Monopolizing Fortunes (22)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (22)
"This is the first time I've ever been sorry to leave Hangzhou."
Namgung Cheol-hyeon, packed up and ready to go, wore an oddly lighthearted expression.
"Don't pretend you don't know me later, once you're Clan Head."
"First I'd have to win the martial tournament."
Namgung Cheol-hyeon untied the tassel from his sword case and handed it to Do Tong-dal. At the end of the tassel hung a small square jade plaque, with the four characters "King of All Cures" carved in relief.
"If you ever have business in Zhejiang Province, bring this and come to the Namgung Clan."
The two embraced, then turned away. After a few steps, Namgung Cheol-hyeon called back to Do Tong-dal.
"Tong-dal."
"Yeah?"
"We're friends, right?"
"Of course."
Do Tong-dal was Namgung Cheol-hyeon's first friend, and the friend he could trust most. Regardless of Do Tong-dal's status, Namgung Cheol-hyeon simply liked him.
Watching Namgung Cheol-hyeon's retreating back, Do Tong-dal turned away. His warm expression soon turned cold.
The Baekdong Branch was no longer his home.
"How will Jang Jeong-baek come at me?"
In his previous life, the man had terrified him. He was not only vicious but meticulous, and later he had even mastered mind-reading.
"But in this life, the one who masters mind-reading will be me."
A cold smile settled on Do Tong-dal's lips as he muttered. The mind-reading Jang Jeong-baek had learned was a secret manual called the Mind-Reading Art.
People usually thought of martial arts when they heard "secret manual," but the Mind-Reading Art was, as its title said, a secret method for reading another person's mind.
Do Tong-dal himself had only heard bits and pieces from Jang Jeong-baek, so he didn't know the details. It was all just rambling talk from when Jang Jeong-baek, drunk, had beaten Do Tong-dal half to death.
But Jang Jeong-baek hadn't been lying. From some point on, Jang Jeong-baek really had read people's minds like a ghost.
Do Tong-dal also knew how Jang Jeong-baek had obtained the Mind-Reading Art. Time was the only problem.
"It's definitely before this year is out."
They were at the start of autumn, so only about four months remained.
"I was going to put someone on him anyway, and now he calls for me himself. You're digging your own grave, Jang Jeong-baek."
Everything Jang Jeong-baek had done to him, and the killing of Wang Chil, had not yet happened. Strictly speaking, then, in this life Jang Jeong-baek had committed no sin against Do Tong-dal.
But the man's pettiness, cruelty, and cowardice, seared into his memory, were his innate nature, and that alone was enough to deserve death.
"Jang Jeong-baek. Just as you act as the Society Leader's tongue, I'll become your tongue."
* * *
"If you don't resolve this by today, be prepared."
At Jang Jeong-baek's warning, the six squad leaders swallowed hard. It was Jang Jeong-baek's way of warning them: "I haven't decided yet, but I'll make you suffer the most."
Do Tong-dal entered Jang Jeong-baek's office just as the dispirited squad leaders were turning to leave.
Everyone's eyes turned to Do Tong-dal. He crossed the office and bowed deeply toward Jang Jeong-baek.
"I am Do Tong-dal, Branch Chief."
It was courtesy so excessive it bordered on overdone.
'They said he was wild and reckless.'
"It is an honor to serve the renowned Branch Chief Jang."
Jang Jeong-baek, who had been staring blankly at Do Tong-dal, let out a short laugh.
"A brazen-faced little bastard with a slick tongue."
"I will use both this brazen face and this slick tongue in your service, Branch Chief."
Jang Jeong-baek had intended to find fault with Do Tong-dal the moment he arrived and give him a thorough dressing-down, but his first impression wasn't bad.
"So, what's the matter?"
Jang Jeong-baek pointed with his chin at the six squad leaders lined up on either side.
"I don't like the way those bastards work."
"They're just still inexperienced."
"Listen to this eighteen-year-old talk. You think you can handle it?"
"I don't know what it is, but just leave it to me."
"Oh? You know the Changuro market?"
"Of course. Isn't it one of the three biggest markets in Hangzhou?"
"You know we manage it too?"
"Aren't the Seo-ung Branch and the Seopyeong Branch splitting the management of it?"
