Monopolizing Fortunes (131)
Monopolizing Fortunes (131)
"You're saying you're a tiger?"
"I'm a person."
The grin that followed his words was full of unfounded confidence.
'Look at this guy.'
Ju Pyeong-seong recalled what had been written about Bae Cheong-dong. It hadn't been written in great detail, but it was enough for Ju Pyeong-seong to size a man up.
'Is it bluster?'
Calling it bluster was hard when confidence radiated from his whole body.
'He's an interesting one, but...'
There was no need to take a risk, and there wasn't any particular spot to put him in right now.
"You're assigned to the outer perimeter guard of the East Three Gates. If you go over there, you'll find a building with a sign that reads Hyeonchil Hall. Go there and ask for the leader of Yeonchil Squad. Where did I say to go and who did I say to find?"
"You said to go to Hyeonchil Hall and find the leader of Yeonchil Squad."
On Bae Cheong-dong's face, the expression 'Does this old man take me for an idiot?' was plainly visible. His confidence, at least, was worth appreciating.
Do Tong-dal, wearing the mask of Bae Cheong-dong, trudged toward the place Ju Pyeong-seong had told him.
'I need to get into an important position.'
To understand the inner workings, he needed to become someone important. But with the attack on the imperial palace not far off, time was short. It probably wouldn't be more than ten days.
Delaying the attack would push back the overall timeline, so it wasn't a wise choice. The best move was to secure an important position within the Hwangdae Merchant Company before the palace attack happened.
"Should I make a little noise?"
* * *
Sang Do-gu, leader of Yeonchil Squad, glanced at the three new arrivals today. The capable men who had been in Yeonchil Squad had left, and the ones newly assigned were just a ragtag bunch.
It wasn't unexpected. But no commander could feel good about losing elite troops and receiving common soldiers in return.
"What you have to do is simple."
Sang Do-gu rattled off the duties the three of them would have. When the time came, they just had to patrol the outer warehouse area, so there was nothing difficult about it.
"Everyone go to your quarters, unpack, and assemble on time."
The man on the left raised his hand. It was Hwang Tae-gon, who had a scar across his forehead like a wrinkle.
"What?"
"Is the monthly pay issued starting today, on a one-month basis, or is it issued on the fifteenth according to the number of days?"
A sigh escaped him on its own. The first thing he was curious about after arriving was when the monthly pay came out.
"It comes out on the fifteenth. Anyone else have a pathetic question?"
"Doesn't the guard detail seem a little short-handed?"
The one who said that was Bae Cheong-dong.
"Short-handed?"
"Yes. From the northeast gate to the east gate alone is seventy jang, and four men guarding that is too much ground."
That was a problem Sang Do-gu had been thinking about too.
"There'll be reinforcements soon. Any other questions?"
There were none. Sang Do-gu stared blankly at Bae Cheong-dong's back as he headed to the quarters.
For a newcomer to immediately grasp that the guard detail was undermanned, he might be a fairly useful one.
'I'll know once I've seen him in action.'
Do Tong-dal could feel Sang Do-gu watching him. He had planted the thought that maybe these weren't useless men after all, and that alone had been effective.
'Should I tell Seol-rin to come? No, that girl's too crazy; she might run wild. I'll have to ask Protector Jang.'
With those thoughts, Do Tong-dal entered the building that housed Yeonchil Squad's quarters.
The building called Hwangdo Pavilion had eight rooms and was used as quarters by three squads: Yeonchil Squad, Yeonpal Squad, and Yeongu Squad.
As the three newcomers entered Hwangdo Pavilion, squad members coming and going glanced at them repeatedly.
"Looks like those are the new trash that came in today."
"They'd better be an improvement over the trash that came in yesterday and the day before."
"Trash is trash no matter what you do."
"Like that trash over there?"
The trash the man referred to were standing stiffly facing the wall.
"You bastards! Straighten your backs!"
At the shout from a man coming out of the back room, the four facing the wall flinched and straightened their backs.
A man in his early thirties standing in the hallway scanning documents turned his gaze to the three of them.
"Newcomers who came in today?"
Hwang Tae-gon answered in a loud voice.
"Yes! That's right!"
"You've all been assigned to Yeonchil Squad. Three newcomers at once. Squad Leader Sang must have his hands full. Your room is room seven, at the end of the hallway on the left."
Hwang Tae-gon pointed at the four standing facing the hallway wall and asked.
"What did those people do wrong?"
The man let out a snicker.
"Coming here is what you did wrong. Now get to your room."
Do Tong-dal sneered inwardly. They seemed to be trying to haze the new blood, but it was nothing but laughable. Though it did seem to be working on the two newcomers who had come with him.
They were walking with stiff expressions and rigid, measured steps. The room the three entered had six shabby beds, three on each side.
A man in his thirties changing clothes beside the bed under the window saw them and shouted angrily.
"Who the hell are you?"
Hwang Tae-gon answered, snapping to attention.
"We're the newcomers who arrived today!"
"You bastards! If you're new, you go to the room across the hall! Get the hell out!"
They scurried back to the room across the hall.
"You bastards! Newcomers go to room three! Get the hell out!"
When they entered that room, they had to hear the shouting again. Only then did Do Tong-dal realize they were being messed with.
'Look at these bastards.'
As he headed toward room three, Do Tong-dal smiled. This was a case of getting slapped when you already wanted to cry.
'Fine. Try that one more time.'
"You morons! Why are newcomers coming here! You go to room six!"
"Yes! Understood!"
Hwang Tae-gon and the other man answered spiritedly and tried to run out of the room. But instead of leaving, Do Tong-dal crossed his arms and leaned his left shoulder against the wall.
"If we go to room six and they say that's not it either, are you going to take responsibility?"
The man in his thirties in room three wore a startled expression. It was like a puppy that yelped and ran off with its tail between its legs when kicked suddenly growling back.
Though flustered for a moment by the unexpected turn, the man soon twisted his face into a scowl.
"What did you say?"
"I asked if you're going to take responsibility if I go on a wild goose chase."
"This new bastard has completely lost his mind! What's your name!"
"What's yours?"
"Well, now! This one's a total lunatic. A club is the best medicine for a lunatic."
The man swung his hand. It wasn't a punch but an open-handed slap aimed at the cheek.
The attack, made without considering that Do Tong-dal might counter, only sliced through empty air. Do Tong-dal had simply stepped back and dodged it.
"Oh ho! Dodging? You could've ended with a bloody nose, but now you're determined to get your bones broken."
This time a fist came flying. When the fist reached the tip of his nose, Do Tong-dal grabbed the man's wrist and pulled.
The fist passed in front of his slightly turned face, and the man's face, his center of balance collapsing forward, came rushing toward him.
Do Tong-dal grabbed the back of the man's head and hurled him toward the door.
Crash!
The man smashed through the door and tumbled into the hallway.
"Wh-what the?"
"Huh? That's Squad Leader Jeon!"
Jeon Chil-bong, the squad leader, sprang to his feet. Since he had only been pulled and then shoved, the impact wasn't great. What took the biggest hit was his pride.
"You son of a bitch! You're dead today!"
As always, the outcome of a fight isn't decided by rage. Jeon Chil-bong, who charged at Do Tong-dal, took a blow to the chest and slammed into the hallway wall.
Do Tong-dal's voice fell over Jeon Chil-bong's head as he slumped to the floor.
"Some fucking nobody who's been here a little while is acting all high and mighty."
The warriors passing through the hallway stared at the fallen Jeon Chil-bong and Do Tong-dal with bewildered faces.
Furious beyond measure, Jeon Chil-bong screamed that he would kill him and charged again.
Jeon Chil-bong, no different from an enraged bull, was nothing more than a convenient punching bag for Do Tong-dal.
It was when Do Tong-dal had hit Jeon Chil-bong about five times.
"Kill that new bastard!"
Someone shouted, and warriors rushed at Do Tong-dal.
'That's how you should come at me.'
They all prided themselves on being fairly skilled, but they were no match for Do Tong-dal.
Do Tong-dal beat down the charging men one after another.
"What is the meaning of this!"
The man holding a ledger in one hand was Ju Pyeong-seong, head of Inpyeong Hall. Ju Pyeong-seong's raised voice brought the fight to a halt in an instant.
Ju Pyeong-seong's expression turned cold, and a low voice flowed out.
"Who's going to explain this mess?"
One warrior pointed at Do Tong-dal.
"That newcomer hit Squad Leader Jeon first!"
Ju Pyeong-seong's gaze turned to Do Tong-dal.
Deep wrinkles formed between his brows, the kind that appeared when he encountered a problem that was hard to solve.
"Bae Cheong-dong hit Squad Leader Jeon?"
The martial skill Ju Pyeong-seong had assessed Bae Cheong-dong as having was absolutely no match for Squad Leader Jeon. Not everything about a man's martial level was in the documents, but once you understood the man, you could reasonably estimate his martial level.
That was why Ju Pyeong-seong had judged Bae Cheong-dong's martial level as low-mid. But the scene before his eyes now plainly showed that Ju Pyeong-seong's judgment had been wrong.
"You're saying Bae Cheong-dong did this to the other warriors too?"
"That's right!"
"You were beaten by Bae Cheong-dong alone?"
"Th-that's right."
Only then did the man, feeling ashamed, answer with his head lowered. Ju Pyeong-seong turned his gaze back to Bae Cheong-dong.
"A subordinate striking a superior is a serious act of insubordination. Do you find our Hwangdae Merchant Company so laughable?"
"Who was it that looked down on me first? I came here to work, not to be mocked. Fuck, if you were going to treat me like an idiot, you should've brought in an idiot."
Ju Pyeong-seong could roughly guess what had happened. There had clearly been some kind of initiation rite for newcomers entering the Hwangdae Merchant Company.
Since no one had gotten hurt or anything, it had been let slide, but today it had blown up into this.
"If you joined the organization, you should have been prepared for that much."
"Have you ever seen a tiger put up with being mocked by a pack of jackals?"
"That—that bastard!"
"You fucking bastard, who are you calling a jackal!"
Angry shouts erupted from all around at Bae Cheong-dong, but Bae Cheong-dong didn't so much as blink.
Even surrounded by furious enemies, he showed no fear, and Ju Pyeong-seong liked that thick-skinned nerve.
'Still, strange is strange.'
Even if he had only confirmed it through documents, Bae Cheong-dong's martial skill was far higher than expected.
'A fake?'
He had never seen a person deviate from his expectations like this, so it was only natural to fall into such suspicion.
'If he's the real Bae Cheong-dong, I've picked up a useful one. If he's a fake, that's not bad either.'
The way to confirm it was simple. Send someone to Bae Cheong-dong's home, and his martial level could easily be found out.
"You bastard! Die!"
Squad Leader Jeon, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly lunged at Bae Cheong-dong. In Squad Leader Jeon's hand, stretched toward Bae Cheong-dong's throat, was a dagger.
It was so sudden that no one could even get out a word to stop him. Startled, Bae Cheong-dong twisted his body aside and snatched Squad Leader Jeon's wrist.
"You fucking bastard!"
Thwack!
Holding Squad Leader Jeon's wrist, Bae Cheong-dong drove his fist forward. Blood from the broken nose scattered in all directions.
Judging by his eyes rolling back, Squad Leader Jeon had already lost consciousness, but Bae Cheong-dong showed no sign of stopping his hand.
"Stop that bastard!"
The warriors nearby threw themselves at Bae Cheong-dong. Even as they tangled together, Bae Cheong-dong thrashed, trying to land punches on Squad Leader Jeon's face.
Only after being buried under twelve men did Bae Cheong-dong finally stop his rampage.
'That's not the kind of thing a fake would do.'
If he were a fake, he would have tried to keep a low profile and slip in like water, not run wild like a madman.
"If you don't get off me right now, you're all dead!"
Watching Bae Cheong-dong with veins bulging in his neck, Ju Pyeong-seong spoke.
"Everyone back off. I said back off!"
Only after Ju Pyeong-seong shouted did Bae Cheong-dong regain his freedom.
"You stop too!"
Bae Cheong-dong, who had been panting and looking ready to charge again at any moment, looked at Ju Pyeong-seong, who had shouted, and relaxed his fist.
Seeing that he at least pretended to listen to a superior, he wasn't a complete lunatic.
"Follow me."
* * *