Volume 1, Chapter 18
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In truth, Ihoe was oblivious to Wolhyang's gaze fixed upon him.
His mind was in turmoil.
‘So it was an intelligence organization. Songru…!’
He could surmise as much from the conversation between his Master and the Proprietor.
An intelligence organization.
That was Songru's other identity.
‘How could I…!’
He had no idea.
No matter how disconnected he had become from Songru after his Master's passing, this level of ignorance was inexcusable.
How could he have lived his entire life in Ansang Prefecture, and even died there, without knowing?
Moreover, while his Master, Yu Hyeonjun, was alive, Songru had been under the Sincerity Gate's protection.
He was the very definition of a frog in a well.
Only now did the pieces begin to come into view.
And he could gather the scattered, jumbled fragments to form a single picture.
It all made sense.
His Master, who often traveled, didn't spend many days at the Sincerity Gate. Yet, on the few days he was there, he would frequently visit Songru.
It wasn't simply to drink and see the courtesans.
It was because Songru was a place that dealt in information.
He was only realizing that now.
Furthermore, unlike in his past life, he had learned this fact because his Master had brought him along this time.
‘Why…?’
Why would the Master who had hidden Songru's true identity until the moment of his death in the past life now bring him here and reveal it?
Oblivious to Wolhyang's glare, Ihoe stared at his Master's back.
‘Why did you hide it, and why are you revealing it now?’
There was so much he wanted to ask.
But he didn't voice any of those questions.
"Alright!"
In the meantime, the conversation between his Master and Wolhyang, which had paused for a moment, resumed.
Her voice snapped Ihoe out of his reverie.
"Since you said to scatter them, I assume you'll handle the Chagon Gang as well? The terms are three to seven. Even if this is a matter between Murim sects, I still have to sweet-talk some well-fed pigs on my end."
"Of course."
His Master nodded readily. In response, Wolhyang's expression was one of clear displeasure.
"...You really seem to be serious, don't you? Fine. In that case, I'll speak to you again after the matter is handled."
"Thank you."
"Don't say that. I'm already in a bad mood."
At his Master's smiling words, she pouted.
"More importantly, what about our business? Are we talking about it here?"
"No, we'll discuss that separately."
"Hmm?"
It was a short, cryptic exchange.
At the end of that brief conversation, a strange smile played on Wolhyang's lips.
"Only this far? Wow! My dear Uncle, you certainly seem to cherish your disciple."
She nodded.
"I understand. As for the rest, Sangcheong will be outside the door when you leave. Please speak with her. And as for me... I suppose there's a reason you brought that boy here, Uncle?"
"I have a favor to ask."
"Wouldn't you just? Alright. I'll try to get to know him, I guess."
Wolhyang then issued a joking order for him to leave.
"Well then, off you go. Don't be dense and interrupt a young man and woman trying to get acquainted."
"I will. You stay here and talk with this boy. He will be of help to you in the future."
His Master obediently rose from his seat.
He also added that Ihoe should stay and speak with Wolhyang.
Click.
And with that, the door closed.
“...”
Only Ihoe and Wolhyang remained in the spacious room.
"What are you doing? Sit."
Her voice was gentle, but her eyes, fixed on Ihoe, were sharp.
Her gaze pierced him like a dagger.
* * * “……”
Not a word was exchanged between the two.
She stared at Ihoe with sharp eyes, and Ihoe met her gaze with a calm one.
She was the one who spoke first.
“Rumors can't be trusted, it seems.”
A soft laugh escaped her, and with that single phrase, the tense atmosphere softened considerably.
“The rumors said you were just kind and naive, a bit of a simpleton whose only redeeming quality was a pretty face… but that’s not it, is it? You’re completely different from the rumors.”
Ihoe shook his head.
“It’s not to that extent.”
Not to the point of being completely different.
Still, having lived one unfortunate life and returned to the past, I must be a little different.
But not so much that I'm a completely different person from the rumors.
“No. You’re completely different. You were different when you first opened that door and walked in, but you seem even more so now.”
But she insisted that Ihoe was completely different from the rumors.
“Who are you, really?”
She asked his identity.
Ihoe smiled.
“I am Ihoe, the Head Disciple of the Sincerity Gate.”
“See? I told you you were different. Good. I like you.”
At his simple answer, a satisfied smile lingered on Wolhyang’s lips.
“Right. As you can see, I am Wolhyang, the proprietor of Songru. And you must have just realized that Songru’s other identity is a place that deals in information. We only pass the information we handle to my uncle. Ah! To you, he would be your Master, wouldn't he?”
She revealed her own identity and that of Songru so easily.
What I never learned until the day I died in my past life, I had learned so easily in this one.
But I wasn't surprised. I had already guessed as much from overhearing her conversation with my Master.
“Why?”
What I wanted to know was something else.
My Master, Songru, and the woman before me, Wolhyang.
The reason why these three were connected.
That short query contained a question of many meanings.
“Is that a question? Look here. This is an information agency. If you have information you’re curious about, you have to pay the price, don’t you, my dear customer?”
“What is the price?”
Despite her playful response, Ihoe was serious.
There was too much I didn't know. So this time, I had to find out.
Because it concerned my Master.
“…You’re impossible, aren’t you?”
Wolhyang let out a low sigh.
“Fine. Today, I’ll tell you for free, as a special exception. Ask whatever you want to know. Inside this room today, I’ll answer anything.”
Despite her sigh, she looked somehow pleased.
“First. You asked why, didn't you? You’re probably not asking why we’re an information agency, but why your Master and I have this kind of relationship. Am I right?”
“Yes.”
“The answer is simple. Since you’re a customer getting this for free, you’ll have to be satisfied with this. A long-standing connection between my uncle and me. A shared wound. And a mutual need, like today. Got it?”
