Monopolizing Fortunes (96)
Monopolizing Fortunes (96)
Among the underlings armed with all sorts of weapons, not a single one posed a threat to Do Tong-dal. With his bare hands, he subdued them as easily as twisting a child's wrist.
He could have killed them if he wanted, and breaking bones would have been simple too. But Do Tong-dal ended it with blows just hard enough to make getting up difficult for the moment.
In that respect, they ought to be thanking him for going easy on them. The time it took Do Tong-dal to take down thirty thugs was less than one ke.
The fight was so overwhelming that Namgung Seol-rin let out a long yawn.
Do Tong-dal crouched down in front of Jo Bi-pyeong, who was crawling on the floor.
"The ones who started the trouble were you, and the ones who refused to negotiate were the Sangmun Society. Don't forget that."
Jo Bi-pyeong could only sit up by leaning his back against the wall.
"Hey, be honest. You came here to eat, didn't you?"
"Well, if I'm passing by and get hungry, I eat. That's how it is."
"You sly bastard."
"Once you people go back, when will your Society Leader get here? We need to use our time productively too."
"When the Society Leader gets here, you're all dead."
"I asked when. Not who's going to die."
"Soon... He'll be here soon."
But that "soon" took long enough to become thoroughly boring. Eating as just the three of them in the spacious dining hall was nice, but they had to be compensated for all the lost business.
"Why don't we just go to the Sangmun Society headquarters instead?"
At Namgung Seol-rin's question, Do Tong-dal shook his head.
"We can just wait. Why go to all that trouble?"
"It's boring."
"They said he'd be here soon, so let's wait a little."
But in the end, they had to eat even dinner as just the three of them.
"You lying bastards! Just like the Underworld!"
Just as Do Tong-dal slammed the table and stood, footsteps sounded outside the restaurant, and thugs came pouring in.
"You bastards, if I'd left you'd all be dead. You just saved your own necks."
Do Tong-dal sat back down. A man in his mid-forties stepped forward. He had a stocky build with limbs like logs.
"You came from the Red Tiger Society in Hangzhou?"
"Yeah."
Perhaps offended by Do Tong-dal's casual speech, the man's eyes narrowed.
"I'm Sang Jung-ho, Society Leader of the Sangmun Society."
"Is that so."
"If you withdraw even now, I'll let this whole matter—"
"Let's stop running your mouth."
"What? You little punk!"
"I have no intention of treating you with respect."
Do Tong-dal rose from his seat and walked toward Sang Jung-ho. When he got close enough to touch him by extending an arm, Sang Jung-ho's upper body leaned back slightly.
"I'll make you a new offer. If you disband the Sangmun Society and join our Red Tiger Society, I'll guarantee you a Branch Chief position. You get a title without even getting beaten. It's a really good offer for you."
"You little brat, who do you think I am!"
Sang Jung-ho glanced back at the ninety underlings standing behind him. Normally they were reliable, but today they didn't inspire confidence at all.
'Fucking bastard!'
The target of Sang Jung-ho's curse was Jo Chung-mang. He'd thought the twelve Seonui Sect disciples Jo Chung-mang had brought would fight right away, but they'd picked a fight with Sang Jung-ho first.
It was meant to gauge Do Tong-dal's skill, but in the end the Sangmun Society was nothing more than a human test paper.
As Sang Jung-ho scanned his underlings, he spotted an unfamiliar man in his early thirties mixed among them.
'Did I have a guy like that among my men?'
If he were in his late teens or early twenties, an unfamiliar new recruit might be possible. But he didn't know of any unfamiliar faces among his underlings over thirty.
'He must be a remarkably incompetent one.'
Having concluded that, Sang Jung-ho met the eyes of Do Tong-dal in front of him.
"If you want a fight, I'll give you one."
As Sang Jung-ho stepped back, Do Tong-dal spoke.
"An Underworld Society Leader shouldn't try to hide behind his underlings."
"What do you—"
Do Tong-dal's foot struck his abdomen, and Sang Jung-ho's words ended in a scream. He'd had confidence in his toughness, but Do Tong-dal's strike was beyond what he could endure.
