“Doctor.”

“Yes.”

I looked at Moyong Baek and spoke.

“We're about to storm into the Daobang and give the gang leader a proper beating—how do you think we should go about it?”

“Hm.”

Moyong Baek rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before speaking.

“Weren’t we just going to walk in and wreck everything together?”

“That’s only if we have no other options.”

I stared at him firmly. He quickly corrected himself.

“Ah—so that’s not it.”

I nodded.

“You can’t just go in guns blazing. I can do that, but can you?”

Moyong Baek looked at the Daobang thug, still shivering from the frost qi.

“In that case, how about we use him as a hostage…”

I shook my head.

“They’ll just get more agitated if they see a hostage. Same situation. Doctor.”

“Yes?”

“You treat and take care of patients, so you're used to that kind of thing. That'll make you a better doctor. But getting used to the ways of the world is a different matter.”

“That's true.”

“Just leave that bastard over there by the wall. Make him look like a drunk or a beggar. He’s not someone they care much about, so we don’t need him.”

Moyong Baek dragged the Daobang man over to the wall and said,

“Sit.”

I added,

“Press down on his pressure points. Especially the ahyeol.”

“Yes.”

Without a word of complaint, he blocked the man's meridians. Only then did I turn to the Daobang gate and say to Moyong Baek,

“Let’s go.”

We crossed «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the street and I knocked on the front gate of the Daobang.

Bang bang bang!

Moyong Baek whispered beside me.

“…You’re really just going to knock like this?”

“Be quiet.”

“……”

There was no answer, so I knocked louder. The gate suddenly swung open, and a man inside looked me up and down.

“Who are y—”

I glanced at Moyong Baek and then spoke with a flat expression.

“I’m Yi Zaha, escort warrior from Hwayang Escort Bureau. This here’s Escort Moyong Baek. Is your gang leader in?”

The man stood frozen, his mouth slightly open.

“Ah…”

I shoved the door open and stepped into the Daobang as I pressed,

“I asked if the gang leader was in.”

The man stammered,

“Well, we're in the middle of preparing the money, so how could you just…”

“This isn’t something I need to discuss with you. Go tell your gang leader to come out.”

I didn’t waste time talking to a lackey—I simply strode toward the main hall. The man scrambled after me, shouting loudly,

“Escorts from the Hwayang Escort Bureau have arrived!”

What a dumbass—he just confirmed our fake identities for everyone to hear.

Moyong Baek frantically glanced around, surveying the surroundings. Fighters were rushing out from every direction, but no one said anything directly to us.

After all, the Daobang was the one in the wrong here.

I reached the front of the main hall in an instant and, like a tax officer coming to collect, shoved open the doors with both hands.

“Daobang Lord! Are you here?”

The large hall was empty.

Without hesitation, I stormed inside and sat down at the head seat without so much as a word.

“Escort Moyong, have a seat.”

“Yes.”

A few lackeys peeked in, then quickly vanished. Just then, someone who looked like a mid-level officer came in and started to mutter something.

“Shut it!”

I infused my voice with internal energy, making it boom through the hall like thunder.

“……”

The guy froze and stared at me.

I furrowed my brow and said,

“Tell your gang leader to come out.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Now that we were alone in the main hall, I explained the situation to Moyong Baek.

“Phase one, we used the Hwayang Bureau name to get in. Then I used an internal-energy-infused shout to shake up the middle guys… and now, straight to the boss. Better than dragging in a hostage, right?”

Moyong Baek nodded.

“Agreed. And you didn’t forget about Hwayang Escort Bureau either.”

I nodded back.

“These guys don’t know every face from the bureau. We're bluffing it through. They might question why we're not in escort uniforms or something, but we’re not the ones in the wrong. We stay confident.”

“Confident.”

“Confident, assertive.”

That part, Moyong Baek didn’t echo. We waited quietly in the main hall for the Daobang Lord to appear.

***

Daobang Lord Hwang Gao (Hwang Gao-wu).
Age: thirty-two.

