Monopolizing Fortunes (100)
Monopolizing Fortunes (100)
Having heard that Do Tong-dal's party possessed considerable martial strength, the constable chief had been quietly on edge.
But when they meekly accepted the ropes, he let out a relaxed smile, thinking, ‘Well, in the end they're just underworld types.’
That smile, however, vanished with a snap. The rope binding Hwangmi Dal had broken apart feebly.
Startled, the constable chief grabbed the hilt of the sword at his side, but Hwangmi Dal spoke.
"What's with this rope being so weak? Try tying me with something sturdier."
Only the rope had snapped; he showed no sign of wanting to fight. The constable chief shouted at the officers.
"You fools! Tie him with proper rope, not defective goods!"
"Yes, sir!"
The officers, who had answered energetically, tied him again, but this time too the rope broke feebly.
"What do you make your rope out of, spiderwebs? Try tying me with something sturdy!"
When Hwangmi Dal instead took their side, the flustered officers hastily bound him with rope folded four times over. But Hwangmi Dal was not someone who could be tied with the rope the officers carried.
With a series of snapping sounds, the rope broke and writhed on the floor like a dead snake.
"This is something. They say seeing one thing tells you ten. How can the people sleep easy trusting officers who carry around rotten rope? Tsk, tsk, tsk...."
Faced with this absurd, unforeseen situation, the officers could only look at the constable chief, and the constable chief had no particular solution either.
Through the flustered officers, Do Tong-dal's voice cut in.
"Let's just go without tying that old gentleman. No, just let him go. He's not Underworld anyway."
At that, Hwangmi Dal spoke up abruptly.
"I should go too. How could I send only you all off without loyalty?"
"What loyalty is there between you and me to keep, old man!"
"Even if not with you, there's more than enough loyalty to keep with Strategist Ha."
Do Tong-dal said to Ha Su-ran.
"Then Strategist Ha can just...."
Ha Su-ran cut Do Tong-dal off.
"How could I, as a subject of the realm, disregard public authority?"
"You're not even a thug!"
"That can be resolved by going to the government office and being released."
Do Tong-dal let out a long sigh.
"Hah—! These people think the government jail is some kind of resort."
"If not now, when would I ever get the experience of a government jail?"
"Why would you want that kind of experience?"
"You never know, so the richer the experience, the better."
"Don't even say that."
Shaking his head side to side, Do Tong-dal said to the constable chief.
"Let's go quickly."
"Still, prisoners must be bound with rope...."
"You people! We can't be tied! Just take us!"
As Do Tong-dal shouted, he unconsciously put strength into his body.
Snap!
The rope binding him broke.
"We should be arresting the merchant who supplies rope to the government office, not us. What kind of rope is weaker than spiderweb?"
Do Tong-dal tossed the rope remnants off his shoulder and said to the constable chief.
"Let's just go. Is the government office this way?"
When the constable chief nodded, Do Tong-dal ambled off. Hwangmi Dal was the first to fall in behind Do Tong-dal, and Ha Su-ran moved with quick steps.
"This is something. We should think about the officers' dignity too...."
As Won Dae-yeon muttered and applied a little strength, his rope broke.
"It'd be strange if only we were tied, right?"
"That's true."
In the end, once Namgung Seol-rin also broke her rope, not a single person remained bound. Binding prisoners with rope when escorting them was basic procedure, but the constable chief could not insist on that procedure.
A strange picture unfolded: the prisoners led the way and the officers followed behind. The constable chief watched the five people ambling through the night streets and thought.
'They're definitely not ordinary Underworld. But can they even be imprisoned?'
The constable chief's worry ended as needless concern. The five meekly entered the government jail.
"Hey, what crime did you commit to come in at this hour of the night?"
"Obviously theft or rape."
"There are women too. Oh my! How can such a pretty young lady... slurp!"
"Gulp! Let's just share them. They're prisoners anyway."
The prisoners locked in the jail drooled as they watched Namgung Seol-rin and Ha Su-ran enter the neighboring cell.
A wall existed between the two cells, but because it was made of thick lattice wood, they could see each other clearly.
