Chapter 27: Preparing the Operation (2)

During my Myeong-gae days, the information I put the most effort into was about entering the fourth stage.

The reason was the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root, and unlike other spiritual medicines, this one in particular caused trouble.

Myeong-gae obtained the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art with Chwipung-gae’s help right when he reached thirty.

It is ten years in the future from now.

And that year was also the year the Great War of Righteousness and Evil broke out.

In fact, the Immaculate Pomegranate and the Vermilion Fruit were cases of good luck.

The spiritual medicines whose native habitats I had secured in preparation for regression just happened to be the materials for the first and third stages of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

It goes without saying, but not all the spiritual medicines in this world are included in my information, right?

I had only thoroughly investigated the individuals who obtained the spiritual medicines discovered after I became Myeong-gae and their native habitats.

Unfortunately, the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root was just not among them.

Considering the frequency with which ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicines appeared in the Jianghu, it was actually a common occurrence.

-If it's a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root, there should be at least one…….

But still.

Wasn't the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root the ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicine with the most supply?

After making all the contents of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art my own, I actively started searching for the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root from then on.

The reason was that I wanted to enter the fourth stage with the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root recommended by the Healing Sage, if possible, rather than other ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicines.

-Found it. Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root.

I was finally able to find information about the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root in the sea of information called the Beggar’s Gang.

[The Heuksu Mun of Shanxi discovered a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root, and with the funds raised by selling it, they rapidly grew into a mid-sized sect…….]

I looked at the timing.

-It was ten years ago.

It was roughly two months before I left the Dancheon Clan due to the heir competition.

It was a fellow that had narrowly escaped my information network.

Since the heir competition in this life is two months away, it means it is right around now.

Unfortunately, I could not find any more information about other Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Roots.

The reason was that news of the discovery of a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual medicine, not even a thousand-year-old one, could not be heard so often.

Since it was information that was already more than ten years old, further tracking was difficult.

It was a pity that I could not find out the native habitat, but I stopped the investigation there.

In the midst of the fierce Great War of Righteousness and Evil, I lacked the capacity to go all the way to the Heuksu Mun of Shanxi to dig for information.

After regressing, I could try to trade with the Heuksu Mun using the Immaculate Pomegranate, and there was also the reason that even if it failed, by some chance, there were alternatives.

Although it would not be as good as the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root for entering the fourth stage, I already had information about the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Spirit Grass, the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ultimate Blood Treasure, and the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Snow Ginseng.

-Myeong-gae, have you heard the news?

In the midst of the Great War of Righteousness and Evil, a colleague from the Secret Pavilion struck up a conversation with me.

-What is it this time?

Sharing the information they had come across while going back and forth between life and death was the only amusement of the Secret Pavilion members, so this could be said to be a daily routine.

-The entire Heuksu Mun was said to be spies of the Demonic Cult. Because of their rampage, the entire Shanxi Murim suffered a great loss.

-Heuksu Mun?

-So they say.

Heuksu Mun.

How could I not know that name?

If they were followers of the Demonic Cult, wouldn't it give me the justification to take the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Fleeceflower Root with a clear conscience?

Wouldn't the heavens have arranged for me to have a complete fourth stage?

I remember having such thoughts.

Once you become a Beggar’s Gang member, you receive various kinds of training.

From the philosophy of begging to get food donations well, to the philosophy of an informant who eavesdrops on useful information.

The beggars who seem lazy are actually more well-trained agents than anyone else.

At least the guys from the main branch are like that.

Among them, the thing that the Beggar’s Gang emphasizes and trains the most is the eye for people.

This is because information itself is obtained from people, and important information in the Jianghu Murim is usually about people.

Although the eye is used in various meanings, the eye of the Beggar’s Gang usually has the training point on maintaining objectivity.

This is because, due to the nature of the Beggar’s Gang's information, which is passed from mouth to mouth, information that has not secured objectivity is distorted in the distribution process and degenerates into meaningless information.

The introduction was long, but I wanted to claim that I also have a sufficiently objective eye through many years of training.

Anyway, from my objective perspective, the twenty-year-old Dancheon Myeong is a very handsome man.

Whether it is the effect of the Vermilion Fruit or whatever, isn't it now my appearance?

Many people say that appearance alone is not enough to win the hearts of many women, but in fact, if you have an outstanding appearance, it is possible to win the hearts of many women.

Isn't that how the world of people works?

“Myeong, are you going to dress like that?”

“Are you jealous? Want me to buy you a set too, Brother Chun-baek?”

“……No. I’m fine.”

“Let me know if you need it. I have plenty of money.”

“Don’t even think about touching my body. I won’t forgive you.”

Lee Chun-baek said, horrified at my appearance.

Since he always insisted on the appearance of a wanderer, my current appearance could be said to be at the opposite pole from him.

I looked at the mirror.

I had thrown away the comfortable martial arts uniform I used to wear and bought and wore a silk robe with wide sleeves and a luxurious material.

I put oil on my hair and combed it neatly, and added vitality to my face with the face powder that women use.

It seems like my already good skin is glowing.

The man in the mirror is not lacking in being called a dandy.

Since it looks that way even to my objective eye, which has eaten begging food for ten years, I was confident that I would be very popular with women.

“Isn’t it fine?”

“It’s not fine.”

Lee Chun-baek, who was afraid that I might make him dress up as well, quickly distanced himself from me.

“Hmm.”

Looking at it this way, I really do look like a pretty boy.

It seems that what the collateral branch fellow of the Mok Clan said was not wrong.

“Don’t be so disgusted. Isn’t it necessary for the great cause?”

