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Chapter 111: You Can’t Live with That Dirty Feeling
Yeon Jeokha is fundamentally a good person. He doesn't usually get angry over just anything. It's unclear if it's because he's lazy or because he has a big heart, but that's generally how he is.
However, like soft tofu, he immediately reacts when he feels someone is looking down on him. At such times, he always uses all his strength to defeat his opponent.
The struggles for hierarchy on the mountain, the fights with the warriors of the Chamber of Commerce, and the confrontations with the Wanderers were all like that. Those who looked down on him or mocked him mostly ended up with their bodies and spirits shattered.
His mood was already in shambles after seeing Baek Miju.
To top it off, being disdained by a woman of his age was enough to make him furious.
“Hehehe.”
Looking at the woman made something solid continuously rise from his lower abdomen.
Every time that sensation passed through his throat, he let out a laugh that sounded like a cough. No matter how much he tried to contain it, he couldn’t stop laughing.
The whole situation just seemed funny to him.
As Jang Bo-ok and Yang Jin-saeng looked at Yeon Jeokha in astonishment, he abruptly stopped laughing.
Then, he raised his head and muttered while looking at Jang Bo-ok.
“Why do I feel such a strong urge to rebel?”
“What are you saying?”
Furious, Jang Bo-ok pushed Yang Jin-saeng forward, urging him to resolve the matter quickly.
Just as Yang Jin-saeng was about to speak reluctantly, Yeon Jeokha intervened.
“Old Shim.”
“Yes, young master.”
“We don’t need to look for an inn. I like this place. We’ll stay here.”
“Hahaha. Thank you.”
Shim Tong, whose kindness was far from being his virtue, couldn’t help but express his gratitude. Of course, he was grateful for the opportunity to cause trouble.
Old habits don't die overnight.
Even though Shim Tong had changed his name, he often found it hard to control his anger.
Yeon Jeokha's order was a relief like rain after a drought.
In the past, he would have already bathed the seventh floor in blood.
However, he couldn’t allow the place where his true master, Yeon Jeokha, was going to rest to be stained with blood.
Shim Tong walked over to the window and pulled two tables together. Then, he took a cloth from his luggage and spread it over the tables, turning them into a sort of bed.
With his goatee and absurd demeanor, Shim Tong looked like an improvised innkeeper.
Yang Jin-saeng, with an incredulous expression, signaled two of his subordinates.
Two of the guards approached Shim Tong.
One of them, Yoon Ji-pyeong, reached out to grab the old man’s shoulder.
“Old man! This is a brothel, not an inn!”
Suddenly, Shim Tong slightly deflected the guard’s hand with a soft strike.
With that simple movement, Shim Tong’s internal force caused Yoon Ji-pyeong’s arm and body to twist backward.
“Aaaah!”
Yoon Ji-pyeong, clutching his shoulder with his other hand as if it had been dislocated, began to stomp the ground in pain.
Ching.
Surprised, the other guard, Yang Il, quickly drew his saber.
But he had no chance to use it.
Shim Tong approached like a ghost and slapped him across the face with his palm.
Slap.
Crash.
Yang Il crashed onto a nearby table with a thud.
With the brothel suddenly turned into a battlefield, the customers and girls ran to take cover in a corner.
“Hahaha.”
The seventh floor filled with Shim Tong’s chilling laughter.
It was almost like a sound attack.
The terrifying sensation, as if something was scratching inside their heads, caused some of the weaker customers to drop to their knees.
Yang Jin-saeng, realizing that the old man was a master, quickly turned his attention to the young man. In his desperation, he decided to use him as a hostage.
Seizing the opportunity, Yang Jin-saeng lunged at the young man.
Thud.
Yeon Jeokha’s palm strike to Yang Jin-saeng’s face sent him flying backward.
With the guards from Tongcheonbang defeated, Jang Bo-ok tried to hide among the girls.
But Yeon Jeokha wasn’t going to let her go.
“Madam, have you ever been to an inn?”
When the young man stared at her, Jang Bo-ok slowly stepped forward. Although the word ‘madam’ made her blood boil for a moment, she held back.
“Eh, no, never.”
“At inns, they bring you a bucket of hot water to wash your hands and feet. And the owner does it personally. I was touched. Why don’t you try doing it? If you don’t move me, I won’t leave. I really like the view from here. In fact, I think turning this place into an inn would be good business. Trust me.”
“A-a bucket of hot water?”
“Yes, hot.”
“Sir, this is the seventh floor.”
“I know. The view is great. Ah, and I don’t intend to use it only as an inn. Sometimes I’ll drink too, so make sure to bring wine and food. I’ll pay full price, you won’t lose anything.”
