Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Janitor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One of the ten men swaggered toward Seol Hwa-un.
“You insolent punk, how….”
Seol Hwa-un had no intention of bickering with them for long. He quietly gathered his inner energy and flicked his finger.
Shuk!
Peok!
The man collapsed with a dull thud.
Thud.
“Huh?”
“What the?”
Another man sensed something off and approached his fallen comrade. He soon spotted a tiny hole pierced through the man’s forehead.
“Gasp! What the….”
Before he could finish, Seol Hwa-un’s finger moved again.
Peok!
The man, mid-sentence, took a hit straight between the eyes and crumpled.
Thud!
“……!”
Red Wind Hall Leader’s face stiffened. He had seen something shoot from Seol Hwa-un’s fingertip.
‘Finger skill? Just a flick of the finger with that kind of power?!’
He had noticed only because he was focused. Otherwise, he might have missed it.
Red Wind Hall Leader shouted at the remaining eight men who hadn’t grasped the situation.
“Everyone, rush him at once!”
The men flinched but leaped forward.
“You bastard!”
“What did you do?!”
Though the first two had died without knowing why, they still trusted their numbers.
Seol Hwa-un could guess their thoughts.
‘Classic black path thugs.’
He indifferently swung his left hand.
Shushuuk!
In an instant, it unleashed three strands of Ice Ring Finger.
“……!”
The finger skill shot out at terrifying speed, piercing the chests of the three leading men.
Second-rate at best, they had no chance to react.
Pupeopeok!
Only then did they realize why their comrades had fallen so easily.
‘It was a finger skill….’
As the three collapsed, the five trailing men froze in dread.
“W-what is this?!”
They belatedly realized Seol Hwa-un was on a whole different level.
“Uwaaa!”
“R-run!”
Terrified, they turned to flee.
“Too late.”
Seol Hwa-un unleashed Ice Ring Finger again.
Shushushushuk!
The five rings flew twice as fast as before. Before they could even turn fully, the rings pierced their death acupoints.
Pupeopupeopeok!
“Sp-spare….”
Not one dodged the Ice Ring Finger. All collapsed, lifeless.
“…….”
As they fell, Red Wind Hall Leader had circled behind Seol Hwa-un unnoticed.
“Die!”
Four flying knives shot from his hand.
Shushushuk!
Red Wind Hall Leader’s specialty was swift footwork followed by throwing knives.
He had ruthlessly sacrificed his men as bait for this killing blow.
The surprise attack was so sudden that Seol Hwa-un showed no reaction even as the knives flew at him.
‘Got him!’
An impressive expert, but he couldn’t dodge this ambush. Red Wind Hall Leader was certain.
Yet moments later, incredibly, the knives passed through Seol Hwa-un and embedded in the floor.
Pupeopeok!
Red Wind Hall Leader’s pupils shook.
‘Afterimage?!’
Seol Hwa-un had shifted sideways and was now staring at him.
‘Shifting Form and Changing Position!?),’
Only then did Red Wind Hall Leader realize Seol Hwa-un was leagues beyond him.
“W-wait….”
Before he could speak, Seol Hwa-un mercilessly flicked his finger again.
Paang!
The strongest Ice Ring Finger yet burst forth, infused with immense inner power.
Tougher than the others, Red Wind Hall Leader still stood no chance. At his level, evasion was impossible.
Peeeeok!
“You son of a….”
Pierced through the heart, Red Wind Hall Leader collapsed grotesquely.
Thud!
Seol Hwa-un looked down at the eleven corpses, his gaze deepening.
‘This is black path scum’s prowess?’
The ten second-rates were surprising enough, but Red Wind Hall Leader was shockingly first-rate. From his attire, he wasn’t even the boss.
‘Mid-level executive, yet first-rate. How many experts does this Black Wind Gang have?’
No wonder they had such confidence for black path rabble.
“Ugh…!”
Bong Chun, who hadn’t joined the fight, sat paralyzed in terror.
Seol Hwa-un slowly approached him.
“Sp-spare….”
Peok!
A hole in the forehead, and Bong Chun slumped dead.
“I gave you a chance.”
Then, from the main inn’s hallway, an errand boy peeked out.
‘……Done?’
“Ah!”
Seeing the fallen Black Wind Gang members, he let out an inexplicable gasp.
His eyes met Seol Hwa-un’s, standing alone.
“Gasp!”
He ducked back in fright.
“…….”
Moments later, regaining composure, he crept out and approached Seol Hwa-un.
“G-guest. Are you alright?”
“As you can see.”
The boy bowed deeply.
“S-sorry! You’re our inn’s guest, yet we couldn’t protect you….”
His eyes were bruised black. Clearly beaten by Black Wind Gang thugs.
“It’s fine. This place….”
“We’ll clean up right away!”
As the boy called for help, Seol Hwa-un stopped him.
“No rush on that. More importantly, I have questions….”
“Ask away!”
Guilty, he answered briskly.
“These guys called themselves Black Wind Gang. Famous black path group?”
The boy nodded vigorously.
“Hangzhou’s biggest—no, now the only one.”
“Tell me more.”
“Yes, well….”
Hangzhou once teemed with black path gangs. But after endless infighting, about ten years ago, it split between Black Wind Gang and White Snake Sect.
Their powers were evenly matched—skirmishes happened, but no all-out war.
