Chapter 1483
Why are you suddenly here? (3)
“Have a little fun before you go!”
“Brothers! I see fortune on your face today! Wouldn’t you like to try your luck here?”
“A servant who worked in the imperial palace is here at our tavern today! This is your chance to taste the same dishes as the Emperor!”
In the narrow street adorned with dazzling lights, numerous people stood packed, eagerly soliciting passersby.
And in the middle of the street, a group of martial artists, who seemed completely out of place, walked with innocent expressions, glancing around.
“Wow…”
“So, there’s a place like this?”
The disciples of Hwasan blinked rapidly as they busily looked around. Multicolored lights spilled from the surrounding buildings, each flaunting its own splendor. The enticing aroma of fragrant wine and exotic food wafted from all directions, offering delights rarely encountered.
“Oh my, isn’t he adorable!”
One of the women watching the passersby clapped her hands and smiled brightly at Hye Yeon. His face instantly turned as red as a ripe persimmon.
“A-Ami…”
Smack!
Jo Geol reached out like lightning and clamped a hand over his mouth. Hye Yeon’s wide eyes rolled in surprise before he quickly nodded and swallowed the half-spoken Buddhist chant.
“I told you to be careful.”
“S-Sorry…”
Jo Geol shook his head and resumed looking around, overwhelmed with admiration.
“But this really is another world, Sahyeong.”
“Indeed. Who knew a place like this existed?”
“If this is Kaifeng, I can’t imagine what Hangzhou was like.”
The disciples of Hwasan continued to look around in awe and curiosity.
“Keep your eyes forward.”
“…Sorry.”
A voice filled with menace came from behind them, and everyone quickly fixed their gaze straight ahead, breaking into a cold sweat.
Grinding his teeth, Lee Songbaek let out a deep sigh.
It was truly incomprehensible. Originally, his role was simply to turn a blind eye to their mischief, but…
‘How did it come to this?’
Yet somehow, he had ended up accompanying these audacious bastards who were impersonating Jongnam’s disciples. A groan escaped him.
Avoiding them altogether would be best. That much was clear. But leaving these reckless people to roam freely through the night streets was equally unthinkable.
Though he managed to avoid being tightly bound by agreeing to accompany them, he felt as if he was walking on thin ice, constantly anxious.
“Hoo.”
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Lee Songbaek spoke, doing his best to suppress his emotions.
“Do not cause any trouble. Do not engage in conversations, and do not make eye contact. Just achieve your objective and return immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“Sorry.”
“…If only you all would just stay quiet…”
Lee Songbaek pressed his throbbing temples.
“Tsk tsk. Youngsters these days.”
But Chung Myung clicked his tongue and placed his hand on Lee Songbaek’s shoulder.
“Come on, don’t look so glum. We’re doing a good thing here, aren’t we?”
“…D-Dojang.”
“A man needs to have more guts than that. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no one causes any trouble.”
Just as Chung Myung confidently assured him with a loud voice…
“Excuse me, sir! Just for you, we have some excellent wine that just came in! We have three bottles of Shaoxing wine, a specialty from Hangzhou! How about it? It’s perfect for a hero like yourself!”
“What? Really? Can I get it now?”
Chung Myung began to slowly move his legs toward the solicitous shopkeeper. Lee Songbaek, panicking, grabbed Chung Myung’s arm.
“Do-jaaa-aang!”
“…Can’t I just buy the wine and come back?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Ah, but it sounds so good…”
“There will be a **Go-Stop** tournament held at our establishment today. The winner will receive a rare bottle of **Gao Feng Huang Jiu** from Beijing as a prize.”
“오늘 저희 업소에서 열리는 골패대회에서 우승하신 분께는, 북경에서 어렵게 구해 온 고봉황주(高峰皇酒)를 상품으로 드립니다.”
“What? I can’t pass that up! I’m going right now!”
“Keep looking forward!”
“No, listen! That’s really amazing! You haven’t tasted it yet, that’s why you don’t get it! I’ve had it before, and you don’t want to miss this!”