Her answer was concise.
But one part of that concise answer particularly caught Ihoe’s ear.
A long-standing connection.
Come to think of it, from the moment he first entered this room, Wolhyang had referred to his Master, Yu Hyeonjun, as “Uncle.”
“Did you know each other?”
“Hmm? This question might be a bit tricky. How much do you know? About your Master. Before he settled here in Ansang Prefecture.”
“That he was a failed scholar. That he worked for a merchant caravan. That he had a family…”
“His revenge?”
“I know about it.”
At Ihoe’s answer, her voice became noticeably lighter.
“Good. Then this will be easy. The merchant caravan my uncle was part of. The caravan that helped him escape when he was on the verge of death. I am the daughter of that caravan’s leader.”
He flinched.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
*Is that why she called him Uncle?*
The title “Uncle” had bothered him.
He had even wondered if they were truly related by blood. But they weren't. She was the daughter of the leader of the caravan his Master had once belonged to. That was why she called his Master “Uncle.”
But he never imagined that the caravan his Master was once part of would be connected to all this.
To think that Wolhyang was the daughter of the caravan leader.
“But why…?”
A question arose in his mind.
She was the daughter of a caravan leader.
A station in life that shouldn't have required her to run a brothel.
Why would she, who should have wanted for nothing and experienced only the finest things, choose to be the proprietor of Songru?
“It was ruined. To be precise, we were attacked. Not long after your uncle left. I escaped with the caravan’s wealth and hid here. Shall I give you a piece of advice? If you ever need to hide, you should hide in a place with not too many people, but not too few, either. Otherwise, you’ll be discovered. That’s why Ansang Prefecture was the perfect place to hide.”
“And Songru…?”
“Once things quieted down, I realized I needed to make a living. They say money can even make ghosts do your bidding, so I appointed a proxy, established Songru, and gathered courtesans. I found that men’s lips loosen when they’re drunk on wine and women. So, while I was searching for any other survivors who might have escaped, I ended up dealing in information. And in the process, I met your Master again.”
Her answer was long, but its content was concise.
The pieces of information gleaned from it all fit together perfectly, without a single contradiction.
A picture formed in his mind.
A long-standing connection. A shared wound. And even a mutual need.
While his Master was annihilating the five Black Way Gangs, Wolhyang must have heard the news. They must have reunited that way, and his Master then settled here in Ansang Prefecture, where Wolhyang was, and established the sect called the Sincerity Gate.
This must also be why he never revealed Songru’s hidden identity in my past life.
It was a story tied to the past.
His Master didn't want his disciples to be stained by the same sad and painful sword as him, which is why he never spoke of his past, even at the very end.
That must have been why.
Furthermore, the reason Songru cut ties with the Sincerity Gate after his Master passed away was likely because their only link, his Master, was no longer there.
“Hoo…! Thank you.”
Ihoe bowed his head deeply.
He had learned so much that he had lived his entire life without knowing.
His heart felt heavy.
His mind grew even more complicated.
As he stood there, Wolhyang’s voice drifted into his ears.
“I was grateful to you. After coming here, my uncle seemed precarious. You were the one who stabilized him. But, to be honest, right now I resent you a little.”
Even as she said she resented him, her eyes were calm.
“This incident. My uncle told me to spread the word. He meant for me to announce that he alone annihilated the Chagon Gang. Do you know what that means?”
Come to think of it, he had.
While lost in the confusion of these newly revealed truths, his Master had indeed said that to Wolhyang.
The meaning of that.
“…Don’t tell me!”
In that moment, his mind cleared.
“I’m telling you, rumors really can’t be trusted. Look at you. You’re no fool. That’s right!”
She nodded.
“It means he intends to step into the forefront. The fact that your Master single-handedly annihilated five Black Way Gangs in the past had faded, and only a faint trace of his fame remained. But now, he intends to make that faded fact and faint fame clear once more.”
“And that would be because of me.”
“Exactly. Now, anyone who thinks of touching you or the other disciples of the Sincerity Gate will have to think of my uncle. Because they’ll have to face his wrath.”
It was just as Wolhyang said.
His Master had already annihilated the Chagon Gang for trying to assassinate his disciple. And he had declared he would not hide this fact, but reveal it to the world.
Now, no one would be able to touch the Sincerity Gate or its disciples lightly.
To do so would mean having to face the Master who had annihilated the Chagon Gang by himself.
“Then my Master…”
“He’ll be constrained. Or, those who target my uncle will come with that much more thorough preparation.”
Thanks to his Master, Yu Hyeonjun, stepping into the forefront, the Sincerity Gate and its disciples had become a little safer. No one could touch them carelessly anymore.
Conversely, his Master had exposed himself to that much more danger.
It was as good as revealing his Master’s full capabilities.
Therefore, any who held a grudge and sought to harm Yu Hyeonjun would now make far more extensive preparations to match those capabilities and threaten him.
Although he hadn't been part of the Murim for long, his Master had a history of single-handedly annihilating five Black Way Gangs.
Thus, the possibility of entangled grudges was very high.
*Damn it…!*
Ihoe clenched his fists.
*The meaning of his words to trust him…*
He had never imagined that this was what his Master meant at dawn when he told him to trust him.
He had to bite his lip and clench his fists tightly to suppress the surging emotions.
“Ah. My uncle is going to scold me for this. So, are the questions over? Shall we stop here? I’ve gone quite out of my way, you know.”
Wolhyang said in a bright voice.
Then she rose from her seat, opened the third-floor window, and closed her eyes before the rushing wind.
The wind scattered across her pale skin, red lips, and high nose. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze.
“One more, just one more question.”
Watching her, Ihoe opened his tightly sealed lips.
“His revenge… is our Master’s revenge truly over?”
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