Ch 204

Chapter 204 – The Auction For Escort Service Items (1)

[That…]

He was quite flustered.

I was also thinking about the possibility.

Originally, he was a strong candidate for the Beggars Union leader position. It was no exaggeration to say that his talent surpassed Hong Geol-gae.

When I first met him, he was a First Rate warrior, but he was now a full-fledged warrior.

It was said that if someone could learn all 18 forms of the Beggars Union’s martial arts, they would be able to control internal and external qi without any blockage.

Cho Seong-won, who was a bit shocked, sent me a message.

[If I show up right after he dies, wouldn’t everyone doubt me?]

[That’s right.]

He wasn’t an idiot, after all.

Since he could see what I was thinking, it was inevitable that doubt would fall on Cho Seung-won.

[Will just helping you kill him be satisfactory?]

[….]

He didn’t answer my question.

Just simple murder wouldn’t solve his grudge. It was likely because their ancestors had stepped away from the Justice Faction and were now more akin to the Blood Sect.

[… just killing him wouldn’t make me feel satisfied. I want him to feel more pain.]

[You have turned into a member of the Blood Sect.]

[That doesn’t sound like a compliment.]

[It is one for a member of the sect.]

Hearing this, he frowned and turned his head.

I thought he had fully accepted his lot in the Blood Sect, but it seemed that he hadn’t quite yet.

Still, why was the Beggars Union moving together?

I knew that the Beggars Union didn’t work solely for the Murim Alliance and lived faithfully to their lifestyle.

Were there any other signs of the beggars?

They were moving towards a place the envoy had set up. It was at the center of the guest house.

“Is it because you’re sitting in a corner with your back to everyone that no one recognizes the Young Lord?”

I shrugged my shoulders at Sima Young’s question.

Actually, after crossing the wall, I had been able to control my internal qi at the level of my lowest dantian, ensuring that no one could detect me.

That was why it would be hard to spot me unless they had keen qi senses or were one of the Eight Great Warriors.

Who would bother doing that when you were in the middle of a guest house?

Even if the Beggars Union’s leader came here, he wouldn’t recognize me.

“The food is here!”

At that moment, the server arrived with a large wooden tray. Song Woo-hyun, who had been expressionless, immediately brightened up.

The unique scent of the duck soup that was steaming was stimulating my nose.

“And mine?”

Song Jwa-baek asked about his missing food.

“Oh my. The chef is spinning new noodles, so please wait awhile.”

“Uhhh. I understand.”

This was why one should go with the flow.

A guest house famous for a certain type of food typically wouldn’t prepare another dish. Of course, he would have to wait.

Now, shall we taste the broth first?

Wheik!

“Kuk.”

“Phew.”

Sounds of delight came from everywhere who drank a little bit of soup. It was so light and savory.

Even Cho Seong-won, who had managed to control his anger, looked a bit calmer.

“Is it delicious?”

“Do not… touch it.”

“Ohh. Who is stealing?”

Seeing everyone eat, Song Jwa-baek smacked his lips. We could hear a loud chattering from the middle as we were eating loudly and soundly.

The voices came from people who seemed like beggars but weren’t acting like them. Were these people really looking for information?

“They are deliberately leaking information.”

Cho Seong-won helped me with this.

“Leaking it?”

“It’s a frequently used method. They chat about rumors everywhere to distort the actual information.”

Cho Seong-won told me this, and it felt true to an extent.

They were an organization that mainly dealt with information using many means and methods. They then said something that made everyone listen.

“Did you hear about it? Rumors about the appearance of the Five Great Evils?”

‘Five?’

Who were they talking about? Even before my regression, there were only Four Great Evils.

I was slightly puzzled, to the point where the soup almost escaped my mouth.

“Ahhh, I guess you are talking about the Blood Demon.”

Me?

Everyone in the party turned their eyes to me. Of course, they were also listening.

“There are rumors about his martial arts in Gwangju. By all accounts, he’s frightening.”

“They said that the prisoners of war who returned alive from the battle of Guangxi will swear their tongues on it.”

“Not just that. I heard that a reclusive warrior who crossed the wall couldn’t last for more than a few seconds and was beheaded.”

“Huh…”

Man, rumors moved so quickly.

It spread to Honam in just 10 days.

All of it came down to what Elder Man Jong recounted, but I didn’t think so few incidents would make me into a new Evil.

