Chapter 46: Sama the Heretic 1

Baek Moo-jin had a difficult farewell with Jin So-hye and walked on, only belatedly realizing he had taken a wrong turn. Since he had followed Lee Gon’s path using his lightness skill, the way back felt unfamiliar. This was also because he hadn’t started from where he originally arrived, but rather from the vicinity of the Yeon Ga Guesthouse.

The path Jin Sohye had walked was now quiet.

In contrast, the street Baek Moo-jin had entered was a bustling, never-sleeping entertainment district. With no turning back possible, it seemed best to push through this street quickly.

How could there be so many people at night?

It was a street where no houses where people lived were visible, only long rows of commercial buildings of unknown purpose stretching left and right. There were drunken revelers staggering about, people walking quickly with grim expressions, others aimlessly peering here and there, and those like Baek Moo-jin who simply watched the crowd. But above all, there were many women. They gathered in small groups, chatting about something, then grabbed passing men to solicit them. They were the courtesans he’d only heard about.

Everything Baek Moo-jin saw was unfamiliar. As he wandered this bustling street, one thought suddenly struck him.

Jin So-hye’s bold expression, tone of voice, and gaze.

Unlike Baek Moo-jin, that intense gaze held a yearning, a hope, and a driving force to move forward.

Without realizing it, Baek Moo-jin shook his head.

Then, turning onto a quieter street, Baek Moo-jin heard women’s laughter and turned his head.

“Where is the carriage?”

“Almost there.”

The women’s voices, giggling and chattering, stretched out from the alley on the right. That laughter sounded terribly frivolous. It was impossible to tell if they were laughing out of obligation or genuine joy. Perhaps it was precisely because it was laughter caught between duty and pleasure that it sounded so awkward.

Baek Moo-jin walked a few steps away, leaving the frivolous laughter behind.

This time, a man’s laughter erupted from behind.

This laughter was no less intense. If the women’s laughter was frivolous, the man’s laughter was downright unpleasant, irritating to the nerves.

But the man, who had been walking while letting out that unpleasant laugh, spotted Baek Moo-jin walking alone and immediately said to the women.

“Look over there. He’s quite handsome. Shall we call him over to join us? It might be difficult for me alone to satisfy both of you all night, don’t you think?”

“Ask him.”

“Ask him? You think I can’t?”

Baek Moo-jin, who had been walking, quietly stopped and turned around, intending to at least get a look at the man’s face.

2.

The man’s attire was truly a sight to behold. He wore a purple robe embroidered with rare patterns, his top open to reveal bare skin.

The man, whose features were generally thin, had hair that was longer and blacker than that of the women flanking him. Yet, for a man’s hair, it seemed somehow out of place.

The man had a woman on each arm. They wore heavy makeup and reeked of powdered perfume, making them unmistakably courtesans to anyone who saw them.

As Baek Moo-jin watched, the man chuckled, made eye contact with him, and walked past.

“If you’re interested, speak up. I’ll give you one.”

Baek Moo-jin’s gaze slowly followed the passing man.

His right hand plunged deep into the right woman’s chest.

“This one has very ample breasts.”

This time, the man grabbed the left woman’s buttocks tightly with his left hand.

“This one’s got a plump behind. How about it?”

Both women giggled amidst their screams at the man’s actions. The man said in a mocking tone.

“Seems like you’re not thinking straight. Looks like I’ll have to use force today.”

Baek Moo-jin absentmindedly checked the pattern on the man’s purple robe once more.

‘What kind of guy is this?’

When Baek Moo-jin remained silent, the man walking by seemed intrigued. He stopped and turned around.

Only then did the man and Baek Moo-jin lock eyes directly.

The man found Baek Moo-jin’s calm demeanor quite impressive.

‘Huh? This is the kind of vibe my senior likes. His blood must be pure. Should I take him…?’

At that moment, Baek Moo-jin felt the gaze of the man whose eyes met his was bizarre. It was too dark to be clear, but he sensed the man’s eyes were faintly tinged with a reddish hue.

Suddenly, the man’s tongue shot out long and slithered toward the woman. After deliberately provoking Baek Moo-jin, he burst into a chuckling laugh and resumed walking down the road.

This was no ordinary drunkard, but someone skilled in martial arts. Yet the feeling Baek Moo-jin got from him was deeply unpleasant.

‘Is that bastard the Samadui I’ve only heard about?’

Baek Moo-jin had no reason to be provoked by a stranger flicking his tongue. Yet, unlike his usual composed self, he suddenly spat out a harsh remark at the retreating man.

“I’d like to rip your tongue out.”

For a moment, Baek Moo-jin couldn’t understand why he had blurted out such a harsh remark.

‘Was it because of the women on either side of the man?’

Somehow, the two women following that sort of man seemed pitiful.

What kind of lives had those courtesans led?

