The Owner Of The Thousand Gold Coins Is A Military Official - Chapter 23

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

Chapter 23

It’s the night when assassins come calling.

However, for Cheongun, it’s a strangely peaceful night.

Rather, all the nights until now had been excessively quiet, tranquil, and serene.

Now that he doesn’t know how he might lose his life, somehow Cheongun looks as if he’s regained even more vitality.

‘They’re not moving.’

From the moment Cheongun personally extinguished the fire, no movement can be felt.

The opponent might be trying to sleep.

Or they might have noticed this side’s movements, so it’s the only choice.

Night and darkness are the assassin’s time.

Using this as a backdrop, they kill those who cannot be killed, and escape from places where escape is impossible.

However, for Cheongun, night and darkness were companions and comrades-in-arms.

If assassins melted into darkness, Cheongun knew how to become darkness itself.

Shadow Step,

A basic footwork technique used by assassins.

Cheongun also knew it from connections in his previous life.

If Shadow Step is a footwork that melts into darkness like melting into shadows, Cheongun melts into the surrounding terrain and features.

Internal energy can be used in infinite ways depending on how it’s applied.

This is why things like Sammaejinhwa or Heogongseopmul are possible.

It’s about reaching a supreme realm and realizing another principle for operating internal energy.

Of course, just realizing it isn’t enough.

A great deal of internal energy is needed to support it.

‘They’re gradually moving.’

I can feel it.

Each of their footsteps through the ground.

Tap.

When he lightly tapped the ground with internal energy concentrated at his toes, ripples began to form as if a water droplet had fallen onto a lake’s surface.

The ripples that began to form gradually spread out, then at a precise moment, they could no longer spread and began to be blocked.

Fifteen.

Assassins sent from somewhere, perhaps worried that tonight’s night might be lonely.

It seems like an excessive number, but knowing the failures so far, they must have prepared thoroughly.

They’re forming groups of three, slowly approaching from five directions.

Among them, the strongest energy is felt from the north, so there must be a leader there.

If it were daytime now.

If the opponents were ordinary martial artists rather than assassins, he would have targeted the head first, but not now.

‘I must capture them alive.’

Because if the leader dies first, they’ll obviously flee immediately.

In his previous life, he had no occasion to face these assassin bastards, but from this life on, he’ll probably face them to the point of being sick of it.

‘South. These three first.’

They appear to be sub-leaders.

Those under the leader aren’t worth keeping alive anyway.

Since they don’t know anything.

“He disappeared…”

The voices of those moving through darkness can also be heard.

“Your basics are lacking.”

“What…?”

Since they’re not worth keeping alive, there’s no need to worry.

Even dealing with them one at a time is a luxury.

He feels the return of the internal energy ripples he sent with his toes, precisely predicting and capturing the moment when their paths overlap.

Though it’s clearly a night without a moon, an untimely light flickers briefly.

Like moonlight reflecting on a lake’s surface.

Not just once.

Several more times after that.

Sometimes seeming regular, sometimes irregular, white light flickers.

“…Hmm?”

Only then did the leader realize something was wrong.

What could that alien flickering be?

It was a strange phenomenon he’d never seen before, but he couldn’t abandon the mission.

“I’ll go first. After that…”

“So you’re the leader.”

Already?

This isn’t just reading presence.

He grabbed the collar of the assassin right in front of him, pulled him strongly, and crouched down.

“Aaaah!!”

Thanks to that, one assassin survived, but the other assassin couldn’t.

He tried to turn his body using the pulling reaction to attempt evasion, but this rather became a self-defeating move.

Crack.

The sword had already cut down one assassin behind the leader and he thought the space was empty when he attempted the attack, but who would have thought the scabbard would strike his foot.

“Kuk!”

The sound of bone breaking was clear.

The sword that had already cut down one and returned mercilessly cut down the remaining assassin who had lost his balance.

“…”

Something was wrong.

Wasn’t the commission details wrong?

‘This guy… is the Patriarch of Cheongeumjang?’

Doesn’t that make no sense?

To have such martial prowess at the age of seventeen.

Not just the martial prowess, but he also seemed far too familiar with killing.

As if he had killed countless times before.

“Does Cheongeumjang… even do torture?”

Crack, crunch.

What returned to the leader’s question was a cold blade.

The same one that had mercilessly cut down his assassins just moments before.

“Kraaaah!!!”

The place where that sword flew was precisely his molars.

Entering from below and boring upward.

Unless he endured terrible pain, he couldn’t close his mouth on his own, and even that required applying strong force.

Cheongun drove the sword into the leader’s mouth while simultaneously pressing his pressure point.

“An assassin bastard… dares to question the Patriarch of Cheongeumjang.”

It was such precise control that if the sword had been driven just a little deeper, the leader would have lost his life immediately.

Cheongun, who had approached right in front, first removed the poison pill between the leader’s molars.

“You bastard…”

Then he threw it into his own mouth.

“Huh…?”

“The taste isn’t too bad.”

It’s Hwagolsan that melts even bones.

He just ate that as is?

Is this guy mentally unstable?

Is he not actually the Patriarch of Cheongeumjang?

All sorts of thoughts occurred to him, but strangely, no changes occurred at all.

“Uh, how…?”

“Now. I’ll start asking questions.”

At the same time, the sword lodged in his mouth was pulled out with a crunching sound.

“Krrgh…!”

Even while groaning in pain, his determination to never say anything was evident.

Cheongun took something from his chest and immediately threw it into the Leader’s mouth.

“Wh-what…!”

“I made it myself. Think of it as a spiritual medicine and swallow it.”

Think of it as a spiritual medicine?

What kind of nonsense was that?

Before long, the Leader’s mind became hazy.

“Which organization do you belong to?”

“…Gwisalgok.”

“Where did the commission come from?”

“…I don’t know.”

It seemed even the Leader couldn’t know that much.

After that, he asked quite a lot more.

There wasn’t much time.

Since he was forcibly controlling the opponent’s brain, the brain would melt as time passed.

“Grrgle…”

Sure enough, before long the Leader’s eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground as if melting.

Surprising.

“Our Cheongeumjang has… too many enemies.”

It might be different elsewhere, but money has no color.

Righteous and demonic, evil, and even the imperial family all have close connections.

Unfortunately, through this Leader he couldn’t determine in detail who was behind it.

However, he could confirm that the mastermind was among the righteous sects.

At this point, he realized that identifying specific enemies was meaningless.

Everyone was an enemy.

“I hope someone who knows more comes next time.”

They’d be that much stronger, but it didn’t matter.

The one who came today… was nothing.

After casually wiping the blood from his sword, Cheongun sat against a thick tree and spent the rest of the night.

It was a night when assassins had come, so it felt quite long.

When dawn broke, he would depart again.

It seemed there wasn’t much left now.

Sure enough, after going a little further, he could see the destination of this Gangho journey.

“…It’s almost no different from my memory.”

It wasn’t a place with much foot traffic.

It was quiet and secluded, but rather such places were better for seeds of danger to grow.

As he watched from a place where he could see everything at a glance, before long the Former Patriarch also approached.

“After spending the night so noisily, have you arrived?”

“Why didn’t you help me? Yes. We’ve arrived.”

“Why should I help?”

“Ah, Geono-ya.”

At the words “Geono-ya,” his expression filled with puzzlement.

“Geono-ya? Why am I Geono-ya?”

“Aren’t you a beggar old man?”

“Ha, you crazy bastard. Call me Yongno-ya.”

“Why Yongno-ya?”

“Aren’t I the Former Patriarch?”

“You’re ‘former,’ so why should I call you that?”

“…”

There were no words to refute that.

Rather, Geono-ya, meaning beggar old man, was more convincing.

“So, why did you call me?”

“Have you been here before?”

“Do you think there’s a place I haven’t been?”

“I suppose so. Then where do you beg?”

“…Find it yourself.”

The old man seemed to get sulky easily despite his age.

Thus, with the title settled as Geono-ya rather than Yongno-ya or Geono-ya, the Former Patriarch disappeared first.

Cheongun also slowly headed inside.

Since he chose this as his first destination, the investigation results here were most important.

His future course of action would change quite a bit depending on this.

Coming inside, a scene no different from anywhere else unfolded.

The gazes looking at Cheongun were strangely piercing.

A young man not even twenty, wearing fine clothes and carrying a sword, traveling alone.

It was an appearance that would bring nothing good if one got involved.

Since he didn’t particularly care about such gazes anyway, he headed to the inn with his hands clasped behind his back as always.

The innkeeper, confirming that Cheongun’s clothing was no ordinary expensive garment, showed him utmost courtesy.

“I’ll go to the top floor.”

“Ah, that place is a floor used by martial artists.”

“Can’t you see this?”

When Cheongun showed his sword at those words, the innkeeper nodded with worried eyes and said.

“Ah… yes. I understand.”

Occasionally, noble family sons who came out carrying swords would get wrongly involved in disputes and suffer great misfortune.

When that happened, the inn couldn’t avoid trouble either.

Following the innkeeper into the inn, unlike outside, there were quite a few people inside.

Passing them and climbing floor by floor, the number of people gradually decreased, and their conversations also gradually diminished.

Finally reaching the top floor, it became almost completely silent.

The top floor was only the third floor though.

“You may sit anywhere comfortable.”

“Right.”

Already since coming up to this floor, only one seat was visible to Cheongun’s eyes.

The window seat.

Luckily, one window seat on the top floor remained, so he was fortunate.

Sitting at the window seat, he looked around the surroundings.

Even from here, it wasn’t much different from his memory.

Among them, the place Cheongun looked at most carefully was the Martial Arts Alliance Branch.

He needed the person who was there.

“I remember that person wasn’t so easy-going back then either…”

Then, he felt a presence behind Cheongun.

“Hey. This is a seat for four people to use, how about you move?”

At those words, Cheongun turned around and saw a man who appeared to be around his age and his companions.

Two men and two women.

Judging by their martial uniforms, they appeared to be those admitted to the Martial Arts Alliance visible over there. It was the time when their shoulders would be puffed up.

Well, it wasn’t wrong.

He was quite willing to do so.

However, wasn’t it unpleasant to speak down to someone on first meeting?

“If you ask politely again, I’ll grant your request.”

Though Cheongun spoke with proper courtesy, the politeness that came back from the man was quite different from the kind of politeness Cheongun had hoped for.

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