I had my hands clasped behind my back, quietly observing the Phoenix VIP Tent, when a woman in white approached me from behind.

“Young Master, I’ll be attending to you. My name is Baek So-ah.”

When I turned around, I saw a woman who clearly couldn’t be mistaken for a mere servant.

She was dressed head to toe in white. Her hair ornaments and accessories were all white as well, and she had a rather beautiful face.

All accommodations here were structured like tents, and the Phoenix VIP Tent was one of the largest among them. Inside the spacious tent, the bedding, dining area, and bath were all sectioned off by partition screens.

It wasn’t an unfamiliar place for me—I’d been in plenty of smaller tents before.

Baek So-ah said,
“If you need anything, just let me know. Clothes, any kind of weapon you prefer, food, drink—I can arrange just about anything to your liking. As long as it’s not too outlandish.”

I asked her with a neutral expression,
“Is there any poison in the food?”

“No, none at all.”

I watched her face as I asked,
“Why not? If Dongbang Yeon keeps winning, you guys stand to make a lot more money.”

“What good is it to have an undefeated warrior keep winning?”

“No, you’re wrong. It’s because there’s an undefeated warrior that more gamblers show up. They bring in warriors they’ve trained, invite outside masters, pull favors from their contacts to challenge Dongbang Yeon. All kinds of riffraff show up and throw money around.”

Baek So-ah smiled and replied,
“I see. If the food isn’t to your liking, shall I bring you some alcohol instead?”

“I only drink Dugangju.”

“Of course we have it.”

“Is it free?”

“Of course.”

“No poison?”

“No.”

“Then bring it.”

“I’ll be right back.”

She turned to leave, but then stopped at the entrance of the tent.

“Oh, Young Master? And what about the girl?”

“What girl?”

“To pour your drink. But just so you know, we don’t send girls just to sleep with guests. Most of them just want to serve drinks—but you never know. One of them might take a liking to you. Should I just bring in a pretty one?”

I thought for a moment, then replied,
“While you’re at it.”

“Yes?”

“Bring someone who can hold their liquor.”

Baek So-ah tilted her head slightly and responded,
“Understood.”

***

Seated at the drinking table, I looked at the woman Baek So-ah had brought.

“Can you drink?”

“Yes. Oh, and Young Master, I’m called Heuk So-ryeong.”

This woman was dressed entirely in black, even her hair ornaments were black. This was also my first time getting a proper look at either of them.

“But is there even a clan named Heuk?”

“It’s a courtesy name.”

Heuk So-ryeong poured Dugangju and handed me the cup. I didn’t take it right away—I lowered my head and smelled it first.

Then I sat cross-legged at the table, closed my eyes, and used my own Qi as a reference point to perceive Heuk So-ryeong with my mind’s eye.

Once I identified her as an external Qi source, I expanded my perception outward and sensed what I assumed to be Baek So-ah’s Qi lingering nearby. This was a technique from the Golden Nine Free Wandering Arts, called “Free Wandering Perception.”

I opened my eyes and looked at Heuk So-ryeong.

She asked,
“What was that just now?”

From the situation, it became clear to me that the only women deployed for this beauty trap were Baek So-ah and Heuk So-ryeong. Even in my past life, these two were known as the most beautiful women in this place.

Honestly, I’d expected some sort of brilliant scheme and was a bit disappointed with how dull it all was. Baek So-ah and Heuk So-ryeong were both rare beauties, but even in my previous life, I’d never taken any interest in them.

They were women known for destroying challengers through seduction, and I already knew their inner selves were like snakes hiding behind pretty faces.

Using Free Wandering Perception, I could tell both had been trained in the same martial arts.

Their martial skill was above average, their composure finely honed, and they were also trained in drinking and entertainment—both Baek So-ah and Heuk So-ryeong were refined assets.

I poured a drink for Heuk So-ryeong myself and handed her the cup.

Just as she reached out to take it, I deliberately dropped the cup.

Heuk So-ryeong caught it instantly, but a look of dismay flashed across her face. At the same time, I struck her Jianjing and Ah pressure points using the Wooden Chicken Finger Technique.

Tap!

