Episode 222

“What is this?”

“Intelligence purchased from the guesthouse.”

“……”

Late at night, a wall made of wood divides a back alley in Xi’an city.

A thick rolled-up wad of paper popped up through this hole.

Yang Chun, a low-level servant of the Lower District Sect, was shocked.

Even though it is the guesthouse, the best tower in Xi’an, this amount of information has never been received in a single day.

“Two pieces of silver.”

“T-two?”

The price is even more odd.

Most of the information that the courtesans, servers, receptionists, musicians, and other workers ask for is trivial, so the Hawkers buy it for one or two iron coins.

It is their job to synthesize this, distill only the necessary parts, and process it into information. Only then will it have true value as information.

But it’s costing two silvers?

Isn’t that a high-end price?

What on earth is this information that is so expensive?

Yang Chun, who took the paper, handed it to the Hawker, who was urging him without even having time to call the Graspers who had left the place with two silvers and a bundle of iron coins.

The Hawker and the Grasper. They don’t know each other.

There was no need to. It is just a simple relationship of buying and selling information in this way.

It was for the best. This was because if the Hawker was caught and the tail was revealed, they would all be in trouble.

Also, the disciples didn’t know about their superiors. This is because, with their abilities, they cannot find the higher-ups who are actively hiding.

The upper organization is completely hidden from the lower one. That was the secret of the Lower District’s existence thus long.

“Seriously, what is this about?”

After the Hawker’s presence disappeared, Yang Chun moved to a safe place, confirmed that no one was around, and rummaged through the paper.

Everything was about one person.

This warrior who came to visit the guesthouse.

What they look like, what they wear, how they speak, what they eat, when they go to the backyard, who serves them, how many breaths they take…

It seems like what the Hawker bought up was all useless content.

Then a phrase suddenly caught his eye.

“… Geum Ahn-pyo was hit to the point of death?”

If it was Geum Ahn-pyo, then even Yang Chun knew.

The warrior was running against those in a way which didn’t match his skills. He was a fairly famous person who appeared in Xi’an along with Hwang Gak-su, who disappeared after the Sword of Wudang struck the Dongrim Money Hall.

But he was beaten? That bad?

Yang Chun’s hand shuffled through the paper.

“Insane? Ten people were taken down in two breaths’ time? Is that even possible?”

Even if they are the guards of a guesthouse, they are skilled.

He thought that if it was a member of the Seven Stars of the Murim Alliance, then it made sense, but when he looked closely, he saw that it wasn’t the case.

So what is left for them? The Sword of Wudang who will become famous in the future? Or another young warrior?

The young warrior who was confused heard the man say that the guest stepped back only after the guard captain apologized.

In return for accepting the apology, he ate the most expensive sea and land meat delicacies in the guesthouse by himself and two bottles of precious rice wine with gold powder.

An extravagant man.

It was to the point where he suspected that the guest intentionally did that.

He couldn’t let this go.

“B-Black qi?”

This black qi swirled around his body like a whirlwind every time he moved.

His fists and feet.

“What nonsense is….”

Even more than his strength, which was already hard to believe, the part where the qi changes felt like it was eating up the body.

“Black qi, black qi….”

Yang Chun, who kept repeating the words black qi over and over again, due to not being able to understand, suddenly thought of a person.

“…!”

But soon Yang Chun shook his head.

“Eh, it couldn’t be? He died so long ago… it can’t be possible.”

And wasn’t it a natural death?

It also made no sense to doubt the disciples.

This was because he didn’t teach martial arts skills to Yu Wol-cheong, the only disciple and the Heavenly Lord of now.

“It couldn’t be. What nonsense am I thinking?”

He mumbled as if he was talking to himself, but he couldn’t put his mind to ease.

No, what if it was really someone related to that person?

What should he do then?

Yang Chun couldn’t come to any conclusion.

As a follower, his job was to compile various intelligence pieces, create solid information and deliver it to his superiors.

As is always the case, not a single suspicious thing was to be missed, and if one is unsure of something, then go through the entire process of confirming it again.

