Taiyin (太陰). (TL Note: Taiyin is literally Supreme Yin)
The moment I saw that word, I immediately thought of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art. Was that just a coincidence?
Before I realized it, the old man from the bookstore had approached.
“Planning to buy that martial arts manual?”
“Ah, yes, sir. But… is this really a martial arts manual?”
The old man slowly nodded.
“It is. This is a shop that sells secondhand martial arts manuals.”
“You’re selling martial arts manuals…?”
Weren’t martial arts manuals usually treasured and kept within families or sects?
The old man smiled and explained.
“There are countless martial arts manuals in the world, but not all of them are peerless secret techniques.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Those lesser ones drift and eventually find their way here.”
He continued.
“The one you picked is four copper coins.”
Four copper coins—the price of a chicken.
“It’s a martial arts manual though. Isn’t that too cheap?”
“If no one buys it, it’ll just rot here. And everything here is, as the name suggests, secondhand.”
At that, I took out four copper coins and handed them over.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“Well then, take care.”
Just as I turned to leave, the old man suddenly called out to us.
“Hold on.”
“…?”
“Wait just a moment.”
He stared quietly at Palgap beside me, then pulled out a book from the shelf and held it out.
“Take this one too.”
“Pardon?”
“Your bear-like companion there will need it.”
.
.
.
A little later,
After eating chicken noodle soup at Mizhi Restaurant and taking care of a few errands, I returned to the inn and sat down to look through the secondhand martial arts manual I’d bought.
The content definitely felt familiar.
I thought showing it to Master might help shed some light, so I tucked it away and pulled out the other book.
The one the old man had recommended for Palgap.
It too had a plain white cover with no title.
I flipped through the pages and soon realized something felt… off.
[To those who walk the path of the King of Assassins (殺王之路)…]
Palgap, with his strange natural talent, always made me wonder if he’d been born with the potential to become the so-called King of Assassins.
The fact that the old man had picked out this exact manual for him felt too precise to be mere chance.
Who even was that old man?
I read through more of the manual.
It was something like a guidebook.
It detailed everything from how to conceal presence and how to take a target’s life, to the martial arts an assassin must master.
I had a good idea why this ended up in a secondhand bookstore.
[The moment you believe you mustn’t be detected, everything around you will hide your presence…]
To the average reader, this kind of writing would seem ridiculous.
But to someone born with the potential of the King of Assassins, it was the ultimate manual.
And since I’d observed Palgap for a long time, I was confident in my judgment that he had that potential.
Still, I hesitated.
Should I really let Palgap learn this?
If he had, in my past life, he might not have died such a meaningless death.
But if he learned this… would he still be the Palgap I knew?
What should I do?
No matter how long I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer, so I quietly slipped the manual back into my pouch.
It seemed I’d need to talk to Master about this too.
With all the secrets he carried, I was sure he’d keep this one for me as well.
Before that, though, I’d have to return to that bookstore tomorrow.
It was already getting close to evening.
That evening,
After dining with my parents at the inn, I headed for Daejin Tavern.
It was one of the taverns in Luoyang.
“Welcome!”
The attendant greeted us warmly, and Palgap stepped forward.
“We should have a reservation.”
He handed over a slip of paper with the reservation details, and the attendant quickly bowed.
“Ah, the guests of the third private room. Everything’s prepared. This way, please.”
The attendant led us inside.
I had come to meet the Great Thief Chun-il here.
The reason I chose this location was because its structure offered far more privacy than other taverns.
Once I entered the private room, attendants followed in with a large table.
It was the standard table service that came with renting a private room.
“If you need anything, just ring the bell.”
They bowed politely and left the room.
I looked over the food laid out on the table.
The luxurious spread showcased the abundance of Luoyang.
Even for a high-end tavern, such a lavish spread would be impossible without the wealth of the region.
“Mmm, delicious. Eat up. The food’s quite good.”
At my words, Palgap and the three Escort Guards shook their heads.
“No, sir.”
“We were in a teahouse earlier, but this is a tavern. And it’s nighttime. We have to stay sharp, and it’s hard to keep our senses keen on a full stomach.”
Their firm tone made me drop the matter.
Maybe I was the strange one, eating so casually.
Still, I didn’t touch the alcohol.
After all, the reason I came tonight was to recruit the Great Thief Chun-il.
Sure, a few drinks wouldn’t cloud my judgment, but there was no need to take the risk.
Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom!
From a distance, the sound of drums echoed.
It was to mark the start of the hour of the pig (9 to 11 PM).
He should be arriving soon.
I hadn’t told him which private room I was in. If he was truly the person I believed him to be, he’d find it on his own.
That was when—
“Sir, Miss Jade Moon is entering.”
A woman’s voice called out as the door opened, and a beautifully dressed courtesan stepped inside.
Sensing her Qi, I grinned and gestured toward the spot across from me with my chin.
“Have a seat.”
“Yes, sir.”
As she sat gracefully, I clicked my tongue.
He was a dancer last time, now a courtesan.
His disguise skills really were incredible.
I spoke, impressed.
“You arrived right on time.”
“Punctuality’s important.”
“How did you know where I was?”
“That’s a trade secret.”