Was it because it was such an important event?

-Your reputation has become so high, our Wonwhi. You turned out well.

Don’t do that.

But what a timing.

I haven’t done anything evil, yet I was given the title Evil.

-That’s right.

I think it was because of the Blood Sect.

The perception from Murim of the Forces of Evil and the Blood Sect was negative no matter what we did. In this way, it was quite sad.

I then heard a message from Sima Young.

[Heee. The young lord is an Evil now. Are you the same as my father then?]

Sima Young had a bright smile and was clearly liking this.

To her, the title of Great Evil wasn’t a bad thing. It was just another name given to the strongest.

-I guess there are no more worries about you being recognized by that man. Both father and son-in-law are now Great Evils.

Short Sword giggled, clearly having fun. On the other side, Song Jwa-baek was looking at me with envy.

He obviously didn’t like the title that I was given. Still, his enthusiasm was useless now. Someone then said.

“It’s scary. One of the Eight Great Warriors died not long ago, and now a new Evil is born. I don’t know what the future of Murim will end up being.”

I turned around and noted that the voice’s owner was Hong Geol-gae.

Anyone who heard this will know that I was a Great Evil.

Crack!

I heard a pair of chopsticks breaking. When I looked over, it was Sima Young, whose eyes widened.

“The beggar is being too talkative.”

It seemed that she didn’t like where this was going. I haven’t seen it lately, but she also had a temper.

She was ready to stand up and slap the beggar in the face.

However, a voice could be heard from another side of the guest house.

“According to the rumors, shouldn’t they be referred to as one of the new Eight Great Warriors instead of the Five Great Evils?”

Uh?

Our collective gaze moved towards the voice. There was a group of four sitting by the entrance of the kitchen.

They were people wearing neat yellow uniforms who seemed part of an escort service.

“… Oh god.”

Song Jwa-baek exclaimed loudly.

I think I understand why he reacted like this. It was because one of them was a person with large breasts that almost rested on the table.

She seemed to be in her mid-twenties but had a cute expression.

Sima Young glanced down at her body. Was she comparing herself to her?

-Your face is red.

What nonsense.

-Were you thinking of something dirty?

No.

I simply saw her as a woman.

Looking at the striped armband on her arm, was she their leader?

While she questioned loudly, Hong Geol-gae spoke to her with a straight face.

“What you are saying doesn’t sound very good. The Blood Sect leader as part of the Eight Great Warriors? Hahahaha.”

“That is right. Puahahaha.”

When he laughed, so did the other beggars.

Why were they doing such disgusting back alley acts here? That made the woman ask.

“If you say he’s a Great Evil, did he commit any kind of evil act to earn that title? The rumors say that he stopped an evil person. The reclusive warrior tried to massacre the disciples of the Jeonjin Sect and was stopped by the Blood Demon. I don’t know why you’re calling such a person evil.”

Hong Geol-gae’s expression became distorted at her sarcastic reply.

All of their faces were twisted by this factual correction.

Cho Seong-won seemed to enjoy this as his lips curled up into a smile.

At that moment, one of the beggars said.

“Isn’t someone in the Hwang Young Escort Group reliant on the Evil Faction for work? It is inevitable that they would defend the Blood Sect who caused such bloodshed in the past.”

He was the most senior among them.

He seemed to be the strongest person in their group in the guest house. I turned towards Cho Seong-won.

“That is Jang Kyung of the Rich Land Escort Services.”

“Someone, you know?”

“I know he is famous for taking the big requests on the northern side of Hunan Province. Their services are so extensive that many martial sects make requests through them.”

“What about the Hwang Young Escort Group?”

“… I don’t know.”

Seeing as he didn’t know, they must have come into existence fairly recently. Or perhaps they were too small, or was it both?

At that moment, the woman stood up, glared at Jang Kyung, and said,

“Whether that was true in the past remains something that can be discussed. I was talking about this matter. Besides, our Hwang Young group doesn’t accept requests like you. Ah, if it is different, then it is different, but don’t make misleading statements like that.”

Since her tone was rising, she seemed angry. Seeing her act like this, Jang Kyung smiled.

“If it is a no, then it is a no. Why are you getting angry about that? I fear people would misunderstand you if you continue to act this way.”

Jang Kyung was the one who got the last laugh. Clearly, the conflict between the two groups was big enough that the difference between them didn’t matter.

