Byeokun Merchant Group (1)
Dawn broke, fresh and crisp in a way that made me feel almost annoyingly alive.
Energy surged through my whole body.
It was a different kind of vitality than before, the sort that seemed to spread from my heart to every limb in one warm, quick pulse.
“So this is what inner power feels like.”
Now that I had it, my body felt entirely different.
The inner power that beat around my heart felt as if it were remaking me from the inside out.
The fact that it takes the shape of a ring is kind of fascinating too.
According to the subtle workings of the Blue Wolf Mind Method, when I drew the inner power into my middle dantian, it formed a circular ring around my heart without me needing to do anything special.
It’s almost like the circles in fantasy novels.
Cheongyeoljeon had borrowed a few fantasy-style elements to make the game more fun.
Maybe this method of storing inner power in the middle dantian was one of them.
Of course, the method was similar only in form; magic did not actually exist in this world.
Still, no reason to get cocky.
I had gained inner power, yes, but I had to keep reminding myself that I had only just learned to walk.
In the martial world of Zhongyuan, someone at my level was no different from a pebble lying by the roadside.
“Let’s go.”
Today was the day I’d promised to meet Byeok Unseong.
It wasn’t exactly close, so if I didn’t move quickly, there was a real chance I’d miss the appointed time.
“Ah, there he is! That bastard!”
The moment I stepped out of the inn, a familiar voice stabbed at my ears.
I turned toward the sound and saw a face I knew.
“Oh, you.”
It was the same guy who’d picked a fight with me when I was still living hand-to-mouth on a single day’s rations. The one who’d become the sacrifice for my freshly acquired Heavenly Luck Fist.
I’d beaten him senseless with great enthusiasm and, after that, never had to see his face again. A clean removal from my memory.
“He’s the one! That bastard did this to me!”
Behind him stood a line of burly men, all shoulders and hard muscle.
Apparently, he’d run off and tattled to them.
Well, he did keep his word.
He’d stuck to what he said he’d do, so should I call that manly, or just laugh at him?
Truthfully, neither mattered. What I had to do remained the same.
I was just looking for a chance to test its power anyway. Perfect timing.
They hadn’t come all the way here to invite me to tea.
They wouldn’t complain if they ended up as test subjects, would they?
“Hey.”
The man who looked like the leader twisted his face into a scowl and strode toward me.
Watching him come at me, I clenched my fist.
[Heavenly Luck Fist activated!]
[The inner power of the Blue Wolf Mind Method gathers in your fist.]
[The power of your first strike is greatly amplified.]
Blue Wolf Mind Method.
This was exactly why I’d chosen it over all the other mind methods.
It had a monstrous effect: a 200 percent boost to attack power on the first strike.
And if I combined that with Heavenly Luck Fist? On a successful dice roll, the damage would stack with that 200 percent.
Theoretically, the first hit could deal four times the damage.
[16]
[Success!]
Just like now.
Crack!
My fist landed dead center, and a dull, meaty sound burst out like a sandbag exploding.
The man, who had been marching toward me with a scowl, didn’t even manage a scream before he sailed into the air.
“Guh—!”
“B-Brother!”
The other brutes’ eyes widened at the sight of their leader crumpling so pathetically.
Yep. Works just fine.
I watched the man fly and tightened my fist.
This was the so-called “One Punch Man” build, the cheapest exploit in all of Cheongyeoljeon, and for someone like me with such a fragile foundation, it was about as ideal as it got.
“Aren’t you coming?”
I curled a finger at them, a simple provocation.
“All of you, take him down together!”
With a howl, the burly men rushed at me all at once.
“Hoo.”
I drew in a deep breath and raised the inner power gathered in my middle dantian.
As the inner power moved according to the Blue Wolf Mind Method’s subtle flow and wrapped around my body, my limbs suddenly felt much lighter.
Thud!
I planted one foot hard into the ground and stamped with all my strength.
“What?”
The earth shuddered, and the brute who had been leading the charge couldn’t hide his surprise.
I gave him no chance to recover.
I bent my knee slightly, then launched myself upward like a spring.
A clean knee strike.
Crunch!
A heavy, unpleasant sound that was sure to be anything but welcome to the brute drilled into my ears.
“Gahhh!”
He let out a final cry and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Tap.
Landing lightly, I looked around.
“U-uh...!”
The ones who had rushed me so boldly had been overwhelmed by what I’d just shown them, and now none of them dared move.
