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Chapter 50 – Brother Hua Tuo
After arriving back at the hotel, we happily ate snacks from the convenience store.
We had completely forgotten that a separate meal was coming later.
The result?
“Yo-Young Master! My stomach feels like it’s going to burst!”
“Now I can die happy…”
Nureongi and Hyangdan collapsed, their bellies bloated like mountains.
“VVIP rooms really are different…”
Who knew they’d bring the meal directly to us?
I guess that’s why it’s a VVIP room.
I was grateful to Kang Inho for giving us this wonderful experience.
Then—
Riiing!
This time, my smartphone rang.
The screen showed that the caller was my second-oldest brother.
“Hello?”
“Hey, little brother, where are you now?”
“I just got back and am resting at the hotel.”
“What? You booked a hotel? Why didn’t you stay at our place?”
“Ah, I can’t do that. I’m sorry. Besides, I didn’t come alone.”
I brought Nureongi and Hyangdan with me.
My second-oldest brother absolutely hated animals.
When we were kids, we couldn’t even keep the most common pet: a dog.
“Did you get the mobile ticket?”
“Uh, do I just need to show it?”
“Of course. Plus, your seat is right up front, so it should be even better.”
“Right up front?”
I never imagined that my seat would be all the way up front.
Honestly, it felt like a burden.
I was already coming to Seoul, so I figured I’d watch the show while I was there.
Being in the very front row made it hard to look away.
“Listen carefully to the Pope’s speech. You never know. You might be enlightened…”
“Yeah, right. What good would enlightenment do?”
“You’d obviously have to get a job at our organization. We’ll push you hard!”
“No thanks. Besides, I’ve already saved up enough money.”
“No matter how much money you save, it’s never enough, little brother.”
Amidst this mundane chatter,
My second-oldest brother suddenly brought up an unexpected topic.
“Do you know about Hua Tuo?”
“Hua… Hua Tuo?”
“He’s a recently appeared Awakener. He’s been selling mysterious crops and medicinal herbs.”
“Oh, there’s someone like that?”
“Plus, he’s been breaking records, starting from the lower floors of the tower. The Awakeners Association is desperate to find him.”
I already knew all this.
But hearing it from my second-oldest brother felt oddly significant.
I suppose you could say I’m definitely becoming famous now.
Conversely, I also felt relieved that I had done a good job of hiding my identity.
“But why bring up Hua Tuo all of a sudden?”
“Rumor has it that Hua Tuo is actually the benefactor of the current S-rank Awakeners.”
“Benefactor?”
“I don’t know the details, but I heard that a few S-rank Awakeners are searching for Hua Tuo.”
S-rank Awakeners searching for me?
That was news to me.
Villains from the back alleys were searching for me?
I already knew that.
But I never imagined that even S-rank Awakeners would be looking for me, too.
“Um, who exactly?”
“Well, Kim Yohan for sure. And you know Sword Saint? Kang Jiyeon, the Sword Saint, is also pouring money into finding Hua Tuo right now.”
Yeah. It’s not just those two; they’re not the only ones.
The more I heard, the more dizzy I felt.
Wait, why are they so desperate to find an insignificant doctor?
Did I do something to piss them off?
Moreover, judging by the reactions of the S-rankers, it seems they’ve figured out that the doctor Hua Tuo and the Awakener Hua Tuo are one and the same.
“As expected, they’re not S-rankers for nothing.”
I was terrified of what would happen if the S-rankers caught me.
Of course, that wasn’t the worst-case scenario.
But, given how passionately they were searching for me, it was only natural to be afraid.
“So, listen. If you know anything about Hua Tuo, give us a tip. The bounty on Hua Tuo is astronomical.”
“Bounty?”
“Yeah, the bounty. Do you know how much the bounty on Hua Tuo is? It’s a whopping…”
I nearly fell over in shock at my second-oldest brother’s words.
The S-rank Awakeners had placed a jaw-dropping bounty on Hua Tuo.
