Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Fool (2)
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* * *
Before he knew it, the third day had arrived.
‘I’ve been here too long.’
Ouyang Jue sensed this and left the inn where he had been staying, heading for the market.
Of course, he didn't forget to use his disguise technique on the way.
‘I'm not that famous yet, but it can't hurt to be prepared for the unexpected.’
Ouyang Jue moved forward, remaining slightly wary of his surroundings.
The market he arrived at was bustling with various peddlers, shops, and stalls, but there were also many merchant caravans with their wagons.
Among them, he spotted a familiar face wearing the nameplate of the Golden Ring Merchant Guild, but Ouyang Jue quickly looked away.
‘It'll be a hassle if they recognize me first.’
He simply had a passing child deliver a short note. Fortunately, this particular merchant seemed quite sharp.
Seeing a merchant give a slight nod, Ouyang Jue approached a peddler on the outskirts of the market.
"I want to buy something."
Though one might expect him to be flustered by the sudden remark, the peddler rubbed his hands together affably and replied.
"What are you looking for?"
"What you brought this time."
"…?"
As if he hadn't expected this at all, the peddler hid his bundle behind him. Ouyang Jue held up his open palms.
"I'm not going to do anything to you. I mean it literally."
"You mean to say…?"
As color gradually returned to the peddler's face, Ouyang Jue let out a soft chuckle.
"Today's your lucky day."
At those words, the peddler hastily unfurled his bundle and began to negotiate the price.
He seemed to be inwardly sizing Ouyang Jue up as a pushover, trying to jack up the price a bit, but Ouyang Jue didn't fall for it.
Instead, he leisurely applied pressure.
"If you're planning to kick away the luck that's just walked in, I'll go to someone else…"
"Ahem, my apologies!"
The peddler grabbed his wrist apologetically, and Ouyang Jue let himself be pulled along as if he had no choice.
"That's more like it."
Afterward, the peddler's eyes widened at the terms Ouyang Jue proposed.
But wasn't a merchant someone who put a proper price on everything they could sell?
"Let's do it!"
As the peddler nodded, Ouyang Jue flicked a silver coin, sealing the deal.
* * *
*Creeeak...*
Ouyang Jue, with the bundle he bought from the peddler slung over his shoulder, passed through the main gate of the inn.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was met with the innkeeper's suspicious gaze.
"...Oof, this is heavy."
Ouyang Jue grimaced and set the bundle down for a moment.
As he tried to gauge the innkeeper's reaction, the man subtly turned his head away.
‘I expected as much.’
Ouyang Jue's lips twitched.
Having started a business near the Black Dragon Gang, he was someone who had no choice but to be wary of them.
In that case, what would he think of a long-term guest?
Wary of this, Ouyang Jue had gone to the market and just bought the bundle from the peddler.
But that alone wasn't enough to resolve the matter.
Keeping his gaze fixed on the innkeeper, Ouyang Jue spoke.
"Hey, if you see someone carrying something heavy, give them a hand!"
When Ouyang Jue urged him on in an irritated tone, the innkeeper hurried over.
His worry about whether he was acting awkwardly was plain to see.
Ouyang Jue groaned and leaned back, stretching his back.
"It's a jar, so it's a bit heavy."
"It's no problem!"
The innkeeper repeatedly bowed, secretly observing Ouyang Jue.
Then his gaze fell to Ouyang Jue's waist.
‘...That's.’
There, a nameplate identifying him as a merchant of the Golden Ring Merchant Guild was tucked in, along with what looked like a folded certificate.
The innkeeper, sharing the weight of the bundle with Ouyang Jue, casually asked.
"By the way, sir, what brings you to Chang'an?"
"Can't you tell by looking? I'm here to test the waters, see if I can do some business."
Ouyang Jue pretended to be struggling while meticulously controlling his internal energy.
*Ssssk.*
As a sliver of internal energy was released from his pores, the certificate tucked into his waist fell to the floor with a soft thud.
It landed close to the innkeeper, a clearly intentional placement.
Ouyang Jue's control over his internal energy hadn't diminished at all from his past life; he could manipulate it as if it were an extension of his own hand.
"I'll pick it up for you."
The innkeeper carefully reached for the certificate.
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue pointed it out in a serious tone.
"Don't get your fingerprints on it!"
"I'll be careful."
