Chapter 5

"Hehehe."

Between Yaxian's red lips, sharp fangs were revealed.

Clang!

While Yaxian was making a decision, Galguhyo leaped back, creating some distance, and drew the sword from his waist.

"Y-You, who are you?"

Galguhyo had already lost his fighting spirit. His voice, which should have been fierce, and the sword in his hand were trembling so pitifully.

Thud!

As Yaxian moved, Galguhyo swung his sword.

"Die!"

Yaxian was taken aback. Galguhyo only pretended to attack and then threw himself out the window. He thought he could escape from Yaxian. Now, Galguhyo seemed almost endearing.

Yaxian glanced at the window.

Bang!

The open window suddenly and firmly closed on its own.

"Ah!"

Galguhyo, terrified, had no choice but to turn around. Yaxian slowly took a step toward Galguhyo. The closer Yaxian got, the more Galguhyo's body trembled like a leaf.

Is this how a mouse feels in front of a cat, or rather, a tiger?

Galguhyo, who had fallen into despair, now revealed a fierce look.

"Ah!"

With a scream that was neither a cry nor a battle cry, Galguhyo lunged at Yaxian.

Yaxian simply placed his hand against the blade coming at him.

Clang, Clang, Clang, Clang!

As if hitting a solid rock, Galguhyo's sword broke into two pieces. Yaxian easily grabbed Galguhyo's neck again.

"Ugh!"

Galguhyo groaned.

"F-F**k... I won't... die!"

With his last ounce of strength, Galguhyo thrust the broken sword into Yaxian's neck.

'It's done!'

For a moment, a glimmer of hope appeared in Galguhyo's eyes, but it quickly vanished.

"So, where do you think you're going to die?"

With the sword still embedded in his neck, Yaxian smiled, revealing his white fangs.

"Ah!"

Galguhyo's face turned even paler than Yaxian's at the bizarre scene. Yaxian grabbed Galguhyo's right wrist, which was still holding the hilt.

Crack!

"Ah!"

Galguhyo screamed in pain as his wrist bones shattered.

"You're noisy."

Yaxian frowned and choked Galguhyo. Then he pulled Galguhyo's face close to his. Yaxian's red pupils spread, dyeing his entire eyes red. Galguhyo's trembling gaze, which had been suppressed by fear, suddenly stopped and became steady.

"What is the method of contact with Haomen?"

The most effective hypnosis often occurs in a state of fear and pain.

Galguhyo, staring blankly at Yaxian's red eyes, began to recount what he knew about Haomen in a flat, toneless voice.

He had no intention of letting him live. Therefore, Yaxian cast a strong hypnosis to erase his self, and as a result, blood flowed from Galguhyo's nose, ears, and mouth.

The sweet scent of blood.

Yaxian waited for Galguhyo to finish speaking.

Finally, when the explanation stopped, he unhesitatingly sank his fangs into Galguhyo's neck.

Crunch!

Galguhyo, whose self had been erased, stood motionless like a wooden puppet as his blood was drained.

Swoosh! Clang!

The sword embedded in Yaxian's neck pulled itself out and fell to the floor.

Thud, Thud, Thud!

As soon as the sword was pulled out, the wound on Yaxian's neck healed rapidly on its own.

Thud!

Galguhyo's body, drained of all blood, became as dry as a mummy. When Yaxian withdrew his fangs, the empty shell fell helplessly to the floor.

"Ha!"

A pleasant sound escaped Yaxian's lips. He expanded his red pupils and looked down at Galguhyo's corpse.

Flames rose. Galguhyo's dried shell was consumed by the flames, leaving no trace.

Yaxian took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The blood-stained handkerchief was thrown into the flames and burned along with it.

"Miss."

Having finished all his business, Yaxian called the girl who had been eating candy and waiting quietly.

"Yes?"

"Shouldn't we go home?"

"Can we go now?"

"Of course."

"But what if Galguhyo comes back..."

Thinking of Galguhyo, the girl's eyes welled up with tears in fear.

"He's dead. So don't worry."

"Really?"

"Yes. He won't come after you again."

Yaxian gently took the girl's hand and helped her stand up.

"Wow, thank you so much!"

"I'll take you home."

Yaxian bent down to meet the girl's eye level, who was overjoyed.

"And you must forget everything you saw today, understand?"

The girl blushed and nodded at Yaxian's wink.

