Chapter 117

I asked back in puzzlement.

“You want us to go to the auction house? Why?”
“Why else? Because Defeated-Spirit Paste is there. You said you needed it, didn’t you, Sajae?”
“You didn’t bring it with you?”
“Why would I?”
“If not, then there was no need for you to come all the way to Hidden Cloud Pavilion.”
“I wanted to see where Seventh Sajae lives.”

Gu Cheong-won looked around Hidden Cloud Pavilion with the expression of someone sightseeing at something curious.

“It’s incredibly cramped. How do you live in an environment like this?”

‘What is this man scheming?’

He came because he wanted to look around my residence?
I didn’t believe that at all.
He wasn’t the sort of man to move for such a simple reason.

“It’s so cramped there’s nothing to see. Shall we get going, Seventh Sajae?”
“And do what there? Bid at the auction or something?”

I answered sharply.
At that, Gu Cheong-won’s eyes curved, and then he burst out into a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha! This is why I like dealing with Seventh Sajae. There’s no need for long explanations. Exactly. The Defeated-Spirit Paste is going up for auction.”
“This is insane.”

He put something I said I needed up for auction without even discussing it with me?
Even though he’d agreed to make a deal with me?
I’d guessed he might not hand it over easily, but to think he’d really come at me like this.

“What kind of nonsense is this?”
“As for the Defeated-Spirit Paste, it was hard to find.”
“I’m sure it was.”
“I used every method available and put out feelers not only inside and outside the cult, but all the way to the Western Regions and the Central Plains.”
“And?”
“As the owner of the auction house, could I really just hand over an item like this?”

“…….”

I was so dumbfounded I was left speechless.
Grinning, Gu Cheong-won went on.

“Don’t worry. I’ll support you so that you can win it, Sajae.”
“How?”
“I’ll give you silver. It won’t be a small amount.”

I stared at Gu Cheong-won with suspicious eyes.
I couldn’t take this man’s words at face value.

‘Is he trying to lure me to his territory and do something to me?’

No. If that were the case, he would have tried to finish things at the pavilion.
Then what, was this really just him doing his duty as the owner?
That didn’t make sense either.
After already agreeing to a deal with me, now he suddenly wanted to act like the master of the auction house?
There was a much clearer intention than any of that.

‘So he wants to test me again.’

Gu Cheong-won was trying to confirm whether I was worth joining hands with.
Last time, he had measured my martial prowess and fighting instincts, so this time he was trying to test something else.
How I would deal with a difficult situation if one were thrown at me, whether my feelings for a subordinate were real, and how much I would sacrifice for that.

“There’s a saying.”

I gave Gu Cheong-won a warning.

“If you go around weighing others on a scale, you’ll eventually end up on that scale yourself. And when that happens, you may have to bear, all at once, the very same weight you once put on others.”

I was someone who had gone through all kinds of hardships over two lifetimes.
Whatever trick he tried to pull, I just had to smash through it.

‘With interest added, at that.’

Gu Cheong-won smiled faintly and replied, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Without taking my eyes off him, I spoke quietly.

“Guard Im, get ready to go.”
“…Yes, understood.”

She clearly didn’t like the idea.
From Im Yeon’s point of view, that reaction was only natural.
After all, three days ago there had been a very unpleasant incident involving Gu Cheong-won.
She had been waiting near the pavilion, and the shock on her face when she saw me riddled with wounds had been something else.

A little while later, I left Hidden Cloud Pavilion in the same carriage as Gu Cheong-won.
Im Yeon followed behind with the other guards.

“You made the right decision. I wanted to give you a chance to see Golden Resonance Vault, Sajae.”
“Is that so?”

Golden Resonance Vault was the name of the secret auction house.
When I answered indifferently, Gu Cheong-won said nothing more after that.
I didn’t particularly want to talk either, so I just looked out the window.

Before I knew it, the carriage had entered the territory of the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan.

‘Is it in here?’

It wasn’t.
The carriage quickly left the Dark-Shadow Gu Clan’s territory and headed into a secluded area.
The place was overgrown with weeds, and it was lined with abandoned houses of unknown age.

‘There was a place like this in the Demon Cult?’

The carriage passed through a winding road and finally stopped inside a shabby abandoned estate.
The walls were crumbling in places, and the garden was overrun with weeds. Could there really be an auction house in a place like this?
Just as I was wondering, there came a Kugugung sound.
The courtyard floor cracked apart with a loud split, revealing a slope leading underground.
A mechanism array had been installed there.
Without getting out of the carriage, we entered inside.

“Wow.”

How should I even describe this?
The place the carriage entered was a massive cavern.
Because of the lamps lit everywhere, it was nearly as bright as outside, and red carpets had been laid throughout, flaunting its splendor.

“What do you think? Quite a spectacle, isn’t it?”

