness that veiled her face helped hide her tangled emotions.
Suddenly, Seo Mun-ha stopped in his tracks.
"Is something uncomfortable?"
Baek Ri-seol quickly shook her head.
"I'm fine."
He was utterly oblivious when it suited him, yet pierced straight to the heart of her feelings like a ghost.
"I'm just not used to going around without my sword."
Her cultivated martial arts wouldn't vanish without a weapon.
But in this unfamiliar situation and attire, she looked every bit the young lady of a noble house—no different from any other.
"That look suits you well, too."
"Even if it's just empty flattery, thank you."
"No need to worry."
"Yes... But how exactly should I help?"
She had followed his instructions, but the question had lingered all along.
"Just stay by my side like this."
Seo Mun-ha filled in the missing details, but his characteristically brief explanation could easily lead to misunderstandings. Still, Baek Ri-seol calmly pressed on.
"Where are we headed?"
"The night market."
"Night market?"
"They say Hangzhou's nights are as beautiful as Suzhou's days."
Hangzhou, where nature was beautiful and its people even more so.
"It's atmospheric, but there's no better place to gather information."
She had seen him at his worst several times before, but at her core, Baek Ri-seol was a sharp woman.
"We're the bait, aren't we?"
Having grasped his plan, she shed her clumsy facade, her eyes sharpening like a martial artist's in an instant.
"We don't know who the enemy is, so we can't find them. All we can do is make them come to us."
Seo Mun-ha nodded, affirming her thinking.
"So just relax, Miss Baek Ri."
Baek Ri-seol's beauty was certainly eye-catching—a woman who could eclipse the moon and shame the flowers.
Even in Hangzhou, famed for its beauties, few could compare to her. The pair soon found themselves amid a massive crowd on the main street.
The hum of voices buzzed around them.
Despite the late hour, the energy rivaled broad daylight.
"Try some of these grilled skewers here!"
"We've got top-quality silk in stock!"
"How about some Western Region trinkets?!"
In the heat and lantern light, Seo Mun-ha scanned the surroundings.
"Let's head that way."
Then, just like before, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along.
Using the throng as an excuse, she had no time to prepare, and she found herself bewildered by how naturally she offered her hand at some point.
"Is there a festival going on?"
Baek Ri-seol tried to change the subject.
"In Hangzhou, every day is a festival."
Peddlers on a scale unseen elsewhere.
The clothes of the passersby were dazzling without exception, and with what seemed like a nearby opera troupe, songs and music adorned the streets.
"Ha!"
Everywhere she looked, there was food and spectacle.
A street performer in his prime balanced a flat stone on his abdomen as a blunt weight dropped unsparingly onto it.
Crack!
The hype man inflated the tale amid the crowd's cheers. Whether it was acrobatics or a scam with dubious elixirs, it hardly mattered.
"It's different from Suzhou."
Baek Ri-seol offered a brief impression.
"Is it?"
"Yes, Suzhou has a more modest feel."
Heaven is in the sky, and on earth, Hangzhou and Suzhou.
The paradise of mountains and waters went without saying, but the difference between Hangzhou and Suzhou lay in its people. The prosperity of the glittering night city was impossible to look away from.
"Have you been to Suzhou?"
"Once before. The gardens and canal towns were impressive."
It hadn't been for leisure then either, but in Seo Mun-ha's previous life, Suzhou held fond memories.
"If you're up for a boat ride sometime, I can show you around myself."
Seo Mun-ha smiled without a word.
She might have felt used, but Hangzhou's streets seemed to suit her; her expression was brighter than ever.
"Glad you're enjoying it. I didn't do much."
He wasn't exactly an expert on Hangzhou's layout either.
"No, it's all new to me."
Fortunately, his casual guidance seemed well-received.
To the point where she'd completely forgotten their original purpose.
"Fortunes! Fortunes! A master from the Hainan Sect reads your fate! Get your luck divined—check your fortune while you're here!"
Riding the momentum, Seo Mun-ha plunged through the crowd without hesitation.
Lantern releases, paper folding— the streets brimmed with both sights and amusements aplenty.
"Come on, come on."
He stopped at one spot drawing a particularly large crowd.
"Anyone can join. Guess the cup with the jade bead inside, and you'll get triple your bet in silver."
It was a shell game, a type of gambling.
"Se... Young Master Seo?"
He told her to watch and released her hand, heading toward the game.
"I'll take a shot."
All eyes turned to him in an instant.
"Hm?"
The onlookers' reactions split sharply.
"Handsome young master."
"Poor guy's gonna lose, whoever he is."
"Their tricks are no joke."
"Haha, first challenger in ages— this'll be fun."
Some watched purely for entertainment, while others eyed the chance to spot the hustlers' tricks.
"How much will you bet, young master?"
The shell game hustler recited his rules with a kindly smile, spreading his hands.
"Doesn't matter how much?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Then ten taels it is."
A hefty sum; murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Bold for such a pretty face. Let's begin."
Three cups on the low table.
A jade bead under one overturned cup. With flashy handwork, he shuffled them wildly.
Swish. Swish-swish.
The motion halted abruptly.
Thud.
Managing his expression, the man asked.
"Which one do you pick?"
"Left."
The hustler flinched slightly and lifted the left cup.
"Tough luck, haha."
As if no trickery, he lifted another, revealing the jade bead—and ten taels—under the right.
"Another go?"
Suddenly, Baek Ri-seol tugged his sleeve.
Her message was clear.
The bead's momentary shift.
Impressive sleight of hand, but not enough to fool their eyes. Better to avoid needless fuss.
