Chapter 6: I Made Contact with the Rogues’ Guild (1)

Did you know which group the Beggar’s Gang put the most effort into collecting information on?

The Nine Sects or the Five Great Clans of the same righteous faction, or the Murim Alliance?

The Unorthodox Alliance, the coalition of unorthodox sects that stood opposite the Murim Alliance?

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the head of the demonic path that could be called the main enemy of the Central Plains Murim?

None of them.

The correct answer was the Rogues’ Guild.

The very place that reigned as one of the two great pillars of information sects, along with the Beggar’s Gang.

It was a rule for every sect to invest the most effort in understanding its competitors, and the Beggar’s Gang was no different.

In other words, it was inevitable that I, who had rolled around in the Beggar’s Gang for ten years, was well-versed in various pieces of information about the Rogues’ Guild.

The Beggar’s Gang, which symbolized righteousness and justice.

The Rogues’ Guild, which symbolized trickery and schemes.

I knew that these two vastly different sects were actually quite similar in many ways.

This too could be called a case of all rivers flowing to the same sea.

If what I needed in my past life was the Beggar’s Gang, what I needed in this life was the Rogues’ Guild.

This was because in this life, I had more things to hide than to find out, and the trickery and schemes of the Rogues’ Guild would be of great help.

Of course, I shouldn’t get too close to them.

After all, I was aiming to become the Murim Alliance Leader in the future.

In any case, I would hide what I had and what I would come to have as much as possible through the Rogues’ Guild.

This was because while the Rogues’ Guild was a place that the Beggar’s Gang had thoroughly grasped, it was, paradoxically, one of the few groups where one could do something while avoiding the eyes of the Beggar’s Gang.

“Welcome.”

Flower Moon Pavilion.

It was a high-class tavern located a little distance from the Dancheon Clan.

As I set foot inside, a servant of the tavern greeted me with a formal attitude.

Ting.

“The most expensive place.”

Saying this, I tossed a gold piece into the air.

This attitude would be befitting of a son from a prestigious martial family full of arrogance.

The servant snatched the gold piece and tucked it into his clothes.

Then he bowed his head low.

“I will serve you with all my heart.”

“Good.”

Watching the servant’s back bend at a right angle, I gave a full-blown smile.

Through this process, which at first glance seemed like a bluff, I had seen through one fact.

That servant had learned martial arts.

I had expected as much.

This place’s true identity was the Anhui branch of the Rogues’ Guild, which oversaw all information in Anhui Province.

In the righteous Beggar’s Gang, they taught that there was no nobility or baseness in people, but I knew that the Jianghu Murim was a place where nobility and baseness were divided by wealth, military power, and status.

“Bring your best.”

At this one phrase, all sorts of delicacies and fine liquor were placed before my seat.

The power of the one gold nyang I had thrown to the servant played a part, but the bigger reason was likely that they knew my identity.

“Not bad.”

I wasn’t really sure how natural my current appearance was.

This was because the Dancheon Myeong of my past life had never been to a high-class tavern.

Having been cast out of the family after losing the heir competition at the age of twenty, I never had the chance.

It was the same during my Myeong-gae days.

Where would a beggar have the occasion to go to a high-class tavern?

Ah, there was one time.

For Myeong-gae, a high-class tavern was a place to go as a last resort to beg for food during his White Beggar days.

This was because in high-class taverns, where a lot of food was thrown away, they would reluctantly give out food even while making a face that said, ‘that damn beggar brat is here again.’

However, there was a reason it was a last resort.

The first was that most high-class taverns were connected to the Rogues’ Guild, so for the pride of a Beggar’s Gang member, begging there was not allowed, and the second was that if you were not careful, you could get caught by some guy with a strange personality and be beaten to a pulp.

But for me, Dancheon Myeong, the second son of a prestigious martial family that dominated Anhui Province, to set foot here was a perfectly natural thing for outsiders to see.

Wouldn’t the second son of a prestigious martial family naturally enjoy liquor and food at high-class taverns from a young age?

