Chapter 84
Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: There Are Things That Cannot Be Forgotten No Matter How Many Years Pass (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sang-eum County was located at the southernmost tip of Dongting Lake. Compared to Won-gang or Akyang, it had a reputation as a relatively quiet area, but its beautiful scenery still drew poets and scholars without end.
With so many travelers passing through, gambling dens targeting their money flourished. The profits from those dens soon flowed into Sang-eum's underworld or Haomen.
Given the circumstances, Haomen and the underworld had no choice but to keep a tight watch over the gambling dens.
There were three gambling dens under Haomen's management in Sang-eum County, and the largest was the one on the street called Mantong-ga.
Today, as always, the gambling den was packed with people. Their eyes were bloodshot, fixed on the tables where the games were underway.
They couldn't think of anything else, nor did they have the capacity to. All their nerves were focused on the two dice rolling across the table.
It was the simplest yet most addictive form of gambling using dice. The two dice that had tumbled across the table came to a stop, both showing six.
"Double six."
The highest number possible with two dice. In that instant, joy and despair split the crowd.
"Woo-hoo!"
"Ahh!"
Unfortunately, those cheering were few and far between. Far more were plunged into despair.
The man was one of those unfortunates. His narrow, slitted eyes, protruding lips, and buckteeth gave him a rat-like appearance.
"Damn it!"
The man pounded the floor with both fists and hung his head. His face was full of frustration.
Today, he had lost the last of his money. His pockets were now empty, and he had to worry about where he would sleep tonight.
"That bastard's here again today?"
Do Sang-cheon, who managed the Mantong-ga gambling den, scowled.
The rat-faced man was called No Cheol. He claimed to have once been part of a notorious bandit gang. But everyone who washed up here had a story, and they all boasted about their grand pasts.
Just then, No Cheol's eyes met Do Sang-cheon's. A fawning smile spread across No Cheol's face. He rubbed his hands together as he approached.
"Heh heh! Big brother."
"Who's your big brother?"
"Aw, come on, why act like that between us?"
"What 'us' are you talking about?"
"Why are you being like this? Your little brother feels hurt."
"Were you my little brother?"
"Aigoo, big brother! Save your little brother this once."
No Cheol dropped to his knees before Do Sang-cheon.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Lend me some emergency cash, big brother!"
"Hmph! How can I trust you?"
"Aw, come on! When have I ever stiffed you on money? Please, just this once."
No Cheol grabbed Do Sang-cheon's ankle and pleaded. At the sight of No Cheol's groveling, Do Sang-cheon smirked.
No Cheol was just one of many gamblers, but his skill with a blade was decent enough. If he took the man under his wing now, he might prove useful someday.
Do Sang-cheon beckoned to one of his underlings.
"Lend this guy fifty nyang of silver."
"Thank you, big brother. I'll never forget this favor."
No Cheol bowed repeatedly to Do Sang-cheon.
"Enough. Go play your favorite game."
"Thank you."
"Heh heh!"
Do Sang-cheon smiled as he watched No Cheol dash off without looking back.
No Cheol would never repay the money. The gambling den's cash never leaked out.
Money that came in here circulated only within these walls. The only time it left was if the den itself went under.
Everyone in the world knew this, except those who gambled.
Do Sang-cheon could see No Cheol's fate clearly.
"By the way, why did they order a report on a loser like that from upstairs?"
Do Sang-cheon tilted his head in confusion.
To him, No Cheol was trash. The irredeemable kind.
But the question was fleeting. Do Sang-cheon soon put No Cheol out of his mind. The guy would blow the loan and become his loyal dog anyway.
'How I use him is up to me. Heh heh!'
Do Sang-cheon was crossing his arms contentedly when—
Bang!
The gambling den's door burst open.
"What rude bastard's breaking the—"
Do Sang-cheon's head snapped around.
A lame man entered his view.
"Now even cripples are dragging their asses in here with money to burn."
Well, as long as they brought money, a cripple was fine—even someone missing limbs. But basic manners were expected.
"Who the hell's that?"
"I'll check."
A burly underling scowled and approached the lame man. He grabbed the man's shoulder.
"Who are you?"
The thug was about to intimidate and lecture him when—
Bam!
A thunderous boom echoed, and the thug slammed into the wall. His chest was caved in, his neck twisted. No need to check—he was dead.
The air in the gambling den turned ice-cold in an instant.
The murmurs died, and people held their breath.
The lame man spoke.
"Where's the boss?"
"Ha! Who the fuck is this guy?"
Do Sang-cheon rose irritably. Warriors who guarded the den had already gathered around him.
They were all fearless scum from the gutters. Do Sang-cheon trusted them.
"If this cripple's come to gamble, he should shut up and play. What's with the bullshit? Make him kneel before me."
"Yes!"
The underlings answered and advanced on the lame man.
The lame man turned to look at Do Sang-cheon. The moment their eyes met, Do Sang-cheon felt every hair on his body stand on end.
A dizzying sense of isolation and fear crashed over him like a tidal wave, as if he'd been thrown naked into a cage with a wild beast.
For the first time in his life, Do Sang-cheon hesitated, unsure how to react. That split-second delay spelled disaster for his men.
Bam! Bam!
Roars erupted one after another, and the underlings flew off like cannonballs.
"Uwaaak!"
"Gasp!"
The gamblers cried out in horror as the men shattered tables and rolled across the floor. They were already corpses.
Skulls crushed, chests collapsed. Even in their dying moments, their eyes bulged in disbelief.
Not one died cleanly. Their bodies were mangled, as if crushed by a massive boulder.
At the gruesome sight, the crowd held their breath.
The one who had sown death in the gambling den was Damho.
Damho crooked a finger at Do Sang-cheon. His body stiffened rigidly at the gesture.