Even if they drew attention, it'd just be idle chatter among the common folk.
"Let's stop."
Her voice, more beautiful than the jade, drew sighs of admiration from all around, but Seo Mun-ha calmly declined further rounds.
"Whoa... Never seen a beauty like you, miss. Care to try?"
He ignored the hustler's warmer invitation.
"Twenty taels. Again."
"...Understood, haha."
The man shuffled once more.
"Right."
"Bad luck again."
His pouch lightened with each bet, but Seo Mun-ha kept going.
"Forty taels, middle."
"Hahaha."
"Eighty taels, left."
"Hahaha."
"One hundred sixty taels, right."
"Ha."
His relentless challenges and bottomless pouch had sweat beading on the hustler's brow.
"Three hundred twenty taels, left."
"Ahaha..."
The escalating sum was beyond an ordinary person's wildest dreams.
"..."
The growing commotion quieted into silence.
"Six hundred forty taels."
"P-Please stop, young master."
Even the hustler tried to dissuade him from the unbearable amount.
"In gold."
Seo Mun-ha proffered a bill of exchange.
"Gasp!"
Six hundred forty taels in gold—enough to change his life forever.
Gambling and cons always carried risks, so with his mind reeling, the hustler tremblingly gripped the cups.
"I-I'll shuffle."
The three cups danced across the table.
"Jade bead's in the middle."
No need for tricks with his wrong pick—a stroke of luck for the man, who feared a slip under the pressure.
Smooth.
As he revealed the result with mixed emotions.
"Mind if I open it?"
Seo Mun-ha, on a losing streak, pulled the middle cup toward him.
"...G-Go ahead."
Even better.
He'd prove no trickery himself. The man already planned for retirement as the cup, drawing all eyes, spilled its secret.
Roll roll.
The stunned silence shattered.
"Middle?"
"It's the middle!"
"Wooah!"
"How much is that?!"
The hustler's wail drowned in the cheers.
"Ch-Cheat! It's a scam! Trickery!"
No one sympathized, and before he could nitpick, Seo Mun-ha claimed his winnings.
"Lucky break."
"..."
"Was fun."
"Y-You!"
"Can't pay near two thousand taels. Just hand over all your silver. We'll call it even."
The man's eyes chilled.
'This bastard...'
Not a bad deal.
Forcing a smile, he feigned gratitude, exchanging glances with a few in the crowd.
"Th-Thank you, young master."
Handing over the silver meekly, while Seo Mun-ha slipped into the crowd without lingering.
"Qinna Hand, right?"
Along with Baek Ri-seol.
"You noticed?"
"Up to a point."
She murmured with a wry smile.
"Even on guard, I can't dodge Young Master Seo Mun's hands anymore."
Words couldn't capture her amazement.
She, now firmly in the realm of mastery, had missed his movements.
'...I thought I'd caught up a little.'
His lead was both admirable and frustrating; even she couldn't quite read her own heart.
"We've seen the sights. Time to head back."
Having achieved his goal unnoticed, Seo Mun-ha moved on, his pouch heavier.
Clearing the path ahead, the pair retraced their steps.
'But why those guys specifically?'
The lights faded as the alley grew dimmer, the outlook pitch black.
'Nothing special about them.'
Pondering his intent, Baek Ri-seol sank into thought. At a fork, he suddenly faced her.
"Miss Baek Ri."
Was it the eerie quiet? His voice echoed solemnly serious.
His eyes held a subtle glow, soft and deep, contrasting the vibrant streets.
"Wh-Why...?"
Baek Ri-seol glanced around urgently.
Snapping to, she realized they were in a dark, deserted spot—alone. Lost in his baffling actions, she berated her carelessness.
Flich.
As he reached out calmly, she flinched, shoulders hunching.
Unadjusted to the sudden shift, her unfamiliar self sparked a sense of crisis.
Just one step closer, yet to her, it felt nose-to-nose.
Ah—.
Swallowing a gasp, memories of advice from her close maids and sisters flashed by.
'He's just a man after all...'
Baek Ri-seol squeezed her eyes shut.
"Here."
Seo Mun-ha tilted his head, puzzled by her reaction.
"Not much of a gift, but payment for using you."
He opened his palm, revealing a small hair pin.
"..."
Her pale face flushed crimson in an instant.
"What were you thinking? I called several times with no answer, so I picked based on looks."
It was probably the loudest he'd ever heard her.
"Misunderstanding!"
"Pardon?"
Seeing his bewilderment, her embarrassment turned to anger.
For the same reason, grateful for the darkness, she took the pin.
"No... thank you..."
A fresh yet utterly exhausting day.
Dada dada.
But the day wasn't over.
"There they are!"
The penniless hustler, with a gang in tow, burned with vengeance.
"...Those are really the ones you lured out, Young Master Seo Mun?"
Seo Mun-ha shook his head.
Gazing elsewhere, he spoke lowly.
"Um Pung."
A young man who'd trailed them from afar emerged from the shadows.
"This is him, young master."
Um Pung, carrying out secret orders.
"He was spying on you two the whole time."
Dragging the dazed man, he gave a brief report.
"Trained in martial arts. Targeting pouches, no doubt."
With Baek Ri-seol's allure drawing eyes, Seo Mun-ha's display of wealth had reeled them in: pickpockets, thieves, cutpurses, gamblers, swindlers—the riffraff.
What he'd waited for was...
"Hao Gate."
Rivaling the Beggars' Sect in information, Seo Mun-ha eyed the tardy thugs coolly.
"What?"
"Just beat 'em!"
"Kill 'em all!"
The burly men, without even third-rate martial arts, met the obvious outcome.