Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 20

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

#020

In one corner of the martial arts world, ten groups called the Nine Sects Alliance were newly stretching their wings.

Five families were rising to prominence under the name of the Five Great Families, gathering wealth and martial power.

It was a time when chaos was built by those who wielded swords, and order was established within that chaos, when the term martial world was just beginning to be called.

In the center of Anhui, where the Namgung Family, one of those five families, was established, stood Mount Cheonju.

Centered around Mount Cheonju, the Dairim Mountain Range split Anhui into east and west.

The eastern territory beyond the mountain range was an extraterritorial zone where the Namgung Family’s influence was faint.

It was a place where the Black Dao and Green Forest, expelled from Anhui, had established their strongholds, and also where Yanhua Xianglou, Anhui’s largest red-light district, was located.

Even within Yanhua Xianglou, there was a four-story brothel of considerable scale called Yaohua Pavilion.

Today.

Even in this world of red lanterns, no guests were allowed to enter the top floor.

-Swish.

The bamboo curtain was drawn back.

“Young Master.”

The general manager of Yaohua Pavilion, the Warden who managed the courtesans, entered.

She then approached me sitting in the center and spoke carefully.

“Is there perhaps some problem?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…”

The Warden looked at the courtesans who were watching her, their faces filled with some kind of anxiety.

“You haven’t eaten anything for four time periods now, or even played with the girls.”

“Ah. So that was it.”

I looked around my surroundings once more. Translucent purple and red thin fabrics fluttered in the air.

On the table were various fine liquors and premium wines.

Beautiful courtesans in see-through clothing were lined up on both sides.

“If the liquor or the girls don’t suit your taste, Young Master, please let us know. We’ll replace them.”

“No.”

I said.

“This is good. Couldn’t be better. I have no complaints whatsoever.”

“…Is that truly so?”

The Warden looked at the table again.

“But you haven’t even touched the food-“

“I’m already eating my fill. Please understand.”

I said while forcing down the beef, pork, fish, and mixed grain rice that Wu Biaoyun had packed for me.

“I’m currently in the middle of changing my constitution… I must treasure each meal and seize that opportunity. Please understand.”

And after eating all of that, I finished by drinking plum syrup to clear my blocked throat.

Throughout all of this, I didn’t touch anything from Yaohua Pavilion, not even the water the courtesan had poured.

“Of course. I will pay the fee.”

“That’s not what I meant. This is…”

“For this scale.”

I cut off the Warden’s words. After finishing the plum syrup and setting down the empty gourd bottle, I continued.

“I called courtesans of this caliber and rented the entire fourth floor of Yaohua Pavilion with the best view, along with countless liquors and foods. For this scale, no matter how much Yaohua Pavilion usually keeps things quiet, quite a few people would know about it, right?”

“…Pardon?”

The Warden’s gaze wavered.

“I’m not criticizing you. Well, that’s how this business works.”

I picked up the wine bottle in front of me.

“Information about me being here, checking and relaying it in real-time would be worth about a handful of silver at current rates? Well, maybe not.”

“…!”

The Warden’s pupils shook.

Regardless, I continued speaking while pouring the wine from the bottle onto my clothes.

“Let’s see, it’s been four time periods now… In this amount of time, they would have already sent four Black Dart Messengers north and five south, and confirmed with the Hao Faction and Si Xiang Faction through the upper communication network.”

“You girls.”

The Warden urgently spoke to the courtesans.

“Go to the side room for a moment. Don’t come back until I call you again.”

“Yes…? Yes.”

The courtesans hurried to the adjacent room.

Regardless, I continued speaking while pouring wine on my clothes.

“Since I rented the entire fourth floor of Yaohua Pavilion in this Pleasure District and hired courtesans, you and those watching this place would be curious about what exactly this foolish young master is up to. Naturally.”

As a result of pouring wine on my clothes, my body began to reek of alcohol.

It was exactly the appearance of someone who had spent the night indulging in pleasure.

After putting away the wine bottle, I poured fresh tea into the teacup beside me.

The Warden spoke with a trembling voice.

