Chapter 2
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Fists and Revelations
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It wasn't a mistake.
Time felt like it was crawling by slowly.
No, it wasn't just a feeling—it was actually happening.
'What the hell is going on?'
What's really happening here?
Why is this kid so pissed at me?
But before he could sort out the whole story, Yi Ho-chang twisted his head aside to dodge the incoming fist first.
Bam!
Yi Ho-chang looked at the kid with a startled expression, and the kid looked just as flustered.
He clearly hadn't expected Yi Ho-chang to dodge.
"You little...!"
Whether embarrassed by Yi Ho-chang's evasion or not, the kid suddenly yelled and started swinging his fists wildly.
Pa-ba-ba-bak!
It seemed fast at first glance, but it was all random flailing.
But.
'Huh?'
For some reason, it looked slow again this time.
He didn't seem to be messing around, but as the fist came flying, Yi Ho-chang dodged once more.
The kid, whose stamina drained quickly, soon slowed his punches and eventually pulled back, panting heavily.
"Huff! Huff! How long are you gonna keep scurrying around like a rat! Huff!"
"I, I don't know? But you look kinda tired?"
"Shut up!"
He hadn't meant to provoke, but it must have sounded that way.
The kid's face flushed red as he swung at Yi Ho-chang one more time.
But how long was he supposed to put up with this?
After a moment's thought, Yi Ho-chang dodged the slowly approaching fist again.
Then, he lightly clenched his own fist and instinctively jabbed it toward the glaringly obvious opening.
Crack!
The opening was the jaw.
Obviously, the jaw was a critical spot anyone would know.
A dull thud echoed from the vital point, and the kid's head snapped back.
Thud!
The kid collapsed.
He crumpled to the ground without even a groan.
Looked like he'd taken a solid hit to the jaw—probably a mild concussion.
"Oh..."
"B-Baek Hwi's down!"
Yi Ho-chang alternated between staring at the fallen lump and his own fist, unconsciously pursing his lips into a circle.
This worked?
He'd never taken a single taekwondo class in his life, so it was nothing short of miraculous.
But something felt off.
'Wait a sec?'
Why's my hand like this?
Yi Ho-chang stared wide-eyed at his small fist and the skinny, emaciated arm attached to it.
Next, he touched his face, his hair, and compared his height to the other kids.
"Wh-what...?"
His face looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Yi Ho-chang quickly looked for something to reflect his face in.
And only after seeing his reflection in a nearby puddle could he gape in shock.
"Wh-what's happened to my body?"
A face that looked about twelve years old.
But malnutrition had hollowed out his cheeks, and his frame was thin as straw.
It wasn't a mistake.
This was wrong—terribly wrong.
'No way that old man did this on purpose?'
It seemed plausible.
He'd lost three betting Go games, and the guy didn't seem like a good sport.
'Then where the hell am I?'
He pinched his cheek, and it stung.
Not a dream.
Yi Ho-chang whipped his head around to the kids staring at him and asked.
"Where is this place?"
"Wh-what?"
"I said, where is this?"
"Wh-what do you mean, where is this...?"
The kids panicked.
Asking out of nowhere where they were—they didn't know how to respond.
Seeing their confusion, Yi Ho-chang sighed and beckoned them over.
"Kids, come here for a sec."
They hesitated, glancing at each other, but Yi Ho-chang's patience finally wore thin.
"Hey, I said come here!"
"Y-yes, sir!!"
Only then did they gather.
Yi Ho-chang asked.
"Does anyone know where this is?"
One kid who looked sharp responded.
"If you're asking about the region, this is Shengxiang County in Zhejiang Province."
"Zhejiang Province?"
Wasn't that in China?
The Immortal Assembly Valley the old men mentioned earlier, and now Zhejiang Province—what was going on?
Yi Ho-chang pressed on.
"Okay, got the location. But why'd you come at me?"
"Well... This is Dragon Pearl Gang territory, and you were some beggar who isn't one of us, lying around, so we were chasing you off."
"What's the Dragon Pearl Gang?"
Then, a familiar term suddenly flashed in his mind, and Yi Ho-chang cautiously asked just in case.
"By any chance, does your boss use martial arts and stuff?"
"Yeah, I hear he's a peak expert..."
Hearing that, Yi Ho-chang furrowed his brow.
Judging by the words they used, he was now certain this was a wuxia world like the ones he'd read a few times.
Not that he knew much, just the basics.
'So that's why I couldn't communicate with those old men.'
Maybe the two elders had realized he was from this world and sent him here.
Yi Ho-chang asked.
"So, there must be Nine Beggars Clans and World's Best types here too, right?"
"I've heard of World's Best, but what's Nine Beggars Clans? You mean Nine Great Sects?"
"No, I mean clans like Beggars' Clan—where beggars like you guys band together."
"Uh... first time hearing that?"
What was this now?
Didn't all wuxia have the Nine Beggars Clans?
And no Beggars' Clan?
Yi Ho-chang narrowed his eyes again, realizing this wasn't the martial world he knew.
"Then do you know Immortal Assembly Valley?"
"Immortal Assembly Valley?"
Only one option now.
Find Immortal Assembly Valley quick, meet the two elders again, and beg them to send him home.
How much had he built in Korea? He couldn't abandon it all to live here.
'Especially in a kid's beggar body.'
The kids whispered among themselves at Yi Ho-chang's question, then another spoke up.
"I heard from adults once—it's where super strong people go to ascend as immortals."
Ah.
Was that what Immortal Assembly Valley was?
That explained the elders' talk of Immortal Ascension.
Yi Ho-chang nodded.
