Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Translator: Penny
Chapter 68
You Don't Know (3)
Jo Byeok's expression hardened as he surveyed the scene.
The situation was far more dire than he had imagined.
When he first received the report, he had assumed that one of the guards accompanying the elders had caused the trouble. Hearing that the Three Shadows were present, he had expected them to subdue the culprit easily.
After all, the Three Shadows could effortlessly handle most skilled martial artists.
But now, the Three Shadows lay sprawled as corpses, while the elders were crippled, their moans filling the air.
At the center of the carnage stood a man Jo Byeok had never seen before.
"Who are you?" Jo Byeok's voice trembled. Even he would struggle to withstand the combined assault of the Three Shadows. This meant his opponent was stronger than him.
"I'm just someone who stumbled upon this filthy place while passing by."
I answered that way for future convenience. It would be easiest to have this place attributed to some nameless wandering swordsman who had wiped it out.
Jo Byeok resorted to the crudest but most effective tactic:
"Do you know who's backing me?"
I scoffed at his threat. "Does the person behind you even know this filthy place exists?"
Jo Byeok froze instantly.
If Sama Cheon were to discover this place, it would be disastrous. Moreover, he had been pocketing all the profits himself. Sama Cheon would likely tear him apart.
I smirked at him.
But you don't know how furious I am.
You have no right to defile these children. You're less than the dirt under their fingernails.
The fact that these pure souls had been trampled by such a vile creature filled me with rage. The thought that Baek Pyo and his family had been endangered by this worthless scum infuriated me.
If you can't protect and care for children, at least don't harm them.
"What do you want? Money?"
Their imagination extended no further than this. If I were to attack this place, it must be for money.
When I remained silent, the man seemed to take it as a positive sign.
"I'll give you a stake in this place. Ten percent? Thirty percent? Whatever you want. Just look at those girls!"
He glanced at the girls, and even his gaze alone terrified them. It was clear how he usually treated them.
"Children are everywhere in the Martial Arts World, and so are old men who want them. We could make a fortune!"
I remained silent.
The man grinned slyly. "And if we rescue a child, I'll give you the first taste. It'll make you young and vigorous again, Great Hero."
This man was the most vile of all the villains I'd ever encountered.
I smiled faintly. "Did you ask what I want?"
"Just name it!"
"What I want... it's hard to explain in words. I'll show you instead."
I strode toward him. Realizing I wasn't offering a hug or a handshake, Jo Byeok cursed and drew his sword.
"You bastard! If you don't want the chance I'm giving you, just die!"
Whoosh!
Jo Byeok charged forward, his sword slashing through the air. The attack was swift and deadly, befitting his reputation as Sama Cheon's right-hand man.
I evaded the incoming blade using the footwork of the Immortal Crane Secret Art. This technique was markedly different from my usual martial arts, and I consciously adjusted my movements to account for the distinction.
After allowing him a few initial strikes, Jo Byeok grew overconfident.
"You're nothing but a little whelp!"
He unleashed his most powerful attacks, pouring them down on me.
If we had been alone, I might have used him for further practice. But I worried that his Sword Aura could harm the children nearby.
Dodging the sword aimed at my vital points, I surged forward, closing the distance.
Thwack!
My fist connected with Jo Byeok's face, sending his head snapping sideways.
Just as I was about to throw another punch at the staggering man, Jo Byeok flicked something hidden in his hand.
Whoosh!
A handful of powder struck my face.
Jo Byeok retreated hastily, his desperate attempt to hold his breath suggesting it was a lethal poison.
Instead of avoiding it, I inhaled deeply, drawing the powder into my lungs. I couldn't risk any of it reaching the children.
Seeing this, Jo Byeok smirked with satisfaction.
"Fool! Do you even know what kind of poison that is? Just one breath will block your body's qi and blood, causing you to die in agony... But... why aren't you dying?"
Watching the man's smile vanish, I chuckled.
"Looks like you bought some cheap poison."
It finally dawned on me that I had truly become invulnerable to all poisons. The poison he had just used was less of an impediment to my fighting than flour would have been. At least flour would have obscured my vision.
