Chapter 101

“Chan-ah, are you really going to do this?”

As a man named Jeong Chan began smashing the shop to pieces, the pottery shop owner grabbed his waist, trying to stop him. Jeong Chan paid no heed, kicking and smashing everything in sight.

The shopkeeper bellowed.

“I need to sell this to pay the tribute money, you understand! Why did you have to break it? There are so many injured people around, and I’ve spent a lot on medicine and paying the doctor. I’m not saying I won’t pay, I’m just asking for a little more time…”

Jeong Chan spun around and slapped the shopkeeper across the face.

Smack!

The shop owner, struck for the first time by Jeong-chan, grabbed his own cheek in shock.

Jeong-chan said.

“Mr. Gong, what kind of childish game is this tribute business? If you’re late again, I’ll smash the whole shop to pieces.”

The shop owner, who had been slapped, glared at Jung Chan with a furious expression before going inside. He then came back out holding a kitchen knife and thrust it toward Jung Chan.

Hey, you bastard Jung Chan. Just kill me already. You won’t give it to me unless I have money, right? Jung-chan, you grew up in this neighborhood. You shouldn’t act like this. Are you even human? All the bums who used to loaf around here, once they joined Mokryongdang, why did they turn out like that? Don’t you remember the neighborhood elders taking you in when you were a kid, calling you an orphan, feeding you, even giving you a single dumpling? You worthless piece of shit, you shouldn’t be doing this.”

Jeong Chan’s face turned bright red.

“This crazy old man really…”

When Jeong Chan kicked the shop owner in the stomach, the owner dropped the kitchen knife and tumbled backward.

At that moment, surprisingly, the shop owner watching from across the street bellowed.

“Hey! Jung-chan! You son of a bitch. Cut it out already. You really think you’ll get blood on your hands doing this? You guys take protection money promising to protect us, right? You take protection money to wreck shops and spill the Gong family’s blood? You know perfectly well the Gong family’s funeral overlapped and we couldn’t do business for days? If you keep this up, we won’t just stand by.”

Jeong Chan swore under his breath.

“Damn it, have all these old farts lost their minds? They’re trying to set the tone just because some young punk came to collect tribute? Everyone… they’re looking down on me just because I grew up in this neighborhood, right?”

Jung-chan picked up a kitchen knife and held it to the shop owner’s face.

“Hey, old man, wanna settle this once and for all? You wanna do that?”

The shop owner started to say something but glanced toward the entrance.

A young man stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching.

The shop owner shook his head and gestured.

“We’re not open today, so go away.”

It was a signal not to come in. Yet the man scanned the wrecked shop interior before looking at Jeongchan and asking.

“How much is the tribute?”

His voice was low and deep, yet it etched itself clearly into Jung-chan’s ears.

Jung-chan sighed.

“What a bunch of assholes getting involved.”

Jung-chan swung the kitchen knife he held in his hand in a circle through the air, caught it again, and then hurled it at the intruding man.

Clang! Thud!

The knife flew fiercely, grazing the man’s face before embedding itself in a pillar at the entrance.

Jeong Chan finally turned his head and glared at the man as he spoke.

“Where did you come from?”

Normally, one would dodge a flying kitchen knife, but the man stood completely still. Of course, he knew the knife wasn’t aimed at his face.

The man with his arms crossed was none other than Dan Woo-sung, who had also entered Namheukdo’s sphere of influence.

Dan Woo-sung asked Jeong Chan again.

“Are you deaf? I asked how much the tribute is.”

Only then did Jeong Chan twitch his eyebrows, turn around, and scrutinize Dan Wooseong carefully. He was a man he’d never seen before.

He was dressed in the latest fashion popular among young people on the streets these days, his newly grown hair tied back.

He was a rare beauty, and his perfectly proportioned physique was clearly evident in the way his clothes fit.

‘What the hell?’

Jeong Chan instantly suspected Dan Woo-seong might be someone sent by the opposing faction.

“Who are you? Sent by Cheonguidang?”

