Chapter 10

As Dan Woo-sung entered the ordinary inn, everyone he met greeted the Crown Prince.

The first and second floors served as places for those who had come up from gambling to eat or drink, while the basement housed the gambling den. Unidentified outsiders could only use the first and second floors, but Danwooseong descended to the basement without anyone stopping him.

Downstairs, many gamblers smoked opium or hallucinogenic herbs, so the basement was always thick with smoke. Those wandering about running errands or clearing tables would bow their heads slightly whenever they saw Dan Woo-seong.

Some of them didn’t even know the young master of the Eunha Trading Company had visited the brothel. They simply looked like they were seeing him after a long time.

Danwooseong scanned the gamblers before heading toward the room at the very end.

The portly gatekeeper standing before the iron door spoke.

“You’re here.”

Dan Woo-sung looked at the man, whose flesh still jiggled as ever, and said.

“You should lose some weight.”

The guard was startled and asked back.

“Pardon?”

“Open the gate.”

The gatekeeper tilted his head in confusion and opened the iron gate.

As Danwooseong entered, the gatekeeper closed the heavy iron door again and turned back, still looking utterly bewildered.

“Is he out of his mind?”

Danwooseong could come and go freely here because he personally covered the initial costs to build it. Whether it was a loan or extorted money was unclear, but either way, the founding capital came from the Crown Prince’s funds.

On top of that, he often came here to gamble. As is always the case in gambling dens, he won at first, then kept losing.

He couldn’t even recall how much money he’d poured into it.

But eating and drinking on the first and second floors was free. That was because he’d squandered enough money to more than cover it.

In the sparse room with few furnishings, a few desks and chairs were placed. At one desk, the gambling den’s owner, the venomous fox Cheol Myeong-ho, was eating noodles.

Cheol Myeong-ho spoke to Dan Woo-seong as he approached.

“You’re here?”

The sound of slurping soup followed.

Cheol Myeong-ho, a stocky figure, had once been stabbed in the cheek with a knife, leaving a gaping wound. His face was so menacing that ordinary people couldn’t look him in the eye. Of course, the man who stabbed him had died at Cheol Myeong-ho’s hands.

Dan Woo-sung sat down in the chair placed in front of Cheol Myeong-ho and looked at the two burly men sitting across from him.

They were the kind of men who settled disputes at gambling dens or went around collecting debts they’d lent out here and there. The two men spoke to Dan Woo-sung in a tone devoid of any particular emotion.

“You’re here.”

“Long time no see.”

Cheol Myeong-ho clicked his tongue and scolded his younger brothers.

“Ugh, you heartless bastards. My friend was sick and had to recuperate for a while before coming back. Show some interest in people. At least ask how they’re doing. You’re just freeloaders.”

The two men replied to Cheol-myeong-ho with stiff expressions.

“We didn’t know. We’re sorry.”

Dokjonghori Cheolmyeongho and Lee Jin-eon had been friends since childhood.

Though friends, the relationship was one-sided, with Jin-eon being the victim. As children, it involved violence; as adults, it became entangled with money.

Cheolmyeongho glanced at Danwooseong, sensing the heavy atmosphere, then pulled several hundred-nyang gambling tickets from a drawer and placed them on the table.

“You’re here for the first time in ages. Play a bit. Your hands must be itching after all that recuperation.”

He said it as if doing a favor, but it was obvious he’d just squander it all here anyway.

He wasn’t a sucker for nothing. It also meant the big spender had spent so much here that the gambling den owner gave him pocket money. Cheolmyeong-ho pulled out another real voucher, stacked it on top, and clapped his palms together as he said,

“No. Go to Geumhwaru first. Have a good time over there, and grab a drink too.”

As Dan Wooseong stared blankly at the money, Cheol Myeong-ho grinned and said.

“It’s fine. For our Eunhasa Trading Company’s young master, I’ll treat you big time to celebrate your return. Hmm, but did someone pull your tongue out or something? Why aren’t you talking, you little brat? It’s frustrating.”

