Chapter 533
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 533
Chapter Title: They Took It
The sky was a clear blue, and the sunlight was pleasantly warm.
Though the wind was still chilly, it was nothing to worry about.
Not even the biting cold of midwinter could faze Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek stared blankly at the white clouds drifting lazily across the sky.
"Hmm. Something just keeps nagging at me..."
He rose from the rock.
Han Seol-bing had said there was nothing to worry about, but for some reason, it still bothered him.
"Guess I should check it out after all."
Ha Mu-baek leaped off the rock.
He could sense the presence of Squad Seven heading toward the perimeter.
The camp was bustling.
They were preparing to stay for the next ten days.
Lunch preparations alone had everyone in a frenzy.
Ha Mu-baek glanced at them.
One man caught his eye.
It was Woong-cheol.
"Woong-cheol."
Woong-cheol halted at Ha Mu-baek's call.
"What is it, Corps Leader?"
He was carrying two massive pots on his back, unloaded from the cart they'd brought.
He was transporting them for lunch prep.
"I've got some business to attend to, so I'll be stepping away for a bit. If the deputy corps leader shows up, let him know. Won't be more than a day or two at most."
"Understood."
Woong-cheol nodded nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.
He was used to Ha Mu-baek taking off like this by now.
After becoming a member of Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Fierce Dragon Corps—rather than Dragon Training Pavilion's—he'd interacted more with the other squads, and that's how he'd heard about it from Squad Seven.
Dang Jin-san's grumbling had been particularly vivid.
After informing Woong-cheol of his absence, Ha Mu-baek kicked off the ground and vanished.
His figure disappeared in an instant.
"Whoa."
The more he saw it, the more astonishing his lightness skill was.
Woong-cheol shook his head and continued on his way to finish his task.
He knew better than to compare himself to someone who wasn't even human—it would only lead to self-pity.
Ha Mu-baek raced forward with his lightness skill.
Seobok flew by in a flash.
His destination now was Anbok.
There was a place he needed to stop by.
Ha Mu-baek extended his senses across all of Anbok and quickly located the presences he sought.
He headed north through Anbok first.
Once past the city walls, Mang Mountain came into view not far ahead.
And near Mang Mountain, he spotted the beggars' den.
It was a huge—no, enormous—hut.
It was so massive it almost didn't feel like a hut anymore. Why not just build a proper house? he thought.
The beggars had set up camp near Mang Mountain instead of at the official shrine.
As Ha Mu-baek approached, the beggars tensed up at the unfamiliar visitor.
He didn't look like he was there to hand out alms.
"Who's the branch chief here?"
His blunt question made the beggars exchange glances.
This stranger clearly knew exactly where he was and had come with purpose.
Just as a few moved to take defensive stances...
"Tch. What, you think there's food here or something? Just rest up and be on your way."
A middle-aged beggar emerged from deep within the hut.
"You the branch chief?"
"That's me. Come on in."
The middle-aged beggar led Ha Mu-baek to the innermost part of the hut.
True to its massive exterior, the inside was divided into sections and rooms.
Following him to the very back, they reached a single room.
"You sure knew I was coming."
"The lookouts reported it right away."
Visitors were rare—maybe a handful a year—so he'd gone to check and recognized Ha Mu-baek's face.
"Name's Seven Fire Beggar."
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head, eyeing him.
He didn't look like he carried seven flames or anything.
"People aren't just what they seem on the outside. So, what brings the Fierce Dragon Corps Leader here? Your patrol area is further west, past Seobok."
As expected of the Beggar Clan's Anbok branch chief, Seven Fire Beggar knew who Ha Mu-baek was.
"Here for some information."
Seven Fire Beggar nodded.
He'd already gotten word from above that this was likely why the man would show up.
Orders about Ha Mu-baek had gone out to every Beggar Clan branch in the Central Plains long ago.
"What kind?"
"Shangnan in Shaanxi Province. The situation there, and news on a local named Yu Gwi-gwang."
"Yu Gwi-gwang? Eldest son of Yuun Martial Hall?"
Seven Fire Beggar reacted immediately upon hearing the request.
"You know him?"
"I was in Shangnan before coming here."
"Long way to travel."
"That's the beggar life for you. Looks like Yu Gwi-gwang made it back alive. Heard Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest got smashed to bits. Good thing he survived."
Seven Fire Beggar seemed to know a fair bit about Yu Gwi-gwang.
"You know him well?"
Ha Mu-baek's question earned a shrug.
"Yuun Martial Hall was generous with alms. Kept us from going hungry. Since it's their business, I'll look into it quick as I can. Come back in ten days."
"Ten days?"
Ha Mu-baek frowned at the longer-than-expected wait.
"How far do you think Shangnan is from here?"
Seven Fire Beggar grumbled back.
"Please, then."
Even Ha Mu-baek had to admit the distance made sense, so he left the hut and headed toward central Anbok.
"Branch Chief, who the hell was that guy...?"
One subordinate asked cautiously.
"Yeah, you all need to know to avoid mistakes. That's the Fierce Dragon Corps Leader. Don't tangle with him. If you do, yield and steer clear, no exceptions."
"Huh? Why?"
"He's a madman."
