Chapter 15
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Piercing Sword Sect Luoyang Branch 15
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“Young Hero Jang!”
In this desperate, life-or-death crisis, Na Cheol-gi spotted Jang So-cheon’s face and his expression rapidly brightened, as if reinforcements had arrived.
Gwak Su-san felt the same.
Though Jang So-cheon had his messy issues with gambling, money, and debts, his skills were the real deal.
Gwak Su-san welcomed him in an emotional voice.
“Well, well, who do we have here? The pride of the Piercing Sword Sect, the divine star who’s set Luoyang ablaze—the Spectrum Sword himself, Young Hero Jang So-cheon!”
“……”
“I was just about to send word soon, having seen that past matters wrapped up neatly… but for you to come all the way to the estate yourself! This humble Gwak is deeply grateful.”
Gwak Su-san deliberately announced Jang So-cheon’s identity, then quickly gauged the reactions of the intruders who had attacked the estate.
Their fierce killing intent and threats had given way to noticeably stiffened expressions.
Look at these bastards—their eyes sharpen the moment Piercing Sword Sect and Spectrum Sword come up.
Gwak Su-san was convinced that if he played Jang So-cheon right, he could easily defuse the situation.
Na Cheol-gi seemed to share the sentiment, his eyes gleaming meaningfully as the corner of his mouth twitched.
Propose it to him. Say we’ll cover that five hundred taels of debt with this.
Yes, that was my plan too.
After exchanging glances with Gwak Su-san to confirm their intent, Na Cheol-gi immediately made the offer to Jang So-cheon.
“Young Hero Jang, lend us a hand.”
“……”
“Cut down these worthless scum who dared attack the estate out of the blue. Do that, and we’ll wipe your five hundred taels of debt clean.”
Five hundred taels.
It was a hefty sum, but for their lives, it was hardly much.
That was why Na Cheol-gi skipped any talk of final tests that might irk Jang So-cheon and went straight to forgiving the five hundred taels.
“Hmm.”
As Jang So-cheon’s eyebrows shot up at the proposal, the intruders’ faces visibly darkened.
“Boss, if the Piercing Sword Sect gets involved, this’ll get messy.”
“What’ll you do? Ignore the Piercing Sword Sect punk and push on with the mission? Or pull back for now and bide our time?”
“If you’re carrying on, decide fast. He must’ve heard the commotion to show up—if we drag this out, other righteous sect folks might swarm like bees.”
The intruders subtly grew restless, aware of Jang So-cheon’s unhurried presence.
But the eyes of their middle-aged leader showed no tremor.
“Quiet.”
The middle-aged man reined in his fidgeting subordinates, who squirmed like they sat on thorns, then eyed Jang So-cheon and Na Cheol-gi in turn.
From their earlier exchange, he pieced together Jang So-cheon’s ties to the Black Society.
So the Spectrum Sword owes the Black Society gambling debts.
The fall of Luoyang’s divine star, the Spectrum Sword.
No one in the northern martial world who’d set foot there could be ignorant of the tale.
And here, Gwak Su-san and Na Cheol-gi kept fawning over Jang So-cheon one-sidedly.
The middle-aged man thought of a way to complete the mission cleanly without escalating, and his lips curved upward.
“Hold position for now.”
“Boss.”
“Stay put until I signal otherwise. Got it?”
“……Understood.”
Having quelled his men’s unrest, the middle-aged man stepped forward, cutting Na Cheol-gi off mid-sentence.
And he made a shocking proposal that stunned everyone in the hall.
“Young Hero Jang, straight to the point.”
“……”
“Those five hundred taels they’re offering to forgive? We’ll pay it. So pretend you saw nothing today and move along.”
“Wh-what?!”
Gwak Su-san and Na Cheol-gi’s eyes bulged at the middle-aged man’s outrageous offer.
Jang So-cheon, too, seemed slightly taken aback, his eyebrows rising as he shot back.
“You’ll pay five hundred taels just for me to do nothing and look the other way? You mean that seriously?”
“Exactly.”
Thinking Jang So-cheon had bitten, the middle-aged man briefly explained the situation.
His added details seemed meant to stress that the Black Society had brought this trouble on themselves.
“So, to sum it up: the Black Society stole goods, tried selling them on the black market, and you caught them red-handed. That right?”
“Spot on.”
“And offering five hundred taels upfront shows your sincerity that neither I—nor the Piercing Sword Sect—get tangled in Black Society business?”
“Yes.”
A faint smile played on the middle-aged man’s lips at Jang So-cheon’s favorable response.
His black mask hid much of it, of course.
But his eyes had softened noticeably.
Then.
“Vice Chairman, that’s their stance… What’s yours?”
As Jang So-cheon grinned slyly and turned to the Black Society side, the middle-aged man’s brow furrowed fiercely.
Who could’ve predicted he’d play both sides like this, haggling in the thick of it?
