Chapter 129: After-Service Request
“There—what happened? Speak clearly and in detail.”
Hwang Geolgae’s expression was unusually serious.
Back when I encountered him during an escort trip, he told
that if I ever ca across the guy wielding the Nangabong, I should imdiately conceal my energy and run.
“He suddenly appeared from within the shadows.”
Judging by his face, I was about to get scolded for not listening again.
I tried to express my injustice, wearing a face that said I had no choice.
“You rascal, say sothing that makes sense. The Central Plains is vast—what are the odds that you’d run into him of all people?”
“I’m serious! He just popped out like an assassin!”
I pounded my chest in frustration. It had really been beyond my control.
When a master of the Manifestation Realm charges at you with the intent to kill, how are you supposed to notice anything coming from behind?
“Hmm… Did he do anything in particular? Try to harm you, say anything?”
“Nope. Even when I spoke, he didn’t answer and just disappeared like shashashaak.”
I mimicked his swift, distinctive footwork.
Jo Harang looked at
with a slightly startled expression, but only for a mont.
Still, what kind of person was that guy? The fact that I kept bumping into him in different places… He must be hiding his identity and moving under the surface.
“Was your Evil Star dormant, and that’s why you couldn’t identify him properly...? This might actually be a blessing in disguise.”
Stroking his beard deep in thought, Hwang Geolgae ca to a surprisingly optimistic conclusion.
“You’ve been wary of that guy since before. What kind of person is he that you’re so worked up over him?”
“You must be pretty dull. That Nangabong Monster is likely... another Evil Star.”
Wait, what?
Did that an there were three Evil Stars gathered atop that cliff that day?
That gave
chills.
“When Evil Stars encounter each other, they usually ‘resonate’—even if just slightly. But you’re a strange case who carries a dormant Evil Star, so nothing works as it should.”
Geez, way to make
sound like defective goods.
Still, when I t that guy, I did feel sothing strange. Like a weird sense of kinship?
Maybe it was because I trained in the Starfall Heart Cultivation thod and had accumulated star energy within.
“Oh, so that’s why it felt so strange when I t Purple Tenuity Star too… oops.”
Hwang Geolgae’s eyes didn’t just widen—they nearly tore open.
“What did you just say...?”
“You misheard .”
I quickly shook my head and tried to correct myself.
But there was no way that’d work. Hwang Geolgae froze with his mouth agape, then hurled the wine bottle and jumped up.
“Have I ever seen such a lunatic─!”
Even Ilhong, who had been ignoring us and training nearby, jumped in surprise at his roar.
He pointed a trembling finger at
like an alcoholic in withdrawal.
“You crazy bastard! Of all people to run into! Why her of all people...! Damn it, you’re going to be the death of !”
“It’s a misunderstanding! I didn’t even an to et her—kek!”
A missile dropkick slamd into the center of my chest.
I rolled across the training ground, swallowing dust for quite a while.
“That’s it. Today this old man will fix that lazy, half-baked mindset of yours—with this sacred treasure of the Beggars’ Union, the Dog-Beating Staff!”
Hwang Geolgae, wielding the Dragon Head Sect Leader’s weapon, started swinging it fiercely, as if he couldn’t take it anymore.
Whooosh!
“Urgh! Argh! I told you—I didn’t approach them first!”
They ca to , like fate or sothing. What was I supposed to do?
I didn’t even know she was Purple Tenuity Star at first!
She helped
when I was struggling at a wall and led
to a breakthrough. I genuinely thought, “Wow, what a great person.”
Anyway, I was innocent.
“You brat…! The Eastern Depot and the Royal Guards last ti too! How do you always pick the exact things I told you not to do!”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The staff traced strange trajectories, concealed within illusionary motions. It was the mysterious Dog-Beating Staff Technique, unleashed from the Dragon Head’s fingertips.
The tip of the staff danced with dazzling patterns, striking
all over with uncanny angles.
“Argh! Urgh! Stop! Cease! Ti out!”
So this is what it ans to be beaten until the dust flies on a rainy day.
Hwang Geolgae struck
with the ferocity of soone exterminating a rabid dog.