Seven Fire Beggar muttered, staring in the direction Ha Mu-baek had vanished.
Ha Mu-baek headed straight for a brothel slightly outside Anbok's central district.
This was the Hao Gate's Anbok branch.
Hao Gate had diverse operations, but brothels yielded the most information, so branches were usually set up as such.
Without drawing attention, Ha Mu-baek went straight to the branch chief's quarters on the top floor.
No one sensed his presence.
A middle-aged courtesan in thin silk robes, midway through applying makeup, startled at his sudden appearance.
"Who—? Ah...!"
But upon seeing his face, she let out a soft exclamation.
"Do you have any idea where you are, barging in like this?"
Her voice was sharp.
"Hao Gate Anbok branch. What's so special about that?"
"You...!"
The middle-aged courtesan gnashed her teeth at the insult to Hao Gate.
She spoke in a voice thick with fury.
"Get out. I have nothing to tell the likes of you."
"Why not keep it simple for both of us? No need to make it tiring."
"Hmph!"
She snorted and reached out to one side.
A feathered fan on the wall flew into her hand, draping over her robes.
Ha Mu-baek's eyes gleamed.
Controlling objects from afar with qi.
Far too advanced for a mere branch chief.
Even across all of Hao Gate, few reached that level.
"Who are you, really? Not just a branch chief."
"None of your business. Get out."
At her hostility, Ha Mu-baek pulled a pouch from his bosom and tossed it onto the table.
"You sell info for coin. Isn't that your job? How about doing your job?"
"I don't need your filthy money. Get out."
Ha Mu-baek's expression slowly hardened.
"I said, let's not make this tiring."
His gaze sharpened.
"Hmph, so you finally show your true colors. All you know is brute force."
Her words made Ha Mu-baek pause.
That's when he realized it.
The demon deep inside him was peeking its head out.
Ever since acknowledging it, his temper had grown shorter.
"Hoo."
Ha Mu-baek exhaled deeply.
His surging aura vanished in an instant.
"The situation in Shangnan, Shaanxi Province, and the latest on a man named Yu Gwi-gwang living there. That's all I want to know. No grudge against Hao Gate. Just here to commission some info."
"And you think someone like that just bursts in like this? Follow Hao Gate procedures for a commission!"
She barked.
Ha Mu-baek fell silent for a moment.
She wasn't wrong.
He'd come straight to the chief to keep it quick and simple.
No hassle with underlings who might pick fights if they didn't recognize him.
"Hm. Fair point. I was rude."
He'd assumed they'd refuse if he went through channels, so he'd come directly to negotiate with the person in charge.
Hao Gate might see it as intimidation.
"I'll do it properly."
Ha Mu-baek reached out, and the coin pouch returned. He left as he'd come and headed to the first-floor entrance.
"Hoo."
After he left, the middle-aged courtesan sighed deeply and slumped down.
"S-such a terrifying man..."
Just sharing space with him had her legs trembling; she could barely stand.
She'd mustered every ounce of her lifelong strength to put on that tough front.
"How could you make an enemy of someone like that...?"
She murmured regretfully toward someone.
Down on the first floor, Ha Mu-baek smoothly completed the commission process. The branch chief must have given new instructions.
"Pricey."
It was double what he remembered Hao Gate charging, surely her influence at work.
He headed north again.
That Hao Gate branch chief.
He'd need to look into her a bit.
Jang Un and Yeo Hong arrived at the Kang Pawnshop.
"Old man. Where are ya?"
Yeo Hong shoved the door open roughly and strode in.
Elder Kang sat leisurely at the reception counter he'd set up for customers.
"Yeo Hong and Jang Un. What's this about?"
"Hand it over."
"Hand what over?"
"The Yuun Martial Hall IOU."
"I notified you yesterday."
"That's just it! Not even a full day has passed! And it's years overdue. Gotta collect it quick!"
Elder Kang nodded at Yeo Hong's words.
He rummaged through the shelves behind him and handed over a document.
"Knew you'd get it, old man. Quick on the uptake—that's why I like ya."
Yeo Hong examined the paper.
"Repayment confirmation...?"
His face twisted oddly.
"What the hell is this? Repayment confirmation?"
He immediately demanded of Elder Kang.
"Knew you'd catch on quick with papers, Yeo Hong."
That was one reason they'd been assigned this job.
Among Black Veil Hall's few literate members, these two stood out—especially Yeo Hong, sharp with numbers.
He'd grasped what "repayment confirmation" meant in no time.
"What does this even mean? You expect me to believe they paid back a hundred gold taels in one day?"
Yeo Hong bellowed fiercely.
Jang Un's face filled with bewilderment at the words.
It was absurd.
Elder Kang pulled a pouch of exactly a hundred gold taels from his bosom.
"Here it is. A hundred taels. Don't believe me? Count it yourself."
Yeo Hong looked utterly defeated.
"The IOU! Where's the damn IOU? This stupid confirmation paper means nothing—if I just alter the IOU..."
"They took it."
"What?"
"Yuun Martial Hall took it with them. They're not foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice."
At Elder Kang's words, Yeo Hong and Jang Un stared at each other, faces drained of color.
They could already imagine the hall leader's wrath—darkness closing in before their eyes.