“I’ll contact you once I find a lead.”
“Alright, I’ll count on you. One last thing: You’d better watch your back.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“The atmosphere in Seoul feels a bit off right now.”
The atmosphere in Seoul is strange?
Well, maybe it’s going to rain.
“There’s a rumor that the villain organizations ‘Side Mafia’ and ‘Closer’ have been spotted near the location where the Pope is giving his speech.”
“If that’s the case, could it be…”
“It means there’s a possibility a Gate could open there. It’s just a suspicion, of course.”
Gates show no warning signs.
However, Closers can detect Gates and claim all the rewards. They are rumored to possess the unique ability to sense Gates.
That meant it definitely wouldn’t hurt to be extra careful.
“But hyung, doesn’t that mean the government should change the Pope’s speech location?”
“The government isn’t diligent enough to change a speech location over something that isn’t even certain.”
“Ah…”
I see.
Well, they’ve probably already made extensive preparations at the venue.
Canceling those and moving the location would cost a fortune.
Since it’s not certain, there’s no way they’d move it.
“Got it, hyung. Thanks for explaining all that.”
“You’re welcome. And you, don’t you dare run away. I’m really itching to give you a lecture right now.”
“I’m hanging up.”
I swiftly pressed the end call button on my smartphone.
That was the reason my second-oldest brother called me.
It seemed like he called just to lecture me.
He disapproved of me being out in the countryside.
“Still, he’s someone I can talk to.”
With that thought, I flopped onto the bed.
* * *
In a dark, secluded alley,
Despite the late hour, a man and a woman were standing there.
They glared at each other and began talking.
“What’s this about? Black Tiger, you’re the one who proposed the deal first.”
“I need your power for this job. Divide.”
“If you’re saying that, then you must genuinely need the power of us ‘Closers.'”
“Yes.”
The two individuals conversing were the leaders of villain organizations: Black Tiger of the Side Mafia and Divide of the Closers. Black Tiger addressed Divide bluntly.
“You know the Flower Garden faction is controlling information about Brother Hua Tuo right now, don’t you?”
“Of course! That shameless vixen! How dare she monopolize Brother Hua Tuo? I’ll never forgive her!”
“I agree. I never imagined they would hide Brother Hua Tuo’s whereabouts.”
Next, Black Tiger flicked his finger, sending a sheet of paper flying swiftly.
Divide snatched the paper and asked,
“…What’s this?”
“Brother Hua Tuo’s new base location.”
Upon hearing this, Divide’s eyes widened.
No wonder—she had been searching relentlessly for Hua Tuo’s location.
But no matter what she tried, she couldn’t find him.
Was that why?
Divide murmured in a trembling voice.
“Is this real? Is this not a lie? I’ll kill you if it’s a lie. You hear me?”
“The source of that information is Voyager. It should be reliable.”
“You… Are you working with Voyager?”
“If our goals are the same, that’s not really a big deal.”
In the back alleys, Voyager was notorious as a madman.
He was a monster with enough strength to be called a one-man army.
Consequently, even the leaders of the underworld tended to avoid him.
“But how did Voyager find the location?”
“I heard he attacked one of the Flower Garden executives and followed them to Brother Hua Tuo.”
“He tailed them? That lunatic’s smarter than I thought.”
Divide nodded, realizing the information was reliable.
“So, what does he want from us for giving us such valuable information?”
Hua Tuo’s location was more valuable than gold or jewels to the leaders of the back alleys.
They all respected and loved him to the point of creepiness. Perhaps that was why Divide asked with a look of reluctance.
“I heard a gate will open tomorrow, right where the Pope is giving his speech.”
“Huh? Where’d you hear that?”
“Even an elementary school kid could tell by watching your movements.”
“…You really want to die?”
At that moment.
Shh!
A long sword shot out in an instant!
The blade stopped precisely before Black Tiger’s throat.
Yet Black Tiger merely stared at the blade, making no move to dodge it.