“You!”

“Now. Be patient!”

When her anger got the better of her, one of her members moved to stop her. It was as if he was trying to avoid any potential fighting here.

The woman bit her lip and sat down.

But not Jang Kyung.

“Looking at how you came up from the rural south, it seems like you all came here to bid for the Golden Peace Merchant Union. Do you think you can win just because you tried to run and crawl using a service with only 40 people?”

Look at this one.

If the opponent had backed down, they should know how to end it properly. Instead, he was trying to trample on their pride.

It didn’t seem to fit the character of someone with his level of fame.

Judging from the fact that some of the people around him were nodding their heads, he seemed to have some renown.

“Who don’t you do something else? It seems that there are things that suit her better since her skin is such pale white, and she has that kind of body. Hahaha.”

He was even saying such absurd words.

“Can I take him to a quiet place and beat him up?”

Sima Young asked me for permission in such a scary voice. I wanted to say yes, but we were now acting like people from the Justice Faction.

“Be patient, miss. It isn’t our job to become involved in their affairs.”

Cho Seong-won stopped her.

Meanwhile, things were escalating.

The woman, who had been trying to back down, stood up with a red face and approached him.

“You should know what you can say!”

“I can get a rough estimate of what this is.”

“What?”

“This side has over a hundred people and even has people from the Beggars Union participating as guests. What do you people of the Hwang Young Escort Group even have? Hahaha.”

At those gloating words, the people around him trembled.

It seemed they had also come to participate in the bidding for the Golden Peace Merchant Union contract.

Perhaps that was why, as a representative, someone from the Beggars Union was here. Still, this was odd.

I asked Cho Seong-won.

[Does the Beggars Union typically involve themselves in the affairs of escort services?]

[… it doesn’t. The ideology of our Beggars Union is loyalty, patriotism, and justice. That means that they wouldn’t like getting involved in unrelated things.]

That was also what I knew.

That was why the Beggars Union stayed away from the wealthy. Yet, here they were, intervening in the dealings of escort services.

Something was fishy.

[Anyone who dares to bid for the Golden Peace Merchant Union must transport the goods by water, right?]

[Yes.]

That was good.

This was a chance to kill two birds with one stone. I then asked Sima Young.

“Didn’t you once tell me you wanted to disguise yourself as a leader?”

“Uh?”

“I found a good way.”

I stood up and walked towards the group. This led to some confused gazes toward me.

However, an unexpected person noticed me. It was Hong Geol-gae.

“Uh?”

He must have seen me during the tournament, so it was inevitable that he would recognize me. He looked surprised at my appearance here as he shouted.

“So Hyung! It is so nice to see you here.”

At that moment, all eyes there turned to me, including the woman.

As Jang Kyung was puzzled, Hong Geol-gae approached me with a friendly act.

“Seriously, how could you not recognize this person? He is one of the New Stars, So Wonwhi!”

“Second New Star!”

“Disciple to the South Heavenly Swordsman!”

At those words, the guest house became noisy. I didn’t realize it, but my reputation seemed greater than I had imagined.

This was more chaotic than when the Beggars Union walked in.

Jang Kyung’s expression changed swiftly, and he spoke warmly.

“It is an honor to meet the Second new Star, So Wonhwi.”

“That is an exaggeration.”

I replied humbly.

I could see his arrogance itching to break free even in the middle of all this. It was as if someone with an even larger reputation was on his side.

As a result, the woman’s expression in the middle of the argument became lost.

Hong Geol-gae then asked,

“Since when has So hyung been here?”

“I was here all alone before you came.”

This caused his expression to stiffen.

It seemed like his pride was shaken as he didn’t realize I was there despite his skills. As if he had noticed this, Jang Kyung then said.

“Instead of that, how about we sit and have a meal together?”

“That is fine. My meal is almost done. Besides, I felt like our escort troops were in trouble, so I could no longer stand it and came forward.”

“Escort troops? What do you mean?”

I pointed to the woman behind me and said,

“My colleagues and I were participating as the guests for the Hwang Young Escort Group this time.”

‘…!!’

This time it was Jang Kyung’s face that became stiff.

The woman looked surprised as her mouth dropped wide open.

One of the members of the Murim Alliance and the Second New Star was standing as their representative.

I wiped the smile off my face and then asked.

“Now, what were you saying to our escort group?”