Chapter 88
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Haomen
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As widely known, Haomen's members were incredibly diverse.
From courtesans to errand boys, the group consisted of all sorts of people who could gather any kind of information, making it the organization with the widest variety of occupations among its individuals.
Among them, thieves and pickpockets were mostly martial artists.
Unlike those whose daily routine was delivering news, where else could they obtain information?
They had no choice but to extract it from others' belongings, and the prerequisite for success was raw skill.
"If we hadn't struck from behind, we probably would've failed."
Eom-pung once again stuck out his tongue at the man's agile movements despite his pressure points being sealed.
"Just as you predicted, Young Master."
When he praised the flawless outcome, Seo Mun-ha shrugged his shoulders.
Haomen, made up of countless small fries, wasn't easy to pin down at its core.
There was nothing easier than chopping off a tail, and with no sense of belonging to begin with, very few even knew the locations of their branches.
For Seo Mun-ha, it was a stroke of luck—but even this owed much to his memories from his past life.
One of the branches linking those scattered dots might be in Hangzhou.
Unlike other regions, Hangzhou was famed for its beauties, yet it had no "Hangzhou's Foremost Beauty" or iconic representative from time immemorial, all thanks to the strong grip of the authorities.
Even in those turbulent days when the Great Ming court shook both within and without, officials eyeing promotions to the capital routinely shipped every last beauty of Hangzhou north as tribute.
What he'd heard was a rumor about one such woman—a courtesan from Haomen—who had stirred up a scandal.
It was an old tale by now, but the lingering pain it caused meant no Hangzhou-born woman took kindly to being called a beauty. Before the Official-Military Non-Aggression Principle became standard practice, it had stuck in his mind as a particularly intriguing story.
"That aside."
"Urgh."
The ruffians sprawled across the floor groaned in agony.
Gathered together, they were covered in wounds large and small. Eom-pung turned to Seo Mun-ha, who had handled the dirty work himself, and asked about the rest.
"What shall we do with them, Young Master?"
"Not worth killing. Just leave 'em."
True to form, Seo Mun-ha was generous toward those who hadn't learned martial arts.
Punishing scum like them was the job of officials, not warriors.
Seo Mun-ha shifted his gaze to the man glaring up at him with lips pressed tight.
"Did you seal this one's mute point too?"
"No, sir."
"I see."
He knew that already. But the man's show of loyalty was all the more surprising for it.
"Say it again."
Seo Mun-ha lowered his gaze to meet the eyes of the utterly ordinary-looking man.
"I'd like an introduction to a Haomen branch—or someone who knows where one is."
"......What's your goal?"
The man's mouth finally opened.
"Buying information. What else?"
He didn't look a day over thirty.
"You expect me to buy that? You approached me for something that trivial?!"
"Watch your tongue. You're the ones who came to us."
"You mocking me?!"
Once he got started, the man yelled with gusto.
No trickery could explain Eom-pung lying in wait for a perfect ambush.
"Such a clever head, utterly wasted."
With no better options, Seo Mun-ha had resorted to this tedious method. Polling every courtesan and errand boy one by one was impossible.
He lacked the time, and even if he found a low-level disciple, there was no guarantee of reaching the upper ranks.
"Anyone trained in martial arts has ties to someone high up, branch or no."
What Seo Mun-ha sought was top-shelf intelligence.
"No way you lot are......"
The man caught on and nailed the heart of the matter.
"Baekdo warriors?!"
"Busted."
Baek Ri-seol, standing a short distance back, murmured impassively.
"Were you trying to hide it?"
It sure didn't look like it.
Eom-pung nodded in agreement, and the suddenly casual vibe from the trio gave the man pause as he racked his brain.
No hostility in sight.
Dragging Baekdo warriors into Haomen was suicidal by nature, but these three didn't radiate danger—and it wasn't his call anyway.
"Guide us, and I'll release your pressure points."
The man made up his mind.
"......Follow me."
Fleeing wasn't an option.
Seo Mun-ha's swift cleanup of the ruffians had been a blatant show of force.
