Chapter 80 : A Thief!

Chapter 80: A Thief!Mad Rooster Elder Byeok blinked with an uncharacteristically gentle expression.

Who were the ones reprimanding her now?

Hyeon-un of the Wudang Sect and Tang Tae-san of the Tang Clan.

They were true masters who practically steered the orthodox murim. Men whose influence reached every affair within the righteous faction.

To the younger juniors gathered here, they were so lofty and unattainable that they seemed almost like immortals.

Even to her—who had lived long enough to earn recognition and a seat of authority—they were endlessly high and difficult seniors.

Of course, Elder Byeok had once caused a disturbance in the Murim Alliance Leader’s office for certain reasons…

‘That was only because the Alliance Leader was someone who wouldn’t strike me.’

Hyeon-un and Tang Tae-san were different.

One was the most stubborn old man in all the murim, and the other was the Tang Clan’s Great Elder, consumed by grudges.

As unruly as herself—perhaps even more so.

They were men capable of doing anything if their mood soured.

After making her judgment, Elder Byeok spoke with a deferential tone.

“Um… why are you doing this to me…?”

The one to step forward was Hyeon-un.

He let his long, white hair flow like that of a celestial being as he strode ahead and said,

“Elder Byeok, you relied on your authority and martial prowess to intimidate someone who was merely running an honest business. Is that true?”

“That was to investigate the Thief…”

“Do you have proof?”

Elder Byeok turned toward Sima Hwi.

But Sima Hwi showed no sign of opening his mouth. From the start, what he had presented were fragmented suspicions that hardly connected—nothing that could serve as evidence tying this inn to the Thief.

“…I don’t.”

“Without proof, you pressured an honest commoner with force. And on top of that, you shoved the responsibility for compensation onto a far junior disciple, leaving the aftermath for him to deal with!”

“No, but he wasn’t exactly an honest commoner…”

“Silence!!”

Hyeon-un bellowed once more.

His spirit burst forth in all directions, forcing the prodigies and wanderers nearby to flinch and step back.

But Elder Byeok did feel wronged.

How could that inn’s waiter and assassin be called honest commoners? Especially the waiter—he had casually deflected her strike like a master.

Of course, voicing such words would only make Hyeon-un draw his Taiji Sword on the spot.

When she kept her mouth shut, Tang Tae-san’s voice followed.

“I hear the compensation was a mere fifty taels of silver.”

“A mere fifty taels? For a day’s earnings at an inn, that should be more than plenty…”

She closed her mouth again when Tang Tae-san’s deep green eyes flashed under the sunlight.

“And what about the inn’s honor?”

“…What?”

“You dragged them away in front of everyone as if they were thieves. They are but a diligent waiter and cook, living their lives day by day.”

No, they weren’t just a waiter and a cook.

Of course, she only muttered that inside. With martial artists of Hyeon-un and Tang Tae-san’s caliber, there was no way they didn’t already know the waiter and cook had martial training.

The situation was crystal clear.

Two of the era’s top masters were shielding that inn. She didn’t know why, but it was obvious they cherished it deeply—enough to show genuine outrage.

“…Then what would you have me do?”

At her question, their pressure eased slightly.

So, even a Mad Rooster starts to act like a human when she gets old—Hyeon-un thought as he spoke.

“Three hundred taels.”

“?”

Elder Byeok wanted to wash her ears with water.

Then Tang Tae-san added,

“And prepare it yourself, without relying on the Sima Clan. Perhaps if you explain to Lord Yongdu of the Dragon Head Hall, he might give it to you.”

“Lucky if he doesn’t throw me into a cauldron alive.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad either.”

With a long sigh, Elder Byeok looked at Jin Seong-un. The boy’s face showed no readable emotions, even in this situation.

Finally, Elder Byeok said,

“…Lower the amount.”

“No.”

That was Hyeon-un’s reply.

Jin Seong-un glanced at him, scratched his head, and added,

“He says no.”

“….”

Elder Byeok despaired.

She realized she had no choice.

She bowed her head and said,

“…Fine. Then I’ll be going, Seniors.”

“Going where?”

“To… earn money…”

Her shoulders drooped like those of a sick hen.

She had never earned money in her life.

Even when she occasionally received alms as a beggar, she tossed it to the nearest Beggars’ Union branch.

For someone like her, being told to earn three hundred taels of silver sounded like being asked to pluck stars from the heavens.

But it wasn’t completely impossible.

‘The bounty on the Thief was forty gold taels, wasn’t it?’

That was a whopping eight hundred taels of silver.

Even after paying three hundred taels, she would still have plenty left over.

As Elder Byeok walked off, lost in calculations, Hyeon-un’s reminder rang from behind.

“Surely an Elder of the Beggars’ Union would not break her word, would she?”

“…No.”

Elder Byeok replied with a weary sigh. No matter how unjust the situation felt, she had never once broken a promise in her life.

Only then did Hyeon-un and Tang Tae-san nod in satisfaction.

After that, all kinds of rumors surrounding Seong-un Inn spread openly among the martial artists of Yichang.

‘The waiter who humiliated the Rising Dragon Sima Hwi.’

‘The waiter protected by the Wudang Sect and the Tang Clan Elders.’

Truly provocative lines.

The prodigies stationed in Yichang, who had boldly arrived to catch the Thief, but found themselves with little to do beyond patrols, now had a perfect topic to chatter about through the night.

And so, the rumors spread at an incredible pace.

As rumors do, they grew more exaggerated each time they passed from one mouth to another.

