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Chapter 10 …
Imgang was pissed beyond belief.
His house getting robbed?
Okay.
It wasn’t exactly rare—it happened from time to time, so fine, he could live with it.
But this was something he couldn’t tolerate.
The thief had even placed five copper coins on his bed.
This was a provocation.
A localized act of aggression.
Just like Kim Jong-un’s provocations that never stopped even after the Gate opened.
Of course.
It wasn’t like all his belongings had been stolen.
His martial arts manuals and his money were stored separately.
Right.
Only the money had been stolen.
To be precise, even silver coins weren’t taken.
But even silver wasn’t something Imgang could easily use in his situation.
‘If I exchange it into coins and rumors spread, I’ll get robbed again, discipline will collapse, the household will collapse, the country will collapse……’
All of this was because he was weak.
If he were strong, his house wouldn’t have been robbed like this.
That’s why he had planned to stay quiet for a few days and train martial arts for a few months.
And now? He got screwed immediately.
“Why do you look so upset?”
“Damn…….”
He almost said “damn bastard” but held it back.
The one asking was the idol of the ronin world.
He looked like a softer version of Cha Eun-woo.
The moment that guy entered the brokerage office, the few female ronin inside followed him like sasaeng fans.
“Did something happen?”
“Kyaaah!”
“I want to fall asleep inside that smile!”
Imgang wondered how the hell someone could “fall inside a smile.”
“Just… ignore it and leave.”
“Where do you think you’re telling our oppa to go, you rude bastard?”
“‘Ignore it’? ‘Just leave’? What kind of attitude is that?”
“Be careful tonight.”
“Hehe… hehehe… that trash may look like a lizard, but his body is good. Imagine him and oppa in the same bed…… euh-heung……”
Why are there perverts here……
Imgang felt dizzy.
“Um… I’m just in a bad mood because of yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
“…I’ll tell you later. Just please leave me alone.”
The ronin idol blinked, then nodded as if he understood.
The female ronin glared at him with murderous eyes, as if even that annoyed them.
Was it a crime to be handsome and innocence to be ugly?
It felt unfair.
He wasn’t even called ugly anywhere—his parents used to worry, saying, “Our son is so handsome, what are we going to do?”
‘At least I’ve never been called ugly.’
While he was grumbling inwardly, a brokerage employee appeared.
“…There are fewer ronin than usual.”
The staff muttered awkwardly at the reduced numbers.
Many of the troublemakers had been arrested by soldiers or were hiding after recent incidents.
Even including female ronin, there were only eleven people.
The brokerage office earned its income by taking commission from requests.
And the commission was quite substantial.
Which meant fewer people meant less income.
“Can’t we just refund the commission?”
‘…Like hell we can.’
There was no way those demonic sect bastards would do that.
Once money entered their pockets, it was gone forever.
“Three ronin for cleanup work from the Daehobang……”
As he listened to the list of requests, nothing really appealed to him.
Not that he had money to begin with, but everything sounded dangerous.
“Cleanup work” basically meant assassination—killing targets designated by the Daehobang at night.
And if a low-rank ronin died during the job, they only got the commission fee. Nothing more.
It was a complete scam.
“…In the forest north of Hangzhou, an unidentified group is blocking roads and robbing and killing merchants. A suppression order has been issued……”
Unidentified group.
Obviously rogue sect members or ronin. They likely fled outside Hangzhou because staying inside was dangerous, and now they were preying on merchants.
Losses were increasing, so the merchant alliance issued a suppression order.
‘It pays well, but the risk is too high.’
Only ronin desperate or fleeing Hangzhou would take it.
“Lastly, at Wolhyangru……”
“I! I’ll take it!”
“I’ll take that request!”
At the mention of Wolhyangru, the previously indifferent ronin raised their hands one after another.
Imgang also raised his hand.
It was the only acceptable job left.
“…We’re hiring guards for one month at the main gate. Must be a ronin who has never visited a brothel……”
Ah… this is going to be rough.
What ronin would have money to visit a brothel?
Or so he thought.
“…?”
“What? That guy has never been to a brothel?”
“He looks so shady too……”
Imgang looked around in confusion.
What?
Why am I the only one raising my hand?
Even the female ronin had lowered theirs.
And he wasn’t the only one surprised.
“We still need one more……”
Even the brokerage staff muttered in confusion.
And then—
The ronin idol raised his hand.
