Chapter 37

Dang Ran-yeong tilted his head with an expression that seemed slightly disappointed, or perhaps amused. As he was a man whose thoughts were impossible to read, Cheong-ra clenched his hand tightly under the table. After taking another sip of tea nervously, Cheong-ra continued speaking.

"And what is it that you think I want? How can you know and give me something that even I don't know exactly? It's obvious that it will end up being unsatisfactory, isn't it?"

"Unsatisfactory?"

Seeing a very deep smile appear on Dang Ran-yeong's face, Cheong-ra bit his tongue inside his mouth and suppressed his wavering heart. Then he stubbornly pushed forward with his argument.

"As you said last time, I owe you a debt. So I've come only to repay that."

"I don't believe in deals without compensation."

Dang Ran-yeong crossed his legs and answered indifferently. Cheong-ra's heart pounded at the attitude that seemed like he might cancel the proposal at any moment. He thought he might be throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, he didn't back down and pressed on strongly.

"I also won't agree to a proposal with an unknown purpose. That World's..."

Cheong-ra had to swallow once to bring up the name of the contest that was so embarrassing and shameful to even mention.

"Greatest... Beauty Contest, what exactly is the prize that you're trying to use me for? I need to know."

As Cheong-ra didn't readily accept the proposal, Dang Ran-yeong just stared at him with an expressionless face without saying anything. Even though that was all, the intangible pressure applied was tremendous. Cheong-ra sharpened his gaze and glared at Dang Ran-yeong. If the other party said no, he had no intention of begging and pleading either.

'Regardless of cooperating with that Dang Ran-yeong, I should at least go and see this World's Greatest Beauty Contest or whatever it is.'

He thought this person was necessary to properly carry out the mission given by the Sect Leader. Whether Dang Ran-yeong was behind those incidents or not, he felt that if he stayed by this person's side, he could obtain any information.

'Of course, I can't say there's absolutely no self-interest...'

Would he have accepted such a proposal if it had been made by someone other than Dang Ran-yeong? Certainly not. Dang Ran-yeong's offer to give him what he wanted felt truly tempting, but refusing him was the last bit of conscience Cheong-ra was maintaining.

Anyway, for someone who seemed to lack nothing in the world to make such an unavoidable proposal, that contest must not be ordinary either. No, it was strange from the start to choose the world's greatest beauty. How could they choose the world's greatest when everyone's standards of beauty and preferences were different? Just as Cheong-ra was half giving up on this deal, it happened.

"Well, alright. If we're going to work together anyway, I should at least tell you the reason."

Surprisingly, Dang Ran-yeong accepted Cheong-ra's proposal. No, he didn't fully accept it.

"Then for now, let's leave it undecided what Young Master Baek Ri will receive in return."

"No, I..."

Cheong-ra tried to refuse once more, but Dang Ran-yeong didn't even pretend to listen.

"So from today, while we stay together, how about we gradually, leisurely, and in detail, try to find out what Young Master Baek Ri wants?"

"What?"

Thinking what kind of arbitrary person this was, Cheong-ra questioned. He belatedly refused Dang Ran-yeong's proposal again.

"No. And I have a lodging already..."

"It would be troublesome if you wander around and cause trouble like last time."

Dang Ran-yeong cut him off and looked Cheong-ra up and down. He rudely flicked Cheong-ra's veil with his fingertip. The veil's fabric flipped back, fully revealing the beautiful face underneath. Cheong-ra frowned as he grabbed the veil falling backward.

"Looking like that and thinking you won't cause any trouble in Chang'an, you must be an idiot. Don't you think?"

Cheong-ra learned for the first time that someone could speak so unpleasantly about being handsome. Dang Ran-yeong, who had instantly made someone an idiot, stood up from his seat. Then, without listening anymore, he quickly went downstairs. Although it was frustrating, Cheong-ra had no choice but to follow him.

The building of the Chang'an White Jade Merchant Group was quite large in scale. Unlike when he entered, Cheong-ra exited through a secluded back door that the merchant group's workers would likely use. There, a carriage that Dang Ran-yeong seemed to have brought was waiting. The coachman, seeing his master, bowed politely and quickly opened the carriage door.

Dang Ran-yeong, who had boarded the carriage, nodded his head with a face that said "What are you doing?" Although thinking he shouldn't be swayed like this from the start, Cheong-ra inwardly sighed once and reluctantly boarded the carriage. The luxurious carriage, fit for high officials and nobles, was quite spacious inside. As soon as the carriage started moving, Dang Ran-yeong crossed his arms and said,

"This Chang'an is different from Chongqing. Even ordinary people can get their heads cracked if they're careless, so what do you think will happen if you wander around alone with that face?"