“Okay, okay, just turn your head back!”
Chung Myung kept smacking his lips in disappointment. Lee Songbaek rubbed his face furiously, nearly tearing his skin off.
‘The Sect Leader would kill me if he knew.’
Actually, it wouldn’t even reach the Sect Leader. Just the fact that he collaborated with Baek Cheon, who was disguised as Jin Geumryong, would be enough for Jin Geumryong to skin Lee Songbaek alive and use him as a doormat in front of the training hall.
In this situation, the only way for Lee Songbaek to survive was to end this ridiculous scenario as quickly as possible and then desperately pretend he didn’t know anything.
“Are we there yet?”
“Hold on a moment.”
Chung Myung tapped his chest. Baek Ah peeked out from under his chin again and twitched his nose.
“Kii!”
With more confidence than ever before, his tiny paw pointed in one direction.
“It’s this way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Really, you’re so suspicious. This little one may be treated as emergency rations at Hwasan, but it’s actually a renowned spirit beast from the Nanman Beast Palace. If you were to sell it anywhere, you’d get at least a thousand gold coins…”
As he spoke, Chung Myung glanced down at Baek Ah.
“Come to think of it, maybe I should…”
Of course, there was a strong reaction.
“Kiiiii!”
“Get a grip!”
“Are you even human, you bastard?”
“There’s a limit to what you can sell! You can’t sell your comrades!”
“Who said I was really going to sell it? Just saying.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue regretfully, then trudged toward the direction Baek Ah had pointed.
“Let’s go. At this rate, we’ll spend the whole night out here.”
“By the way, Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
At that moment, Baek Cheon asked Chung Myung with a puzzled expression.
“Isn’t it unusual for a red-light district to be so close to a Just Sect?”
“Normally, yeah. They tend to avoid such places because of the watchful eyes.”
“But this place is huge.”
“Well, it’s probably because this is a beggar’s den. It’s less noticeable than setting up shop next to Taoist priests or monks.”
“Hmm, that makes sense.”
Jo Geol, who had been quietly listening, chimed in.
“Hey, Sasuk, why is that strange? Don’t beggars find it hard to get food from an ordinary household, so they’re probably getting leftover food from taverns. These establishments must be quite large to feed so many beggars. It’s only natural.”
“…Sometimes, I can understand that you come from a merchant family.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Think what you like.”
While Jo Geol and Baek Cheon bickered, Chung Myung’s gaze, as he looked around, subtly darkened.
‘Come to think of it… was this place always like this?’
He had rarely visited Kaifeng in the past, so he didn’t particularly remember its appearance back then.
‘But I don’t think it was this bad.’
Chung Myung scratched his head as he pondered for a moment.
After all, what did it matter to him whether the erd lights district of Kaifeng expanded or not?
What mattered was not that the district had grown larger than he remembered. The important point was that the person he was looking for was here. That part concerned Chung Myung more.
“It seems… to be getting more and more extravagant.”
“…Honestly, it’s starting to get a bit scary.”
“I keep seeing some really scary-looking guys. Are they really not people from the Evil Sects?”
The disciples of Hwasan, recognized throughout Gangho as Sapa grinders, shrank back as they watched the thugs loitering in the back alleys. Lee Songbaek shook his head in disbelief.
But at that moment.
“Kiiiii!”
Baek Ah, who had suddenly popped out, twitched his nose and looked up at Chung Myung.
“Kiiiiii!”
“Did you find it?”
“Kii!”
“Oh!”
Chung Myung’s face lit up. Although they had wandered around a lot, they had finally found the destination of the Ten Thousand Li Gold Dove.
“Where is it?”
When he asked energetically, Baek Ah stretched out his front paw without hesitation and pointed ahead.
“Here?”
“Kiiii!”
“Really, here?”
“Ki!”
Everyone’s gaze followed the direction of the small paw, full of certainty.
“Uh…”
“Here?”
Their faces twisted in unison.
It was a pavilion with at least seven floors. As they walked along the street, they hadn’t seen a pavilion that even came close to this one’s extravagant splendor.