Two months ago, Black Wind Gang suddenly declared war on White Snake Sect. Their strength was overwhelmingly greater than expected.
White Snake Sect crumbled effortlessly, letting Black Wind Gang unify all black path forces.
“They declared war out of nowhere and crushed them?”
“Yes, everyone wondered. Rumor has it their gang leader changed just before.”
Unified, Black Wind Gang grew bolder. Once nocturnal, they now rampaged in broad daylight.
“Didn’t the Martial Alliance branch do anything?”
The boy shook his head.
“They’re just for show. They pretend to guard some inns, but rumors say they take bribes. Decent black path types?”
Seol Hwa-un’s expression visibly hardened.
‘Martial Alliance… how far have you fallen.’
After a pause, he asked,
“One last thing. Where’s Black Wind Gang’s base?”
Hearing the answer, Seol Hwa-un quietly left the West Lake Inn.
* * *
Black Wind Gang Leader, Kang Yeon-san.
He had achieved the impossible: unifying Hangzhou’s black path.
His dream realized, he was now Hangzhou’s de facto king.
Twenty executives sat before him. Bedtime for others was prime time for them.
“…….”
Scanning them, Black Wind Gang Leader asked,
“No Red Wind Hall Leader?”
An executive replied,
“Said he had business. Running late, it seems.”
“Tch. I told executives not to wander.”
Black Wind Gang had intel via officials: a high-status figure was secretly visiting Hangzhou.
Ordinary black path handled it fine. But if martial-trained…
They bribed officials consistently, but the imperial palace was different.
The palace had long vigilantly managed against murim sects in Hangzhou.
Thus, besides black path and the martial-official producing Purple Dragon Martial Hall, no warrior groups existed.
A VIP would have palace experts as guards—spotting a Black Wind Gang thug would be easy.
“Red Wind Hall Leader’s no fool. He’ll be fine.”
“True. …Let’s begin.”
The meeting started at his word.
After some agenda, an executive hesitantly spoke,
“Leader, Hangzhou merchants are grumbling a lot.”
Another chimed in eagerly,
“Yes. They complain about double protection fees forever—what are we supposed to eat?….”
Black Wind Gang Leader’s face hardened.
“Didn’t we expect this?”
They clamped shut at his icy glare.
“Soothe them well. If not, use what you’re good at: violence, threats. Crush them!”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Remember: miss this month’s quota, and you’re done!”
“…….”
The executives bowed reluctantly, unconvinced.
‘Absorbed White Snake Sect territory—income’s quadrupled.’
‘Even normal collection is double before. Doubling that….’
Total income was now quadruple pre-unification. Money was good, but no need to stir resentment scraping extra.
The leader wasn’t a spendthrift either.
‘Where’s it all going….’
He knew their thoughts.
‘Think I want this? Sigh.’
Then, an explosion rang in his ears.
Kuuuung!
“Hm?”
Faint screams mixed in.
“……!”
“What’s that noise?”
Black Wind Gang Leader felt ominous.
‘What?’
He rose and headed out. Executives followed.
* * *
In Black Wind Gang’s inner courtyard, a white-robed man stood tall.
Over fifty gang members surrounded him; dozens already lay fallen around.
“Stop him! Hurry!”
Hesitant gang members charged the white-robed man.
“Uwaaaa!”
Their momentum was fierce, but he casually swung his fist.
Buwoong!
Peeeeok!
Five gang members flew back at once.
“Argh!”
“Keok!”
The fallen didn’t rise. Not dead, but gravely injured.
“Die!”
Shushushuk!
Projectiles flew at his back. But as if eyes on his back, he sidestepped effortlessly, dodging all.
Pupeopeok!
“Kraaak!”
“Ak!”
Innocent gang members took the hits instead.
“No projectiles!”
“Weapons! Use weapons!”
Sword- and club-wielders charged at the shout, to no avail.
The white-robed man spun in place, swinging both hands.
Buuuwoong!
No fancy technique—just simple, swift fists.
Pupeopeong!
Chachachang!
The results were shocking. Clubs shattered on impact; blades chipped or bent.
“I-impossible!”
He swung again at the now-defenseless foes.
Pupeopupeopeok!
“Gek!”
“Keuk!”
Dozens fell in seconds, but their numbers held—reinforcements kept joining.
“Just one guy! Keep attacking!”
“…….”
The white-robed man was Seol Hwa-un. A cold smile curled his lips.
‘Right. All come out.’
Buwoong!
Pupeopeok!
“Uwaaak!”
Pupeopupeopeok!
“Kraaaak!”
Another dozen-plus crumpled under his relentless fists. None rose again.
Unbeknownst to them, those with any training suffered fatally.
Not dead, but crippled for life.
“Ugh!”
“T-this matchup’s unfair.”
The reckless charges turned to standoffs; no one dared move rashly.
Over a hundred down, yet Seol Hwa-un unscathed, untired.
His white robes spotless.
Even urging executives choked on his killing intent.
Seol Hwa-un slowly scanned around. Their terrified eyes evoked old memories.
‘Yeah. Back then, they looked at me just like that.’
Then.
“Stop!”
Black Wind Gang Leader and executives appeared.
“Who the hell are you?! Who dares cause this ruckus!”
An executive bellowed boldly. Seol Hwa-un’s gaze turned to him.
“The janitor.”
“What?”
“The one cleaning up trash like you.”