Chapter 58
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Where Is He?
Exuding a murderous aura, Hocheon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek approached the main gate of the Grand Pleasure Pavilion. The two burly warriors guarding the entrance flinched.
They were just street thugs at a glance.
Precisely the type posted to intimidate lowly punks who amounted to nothing.
"St-stop right there."
One of them finally managed to speak in a trembling voice. He'd been eating and drinking in places like this for years. Just by looking, he could tell the man was a martial artist—and a master at that.
"I'd like to meet the madam."
Ha Mu-baek stated his business curtly.
Of course, there was nothing these two could do about it.
"P-please wait just a moment..."
As one of the burly men turned to fetch someone higher up,
"I am the chief steward of this establishment. Might I ask from whence you hail, senior?"
The pavilion's chief steward appeared right on cue, as if he'd timed it perfectly.
"Your conduct is rather tacky."
Ha Mu-baek spat out indifferently.
Yet the steward's expression remained calm.
"Escort me to the madam."
Ha Mu-baek said shortly.
The steward blocking the entrance kept his inscrutable expression.
He maintained a serene facade, but his mind was a whirlwind of turmoil.
He'd heard that this man was heading to the Pang Clan, but no one had anticipated he'd barge into the Grand Pleasure Pavilion so abruptly.
No, he'd expected him to come.
With that wastrel holed up here, it was inevitable. But so quickly...
"Stop wasting your brainpower and just guide me. I already know everything."
He said it for the third time.
At the same moment, Ha Mu-baek's aura began to surge ferociously.
"Hoo. This way, please."
The steward let out a deep sigh and turned. He knew Ha Mu-baek, and he understood exactly what it meant for him to repeat himself three times.
That was why he'd so readily offered to guide him.
Iron Cane Beggar's eyes sharpened at the sight.
'No way...'
A brothel that recognized Ha Mu-baek? There was only one such place.
But this wasn't it, as far as he knew.
[Check it out.]
Iron Cane Beggar sent a transmission to one of his subordinates, and a beggar slipped away swiftly.
He was off to meet the branch leader of the Beggar Clan sub-branch here.
With a composed face, Iron Cane Beggar moved alongside Ha Mu-baek.
The steward glanced sidelong at him, unable to hide his discomfort.
"The madam will see the senior alone, it seems..."
Ha Mu-baek wasn't the only one following. Pang Do-won and Pang Geo-yul had arrived unnoticed and were trailing behind.
Ha Mu-baek glanced back and shrugged.
"I'll see her alone."
"Uncle—"
Pang Geo-yul started in surprise but promptly shut his mouth.
He'd seen the resolve in Ha Mu-baek's eyes.
Iron Cane Beggar had already informed them that Pang Gun-ho wasn't here.
In the end, Ha Mu-baek was their only hope, so they couldn't afford to irk him.
And so they ascended the floors of the Grand Pleasure Pavilion.
The steward continued to show his unease toward the trailing group, but since the madam had specified meeting Ha Mu-baek alone, he had no grounds to bar them.
Besides, none of them looked like pushovers.
The top floor of the Grand Pleasure Pavilion held only a single room.
The madam's chamber.
After climbing the final steps, the steward stepped slightly aside.
"Only the senior, please."
Ha Mu-baek nodded and pushed open the door.
As Ha Mu-baek entered, the steward blocked the door again.
The others could only wait there.
Stepping inside, a breathtaking beauty greeted him demurely, her eyes sparkling.
"Ha Daxia. Please, come in. I am Yeong So-hye, the humble madam of this establishment."
Ha Mu-baek smirked at her words.
"Daxia? Hardly."
Undeterred by his reaction, Madam Yeong So-hye smiled softly and gestured to a seat.
"This way, please. Care for a drink?"
The table was laden with an opulent spread. Yeong So-hye delicately lifted a bottle and smiled alluringly at Ha Mu-baek.
"Skip the cheap tricks."
Ha Mu-baek said gruffly.
"Just one drink, then. My hands are getting lonely."
She pressed again with an even more seductive smile, her expression laced with coquettish charm.
"I said no cheap tricks."
The moment Ha Mu-baek's voice turned chilling,
Crack.
The bottle shattered, soaking her hands in spilled liquor.
"Oh dear, this was a rare vintage..."
She let out a coquettish whine, but deep in her eyes lurked dismay.
"What should I shatter next?"
Ha Mu-baek stared coldly at her.
Yeong So-hye met his gaze for a moment.
"Hoo."
She sighed deeply,
then thudded over and plopped down across from him. Grabbing a nearby bottle, she took a swig straight from it.
"Kah! Damn it. Talk about bad luck. Of all people, I had to get caught by you."
She transformed completely.
One could hardly believe this was the same refined, innocent woman radiating subtle allure moments ago.
She was as brash as a bandit from some mountain stronghold.
"Where'd he go?"
"What?"
Yeong So-hye shot back curtly.
"Pang Gun-ho."
"No idea."
Another short reply.
"You think I'll buy that?"
Yeong So-hye took another swig before answering.
"I said no idea. Don't know. Go ahead and gut me!"
"You seem like the real madam... and you know who I am..."
Ha Mu-baek's voice sank lower.
"Well, if you insist."
Ha Mu-baek rose and reached for his sword hilt.
The motion was fluid as water, without hesitation. In an instant, he drew and swung.
Shlick.
A chilling slice echoed as the table cleaved in two. Yeong So-hye's skirt parted as well.
