CRS Chapter 22

After finishing their meal, everyone focused on their respective tasks.

First, Yi-ryang inspected various parts of the Cheonha Merchant Guild with Chief Steward Jang.

“I’ll set up a formation that won’t even let an ant pass through!”

“No, then the merchants won’t be able to come and go.”

“Ah…”

He scratched the back of his head as if he hadn’t thought of that.

“I see. Then…”

Chief Steward Jang scrutinized Yi-ryang with narrowed eyes.

‘Can he be trusted?’

Meanwhile, Surin gathered information about the Divine Thief using the Hao Sect’s resources.

She didn’t particularly care if other counting houses were robbed, but this was the Cheonha Merchant Guild.

The place where her future husband and father-in-law resided.

She was determined to solve this splendidly and score points with her future father-in-law!

***

While everyone was busy with their tasks.

A guest visited Ha Jin-wi, who was alone in his office.

“You’ve come.”

“Greetings, Cheonha Merchant Guild Master. Thank you for cooperating with the Alliance’s affairs.”

“It’s as good as my own business.”

The guest who arrived was in truly ragged attire.

Nevertheless, Ha Jin-wi didn’t disrespect him at all.

To begin with, Ha Jin-wi wasn’t one to judge people by appearances, and especially since the person before him was an elder of the Beggar’s Sect.

It was Chu Gwang-gae, who had dined with Eunho and Somi at Namgoong Cheong’s funeral.

“You must have many worries, but don’t fret. I, Chu Gwang-gae, am the best in the Central Plains when it comes to finding people.”

Ha Jin-wi nodded.

That was to be expected of an elder from the Beggar’s Sect.

In fact, when they said an investigator would be dispatched, he hadn’t expected an elder of the Beggar’s Sect to come personally.

The reputation of the Beggar’s Sect elders was not small in the righteous martial arts world.

The Martial Alliance’s pride must have been greatly wounded to dispatch him directly.

“Our Beggar’s Sect has been consistently tracking that bastard, and thanks to that, we’ve been able to uncover a lot.”

Elder Chu explained to Ha Jin-wi with an expression full of pride.

The method of the crimes, the route of movement, and even the level of the thief’s martial arts.

In fact, even Elder Chu was genuinely surprised when he received the report that the thief had evaded the Beggar’s Sect’s strike team.

It meant that at least in terms of lightness skill, he had reached the Transcendent realm.

However, it didn’t seem like his overall martial arts had surpassed the Transcendent realm.

‘If that were the case, he wouldn’t have fled so helplessly.’

It didn’t make sense for a master of that level to be one-sidedly chased by the Beggar’s Sect’s strike team.

A person whose lightness skill alone was abnormally outstanding!

While not common, it wasn’t completely unheard of in history.

When Ha Jin-wi calmly nodded, Elder Chu was puzzled.

The title of Transcendent was not to be taken lightly.

“You’re not surprised? I’ve heard that the Cheonha Merchant Guild Master is no ordinary person, but…”

Or perhaps he didn’t know well, not being a martial artist.

Of course, someone at the level of owning one of the four great counting houses couldn’t possibly not know.

“Haha, it’s not that. Actually, I already knew all of this information.”

“?”

Ha Jin-wi thought of Surin.

He was certain of her identity now.

A woman who already knew the information that even the Beggar’s Sect was proudly conveying.

Elder Chu felt uneasy.

‘Surely it can’t be that woman…’

Just then, someone opened the door to the office and entered.

It was Surin.

“Guild Master, at the local branch office… Oh, you have a guest. I’m sorry… Huh!?”

Surin was surprised when she recognized Elder Chu’s face.

“Huh?”

Elder Chu was also surprised.

The “that woman” he had dreaded was standing right before him.

‘To think the one who delivered information to the Cheonha Merchant Guild Master would be the Hao Sect leader.’

Elder Chu’s expression greatly soured.

As a renowned elder of the righteous faction, he fundamentally disliked the evil faction.

And if he had to pick the one he hated most among them, it would undoubtedly be…

“How dare a filthy evil faction wench come here? Do you know where you are?”

Surin glared back, not backing down.

The gazes of the two clashed fiercely in mid-air.

The Beggar’s Sect and the Hao Sect were inherently incompatible due to their nature.

As representative information organizations of the righteous and evil factions respectively, it would be stranger if they got along.

At that moment, Ha Jin-wi stepped in.