I lunged at him.
This time, he unleashed a barrage of hidden weapons.
Swish, swish, swish!
I deflected the incoming daggers with my bare hands. Three daggers embedded themselves in the wall. This technique—deflecting hidden weapons unharmed with the back of my hand—was another form of the Immortal Crane Secret Art.
He thrust his sword at me again, but his attack lacked its earlier sharpness. He had been shaken by my dagger-deflecting technique, his spirit broken.
Easily evading his strike, I twisted his wrist.
Crack!
His wrist snapped completely, bending backward at an unnatural angle.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
He clutched his mangled wrist, screaming in agony.
I immediately leaped into the air and slammed my knee into his side.
Thud!
The man's pelvis twisted, and his screams grew louder.
A flicker of joy crossed the faces of the girls watching. Such expressions at this brutal spectacle revealed the depths of their suffering.
Yes, this won't erase everything, but watch closely.
Thud! Thud!
The first punch crushed his nose, and the second shattered his remaining teeth.
"...Please... spare me..." Jo Byeok pleaded through slurred words, but his desperate plea was utterly futile.
Crack!
I stomped on his shin, breaking it.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
His scream was filled with agonizing pain.
I was inflicting as much pain as possible, ensuring the children would never forget this moment.
Thwack!
My elbow slammed into his jaw, leaving the shattered bone dangling.
He wanted to collapse, but I wouldn't let him. My fists continued to rain down relentlessly.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The children present couldn't follow the rapid blows. But with each brutal impact, bones shattered, and Jo Byeok writhed in agony.
As every bone in his body splintered, the man went limp, his body collapsing like a boneless creature.
The light faded from his eyes.
I took a step back, then lunged forward.
Whoosh!
This was the final blow.
Thud!
The perfectly landed strike caved in his face.
He slowly toppled backward, collapsing onto the ground as a lifeless corpse.
"Divide the stake among the Hell Yakshas."
Of course, the stake would consist of divine retribution and eternal torment.
Then something caught my eye. A necklace hanging around the fallen man's neck had come loose and lay exposed.
I tugged sharply, pulling the necklace free.
It was arrow-shaped, with a tip that could be twisted open.
When I twisted the arrowhead, a small, rolled-up piece of paper fell out. It was covered in numbers and letters—a cipher impossible to decipher at a glance.
I didn't know what it was, but it seemed important, so I pocketed it.
The girls alternated between looking at me and the corpse. Gratitude shone in their eyes when they looked at me, while triumph flashed across their faces when they looked at the body.
I walked over to the banquet tables. Piled high on the five tables were the old men's banknotes, brought for the auction.
I gathered them all and distributed them among the girls.
The girls accepted the money with frightened expressions.
"This money isn't about forgiving them," I said. "It's yours, and that's why I'm giving it to you."
One of the girls pushed the money back, saying, "It's dirty money!"
"Those men are the dirty ones. Money is just money."
"No! Seeing this money will only remind me of the past I want to forget."
The girl threw the money to the ground.
I picked it up and pressed it firmly into her hand.
Looking into her eyes, I said softly, "No. Even if you refuse this money, the past will still haunt you."
Tears welled up in the child's furious eyes.
Yes, how could anyone forget what happened here?
Humans are creatures who can never forget even the smallest things that leave a mark on their hearts.
"So take it. If you don't want to spend it now, bury it somewhere. When you're older, if you still hate this money, then you can throw it away."
This money would undoubtedly help the children live better lives. It was just and proper compensation for the pain and suffering they had endured.
The children gathered around me.
"In life, you'll meet both good and bad people. You just happened to meet the bad ones first. From now on, good people will be waiting for you."
I could only hope that the children would overcome their trauma and live well. If there truly is a heaven, I pray it will protect these children from now on.
I felt deeply sorry for them. As a fellow adult, I was overwhelmed with remorse.
Half an hour later, I watched from a distant treetop as Martial Arts Alliance warriors escorted the villagers away.
The girls would be returned home, while the old men would be imprisoned in the dungeon.
Their crimes were too grave to be excused by money or power. My unwavering resolve to never forgive crimes against those ignorant of martial arts, especially children, had led to the establishment of extremely strict Alliance Rules.