"Got it. So how do you get to Immortal Assembly Valley?"
"Uh... we don't know?"
"Why not?"
"You have to become an immortal to go there. And it's basically a legend—might not even exist."
"Might not exist? I just came from there—why's it a legend?"
"Huh?"
"It's true. I don't know the way back, but I played betting Go with the immortals there..."
Yi Ho-chang explained earnestly, but the kids didn't buy it. They started whispering, treating him like a weirdo.
"Thought he was normal, but he's crazy in the head..."
"Did we mess up?"
"What do we do? Scary..."
Ha.
Yi Ho-chang sighed at their murmurs.
They didn't seem to be lying.
But still, he needed to find a way somehow...
That was when it happened.
"That's him! He knocked out Baek Hwi and threatened us!"
"Oh?"
Someone pointed at Yi Ho-chang, shouting loudly.
One of Baek Hwi's underlings—he must have dodged Yi Ho-chang's gaze earlier to fetch help.
Proof was the kid next to him, about Baek Hwi's age, with a gang leader vibe, glaring daggers this way.
The kid strode up and planted himself in front of Yi Ho-chang.
"I'm Jun Hyo, squad leader of Dragon Pearl Gang Squad 5. Who the hell are you to mess with our kids?"
"I'm Yi Ho-chang. And I didn't mess with them—you guys came at me first, splashing water and throwing punches out of nowhere."
Jun Hyo eyed Yi Ho-chang's ragged clothes and scowled.
"You expect me to believe that? You look like some beggar from another turf—did your squad leader send you to scout?"
"I'm telling you, no. I don't even know where this is or why I'm here."
"Shut your mouth! Lying to the end, huh? You'll pay dearly for your actions!"
No use talking.
Yi Ho-chang sighed, and Jun Hyo immediately dropped into a fighting stance, ready to brawl.
"I'm not like Baek Hwi."
The words barely left his mouth before he charged Yi Ho-chang, swinging a fist.
Whoosh!
Definitely faster than Baek Hwi's punch.
But.
'Faster than that chubby kid, but still looks slow.'
Jun Hyo's fist was the same.
Faster than Baek Hwi, but nothing special.
So he dodged again.
A combo followed right away, but after dodging a few more, Jun Hyo yelled.
"What are you doing? Gang up on him!"
Suddenly ganging up?
Yi Ho-chang narrowed his eyes.
No matter how slow their punches looked, numbers and weight would overwhelm him.
So he slipped into Jun Hyo's opening and swung again.
Straight punch to the solar plexus.
Jun Hyo flew back, clutching his chest and gasping raggedly.
"Guh, ack! You sneaky bastard—ambush out of nowhere...!"
"Not something to say to a guy about to get dogpiled."
With Jun Hyo down, the other kids hesitated and backed off instead of rushing in.
After Baek Hwi and now Jun Hyo, they were truly starting to fear Yi Ho-chang.
Seeing this, Yi Ho-chang shook his head.
He'd be thirty in a couple days, and here he was scrapping with kids...
Yi Ho-chang brushed the dirt off his hands and turned to leave.
Time to drop the kids' games and find clues about Immortal Assembly Valley fast.
But then.
"Heh heh, looks like you really trashed our kids, huh?"
An unfamiliar voice.
He turned to see a man standing with hands behind his back, chuckling.
A sharp-bearded guy like a pencil lead, with a long wooden staff slung on his back.
"Ch-Chun Seom, uncle!"
The kids rushed behind Chun Seom and hid.
Man, he looked like the total bad guy now.
Chun Seom introduced himself.
"I'm Chun Seom, squad captain of this unit in the Dragon Pearl Gang. Where you from, kid? Red Tiger Gang send you?"
Red Tiger Gang?
What was that?
Yi Ho-chang furrowed his brow, and Chun Seom chuckled at the expression.
"From your face, guess not. So who are you?"
"I'm Yi Ho-chang. You their guardian?"
"Guardian... yeah, sure, as squad captain, I guess I am."
"Then manage your kids properly."
"What?"
"They kept coming at me even after I said I wasn't trouble, so I had to swing back. Don't misunderstand."
He'd almost used informal speech since the guy looked young, but polite words slipped out instead.
In society, you used polite speech with anyone not a total kid—that was manners.
Chun Seom burst out laughing.
"Haha! You look like one of us, but you talk real refined. Alright, Ho-chang. Looks like our kids misunderstood. So where you from?"
"No idea."
"What?"
"I'm not from here originally. The immortals of Immortal Assembly Valley promised to send me back to my world, but there must've been a mix-up."
Chun Seom narrowed his eyes briefly, then smirked.
'Looks like a kid with mental issues.'
Malnourished, ragged—clearly an orphan with no ties.
He could fight a bit, but maybe ditched because of his head?
So Chun Seom smiled without prying.
"Yeah, seems like it. So, you got anywhere to go?"
Somewhere to go?
Of course not.
Who had ties here?
Yi Ho-chang couldn't answer, and Chun Seom kept smiling.
"Figured not. Wanna run with us then?"
"With you guys?"
"The Dragon Pearl Gang takes in kids with nowhere to go. If you're up for it, how about squad leader of Squad 6 in Baek Hwi's place?"
"Uncle!"
"Captain!"
The kids gasped in shock.
But Chun Seom was serious.
And Yi Ho-chang started seriously considering it.
'Yeah, in a place with no roots, first secure food, clothes, and shelter.'
No plans to stay forever.
But he needed a temporary base.
So he nodded.
"Alright."
"Haha, welcome to the Dragon Pearl Gang, Ho-chang."
Chun Seom shook Yi Ho-chang's hand with a grin.