“Cheonsangru?” [천상루 – stairway to heavens?]
“The name is quite modest.”
“It’s just the appearance that’s not.”
At a glance, it was an upscale establishment where ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to set foot.
“Uh… here?”
“Baek Ah, is this really the place? Something feels off.”
“Kiiii!”
“What? No?”
A strange irritation was mixed in Baek Ah’s cry. When he indicated that this wasn’t the place, everyone showed a slight hint of relief. Of course, it couldn’t be here…
Baek Ah’s front paw slowly rose higher.
“Huh?”
Why is the paw going up…?
Finally, the raised paw pointed to none other than the very top of Cheonsangru. The top floor looked far more extravagant than the other floors.
A heavy silence fell among the group.
The disciples of Hwasan, alternating their gaze between Baek Ah’s paw and the top floor of Cheonsangru, finally spoke after a long pause.
“…The top.”
“Yes, the top.”
“Why does it have to be the top?”
Wiping away the cold sweat starting to form, Baek Cheon gave an awkward laugh.
“No matter how fancy, it’s still just an entertainment establishment. We’re not exactly penniless anymore, so let’s just go in and…”
Baek Cheon’s words were cut off before he could finish.
Just then, a woman dressed in elaborate attire leaned halfway out of an open window of the tavern and met their eyes. She beckoned them with an elegant and alluring gesture.
Seeing her sophisticated and captivating invitation, Baek Cheon turned to the group with a bright smile.
“Wasn’t our original goal just to see where the bird was heading?”
“Yes, yes! We’ve confirmed it. Confirmed!”
“Doesn’t that mean we’ve achieved our objective? Let’s consider it a success.”
“Exactly. So, let’s head back now. Quickly.”
As everyone began to turn in unison, Chung Myung reached out and grabbed Baek Cheon by the scruff of his neck.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Let go, you brat! How are we supposed to go in there? It’s obvious this isn’t just any ordinary place!”
The rest of the disciples vehemently resisted as well.
“Women in alluring attires have been coming and going since a while ago! If we go in there, Sect Leader will tear us apart!”
“Even if we are just monks in name, we must uphold some minimal decorum!”
“Amitabha. I’d rather you burn me alive. I can’t go in! I can’t!”
“Have you all lost your minds together?”
Chung Myung kicked Hae Yeon in the butt.
“You’re suggesting we turn back after coming all this way? Speak sense!”
“Do-Dojang! But this really doesn’t seem right.”
“What’s right or wrong isn’t for you to decide. And why are you so worried? Even if we go in, it’ll be those Jongnam bastards who get in trouble.”
“Huh?”
Lee Songbaek, pale with fear, shouted something, but Chung Myung didn’t pay him any attention and stepped boldly towards the tavern. The luxurious and red light spilling out from it cast a glow on Chung Myung’s face.
“The top floor, huh…”
He had expected him to be hiding at least in some basement, but this was practically screaming for Chung Myung to come find him.
“If they’re welcoming us this much, we should definitely check it out. Let’s see what awaits us – ghosts or monsters.”
Chung Myung spoke briefly to the group.
“Let’s go.”
“Ch-Chung Myung…”
Unable to stop Chung Myung as he strode forward, Baek Cheon swallowed dryly and looked up at the tall pavilion. The blood had drained from his face.
‘Uh…’
Do we really have to go in there?
“Sasuk, what do we do? This is…”
“…I’m Jin Geumryong.”
“What? Sasuk, have you lost your mind too?”
While everyone hesitated and shuffled their feet, Chung Myung’s annoyed voice rang out again.
“What are you standing around for? Hurry up!”
Finally resigned, the disciples of Hwasan followed behind Chung Myung, covering their faces as if in surrender.
“Oh, Heavenly Primordial Deity.”
“Oh my goodness. I think I’m going to faint.”
“Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha…”
Left behind by them, Lee Songbaek muttered in confusion.
“Why did things have to turn out like this?”
His despondent voice, as if his soul had been drained, was drowned out by the laughter echoing from all around.
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