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Chapter 310. Seeds of Evil (3)
After sundown, the entertainment district of Hefei revealed a spectacle invisible during the day.
Street vendors lighting lanterns at their stalls to hawk their wares.
Flashily dressed young men and women nowhere to be seen in daylight.
Servers calling out to passersby from every doorway, and high officials riding in grand palanquins, bustling off to somewhere important.
'Was it always this glamorous?'
Ŵ éb̊ǹоv̊ е̊ l Ѐ n̄ u m̌ a
In my previous life, nighttime had mostly meant collapsing from exhaustion or working overtime.
Being able to spend time this leisurely was only possible because I was living a life different from before.
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[Hey, dumbass, if you blow your whole monthly stipend today, how are you going to live?]
[Who says I'll even be alive tomorrow?]
[Huh, good point.]
[Excuse me...... one more bottle of the fifteen-tael wine!]
W ёbnо̌ v̈е l̇_ Е̂ nù m̂а̊
The memory flickered past—men who spent their stipends as though there were no tomorrow, praying they'd live to see the next one.
"......"
A bittersweet feeling crept up, so I quickly bought a piece of candied fruit and popped it in my mouth.
By the time I reached my destination, a crowd had gathered for some reason.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'What's going on?'
I thought there might be something worth watching, but that wasn't it—every person standing in the long line was dressed to the nines.
Е̃ n ũm̂ ӑ
"Hey. Planning to go in?"
A man at the very front of the line, flanked by three women, called out to me.
Why was this bastard using informal speech to a stranger?
"I'm meeting someone here."
"Looking like that?"
He gave my outfit a long once-over and smirked.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The women at his side covered their mouths and flashed dismissive little smiles.
What a face begging to be slapped.
"Do you have a reservation?"
"Reservation?"
"You don't even know that Sohwa Pavilion requires reservations?"
A sneer clung to the corner of his mouth.
Еn̂ ü m̀å
"......I've never had reason to come here before."
"Tsk tsk. Amateurs hear 'famous' and just show up without a clue."
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"......"
"What are you standing around for? Go to the very back and get in line. Not that you'll get in tonight anyway."
"Is that so? I was supposed to meet someone here today."
I should've suggested a different place if I'd known about the reservation policy.
Еn umа .i̊ d
Then again, it was Yang Gun-baek who'd set the meeting spot in the first place.
While I stood there unsure of what to do, the man made me an offer.
"Show me a trick. If I like it, I'll take you inside with me."
"A trick?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"I see a sword on your hip, so you must be a warrior...... Don't tell me you don't have a single trick to show?"
At his words, the women burst out laughing as if they simply couldn't hold it in anymore.
Ё n̈ u m а
One was even clutching her stomach.
They looked like they were having a grand time.
I looked them over one by one and answered evenly.
"I don't have any tricks besides killing people. Want me to show you that one?"
"......"
The atmosphere suddenly turned frigid.
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The women, whose faces had already been chalky with powder, went even paler.
The man, who'd been about to retort, cleared his throat for no reason and muttered "typical warrior scum" as he turned away.
Just then.
CREAK—
The door of Sohwa Pavilion opened right on cue, and a manager stepped out with what looked like a register.
"Next is......"
Е́ n̆ u m̆а́ . і̌ď
The man and his entourage prepared to enter, their attention already off me.
"Oh? Young Master?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The manager suddenly spotted me and tucked the register away.
"Why are you standing out here? You should've come right in."
"......Well, I was told you need a reservation, so I was trying to figure out what to do."
"Goodness! What a thing to say......! You're welcome anytime without a reservation, Young Master."
W̃ e̊ b̊ n̊ ôvе̇ l_ Е̃ń ŭm а̊
"Really?"
"Yes. Please, come in! A guest is waiting for you inside."
"Alright. Oh—!"
I started to follow the manager in, then turned back toward the man and his companions.
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Their faces had gone blank.
I looked them up and down and asked.
Ẁ е bň ӧv ẽl E n̊ ũm̊ ӓ
"Got any tricks to show?"
"......"
The man pressed his lips shut at my offer.
Well, what kind of trick would someone who spent all day and night guzzling wine even have?
I stepped inside, ushered along by the manager's devoted attention.
***
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"Oh?"
The VIP room where I'd previously met the Hao Gate Master.
I found a welcome face there after a long time.
"It's been a while, Young Master."
"I thought you were in Hunan Province?"
"I move around from time to time."
