Monopolizing Fortunes (70)
Monopolizing Fortunes (70)
"He's too proud for that."
Their food arrived and they had just picked up their chopsticks when a man's voice cut through the noise of the restaurant.
"Hey! You two are those bastards from Cheonsangru!"
If not for the name "Cheonsangru," they would have ignored it, lost in the din. The two turned their heads toward the voice.
Do Tong-dal, eyes narrowed, said.
"I think I've seen him somewhere...."
"Me too."
"If I can't remember exactly, that means he's not important...."
"Ah! My ass!"
"Ah! That bastard!"
Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin remembered at the same time. The man who had groped Namgung Seol-rin's rear at Cheonsangru and gotten both hands pierced for it. And his companion at the time—none other than Pa-cheon Divine Sword, No Du-bong.
No Du-bong was standing in the middle of the restaurant. He had apparently been looking for an empty seat when he spotted them.
The sharp-eyed man in his mid-thirties standing behind No Du-bong asked.
"People you know?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. We're slightly acquainted, Hall Master."
No Du-bong looked far older, but in an organization, rank outranked age.
"Good. There are no seats, so ask if we can join them."
"Pardon? Well, that's...."
"Why?"
"Ah... no, nothing."
No Du-bong shuffled over and asked.
"Would it be all right if we joined you...?"
"No."
Namgung Seol-rin refused on the spot. But Do Tong-dal found the situation entertaining.
"Why? Don't be so cold. Please, join us."
"You want to eat while looking at that face?"
"How could I pass up a chance to share a meal with the Pa-cheon Divine Sword?"
He was clearly mocking, but No Du-bong thanked him and called the man over.
"Hall Master, come this way."
"Pardon the intrusion. I am Bae Jeon-o, Hall Master of the Jayeong Hall of the Namui Sword Sect."
Do Tong-dal asked.
"And what is your epithet?"
"In the martial world, they call me the Seohyeon Sword."
"A rather ordinary epithet compared to the subordinate you keep around. Your man is the Pa-cheon...."
No Du-bong loudly called for a server to cut off Do Tong-dal's words.
"Hey! Are you going to take our order or not?"
As the server came scurrying over to take the order, Bae Jeon-o asked.
"Where are you two from?"
"We came from Hangzhou."
"You look like martial artists. What affiliation do you belong to?"
"We're not martial artists. We're Underworld thugs."
"Pardon? Then what brings people like you all the way here...?"
Namgung Seol-rin said coldly.
"Do we have to reveal our business here to you?"
Bae Jeon-o's expression hardened.
"Is the young lady also from the Underworld?"
"Yes."
"A woman in the Underworld... How unusual."
No Du-bong quickly chimed in.
"Right? She's probably just a courtesan affiliated with the Underworld, don't you think?"
"Hm. That could be."
"I'm certain of it. The place where I met those bastards was a pleasure house in Hangzhou, after all."
"Why didn't you mention that? We nearly made a serious mistake."
"A mistake, sir?"
Bae Jeon-o pointed at Namgung Seol-rin with his chin.
"Imagine thinking a woman that pretty was a respectable young lady or a martial artist. Wouldn't you be tempted? If she's a courtesan, then we should treat her accordingly."
"Indeed. You are wise as always, Hall Master."
Namgung Seol-rin tightened her grip on her chopsticks. She felt like she would only calm down after punching holes in the tongues of those two running their mouths so rudely.
She was about to move when Do Tong-dal spoke.
"When you asked to join us, I figured you were at least monkeys pretending to be people. Turns out you're just dogs wearing human clothes."
"Are you saying that to us?"
At Bae Jeon-o's icy voice, Do Tong-dal smiled.
"The dogs even pretend to understand human speech."
"A mere Underworld thug must be dying to get himself killed."
Do Tong-dal, who had been staring blankly at Bae Jeon-o, asked.
"Shall we play a fun little game?"
"A... a game?"
Do Tong-dal placed both hands flat on the table.
"Namgung Protector."
"Huh?"
"Stick your chopsticks into the table."
Namgung Seol-rin drove the chopsticks she had been planning to use on the two men's tongues into the table.
The flimsy wooden chopsticks sank deep into the table, which had soaked up years of grease and become hard as stone.