He seemed to have done his homework on the Seo-ung Branch quite thoroughly.
"There's a slaughterhouse in our section of the Changuro market, and those butcher bastards are refusing to pay protection money."
Searching his memories of his previous life, Do Tong-dal recalled such an incident. There had been a brawl between the slaughterhouse butchers and the Red Tiger Society thugs in which over a dozen people died.
Because of that, dozens of thugs had been arrested, and the Red Tiger Society had gone through a major crisis.
"Aren't the butchers there famous for being rough? If the nearby butcher shops join in, that's about forty men."
"This little shit knows more than the people in this branch."
"This level of advance research is basic when serving you, Branch Chief."
"The previous branch chief was an idiot who left a pile of shit behind. Cleaning it up is killing me."
Jang Jeong-baek made a show of complaining while stealing a glance at Do Tong-dal. The moment he thought, 'I wish this guy would step up,' Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Shall I go take a look?"
"You? You sure?"
"We can't just leave people who don't pay protection money alone in your territory, Branch Chief."
"Right. How many do you need?"
"If a fight breaks out, five men to clean up the surroundings will be enough."
Jang Jeong-baek could have given him about twenty. If Do Tong-dal came back after failing, he could pin the blame on him; if he died or ended up a cripple, that was fine too.
But only five? It was a number that gave Do Tong-dal an excuse even if he failed.
"Why not take a few more?"
"Five is plenty."
He was said to be a decent fighter, but this was excessive confidence.
'He's digging his own grave.'
With that thought, Jang Jeong-baek asked.
"When do you plan to go?"
"Strike while the iron's hot, so let's go now. Let's see..."
Do Tong-dal swept his gaze over the squad leaders lined up in a row.
"You. Bring your squad members and follow me."
The leader of Squad 3, a man in his mid-twenties, was startled.
"M-me?"
"Let's go."
Do Tong-dal left with the now-miserable squad leader in tow. Jang Jeong-baek muttered.
"That bastard's got guts, whatever else you say."
Do Tong-dal left the Seo-ung Branch with the squad leader and five squad members. If getting saddled with such a big incident from the start was luck, then it was luck.
If he resolved the slaughterhouse matter cleanly, he could raise Jang Jeong-baek's trust in him by a notch and earn the confidence of the branch members as well.
"Um... Deputy Branch Chief."
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure it's all right for just us to go?"
"Why?"
"Last time, when only we went, those guys said if we came again they'd fillet us... They're not the type to make empty threats."
"I know."
"I know your martial arts are strong, Deputy Branch Chief, but those guys are really rough..."
"I'll do the talking, so you all just keep your heads down. And run if things go bad."
"W-we can't do that."
It wasn't that they had any particular loyalty to Do Tong-dal, but running away and abandoning a comrade would get them ostracized from the underworld.
"It's fine. Nothing's more important than your life."
Do Tong-dal spoke to the squad members trailing behind him like cattle being led to the slaughterhouse.
"Same goes for you all. Staying alive comes first. Got it?"
He asked again when they hesitated, and barely managed to get a "Yes." out of them.
It wasn't that he was particularly worried about them. He was just making the most of a chance to win favor with the organization members.
The market was as bustling as ever. The dusty streets were so packed with people it was hard to walk without bumping shoulders.
But Do Tong-dal didn't even graze the passersby's collars. That was because people who spotted them hurriedly stepped aside to the edge of the road.
They pushed through the market's clamor and arrived at the slaughterhouse. Pigs hung in rows from the stalls, and on the right, cuts of beef dangled in separate sections.
Thwack! Thwack!
Do Tong-dal's shadow fell over a man who was chopping meat on a cutting board.
The butcher glanced up and looked at them.
"Could I speak with whoever's in charge?"
Do Tong-dal said with a smiling face.
"Little bastards came looking for a place to die."
The butcher bared his yellow, half-rotted teeth in a grin.
"Hey, boys! We've got guests from the Underworld!"
No sooner had the shout left his mouth than men came pouring out of the slaughterhouse. Each held a knife used for taking apart animals.
"I said let's talk, and you come out swinging knives right away. Your hospitality is terrible."
As he spoke, Do Tong-dal quickly counted the men coming out.
'Twenty-two.'
There seemed to be about ten more still inside the slaughterhouse.
