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SERIES: Return of the Divine Thief
CHAPTER 4: Return of the Divine Thief
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Return of the Divine Thief - Chapter 4
Jo Yangtae left the room and headed for the top floor of the Red Pavilion.
The boisterous noise of a banquet could be heard all the way from the stairs.
“Drink! Drink more!”
As expected, the Lodge Leader was sharing drinks with the three Elders.
‘He used to be diligent with his training, at least.’
He hadn't seen the Lodge Leader train once since the enemies in the vicinity had disappeared.
Every day, it was just drinking with women on his arm.
A guard who spotted Jo Yangtae asked.
“What is it?”
“I’m here to see the Lodge Leader.”
“Please wait a moment.”
When Jo Yangtae nodded, the guard entered the room.
And a moment later.
*CRASH-!*
“The nerve of that ungrateful bastard, showing his face here! Throw him out!”
A drunken roar.
Jo Yangtae heard it clearly.
“……”
His tightly clenched fists trembled slightly. Disappointment and anger.
The sharp feeling of his last shred of hope crumbling tightened Jo Yangtae’s chest.
“Lodge Leader, rather than doing that, why don’t you……”
An Elder on the other side of the door whispered something.
Soon, the Lodge Leader changed his mind.
“Let him in.”
A moment later, the guard came out and spoke to Jo Yangtae with an embarrassed expression.
“You may enter.”
Jo Yangtae entered with a hardened expression and offered his greetings.
The Lodge Leader’s face was flushed with drink. The vile-looking Elders stared at Jo Yangtae with undisguised hostility.
Jo Yangtae quietly bowed his head, showing respect to the Lodge Leader.
“Guard Captain Jo Yangtae offers his greetings to the Lodge Leader.”
“What is it.”
The reply was curt.
But he had already come too far to be bothered by such treatment.
“You should drink a little less, sir. I worry for your health.”
Jo Yangtae still thought of the Lodge Leader as a father.
Though he had no way of knowing if the Lodge Leader felt the same.
“The one who caused all this trouble has a silver tongue. So, have you changed your mind?”
By ‘changed his mind,’ he meant yesterday’s events.
He was asking if Jo Yangtae would accept the kidnapping of the courtesans and follow the ways of the Red Pavilion.
“…Lodge Leader.”
Jo Yangtae knelt and continued speaking.
“We may be of the underworld, but we are human first. How can you wish to walk such an inhuman path!”
“Silence!”
The Lodge Leader shouted and threw his cup.
*Clang.*
The cup shattered against his forehead, drawing blood, but Jo Yangtae paid it no mind and continued.
“Though I do not share your blood, I have always considered you my father. This is the last piece of loyal advice this unworthy son can offer, so please, I beg you to reconsider.”
A heartfelt plea from Jo Yangtae.
However, the Lodge Leader’s next words shook him to his core.
“Loyal advice, you say! You speak so eloquently for a jackal hiding ambition in its heart!”
“…Pardon?”
Jo Yangtae raised his head and looked into the Lodge Leader’s eyes.
What he saw there was anger, betrayal. And a hint of fear.
An Elder sitting beside the Lodge Leader chimed in.
“He finally reveals his greed.”
“Tsk, tsk. We should have killed him when we found out he was a boy.”
“Since we brought him in anyway, wasn’t it you, Elder Heo, who said we should raise him since he had a talent for martial arts?”
“That is true. But now that the dog has bared its teeth at its master……”
What were they talking about?
The Lodge Leader, his father. Why was he looking at him with such eyes?
-Do you think the courtesans are the only ones whose parents the Lodge Leader killed before bringing them here?
Why did the tomb-builder’s words come to mind now?
‘I didn’t want to believe it.’
The circumstances made it clear that his situation was the same as the courtesans of the Red Pavilion.
But still, one last time.
There was something he had to hear from the Lodge Leader’s own mouth.
“There is one thing… I wish to ask you, Lodge Leader.”
“What is it?”
“My parents, and I. Like the children of the brothel……”
The question, unable to form a complete sentence, hung in the banquet hall.
