Chapter 20: Welcome to The Lower Filth Gate

When I opened the door, the space revealed was a small room with a desk and a few chairs.

I sat down comfortably in the empty room.

“Big Brother, is it okay to sit…”

“Ah, it’s fine. Sit down. Someone will be here soon.”

I reassured the youngest, who looked anxious, and had him sit down. Time passed after that.

‘Ah, damn, why aren’t they coming.’

Even I, who had told the youngest it was okay, started to feel uneasy as quite a bit of time had passed.

Maybe the Sichuan Branch Leader has changed? It had been a year and a half since I last came here, so it was possible.

‘If the person has changed, that would be a disaster…’

Just as I was starting to lose confidence little by little…

Creak-.

“…!”

I felt the door open behind me.

I turned around to face…

“Hey, why are you so late? I thought you got fired.”

“Haha, how could that be? I was late because of some work. Sorry about that.”

…It was the face of a friendly-looking middle-aged man.

When I smiled in relief at seeing him, he also smiled and spread his arms wide.

“Welcome to the Lower Filth Gate, my friend.”

The place I had come to was the Lower Filth Gate. To be precise, it was the Sichuan branch of the Lower Filth Gate.

And the middle-aged man who had come to greet me was Mun-seok, the Sichuan Branch Leader of the Lower Filth Gate.

**

The Lower Filth Gate.

The name literally means a sect (門) of low (下) and dirty (汚) people, and the name and the organization’s form fit well.

Those affiliated with the Lower Filth Gate were the marginalized in Murim, such as waitresses, courtesans, butchers, blacksmiths, assassins, low-level martial artists, and so on.

Despite this, there are not many in the martial world who look down on the Lower Filth Gate.

The fear of the Lower Filth Gate comes from the number of people affiliated with it. The organization is originally structured as a cell organization, so even the Lower Filth Gate itself cannot grasp how many members it has. Moreover, most of the marginalized in the martial world are affiliated with the Lower Filth Gate, making its scale enormous.

‘In fact, it is the largest and strongest sect of the Unorthodox Sects in this world.’

The individual strength is weak, but the overall power is formidable, and since they originally gathered to do dirty work, they can handle illegal activities professionally.

And those illegal activities include dealing with stolen goods.

That’s right.

I plan to sell the items from the Shanxi Yoo Family to the Lower Filth Gate.

To get the best price from them, it was important to successfully negotiate, so I started probing while drinking the tea he offered.

A probing conversation usually starts with everyday stories or recent news.

But…

“The last time I saw you was… about a year and a half ago? You looked like a complete beggar back then, but now you look much better!”

“Ah… It was a tough time back then… Well, you look much better too, Uncle.”

“Haha! Really? Thanks, even if it’s just flattery! So, Muyeon. What brings you here after a year and a half?”

“Well, you know, just… wait a minute…”

Feeling something strange in the conversation, I spat out the tea I was drinking.

“The name Muyeon… How do you know that…?”

“……”

I had never leaked any information about my name to the Lower Filth Gate.

So how does this guy know the name Muyeon?

When I asked in surprise, the smile disappeared from Mun-seok’s face.

“Do you think there’s any information the Lower Filth Gate doesn’t know?”

“……”

Mun-seok’s appearance as he said that was like the villain revealing himself in a horror movie.

I was momentarily overwhelmed by his presence, but…

“…Pfft.”

“…?”

“…Hahaha-! So you do get nervous! Hahaha-!”

Mun-seok suddenly burst into laughter, finding my stiff face amusing.

“…What the hell.”

When I couldn’t grasp the situation, he laughed even harder.

“Hahaha-! Did you fall from a persimmon tree in the past year and a half? The sharpness in your eyes is all gone! Hahaha-!”

“…Shut up and tell me how you know the name Muyeon.”

“Now, quite a few people in the world know your name. Just wait a moment. I have something to show you.”

Mun-seok asked us to wait for a moment, then left the room with a big smile and soon returned.

He came back with a piece of paper in his hand.

He handed the paper to me and the youngest to look at, and on the paper…

“What… is this.”

“Big Brother, it looks like your face…?”

It was a wanted poster of me. Moreover, below it…

“The name Muyeon. If captured alive… 10 Gwans of gold?”

…That was quite ridiculous bounty.

Naturally, I was dumbfounded.

“Damn, who is it? Who put a bounty on me with my name and face?”

“We don’t know the reason either. But we do know who issued the order.”

“Who is it?! I’ll go and tear them apart right now.”

When I asked in agitation, Mun-seok smiled and answered.

“The Shanxi Yoo Family.”

“What…?”

“Specifically, Yoo Somyeong, the precious daughter of the Shanxi Yoo Family.”

“She… She put a bounty on me?”

“Yes.”

Only then could I recall what had happened at the Shanxi Yoo Family.

‘If you could… at least… tell me your name… I would like to know the name of my benefactor…’

‘…Muyeon.’

Ah.

I wouldn’t have done it normally.

But back then, I was tempted by Yoo Somyeong’s eyes and ended up telling her my name.

