Chapter 165: 166

Light Novel: Volume 7 Episode 16

Manhwa: N/A

Mok Gahye’s family collapsed at one point.

The house was in ruins, and the wealth that used to fill their warehouses ran out.

Even if a rich man perishes, he has food for three years.1 This saying did not apply to the house of Mok Ga-hye at all.

Mok Gahye’s family was in such a huge debt that even if three generations try to work and repay it, their efforts would not be enough. 

Her parents were devastated since debtors came day after day.

Mok Gahye’s parents and family members could not help but suffer. They did not have enough strength to overcome the struggles and heartache.

But one day, someone approached them.

“That person is Hwa Yu-cheon, the sect leader of Heavenly Silver Marketplace. He offered to pay all the debts my family owed on the condition that I became his concubine.”

“Your father must have accepted the offer.”

“Yes. And he offered Gongbu as my dowry. It’s the only valuable item left in our house.”

“Did Hwa Yu-cheon tell you to bring Gongbu as a dowry?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

“Have you heard anything from him?”

Mok Gahye looked at the dead Baek Jin-gung.

Pyo-wol shook his head.

“He’s nothing but a pawn. He doesn’t even know the identity of his client. There is only one thing he’s been asked to do, which is to bring the Gongbu sword to the promised place.”‘

“Oh…”

Mok Gahye frowned.

No matter how much she thought about it, she could not figure out who could possibly want the sword, Gongbu.

Pyo-wol looked at Mok Gahye indifferently.

There was something he didn’t tell her. 

It was that the client ordered Baek Jin-gung not to touch Mok Gahye and Shin Mugum. So it was not the will of the client, but Baek Jin-gung’s own decision to injure the two of them.

‘To summarize, the person who commissioned Baek Jin-gung and the Demon Chasing Team wanted to steal the sword but did not desire to hurt the two of them.’

The information could be said to be nothing special, but it was an important clue to Pyo-wol.

‘The client is someone who doesn’t want Hwa Yu-cheon to have Gongbu, yet he’s gentle enough to hope that Shin Mugum and Mog Gahye won’t get hurt.’

Pyo-wol asked Shin Mugum,

“Is the Heavenly Silver Marketplace the most influential sect in Enshi?”

“The Heavenly Silver Marketplace has distinguished itself in recent years, but it can be said that the traditional powerhouse sect in Enshi is the Bamboo Sea Clan.2“

“Bamboo Sea Clan?”

“It is a clan that was established in Enshi a long time ago. It is called Bamboo Sea because bamboo is spread out like the sea around it. It is one of the best places to visit in Enshi. After the appearance of the Heavenly Silver Marketplace, the Bamboo Sea Clan’s influence diminished and they lost a lot of privileges.”

“I can’t believe such an old clan like that is being pushed around by an emerging clan. It seems that the Heavenly Silver Marketplace has a strong supporter.”‘

“How did you know? Actually, the Heavenly Silver Marketplace has a deep connection with the Rain Mountain Manor. The younger sister of Hwa Yu-cheon entered as a concubine in the Rain Mountain Manor and gave birth to her second son. As far as I know, she received considerable support in return.”

Along with New Moon Village and Spirit Sword Village, the Rain Mountain Manor is a strong sect that is part of the Three Manors.

Among the eleven superpowers organized into Two Factions, Three Clans, Three Packs, and Three Manors, they belong to the last, but they still had enough power not to be taken lightly.

With the support of the Rain Mountain Manor, the Heavenly Silver Marketplace grew rapidly.

With their frightening momentum, they managed to threaten the Bamboo Sea Clan, a traditional sect in Enshi, in many ways.

Pyo-wol frowned for a moment.

Shin Mugum and Mok Gahye looked at Pyo-wol with tense expressions. 

Pyo-wol organized his thoughts from the information he got.

‘If Hwa Yu-cheon gets the sword Gongbu, the party who would be the most affected and troubled would be the Bamboo Sea Clan.’

A big picture was drawn in his mind.

Pyo-wol asked Shin Mugum, 

“Does the sect leader of the Rain Mountain Manor have a hobby of collecting swords?”

“How did you know?”

“I knew it.”

At the startled reaction of Shin Mugum, Pyo-wol was convinced that his guess was correct 

‘If the sect leader of the Rain Mountain Manor wants to build his prestige by becoming the master of an ancient sword, then for Hwa Yu-cheon to get in his good graces, he must have been searching for the owner of the sword.’

