The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 246: Night Guest - 3

If you're a man, you've probably imagined, at least once, a beautiful woman sneaking into your bed, targeting you.

“Good morning. Wake up, oppa.” That fantasy half-sister who shows up smiling at your bedside every morning.

The way houses are built in this world, with the childhood friend from across the street able to climb from window to window just to observe the protagonist's morning bodily reactions—makes you question the architectural logic. But even that is a transformed expression of desire.

I stared blankly for a moment at Im Ha-yeon, her expression rigid.

She said she came to steal something precious.

Clad in a full-body tights outfit I couldn’t tell where she’d gotten from—certain parts of her body specially covered, whether for protection or to provoke someone in particular.

Her gazelle-like figure radiated with such tension through the skintight fabric that you’d think no one could catch her at night. All of her body was lean—except one area, overflowing with softness.

‘To think she came to steal wearing something this daring.’

Of course, I do possess something precious—something I could give to a woman kneeling on my bed in the dead of night.

Though among my friends I was pitied whenever girlfriend stories came up, and though I wasn’t a chastity-before-marriage purist—I just happened to be chaste by circumstance—that did mean I had something to give in a moment like this.

But the more I thought about it, a question emerged.

Is that really something so precious to a man? If I’m being honest, it’s more like something I’d rather get rid of.

I composed myself and opened my mouth to speak to Im Ha-yeon.

“Do I look like someone who’d just give it because you said you came to steal? If it were someone else, maybe they’d lie down and say thank you. But not me.”

“What are you talking about?”

I meant the timing was off. Why didn’t you come a year earlier?

“There’s already a long line of reservations.”

“You already have reservations? Who?”

Im Ha-yeon tilted her head in surprise and asked.

“Even if it were the peerless Phantom Godfist herself, there are people who wouldn’t be pleased if you stole it lightly.”

Even just messing up with one woman could be dangerous. If she stole it carelessly, it wouldn’t end well.

“I can steal it whenever I want—if I really want to.”

She really did seem like she could.

Not just her words—her body, drawing my gaze again and again, radiated confidence.

“Confidence is fine, but your rivals are as formidable as you.”

“...Are they from the Sichuan Tang Clan?”

Where did she hear that?

Hwarin rarely went out due to her skin condition. She mostly stuck to behind-the-scenes work at Daseogak, like printing or bookkeeping.

Even regulars on the second floor or those who stirred up trouble trembled at the idea that Hwarin might appear.

On top of that, with all the inhumane experiments, the Demonic Sect, and Tang Geo-ho’s story linked to the clan, everyone was waiting for the day Hwarin could speak proudly again as her level grew.

“There is someone from the Tang Clan.”

“If I go against the Sichuan Tang Clan, yes... that would be risky.”

Im Ha-yeon pursed her lips tightly, as if defeated.

“Miss Ha-yeon. It’s not good to show up so unreasonably like this. I understand that sometimes actions get ahead of feelings. But if this is something you truly want, isn’t it something we should start by building trust and having a conversation about?”

“There’s no time for that.”

“If you can’t even invest that much time, you won’t be able to steal it.”

Of course, if she started tearing through her tights and crawling toward me, I might not be able to resist. But I firmly said what I needed to, masking my true thoughts.

Did my resolve reach her?

Im Ha-yeon took off her mask and lowered her head in disappointment.

“...I knew it. Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 4 is the most treasured item at Daseogak. I guess it’s not something you’d show so easily.”

Storm of the Tang Clan, Volume 4? But I’ve only written the outline for that. Ah. So that’s the “precious” thing?

Not some long-awaited life experience maturing like fermented soybean paste while waiting for a Kang man?

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

I couldn’t quite hide my flustered expression, and my voice trembled slightly. Did I say anything weird earlier? I never even considered giving her “that,” so it would be a problem if she thought I was some kind of pervert.

Then again, who’s more bizarre—me or the woman who broke into my room in a skintight outfit?

So close, yet so far. I’d better act nonchalant again.

I fixed my rumpled clothing on purpose, got up from bed, and walked to the teapot.

So she’s just going to keep staring silently now?

“...I’ll go.”

As I poured tea into a cup, Im Ha-yeon stood up from the bed, as if making up her mind.

“Go where?”

“I didn’t manage to steal anything, so I should return.”

Steal what? I don’t think she actually came to steal anything.

“I know that’s not the real reason you came to see me. So where are you going? Sit down. I’ll listen to what you came to say.”

Where’s another teacup? I calmly took one out and poured her tea as well.

“The real reason?”

“You didn’t sneak in for Volume 3 when it came out. You could have secretly read Volume 4 too, but you made noise and woke me up. That means you had a reason.”

Would the legendary Phantom Godfist really wait until someone woke up before stealing?

Saying she came to steal was just to hide her embarrassment. That’s right—how hard must it be to say you came to talk about your worries with a guy you always bicker with?