*Swish, swish—*
The innkeeper stopped reaching, wiped his palms on his pants, and then took a peek inside.
At the same time, the innkeeper's brow furrowed.
‘I wondered what he was up to, staying here so long...’
A seal, barely visible.
Next to it, the appraiser's name was written in a cursive script, making it difficult to read.
This meant one thing.
He was the type to get a fake certificate from a rookie appraiser to swindle people on prices.
Only then did the innkeeper let down his guard around Ouyang Jue.
"When do you plan on leaving?"
Behind his words was clear disgust.
Ouyang Jue chuckled softly and replied.
"A week at most."
"I apologize for unintentionally prying, but I don't want to get caught up in any trouble."
"Ah, come on. Does business ever stick to a schedule?"
As Ouyang Jue answered slyly, the innkeeper's attitude soured as well.
But Ouyang Jue didn't mind.
Disgust was an emotion born from judging someone as beneath you.
This was far better than having the man think he was someone important and become curious.
"Dog-dung! Get over here and help this gentleman with his luggage!"
"Yes, sir!"
At that, Ouyang Jue nonchalantly set down the bundle.
It was an act that would make anyone think he was a crooked merchant.
‘I've bought myself some time with this.’
Ouyang Jue knew well that an unfriendly neighbor was more dangerous than a distant enemy.
*Creek, click.*
Stepping into his room, Ouyang Jue closed the door.
Then, as he always did, he cast his gaze out the window.
He'd have to look away when the servant named Dog-dung arrived, but trouble always had a way of showing up unannounced.
But what he saw outside made Ouyang Jue narrow his eyes.
"That fool again..."
All grown up in body only, he'd been getting beaten by children, and today he was being treated like a wooden puppet while loitering in front of the Black Dragon Gang's headquarters.
Ouyang Jue flicked his finger again.
"Ugh!"
The martial artist, struck on the forehead by a stone, looked around once, fuming, then moved away from the fool.
The guy's got some sense, at least.
‘If he had taken his anger out on the fool for being hit, I was planning to send his head flying.’
*Knock, knock.*
"Are you in there?"
Hearing the voice from outside, Ouyang Jue feigned anger.
"I'm here. What took you so long!"
Ouyang Jue confirmed that the fool had left the area before opening the door.
* * *
A few days later.
"...Today, too?"
Ouyang Jue rested his chin on his hand with a listless expression.
Once he started noticing him, he couldn't stop thinking about him.
He had even investigated privately, just in case...
Last night's conversation came to Ouyang Jue's mind.
"That fella's father ran off long ago. His mother raised him all by herself, worked real hard at it. She was completely devoted."
The elderly middle-aged man seemed pleased to have a drinking companion for the first time in a while.
Above all, the young man seemed promising, buying him drinks for free, so it was impossible not to take a liking to him.
"But you see, the mother was gettin' on in years, and that boy was growin' up. She started gettin' scared about the future."
"You must have been close?"
At Ouyang Jue's subtle question, the middle-aged man cleared his throat.
He didn't say much, but it seemed he had helped them out in his own way.
"...Well, it looked hard for a woman to raise a slow boy on her own without a husband, so I helped a bit. But there's a limit to everything. Everyone's got their own troubles, you know."
"That's true. I imagine you're drinking because you have your own worries, old man."
Encouraged by the appropriate response, the middle-aged man vented his own frustrations before returning to the story of the fool.
"His mother ran off in late winter. It's understandable. She was gettin' older, and the boy wasn't showin' any signs of improvement."
"Is that why he's always loitering around the inn?"
*Thump!*
At those words, the middle-aged man flared up and slammed his hand on the table.
"That's what I'm sayin'!"
"..."
"Ah, sorry about that."
The middle-aged man looked sheepish and poured wine into Ouyang Jue's cup.
"The foolish boy doesn't even know his mother ran away, so he just hangs around where people pass by and gets beaten up! And walkin' around in snowshoes in the middle of summer... he just won't listen!"
"It seems you're still looking after him, old man?"
At Ouyang Jue's words, the middle-aged man pouted.
"You've got a knack for seein' right through people, don't you, young man?"
"Well, I just couldn't help but notice him, so I got curious."
And so, Ouyang Jue talked with the middle-aged man for a long time.
They didn't just talk about the fool.