Then why he looked for the Mok family. 

A family who possessed a great treasure, but did not know its true value.

In Hwa Yucheon’s eyes, the Mok Family must have looked like a delicious and easy prey. 

Making the family collapse was as easy as flipping the palm of his hand. So as the Mok family despaired when they fell into ruin, Hwa Yu-cheon approached them.

The whole thing was a scheme just to get the sword, Gongbu. 

And as a bonus, he could also take Mok Gahye as his concubine. A young and pretty girl was more than enough to satisfy the lust of an old man.

With his plan, he can dedicate Gongbu to the sect leader of the Rain Mountain Manor, while embracing a pretty girl in his arms.

It was truly killing two birds with one stone. He can gain many benefits by just offering Gongbu.

On the other hand, the Bamboo Sea CLan would not have wanted the Heavenly Silver Marketplace to be bigger than this.

It was clear that Rain Mountain Manor would openly support the Heavenly Silver Marketplace if they received Gongbu from them. 

They would have to support them on a level that cannot be compared to what it has been before. 

So the Bamboo Sea Clan tried to ruin Hwa Yucheon’s scheme by stealing Gongbu.

But the Bamboo Sea Clan’s plans failed.

It was still only a suspicion, but Pyo-wol was convinced that his guess was correct.

There was only one reason they failed.

They did not expect Pyo-wol to intervene.

Pyo-wol thought that the world was very strange.

If Mok Gahye’s life had not been threatened, it would have been better for her to lose Gongbu. If so, her reason for joining Hwa Yucheon’s concubine would disappear, and the Bamboo Sea Clan could also balance power with the Heavenly Silver Marketplace in Enshi. 

Of course, her family situation would remain difficult, but it was inevitable.

But now that Pyo-wol saved Mok Gahye’s life, she had no choice but to become Hwa Yu-cheon’s concubine.

It was a future that would not happen if Baek Jin-gung and the Demon Chasing Team simply took away Gongbu and retreated.

But it was now too late to turn back. And Pyo-wol had no intention of intervening any further. He only intervened in this matter because of Soma. 

“Thank you, brother!”

Soma looked up at Pyo-wol with a relieved expression.

Pyo-wol said to Soma,

“Let’s go!”

“Wait a minute—”

Soma looked at Mok Gahye.

“Sister! When you’ve finished making the beef jerky, take it to the biggest guest house near the pier. I’ll be there!”

“A, alright.”

Mok Ga-hye answered, biting her lips softly.

Soma waved his hand and returned to the guest house with Pyo-wol.

Mok Gahye stood still as if she had become a statue, while watching the two disappear into the darkness.

“Gahye!”

She barely came to her senses at the sound of Shin Mugum calling.

“Hoo…!”

Her sighs were scattered in the wind.

* * *

“Is that really true?”

“Are they really all dead?”

“No way!”

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The guest house was several times louder than usual this morning.

At the center of it were the mercenaries led by Ko Il-pae.

They gathered together and chatted, disbelief written all over their faces.

Ko Il-pae looked at the mercenary, who had just brought the unbelievable news, with a serious expression.

“Is it possible for the news to be wrong?”

“No. Because I checked the body with my own eyes. It was really the body of Baek Jin-gung.”

“Hm…”

“It’s not just Baek Jin-gung. All the members of the Demon Chasing Team were annihilated.”

He repeated the same thing over and over again to mercenaries who did not believe his words.

Seol Hajin patted the mercenary’s shoulder and said,

“Stop it.”

“But—”

“I know you’re telling the truth. I trust you, so you can stop talking.”

“Alright.”

Seol Hajin looked at Ko Il-pae.

“While this guy has a tendency to exaggerate, he doesn’t lie. So I think it’s real.”‘

“So the Demon Chasing Team really was annihilated…”

Ko Il-pae leaned back on his chair and muttered.

He also knew that the mercenary in front of him was not the type to lie. But the news was such a big deal that it was hard to believe.

The mercenary said that Baek Jin-gung and the Demon Chasing Team were annihilated. 

Although he and Baek Jin-gung were not on good terms, Baek Jin-gung’s martial arts was so great that he could not afford to disregard him.

