#83: Why Are You Asking Me That? — A Dragon Lives in Kunlun

Leaving the Putuo Sect and the fog behind, Gyo-ha set off.

Anhui.

He would have to pass through it anyway on his way to Gansu.

Gyo-ha moved quickly.

And by the time he reached the far edge of Zhejiang, he heard the news that the Lake Tai Gang had been wiped out.

Every tavern and inn was abuzz with that news.

People held their breath and watched the situation.

When war broke out, it was ordinary folk who suffered.

Yet contrary to expectations, the Evil Heaven Alliance was quiet.

No, it only looked quiet.

As soon as he crossed Anhui, word came that the sects and branches of the Murim Alliance in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi had been attacked all at once.

The attackers were the Evil Heaven Alliance.

It was the beginning of the Great War between the orthodox and the unorthodox.

But it had nothing to do with Gyo-ha.

If anything, he was fortunate that the shockwaves had not reached Anhui Province yet.

He was worried about his friends, but in this situation there was nothing he could do.

So Gyo-ha quickened his pace.

In that way, he was able to reach Soho.

‘I hope I’m not too late.’

The Hao Gate belonged to the Evil Heaven Alliance. Once war started, they would have no time to worry about an injured disciple.

No, it couldn’t even be called an injury.

She had simply fallen asleep.

“…What was her name again?”

Her childhood name had been Ah-ryeong.

But he had been told that she no longer used that name now.

Gyo-ha pulled another name from his memory.

Seol-mae.

And just as Yeom Hong had boasted, many people knew that name.

The problem was they knew only the name, not where she was.

“Seol-mae? Is she not at Clear Snow Pavilion?”

“Come on, when was that? She moved to the Jeong Family Clinic over there.”

“And how do you know so well?”

“I went to see her as soon as she moved. When else are you going to get a look at a top-class courtesan.”

“So how was she?”

“How do you think? She was pretty of course.”

Several men laughed and chatted.

“So she is at that Jeong Family Clinic now?”

“I don’t think she’s there anymore.”

“Then?”

“That we do not know.”

With that, the men raised their cups.

The others were about the same.

From the stories of a few, he could only learn that she had been at the Jeong Family Clinic until recently.

So he went there himself.

And what he heard there was shocking.

“Seol-mae? If you mean that young lady, she was sold.”

The physician said this with an annoyed look.

“Eh?”

When Gyo-ha asked again, the physician grew irritated.

“Clear Snow Pavilion stopped paying her fees. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t just leave her like that. There happened to be a gentleman who wanted to buy her, so I handed her over.”

“…Was she not unable to wake up?”

“That’s right. But her outer shell is fine.”

The physician spoke as if it were nothing.

They were not words fitting someone whose work was to save lives.

When Gyo-ha frowned, the physician hastily added.

“I only looked after her that much because it was me. If it had been anyone else, she would have met misfortune long ago.”

Gyo-ha’s keen nose picked up the lie.

He had looked after her out of fear of Clear Snow Pavilion. A proper physician would not have turned her into a spectacle at all.

By the time he had come this far, Gyo-ha already knew he had used Seol-mae’s fame to do business.

But the reason Seol-mae was famous lay less in her looks and more in her skill with the pipa and her quick tongue.

Naturally, her popularity soon withered.

But this, too, was not the important issue.

“Do you know where she was sold?”

“Why do you keep pestering m—”

Kwa-jik.

When Gyo-ha swung his fist, a hole opened in the pillar.

Seeing this, the physician swallowed dryly.

Only then did his eyes go to the massive body beneath Gyo-ha’s guileless face.

“You don’t know?”

Under that indifferent gaze, the physician quickly shook his head.

“A s-scholar. I had never seen him before.”

Stammering, the physician continued.

Gyo-ha listened calmly. He had not originally planned to go this far.

But the physician’s attitude had changed his mind.

Having gotten what he wanted, Gyo-ha left the Jeong Family Clinic.

“…A scholar who failed the examinations.”

Such men were not common, but it would still be hard to find him with only that clue.

Now even Gyo-ha had no way to search.

Just as he was about to move on, he sensed someone following him.

The footsteps were light. It was clearly someone who had trained in martial arts.

An assassin?

Gyo-ha’s eyes gleamed.

But no one here knew who he really was. It could simply be a robber aiming for his purse.

Just then, the wind shifted, and a thick scent pricked his nose.

“Excuse me…”

At the delicate voice, Gyo-ha’s tension eased, and he turned his head.

There he saw a woman wearing an ornate bamboo hat.

“…Are you the one looking for Big Sis Seol-mae?”

“Yes.”

Disappointed, Gyo-ha nodded.

The woman cautiously glanced around, then spoke.

“Why are you looking for her?”

“I was asked to by an acquaintance.”

“Where does that acquaintance live?”

“In Hangzhou, but…”

At the word Hangzhou, the woman’s expression brightened.

Gyo-ha gave her a look as if to ask why she needed to know that, but she did not drop her suspicion and questioned him again.

“Do you perhaps know her real name?”

“…I heard it was Ah-ryeong.”

“That’s right!”

The woman, who had started to bounce slightly, quickly hunched down again as she remembered her surroundings.

“You were sent by Big Sis’s beloved, were you not?”

“Eh?”

Gyo-ha blinked.

