That's Not How You Use Martial Arts

Chapter 37
Infiltration (1)

『 Translator – Divinity 』

And there was one more suspicious point.

He knew about the loss of the armory records, which had been kept secret to prevent leaks.

If the Namgung family had been thorough in keeping it quiet, then where could he have gotten that information?

I couldn’t help but suspect those who were likely behind the fire, Paecheon Fortress.

“…We’ll have to look into this further.”

Nothing was certain yet, but if the head steward Dam Jin-bo’s suicide and gambling issue were truly fabricated, then Jo Un-chil would definitely know something.

“Do you know where that Jo Un-chil guy runs his gambling house?”

“I heard it’s in the northern part of Hefei. The area around it is always brightly lit even at night, so it should be easy to spot… Wait, are you planning to go there?”

I answered Hwa-ryeon’s question by standing up.

As I did, everyone’s eyes focused on me.

“I need to go to that gambling house myself. It’s suspicious that he readily showed the ledger, and it’s even more suspicious that he knew about the loss of the armory records.”

“H-hold on. Are you saying you’re going alone?”

I nodded at Namgung Hyeon’s flustered question.

“It’s easier to go alone for something like this. Even if I’m caught, it’s easier to escape by myself.”

“…Are you sure?”

“I don’t see why not.”

I shrugged at Namgung Hyeon’s worried question.

Reassured by my casual response, his expression relaxed, then he frowned again.

“…I apologize. It seems like we’re burdening you with too much.”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say this, but I’m doing this because it’s fun.”

A conspiracy to destroy a powerful family, and the struggle of those trying to stop it.

Hmm, it was like a martial arts novel.

Namgung Hyeon smiled awkwardly at my grinning response.

Perhaps he thought I was a strange person.

“Well then.”

“Hold on.”

Master stopped me as I was about to turn and leave the room.

“Huh? Why are you calling me, Master?”

“Do you even know the exact location of the gambling house?”

“…They said the area is brightly lit even at night, right? It’ll be somewhere around there.”

Or I could just ask someone nearby.

Master gave me a look of disapproval at my casual answer.

He abruptly stood up, dragged me to a deserted spot, and told me the location of the Changcheon Teahouse.

“Changcheon…? Is that place related to the Changcheon Teahouse?”

“Yes, it’s a secret branch of the Changcheon Teahouse. If you tell the owner the code words, he’ll give you the information you need.”

“…Code words!”

I covered my mouth.

Code words! Secret communication with code words!

It was like something out of a spy movie from my past life.

To think I would be able to experience it myself!

My heart started pounding.

“What? Why are you so excited?”

“Why? Because code words are romantic.”

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

Master gave me a strange look for a moment, then sighed and told me the code words.

Oh ho. Bi Luo Chun from Song Mountain and divine tea. Okay, I got it.

I thanked Master and quickly ran towards the Changcheon Teahouse.

***

“Changcheon Teahouse… This is it.”

Arriving at the Changcheon Teahouse after running with all my might, I tried to calm my pounding heart and cautiously stepped inside.

Perhaps because it was almost closing time, the teahouse was empty, with no customers in sight.

I went deeper inside and finally saw a man who appeared to be the owner.

“Welcome. What kind of tea are you looking for?”

The moment I had been waiting for had arrived, and my heart felt like it was about to burst again.

I desperately suppressed my grin and lowered my voice.

“I heard that you have Bi Luo Chun produced in Song Mountain.”

“……”

The owner’s eyes flashed sharply at my words.

But the sharpness was fleeting. He quickly continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“Well, I’m not sure about that. They don’t produce Bi Luo Chun in Song Mountain, but?”

“Is that so? I was told that its taste is like the divine tea drunk by the immortals in the heavens. Do you really not have any?”

“…Oh my. It seems you already know everything. Please come in.”

The owner led me inside and opened a secret door hidden in the floor.

“Wow…!”

Wow, a secret door! A secret hideout!

I looked at the owner with an awestruck expression, and he smirked.

Ooh, how annoyingly cool…!

We went down to the basement.

As soon as we arrived, the owner spoke to me in a friendly tone.

“You’re Young Master Gun Ja-seong, right?”

“Oh, you know me?”

“Of course. The head of the company… Merchant Leader Bang Jin-myeong told me about you. He said you were a young master who killed the Heavenly Mace in one strike.”