He was currently deep in meditation, focusing all his energy on converting the effects of a rare elixir into internal energy. Especially today—he felt he was about to make a major breakthrough in his martial arts. Just one more push, and he believed he could ascend to the next level of the martial art he was cultivating.

Of course, he knew there’d be trouble for consuming the century-old Fo-Ti root that was being transported by the Hwayang Escort Bureau. But he figured, if his power improved enough, he could deal with Hwayang afterward.

In Jianghu, strength decided everything in the end.

Still, just in case the Fo-Ti didn’t deliver, he was also gathering money to pay compensation.

Hwang Gao's approach to handling matters in Jianghu was always thorough like that.

Deep in the inner chambers of the Daobang, he noticed the commotion outside.

‘Someone’s here… Hwayang? Whoever it is, just wait a little longer. I’m almost done.’

He was confident that once his meditation ended, he could solve anything with strength alone. Forgetting the noise outside, he returned to his deep breathing. A single bead of sweat rolled down his stiff, focused face.

From outside the chamber, his most trusted subordinate called to him.

“Boss, apologies. People from the Hwayang Escort Bureau barged in. I think you should come out.”

Hwang Gao couldn’t speak at the moment.

“…….”

“Should I drive them out?”

“…….”

“I’ll go buy time while pretending to negotiate, sir.”

At that moment, Hwang Gao opened his eyes—and burst into laughter.

“…Hahahahahahaha!”

How exhilarating!

He finished his meditation, lowered his hands to his lower abdomen, and exhaled deeply. After three days of starving and sleepless cultivation, he’d finally advanced his mastery of Red Heart Art (Jeoksim-gong).

He spoke.

“Open the door.”

As soon as the door opened, his subordinate saw Hwang Gao’s face and immediately dropped to one knee.

“Congratulations, Boss!”

Hwang Gao stroked his beard with a satisfied smile.

“Who’s here?”

“Two young escorts from Hwayang Bureau. They’re very bold.”

Hwang Gao chuckled.

“Junpyeong, there’s no reason to fear the likes of Hwayang Escort Bureau anymore. Even that arrogant bastard, Escort Chief Son—I’ll handle him myself.”

The man called Junpyeong replied cheerfully.

“I serve with absolute loyalty, Boss!”

Hwang Gao nodded.

“So in the end, fortune has found its way to me. Let’s go.”

Rising from his seat, Hwang Gao grabbed the longsword from his table and made his way toward the main hall.

***

I was chatting casually with Moyong Baek in the main hall when I looked up at the lunatic walking in with a bright grin.

“Hahahaha…”

I blinked as I stared at the man who was clearly the Daobang Lord. The confidence dripping off him was almost comical as he took the main seat and looked us over.

“I’m Hwang Gao. You said you're from the Hwayang Escort Bureau?”

I nodded politely.

“Lord Hwang…”

He raised a hand to cut me off and spoke with absolute arrogance.

“I don’t care who you are. Go back and bring Escort Chief Son Junpyeong. Sending junior escorts to lecture me? This is ridiculous and insulting.”

“No, that’s not—”

“Shut your mouth.”

I immediately glanced at Moyong Baek. He looked at me, then turned to Hwang Gao and said, with narrowed eyes,

“Lord Hwang, at least listen before spouting such rudeness. What kind of conduct is this?”

Thankfully, Lord Hwang was scratching Moyong Baek’s nerves just the right amount. I hoped he would keep pushing.

So I responded calmly.

“Lord Hwang, if you’re going to compensate for the century-old Fo-Ti root, it should be paid fairly through Daobang’s official funds. We found evidence of you extracting money from local inns—does that seem right to you? This brings dishonor to the Hwayang Escort Bureau as well.”

Hwang Gao smiled.

“Oh, so that’s why you’re here?”

“Indeed.”

He waved a hand toward the man beside him.

“Junpyeong.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“There’s no need to collect money like that. I’ll handle it myself, so stop shaking down merchants.”

