Chapter 619
Poison Flower Pavilion…
A name well-suited to the Southern Barbarian Region, where all sorts of poisonous creatures thrive. The only catch is that it’s closer to a crumbling mansion than an inn or brothel.
‘If what the Thousand-Faced Fox told me is correct, then this should be the place.’ While I eyed the old, rotting wooden building with suspicion, the atmosphere around us grew more hostile by the second.
“Damn Han dogs!”
“Go back to your own land!”
Swoosh! Crack!
Dodging a rock thrown at the back of my head, Sama Pyo muttered like a sigh.
“Pavilion Master, maybe we should just go inside. Unless you’re planning to fight them right now.”
“That wouldn’t be wise.”
For once, the bastard was completely right.
We couldn’t afford to make enemies of the entire local population the moment we arrived in the Southern Barbarian Region.
I shot a glance at the threatening group of tribesmen and pushed open the Poison Flower Pavilion’s door.
Creeeeak.
The worn-out wooden door let out a lifeless scraping sound.
Inside, under dim light and an oppressive atmosphere, rough-looking patrons sitting at sparsely placed, shoddy tables turned their heads toward us.
“Unfamiliar faces… Han?”
“Hack, spit.”
Lovely. Seems like spitting phlegm is a passive skill around here.
The tribal patrons, their faces flushed red from drink, spat on the dusty floor and got to their feet.
“You dare come here, Han dogs? Are you so desperate to die?”
“The taste of my drink’s gone. Leave. Nothing good will come from being near them.”
With a loud bang, the door shut. Ju Hwaran spoke with a complicated expression.
“Something’s definitely wrong. When I came here last time, it wasn’t like this at all.”
Song Ilseom nodded in agreement.
“I think the same. The tribes here are cautious by nature, but Yongnin, which borders the Central Plains most closely, was different.”
“That’s right. So while it wasn’t common, merchant caravans and escort agencies from the Central Plains did pass through here. But now…”
As Ju Hwaran trailed off, an old, raspy voice suddenly cut in.
“Why, you ask? Because of that escort agency. Han dogs like you.”
We weren’t the only ones left in the Poison Flower Pavilion.
A drunken old man who had been sleeping until moments ago straightened his hunched back and continued.
“Bad luck, that’s what it is. And fools like you wandering into the Southern Barbarian Region without knowing better—reminds me of another old man whose business got ruined thanks to some fearless Han dogs.”
Realizing who he was, I asked,
“Are you the owner here?”
Hearing me speak fluently in the tribal tongue, the old man gave me a surprised look.
“You speak our language? Are you Miao?”
“No.”
“Doesn’t seem like you’re Bai or Man, either. Judging from your face, you’re Han without a doubt… yet your speech is unbelievably smooth. I’d believe it if you told me you were born and raised here.”
As expected, [Unified Language Pack]—its performance really is solid.
Even Ju Hwaran looked surprised at my pronunciation.
“When did you learn the tribal language?”
“Well, you know…”
It wasn’t something I could explain in detail, so I just answered casually,
“I just happened to pick it up along the way.”
Hyuk Mu-jin muttered under his breath,
“Captain only ever picked up drinking and women…”
“You little bastard.”
Smack!
“Ugh!”
The old man clicked his tongue at Hyuk Mu-jin clutching his solar plexus.
“Looks like you only speak when you’re asking to be hit.”
“Don’t mind him, that’s just how he is… Wait. You can speak the Central Plains tongue?”
“To some extent. In my younger days, I interpreted for Han people many times.”
The old man then pointed a bony finger at Song Ilseom.
“That dark-looking fellow there… I recognize him. Didn’t you come here about three years ago?”
Considering Ju Hwaran’s striking appearance, she should have been the most memorable, but thanks to the human-skin mask she wore, he recognized Song Ilseom first.
When Song Ilseom gave a silent nod, the old man slapped his knee.
“I knew it. That was… Dragon King—”
“Dragon Phoenix Escort Agency. Not Dragon King.”
“Right. Dragon Phoenix Escort Agency. Unlike other caravans from the Central Plains, they came here twice a year. I remember them well.”
For someone who remembered them well, he got the name wrong.
Holding back the urge to point that out, I asked the question that had been on my mind since earlier.
“What did you mean earlier?”
“Hmm? About what?”
“You said this happened because of the escort agency. In your words, because of Han dogs like us.”
The old man looked puzzled.
“Did I? When?”
“What? You definitely—”
“Can’t remember.”
Yeah, right. Judging from his attitude, I sighed and changed the subject.
“Do you serve food right now?”
“Of course. As long as you’ve got money, we’ll serve you anything.”
At the word “food,” Taesan, who had been slumped over the table looking half-dead, suddenly sprang up.
“Taesan wants five-spice pork!”