Ma Bonggi might be corrupt, but he was not yet the Martial Arts Alliance. This was the Alliance I had cultivated for decades. He had been Alliance Leader for less than a year.
Sama Cheon would never investigate Jo Byeok's death. Far from investigating, he would tremble with fear of being implicated and seethe with betrayal at the revelation that Jo Byeok had been secretly operating such a place behind his back.
With this, Baek Pyo and his family were safe.
A few days later, on a moonless night, a man scaled the walls of the estate.
This was Jo Byeok's secret brothel, and the man was the same one who had conducted the auction just two days prior.
He was the one who had alerted Jo Byeok to the intruder, and the sole survivor among the brothel's swordsmen from that day.
The Martial Arts Alliance's investigation had concluded, and the estate was now sealed off. Yet, as its former manager, he skillfully navigated the secret passages to the underground chambers.
In the Main Hall, shattered tables and dried bloodstains on the floor served as grim reminders of the day's events.
He crossed the Main Hall and exited through the back door, entering a room off the corridor. This storage area was filled with brooms, mops, and other miscellaneous items. The floor and walls were filthy, and a foul stench hung in the air.
The man pushed aside a stack of boxes to reveal a wall. He touched it, and a section slid open, revealing a door with an abacus-like mechanism.
He entered a code, and the door swung open.
The man stepped inside and grinned.
"Heh heh heh. Now it's all mine."
This was the secret vault of the brothel, where money and other valuables were stored.
The man's satisfied smile gradually froze. He slowly turned his head.
His face paled. He couldn't help but be terrified.
Because I was standing right behind him.
"...You knew I was coming?"
I nodded at the man's question and stepped inside.
"Jo Byeok couldn't have settled accounts daily, could he?"
Jo Byeok was busy working as Sama Cheon's subordinate, handling various tasks. He wouldn't have had time to come here every day to collect the brothel's earnings.
Whether it was once a month or every two months, he likely came on a fixed schedule to take the money.
That's why I suspected there was a secret storage place here. He would have needed somewhere to keep the money. Naturally, someone must have known how to access it.
"He collected the money every two months."
Of course. Jo Byeok wouldn't have completely entrusted the task to someone else.
"Please spare me."
"I already spared you once, didn't I?"
"Huh?"
"If you hadn't been greedy and left this place, you could have lived another fifty years."
Swish! Thud!
My sword pierced his heart.
The man collapsed, dead instantly.
"I granted you a painless death as payment for opening this place to me."
Of course, I had anticipated his return. That's why I was waiting here.
Otherwise, I would have killed him that day. Why would I spare the auctioneer's life?
Inside, there were various items and banknotes. I secured the banknotes first.
The total amount was eighty thousand taels.
Eighty thousand taels earned in just two months! He must have stashed away even more money elsewhere.
The cipher hidden within the necklace might be a clue leading to another location, or it could have been concealed elsewhere.
First, I gathered all the money into the leather pouch I'd brought.
As this was an illegal establishment, the banknotes were small denominations I could safely use.
There were also several miscellaneous items.
One decent hidden weapon case contained a dagger—a remarkably well-crafted one, with no markings to identify its maker or user.
I took it. Though I rarely needed daggers after mastering the Immortal Crane Secret Art, carrying a few for emergencies always felt reassuring.
Next, I turned to the medicines for internal and external injuries. True to his reputation as someone who took impeccable care of himself, the drugs were of the highest quality. I took them all.
The medicines I'd obtained from Ma Jeongsu's vault last time were more than enough for my needs, so I decided to distribute these to Gwangdu and the Sword Guard members. These were such expensive drugs that they could never afford to buy them with their own money.
With the 200,000 taels I'd found at the Financial House, my total wealth now stood at 280,000 taels. Approaching 300,000 taels, this was by no means a small sum—especially considering it didn't include the funds Gong Suchan was managing.
But it wasn't just about the money. I had gained invulnerability to all poisons and increased my internal energy. I had mastered new martial arts techniques, and new people were gathering around me.
I was growing stronger.