TSBIRBV Ch 29

Chapter 29 Black Ghost (1)

The voice born from a tangle of pity, doubt, and ironclad certainty was nothing short of desperate.

At Yegyeol’s call, Je Haryang furrowed his brow with such natural ease that it was disarming. The ease of that expression, the crease between his brows—it almost made one believe it was his real face.

“Senior Brother… it’s not you?”

Asked again with an anguished, bewildered face, the unfamiliar-looking “Senior Brother” firmly pushed Yegyeol away.

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

The gaze he cast on Yegyeol was cold, unfeeling.

Suddenly, Yegyeol grew very serious.

Harsh Senior Brother… might be nice too…?

Finding even this enjoyable was a sign he was surely crazy. But he had his own—at least somewhat—logical reason.

For one, it drove home again the point that Je Haryang wasn’t a man who would give his kindness to just anyone. And there was a certain delicious appeal to observing a cool, distant side of him that he never showed normally.

What would his bare face under that disguise look like? Would he be flustered?

The vague imagining was sweet as honey.

Even Yegyeol hadn’t expected to recognize him so quickly.

How? Asking himself that had no answer—he simply thought the esper’s instinct to recognize one’s guide was a convenient thing indeed.

Even if he used bone-shrinking techniques (chukgulgong) or hid under a human-skin mask (inpimyeongu), he could still pick Je Haryang out.

“Oh, Young Master!”

Just then, Samrang came running and stepped between Yegyeol and Je Haryang.

For a split second, sparks of irritation almost flew from Yegyeol’s eyes, but he swallowed them down and, over her shoulder, cast a look full of feigned confusion.

“This is the Sichuan Branch Master of the Black Spot. I was just on my way to find him—who knew he was here?”

Samrang’s easy affability made it seem as though she was merely trying to protect Yegyeol from a dangerous stranger.

Had he not recognized Je Haryang, Yegyeol would have indeed taken the man for someone unknown—and very dangerous.

“This is the young master I serve. We came to request an introduction to good business contacts.”

Samrang was tense.

It had been bad enough that, in the short time she was away, some lunatic had attacked Yegyeol—now their lord was here to see it for himself.

“So a customer here for business.”

Still masked as Black Ghost (Heuk-gwi), Haryang now spoke in a markedly more courteous tone. The shift from annoyed stranger to someone almost appraising the customer’s worth was clear.

“I have no name worth giving—just call me Black Ghost.”

His speech changed in an instant. Apparently, that was how this “Black Ghost” treated guests.

Faced with his own guide claiming to be neither man nor ghost but a ghost, Yegyeol opened and closed his lips a few times before lowering his head.

“My apologies. I mistook you for someone I know.”

How? In what way?!

Samrang screamed inwardly at his words.

The appearance, the shrunken build from bone-shrinking skill, even the voice—all wrong. Even standing on his hands ten li away, he was still the epitome of a demonic sect figure.

So what exactly had Yegyeol seen that let him recognize the master whose gaze had once dripped tenderness, whose touch had been unbearably careful?

I think I understand why Jinyoung was so wary.

Her once-loose lips pressed tight.

“What business brings you here?”

“I’d like to know what the Black Spot deals in.”

His answer came crisp and clear.

If to Je Haryang he had played the spoiled child, then to Black Ghost this was a chance to show capability—he had no intention of remaining forever as nothing more than the young disciple in need of care.

“First, the Black Spot deals in information.”

“Samrang.”

Without turning his head, Yegyeol held out his hand as he spoke her name. A weighted pouch dropped into his palm.

Without hesitation, he handed it to the man before him. Black Ghost weighed it briefly before saying,

“This way, please.”

Perhaps because he was posing as the branch master here, Haryang walked at a brisker pace than usual—not careless, but with an edge of wariness that Yegyeol found intriguing.

The Je Haryang he knew had never seemed like someone with a reason to hide himself.

What had happened in the past to drive him from Kunlun, to live only by wearing another man’s skin? The question itched more and more.

Before them loomed a great door, its rough surface shining with a dark gloss. The guards on either side gripped handles sculpted like dragons holding black wish-pearls in their jaws, and pulled.