“You’ve got a healthy one here. I’ll make chicken.”
“Why chicken?! Taesan doesn’t want chicken! Five-spice pork!”
I didn’t know why five-spice pork suddenly turned into chicken, but for now, we needed to keep the old man in a good mood.
I called the one man who could shut Taesan up.
“Mapyo, you deaf?”
“It’s Sama Pyo.”
“Right, Sapyo.”
“…Taesan. Sit down.”
While Sama Pyo glared at me, he managed to calm Taesan. Meanwhile, the old man naturally held out his hand.
“What?”
“Payment in advance.”
“Ah… Right.”
“Let’s see. One chicken per person, so five chickens. One tael of silver per chicken… ten taels total.”
“…Ten taels? Even at one tael each, that’s five taels.”
“Is that so? Then let’s make it two taels per chicken.”
“What?”
“That’s right. Two taels each.”
“If you don’t like it, spit and leave. There’s no other village within a hundred li.”
This man could’ve been a landlord if he were born in Yongsan fifty years ago.
‘No wonder we didn’t meet any bandits on the way here—they’re all running inns now.’
It was daylight robbery, but this wasn’t the time to haggle.
I took out ten taels from the pouch I’d received as operating funds from the Murim Alliance and handed them over.
“Here. Ten taels.”
“You’re a reasonable Han.”
Clink.
The old man swept up the silver with a grin.
“Now, what about drinks?”
“We’re fine.”
“Drink.”
“…Fine.”
I didn’t even have the will to argue anymore. I opened my pouch again.
—
Our first meal in the Southern Barbarian Region was remarkable—in all the wrong ways.
Emaciated chicken that looked like it had been starved for weeks. Fire liquor that was obviously someone’s leftover.
The price was shocking enough, but the fact that most of the food ended up in the old man’s stomach was even more absurd.
“Burp. That hit the spot.”
How was it you, not us, who ate well?
I swallowed my annoyance. After all, the food and drink were the price for information.
“The Heavenly Escort Agency?”
“That’s right. If I remember correctly, they said they came from Sichuan. There was one woman and nearly thirty men in total.”
The old man nodded and continued, his face flushed from drink.
“At first, nobody thought much of it. Han coming to Yongnin wasn’t new, and their group wasn’t that big.”
But that was a mistake. His eyes darkened as he recalled that day.
“No one could have predicted what happened. The nearby villages held a feast to welcome them… but by the next morning, everyone was slaughtered.”
“Our village was lucky to escape, but we later learned that over two hundred people died that night. Men, women, children, the elderly—none survived. And it was the work of those Han dogs.”
“…Huh.”
A shocking and tragic story. Now I understood the hostile stares we’d received.
Two words flashed through my mind.
‘Dark Heaven. And Southern Demon Empress.’
If one of the women in the Heavenly Escort Agency was who I suspected, then my concern was far from baseless.
While the Fire Dragon Pavilion members listened grimly, I pulled out a sheet of paper from my inventory.
“Sorry to interrupt, but could you take a look at this?”
“What’s this?”
It was a drawing—an identikit of Hong Ran, or rather, the Southern Demon Empress—based on multiple accounts and memories.
I’d shown it on a hunch, but the old man’s reaction was lukewarm.
“The artist’s skill is impressive. But who is she?”
“Never mind. I thought you might recognize her.”
“Never seen her. If she were this beautiful, I’d remember. I may be old, but I’m still a man.”
Not the reaction I’d hoped for, but not surprising either.
Regardless of her nature, the Southern Demon Empress was stunning. Like Ju Hwaran, she could have easily disguised herself.
‘It wouldn’t be strange if she had mastered advanced disguise techniques.’
I asked the old man again,
“Where are those Central Plains people from the Heavenly Escort Agency now?”
My mission was to contact the Silent Heaven Pavilion operative, but if they were nearby, that changed things.
Sensing my intent, the old man asked,
“Why? Planning to go after them now?”
“If possible.”
“Admirable, but it’ll be difficult. That was over two weeks ago.”
“If you know which way they went or their destination, it might be worth trying.”
All of us here were top-tier martial artists— even Hyuk Mu-jin, the least skilled among us, had survived countless battles.
But the old man only chuckled.
“Impossible.”
“You don’t seem to understand—”
“It’s not me who doesn’t understand—it’s you. They’re all dead.”
I froze. “What?”
“Just as I said. Many of our tribe’s warriors fell victim to them, but they didn’t die without a fight. The Han died too—poisoned. We found their corpses soon after.”
“No matter how skilled you are, you can’t chase them into the afterlife. And that goes for…”
His voice trailed off. Then, with a sigh, he finished,
“…an old Silent Heaven Pavilion operative who’s far past his prime.”
Gulp, gulp.
Draining the rest of his fire liquor, the old man gave me a faint smile.