Nanseol strongly urged Gangchan to stay at Cheonhyangru, citing its abundant environment and safety.
However, Gangchan firmly refused and returned to Baekcheon Inn.
In truth, Cheonhyangru was superior in every way, but those were advantages only to be enjoyed when staying briefly.
With no idea how long he would have to remain in Hangju, continuing to stay at Cheonhyangru felt burdensome. On the other hand, despite its lack of facilities, Baekcheon Inn brought more peace of mind.
Back at the inn, Gangchan’s daily life was simple and peaceful.
He had breakfast at the inn each morning, then strolled out to Jangja Street to pass the time watching the various sights.
After a light lunch, he returned to the inn, had dinner, and went to bed early.
That day as well, Gangchan woke up early at dawn, refined Seungcheonmugukgiseong, and practiced Gwihoonbo and Cheonryeongmu without relying on Jieugiseong.
After training, while heading to the well to wash up, Gangchan instinctively turned his gaze toward a strange presence he sensed.
His eyes landed on a boulder on the back mountain, about ten jang away from the well.
There, hiding, Amyeong 89th was startled by Gangchan’s gaze, feeling as if it was directed right at him, and quickly concealed himself again.
‘What? Did he see me? I’m ten jang away and haven’t leaked any aura at all!’
Amyeong 89th couldn’t believe it.
He tried to convince himself that he hadn’t been discovered, but his anxiety didn’t subside.
Cautiously poking his head out to check the well again, he found Gangchan was already gone.
‘Just in case, I’d better keep my distance!’
Amyeong 89th couldn’t relax, tense as he was, repeating this resolve to himself.
***
While Amyeong 89th was hidden away lost in worry, Gangchan had simply washed up and returned inside the inn.
In fact, Gangchan had sensed ever since he came back to Baekcheon Inn that someone was watching him.
Moreover, he noticed the aura of this observer was similar to that of the guard he had dealt with before—No Jinhwan.
‘Either they’ve learned the same martial arts or they belong to the same organization.’
Gangchan recalled how his previous opponent had revealed demonic energy at the last moment.
If so, then this current observer was likely also a demon, meaning there was a high probability of a connection to the Demonic Sect.
‘If it really is the Demonic Sect, this will be quite troublesome.’
Gangchan didn’t consider this a simple problem.
If the Demonic Sect was monitoring him, it would obviously become a major obstacle to his plans.
However, he couldn’t easily decide what to do about it right away.
‘Would taking care of this person solve the problem? Probably not.’
Without knowing the intentions of the organization behind the observer, there was no guarantee that removing him would put an end to things.
On the contrary, it might make things worse.
Gangchan pondered deeply. In the end, it came down to two choices.
One was to ignore the observer and push ahead with his plans as he wished.
The other was to do nothing and minimize suspicion, slipping out of their focus.
The former depended on his own choices, but the latter relied on the judgment of the other party.
Gangchan quickly reached a decision.
‘Letting my actions depend on someone else’s will is not the life I want. In the end, I have to choose for myself.’
Deep in thought, Gangchan sat in the inn when Baekcheon brought out breakfast.
“Wow, today it’s fish soup.”
Baekcheon beamed as he spoke.
“I specially asked Mother to make it for you. Please eat plenty.”
“Thanks, but why did you go out of your way to ask?”
Baekcheon replied with a bright smile.
“Yesterday, the Baekryonghoe’s head steward dropped by. He said he’d just write off all our debts! So now, we don’t have to sell the inn anymore!”
“Really? That’s great. Haha.”
Gangchan chuckled briefly.
In truth, the debt issue of Baekcheon Inn had been something he’d specifically asked Nanseol to resolve, after hearing Baekcheon’s desire to protect the inn.
Feeling cheerful after his meal, Gangchan strolled toward Jangja Street.
After Baekryonghoe collapsed, Hangju’s merchants had much to say about the effects on their own businesses.
But thanks to Nanseol’s swift action, they soon regained their stability.
Since the power vacuum left by Baekryonghoe was quickly filled and the order of commerce maintained, things soon returned to their usual peaceful state.
***
At the northern stronghold of Cheonrangpa in Hangju, one of the Cheonrangpa warriors hurriedly knocked on Kang Bulhae’s door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Myeongseok.”
The door opened, and Kang Bulhae poked his head out.
“What is it?”
“Well, it might be nothing, but…”
“Just say it without holding back.”
“My friend went to Suzhou to buy something, and now that he’s back, he said the Heukhodang, who’ve unified Suzhou, are coming secretly to Hangju for some unknown reason. I thought it needed confirmation.”
“What? Heukhodang? Tell me more.”
“That’s all I know. My friend just happened to overhear it while eating in Suzhou…”
“Understood.”
Finishing his answer, Kang Bulhae rushed to Cheonhyangru.
Meeting Nanseol there, Kang Bulhae relayed everything he’d heard.
“I’ll look into it as quickly as possible. Tell all Cheonrang members to be fully prepared and stay on standby.”
Nanseol mobilized Haomun’s entire information network.
Soon, she confirmed that the information brought by Cheonrang was true.
Heukhodang was now stationed about a day’s distance from Hangju.
Nanseol informed all of Hangju’s black factions of this, emphasizing that meeting them at Hangju’s northern outskirts was the best course.
Just in case, she also let Gangchan know, but he didn’t show much interest.
‘It would be unreasonable to expect him to step in and settle every fight among the black factions or to protect us every time.’
Understanding Gangchan’s reaction, Nanseol decided to step back this time.