Some even testified like this.

“I was standing in line outside that inn before, and I saw Rising Dragon and the waiter fighting right at the entrance.”

“They say even that Seomun Ak delinquent is serving under him.”

“You know that cook with the dark aura? They say he’s hiding a shady past.”

“Rising Dragon supposedly lost, even though he brought Elder Byeok with him out of personal grudge.”

Surprisingly, there were slivers of truth mixed in.

Of course, those facts were drowned in wild rumors, drifting aimlessly in the air.

Because of that, Seong-un Inn was constantly packed. Han Seong-chun and Seo Yu-gyeom had to keep stirring the pots without rest, while Jin Seong-un and Seomun Ak had to keep carrying out food.

Meanwhile, Jin Seong-un’s expression wasn’t very good.

That was because every single person filling the inn was a martial artist.

‘Martial artists eat a lot, which is nice, but…’

The amount of wine and food they consumed was far beyond ordinary people. The real problem was that once the Thief was caught, these martial artists would leave.

Potential regulars, the type who might become steady customers, had stopped coming because they felt out of place amidst the overwhelming murim crowd.

A clear short-term boon.

But an obvious long-term disaster.

That was why Jin Seong-un kept sighing.

The prodigies’ brash temperaments also added heavily to his stress.

“What’s this? Young Master Sima came again? Do you have no shame?”

Tang So-yeon had just entered the inn and immediately criticized Sima Hwi.

Sima Hwi only turned his face away, and Baek Li-joong, dining beside him, spoke instead.

“Miss Tang. The owner said he won’t refuse guests, so what right do you have to say otherwise?”

“What nonsense.”

Tang So-yeon turned to Jin Seong-un with eyes demanding the truth.

Jin Seong-un gave a light nod. There was no reason to bar Sima Hwi. After all, the waiter had never refused guests over personal feelings.

Tang So-yeon grumbled and went to sit with Baek Sang and Baek Seol.

Still, the atmosphere in the inn was clearly split in two.

On one side, Tang So-yeon, Baek Sang, Baek Seol, and Seomun Ak, with the prodigies close to them.

On the other, Sima Hwi, Namgung Rin, Baek Li-joong, and the prodigies who were closer to them.

‘Was the orthodox murim always like this?’

The righteous faction of the era had invisible walls.

Regional ties, personalities, history, martial arts lineages, roles in the Murim Alliance—many complicated reasons wove together into these unseen factions.

Thinking that the life of martial artists was truly exhausting, Jin Seong-un quietly placed a free bottle of wine on Tang So-yeon’s table, considering how she would one day become a Clan Head and live her whole life amid such competition.

Then someone spoke up.

“Why give free drinks only to that side? Does this inn openly discriminate among its guests?”

“……”

It was a prodigy from Sima Hwi’s faction, the so-called anti-Seong-un group.

Dressed in blue-and-white martial robes with a spear on his back, he stared at Jin Seong-un with a fiercely hostile gaze.

Before Jin Seong-un could respond, Baek Sang, the de facto representative of the pro-Seong-un faction, shouted furiously.

“The owner is showing kindness to friends. What nonsense is it to pick fights over that? How does such petty quibbling help in catching the Thief?”

“W-what did you say?!”

“You heard me!!”

And so it went.

They quarreled, glared at each other when restrained, and resumed arguing until someone stepped in again.

Jin Seong-un shook his head, leaving the bickering behind.

For all their hostility, even Sima Hwi still came to this inn for one simple reason.

Because the prodigies shared information about the Thief here. A reluctant alliance, built on necessity.

Once such an atmosphere took hold, the inn would be the first place to hear news of the Thief’s appearance.

Which meant that even if they didn’t want to come, they couldn’t stay away.

While Jin Seong-un rubbed his temples, fortunately someone from each faction intervened, and the quarrel subsided. Soon, the topic returned to the Thief.

Jin Seong-un also listened carefully, curious about the one being called heir to the Divine Thief.

“Perhaps he’s already gone.”

When Baek Sang said that, many nodded. The city had been strangely quiet these past few days.

Instead, the chaos came from prodigies roaming the alleys with swords at their waists, claiming to patrol.

Jin Seong-un agreed with Baek Sang’s reasoning. Considering the Thief’s past actions, he could well have already struck another region by now.

That would be a good outcome.

If the Thief was declared gone, then all these martial artists who made Yichang noisy would leave.

But Jin Seong-un’s hopes shattered in less than a day.

The next morning.

Jin Seong-un headed to the inn, looking more tired than usual.

“…Maybe I shouldn’t let them in today.”

Clearly, accommodating martial artists of such opposing factions in one place was too much.

As both waiter and owner, his pride and principles had made him accept them all, but with each passing day, it only grew more tiresome.

If he had to choose one side, it would obviously be his friends.

But that would turn Sima Hwi’s faction into troublesome guests.

Rubbing his aching forehead, Jin Seong-un stepped outside the inn’s entrance.

“……”

He blinked in disbelief.

Above the entrance of the inn—

Something that should have been there was gone.

“What are you doing there?”

Seo Yu-gyeom and Han Seong-chun followed him out, wearing the same stunned expressions.

“T-the signboard… where is it?”

The signboard of Seong-un Inn.

In its place was a sheet of paper with the word ‘Justice’ written on it.

A passing prodigy spotted the scene, widened his eyes, and shouted.

“A thief!”

He had even infused his qi into the shout, so it rang out loud and clear.

In an instant, all the martial artists in Yichang began to swarm toward Seong-un Inn.