But as if that was enough, the Lodge Leader’s answer came.
“I killed them. I thought you were a girl. I let you live, thinking you might be useful. Though that use… has now run its course.”
The reason he revealed this so readily was simple.
From the moment Jo Yangtae opposed the Red Bridge Faction’s policy, he had already received his ultimatum.
If he didn't quietly serve as the Guard Captain of the Red Pavilion, he would be purged soon enough.
And today.
The traitor had come scurrying right into his own grave, completely unaware, to a place where the Lodge Leader and the three Elders—the top fighting power of the Red Bridge Faction—were gathered.
“……”
He had wanted to deny it until the very end.
Jo Yangtae had been aware of it to some extent.
He just hadn't wanted to believe it.
But now that it had come to this.
‘I feel more at ease, strangely enough.’
Defying the Lodge Leader, who was like a father to him, had been deeply unsettling.
But he was no longer his father.
Jo Yangtae rose to his feet and said.
“As a courtesy to the man I once served as a father, I will grant you a peaceful end.”
“Is that so. Then you will die a painful death.”
*Thump!*
The Lodge Leader slammed his hand on the floor, and the troops waiting outside the banquet hall revealed themselves one by one.
The elites of the Red Bridge Faction.
The Lodge Leader must have been preparing for this day as well.
*Grip—*
His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.
Soon, the scent of blood began to fill the banquet hall.
* * *
Meanwhile, Muryang had his eyes closed, reliving a memory from his past life.
-So, Red Wolf Sword. Who was it that took your arm? As far as I know, the Lodge Leader wasn't skilled enough for that.
-…….
At Muryang’s question, the Jo Yangtae of his past life silently stroked the stump of his arm.
-Stop being dramatic and tell me. I’m asking because I need it for the plan.
-…It’s someone you know.
-Someone I know?
There were many who were stronger than Jo Yangtae, but he didn't think any of them would have been near the Red Bridge Faction at that time.
No matter how hard he thought, no one came to mind.
-The Lodge Leader of the Red Bridge Faction.
-That’s strange. No matter how inexperienced you were back then, the gap shouldn't have been that wide. Were you careless?
Jo Yangtae shook his head and answered.
-The Lodge Leader fled while his guards fought me.
-And?
-I found him in the training hall in the basement. He had taken some strange elixir and had become incredibly strong.
Recalling that far, Muryang opened his eyes.
“the Poison Flower Lotus.”
Muryang knew what that elixir was.
The ‘Poison Flower Lotus’ held immense energy, but it was an extreme elixir with side effects: one would die if they couldn't purify its poison, and become a madman if they were unable to control its fire ki.
The Demonic Cult had added further tricks to this Poison Flower Lotus, distributing it to promising individuals throughout the martial world to sow discord.
They hoped to incite villains who were merely biding their time, wanting them to go on a rampage, driven mad by the lotus’s power.
“Recruiting Jo Yangtae and taking over the Red Bridge Faction is good. But what’s most important is getting my hands on the Poison Flower Lotus.”
To achieve his goal, Muryang needed money and power.
But the most important thing was his own strength.
If he could steal the Poison Flower Lotus that the Lodge Leader possessed, everything that followed would become much easier.
“When are you going to make your move, Jo Yangtae……”
The reason he was waiting for Jo Yangtae to act was that he was waiting for the tavern’s forces to head to the top floor.
Of course, it wouldn't be difficult to bypass security and reach the training hall.
“That’s what mediocre thieves do.”
Things would be much easier if he just waited a little, and he didn't want to act on impulse.
Before taking action, create every possible advantage for yourself.
That was the principle of the Divine Thief, Cho Muryang.
“Uh, um, sir.”
It was Lop-Ear’s voice.
“Come in.”
Watching Lop-Ear enter, Muryang continued.
“Get to the point. I’m busy.”
“Ah, yes. Brother Yangtae has gone to the top floor to see the Lodge Leader. I think something big is about to happen…”
Despite Lop-Ear’s concern, Muryang simply stood up and stretched lightly.