“This damn dog…”
Grind!
Na Cheol-gi ground his teeth.
He itched to spew curses right in Jang So-cheon’s smug face.
But with their lives hanging on Jang So-cheon, he swallowed his boiling rage and spoke.
“Five hundred taels debt forgiveness. Plus another hundred on top.”
“Hmm, a hundred taels…”
Swipe.
As Na Cheol-gi upped the bid, Jang So-cheon’s gaze swung back to the middle-aged man.
Deep wrinkles creased the man’s brow, but he held his anger and raised it.
“Seven hundred taels. We’ll pay seven hundred.”
“Ooh, seven hundred!”
Jang So-cheon exclaimed in genuine surprise, and Na Cheol-gi’s bloodshot eyes widened as he bellowed.
“Eight hundred! We’ll give eight hundred taels!”
“Nine hundred!”
“You sons of bitches! Fine! One thousand taels! One thousand—in cash, not scrip!”
As the old saying went: one word repays a thousand-tael debt.
Jang So-cheon had merely tossed in timely interjections and glances from the middle, yet the stakes had soared to a thousand taels.
“Cash, one thousand taels. That’s the offer on the table—your move?”
One thousand taels.
Not a fortune for the Black Society, who dominated Luoyang’s underworld with money games.
But for the Piercing Sword Sect’s Luoyang Branch, scraping by on bean porridge daily, it was an astronomical sum.
If Yeo Chu-sam and Wang Mun-gi were here, they’d have yelled at Jang So-cheon to quit walking the tightrope and side with the Black Society now.
But Jang So-cheon was a born gambler.
With an unbeatable hand, he planned to egg on the bidding until one side cried uncle.
“Cash one thousand taels on offer… Your call? Oh, right. Scrip’s a hassle with processing, so if that’s your sincerity, add ten percent more for the big sum.”
Jang So-cheon openly pushed for more, and the middle-aged man swallowed a dry gulp in disbelief.
He’d never imagined a so-called righteous sect disciple stooping this low.
“Boss.”
“He’s a madman blinded by gambling.”
“Deals and talks are for those who understand each other. Wasting breath on a greed-crazed fool is just time down the drain.”
As things turned sour, the intruders subtly urged the middle-aged man to issue kill orders before it was too late.
He let out a heavy sigh, pondering.
Can we take down the Spectrum Sword quick?
Yes.
Objectively weighing forces, they could handle him cleanly if no one else interfered.
One incense stick’s time. Maybe faster to end him.
But rushing it would leave traces here.
Mission’s vital, but keeping our identity hidden is paramount.
That’s why he’d thrown out empty promises to settle quietly.
Unfortunately, the opponent was greedier than rumored.
Or perhaps he was savoring the thrill of tightrope-walking between them and the Black Society.
Tch. Wanted to handle this quietly, but this unexpected fly’s complicating things.
Deeming further bidding pointless, the middle-aged man glared coldly at Jang So-cheon.
His aura shifted in an instant, and his silent watching crew bared their hidden fangs.
“Cash one thousand taels. Can’t go higher?”
“……”
“I get it. A thousand taels doesn’t grow on trees or drop from the sky, right?”
Jang So-cheon nodded sympathetically to the man’s plight.
Then he slowly turned to Na Cheol-gi and Gwak Su-san, nailing it down before all.
“Cash one thousand taels. That’s firm?”
“Ngh.”
“They say people change from entering the privy to leaving it. I don’t want ugly surprises with your Chairman and Vice Chairman later, so promise it here and now.”
The unplanned five hundred tael payout burned like a hot iron in their guts, but as a life price, it wasn’t excessive.
Gwak Su-san and Na Cheol-gi rationalized it, steeling themselves before promising firmly.
“Soon as this ends smoothly, five hundred taels debt gone—plus five hundred more as payout for this mess.”
“We stake the Black Society’s name on it. So just take out those scum properly.”
“No worries there. Unlike fickle dice, my blade never veers.”
Jang So-cheon flashed a confident grin, then turned his back protectively to the Black Society crew.
He cockily nodded at the now-fiercely glaring middle-aged man: come at me.
“This bastard dares…!”
Before the middle-aged man could react to Jang So-cheon’s blatant taunt, a fiend to his right spat curses and lunged.
The move was too swift for even him to stop.
“I’ll rip that impudent tongue out alive first!”
Shweeeeeek!
The fiend swung his sword at Jang So-cheon like lightning—a swift strike matching his blinding speed.
Yet Jang So-cheon’s eyes brimmed with leisure.
“Slow.”
In that instant, Jang So-cheon’s sword flashed like thunder.
In the brief gleam, the fiend’s wrist twisted mid-air and dropped with a thud.
No time for a scream—the staggering fiend heard a chill whisper at his ear.
“All that bluster, and this is all you’ve got?”