The Novel’s Villain

38. Alley Guesthouse (3)

Jin-woo spent time with his family until he could cross over to where the General Manager was. Elonti’s environment was better than Earth’s, so Min-woo and Ella were staying there for now. Grandfather also stopped by Elonti often to visit the babies, so they naturally spent more time together. His face was now completely relaxed, and the cold-hearted Lee Hee-jin was nowhere to be found.

Eyalon and Eyallie. They were precious children. Grandfather was about to bring everything in the world to them if his great-grandchildren wanted it. Maybe he might buy the Earth for them.

‘However, what I’m worried about is…’

These days, Lee Min-woo’s weight had started to fall sharply again. He seemed very happy, but he took a few deep breaths at night before entering his room. When Jin-woo said he was going to the East World, Lee Min-woo seriously asked him a favor. He seemed so desperate that Jin-woo had no choice but to listen.

‘Jin-woo.’

‘Why?’

‘Please do me a favor.’

‘Hmm?’

‘If we talk about the East, there must be a lot of wonderful remedies there. Like some medicine to replenish energy, and, and… you know? Something special to study the martial arts… do you know what I mean?’

Jin-woo nodded.

‘Please get it for me. Help me fulfill my obligations.’

‘Alright.’

‘Cough… thank you. As expected, family is the best. Haha… hahaha.’

Lee Min-woo said so and turned his head. But Jin-woo could see the stream of tears flowing down Lee Min-woo’s jawline. As the head of the household, he had to protect the family’s peace by all means.

After that conversation, Jin-woo decided to find a good medicine for energy and a perfect martial arts textbook when he crossed over to the East World. Lee Min-woo was his older brother, and the older brother of the Great Emperor couldn’t keep his head down for long.

‘I’ll have to bring him the most powerful one.’

Jin-woo made a promise. Just in time, it just reminded him of a few things from the original story. Not only in the original story but also in the typical Eastern fantasy, there must be sex maniacs who coveted rising stars from the martial art master society. They always appeared in any village’s guestroom. It was looked down upon in the martial arts world, but if you think about it, it was a useful kind of martial arts textbook.

‘It’s interesting.’

Jin-woo was also interested. The Emperor of Gold slightly raised its head, perhaps because it was the same. He thought it would be better to test any side effects before giving it to Lee Min-woo. He had no ulterior motives.

When Se-yeon contacted him that everything was ready, Jin-woo teleported to the Sanctuary. If he went to the place where the General Manager and Arcana were and installed the device Se-yeon made, they could stably open a portal from the Sanctuary. Since it was still unstable for now, Jin-woo decided to go alone.

‘This should be enough.’

He packed more supplies than when he went to the Middle-World. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there was a whole department store in Jin-woo’s subspace. Se-yeon even made him an outfit to match the world. When he put it on, he felt it looked good in its way. Se-yeon said he was like the Grand Duke of the Nangong Imperial Clan.

A small portal opened in the center of the Sanctuary. Yoo-na, Arina, Se-yeon, Maze, Luna, Heo-young, and even Choi Hee-yeon, who had frequently been visiting these days, all came there to meet him. They waved him farewell as he entered the portal.

After passing through the long passage, he reached a place far from the village. A different landscape unfolded before his eyes. Jin-woo had watched it over the screen, but it was still amazing.

‘Even though the Demon Realm and the Middle World had something in common….’

Heaven, Demon Realm, and the Middle World were the same fantasy world setting. Yet, the atmosphere here was completely different. That was why Jin-woo grew more interested in it. It wasn’t for nothing that mass-produced fantasy novels were all about fantasy or the Eastern world.

Jin-woo walked into the village casually. Quite a few people were coming from outside, so the village was lively. As the sun was setting, lanterns were hung all over to keep it illuminated, making it as beautiful as a painting.

‘This place is nice, too.’

In the Middle World and Demon Realm, there was no great impression because they had a familiar feeling, but this place felt like a tour to some exotic locale. There was no need to wander around looking for the place where the General Manager and Arcana were, however. He could feel the Emperor’s energy.

Jin-woo followed Arcana’s energy as he walked down the street until he eventually reached a unique place.

“Come to Golden Stamp Guesthouse, the place with the essence of Hundred Secret Recipes! The same place the elite inspectors also went to!”

“Universal Plain Noodles that even the Duke of Nangong Imperial Clan fell in love with! There’s not much left in stock! Hurry up!”

“Hey! You there! Do you know about the Bolt Bom Spicy Chicken Noodles that make the martial art world crazy? The taste will make you ascend to heaven! All your worries and concerns will disappear!”