A man who uses black qi.

A rumor.

But, Yang Chun knew that this story could turn into something extremely serious, so he got up and went up.

“Damn bastards, if it cost me two silvers, they should have at least got a name.”

Flutter.

Yang Chun hung up different colored laundry one by one on the line in front of his residence.

If possible, it would be nice to have things organized by colors so that people can see them, but Yang Chun didn’t seem to care about it.

“What the fuck. Why do laundry in the middle of the night?”

A very drunk man starts a fight when he sees Yang Chun hanging laundry.

This man roams around the back streets.

Judging by his words, it looks like he went to the gambling house again and got robbed of it all.

“Don’t worry and go on your way now.”

“Fuck, if you wanted to do it, you don’t want to do it in different colors. Reds and blues… my eyes hurt.”

“What does it matter what others do?”

As Yang Chun nervously clenched his fist, the man crouched back with this stinging look.

“You bastard, and your personality. If anyone saw it, they would think it was so damn sly and not a drying house.”

“Won’t you get out?”

“G-going, you bastard!”

In response to the threat from Yang Chun, the man stumbled and fell down, but he got up again and ran.

“Tsk, don’t they know anything? That gambling crazy guy! Anyway, why didn’t I see Jeong-rak, the one he normally walks with?”

Yang Chun shook his head in the direction where the drunk man went and stepped into the house holding the basket of laundry.

He was about to light a lamp since the room was dark.

“Don’t light the lamp.”

“…!”

A masked person with a familiar voice appeared within the darkness.

The superior who always came to him.

How did the person get there so fast?

He usually appeared where no one was there, but it usually took around half a day or so to visit.

And he just sent the signal so how can the superior be there so fast?

“Since when did you end up being this careless? Two blue, one white, and three red!”

“I apologize!”

Yang Chun, scolded by the masked man, apologized quietly.

A three-color signal.

Known only to the official Lower District Sect, it was this secret method used to convey the intentions of one to the superior.

This is the laundry that Yang Chun hung outside a little while ago.

By combining the white, blue, and red signals various meanings were conveyed. The means weren’t set. Only the colors were, and it could be laundry, a flag, or even clothes.

No matter what was used, as long as one marked it, the superior would come.

“Not only the warriors of the Central Murim Alliance, but even the soldiers of the Empire and the Guards were mobilized. What happened that had signaled this emergency signal?”

The voice was very low but full of anger.

“Because there is something which matters.”

“…Matters?”

“Yes. A strange person has appeared in the drinking house.”

“Speak.”

“It is said he uses the black qi which forms a whirlwind.”

“Black qi… what do you want to say?”

“What if… it is Shadow Dragon Qi?”

Yang Chun gave the bundle of paper he bought from the Hawker to the masked man.

The black qi was mentioned at the end of many things which happened.

A deep change appeared in the eyes of the masked man and then returned to normal. Being silent, he asked after a long time.

“So let me assume… you think that he is related to that person?”

“…Yes.”

“Tsk, he’d already passed away two years ago. Before that, he had been out of the Sect due to illness for numerous years.”

“I know. But what if he left an heir behind….”

“That is nonsense.”

“……”

“Do you not know the ties between the Sect Leader and him?”

“I know. The Sect Leader knows everything about him. Other than Captain Cheon, he was the closest to him.”

“Right. So it doesn’t make sense. If there had been other disciples besides Yu Wol-cheong, when the Sect Leader turned his back on Evil Sect’s Heaven, he would have told me to look for him right away.”

“……”

Despite those words from the masked man, Yang Chun remained unconvinced.

“You still have doubts?”

“…Yes.”

“……”

Also, they were people who had the extraordinary ability to create information based on numerous rumors.

Although they were the lowest-ranking disciples within the Lower District Sect, they played the most key role.

Knowing the importance of that, the ones in charge of each branch were appointed with the approval of the Sect Leader.

The masked man looked at Yang Chun and sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Fine then. I will take a look at this. So forget about this for now.”

