Chapter 59
“Hey… does your uncle take requests too?”
“Requests? Um… yeah, I think so. They say his nickname is The Unbeaten Fixer!”
“The Unbeaten Fixer, huh…”
At Lee Mu-geol’s murmur, Eun Sowol felt something was off.
Wait… why is he digging into Uncle’s background like this?
If he just wanted to make a deal, knowing that Dang Jin-ak was from the Sichuan Dang family should’ve been enough. There was no reason to ask about someone like Dok Go-ryong, who looked like a wandering rogue.
Maybe… he wants to hire Uncle for something?
“How much does he charge?”
Sure enough, Mu-geol got straight to the point.
Sowol suddenly had a bad feeling. She thought of the Mukhyangbang thugs who caused that commotion earlier in the market.
“…Why? Do you want to request something from Uncle?”
“Yeah. I can’t pay right now, but I can give information that’s just as valuable.”
Valuable information?
Sowol perked up her ears, curious.
“Wait… is it about an elixir—”
Bang! Clatter!
“Lee Jae-ha! Didn’t I tell you to get out by the end of the week?!”
Crashing sounds and a rough shout erupted from outside.
A basket flew through the broken wooden wall and rolled inside.
Startled, Sowol instinctively flinched—and Dok Go-ryong pulled her protectively into his arms.
“Looks like we’ve got uninvited guests.”
Following Dok Go-ryong’s gaze, she saw Lee Jae-ha, pale and shaking. Though he clenched his fists to hide it, his thin shoulders trembled.
“I’m very sorry, guests. Please excuse me for a moment.”
“Father! Don’t go! Who knows what they’ll do—!”
Lee Jae-ha’s eyes wavered, but he quickly composed himself and tried to calm his worried son with the same gentle look he always used.
“Don’t worry, Geora. Nothing will happen. I’ll handle it. You stay here with the guests.”
Then he looked at Dang Jin-ak and Dok Go-ryong. Go-ryong remained expressionless, but Jin-ak nodded back.
It felt like Jae-ha was silently asking them to protect his son if anything happened to him.
As Jae-ha stepped outside, the voices got louder.
“You rat bastard! I’m not letting you off easy today—get ready!”
“What brings you out so late at night? Didn’t you give me a four-day grace period?”
“Grace period? If it wasn’t for the Lord’s orders, you’d be six feet under already—right next to your wife! Do you think your life still belongs to you?”
They were clearly here to crush him completely—no mercy at all.
Mu-geol clenched his teeth and glared outside, eyes bloodshot.
“That… those bastards! How dare they show up here!”
He grabbed whatever was nearby and tried to charge out.
“Stop. If you rush out, you’ll only make things worse.”
Dang Jin-ak held his shoulder to stop him.
“Let go of me! Those bastards destroyed our whole family! Isn’t that enough?!”
“I know. But what can you do? Earlier, there were people around to stop them. Now, we’re alone.”
Jin-ak’s gaze remained fixed on the door. Dok Go-ryong was doing the same.
“Uncle? Is someone out there?” Sowol whispered from his arms, trembling.
“There’s a strong one with them. If things go bad, they’ll make a move.”
Then—
Crash!
A dull noise echoed, followed by Lee Jae-ha’s groan.
“No way…!”
Even Mu-geol, who had shown only rage toward Mukhyangbang, now trembled with fear and ran to open the door.
There, Jae-ha lay collapsed on the ground, coughing blood.
In front of him stood the Mukhyangbang thugs who had harassed them earlier—and a few more armed men.
“Father…!”
Mu-geol’s lips trembled as he barely managed to call out.
“Don’t come, Geora!”
Jae-ha, blood on his lips, stopped his son with a strained voice, trying to ease his fear with that same gentle expression.
“…I’ll leave Heuksigok tonight, just as the Mukhyang Lord wishes. So please, just spare my son.”
Jae-ha bowed deeply before them, hoping his submission would end their rage.
But they didn’t stop.
“The Lord doesn’t want you gone—he wants you in Mukhyangbang. You know that, don’t you?”
“Give it up. The Lord doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants. You know that better than anyone.”
Jae-ha bit his blood-soaked lips.
Watching the head of a family crumble like that was heartbreaking—even for strangers. For Mu-geol, his son, it must’ve been unbearable.
Panicking and gasping, Mu-geol suddenly grabbed Dok Go-ryong’s robe.
“Sir! They say you’re the Unbeaten Fixer! I’ll pay whatever price—please accept my request!”
Dok Go-ryong raised an eyebrow and looked down at Sowol in his arms.
Sowol’s eyes darted nervously, feeling a little guilty under his stare.
“I’m not a charity worker. I don’t accept requests without payment. If you’re trying to appeal to my pity, you picked the wrong man.”
Even Sowol was surprised at how coldly he rejected Mu-geol.
Well… I know Uncle doesn’t care about anyone but me, but still…
Normally, people feel a sense of justice seeing a father and son suffering like that, right?
“Brother, shouldn’t we at least hear him out?”
Like Dang Jin-ak, for example.
Though he tried to stay calm, his clenched fists, furrowed brows, and the way he kept fingering his hidden weapons showed how much he was barely holding back.
But Go-ryong remained cold.
“There’s nothing to hear. You want me to beat up those thugs out there, right?”
Mu-geol flinched at his emotionless gaze.
“If I make a move, we’ll be enemies with all of Heuksigok.”
Mukhyangbang basically ruled the market—they practically ruled Heuksigok itself.
And this was their turf. Picking a fight here could mean serious consequences.
“But Brother, if we help Yugok Sangdan’s head, we might get high-quality herbs supplied to us.”
“I’m not as good at judging herbs as you are, so I don’t know how valuable he is. But there are other ways to get top-grade herbs here in Heuksigok.”
Everyone tried to cheat or mix in fakes, but even Go-ryong knew the herbs here were of the highest quality.
“Besides, people from the Demonic Faction never forget a grudge. They won’t just let it go—they’ll come after us. The moment we draw swords, we’ll lose our chance to sleep peacefully in Yunnan—or even return here ever again.”
Dang Jin-ak hadn’t thought that far ahead, so he went quiet.
“And you. Don’t throw around words like ‘I’ll do anything.’”
Mu-geol trembled at Go-ryong’s harsh words.
“Do you even know what I might ask for in return? You live in Heuksigok—you should know better than to speak so recklessly.”
“That’s…”
Mu-geol couldn’t say a word and lowered his head. Seeing he got the message, Go-ryong said no more.
Watching all this quietly, Sowol placed her hand on her chest, feeling frustrated.
Uncle isn’t wrong… but still, isn’t there some way to help them?
She knew her limits well.
She was a terminally ill five-year-old with a rare disease and no power to protect even herself.
Justice only has meaning if you have the strength to protect others.
Otherwise, it’s just reckless pride.
But… that doesn’t mean I want to be a coward either.