‘As a native of Chang'an, he must know quite a bit.’
Once the middle-aged man's attitude softened, Ouyang Jue also asked a few questions about the merchant caravans that frequented the Black Dragon Gang.
It was only possible because they had the fool as a common topic of conversation.
Ouyang Jue chuckled softly, ending his recollection.
Then, seeing the man being held by someone again, a mix of irritation and pity appeared on Ouyang Jue's face.
"It's not just once or twice. How annoying."
Ouyang Jue glanced at the beggar leaning against the wall.
"Hey, beggar."
"...Still as rude as ever."
As the beggar stood up, the three knots tied at his waist dangled.
If Ouyang Jue wasn't mistaken, he was the branch leader who was present when he dealt with one of the Three Evils of Shaanxi.
A cheerful smile lingered on Ouyang Jue's face.
‘I don't have to handle everything myself.’
Sometimes, you have to let others take care of things.
"Don't you owe me a debt?"
Thinking of the fool, Ouyang Jue gave the beggar a task.
"I need you to find someone for me."
At that, the beggar clicked his tongue.
"Are you really not going to ask my name, even now?"
"What if I find out and then blurt it out to someone?"
"Trying to package your own rudeness like that."
When Ouyang Jue didn't respond, the beggar threw his hands up in exasperation and left.
After that, Ouyang Jue calmly continued to watch the Black Dragon Gang.
Perhaps his conversation with the middle-aged man had helped, as the man's appearances became less frequent.
It was an utterly peaceful day.
As time passed, the information about the Black Dragon Gang in his mind grew more and more precise.
Two more days passed, making it the seventh day since his arrival in Chang'an.
Ouyang Jue had now grasped the entire daily routine of the Black Dragon Gang.
This was possible thanks to the powers of observation and intuition he had cultivated since his past life, as well as his experience with the Unorthodox Faction.
‘Now, if I disguise myself under a different identity and send a carrier pigeon, the Mount Hua Sect will send someone.’
He had heard that the Red Tiger Demon was away, so Ouyang Jue could have infiltrated the Shaanxi branch by himself.
But that would be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Until now, he had acted alongside famous figures like Liu Zhangming and Ha Jin-ak, so his fame had been somewhat diluted.
His victory in the Nine Dragons Tournament would only end up marking him as a promising up-and-comer.
However, if he were to take down the Black Dragon Gang's Shaanxi branch this time, it would be a different story.
This would be an achievement Ouyang Jue built on his own, earning him renown.
‘Should I have the beggar do it this time, too?’
Just as Ouyang Jue was pondering this, he heard the beggar's footsteps.
"Hey, big nose."
"What is it, head beggar?"
"...You, you, look at you, refusing to lose until the very end! Hey, you punk! You're so polite to everyone else, so why to me...!"
As the beggar's face turned red, Ouyang Jue cut him off immediately.
Ouyang Jue's face was full of mischief.
"Let's start with what you were going to say."
"I found her."
"...?"
When Ouyang Jue tilted his head in confusion, the beggar got angry for no reason.
"Did you completely forget the task you gave to your elder!"
"...Ah."
Only then did Ouyang Jue slap his knee.
The man hadn't been around lately, and with matters of different importance on his mind, he had forgotten.
"The Beggars' Sect is truly something else. To find someone who slipped away without even her own townspeople knowing, and in just two days."
"She was somewhere nearby."
The beggar pointed to the first floor of another inn and said.
"I told her to wait on the first floor for now, so you can handle the rest."
"Understood."
As Ouyang Jue immediately turned his back, the beggar gave a stern warning.
"Just in case..."
"Agh. The branch leader of Shaanxi is watching with wide eyes, so don't do anything stupid. I get it."
"...Right."
As the beggar was momentarily at a loss for words and flustered, Ouyang Jue hurried down the stairs.
Before dealing with the Black Dragon Gang's Shaanxi branch, he intended to resolve this lingering issue.
Ouyang Jue's palm swept over his head once, and another's face was superimposed over his own.
* * *
"...Mom?"
The red string, often called fate.
Waking from his sleep, the man recalled a dream where it drew progressively closer.
Then, he glanced at the snowshoes his mother had left him.
"I'm a fool."
After the words that had become a habit, the man muttered the words he couldn't say.
"But please don't abandon me."
A single tear streamed down his cheek.