Chapter 114

The Dark-Shadow Gu Clan’s auction house.
I vaguely knew it existed.
But I had never visited it myself, and because its security was maintained so secretly, I had never paid it much mind.
So I had forgotten about it.

“The auction house is where forbidden items you can’t obtain at the True Demon Market go up for sale. Things like insects steeped in the Blood Cult’s blood energy, weapons from the imperial armory, and even secret martial arts manuals permitted only to the Little Demons.”
“Then Defeated-Spirit Paste as well?”
“It’s only a possibility. But even if they don’t have it, with the ability they have to procure such unusual things, don’t you think they might be able to get it for you?”
“Hmm. In the end, that means I have to meet Third Sahyung.”

I didn’t particularly want to.
Even in my previous life, I had spoken with Gu Cheong-won only a handful of times.
And even then, we had never once had a meaningful conversation.
So I asked Gal So-ye.

“Do you know much about Third Sahyung?”
“A little. That he’s always cheerful, always drunk, and often visits brothels. They also say he’s a refined man deeply versed in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and music.”
“What else?”
“How much information are you trying to get out of me? At this point, I think I’ve earned the price of the food.”
“You should factor in the delivery fee too. Do you know how hard it is to carry Seven-Treasure Dragon King Soup all the way to the Strategist’s Office without letting it get cold?”

Gal So-ye let out a small puff of laughter and shook her head.

“He may look like that on the surface, but the Third Young Lord is the one who personally manages the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan’s secret auction house.”
“You mean it isn’t simply run by the clan, but that he personally oversees it?”
“They say he’s quite capable and raised its profits several times over compared to a few years ago. A person with that kind of ability wouldn’t just be cheerful all the time or only indulge in refined pleasures, would he?”

In other words, she meant he was different from how he portrayed himself.
That was something I had already guessed to some extent.
Gu Cheong-won was one of the very few people who had thrown ashes over the smooth path Geuk Mu-hyeok had laid out toward succession.

‘Though for now, they’re probably still in a cooperative relationship.’

“This should be enough.”
“I hope you manage to obtain the Defeated-Spirit Paste.”
“Thank you.”

I exchanged farewells with Gal So-ye and left the office.
Behind me, I heard the hurried sound of her taking out the Seven-Treasure Dragon King Soup and eating it.

I returned to Hidden Cloud Pavilion.
I sat on a random chair and thought about what to do with Gu Cheong-won.
First, I had to meet him, and if he had the Defeated-Spirit Paste, ask him to give it to me, and if he did not, ask him to obtain it, but would he hand it over so easily?
I did not think so.

“Hmm.”

My thoughts had just reached, ‘What could I offer in return for the deal?’ when it happened.

Bang!
With a loud noise of someone kicking open Hidden Cloud Pavilion’s front gate, someone came running in.
I did not even need to look to know who it was.

“Sajaaaae!”

As expected, the one who appeared in no time was none other than Wi So-rang.

“Sajae! Let’s play!”

After returning from the Central Plains, Wi So-rang had occasionally come over like this.
Apparently, she had been terribly bored while I was gone.
When I had time, I would talk with her a little or look over her martial arts, but today it seemed she had come to hang out outright.

“Sajae, your senior brother is here.”

Then another voice sounded again.
The owner of that arrogant and irritating voice was Yuk Ja-heung.
He strolled into the room with his hands behind his back, then frowned when he saw Wi So-rang.

“What, Samae was here too?”
“Am I not allowed to be?”
“Who said you weren’t? I just thought I came alone, but I didn’t. Are you not training again, Samae?”
“Don’t you need to train, Sahyung?”
“I asked first!”

The two of them started bickering the moment they met.
It was rather fascinating.
How was it that they so often showed up at the same time like this?

Wi So-rang spoke confidently.

“I already finished today’s training. So let’s go hang out!”
“I’m busy right now.”
“Come on, Sajae, are you always busy? You need to rest sometimes! I’ll buy you something tasty, so let’s go.”

Yuk Ja-heung quickly cut in.

“What are you going to buy us?”
“I’m not buying anything for Fifth Sahyung, though.”
“Wow, damn. Aren’t you being a bit too mean?”
“I’m joking. Hehe. Where should we go?”

It had already become an established fact that I was going with them.
I shrugged and said,

“Let’s go somewhere nearby.”
“Blue Mirage Pavilion? Great!”

We all boarded Wi So-rang’s widest and largest carriage.
Wi So-rang said we should go have fun, but it was not as if I could simply play around.
With the mindset of grasping even at a straw, I asked the two of them.

“Do you know anything about Third Sahyung?”
“I do. Third Sahyung is kind.”

Wi So-rang said in a bright, clear voice.

“Kind?”
“Yeah. He’s a great listener.”
“Did you talk with him a lot?”
“Yeah!”

Yuk Ja-heung snorted.

“That’s not talking with him, that’s you talking at him. Third Sahyung doesn’t even answer back. Samae is practically being ignored.”
“The one being ignored is Fifth Sahyung. Third Sahyung doesn’t even look at you.”
“He looks at me sometimes, you know?”

The two of them bickered childishly again.
It was so absurd I burst out laughing.
At some point, whenever I was with these two, this kind of silly laughter started coming out often.
But from what I could see, it seemed like both of you were being ignored.

