"Bring out the boss…!"

Seojun’s lion-like roar stirred the building into motion.

Seojun nodded in satisfaction, patting Chunbong on the shoulder.

"Keep up your Sleeping Technique. You know the drill, right?"

Even to Seojun’s eyes, her disguise was pretty good, but one could never be too sure. Who knew if there was some weird martial art that could see through Chunbong’s Cloud Technique?

Chunbong, with a furrowed brow, nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah, I get it, but… sigh."

"What’s wrong, my dear Chunbong!"

"This is so embarrassing! Can’t we just walk in normally for once?!"

"Nope."

It would take too long if they went in quietly, and that was not what he wanted.

"See? Look, they're already coming to get us."

A group of thugs came rushing out of the building.

Seojun smirked and cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Now I’m going into Martial Arts Master mode, okay?"

"What now, you idiot?"

Chunbong gave him a strange look, but Seojun ignored her.

…He also pretended not to notice Namgung Sua’s sparkling eyes of admiration.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Causing a commotion in front of a business is unacceptable!"

That was a fair point, and Seojun had no retort to that. But a martial arts master doesn’t care about such trivial matters. After all, they are a martial arts master.

"Scat…!"

Seojun unleashed a burst of his aura.

At his peak level, his energy radiated out, and the unprepared thugs couldn’t withstand it.

"Ugh…!"

It was as if they had heard a tiger’s roar—legs trembled, and fear filled their eyes.

Feeling a little bad for them, Seojun coughed awkwardly and said, "Just go fetch your boss. The branch leader should be around. Or you can guide us yourself."

The thugs hesitated, mumbling nervously, when a woman stepped out of the building.

Despite the grown men cowering like frightened children, she calmly bowed and addressed Seojun.

"He’ll see you now."

At her words, Seojun grinned at Chunbong as if to say, See? Told you.

But Chunbong wasn’t paying attention to that. Instead, she whispered through their secret communication channel.

[Is that really how you’re supposed to talk? It’s giving me chills.]

[That’s how martial arts masters talk.]

[It’s so awkward. Seojun doesn’t talk like that!]

[What?]

But it was too late to back down now.

Resolutely maintaining his persona, Seojun followed the woman inside the building.

As expected of Hunan, it was on a different level from the shady establishments in the back alleys. The scale and atmosphere were anything but ordinary.

With this much money, it was likely they also had formidable warriors. It didn’t seem odd that the Hao Clan might have such experts.

"Young master."

"Yes?"

Namgung Sua whispered into Seojun’s ear. Since she was taller than Chunbong, she had to stand on her tiptoes, bringing her lips close to his ear.

"My heart is pounding because of your coolness."

"What…?"

Seojun, stealing a glance at the woman leading them, responded through the secret channel.

In truth, he wanted to say, Let’s be honest, you're not exactly a maiden, but he held back.

[…Sister, your tastes are weird, you know that?]

[What’s wrong with my tastes?]

[You like getting hit.]

[That’s a misunderstanding.]

[I’m not so sure.]

[It really is. I’ll prove it to you tonight.]

"Huh?"

The woman leading them turned around at Seojun’s slip.

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no. Lead the way."

With a sigh of relief, Seojun quickly followed after her.

How many steps had they climbed?

By the time he started wondering if their knees were alright, they finally arrived at the top floor.

Standing before a jangji door, the woman bowed slightly and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Master, the guests have arrived."

"Let them in."

The woman slid open the door and gestured for them to enter.

Nodding slightly, Seojun stepped inside, scanning the surroundings.

The dark atmosphere and minimal decorations made the figure behind the screen seem grand and mysterious.

"I didn’t expect you to visit like this, Gwangarang. And with you is the Faceless Snow Sword and the Flower of Namgung."

From behind the screen, the voice of an ageless man echoed.

"Oh?"

Faceless Snow Sword? That must be Chunbong’s nickname. It must have been given to her after the martial arts tournament.

Chunbong wasn’t wearing a veil at the moment.

In fact, hardly anyone knew her real face. If someone recognized her, it would mean they saw through her Cloud Technique, which no veil could hide.

So, if Chunbong were to have a nickname now, it would probably be something like Cutiepie Geum Chunbong.

Whoever came up with Faceless just because she wore a mask was definitely not creative.

"You seem confident in your information. That’s good."

Seojun maintained his act, taking a step forward.

The presences hidden around the room flinched. Even the woman who had led them tensed up as she watched him.

"You’d better not come any closer. The trap mechanisms don’t discriminate between people."

"Shall I test that?"

"Are you planning to make a scene?"

"Wouldn’t be hard."

"If you came for information, then stay calm."

Seojun paused and reached into his pocket, fingering a wooden token.

Should I show it? Would it be beneficial?

Looking at the situation, showing the token probably wouldn’t provide much of an advantage.

In that case, there was no need to give away that information, even if they might already know.

"Well then…"

"And that tone. Could you stop? It’s unbearable."

"What."

"It’s like a child pretending to be an old man. It’s painful to listen to."

"That’s harsh."

"Haah… So, what do you want? You’re here for information about spiritual herbs, I assume?"

