IBTYDOTCID – Chapter 76

Did they seriously already figure it out?

No, probably not. If they had, this place would already be crawling with bastards waving weapons in our faces.

I exchanged a glance with Dang Iheon. For now, all we could do was stay quiet and keep watch. Iheon murmured softly.

“If it comes to it, I’ll use the sleep poison.”

“…Yeah.”

Sleep poison or not, it was strong enough to knock out a martial artist—so anyone without martial arts would probably suffer serious harm.

Still, better that than getting slaughtered in a blind panic if shit hit the fan. If Proprietor Chae failed to get out safely, we’d have to go with Iheon’s plan.

Proprietor Chae didn’t hesitate long before speaking.

“There are often wild pigeons in the mountains nearby—they catch the scent of food and wander down. But… it’s likely too late now, they’ve probably gone back. If the sound was pleasant, I can have someone catch a few for you, right away…”

“You think I’m a joke?”

“Hieek!”

The suspicious bastard immediately drew his saber and shoved it at Proprietor Chae’s throat. The blue-steel blade looked ready to slice his neck wide open.

But even while trembling like a leaf, Chae said everything he had to say.

“A j-joke, sir? N-not at all. Absolutely not. It’s just that, well, you suddenly asked about pigeons and I…”

To someone who didn’t know better, he’d look like a completely innocent fool who had no idea what the hell that pigeon sound was about. Turned out, Proprietor Chae was surprisingly composed in a crisis. Good.

Now that I thought about it, would barking like a dog have worked better than the pigeon call? Ugh, what’s the point in second-guessing now. Whatever sound we made would’ve been weird. Damn it.

Just a little longer. If they still didn’t let him out, we’d go with the sleep poison. I slowly raised my hand, tense all over. The moment I closed my fingers, Dang Iheon would throw the powder inside.

But then, a quiet voice spoke up.

“It’s fine. Let him out.”

Nice! I lowered my hand again. Iheon gave a small nod.

We moved silently, preparing to take out the two bastards escorting Proprietor Chae.

Come to think of it, this was our first time doing something like this together. Weirdly enough, we worked well as a team. Even when I gave abrupt orders, he got them instantly and followed through.

Pressing myself against the wall of the building, I waited.

Soon, the tightly closed door creaked open.

The two guards escorting Chae were both armed with sabers at their hips. Both of them looked twice his size, thick and burly—definitely not amateurs.

I tapped the paired swords I’d brought in a rush.

“I’ll take the left. You get the right.”

But this time, Iheon grabbed my wrist and shook his head.

“Silent takedowns are what the Dang Clan does best.”

Before I could even respond, he slipped two daggers from the wide sleeves unique to the Dang Clan. They were plain but well-maintained, their blades honed to a smooth edge.

Right. The Dang Clan wasn’t just about poisons.

“Fine.”

I smirked and nodded. Without hesitation, Iheon threw the daggers in a casual flick, scattering them into the night air.

The blades sliced through the dark and lodged themselves cleanly in the guards’ necks. Neither even had time to scream before they dropped like sacks.

Afraid the thud from their huge bodies would make too much noise, I dashed forward and caught them. I gently laid them down, and almost immediately, Chae peeked out from the latrine.

The moment he saw me, his eyes welled up with tears. His lips trembled, ready to burst out sobbing and grab my wrist, so I quickly backed off. Iheon arrived just in time to drag the bodies into the shadows.

We slipped back to the wall we’d been hiding behind earlier, out of sight of any other prying eyes.

“My lady, I can’t express how moved I am that you actually came all this way…”

“Save the flattery for later. How long ago did the errand boy go to look for the promissory note?”

“Ah, it’s been about half a hour. Three of them took him.”

There was a high chance the errand boy wouldn’t be coming back alive. If they found what they were looking for, it’d be faster for the martial artists to return without him. But if they left him alive, he could get help elsewhere—so they’d probably just kill him.

If the errand boy was gone, it wouldn’t be long before those bastards came back from the front lines…

“Where are the others?”

“Others? Who do you mean?”

“Huh? The martial artists from the clan, obviously…”

“Hmm? They’re in the Moyong Clan, of course.”

“…Huh?”

“…What?”

Chae’s expression slowly twisted with awkwardness. I could practically see the hope draining from his face.

“…D-don’t worry too much. Reinforcements are coming, eventually. I just rushed ahead to stop anyone from getting killed in the meantime.”

I moved to reassure him. The last thing I needed was to watch a man in his fifties break down crying.

“Even if we get caught, there are only, what, fifteen of them? The two of us should be plenty…”

That’s when Chae’s face turned ghostly pale.

“Fifteen? No, they’re packed into the second and third floors too! There’s got to be at least fifty!”

Shit. He was about to panic. I instinctively slapped a hand over his mouth.

But I wasn’t exactly calm myself.

“Fifty?!”

Chae nodded, eyes brimming.

Goddamn it. I’d assumed everyone was on the first floor. What the hell, did they all suddenly get into tea culture or something?

“We’re so fucked.”

“Mmmf?! Mmm!”

“No, no. Forget I said that.”

I was still clamping his mouth shut, but I quickly took it back. My brain was spinning. Fuck, damn, hell, shit, goddamn it.

If it were only fifteen, I would’ve figured it was just a few rogue bastards acting without the sect master’s permission. But fifty? That probably meant the Black Ring Sect’s sect master gave the order himself.

But why would the Black Ring Sect be interested in a tea house of all things? Was this guy lining his own pockets?