Inside the cell were five prisoners already locked up. The gazes of those rough-looking men shifted to Do Tong-dal, Won Dae-yeon, and Hwangmi Dal as they set foot in the cell.
One of the prisoners spoke.
"A young guy, a middle-aged guy, and an old guy. Nice combination."
"A pack of thieves. A pack of thieves."
As Hwangmi Dal glanced at the prisoners and was about to lean his back against the wall, one of the prisoners shouted.
"Look at this old man who's lost his nerve!"
A middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and ring-shaped eyes yelled repeatedly.
"If you're new, you offer the best thing you've got to the cell boss and go through initiation!"
"Huh? Me, initiation?"
"Why? You think age counts as rank? Kneel before the cell boss right now!"
The quoted "Ahem!" came from a middle-aged man sitting in the corner of the cell. The man, who looked to be in his early forties, was twisting the end of his mustache with his thumb and index finger while looking at Do Tong-dal.
He licked his thin lips with his tongue and narrowed his eyes languidly, which somehow made one's skin crawl.
'He's into men. Definitely into men.'
Hwangmi Dal said to Do Tong-dal.
"You're lucky."
"How so?"
"Because you're popular regardless of gender."
"Go kneel before the cell boss and do your initiation!"
"Kneeling, is it... It's been so long since I've knelt that I've forgotten how. How about you give me a demonstration?"
"This old man! Do you think your knees are cast iron and mine are rice cakes!"
The ring-eyed man shouted angrily.
"Hey now! You bastards have really lost your minds! Where do you think you are, raising your voices like that!"
In the end, Do Tong-dal stepped in.
"Hey, you bastard! Shut up!"
The matter was settled immediately.
"Put your head down properly! Lift your left leg! Oh ho! You can't even do that and you fall over? You little shit!"
The man being stepped on by Do Tong-dal screamed as if dying, and it genuinely hurt as if he were dying.
"W-we were just watching, so why...?"
"Just standing by and watching is worse! You bastards!"
After that bout of roughhousing, Do Tong-dal sat with his back against the lattice wood wall facing the corridor.
Hwangmi Dal asked him.
"Do you have a plan?"
"What plan?"
"You're not going to stand trial and do prison time like this, are you?"
"I was thinking of resting comfortably for about ten years and then coming out?"
"Good grief, what a ridiculous joke...."
Just from Do Tong-dal's blank expression as he stared at Hwangmi Dal, it was impossible to tell whether he was serious or not.
"Hmph! The Underworld is quite a dangerous profession after all."
"There's no job as easy as being a martial artist. If you just read the room here, attach yourself there, and get by, you get treated as a respected elder when you're old. Then you fight less yourself, so there's not much danger. Being a martial artist is a sweet job."
"That's what you say because you don't know the martial world well. It isn't called a den of demons amid mountains of blades and forests of swords for nothing."
"Then why stay in such a dangerous place? Since things have come to this, why not throw in your lot as an Underworld thug?"
Hwangmi Dal, who replied "Should I?" with a fairly serious face, placed his hand on the lattice wood wall Do Tong-dal was leaning against.
"Oh, right! By the way, what happened to your Makya Blade?"
"Obviously it was confiscated. No matter how lax the government is, would they let you bring a sword into jail?"
"What? Some mere officer took my Makya Blade, which is like my life!"
Crack!
It was absolutely not intentional. He had simply gotten excited for a moment and put in too much strength.
The lattice wall Hwangmi Dal had his hand on toppled over entirely. Do Tong-dal, who had been leaning his back against the wall, also tumbled over backward along with it.
"Huh?"
"You old man! Why are you breaking the jail!"
"I didn't break it; it just broke on its own. What kind of jail wall is weaker than a sorghum stalk?"
The ones who panicked were the jailers. A collapsed jail wall meant the prisoners' escape.
"Jailbreak! Jailbreak!"
One jailer struck the bell at the jail entrance, and two others blew their whistles frantically.
"Hey, we have no intention of running away...."
* * *
Baek Jong-myeong, the county magistrate, who had been drinking pleasantly with a courtesan tucked at his side, wore a bewildered expression.
"Who came?"
The officer who had come to report spoke once more.
"The Hangzhou county magistrate has come to see you."
"At this hour of the night? Why?"
"He did not state his business, only that it was an urgent matter."
Baek Jong-myeong knew Gong Myeong-un, the current Hangzhou county magistrate, well. They were not close, but they had studied under the same teacher for about six months, and Gong Myeong-un was someone who had luckily been appointed as the Hangzhou county magistrate.
It was self-evident that the Hangzhou county magistrate post, which was more splendid and full of beautiful women, was far better than the magistrate post of this small Fuyang County.
"Show him this way. And call one more courtesan."
He said it was an urgent matter, but what urgent matter could there be between magistrates of neighboring counties? No matter how much he exercised his imagination, nothing came to mind.
'He wasn't an odd fellow, though.'
Gong Myeong-un was the kind of guy you could see anywhere, except for a somewhat timid demeanor.
The door opened faster than expected, and Gong Myeong-un appeared before the officer did.
"Magistrate Baek! You haven't already arrested Lord Do, have you?"
Though they were meeting for the first time in two years, Gong Myeong-un skipped greetings and blurted out incomprehensible words.
"I'm glad to see you too. First, sit here and catch your breath."
Gong Myeong-un was still breathing heavily with his shoulders, showing how urgently he had come. After sitting in the seat Baek Jong-myeong indicated, Gong Myeong-un gulped down cold water and let out a long breath.
"What on earth brings you rushing here like this? And who is Lord Do?"
"Lord Do is the coordinator of the Red Tiger Society, a Hangzhou Underworld organization."
Wrinkles formed on Baek Jong-myeong's forehead.
"An Underworld coordinator? You mean a thug?"
"That's right. But he's no ordinary thug."
"No matter how special a thug is, still. A county magistrate calling a mere thug 'lord'? Are you in your right mind?"
"That's what you say because you don't know Lord Do, Magistrate Baek. Anyway, you haven't arrested him yet, right?"
"I've received no report, but how would the affairs of some Underworld thug reach my ears?"
An Underworld thug was too insignificant a being for a county magistrate to concern himself with.
"Phew—! What a relief. If you had arrested Lord Do and thrown him in jail, Magistrate Baek would at best be dismissed from office, and at worst might have suffered flogging."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Flogging for arresting a mere thug?"
"Do you think I call him 'lord' for no reason? Lord Do's backer is......"
It was then that a clamorous bell and whistle sounded simultaneously. A moment later, shouts came from outside: "Jailbreak! Jailbreak! All officers arm yourselves and assemble at the jail!"
Baek Jong-myeong muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
"A jailbreak? What kind of absurd...."
Gong Myeong-un urgently asked him.
"Are you certain you didn't arrest Lord Do?"
"I've received no report, but would reports about arresting some mere thug come in one by one?"
"Th-this is serious!"
Gong Myeong-un hurriedly rushed outside. He had barely managed to restore his relationship with Do Tong-dal, and if things went wrong, everything could turn to foam.
Do Tong-dal had sent Jang Yu-seom to request Chief Clerk Dong Bong-gil. It was to block the government from potentially intervening in the takeover of the Fuyang underworld.
Do Tong-dal had asked for help, and since he had wanted Dong Bong-gil, Gong Myeong-un could not really send Dong Bong-gil.
If by any chance Do Tong-dal were imprisoned, the sparks could fly back to Gong Myeong-un, who had failed to prevent it.
'He is absolutely not a man who forgives twice!'
That was why Gong Myeong-un was desperate. Officers carrying weapons were running toward the rear of the government office where the jail was located.
"Drop your weapons! I said drop them!"
The person who had broken out of jail might not be Do Tong-dal. If not, Gong Myeong-un would look ridiculous, but even if there was only a one-in-a-thousand chance, he had no choice but to stake his life.
Around the brick-built jail, about thirty officers stood guard. Not only military officers but even officials in robes had been mobilized, and taut tension filled the air.
Someone came out of the jail. Backing away with swords thrust forward, they were four jailers.
The one on the left among the four jailers tripped on the threshold and tumbled over backward.
'Pathetic.'
Seeing how the officers responded, one could tell how untrained they were.
'When I return, I'll have to start by training the officers.'
* * *