Murim Troubleshooter Dan Mujin-Chapter 114 : The Bait Has Been Taken

Chapter 114: The Bait Has Been Taken
One day, the quiet city of Goan began to stir.
In particular, gossip never ceased among the women and madams.
It was all because of the sudden appearance of a pair—a handsome young man with refined features and a boy as fair as white jade.
“Boss.”
“Call me hyung here, you punk.”
I fiddled with my pale headband, saying that.
If I kept being called by my original title, and a rumor spread through Beijing that I was some kind of sodomite, wouldn’t that be a disaster?
That’s why we had changed our names—from Ilhong to Ihong, and from Mujin to Hujin.
“Hyung-ah.”
“Hey, drop the ‘ah’ at the end.”
Anyway, upon arriving at Goan, we had been living in luxury, thanks to the support of the Peng Clan—eating, drinking, and sleeping as much as we pleased.
Even now, the moment I opened my eyes, it was like having a morning coffee; I would lounge in the most elegant teahouse in the area, savoring expensive delicacies and the rich aroma of fine tea leaves.
“Yes, this is how one ought to live, with refinement.”
No debts, no taxes pressing me down, no work chasing me. Just an easy commission where all I had to do was attract attention while eating and drinking.
Indeed, nothing feels better than splurging with someone else’s money.
After wandering here and there for gourmet pleasures, we had finally settled in at a place called Sohyang Teahouse.
It was a respectable social venue for the highborn, and by noon, it became the favorite haunt of ladies and noble daughters—a “high-class” teahouse.
“Hyung, you’ve got something on your lips.”
At that moment, Ilhong gently wiped the crumbs of a mooncake from my lips with a neatly folded handkerchief.
“……”
For an instant, silence fell over the teahouse.
Then from the women nearby, watching from their tables and even from afar, came faint gasps of “Kyaa” and “Oh my.”
“I’m just doing my job. Why are you surprised, hyung?”
“……Ah, yeah. That’s right.”
Our goal was ultimately to lure out that lecher who lusted after men.
To that end, attracting attention and spreading rumors about ourselves was precisely what our client had asked for.
“So, here. Ah, open up.”
This time, Ilhong popped a sweet tanghulu into my mouth.
The tender fruit and honeyed syrup burst across my tongue.
“Gasp.”
“Oh my, oh my.”
Of course, the women who had been pretending not to look but sneaking glances became even more frantic.
Clapping excitedly, whispering feverishly to one another—it was quite the scene.
“Lady Hwa, did you just see that?”
“Those two men sitting there, they really must be……”
“Oh dear, oh my.”
It seems that in any era, there are always those who delight in seeing handsome men tangled up with each other.
Especially in this era, where masculinity is emphasized, the sight of two beautiful youths feeding each other affectionately was enough to make women of such tendencies utterly lose their minds.
“Kyaa, what should we do? What should we do?”
“Lady Hwa, quickly call for the daughters of the Oh Family to come here too!”
“What? But they must be busy right now.”
“If not now, they’ll never see this spectacle again! Hurry!”
Their stares were scorching. As if this were a historic scene worth recording for posterity.
The women were practically tripping over themselves to spread the rumors, eager to ensure everyone would hear of it.
With my ears sharpened by qi, I could hear every little whisper.
“So, how’s my feeding skill? Better than that courtesan Juwol-a, right?”
After all that fuss, Ilhong asked me with a smug smile.
“Why are you comparing yourself to her?”
“But Boss, you were totally smitten with that courtesan, weren’t you?”
“Smitten? ……That never happened, idiot.”
All that fuss during a commission—what nonsense.
“It did happen! I should have drawn that dazed expression you had and kept it for the record.”
We bickered quietly, just enough for only us to hear, when the tea leaves ran out and the teahouse’s floor manager personally approached us.
“I trust the tea suits your taste… This is Moon Fragrance Tea, specially brought from Sichuan.”
His attitude toward us was not merely respectful—it was almost reverent.