Danwooseong pointed at the noodles Cheolmyeongho was eating with a nod of his chin.

“Give me that.”

“What? This?”

Cheol Myeong-ho pushed the bowl of noodles he had been eating, with chopsticks still in it, toward Dan Woo-sung.

Dan Woo-sung ate the noodles. A large amount of noodles came on one pair of chopsticks and disappeared into his mouth. After finishing all the noodles in two bites, Dan Woo-sung picked up the bowl with one hand and drank the remaining broth cleanly.

Cheol Myeong-ho smiled and said.

“Didn’t you eat? Why don’t you go home and eat a proper meal instead of coming here to wolf down noodles? Anyway, you’re not exactly the most sane person either.”

Dan Woo-sung belched loudly, pushed his bowl away, and stared blankly at the brothers Yook Myeong-bo and Yook Jin-bo, who were Cheol Myeong-ho’s bodyguards.

What should one call their true nature?

It wasn’t the underworld. Fights broke out frequently here and there. They also went around collecting money borrowed at gambling dens. Their main routine was beating those who fled or refused to pay with clubs, breaking their limbs. The short clubs they tucked into their belts when dispatched were scattered carelessly on the table and atop chairs.

Most who’ve been hit by those clubs say the moment the blows connect with bone is the most excruciating.

Danwooseong kept his eyes fixed on the guard brothers as he spoke.

“Myeongho.”

“Why? Did your dad yell at you again? Or did you run away? You seem off today. You can stay a few nights. It’s not like it’s anyone else—if you want to sleep over, who’d say no to our kids? There are plenty of empty rooms upstairs.”

“Not exactly running away…”

“Then.”

Dan Woo-sung was reviewing his memories, weighing whether killing Cheol Myeong-ho was justified or if just breaking a few bones would suffice.

Lee Jin-eon’s memory was the evidence, and Dan Woo-sung was reviewing that evidence to make his judgment.

Having made up his mind, Dan Woo-sung spoke.

“Myeong-ho, hand over the key.”

“What key?”

Dan Woo-sung sighed softly as he spoke.

“What kind of key could it be? A safe key, of course.”

Cheolmyeong-ho tilted his head, then glanced at his bodyguards and muttered.

“A safe key? What’s that supposed to mean? Ah, asking for a safe key? Asking for money?”

Cheol Myeong-ho blinked, his mouth half-open.

‘Is this guy crazy?’

Cheol Myeong-ho, who’d been beaten since childhood, couldn’t immediately grasp why this guy was demanding he hand over a safe key.

Cheol Myeong-ho asked with a bewildered look.

“Why the safe key?”

Dan Woo-sung explained.

“I’m just taking the money. I reckon I’ve invested roughly a few thousand nyang here. Counting back my investment, the interest, and what those players outside blatantly fleeced me for, a hundred thousand nyang seems about right. I’ve factored in what you did to me too. The medicine cost me a pretty penny.”

Cheolmyeongho said in a subdued tone.

“Ugh, you crazy bastard. There’s hundreds of thousands of nyang in the safe. It’s not just money. There’s jewelry, gold, silver. But that’s all I’ve got to give you. And how the hell does a few thousand nyang turn into a hundred thousand? If you need money, just ask to borrow it. Do you think I wouldn’t lend it to you? If I did lend it, do you think I’d send kids to hound you like those other bastards?”

Cheolmyeongho’s voice grew louder and louder, like someone climbing a hill.

“You know how to pay me back just fine. Why come in scowling and demanding the safe key when you could just ask nicely? Have you lost your mind? What the hell do you think this place is, you crazy bastard? Get a grip! Snap out of it! You son of a bitch! Have you forgotten I’m Cheol Myeong-ho?”

By the end, he was practically screaming, and with a clang, the doorkeeper poked his head out.

“Sir, what’s the matter?”

Cheol Myeong-ho said to the guard.

“Close it.”

“Yes, sorry.”

The gatekeeper closed the iron door, thinking to himself that the young master of the Eunha Trading Company was going to get thoroughly shaken down again after so long.