Seo Mun-ha and Eom-pung followed calmly, with Baek Ri-seol—still absently toying with the hairpin tucked in her bosom—hurrying after the trio.
A pavilion dyed crimson.
Bright lanterns welcomed the three from the entrance onward. Mancheon Pavilion knew no day or night—it was a gambling den.
"Let me win this one!"
"I'll stake next month's salary!"
People hunched over threadbare mats.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the usual scene unfolded.
"Just once more! One last chance, I beg!"
Unlike the alluring glow of the outer lanterns, the interior was far from beautiful. One might expect a stuffy, sealed room like this—bereft of breeze—to reek, yet meticulous management filled the air with pleasant incense instead.
"Please! I'm begging!"
For every winner, a loser; for every taker, a giver-upper.
Those who'd lost coin varied only in degree, but nearly all met the same sorry end.
Dominoes, sword tiles, backgammon, leaf games, and more.
The three passed every manner of gambling table.
"More ordinary than I expected."
Baek Ri-seol gave her honest impression—her first time stepping into such a den.
"Expecting a lawless frontier teeming with gamblers and idle wanderers?"
"Not quite that bad...... but close."
Seo Mun-ha glanced sidelong at Eom-pung.
He'd voiced similar surprise back at Je-nam's So-hwa Pavilion. Eom-pung scratched his head and averted his eyes.
But So-hwa Pavilion and Mancheon Pavilion were worlds apart.
For all the Seo Mun Clan's vast holdings—mountain estates, businesses galore—some were mere jurisdictions, not outright ownership. Mancheon Pavilion, however, clearly belonged to Haomen.
'Six or seven peak-level martial artists?'
No mere jurisdiction warranted deploying that many.
'Hiding their auras well enough.'
They scratched at scabs, as if advertising it wasn't your average gambling hall.
"Who goes there?"
A gravelly voice emanated from beyond the annex's bamboo door.
"It's Yeom-seok, Master."
"You brought a tail."
"My apologies......"
Yeom-seok dropped to his knees. The bamboo door before him slid apart left and right.
Swish.
Seo Mun-ha beheld an old woman.
Her fine wrinkles framed eyes sharp as daggers.
'Mid-realm?'
The two behind him tensed anew, recognizing the foe.
"Doesn't look coerced. Ears still attached, too."
Having inspected her disciple, the old woman added,
"Come in, anyway. No tea fit for Baekdo folk, but cheap pipe tobacco'll do."
Yeom-seok sprang up and hurried to her side.
Seo Mun-ha led the way, the hesitating pair following across the threshold. The old woman's intrigued gaze lingered on Baek Ri-seol.
"What a pretty young thing. Takes after me in my prime."
"......I doubt that, Master."
Yeom-seok's steadfast retort drew a spark.
Same line of work, perhaps. The thought conjured Woo-hak-bong for Seo Mun-ha, who smirked.
"Enough standing around—sit. No poison on anything."
"They say they're here to buy information."
"Then they're here for info, not some swarthy brute like you?"
"......"
"A pretty young miss, maybe."
"Please, Master—mind your dignity."
The thoroughly sidelined trio watched the master-disciple exchange in fascination.
"No need for drawn-out chatter. That pure chill could make the Ice Palace weep—she's the White Phoenix, plain as day."
Unlike her startled disciple, the old woman asserted her mastery by piercing Baek Ri-seol's identity effortlessly.
"And there's only one man the current White Phoenix would allow at her side."
"Impressive discernment."
Seo Mun-ha conceded readily. Her insight alone confirmed he'd come to the right place.
Likely a Haomen elder.
Her words alluded to the full sequence of events. He hadn't cleared suspicions of Haomen—in fact, he'd walked into the tiger's den of his own accord.
"Discernment? My eyes are half-blind these days."
The old woman subtly tested Seo Mun-ha's prowess.
Swoosh.
The annex filled with the pair's clashing intents, tangling in disarray.
'How can a youth wield such profound inner power?'
After a fleeting exchange, the old woman yielded first and raised her hands.
