Chapter 22

22. Raise the red lanterns.

Chaseong-tae suddenly looked down at the knife that had come up to his chin and replied.

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden? These guys were originally not related to me. They were always hanging out with Ugeum and Joon-gu. You saw me kill them with my own hands. I didn't expect this to happen all of a sudden."

I answered.

"Think carefully. Is there anything you're to blame for...?"

Chaseong-tae, who had been lost in thought with a serious expression, replied in a low tone.

"There wasn't, but... there is."

"What is it?"

Chaseong-tae spoke honestly.

"...I told the two of them a few times, 'The waiter kid suddenly got strong. Everyone, be careful.' I was really being careful, but they didn't seem to take it seriously. Now that I think about it, it was my fault."

Chaseong-tae knew exactly.

I asked.

"What are you going to do from now on? It seems I'll have to kill half of the guys in Ilyanghyeon to prevent this from happening. Do you want me to do that?"

"There's no need for that. What should I do? Please tell me."

I replied.

"I already told you before. Don't speak informally to me. Not just in front of me, but in front of others as well. Everyone in Ilyanghyeon knows that I was a waiter at Jaha Guesthouse. I'm going to start Haowumen soon. If you act like this, I might have to keep cutting people down. It doesn't matter to me. I won't die from these guys. But it seems that you, who first took me lightly, are making people who don't need to die into corpses."

"That's true. I admit it."

"From now on, make me look good. Really scary... After all, all the guys who crossed me are dead."

"That's the truth."

"Exaggerate it. Make it more exaggerated, more evil, more merciless, and more insane than what people know. Make me stronger than what you know. And that's the truth."

"Yes."

"You need to be afraid of me first so that the lower guys won't be afraid. It's the same now and in the future."

"I understand perfectly now."

"My real skills are good enough that I don't need to show them all in this kind of place. If you don't want to spend your life cleaning up corpses, do well."

"Yes."

"Do well."

"I will."

Only then did I put away the knife and said to Chaseong-tae.

"Give me an outer robe."

The veins on Chaseong-tae's forehead bulged.

"Excuse me?"

Suddenly, Chaseong-tae, who thought this mistake had caused this situation, quickly continued.

"Ah, I understand. I should take it off. I keep saying the wrong things."

Chaseong-tae slapped his own cheek and handed me the robe. As I put on Chaseong-tae's robe, I said to the corpses.

"...These guys are so low-level that they don't even know what will happen when they fight."

Chaseong-tae asked.

"What happened to Ugeum and Joon-gu?"

"They seem to have some business in the other world. They left in a hurry."

"Oh, I see. They were busy guys."

Chaseong-tae was mourning the death of his acquaintances.

"Ugeum and Joon-gu once suggested to me that we gather some people and kill the Cho brothers. If I hadn't talked them out of it, they would have died then."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, this time they did this without even consulting me. This is proof that I wasn't close to them."

"Excellent."

A little later, when we arrived at Mae-hwaru together, Chaseong-tae said.

"Go in and rest. I'll gather the guys and take care of the bodies. If we don't, a plague might spread. There are too many bodies."

"It won't spread with just this many."

I looked around the chaotic Mae-hwaru and went up the stairs. The place had been empty of customers due to the constant fighting.

Maybe it was partly my fault.

But it was also a necessary pain.

As I climbed the stairs, everyone who was cleaning or removing bodies stopped and looked at me.

"Why?"

"It's nothing."

"Tell everyone to spread the word. If they try to fight me again, they'll end up like this. Don't even think about what to do with me in Ilyanghyeon. The result is as you see. Close the shop today. Don't sell alcohol. If you want to mourn the dead, you need to be quiet."

"Understood."

Mae-hwaru became quiet.

Before going to Jo Yigeol's room, I washed my body again. I still thought of this place as Jo Yigeol's room because I planned to return to the rebuilt Jaha Guesthouse.

* * *

Sitting cross-legged with my eyes closed, I heard a song start from somewhere in Mae-hwaru.

The voice was beautiful.

It was a song I had heard before, and the singer was Chae-hyang.

The song's title is "Qing Qing He Pan Cao" (清清河畔草).

It tells of a beautiful woman at a pavilion, applying red powder and extending her white hands by the window where the moonlight shines. She was a courtesan in the past and is now the wife of a wanderer... Now, even the wanderer doesn't return, making it hard for her to guard the empty bed alone.

The lyrics include expressions like Qing Qing (清清), Wu Wu (鬱鬱), Ying Ying (盈盈), Jiao Jiao (皎皎), E E (娥娥), and Xian Xian (纖纖).

These are not peaceful words.

When combined with the voice, they evoke the woman's skin, the curves of her body, the characteristics of her private parts, the atmosphere of the night, the subtleties of intimacy, and the woman's subtle seduction.

Of course, it can be interpreted differently.

However, the decisive line is "Kong Chu Nan Du Shou" (空床難獨守).

