Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 119

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 119
“…Did we really need to go to such lengths with the disguise?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“I’m asking why we needed to attach such an obvious goat beard when we’re already wearing face masks.”
“Young Master Ak, if you look closely enough at a face mask, your expression still shows through.”
“What does that have to do with a goat beard?”
“A person’s expression is primarily determined by the mouth, sir. Even a slight cover makes it look far more natural.”
Since arriving in Wonyang County, Zhongqing, the four of us had been wearing face masks and changed clothes to conceal our true appearances.
Namgung Sohwa had taken on the warm, innocent impression of a country girl.
Dokgo Ak wore a goat beard and the face of a merchant.
And Geum Seok-du… was not wearing a face mask.
Instead, he had somehow procured a fake head of hair and simply drawn a mole beside his nose. Yet among the four of us, his appearance had changed the most.
“Fair point.”
“I’m glad you understand, sir.”
“But then….”
Dokgo Ak pointed at Dokgo Myeong.
“What about him! Why does he still look so handsome!”
Dokgo Ak, who had been whispering while mindful of those around us, suddenly burst out in exasperation.
Even with the face mask on, Dokgo Myeong’s appearance hadn’t changed much.
His original features remained intact, with only his expression slightly altered.
He wore the face mask in a way that made him look like Dokgo Myeong with all the playfulness stripped away, replaced by a dignified composure.
Geum Seok-du let out a deep sigh.
“Young Master, think about it.”
“What?”
“Could you possibly tamper with Young Master Dokgo Myeong’s face?”
Dokgo Ak flinched.
“That’s….”
“I’m glad you understand, sir. And frankly, your facial structure suits the goat beard perfectly.”
“Really?”
“Yes, sir. It’s rare to achieve such harmony, but this….”
“Ahem!”
Dokgo Ak nodded, secretly pleased with himself.
Indeed, who would dare do something strange to that man’s face and deal with the consequences?
But wait.
“You… didn’t you just admit it was tampering?”
“What are you talking about, sir?”
“You cunning bastard!”
Then Namgung Sohwa furrowed her brow and spoke up.
“Can you two settle down? Everyone’s staring at us.”
“Right, you fools. What in the world are you doing?”
“Damn it….”
When even Dokgo Myeong chided him, Dokgo Ak had no choice but to close his mouth.
Grumbling pointlessly, I lifted my head to find the City of Eternal Night spread before me.
Beneath the night sky, a sea of light shimmered like the Milky Way itself. Scattered across the well-maintained streets, countless lanterns danced in that radiance, their glow illuminating pavilions that stretched to the horizon.
Drunkards, sword-bearing martial artists, merchants, innkeepers… Despite the late hour, the streets blazed as bright as day, and people of all kinds chattered boisterously as they walked.
It was the Street of Ten Thousand Lanterns—so resplendent and magnificent that calling it an underworld beyond the reach of imperial law seemed almost absurd.
Dokgo Ak muttered in a daze, as if entranced by the light.
“I heard Zhongqing was a lawless wasteland where plunder and violence ran rampant, a desolate place….”
Geum Seok-du answered flatly.
“This is just the entrance, so it’s less bustling. Once you go deeper, it’ll be far more crowded.”
“What? You’re saying this is the less busy part?”
“Yes. Just because the underworld has taken root here doesn’t mean it has to be desolate. That’s all just idle gossip spread by the righteous sects’ higher-ups.”
“You speak like someone from the underworld.”
“That’s because I am from the underworld.”
“What?”
“Yes?”
Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Ak’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Why are you so shocked?”
“Well….”
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
There was no way Geum Seok-du, whom we’d brought from the gambling den, could be from a righteous sect.
Geum Seok-du let out a scoff.
“The underworld has its own rules and laws, you see. Of course, compared to the righteous sects, those laws are filthy and ugly.”
“But why would the underworld be called the underworld if not because they’re villains who prey on common folk and extort money from them?”
Dokgo Myeong, who had been quietly listening to Dokgo Ak’s words, chuckled and joined the conversation.
“How could that all be true, you fool?”
“What?”
“It’s all just a place where people live. It may be more brutal than areas dominated by righteous sects, but it’s not fundamentally different, that’s what I’m saying.”
“….”
“The world you’ve seen through your family’s teachings is that narrow. Try to see more broadly and listen more widely.”
Dokgo Ak nodded with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
Dokgo Myeong smiled faintly and looked at Geum Seok-du.