Great Thief Chun-il smiled seductively, and I let out a dry laugh.
“That doesn’t suit you. Smiling like that at someone who clearly knows you’re a man—don’t you think it’s more poison than charm?”
“True enough.”
His voice shifted into a soft, masculine tone.
Palgap and the three Escort Guards looked startled, but didn’t react beyond that.
“So, what is it that you, the winner of our contest, want from me?”
At that, I spoke directly.
“Our Eunhae Merchant Group would like to hire you.”
“…What? Hire me?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded and continued.
“You’re… suffering, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Isn’t it frustrating—hating that you steal, yet being unable to stop yourself from doing it?”
“I…”
“Don’t try to deny it. The way your eyes tremble and your lips twitch already told me it’s true.”
“…”
A brief silence passed.
“Yes, it’s true. I hate stealing. But what can I do? This is who I am.”
He let out a long sigh.
“I tried to stop. But before I even realized it, I was stealing again. So I wrapped my hands in chains. And still… those hands were stealing again.”
There was sorrow in his voice.
“At this point, stealing is no different from a part of my body. I’ll probably only stop when I die. But I hate myself even more for not being able to die.”
He looked straight at me.
“And even knowing all that… you still want to hire someone like me?”
“Yes.”
“…!”
At my firm reply, he looked utterly dumbfounded.
“I want to hire you as my merchant group’s security advisor.”
“Putting a sparrow in charge of the grain, are you?”
“Maybe. But even you can’t steal everything from us. You wouldn’t even have a place to store it all.”
“…”
“And besides, I’m the youngest son of the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“Hehehe.”
He chuckled.
“Well, that makes sense.”
“But being a security advisor for our group is only the surface reason.”
“…?”
He gave me a puzzled look again.
“To be honest, I was just really impressed by your uncanny disguises.”
“Ah…”
He gave me a sly smile again.
“I am pretty good at disguises. My master trained me harshly, but I also worked myself to the bone.”
His expression turned serious.
“Until now, no one’s ever seen through one of my disguises. But you did.”
“…”
“Which means someone else might one day see through it too… Are you okay with that? Since it sounds like my disguise is the reason you want to hire me.”
“Oh, that’s just because I’m a genius.”
“…Excuse me?”
“So don’t worry. No one else will catch on.”
Even in my past life, no one ever saw through his disguises. He could even alter his Qi depending on the disguise—how would anyone ever see through that?
Back then, when he was caught, it wasn’t because someone saw through him.
It was because someone else, wrongly accused of being the Silver Three-Tailed Thief, was being tortured. He turned himself in to the local authorities to save them.
This man, sitting before me, was that kind of soft-hearted person.
I continued.
“And I’ll let you steal all you want.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re saying you’ll let someone who hates stealing, steal?”
At his harsh tone, Palgap and the guards flinched.
But I raised my hand to stop them.
“Let’s be honest—what you hate isn’t the act of stealing itself, is it? That’s why you accepted my challenge.”
“…”
“So steal information.”
“What?”
“Why do you think stealing only refers to money? There’s plenty of things worth stealing besides treasure.”
I went on.
“You can steal hearts. You can steal information. And that’s what I’m asking you to steal.”
He stared blankly, and I gave him a wide grin.
What I wanted from the Great Thief Chun-il was to be an informant.
I needed a highly capable informant. And Father agreed with me.
As a merchant group grows, the value of information increases. That’s exactly why the Hundred Merchant Groups meet once a year.
And if I’m going to face the Murim Alliance in the future, I’ll need quality intelligence.
The Hao Clan exists, but they don’t always give accurate or timely information—and they could very well feed us false reports.
In my past life, the Eunhae Merchant Group didn’t start operating its own information network until we entered the top ten.
That was partly due to the cost, but more importantly, we didn’t have the right people.
Now, sitting right in front of me, is the ideal candidate.
And funds aren’t an issue.
Our group is steadily growing, and with the intel we’ll gather, we’ll grow even faster.
I asked Chun-il,
“Stealing information is a lot harder than what you’re doing now. Even for someone like you, it’d be tough.”
A vein popped on his forehead.
So pushing the pride button really does work best with thieves.
“Well? Think you can handle it?”
“There’s nothing in this world I can’t steal.”
“Then there’s no reason you can’t sign a contract with us.”
I pulled out the contract I’d prepared.
“Right?”
“Fine. Let’s sign.”
Chun-il placed his seal on the contract I handed over.
I’d hooked a big one.
A fresh, lively catch.
As I retrieved the contract, I added,
“As stated in the agreement, if you steal anything other than information, the value of it will be deducted from your wages. Meaning, anything you steal will just be your own pay in advance.”
He snorted.
“How much could my salary be that it’s even worth deducting from?”
“Aha! So you didn’t read the contract before stamping it?”
“…?”
“It says right here. Your pay will be based on the value of the intel you bring in. The lowest grade of information is worth one silver tael. The highest? Ten gold taels.”
“…!”
His eyes widened.
“Are you serious?”
“Want to reread the contract?”
He nodded and carefully read it through again.
Then, with a polite tone, he returned it and asked,
“When do I start?”
Honesty when it comes to money—how very admirable.
–TL Notes–
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