With the Namgung Clan’s money, I bought a lavish manor on the outskirts of Anhui. I summoned all my women from Henan to the manor.
Now, I traveled between the manor and the Namgung Clan, satisfying my women while managing the beauties Namgung Hyuk provided.
Thanks to my name spreading across the Central Plains, sometimes beauties came to me on their own. When that happened, no need to say more—I took them and fucked them right away.
“Phew… I might drown in pussy juice at this rate.”
On a custom-made giant bed, women I’d fucked for days lay sprawled, drenched in cum. So many, I couldn’t tell who was who.
Meanwhile, I’d mostly resolved the Namgung Clan’s issues—
‘…Hmm. Joo Cheongwoon wants me to visit the palace. On the way, I should look into why the Honcheon Society suddenly went silent.’
It was time to ease up on the sex and get moving.
***
The next day, I sent my women to the palace separately and, with Biyeon, decided to visit the place where the deputy leader of the Honcheon Society’s Eumwol Corps was staying, as mentioned in the original story.
‘He’s likely already in hiding…’
It was just a brief stop on the way to the palace.
The destination was a secluded alley in northern Anhui, where beggars crouched under walls, and the air reeked of rot. No one passed through this foul-smelling area.
My appearance matched the setting: disheveled hair, tattered rags, and one shoe deliberately missing its sole.
‘Here it is.’
I carefully pushed open a creaking door.
-Creeeak…
Inside, the inn was desolate and eerie.
The layout screamed suspicion. A lone man in the corner looked up, frowning.
“Ugh, damn it… Another beggar crawling in.”
He slammed his cup down, annoyed.
“Hey, no food here. Get lost.”
I widened my eyes, trembling my voice on purpose.
“P-Please… Just a little food… I haven’t eaten in days…”
“You filthy bastard, I said get out!”
He stood and approached. I lowered my head, quickly scanning the surroundings.
‘Five on the ceiling. Ten presences below the floor… There’s a basement.’
He kept cursing as he came closer.
“Get lost, you—”
That moment.
‘Biyeon.’
‘Got it.’
An invisible wind sliced through the assassins hiding in the ceiling in an instant.
The man in front of me was still oblivious. He swung a fist, shouting:
“Die—”
-Crack!
Before his fist reached me, I grabbed his neck and snapped it.
“—Guh…!”
-Thud!
His body collapsed limply as his neck broke.
‘Time to disguise and head down.’
I pictured the man’s appearance in my mind. Instantly, my skin tone, hair, eyes, even voice tone perfectly mimicked his.
-Ssshh…
With hunched shoulders, messy hair, and a rough tone, I pushed a wall panel to open a basement passage.
-Clunk… Creeeak…
Descending the narrow, dark stairs, I found a surprisingly large space below.
Men in black robes hurriedly moved, carrying something.
‘…Coffins?’
Long boxes were lined up, and two men opened one to check a corpse inside.
‘All corpses.’
Then, a man approached me from a distance.
Gochung.
The deputy leader of the Honcheon Society’s Eumwol Corps from the original story. A character with a foul personality.
“Hey, you bastard! Who told you to leave the upper floor?”
I shrank back, bowing hurriedly.
“S-Sorry.”
Gochung scowled, cursing.
“Damn, these newbies are so slow. Fine, since you’re here, help out. There are still guys upstairs, right?”
“Yes! I’ll get to it!”
I pretended to work, probing subtly.
“So… are we pulling out too?”
“Huh? Did you forget everything we talked about last time?”
“I, uh… I don’t remember anything…”
“Goddamn moron. I told you, things are a mess upstairs. The Eumwol Corps Leader is dead, one of the Four Heavenly Kings is gone, and we got hit by some weird bastards. And that lunatic Jin Seoyoon’s causing so much damage, they decided on a full retreat, you idiot!”
“Oh, it’s coming back to me!”
“Ugh, to think I have to deal with idiots like you. How did the Eumwol Corps fall this low…”
Gochung clicked his tongue and turned back to his ledger.
“So, we’re… shutting down completely?”
“They said we’re focusing on damage control for a few years.”
“Any more info you know? Like… the Honcheon Society Leader’s hideout?”
“I don’t know—wait.”
Gochung’s eyes sharpened.
“…Who the hell are you?”
As his hand reached for his waist, mine moved faster.
“Guh—!”
Grabbing his neck, I pinned him against the wall as Biyeon’s sharp winds sliced through the men behind me, drawing weapons, cutting them in half.
I slowly reverted to my original appearance.
-Ssshh…
“You called me a lunatic?”
As my face revealed itself, Gochung’s expression turned ashen.