"That's enough. Push further, and every warrior in the pavilion comes running."
She straightened her hunched back with a mutter.
"Seo Mun Clan......"
"No more questions?"
"The information you're after?"
"Precisely."
"If I'd pried into every little thing like that, I'd have been booted from elder long ago."
Their frank exchange was a relief—mutual understanding came swift.
Grinning, the old woman pressed on.
"You're after Seo Mun-u and Seo Mun Jeong-ryong of the Seo Mun Clan, aren't you? White Phoenix in tow means the Baek Ri Clan took losses too."
Eom-pung's eyes bulged at her keen insight.
"Truth be told, I knew you'd come to Hangzhou. Didn't expect action this swift, though—time to reevaluate."
"You knew?"
Seo Mun-ha echoed.
He and his Hyeoncheon Corps below had exercised utmost caution.
No trails left behind—save for Pang Ho-rip, fixated on his every move, no one could have tracked them.
"So they belong to Haomen?"
Seo Mun-ha recalled the masked man tangled with the Pang Clan.
Poor alliance, yet he'd fought to his last breath.
"Wrong. Survivors from Beon-eung Escort Agency."
Thoughts aligned, Seo Mun-ha slowly closed and opened his eyes.
"You'd guessed as much."
"Not many nursing grudges against me."
The murky puzzle pieces clicked into place.
"Didn't seem purely personal, either. Another backer at play."
Beon-eung Escort Agency—infamous across murim.
Rumors held their purge complete and flawless. Any survivors would be wise to lie low for years.
No sense surfacing to court death.
"Not our sect, to repeat."
"Not yamen, so Cheolmu Fortress?"
Unclear if hostages or protection racket.
Few could shelter Beon-eung's scattered kin. Suspicion hardened to certainty as Seo Mun-ha pondered the Sapa Alliance, dormant for over a decade.
Cheolmu Fortress had risen tall after the Demon War, with the Sapa Alliance's emergence.
Headquartered in Hunan, it claimed the Yangtze south as black path turf—but wielding Murim Alliance-level sway over that expanse was impossible.
Baekdo warriors obsessed over face, ever minding others' stares.
Sapa called "fiends beyond the pale" precisely for ignoring such gazes.
Controlling endless warriors was near impossible; the current balance endured thanks to the Fortress Lord's singular cunning.
And only Cheolmu Fortress could shield Beon-eung from all Baekdo.
"This much is payback for sparing my disciple's wrists."
In a single day, Seo Mun-ha had pinned the culprits.
"Nothing more to share, in truth. You know our ties to Cheolmu anyway."
"Sufficient."
"For finer details, seek the yamen's infamous fixed constable."
Eom-pung, who'd tracked the talk diligently, cocked his head.
Rare for a mere constable—sans official rank—to earn a moniker.
'Infamous fixed......'
Rare meant remarkable. Seo Mun-ha offered formal thanks past Eom-pung.
"My gratitude."
Then departed leisurely.
"Master?!"
"Enough. Let them go."
Seo Mun-ha glanced back, reminiscing old bonds in a flash.
"Ever hear of a girl named Jin So-kyeong?"
"Hm? Name rings vague."
"Never mind, then."
Business concluded, he led the young pair from the annex.
"What in the world?!"
"Ears work fine? Full story later."
Their parting banter stayed light. Eom-pung voiced Yeom-seok's bewilderment.
"We really just leaving? No payment?"
"Already paid."
"......?"
"They're no allies. Pure profit motive."
They sold info for coin—but bought it too.
As they exited Mancheon Pavilion, Baek Ri-seol elaborated.
"Our intel heads to Cheolmu next."
"Ah......"
"Worth the price. Seo Mun young master, specifically."
"Baek Ri young lady included."
Force edge unclear, the old woman had picked wisely.
"Still, you okay with that?"
Eom-pung squirmed against Haomen and Cheolmu's giants.
"Fine by you?"
Under the dual gaze, Seo Mun-ha held his tongue.
No issue.
With Hangzhou's fog somewhat lifted, they returned safely to the sub-branch.