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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Cheon Il-hwa’s explanation was simple.
People had been disappearing in Yangwi Castle for several days.
His subordinates investigated, but they couldn’t find any clues.
He looked into it, and it turned out that similar incidents were happening in other nearby cities.
“Have you investigated the back alleys?”
Where there’s light, there’s also shadow.
No matter how hard the lord of Yangwi Castle tried to maintain order, the darkness couldn’t be completely eradicated.
At least, not openly.
“Yes, we investigated the Jinkwondang, who control the back alleys here, but… even they are on edge right now.”
Jinkwondang.
They were a faction of the evil sect and had clashed with Sayoon before.
Later, their leader took a liking to Sayoon and helped her out in various ways.
“Even the daughter of the Jinkwondang leader has disappeared. They are the ones who want to resolve this missing persons case the most.”
“I’m sure they do. Oh Chil, the Jinkwondang leader, dotes on his daughter.”
“Hmm. As expected of Master Yu. You’re right. Oh Chil loved his deceased wife deeply. The daughter he had with her is a treasure he wouldn’t trade for anything.”
It was the same in Heavenly Bright Moon.
After clearing this event, the Jinkwondang leader would come to express his gratitude and offer an additional reward.
His daughter was on the verge of death back then, right? It was understandable why he was so grateful for saving her.
There was another related event you could trigger, but it wasn’t relevant right now, so I’ll skip it.
Cheon Il-hwa continued to explain the details of the missing persons.
“Do you think you can find them?”
“Well… if the empire were to investigate seriously, they’d find them much faster than me.”
“Hahaha…”
Cheon Il-hwa chuckled awkwardly.
As I had said, the Imperial Intelligence Agency could find them quickly, but it seemed like he didn’t want to ask them for help because the relationship between the military and intelligence agencies wasn’t exactly amicable.
“Still, if I can contribute even a little to minimize unnecessary trouble for the empire, I should do it.”
“I’m truly grateful. Thank you for your help.”
Chae-jin, sitting next to me, looked at me with concern, as if questioning whether I could really do it, but there was no need to worry.
I knew who the culprit was and why they were kidnapping people.
The culprit was an old woman named Yang Myeong, the Soul-Freezing Specter.
As her title suggested, this old woman was a lunatic who specialized in Soul Freezing – a technique that froze a person’s soul, stripping them of their free will and turning them into mindless puppets who only obeyed her commands.
First, it was animals, then corpses, and now living people.
She was gathering them to create Soul-Frozen puppets.
There was nothing more to discuss, so I stood up and left the room.
Outside, Gi Cha-jo greeted me with a friendly smile.
“Master Yu, have you met the Guild Leader?”
“Yes, Elder Gi. I’ll offer whatever help I can.”
“Is that so! Haha, as expected of Master Yu. If you need any assistance, please let me know. Even this old body of mine will gladly lend you my strength.”
“Oh my, with Elder Gi’s help, I’d have nothing to fear.”
“Hahahahahaha! You flatter me!”
“Hahahahahaha!”
Gi Cha-jo laughed heartily, and I laughed along.
Wi Yeol, standing next to him, scoffed as if to say, “That old man is at it again,” but the atmosphere wasn’t bad.
“Moonlight Blade will be with me, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. Please be careful.”
After bidding farewell, we left.
Honestly, having either Gi Cha-jo or Wi Yeol accompany us would make me feel more at ease.
After all, they were masters from the military.
The problem was that if I asked for their help, I wouldn’t be able to take all the credit for this task.
I had to save those favors for later when I really needed them, so for now, I had no choice but to rely on Chae-jin.
“Innkeeper.”
“What is it?”
I bought two bottles of alcohol from Cheonghoeru.
As we walked, Chae-jin, who had been silent, spoke up.
I turned around, and she, fiddling with her long hair, asked cautiously,
“Honestly, wouldn’t it be better to have more people for this kind of task? It might be dangerous, so wouldn’t it be safer to bring more masters along…”
She wasn’t wrong.
Usually, the more people involved in an investigation, the faster they found what they were looking for.
Moreover, Yang Myeong’s location was randomized even in the events, so I would have to search for her separately.
But with so many ways to find her location, why waste my points on calling that old man?
Besides, I had someone capable of fighting Yang Myeong right here with me.
I scanned her from head to toe, taking in her toned physique, accentuated by the Moonjeong Sect’s form-fitting uniform, and asked bluntly,
“Are you not confident?”
“That’s not it…”
“If I didn’t trust you, who else would I trust? I wouldn’t have even suggested coming here together if I didn’t.”
Chae-jin fell silent again.
She just stared at me with wide eyes for a moment and then burst into her signature arrogant laughter.
