Chapter 103 : Yewol (2)
"Mmph!"
Although Yewol resisted more roughly than expected, as soon as her acupuncture points were pressed, she collapsed powerlessly like a water plant.
Namgung Hui gently caught Yewol's collapsing body, laid her on the bed, and said.
"If you just answer what I ask, there will be no pain. Well, if you don't answer, it will be a little... no, a lot painful. I can really guarantee that."
Considering the time it would take for the escorts to rush in, Namgung Hui didn't have much time.
Since the General had just left, the escorts would rush in in less than half a moment.
Yewol would probably try not to answer, aiming for that.
Yewol squeezed her eyes shut as if to say, 'go ahead and try'.
Namgung Hui didn't want to use the Root and Bone Separation technique if possible, but he had no choice.
He sent the Purple Thunder Ki into her acupuncture points, to be precise, into the pain points between her joints.
Twitch, twitch! Flap, flap!
As the Purple Thunder Ki stirred her joints, a reaction immediately came out.
In the blink of an eye, her body bent like a bow, and cold sweat poured out.
It was an event that happened in a moment of farce.
"How is it? Do you feel like talking now? Ah ah. If you're waiting for the escorts, you don't have to worry. I've already put them to sleep."
It was a lie.
But Yewol didn't have the luxury to calculate all this.
Since she was feeling the pain of her bones breaking all over her body, there was no way she would have the time.
Namgung Hui, having no time, immediately released Yewol's acupuncture points and asked.
"You know it won't be good if you scream, right? Then answer my questions well."
"A-alright. Please...! Don't use that again."
"We'll see how you answer. Then I'll ask. Was the person you met just now the one called the General?"
"..."
"Oh. Look at this. You're avoiding the answer from the beginning. Alright. Then tonight, let's dance excitedly..."
"I'll talk! I'll talk. His identity is, as you said, the General."
"Yes. Since you said it with your own mouth, it can't be otherwise. But do you know which organization the General belongs to?"
This time too, Yewol's eyes were full of hesitation.
And she also looked somewhat scared.
A fear that was rooted in the abyss, greater than the pain in front of her.
It was the same as the people of the Hoicheon Association he had seen before.
"...It will be a long story if I tell you in detail. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"You know that, so why are you asking? Are you trying to buy time?"
"No. You brat. In fact, the General is a person of the imperial palace. To be precise, he belongs to the Eastern Depot."
"The Eastern Depot... A eunuch? Ah. So that's why I felt a strange feeling."
If it was the Eastern Depot, it wouldn't be impossible to secretly raise a super-peak master.
Since the imperial palace's treasury was full of top-grade elixirs.
And since the ultimate divine arts that had been offered by the martial arts sects over the years would have been accumulated.
"And that imperial palace is also related to the Hoicheon Association?"
"?! No, how did you...?"
"Are you surprised that I know the name of the Hoicheon Association? Well, it's about time it became known, isn't it? Then you must also be a person of the Hoicheon Association?"
"No! I'm not affiliated with a dirty place like that. I didn't say it because the story would get long, but I'm just cooperating because they have a weakness of mine."
"What weakness?"
"Lower my collar."
Namgung Hui wondered if Yewol was trying to seduce him and stared at her, but her eyes did not waver at all.
She even looked somewhat determined.
Namgung Hui nodded as if he understood and gently lowered her collar.
Yewol looked at her slowly lowering collar, let out a deep sigh, and said to Namgung Hui.
"Ha! A man with no experience with women. To think I was defeated by such a novice. Lower it more. Then you'll see."
"Really. You asked for it, so don't blame me."
As Namgung Hui lowered her collar a little more, he could immediately recognize what she was talking about.
Because her upper body was full of spots.
"Poisoned...? Don't tell me you were poisoned?"
"You could see it as poison, but it's actually a type of drug. I don't know for sure either, but if I don't take the drug at regular intervals, a pain comparable to the torture you gave me follows. It's a pain where your intestines are cut and you can't breathe."
On the one hand, hearing her words, he felt sorry for her.
To think she had suffered the Root and Bone Separation from him.