Gu Cheong-won, who had been quiet for some time, spoke up.
I gave a small nod.
Whether he was an annoying man or not, it really was a spectacle.
There were gambling dens and brothels to either side of the road.

“There aren’t as many guests as I expected.”
“That would only make it noisy. If you provide them with just two things, the profits are more than enough. Do you know what they are?”
“No idea.”
“The vanity of enjoying something others cannot. And a desire that can never be filled.”

Gu Cheong-won wore a faint smile.

“They pay dearly to eat, drink, roll dice, and bury themselves in women’s arms. All just to satisfy vanity and desire.”
“And the one who makes his living off things like that is you, Third Sahyung.”

A somewhat sharp reply.
Gu Cheong-won nodded lightly.

“I’m not saying it negatively. Feelings like these are the strongest motives that make humans exist as humans. Aren’t they?”
I didn’t answer.

The carriage continued forward without stopping.
Surprisingly, Geum-eum Vault was not just a single level.
The lower floor was clearly narrower than the upper one, but it was decorated more luxuriously.

“The Golden Resonance Vault has three levels in total. On this floor, precious items are sold at all times.”

When we went down one more floor, we arrived at a place that could well be called another world.
Dozens of luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling and shining like stars, a forest covering the ground as if an entire woodland had been moved inside, and in the middle of it all, a broad lake, with a square-shaped pavilion built at its center.

“Wow……”

An even greater exclamation escaped me than before.
How much would something like this have cost to build?

“That is where the auction is held.”

Gu Cheong-won pointed at the pavilion.
The carriage passed through a forest path. A soft, clear fragrance drifted through the air.
Three men stood waiting in proper posture in front of the pavilion.

“They’re the chief stewards.”

When I got out of the carriage after Gu Cheong-won, the chief stewards greeted him and me in turn.

“Let’s go inside and talk in detail.”

The inside of the pavilion was every bit as splendid as the outside. Expensive-looking ornaments and paintings were arranged everywhere.

“Wow!”

Only Im Yeon had followed me among the guards, and she kept looking all around with a dazed expression.

“Is this your first time in a place like this?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Don’t look around so much. You’ll look rustic.”
“Have you been somewhere like this before, Young Lord?”
“I-”

My words caught in my throat.
This was my first time too, actually.

“…Anyway, don’t.”
“Yep.”

As we walked, Gu Cheong-won received reports from the chief stewards one after another.
A newly arrived work of art needed appraisal, a man who had borrowed money and failed to repay it had been dealt with, and so on.
Gu Cheong-won merely nodded in a dry manner.

“Sit.”

We soon arrived at Gu Cheong-won’s office.
I sat across from him at the tea table.
And asked him.

“Now let’s talk about the Defeated-Spirit Paste.”
“Very well. First Chief Steward.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”
“Bring the silver.”
“At once.”

At the chief steward’s gesture, a warrior brought over a small chest.
When it was opened, it was packed full of silver.
I counted inwardly how much it looked like, and then the chief steward stated the amount.

“Two hundred taels.”
“That looks about right. You’re giving this to me?”
“Yes. You don’t look all that surprised.”
“It’s not enough to shock me. I’ve handled a thousand taels before.”

Of course, that thousand taels referred to the money Gal So-ye had given me.
I’d mostly spent it with the Heavenly Demon or returned it, but I had still handled it.

“A thousand taels?”
“There’s a story there.”
“Hm. Give it to Sajae.”
“Yes, Young Lord.”

The chief steward handed over the two hundred nyang in silver.
I stared down at the money
Gu Cheong-won had money. A lot of it.
Enough to casually throw down five gold coins at a tavern.
But would he really hand two hundred nyang over to me? Without any ulterior motive?
I didn’t think so.

‘He must be expecting the winning bid to go far higher than two hundred nyang.’

Either way, I didn’t like it.

“Aren’t you taking it?”
“Of course I am.”

I quickly took the chest.
Better than having nothing.

“Sajae, let me ask you one thing.”
“What is it?”
“You said you were obtaining Defeated-Spirit Paste because of a subordinate, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“If two hundred taels isn’t enough, what will you do?”

Gu Cheong-won’s eyes shone like a little child with sweets placed in front of him.

“Are you prepared to pour in even every last bit of your own money, Sajae?”

I stared at him for a moment, then let a faint smile form.

“No.”
“So you don’t treasure your subordinate quite that much after all?”
“No way. Just spending my own money doesn’t carry enough weight. I’m going to pour everything I have into it.”

It wasn’t as though I’d given it no thought until now.
A method that wouldn’t just fluster Gu Cheong-won, but overturn the entire auction itself.
I had planned it.
A question spread through Gu Cheong-won’s eyes.

“Everything…?”
“There’s a way.”

Right now, he wouldn’t be able to guess anything.
Gu Cheong-won smiled as if he found it amusing and said,

“The auction will begin soon, so move with the First Chief Steward.”
“Fine.”

