By the time night fell…

I realized that the only place I could put these guests up was the pleasure house.
Come to think of it, I still didn’t have a proper residence to host guests.

So, without meaning to, I led the Sword Demon and the Womanizer to Maehwaru.

Who would’ve thought the Womanizer would end up walking into a brothel?

Still, with my master and me present, nothing was likely to happen.

But it had been a while, and the sight of Maehwaru felt unfamiliar even to me.

With me gone and Cha Seong-tae no longer around, what kind of state would Maehwaru be in?
For one, the gatekeeper didn’t recognize me.
Even after I entered, nobody inside seemed to know who I was either.

I deliberately brought up Cha Seong-tae to a woman passing by.

“Where’s Cha Seong-tae?”

The woman replied,
“The Chief Supervisor went to the Black Cat Pavilion.”

“Then who’s in charge here?”

“Inspector Samabi is overseeing things.”

“Oh, Samabi’s still around, huh.”

“But… who are you?”

Looking at the young girl covered in freckles, I answered,

“I’m the man above Samabi and Cha Seong-tae.”

The girl suddenly turned and shouted loud enough for all of Maehwaru to hear.

“The Pavilion Lord is here!”

Doors across the entire brothel slammed open in a clamor.
People began to emerge from every direction, turning their eyes toward me, standing on the first floor.
Only then did I start to see some familiar faces scattered among them.

“Pavilion Lord, you’ve returned!”

“Yeah. Chae-hyang, lead the way.”

It had been a while since I’d seen Chae-hyang. She responded,

“I’ll escort you to the Plum Blossom Room.”

I went upstairs with the two of them and entered the Plum Blossom Room.
Midway, the Sword Demon said,

“I’ll be doing breathing meditation. Give me a room.”

“Master, I’ll have a drink with the Pavilion Lord.”

“Go ahead.”

Even inside a brothel, the Sword Demon had no complaints about his disciple’s behavior.

***

I gave the Sword Demon the top-floor room I used to occupy and sat across from the Womanizer in the Plum Blossom Room.

Come to think of it…

The women the Womanizer used to mess with were all famed daughters of noble families in Baek Eung-ji.
And he always targeted girls with prominent family names, which had stirred up quite a mess.

I’d expected him to act like a dog in heat the moment he stepped foot in here…

But instead, he drank quietly, as if he’d never been a womanizer at all.
Even when Chae-hyang poked her head in from time to time, he didn’t glance at her.
He was doing his best to look disinterested in the brothel women, and it left me a bit puzzled.

The Womanizer asked me,

“Where am I supposed to sleep?”

“I’ll give you a room.”

He nodded and continued drinking. A short while later, someone knocked on the Plum Blossom Room door and spoke.

“Pavilion Lord, it’s Samabi.”

“Come in.”

It had been a long time since I last saw him—probably around the time I moved to strike Iryong Nogun.
The topknot-haired Samabi bowed his head the moment he saw me.

“It’s been a while.”

“Strategist Sama, everything been fine?”

“Yes.”

“Who’s managing the property here?”

“The Chief Supervisor handed the keys over to me before he left. I’ve split the holdings across three locations. Would you like the keys?”

“No need. Come have a seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

I poured Samabi a drink once he was seated.

“Have you been learning the ropes of running a pavilion?”

“Yes. It’s less of a brothel now—we’ve been operating more like a wine house. I’ve been handling things with occasional input from Chief Cha.”

I gestured toward the silent man drinking across from me.

“This is the second son of the Wind-and-Cloud Mong Family of Baek Eung-ji—Mongrang. This is Samabi of Haomun.”

The Womanizer greeted him curtly.

“Nice to meet you.”

Samabi responded respectfully.

“I’m Samabi of Haomun.”

I gave Samabi a task.

“Strategist Sama.”

“Yes.”

“You’re to accompany Master Mong when he returns to Baek Eung-ji. I have a job for you.”

“Please give your orders.”

“I’m planning to reinvest the profits earned from the three pavilions. Go with him to Baek Eung-ji and look into inns, restaurants, brothels—any establishments we can convert into Haomun businesses. Investigate the commercial zones and see what buildings we can purchase or shops we can acquire.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If funds fall short, Chief Byeok of the Black Cat Pavilion will support you. Do you understand why I want to establish Haomun businesses in Baek Eung-ji?”

“Is it to create something like a branch office for intelligence gathering and similar activities?”