“By the way, you’ve been here before? Another gambling den?”
“Ah, no. I came here following my master.”
“What for?”
“We’d run out of money, so I was going to sell my master’s poetry collection.”
“You sold something that precious?”
“Of course it was a forgery. My master’s skill is well-known in that line of work.”
“….”
“So, where are you planning to go? Should I ask around about the person you mentioned?”
Dokgo Myeong shook his head.
“Let’s secure lodging first. If we go around asking questions carelessly, we’ll stand out as outsiders and end up with a blade in our ribs.”
In truth, I already had a suspicion of where he was. There was only one place he could be.
Geum Seok-du nodded in agreement.
“A wise decision. If things go awry, it will become quite the spectacle.”
“…Didn’t you just say something about rules earlier?”
At Namgung Sohwa’s words, Dokgo Myeong spoke matter-of-factly.
“That is precisely what makes the rules and codes of the vile Dark Path so contemptible.”
Geum Seok-du opened his mouth.
“Young Master, which inn shall we visit?”
“Just find a suitable place, I suppose.”
Of course, Dokgo Myeong had already decided where to go.
No matter how resplendent a sect’s facade, its depths inevitably descend into savagery. In such places, there were those who chose means other than martial prowess to survive.
‘Seo-wang Hodal-saeng. I must seek him out.’
As the saying goes, the birds hear what is spoken by day, and the rats hear what is spoken by night.
The man called by the amusing epithet of Rat King—he possessed the keenest ears in this city that never sleeps.
* * *
The inn was raucous even from outside the door.
Pushing aside the curtain and stepping in, the commotion suddenly fell silent as if it were a lie.
“Innkeeper! Where’s the innkeeper?”
“…Tsk.”
A fellow resembling an innkeeper clicked his tongue once, then trudged over and opened his mouth.
“What?”
“What? Aren’t you going to show us to a table?”
“Damn it. Just sit anywhere—why all this fuss?”
Dokgo Myeong let out a soft chuckle.
The innkeeper laughed along, and Dokgo Myeong drove his fist straight into that laughing mouth.
Crack! Boom!
The innkeeper, driven into the floor of the inn in a single blow, couldn’t even scream.
Dokgo Myeong kicked the fallen innkeeper with his foot.
“What’s this bastard? Got knocked out from one hit? You should’ve shown us to a table.”
Dokgo Myeong poked the innkeeper’s belly with his toe, then swept his gaze across the Dark Path members and shouted.
“What? What are you all staring at, you bastards! Don’t you know how to look away?”
Directly behind Dokgo Myeong.
Dokgo Ak and Namgung Sohwa, who had witnessed the entire scene unfold before their eyes, felt the urge to scream.
‘No matter what, throwing punches right off the bat—what are we supposed to do!’
‘Among so many Dark Path members…!’
Just as the hands of the two began to slyly drift toward the blades at their waists.
The expressions of the sect members in the inn who had been glaring at Dokgo Myeong completely changed.
“What? He’s not a newcomer, is he?”
“Your stiff limbs made you look exactly like an outsider.”
“Never mind that. Let’s just drink.”
The Inn filled with cheerful chatter once more.
Dokgo Myeong gestured to the three of them, then naturally found an empty seat and sat down.
The two vacant-eyed ones and Geum Seok-du, who seemed familiar with the entire situation, followed suit and took their places.
Dokgo Myeong spoke with a faint smile.
“Why do you have that expression on your face?”
Namgung Sohwa whispered softly, her expression caught between bewilderment and slight disappointment.
“Is this how the Underworld operates?”
“Let me clarify one thing. The Underworld doesn’t call itself the Underworld. It’s always those self-righteous people above the surface who draw the line.”
“…!”
“So don’t speak of methods or anything like that. Actually, just stay quiet. You lot give yourselves away no matter how you act.”
“We even wore disguises and masks, so how could we possibly stand out….”
At Dokgo Ak’s timid objection, Dokgo Myeong laughed bitterly.
“It’s useless. There’s an aura that those who look upward in life give off. Here, everyone looks downward, so we can tell immediately.”
“…!”
Everyone stared at Dokgo Myeong with astonished eyes.
It happened like this sometimes.
Dokgo Myeong would reveal a raw side that couldn’t be seen as a direct descendant of the Noble Families.
That was when it happened.
“Damn it, I thought this one might last a while, but another one’s gone. A first-time customer too—what’s the meaning of this?”