* * *

After taking the girl back to her house in the slums, Yaxian headed to the bustling area of Nanzhou. Entering the bustling area, Yaxian walked into an alley behind the main street.

The buildings lining the narrow street, filled with drunkards, all had red lanterns hanging from them.

This was the Red Light District.

As soon as he entered the Red Light District, a pungent smell of mixed perfumes, alcohol, and filth filled the air.

A smell he once hated, a smell he desperately wanted to escape from.

But now, a familiar smell.

Yaxian paused, lost in a distant memory.

He couldn't remember exactly, but it must have been around the age of twelve or thirteen.

His parents died of a plague, and he lived by begging. Unable to starve to death, he joined a pickpocket gang. Yaxian, who had a knack for it, became quite skilled at pickpocketing.

And he handled a fair amount of money.

But he still couldn't escape hunger.

Most of what he earned was taken away by the gang leader's tyranny and the tribute he had to pay to the thugs in the back alleys. So, driven by hunger and the desire for a drink, he began to aim for larger sums.

With his keen eye, he was able to pick the pockets of wealthy individuals, and as his success continued, his boldness grew.

At the time, Yaxian didn't know much about the world.

The most dangerous time for a pickpocket is when they become too confident, and Yaxian's boldness had already reached its peak.

One day, while trying to pick the purse of a well-dressed man, he was caught and beaten nearly to death. It was a martial artist, someone he had only heard about in stories.

The martial artist looked at him as if he were a bug.

The martial artist didn't even think it was worth killing Yaxian, but his hands were merciless.

Yaxian lost consciousness and was on the brink of death from the beating.

A few days later, when he finally opened his eyes, he saw a girl.

'Somi.'

Her face was now so faint that he could barely remember it.

But she left a clear impression on him.

Affection, and love.

The one who smiled warmly in the cold, cruel back alleys, the one who made him feel warmth for the first time after becoming an orphan. She was his first love, the one who embraced him warmly in times of hardship and opened his eyes to feelings of the opposite sex.

A bitter smile appeared on Yaxian's lips.

The saying that one in five Red Light District courtesans hang themselves was not without reason; Somi, at the age of twenty-two, before her beauty could fully bloom, hanged herself.

Was it because of the distant old memories?

He finally felt like he had returned home.

The bitter smile lingered, but it soon faded. Yaxian shook off the old memories along with the smile.

Old memories were just that—memories.

And that person from the past no longer existed.

Yaxian stood in front of the largest and most central brothel in the street, as Galguhyo had instructed.

'Here it is.'

He noticed an X-shaped mark on the signboard, which looked like a natural scratch.

"Welcome!"

A middle-aged man, who seemed to be the manager, approached Yaxian in neat attire.

"Did you come alone?"

The middle-aged man glanced behind Yaxian and asked.

"I came to have a drink made from flowers that bloomed in the gutter."

Yaxian's low voice made the manager's eyes flash, and he looked down. In response, Yaxian formed an X with his right index and middle fingers.

"I'll show you in. Follow me."

The manager led Yaxian to a room in the corner of the third floor.

"How would you like your drink?"

Intelligence agencies sell alcohol.

Moreover, many men come to the brothel alone, making it easy to deceive others.

A drink didn't sound bad, so Yaxian nodded.

A moment later, a neatly arranged drink was served.

Clink!

While having a drink, Yaxian naturally recalled some of the information about Haomen he had obtained from Galguhyo.

Haomen (下午門).

As the name suggests, it was a group of the weakest and most despised people in society—thieves, pickpockets, con artists, prostitutes, and gamblers.

It wasn't formed for any specific purpose.

It was a group formed by the dirty and weak, who could not survive in the bright sunlight, out of the survival instinct of humans.

Weak, but by forming a group, they gained some strength.

But because of that strength, they had to hide even deeper in the darkness.

They handled information but were so weak that they seemed like delicious prey. Every powerful faction in the martial world, from the righteous sects, the demonic cults, and the evil sects, to the high officials of the imperial court, wanted Haomen.

They wanted to bring Haomen under their control, like a pet.

But Haomen belonged to no one.

Or rather, they couldn't belong to anyone.

They knew that the day they became someone's eyes and ears would be the day of their destruction.

According to the logic of the strong, what cannot be possessed must be destroyed, so Haomen had to go deeper into the shadows and become the darkness.

At first glance, it seemed so much like himself.

Someone who, by nature, could not stand in the sunlight...

But a mocking smile, not a bitter one, appeared on Yaxian's lips.

# 6