“Yes, sir.”

He turned back to me.

“Happy now?”

I gave a half-smile and nodded.

Hwang Gao then looked at Moyong Baek and said,

“Now stop bothering me with trivialities. Go fetch your escort chief.”

Having said his piece, he stood up as if the matter were over. Moyong Baek’s brow creased tightly at that.

Looking at Moyong Baek’s face, I had only one thought.

Drop any decent man into Jianghu long enough and he'll start losing his mind. The more clearly you see human nature, the more revolting it gets.

Moyong Baek said to Hwang Gao,

“Lord Hwang, do you think simply paying money is some generous concession from you? The Hwayang Bureau showed immense leniency by not demanding your head for seizing a protected item. And now you stand there as if you’ve achieved some grand enlightenment from eating the Fo-Ti?”

Hwang Gao chuckled.

“And do you young escorts think I’m such an easy target?”

Seeing the shift in Moyong Baek’s eyes, I reached into my robe.

“Alright. Playtime’s over.”

I pulled out a flash dagger and drove it into the table with a hard thunk, speaking to Hwang Gao.

“Sit.”

Hwang Gao’s gaze dropped to the blade, then locked with mine.

“Young man…”

“Sit the fuck down, unless you want to die.”

“……”

Finally sensing something was off, he looked around before slowly lowering himself back into his seat.

“So you’re not from the Hwayang Escort Bureau.”

He shot a glance at Junpyeong, who began striding out of the hall, probably to summon backup.

Moyong Baek reached into his robe and, in a calm voice, said,

“Stop right there.”

He pulled a long, gleaming acupuncture needle from a narrow box and drove it lightly into the tabletop.

Glaring at Junpyeong, he said,

“You move, you get pinned.”

The threat was clear—Junpyeong froze.

Hwang Gao’s shoulders began to shake with laughter.

“This is absurd. You—”

He raised his right hand. Perhaps he had trained in extreme yang arts, as his palm quickly flushed a fiery red.

“You think you can take me on? In my own main hall?”

I snapped my thumb against my middle finger—click, click—and on the third flick, ignited my Flame Incense Technique. A crimson aura bloomed from my fingertip, swirling like a burning flower before vanishing in cycles.

I picked at my ear with my left hand and responded.

“What was that? I didn’t quite catch it. Did a dog bark just now? Doctor Moyong, did you hear that?”

Moyong Baek replied smoothly.

“A yellow dog barked, I believe.”

I stared at Hwang Gao.

“Was that you barking?”

“……”

I gave him a deliberate once-over, pondering whether to blast him with the Flame Incense or not.

“I asked you. Was it you barking?”

Hwang Gao quickly withdrew his hand and fixed his eyes on my flaming technique. His own display was nothing more than a red-glowing palm—mine, on the other hand, emitted true fiery aura like a fully-formed sword qi.

No idiot could fail to recognize the disparity.

He asked cautiously,

“…Where are you from?”

The fact that he changed his tone that quickly made even Moyong Baek’s expression twist in mild disgust.

I glared at him.

“I’m Yi Zaha of Haomun.”

Moyong Baek furrowed his brow and followed up.

“Moyong Baek of Haomun.”

I spoke to the now-silent Hwang Gao.

“Here’s what you’ll bring me, right now: the payment for the century-old Fo-Ti root owed to the Hwayang Bureau. An additional fee to show your remorse. Every coin you've extorted from inns and shops recently. Compensation for the merchants who’ve been robbed and terrified. And finally, the damages for messing with a tavern under Haomun's protection. Stack it all in front of me. Now.”

Hwang Gao stayed quiet for a moment.

“…Don’t test my temper. I’m telling you nicely. If you’d rather not, come at me. I’ll beat your ass, kill you right here, and replace you myself.”

As I finished speaking, Moyong Baek looked at Hwang Gao.

“Well? What’s it going to be?”

Then, he and I met eyes…

And grinned at the same time.