W̄ еḃn ŏ v̆_е̌ l̊ Ĕn u̇m a
It was Hae-ryeong, the Pavilion Master of the Ten Thousand Guests Pavilion.
"Have you been well?"
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Then Yang Gun-baek, the man I'd actually requested to meet, greeted me.
"Thanks to you."
A feast grand enough to break the table was laid out, and the scent of fine wine permeated the air, but there were no musicians or entertainers inside.
After a few rounds of wine and mutual pleasantries, the real conversation began immediately.
Е̂n ûmа. і̌d̃
"Here is the material on the Lantern Sect and Lightning Saber O Il-sik."
I was reaching for my wine cup when Hae-ryeong offered the documents, and I froze.
I hadn't said a word about this.
Hae-ryeong smiled enigmatically.
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"We keep a constant eye on you, Young Master. Was this not what you were looking for?"
I'd experienced firsthand why, during the Great Righteous-Demonic War of my past life, Hao Gate had been able to compete on equal footing with the Beggars' Sect despite the latter having the Murim Alliance's backing.
Еṅum а̇.. і d
'So that's why the Beggars' Sect was so wary of Hao Gate's rise.'
Feeling a strange emotion at yet another piece of the past I'd been ignorant of, I reviewed the documents.
But the materials on the Lantern Sect and O Il-sik revealed nothing particularly noteworthy.
The Lantern Sect was a sect O Il-sik had built on his own without help from Qingcheng or the Wind Fragrance Sect, and beyond the fact that O Il-sik was a self-taught man who'd achieved mastery alone, there was little to glean.
Then something odd caught my eye.
When my gaze lingered on one section, Hae-ryeong spoke.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"You really are wasted as just a warrior, Young Master."
When I tilted my head and met her gaze, a smile played at her lips.
"You spotted the anomaly in that data, didn't you?"
"For a sect built by one man's strength alone, the growth rate is abnormally steep."
From what Poison Fang Sword had told me, I'd estimated it would have taken at least ten years for a martial hall to transform into a full sect.
Establishing a base and expanding influence wasn't something brute strength alone could accomplish.
Е̇nu̇_m a
And yet.
The martial hall that catered to aspiring escorts had reshaped itself into a sect in under five years.
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What's more, the Lantern Sect members I'd fought were no ragtag mob—they moved like people who'd undergone considerable training and education......
"Three years."
Hae-ryeong held up three fingers.
"It took exactly three years to go from martial hall to sect."
Е̃ n u̇m а
"Was there a patron, perhaps?"
With massive backing, it wouldn't be entirely impossible.
But.
"There wasn't. The Lantern Sect truly climbed to that position by its own power alone."
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"......"
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
Èṅùm̆ а̃ . і̊d̊
Then how did one explain the matching martial arts uniforms?
The well-maintained swords?
The plump, well-fed cheeks showing no trace of hunger?
"Heh heh, this is where even you can't predict, isn't it, Young Master?"
"I'm not omniscient."
"Hu hu, and how fortunate that is. It means I can be of help to you."
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With that, Hae-ryeong slid another document across.
I skimmed it—and my eyes widened in shock.
"As you can see, most of those people joined with the goal of becoming escorts. But once they became disciples, they somehow forgot their purpose entirely and became people who simply brought money as tribute."
Their own savings, of course—but also money borrowed from parents, money wheedled from relatives.
Even without outside patronage, it was more than enough to build a respectable sect.
"......"
Ĕn̄u m̊ȧ.і̀ d
That wretched battle cry the Lantern Sect members had been screaming suddenly came to mind.
Sect members who'd burned their own bodies as if bewitched, desperate to protect O Il-sik—devotion bordering on fanaticism.
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And the moment O Il-sik died, they'd snapped back to their senses and scrambled to tend to themselves.
'......Did he train in Witchcraft too?'
I wanted to think so, but Poison Fang Sword, who'd been right there the whole time, had been perfectly fine.
"Was there anyone who put a saber in O Il-sik's hand?"
Eń um̆ а
O Il-sik had become a different person before and after picking up the saber.
If so, that was when he'd acquired the Demonic Art.
But contrary to my hopes, Hae-ryeong shook her head.
"After leaving the Wind Fragrance Sect, there was no one O Il-sik took as a master. He also didn't stay at any single escort agency for long—he changed positions frequently."
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As I listened, O Il-sik's final moments flashed through my mind.
[Heavenly...... Demon returns! Ten thousand demons...... prostrate!]
Enu m а̊.і̂ d̊
Even staring death in the face, instead of grasping for survival, he'd cried out for a Demonic Cult that didn't yet exist in this world—and died.
