Chapter 169: The Money Rolls In
Jong Daseo, the Demon of Hell from the Cheongsan Sect, had been practicing martial arts for over forty years. Destroying a carriage was not something he considered difficult.
The inn's lights went out at nine in the evening and were not turned back on. Jong Daseo moved just before midnight.
Despite the carriage's importance, it was left abandoned in front of the inn. Standing next to it, Jong Daseo scowled.
‘Idiots. Don’t they realize their leader’s life depends on this?’
The fight between sects is not just about sword fights. As the Ancient Sword Master, Nok Sajo, of the Cheongsan Sect, one must use every means to torment the enemy. The Heukwoon Sect would collapse for abandoning such an important carriage.
‘Punk Wooseong, goodbye.’
Without making a sound, he climbed onto the roof of the carriage. There was no time to observe his surroundings. In a hurry, he struck the roof with a hammer.
Crash!
The sound was louder than expected. Perhaps, due to the stillness of the night, it resonated even more.
Startled, Jong Daseo looked around, though a bit too late.
‘…’
The inn remained in darkness, and there was no one on the street.
‘Damn it. It scared me to death.’
He looked down at his feet and saw a two-palm-long crack. With a size like that, it was impossible for the Grand Inspector of Nokrim not to notice.
‘That’s enough. I’m leaving.’
Just as he was about to flee, he felt a strange sensation. His temples tingled.
‘What is that?’
Scratching the side of his head, his gaze slid toward the first-floor window of the inn.
‘Ah!’
Two people, a man and a woman, were staring at him.
For a moment, he felt a chill, but he pretended not to have seen them and jumped to the side.
His heart pounded as if it were about to burst out of his chest. They were the people from the Justice Alliance he had briefly seen at the dock the day before.
‘It’s a carriage from Nokrim, so they’ll probably pretend not to have seen me.’
The man's annoyed expression worried him, but it was too late. Now, he could only hope that the hostile relationship between the Justice Alliance and Nokrim was real.
Yeon Jeokha muttered, incredulous.
“Sister, did that man just jump off the roof of our carriage?”
“Yes.”
“Is he from the Cheongsan Sect?”
“Yes, it’s Jong Daseo, the Demon of Hell.”
“Why did he climb onto our carriage? I heard a noise of something breaking.”
“It seems he wanted to see the Heukwoon Sect collapse.”
“Ah! So he destroyed our carriage to cause trouble for the Heukwoon Sect?”
“Exactly. The Murim is full of strategies and schemes. If you only focus on immediate results, it’s easy for others to use you.”
“This is incredible.”
“And now, the fate of the two sects is in your hands. What do you plan to do?”
“Sister, which of the two sects do you think is better?”
He preferred to help the sect that would be more beneficial to the people. But both seemed the same in their actions.
The Heukwoon Sect attacked passersby indiscriminately, and the Cheongsan Sect tried to incriminate others with their machinations.
“It’s a difficult question.”
Even Namgung Yeon shook her head at the similarity between both sects.
The two conversed for about two hours before returning to their lodging.
When Namgung Yeon lay down in her bed, Jin Seolha, awakened by the noise, asked:
“Aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I just went to get some water.”
“Ah, I see. Tomorrow…”
Murmuring, Jin Seolha fell asleep again.
Namgung Yeon sighed deeply as she lay still in bed. She felt a strange guilt every time she saw Jin Seolha.
Though she was in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep. She didn’t understand why she moved like a thieving cat.
‘Do I go out to drink water or to see him…?’
Lately, she had been meeting him almost every night. She worried if she was interrupting his time.
‘What am I doing?’
She should only be thinking about avenging the Yoomyung Cult, but her heart wavered.
When she left Zhengzhou, she only wanted to know more about the Yoomyung Cult. But now, she worried more about him.
She thought the highlight was seeing Eun Wol with him. Eun Wol’s insistence on not missing the opportunity echoed in her mind.
It seemed that concern and regret were affecting her inwardly. She wasn’t sure if it was concern for her ignorance or interest in him.
What was important was that he never left her mind.
While Namgung Yeon tossed and turned in bed, Yeon Jeokha also had trouble sleeping.
“Ugh, Young Master, is something bothering you?”
“Why?”
“It seems you haven’t been able to sleep since you returned.”
“It’s nothing. Why aren’t you sleeping, old man?”
“Hehe. How can I sleep when you’re going in and out like a mouse in a sack of rice?”
“What are you talking about?”
Yeon Jeokha, who had lived alone for a long time, didn’t understand his words.
“Don’t you know? It’s a saying that means someone is going in and out of a place frequently.”
For a moment, Yeon Jeokha was surprised, but then he changed the subject.
“Hm, I’m a careful person. Thanks to that, I saw what the Cheongsan Sect did.”
“What did they do?”
“I saw Jong Daseo destroy the roof of the carriage and flee. He probably wanted to blame the Heukwoon Sect.”