‘Damn crazy guy. Turning this place into an inn is already a loss.’
Jang Bo-ok trembled with indignation.
Yeon Jeokha, noticing her discomfort, continued.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll only use the space next to the window as my room. You can serve other customers in the other spaces. I don’t intend to use the entire seventh floor.”
“Sir, I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once. Who would want to drink with girls next to their bed?”
“Madam.”
“Yes?”
“You said the calculation had to be exact, right? You hurt me with your words. Wounds of the heart cannot be healed even by doctors. You hurt me, so you have to heal me.”
“…….”
Jang Bo-ok looked at the young man, astonished.
Was he doing this to annoy her, or was he really hurt?
From the look on his face, he didn’t seem to be simply teasing.
“I felt so good when I came up here. But your words ruined that feeling. I’m a sensitive man. Please, I beg you. I can’t live with that dirty feeling every time I see a tall tower.”
‘And this brat keeps calling me madam.’
Hearing something annoying once or twice is bearable, but this was too much.
Biting her lip, Jang Bo-ok turned around.
She would go down to the first floor and send a message to Tongcheonbang to send reinforcements. With these troublemakers, she couldn’t do her business properly.
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Zhengzhou.
Tongcheonbang.
At dusk.
Geum Won-seong, the sub-leader of Tongcheonbang, was having a light meal with some subordinates at the Tongcheon Pavilion.
In the midst of the festive atmosphere, someone ran across the garden.
It was a man belonging to the less-skilled category known as japdan.
The warriors of Tongcheonbang were divided into levels: il-dan, yi-dan, sam-dan, and japdan, with japdan being the least skilled, used for errands and collections.
Geum Won-seong met the man’s gaze.
“What’s the matter?”
“Huff! Huff! There are two men causing trouble at the First Building in Zhengzhou. The owner is desperate to have it resolved.”
“Aren’t there third-level warriors there?”
“All three have been subdued.”
“What? Subdued?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it! What kind of men are they?”
“I don’t know. No one recognizes them; they seem to be outsiders.”
“Damn it! Outsiders causing trouble in Zhengzhou?”
Zhengzhou is a city of warriors.
There are over a hundred sects and martial arts schools. There’s even a saying, ‘Don’t boast of your martial skills in Zhengzhou!’
Won Ju-shin, a third-level leader who was present, jumped up.
“Sub-leader, I’ll take the remaining five men and settle this.”
“Do it before other sects find out! What a disgrace!”
“Yes, I’ll be back before the liquor gets cold.”
Won Ju-shin dashed out.
Half an hour later.
The same japdan man, Ma Sam, ran back, sweating.
Geum Won-seong’s heart sank.
The man had an expression that was almost in tears. He knew without asking that Won Ju-shin and his team had also been defeated. The elite third-level team, no less.
Geum Won-seong stood up, adjusting his sword.
It seemed he would have to seek out the leader, who was meeting with an elder from the Cold Wind Alliance (Sakpung).
The night in Zhengzhou is under the watch of the Cold Wind Alliance (Sakpung).
For that reason, sect masters often socialize with the elders of Sakpung.
The leader of Tongcheonbang, Cheon Mun-gwang, had been at a brothel since early evening, precisely for this reason.
But his time of relaxation was interrupted.
Sub-leader Geum Won-seong appeared with shocking news.
“Two unknown men are causing trouble at the First Building in Zhengzhou. Won Ju-shin and his team, and even Dan Seok-cheon, have been defeated.”
“How many have fallen in total?”
“... Twenty-five.”
“What? Twenty-five men defeated by just two?”
“I’m sorry.”
Geum Won-seong bowed his head.
The elder of Sakpung, Im Tae-geun, intervened.
“Cheon Bangju, if they’ve defeated your men, these guys aren’t ordinary warriors. They might be…”
Im Tae-geun left the sentence unfinished.
He suspected they might be related to the Chilpai Sect or the Yoomyung Cult.
Although Tongcheonbang was a respected sect, that only applied in Zhengzhou. Compared to the Chilpai Sect or the Yoomyung Cult, they were like a firefly in front of a flame.
“Righteous warriors wouldn’t cause trouble in a brothel, so maybe they’re from the Yoomyung Cult…”
Im Tae-geun wasn’t the only one thinking this.
Cheon Mun-gwang looked at Im Tae-geun.
“Elder Im, this might not just be a problem for Tongcheonbang. Will you accompany me?”
“Let’s do it. We’ll see if we make friends or cut their throats when we find them.”
“Thank you.”
Cheon Mun-gwang felt grateful for having maintained a good relationship with Im Tae-geun. With him by his side, he could face even masters from the Yoomyung Cult.
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