“Anyway, one sure thing is that for twenty hours out of twenty four, he’s always drunk. He really likes alcohol.”

Yuk Ja-heung said.
Wi So-rang added that she had heard the same thing too.
Come to think of it, Gu Cheong-won had always been the same even in my previous life.

‘Why are there so many drunkards in the Demon Cult? The Heavenly Demon too.’

A short while later, we arrived at Blue Mirage Pavilion.
Since it was only a quarter of an hour away from Hidden Cloud Pavilion on foot, we arrived even faster by carriage.
When we stepped inside, the customers began murmuring.
Because it was located inside the main base, they were all warriors working within it.

“We greet Seventh Young Lord!”
“We greet Seventh Young Lord!”

When someone stood up and shouted, fist-clasp salutes shot up from all around at once.

“The Fifth Young Lord is here too…… and I’m the senior brother…….”

Yuk Ja-heung muttered quietly.
Wi So-rang was simply delighted.

“Wow, Sajae. You’ve really become famous! I want to become as famous as you too.”
“Someone at Sajeo’s level is already famous enough.”

After giving me a fist-clasp salute, there were quite a few people who then saluted Wi So-rang as well with gazes that clearly found her cute.
As for Yuk Ja-heung, whether because of his eccentric personality or because he had no particularly notable achievements, there were few people who even recognized him properly.

“Oh my, who is this! Such honored people!”
Not a server, but the owner himself hurried out.
With three Little Demons appearing all at once, his reaction made sense.

“Today is the most glorious day of my life! To host four Little Demons on the same day, at the same time!”
“Four? There are only three of us though?”

Yuk Ja-heung looked around.
The owner answered.

“Third Young Lord is on the third floor!”

At those words, I involuntarily faltered.
Gu Cheong-won was in this tavern?
Why?

“He has been visiting every day these past few days. I cannot tell you how grateful I am. Shall I guide you to Third Young Lord?”

I fell into thought for a moment.
The Dark-Shadow Gu Clan was outside the main base, and naturally it was quite far from here.
There should have been any number of better taverns on the way from there to here, so why had he come to Blue Mirage Pavilion?
And for several days at that?

‘It’s not as if he has too much time on his hands.’

Gu Cheong-won was not an idle wastrel.
He might look like one, but he was definitely not someone who moved wherever his feet took him without any purpose.
There was no way he would come this far without a reason.

‘I don’t like the feeling of this.’

Still, this worked out well.
I had business with Gu Cheong-won anyway.
Whether he had the Defeated-Spirit Paste, and if so, whether he could give it to me.
There was a high chance he would name burdensome terms for the deal, but first I had to hear what they were.

“Hey. Should we just go somewhere else?”

Yuk Ja-heung tugged at my sleeve.
Judging by his expression, Gu Cheong-won clearly made him uncomfortable.
But I wasn’t uncomfortable.

“Please guide us to the third floor.”
“Why on earth?!”
“Because I can’t be bothered to go somewhere else.”

I gave Yuk Ja-heung’s question a simple answer.
Afraid we might leave, the owner hurriedly guided us upstairs.
When we reached the second floor, the soft sound of a flute drifted from somewhere.

‘The upper floor?’

When we reached the third floor, a man was sitting sideways on the window frame with only one knee bent up.
Hair scattering in the breeze that happened to be blowing.
Disheveled martial robes far removed from anything formal.
And a side profile with a sharply defined jawline.

It was Gu Cheong-won.
He was playing a mournful melody on the flute, as if steeped in sorrow.

“…….”

For a moment, we quietly watched him.
How should I put it, it was like a painting?
I didn’t want to casually break this scene.
Even to my ears, which knew nothing about music, Gu Cheong-won’s performance sounded remarkably excellent.
A thought came to me suddenly.

‘What did I know about Gu Cheong-won in my previous life?’

There was nothing much besides what I had thought of while talking with Gal So-ye.
No, there were a few other things, but none of them were very important.
I had the thought that perhaps, in this life, I might come to know Gu Cheong-won very well.
Whether that would be in a good way or not.

“How long are we going to stand here like this?”

Yuk Ja-heung couldn’t endure it any longer and spoke up.
At that moment, the performance stopped dead.
As expected of Yuk Ja-heung.
That was just like someone who had built a tall wall between himself and anything like refinement.

Gu Cheong-won turned his head toward us.
Since we had also been looking his way, a strange standoff continued for a moment.
Yuk Ja-heung stammered.

“S-should we greet him?”
“You know manners like that too?”
“Are you looking down on me now too?”
“What are you talking about? I’ve been looking down on you from the start.”
“Ah, is that so?”

Yuk Ja-heung accepted that at once.

“Oh? Those are some very familiar faces. Don’t tell me you’re having a gathering?”

Gu Cheong-won spoke.
Judging by his intoxicated voice and the powdery scent wafting from him even from a distance, it seemed he had been drinking merrily at a brothel.

“I was just passing the time with my flute because drinking alone was getting boring, so shall we share a table?”

I could tell clearly.
Gu Cheong-won’s eyes weren’t drunk.
And those eyes were fixed straight on me alone.
As if he had been waiting for me from the beginning.