Chapter 93

Chapter 92: Trying Again (3)

That night, Seohwi tried to sleep in the third-floor bedroom.

And how much time had passed?

He was awakened by the rumbling sound and the murmurs of people.

"......"

When Seohwi opened his eyes, his vision was dark.

There were patches of light, but his eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness.

Moreover, he could smell a foul, damp, and stuffy odor.

For a moment, he couldn't gauge the current situation.

'Did the system intervene?'

He did suspect that, but no information appeared before his eyes, and he realized he wasn't lying down but tied to a chair.

Most importantly, the voice of someone reporting to someone else indicated that he was in an abnormal situation.

"Big brother, it seems he's awake."

Perhaps it was the familiar male voice that made Seohwi start to recall the few memories he had before falling asleep.

After resolving a simple snack, he got up from his seat.

Following the guidance of the shop assistant named Childeok, he entered the third-floor bedroom. After drinking water due to thirst, he lay down straight away.

After that, he found himself tied up and sitting in a chair.

Swish, swish!

Just then, someone slapped his cheek.

After that, a man shone a bright light in his face.

Seohwi's vision began to clearly see the man's face.

"Hey, are you conscious now?"

Seohwi finally understood the situation.

The person who hit him was the shop assistant, Childeok, who had shown him to the room.

"......I'm awake!"

With a coarse voice, the assistant reported to someone, and Seohwi felt a presence behind him.

When Seohwi's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw three men approaching.

Two large, sturdy men.

And a man with a moderate build and long hair, who was chewing on something, approached and placed a chair in front of him, then sat down.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Nameless Soldier. I'm Hyeong-a."

The man spoke kindly and patted Seohwi's cheek twice.

"I have a few questions, and I'd like you to answer them sincerely. Then I won't kill you."

"......"

"This sword. It looks quite good... Where did you get it?"

Seohwi's gaze shifted to where the man was showing him the sword.

The Yeohu Jian. The man was pointing to the sword with elaborate golden patterns on its scabbard.

Seohwi slowly lifted his head to look at the man's stats above his head.

Hyeong-a [Head of Mingbin Hall's Action Team_42]

Health 240/440

Internal Energy 80/80

Combat Power 980

'......'

Seohwi was momentarily confused by the numbers.

But he soon realized that there was no 'ten thousand' in the numbers and sighed briefly.

After dealing with strong enemies for so long, such low numbers were a rare sight.

"Hey, I'll let you live if you talk nicely, okay?"

Seohwi's tense expression gradually relaxed as the man continued to warn him.

At this point, it was time to have a conversation.

"So, Mingbin Hall... Is it the place that backs the shop I went to?"

"......What?"

"Just curious."

"Kya... This guy is really something."

He laughed, amused, and looked at his subordinates. Then he met Seohwi's eyes again and said,

"You don't know what situation you're in, do you?"

"......I'm tied up."

"Right. Do you know what that means?"

"Of course. I was very happy about it."

Seohwi smiled as he saw the man's face gradually harden.

"Things seem to be going better than expected. I was just thinking that it would be easy to disguise myself as you and enter Mingbin Hall."

"Ha... This brat...!"

Hyeong-a, who seemed to realize that communication was impossible, turned his head repeatedly.

He then stood up and looked at the two large men and Childeok standing behind him.

"Beat him half to death."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, the two muscular men immediately reacted.

One of them approached Seohwi and clenched his fist, looking down at him.

"......?"

He doubted his eyes.

Somehow, Seohwi, who was perfectly tied to the chair, was moving his hands and feet freely.

"Have you heard of the Body Concealment Technique?"

"......Eek!"

The man quickly threw a punch, but Seohwi's movements were several times faster.

No, dozens of times faster.

Thud!

With one punch, the man was knocked to the ground.

The other man, who was about to rush in from behind, was also knocked down.

Thud!

He fell to the ground with one punch.

And Childeok, who was staring in shock.

"Choke!"

He was immediately grabbed by the neck and trembled all over.

"......?"

At that moment, Hyeong-a, their leader, turned around, sensing something was wrong.

He then vomited.

All his subordinates were lying on the ground.

And Childeok, whose neck was grabbed, was looking at him pitifully.

"Shall we talk a bit?"

"......"

Hyeong-a instinctively felt that he was no match for this guy.

* * *

Seohwi was walking through the evening streets.

After interrogating the guy named Hyeong-a for a long time and having a simple snack, a whole day had passed.

He left the men tied up in the shop's basement.

Even if they were discovered later, it would be after a day, so it wouldn't affect the operation.

Seohwi was wearing Hyeong-a's clothes and had used the Disguise Technique to transform into his face.

On the way to Mingbin Hall, he was recalling everything the guy had told him.