When someone among the thugs shouted "Get him!", they all rushed at Do Tong-dal at once.
The thugs wielding knives, swords, axes, and sickles had a menacing air, but a fight couldn't be won on momentum alone.
They fell like autumn leaves in the wind. Every time Do Tong-dal's foot moved once, one of them dropped, and sometimes three or four went tumbling tangled together.
No matter how many there were, it was a dull fight for Do Tong-dal. He barely even moved from his spot.
The incoming weapons were so slow that he could dodge them all within a single step.
He spun to avoid a knife thrusting at his stomach, struck the man's temple with his elbow, then spun again and kicked the face of the one aiming for his legs.
Because his body was rotating and the glance was fleeting, it lasted only an instant. In that instant, Do Tong-dal felt something off.
One man was different from the thugs Do Tong-dal had beaten so far and those he would beat later. Unlike the excited men around him, he alone had eyes as cold as ice.
And that man was right at Do Tong-dal's side. The moment instinct sent a warning of danger, Do Tong-dal leaped to the left.
Slash—!
A sharp pain shot through his side.
"Tong-dal!"
Namgung Seol-rin, who had been wiping tears after yawning from boredom, did not miss that scene. Won Dae-yeon, who had been sipping tea, moved too.
The moment Do Tong-dal landed, he put a hand to his side. Judging by the small amount of blood and the mild pain, it seemed to be only a superficial wound.
The man who had attacked Do Tong-dal while mixed among the thugs swung his blade once more, but failed to wound Do Tong-dal.
The man should not have made that second attack. The outcome wouldn't have changed, but his odds of escaping might have increased by a hair.
Namgung Seol-rin's sword came down toward the back of the man's head as he belatedly turned to flee. Do Tong-dal shouted urgently.
"Don't kill him!"
Namgung Seol-rin aimed for the left shoulder instead of the back of the head. The man was no ordinary fighter and dodged Namgung Seol-rin's strike. But Won Dae-yeon was a wall the man could never get past.
That was true even without Won Dae-yeon holding a blade. With a thud, the man took a blow to the face and flew one jang, slamming into the wall.
The clueless thugs rushed in, but they were dealt with even faster than when they'd faced Do Tong-dal.
"Tong-dal! Are you okay?"
"Just a scratch."
"We need to get you to a physician right away!"
"Spit on it and it'll be fine. More importantly, bring that guy over and clear out the one lurking outside."
Judging by his presence, the one outside wasn't a Sangmun Society thug but a martial artist. He might be from a martial world sect backing the Sangmun Society, but it wasn't particularly important.
Namgung Seol-rin threw the man down at the feet of Do Tong-dal, who was seated in a chair, then went outside the restaurant.
"Aaargh—!"
Namgung Seol-rin, having produced the scream, came back into the restaurant and took a seat beside Do Tong-dal.
"You didn't kill him, right?"
"Should I not have?"
"It's not that you can't, but still..."
"He's not dead. Probably."
When Won Dae-yeon pressed several pressure points, the man groggily came to his senses. His body twitched, but that was all—he couldn't even move his lips.
Do Tong-dal forced the man's mouth open and checked inside. Where the rearmost molar should have been, something else was embedded.
"He's got a poison capsule in there. I figured as much."
The man's eyes were anything but simple—a mix of instinctive fear of death, hostility toward Do Tong-dal, and even surprise.
"I figured you people would come looking for me someday. It could've been settled through talk, so it's a little disappointing that you went straight for the blade."
Won Dae-yeon asked.
"Do you know who this man is?"
"They'd be the ones who poisoned Cheol-hyeon and the Northern Unorthodox Alliance Leader."
Do Tong-dal looked the man straight in the eyes and continued.
"They're also the ones who tried to start an orthodox-unorthodox war using the Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng King."
Do Tong-dal confirmed in the man's eyes that his words were correct. Do Tong-dal said to the man.