“Oh, ohohoho! If you trust me that much, then it’s only natural for me to repay that trust! Alright! Moonlight Blade Chae-jin, senior disciple of the prestigious and honorable Moonjeong Sect, will help you, so don’t worry!”
“I wasn’t worried, so don’t mind it.”
She fell silent again and stared at me.
I hadn’t lied, so I met her gaze, and Chae-jin, seemingly deflated, subtly averted her eyes.
“Now, let’s go.”
“…Where are we going?”
“I have someone to meet.”
“Who?”
“The branch manager of the Hao Clan in Yangwi Castle.”
We walked down a dark, deserted path.
Under normal circumstances, no one would enter such a shady alley at this hour.
As if to prove it, the moment we stepped into the back alley, we felt a barrage of hostile gazes.
But the reason they didn’t approach us was probably because of the killing intent Chae-jin started emanating.
The pressure of knowing that their necks could be sliced off with a single misstep deterred them from any reckless actions, allowing us to enter the heart of the back alleys without much trouble.
We reached the lower district of Yangwi Castle, a place even the soldiers avoided, considered a combat zone even in Heavenly Bright Moon.
Alcohol, violence, women.
The lower district was where all the darkness of society converged, and it was filled with people who thrived in that darkness.
And most of them considered themselves close to death.
Those who risked their lives for their livelihood wouldn’t be afraid of killing intent.
Of course,
-Thud!!
“Ugh!”
That was, until they got punched and realized that the killing intent could actually sever their necks.
The moment we entered the lower district, a hand reached out towards me.
I wasn’t even dressed well, and I didn’t look like an easy target even in the mirror.
Perhaps he was fueled by the intoxicating power of alcohol and the courage it brought.
But that didn’t mean it was acceptable.
Especially not for Chae-jin, who accompanied me as my bodyguard.
Chae-jin didn’t even spare a glance for the man who collapsed unconscious after a single punch.
She just scanned the stunned onlookers with her cold, sharp eyes.
“…Do you even know where you are, causing trouble here?”
Perhaps sensing the possibility of a fight, a man who had been sitting next to a shop with red lanterns slowly stood up and approached us.
He had a menacing look.
Even more menacing was the large sword he dragged across the ground.
Chae-jin didn’t even scoff at him.
-Swish.
A martial artist speaks with their weapon.
Her silver sword, drawn so fast that I didn’t even see it, flashed through the air and returned to its scabbard.
The man gulped, his shirtfront falling to the ground in shreds.
Yet, his skin was unblemished, not even a scratch.
“I’m not here to fight. I’m just here to see Ha No.”
The man hesitated for a moment, but then,
He turned and walked without a word.
Deeper into the back alleys, to a place even shadier than where we had been.
How far did we walk?
We finally stopped at a place reeking with a musty smell.
The man silently stepped aside.
As I pushed aside the old curtain and entered, I saw an old man sitting with his eyes closed.
Before him were tools used for fortune-telling.
Perhaps he heard the rustling of the curtain, because he turned his head towards us with his eyes closed, his hand fumbling for a fortune-telling stick.
“Aiyah, why are you only here now?! But you came just in time. Just one talisman…”
“Don’t try to scam me when we already know each other. You don’t even know how to use talismans.”
“Tsk, I heard a woman’s footsteps, so I thought some sucker was here to buy a courtesan’s freedom… So, you want your fortune told?”
As if he even knew how.
“F-fortune-telling?”
“Huh? No? That guy wouldn’t even glance at a courtesan even if she clung to him, so I thought you brought a woman here for some fun…”
Chae-jin’s glare burned into the side of my face.
I ignored it, and the old man, who had been pretending to be a blind cripple, suddenly opened his eyes and sat up straight at the sound of the alcohol bottles I placed on the table.
“My, oh my, the miracle of restoring sight to the blind and making the lame walk, all with just two bottles of alcohol.”
Not even a miracle at the last stop.
“Ah, can’t resist alcohol.”
He grinned and accepted the bottles I offered.
He took a gulp, his eyes widening in surprise.
The alcohol must have been to his liking.
“Is this Cheonghoejoo? Ah, I can see it now… it’s like watching a courtesan from the capital dancing…”
That old man, all talk and no action.
After finishing a whole bottle in one go, Ha No grinned.
“I have something I need to ask. Do you know anything about the missing persons case in Yangwi Castle?”
“Of course I do. But is this a request from the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild?”
“Something like that.”
“Tsk.”
“It’s also for personal reasons, so please consider it a request from me.”
After pondering for a moment, he finally extended his hand.