After singing Qing Qing, Wu Wu, Ying Ying, Jiao Jiao, E E, and Xian Xian with a beautiful voice, and then saying it's hard to guard the empty bed alone, what could it mean?

This is a song of seduction, and in the martial world, it's a form of "Mihunshu" (迷魂術). In reality, pretty female monkeys from the evil sects, with their faces painted, often sang "Qing Qing He Pan Cao" to seduce and take advantage of innocent men from the righteous sects. They were lucky if they only took advantage; naturally, they were killed.

Regardless, since I am immune to such seduction, I focused back on my meditation.

And, by my standards, Chae-hyang was not a beauty.

Beauty is not just about appearance; it's about a noble heart.

Just as I thought the song "Qing Qing He Pan Cao" was ending, another song started.

My mind was momentarily distracted, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I shouted.

"Shut up!"

My shout, infused with inner strength, echoed throughout Mae-hwaru, and the singing stopped abruptly. I repeated my order in the same tone, making sure everyone in the building could hear.

"Lower the green lanterns and raise the red lanterns."

Chaseong-tae, who had just returned from giving orders to his subordinates, repeated the command from the first floor.

"Lower the green lanterns and raise the red lanterns."

I gave another order.

"The courtesans can stay, but the women who worked as prostitutes should find other jobs. Mae-hwaru, I-hwaru, and Shi-hwaru will operate as Honglou (紅樓) from now on. If any customer tries to act like they're in a Qinglou, report them to me."

Chaseong-tae repeated the last part.

"From now on, they will operate as Honglou."

While the meaning of Honglou varied by region, generally, it was a place where "selling art, not the body" (賣藝不賣身) was more strictly enforced.

I was crazy, but not for money. There was no need for the women to work as prostitutes where I stayed.

"Chaseong-tae..."

Chaseong-tae, who had been downstairs, quickly answered and ran up the stairs. After quickly climbing the high stairs four times, he said at the door.

"Did you call me?"

"What about the bodies?"

"I told them to take care of them and came back."

"Make I-hwaru and Shi-hwaru operate as Honglou as well."

"Yes."

"Give a generous severance pay to those who have a place to go, especially the women who worked as prostitutes. Only the women who want to learn arts or do odd jobs should stay. I don't want to see them."

"Understood."

"Warn the male workers especially. If they cause trouble, I'll kill them. And repeat, get Jaha Guesthouse rebuilt quickly. The room smells strange and the bedding is too expensive, making it uncomfortable to sleep."

"I will."

"Go."

"Yes, I'll leave."

As soon as I sent Chaseong-tae away, I entered a state of meditation.

I instantly forgot everything.

The Black Cat Sect, the Black Line Treasure, the Twelve Meridians, the master of the Twelve Meridians, the dead brothers, and the twin demons of the returning saber came to mind, but I quickly erased their presence with the sword of my mind.

I repeated the circulation of energy until dawn and then lay down on the bedding to sleep.

I thought I could sleep soundly today.

"Kong Chu Nan Du Shou" (空床難獨守) is useless in the face of fatigue, so I slept until noon.

In my dream, I briefly met an unknown man who was imprisoned.

I don't remember the conversation, but I knew one thing.

The man said he would be imprisoned for a very long time because of me.

Regardless, I woke up feeling guilty about the man.

* * *

After about thirty days, the foundation of Jaha Guesthouse finally showed progress. The site was large, so the guesthouse was quite big.

During this time, the construction manager was replaced, but I didn't bother to meet him.

However, just by looking at the well-organized foundation, I could imagine the building that would stand on it.

It felt like a skilled person had finally taken charge.

The moldy Jaha Guesthouse was gone, and now the largest guesthouse in Ilyanghyeon was being built.

A guesthouse is originally a place for lodging.

The old Jaha Guesthouse had some cheap rooms for porters, but the new one was large enough to accommodate a large caravan.

Moreover, it would serve as the temporary headquarters of Haowumen.

I stood in the empty lot, imagining this. I imagined Haowumen members gathering to share food and drinks. Among them would be my former rivals and enemies from my past life.

I planned to bring all these crazy monkeys to Haowumen and make them stay.

I intended to change their fates and, in doing so, change the landscape of the martial world.

"What are you thinking so deeply about?"

Chaseong-tae approached from behind, looking at the empty lot.

I asked.

"When will it be completed?"

"Given the scale of the project, it will take at least a year, no matter how fast we go. Is it too slow?"

"What if we use more people?"

"Just throwing more people at it won't necessarily speed it up. It depends on who the construction manager is. You should meet the new manager."

Chaseong-tae called out to a man mingling with the construction workers.

"The master has arrived. Come and greet him."

As soon as I saw the man's face, I smiled.

'Yan Zixing (延孜星), it's been a long time.'

The famous architect from the time when I was the leader of Haowumen was approaching with a much younger face.