Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The So-eung Gang (1)
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They were agitated.
Thus, they didn't even consider that Cheon Muryang might be a martial arts master.
It was understandable, as Cheon Muryang lacked the wild, intimidating aura of a master.
“What are you all doing with one little brat! Stop messing around and finish him! He must have learned a move or two somewhere, but how dare he cause a scene here!”
“Then why don't you come at me first?”
Cheon Muryang sneered at the leader who was all talk.
It was pathetic how he hid in the back, unable to do anything himself.
“Answer me. Are you from the So-eung Gang?”
“What if we are!”
Another man who had drawn his sword charged at Cheon Muryang.
His intent to slice off Cheon Muryang's head with a single strike was palpable, but intent was all he had.
“Tsk.”
His fundamentals were a mess.
His lower body couldn't even maintain its center of gravity; it was enough to make Cheon Muryang yawn.
“First, I'll deal with you lot.”
*Fwoosh!*
Nimbly dodging the sword, Cheon Muryang closed the distance to the attacker in a single step.
“Huk!”
The man twisted his body, trying to flee, but Cheon Muryang's fist was faster.
*Thwack!*
A few teeth scattered in the air.
The man who was sent flying didn't even twitch.
“Then I'll go to the So-eung Gang and settle this.”
“K-kill him!”
Sensing it was a matter of kill or be killed, they all started moving at once.
They had him surrounded, but in Cheon Muryang's eyes, their formation was sloppy.
“Kill me if you can.”
Cheon Muryang counted the remaining men.
He had taken down two of the six, leaving four.
“Four...”
*Fwoooom!*
He raised the Heavenly Light.
Then, with an emotionless expression, he spoke.
“I'll take the heads of about two of you.”
*Flinch!*
The four men stopped in their tracks.
Each feared he would be one of the two.
Their shallowness was laughable.
“What's wrong? Don't want to die? Too late for that.”
In his line of sight, Cheon Muryang saw a couple cowering in a corner, clutching their child and trembling in fear.
Their bodies were covered in bruises and wounds.
Likely marks from a beating they received before he arrived.
“You bastards have already crossed the line.”
The Cheon Family forbade exploitation.
Their policy was to collect only what was rightfully due to the state.
The So-eung Gang had broken that taboo.
*Flinch.*
A different kind of energy began to emanate from Cheon Muryang's entire body.
To the men who were already overwhelmed, it felt even more intense.
“W-were you a martial arts m-master?”
It seemed they finally realized they had picked a fight with the wrong person.
*Pfft.*
Cheon Muryang shook his head.
“I'm no martial arts master.”
He himself knew better than anyone that he wasn't yet skilled enough to call himself a master.
However, his skills were more than enough to punish this injustice.
“But they're enough to pass judgment on you.”
*Fwoooom!*
The Heavenly Light held no mercy.
Just as these men had likely never shown any.
*Slice!*
Someone's chest was split open.
Watching the body crumble with indifferent eyes, Cheon Muryang swung his sword again.
*Claaang!*
Sword met sword.
“I blocked...!”
He thought he had blocked it, but he was mistaken.
The Heavenly Light had shattered his opponent's sword.
As the sword broke in half, the Heavenly Light pierced his heart.
“Two left now.”
Two were dead.
But he had no intention of letting the other two go.
“I'll make sure you can never throw your pathetic weight around again.”
They struggled desperately.
But their struggles were meaningless.
*Thud!*
Cheon Muryang's fist slammed into one's dantian.
With the sound of something shattering, the man coughed up blood and collapsed.
“Ahhh...”
Though his power was meager, the loss of the internal energy he had cultivated his entire life must have been devastating.
“Keoheok!”
He destroyed the dantian of the one who appeared to be the leader as well.
Then, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, he asked the couple.
“Do you know where the So-eung Gang is located?”
“Ah...”
“You just need to tell me where it is.”
“I-I'll guide you.”
Had they found their courage?
No longer afraid, the couple stood up.
“Let me ask one thing.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think what I did was too harsh?”
“...”
One man's shoulder was severed.
Two others were dead, and two were crippled.
He asked if that treatment was harsh.
“Yes. It's harsh.”
“Is that so?”
“But... I know you did it for us.”
They shed tears.
No one had been able to step up.
This couple, too, had only cowered in a corner, trembling, when others suffered.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Faced with those hot tears, Cheon Muryang was once again reminded of why he had to become strong.
*'This is a world where being powerless is a sin.'*
These people were not sinners.
Yet, they lived like criminals.
All because they had no power.
“Why didn't you report this to the Cheon Family?”
“The, the Cheon Family...!”
For a moment, the couple trembled in fear.
At this, Cheon Muryang realized something was wrong.
“What happened?”
“W-well, that is...”
“It's alright. I am from the Cheon Family.”
“…!”
Eyes full of respect instantly turned to suspicion.
He could feel their distrust toward the Cheon Family.
“Y-you're from the, the Cheon Family?”
“Yes. You can trust me. I came to root out the corruption within the Cheon Family.”
“W-well...”
Their continued hesitation suggested a fear that was anything but ordinary.
Unable to watch any longer, the wife spoke.
“In the past, unable to bear the So-eung Gang's evil deeds, we submitted a petition to the Cheon Family. And someone from the Cheon Family came to see us.”
“Who was it?”
“He said he was the, the head of the inspection corps.”
*Grind.*
Cheon Muryang gritted his teeth.
It was obvious what must have happened.
Their fear of the Cheon Family was understandable.
“He thoroughly investigated those who submitted the petition.”