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Gulp.

“Kiya.”

An exclamation of admiration escaped my lips without me realizing it.

Compared to the mixed cheap liquor I often drank during my Myeong-gae days, the aroma and taste of this Geomnamchun(Wine), which could be called the king of white liquors, were excellent.

Money was indeed good.

“A young punk, not even dry behind the ears, drinking in broad daylight.”

My gaze moved towards the voice that was too clear to be a monologue.

This was the upper floor of the Flower Moon Pavilion, a place frequented only by those who were confident in their wealth and status.

As expected.

A middle-aged man in high-quality silk clothes was glaring at me with a flushed face.

Accidents were usually caused by those who were ambiguously successful like that.

“Brother. Were those words meant for me?”

I asked him with a faint smile.

“Hmph. Why? Was I wrong?”

I couldn’t understand why a guy who was already completely drunk was picking a fight with me, who had just started drinking.

Well, it didn’t matter.

It seemed like that fellow could serve as a great pretext.

“What? You want to fight?”

As I approached him, the middle-aged man took a stance.

He seemed to have learned some kind of martial art, as it was a reasonably natural starting stance.

But.

“Sir, please stop there.”

A servant of the Flower Moon Pavilion, who had appeared without a sound, stood behind the middle-aged man.

“What? Are you taking the side of that brat instead of me, a regular customer of this place? Do you even know how much money I’ve spent here!”

The middle-aged man’s anger was now directed at the servant instead of me.

Despite his rude attitude, the servant did not lose his smile and continued.

“That person is the second son of the Dancheon Sword Clan.”

“What?”

At those words, the middle-aged man’s body stiffened.

I repeat, the Dancheon Clan was a prestigious martial family that dominated Anhui Province.

Even those famous Namgung punks couldn’t treat our family as rudely as that middle-aged man, so the middle-aged man’s flushed face instantly turned pale.

“If the customer wishes, we will not intervene.”

The servant said, looking down at the middle-aged man.

It was by no means the attitude of a mere servant.

“But, can you handle it?”

With these words, the servant delivered the finishing touch.

“Keuheum.”

Without answering, the middle-aged man, who had suddenly straightened his clothes, continued.

“The food here isn’t as good as it used to be. I won’t be coming here in the future.”

Saying so, the middle-aged man vanished in a flash.

“I apologize for the disturbance.”

The servant did not forget his usual pleasant smile and apologized to me.

“It’s fine.”

What a shame.

I thought if I fought that guy, I could easily connect with the Mistress of the Pavilion on that pretext.

Well, that didn’t mean I had no way to meet the Mistress of the Pavilion of this place.

“I’d like to see the Mistress of the Pavilion.”

There was a good method called a frontal breakthrough, after all.

I was the second son of the Dancheon Clan.

“That would be a bit difficult. I apologize, sir.”

The Mistress of the Pavilion of any decent high-class tavern would have come out to greet me with open arms at the mere mention of the Dancheon Clan, but the Mistress of the Pavilion here was hard to move.

I understood.

The Mistress of the Pavilion of the Flower Moon Pavilion, Yeo-wol.

She was a powerful figure with enough prestige to aim for the position of the next Rogues’ Guild Leader.

If I hadn’t known she was here in the first place, would I have bothered to come all this way?

There were plenty of high-class taverns around the Dancheon Clan.

“I will apologize again for the rudeness of the previous customer. We will not charge you for the food today, so please calm your anger.”

He seemed to think that the reason I was looking for the Mistress of the Pavilion was to express my dissatisfaction.

And the reason he was being so deferential was, as he himself had mentioned, because I was the second son of the Dancheon Clan.

I needed to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I came to hand over information about the Sword Monument Pavilion to the Flower Moon Mistress of the Pavilion.”

“Pardon?”

“Just deliver that message.”

Saying so, I returned to my seat and took another sip of Geomnamchun.

“Kya.”

Ah, it’s delicious.

***

The reaction was immediate.

“This way.”

