Chapter 16
Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Romantic Sword Rogue
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Our dad's the best!"
"Our boy's the best too! Hahaha!"
Dog Nose Mak Chil hoisted Mak So onto his shoulders and headed home, bursting into joyous laughter.
I watched the father and son disappear into the distance, unable to shake off the bitter emptiness gnawing at me.
But.
Luck can visit anyone at least once.
That's what makes gambling all the more terrifying.
A single lucky break doesn't solve everything.
The real reason gambling destroys lives is that those sweet highs inevitably draw you back for more.
I sincerely hoped Mak Chil could live happily from here on out.
But it wouldn't be easy.
The moment he touched gambling again, hell would come crashing back.
"Jin, sir. I heard the news. You've been promoted to first-rate rogue, they say?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
O Makeong smiled at me.
It was the kind of smile that said he was even happier and prouder about it than I was.
Man, rumors sure spread fast.
Well, news about first-rate rogues was bound to travel quick.
For rogues, it wasn't just about their livelihood—it was their very lives on the line.
"Um... but O, sir."
"Call me O the Rogue."
"Aw, come on. How could I? O, sir rolls off the tongue easier anyway."
"Oh dear, you're too kind..."
"Anyway, mind if I ask you something?"
"Of course. Ask away."
"How much for a cow?"
O Makeong blinked in surprise at the out-of-left-field question about cows.
But only for a moment.
"Well, a young, sturdy one would run you at least a hundred silver nyang apiece."
"Whoa! Even cows are pricey."
"They are. That's why in the countryside, owning just one gets you called a rich man."
"Hmm. Makes sense. A hundred silver's the same as one gold nyang."
"Why the sudden interest in cows? You're not farming, are you?"
"Got a situation coming up."
O Makeong pondered my answer for a second.
"Want to join us on this commission? Might not snag a prime young one, but with some haggling, we could afford a decent old cow."
"That commission you mentioned doing with Mak Chil?"
"Yeah."
O Makeong glanced around once, then beckoned me closer and whispered.
"It's a hundred silver nyang payout."
"Whoa! That's a big one. What's the job?"
"But Jin, sir—this job's all about secrecy. Not that I don't trust you, but it's the client's top condition."
"I promise. Lips sealed."
Guess secrecy's a big deal here.
O Makeong scanned the area one more time before continuing.
"You know Golden Phoenix Money House?"
"Who doesn't?"
"It's a commission from their owner, Wang Buho."
Golden Phoenix Money House was pretty famous in Chang'an.
The kind of place where you deposit money or take out loans.
It was one of the top five biggest operations in the city.
"Wang Buho's got a young concubine—younger than his own daughter."
"Ah...!!! No wonder secrecy's rule number one."
"Exactly. Anyway, she's been kidnapped. The kidnappers are demanding twenty gold nyang."
"Gasp! That's two thousand silver nyang?"
"Yeah. Wang Buho wants to pay up and get her back."
"So we take the money, hand it over to the kidnappers, and bring the girl home safe?"
"Spot on. That's the job exactly."
Like I'd said before, O Makeong never took risky commissions.
This one seemed low on danger too.
"You know Wang Dal, right?"
"Sure do. He was with us last time going after So Ok-hyang at Jade Water Manor."
"Right. Turns out he's a distant relative of Wang Buho's. That's why Buho quietly tapped the rogue Wang Dal for this."
"Ah! Basically snagged it right out from under everyone."
"You could say that."
"But if I join, won't that cut into your and the others' shares?"
O Makeong shook his head.
"Nothing's free in this world. And yeah, the payout's a hundred silver—but the ransom we're handing over is two thousand. That's enough cash to buy the heads of dozens without blinking."
"Hmm... fair point."
"I was stressing over it. Secrecy first, but going short-handed worried me about wild cards. Hiring first-rates ain't easy either. Meeting you today was pure luck for me."
"Aw, come on... But is secrecy really that crucial? A money house boss like him could have three wives and four concubines—no one's gonna bat an eye."
"There's... circumstances."
"Circumstances?"
O Makeong nodded once before going on.
"It's a money house, right? You're not a Chang'an native and still young, so you might not know, but Golden Phoenix was always run by the Bong family for generations. The previous owner couldn't have a son, so he passed it to his daughter."
"So Wang Buho married in?"
"Exactly. On paper, he's the boss, but the real power's the matriarch, Bong Sukyeong. Everyone there obeys her without question."
"If word got out about the concubine..."
"Best case, he's booted penniless. Worst, he ends up dead."
"Wang Buho... risking his neck for love, huh?"
"Pfft. Yeah. Sure is. Haha."
No need to overthink it.
Our jobs boiled down to two things.
First: keep it secret.
Second: get the concubine home safe.
"By custom, you'd get seven-tenths of the payout, Jin, sir."
"Nah, that's no good."
O Makeong looked a bit flustered at my words.
He'd misunderstood.
"No risk, I get three-tenths. Risk pops up and I handle it, five-tenths. Deal?"
"Jin, sir—you're first-rate now. You could demand seven."
"I'm going by custom too. Strangers hit seven-tenths, but friends do it like this."
"Me... friends with you, Jin, sir...?"