I regretted it later, but I thought nothing would happen. But this damn girl…

“Damn it… She repays kindness with enmity.”

“Ho… So the Shanxi Yoo Family betrayed you?”

When Mun-seok asked slyly, I nodded weakly.

I didn’t expect Somyeong to do that… I felt a throbbing sense of betrayal.

Seeing my reaction, Mun-seok asked again.

“So, coming here is related to the Shanxi Yoo Family?”

“That’s right.”

“What exactly is it? Tell me.”

At this point, there was no point in probing, so I decided to lay all my cards on the table. I signaled to the youngest, and we placed all our items on the table.

“I stole various items from the Shanxi Yoo Family, and I want to sell them to the Lower Filth Gate.”

“…These items, you mean the Secret Manuals and Elixirs? They all look like treasures of the Shanxi Yoo Family, and you stole all of them…?”

“Yes.”

When I answered confidently, Mun-seok looked rather dumbfounded.

“No, you were acting all aggrieved earlier! You said the Shanxi Yoo Family betrayed you! Isn’t this just the Shanxi Yoo Family rightfully seeking revenge?”

Even I would have put a bounty on you!

Mun-seok seemed to be saying that. But from my perspective, it was really unfair.

“No, I saved their family from ruin, saved their lives. I did everything for them, and I can’t even get this much?”

“Haha, you’re as shameless as ever. Well, the details of the incident don’t matter much to me. What’s important now is…”

Suddenly, the atmosphere became heavy.

“How much these Shanxi Yoo Family items are worth, right?”

“……”

This was the beginning of the real negotiation.

Mun-seok, the Sichuan Branch Leader of the Lower Filth Gate.

He must have been experienced, as he started the negotiation.

“50.”

“Shut up.”

“60.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

But this man. He’s being very stingy. Is 60 Gold coins even reasonable for these items?

I firmly rejected his offer, but Mun-seok was the same. He continued with a smile as if he found me amusing.

“Sorry. Our Lower Filth Gate is short on funds these days. We can’t offer more than 60 Gold coins.”

“Do you think I don’t know that all the inns, taverns, and brothels in Sichuan belong to the Lower Filth Gate? Don’t give me that nonsense about being short on funds.”

“Hmm… You really leave no room for argument.”

“If you think that, then just offer more…”

“Still, our Lower Filth Gate can’t offer more.”

“……”

Mun-seok’s words, like a sharp blade, cut off my words.

He was serious, so I also released my energy to convey my sincerity to him.

“……”

“……”

It was a certain level of threat, but Mun-seok didn’t even blink. I couldn’t release my killing intent, so I was the first to back down.

“Haa… Hey, Uncle Mun-seok. Do you know how hard it was to steal those? If I were only going to get 60 Gold coins, I wouldn’t have done such a dangerous thing.”

“I understand your frustration. But the Lower Filth Gate can’t offer more. Still, since we have a connection, I can personally offer up to 65 Gold coins.”

“No, whether it’s 60 or 65, damn it…”

“Then should we settle for 60 then? You should take that while I’m offering it. After all…”

Mun-seok took a sip of tea and delivered the final blow.

“There’s no one else who would buy these items other than the Lower Filth Gate.”

“……”

The only ones who could buy the Shanxi Yoo Family’s items were the Lower Filth Gate.

This was the core of the negotiation and the ultimate weapon of the Lower Filth Gate.

Mun-seok probably thought that I had no choice but to sell the items for 65 Gwan of Gold.

…And he was right.

‘Ah… damn. These Lower Filth Gate bastards are really tough… They cut the price without any negotiation.’

In fact, I had expected the Lower Filth Gate to be tough before I arrived. So I was prepared for the negotiation to be difficult.

…Until I entered this room.

But the moment I entered this room, I knew I could win this negotiation.

Thud.

I deliberately placed my hand on the table with a sound and smiled.

“Haa… I can’t talk to you, Uncle Mun-seok. Can I talk to someone else?”

“Haha, sorry, but I’m the only one you can talk to.”

“What are you talking about? There’s someone else here besides you.”

“…What?”

Mun-seok looked puzzled at my words. The youngest next to me was the same.

“Big Brother, are you talking about me?”

“Stay out of this, youngest.”

“Okay.”

After pushing the youngest, who wasn’t fit for this situation, aside, I looked back at Mun-seok. My face was already full of confidence.

And for good reason, as I had just dealt a blow to them without them realizing it.

These arrogant Lower Filth Gate bastards thought I wouldn’t know, but they had revealed their weakness to me from the start.

So I had no choice but to bite the neck of the opponent in front of me.

“Someone higher than the Sichuan Branch Leader… Is it the Leader of the Lower Filth Gate?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Mun-seok’s voice had already turned cold. I spoke clearly and precisely.

“I want to talk directly to the Leader of the Lower Filth Gate, who is secretly listening here… That’s what I meant.”

“……”

This man.

He could make such a face.

I had held back my killing intent, but Mun-seok did not.

The room felt colder just from the killing intent he released.

For the money, Gwans (Ancestral Korean Unit) and Taels are going to start getting used interchangeably.