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The Western Spear Manor was one of the two representative sects in Henan.

The other sect was the Eastern Sword Clan[2]. The Western Spear Manor and the Eastern Sword Clan had long competed to establish themselves as the representative sects of Henan Province.

Just as Ma Jeongsu had come down to Shandong to establish connections with the Yang Minor Faction, it seemed the Ma Ryeong-in was already in close contact with the Western Spear Manor.

As evidence, the atmosphere was very good. A boisterous drinking party was held and continued for more than an hour.

I didn’t attempt to eavesdrop on their conversation. I could have listened if I really wanted to, but it didn’t seem worth breaking through the eight guards to hear.

Especially, I was concerned about that man who had prevented entry into the room emitting a strange energy earlier. He might be hiding near the Ma Ryeong-in.

He clearly seemed stronger than Number Seven. Both in martial arts and in temperament.

An hour later, the Ma Ryeong-in left the Western Spear Manor.

The carriage didn’t return to the estate but headed to another place.

This time too, I followed the carriage from a distance. Since I didn’t approach closely while taking risks, they couldn’t notice my tailing.

After half an hour of riding, surprisingly, we arrived at the Eastern Sword Clan, which was in competition with the Western Spear Manor.

This guy! He’s stirring up both sides!

Indeed, there too, a rowdy drinking party continued for an hour.

I couldn’t tell how he was manipulating both sides, but he was clearly exercising some unique skill of his.

Thinking about how he had treated me, I thought he might be using both sides while openly saying he was meeting the other. Using nine truths and one crucial lie.

He was a person with skills incomparable to Ma Jeongsu, who had come down to Shandong. I remembered how Ma Jeongsu had evaluated him before.

The cunning Ma Ryeong-in, he had said.

Cunning? How could such an expression evaluate that snake-like person? Ma Jeongsu had misjudged him badly.

The carriage that left the Eastern Sword Clan now headed to the Zhengzhou Martial Arts Academy. It seemed he was going to meet Joo Do-chi. He stayed there for about a quarter of an hour.

The carriage came out again, with Joo Do-chi seeing him off.

He really is a busy fellow.

Even though dawn had broken, the carriage didn’t return to the estate.

I was surprised to see where the carriage was heading. It was towards the inn where I was staying.

I used my lightness skill to return to the inn one step ahead of them.

I flew up to the second floor and entered my room through the window.

A moment later, someone knocked on my door.

When I opened the door, the Ma Ryeong-in was standing in front of it.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, I haven’t slept yet.”

I didn’t bother pretending to have been woken up. He was too sharp and might see through it, and even if not, it might be natural not to have slept on a day like this.

“I’ve never had this before, but I couldn’t sleep last night. By the way, you’ve had a drink?”

“If I had known, I would have come to see you earlier.”

“It’s too late to say that now.”

“Haha. That’s just like you.”

He seemed to like my prickly attitude and laughed pleasantly.

“Are you going to keep me standing here?”

“Come in.”

He entered the room. He looked around the room. Since nothing was unpacked, there was nothing to find even if he looked.

“If you couldn’t sleep, why didn’t you have a drink?”

“I don’t drink alone.”

“I see.”

“The name Ma Ryeong-in, I remembered it yesterday. One of the promising successors among the Martial Righteous Alliance Leader’s sons was named Ma Ryeong-in. Is that you?”

“That’s right. It’s me. And it’s become five successors, not six.”

“You’re from an orthodox sect, but…”

“Why am I holed up in that underground place doing suspicious things, you mean?”

“That’s right.”

I nodded readily.

“Didn’t you say it? That heroes and villains are just a paper-thin difference.”

It was what I had said to Joo Do-chi in the carriage.

“I did.”

“It’s the same, isn’t it? Orthodox sects and…”

What on earth? What’s your point of comparison?

But he didn’t say anything more.

“I think I get it roughly. Dammit. I feel like drinking from the morning.”

Then the Ma Ryeong-in took something out from his chest and put it on the table. It was a thousand-tael note.

“If you can’t sleep tonight either, go to a brothel and have a drink. The scent of women will help you sleep well.”

An unexpected kindness.

This monster’s tail keeps wagging at me.

I grinned and pocketed the note.

“Thank you.”

“Are you really thankful?”

“Honestly, I act tough, but I couldn’t sleep all night. I killed several of your subordinates too. And that Unrepentant… you told me not to mention it again, but anyway, I’m worried about that too. So why are you being so nice to me?”

“Good. I’ll tell you why I’m treating you specially. First, didn’t you take three of those precious Unrepentant Demonic Spiritual Pills? Although cheaper than elixirs with the same effect, it takes considerable time and money to make one.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Of course not. There’s another reason why I feel goodwill towards you.”

“What is it?”

“Looking at you, I felt anew that there are such things as fated connections between people.”

“Fated connections? What’s with this sappy talk between men?”

“The moment I saw you, I felt that our fates were deeply connected. Let’s just say I like you.”

I thought that if it wasn’t me, if it was an ordinary person in their twenties or thirties, they would melt at his words. Casually offering a thousand taels and saying he likes you, how could one’s heart not waver?

“Anyway, thank you.”

I patted my chest and grinned.

“I’ll use this money well.”

That day, I didn’t watch the Ma Ryeong-in.

In the evening, I really went to a brothel. I called for the prettiest courtesan and ordered the most expensive wine and dishes.

I drank with her and laughed raucously. I didn’t bother being wary of watchers at all. Somehow, I had a feeling he might be watching me today.

Even if not, it didn’t matter. It’s just taking a day off.

Although I played late into the night, I didn’t sleep with the courtesan. I was just trying to show a boisterous appearance, not actually be boisterous.

In my previous life, I had physical relationships with several women. So I don’t have any aversion to sleeping with courtesans or anyone else.

However, since I haven’t broken off my engagement yet, I just don’t want to sleep with another woman.

“You have a woman you like, don’t you?” the courtesan asked me.

“I don’t.”

“No, you definitely do.”

“I don’t. Don’t make baseless guesses.”

“Women have an intuition that counters men’s fickleness.”

“Stop it. This brother wants to live freely.”

The courtesan chuckled.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Just because. Men who have lived their whole lives wandering say that. That now they want to settle down with someone. That they’re sick of freedom.”

“Don’t be fooled. It’s just to seduce you. Those people, if they’re tied down for even a day, they’ll go crazy.”

“Maybe so.”

She smiled.

I lay on the courtesan’s lap and looked at the moon visible through the window.

Suddenly, Song Hwa-rin’s face overlapped with the bright moon and appeared.

I wonder how she’s doing? She must be training hard. I remembered walking with her in the marketplace. That day was really nice.

Then the courtesan looking down at me said,

“The person you’re thinking of now is the one you like.”

I looked up at the courtesan and said,

“I was thinking of you.”

The courtesan giggled and looked at the moon outside the window. Even this woman who had been living through war-like days seemed to have a peaceful mind today.

“The moonlight is especially beautiful today.”

***

At the same time, Song Hwa-rin was also standing by the window, looking up at the moon.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?” Su-ran asked.

Song Hwa-rin answered,

“Thinking of that person.”

“What?”

Su-ran was surprised.

“You don’t mean Byeok Ri-dan, do you?”

“Why? Am I not allowed to think of him?”

She asked so nonchalantly that Su-ran was flustered.

“No. But you’ve never…”

“Right, I’ve never thought of him before. And I’ve never said such things to you.”

“Yes.”

Su-ran’s bewilderment soon turned to worry.

“Young miss, you don’t have any worries, do you?”

“No. I just honestly answered your question. I said I was thinking of him.”

Su-ran could tell that Song Hwa-rin’s feelings for Byeok Ri-dan had deepened much more than she had thought.

“You’re getting closer to him, aren’t you?”

It was meant to comfort Song Hwa-rin, but it had no effect at all.

“No. He’s getting farther and farther away from me.”

Su-ran made an expression of incomprehension.

“The more I learn about his new aspects, the further he’s getting away bit by bit.”

The emotion in Song Hwa-rin’s eyes was clearly ‘regret’.

Su-ran, who had been making an expression of half-understanding, said energetically,

“To me, young miss is the best.”

A smile returned to Song Hwa-rin’s face. She beckoned Su-ran to come closer.

When Su-ran approached, she put her arm around Su-ran’s shoulders and looked up at the moon again.

This too was unprecedented behavior, so Su-ran was inwardly flustered.

‘She’s definitely changed.’

Song Hwa-rin’s deepened eyes were filled with moonlight.

***

The next day, a mission was given to me.

It was an order to eliminate the Lustful Buddha[3]. The Lustful Buddha was originally a warrior monk from a famous temple in Henan Province, but he had fallen into lust due to cultivation deviation, repeatedly raped donors, and fled.

Many martial artists lost their lives in the process of tracking him down.

Afterwards, he continued to roam around Henan Province, raping several women. Then he seemed to have gone into hiding as there was no news of him, but today I received an order to kill him.

“Is he an enemy of Young Master Ma?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“He’s a lecher we couldn’t catch for the past few years. But fortunately, we’ve found his whereabouts this time.”

A trap?

That was my first thought.

Could they be hoping I’d die by the hands of the Lustful Buddha through borrowing a knife to kill someone? But why? If they really wanted to kill me, there would be many easier ways.

Moreover, Joo Do-chi added:

“Capture him and hand him over to the Martial Righteous Alliance branch.”

“Is there a bounty on him?”

“That’s right.”

“How much is the bounty?”

“You can keep it.”

I just blinked my eyes as if I couldn’t understand. Joo Do-chi looked as if he had anticipated my reaction.

I raised my voice angrily.

“What are you trying to do now?”

“What do you mean? We’re trying to catch a villain, aren’t we?”

“Damn! What kind of bullshit is this!”

“Watch your mouth!”

Joo Do-chi, who had been answering calmly, glared at me with a face that said he wouldn’t tolerate it anymore.

I took a step back.

“Fine. Why do you want to kill him?”

“As I said earlier, isn’t he a villain?”

“Aren’t you just as much of a villain?”

Joo Do-chi snorted, curling up the corners of his mouth.

“Honestly, I don’t understand Young Master Ma either. Why he’s showing such kindness to you.”

It seemed he too didn’t know the intention of the Ma Ryeong-in who had given the order.

“Fine. I’ll catch him for now. I need to vent my frustrations on him anyway.”

For now, I had to do as I was told.

I didn’t intend to let go of this tail yet.

***

Two days later, I entered the Zhengzhou branch of the Martial Righteous Alliance.

The person being dragged by my hand was the Lustful Buddha. All the bones in his body were shattered, and he couldn’t move on his own.

Especially his lower body was covered in dried blood. That was the first place that burst during our fight.

“I’ve caught a wanted criminal with a bounty.”

The martial artists guarding the entrance asked in surprise,

“Who is this person?”

“The Lustful Buddha.”

Everyone was shocked at the mention of the Lustful Buddha. He was a figure that no martial artist of the Martial Righteous Alliance in Henan Province could be unaware of.

“I’ve brought him alive, so you can quickly confirm if it’s him.”

From then on, the Zhengzhou branch was in an uproar.

The branch leader, upon receiving the report, rushed out with his subordinates.

After confirming that the captured person was indeed the Lustful Buddha, the branch leader Peng Su[4] asked me in great surprise,

“What is your name, sir?”

“The martial brothers of the world have been calling me the Nameless One.”

“Oh! So the Nameless Hero was you, great hero!”

The martial artists of the branch around us cheered and applauded.

The Nameless Hero, who had beaten to death the Slaughterer, a symbol of authority, and boldly warned the Heavenly Blade Sect, was popular among martial artists. Now that he had even captured the Lustful Buddha, cheers naturally erupted.

While the bounty was being prepared, martial artists from the branch flocked to see my face, having heard the news.

It was just the other day that I was surrounded by enemies at the Joo family estate, and now I’ve become a hero surrounded by martial heroes.

I became the hero of the Zhengzhou branch that day.

The bounty was a whopping seven thousand taels. That’s how many evil deeds he had committed. I eliminated a villain and pocketed a large sum of seven thousand taels. This wasn’t a trap.

What remained was the Ma Ryeong-in’s intention.

Why did he show such kindness for my sake?