Ye Yahyeon grinned at Baek Ryeongso’s flustered reaction, his expression practically shouting, Got you, you bastard.
“That’s it! I knew it.”
“I told you, it’s not!”
Baek Ryeongso snapped back, but Jin Muryang spoke quietly.
“Really? So she means nothing to you?”
There was killing intent beneath Jin Muryang’s low voice.
Baek Ryeongso’s expression immediately turned serious.
“Don’t touch her....”
Jin Muryang smirked.
“So I was right.”
Baek Ryeongso realized his mistake a second too late.
He slowly turned his head and cautiously studied Jeok Wigang’s expression.
“Why are you looking at me? From what I saw, Cheon Hyanghwa seems interested in you too.”
“What? W-What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t know?”
“H-How would you know that, Elder Brother?”
“How else? We were just with her.”
“What? Y-You were... with her?”
“We were all in the same room.”
“Th-The same room?”
“You’re about one sentence away from punching me.”
Baek Ryeongso had clenched his fist without even realizing it.
“N-No, that’s not....”
“You seem to have misunderstood. She came to our room and sang for us. Happy?”
“Oh....”
“You’re hopelessly smitten for someone trying so hard to pretend otherwise.”
He had been completely exposed.
Baek Ryeongso lowered his head.
“Do your best. I think the two of you suit each other.”
His head snapped back up at Jeok Wigang’s words.
His face was full of disbelief.
“What? Why?”
“I didn’t know you could say things like that, Elder Brother.”
“I’ve spent some time out in society. Guess it rubbed off on me. What, is it strange?”
“No. You seem... gentler somehow. It’s nice.”
“You’ve gotten gentler too, from what I can tell. So why were you treating your customers like dirt?”
“I was afraid of becoming famous.”
“You lunatic. That’s exactly why you became even more famous.”
“Yes.... But now that I’ve met you again, Elder Brother, I actually feel relieved. I don’t have to keep running anymore, and I can keep doing what I love. It feels like a weight has come off me.”
“Is that so? Then all that’s left is for you to get married.”
At the mention of marriage, Baek Ryeongso’s face reddened.
“But shouldn’t you show her what you really look like?”
“What if she runs away when she sees my real face?”
“Still, hiding it doesn’t seem right.”
“Hmm.”
He was still thinking about it when someone opened the door.
“We’re closed today.”
Baek Ryeongso shouted without even looking to see who had entered.
“Um....”
A woman’s voice.
The instant he heard it, his eyes widened.
Cheon Hyanghwa stood in the doorway, her face filled with concern.
“I came because I was worried something might have happened.... Were you in the middle of a conversation?”
Baek Ryeongso immediately began stumbling over his words.
“Ah, th-that is....”
Jeok Wigang, apparently finding the whole thing unbearable, cut in.
“He says he likes you.”
Cheon Hyanghwa’s eyes went round.
“What?”
“Didn’t hear me? He likes you.”
Her gaze locked onto Baek Ryeongso.
“I-Is that true?”
Baek Ryeongso could not answer. He turned his head away.
Cheon Hyanghwa walked right up to him and leaned toward his face.
“I asked you a question. Is it true?”
“D-Don’t do this. You’re too close.”
“Then answer me.”
“Th-That....”
“Please answer quickly.”
The closer Cheon Hyanghwa moved, the farther Baek Ryeongso retreated.
Ye Yahyeon and Jin Muryang stared with wide eyes.
The Formation-Annihilating Divine Demon, who had once terrified countless people, was now backing away helplessly from a single woman.
Then Jeok Wigang’s voice came from behind them.
“This is painful to watch. If you like her, just say you like her.”
“E-Elder Brother....”
Cheon Hyanghwa’s eyes widened again at the way Baek Ryeongso addressed him.
Elder Brother?
Judging by appearances alone, Baek Ryeongso looked far older than Jeok Wigang.
Then her gaze toward Jeok Wigang softened.
He was helping her, after all.
“You said you liked her earlier. Say it properly.”
“Th-That is....”
Baek Ryeongso was so flustered he could barely form a sentence.
To Cheon Hyanghwa, even that looked adorable.
“Pfft. You’re cute.”
Ye Yahyeon and Jin Muryang recoiled simultaneously, making retching noises.
“Ugh!”
“S-She has to be insane. She thinks that face is cute...?”
Cheon Hyanghwa ignored them completely.
She cared only about Baek Ryeongso’s answer.
Perhaps realizing he had nowhere left to retreat, Baek Ryeongso finally gave the tiniest nod.
“You have to say it aloud. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know?”
“I-I like you.”
“Really?”
Baek Ryeongso nodded again.
“I told you to say it.”
“Yes....”
“I do too. I like you too.”
At those words, Baek Ryeongso’s face turned so red it looked as though blood might start dripping from his skin.
Jeok Wigang caught Ye Yahyeon and Jin Muryang’s eyes.
The three quietly slipped out of the shop.
Once everyone else was gone, Baek Ryeongso seemed to settle down a little.
He spoke cautiously.
“There is... something I need to confess to you.”
“What is it?”
“The truth is, this isn’t my real appearance.”
“What?”
“I have my reasons for living under a different face. I’ll show you what I truly look like. If you still feel the same after that... it won’t be too late to reconsider.”
“Show me.”
Baek Ryeongso nodded, moved to one side, and sat cross-legged.
CRRRK— CRACK—
His joints ground and popped as his entire skeletal structure shifted violently.
Before long, his rugged original face emerged.
Baek Ryeongso looked at Cheon Hyanghwa with naked tension.
“Th-This is what I really look like.”
Cheon Hyanghwa covered her mouth slightly and said nothing.
Seeing her reaction, Baek Ryeongso’s shoulders trembled.
“I knew it... You’re disappointed....”
“Y-You’re handsome....”
“Hm?”
“How can you possibly be this handsome?”
Cheon Hyanghwa’s eyes sparkled.
“This is the perfect face I’ve been looking for.”
“Y-You mean that?”
“Yes! My goodness, I can’t believe such a perfect face exists....”
There was no lie in her eyes.
Once the sincerity reached him, an awkward smile slowly appeared on Baek Ryeongso’s lips.
How much had he worried?
What if she ran away when she saw his true face?
What if she recoiled in disgust?
Every one of those fears collapsed in an instant.
He was smiling in sheer relief when he felt warmth around his hand.
He looked down.
At some point, Cheon Hyanghwa had clasped it tightly in both of hers.
“So what are we starting today?”
“W-What do you mean, what are we?”
“We’re lovers.”
“L-Lovers? Isn’t that moving too fast?”
“Oh, please. We’ve confirmed how we feel about each other. Isn’t that enough? Why drag things out?”
“Well....”
“You don’t want to?”
She pouted with a coy little frown.
Baek Ryeongso hurriedly answered.
“I-I do!”
“Then we’re lovers from today onward.”
Baek Ryeongso nodded.
Then, with a serious expression, he said,
“Now... shouldn’t you leave the pleasure house?”
Cheon Hyanghwa’s eyes lit up.
“And after I leave? Where do I go?”
“Hm?”
“You just want me to leave? Am I supposed to sleep on the street?”
Seeing the look in her eyes, Baek Ryeongso began to stammer.
“D-Don’t tell me... you mean to come here?”
“Am I not supposed to? Then where exactly should I go?”
“M-My house is terribly messy....”
“I’ll clean it.”
“N-No! I could never allow that! How could I make those delicate hands do such rough work? Absolutely not!”
Baek Ryeongso spoke with complete seriousness.
Cheon Hyanghwa narrowed her eyes in a smile, looking as though she found even that unbearably endearing.
Then her expression abruptly sharpened like a predator spotting prey.
She lunged at him.
“That’s it! I can’t hold back anymore!”
That day, for the first time in his life, Baek Ryeongso had his lips stolen by a woman.
*****
The Drunken Blossom House was in an uproar.
Cheon Hyanghwa had declared that she was leaving.
The senior members of the establishment, including Chief Steward Bu So, stared at her with grave expressions.
“Lady, you understand what it means to leave this place, do you not?”
“I do.”
“Would you reconsider?”
“My decision won’t change.”
“The Gate Master will be deeply disappointed.”
“I’ll speak to the Gate Master myself.”
“Hmm.... That might also be....”
“Then should I just leave without saying anything?”
Bu So hurriedly waved both hands.
“Please don’t say something so horrifying. Just remain here at the pleasure house. I’ll handle everything else. I won’t interfere with whomever you choose to see. Lady, please listen to me.”
“He doesn’t like me being here.”
“By ‘he,’ you mean... the textile shop owner?”
Cheon Hyanghwa jumped in surprise.
“You knew?”
“You stare at that shop every single day. How could I not?”
Bu So shook his head.
A sigh escaped him.
The textile shop owner was of an awkward age, and his face was... frankly, nothing to boast about.
The problem was that Cheon Hyanghwa liked those unattractive features even more.
Haah... Jiangxi’s greatest beauty, and this is her taste....
No one would believe him if he told them.
Wait.
Could it be?
Had that man approached her precisely because he knew her tastes?
It was hard not to suspect it.
“Please postpone leaving for the moment. I’ll go speak to the Gate Master.”
“No. I should go myself. What if you go because of me and get scolded?”
“Lady....”
She was such a kindhearted person, always worrying about others.
That damned textile shop bastard!
The real problem was the Gate Master.
Cheon Hyanghwa had lost her parents as a child, and the Gate Master had taken her in and raised her.
The Gate Master cherished Cheon Hyanghwa like a daughter.
That was why, even though she lived in a pleasure house among courtesans, no one treated her as one. Everyone addressed her as Lady and behaved carefully around her.
“Please reconsider once more. You know the Gate Master’s temperament. More importantly, you are the Gate Master’s most cherished youngest disciple.”
“I’m sorry to my master, but.... He matters more to me.”
“Haah.... You know the rules of the Thousand Flowers Sect. Even the Gate Master’s own disciples are not ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) exempt. They may cripple your martial arts.”
The Thousand Flowers Sect had been founded by someone with the ambition of bringing every pleasure house in the Central Plains under its control.
In fact, roughly thirty percent of all pleasure houses in the Central Plains already belonged to the Thousand Flowers Sect.
Its greatest strength was intelligence.
It had not yet reached the level of the Beggars’ Union or the Lower Gate, but it was a sect that worked tirelessly in hopes of surpassing both one day.
And yet no one knew the Thousand Flowers Sect even existed.
When gathering intelligence, secrecy mattered more than anything.
Thinking about it now—
That textile shop bastard.... We have no information on him.
An intelligence organization unable to uncover information about someone?
What could possibly be more suspicious?
Since Cheon Hyanghwa seemed to have feelings for the textile shop owner, they had already investigated him.
But there was no trace whatsoever of his activities before he opened the shop.
It was as though he had simply fallen out of the sky one day.
Opening a textile shop across from a pleasure house made sense.
Courtesans were among the people who bought the most clothing.
But the location of the shop was directly across from the window of Cheon Hyanghwa’s room.
Had he chosen it deliberately?
Bu So felt an uneasy chill.
What if that man approached Lady with some ulterior motive?
What could he possibly want?
The most likely reason was—
He must be investigating our Thousand Flowers Sect.
Who would have reason to be wary of the Thousand Flowers Sect?
The Beggars’ Union?
No.
The Beggars’ Union would never make clothes that clean.
A place filled with people whose trades involved making clothing....
The Lower Gate.
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