Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Like the Waves of the Yangtze, We Meet and Part (3)

Eakyang was laid out like a Go board. Thanks to this, even first-time visitors found it easy to navigate.

Dam Ho was no different. He located his destination without difficulty.

It was a place the people of Eakyang called Dongming Road.

Pleasure houses lined Dongming Road in a long row. Though it was still broad daylight, beautifully adorned courtesans leaned from the windows, beckoning passersby.

"Come in, gentlemen! We'll treat you well. Ho ho!"

"This way, darling. I, Jin-hong, will melt you to the bone."

The courtesans made no secret of their bawdy invitations.

Some passersby blushed, but most men succumbed to the courtesans' allure and entered the pleasure houses.

The courtesans extended their invitations to Dam Ho as well. But Dam Ho walked on in silence.

As he ventured deeper into the district, the courtesans' solicitation became more brazen.

"This way! Our Jeonghyang Pavilion is the finest here."

"What nonsense! Honghwa Pavilion is the best."

The women rushed at Dam Ho and seized his arms.

Dam Ho shook off their hands and continued walking. The courtesans' faces twisted with displeasure. Their pride had been wounded.

"What a eunuch."

"What's wrong with us?"

The courtesans he had rejected behind him seethed, but Dam Ho's expression did not change in the slightest.

The deeper he went into the district, the more courtesans tried to hold him. Though they offered seductive smiles, Dam Ho did not so much as blink.

Most of the courtesans eventually gave up from exhaustion, but one was different. She was a young courtesan who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years of age.

With round eyes and a captivating smile, she seized Dam Ho's wrist.

"You seem to have very high standards, sir. Then how about our Cheonsang Pavilion? In all of Eakyang, there is no pleasure house that can rival ours."

Though young, she spoke with a bold and spirited tone. For a fleeting instant, a glint of interest flickered in Dam Ho's eyes before vanishing, but the courtesan did not notice.

"I'll go to the Cheonsang Pavilion."

"Really?"

The young courtesan looked surprised.

She had not expected that Dam Ho—who had rebuffed all the other courtesans' advances—would so readily agree to enter the Cheonsang Pavilion.

The courtesan broke into a wide smile.

"You've made a wise choice. I'll lead you there."

The courtesan guided Dam Ho to the Cheonsang Pavilion.

True to her boast, the Cheonsang Pavilion was extraordinarily lavish. The courtesans awaiting inside were also stunningly beautiful.

Creak!

When the courtesan opened the door, an opulent interior was revealed.

Antique yet lavish furniture was arranged throughout, and red lanterns cast a soft, warm glow.

"If you wait here, the finest courtesans of the Cheonsang Pavilion will come to attend you. Is there a particular courtesan you desire?"

As she spoke, the courtesan thought it unlikely.

She had gone out to the streets every day to solicit customers. Surely anyone who had visited the Cheonsang Pavilion even once would remember her.

And if he had never visited, he could not possibly know any of the courtesans.

Yet Dam Ho's reply exceeded her expectations.

"How about you?"

"Pardon?"

"I want you."

"Me—me, sir?"

The courtesan stammered. Her face was clearly flustered. She had never expected Dam Ho to request her.

"I—I…"

"Why not?"

Dam Ho suddenly produced something from his robes and placed it on the table.

A fist-sized object resembling a cat's eye—a Myoan Stone.

"Will this suffice?"

The young courtesan's pupils trembled.

Though young, she knew how rare a treasure the Myoan Stone was.

A priceless relic that no amount of money could procure.

The other party had presented such a treasure.

She could not refuse simply because she was a junior courtesan.

"I—I…"

The young courtesan stammered.

She stumbled backward. Dam Ho watched her in silence.

Their eyes met.

In that instant, the courtesam felt her entire body go cold.

Dam Ho's gaze was terrifyingly deep and still. Not a single fragment of emotion reflected within it.

Only then did she realize that the customer she had solicited was nothing like an ordinary patron.

She had never once seen a man with eyes like Dam Ho's. For a young courtesan, his gaze was simply too terrifying to bear.

Then—

"So Unjeong has brought back a frightening guest."

A woman's voice came from behind the young courtesan.

The courtesan called Unjeong quickly turned around. A woman in magnificent robes had already entered the room.

The woman's face was veiled, with only her eyes exposed. Her gaze was deep and alluring.

Unjeong quickly bowed her head.

"L-Lady."

"Unjeong, leave. He is not someone you can handle."

"Yes!"

Unjeong withdrew immediately.

Once they were alone, the woman looked at Dam Ho. An extraordinary aura emanated from her entire being.

She spoke.

"Where do you come from?"

"Is that important?"

"It is important to me. Very much so."

"It's not important to me."

"Then what is important?"

"That this place is a branch of the Ha-o Gate."

In that instant, the woman's eyes, which had been tracing soft curves, went rigid.

"How did you know?"

A faint killing intent laced her voice.

Her intent was clear—depending on Dam Ho's answer, she would decide how to deal with him.

"Is that important?"

"The location of the Ha-o Gate being revealed so easily is a problem."

"That girl."

"Yes?"

"That girl Unjeong—she has trained in martial arts. Unlike the other courtesans."

He had sensed internal energy in the grip that seized his arm. It was not the level of energy a common courtesan could possess. So he had guessed that she might be connected to the Ha-o Gate.