No, there was a more urgent problem.

“How many hostages are inside?”

“Mmph!”

“Answer me properly.”

“…Yeonhwa. You have to let go so he can talk.”

“Oh.”

At Iheon’s comment, I finally released Chae’s mouth.

“There are about twenty-five people, including the kitchen staff.”

Fuck. When did he build up this big of a staff? And most of them were young women too… there’s no way I’d be able to save everyone.

Even if some hostages get hurt, spreading the sleep poison through the first floor might be our best shot.

If we provoke the bastards upstairs, it’ll be a mess.

I glanced at Iheon, and he gave a small, grim nod. We’d tried to avoid using the poison, but there was no helping it now.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“Got it. Be careful, Yeonhwa.”

“You too.”

I helped Chae up and guided him toward the wall, where no one was around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Iheon slip the sleep poison from his sleeve and move toward a window.

Since Chae couldn’t use lightfoot, I hoisted him up over the wall first. I heard the soft thump as he landed on the other side, then jumped after him. I meant to stash him somewhere safe and return right away.

But just as my foot touched the top of the wall, something shot through the air toward my face. I instinctively yanked my head back to dodge—but that threw me off-balance, and I tumbled back down.

Thud.

A dull, heavy sound rang out from the left. I glanced over and saw a massive saber buried in a tree.

Great. So much for a clean escape.

“…Turns out it wasn’t a pigeon. Just a rat.”

It was that obsessive bastard who’d refused to let Chae leave earlier. I guess he came out when the others didn’t return.

“You know, clingy guys like you are usually not very popular.”

“I don’t know who the fuck you are, but if you keep running your mouth, you’ll seriously regret it.”

“Wanna find out?”

I slowly drew the paired swords strapped to my hips. Bent my knees. Took my stance. Thanks to Iheon, I’d saved enough strength to deal with one bastard.

The guy still looked way too relaxed. But he seemed curious about me.

“Fine. Let’s hear your name before you die.”

I gave a small, crooked smile. Bastard just had to ask again.

“…Squeak squeak.”

“…What?”

“I’m a fucking rat, dumbass!”

I slammed the ground and lunged. Best to strike before he reclaimed his weapon.

Unfortunately, my body wasn’t moving as fast as my brain. The bastard dodged easily and sprinted toward the saber in the tree. I twisted and slashed with both blades in quick succession, but he’d already grabbed it.

“Ha. You let me get it. That’s annoying. Who’s your sect master?”

He chuckled and adjusted his grip on the saber.

“Even if I told you, would you know the name?”

“Let’s hear it anyway. I introduced myself, didn’t I?”

“Oh… right. Lady Rat, was it?”

“Yeah, some ugly bastard in front of me came up with it.”

That got to him more than expected—his eyebrow twitched. Hilarious.

The less significant they are, the easier it is to rile them up with dumb insults like ‘ugly’ or ‘nobody likes you.’

And because it’s so pathetic to get mad at something like that, they usually just hold it in. I enjoy watching them squirm, so I use that tactic a lot.

Sure enough, the bastard ground his teeth and growled.

“You’re full of yourself, bitch. Our sect master is Soul-Stealing Blade Ha Bungak. And I’m Blood-Shadow Demon Gal Cheongyeok.”

“Oh. I wasn’t asking about you.”

“….”

“Anyway. Ha Bungak, huh… so you’re with the Red Serpent Corps.”

Lucky me.

The Red Serpent Corps and my old crew, the Blood Rain Corps, butted heads all the time. The unorthodox clans aren’t exactly known for getting along, but those guys? Even our sect master warned me to stay away.

Why? Because Ha Bungak hit on me and got his ass kicked. Took it personally and made it his life’s mission to wipe out my entire corps.

Just thinking about that wide, thuggish face made my skin crawl.

But now there was a misunderstanding.

“I didn’t realize the Red Serpent Corps was already so well-known.”

Dude. That’s not why I know you.

“Our sect master will be pleased.”

He grinned, sincerely proud. Christ, no.

Guess I’ll have to clear things up the old-fashioned way—with blades.

I took a deep breath and slashed sideways, charging in. The bastard was still basking in his imaginary fame but snapped to attention and raised his saber.

Clang!

Two sharp metallic shrieks rang out almost simultaneously. I couldn’t put much energy into the strike, so he didn’t budge.

He gave a mocking laugh.

“That all you’ve got? What, you think those toys can hurt me?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Scrrrape.

I dragged the blades down his saber, twisted my wrists, and stabbed—one at his side, one at his gut.

He moved to dodge, but not fast enough. My blade sliced a shallow cut across his ribs. The smug look finally dropped from his face.

“Clever bitch.”

“Smart people don’t have to work as hard. Take notes.”

“I’m gonna rip your mouth open first.”

“Ooh, scary.”

Yeah, he was definitely pissed now. I could feel the killing intent boiling off him.

I didn’t dare look away—but I listened closely.

Faint sounds from inside the tea house: bodies hitting the floor, a choked scream cut short, muffled groans.

Sounds like Iheon’s doing fine.

I just had to hold out until he got here.

We’d clashed with the Red Serpent Corps often enough that I knew their combat style inside out. And back in the Seol Danhae days, I never lost to those bastards.

“My mouth’s right here. Go on, tear it open.”

I slowly reversed my grip on the paired blades, taking my stance again.

Gal Whatever ground his teeth and raised his saber high, then charged in like a demon.

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