Chapter 53
Fury (3)
A day passed.
After spending the night at the Yusoo Inn located on the edge of Angang-hyeon, Kang Yong-woon set out on the road again.
“All right, from now on we’ll pick up the pace a bit, elders—!”
Tadat. Paang—!
With bright sounds, the Biryushin technique unfurled.
He quickly put distance between himself and Angang-hyeon.
“We’ll head straight for the area near Jongnam Mountain. Got it?!”
The passing wind felt truly refreshing.
It was probably because he had used the bulk of the hastily taken haul — the hasu-o (fang-fall root) — for something good instead of keeping it to himself.
The elders of the palace carriage said nothing.
It seemed they were politely remaining silent as a matter of course.
‘Good. They’re not scolding me.’
So he felt very at ease.
How far had they gone like that?
A piercing scream suddenly gripped Kang Yong-woon’s footsteps.
“Kyaaa—!”
It was a truly miserable scream.
‘What’s that?’
Apart from curiosity, his body had already turned.
The woman’s scream sounded off — it wasn’t ordinary.
In a small village called Hwaun Village — so named because the cotton fields that filled the area looked like clouds of blossoms — some rough-looking men had appeared.
They were men armed with large knives.
They belonged to the Gwidobang’s black-sword faction, the outlaw enforcers who dominated the nights of Angang-hyeon.
“Ha, that woman’s got a lovely voice, huh?!”
“Kukuk. That’s why we came. How great would it be to make her sing in our Red Brothel? Right?!”
“Hey, she’s got a halfway decent face too — just make her sing. If we get her into the Blue Brothel as a hostess, we’ll make much more money, right?”
“True. That’s good thinking.”
“Puhaha. Red or Blue — either’s fine. Let’s drag her off.”
In their grasp was a girl who looked barely sixteen.
“P-please save me, Great Hero. Kyaaa—!”
A man with a goat-beard gripped the girl by the hair while tears streamed from her eyes.
“Ah—! Great Hero, please save my daughter—!”
A man from the household, limping on a crutch, staggered forward.
He clasped his hands together and begged.
“I’ll somehow repay the debt — just please save my only daughter, Great Hero—!”
Of course it was useless.
“You damned—!”
Crack.
“Ouch.”
The bearded, bandit-like man kicked away the father’s crutch. The man rolled to the ground.
“It’s already been half a year, half a year. You’re still a cripple — what do you think, how on earth are you going to earn money to pay both principal and interest?!”
“Just hand over your daughter and be done with it, you idiot—!”
“We’ll count the principal and interest as paid if you give us ten silver coins all at once—!”
Pow pow pow.
With nonsense like that they kicked and stamped him.
“Kuh. Gak. Guh.”
“Father—! Aaah.”
The girl, who tried to cradle the beaten father, screamed again.
The goat-bearded man sharply jerked the girl’s hair he was holding.
“Stay still, you brat.”
“Hey, old man. Just sign the transfer. It’s better that way. Can’t you figure that out?!”
The five men of the Gwidobang sneered.
They waved a sale contract in front of the father’s face, as if offering to sell the girl.
“Krrrgh—! Da, Great—her—please….”
The father’s voice trailed off.
He had been beaten too much given his already poor health.
“Please my ass!”
“Sign before I crush your belly—”
Just as the goat-bearded man lifted his foot to stomp down,
“Ten silver coins did you say?!”
A heavy voice came from somewhere.
“Would that clear all the debts for that gentleman?”
It was Kang Yong-woon.
He had arrived chasing the scream.
‘Who is that guy?’
‘Oh? The kid’s wearing a sword at his waist?’
At this unexpected intrusion the men glanced at each other.
They began to size up Kang Yong-woon’s identity.
‘No sun-and-sword emblem on his sleeve?’
‘Right. He’s not from Jongnampa.’
‘No plum emblem either. So no relation to Hwasanpa.’
They sneered. A chilly smirk played across their faces.
If he had no ties to Hwasan or Jongnam, then he was of no concern.
“All right, ten coins.”
“Why? You gonna give it?!”
They looked down on Kang Yong-woon as if he were laughable and asked.
But then—
“All right.”
Out of Kang Yong-woon’s mouth came an answer they never expected.
“Ten silver coins.”
Clack.
When Kang Yong-woon reached into his bosom, they heard the clink of silver.
And then,
“Here, ten silver coins.”
Kang Yong-woon produced one large silver piece in his hand.
It was clearly the size of a ten-nyang coin.
The men’s eyes lit up.
‘Look at this.’
‘He’s richer than we thought.’
Their attention shifted because of the unexpected coin and the rattling sound from his bosom.
‘Hey. He’s alone, right?’
‘Yeah. He’s alone.’
They read each other’s thoughts.
A gruesome smile crept across their lips.
“Aww, we must’ve forgotten today’s interest. Just give us five more silver coins.”
“Wow, such a steal, huh? Kukuk.”
They inched forward, closing in to surround Kang Yong-woon.
“My goodness. The drugs I loaned were only thirty iron-jeon in total—!”
The girl’s father, just coming to his senses, cried out as if coughing up blood.
“How on earth did thirty iron-jeon in half a year turn into ten silver coins and then demand an extra five silver coins?!”
“You bastard, you’re ruining the deal?! Shut up!”
Pow pow pow.
“Guh. Kk. Huuu—!”
The father slumped.
‘This is bad.’
Kang Yong-woon’s concern heightened.
‘I have to save him.’
His breathing was fading. He had to get him to a medicine hall quickly.
But then,
“Kuhuhuhu. Where d’you think you’re goin’?!”
“You got so rich you don’t know what to do? I’ll help. Let’s split it. Puhuhu—!”
“Hah—!”