Jin So-hye and those women’s lives showed a stark contrast, like seeing two extremes.

A stark contrast between a woman cherished and one discarded.

‘This feels disgusting.’

The man walking overheard Baek Moo-jin’s words and immediately asked the women.

“Did I hear wrong? I thought I heard some nonsense from behind.”

The flustered women tried to stay calm as they replied.

“What are you talking about? No, nothing. Oh, why get angry on such a fine day? Look, there’s a carriage over there. Let’s hurry.”

“What do you mean ‘no’? I heard it. You heard it too.”

“Oh dear, I didn’t hear anything.”

The man’s anger only made the women visibly more fearful. Yet he wore a strange smile and spoke even more cheerfully.

“No. There’s no way you didn’t hear it. I clearly heard you say you’d pull out my tongue. This body’s tongue, I mean. I have plenty of use for it today… Don’t you agree?”

The man gestured toward the carriage waiting for him.

“Go ahead to Hongrakjang first. The driver will take you there.”

“Oh, Honorable Elder… Let’s go together. Just like that.”

“I thought you were being kind, but you keep talking back.”

The two courtesans exchanged glances, swallowed hard, then nodded and said.

“Please hurry back.”

“I will.”

As the women hurried toward the carriage, the man behind them held up three fingers toward the driver. The driver quietly nodded in response.

Baek Moo-jin watched this spectacle silently.

‘Does that include me too?’

After staring at the carriage carrying the woman toward Hongrakjang for a moment, the man finally called out to Baek Moo-jin.

“Hey, you need to have your tongue cut out.”

The man approached Baek Moo-jin, looking at him with a strange posture, tilting his head this way and that.

“Seems you’re pretty confident. Who are you? Did you recognize me and say that on purpose?”

Baek Moo-jin didn’t respond, just stared at the man. The man chuckled and said.

“Aren’t you the one asking if I know you?”

The man, now standing before Baek Moo-jin, scanned him up and down. His gaze lingered briefly on the sword Baek Moo-jin held in his left hand before returning to the man himself.

“Are you the young master of the Baekri Clan? You look every bit the clan member…”

Baek Moo-jin detected a faint, metallic scent of blood emanating from the man’s body. Baek Moo-jin asked in a tone completely devoid of inflection.

“What is Hong Rakjang?”

“What?”

The visible age difference alone was four or five years. Baek Moo-jin suddenly addressing him informally left the man utterly bewildered. His original plan had been to send the women away and take Baek Moo-jin with him. The man knew better than anyone that he would have to fight Baek Moo-jin.

The man clasped his hands behind his back, then flicked a dagger from his elbow sheath and gripped it in his hand.

In that instant, Baek Moo-jin flickered like white light in the man’s vision.

What followed was the man’s gasping sound.

“Gah!”

Baek Moo-jin had seized the man’s throat with his right hand.

“What kind of place is Hong Rakjang?”

Baek Moo-jin couldn’t understand why he felt so enraged. The man’s provocation, his frivolity, his bloodshot eyes, the terrified women, the signal he sent to the coachman, the name Hong Rak (Red Joy)… Perhaps it was all of those things.

‘So this is what a heretic like Sima is like.’

Baek Moo-jin gripped his jaw, his grip so tight it wouldn’t have been strange if he’d wrenched out his throat. The man, having witnessed Baek Moo-jin’s strength and inner power, had no way to resist. His throat was seized, leaving him unable to even respond. Yet he still asked what Hong Rakjang was. The man could do nothing but writhe in terrible agony.

Baek Moo-jin spoke.

“Stick out your tongue.”

As Baek Moo-jin exerted force, the man gasped and coughed, then stuck out his tongue without understanding why. Then, Baek Moo-jin flicked his finger, injecting cold energy into the man’s tongue.

“Gahhhhh!”

The man let out a grotesque scream. His tongue remained frozen stiff and white, still protruding.

Baek Moo-jin gave the man’s buttocks a half-hearted kick before speaking.

“Let’s go to Hong Rakjang. Lead the way.”

Baek Moo-jin crouched beside the man, who lay sprawled on the floor struggling desperately with his tongue, and locked eyes with him.

“Will you go to Hongrakjang? Or should I pull out your tongue here and find it myself? If you go, your comrades will be there, right? You might get a chance to live.”

Hearing this, the man, unable to speak, began running toward Hongrakjang while enduring the pain.

‘If only my brother-in-arms were here, I could live. I’ll kill him. I’ll make him regret it. I’ll chop him into tiny pieces and sprinkle them into a purple blood soup!’

Suddenly, hearing no footsteps behind him, the man startled and glanced back.

Then, Baek Mujin’s hand flew toward the man’s cheek. With a sharp slap, the man’s head whipped around. Immediately after, Baek Mujin spoke simply, his tone flat and emotionless.

“Run.”