"Correct! Do you know anything?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

The figure behind the screen sighed deeply and picked up something.

"Information about spiritual herbs is scarce. If it’s reached the Hao Clan’s ears, it’s either in a very dangerous place or already in someone else’s hands."

"That’s honest."

"No point in hiding common knowledge. With Namgung’s flower glaring behind you, there’s no point in trying tricks."

Seojun glanced back to see Namgung Sua smiling brightly and waving at him.

He waved back before turning to face the figure again.

"So, what? Nothing at all?"

"In this area, there’s one uncertain lead and one confirmed one."

"Oh? What’s the confirmed one?"

"Shaolin Temple is nearby. Go ask for some Great Elixirs."

"Will they give me any?"

"Would they?"

"Then why’d you even mention it?"

"Never mind."

The figure waved something in his hand. It looked like a scroll.

"This is the real information. But remember, the Hao Clan doesn’t guarantee the accuracy of its intel."

"Oh."

"It’ll cost one gold tael."

"Oh?"

"…What is it now?"

"That’s not too expensive."

One gold tael was about ten silver taels. It was a considerable sum, but for information about spiritual herbs, it wasn’t that much.

There must be a reason for that.

"Deal. Let’s do it."

As Seojun nodded, the woman who had led them approached, holding out her hand.

Seojun rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his coin pouch.

Let’s see…

He had been spending money without much thought lately, and the pouch felt lighter than usual.

Thinking about how much it cost to maintain Chunbong’s chubby cheeks, it seemed he needed to start earning more money.

Jingle.

Handing over the ten silver taels, the woman eyed them, counted them quickly, and nodded in approval.

The master then placed the scroll somewhere, and it soon descended from the ceiling, landing in Seojun’s hands.

"We’re good now, right?"

"Unless you need anything else."

Seojun took a step forward.

"What…!"

Then another step, and a third.

Just after taking three steps, the floor gave way, and arrows and darts shot out from all directions.

"Ah, so that’s what this feels like."

Seojun bloomed his plum blossoms beneath his feet, leaping into the air, while channeling his internal energy through his hands, using the Hundred Rivers Return to the Ocean technique.

Spinning his body, he created a wide barrier of energy, deflecting the projectiles as they fell to the ground.

Landing safely outside the trap, Seojun looked down at the pit below.

It was filled with spears and blades, sharp enough that falling in would’ve hurt quite a bit. The gleaming edges even seemed to be coated with poison.

"…What are you doing?"

The voice behind him made Seojun turn around. By now, a group of martial artists had emerged, surrounding them.

The air grew tense.

Even Chunbong and Namgung Sua were staring at him in shock.

"Uh… I was just curious what the mechanism felt like?"

"Do you know how much those things cost?"

"Is it a lot?"

"They’re money sinks."

"Oh."

Seojun slapped his forehead.

The branch leader, staring at him, tensed up.

Breaking through the mechanism like that was a clear indication that Seojun was no ordinary martial artist.

Though the Hao Clan was wealthy, handling someone of Seojun’s caliber was not something they were equipped to do.

Still, the branch leader didn’t show any signs of weakness. After all, pretending to be calm was one of the few defenses the weak had against the strong.

"This mechanism doesn’t just work like a machine, it reacts to internal energy. It’s more sophisticated than I thought."

"The more advanced ones are beyond the reach of a mere Hunan branch. Even if we had the money, no one would install them."

"Ah."

Seojun placed his hand on the ground, channeling his energy through it.

He didn’t know much about mechanisms, but with a few tweaks here and there, he could already see ways to improve it.

"How about this?"

With a light touch, Seojun activated a part of the mechanism, and one of the blades below absorbed his energy and shot out like a ray of light.

Crack!

It pierced through the ceiling of the building, disappearing from sight.

Looking up at the hole, Seojun turned to the branch leader.

"What do you think?"

"How did you…?"

"I’m just good?"

"I see… Now I understand why they call you Gwangarang."

"Say what?"

So that was that.

 

After inspecting the mechanism, the branch leader sighed and chuckled lightly.

"I don’t know whether to thank you or be angry."

"Let’s go with gratitude."

"Good grief. Fine, thank you. I never imagined the mechanism could be improved like this."

If they were to put a price on it, it would cost them a fortune in gold. Even with that much money, installing such a mechanism wasn’t guaranteed.

"Martial artists are idiots who draw their swords the moment they don’t like something. After being burned by them a few times, we installed this mechanism. But even when we tell them about it, there’s always a cartload of fools who still rush in. How those morons survive with their pea-sized brains is beyond me…"

It seemed the branch leader had a lot of pent-up frustration.

"…I’m rambling. Anyway, thanks. I guess I’ll be living a little longer now."

"No worries. Consider it a fair trade."

"Haah…"

The branch leader sighed again.

"This is on the house."

"Oh?"

Another scroll dropped from the ceiling.

Seojun caught it, and the branch leader explained.

"As a martial artist, you might find it useful. There’s a bit of information about an upcoming war between the Demon Sect and the Martial Alliance. It’s not much, but it might come in handy."