“That idiot did it again! Why didn’t you catch him at that moment?”
“I already knew who it was, so there was no rush.”
“How did you manage to see something like that? Did you stay in the dining room?”
“Huh? Yeah. I felt lonely, so I had a drink. I remembered the female liquor we left at dinner.”
“Young Master.”
“What?”
“Do you know what female liquor is?”
“It’s a sweet red liquor. Why?”
“I knew you wouldn’t know. Female liquor is prepared to celebrate the birth of a daughter. That’s why it’s called female liquor. Later, when she gets married, ask for a jar of female liquor from the Namgung Family. They’ll give you something special.”
Of course, that liquor is saved for when the daughter marries.
Shim Tong, the Old Dao of Nine Heavens, intentionally omitted that part.
“Really? I didn’t know. But the Namgung Family burned down. Will it be okay?”
“It’s probably buried. It’s not the same as what’s sold at the inn. Remember it and ask for it.”
“Thanks.”
Yeon Jeokha decided that someday he would ask for that liquor.
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Dawn broke.
The men of the Heukwoon Sect didn’t notice the crack in the roof of the carriage until they were about to hitch the horses. They thought everything was fine since they had finished repairs late the night before.
The first to notice something strange was the Heukwoon Sect Leader, Punk Wooseong.
Looking out from his room on the second floor, he saw something odd on the carriage roof. Alarmed, he ran to inspect it.
As expected, the roof was caved in, and the interior could be seen through the cracks.
“Chun Sang-gong! You said the repairs were finished! What is this?”
Surprised, Chun Sang-gong climbed onto the carriage.
“What is this?! I checked it was fine last night!”
“Then, what is this?!”
“…”
While Chun Sang-gong was speechless, Shim Tong came out calmly and looked at the carriage.
“What are you doing on top of the carriage so early?”
Chun Sang-gong, terrified, stammered in response instead of Punk Wooseong.
“We finished the repairs last night, but this morning the roof was broken.”
“Don’t worry. We know who did it.”
Hearing this, Punk Wooseong and Chun Sang-gong felt relieved and quickly climbed down.
“Who dared to damage the carriage? We…”
Shim Tong interrupted Punk Wooseong.
“Actually, I was going to tell you. Do you know where the Cheongsan Sect Leader is?”
“Yes, he’s at Shindo Village, not far from here.”
“Tell him our Grand Inspector wants him to come personally with Jong Daseo.”
“Jong Daseo was the one who did it?”
“Yes, our Grand Inspector saw him on the roof of the carriage last night. Tell them to prepare.”
Punk Wooseong, happy, responded:
“Yes, yes. We’ll do that. Chun Sang-gong.”
“Yes.”
“Go to Shindo Village and tell them everything the Elder said.”
“Understood.”
Chun Sang-gong responded firmly and ran off.
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When Yeon Jeokha and his group finished breakfast, Chun Sang-gong returned with two people.
The Cheongsan Sect Leader, the Ancient Sword Master, Nok Sajo, and Jong Daseo entered the dining room and prostrated themselves.
“Grand Inspector, please forgive us! We have committed a grave sin blinded by greed.”
“Please forgive us!”
They did not dare to raise their heads and pounded the floor with their foreheads.
Punk Wooseong, standing next to Yeon Jeokha, shouted with a triumphant face:
“Idiots! If you want to die, do it with honor! Why did you damage the Grand Inspector’s carriage?! Do you expect to live after that?!”
“Ah, please forgive us!”
“Forgive us!”
Nok Sajo and Jong Daseo pleaded with tears in their eyes.
Yeon Jeokha looked at the two curiously.
He had never seen people so repentant. He thought they would deny their actions, but they were confessing their sins and crying.
‘Why do such kind people engage in martial arts?’
The world still had many mysteries for him.
When their cries began to hurt his ears, Yeon Jeokha spoke:
“Silence.”
Immediately, the two men stopped crying.
“The Heukwoon Sect paid three taels of silver for damaging my carriage. What will you do?”
Nok Sajo, with a tear-streaked face, lifted his head.
It seemed this young demon only wanted money.
“I’ll pay fou…”
Nok Sajo looked at Yeon Jeokha’s expression before continuing.
He offered a thousand taels more than the Heukwoon Sect, but Yeon Jeokha’s expression did not change.
“Fou… five thousand taels of silver. Please forgive us.”
Losing five thousand taels of silver for destroying a carriage was ridiculous, but he had no other choice.
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The roof repairs were completed quickly.
A few boards and a few minutes were enough.
Before boarding the carriage, Yeon Jeokha said to Namgung Cheon:
“Elder Brother, this carriage is a gold mine. The money rolls in.”
Namgung Cheon looked at Yeon Jeokha with envy.
The culprits were offering money voluntarily, so no one could criticize him. As a noble raised in a prominent family, he was seeing a new world.
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