As Dan Woosung strode forward, Jeong Chan scowled and swung a punch at Dan Woosung’s face.

The moment Dan Wooseong grabbed the fist, he twisted it, yanked it, and threw it against a pillar where a kitchen knife was stuck.

Jeong Chan flew through the air like a flying knife, moving fiercely before crashing into a pillar and collapsing. Since he hadn’t been thrown to kill him, he only spat out a mouthful of blood.

The shop owner spoke as if something terrible had happened.

“Sir, I… I appreciate your help, but that boy belongs to the Black Dragon Gang. Don’t kill him. It’ll cause trouble. Are you from somewhere else? The Black Dragon Gang controls everything around here.”

Somehow, even the shopkeepers here had fiery tempers and sharp eyes like martial artists.

Danwooseong glared at Jeongchan and asked the shop owner.

“Is the Blue Hall nearby?”

“Cheongu Hall and Myeongryong Hall are both nearby. They’re separated by just one street.”

Dan Woo-sung stared at Jung Chan, who was looking up at him with blood smeared all over his mouth, then kicked him hard in the face.

Thwack! With a sound, Jeong Chan’s face snapped to the side, and one of his front teeth flew out of his mouth, landing somewhere in the shop.

Bright red blood dripped from Jeong Chan’s mouth, splattering onto the floor.

Dan Woo-sung asked.

“Is Myeongryongdang affiliated with Jipyamyeong?”

At the mention of the Jipyamyeong, not only the shop owner but even Jeong Chan’s face turned pale.

Jeongchan rubbed his jaw as he replied.

“No. That’s a place hard to get into.”

“Speak respectfully. Unless you want more beatings.”

“Understood. But who are you? This is our first meeting.”

Jeong Chan stared at Dan Wooseong, gulping down the blood pooling in his mouth.

Danwooseong asked.

“You don’t need to know. Why is your faction called a ‘party’? It’s not a ‘clan’.”

The information relayed by the Martial Arts Alliance hadn’t included this explanation.

Jeong Chan replied.

“Wearing a party badge means acknowledging you’re potentially under the Zhiya Alliance… Most people wear them. Smaller factions wanting to join the Zhiya Alliance add ‘Party’ or ‘Group’ to the end of their organization’s name.”

The Jipyameng was a place small black-clad forces wanted to join, and it seemed the Jipyameng also selectively accepted forces. Of course, this was also due to the Martial Arts Alliance.

Dan Woo-sung kicked Jeong Chan’s foot as if urging him to rise, then said.

“Guide me to the Silent Dragon Sect.”

As Jeong Chan rose and Dan Woosung prepared to leave immediately…

The shopkeeper cautiously spoke from behind, as if anticipating something.

“I’m sorry to say this, but please spare that child. He’s an orphan, a poor soul. The Black Dragon Gang turned him into this. He used to be good.”

Danwooseong glanced back at the shopkeeper, who seemed to be worrying about others, as if he couldn’t help it.

What a peculiar area, even the shopkeepers were unusual.

Who the hell was worrying about whom?

He’d seen that bastard Jeong Chan smashing shop goods and even getting beaten up.

Dan Woosung addressed the shopkeeper.

“Being good was a thing of the past, so I can’t guarantee that anymore.”

The shopkeeper looked at Danwooseong’s expression and nodded several times as if resigned.

“Still, please take a good look. Look carefully.”

The moment Dan Woo-sung turned away, he smacked Jung Chan on the back of the head.

Thud!

Jung Chan staggered forward, then started walking. Dan Woo-sung followed him and demanded,

“You hit someone like that? Are you even human? You gonna answer?”

Jeong Chan glared straight ahead as he retorted.

“I never saw my parents, so I guess I’m not human.”

At this bold answer, Dan Wooseong chuckled and stopped walking. When Dan Wooseong stopped, Jeong Chan also halted and glared at him.

Danwooseong said.

“Who taught you that bullshit? You think throwing around half-baked stories makes you look smart? You’re not human, are you? Right?”

Jeong Chan retorted.

“Yes.”