“At this rate, he’s going to kill his own disciple, damn it!”
“You still haven’t had enough!”
Thunk!
Then ca a solid hit to the back of my head.
Stars exploded in my vision, and my skull felt like it had been rattled to its core.
Weirdly enough, the hit was to the back, but blood gushed from the front.
Drip. A stream of nosebleed trickled down the bridge of my nose.
“You son of a—”
Even friends flip out when they see a nosebleed.
I was just working, and now I was getting beat up until I bled?
This was the last straw.
“……I can’t take this anymore! Take off the rank badge, old man!”
As if resonating with my fury, pale Gongryeok surged from my entire body.
I assud the stance of the Hundred-Knot Divine Fist, ready to throw down.
“Well, well. Fine. This old man will obliterate you……!”
Hwang Geolgae looked at
like he couldn’t believe this, then responded with battle-ready confidence.
And so, atop the training ground of the Eunseong Trading Company, the clash of two masters began to wreak havoc.
The two of us glided like ghosts. Each violent clash of our Qi kicked up waves of dirt, turning the area into a dust storm.
As the battle reached its peak, Jo Harang arrived at the training ground with a ssage from soone.
But even when she called out multiple tis, the two of us continued brawling without so much as a glance, prompting her to ask Ilhong beside her with a puzzled face:
“Ilhong, what’s going on here?”
“Oh, well... they do that sotis.”
Ilhong shrugged like it was no big deal, clearly used to it.
“What’s the deal between that old man and Mujin?”
“Master and disciple? Sothing like that. That’s what they say, anyway.”
Ilhong replied nonchalantly, still imrsed in training.
To Jo Harang, this was the most violent master-disciple relationship she had ever witnessed—blood flying, curses exchanged, and fury erupting.
“...No way. That can’t be real.”
There’s no way a relationship like that could exist.
***
She shook her head in disbelief.
A client had co to the Troubleshooter Office. And apparently, it was soone I knew quite well.
The commission in Liaoning Province had fallen through, and the head I retrieved beneath the cliff would be accounted for later by the Vice Captain of the Demon-Slaying Unit.
So, for now, it was the sa as before—no clients, no money.
Even with the Murong Clan, I’d accepted a rare spiritual elixir instead of cash, so I was short on usable funds at the mont.
Which ant, the mont I heard a client had arrived, I ran straight over.
“What the—?”
But what do you know.
Just as Jo Harang had said, soone I truly knew well was sitting slouched in the client’s chair when I got back to the office.
“Wait, Chairman Gam Un? What brings you here?”
“You don’t call
‘Old Man Gam’ anymore?”
“Not since that last commission that nearly got us killed, no.”
He’d gone on about it being a rare nad commission, hyped
up for nothing.
Turned out it was a trap job—a minefield.
“Ahem, hitting
in the back of the head like that… That’s just a misunderstanding on your part. How could a re Chairman know if an organization like the Blood Cult went out of its way to hide their identity?”
Chairman Gam Un mumbled excuses, wearing an awkward face, saying he didn’t have the intelligence network of the Rogues’ Guild or anything like that.
He was usually the one handing out commissions to wanderers, so this was the first ti I’d seen him so flustered.
“Tsk. Still rubs
the wrong way, though.”
“Co now, understand my position. I had nothing to do with that incident. Why would I harm two of the top wanderers in Beijing with my own hands?”
“Hmm, maybe because you poached one of my useful wanderers?”
“…Let’s not bring that up again in this case. It’s only until he pays off his debt, right?”
Well, even if this old man had the instincts of a dung beetle, he wasn’t the type to hand us over to the Blood Cult intentionally.
Not that I trusted him—he just wouldn’t kill the golden goose that laid his money eggs with his own hands.
“So anyway, what brings you here?”
I pushed forward a cup of our bitter tea—the one reserved for unwelco guests—and asked.
“Hmm, do you by chance rember a brush-wielder nad Neung Jin-sam, one of your clients during your wanderer days?”
“Neung Jin-sam? Oh, the guy who’s recently beco famous for his beast paintings, thanks to my advice?”
