Chapter 58: Preparing of the Trap (3)
It was the first time Cheon Yura had ever volunteered to help me like this.
‘Why, though?’
More than anything, wasn’t she currently on vacation?
“What’s with that silence?”
She slowly approached me and raised her head.
I could feel her intense gaze through the black veil.
“Are you saying you don’t need my help?”
“Absolutely not. It’s just… the nature of the task is a bit…”
What if the Cult Leader found out that I had asked her to do that?
It wouldn’t be strange at all if he stormed out of Ten Thousand Mountain right that instant just to snap my neck.
“It doesn’t matter. There’s nothing Southern Sword Flower can do that I can’t.”
Was it just me, or was there something odd about her tone?
I tilted my head slightly. The emotion I felt in her voice was unfamiliar.
‘…Is that competitiveness?’
There was no way… Could the great Cheon Yura really be burning with rivalry toward Baek Sang-ah?
Why?
After a brief moment of thought, I nodded slowly.
‘Well, if we’re talking pure talent, I suppose she might feel threatened.’
Don’t they say geniuses recognize each other?
Even if Baek Sang-ah couldn’t hold a candle to Cheon Yura now, based on raw talent alone, no one could say how things might turn out in the future.
In a few decades, the Central Plains might witness the birth of a new Sword Empress.
“Fine by me.”
Before I could say anything, Baek Sang-ah sneered and glared at Cheon Yura.
“My grandfather taught me to never back down from a challenge.”
‘You’re not in any position to accept challenges right now…’
I swallowed the words before they could escape my lips. If I said that out loud, her twin swords would probably come flying at my face.
“Let’s see who’s better suited for the job.”
“Hmph. I was hoping you’d say that.”
Cheon Yura and Baek Sang-ah both snapped their heads toward me.
“So, Jin Yeomyung. What exactly is it that we need to do?”
“Young Master Jin. What are we doing?”
Faced with their overwhelming energy, I seriously contemplated whether I should tell them the truth or not.
But the hesitation didn’t last long.
“You’ll be hostesses.”
For a moment, Baek Sang-ah and Cheon Yura tilted their heads, not quite understanding what I had just said.
Host… what?
I swallowed nervously and braced myself. Since the plan was already in motion, I couldn’t afford to lose my momentum!
“You two will be the new faces of the tea house operated by the Nine Moons Blade Hall.”
“……”
“……”
**
A “Teahouse” was, quite literally, a pavilion for selling tea.
Unlike inns that specialized in food or taverns that sold alcohol, a Teahouse focused solely on tea.
It might seem like a dull place without alcohol or women, but the true value of a daroo lay in its role as a hub for information exchange.
“Hey, did you hear? Something big happened in Sichuan recently.”
“Oh, you mean that incident where the warriors of the Sichuan Tang Clan ran into trouble trying to pass through Hanzhong?”
Tea held a significant place in the daily lives of people across the Central Plains.
That’s why both martial artists and civilians alike often gathered at daroos to enjoy tea and engage in calm conversation.
And it was in those conversations that information was exchanged and social ties formed.
Buzz buzz!
Among them, the Sea and Moon Teahouse, run by the Nine Moons Blade Hall, was the largest in Eastern Sea Fortress.
Naturally, it was also a major hub for the sharing of all sorts of information.
“Tsk tsk, sounds like the Tang Clan’s past their prime. To get done in by a bunch of Green Forest bandits…”
“Actually, I heard it wasn’t the Green Forest. Someone else entirely.”
“Someone else?”
“Not sure, but the rumor is… it was just one person.”
“You serious?”
“Who knows? In any case, the Tang Clan Leader is furious and gathering his full forces. There’s gonna be a lot of blood spilled in the region soon.”
“Jeez, I guess I should just skip Sichuan this time and head straight to Xi’an. Hey there, get me a pot of leaf tea!”
One of the regular merchants raised his hand and placed an order.