The woman shook her head.

"Sending her out to cultivate her eye for people appears to have been a mistake. You are correct. This is the Ha-o Gate's Eakyang branch."

A faint gleam of admiration shone in her gaze as she regarded Dam Ho.

Few people knew that this was a branch of the Ha-o Gate. Most assumed only that certain courtesans were tangentially connected.

The woman's gaze shifted to the Myoan Stone resting before Dam Ho. It was clearly a first-rate specimen.

In the martial world, displaying such a treasure carelessly could easily cost one's life.

Dam Ho was the kind of man who could produce such a stone without a second thought—or else he was reckless.

The woman sat down before Dam Ho.

"My name is Gi Ye-hwa. And your name, sir?"

"Dam Ho."

"An unusual name. Once heard, it's not easily forgotten."

Gi Ye-hwa's eyes glimmered.

Dam Ho struck her as a thoroughly fascinating man. His striking features and intense aura were notable, but above all, it was his eyes—dark as the deepest night.

It was commonly said that the eyes are the windows to the soul.

Gi Ye-hwa believed this as well. She had met countless people and peered into their hearts through their eyes.

But through this man's eyes, she could see nothing at all.

'Either he has completely sealed the doors to his heart, or he is supremely skilled at concealing his emotions.'

Whichever it was, he was a type she had never encountered before.

"What brings Master Dam to our Ha-o Gate?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"I'm not sure where you heard such rumors, but…"

"Seventeen or eighteen years ago, bandits operating in Shaanxi Province. Thirty-seven in number—no, one died, so thirty-six. All mounted. Their leader was a man in his early thirties who used a wolf-fang blade. He should be approaching fifty by now. He bears a long scar on his left cheek."

A furrow appeared between Gi Ye-hwa's brows.

"Why come to us with this…"

"Find them."

"Master Dam!"

"I don't care how long it takes. Find them."

In that instant, Gi Ye-hwa felt a chill as though she had plunged into ice water, and her body trembled.

She instinctively understood.

She could absolutely not refuse this man's request. And that what he had spoken was not a request at all—it was a command.

"Sigh."

Gi Ye-hwa let out a soft sigh.

From the moment Dam Ho had entered, she had been surrendering the initiative and being led along. She did not like the situation, but she could see no way to turn it around.

'How vexing.'

Gi Ye-hwa realized the time had come to make her decision.

"I understand. We'll look into it. But the price of the Ha-o Gate's services is exceedingly steep."

Dam Ho silently pushed the Myoan Stone toward her. At this, Gi Ye-hwa sighed once more.

"Sigh! I suppose this will do. But only this once, Master Dam. If you commit such rudeness again, I will not let it pass."

"Remember that."

With those words, Dam Ho rose from his seat.

He turned his back on Gi Ye-hwa and walked away. His leg dragged ever so slightly. Seeing this, Gi Ye-hwa's eyes sparkled like stars.

Click!

Dam Ho finally closed the door and disappeared.

Alone, Gi Ye-hwa spoke.

"Seol-hui."

"Yes! My lady."

In response, an antique piece of furniture in the corner of the room shifted slightly, revealing a hidden passage. From within it emerged a petite woman.

As small as she was, she possessed an endearing face.

The woman's name was Cho Seol-hui. She had been with Gi Ye-hwa for many years.

"What do you think, Seol-hui?"

"I can't tell. He's completely inscrutable."

"Truly?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Gi Ye-hwa's face.

Though small in stature, Cho Seol-hui was a formidable martial artist. Among those Gi Ye-hwa knew, few surpassed her in martial prowess.

"What if you fought at full strength?"

"I'd have to try to know. But I don't think it would be easy. Did you see those ice-cold eyes? More menacing than a venomous snake."

"I see!"

Gi Ye-hwa nodded and gazed out the window.

Dam Ho was walking away. Still limping slightly.

"Two days ago, incredible news arrived. It was about a crippled martial artist."

"What?"

"A crippled martialist single-handedly decimated the So Cheonsan Manor, which had dreamed of becoming the Overlord of Xinjiang."

"No!"

"It's a tale no one could believe. When I first heard it, I thought the rumors were exaggerated. But then a second rumor came—from Hongam Mountain Manor in Gansu Province. In front of over a thousand martial artists, he mercilessly crushed Nam-hak, the Grand Disciple of the Tong-gong Sect."

"Nam-hak—one of the Nine Dragons? Did he truly defeat him?"

"I couldn't believe it either. That's why I felt verification was necessary."

"Nam-hak is a powerful man. His true strength is far greater than what is publicly known. To say a crippled martialist defeated him is absurd."

"That's why most who heard the rumor dismissed it as exaggerated. I did too."

Dam Ho's figure had completely vanished from sight. Yet Gi Ye-hwa could not tear her eyes from the street where he had disappeared.

"The Blood Star who descended upon Xinjiang."

Simply speaking that name conjured the stench of blood.

"From this moment on, the Ha-o Gate's Eakyang branch will devote all resources to fulfilling that man's commission as our highest priority. And Seol-hui—find out everything about him. His homeland, where he grew up, his sect, what he likes, what he hates—down to the smallest detail."

"Understood, my lady."

Gi Ye-hwa bit her lip.

Wind blew in through the open window. The breeze, which should have been refreshing, felt inexplicably stifling.