Frozen mid-motion with the cup in hand, Heuk So-ryeong’s body locked up.

I praised her reflexes.

“You’re pretty quick.”

Even after being struck in her pressure points, Heuk So-ryeong looked at me calmly.

“……”

I inspected her while she was immobilized and plucked off her hair ornament to examine it. When I flicked my fingernail into the round black pearl in its center, it split open.

Inside was an unidentified powder.

“What’s this? Looks like powdered medicine. I wonder what it does. Will it kill you? Or not? I’m so curious. So curious I could die. Oh, screw it.”

I dumped the powder from the black pearl into her drink, then looked at Heuk So-ryeong.

“Miss Heuk, care for a drink?”

“……”

I tapped her chin, tilted her head back, then grabbed her jaw. I opened her mouth and slowly poured the powder-laced drink in.

Drip, drip.

The liquid slid down, and her throat bobbed as she swallowed.

I lowered her head back down and folded my arms, watching her.

“If it’s poison, you’ll die. If it’s not, then lucky you. Let’s see.”

The calmness in her eyes began to shake.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear,
“So it’s not lethal, huh? What a good girl. But it must be something important if you kept it in a pearl, right?”

When I looked at her again, tears were streaming down her face.

Seeing that, I was glad I’d struck her pressure point.

Crying would’ve been annoyingly loud.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I stood up without making a sound and quietly moved to the entrance of the tent, standing at the optimal position.

A moment of silence passed.

That "moment" lasted quite a while.

Then, suddenly, the flaps of the tent were drawn aside, and Baek So-ah entered.

“Young Master?”

I struck her Jianjing and Ah points in quick succession, then grabbed her by the back of the neck and dragged her over to sit beside Heuk So-ryeong.

I removed Baek So-ah’s white pearl hair ornament, opened it, and found powder inside as well.

I poured the powder into my cup, then made Baek So-ah drink just like Heuk So-ryeong.

After a bit of stretching, I checked their condition again—both were now silently weeping.

“What the hell kind of drug is this? Why are you crying? Ah, man, I really can’t stand not knowing something. This is bad.”

It really was bad.

Their eyes were starting to roll back in their heads.

“Whoa…”

Their faces were flushed, and strangely enough, they wore longing, sorrowful expressions.

Only then did I realize what kind of powder it was.

“Oh, an aphrodisiac. That’s all?”

They’d ingested an arousal-inducing powder with alcohol while being bound and immobilized—of course they were crying.

“An aphrodisiac won’t kill you. And even if it does, not my problem. I’m going for a drink. You two better pull yourselves together.”

I had no intention of touching the food, water, alcohol, or snacks provided by the hosts. And since I already knew they were using seduction tactics, I never planned to lay a hand on Baek So-ah or Heuk So-ryeong.

I left the tent and headed to the inn where Jomsoi was stationed.

***

Really, the best way to drink is at an inn filled with dumbass customers, bar fights, and all kinds of misfits. The moment I entered, Jomsoi served me a drink on the house.

I asked him,
“No poison in this?”

Jomsoi replied,
“If I poisoned that, I’d be beaten to death by the gamblers too, wouldn’t I?”

“What kind of dumbass logic is that? Anyone can poison a drink, that’s why I’m asking.”

“Is that so?”

Jomsoi glanced around, then sat across from me with a serious look and lowered his voice.

“Young Master, if I may…”

“What?”

“Should I bet all my money tomorrow?”

“Who do you think is going to win?”

Ilbo stroked his chin and replied with a serious look.

“You will, Young Master.”

“Why?”

“That’s the problem. I think you’ll win, but I don’t know why. Just a feeling Jomsoi has? Ugh, I shouldn’t bet everything based on a feeling. It’s too risky.”

“Ilbo.”

“Yes?”

“Are you going to do as I say?”

Ilbo responded with a bright expression, like he’d been waiting to hear that.

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

I looked him dead in the eye and said seriously,
“Quit gambling.”

“If I win this time, it’ll change my whole life.”

“You think that kind of money’s going to change your life?”

“So you’re telling me to be a Jomsoi for the rest of my life?”

I smirked at his response.

“Isn’t it just that you don’t have the guts to do anything else? Let’s be honest.”