Instinct told him Damho was a master beyond comparison. Like a frog before a snake, just meeting Damho's gaze paralyzed him.
'Run?'
The guy was lame. If he bolted with resolve, he'd never catch up. But Do Sang-cheon shook his head.
He was the manager. If the boss fled while others stayed, Haomen wouldn't let it slide.
Like an ox led to slaughter, Do Sang-cheon hung his head and walked toward Damho.
Gathering his courage upon arrival, he asked,
"Where are you from, sir?"
"Black Tiger Band."
"Pardon?"
Do Sang-cheon looked up at the unexpected answer. Their eyes met again.
'Gasp!'
Damho's gaze held no human emotion. Do Sang-cheon quickly bowed his head.
'That's not human.'
He'd seen every type in this den of human scum. But he'd never encountered eyes like Damho's.
Just looking made his legs buckle and his will to fight crumble. This was a first.
Damho spoke again.
"Where's the bandit from the Black Tiger Band?"
"Ah!"
Only then did Do Sang-cheon recall the recent order from the Akyang branch: track down the whereabouts of bandits active in Shaanxi Province. He'd reported that one such bandit was here.
"Ah, you're from the Akyang branch? You should have said so sooner..."
"Where is he?"
The dry, emotionless voice made Do Sang-cheon shudder again.
His gaze naturally drifted to No Cheol, sitting in the corner. Damho's eyes followed.
No Cheol flinched.
Though lost to gambling and wasting his days, he still had enough sense to read the room.
'A master way beyond me.'
He hadn't even seen how the four men died. The movements were outside his perception.
"Heh heh!"
No Cheol forced a fawning smile.
Damho's lip twitched upward ever so slightly. It was barely a distortion of facial muscles, but No Cheol recognized it as a smile.
Damho's twisted lips parted.
"Long time no see."
"D-Do you know me?"
"I know you well. I've never forgotten your faces, not for a second."
"What?"
Confusion crossed No Cheol's face. But his quick wits told him Damho harbored no goodwill.
'I've made enemies everywhere.'
When he'd been with the Black Tiger Band, nothing was off-limits. Rape, robbery, murder—basic fare.
He'd killed countless people and brought bloody tears to even more eyes.
Damho stepped toward No Cheol.
Scuff! Thud! Scuff! Thud!
Damho's distinctive footfalls rang out like music.
Each step made the people in the den flinch. It felt like the sounds were crushing their hearts.
No Cheol was no exception.
He waved his hands frantically.
"I don't know who you are, great hero."
"It's fine."
"W-What's fine?"
"You'll remember everything soon. So it's fine."
Damho's voice was low and gravelly, thick with phlegm. Yet it drilled into ears with unnatural clarity.
No Cheol gritted his teeth.
He was certain now: Damho bore him ill will. He couldn't just sit and take it.
"Damn it!"
No Cheol cursed and hurled himself at the window.
No matter how strong the martial arts, the guy was lame. Once outside, he could escape. He had confidence in his lightness skill.
But No Cheol quickly realized how futile his hopes were.
Just before the window, a hazy figure blocked him. It was Damho—no time needed to recognize that.
Bam!
One punch from Damho slammed No Cheol into the floor. His bones rattled like he'd been struck by a giant hammer.
"Kuugh!"
No Cheol wheezed. The pain was so intense he could barely breathe. It felt like his body was tearing apart.
Damho knelt on one knee and looked down at him.
"It's fine. Humans don't die from that much."
"T-Tell me what I did wrong..."
"You still don't know?"
Damho whispered. No Cheol pissed himself in that moment.
It wasn't just him. Do Sang-cheon and everyone in the den felt an ominous dread, unable to even breathe properly.
Damho's presence overwhelmed them; no one dared think of fleeing.
No Cheol's eyes shook. Racking his brain, he found no grudge with anyone like this man.
He couldn't forget eyes this terrifying.
If it was someone still alive...
Suddenly, a memory surfaced.
From so long ago it barely registered: a boy with chilling eyes.
A freak who bit a comrade's throat despite knowing no martial arts. That's why the Black Tiger Band went from thirty-seven to thirty-six. It had caused a huge uproar, and No Cheol had carried that memory for years.
"Y-You're...?"
"Seems you've remembered."
"How?"
"I told you. You'll remember on your own."
"How did you survive? How?"
"It doesn't matter how I survived. What matters is what happens to you."
"What?"
Damho seized No Cheol's pinky finger.
Crack!
"Kyaaak!"
No Cheol's pinky shattered like a cookie. Bones crumbled, muscles pulped.
Next was the ring finger. As bone ground to powder and muscle compressed, pain beyond the last surged through him.
"Kuuugh!"
No Cheol screamed like he was dying. Damho watched with apparent amusement.
"Does it hurt?"
"Y-You mad bastard! Are... are you even human? How can a human..."
No Cheol glared with bloodshot eyes.
"You did the same. You toyed with my father, mother, and villagers, killing them slowly. Like playthings."
"I-I..."
"I'll crush your fingers one by one. Then your wrists, arms, toes, shins, thighs. I'll pulverize them. Your spine next, shoulders last. You'll stay alive as long as possible, feeling every bit of your body turn to dust."
"Y-You monster! Just..."
Crack!
In agony, No Cheol bit his tongue to die. But Damho dislocated his jaw first.
"I told you. You won't die that easily."
Damho crushed No Cheol's middle finger.
The people in the den learned that day how easily human muscle and bone could shatter.
"Ughk!"
Some finally vomited, unable to endure.
A man was breaking down before their eyes. Disassembling. And they had to watch sober.
'A devil.'
'This guy's not human.'
Unbearable terror invaded their souls.
No Cheol mumbled something. They understood: please kill me.
But no one moved. Not a soul...
Crack!
Another finger crumbled.