I left the office with the chief steward.
I could feel Gu Cheong-won’s gaze following me from behind.

“The auction will begin in about an hour. Before you go, there is something you must put on first.”
“What is it?”

The First Chief Steward clapped his hands.
A warrior brought over a chest that was thin but wide.
Inside it were five masks.

“Masks?”
“The auction proceeds without revealing one’s identity. It is to protect the buyers’ identities.”
“Hmm, is that so?”

I looked over the masks.
A black bird mask, a blue tiger mask, a white ghost mask, a red snake mask, and a mask shaped after the spiritual beast Taotie.
The chief steward told me to choose one of them.

“The White Ghost mask looks fine.”

I liked it because it looked the most hideous.
Better this than wearing something that made me look easy to handle.
Im Yeon was given a mask of lower quality than the ones offered to me.
She put on a white dove mask.

“I’ll guide you to the auction hall now.”

The auction hall was a broad central courtyard built inside the pavilion.
A stage had been set up in a place large enough to hold roughly a hundred people at once.
Several people were already seated in the twenty comfortable chairs placed before it.
Like me, they all wore masks.

“You may sit there.”

I sat in the chair in the very back row that the chief steward pointed out.
Im Yeon stood waiting behind my chair, looking uneasy.

“Don’t be nervous.”
“Yes, y-yes.”

Then the man seated diagonally in front of me turned halfway around.
He wore a Yellow Horse mask.
He asked,

“Oho. A new mask. White Ghost Mask, is it? Who are you, and where have you come from?”
“And who are you, and from where?”

When I asked back, the eyes behind the horse mask widened.

“Heheh. That didn’t work. Letting yourself be fooled at least once is supposed to be the virtue of a beginner.”
“I’m not green enough to be taken in that easily.”
“That does seem to be the case. Who invited you? Without an invitation, you can’t come to the third floor.”
“That’s a secret too.”
“How stingy.”

The horse-masked man lifted himself from his seat and came right over to the chair beside me.

“Can you just change seats however you want?”
“Of course not. But as long as one is seated properly by the time the host appears, what does it matter?”

What a peculiar person.
As time passed, more masked figures entered.
Some sent curious glances my way, while among themselves, perhaps because they saw each other often, they exchanged greetings.

Then, in an instant, the atmosphere changed.
It was because a man with a scarecrow-thin body had appeared.
A mask bearing the Azure Dragon.
The horse-masked man muttered under his breath.

“Heh, Lord Yong¹ has appeared.”
“Lord Yong?”
“You’re new here, so you wouldn’t know. There are two real heavyweights in the Golden Resonance Vault. One is Lord Yong of the Azure Dragon mask, and the other is Madam Bong² of the Phoenix mask.”

As if to confirm his words, sighs broke out here and there.

“How much is he going to sweep away today?”
“Lord Yong, take it easy on us. Lately, because of you, there’s been no fun in it for the rest of us.”

Was that a familiar reaction for him?
Lord Yong sat in a front-row chair at the center without replying.
The horse-masked man said,

“Lord Yong is the type to barrage the field. He bids on all kinds of things and practically sweeps them away.”
“So that’s why the reactions were like that.”
“Madam Bong, on the other hand, is the type to kill in one strike. She doesn’t appear often, but once she does, she always wins the most precious auction item.”

The more I listened, the more curious I became, so I asked the horse-masked man,

“Then Lord Yong and Madam Bong probably don’t get along very well, do they? If Madam Bong always wins the bid, then there must have been things Lord Yong missed out on.”
“You’ve got it exactly. I don’t know about Madam Bong, but Lord Yong definitely hates her. He’d throw himself at her with murder in his eyes. But for some reason, Madam Bong’s attendance has been terribly low lately, so I can’t guess how things will go today.”

I summed up the situation briefly.
There were two likely rivals, but in practical terms, Lord Yong was the problem.
Because Madam Bong hadn’t been attending lately.
Privately, I felt relieved.
It would be better to deal with one heavyweight than two.
But then.

“Oh? Madam Bong has come!”

At someone’s shout, my head turned naturally.
There stood a woman in a Phoenix mask.
She moved with light, graceful steps like a celestial maiden. It seemed she had great skill in movement arts.
I clicked my tongue.

‘Of course. There’s no way this would go smoothly.’

If Madam Bong took an interest in the Defeated-Spirit Paste, the price might soar sky-high.

Madam Bong headed for the seat next to Lord Yong.
But then.

‘Hm?’

Without realizing it, I tilted my head.
My eyes met Madam Bong’s for a very brief moment, and that gaze felt far too familiar. It was soaked in fatigue.
And what was with the back of her hand being so pale, as if it had not seen sunlight in ages?
It might have been a leap, but in the Demon Cult, there was only one person who came to mind with those traits.

‘No way… Madam Bong’s true identity is…?’