“Let me borrow your sword.”
“Huh? What do you mean… my sword!”
Lop-Ear understood what he meant when he saw the sword Muryang was brandishing.
“When did you….”
The sword Muryang held was the one that had been at his own waist just a moment ago.
He was so shocked he checked his belt.
“You guys go to Jo Yangtae. It’s better if you’re there.”
“Wh-what does that……”
Lop-Ear looked back at Muryang as he questioned him.
But Muryang had already vanished.
* * *
By the time Muryang arrived, people were pouring out of the Red Pavilion.
“They said an urgent matter came up! They’re not charging for drinks tonight, so please head home!”
The customers were disappointed, but since they didn’t have to pay, they accepted it and turned to leave.
‘This makes things easier.’
Muryang melted into the crowd streaming out of the Red Pavilion.
And among them, he quietly executed his Movement Technique.
*Swish. Swish.*
Though he appeared to be walking forward, with each step Muryang took, he ended up five paces behind.
It was so natural that even the people right next to him didn't notice.
In this manner, he arrived at the stairs leading to the underground storeroom.
Normally, someone would have been guarding it, but everyone was busy rushing to the upper floors.
‘the Poison Flower Lotus definitely down here.’
The day before, when he had infiltrated Jo Yangtae’s room, he had done some preliminary investigation.
Namely, the location of the ‘training hall’ where the Lodge Leader would have hidden the Poison Flower Lotus.
Muryang hid himself in the shadows of the underground staircase and headed down.
When he reached the bottom, he saw two doors.
Just by looking at the chipped paint from frequent handling, he could tell which was the storeroom and which was the training hall.
He opened the less-worn door and found a passageway lined with torches on the walls.
Thanks to the torches, he moved forward without difficulty, but then something registered on Muryang’s senses.
"A Formation of Memory" I mean, it's a training hall. He would need to set up some basic security, at the very least.
Even among Memory Formations, there were many types.
Some required you to step on the same panels as the person before you within a certain time, while others required you to step on different panels.
‘But this is the Lodge Leader’s training hall. A space he would often use, so it’s likely a type where you step on panels in a set order within a certain time.’
For a space used routinely, it was common to install a simple trap mechanism rather than a complex one.
No matter how much money the Red Bridge Faction had, the more advanced trap mechanisms couldn't be built with money alone.
Muryang focused his senses on the tips of his toes and moved his feet cautiously.
‘Here it is. It’s more worn down than the other panels.’
The spot where Muryang stood was subtly more indented than the rest of the floor.
‘Let’s see…’
Muryang drew up his internal energy and began to examine the floor panels.
‘Seven squares to the right. Three squares to the left. Then, eight forward, and two to the left again…’
He found the panels that were faintly discolored.
Those panels had to be the code for the Memory Formation.
But the discoloration alone didn't reveal the sequence.
Muryang once again focused his senses on his toes and swept them across the floor.
‘He hasn’t replaced the panels. But there are signs of long use. This means he used to train diligently in the past, but hasn’t recently.’
If he had still been using the training hall frequently, he would have periodically replaced the panels to prevent the trap mechanism from revealing its weaknesses.
However, it seemed the Lodge Leader’s heart had strayed far from the path of martial arts.
‘Judging by the stride and the shape of the indentations, the first panel is to the right. From here, with the right foot.’
The Divine Thief’s powers of observation shone.
By analyzing the minuscule grooves, he predicted the direction of movement.
*Tap.*
‘And then over there.’
*Tap.*
The first step was the hardest; after that, he found the subsequent panels without much trouble.
And then—
*Ssssss-*
Indeed, while the maintenance may have been lacking, a good deal of money had been spent. The wall opened with a surprisingly quiet sound.
As he stepped into the revealed training hall, Muryang said in an excited voice,
“Lodge Leader, now I know how you got that fat belly.”
For the wealth and weaponry, unbelievable for a mere leader of a regional underworld faction, was enough to make a thief’s heart pound with excitement.
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