“O-ho! What are you talking about?! The Mixed Noodles of Peninsula are the best!”

They were wearing outfits that were often seen in Eastern fantasy movies. Jin-woo’s mind grew distant.

“…”

Why was it? This was an unfamiliar world, but it had a distinctly modern feel. The Hundred Secret Recipes developed into another form beyond ramen powder.

‘First, I need money…’

Jin-woo took dimensional gold coins out of his subspace. Dimensional gold coins were the currency commonly used in all dimensions. Those authorized to use the Dimensional Store could convert dimension gold coins into the currency of any dimension. Jin-woo didn’t like most of the original setting, but he enjoyed the convenience the coins provided. He found a deserted place and converted them into the proper currency.

Whurrr!

They were similar to silver taels. The original author didn’t know the East well. Although this was such a world, it was set by the original author, so it was different from the currency used historically.

‘The value was pretty low.’

It was much lower than the Demon Realm’s or Middle World currencies, so there was no need to worry about money. Of course, Jin-woo had never worried about that.

Next, he headed to the Guesthouse Alley. It was the name of an alley where guesthouses and restaurants were reborn by the Hundred Secret Recipes. It was a remote place in the village, but there were a lot of people milling about. Rather, the splendid guesthouse in the center of the village looked sloppy compared to those here.

Even those who appeared to be martial artists could be seen. They were wearing neat uniforms and gave off the vibe of being masters. This alley was a very hot place between those groups.

“Brother Jin, is this the place where the Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds recently gave out his secret?”

“Yes. It is the place that the people of the Huashan Sect praised. I heard that they’d gained great enlightenment there.

“Kimchi Ramen, huh… the name sounds very strong.”

“Heheh, it’s also the place where the Nengmyeong Goddess shed tears.”

Jin-woo listened to their conversation.

“The Nengmyeong Goddess… I have only heard the rumor.”

“She’s such a beautiful woman. Even the Five Peaks of East will not be able to match her beauty. I heard that the reason the Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds invented a Hundred Secret Recipes was because of the Nengmyeong Goddess.”

“I would love to see her.”

“Haha! It’s just a rumor, but I heard she lost her sense of taste because of some unfortunate circumstances.”

Realizing something, the relatively young man spoke up in amazement.

“Then… does that mean that Naengmyeon Goddess regained her taste after eating Kimchi Ramen?”

“However, the place where she recently regained her taste for kimchi is a kimchi specialty guesthouse! The place where the Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds gave a secret recipe to find the Naengmyeon Goddess’s taste! It is by far the best among the Hundred Secret Recipes!”

There was a buzz around them. Jin-woo wasn’t the only one listening to the group’s conversation. Before he knew it, everyone around him was listening to their story. It was such a ridiculous story, though. Kimchi ramen was delicious, but it wasn’t that good.

‘Naengmyeon Goddess?’

Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds and Naengmyeon Goddess… the two nicknames somehow matched each other very well. They were food-like nicknames. Since the Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds was the General Manager, it was likely that the Naengmyeon Goddess was Arcana.

Jin-woo looked around the street. There were mainly noodle shops and a few spicy stir-fried chicken places. On one wall, he could see the General Manager’s face painted on the side. It had some similarities, but it was funny to see his face like that. Some of the scenery seemed to overlap with the downtown areas of towns in ​​Korea. If it kept going on, a Rolled Rice Heaven might also appear.

‘What the hell did they do?’

It had been quite a while since the two of them fell here, so there must have been a story behind it. After looking around, Jin-woo headed to find Arcana.

It was said that the Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds and the Naengmyeon Goddess always appeared and vanished suddenly. They would show up in a poor restaurant or guesthouse suffering from debt, help, and disappear. Thanks to this, the villagers regarded the General Manager as a type of deity.

Weird outfits, weird secret recipes… of course, he was treated as a deity.

‘It’s over there.’

As Jin-woo passed the alley, he came to a dead-end, but it was an illusion. There was a strong barrier that even a martial arts master wouldn’t notice. As Jin-woo approached, he stretched out his hand, and the barrier was automatically broken.

‘It’s the building that Bread Jam filmed.’

It was the half-collapsed building that Bread Jam broadcasted. The shape of the house was unusual, making it easy to recognize. Half of it was the tile-roofed house seen in the village below, and a half was built in a modern style. Perhaps the General Manager and Arcana remodeled it while they were fixing it.

It was when Jin-woo was about to approach the gate that someone broke through and rushed him.

Crack-crack-crack!

He jumped with tremendous momentum, but his knees hit the ground, and he slid in front of Jin-woo. Jin-woo watched him with a smile.