“Doing something else takes money.”

I poured Ilbo a drink of Dugangju and said,

“That’s not true. You haven’t taken the time to figure out what you like, what you want, what you want to do. What is it that you really want? You don’t even know.”

“Do you know?”

“Don’t go asking about other people’s lives. I’m asking about yours.”

We stared each other down with the utmost seriousness, then drank together. But soon after, a new group of customers entered, and Ilbo got up with a conflicted look.

“Welcome.”

A group of customers stomped into the tavern. One of them, seeing Ilbo had been drinking, casually swung his hand and smacked Ilbo on the head. With a loud thwack, Ilbo’s head snapped to the side. Judging by how natural it looked, it must’ve been a regular thing—this guy always did the hitting, and Ilbo always took it.

The customers laughed and said,

“This drunk little bastard Jomsoi’s at it again, drinking on the job.”

Ilbo gave a bitter smile and gestured inward.

“Please, sit anywhere you like.”

“You’ve been drinking, huh?”

“Just a celebratory drink. Sorry about that. Go on in.”

After ushering the customers inside with practiced ease, Ilbo suddenly looked at me in silence.

“……”

I watched his expression, then burst out laughing. Ilbo, who should’ve gone off to take orders, looked at me and laughed too—then muttered a curse.

“Fucking hell. This is bullshit.”

He was stuck in that serious internal battle—trying to decide whether to swallow his rising anger or let it explode.

One of the customers who had overheard his curse stopped in his tracks and turned around.

“You talking shit?”

When Ilbo stayed silent, the customer turned his eyes on me.

“You?”

I gave a slight nod.

The three men who had been about to sit down turned back and approached, standing close in front of me.

One of them said,

“What the fuck are you talking shit for, asshole, huh?”

I stood up from my seat, looked at the three, then reached out and struck the Jianjing pressure points of the two on the sides. Then I grabbed the neck of the one in the center with my left hand.

“Gurk!”

Gripping his neck tightly, I glared at him.

“Why are you hitting Jomsoi like that, asshole, huh?”

I brought my right hand up and prepared a flick to the forehead, breathed hot air into my palm, then struck the center guy’s forehead.

Smack!

With a loud crack, he went flying backward, clutching his forehead and rolling on the ground, screaming in pain. I gave each of the other two pressure-pointed guys a flick to the forehead as well.

Smack!

One kept screaming, and the other two passed out from a single flick.

Ilbo, who’d been watching, asked me,

“Young Master, is learning that forehead flick really hard?”

“Very.”

“Nothing in life’s easy, huh? Can’t even learn how to flick someone properly.”

Ilbo walked over with an air of resignation, sat across from me again, and poured himself another drink.

He asked,

“But Young Master, have we met before?”

“No.”

“I figured. Still feels familiar though. If I quit working here, where would I go to find you? Something tells me even if you win tomorrow, you won’t be here afterward.”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?”

“You’re too weak.”

“It’s because I haven’t trained in martial arts.”

I took a sip of Dugangju and answered in a calm tone,

“Even when I didn’t know martial ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) arts, not once did I ever think I was a weak man.”

“Really? How’d you manage that?”

I poured the rest of the drink into Ilbo’s cup.

“Thanks for the drink.”

“Leaving already?”

“It’s about time the pressure points wear off. I should get going.”

As I stood, Ilbo clutched at my pants leg like he was begging.

“Young Master, please… just save me. I’m not saying I want to be a warrior—I just think it’d be better to live as your attendant. That’s the honest truth.”

“Then how about I give you a job?”

“Yes.”

“Go to the Black Cat Pavilion and tell them to gather their elite masters here by the time of Shen tomorrow. Especially make sure they bring every pouch, chest, wagon, and cart they’ve got to carry away money. Can you do it?”

Ilbo nodded.

“Understood.”

I left the inn and returned to the Phoenix VIP Tent, hands clasped behind my back, and checked on the state of Baek So-ah and Heuk So-ryeong.

They were drenched in sweat—so much so that strands of their long hair clung randomly to their faces, and the mix of perfume and body scent pierced my nose.

I stabbed a flash dagger into the table and glared at the two of them.