Naturally so. Not only were we raising his sales sky-high with the Peng Clan’s money, but also, thanks to us, esteemed guests kept flooding in just to get a glimpse.
“It is excellent, Luju. The lingering fragrance of this tea evokes a realm beyond this world. I shall leave this teahouse the elegant title of ‘Clap of Falling Leisure.’”
Since I was playing the role of some lofty nobleman, I kept my tone refined and poetic.
“……Ahaha, what a splendid title. Thank you very much, Young Master.”
Though grateful, the Luju clearly had no intention of using a strange name invented by some nobody.
Wiping a bead of sweat, he served fresh leaves and quietly retreated.
“You’re making it hard for him by giving weird titles to his shop, hyung.”
“What’s wrong with ‘Clap of Falling Leisure’? Tch, that man clearly lacks vision.”
I shook my head and muttered to myself.
Murmurs. Whispers.
And while the tea leaves had run out, more customers had flocked in as the rumors spread.
Normally, this teahouse wasn’t that crowded, given its steep prices. But today, the entire building was packed.
“At this rate, surely even that lecher must have heard about us, no?”
It already felt as if we had become Goan’s newest celebrities.
With handsome faces like ours, drawing attention was child’s play.
Of course, we added a bit of seasoning to make it even spicier.
“Exactly. It’d be strange if he hadn’t heard by now.”
Just as Peng Hwayeop required, the fishing rod had been cast to draw out the sodomite in hiding.
Would he bite the bait?
“Hyung, try this one too. Ah, open.”
Even though it already seemed enough, Ilhong kept up the act.
“……Fine.”
Yet strangely, why did it feel like I was the one who had bitten down on the hook?
“Hehe, not enough yet. We were paid, so we have to work hard.”
Clearly satisfied with the situation, Ilhong beamed as he spoke.
Two beautiful youths strolled leisurely down the street, followed by a flock of women trailing behind them.
The pair seemed close, inseparable.
Every time they whispered sweetly or leaned on each other, women here and there let out delicate sighs.
And among those who had come to see this bizarre phenomenon after hearing the rumors—one man stood frozen at the sight.
“What on earth is this…….”
Unable to close his mouth, the man stared at the two youths, who acted as though they were sharing even a half-eaten peach, like some embodiment of the legendary bond of fendao zhiqing (the “Affection of Dividing a Peach”).
“On top of that, are they martial artists?”
Both had swords at their waists, and especially the one who looked more like a young man than a boy seemed to have a body that had been well trained.
“Could there be such a thing as this Blind Turtle Finding Floating Wood?”
He had been hiding quietly to avoid nuisances, yet a youth of such taste had rolled into his arms on his own.
“But the smaller one carries a strange energy.”
Because of his innate constitution, he could not sense yang qi, but he could discern the yin qi of a person.
And this boy, despite being male, seemed to harbor yin qi as much as he himself did.
Could it be that this one had a similar constitution?
“That one is of no use.”
Still, the other one looked well-balanced.
Handsome enough to suit his taste, with traces that he had trained in martial arts, and even the air of some noble son of a distinguished family.
“Heh.”
Silently smacking his lips, the man stared at the young men on the street.
“Young Master, what rumor are we out here to confirm?”
It was the bodyguard of some young nobleman, whose qi he had stolen through murder and harvesting, and whose identity he had claimed through the use of a Human-skin Mask.
Hearing the rumor and seeing this man suddenly emerge, the bodyguard asked curiously.
“It is nothing. Pay it no mind.”
He waved his hand as if it were trivial.
Lately, his behavior had been odd, so the bodyguard had begun watching him with suspicion.
It seemed it was about time to switch to a new face and identity again.
“Perfect. Just perfect.”
Dressed as commoners, on a week-long watch.
The Peng Clan’s martial artists gazed blankly at the two young men who had turned Goan upside down.
“Lady Peng Hwayeop, where in the world did you find such young heroes?”
One Peng Clan martial artist chuckled awkwardly at the sight, where the smaller youth seemed to have completely ensnared the larger one.