A short man with a hunched back approached, clicking his tongue, and slammed the table down with a bang.
Dokgo Myeong turned his head smoothly.
“It seems our Innkeeper is considering a few days of closure as well?”
“Why do you speak so strangely? Hehehehe!”
The man adjusted his posture awkwardly.
Seo Wang Hodal-saeng quickly scanned the four people.
‘I’ve never seen this one before, but why does he reek of that world so strongly? Did he come from elsewhere?’
Hodal-saeng tilted his head and opened his mouth.
“So what’ll it be?”
“Bring a couple bottles of liquor and some side dishes to go with it.”
“That’ll be one silver tael.”
“Why don’t you take a hit too?”
“Ha, try hitting me if you dare. You do know who I am, don’t you?”
Dokgo Myeong grinned widely.
“A rat, aren’t you?”
“…Are you really not an outsider?”
Hodal-saeng’s expression changed only then, and he gestured with his chin.
“Where are you from? I’ve never seen your faces before.”
“What good would knowing do you?”
“That’s strange, that’s why. This isn’t the kind of place where you’d come and go with a woman….”
It was just as Dokgo Myeong was about to respond.
“Does she want to scratch your eyes out?”
The atmosphere froze at Namgung Sohwa’s fierce voice.
In the silence, Namgung Sohwa sneered and glanced around the surroundings.
“What? What are you looking at?”
“Uh, uh….”
“No, I thought you were just fools, but you’re actually people from this side. I apologize. I was just going to probe a bit… Ahem! Hem!”
Hodal-saeng cleared his throat several times before speaking.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I came to buy some rice.”
At the mention of rice, Hodal-saeng’s eyes gleamed.
“Oh my, sir! I didn’t recognize you. Please wait a moment. I’ll hurry and bring you a table of drinks.”
Hodal-saeng rushed into the kitchen.
As he disappeared, Dokgo Myeong looked at Namgung Sohwa with startled eyes.
“What was that just now?”
“What do you mean?”
“No….”
Namgung Sohwa laughed softly.
“I wandered through the entire Gangho before I even came of age. Of course, life wasn’t always comfortable. So don’t treat me like a young master, will you?”
Dokgo Myeong let out a hollow laugh as well.
Soon after, Namgung Sohwa lowered her voice slightly and asked.
“That was a code word, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s a code for buying information.”
Geum Seok-du’s eyes gleamed.
“Could that man have been a broker?”
“Not just a broker—he also deals in information.”
“What? You mean the rat you mentioned….”
“Yes, that man is Seo-wang.”
Geum Seok-du’s eyes widened.
“So this is the legendary Seo-wang. They say he never learned martial arts but controls all the information in the Maneungga underworld with his bare hands.”
“Is there anything you don’t know?”
“I’m somewhat well-read. But why did you seek out Seo-wang?”
“I have an invitation to the auction house, but not to the other place.”
“The other place?”
“Yes, the fighting pit.”
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
‘Did you hear that?’
‘The fighting pit? He said the fighting pit, right?’
‘The fighting pit I know? That fighting pit where they gamble?’
Dokgo Ak’s expression twisted.
I said I’d stay quiet and leave quietly!
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“Don’t misunderstand. I was planning to stop by anyway. I have a feeling the person I’m looking for will be at the gambling den—the one where only high-ranking officials are permitted entry.”
“Huh?”
I wasn’t guessing; I was certain. Unless the past had changed, he would be there.
How much time had passed like this?
“Ah, honored guests! The food and drink have arrived!”
Hodal-saeng returned carrying a modest table laden with liquor.
“Allow me to pour a cup for each of you!”
Hodal-saeng took the bottle himself and filled the cups of all four people to the brim.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled and extended his hand.
“Give me the bottle, and bring another cup.”
“Another cup? Why would you need that?”
“You’re going to have a drink too.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve taken a liking to the innkeeper. I want to share a cup with you.”
“Oh, I’m honored by the sentiment alone.”
In that instant, Dokgo Myeong’s left hand shot out like lightning, seizing Hodal-saeng by the jaw.
His remaining hand reached toward the bottle Hodal-saeng was holding.
“Ugh, gah!”
Before his fingers could even touch it, the bottle was already being pulled into Dokgo Myeong’s grasp.
Dokgo Myeong smiled coldly and spoke.
“Open your mouth.”
“…!”
“If you don’t, I’ll kill you.”

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