“Elder Chu.”

“Guild Master, do you know who this woman is? A truly filthy and vile—”

However, the agitated Elder Chu had no intention of stopping.

At least until he heard the next words.

“Elder Chu.”

“?”

Ha Jin-wi’s voice was cold.

“She is my guest.”

“No, this wench is from the Hao Sect—”

“I said she is a guest I personally invited.”

“…”

Elder Chu wasn’t someone who had become an elder through reading the room.

This was the Cheonha Merchant Guild, and currently, the Martial Alliance was in a position to request cooperation from the Cheonha Merchant Guild Master.

There was nothing to gain from irritating him.

“I apologize. I made a mistake.”

“Haah, let’s all sit down first.”

As the three sat around a round table under Ha Jin-wi’s mediation, a strange atmosphere flowed between them.

“We’ll first deploy the Alliance’s masters to the Cheonha Merchant Guild.”

“Pfft, Transcendent masters, perhaps? There were many Peak masters when the Samhwi Counting House was robbed, weren’t there?”

Elder Chu’s face reddened at Surin’s provocation.

“Ahem, do you think it’s so easy to deploy Transcendent masters?”

“Is that so? Hmm, I can do it. Two of them, even.”

Hoo, I must endure.

Elder Chu barely held back and spoke with a sneer.

“Tsk tsk, the Shadow Guard leader is one thing. But two? Your boasting is excessive.”

“We’ll see.”

Of course, the other Transcendent master Surin referred to was Eunho.

The difference between her and Elder Chu was whether they were aware of Eunho’s presence or not.

“Listen carefully. That bastard’s goal is definitely not money.”

This time, Surin nodded as if agreeing.

“It’s not fame either. He’s hiding too much for that.”

“Our ‘Beggar’s Sect’ found the reason elsewhere.”

For some reason, Elder Chu emphasized ‘Beggar’s Sect.’

“It’s money.”

“Didn’t you just say it wasn’t money?”

“Small and medium-sized counting houses have been robbed, and yesterday even the Samhwi Counting House was hit. Those who deposited money in counting houses are anxiously withdrawing their funds in a hurry. Doesn’t something seem odd?”

Surin tilted her head.

Has this old man gone senile?

Stating such obvious things.

Watching her reaction, Elder Chu clicked his tongue and said:

“Tsk, it’s the rumors.”

“!”

Surin was frustrated.

‘To miss such an important point.’

She had made an uncharacteristic mistake by focusing too much on Eunho’s presence.

“Surely each counting house would try to hide the fact that they were robbed, but the speed at which rumors spread is too fast. In fact, I suspected the Hao Sect might be behind it.”

“Ridiculous. We don’t directly intervene in rumors like this.”

The Hao Sect had their own iron rules.

They gather and classify all rumors but never directly intervene.

This was how the Hao Sect, relatively weaker compared to the Beggar’s Sect, survived.

“Hmph, that’s your stance. After all, aren’t you called the evil faction because you’re lowly bastards who move only for profit?”

“You son of a—!”

Surin was about to spit out a curse but held it back after glancing at Ha Jin-wi.

She couldn’t utter such vulgar words in front of her future father-in-law.

Instead, she glared with all her might.

She chose to curse with her eyes instead of her mouth.

As the tension between the two intensified again, Ha Jin-wi shook his head.

“Anyway, are you saying there’s someone behind this thief?”

“That’s the Beggar’s Sect’s position.”

Surin thought deeply for a moment, then smiled.

Now that she realized the fact she had overlooked, various pieces started to fit together.

“Interesting.”

“Did you think of something?”

“Our ‘Hao Sect’ knows information that the Beggar’s Sect doesn’t.”

“T-That can’t be possible.”

Though he said this, anxiety crept into Elder Chu’s face.

Surin savored his expression and pondered.

Should I tell him? Or not?

Normally, she would never give information to the Beggar’s Sect, but…

Isn’t scoring points with the Cheonha Merchant Guild Master more important right now?

“It’s Cheol Museong, the leader of the Four Evils Alliance.”

“!”

Everyone in the room was surprised by the sudden mention of this name.

Cheol Museong^[1] was the master of the Four Evils Alliance, which controlled the evil faction, and a Transformation Realm master listed among the Twenty-four Martial Arts Masters.

“The Four Evils Alliance leader and some people from Nanman recently had a meeting at a brothel we manage.”