Not long after—
“Here you go.”
*Clack!*
With a stern expression, a young woman placed the tea on the table.
The regulars stared at her intently.
“Huh? Are you new, miss?”
“Never seen you before.”
The woman gave a stiff nod.
“Y-yes.”
Her rigid movements, stiff face, and informal speech made it obvious that she wasn’t used to this kind of work.
However—
“Master Bang’s gone crazy, putting a beauty like her in a daroo.”
The woman before them had a face that didn’t belong in an ordinary tea house.
“Maybe she’s a prospective daughter-in-law?”
“No way. Who puts their future daughter-in-law to work in a place like this?”
“Why not? It’s not like this is a tavern or brothel.”
“Fair point.”
It wasn’t unusual for family members or acquaintances to be temporarily brought in when a business was short-staffed.
Especially in a thriving daroo like this one.
“Her gaze is a little sharp, but still… Was Master Bang always this capable? She doesn’t look like a commoner. Maybe from a noble family?”
“Definitely feels like someone from a prestigious household, judging by the way those guards are watching her.”
Three guards, presumably tea house security, hovered near the woman with fierce eyes.
Their vibe practically screamed, *‘Touch her and die’*, and combined with the woman’s unique emotionless aura, no one dared to make a move on her.
Whether they realized it or not, their presence was only making the woman more visibly uncomfortable…
“She’s not the only one. Look over there.”
One merchant pointed, drawing everyone’s gaze to a different corner of the tea house.
There, a girl with twin braids was busily moving about.
“This is Iron Goddess of Mercy, directly imported from Fujian Province.”
“What? Booze?! Mister, this isn’t a tavern, it’s a tea house!”
“Touch her and I’ll know. You’ll lose that hand of yours.”
A girl moved around the daroo, energetically weaving between tables. Her lively and adorable demeanor brought out fatherly smiles from many onlookers.
“Huh. I’ve been coming here for over five years, but I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I haven’t seen girls that pretty even at Radiant Pavilion in Everlasting Decree Fortress.”
“No way those girls are from a tavern or brothel. Look over there.”
The merchant pointed to a quiet corner, where another girl with a composed look was surrounded by merchants.
This girl wore a rare accessory in the Central Plains— a monocle, or rather, a single-lensed eyeglass.
“You have quite an eye. Bingwol Jade is one of the rare luminous pearls, only harvested near the northern lakes of Xinjiang.”
“Young lady, how would one go about distributing this in the Central Plains?”
“You’d lose the glow if it’s been over two months since harvesting, right?”
“Exactly!”
The merchant who owned the luminous pearl slapped his knee.
“Of course, if you could transport it all the way to the capital, you could sell it to nobles for a high price. But you’d need to wrap it in a special fabric called Silver Snow Silk to preserve its quality.”
“Hmm! So the packaging costs more than the goods.”
When the girl lightly touched the Bingwol Jade, a soft glow began to radiate from the orb.
“Ooooh?!”
“The greatest feature of Bingwol Jade is that it can store qi to some extent. It doesn’t hold much, but the key is that it can hold qi at all.”
“Mmm!”
“You should take it to Sichuan.”
“Sichuan?”
“The Tang Clan would pay handsomely for it. Bingwol Jade can be widely used in hidden weapon crafting.”
“The Tang Clan! Right, I forgot about them! From here, two months should be enough to reach Chengdu in Sichuan!”
“For distribution, you have Daejeong Merchant Guild, Unho Merchant Guild, and Maeyul Merchant Guild. Personally, I recommend Maeyul.”
“Hahaha, I’ll take that into serious consideration!”
As the merchant wrapped up the deal with a satisfied smile and stepped back—
“Hey! Take a look at my goods too!”
“Hey, wait your turn! I was next!”
“Bring me your most expensive tea! Now!”
All the merchants who had been watching from the sidelines began crowding around the girl with their goods, demanding advice.
A regular nearby swallowed nervously.