It was just as he had expected.
“And...”
The wife couldn't continue.
The child, held in his parents' arms, finished the sentence.
“The man next door and the man from the house behind ours disappeared.”
“...”
“Gae-ttong's family cries every day. Du-sik's family left town completely.”
Cheon Muryang closed his eyes.
Even though this was happening right under their noses, the Cheon Family had failed to notice.
*'A perfect cover-up.'*
In a way, the distrust and fear toward the Cheon Family were natural.
Perhaps the people of Soheung hated the Cheon Family even more than the So-eung Gang.
*'Was public sentiment collapsing in the places I couldn't see?'*
Collapsed public sentiment.
It must be deeply connected to the Cheon Family's hollow downfall.
*'Were there really this many people eating away at the family from within?'*
He had been deceived by the scoundrel Cheon Muryang.
His existence was just one cause, not the core reason for the Cheon Family's fall.
“The head of the inspection corps...”
He was said to be from the Council of Elders, making him nothing more than a pawn.
But cutting off that pawn was the beginning.
“On behalf of the Cheon Family, I apologize for the disgraceful events that have occurred.”
Cheon Muryang slowly bowed his head.
Seeing this, the couple grew curious.
“M-may I ask who you are within the Cheon Family?”
Cheon Muryang raised his head and said.
“I am Cheon Muryang, the scoundrel Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family.”
“…!”
The couple was startled.
However, Cheon Muryang paid them no mind and spoke to the child.
“Hey kid, could I ask you to show me where the So-eung Gang is?”
“Yes! Just follow me.”
“Is that alright?”
“Ah, yes, yes...”
“Please gather the villagers and come to the So-eung Gang's headquarters.”
“...?”
“I'm about to show you all what being a scoundrel is really about.”
Cheon Muryang grabbed the two unconscious men, whose dantians were destroyed, by the scruff of their necks and dragged them out of the shop.
The child scurried after him.
“Which way do I go?”
“This way.”
“Let's go, then.”
The child led him here and there.
Soon, a magnificent manor came into view.
“This is the So-eung Gang's place,” the child whispered.
Cheon Muryang patted the child's head.
“Thank you. You can go back to your parents now.”
“Okay! Do your best, big brother!”
The child ran back the way he came.
Watching him go, Cheon Muryang felt a warmth spread through his chest.
“Do my best... Right. I will.”
Cheon Muryang walked straight toward the guards at the So-eung Gang's gate.
“Halt! This is the headquarters of the So-eung Gang.”
“I know. I'm here to see your leader, so how about you open the gate?”
“What? You insolent bastard, do you know where you are!”
“L-look at that!”
The two guards saw what Cheon Muryang was dragging.
“Gasp!”
It was undoubtedly one of the So-eung Gang's men who had gone out to collect protection money.
“I am the Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family.”
Cheon Muryang took out the plaque that proved his identity.
A dragon, the symbol of the Cheon Family, was engraved on it.
“…!”
“Open the gate.”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
Fortunately, they recognized the Cheon Family's plaque.
Weren't they strictly warned?
That if someone with a Cheon Family plaque came, they were not to obstruct them in any way.
“Where is your leader?”
“Ah, th-that way.”
The tallest pavilion.
The gang leader's office would be there.
“Ah, no need for a guide. And if you hear any commotion, it would be best to just focus on your duties.”
“Huh?”
Cheon Muryang gave a short warning and headed toward the leader's location.
“Wh-what does he mean?”
“How should I know? Let's just keep our mouths shut.”
“What about these guys?”
“What can we do...? We might get in serious trouble if we touch them carelessly.”
The two men fretted anxiously.
It was at that moment.
*Craaaaaash!*
“Hah!”
A loud roar echoed out.
It came from the direction of the gang leader's office.
“...”
The guards stopped their chatter and looked at each other.
“W-we're...”
“We're gatekeepers, so...”
“Let's just stay here.”
“Right, right. We have to guard the main gate, don't we?”
They comforted themselves with that thought.
But that relief was short-lived.
*Rumble.*
As the residents of Soheung swarmed in, the guards' faces turned deathly pale.
“What do we do?”
“I-I don't know either...”
Seeing the two men still collapsed on the ground and the approaching crowd, the guards were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“Th-this is crazy. Of all the days for it to happen on our shift...”
* * *
The So-eung Gang leader's office.
The leader of the So-eung Gang was fiddling with some documents.
“Cover it up?”
The night before, a subordinate of the inspection corps head had secretly visited and ordered him to conceal all documents related to their corruption.
“Not a chance.”
However, the gang leader wanted to keep some insurance, thinking he might be cut loose if the situation turned sour.
“Who does he think he's fooling?”
It takes a villain to know a villain.
The gang leader had no intention of being played for a fool.
As he was fiddling with the documents, he heard a commotion outside the door.
“Y-you can't do this!”
“What is it?”
*Craaaash!*
Following the attendant's flustered voice, the door was smashed to pieces.
“…!”
The gang leader shot up from his seat, drawing his sword.
*Fwoosh!*
“Who are you!”
“Ah, the esteemed leader of the So-eung Gang? You're a hard man to see.”
*Flinch.*
The gang leader tensed up.
He tried several times to find an opening to strike, but couldn't find one.
*'Who is this?'*
As that question crossed his mind.
Cheon Muryang said with a smile.
“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am Cheon Muryang, the Great Young Lord of the Cheon Family.”
“The, the Great Young Lord!”
The gang leader's eyes widened.
Cheon Muryang was smiling.
But his eyes were not.