......Just like the Demonic Practitioners of my past life.
GRIND.
No matter how many times I thought about it, it pissed me off.
"......Young Master?"
"Ah, sorry. Where were we?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"The part about nobody having taught O Il-sik."
"Right."
"Hmm, why are you so certain O Il-sik had a teacher?"
In his final moments, O Il-sik had kindled Demon Fire.
That meant he was a full-blown lunatic who'd fallen completely into the Demonic Cult.
But if he'd had no teacher, then how exactly had someone turned O Il-sik into a Demonic Practitioner?
Е n û ṁ a. і́d
And the method used to brainwash his followers into suicidal obedience—what was that?
I shared only the detail about O Il-sik choosing death of his own volition.
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Hae-ryeong furrowed her brow as well.
"That is certainly strange."
"Are there others like O Il-sik—people whose skill suddenly surged or whose influence expanded rapidly?"
Hae-ryeong thought it over, then nodded.
Ė n̊ um.а̂
"There is one."
"Who?"
If someone was following the same trajectory as O Il-sik, that bast—...... no, that person also had to be investigated as a potential Demonic Practitioner.
Even if it meant ripping up the very foundations of their sect—
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"Jin So-un of Taeul Sect."
Huh? Why was my name coming up all of a sudden......
W е́b̀ n оv̈ е̄ l̃ _E̊ n ûm ȧ
Hae-ryeong smiled brightly.
"By your own criteria, 'Young Master Jin So-un' is the single most suspicious person."
Ah. Right.
***
This was the most infuriating part of the entire problem.
It was something I'd anticipated from the moment I demolished the Lantern Sect—that this wouldn't be an easy knot to untangle.
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"I suppose I'd need to be investigated first."
"Of course, there are a few questionable points, but you've already been sufficiently cleared. No need to worry."
Hae-ryeong smiled lightly.
Wow, this woman...... was terrifying.
She'd already finished the investigation.
Should I be glad or not?
Ẇе b̆n о́v̊ е̊ l Ӗ n ŭ m̃а
In any case, the problem was that even if another person like O Il-sik existed, there was no way to prove they were a Demonic Practitioner.
It wasn't as though I could force-feed Blood-Explosion Pills to people.
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"Still, we've begun our investigation. Data needs to accumulate before analysis can begin."
"That'll take considerable time."
"This is an important matter, is it not?"
Hae-ryeong's face was more serious than I'd ever seen it.
Ẅ е̇ b̌ ńо vӗ l̄ Ёn u mа̂
"Young Master. We regard this matter with the utmost gravity. So please, don't worry."
For a moment, I couldn't say a word.
Just moments ago, I'd been on the verge of sinking into deep discouragement at the thought that things would only get harder.
But I wasn't the only one working to resolve this.
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That realization lifted a weight from my chest.
"Thank you."
Е̃ṅ ů mа.і d̃
When I dipped my head lightly, Hae-ryeong produced a bundle from the side.
"I brought this just in case. It's a record of the Wind Fragrance Sect's publicly known martial arts and Lightning Saber O Il-sik's proprietary techniques."
Oh—I hadn't found anything like this when I'd searched the Lantern Sect.
"The people at the Poison Fang Sect were very cooperative. Fortunately, we were able to compile it before the Murim Alliance's investigators arrived."
Hae-ryeong's gaze turned solemn.
"I heard that Deung Go-hyeon's eyes had turned black as obsidian...... Is that true?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Naturally, as an information broker, she'd be dying to know.
She was probably scouring every avenue to secure Deung Go-hyeon's corpse.
But it would be difficult.
A corpse exhibiting abnormal conditions was linked to the Witchcraft charges, which in turn meant it was tied to performance evaluations.
No one would trade their career advancement for a handful of coins.
"Are you curious?"
Ẃeb̂.ň ovе́l̃ _Ӗn ũ ma
"I know dissection is out of the question, but even just a look would be helpful...... Might the Academy's top scorer be able to arrange an introduction?"
"That'll be difficult."
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"......"
Hae-ryeong and Yang Gun-baek's faces stiffened.
A hint of disappointment seemed to seep through.
"......Ah, I'm sorry for the unreasonable requ—"
W̄ e̊ḃn о̆v̄ е̃ l Eǹ u mа̀
"Why go to all that trouble when there's no need?"
"......Pardon?"
I pushed the bundle I'd brought across to them.
Something clattered inside as it moved.
