Jin Sohan only went to sleep after he saw the morning sun. All night long, he’d stripped the place of arms and elixirs, and at dawn he went into the Pavilion Master’s room and swept up every last certificate.
There probably wasn’t any business that could make as much money in a single night as a pleasure house. It provided women, lodging, and alcohol. Moonlit Night Pavilion might have been a pleasure house the Blood-Whisper Sect managed, but the Pavilion Master had built a hidden vault and kept part of the funds separately.
Choo Sahyeok had only known the location, but since they’d taken the key off the Pavilion Master’s corpse, Jin Sohan opened it easily and took the private stash as well.
There was more money in the Pavilion Master’s private stash—stacked up neatly in certificates—than in the pleasure house’s total assets.
What was going on here?
Did he split up the Blood-Whisper Sect’s funds…?
Even if that was the case, it was only better.
Either way, Jin Sohan was properly stripping Moonlit Night Pavilion to the bone.
Most of the pleasure house’s cash was iron coins up through silver coins. The bulk was so enormous that it was hard for Jin Sohan to take with him.
After sleeping only about four hours, Jin Sohan got up in the Pavilion Master’s room, washed his face, and swept his gaze over Moonlit Night Pavilion like a house he’d just moved into.
Guests wandered around with deep frowns, their hangovers not yet gone. Courtesans who still didn’t even know who Jin Sohan was passed by now and then.
It was ridiculous.
Only a few people knew Jin Sohan’s identity so far. Even then, whenever Choo Sahyeok’s subordinates happened to spot Jin Sohan, they’d flinch with shocked faces and hurriedly bow their heads.
Jin Sohan neither accepted greetings nor spoke first.
He simply walked around, reading people’s expressions. On the guests’ faces, the grime of last night had seeped into their looks, and the courtesans, too, drifted about with deflated, gaunt faces.
Only when noon came did Jin Sohan come back down to this floor and call for Choo Sahyeok. Choo Sahyeok had also fallen asleep in the morning, and he came running at Jin Sohan’s summons with a face that still hadn’t fully woken up.
“Unit Leader, did you call for me?”
“Did you get some sleep?”
“Yes. But did you stay up all night, Unit Leader?”
“I don’t need much sleep.”
“Yes.”
“Is there a time like a morning briefing, or a time when all the staff gather?”
“We usually skip a briefing. It’s a business that runs at night… we mainly gather in the afternoon after lunch. Do you have something you want to tell them?”
Choo Sahyeok was quick on the uptake.
Since Jin Sohan had taken control of Moonlit Night Pavilion, he assumed Jin Sohan wanted to gather everyone and speak.
But something completely different came out of Jin Sohan’s mouth.
“How many days do you think it’ll take for the Blood-Whisper Sect to realize something happened yesterday? In your opinion.”
“If it’s fast, two or three days. If it’s slow, they might not know for a while.”
“Two or three days…”
“Rumors move fast. We stopped the guests from going downstairs, but they would’ve sensed something happened. Of course, they wouldn’t have expected the Pavilion Master died last night. The people who participated in the auction saw the carnage with their own eyes, so they’ll keep their mouths shut. It’s not that they’re scared of us—it’s that the Blood-Whisper Sect will interrogate them.”
Jin Sohan nodded, then brought out the real point.
“Gather all the staff and pass on my words. This is what I want.”
“Tell me.”
“Courtesans… anyone who has somewhere to go, anyone who wants to go home, anyone who wants to quit this work—send them all out. No conditions. No restrictions.”
“…What?”
When Choo Sahyeok asked back with a startled face, Jin Sohan continued.
“Listen a little more.”
“Yes.”
“The staff too. And your subordinates too.”
“Mm…”
Choo Sahyeok had been planning to do whatever Jin Sohan told him, but the demand was so unexpected that he was left dazed.
It was telling him to dismantle Moonlit Night Pavilion.
Jin Sohan kept going.
“For anyone who says they’re leaving, give them at least ten times their usual pay each time, and send them off. Looking at the amount of iron coins and silver coins, it should be enough.”
“There will be more than enough money.”
“Yeah. There were dozens of boxes full of silver coins.”
That was when Choo Sahyeok let slip why there was so much money.
“Ah… there was originally a lot of capital. The Blood-Whisper Sect spreads its funds out and stores them in different places, and Moonlit Night Pavilion was holding a fairly large portion.”
At that, Jin Sohan let out a small snort of laughter.
“So the Blood-Whisper Sect’s money is mixed in too?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s even better. Cook, courtesan, staff, your subordinates—it doesn’t matter. Give exactly ten times and send them out. Even if you give them too much, they won’t be more grateful. That amount is about right.”
“Yes.”
“Handle it with the person in charge of accounts.”
“Starting today?”
Jin Sohan nodded.
“Starting now.”
“May I ask why you insist on doing it?”
To Choo Sahyeok’s question, Jin Sohan answered unexpectedly kindly.
“If the Blood-Whisper Sect storms in here right now, I don’t care. But the people who worked here don’t need to get caught up in it and die. And I never intended to keep this place running in the first place. You didn’t think I killed the Pavilion Master because I planned to run this garbage pleasure house, did you?”
“Of course not.”
Once people started leaving, Choo Sahyeok could already see the problems and difficulties that would hit them head-on, but Jin Sohan’s intent was clear.
“Even for people who truly have nowhere to go, tell them to hide themselves for a while and come back later. Make sure you tell them this place isn’t safe. It wouldn’t be strange if blades start flying at any time. I want to give them a chance to run. Once the fighting starts, I won’t have the room to pay attention. And I’m not the type who pays attention, either.”
Listening, Choo Sahyeok suddenly let out a sigh. He’d already swallowed the poison Jin Sohan gave him, so he would have to stay with Jin Sohan to the end.
That part was fine.
The only reason he was still alive instead of dying with the Pavilion Master was because Jin Sohan had spared his life. But now that things had reached this point, Choo Sahyeok was going insane with curiosity.
Who the hell is this man…?
Summoning courage, Choo Sahyeok spoke.
“Unit Leader, may I ask a few questions?”
“Go on.”
“What is the Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe? I heard you talking to the dead Pavilion Master.”
“There used to be a Mystic Lunar Dance Troupe here. I heard the Blood-Whisper Sect took it by force and then built Moonlit Night Pavilion.”
“Was it a sect? The name is strange.”
At that, Jin Sohan snorted softly.
“A sword-dance performance troupe. Why don’t you know the situation? How old are you.”
Choo Sahyeok cleared his throat and answered.
“Twenty-four.”
Jin Sohan, who had been drinking water, made a low “Hm,” then wore a slightly surprised expression.
“I thought you’d be older, but your face is more weathered than I expected.”
The blunt insult fell, and Choo Sahyeok lowered his head, his eyes shifting here and there.
“…”
“Why.”
“Ah—no. It’s nothing. I do look old. Ah! Then the Moonlit Night Courtesan Troupe we have, that means…”
“They copied it.”
Choo Sahyeok fit his thoughts and assumptions together, then nodded.
“Now I understand.”
Only then could Choo Sahyeok understand the emotion that had driven Jin Sohan to kill the Pavilion Master so brutally. And he could understand the goal of crushing the Blood-Whisper Sect.
But now a different doubt rose up.
“Unit Leader, then the Blood-Whisper Sect’s… scale. Do you know it?”
Jin Sohan smiled and replied.
“No. Since you brought it up, why don’t you explain it to me?”
Choo Sahyeok cleared his throat and answered.
“From four pleasure houses, the force we can mobilize is roughly one hundred. From three martial halls… about two hundred. Fifty martial artists affiliated with the merchant group. About fifty more from two escort agencies as well. The Pavilion Masters, hall masters, merchant group master, and escort agency masters who lead them all belong to the Blood-Whisper Sect. But the Blood-Whisper Sect itself is separate. They increased their forces to compete for dominance with nearby Unorthodox powers, so they have over three hundred martial artists alone. If a power struggle breaks out, a total of around seven hundred can be mobilized. The martial world might know the Blood-Whisper Sect as a third-rate Unorthodox gang, but Unorthodox fights happen around their own strongholds and their own money, so it’s hard to compare them to the orthodox faction. The Blood-Whisper Sect is far stronger than people know.”
The reason for the long explanation was obvious.
How were they supposed to handle that?
And since he’d already boarded the same boat because of poison, it was also a way of asking Jin Sohan what the plan was going forward.
Without much reaction, Jin Sohan muttered,
“Seven hundred… that’s a lot of bluff. You too, lies—no.”
Choo Sahyeok continued.
“It’s not bluff. In any case, even after excluding Moonlit Night Pavilion’s force… even if you drastically cut the number of outside forces who also have their own livelihoods… you’ll still gather around five hundred.”
At Choo Sahyeok’s words, Jin Sohan grabbed his forehead like it was giving him a headache.
“Five hundred…”
“Yes.”
Choo Sahyeok exhaled hard. He wore a face that said, Now he finally understands what I’m telling him. He was about to advise that once they’d taken the elixirs and money, the correct judgment was to disappear while avoiding the Blood-Whisper Sect’s eyes.
But Jin Sohan, still clutching his forehead, looked at Choo Sahyeok and said,
“So what… but is that all?”
“…Pardon?”
Jin Sohan let out a sigh.
“I thought if you ruled West Black Road, you’d be able to mobilize a thousand.”
Choo Sahyeok blinked.
This man… is he insane?
Jin Sohan looked at Choo Sahyeok’s expression and said,
“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy.”
“Yes… no, I’m not.”
A weathered-faced bastard and a crazy bastard stared at each other for a moment.
Jin Sohan slowly opened his mouth.
“Am I a general? Why are you counting troops. If I’d fought like that, you Moonlit Night Pavilion bastards would’ve all died by my hand, too.”
“Mm.”
“How many died when I took Moonlit Night Pavilion?”
“One.”
“Unorthodox fights are like that. Of course, the Blood-Whisper Sect will be different… I might have to kill one or two hundred with my own hands…”
Watching Jin Sohan speak with complete seriousness, Choo Sahyeok was now realizing Jin Sohan’s nature with certainty.
Insane…
Choo Sahyeok stopped himself right before cursing, and a fresh sadness welled up over his own situation. He was telling others to hand them ten times their pay and send them away, but as for Choo Sahyeok, Jin Sohan had treated it like they’d been in the same boat from the start—demanding information and dumping all the odd jobs on him.
And on top of that, he’d been told his face looked old…