Cheol Myeong-ho said.

“What’s wrong with you? Don’t you want to live?”

The bodyguard brothers sitting opposite Danwooseong stood up as if to set the tone.

Yook Myeong-bo and Yook Jin-bo were known as the Twin Retaliators. They were fighters who could knock down a dozen ordinary men with their fists, even if they attacked as a group. Each was stronger than Cheol Myeong-ho, but they had a slightly naive side and were the type to always follow Cheol Myeong-ho’s orders since he fed and housed them.

Lee Jin-eon couldn’t fathom them at all, but Dan Woo-seong could roughly understand what kind of men they were.

They were people who had never lived a normal life, and their way of thinking was, to put it kindly, pure, and to put it harshly, somewhat dim-witted. Simply put, they were people who lacked any sense of calculation whatsoever.

Cheolmyeongho scowled before addressing the Ssangbo brothers.

“Hey, make this bastard kneel on the floor. He’s got me so pissed off… He needs a beating to snap out of it.”

“Yes.”

The Ssangbo brothers approached side by side, simultaneously grabbing Dan Woosung’s shoulders with their large hands. Since Dan Woosung showed no particular resistance, their movements weren’t overly rough. They intended to lift him up and force him to kneel.

Danwooseong grabbed the Ssangbo brothers’ wrists.

With a crunch, his grip tightened, making the Ssangbo brothers’ eyes widen. It was an incredible grip.

Dan Woosung pulled Yook Jinbo’s arm, which he was holding with his right hand, while kicking him in the stomach. With a thud, Yook Jinbo flew into the wall. This time, Dan Woosung, pulling Yook Myeongbo, uppercut him in the jaw with his right fist.

Thud!

Yuk Myeong-bo’s large body shot into the air before crashing back down to the floor.

Thud!

Then, Yook Myeong-bo and Yook Jin-bo grimaced as they writhed on the floor before struggling to their feet.

Danwooseong had no intention of killing these two. Even so, despite being struck by fists and kicks and sent flying through the air, he showed no fear whatsoever. It was proof he had experienced many such brutal fights.

Cheol Myeong-ho was speechless.

“Wow, you took on the Ssangbo brothers…”

He’d never seen anyone handle the Ssangbo brothers like this before, so he couldn’t help but be even more astonished.

Just as Yook Myeong-bo raised his upper body, Dan Woo-seong’s knee flew straight into his face.

Thud! With the sound, Yook Myeong-bo was knocked unconscious.

Danwooseong walked toward Yuk Jinbo, who had risen from the wall. He caught Yuk Jinbo’s simple punch with both hands, then leapt into the air. Wrapping both legs around Yuk Jinbo’s arms, he twisted them immediately.

Snap!

Yuk Jinbo’s arm twisted completely in one direction. Then, using his thigh as a lever, Dan Woosung snapped it back the opposite way, causing a distinct cracking sound to emanate from the arm.

Yuk Jinbo grimaced in pain.

Dan Woosung released his arm and said.

“Shuangbo, I’m letting you off easy. Stay put. If you try anything else, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

Yuk Myeong-bo, struck in the knee, was unconscious, while Yuk Jin-bo, his face drenched in sweat, was trying to set the broken bones in his arm.

In a way, they were even more vicious than Cheol Myeong-ho. Due to their innate strength and superior physiques, they possessed defensive abilities akin to those with self-defense skills, even without training in martial arts.

Dan Woo-seong grabbed the short club sprawled on the chair with his right hand and approached Cheol Myeong-ho. This club was perfect for striking bones.

“Myeong-ho, you’re usually sharp. What’s with you?”

Cheol Myeong-ho retorted, grabbing the straight sword he had propped under the table.

“Damn it, this is annoying.”

The moment Cheolmyeongho stood up, Danwooseong grabbed a short club and flung it like a dagger.

Thwack! Thud!

The short club struck Cheol Myeong-ho’s face before flying off somewhere. Cheol Myeong-ho covered his face with one hand.

“Gah!”

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong

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