***

Yang Jintae, the thief who encountered Eunho, was perplexed.

“How?”

“You were running, so I ran faster.”

“…”

Yang Jintae realized he could never escape through direct means.

“What’s your identity?”

To his question, Eunho pointed at the Cheonha Merchant Guild and said:

“I don’t know any more details, but I’ll give you two choices.”

“W-What are they?”

Yang Jintae swallowed hard.

“The first is getting beaten, and the second is trying to escape, getting caught, and then getting beaten. I’m thinking of thrashing you like a dog in the middle of the marketplace.”

“You crazy bastard!”

It was a proposal that naturally elicited curses.

Of course, he had no intention of accepting either option.

The first was out of the question, and the second even more so!

“What if I don’t like either?”

“Then I’ll choose for you.”

“…”

Yang Jintae’s eyes darted back and forth.

‘The time to send a signal has already passed, so they’ll come looking for me soon. I need to buy time until then.’

Thinking this, Yang Jintae slowly emanated his qi.

A faint wind enveloped him, and dust swirled.

Then, as he slowly took a step, his form scattered.

He moved continuously from front to back, left to right, relative to Eunho.

Despite this, Eunho merely stared at him in the same posture as before.

“Young man, I’ll ask you once. Don’t you think about letting me go? I haven’t even robbed the Cheonha Merchant Guild yet.”

“Oh, are you confessing that you were planning to rob the Cheonha Merchant Guild?”

“…Die.”

Yang Jintae’s lightness skill had indeed reached the Transcendent realm, as Elder Chu had predicted.

His movements gradually accelerated until he seemed to occupy all four directions around Eunho.

“You don’t seem to know that no one has survived messing with me, the Divine Thief. I didn’t want to bloody my hands against a youngster, but…”

As his voice came from all directions, the pressure became even more threatening.

It seemed as if one of the numerous images would lunge at Eunho’s neck at any moment.

Eunho, who had been watching with an expressionless face, opened his mouth.

“But why aren’t you attacking?”

“…”

There was no answer.

“I’d guess you’re somewhere between First-class and Peak. A martial art that only develops lightness skill. It’s certainly an unusual case.”

No matter how fast he moved, Eunho could clearly see his level.

Yang Jintae pondered.

‘If I could just buy a little more time.’

At this point, it felt embarrassing to stop.

After deliberating, Yang Jintae finally made the worst move.

He launched his form at Eunho!

BANG-!

The result was predictable.

Yang Jintae was unceremoniously wedged into a corner of the wall.

Eunho had merely swung his fist lightly.

However, Yang Jintae’s speed had become his own undoing.

A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Eunho approached the fallen man and bent down to meet his eye level.

“Why have you been robbing counting houses?”

When Yang Jintae didn’t answer, Eunho nodded.

“I understand. In that position, I wouldn’t want to say anything out of embarrassment either. But as an adult, there are times when you have to do things even if you don’t want to.”

Yang Jintae continued to glare at Eunho without speaking.

His tone was gradually becoming more irritating.

But so what?

The corners of Yang Jintae’s mouth twisted into a sinister smile.

“Young fool.”

“So we’ve reached an understanding? Good, now speak up.”

“You’re too late. You should have killed me quickly.”

Yang Jintae showed a triumphant expression.

At the same time, three men in black entered the alley.

“Brother, the guy is here.”

“Yang Jintae. What are you still doing here… Huh? Isn’t that the young master of the Cheonha Merchant Guild? You haven’t had any second thoughts, have you?”

The man in black glared at Yang Jintae with a fierce expression.

“How could that be? I only knew he was the young master because you told me. I was just killing time until you arrived because there was a slight hitch in the plan.”

Yang Jintae swallowed the words ‘while getting beaten.’

The one who seemed to be the leader of the men in black laughed in disbelief.

“Caught? You? Even a passing dog would laugh. Stop joking around and—”

At that moment, Eunho slightly raised his index finger and pointed it at him.

Pshik-!

A single streak of finger wind shot out.

THUD!

The man in black collapsed.

“!”

The jaws of the remaining two men in black and Yang Jintae dropped wide open.

Their eyes darted around, seemingly unable to comprehend the situation.

A wisp of smoke rose from the forehead of the fallen man in black.

“I was worried his head might get pierced, but fortunately it’s tougher than I thought.”

Then he moved his finger sideways, aiming at another man in black.

“Is your forehead tough too?”

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