The woman lifted her hat. With her beautiful face revealed, the area seemed to brighten.

“Everyone knows Big Sis has a beloved. She sends letters all the time, so how could we not.”

There was clearly a misunderstanding. The one who had sent Gyo-ha, Yeom Hong, was a woman.

‘…Or maybe not?’

Could her beloved be a woman?

He wondered that for a moment, but brought up what Yeom Hong had said about being an old friend.

While he was thinking that, the woman stepped closer and glared at him.

“Why did you come so late!”

“I am sorry?”

Flustered, Gyo-ha apologized and blinked, and the woman let out a sigh.

“No. You have nothing to apologize for. Let us move somewhere else first.”

At her words, Gyo-ha nodded.

He did not know the details, but it seemed he could get a clue.

The two of them headed to an elegant wine house.

As Gyo-ha looked around the tasteful establishment, the woman spoke.

“I’m late in introducing myself. I am Ae-wol.”

“Ah, I am Gyo-ha.”

At his reply, Ae-wol stared fixedly at him.

Gyo-ha tilted his head and spoke.

“…What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

Ae-wol gave a small laugh and shook her head.

“As expected, you are someone Big Sis’s beloved would send.”

Ae-wol was saying things he could not understand.

In truth, Ae-wol was also the star courtesan of Clear Snow Pavilion.

She was a courtesan even more famous than Seol-mae, whom Gyo-ha was looking for. Every man who saw her harbored lustful thoughts.

But she found it strange that Gyo-ha showed none of that.

“You are looking for the scholar who took Big Sis away, yes?”

When Gyo-ha nodded, Ae-wol spoke.

“He is a scholar who came here a few times. Seeing him come up alone to the upper floors, he is clearly from a wealthy family despite his frugal appearance. One’s actions cannot be hidden the way clothing can.”

Gyo-ha didn’t know what exactly she meant by the upper floors, but he nodded roughly.

“From the way he talked about Myeonggyo Temple before, he is from Hefei, not Soho.”

Saying that, she took something from her robes.

It was neither a wooden board nor leather, but paper.

It was an expensive item.

On the paper, a man’s face had been drawn.

It was clearly the face of the scholar Gyo-ha was searching for.

“If you look for the young masters of prestigious families in Hefei, you will find him. He goes around in the guise of a scholar to hide the fact that he frequents the pleasure house.”

Receiving the paper with the portrait sketch, Gyo-ha blinked.

He had gotten a clue he had not even imagined.

It could hardly even be called a clue.

At this point, it was nearly as if it had all been spoon-fed to him.

“…If you know this much, could you not just find him yourself?”

Why had she been waiting for someone else to come?

“I am bound here as well, so I cannot help it. Besides, Big Sis will be happier if her beloved comes for her rather than me.”

Bound here. At that, Gyo-ha realized something.

It was not the pleasure house itself.

“You are from the Hao Gate, right?”

At his question, Ae-wol’s eyes widened.

“H-how! Don’t tell me Big Sis told you?”

She was so shocked that her voice trembled.

“No. It was the movement art you used. That is not something one learns easily.”

“Ah.”

Ae-wol let out a small exclamation. She had used it unconsciously, thinking she had to follow him secretly.

A courtesan who used martial arts was about as rare as a beggar who used martial arts.

“I-I’m from the Hao Gate, but I’m not someone important like Big Sis.”

Gyo-ha nodded.

That seemed about right. Leaving aside the level of her martial arts, her tongue was far too loose.

The fact that she admitted it so quickly was one thing, but even though they had spoken only briefly, she was already blabbing about how important Seol-mae was in the Hao Gate.

And from what he had heard from Yeom Hong, it was not even that high a position.

‘She seems good at gathering information, though.’

Even so, it would be hard to entrust her with anything important.

For her part, she had no idea what mistake she had made and looked at Gyo-ha with eyes full of admiration.

“As expected, you are worthy of being sent by Big Sis’s beloved. Your eye for things is amazing.”

Having said that much, Ae-wol seemed to remember something and raised her brows.

“Even so, not coming even once is too much. Do you know how long Big Sis has been waiting?”

“…Why are you asking me that?”

“Ah, aah. Th-then please tell that to the one who hired you!”

Watching her speak with a flushed face, Gyo-ha scratched his cheek.

Thanks to her looks, most men would have found her cute, but not Gyo-ha.

Once he had gauged the level of her martial arts, his interest had cooled.

He didn’t care in the slightest for a pretty shell.

“More importantly, was there anything different about her before she fell asleep?”

“Anything different?”

She tilted her head and fell into thought.

Not long after, she seemed to recall something and opened her mouth.

“Come to think of it, she said she received a painting from someone as a gift. She often got presents, but she said this one felt strange. Wait a moment…”

As she spoke, she knit her brows.

“It must have been that young master!”

At her sudden shout, Gyo-ha covered his ears.

“Don’t tell me he did it on purpose. What a bastard!”

“…So the man who took her gave her a gift before she fell asleep?”

“Yes, it must be him.”

Then there was a high chance he also knew the reason.

“Then where is that painting?”

At Gyo-ha’s question, Ae-wol blinked.

“Uh…?”

As his gaze cooled, Ae-wol hurriedly spoke.

“It was definitely in Big Sis’s room, but when we cleaned up, it was gone.”