"Th-these bastards are crazy!"
The squad leader quickly drew his blade, and the squad members gripped their daggers. Passersby and merchants who had been doing business fled far away.
The street looked much wider than when it was swarming with people. On one side stood Do Tong-dal and the squad members; across from them were twenty-odd butchers.
The man who had first spoken to Do Tong-dal said.
"I told you, if you came back I'd kill you."
"I just came to buy some meat. You're being too harsh."
"We don't sell to Underworld bastards!"
With a look that said he had no choice, Do Tong-dal drew his dagger.
"I can't just stand here and let myself get cut. Hey, squad leader."
"Yes, Deputy Branch Chief!"
"Go and bring every physician you know."
"What?"
"Those guys are going to get hurt, so they'll need treatment. Whatever about the slaughterhouse men, we can't let other people get harmed."
"A-are you serious?"
"Be back within one ke. It'll be over by then. And you lot."
The squad members he called jumped in surprise.
"Yes!"
"Make sure people can't come through. They might get hit by a stray blade."
"A-all of us? Without fighting?"
"You'd just be in the way. Move quickly."
He sent the squad leader off and made the squad members fall back a good distance. Only then did Do Tong-dal face the butchers alone.
"Your courage is admirable. You've come to die alone?"
"Talking doesn't seem like it'll do any good, so let's just start cutting each other."
"Underworld bastards are the best in the Central Plains at pretending to be brave. Boys! I'll take responsibility, so carve him up properly!"
It was unclear how he'd take responsibility, but the butchers charged as if they believed him.
These were men who lived with knives in hand all day. Naturally, they were more skilled with blades than thugs.
Whoosh—!
The blade swung at his neck without hesitation. Whatever the cause of the fight, he had no mercy for anyone trying to kill him.
Dropping his stance and letting the blade pass over his head, Do Tong-dal slashed the man's thigh as he went by. Along with the familiar sensation in his hand, a choked scream burst out.
Two more blades came at his chest and waist in quick succession. They came in simultaneously, as if rehearsed.
He twisted his body to avoid the chest strike and knocked away the waist attack with his dagger. After cutting the arm of the one who had aimed at his chest, he slashed the side of the one who had aimed at his waist.
Perhaps because the butchers were used to blood, they kept charging even as their comrades were wounded.
He spun around and cut one man's back, but a sharp energy reached his leg. It was a sensitive spot that had been cut in his previous life, so the approaching sensation felt unusually vivid.
'A sickle!'
A sickle on the end of a long pole came in at his leg. He leaped to avoid the sickle, then kicked one man in the jaw.
As he blocked a blade chopping down at his shoulder, the sickle again went for his ankle. Attacks coming from a distance like this were quite troublesome.
First, he had to deal with the gray-haired old man wielding the sickle. The moment he decided who had to be eliminated, Do Tong-dal kicked off the ground.
One blade thrust at his chest from the front, while two more aimed at his waist from either side.
Tap!
No one expected Do Tong-dal to dodge with a somersault. He spun his body in the air and leaped over the man attacking his chest.
That brought him a stride closer to the old man with the sickle. The old man, reading Do Tong-dal's intent, hastily backed away, and two men blocked his path.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Do Tong-dal rolled across the floor and passed between the two blocking him.
Blood sprayed from the two men's shins and calves. The sickle came down at his shoulder.
The attack came at an exquisite moment, impossible to dodge. He had no choice but to raise his blade and block, and the curved tip of the sickle left a wound on his back.
Do Tong-dal dashed forward, and the old man retreated. The old man looked nearly sixty, but his movements were astonishingly quick.
Two men appeared from either side, swinging their blades horizontally at his chest and stomach.
If he kept advancing to catch the old man, he would be cut across the chest, the stomach, or both.
Do Tong-dal spun in place, and the sickle grazed past his shoulder. Now that he had stopped, a second attempt to catch the old man would be far more difficult.
Do Tong-dal didn't choose the obviously difficult path. As he completed the spin, a dagger left his hand.
The dagger cut through the air and lodged itself in the shoulder of the old man holding the sickle.
"Gah—!"
The butchers, who hadn't even glanced when others were hurt, started in alarm at the old man's injury.
"Sir!"
The old man shouted.
"Don't mind me—get that bastard!"
* * *