"I'm going to release your mute point now. Biting down on the poison capsule to prove your loyalty isn't a bad choice either. But delivering my message to your superior is also an important mission, isn't it? So the choice is yours."
Do Tong-dal released the man's mute point. Conflict flickered in the man's eyes as he glared at Do Tong-dal.
"If dying is your wish, go ahead. But how about delivering my message to your superior before you die?"
"Do you know who we are?"
"How could I?"
"And yet you've thwarted our operations time and again?"
"I just happened to be there. I have no intention whatsoever of making enemies of you people. You've investigated who I am, haven't you?"
The man's head moved up and down.
"As you've found out, I'm just an Underworld thug. A little different from other thugs, but that's still the truth. I got mixed up in martial world affairs by accident. So let's make a peace treaty. I won't turn you people into enemies, so you leave me alone too."
"You're saying you won't involve yourself in martial world affairs?"
"Of course. Why would a thug get involved in martial world affairs?"
"But..."
The man looked at Namgung Seol-rin and Won Dae-yeon.
"You keep remarkable people as your underlings."
Namgung Seol-rin raised her hand as if to smack the man's head.
"Who's whose underling!"
"Calm down. Other people might see it that way."
"Hmph, is that so? From now on, I'll have to consider how others see you."
It seemed he'd made things worse. Do Tong-dal said to the man.
"They're no longer martial artists either. Of course, Namgung Seol-rin over there will have no choice but to get involved if something happens to the Namgung Clan, but until then she won't step into martial world affairs. Right?"
The last question was directed at Namgung Seol-rin, and she nodded.
"And Won Dae-yeon?"
"I died once. The me here was reborn as an Underworld thug. I'm no longer a martial artist. Though that depends on you, of course."
It meant that if Do Tong-dal entered the martial world, Won Dae-yeon would return to being a martial artist as well.
"You heard him. There's no reason for thugs and the martial world to be at odds, is there? Right?"
"It's not my decision to make."
"That's why I'm telling you to deliver the message to your superior. If you want to make an enemy of me, that's your choice. It's not because I'm scared that I don't want to fight you. Not that you people are shit, of course. If I had to put it, you're like flies. Annoying when they buzz around you."
Namgung Seol-rin whispered to Won Dae-yeon.
"Even his metaphors always manage to offend the other person."
The man asked Do Tong-dal.
"What exactly is the message you want delivered?"
"Don't come looking for me, because it's a hassle. Then I won't come looking for you either. Understood?"
Seeing the man nod, Do Tong-dal said.
"And don't secretly hide and watch me. Exposing your identities isn't that hard for me. I have a lot of friends in the Hao Sect."
Do Tong-dal lowered his voice.
"And in the Beggars' Sect too. Got it?"
Once again, the man's head moved up and down.
"Good. I'm quite satisfied that we've had a good talk."
Do Tong-dal released the man's pressure points. The man showed no stupidity like attacking Do Tong-dal again.
"Go on."
"If you're thinking of tailing me..."
"Why would I do something that troublesome?"
When Do Tong-dal gestured for him to leave, the man backed away, then vanished through the restaurant window.
Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"What was that boasting at the end about having lots of friends in the Hao Sect and Beggars' Sect? You don't have any friends in the Beggars' Sect."
"I don't, but those bastards seem to."
"What? You're saying the Beggars' Sect is in bed with some kind of faction?"
"What kind of person is the Beggars' Sect Leader?"
Instead of Namgung Seol-rin, Won Dae-yeon answered.
"He's a true chivalrous hero."
"Any chance he's a fake?"
"None at all. Beggars' Sect Leader Chwitage Baek So-gu is a man who has lived his whole life for chivalry and righteousness. There's no way he'd have joined hands with a covert faction."
"If I trust Won Dae-yeon's judgment, then it isn't the entire Beggars' Sect. Still, it's clear that someone in the Beggars' Sect has sided with them."
Namgung Seol-rin asked.
"How did you know that?"
"The man who tried to kill me answered. I told you. Eyes answer every question."
"I mean, why did you suddenly suspect the Beggars' Sect?"
* * *