Moon-Shadow Sword Emperor - Chapter 49

Episode 49

“What’s your business?”

“…….”

Instead of answering, Cheon Ga-ryeong took out a certification card and showed it.

The giant nodded and stepped slightly to the side.

As I entered the building. A giant stood blocking the entrance as if blocking the escape route.

Then, a hunchbacked man sitting against the wall came out and held out his hand towards Cheon Ga-ryeong.

“……?”

As he watched quietly, not knowing what it meant, Cheon Ga-ryeong placed a certificate on his hand.

The hunchbacked man lifted his glasses from his hooked nose and looked closely at the certificate.

It seemed like they were trying to determine authenticity.

Soon he nodded and returned the certification card to Cheon Ga-ryeong.

I also quickly took out the certification card from my pocket and handed it to the hunchbacked man.

Confirmation was done once again.

Only after the hunchbacked man finished checking, a large man stepped aside from the entrance and led Cheon Ga-ryeong outside.

Before leaving the building, I glanced back at the five men sitting in a huddle in the center of the living room, gambling.

‘At least the climax.’

Each and every one of them was a talented person who could not be ignored.

Should we really call it a black eye? The procedures for welcoming guests were extremely complicated.

If the certification card had been fake, they all would have drawn their swords and attacked at the same time.

“Follow me.”

Geohan came out to the garden located behind the building and led Cheon Ga-ryeong.

When he used a bamboo needle to stab several walls, the floor fell apart with a rattling noise, revealing a passage leading to the basement.

‘Tracheal apparatus?’

No matter how much it may be for security reasons, they installed such advanced machinery to cover the entrance.

Thoroughly thorough (徹頭徹尾) would be an expression used in times like this.

I crossed the aisle, looking around.

Soon, a large underground space came into view.

Torches hung on the wall at regular intervals illuminated the darkness.

‘Amazing.’

I was able to realize the enormous financial power of Heuksi.

Black poetry is a group that wanders throughout the central plains, repeatedly opening and withdrawing from markets.

This means that there are dozens of such secret spaces.

‘Maybe it’s more than that. Occasionally, there will be places that are discovered by government agencies and closed down.

The size of the market itself was not that large.

The number of guests was also small.

Instead, all the items being sold were items that could not be found in ordinary markets.

There was nothing that was not valuable, and there was nothing that was not valuable.

‘It would be nice to have an elixir.’

Cheon Ga-ryeong and I decided to move separately for a while.

Because the things we were looking for were different.

I headed to the stall where all kinds of medicinal herbs and pills were on display.

‘What is it?’

It was difficult to distinguish the types just by looking at them.

Still, one thing was clear.

At least there is nothing that could be called an elixir among the items on display.

The black merchant, wearing a black long robe and a black mask covering his face, got up from his chair and asked.

“Are you looking for something?”

“Do you have any elixir?”

“There’s no way something like that could happen, right?”

“…….”

A tone as if asking something like that.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

If you think about it, it was natural.

No matter how dark it was, handling the elixir would inevitably be burdensome.

There is a possibility that a martial artist who came as a guest may turn into a robber and turn the black poem upside down.

The masked person raised his head and spoke in a subdued tone.

“I don’t have an elixir, but there is one item I recently acquired that can be useful. Would you like to take a look?”

“……?”

“Of course, it is expensive because it is precious.”

“I’ll take a look first.”

I nodded without much hesitation.

As for money, I stopped by the battlefield and brought it with me in large quantities.

The masked man opened the lid of the wooden armor he took out from his chest and said.

“The contractor said it was a calling list.”

“A list of names? “Are you talking about the altar that is made only on Mount Wudang?”

“That’s right.”

“her… … .”

I stared at the two rings in the wooden armor as if fascinated.

Somyeongdan (小明丹).

It was an internal injury medicine with excellent effects.

Although it does not have the effect of increasing internal strength like the elixir, in a sense, it can be said to be a more precious treasure than the elixir.

Depending on the situation, it can be an extra lifesaver.

There was no need to check if it was genuine or not.

It was known that merchants in the dark would inflate the value of goods and sell them at high prices, but they would not deal in fakes.

“How much?”

I immediately searched in my pocket and took out a wallet.

I had to buy these items when I could.

“well. As a seller, I hate to say this, but it is difficult to suggest a price. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten something like this…”

The masked person rubbed his chin and pretended to be thinking.

There is no set price for the items sold in Heuksi.

Recognizing the value of an item depends on the customer’s discernment, and negotiating with the seller to adjust the price also depends on the customer’s ability.

I took out a bundle of vouchers from my purse and placed it on the table.

I didn’t want to waste my energy needlessly.

So we set a high price from the beginning.

“How about a hundred gold coins?”

The movement of the black statue suddenly stopped.

Let the breathtaking silence continue for a moment.

He said, politely handing me the wooden box with both hands.

“Thank you for visiting, sir.”

* * *

After that, I looked at various items, but I couldn’t find anything I really liked.

A few useful swords caught my eye, but I didn’t feel the need to get a new sword, having obtained Damro (湛盧) through a bet with Tang Seo-yeon.