“……Thank you for not making me do it.”

I tidied up my appearance while looking at the mirror and did a final check.

‘That fellow is handsome.’

The handsome man in the mirror, the pretty boy Dancheon Myeong, is the key to this plan.

The name of this operation will be called the 'handsome man trap,' a stratagem I had always wanted to try at least once before I died.

Although I did experience death once, it was a sufficiently pleasant thing to achieve my dream even now.

“How long do we have to wait like this?”

Lee Chun-baek asked.

After mentioning the existence of the spies of the Demonic Cult, Lee Chun-baek seemed to be itching to punish them as soon as possible.

“Brother Chun-baek, what do you think is the most important thing in information gathering?”

“How would I know?”

Lee Chun-baek shrugged his shoulders.

That was understandable.

Where would there be a need for him, a practical martial artist, to ponder the essence of information gathering?

“It’s time.”

He nodded as if agreeing.

“Why is that?”

He asked me back.

He had not yet accurately grasped the intention of my question.

“I’m telling you to wait patiently.”

“So that’s what it was.”

As if he could not help it, Lee Chun-baek sipped the cheap wine in front of him.

“Ugh.”

Then he immediately put it down.

It seems it really did not suit his taste.

“Then can’t we go to that high-class restaurant over there? Does it have to be a tavern?”

“A tavern is good.”

“Sigh.”

Lee Chun-baek, who let out a sigh, sipped the cheap wine again, and then…….

“Ugh.”

He put it down again.

If he dislikes it that much, he could just not drink it; I do not know why he is doing that.

It has already been seven days and nights since we settled down in a tavern near the Heuksu Mun.

Isn't there a reason why we settled in a tavern instead of a high-class restaurant?

“You, did you hear that?”

“Damn life……”

“These days, the Heuksu Mun……”

“Back in my day!”

“Hey, Yong-il. Aren't there any interesting stories lately?”

I took in the flowing stories, analyzed them, and classified them.

You can meet a much wider range of human characters in an open tavern than in a closed high-class restaurant.

This means that you can eavesdrop on much more diverse information.

The tavern is truly a treasure trove of information.

‘It’s a pity, though.’

If I had worn rags and put some dirt on my face, I am confident I could have obtained all the information I wanted within three days.

Because there were limits to information gathering with my current appearance, it took a whole seven days and nights.

But I cannot pretend to be a Beggar’s Gang member.

The reason is that if I, who am not a Beggar’s Gang member, were to gather information while pretending to be a beggar, considering the strict surveillance network of the Beggar’s Gang, I could be severely punished.

Sip.

“Ugh.”

The fact that seven days and nights have passed means that Lee Chun-baek has wrestled with the cheap wine for that much time, and…….

“It’s done now. Let’s go.”

It also means that I have gathered all the information I wanted.

As I got up, Lee Chun-baek’s face brightened.

“Are we going to punish them now?”

“Not yet. There’s one last place to stop by.”

His disappointed expression was brief, and his face brightened, perhaps satisfied with the fact that he had left the boring tavern.

But as soon as we arrived at the destination, his expression darkened again.

“……Why on earth are we here?”

What was reflected in his gaze was a shabby hut of the Beggar’s Gang that looked like it would collapse at any moment.

“Follow me.”

“Are we really going in?”

Leaving him, who could not bring himself to take a step, I strode into the Beggar’s Gang's hut.

Although I did not miss it, a familiar smell stimulated the tip of my nose.

“Heroes of the Beggar’s Gang, it is a pleasure. I am Myeong, the second son of the Dancheon Clan of Anhui, who has just made his debut in the Jianghu.”

The beggars who were sprawled in the hut looked at me with wary eyes.

Originally, beggars are often exclusive.

This is because most of those who have experienced pain in a turn of their lives often join the Beggar’s Gang.

But am I not Myeong-gae, with ten years of eating begging food?

I know better than anyone how to win their favor.

“I came to share this with the heroes of the Beggar’s Gang, what do you say?”

In my hand were three steaming boiled chickens and a pot of cheap wine.

“Don’t they say all under the heavens are brothers? Severing Dragon, please come in!”

As expected, these lazy and shabby-looking people knew me.

This is the strength of the Beggar’s Gang.

“Thank you!”

I was able to sit down in the middle of the hut with the enthusiastic welcome of the Beggar’s Gang members.

And so, two hours passed.

“You are a brother of the Beggar’s Gang! I will not forget you!”

“See you next time.”

“Please come again. The Beggar’s Gang does not forget its brothers!”

As I stepped out into the street with the enthusiastic farewell of the Beggar’s Gang members who had become my brothers, it had become dark all around.

“You, weren’t you a direct descendant of a prestigious clan?”

“A bastard son.”

“Does the Dancheon Clan raise its bastard sons in a den of beggars? How can you be so natural?”

Lee Chun-baek, who had been sitting there like a borrowed barley sack, asked.

Although he is also a wanderer who often sleeps on the streets, his lifestyle is bound to be different from that of the beggars of the Beggar’s Gang.

What even a skilled wanderer finds difficult, for me, a direct descendant of a prestigious clan, to readily put begging food into my mouth and gulp down cheap wine must have been an incomprehensible sight to him.

“It’s a secret.”

I will not tell lies to a trusted friend, but I cannot tell him everything.

Doesn't everyone have at least one secret?

“You wouldn’t have to worry even if you were ruined, Myeong. It seems you’d get a position even if you went to the Beggar’s Gang.”

“I think so too.”

A satisfied smile formed on my face.

The reason was that thanks to the Beggar’s Gang members, I had obtained all the information I wanted.