“Isn’t this the Heavenly Man of Hundred Kinds?”

“M-Master! Sob! I am… I am…”

The General Manager knelt in front of Jin-woo and cried. Someone would think that they hadn’t seen each other for decades if they saw it.

“Sob, the sin of causing trouble to Master! I deserve to die! Please kill me!”

“It’s okay. Get up.”

The General Manager was ready to die at any moment. Jin-woo couldn’t help but pat him on the back. Only then did he barely calm down. Arcana also found Jin-woo. She trembled as she saw him. She had improved quite a bit, as she barely stopped the blood from spurting out of her mouth.

“Let’s go inside.”

It was a mess as soon as he got here, but Jin-woo felt rather familiar with this kind of a mess. He decided to go inside and listen to their story.

* * *

The inside of the building was cozy. It had been remodeled in a modern style and was very comfortable. The General Manager told him everything, and Jin-woo patiently listened to everything he had to say.

Jin-woo couldn’t hide his embarrassment. As he sighed, the General Manager flinched, and Arcana trembled in her corner. Jin-woo decided to move on without saying anything further.

“How about this kid?”

A modest-looking girl sat down next to the General Manager. She looked like Maze.

“My name is Yu-Yu Hua-ran.”

The girl politely greeted him. She looked frightened, but she kept her back straight.

“Cough, she is the owner of this place… where we fell.”

Although Yu Hua-ran was young, it was said that she led the household and ran the guesthouse.

“Explain.”

“Yes.”

The General Manager explained again.

The name of this village was Jin-hu (Golden Lake). There was a large lake next to the village, and the name of Jin-hu was given because the reflection of the sun dyed it gold. It was originally a wealthy village, but it was said that the villagers’ lives rapidly deteriorated due to the Xiawu (Lower Five) Sect, which had been established recently.

‘Xiawu Sect…’

It was a group formed mainly by thieves, scammers, and gangsters, but there were quite a few instances where they collided with the protagonist in the novel. They were mainly filling the role of displaying the hero’s power. However, they also showed a good side due to their excellent informational power.

At first, as the Xiawu Sect came to Jin-hu, people thought they would continue on fine. But, the guesthouses and brothels fell into their hands one by one.

‘They set several buildings on fire, so…’

After borrowing money and making it impossible to repay, almost half of the commercial area fell under the Xiawu Sect. Then, they finally reached Yu Hua-ran’s guesthouse. Some people fought with each other in her guesthouse and smashed it. A riot broke out, and the attendants were injured. In the meantime, the General Manager and Arcana fell in.

“I-I asked them. I think it will be okay if the alley merchants pay off their debts…”

“I didn’t step forward because I was afraid that it might cause trouble to you, Master. That’s why we put up a barrier.”

Yu Hua-ran and the General Manager explained. Now that the martial art groups were brought in, the Xiawu Sect could no longer touch the guesthouses or the restaurants. He didn’t step in, but he kept it well guarded on its own. If the General Manager personally stepped in, the Xiawu Sect would be destroyed in a day. No, in hours.

“Isn’t it gorgeous for something like that?”

“The hygiene, taste, and customer service were all so messed up… I’m sorry.”

Jin-woo grinned. He couldn’t blame General Manager for helping people. The General Manager, who thought only of Jin-woo and followed him, had made his judgment.

‘Come to think of it; the Xiawu Sect also appeared in the novel.’

Jin-woo thought of the original leader of the Xiawu Sect.

“Ah!”

When Jin-woo exclaimed, everyone startled around him. The leader of the Xiawu Sect was learning martial arts on his own. Although it was at a first-class level, he was still recognized to some extent by the strongholds. However, it was one of the sexual martial arts.

He learned it from a group official, and he made not only prostitutes of the brothels but also the women of several prestigious families suffer because of it. It was no big deal, even if his character disappeared. That martial art textbook’s name was definitely…

‘A Moment of Ten Heavens Sexual Technique.’

The name of the martial art textbook was so powerful that Jin-woo remembered it. It was a powerful technique, sending someone to heaven ten times in one moment. Jin-woo’s eyes grew serious.

‘Brother, wait for me.’

Hope existed. With that textbook, he would bring back Lee Min-woo’s lost smile.

“Is the leader of Xiawu Sect in Jin-hu?”

“Yes, that’s what I know. I’ll take care of him as soon as you give me the order.”

Jin-woo shook his head. It would be a big deal to recklessly deal with the hope that had appeared for his brother.

“I want to meet him personally.”

Jin-woo now was as serious as when he dealt with the Emperors. He decided to check it out himself.