I packed the wooden box containing the summons in my arms, joined Cheon Ga-ryeong, and chatted with her as we headed toward the exit.

-Was there anything you liked?

-No, I didn’t really want to buy anything.

-It looks like you have a lot of experience visiting black cities.

-huh. Sometimes I come across something useful. I often stop by as a hobby.

I burst out laughing.

My hobby is shopping at Heuksi.

It was truly a unique hobby.

-I’m just asking, just in case. Did you get that hairpin from the Dark Eye?

-of course. Do you think they’ll sell something like this at the grocery store down the street?

Cheon Ga-ryeong answered while fiddling with the hairpin on her head.

[I can’t believe there’s a secret hidden inside such a thin hairpin.]

[They say it’s made of ink iron, so it won’t break easily.]

‘I should have noticed then.’

If you think about it, there were plenty of opportunities to notice.

I just wasn’t paying attention.

When I returned to the guest room after leaving Heuksi, the Taoist monk of the Hwasan Sect had already disappeared.

I immediately went to Pyo-du and asked about the future schedule.

“I plan to stay here for a while and observe the situation.”

“…….”

“Please understand. We are not happy about the schedule being delayed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t cause a conflict with the volcanic waves…”

“It’s okay. “There’s no need to hurry.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

As expected, Pyo-du declared the cessation of Pyo-haeng.

There would have been no other options for him.

After eating a late dinner, I lay down on the bed in the guest room and looked up at the ceiling blankly and muttered.

‘If you want to attack Reporter Cheon’s secret castle, you’ll need expert help.’

Reporter Cheon is a master of Jinbeop.

Of course, there were various formations around the residence where he lived in his later years.

In order to lift the Jinbeop and enter Bi-dong, it was necessary to hire a person familiar with the relevant knowledge.

‘Where should I find a skilled Jinbeop artist?’

The first thing that came to mind was the Zhuge family of Wuhan, Hubei Province.

A huge martial arts force that occupied the first place in the five major families.

In terms of the number and quality of Jinbeopga members, there was no group in the central plains that surpassed the Zhuge Dynasty.

“…It won’t work for Zhuge Dynasty.”

I muttered softly and shook my head.

It was questionable whether the person of the Zhuge Dynasty would listen to the words of Wulin Chochul, but there was a bigger problem.

In Cheon Gija’s secret room, there was sleeping the Jinbeopdaohae (陣法圖解), whom a person of the Zhuge Dynasty would want to acquire even if he had to sell his soul.

Will Zhuge Ce really be willing to hand it over to me?

I can assure you that it would not happen.

In the worst case, they could have lost their way to Jinbeop and been destroyed.

‘Should we rather look for the Qiun Dragon?’

Chiunryong (取雲龍).

A dragon flying through the clouds while drunk.

Although it was a fancy nickname, it actually contained a lot of mockery.

‘Contacting the Chiunryong itself wouldn’t be that difficult. If you search the entertainment district of Hangzhou, you will find it. The problem is how to convince him.’

Qiunryong was called a genius comparable to an earth dragon, but he was absorbed in the magic of alcohol and did not pay attention to worldly affairs.

He was basically a character who did not care about anyone other than himself.

There were many people who wanted Chiunryong in their past lives.

The Murim League also attempted to attract him to the military department with unconventional conditions.

However, Chu Yun-ryong rejected all temptations and continued his life moving around the entertainment district.

In the end, he died young before reaching his second birthday.

After thinking about it for a while, I shook my head and got up from the bed.

‘Well, there’s no point in worrying about it like this now. Let’s meet first and then decide.’

It would have been a good idea to ask Hao Wen to gather information, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much he remembered about Qi Yun Long.

All I know is that he was called a genius in fighting.

It was two years later that he received the nickname Chiunryong.

At the very least, you need to know their origins, name, and appearance before you can make a request or not.

‘Anyway…’

I left the room with the sword I had put down under the bed.

‘Why is it so loud?

It was noisy outside.

It seemed like something had happened.

As I reached the first floor of the guest house, the first thing that caught my eye was the figure of a pot-bellied middle-aged man with a red face and swearing.

“How dare you! “You know who I am!”

The face of the woman sitting across from the middle-aged man was familiar.

Tang Seo-yeon, who had her arms crossed and legs crossed as if showing off, stared at the man and asked.

“So do you know who I am?”

The man snorted and picked up the chair next to him.

Tang Seo-yeon’s eyes narrowed.

“Do you want to die?”

“Put it down. “Unless you want to die.”

“Why do you seem scared when this situation comes up?”

I almost burst into laughter at the sight of the man raising his head and asking as if he was growling.

‘I went crazy because I wanted to die.’

Are you saying that you have no one to argue with, so you are going to argue with a member of the party?

Kwazijic!

The man slammed the chair hard on the floor.

There was a deafening crash sound followed by debris flying in all directions.

It seemed like she wanted to show off her force, but Tang Seo-yeon didn’t even blink.

“If you don’t put your head on the floor and apologize right now… oops!”

Immediately after, the man coughed up blood and collapsed on the spot.