With a grinding rumble, the heavy iron door yawned open. Haryang stepped through without a glance for Yegyeol’s curiosity.

“Your escort must remain here.”

Black Ghost’s voice stopped him as he moved to follow.

Yegyeol turned to Samrang and nodded. Pretending not to know his real identity meant signaling her subtly—in this case, a discreet shake of the sleeve hiding Baembeam.

Only then did she appear reassured, taking a step back.

Yegyeol took a deep breath and entered. The air against his cheeks was cool, like the day of a school trip to a museum.

The next moment, the heavy door closed behind him.

The dim room was lit only by a few candles, their light reflected in the gleam of gold. Even that touch of glow against his cheek was enough to tell him the place was full of precious items.

Qinghai Trading was already beyond expectations, but now… the Black Spot as well…

His Senior Brother’s identity drew deeper into fog, and Yegyeol’s interest sharpened.

“Please sit.”

When Haryang gestured, Yegyeol sat without hesitation on the armchair.

Whether for preservation of the wares or not, the air inside was cooler than outside.

“A glance around will show you — the Black Spot deals in everything.”

A bamboo-slip ledger opened before Yegyeol’s eyes.

From gold and jewels to exotic spices, ancient books, correspondence collections of famous calligraphers, master-crafted artifacts, elixirs, even secret manuals said to have been lost centuries ago…

“But above all, the most important commodity is people.”

The man’s voice dropped slightly as the ledger snapped shut.

“You’re the link between people.”

“If you can get what you want, the identity of your counterpart isn’t all that important.”

In short, the Black Spot traded on trust as its collateral.

“Perfect. I’ve been looking for just such a place.”

Yegyeol cut straight to the point.

“I want to move valuable goods from the Western Regions through the Black Spot.”

At the bold proposal, Haryang-as-Black Ghost leaned back slightly.

“If they’re goods from the West, there are plenty who’d pay extra for them. If you have the connections to source them, I don’t see why you’d need us.”

He might well wonder what his disciple had been doing to end up dipping hands into the black market—but he wore the mask and denied any direct concern. All the more reason for Yegyeol’s lips to threaten a smile.

“They’re stolen goods.”

Shrugging, he fixed his eyes on the man, searching for a reaction.

Ordinarily, he’d never confess that to Je Haryang. But to Black Ghost? That was different. So long as Haryang was hiding himself, he couldn’t directly question why. And surely, he’d want to know.

“In that case, the commission will be higher than for standard goods.”

Even with one of the Five Great Clans implied, his tone remained uninterested.

“The Tang Clan will be hunting for them with a vengeance.”

Testing him with the remark, Yegyeol saw no crease mar Haryang’s mask as he replied blandly,

“Then we’ll have to raise the fee.”

When he produced an abacus and began to work the beads, he seemed every inch the money-possessed ghost. It was a side of him Yegyeol never saw outside the mask—and it was oddly refreshing.

So this is why people get curious about their lover’s workplace.

“And I’ll need an estate suitable for hiding people.”

He slid the next card into play—not because he couldn’t have Samrang arrange it, but to see if he could shake Haryang’s composure.

“How many?”

“As many as twenty.”

“I’ll find a suitable location and inform you.”

With the business concluded, Yegyeol let out a long breath, lowered his head, then slowly raised it again after a few faint shudders of his shoulders.

Black Ghost hadn’t moved a muscle—but Yegyeol saw one eyebrow twitch upward.

“If you don’t mind… just for a moment.”

Hesitating like a man unsure if he dared, Yegyeol held out both hands.

“What is it?”

That cold, unfeeling gaze sent a delicious shiver down his spine. Truly… an esper meeting his guide would inevitably turn into a pervert.

“Something earlier… before I met you here… left me on edge.”

Lowering his eyes slightly to hide the wicked thoughts, he added carefully,

“Would it be all right… if I held your hand for a moment?”

Notes:

• Chukgulgong (축골공) — “bone-shrinking skill,” a martial art technique used to alter one’s apparent physique.

• Inpimyeongu (인피면구) — “human-skin mask,” a disguise made from treated human skin for realistic facial alteration in murim fiction.

• Black Spot (흑점) — the largest black market network in the Central Plains in this story.