“...”

Silence means yes.

Even as I sipped my tea, she kept her mouth shut and just stared at me.

So even now, you’re too shy to say it? Fine—I’ll give you a reason you can speak.

“I’m the apprentice of the Phantom Godfist. And you are the daughter of my sworn brother.”

I looked at her with the expression of an uncle seeing his adorable niece during a holiday.

“And what does that...”

I cut her off and continued.

“You’re a precious employee of mine, a talented woman who’ll lead Daseogak. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) And...”

And a candidate for the true heroine. I hesitated, unsure how to say what suddenly came to mind.

“And what?”

Im Ha-yeon looked at me, as if trying to confirm something, and asked.

“Well... things like that. Anyway, just letting out what’s pressing on your chest can make your heart feel lighter. So don’t think about leaving empty-handed.”

“...Hmph.”

Did my words reach her?

Whatever it was, she looked pleased. Her eyes softened, and she accepted the tea I handed her.

Im Ha-yeon cupped the teacup with both hands, fidgeted with her fingers for a while as if choosing her words, then finally spoke with a heavy expression.

“The Wuchang branch overseeing Hubei Province has sent an official order to bring in the fugitive courtesan Im Ha-yeon.”

It was such an unexpected, heavy incident that it pressed against even my chest.

“They’re dragging away the one who reported the incident in Wusan?”

Isn’t that odd? It’s like accusing an innocent witness and treating them as the criminal.

“Well... they say the Wusan branch is perfectly fine.”

“What? Wasn’t it attacked and that’s why you escaped?”

“They say that on the day the demonic sect attacked, the Hao Clan branch there fought back and stopped the raid.”

If what she says is true, the story’s become a tangled mess.

From her perspective, she escaped to report the incident. But to outsiders, she looks like a courtesan who used the chaos to run away.

“Wait. That doesn’t make sense. That day, those bastards from the demonic sect were clearly chasing you. And if that’s true, it’s been over a month. Why haven’t we heard anything?”

“That’s the strange part. The Hao branch that was attacked was completely wiped out. All the senior members in Wusan were killed. The branch head in the pleasure quarters died too.”

Was it people she knew? Her fingers gripped the teacup tighter.

“They’re all dead, and yet they’re claiming the branch is fine?”

“They say the gambling division of the Wusan branch took revenge on behalf of the courtesans.”

“Gambling division? The gamblers?”

Most people think of the Hao Clan as a unified sect—but that’s far from the truth. Outside of upper management, it’s made up of decentralized cells.

Courtesans pass information through the Courtesan Division, gamblers through the Gambling Division (Domong).

Each group’s upper ranks then pass the information on to the executives.

“Yes. But the timing is too perfect. The weaker Gambling Division struck back immediately, succeeded, and then absorbed all of Wusan’s Hao operations.”

She said the original branch head in Wusan was from the Courtesan Division.

A single ambush wipes out the Courtesans and hands control to the Gamblers? No matter how you look at it, it’s suspicious.

“Does this have anything to do with the order to bring you in from Wuchang?”

“I’m the only surviving member of the Wusan Courtesan Division. But going back won’t change anything. The revenge is over. All that’s left is one runaway courtesan. Even if they conduct a formal investigation, I won’t be able to testify against the Gamblers.”

“Why not?”

“They have my courtesan registry.”

Meaning the gamblers now legally own her. Her brows furrowed in frustration as she spoke.

“Didn’t that originally belong to the Courtesan Division?”

“The Hao Clan is part of the demonic sect too. They took it by force, so they won’t give it back. Even when the Courtesans raised an issue, the Gamblers just demanded a heavy price to buy back a runaway courtesan.”

She even told me the exact amount.

“That’s ridiculous. That kind of money?”

It wasn’t an amount you’d pay for a printing press or even a mansion.

“Because I’m a runaway courtesan. Once you run, you’re expected to work at the pleasure house until you die, repaying a debt you could never settle in your lifetime.”

Im Ha-yeon lowered her head in anguish.

No mere act of lowering one’s head could express such despair.

Even if I had been the star host at Oran Courtesan House, if someone asked me to repay that sum, I would’ve just called it the end of my life.

‘So this is how the original story continues.’

The Im Ha-yeon I knew wasn’t from Wusan or Yichang, but from Wuchang, the capital of Hubei Province. The most famous cheonggi.

Even without me, the Wusan raid and her escape would have happened. So her being caught and dragged to Wuchang as a runaway must have been the original timeline.

Im Ha-yeon, the Phantom Godfist.

By day, the most famous courtesan in Wuchang. By night, a slightly scatterbrained phantom thief.

She could have made a fortune doing just one of those, so was she working both to repay a runaway courtesan’s debt?

Wait—thieving?

No way...

“Then why have you been acting so erratically in Yichang lately?”