The five men simultaneously drew their bokdo (large blades). They swung as if to sever Kang Yong-woon’s limbs.
Writhing.
‘Are they for real?!’
A grimace of fury twisted Kang Yong-woon’s face.
Just from what had happened in front of his eyes they were already criminal enough; and yet these men dared to try robbing him too?
Hwoong—!
His clenched fist hummed with a sharp sound. He sliced through the air.
Bweo—ok.
“Gyaaah.”
With a single punch of his Tanja Fist, the leading goat-bearded bandit’s chest caved in, and he crumpled.
“You bastard—!”
A blade that had been falling toward Kang Yong-woon changed direction and hit a helmet instead.
Sgak.
“Ouch—!”
“Hey, you idiot. How you gonna cut your own ally?”
Their formation instantly collapsed.
“I didn’t do it on purpose—!”
“He’s weird. Kill him now—!”
“Uaaah—!”
As the remaining three carelessly tried to carry out their murderous swings, Kang Yong-woon lifted his scabbard.
“I’ll teach you a lesson—!”
The Lotus Sword Technique burst forth using the scabbard.
Pakang—! Jjeoak.
After shattering the falling blades, he smashed one attacker’s shoulder.
Like beating the neighborhood mutts that barked at him, he pummeled the three men.
“How dare you—!”
Pow. Pow pow pow.
“If you harm people—!”
Pak. Pabebok.
“You will suffer the same fate, understand?!”
Jjeoak. Pababak.
They were beaten so severely they couldn’t even scream; they simply collapsed.
Regardless of them, Kang Yong-woon immediately approached the girl’s father.
“Sir, wake up.”
“Father—!”
Even shaking him did not rouse him.
The girl didn’t know what to do and only stamped her feet.
‘This won’t do.’
Kang Yong-woon immediately hoisted the father onto his back.
“Lead the way. Let’s go to the medicine hall.”
“But we—”
He barked at the hesitant girl.
“Isn’t saving him the priority?! Treatment costs and dealing with those rascals come after.”
“Ah!”
Finally she seemed to come to her senses.
“This way, Great Hero.”
The girl ran toward Angang-hyeon.
Bubble bubble.
Kang Yong-woon’s heart boiled with anger.
‘What are those bastards?!’
The angrier he thought, the more he boiled.
It was because of the father’s desperate cry.
—“Those wicked bastards. I only borrowed thirty iron-jeon for medicine! How did that become ten silver coins in half a year, and then add five more silver coins?!”—
Usury.
This father and daughter had fallen prey to the most vicious kind of people.
‘They used thirty iron-jeon as an excuse to steal this young girl from her father and then intended to sell her off to the Red Brothel or Blue Brothel to make her sell her body?!’
How could one not be furious?
‘I planted a seed — the results will come soon. Fine, let’s see about that when the time comes.’
Having beaten the five men, he waited for a response.
Kang Yong-woon tightly suppressed the rising rage as he thought about what he would do.
On the continental battlefield.
Far from the bustling districts stood a small pawnshop.
Although it was not an official battlefield outpost, its grandiose name hid the truth: it was the Gwidobang’s pawnshop and an abhorrent loan-shark operation that made everyone tremble.
“What, what did you say?”
The leader of the Continental Battlefield, Chudam, felt heat rise above his eyes.
He could not believe what he was hearing.
“Say it again. What happened to Aseong and Nangho who went to collect the money?!”
“They were smashed, elder.”
“We checked with a medic — it’ll take at least a year of rest for them to be fit to live like normal people.”
Chudam’s face contorted.
‘Fools like that are hopeless.’
Even if they didn’t know the five W’s, at least they should say who did it, whether they got the money, and whether they brought the intended girl — something!
“Let’s beat them first!”
Chudam lunged.
He fell on his subordinates, who were moaning and repeating the story with sullen faces.
Pabebeb—bok.
“Uh, elder… guk.”
“What, suddenly… ugh.”
Perhaps it was a thorough beating.
After hammering them for a while to get the full story, Chudam came to understand everything.
“These idiotic bastards! A whole squad from the Gwidobang’s action team got beaten like dogs by some unknown brat?!”
What outraged him more was that they hadn’t even collected the money.
No — it was that the men had greedily tried to pocket an extra five silver coins and ended up getting their asses handed to them.
“Once those idiots come to their senses, throw them out.”
“What? Just throw them out?”
Chudam glared at the subordinate who nervously spoke up.
“And then what? You expect me to treat the fools who got themselves wrecked after trying to secretly pocket five extra silver coins? Huh?!”
“B-but—”
“No buts! If you don’t want to be kicked out either, get your act together, you scum. Understand?!”
Pow. Pow. Pow.
“Guk. Hup. Yes, elder. Understood.”
The subordinate nodded repeatedly, shrieking and wincing with each blow. Chudam shot him one more glare, then directed his anger toward Kang Yong-woon.
“So the man carried the girl’s father to the medic, right?”
He had no intention of just letting it go.
Kicking out the idiots who got themselves crippled and collecting owed money were completely different matters.
“Search the medicine hall. Find the brat. Now—!”
“Yes, elder.”
“Understood, elder.”
His subordinates’ eyes gleamed as if they had found someone to take revenge on. They dashed out like the wind.
Far away the sound of footsteps faded.
“How dare anyone beat up five warriors of the Continental Battlefield?”
Chudam ground his teeth.
“They’ll pay dearly for that, brat.”
Aseong’s voice sounded weak.
He claimed to have heard the clattering of coins inside his coat very loudly.
“Puhuhu. Maybe twenty silver per man, or thirty silver each would be better?”
Chudam laughed broadly.
He acted as if every silver coin in Kang Yong-woon’s bosom already belonged to him.