“Yes.”

Only then did Yang Chun’s face brighten, and the masked man burst into laughter.

“Since you are here, let’s have a cup of tea.”

Yang Chun grabbed the teapot from the table and turned his head.

“…Huh.”

He laughed.

The man wasn’t there.

Like how he came without a trace, he vanished without one too.

Even though he was right beside, he couldn’t detect the presence.

Yang Chun clicked his tongue and put down the teapot he was holding.

“I really hope it will be the Shadow Dragon Qi.”

He heard this.

Evil Sect’s Heaven has changed from the past.

The Lower District Sect locked the door and hid itself.

Yang Chun misses it.

The days when he was so busy that even having ten bodies felt insufficient.

Risking his life to collect and deliver information, the pride he felt when Evil Sect’s Heaven achieved success with that.

“It was fun. My personality is… I’ve always loved fun. Because he always had trouble with others.”

Yang Chun had this dreamy look and a soft smile.

The atmosphere in the guesthouse has changed.

In an instant everyone’s attention was focused.

It was because of one person, Jinmu.

Well, it was worth it since he was upset for no reason.

For that reason, the leader, Lee Hyang-ran of the guesthouse, personally came to handle the situation, and Geum Ahn-pyo and the other guards, who had dark expressions, were guarding the outskirts.

Skyak!

The middle-aged lady, Lee Hyang-ran, removed her slender fingers from her long sleeves and filled her glass.

“Golden powder liquor. It tastes good.”

“Thank you, Great One. This is liquor which isn’t sold anywhere else in the Central Plains.”

“Of course.”

Jinmu laughed at Lee Hyang-ran’s small boast and gulped the contents in the glass down in one go. Lee Hyang-ran stared at Jinmu.

“Close your eyes. Do you want to drill a hole in my face?”

“I apologize.”

In response to Jinmu’s scolding, Lee Hyang-ran laughed and covered her mouth with her sleeve but didn’t turn her head or redirect her gaze.

A man with his hair tangled and his face covered.

Only his chin was visible, but even so, there was no way that she, who runs the best drinking houses in Xi’an, wouldn’t recognize him.

The Sword of Wudang, Jinmu.

But even though she knew, she pretended not to.

Since Jinmu didn’t reveal himself, it had to be that way. That was her rule and habit of entertaining people for a long time.

“You look like you want to ask something?”

“If I ask, will you answer?”

“……”

Jinmu narrowed his eyes.

It wasn’t a question that needed a clear answer, but he never enjoyed clear answers either.

It’s not like seeing people.

“Speak. If there is an answer I can give, I will give it.”

When Jinmu’s permission was given, Lee Hyang-ran opened her mouth after a long time, even after all the people around her who were helping her were out of the room.

“How did you do it?”

“……”

As soon as he allowed, she followed up with a strong stab.

Lee Hyang-ran of the True Drinking House, which runs like a guest house. Judging by her appearance, she has to be roughly in her mid-40s.

Judging from her calm demeanor and wizened look, she must be someone who has dealt with a lot of people.

When one deals with countless people, their insight naturally develops like fortune tellers.

Just as older people live long with their knowledge, so did she.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think you didn’t understand what I meant. It certainly seems like you started the fight on purpose, or maybe did I see it wrongly?”

“…?”

“You saw well.”

Jinmu smiled.

Well, it didn’t matter if she knew.

“As expected… then why did you do it?”

“Because I needed some attention. So that you’ll be interested in what I show you.”

“What is that?”

“You know what.”

“……”

“Hasn’t everyone in this place already sold my information?”

Lee Hyang-ran’s eyes narrowed at the answer.

This man… is he?

At Jinmu’s words, Lee Hyang-ran’s expression began to change moment by moment, and a deep smile began to appear on Jinmu’s lips.

“…You’re finally here. The one I was waiting for.”

“…!?”

Pang!

She couldn’t even ask what he meant.

Because Jinmu’s body was already moving at an incredible speed.