Bae Jeon-o and No Du-bong could only gape in shock. No martial artist in this restaurant—including themselves—could have driven chopsticks into the table like that.
"Now, each of you place your hand on top of mine."
"Wh... what are you trying to...?"
"A test of nerve, of sorts. Namgung Protector here will drive a chopstick into the backs of our stacked hands. Whoever pulls away before the chopstick touches loses and buys today's lunch."
No Du-bong said.
"Th... that's unfair to whoever's hand is on top."
"I don't mind if my hand is on top."
Bae Jeon-o and No Du-bong looked at each other, then glanced around. Before they knew it, everyone's eyes were on them.
People would pay money to watch a fight or a fire, and this was a spectacle no less entertaining.
If they backed out here, they would surely be branded cowards.
"Let's do it."
Bae Jeon-o placed his hand on the table. If Do Tong-dal's hand went on top, then naturally Do Tong-dal would be the one forced to pull away first.
After Do Tong-dal pulled away, Bae Jeon-o could pull away and become the winner, so it was a bet he couldn't lose. Bae Jeon-o put his palm up, and No Du-bong had no choice but to place his left hand on the table as well.
"If I don't pull away, my hand gets a hole first. Well, well."
Do Tong-dal stacked his hand on top of theirs, and Namgung Seol-rin pulled the chopstick out of the table.
Then Do Tong-dal suddenly moved. He grabbed both men's hands and yanked, pulling their upper bodies forward. Do Tong-dal seized their heads and slammed them together inward.
CRACK—!
The sound of the two heads colliding was astonishingly loud. Bae Jeon-o and No Du-bong, their heads smashed together, lost consciousness and face-planted onto the table.
"Leaving your hands defenseless with a stranger. Are martial artists always this stupid?"
After a moment of silence, someone burst out laughing. The restaurant instantly followed suit and became a sea of laughter. Namgung Seol-rin couldn't help but let out a small laugh too.
"You didn't need to use a cheap trick like that."
"If I can end it simply, why bother moving around more than I have to? Let's just finish our meal."
But they couldn't finish their meal. Bae Jeon-o and No Du-bong's companions arrived.
They found the two unconscious and heard what had happened from one of the customers.
"Laying hands on our sect members means you intend to fight the Namui Sword Sect?"
There were six of them radiating hostility at Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin.
Do Tong-dal asked Namgung Seol-rin with a sigh.
"Why is it so damn hard to eat a single meal in the martial world?"
"I'm not a martial artist anymore, so don't grumble at me."
Do Tong-dal said to the newcomers.
"Can't you just take these two idiots and go? Fighting us won't end well for you."
"You injure members of our Namui Sword Sect here in Jiangxi Province and then talk like that? You've got guts!"
Do Tong-dal whispered to Namgung Seol-rin.
"Is the Namui Sword Sect famous in the martial world?"
Namgung Seol-rin thought for a moment, then let out an "Ah!"
"Why?"
"I knew I'd heard the name somewhere."
"What kind of sect is it?"
"Well, it's our...."
A middle-aged man cut off Namgung Seol-rin with a shout.
"What are you two whispering about! Come out right now!"
The six men, including the middle-aged one, went outside. Then Namgung Seol-rin finished what she had been about to say.
"It's a sect founded by a man named Ma Chang-bong, who was once a Hall Master of the Namgung Clan and left to strike out on his own."
"Huh? So it's like a branch line of the Namgung Clan?"
"You could say that...."
"So is it all right to beat them up?"
"I don't know. I'm not a martial artist anymore, so whatever."
Clearly this wasn't a situation that could be resolved with words. In the martial world, disputes leading to fights were an everyday occurrence.
When Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin left the restaurant, the customers who had been eating also poured out after them.
To them, watching a fight was more important than eating. Do Tong-dal said to Namgung Seol-rin.
"You'll feel awkward fighting them, so just stay put."
"I'm no longer in the martial...."
"Stop yapping and sit tight."
The main road, about five jang wide, was already lined with spectators. The onlookers naturally left space for the fight.
"Draw your weapon."
Do Tong-dal glanced at the sword on his back and said.
"No need for weapons. Let's just make one promise."
"What promise?"
"That you six are the last of it. Because if this fight ends and more of you crawl out like cockroaches wanting to fight, that'd be annoying."
"Co... cockroaches? You Underworld thug bastard, running your mouth off!"
"Fuck, what's so wrong with being an Underworld thug that every bastard I meet has to make a fuss about it? Are you going to promise or not?"
"The bastard whose mouth is about to get torn open by my hand is spouting nonsense!"
"So are you going to promise or not? Is that so hard to understand?"
"There's no way we'd lose to you...!"
"Oh, for—!"
Do Tong-dal couldn't hold back and moved first. The first person his foot caught under the chin was the middle-aged man who couldn't take a hint.
CRACK!
The man's head whipped to the left, spun a full circle, and he dropped. He'd taken the hit square on the jaw, so of course he lost consciousness.
"A cowardly surprise attack...!"
The sect member who said that while reaching for the sword on his back also took a hit to the temple and collapsed. The third man never even got his sword drawn.
Drawing a sword wouldn't have changed anything.
Humm—!
Do Tong-dal ducked under the sword aimed at his neck, spun around, and kicked the attacker in the chest.
"Guh—!"
Before the body of the man who let out that stifled scream even hit the ground, another sect member's jaw was turned. And the last one took a kick to the groin and foamed at the mouth.
"C... coward... ly...."
"Six against one, and you call me a coward? Bullshit."
Do Tong-dal dusted off his hands and grinned at Namgung Seol-rin.
"Clean finish, right?"
Just then, a shout like a scream rang out.
"Hall Master Hwang! What is the meaning of this!"
The smile vanished from Do Tong-dal's face, and his expression crumpled. When he turned his head, he saw a dozen or so martial artists pushing through the crowd.
One of them cradled the middle-aged man who had fallen first.
"Is Hall Master Hwang all right?"
The one who asked was a man in his early fifties who had appeared at the very back.
"Yes, Sect Leader. He seems to have only lost consciousness."
Do Tong-dal let out a deep sigh.
"Fuck, is half the population of Jiangxi Province in the Namui Sword Sect? They just keep crawling out one after another."
The man holding the unconscious middle-aged man asked Do Tong-dal.
"Did you do this to Hall Master Hwang?"
Do Tong-dal flicked his hand at the Sect Leader.
"We're going to fight anyway. Just come at me."
He couldn't even be bothered to exchange words.
"Have you ever seen such a barefaced bastard! Do you have any idea who this is, to dare...!"
"The Sect Leader of the Namui Sword Sect. The guy who was a Namgung Clan warrior, then ran off to eat well and live well on his own and founded a sect."
It was accurate, yet somehow deeply irritating.
"If you knew and still did this, then you're openly picking a fight with the Namui Sword Sect!"
"Martial artists talk more than a roomful of gossiping old ladies. If we're going to fight anyway, let's just fucking fight."
Do Tong-dal drew his sword. Fighting with words was more exhausting than fighting with bodies.
Of course, there was no guarantee Do Tong-dal would win. The Namui Sword Sect members were clearly inferior to Do Tong-dal, but the problem was the Sect Leader.
There was no guarantee that his martial arts were stronger than those of a Namgung Clan Hall Master.
'Namgung Protector is here, so it'll work out somehow.'
It worked out somehow.
"Fuck, I can't stand here and watch this disgrace."
Namgung Seol-rin, Do Tong-dal's trusted ace, stepped forward.
"I'll handle it, so you just stay out of it."
Namgung Seol-rin swatted away Do Tong-dal's outstretched hand.
"A man who was supposedly a Namgung Clan warrior is acting like a thug, and you want me to just watch? If you want to stay out of it, you stay out."
"And what's this wench?"
Smack—!
He only took a single slap to the face, but his body swayed and he crumpled to the ground.
"You bastard, who the hell are you calling a wench? Are you trying to die?"
The Namui Sword Sect members drew their swords in a flurry. Namgung Seol-rin's gaze moved past the sect members and fixed on the Sect Leader.
"You came all the way to Jiangxi Province to start your own sect, and this is the kind of sect you made?"
"Huh? Uh? C... could it be... young lady?"
* * *