“Ahaha… I’m not sure about being a master…”

The owner feigned surprise at my bashful reply.

“Youngsters these days don’t know, but Shin Se-gon, the Heavenly Mace, was a formidable master who once killed fifty warriors alone in his younger days. If the warrior who killed such a master in one strike isn’t a master, then no one in this world deserves to be called one.”

“Heh, hmm…”

Fifty warriors, huh.

Well, if they got hit by that monstrous mace, they wouldn’t even have bones left to pick up.

I nodded inwardly, and the owner led me to the table in the center of the room.

As I sat down, the owner sat opposite me and introduced himself.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet. I’m Go-heung, formerly of the Skynet Division and currently the manager of the Changcheon Teahouse. Well, the manager title is just for show. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Go-heung winked.

He had a much more cheerful personality than I expected.

But perhaps because he was a professional, he immediately got down to business.

“By the way, what brings you here, Young Master Gun? If it’s about the escort mission investigation that you discussed with Master Yeo earlier today, that’s still ongoing.”

“Ah, that’s not it…”

I told him about Jo Un-chil and his gambling house.

About Jo Un-chil knowing information he shouldn’t have and the obviously suspicious gambling issue with the head steward.

“Ah, Jo Un-chil. He’s a notorious guy. A scoundrel who would sell his own children if they couldn’t pay their debts, a money-grubbing fiend who goes crazy at the sight of money.”

“If he’s that bad, then…”

“You’re asking if he would try to blackmail the Namgung family in Hefei? Yeah, he’s definitely capable of that. He would sell his own parents for thirty gold taels. Of course, he’s a street orphan, so he doesn’t have any parents.”

After his scathing assessment of Jo Un-chil, I discussed with Go-heung a plan to infiltrate his gambling house.

“So? What exactly are you looking for, Young Master?”

“Something that bastard Jo Un-chil is hiding.”

“Uh… that’s a bit abstract. Can you be more specific?”

At Go-heung’s reaction, scratching his head, I thought for a moment.

I knew that the sabotage of the escort missions was aimed at weakening the Namgung family’s forces.

But I wasn’t sure what the motives behind the head steward’s suicide and the armory fire were.

From the beginning, I wasn’t entirely convinced that Paecheon Fortress was behind those two incidents.

Frankly, there was a possibility that those two incidents were solely the work of that bastard Jo Un-chil, blinded by greed.

But when I mentioned this, Go-heung immediately shook his head.

“That can’t be. Neither Jo Un-chil nor any of his thugs know martial arts. Even if the head steward was from a branch family, he was still a member of the Namgung family and would have learned some level of martial arts. To kill him so discreetly that even his family wouldn’t notice? That’s absolutely impossible for them.”

“Then it’s Paecheon Fortress after all?”

“Well… in Hefei, if anyone’s capable of that, it’s Paecheon Fortress.”

The more we discussed it, the more complicated it seemed.

Thinking that we would waste the entire day just talking, we decided to take action.

“Whatever he’s hiding, he’s probably hiding it somewhere he knows. If necessary, we can just torture him until he confesses, right?”

“Oh, that’s quite a ruthless thought for someone new to the murim. But I welcome it.”

Go-heung grinned, stood up, and returned with something from inside.

Looking closely, it was a black nightclothes and a mask.

“If you’re going to sneak in, you need the appropriate attire.”

Seeing that, I smiled back at Go-heung.

Even though we had just met today, I liked this guy quite a bit.

***

Fortunately, I found Go-heung sitting on top of a cargo carriage as I came out, wearing the nightclothes that roughly fit me over my usual martial arts uniform.

“I have to deliver some tea to the north side anyway. I’ll take you there.”

There was no reason to refuse, so I quietly got on the carriage.

As I sat on the carriage, a faint tea fragrance wafted into my nose.

“So the teahouse isn’t just a simple front.”

“Oh my, you don’t know anything, Young Master. A true disguise is perfect even in these small details.”

“Ooh…”

Go-heung, who had been glancing at me as I nodded in admiration, cautiously asked a question.

“Um… Young Master? If you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”

“You’re going this far to help us, so it’s hard to say no. Ask me anything.”

Despite my ready agreement, Go-heung hesitated.

What was he so hesitant to ask?

Just as I was tilting my head in curiosity, Go-heung finally spoke.

“…Do you not resent them? Master Yeo and the young miss.”