I placed a money pouch on his grimy hand, and he took it, then pulled aside a large leather sheet covering the wall behind him.
Hundreds of holes were revealed.
He pulled a string connected to one of the holes, and after a moment, a white piece of paper slid out.
“Eh, let’s see. Yang Myeong. It seems like she took them to make Soul-Frozen puppets. Ah, you know how to deal with someone in a Soul-Frozen state, right?”
“Who doesn’t?”
“What do you mean?”
Well, here was someone who didn’t.
Ha No and I both looked at Chae-jin, and her face turned beet red.
Then, flustered, she quickly changed the subject.
“No, wait, you found her that easily?! Innkeeper, weren’t the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild and the Jinkwondang looking for her? And the Hao Clan knew all along?”
“The Hao Clan’s information network is second to none!!”
As Ha No raised his bottle proudly, I tapped the paper.
Yes, as expected.
The location written on the paper was a remote mountain not far from Yangwi Castle.
“Anyway, thank you.”
“Come again. I’ll give you any information you want, as long as you pay.”
Ha No grinned, his face wrinkling, and waved his hand.
I gave him a brief farewell and stepped outside.
Chae-jin, walking beside me, asked cautiously,
“How did you get to know the Hao Clan?”
“That’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. It’s a bit complicated to explain now. Wouldn’t it be better to have a drink back at the inn and listen to the story?”
I had told her bits and pieces of the story whenever she felt bored and wanted to drink with me.
Perhaps because she found the stories entertaining, she readily agreed.
“Then what about this? Why couldn’t the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild and the Jinkwondang buy information from the Hao Clan?”
That was easy to explain.
“The Hao Clan used to control the back alleys of Yangwi Castle.”
The Jinkwondang had taken over a large portion of the Hao Clan’s territory to establish themselves in the back alleys.
Only a few of the Hao Clan’s businesses remained.
Of course, they still gathered and managed information, but it was undeniable that their influence in Yangwi Castle had weakened.
“Even so, the Hao Clan would have sold information to anyone who paid. At a high price, of course. But could the Jinkwondang trust them?”
“I guess that makes sense. Then what about the Cheonghoe Merchant Guild?”
“The Hao Clan doesn’t accept requests from the government.”
“Why?”
“A few years ago, the government requested the Hao Clan to investigate the Demonic Sect, and the Hao Clan suffered significant losses in the process. But they received nothing in return.”
“What? Why? Is that even allowed?”
“That’s why one of the Hao Clan’s rules was established: never deal with the government.”
“Wow… that must have caused a lot of problems.”
“The Hao Clan is a gathering of those who have nothing. They probably thought they would lose everything if they continued to cooperate, so they made a bold move, risking everything. Even the empire couldn’t break a contract with the Hao Clan. Something like that, I guess.”
“Wow… so what happened to that government official?”
“He profited greatly from breaking the contract, but then his political enemies found out about his hidden corruption and attacked him. In the end, he was executed. Many believe that the Hao Clan leaked the information, but no one knows the truth for sure.”
“That’s scary.”
“Things have eased up a bit since his death. As I did earlier, they accept requests indirectly, through connections and trust, but officially, they refuse any requests from the government. If the government had approached them directly, they would have just shut down their branch and disappeared.”
“Ah…”
“In the end, it’s a matter of trust. It’s only natural not to work with those you can’t trust.”
The conversation ended there.
We just walked in silence.
As we arrived at the large cave, the location indicated in the information provided by the Hao Clan, Chae-jin spoke up.
“…So, you’re saying you trust me, Innkeeper? Since we’re working together like this.”
“I told you I trust you.”
She stared at me for a moment and then chuckled, turning her head to look elsewhere.
“Hehe, then since I’m learning from someone trustworthy, I’ll increase your training time. And since we’re moving on to more advanced techniques, the fees will increase as well.”
Hold on, where did this come from?!
We were just having a nice moment!
My trust in Chae-jin slightly decreased.
“Don’t you like it? Well, suit yourself. But you know it’s helpful, right?”
She was right.
The training was tough, but as the Sword Saint had said, my health had improved from practicing the Chae Family Taijiquan and the Five Animal Frolics, allowing me to be more active.
And I could even protect myself.
“But are you sure it’s okay for us to go alone? Shouldn’t we get some backup? Yang Myeong is quite a skilled opponent, you know.”
Despite mentioning backup, Chae-jin’s tone was light.
I sensed the answer she was seeking and replied casually.
It didn’t cost me anything to tell her.
“You can easily handle someone like Yang Myeong.”
It seemed like I had given her the right answer.
Chae-jin, pleased, grinned, her signature arrogant smile illuminated by the bright moonlight.
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Hmm