Dan Woo-sung said.

“You wanna crawl on all fours or just be a human being?”

“I’ll just be a human being.”

“What a neighborhood.”

The atmosphere was so rough, you’d think even the stray puppies passing by were gangsters.

As Jeongchan walked a few steps without saying a word, a woman wearing a veil approached from the opposite direction, holding two ice candies in her hand. Though her face was hidden, her figure was truly magnificent, and her attire was so elegantly dressed like a fairy that she couldn’t help but catch the eye.

Even then, Jeong Chan couldn’t help but admire her inwardly.

‘Whoa, what is this?’

The unidentified man who had beaten him from behind spoke up.

“Ice candies again?”

“I got some for you too, brother.”

Baekyak, wearing a cotton mask, approached and offered Danwooseong a piece of ice candy. Danwooseong accepted it as if he had no choice, and the two chased after Jeongchan while sucking on the ice candy.

When Jeong Chan turned around with a look of utter shock, Dan Wooseong said,

“Don’t look back.”

Jeong-chan walked forward, his gaze fixed ahead, but his listening ears were focused on the sounds behind them.

Baekyak, now clinging much closer to Danwooseong than before, asked.

“Where are we going?”

“To Mokryongdang.”

“Oh, so it’s affiliated with the Jipyamyeong?”

“I don’t think so.”

Baekyak stared up at Danwooseong. As they walked down the street, he sucked on the ice candy as if trying to melt it away, looking slightly comical.

“How’s the ice candy?”

“Too sweet.”

Baekyak smiled brightly from inside the noodle shop.

“It feels a bit awkward eating alone. There are just too many delicious things.”

Danwooseong pulled the ice candy from his mouth and burst out laughing.

“Hahaha······.”

It was a curious thing. Since leaving the Martial Alliance and beginning their journey, Baekyak’s personality had gradually brightened. Perhaps this was the power of travel. But Danwooseong’s personality had brightened as well. As Baekyak grew more cheerful, Danwooseong was unknowingly influenced by it.

Jeong Chan, who had been thoroughly beaten, walked while watching the front, then tilted his head.

‘Wow, crazy bastards sucking on ice candy on the road… I’m gonna lose my mind.’

As Jung-chan pushed his tongue against his front teeth, it poked out awkwardly through the gap where his large front tooth had been pulled out. Now he couldn’t even smile showing his teeth anywhere.

‘This sucks. This really sucks.’

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As Danwooseong disappeared…

All the nearby shop owners came out and stared at Mr. Gong. The fabric shop owner asked.

“Mr. Gong, are you okay?”

“How could I be okay after getting slapped? That rotten little bastard. Maybe I should’ve just told them to kill him?”

“Oh dear. That young man earlier seemed rather unusual. What do you think will happen to the Black Dragon Sect?”

Mr. Gong said.

“I’ve been running this shop on this street for thirty years.”

“Bullshit. What do you want me to do?”

Uncle Gong said, clenching his fist.

“I know what I’m talking about, having been in the fight business myself. That guy is the real deal. The Black Dragon Gang is going to get completely wiped out. Neither I nor you lot will have to pay tribute for a while. Everyone should know that.”

“Really? You said you wouldn’t pay?”

“Believe me. My eye for people is spot-on. I’ll be smashed to pieces, so everyone buy me a drink then. I’m telling you straight.”

Mr. Gong, who had been slapped, stood beside the pillar with a slightly puffed-up look, watching the townspeople. They were rejoicing as if looking upon some miraculous prophet.

Mr. Gong addressed the crowd.

“That kitchen knife, you know. Jungchan threw it with such force? That knife flew right at me, and I didn’t even blink. What does that mean? It means he’s a master. And not just any master.”

To others, Mr. Gong seemed like a hidden master. But since he got beaten up by Jung-chan, that couldn’t be true.

Even the merchants here exuded a thick underworld vibe.

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Anyway, as the shop owner had said, Kwon Wang—who was no ordinary master—had arrived at Mokryongdang and was looking up at the signboard.

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong