Monopolizing Fortunes (64)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (64)
The resistance from the Red Tiger Society thugs was fierce. Every time they took over a branch or a Fixer Office, he was surprised anew at how many kinds of curses existed in the world.
It was hard on his ears, but he was not physically hurt. They were rough men, but still ordinary people who had simply been in a lot of fights.
The Red Wind Sword Sect, which had entered as an occupying force, gnawed away at the Red Tiger Society like that.
There were injuries, but no one was killed. That was because they had been ordered not to kill if possible.
Some of the thugs came over to their side willingly. They dressed it up with the saying, "A wise man knows the times," but they were just opportunists.
On the other hand, there were occasionally ones whose resistance was as fierce as a trapped badger.
That day was one of those.
"You sons of bitches! Get back to your doghouse right now! Fuck! You're not setting one foot in here while I'm alive! You filthy bastards!"
Up to that point, it was all curses he had heard plenty of times before.
"When Tong-dal was here, you ran with your tails between your legs like scared dogs, but the moment you heard he was locked up, you came running like bitches in heat! And you still call yourselves a martial sect? You cowards! You think Tong-dal is going to stay quietly in jail? You rabbits! When Tong-dal gets out, you're all dead! Will you run with your tails tucked then too? You bastards! Cut your dicks off!"
A thug who was barely twenty had seriously wounded Yeo Cheol-seon's pride. If it had not been true, he could have dismissed it as just another insult, but the young thug's shout drove the truth straight into the sore spot.
That was why his last thread of reason snapped. He had held back because of the order not to kill if possible, but that day he couldn't.
In the end, three of those guarding the Red Tiger Society headquarters died that day. If his subordinates hadn't stopped him, he might have slaughtered all twenty-two.
"Fuck, this fucking sucks."
Even after killing three men, he didn't feel relieved.
* * *
"Someone died at headquarters?"
Yang Cheol-jung repeated the names.
"Wang Baek, Do Jung-man, and Jang Baek-dong."
"Did Jang Baek-dong happen to have a big mole under his nose?"
"Yes. We're looking for the culprit, but he's under the county magistrate's protection, so it won't be easy to catch him."
Do Tong-dal's gaze drifted to the empty air. Jang Baek-dong was dead. He was the one who had taken on all the dirty work for him, and who had always been cheerful even while serving his friend as his master.
The reason he hadn't given him a branch chief position even though he could have was a light thought: he could just give him a good position later.
So Jang Baek-dong had remained a low-level thug, and thanks to that, he hadn't been arrested either. Do Tong-dal had thought it was fortunate that Jang Baek-dong didn't have to suffer in prison.
He had also often sent the one who wasn't jailed on annoying errands. The man would laugh and say, "I'm lucky I wasn't locked up, since I get to run errands for Coordinator Do."
He wanted to smash through the iron bars right then with his clenched fist. He felt like he could shatter the bars with the rage bursting from his chest alone.
"Tong-dal......."
Wang Chil gently placed a hand on Do Tong-dal's shoulder. Wang Chil's body heat pressed down on Do Tong-dal's anger a little.
"Chief Yang."
"Yes."
"Please make sure the kids get a proper funeral. I'm asking you. Don't spare any expense."
After handing over ten nyang of silver, Do Tong-dal leaned against the wall below the window.
The shadows of six iron bars crossing the narrow window vertically made it feel real that this place was a prison.
"Damn it!"
* * *
Do Tong-dal handed Seo Wang-su a sheet of paper with twelve names written on it. Seo Wang-su, who had been deputy head of the Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office under Wang Chil, was still serving as its head.
Because the Gwanghwa-ro Fixer Office was one nobody paid attention to, he hadn't been locked up either.
"These are the people who have agreed to testify against us."
"Should we eliminate them?"
"Do a thorough background check. For those who can be brought over through intimidation, do that. If they can't be persuaded, we'll have to kill them. For now, just do the background checks. I'll let you know when it's time to move. There's no room for mistakes. If even one of these people gives unfavorable testimony, things will get complicated."
"Understood."
After sending Seo Wang-su back, Do Tong-dal sought out Chief Clerk Dong Bong-gil.
"Has a trial date been set?"
"Five days from now."
"The magistrate is using every last day."
After locking someone up, the crime had to be proven within twenty days. If the arrested person did not confess, the proper procedure was to prove the crime through trial.
If the crime could not be proven at that twenty-day trial, the person had to be released. So five days from now was the day that would decide the Red Tiger Society's fate.
It was also the day Do Tong-dal's revenge would begin. The plan was already set in his head. Jang Baek-dong's death had only deepened the cruelty in that plan.
"You fucking bastards, just wait."
* * *
The litigation attorney Jong Ji-min spoke confidently to Do Tong-dal.
"All we need is for there to be no testimony."
Retired officials were common, but officials who retired from a central government post in Beijing were rare.
Regardless of rank, having retired as an official from the central government was grounds for being treated well in the provinces.
If one had the qualifications of a litigation attorney, that was even more true, because the effectiveness of a petition submitted to the central government was different.
What local officials feared most was an inspection from the central government. If an inspector from the Censorate came, nine times out of ten heads would roll, and in severe cases, one could even end up in prison.
In particular, litigation attorneys did not submit petitions carelessly. A mistaken petition endangered the attorney's own safety.
Conversely, if a litigation attorney submitted a petition, it meant the chances of it being accepted were high. This was especially true for a litigation attorney who had retired from a central government post.
"I will pressure them by saying that if the trial result is not acceptable, I will submit a petition."
"They'll have a lot to feel guilty about, so it should work."
"However, no evidence or testimony related to the Red Tiger Society's crimes can come out. The law is not so lenient with the Underworld."
"You don't need to worry about that."
"Understood."
Jong Ji-min left, and before even two ke had passed, Seo Wang-su arrived.
"Have you finished the background checks?"
"Yes. Eight of them seem like they can be intimidated, but four have no family or friends and aren't married."
"Deal with them all at once tomorrow."
"All at once?"
"Yes. It has to be simultaneous."
"Understood."
* * *
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The drum sounded, and an official from the criminal division shouted.
"The trial of the Red Tiger Society, an Underworld organization, will now begin! All rise!"
The rear courtyard of the government office was often used as a courtroom. Because the trial was so large, there were many spectators, and even a hundred chairs were not enough.
Yeon Ja-yeon, Seon Hye-min, and Ja Su-yeong took seats at the very front of the spectator section.
"Coordinator Do will be released today, right?"
Ja Su-yeong asked in a voice full of anxiety.
"I told you he said he'd be released. Coordinator Do was that certain, so it will happen."
She answered that way, but Yeon Ja-yeon was just as anxious. Since the trial was presided over by the county magistrate, who was their enemy, it was bound to be absolutely disadvantageous for the Red Tiger Society.
Seon Hye-min spoke.
"Don't worry. He said he's taken care of everything."
"The county magistrate is entering!"
The magistrate's seat was placed at the highest point in the front. Once Gong Myeong-un was seated, everyone was allowed to sit.
Ja Su-yeong, who had been looking around, whispered.
"Namgung Cheol-hyeon, what brings you here?"
Yeon Ja-yeon turned her head and saw Namgung Cheol-hyeon standing with his arms crossed and a serious expression.
"Depending on the trial result, he might even break him out of prison, don't you think?"
Ja Su-yeong said it half-jokingly, but Seon Hye-min replied with a serious face.
"If it comes to that, we'll have to do it."
"What?"
"I can't stand to watch my husband do prison time for a crime he didn't commit."
"But then it would really be a huge problem."
"Him being in prison is a bigger problem. In this vast Central Plains, is there nowhere to hide?"
"Well, that's true, but......."
Yeon Ja-yeon spoke.
"Coordinator Do said he would be released. Let's trust him."
Meanwhile, Red Tiger Society members tied in a line with ropes came into view. Around the middle, Do Tong-dal, Jang Yu-seom, Wang Chil, and other executive-level figures walked together in a group.
Ja Su-yeong stamped her feet with a distressed look.
"Oh no, everyone looks so gaunt, like they've been starving for ten days!"
Seon Hye-min said.
"They slacked off on their training in prison, and now they've just gotten flabby."
Yeon Ja-yeon patted Ja Su-yeong's shoulder.
"Everyone looks healthy, so don't cry."
Do Tong-dal, who was shuffling along with shackles on his feet, gave a slight nod when his eyes met theirs.
Whether it was because he truly wasn't worried or because he was confident things would go well, Do Tong-dal's face was full of composure. He even winked one eye when he saw Namgung Cheol-hyeon.
The weather was heavily overcast, as if it would pour rain at any moment. From very far away, a rumble of thunder sounded.
"It looks like rain. Let's finish this quickly."
To Gong Myeong-un, keeping his clothes dry was more important than the fate of the Red Tiger Society thugs.
After the criminal division official recited the formal legal procedures, he called out the names of the bound men one by one and listed the charges against them.
Wang Chil, the four Protectors, and Do Tong-dal were charged with murder, disposal of a corpse, assault, and even rape. Every dirty crime in the world had been attached to them.
The criminal division official ended his long statement by saying that the criminals must be severely punished.
In comparison, the defense by litigation attorney Jong Ji-min was short.
"The evidence will speak for itself. If an unjust punishment is handed down to the defendants today without any evidence being presented, I declare that I will go all the way to the central government and protest strongly."
Because he had actually done so in the past, Jong Ji-min's words did not sound like empty talk.
A sneer crossed Gong Myeong-un's face. There were twelve witnesses ready to cut off the Red Tiger Society's head. Of course, there was also evidence that had supposedly been used in the crimes.
It was fabricated, but when combined with the witnesses' testimony, it would become evidence they couldn't wriggle out of.
"I call Hwang Do-pal, a member of the Red Tiger Society, as the first witness!"
A man in his mid-thirties with a scruffy beard strode over and sat in the witness seat.
He was a thug who had originally been with the Haerang Society before switching sides to the Red Tiger Society. He had been a fairly successful branch chief, but since the Haerang Society had lost, it was only natural that his influence had collapsed.
"Is the witness indeed a member of the Red Tiger Society?"
"That's right."
"Then you must know the executives, from the Society Leader on down."
"I know them like the back of my hand."
Several Red Tiger Society thugs watching from the gallery shouted.
"You bastard! What do you know! You're just a rat who crawled in here!"
"If you don't be quiet, I'll throw you in jail!"
After a few more outbursts of cursing, it quieted down.
"Then you must also know about the murder committed by Wang Chil and Do Tong-dal about two months ago."
The criminal division official picked up a mace from among the swords, blades, maces, and sickles lined up on the table.
"You witnessed them strike the head of a rival Underworld thug with this and kill him, didn't you?"
Hwang Do-pal rolled his eyes upward and put on a thoughtful expression.
"Two months ago, you say...... two months....... I'm sorry, but I can't remember something that long ago."
"What?"
"I forget things after three days. Not long ago I spent several days enjoying myself at a pleasure house, and on the fourth day I forgot where my own home was. If my younger brother hadn't been there, I would've had no idea how to find my way home."
Laughter erupted from the gallery.
"Didn't you clearly tell me you saw it!"
"When?"
"Ten days ago!"
"Hey, how could I remember something that long ago?"
"You...... you little......."
The trembling criminal division official glanced at Gong Myeong-un. His displeasure was obvious, but with the witness acting like that, there was nothing he could do.
Litigation attorney Jong Ji-min had nothing in particular to cross-examine, so he simply let it pass.
"I call Byeon U-bang, a thug belonging to the Red Tiger Society, as the second witness!"
But even after the criminal division official finished speaking, the second witness did not appear. Even after shouting three times in a row, only the official's own voice echoed back.
An official came running over in a panic and whispered to the Punishment Bureau chief.
"What? The witness didn't show up?"
"Th...... that's right."
"You should have secured him before the trial started!"
"Well, he promised absolutely that he would come on time......."
"How long do we have to wait?"
* * *