And was suffering from drug addiction from the Hoicheon Association.
"I'm sorry, but I was also in a hurry, so I couldn't help it. Anyway. Then let's move on to the next question. Is the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader a person of the Hoicheon Association? And the letter you gave him, what was written there?"
Just as she was about to answer.
"Ah! The warriors have come?"
Heavy footsteps were heard from the end of the corridor, as if the escorts had come up.
The cultivation level that was read was also all above the first-rate.
It wouldn't be impossible to subdue them, but then a disturbance would surely occur.
"Hey, young hero. Since it has come to this, I'll cooperate with you, so tell me a way to contact you."
Namgung Hui, realizing that he had no time to hesitate, immediately told her his name.
"Namgung Hui. If you want to contact me, you can send a message to the Vermilion Bird Squad."
Her eyes widened slightly upon hearing Namgung Hui's name, and her head slowly nodded.
"Ah ah. So the person they were watching was you. You approached much faster than expected. The General probably didn't expect this."
"Then I'll be on my way. I'm sorry for the unintentional torture earlier."
"Hmph! This appearance is just like a novice. I'll give you a piece of advice. Even though I'm a woman. Since I've already set foot in the martial world, don't pity me. That pity will one day tighten the noose around your neck."
Namgung Hui felt strange receiving advice from a person he had met as an enemy.
And for good reason, Namgung Hui's seniority was so high that she couldn't even dare to guess.
It also meant that Namgung Hui was not used to such intrigues compared to his mental age.
'I need to be more ruthless. The guys belonging to the Hoicheon Association won't be as innocent as the Heavenly Demonic Cult of my past life.'
"I'll keep that in mind. Then, excuse me."
Namgung Hui opened the window and jumped out.
Even though it was the height of the 5th floor of the pavilion.
An ordinary person would have broken a bone somewhere, no matter how much they reduced the impact.
But would Namgung Hui, who had learned the Wind God Step, be an ordinary person?
Although he couldn't unfold the legendary Heavenly Ascent, he unfolded the second stage of the Wind God Step, the Super Wind, and made his body light.
-Rustle. Slap.
As he landed lightly on the floor like a fallen leaf, Chichi, as if he had been waiting for Namgung Hui, ran up to him.
"Kkik. Kkik! (I thought I was going to die of exhaustion.)"
"Good work. Chichi. I'll really buy you liquor until your nose is crooked later."
After speaking, Namgung Hui undid his disguise and returned to the 4th-floor Hyeonmyo room as if he had just come from the restroom.
"Brother. Are you constipated? You're much later than I thought."
"Constipated? No. I just met someone I knew on the way and was talking for a while. Yes, everyone seems to be quite drunk, so let's go out."
"Oh my! Young masters. What a disappointing thing to say. You have to spend the night with me. I'll serve you at a cheap price. Hohoho!"
Now that Yelu Guang was also used to such tempting laughter, he shook off the courtesan's arm and stood up from his seat.
"I'm sorry, but my brother's words come first. It's a shame, but I'll only drink this much today."
"Since our heavy-drinking brother says so, this girl has no choice but to follow. Then you must come and find me next time. Alright?"
Yelu Guang awkwardly nodded and followed Namgung Hui out.
And so, Namgung Hui, who had left the room, was quite surprised at the unexpected liquor price when he was about to pay the remaining balance to the employee.
"What?! The liquor price is 300 silver coins?"
"Yes. In fact, that's because our Yexiang gave you a special discount. Normally, it would have been over 500 silver coins. Ahem!"
Since he had successfully met with Yewol, he couldn't ruin the whole thing now, so he readily paid the liquor price.
Although his insides were really burning, he decided to be satisfied with the better-than-expected results.
"Yes. 300 silver coins. Confirmed. Then, young masters, please take care."
Namgung Hui put his now-empty purse in his bosom and trudged out of the Full Moon Pavilion.
Now that it was late at night and dawn had come, the marketplace was filled with the shouts of drunkards and overflowing with vomit.
At the sight of the street, Heon Wonsu frowned and opened his mouth.
"Brother. Did the business you went for go well?"