Imgang felt the killing intent from afar and his neck stiffened.
“Why?”
“…What was your name again?”
“Baekcheon. That’s a bit disappointing. You don’t even remember my name?”
“You know my name?”
“Imgang.”
‘Huh? How does he know? Does this bastard maybe have… weird preferences?’
It was already suspicious that someone with that face had never been to a brothel.
Of course, he was the exception.
He had never gone because he was broke!
‘Does he really have strange tastes?’
Imgang slowly put distance between himself and Baekcheon.
One thing he wanted to protect no matter what was his chastity.
“Imgang, have you learned internal energy cultivation?”
“No?”
He reflexively denied it.
He didn’t even know why he denied it.
…Actually, he knew very well.
During the days he hid, he had practiced martial arts forms in a dungeon (secret cave), but they were hard to use in real combat.
Except for throwing knives, everything was practically useless.
Even if he learned internal energy techniques, he would still be a half-baked low-rank ronin.
Attracting attention would do him no good.
“If I had learned internal energy, do you think I’d be hanging around a brokerage office?”
“Hm. I must have been mistaken. Sorry.”
Baekcheon apologized, and Imgang shrugged it off.
It wasn’t a big deal.
‘Low-rank ronin……’
From mid-tier ronin and above, they didn’t go to brokerage offices for jobs.
The brokerage office came to them.
That was how big the difference internal energy made.
“Why did you ask about internal energy?”
“There’s a huge difference between those who have learned internal energy and those who haven’t. Through internal force, the senses go beyond the five senses into a sixth sense……”
After that, Imgang couldn’t understand a word.
Well… he was self-taught anyway!
Even if he didn’t understand, as long as he read it, it automatically turned into a skill system!
“Haha. That’s really interesting.”
“…Are you even listening to me?”
“You just hit the core issue.”
While chatting, they arrived at Wolhyangru.
When they showed their introduction letter to the guards at the entrance, their eyes lit up.
“Replacements! Finally replacements have arrived!”
“Our shift is finally over……”
The guards muttered.
Only now did Imgang notice the dark circles under their eyes were extreme. They looked like they hadn’t slept for days.
“Come in quickly.”
“The manager is waiting.”
“The manager?”
Imgang asked in confusion.
Wolhyangru was one of the three great brothels of Hangzhou, an eight-story building.
In this martial world, an eight-story building might not seem impressive, but the tallest building in the Central Plains was nine stories.
And there was only one nine-story building in existence.
They tried building more, but they all collapsed.
Strangely, only this part was historically accurate like the Ming dynasty.
Anyway, Wolhyangru was basically a corporate enterprise.
The “manager” was just below the owner—equivalent to a vice president.
It was not normal for a vice president to show up for recruitment.
“Yeah. The manager is waiting. Hurry inside.”
“…Understood. Hyun-ah, let’s go.”
“Hyun-ah?”
“Since we’ll be working closely for a while, might as well be casual.”
“Hm… suit yourself.”
Baekcheon didn’t seem to mind.
Inside Wolhyangru, the atmosphere changed completely.
Outside was noisy with Hangzhou’s bustle, but inside was glamorous—and frankly, sensual.
A faint floral scent lingered in the air.
Women dressed in revealing outfits exposed their collarbones, moving around preparing to receive guests.
From the first floor to the fifth, the center was open so you could see all the way up to the ceiling.
Everything felt new to Imgang.
Then an old man approached them.
“Welcome. I am Do Bueok, the manager of Wolhyangru.”
“I am Imgang, here by introduction.”
“Baekcheon.”
They greeted politely with both hands.
No need for intimidation tactics on first meeting—that was for ronin (+rude bastards).
One of the three groups you should never provoke in the martial world.
Besides, Imgang believed in Confucian discipline deep in his heart.
“Imgang… Baekcheon… as expected, neither of you has ever been to a brothel.”
The old man, Do Bueok, muttered while studying them.
“Two rules. First, do not touch the courtesans. Even if they seduce you, absolutely not during duty. After work is fine, but if you sleep with them, your assignment ends that day. Also, no relations inside Wolhyangru. Second, do not use force against customers. Even if provoked, do not strike first. However, you may restrain them as long as they are not injured.”
“Understood.”
“The first applies to Baekcheon, the second to Imgang. Keep that in mind.”
“……”
Unfair……
Imgang glared at Baekcheon with jealous eyes.