It was the same with the Demon Chasing Team, who were under him. 

While each member’s martial arts were incomparable to Baek Jin-gung, they were still good at group warfare. It should have been difficult for them to be slaughtered. 

“What about the killer?”

“I don’t know. Only their bodies remain…”

“What about the scars?”

“I placed the body in the coffin before I could check.”

“Well…”

As Ko Il-pae said with a somber voice, Seol Hajin tapped him on the shoulder.

“Well, this is great, isn’t it?”

“It’s not that easy.”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

“You—”

“I never liked them anyway. I’m glad they’re all dead.”

 Some mercenaries nodded at Seol Hajin’s words. 

Ko Il-pae tried to say something back but then stopped. He already knew that no matter what he says, she won’t listen.

That was then.

“Hello, brothers!”

A clear voice reverberated through the guest house.

Soma and Pyo-wol were going down the stairs.

The moment he saw them, Ko Il-pae frowned without realizing it. Because there was a strong smell of blood.

In truth, there was no smell at all.

It was just a Ko Il-pae’s illusion. However, Ko Il-pae did not think that it was simply an illusion.

‘Did they do it?’

It wasn’t just a speculation.

Ko Il-pae has been working as a mercenary for a long time.

Because he lived in such a harsh world, his sixth sense was more developed than anyone else. There was no evidence, but his sixth sense was telling him that those two were the culprit.

‘What the hell happened?’

The fear deepened in Ko Il-pae’s eyes.

Pyo-wol glanced at them and then sat down in a chair without saying hello. Soma also quickly sat and ordered food.

It was so noisy earlier in the guest house, but now it was quiet.

This was all because of Pyo-wol.

The strange atmosphere emanating from Pyo-wol forced everyone in the guest house to be silent. Even the most free-spirited mercenaries were crushed by the atmosphere that Pyo-wol radiated.

Ding!

If the door of the guest house had not been opened at that time, the mercenaries might have died of suffocation.

Ko Il-pae and the mercenaries looked at the visitor who broke the suffocating silence with grateful eyes.

A beautiful young girl and her escort.

They were Mok Gahye and Shin Mugum.

“Sister!”

Soma was the first to respond.

He quickly ran to Mok Gahye.

“You’re here already?”

“Yes!”

“What about the beef jerky?”

“I, I have to make it from now on. Can I use the guest house’s kitchen?”

Mok Gahye held a large chunk of meat in her hand. She had stopped by a store and bought it a while ago.

Soma nodded vigorously.

“Of course. I’ll tell the owner.”

“Thank you!”

“Whoa! It’s beef jerky. Imma have another beef jerky again. Whoa!”

Soma ran around and shouted like a mad dog in the guest house. But no one in the guest house dared to stop Soma. 

Mok Gahye, who looked at Soma for a moment, shifted her gaze to Pyo-wol.

“I’m sorry. This is the only thing I can do for you. But I’ll make sure to make a lot.”

“Do what you want.”

Pyo-wol replied with an indifferent expression.

At that, Mok Gahye breathed a sigh of relief.

Before coming here, she thought about it countless times. She asked herself all night whether it was right for her to come here.

Her conclusion was,

‘I have to go to Enshi with them.’

She did not know what other threats were targeting them.

If she went together with Pyo-wol, she would be able to avoid all sorts of danger.

That was the reason she came to Pyo-wol in the morning.

And she happened to have a good excuse.

“Yahooo! It’s beef jerky. Beef jerky!”

A little demon was running around like crazy.

Soma. 

She was going to use him as her excuse.

SoundlessWind21’s Notes

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoy the chapter~

Even if a rich man perishes, he has food for three years. Raws: 부자는 망해도 삼 년을 간다고 했는데 Korean saying. This means that even if people who were originally wealthy suddenly collapse one day, they can survive for a while. Bamboo Sea Clan. Raws: Jukhaejang, 죽해장(竹海荘). 竹 zhú – bamboo; flute; 海 hǎi – sea, ocean; maritime 荘 zhuāng – village, hamlet; villa; surname Rain Mountain Manor. Raws: Woogeomsanjang, Ugeomsanjang, 우검산장(雨剣山荘). 雨 yǔ, yù – rain, rainy 剣 jiàn – sword, dagger, saber 山 shān – mountain, hill, peak 荘 zhuāng – village, hamlet, villa

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