“Exactly. But Baek Eung-ji is just the start, Samabi.”

“Please go on.”

“There’s a large surplus of funds sitting idle in the Black Cat Pavilion. You’ll be in charge of this operation. ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Set up one branch in Baek Eung-ji as a pilot project. After that, use the experience to establish branches near the Blood Night Palace, near the Sword-Breaking Society, at Jeongpyeong Lake, near the Namyeonghui, and Namcheonryeon as well. Ah, and there’s also Heukseonbo—but forget that one for now. Each branch must also be a fully operational business that can generate its own income. We’ll assign staff selected from the idlers of Ilyang County and the Black Cat Pavilion.”

“I understand the other regions, but I’m unfamiliar with the Blood Night Palace.”

“I’ll brief you on that later. No need to rush.”

“Yes.”

I looked over Samabi’s face carefully as I spoke.

“I didn’t even summon you or give you detailed orders, yet you’ve been handling things well on your own.”

Samabi gave a faint smile.

“There’s been plenty to do here.”

He was the type who found work for himself without needing direction.
Which meant I had no choice but to give him even more responsibility and raise his status in Haomun.

Looking back, this was exactly why Samabi was truly a strategist.

“Strategist Sama, I feel bad meeting you again just to dump a pile of work on you.”

I poured him another drink. He accepted it and replied,

“Do you know what people in Ilyang County are saying about you, Pavilion Lord?”

“I don’t.”

“They say you stormed Namyeonghui on your own. Before that, they heard you ambushed and killed Master Su. There are also rumors that you crushed the Sword-Breaking Society. Every time I hear such stories, I can’t help but imagine you fighting for your life out there somewhere.”

“Hmm.”

After drinking, Samabi looked me in the eyes.

“If there’s anything you need done, just order it. I’ll take care of all of it.”

Hearing my own exploits from someone else’s mouth left me with a strange feeling.

“Alright.”

“……”

“For funds, continue coordinating with Chief Byeok and Chief Cha. If any new buildings need to be constructed, consult with Yeon Ja-seong of the Architectural Sect.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I have a guest today, so we’ll stop here. Good work.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

After Samabi withdrew, the Womanizer tilted his head and said to me,

“Country bumpkin, turns out you’re a busy man. I thought you were just running a local militia. But still…”

“But still what?”

“I’m not even part of Haomun. Are you really supposed to be talking so freely about your business in front of me?”

“It’s not like it’s some big secret. Haomun isn’t some grand organization. We just give people a place to work, make sure no one robs them under the pretense of protection money, and keep them from getting beaten to death by wandering martial artists.”

“Is the branch concept something you borrowed from what the Lord of the Blood Night Palace said in the Watermoon Jade Chamber?”

“I used it for reference.”

The Womanizer let out a short scoff and then fell silent. I watched his expression and took another drink.

He finally spoke.

“So you’re setting up a branch near the Blood Night Palace because Elder Heo asked for help?”

“There’s no other way for me to help. I need intel before I can act.”

“I get the Blood Night Palace part. But why Baek Eung-ji?”

“Because your master is there. And the Baekdo faction has influence in the area.”

“So why are you watching my master?”

“Whether it’s your master or the Blood Night Palace, eventually, they’ll be targeted by the Demonic Sect.”

“He’s not someone who goes down easily.”

“Haomun will have a presence in Baekdo territory, in Heukdo territory, even in places without any martial artists. So stop nitpicking every move I make. I’ll do as I please.”

“Quite the grand ambition you’ve got there.”

The moment the Womanizer made that sarcastic remark, I fired back.

“Womanizer, you looking to get smacked? You getting twitchy now that the booze is kicking in?”

“Save those idle threats for your lackeys. Still… it’s curious. How do you know so clearly what it is you’re supposed to be doing?”

“What are you going on about?”

“I mean what I said. Founding a sect, protecting your people, fighting Heukdo factions left and right… I’m asking what drives you to do all this. What’s the reason? I’m not into any of that, so it just seems absurd to me.”

When someone asks something so obvious, how are you even supposed to answer?

Maybe the answer wasn’t mine to give—maybe it was something he already had and just didn’t realize.

“I’m just being me. You’re being you… but why do you live the way you do?”

“Me?”

“Like you said—are you doing all this just ‘cause you’ve got nothing better to do?”

“You mean with women?”

“Whatever it is.”