The top floor of the Flower Moon Pavilion, where outsiders were forbidden.

Following the servant’s guidance through a maze-like corridor, I was finally able to have a private audience with the Flower Moon Mistress of the Pavilion.

“You were looking for me?”

“It’s a pleasure.”

Although I couldn’t confirm her appearance exactly due to the veil, I could tell that she was a rather young woman.

“What brings the second son of the Dancheon Clan to see me?”

As expected, the people of the Rogues’ Guild were shady.

Even though I had mentioned the Sword Monument Pavilion with my own mouth, she was feigning ignorance like that.

Sometimes I missed those beggar punks who were consistently rude to my face and behind my back.

Anyway, the important thing was that in a game like this, the one who shows their cards first loses.

“Do you have nothing to ask me?”

I threw out a feeler.

“Aren’t you the one who sought me out first, Young Master?”

The Mistress of the Pavilion responded.

“It seems I’ve come to the wrong place.”

Saying so, I quickly got up.

Just as I was about to open the door and leave.

“Wait.”

Stopping me with those words, she let out a deep sigh.

“Alright. I lost. I apologize for my rudeness.”

A smile formed on my face, which was turned away from her.

It was only natural.

I had thrown a delicious bait that she couldn’t help but bite.

It was a fight she couldn’t win from the start.

She had probably just tested me, judging me to be an inexperienced brat not even of age, but she had no chance.

After hearing her declaration of surrender, I sat back down.

“Shall we have a productive conversation instead of a meaningless power struggle?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Today’s conversation would be very productive.

For both of us.

“I won’t ask how the second son of the Dancheon Clan is so well-versed in the information of the Rogues’ Guild.”

“You shouldn’t.”

Not revealing the source of information was an unwritten rule for all information sects.

This was because an informant whose cover was blown could not live long.

“You said you would hand over information about the Sword Monument Pavilion?”

“I did.”

I nodded my head.

Currently, there were five Branch Lord in the Rogues’ Guild.

The most likely candidates for the next Guild Leader were Yeo-wol and the Sword Monument Pavilion, and I had come to see Yeo-wol among them.

The reason was that I knew from my Myeong-gae days that she would rise to become the next Rogues’ Guild Leader.

I didn’t want the future information I knew to change drastically.

I just wanted to have a hand in someone’s success.

Just like with Yang Su-rin and now with Yeo-wol.

This too would become a stepping stone towards becoming the Murim Alliance Leader.

And I would also obtain the things I needed for my current self along the way.

In any case, she couldn’t just casually dismiss information about her competitor.

This was probably the time when the competition for the next Guild Leader was starting to intensify.

“Will you tell me the information about the Sword Monument Pavilion? If you do, I will give you a corresponding price.”

The value of information was variable.

She spoke as if she would judge the current value of the information I had brought.

Since a Branch Lord of the Rogues’ Guild had mentioned a corresponding price, if it was decent information, its value would not be disappointing.

However.

“I don’t have it.”

“Pardon?”

“It was a joke. How would I know information about the Sword Monument Pavilion.”

I felt her expression harden behind the veil.

“Do you know who I am to be playing such a prank?”

“I know.”

I observed her expression behind the veil.

“Are you not the Flower Moon Mistress of the Pavilion.”

She chuckled at the obvious answer.

But it didn’t end there.

“Your real name is Yeo-wol.”

Her laughter stopped.

“One of the five Branch Lord of the Rogues’ Guild.”

Her expression hardened.

“And a competitor of the Sword Monument Pavilion, and the one who will seize the position of the next Rogues’ Guild Leader.”

Finally, I could feel astonishment creeping into her expression.

“Is this enough?”

In contrast, my expression brightened.

This must be the composure of one who held the upper hand.

“Yeo-wol, Branch Lord of the Rogues’ Guild. Won’t you make a deal with me?”

The stage was set.

“I believe I can be of great help to you in becoming the Rogues’ Guild Leader.”

The face of Yeo-wol, hidden behind the veil, unknowingly nodded up and down.

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