"I know that much."

Cheong-ra, who had been inwardly admiring and closely examining the carvings on the carriage's interior pillars, which were beautiful enough to be delicate, replied irritably. The things he had experienced living with this face were no small matter. However, Dang Ran-yeong laughed out loud at Cheong-ra's words.

"No, Young Master Baek Ri doesn't know at all."

"What don't I know?"

"There are things that someone who has lived preciously like a sect's treasured jewel can't even imagine."

As he said this, a subtly mocking expression appeared on Dang Ran-yeong's face. Cheong-ra quietly glared at him through his veil. This person had aspects that were "too" compatible with the conditions of the object of his desire.

However, Dang Ran-yeong's words weren't completely wrong. Cheong-ra knew well that he was able to build his reputation as the Moonlight Beauty Sword thanks to the sect. His fame was possible because people from Moon Lake Sect, like Ju Mu-gwang, his senior brothers, and martial sister, had accompanied him on his righteous deeds. As this was the first time he was venturing out alone, Cheong-ra was more nervous than usual.

Cheong-ra straightened his back and turned his gaze to the window of the carriage. Chang'an was so large and prosperous that even though he had been sightseeing all day, new and interesting things kept appearing. Perhaps because it was a city with incomparably more people living in it than Chongqing, the atmosphere was lively. As he slightly lifted his veil to get a better look, he felt Dang Ran-yeong's piercing gaze on his face.

'...Should I look at him or not?'

After deliberating, Cheong-ra didn't want to show that he was too conscious of the other, so he deliberately ignored him and focused on sightseeing outside. He thought the carriage would arrive in front of a luxurious mansion as it had in Xiangyang. However, as the crowd on the streets gradually increased, the place where the carriage finally stopped was in front of a brothel.

Unable to understand why they had come here, Cheong-ra doubted his eyes when Dang Ran-yeong stretched his hand forward. A black silk robe unfolded before his eyes, blocking his view. He closed the carriage window and returned the veil that Cheong-ra had lifted for sightseeing to its original state. Then he indifferently ordered, "Get out now." Cheong-ra, who had stiffened at the other's sudden approach, hesitated.

"But isn't this a brothel?"

"It's not just any brothel. It's The Pavilion of Golden Fragrance."

The Pavilion of Golden Fragrance, wasn't that the place where the best courtesans in Chang'an were gathered? It was also the place Dang Ran-yeong had mentioned when he talked about taking him to a brothel and spending a fortune.

The coachman politely opened the carriage door. Pushed by Dang Ran-yeong's gaze, Cheong-ra hesitantly got out of the carriage. As he raised his head, he slightly opened his mouth in surprise.

The Pavilion of Golden Fragrance, whose fame was so great that its reputation was well-known even in Chongqing, was even more impressive than he had vaguely imagined. Usually, inns or brothels consist of a single building. However, The Pavilion of Golden Fragrance was so large in scale that it consisted of several magnificent buildings and pavilions. Among them, the largest building was a four-story structure.

Inside the main gate, it was bustling even in broad daylight, with continuous sounds of zither playing, applause, and laughter. Even before crossing the gate, the scent of women's powder, food, and alcohol spread so far that people on the street all stopped in their tracks in front of this place.

Cheong-ra, who had been momentarily lost in admiring The Pavilion of Golden Fragrance, soon came to his senses. Why on earth had Dang Ran-yeong come here? Was he planning to enjoy the company of courtesans from broad daylight? If that was the case, it would be quite disappointing. It was then that Cheong-ra was suspiciously watching Dang Ran-yeong getting out of the carriage.

"Oh my, Young Master Dang!"

As soon as Dang Ran-yeong got out of the carriage, someone came running out from inside the brothel with quick steps. It was a courtesan who was beautifully adorned from head to toe without missing a single detail. As she approached, a fragrant scent of powder wafted over.

"How could you not come for so long? This humble girl couldn't forget your gallant appearance and has been pining for days."

As the courtesan spoke as if complaining, with tears slightly welling up in her eyes, all the men nearby sighed, but Dang Ran-yeong received her without much sincerity.

"Yes, Yeo-jin. It's been a while."

'Shouldn't someone like this woman, rather than me, participate in the World's Greatest Beauty Contest?'

Cheong-ra thought this and sighed shallowly inside his veil. He tried to think that the courtesan was welcoming him like this because he was the owner of the White Jade Merchant Group, but it was quite displeasing to think that he might be someone who frequently visited brothels and indulged in women's charms.