"What? Getting all sentimental on me? I thought we were buddies, O, sir."
"No! I've always respected you, been grateful, thought of us as... friends!"
"Then it's settled. Oh! You got the full crew?"
"Me, Wang Dal, and the Yin-Yang Monk from last time. But not knowing how many kidnappers or who, I figured more bodies wouldn't hurt."
"More bodies?"
"Yeah. You know those rogues who live off their looks? Scary faces, massive builds. They seem useless, but having them around prevents knife fights sometimes. Makes the other side think twice too."
"Mm. Solid reasoning."
O Makeong definitely had a knack for planning ops.
Lots of experience too.
Sure, my martial arts outclassed his, but I couldn't deny he had the edge here... Got it!
"I've got just the three guys."
"Reliable?"
"I can keep their mouths shut."
"Perfect number. Can you round 'em up now?"
"Yeah. Let's hit the Western Rogue Market."
The back alleys of Chang'an's Western Rogue Market.
Thwack!
Thwack-thwack!
"Stand straight, you punks!"
"Hah! What's with these rookie rogues these days?"
"Listen up, you idiots. The Rogue Market has its own rules. Who do you think you are, ripping off green clients? Stand straight!"
Mok Daechil, Sa Daegi, and Joo Okga had lined up eight rookie rogues and were beating the tar out of them.
Probably caught the newbies inflating payouts on naive clients.
"Teeth flying—keep those mouths shut!"
Thwack!
Thwack-thwack!
"Hold on! Just a sec!"
"What, you little shit?"
"Our big bro... if he finds out you beat us like this, he won't let it slide."
"Goddamn, a mangy pup like you? Pulling the big bro card?"
"Stop... enough already. Seriously, our bro won't stand for it."
"Bullshit. Who the hell's this big bro?"
"Sly Wolf Yuk Jangseo's our bro."
For a moment.
Mok Daechil, Sa Daegi, and Joo Okga flinched.
Sly Wolf Yuk Jangseo was infamous even in the Western Rogue Market for his brutality.
And unlike third-rate scrubs like them, he was second-rate.
"S-so... your bro's Sly Wolf Yuk Jangseo?"
"Yeah. Now that you know, quit it. Unless you three wanna die to our bro."
"Y-yeah, sure. Our bad... Think we'd say that, you mangy mutt?"
Thwack-thwack!
Wham-wham-wham!
Wham-wham-wham-wham!
The guy claiming to be Yuk Jangseo's little bro took a focused beating from Mok Daechil, Sa Daegi, and Joo Okga.
No, he was still getting pummeled.
The violence was so brutal that the other rookies standing at attention went pale as ghosts.
Then.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, a figure burst onto the scene.
It was Sly Wolf Yuk Jangseo.
His abrupt arrival naturally halted the beatdown.
Yuk Jangseo's face flushed purple with rage as he glared at his bloodied, groaning brother on the ground.
Mok Daechil and the others froze solid, just watching nervously.
"You... you three... My bro here said I was his big brother, and you still did this to him?"
"Th-that's... Yuk, sir. Hear us out..."
"Shut it. I'll pay back tenfold what you did to my bro."
Three third-rates against one second-rate? Fat chance.
Even fighting back would be pointless.
Nah, fighting back might just get a limb hacked off instead of a simple beating.
So Mok Daechil, Sa Daegi, and Joo Okga offered no resistance to Yuk Jangseo's violence... no... wait... huh?
"Fuck this. Who doesn't have a bro?"
"What? What'd you just say?"
"Who doesn't have a bro, you fucker Yuk Jangseo?"
"You... you little shit. I'll cut that tongue out first."
"Cut my tongue, and our bro cuts your head off, fucker!"
Yuk Jangseo trembled with fury.
He looked ready to kill any second.
But he was a rogue who'd survived a long time.
Hot-tempered, sure—but he picked his targets carefully.
"Who's this... big bro of yours?"
"Our bro? Ever heard of Romantic Sword Rogue Jin Muhyeon?"
"Romantic Sword Rogue... is your bro?"
"Yeah, asshole! Now you get it—take your bro and fuck off! Unless you wanna die to ours."
But.
"Pfft. Hahaha! Seen some crazy shits, but this? If Romantic Sword Rogue Jin Muhyeon is your bro, then I'm your house dog, you fucks! Die!"
I'd been watching the scene and tilted my head.
Then I turned to O Makeong beside me, who'd been hiding and observing too.
"Romantic Sword Rogue?"
"Huh? You didn't know? Ah! You've been stuck in Martial Mystery Village, so maybe not. You've got a nickname now, Jin, sir. Romantic Sword Rogue."
"Uh... not bad, but why romantic sword rogue?"
"Didn't you dramatically rescue those women from the Human Money Five Ghosts? Word's spreading wild among Chang'an ladies. Plus saving the Fish Gold Family daughter and getting a proposal."
"Ah...!!! So that's where the nickname came from..."
"More importantly, Jin, sir—shouldn't we save 'em? Sly Wolf's got vicious hands. If he breaks something, they won't make the commission."
I leaped into action right away.
At the same time, I bellowed at the top of my lungs.
"Which fucker dares hit my little brothers!!!"