“That’s… speculation. I don’t understand what you’ve been saying since earlier-“

“When such requests come in, they’ll try to figure out exactly what this foolish young master’s true identity is before he leaves and returns to Anhui’s central district, what background he has, and what position he holds within that background.”

I continued the story as if watching the process unfold in real-time before my eyes.

“In that process, the Hao Faction will also get involved, and in that process, they’ll demand a fee of 25 to 30 percent. Ah, no. Since current rates are from an earlier time when there was less competition, they might demand up to 40 percent.”

“That… that’s.”

The Warden’s face turned pale, probably because I was seeing through everything too clearly.

For an assassin, it was natural to be thoroughly familiar with how the back alleys operated and their symbiotic relationships.

I nodded and continued speaking.

“And finally, after receiving and reviewing the information from the Hao Faction again, they’ll conclude that he’s literally just a young master enjoying pleasures, and since all he has is money, there won’t be any consequences for robbing him, something like ‘this seems worth trying.’

Why? Because I’m of mixed blood who isn’t treated very well as a person in our family. And my new position that I gained by winning this Ranking Competition hasn’t been fully reflected yet – it was just notified to various local sects and will need about two more days. In other words-“

I grabbed the teacup.

“Right now is the last opportunity with the least risk to strike this mark.”

I gulped down the tea.

I pointed to the black mountain range revealed under the bright full moon below the open window.

“Moreover, the Dairim Mountain Range over there is dense, a place where even if a corpse is thrown in, it would disappear without a trace. A foolish young master intoxicated with victory, worried about being scolded by the Master, plays all night with courtesans and then hurriedly crosses the mountain range. My, if they don’t go for this, they wouldn’t be the Black Dao and Green Forest. Especially if there are those who want to devour me…”

I looked at the Warden.

“They absolutely won’t be able to resist going for it. How do you think about this so far?”

“Ha… haha. Is… is that so. I’m ignorant, so I don’t understand what you’re saying at all…”

The Warden’s face was covered in cold sweat.

There are many in this world stronger than me.

That would still be true even if I recovered all my past abilities.

But one thing is certain.

In this orthodox faction, no one knows the bottom of the martial arts world as well as I do.

And no one understands their psychology either.

This was a gamble.

Would others move as I thought they would?

I used every method I could to predict as accurately as possible.

And yet I was anxious about whether this would work or not.

No. Even if it worked, I was anxious about what would happen if the situation exceeded my expectations.

But at least judging from the Warden’s reaction, it was certain that the result of nothing happening was now impossible.

In that case-.

-Clink.

I tossed a bundle of silver to the Warden.

“If you don’t want to get hurt, just convey that I’m perfectly sane. Nothing more.”

“Ah…”

“Call the girls back. I have instructions for them.”

Then I pointed to a bundle of silver coins and said.

“By the way, this is clean money, separate from today’s payment.”

The Warden hesitated.

But she too was someone who had survived skillfully in this Red Lantern District.

She snatched up the bundle of silver coins.

She bowed her head.

“I’ll have the girls called back immediately.”

“Good.”

I gestured for the Warden to withdraw.

Watching the courtesans enter, I stood up and looked down out the window.

In the distance, I could see the Dairim Mountain Range.

And a full moon was rising, tilted enough that the Dairim Mountain Range was clearly visible.

I gauged its height.

It was the time I had calculated.

Looking out the window, I spoke toward the back.

“Now that it’s time, from now on all the courtesans will—”

I spoke quietly.

“Sprinkle a handful of alcohol on your necks and fingertips, dishevel your clothes slightly before going out. And if possible, apply rouge lightly to your cheeks as if you’re flushed. You’ve done makeup like eating meals, so you’ll do it more naturally than anyone. Just do this much and I’ll pay you the full day’s wages.”

“What… does that…”

“Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”

I spoke to the courtesans standing awkwardly.

“I’m leaving now, and the banquet is over.”

“Where are you going? It’s the dead of night.”

“Returning to Mount Cheonju.”

With those words, I sent out all the courtesans.

I tore the cloth beside me. I twisted it appropriately to make it like string and tied the fluttering sleeves of my hands and feet to make them snug.

I loosened up my body.

I checked the operation of Pasabeolsik and all blood vessels.

While doing so, I looked down at the red lantern world below through the open window.

—…

I could see the courtesans leaving all at once.

Every one of them reeked of alcohol and powder, and people in the Red Lantern District watched them leave in droves.

And among them.

—… … …

I saw several people glance at the courtesans going by with alcohol smell and red flush, then run off somewhere.

“Three beats. From three beats to two. From two to one. Don’t exceed three exchanges in one breath. Body twice, head once. I can do it. Of course I can. After all, I did it countless times in my previous life.”

I don’t know if everything will go as I planned.

“I can’t retreat. I can’t retreat. If I retreat even once, I won’t be master of my own life in this lifetime either…”

It’s not like I want to do crazy things that risk danger.

In some ways, this might be suicide.

Since I don’t know how the opponent will come at me.

But.

No matter how I think about it, for growth, without any future troubles.

To grow while avoiding others’ gazes, there’s no faster shortcut than this.

—Clatter.

Whether the courtesans left them behind in their confusion, I saw several iron coins on the table.

I picked up one of them.

I put strength into my fingers.

—Creak…

Half.

The thick iron coin folded in half.

I turned it again.

I employed Pasabeolsik.

—Creak…

Very slightly, it bent a little then stopped.

“Exactly 40%… Have I recovered 40%?”

In the past, I could employ all four blood techniques that assisted movement with Pasabeolsik.

My physical training level was at a stage where I could fold an iron coin three times.

And with all those skills, I was defeated, my hands were crushed, and I met an end of burning to death.

Confirming that the road ahead is too long always leaves a bitter taste.

Now, recovering 40% in less than half a year since I started this current life is objectively something to be encouraged about.

No, not just encouraged—even Amje, who was my master, would be surprised to see this.

Even though I had skills worthy of receiving my master’s recognition and inheriting the title ‘Amje,’ catching up to 40% of such skills in less than half a year doesn’t make sense.

Of course, this 40% is based on external combat standards.

Certainly this life grew from the same roots, but the fruit it bears is growing in a different form from the past.

In my previous life, it was an undeniable fact that I had almost no internal energy.

So I had to rely thoroughly on physical training, quick thinking, and technical proficiency, applying various techniques to my body as support.

But now it’s different.

I’m building internal energy in the orthodox way that martial artists used, and growing based on that.

But I have no intention of being satisfied with this.

This would only make me an ordinary martial artist.

On the path I must take, I need to play the role of one against a hundred.

Because I have no faction.

Because I must create something from nothing.

So—

—Whooom…

Silver light seeps out along the blood vessels of my back carved with Pasabeolsik’s path, then scatters.

Ordinary martial artists accumulate internal energy in their danjeon to pursue long-term sustained growth and receive it back as great martial power in the future.

In contrast, assassins with inferior mental techniques and insufficient internal energy compared to martial artists apply techniques through blood vessels rather than danjeon accumulation, investing internal energy in them to perform immediate execution of killing techniques.

In the past, I inherited excellent techniques thanks to my master, but lacking the internal energy to nurture them, I had to rely only on basic power.

But now, it’s both.

Sixty years’ worth of internal energy accumulated in my danjeon.

I willingly consume it for the expansion and development of Pasabeolsik’s blood vessels.

While accumulating internal energy in the vast danjeon like the depths of Buk Hai through Bukmyeong Singong, I grow Pasabeolsik that can be immediately deployed in life-or-death battles based on that, and store remaining internal energy in my danjeon for long-term growth like a martial artist.

This is precisely the answer I gave to my own life when creating Bukmyeong Singong.

And only this method is the sole path to surpass the highest-level masters I couldn’t even look at in my previous life.

And to realize this method, like other martial artists but more than anyone else, I need more, overwhelmingly more internal energy.

—Creak.

I opened the brothel door and went down.

The Warden was there.

“Take care. And whatever sounds you might hear from now on, absolutely don’t come outside.”

The Warden asked in a stammering voice.

“Sounds…? What kind of sounds exactly?”

I paused while opening the door to leave.

I looked up at the huge moonlight.

“For instance, screaming.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————