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Yang Gun-baek, tilting his head, peeked inside the bundle—and his eyes went round as a rabbit's.
"Wh-what is this?"
Е̂nu mа. і́ d̆
Bones stained black as ink.
"They belonged to O Il-sik."
What I'd brought were the bones that remained after O Il-sik's body burned in the Demon Fire.
Hae-ryeong shot to her feet as well, leaning over Yang Gun-baek's shoulder to study the bones intently.
"......You've brought something precious."
I could see the corner of Hae-ryeong's mouth twitching.
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I looked at her lips and gave a single nod.
"So does that mean I don't have to pay for tonight's drinks?"
Hae-ryeong, who'd been struggling to hold back her laughter, burst out.
"Of course. And that's hardly all. We'll have to treat you to something far more valuable."
Hae-ryeong clapped twice, and a moment later a woman entered the inner room carrying a wine bottle.
"Allow me to pour you a cup."
W èb ň о v̄ е l Е nū m а̇
While Yang Gun-baek and Hae-ryeong examined O Il-sik's bones, the young woman filled my cup and quietly sat beside me.
"......"
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I stared at her quizzically, and Hae-ryeong said,
"Oh, she'll be staying by your side."
I hadn't asked for anything like this.
I was starting to wonder if I'd misjudged Hao Gate, when—
Ē ńu ḿ а̇.ĩ d̀
Trickle.
Watching the wine being poured into the cup, I understood.
"It's cold......"
The wine's low temperature caused the cup to bead with condensation almost instantly.
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One sip, and—
"Oh!"
E n um̌ а́
I couldn't help but exclaim.
"It's called Flower Ice Dew."
Dew of cold flowers...... The name perfectly matched its taste and aroma.
Seeing my delight, Hae-ryeong's soft voice drifted over.
"Flower Ice Dew is at its absolute best when served cold."
There was pride in her words.
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Thinking about it, with all the high-end drinking houses in Hefei, there had to be a reason Sohwa Pavilion had crowds at its door.
'Using Ice Arts to sell wine......'
After an experience like this, even the most jaded officials and wealthy merchants would lose their minds.
Even I, a trained martial artist, was this amazed.
Ice Arts had many uses.
Had there been someone who knew Ice Arts on this traveling party, I wouldn't have had to endure the reek of Deung Go-hyeon's rotting corpse.
Е̃ n u m̈ а.іd̂
They were handy in the sweltering summer heat, too.
Some Hall Masters in the Murim Alliance even gave bonus marks to people who'd trained in Ice Arts.
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'But it's not something you can achieve through effort alone......'
A truly unfortunate thing.
In that sense, having a staff member trained in Ice Arts pouring wine was a rare sight even from a warrior's perspective.
Best to enjoy it while I could.
Ё n̊ u m̂ а̊..і d̆
I raised the Flower Ice Dew to my lips again, but in the time I'd been holding the cup, my hand's warmth had raised the temperature—the original aroma and flavor were gone.
"If you empty the cup, I'll pour you a fresh one."
Apparently the proper way to drink Flower Ice Dew was to finish each cup and have a new one poured. The woman trained in Ice Arts gently offered an empty dish.
But somehow, wasting the Flower Ice Dew felt wrong, and I couldn't bring myself to dump the cup.
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Tsk, this stuff wasn't cheap, after all.
'Hmm...... was it something like this?'
Ē ńum̂ а
Maybe it was the wine going to my head.
I recalled how Eun Seol-ran looked when she used Ice Arts, and circulated my Internal Qi in imitation.
Of course, there was no way this would produce Ice Arts.
I didn't know the Oral Formula to begin with, and the very quality of my inner arts was incompatible with Ice Arts.
So it was nothing more than a drunken whim.
CRACKLE.
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That was what it was supposed to be—
"Y-Young Master?!"
"N-no way!"
"......My!"
All three stared at my cup with eyes wider than when they'd seen O Il-sik's bones, and Hae-ryeong's stunned voice rang through the room.
"Young Master...... you can use Ice Arts? Our investigation showed nothing of the sort......!"
Е̃n̆ ŭ m̂ à . і̇d
......Huh? I can use Ice Arts?
I turned to Hae-ryeong with startled eyes.
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"How in the world did this happen?"
"......What?"
Her expression said, Why are you asking me?
Her bewilderment matched the chill of the cup in my hand.
Е̂ n̈ u̇ m̆ a . і̂d
"Ow, cold!"
"......"
"......"
In the silent room, only the sweet fragrance of Flower Ice Dew drifted through the air.
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