“Yes, that one… Seems he’s having so trouble lately. That’s why he ca looking for you—the guy who never fails to deliver, no matter the job.”
So trouble started after that job, huh. Then this would be an after-service request of sorts.
“I’d like to consider this new job as making up for the last mistake. I’ll pay handsoly. So, what do you say? Will you help?”
It looked like our new client this ti was none other than the Chairman of the Beijing Wanderers’ Guild.
I recalled that young man who once slumped in despair, thinking his paintings would never be recognized.
But through my advice, he had blossod into a fine beast painter.
That’s right—blinded by the allure of completing the commission, I had scattered a wicked seed into this world.
A strange being that shouldn’t have appeared yet.
“…Let’s hear the story first.”
Was this the weight of original sin?
I gave a heavy nod.
According to Chairman Gam Un, Neung Jin-sam was currently squandering the fortune he’d made—living in absolute luxury.
They say people change when they go from nothing to having too much.
Maybe he was trying to let out years of bottled-up frustration, but the word was that he’d holed himself up in Cheonhwa Pavilion, the most renowned brothel in Beijing, drinking day in and day out.
“Oh my, Mujin Daehyeop. What brings you here?”
So when I visited Cheonhwa Pavilion for the first ti in a while, its fad courtesan—so sought after even high-ranking officials fought to et her—Juwol-a greeted
with a radiant smile.
She even clung gently to one of my arms, saying she was almost hurt I hadn’t visited in so long.
“Ahem, ‘Daehyeop,’ huh? Still sounds awkward no matter how many tis I hear it… Anyway, have you been well, Wol-a?”
Last ti, after I saved her from so bad guys, she told
to speak casually.
So I was doing just that—treating her real casually.
“Of course. I’ve been doing just fine, waiting for you, Daehyeop.”
Juwol-a responded with a soft smile shaped like a crescent moon.
Looking into those beautiful black eyes, I wondered—was there really a man alive who wouldn’t fall for that?
She truly had the charm of an idol of this era.
Ahem!
From behind
ca Ilhong’s disapproving cough.
Her sharp glare made it clear—Get to work.
“But Daehyeop, what brings you to this brothel today?”
“Oh, well. Isn’t Neung Jin-sam here? I ca to see him.”
At that, Juwol-a’s expression instantly turned sullen.
“So you weren’t here to see …”
She pouted and swatted my arm lightly as if disappointed.
That hit harder than expected. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest.
“Ahem, well of course I ca to see you…”
“Boss, snap out of it.”
Ilhong gave my shoulder a quick jab.
It stung just enough to jolt
back to my senses.
Seriously, the impact of this era’s beauties was no joke.
“Phew, right. I’m here to work.”
I apologized to Juwol-a, then searched the rooms until I finally found Neung Jin-sam.
His nose was red as a beet, and like Hwang Geolgae, he was swaying drunk—completely plastered.
Tsk tsk. He seed like a sharp guy when I t him before.
Was this the fate of soone who’d co in contact with a forbidden secret?
“Hey, brother.”
I threw my arm around his shoulders and dragged him out of the brothel, ignoring his slurred protests.
Shortly after, back at the Beijing Troubleshooter Office.
Neung Jin-sam—the subject of this commission—was suffering a brutal hangover but looked more alert now.
“Ilhong, make him so honey water, would you?”
“We don’t have that. Too expensive.”
That’s the state of our office these days.
I nodded and infused him with so internal energy to help clear his head.
“So, how did things end up like this?”
When he saw my face, he blinked and said, “Wait… that little wanderer from back then?”—startled.
Then, after hearing my question, he dropped his head in sha.
“I… I couldn’t help it.”
“What do you an, you couldn’t help it?”
“My brushwork isn’t what it used to be… Competitors are popping up like mushrooms… And then, while passing by the brothel, I saw that beautiful smile of Juwol-a…”
Ah yes, that smile. The very sa one that had nearly bewitched even .
“Well, that I can understand.”
I said, nodding sympathetically.
Over on one side of the office, two young n nodded along as if in solidarity.
“You’ve got to be kidding …”
Ilhong muttered, utterly dumbfounded as she watched them.
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