“Well, I… I don’t know.”
Caught off guard, Peng Hwayeop couldn’t answer properly.
The martial artists each spoke in admiration, saying that no sodomite could possibly resist such a sight.
“That’s acting, right? If so, it’s truly superb.”
“Or perhaps it isn’t acting at all. They say the Central Plains are vast, and people’s inclinations are diverse.”
“If that’s the case, countless women will mourn… those jade-faced gentlemen of all people… sigh.”
The Peng Clan martial artists gossiped almost as much as the women following after them.
And only then did Peng Hwayeop finally come to her senses. Looking at the two being so tender with one another, she muttered to herself in disbelief.
“No… men would go that far with each other…?”
According to Tang Yeo-hye, they had merely seemed like close brothers.
Even when she had seen them herself at the office, that was how it had appeared.
“Could it be… I’ve awakened something in them?”
If so, she might have done a terrible disservice to her dear friend.
She lowered her head, covering her face with both large hands.
“Ugh… what should I do…?”
The truth was, she had asked Dan Mujin not only to root out the lecher, but also to see what kind of man he was—for the sake of her close friend, Tang Yeo-hye.
When she had visited her after hearing her clan had suffered a grave incident, her friend’s expression hadn’t seemed entirely bad.
And when she prodded her, Dan Mujin’s name had come up again and again.
Especially the way her eyes shone and her tone softened whenever she mentioned him—it was anything but ordinary.
She had feared that her friend, prickly on the surface yet tender within, might have fallen into the clutches of a bad man. That was why she had entrusted this commission.
“Does that young man not realize what it means for her to have given him every Gold, Silver, and Copper Token in her name?”
Once, when the matter had come up, her friend had snorted, saying she wouldn’t even glance at a man unless he brought her all three.
“My dear friend, forgive me… what have I done…?”
Before, only half the world had been her competition. Now, perhaps the whole world had become her rival.
As she reproached herself, her hand bitterly stroked the hilt of her broadsword.
“Lady Peng Hwayeop, it seems that lecher has appeared.”
“……!”
One Peng Clan martial artist, suppressing his energy as he observed, spoke through gritted teeth.
At that, Peng Hwayeop decided to focus on the matter at hand and began quietly raising her inner energy.
“This time, we must not let him escape.”
“Yes.”
The Murim Alliance’s Demon-Slaying Unit, busy as ever hunting down villains across the martial world.
And today, into that bustling building came an unfamiliar visitor.
It was none other than Namgung Jin of the Namgung Clan, also known as the wielder of the Cheongun Sword.
The son of Alliance Leader Cheongeom, and the man regarded as the next world’s number one. His appearance caused a stir through the Demon-Slaying Unit’s hall.
“Vice Captain of the Demon-Slaying Unit, do you have a moment?”
Naturally, Namgung Jin passed over Captain Jeok Unyeop and spoke instead to the true power-holder, Vice Captain Murong Cheonghye.
Jeok Unyeop, rather relieved, placed a hand on his chest and quietly slipped away.
“Namgung Jin, young hero… what brings you here…?”
His extraordinary talent for martial arts—the very one that had driven her younger brother Murong Hui to despair and left her father Murong Cheon dissatisfied—was now standing before her. Her voice quivered slightly.
“I came only to share information. After all, we are all pursuing the Blood Cult, are we not?”
She had never heard that Namgung Jin was formally attached to any group chasing them.
But since the Namgung Clan always returned what was given to them, she had assumed they must be tracking the Blood Cult in their own way.
Still, she had not expected Namgung Jin himself to visit the Demon-Slaying Unit in person.
“What information do you bring?”
“Well… I visited other places as well, but gained little. Still…”
Perhaps uncomfortable with the topic, Namgung Jin erected a qi barrier before cautiously asking.
“Lady Murong Cheonghye.”
“Yes, please speak.”
Scratching his cheek in hesitation, he finally asked:
“Do you know anything of the Heaven-Slaying Star?”
“……”
At those words, Murong Cheonghye’s body stiffened in shock.