“J-Jin Seoyoon…?!”
I twisted my lips into a slow smile.
“Spill what you know.”
“…You think… I’ll talk? Guh…”
Gochung glared at me with venomous eyes.
“Yeah, figured you’d say that.”
I pulled four small needles from my inventory and drove them into the gaps of his fingernails.
“Grrgh…!”
I’d learned the Namgung Clan’s internal energy technique, Heavenly Thunder (Cheonroegi), from Namgung Soha. Focusing the energy at my fingertips—
-Crackle… Crackle!
Lightning sparked at my fingers, and I sent a current through the needles.
-Bzzzt…!
“—Aaaaaargh!!!”
His eyes rolled back, his body convulsing, saliva and snot dripping from his mouth.
“Talk.”
“…Guh… Damn you…”
“Talk while I’m being nice. The next one’s gonna hurt a lot more.”
But he didn’t give me anything useful. I intensified the Heavenly Thunder, and his skin charred black as he convulsed and died.
“…Tch.”
I tossed his body aside.
“Expected more from a deputy leader.”
Maybe because I killed Baek Harim, the Eumwol Corps was being sidelined internally.
Still, it wasn’t a total loss.
‘…A drug meant only for the Emperor, now planned to spread across the Central Plains.’
In his room, I found the location of a Seoncheonhyang cultivation site.
“…I’ll burn it down on my way.”
I muttered, standing up.
***
In a deep ravine in Taehyang Mountain, Hebei, the Honcheon Society secretly operated a Seoncheonhyang cultivation site.
Burning the fields alone wouldn’t suffice. Jang Yoon-gyeom, the magistrate of Pajeongsa in Hebei, was controlling the ravine and protecting the Honcheon Society. To resolve this fundamentally, both had to be eliminated simultaneously.
‘Time to use my Inspector authority.’
I first visited the military commander of Henan’s jurisdiction. Flashing my Inspector’s jade plaque, I requested troop support.
“We’ve discovered a rebel stronghold in the Taehyang Mountain area. We need to launch a containment operation immediately.”
At the sight of the plaque, the commander’s face stiffened.
“The Inspector himself…? Then this operation…”
“Will be a large-scale sweep. About five hundred troops should suffice.”
If this succeeded, I’d cut off one of the Honcheon Society’s funding sources and gain greater trust in official circles.
“We’ll depart as soon as preparations are complete.”
***
We stealthily split the troops and headed to Taehyang Mountain to avoid detection due to our numbers.
The plan was simple: divide the five hundred troops into three units to completely surround the Taehyang Mountain area, eliminating any fleeing remnants. I’d personally handle the core stronghold inside.
‘It’ll take about two hours to complete the encirclement. I’ll clean up the interior in that time.’
At the ravine’s entrance, a faint fragrance wafted through.
“Biyeon, how many people do you sense?”
“About five hundred. But…”
Biyeon’s voice carried a hint of caution.
“There’s a master. Seems like a Honcheon Society executive.”
“As strong as Mak Gangwoo?”
“No, not that level.”
“Then it’s fine.”
I quietly entered the ravine. After ten minutes along a narrow path, the view opened into a wide basin.
I was momentarily speechless at the sight.
‘I didn’t expect this scale.’
The entire basin was covered in Seoncheonhyang fields. The endless purple flowers were almost beautiful, but the hidden conspiracy behind them was chilling.
In the basin’s center stood a large mansion, surrounded by warehouses and workshops. Dozens of workers busily harvested Seoncheonhyang.
‘That’s the main base.’
I suppressed my presence and approached the mansion. Then, a voice came from the front yard.
“…There’s a hitch in the plan?”
I recognized Jang Yoon-gyeom. Crouching behind a wall, I observed.
In the yard, Jang Yoon-gyeom stood with two men in black. One was the master Biyeon mentioned.
“Magistrate… It’s better to pull back for now.”
“Pull back? When we’re so close, you’re saying that?!”
Jang Yoon-gyeom shouted, fuming.
“The Emperor is already addicted to the drug. Once he dies, we hand the throne to the prince. If we hold out until then… this nation is ours.”
“Tch, you’re blinded by power.”
The other man shook his head, clicking his tongue.
“Damn cowards! The ship’s already sailed—there’s no safety in jumping off now! Now’s the time to push forward. Why don’t you get that?”
“Enough, Magistrate. From now on, you’re on your own. We’re done.”
As the Honcheon Society master and Jang Yoon-gyeom argued, a soldier ran up from the mountain’s base, panting.
“Big trouble! T-The mountain’s base… Government troops are advancing! The whole area’s surrounded!”