A thin red line appeared across her abdomen, blood seeping through.
Yeong So-hye's face drained white.
"Y-you psycho..."
She stammered through chattering teeth.
A single crimson streak marred her pale belly.
She clutched it with both hands.
"Not bad reflexes."
It had only grazed her.
Thanks to her quick dodge.
"I-I almost died!"
She'd thrown herself aside with all her might; otherwise, she'd have been bisected.
"Don't make a fuss. I swung it just enough to graze your gut."
That's why she'd managed to evade with mere contact.
Had Ha Mu-baek intended to split her in half, she'd be dead already.
"You lunatic! 'Gut me' and you actually try?!"
Yeong So-hye screamed.
"Didn't Yeo Cho-a tell you anything? You act like you know me... so she must've said something."
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head.
Yeong So-hye's back grew slick with sweat.
'Tell me? She said you're an untouchable psycho—never mess with him. But I didn't think it'd be this bad...'
Watching her face intently, Ha Mu-baek smirked.
"So you did hear. And you still pulled that? Looks like your sect leader hasn't earned her disciples' trust."
Yeong So-hye bit her lip and glared, saying nothing.
"Now, talk. Where is he? Pang Gun-ho."
"I don't know!"
She bellowed at his repeated question.
"You expect me to believe that? As if the Lowly Gate would just let the Pang heir slip away."
Lowly Gate.
The unorthodox sect that rivaled the Beggar Clan in information brokering.
Composed of those scraping by at society's bottom: brothels, gambling dens, taverns, pickpockets.
A massive organization, much like the Beggar Clan.
No village lacked beggars, just as none lacked brothels, taverns, or gambling halls.
Thus, the Lowly Gate knew all about Ha Mu-baek—intimately, chillingly so.
That was why he'd met Madam Yeong So-hye so easily.
"We've only recently set up here. Adapting comes first. How could we surveil a big shot like the Pang heir in that mess?"
The bleeding had apparently stopped; she removed her hands from her abdomen and spoke curtly.
"Convenient excuse."
"It's the truth."
"Come to think of it, Yeo Cho-a's husband was an Yeong, wasn't he?"
Yeong So-hye's eyes widened.
Ha Mu-baek moved his sword again.
Caught off guard, she dodged desperately. His blade pursued relentlessly, and she evaded with every ounce of effort.
It was razor-thin.
"That footwork is indeed the Ethereal Maze-Ending Step."
Ha Mu-baek sheathed his sword and regarded her.
"The Lowly Gate Leader's signature move—and Yeo Cho-a's specialty."
Yeo Cho-a.
The Lowly Gate Leader herself.
"She wouldn't just abandon her daughter as pavilion madam without precautions."
Yeong So-hye ground her teeth.
When Ha Mu-baek had spread his senses searching for Pang Gun-ho in the pavilion, he'd already detected she was Yeo Cho-a's direct disciple.
He'd sensed traces of the Lowly Gate Leader's unique art, the Ethereal Illusion Art, in her aura. Hearing her name confirmed she was the daughter.
"Where is he? Pang Gun-ho?"
"I don't know!!"
Yeong So-hye screamed again.
This time, Ha Mu-baek's expression flickered. After all this, still claiming ignorance?
Perhaps...
...
"Did Yeo Cho-a really tell you nothing about me?"
He wondered if she truly didn't know who he was.
He hadn't for a second doubted she knew Pang Gun-ho's whereabouts.
The Lowly Gate had always been meticulous about intel on Jianghu elites.
"An untouchable psycho—don't even touch him."
Yeong So-hye muttered under her breath.
"Huh?"
Ha Mu-baek had heard every word, of course.
"That's what Mother said! You psycho!"
"Tch. She really held back."
The moment Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue, his figure vanished.
Thud!
His fist slammed into Yeong So-hye's abdomen.
"Guh... wh-what..."
Her breath caught; she couldn't finish.
She stared at him in utter disbelief.
Her eyes screamed: How could you punch a beauty like me?
Ha Mu-baek grinned as their eyes met.
And then—
Bam!
He backhanded her face, sending her crashing into the wall.
He shook out his hand lightly and looked up at the ceiling.
"If you're gonna pop out, now's the time."
"..."
Silence.
"Not coming? Then I'll come to you."
With those words, four figures appeared in a flash, surrounding Yeong So-hye.
"Long time no see?"
Ha Mu-baek grinned again. He recognized two of them.
"Not a reunion I'm thrilled about."
"Wh-what?!"
Yeong So-hye couldn't process the sudden arrivals. She hadn't even known they were there.
"Where is he? Pang Gun-ho."
"He left last night. After killing his two escorts."
"Where is he now?"
"We discreetly disposed of the bodies."
"P-Protectors! What in the world is going on?"
Once she'd somewhat regained her wits, Yeong So-hye asked.
They were Lowly Gate protectors—one of the twelve.
Four of them here? She couldn't comprehend it.
"Where is he? Third time asking."
Ignoring her question entirely, Ha Mu-baek pressed on. His smile deepened.
One protector's forehead beaded with sweat as he watched.
Ha Mu-baek bared his teeth in a grin.
"I see. So that's how it is. You lot didn't set up here for nothing. Even Iron Cane Beggar had no idea the Lowly Gate was here... A sub-branch undetected by the Beggar Clan, right under the Pang Clan's nose. Heh heh. That was your goal from the start. Hunwon Turbid Flow."
Ha Mu-baek's eyes gleamed fiercely.