"Yes. It went too well. Anyway, it's late, so let's get a room too. I'll tell you the rest there. Do you happen to know which inn they went to?"
"Yes. During the Martial Alliance tournament, the inn run by the Jegal family is completely empty, so they're probably there."
"That's great. Let's go there."
Namgung Hui had thought that things had gone well until now.
* * *
[Cheongi Inn]
Should say it's a fitting name for an inn run by the Jegal family?
Even the signboard was written in elegant handwriting, so it looked extraordinary just by looking at it.
But since it wasn't luxuriously decorated, it didn't look expensive.
On the contrary, a simple feeling was exuded because it wasn't decorated.
As Namgung Hui's group entered the Cheongi Inn, the waiter was also asleep, so no one was at their seat.
But since Heon Wonsu had been here before, he skillfully guided the group.
"Everyone is probably asleep, so let's go in quietly. The men's rooms are usually assigned to the 1st floor, so we can just go into the room with the open door."
"Really? Then we can just pick any room and go in?"
"Yes. There are plenty of rooms, so I think we can each use a room."
"Then I'll use the room in the corner. See you later."
"No. Brother. Didn't you say you'd tell me what happened?"
"I think it's better for the kids to hear it all together during the day. It's better to say it once than twice. Yawn~ Then see you later."
As Namgung Hui yawned and went into the room in the corner, Yelu Guang and Heon Wonsu also had no choice but to go into their rooms.
But Namgung Hui, who had entered his room, did not fall asleep right away.
On the contrary, his eyes were wide open, and he couldn't sleep.
'How can I sleep when so many things have happened? First, I have to sort out what happened today.'
There were as many as four unexpected people he had met today.
The Penguin brothers, the General, and Yewol.
Although Yewol was not directly related to him, she was the one who built a bridge with the Black Tortoise Troupe Leader.
And the Penguin brothers were the ones behind the Lake Chao Sect and were no different from his enemies.
And what bothered him more than anything was the man called the General.
He was very curious about how he knew about the Thunder Sect.
He had clearly blocked the Thunder Ki by making armor out of a soft and plump material.
Besides that, he had been blabbering here and there as if he knew Namgung Hui's identity.
'The guy who died at the black market used the word 'three eyes'. I have to find out what this is first. If it's an information organization, I'll have to deal with that first.'
Namgung Hui, before the General's face disappeared from his memory, quickly began to draw a portrait.
A middle-aged man with a hero's headband on his forehead.
As befitting a person who had reached the super-peak master level, his skin was white and clean.
Although a slightly androgynous beauty was exuded, since he was a middle-aged man, even that was natural.
His voice was also close to a man's, to the point where he couldn't be thought of as a eunuch.
And most of all, because of the momentum that flowed out, it was difficult to remember that he was a eunuch.
Namgung Hui, who had completely drawn the portrait, smiled with satisfaction at the result.
'At this rate, anyone can recognize him. I'll have to hand it over to the Hao Faction and the Vermilion Bird Squad.'
Although he knew that the man belonged to the Eastern Depot, he also had to find out what role he played there separately.
What if he was a low-ranking soldier of the Eastern Depot?
It meant that the power of the Hoicheon Association was truly terrifying.
But it would be impossible to easily create a super-peak master to that extent.
'Then, since I've roughly finished what I had to do. Shall I read the romance encyclopedia? Since I also have to get married, I need to know a little about dating.'
Rustle. Rustle.
Namgung Hui flipped through the romance encyclopedia that Jegal Geon had written without a break.
At first, there were many things he didn't understand, but as he read it, he gradually began to understand.
From what Namgung Hui felt, dating didn't seem that difficult.
'So when a woman is crying, you hug her. When you're conveying your true feelings, you hold her hand and talk. And most of all, you have to show your feelings every time. It's not as difficult as I thought, is it?'
Of course, there had to be a partner to do this with, but that would naturally come after the tournament was over.
Namgung Hui, who had finished reading, closed the romance encyclopedia.
And just as he was about to put it carefully in his bosom.
He almost had a heart attack because of the person who suddenly appeared in front of him.
(End of Chapter)