“I didn’t come here to fight. So let me ask you a few things.”
“Go ahead.”
Divide, having withdrawn her blade, clicked her tongue.
“What’s the gate’s estimated rank?”
“At least S-rank, probably SS-rank.”
“As expected.”
Seeing the large gathering of Closers, Black Tiger knew it was true.
This gate must be high-ranked.
After all, a low-rank gate wouldn’t draw so many members.
“I propose cooperation.”
“Cooperation?”
“We should close that Gate together.”
“Are you saying you want to steal our prey now?”
Divide narrowed her eyes once more.
But Black Tiger shook his head.
“That’s not it. I never expected any reward to begin with.”
“Then why are you participating in closing the Gate?”
“Brother Hua Tuo is scheduled to be there.”
“What?!”
Divide’s expression changed instantly.
Her face flushed as she asked,
“Is he really attending? For real?”
“I met him in person today and confirmed it. So it’s definite.”
“Then we have to stop him from going! What did you do?”
“On what grounds would we stop him? Should we tell him that we’re a villain organization that knows the gate will open and advise him not to go there? Like that?”
Divide’s mouth shut tight at Black Tiger’s words.
Indeed, only Divide knew for certain whether the gate would open.
Therefore, no matter what she said, she couldn’t persuade him.
“I guess there’s no choice.”
Sighing deeply, Divide nodded.
Then he declared to Black Tiger,
“It’s a temporary truce, lasting only until tomorrow.”
Thus, two of the four major back-alley organizations, the Side Mafia and the Closer, formed an unprecedented alliance.
All to protect a single man.
* * *
The next day dawned.
The Pope’s speech was scheduled for noon.
Since we were in the rhythm of the countryside…
“Morning!”
“My body’s itching to move, ppi!”
“Yeah, me too.”
We ended up waking up at the crack of dawn.
That was when Nureongi and Hyangdan ran around the fields.
That’s probably why they were restless.
I felt the same way.
“I wonder if our medicinal herbs are growing well?”
“With the young master’s clone there, there’s no need to worry!”
“I suppose so?”
My clone is watching over the house alone right now.
He must have finished making the backache pills and be tending the fields by now.
Long live clones!
If I increase their numbers, efficiency will skyrocket.
Plus, he’s steadily making headache pills, too.
I’ve made five headache pills with the pill maker.
Sure, it’s not a huge amount, but where else could you make this much in a hotel?
What if I just keep making them steadily like this?
“I could help people like that old man yesterday.”
Just thinking about it made my heart swell with pride.
“Young master, shall we head out soon?”
“Hmm… Should we? Places this fancy aren’t great for resting.”
“Then let’s head back to the clinic! Let’s go get your tools from there, ppi.”
“Do you like those tools that much?”
“Yes.”
Hyangdan is definitely destined to be the next traditional doctor, following in my footsteps.
That’s why it’s essential for her to have her own tools.
The ones at the clinic aren’t being used anyway, so I might as well give them to her as a gift.
“Got it. Hyangdan can take everything from the clinic.”
“Yay! I’m so excited!”
Hyangdan jumped up and down.
Is that really something to be that happy about?
Seeing her so thrilled over secondhand items made me feel a little sorry for her.
Then,
“Young Master, don’t I get anything?”
Nureongi asked me almost jealously.
“Do you want something too, Nureongi?”
“Yes! I want something too!”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know. I just want something!”
Childish whining.
But seeing Nureongi like that was actually cute.
I smiled and patted Nureongi’s head.
“All right, then. Let’s look for what you want later.”
“I’ll definitely find it!”
After calming them both down, I was just about to check out.
Ping!
A notification pinged on my phone.
“What is this? Why did I get a notification all of a sudden?”
It was from the app that issued tickets for the Pope’s speech.
The notification came from that app.
And in that notification was written.
“What kind of rule is this?”
A strange rule was written there.
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Yandere mafia. LOL
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