Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Even the Strong Get Eaten (1)
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With the Black Tiger Gang in ruins, the people who'd borrowed money from them were effectively free of their debts. The gang leader and all the key figures were dead, so there was no one left to collect from.
But things changed if contracts existed.
Some might say the lenders were dead, so the contracts were just scraps of paper now, right?
The world was full of people who ignored logic and common sense, especially the thugs from the unorthodox paths and the fiends of the evil factions, who were infamous for not listening to reason.
There could be all sorts of excuses—like claiming the Black Tiger Gang had actually been under my command—and demands for repayment backed by threats.
Obviously, burning the contracts was the surefire way to end it.
"Um, are you Murong Bi, the eldest young master of House Murong?"
A plainly dressed man with an honest face asked, and Murong Bi nodded.
"That's right."
"I-I see."
The man could barely meet Murong Bi's eyes.
Murong Bi chuckled softly.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, it's just..."
At that moment, the woman beside him spoke up in a trembling voice.
"Please forgive this man."
"Forgive him? What do you mean by that?"
"He didn't know you were such a great man, Young Master Murong. If you could find it in your vast magnanimity to forgive him just this once, we would repay that grace forever!"
What was she talking about?
Murong Bi eyed the man's appearance.
His clothes were worn but neatly kept. Yet there were grease and sauce stains dotting the front placket and belly.
The calluses on his thumb and forefinger said it all, even without the clothes.
"What's your name?"
"M-Me, sir?"
"Yes, you."
"I'm... Beom Gwang."
The man's face was especially pale as he answered. Asking for his name probably made him think he was in for it for real.
Murong Bi didn't need to see it to know what had gone down between Jong Jo-son and Beom Gwang.
"Beom Gwang, the spot where you hit me still aches."
"Gasp!"
Beom Gwang dropped to the ground right there.
"Please forgive me, Young Master!"
His voice quivered.
Murong Bi gave a wry smile and gestured for him to rise.
"Just kidding. Get up."
He'd heard the guy had spent his days boozing it up at the tavern.
Of course, no one looked kindly on a drunkard. And judging by Suhyang's reaction, he'd caused quite a few incidents.
Who would like a weak-bodied lout who leaned on his crumbling family to stir up trouble?
"I was the famous troublemaker at that tavern, wasn't I? If anything, I should be the one apologizing."
"...Pardon?"
"Let me use this chance to apologize for all the wrongs I committed."
Murong Bi bowed his head politely.
It wasn't just to Beom Gwang—it was an apology to everyone hurt by the messes Jong Jo-son had caused.
Why apologize for things he himself hadn't done?
There was no helping it. To live on as Murong Bi, he had to endure anger for the family's revival, smile when he wanted to cry. Sacrifices like that might come up.
For the clan's sake, not just his own, he had to apologize sincerely. And really, it wasn't someone else's problem.
Not direct kin, but blood was blood. Better to just think of it as his own fault.
That's why his apology rang true.
"It won't happen again. But if I ever get drunk and give you all heart attacks again, I'll just go live in the mountains."
He meant it sincerely, but quite a few people chuckled. They seemed to take it in good humor.
Murong Bi said to Beom Gwang,
"Come by later for some tasty food. I promise no trouble this time."
"Of course! If you're a guest, it's only right to serve the best."
People don't change easily—anyone Beom Gwang's age knew that.
Yet he responded with a bearish grin to Murong Bi's attitude now. His wife poked his side repeatedly, but he ignored her.
He was sharp.
"I'd love to spend half a day just apologizing, but sadly, I have business to attend to."
Murong Bi drew a fire starter from his belt.
"Some folks borrowed from the Black Tiger Gang without thinking, others out of desperation. Some got scammed, and some borrowed planning to run."
"..."
"No matter the reason, the Black Tiger Gang were trash. I borrowed a hundred nyang from them myself, and in days it ballooned to a thousand eighty. Oh, and seventy mun."
Vivid anger flashed across the crowd's faces.
Few here had borrowed from the Black Tiger Gang. Debtors wouldn't dare show their faces in a place like this.
But the Black Tiger Gang hadn't just run the King Yama Debt Gang.
They'd dipped into every scam, assault, rape, even murders. More than a few branches were involved.
To these people, Black Tiger Gang members were vermin hard to share air with.
Of course they'd be outraged.
"I smashed them all in a rage, but I couldn't just leave the aftermath messy. So right here in front of everyone, I'm burning all the IOUs and business contracts."
Murong Bi shrugged and asked,
"Any objections?"
The crowd roared in unison.
"None!"
"Burn 'em!"
"Burn it all!"
The quiet square erupted into frenzy.
Murong Bi grinned.
"With your enthusiastic support, I'll burn them clean away."
"Woooaaah!"
That was when it happened.
"W-Wait a minute!"
Murong Bi glanced back.
Lady Hwang Inhwa was rushing over, shouting urgently.
"Young Master Murong, calm down first..."
"Looks like Lady Hwang of the Ten Sword Sect opposes burning them."
Murong Bi turned back to the crowd.
"Anyone know why she's against it?"
In an instant, hundreds of eyes turned to Lady Hwang Inhwa.
No trace of the earlier fear. These were eyes that could tear a person apart—fierce and murderous.
Lady Hwang Inhwa involuntarily sucked in a breath.
This wasn't the gaze she usually got. Every one burned with rage and venom; one wrong word, and she'd be beaten to death.
"Did the Ten Sword Sect perhaps back the Black Tiger Gang?"
"W-What did you say?!"
"Why else oppose burning these? Or does Lady Hwang personally know them?"
The crowd's glares grew even deadlier.
In that brief moment, more than half went from suspicious to convinced of her ties, murder in their eyes.
Lady Hwang Inhwa cried out without thinking.
"Th-That's absurd! Why would I associate with such lowly scum...!"
"Lowly scum? I see how you really view people."
"That's not what I meant!"
"Who said otherwise?"
The mood soured fast amid the tension. Lady Hwang Inhwa seethed inwardly.
Murong Bi had always been unrivaled at nitpicking. Holding back his temper only honed his sarcasm.
"I don't know if they're scum, but they're trash. So, you're against burning these documents?"
"Well..."
"Say it clearly."
Lady Hwang Inhwa hesitated despite herself.
She wanted to shout "Of course not!" but too many eyes were on her.
Backing down now was hard, though.
Muhan was one of the Central Plains' top ten cities for commerce. Money flowed on a different scale here.
Those IOUs were worth tens of thousands of nyang at least. Add the contracts, and it was a fortune vanishing in smoke.
'No way! Can't let them burn...!'
Then Myeong tugged at her sleeve.
She turned to see his desperate eyes pleading not to stand out.
Lady Hwang Inhwa bit her lip.
The water was spilled, but she couldn't let go easily.
It wasn't really the money—it was the opportunity.
'I have to snag them somehow. If I do, Father will trust me more than Sis.'
She snapped her head up, mouth opening—then gulped hard.
Murong Bi's expression was utterly bizarre. A smile that crushed the spirit, eyes dripping disdain.
She bristled, but realization hit.
One misstep, and she'd lose everything before grasping power in the sect.
"...I'm not against it."
The crowd's glares eased a bit.
Murong Bi spoke again.
"If you're not against it, why tell me to calm down? Want to light them yourself?"
"Pardon?"
"I can yield that much. Doesn't matter who lights them as long as they burn."
Murong Bi handed Lady Hwang Inhwa the fire starter tube.
"Here, burn them."
The crowd's eyes swung back to her.
Lady Hwang Inhwa's cheeks twitched.
'You mad bastard!'
She couldn't take them, so make her burn them herself? What would Father think?
Just say no. Murong toppled the gang; let him finish it.
But the words wouldn't come.
Pathetically, it was pride.
'Trash from a third-rate clan!'
Murong Bi's face said volumes.
"Think you can handle striking the fire in front of everyone?"
He was openly mocking her. No, he was mocking her.
Anyone else, maybe. But being sneered at by her plaything? Infuriating.
In the end, she proved the sages right: pride versus situation always ends badly.
"Fine."
She snatched the fire starter and opened the tube.
Fwoosh—the ember glowed bright.
Now holding it, she hesitated to touch it down. Pride was one thing; reality another.
Then Murong Bi murmured slyly,
"Got shaky hands?"
"...?!"
"If you can't, give it back. Looks like it pains you."
Sssrk.
The ember caught on an IOU corner. A breeze fanned it, and flames raced across the stack.
Roaaar!
The hefty pile—nearly five kwan—blazed spectacularly.
"Whoaaa!"
"Wooo!"
The crowd cheered. Some wept and embraced.
Lady Hwang Inhwa gulped without thinking.
'I-Is this really okay?!'
A fortune she could've claimed, burned by her own hand.
She heard Father's roar in her ears, Sis's serpentine sneer in her mind.
"Argh!"
All Murong Bi's fault.
She whipped around, glaring.
"You!"
"Lady Hwang."
Murong Bi slowly lowered his head, expression shifting by the second.
Before three counts, the sneer turned blank—like a villain in a demon mask.
Her boiling rage cooled fast.
It was that same face from before the gate: merciless aura crushing her and Myeong.
"I can't live indebted. That's why I went to the Black Tiger Gang myself. To pay up."
"...!"
"Turns out I owe you folks quite a bit too, huh?"
Murong Bi's lip curled.
"I'll drop by soon to settle it, so don't chase me off unannounced like these trash. Your gate's worth more, right?"