“She’s amazing.”
“I heard her insight is no joke. Even veteran merchants throw their hands up in surrender.”
“She’s not just sharp—she’s a born businesswoman. My friend said she seems like someone who’s led a trading guild somewhere.”
“Huh!”
At some point, three girls had suddenly appeared in the daroo.
All of them seemed to be in their early twenties, yet their influence was overwhelming.
“In just three days, customers have tripled.”
I was observing the situation while working as the temporary manager of Sea and Moon Teahouse.
“Y-y-young master, are you sure this is okay?!”
Beside me stood the actual owner of the tea house—Bang Manhu.
He was trembling all over, clutching at his hair.
“We agreed on this beforehand, didn’t we? What’s there to worry about?”
“O-o-of course I’m worried!”
From the moment those three girls had been placed in the tea house—no, to be precise, from the moment he learned the identity of two of them—Bang Manhu’s face had been in a permanent state of misery.
“W-what the hell was I thinking… I’m dead. I’m really dead. I’m going to die more horribly than anyone in this world.”
“You won’t die.”
“N-no matter how much of a Young Master Jin you are, can you really use the Young Cult Leader like this and come out alive?!”
I had hinted to Bang Manhu about their identities in advance, but his reaction was still hilariously dramatic.
‘If I tell him Baek Sang-ah is the granddaughter of the Murim Alliance Leader, will he faint on the spot?’
We might get to witness a master-level martial artist suffering qi deviation in real time.
‘A tea house where the Murim Alliance Leader’s granddaughter and the Heavenly Demon Cult’s Young Cult Leader work as hostesses…’
Originally, I only planned to have Baek Sang-ah involved.
But then Cheon Yura suddenly appeared and inserted herself into the situation, and once she did, Sa Biyeon joined in too, making things spiral out of control.
For someone as proud and stiff as Cheon Yura to work as a tea house hostess!
‘Hmph, if the Cult Leader from my past life saw this, he’d probably kill me.’
But surprisingly, Cheon Yura carried out her duties as the face of the tea house without any complaints.
Having received all sorts of training to maintain dignity as the Young Cult Leader, her poise was flawless.
The only issue was her stiff attitude, but with the contrasting personalities of Baek Sang-ah and Sa Biyeon around, many customers actually found her awkward demeanor charming.
‘She even seems to be enjoying it?’
On the first day, she only did what was assigned to her, but now she had started responding to customer questions to some extent.
“Hahaha, miss, where are you from?”
“Ten Thousand Mountain.”
“Hahaha, what a jokester! I’ll celebrate with another cup of Iron Goddess of Mercy!”
Every time Cheon Yura opened her mouth, Bang Manhu’s face went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
“J-Young Master Jin… just how long do you intend to keep using them as hostesses?!”
“Until the prey falls into the net, of course.”
“Grrr! It’s been three days! Why aren’t those bastards showing up?!”
Bang Manhu felt like his insides were twisting into knots.
Not just the Young Cult Leader—he also learned that the girl with the monocle was a direct descendant of the Black Gold Sa Clan, which only added to his stress.
Regardless of Bang Manhu’s mental breakdown, I was focused on my calculations.
‘Hmm, by now, the rumors should be spreading.’
There was only one reason to put these absolutely stunning girls to work in a tea house.
To attract all the attention in the region.
Once attention was drawn, the gossip would follow, and that gossip would quickly spread to the surrounding areas.
No way would those greedy bastards who always drool over juicy info ignore such rumors.
And then—
Bang!
“Kuhahaha! Take care of the customer, you bastards!”
A loud, rowdy noise erupted from the entrance on the first floor of the daroo.
And it wasn’t just one or two people.
“Sect Leader-nim, something big’s going down! The Black Tiger Faction thugs just barged in, en masse!”
Upon hearing that report, Bang Manhu’s face lit up brightly.
“They’ve finally come!”
“W-why are you so happy?!”