"I patrol around the red-light district, causing trouble for noisy customers or those who come alone, and extort money from them."

"All the money is handed over to the boss of Mingbin Hall, and I receive a commission."

"The boss of Mingbin Hall is a man named Changshik, who controls the red-light district in this area. He has about two hundred subordinates... "

"Here is Mingbin Hall."

Seohwi stopped in front of a three-story building.

The bright lights visible throughout the building suggested that business was quite good.

"Huh?"

A man with a sturdy build, guarding the door, smiled at Seohwi.

"Hyeong-a, you're already here. Did business go well today?"

"Sort of."

"Good. The boss is here, so go up."

"Alright."

Seohwi briefly greeted him and entered the entrance.

"......"

The first floor was filled with various tobacco smells.

Men were smoking and puffing on pipes, and on the other side, women were applying makeup.

In that decadent atmosphere, Seohwi stood still for a moment.

"Hey, you're here?"

At that moment, a man was smiling at him.

He was a thin guy with a dark complexion, looking like someone who was addicted to alcohol.

Looking above his head, the name Gongya was written.

"Did you get a good deal?"

"Sort of..."

"Indeed. All the shops you manage are gold mines. When outsiders come, they usually stay there."

He smiled and then, after carefully looking around, whispered in his ear.

"The boss is here, but... the mood doesn't seem good today."

"Why?"

"What else? It's because of Changlong Gate. It seems that Elder Jinmanzhong is trying to compromise, but it's not going well. And yet, they can't openly fight either."

At the mention of Changlong Gate and Jinmanzhong, Seohwi's eyes lit up.

Thinking about it, the red-light district near the city.

It was managed by Jinmanzhong, and ultimately, they were the ones backing it up.

"Anyway, why?"

Gongya asked, but Seohwi didn't give a specific answer.

He shook his head at Seohwi's reaction.

"Hurry up. Those kinds of women are not something we young guys can desire. If you want to live long."

Despite his warning, Seohwi paid no attention.

He briefly looked around and then asked again.

"Gongya."

"Hmm?"

"Is the boss on the third floor?"

"Yes."

"Are there no other customers?"

"......Why do you ask?"

Seohwi finally smiled at his question.

"I just thought it would be good to know."

Then he slowly started walking towards the third floor.

* * *

When he reached the third floor, a door blocked the entrance.

It didn't look like an open corridor but a completely sealed space.

A man standing at the door recognized Seohwi and opened it for him.

Creak.

As he entered, a strong tobacco smell hit him.

In one corner, a woman was singing.

A woman with gold on her body was visible, and in another corner, people were gambling at a table.

The gangsters had their weapons on their shoulders, waists, or on the floor, focused on their games.

And in the middle.

"......!"

Seohwi's expression hardened.

It was her.

The woman who had just gone upstairs, now had blood all over her face.

Moreover, a middle-aged man with a long sword was standing next to her, ready to kill her.

"Huh?"

The middle-aged man with the sword flinched when he saw Seohwi.

Then he quickly sheathed his sword and approached with a bright face.

"Hyeong-a! You're here!"

Seohwi easily recognized that he was the boss of this place.

The information he had also confirmed this.

Changshik [Boss of the Red-Light District in the Third Area of the City]

Health 10,000/10,000

Internal Energy 10,000/10,000

Combat Power 110,000

Perhaps it was a generational gap.

Even as the boss of the red-light district, his combat power was only 110,000.

On the other hand, it made sense.

Hadn't the spy Geun, who fought for his life at the time, also had a combat power of around 110,000?

"Yes."

Seohwi gave a simple greeting.

"Good. What did you bring this time?"

"I found a decent guy."

Seohwi, as if waiting for this moment, extended his sword, the Yeohu Jian.

"Wow!"

The man's face lit up with delight as he took the sword.

After all, it was the sword that the fourth disciple, Gonma, possessed at the main school.

It was likely one of the best swords in the Central Plains, so his reaction was natural.

"Hmm."

Changshik's smile turned slightly strange.

He had noticed that Seohwi was looking at a woman.

"Oh. I'm about to kill her."

He continued, his eyes still on the Yeohu Jian, with a tone of amusement.

"I spent a lot of money to buy her. But it turned out she was embezzling money. Even if I could overlook that... "

He drew the Yeohu Jian and continued.

"I also saw evidence that she was trying to hire assassins with the money she embezzled. Do you know why? I killed her father. That cunning woman approached me knowing that."

"......"

Seohwi nodded but felt no particular emotion.

It seemed that was how things had turned out.

"Right."

Changshik turned his gaze and handed the Yeohu Jian to Seohwi.

When Seohwi looked puzzled,

"You kill her."

He then showed a grin with a murderous glint in his eyes.

"Try this sword out well."