The Womanizer poured himself another drink and said,

“There’s nothing more beautiful in this world than a woman.”

I stayed silent, sipping my drink. His mouth had finally opened.

“And there’s nothing more hideous than a woman either. Two years ago, there were talks of an engagement with a girl from the Baekri clan. But maybe because I was an illegitimate son, the talks were called off midway. But the thing is…”

He pinched his fingers together, thumb and index nearly touching.

“I didn’t even care that much. Just a little. I got dumped for no reason.”

“So?”

“So? I went to see what kind of woman she even was, keeping my identity hidden. She turned out to be a total harlot. And I got rejected by her because I was a bastard? I spat on the Baekri clan’s gate. Ptui. Fucking ptui ptui ptui!”

“You’re spitting on the food, dumbass.”

“Don’t eat it then, you rotten bastard.”

Then he actually grabbed the spit-covered food and started eating.

“When I got back home and looked at myself, I suddenly felt like a pathetic piece of shit. Our family head sees me as nothing more than a chess piece to expand the clan’s power. Those rotten fuckers… That day, I argued with the head and then fought with the heir too. I beat both of ‘em.”

I was mid-drink and ended up spraying alcohol all over the food in front of me.

“Pfft—!”

He frowned, looking at the soaked dishes.

“Ugh…”

“Don’t eat it, you trash heap. Wait—hang on, the family head is your father, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“And the heir is your older brother?”

“That’s right.”

“And you beat them both up?”

He blinked at me, confused.

“Why’s that strange?”

“Do you even hear yourself? Are you nuts?”

The Womanizer suddenly grinned and said,

“There’s nothing strange about it.”

“And why’s that?”

“If it were strange, they shouldn’t have beaten me when I was a kid. Back then, I was weak, so I got hit. Now I’m stronger, so the tables have turned. Of course, they didn’t realize I’d grown stronger until they got their asses kicked. Among martial artists, a little shouting and a duel isn’t that uncommon. Anyway, now my clan doesn’t treat me like trash anymore. I think they were planning to kick me out, but that’s a laugh. They raised me ‘cause they needed me, and now they want to discard me? What a goddamn family…”

With a loud thud, he slammed his cup on the table.

“That’s my family. The Wind-and-Cloud Mong Clan. What a fine bunch.”

I’d never met anyone who beat up both his father and older brother, so I scratched the back of my head and then—moving quickly—smacked him on the back of the head.

Thwack! The sound echoed as he grabbed his head.

“You crazy bastard! Why’d you hit me?”

“Just take the hit, asshole. No reason. If you’ve got a problem, come at me. According to your logic, the strong get to beat the weak, right? If you’re gonna live like that, go join the Demonic Sect. Go have fun beating up weaker guys, climb the ladder, and lick the Cult Leader’s feet while you’re at it. You’re probably weaker than him, right? Isn’t that the way your brain works?”

“What kind of bullshit is that? Why the hell would I join the Demonic Sect?”

“Well, if you’re the kind of guy who beats up his father and half-brother, the Demonic Sect would welcome you with open arms. Why wouldn’t you join?”

“I told you, I used to get beaten all the time when I was younger.”

I casually touched my nose, then—catching him off guard—smacked him in the head again.

Thwack!

“That was then. This is now.”

“What’s the difference?”

I poured another drink and stared him down.

“If you’ve grown up healthy and in one piece, then act like it. Don’t go on with this self-pitying nonsense. I told you before—you’re no different from your old man. You’re past twenty now. Build your own damn household, live like a man. Don’t sit around whining about the past like some drunk. You’re wasting the booze, you jackass.”

“……”

The Womanizer glared at me with eyes full of murderous intent. I calmly set my cup down.

“You wanna go?”

“Let’s go, you bastard.”

“Perfect.”

I shot up from the table. The Womanizer gritted his teeth and growled,

“Take me somewhere spacious.”

With our shoulders practically touching, we stomped down the narrow stairs together.
Just then, a calm voice echoed from somewhere in Maehwaru.

“Our Haomun Lord… and my disciple.”

“……”

We both froze mid-step and answered in turn.

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, sir.”

From the upper floor, the Sword Demon’s quiet voice continued.

“……I won’t stop you. But only external arts. No internal energy.”

Instead of stopping the fight, he gave us conditions. That was unexpected.
The Womanizer and I locked eyes, then answered his words one by one.

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

As we descended the stairs, the Sword Demon let out a long, weary sigh.