While Nanseol was busy stabilizing Hangju’s order, the Suryongdan’s squad leaders and vice leaders, dispatched by the Cheonyeon Union, finally set foot in Hangju.
Among them, the youngest and most fond of pleasure, Yaryul Myeong, spoke up first.
“Now that we’ve finally arrived in Hangju, we have to have a drink tonight, no matter what! After all the trouble we went through, a drink is the least we deserve, right?”
Yaryul Myeong was twenty this year.
His characteristic cheerfulness both energized the group and occasionally drew reproach.
“Why do men always look for that blasted alcohol? I’m going for a bath with hot water first.”
Paeng Suhyeon, who hadn’t had a bath in days while camping out, glared at Yaryul Myeong as she spoke.
“Paeng Mae, don’t be so harsh. Let the ladies bathe, and let the men drink… hahaha.”
“Let’s settle on a place after we’ve found an inn.”
The oldest in the group, Je Gal Yong, aged twenty-six, led them into a grand, elegant inn.
It was the famous Pungnyu Inn, renowned in Hangju for both its cuisine and its facilities.
Soon, the group unpacked their things in a detached guesthouse of the inn; the women bathed, while the men stayed on the first floor for food and drinks.
When the women finished their bath and came down to the first floor, every gaze in the inn was drawn to them.
By chance, all of them were twenty-two years old and strikingly beautiful.
Raised in distinguished families, they had been taught proper manners since childhood, so grace came naturally to them.
Nangung Unhye, renowned as “Anhui’s Number One Beauty,” was so beautiful and wise that she had earned her own nickname.
Paeng Suhyeon was famed as the flower of the Paeng family, where daughters were rare and cherished.
She was tall for a woman, with a lively, pretty face, matching her family’s traits.
Because she was so treasured, no one ever scolded her, and she tended to insist on her own way.
Still, no one found fault with her for it.
Murong Hye, outstanding in both beauty and intelligence, had become famous in Liaoning, where her family, the Murong clan, resided.
Yaryul Hui had been called the “Baekyahwa” (Hundred Night Flowers) for her surpassing beauty since early on, and she had a somewhat free-spirited nature.
With these women arriving together, the inn seemed to brighten all at once.
As befitted Hangju’s reputation, Pungnyu Inn’s food and amenities were the best.
The prices matched the quality, but for direct descendants of distinguished families, money was no issue.
When the women, fresh from their bath, joined the table, they all shared a cheerful meal.
Then, the inn’s door opened, and two guests entered.
At first glance, they looked like a married couple dressed simply, but upon closer inspection, they could be siblings.
They took a seat in a secluded corner.
***
After placing a simple order, the two scanned their surroundings and locked eyes on the Suryongdan group, exchanging secret sound transmissions.
‘Those brats over there look like righteous sect kids, don’t they, brother?’
‘Did news leak from the sect?’
‘But it looks like they’re the only ones here?’
‘Then I guess the information didn’t actually leak…’
‘Right. If it had leaked, they wouldn’t have sent only a bunch of greenhorns. Hohoho!’
‘Should we take out a few of them?’
‘We only have to meet up by tomorrow’s mi-si (1-3pm), but if this gets out, Yeohun will come to kill us later…’
‘We’ll just have to finish them off without anyone noticing. Hehe.’
‘Sounds good.’
They stared at the Suryongdan’s table with faces as if they’d found a fun new toy while waiting for their food.
***
Gangchan was strolling through Jangja Street, wondering where to have lunch today.
After several days of street food, he craved something new.
Scanning his surroundings, he recalled what Nanseol had told him recently.
‘Whatever else you eat, if you’re in Hangju, you must try Dongpo Pork at Pungnyu Inn.’
He spotted a large sign far off reading “Pungnyu Inn.”
Deciding to have Dongpo Pork for lunch, Gangchan took in the sights as he headed toward the inn.
Just as he was nearly there, he felt a strange aura flare and vanish inside the inn, putting him on alert.
He stopped in his tracks and spread Jui Gi wide.
He could make out the general situation unfolding inside the inn and debated whether or not to enter.
Given the aura he sensed, it was clear there would be trouble if he did.
In that case, he had to first eliminate the tail following him; otherwise, all information about his actions and plans would inevitably fall into their hands.
Gangchan invoked Jieugiseong and spread Jui Gi in all directions.
Though he didn’t know about the opponent’s capabilities, Gangchan’s current range for detecting someone was thirty jang.
Sensing the observer on the roof of a house about twenty jang to the southeast, Gangchan didn’t hesitate to use Cheonryeongchukji and close the distance.
Amyeong 89th saw Gangchan suddenly appear before him and, realizing he’d been discovered, immediately darted toward the nearby hills.
Changing direction to follow the fleeing target, Gangchan stopped and scanned the surroundings.
Amyeong 89th, seeing Gangchan’s movement skill was too fast to escape outright, hid atop a tree and used Gwisik Daebeop to conceal his presence.
He didn’t realize, until the last moment, that this was a fatal mistake.
No matter how well he held his breath with Gwisik Daebeop, it was meaningless before Gangchan’s Jieugiseong, which could sense the innate life force of living beings.
Appearing above Amyeong 89th’s head, Gangchan concentrated Jui Gi at his fingertips and struck precisely at the man’s heart with Gwihoonbo.
Thud!
And so, Amyeong 89th ended his life without ever realizing he had died.
Gangchan swiftly made his way toward Pungnyu Inn.
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