“If you run now, I’ll let you go.”
I really didn’t want to spend my morning trading punches with a pack of thugs.
But even after my offer, they only exchanged glances with one another and didn’t retreat.
Tsk.
In the world of lowlife punks, face was everything.
Being beaten senseless by one man without laying a finger on him was bad enough, but running away because they were scared of him would sting even more.
“You chose this.”
I understood that.
I understood it, but they were still going to pay for messing up my schedule.
Once I’d finished speaking, I lunged at them without hesitation.
For a while, the front of Gurim Inn rang with the sound of blunt impacts and the desperate screams of grown men.
* * *
After everything was finally settled, I hurried toward the meeting place.
Like I said before, it was a fair distance away, so I had to move as fast as possible.
I should look for a movement technique at some point too.
There would be times when I needed to cover long distances, so it would be smart to acquire a light-foot technique as well.
“You’re not late, are you?”
I’d been lost in pointless thoughts before I knew it, and now I was at the meeting spot.
Byeok Unseong, who had arrived earlier, grumbled when he saw me running up.
“Something came up.”
“Hmm.”
He turned his head with an audible snort.
“So, what were you doing?”
“I was preparing what you asked for.”
Byeok Unseong glanced around the area for a moment, then reached into his robes and handed me a crumpled piece of paper.
“What’s this?”
“The information you told me to find.”
Taking the folded paper, the first thing I noticed was a seal stamped on it.
It’s the mark of the Haomen.
Haomen.
One of the top information networks in all of the martial world.
If they were delivering high-quality information, the price wouldn’t have been cheap.
Even this little scrap of paper probably cost about a fifth of my monthly pay.
And he just tossed it at me like it was nothing.
As expected of the young master of the Byeokun Merchant Group.
“Read it quickly.”
“Understood. As for Chuhongeom...”
[I investigated the man known as Chuhongeom, as requested... (omitted)... However, considering the chaotic tangle of sword wounds left at the scene, the rumor that Chuhongeom single-handedly brought down the Baekak Sect appears to be greatly exaggerated.]
Just as I expected, nothing special.
That was my impression after carefully reading to the end.
So if I did things the way I’d planned, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
“Anything else?”
“I’ve prepared it, but are you really saying you can win with that?”
It would be hard to believe. Still, it was possible.
“More than enough.”
“I see. Then, before that—”
“Before that?”
“You’re too filthy.”
I could feel his gaze sweeping up and down my body.
“…That bad?”
I had vaguely known I looked rough, but being called out by a green kid was a strangely different feeling.
“If you’d been thrown out, it wouldn’t have been surprising.”
“Well, try to understand. This is how people with no money live.”
“You live with remarkable hardship.”
Byeok Unseong shook his head as though he couldn’t make sense of it.
Right. How much could some sheltered little rich kid understand about the life of a laborer who lived day to day on whatever he earned?
“If you’re going to meet the man pretending to be my father, you’ll need a bath and clean clothes.”
“This is the cleanest outfit I own.”
At this moment, what I was wearing was basically my full combat strength.
“Not good enough. I was so focused on catching that bastard that I didn’t think about this at all. Come with me.”
Apparently, the wardrobe of a spoiled young master still wasn’t satisfied with my battle readiness.
“W-wait—”
And so, for a while after that, I was dragged all over the place by Byeok Unseong.
The amusing part was that everywhere we went, people recognized him and treated him like royalty.
Meanwhile, some people would be lucky if they didn’t get salted to death.
I felt a little depressed.
Damn it, Paeng Yeohun.
“Now you actually look human.”
After the long shopping ordeal was finally over and I was adjusting my clothes, Byeok Unseong grinned at me teasingly.
“So you’re saying I wasn’t human before?”
“Well, I won’t deny it.”
It had only been a short time, a short acquaintance, but Byeok Unseong seemed to have grown pretty comfortable with me, because he tossed out little jokes like that every so often.
But that only lasted so long.
As the destination, the Byeokun Merchant Group, drew closer and closer, I could see the tension stiffen his body.
“Don’t get nervous. You’ve got me, don’t you?”
To prepare for whatever might happen and to help ease his nerves, I thumped my chest with a hollow sound.
“…R-right.”
“You answered a bit late there.”
“It’s your imagination.”
Well, from a kid’s perspective, I probably didn’t look all that reassuring. Fair enough.
You’ll be surprised soon enough.
I was going to fill that face with shock.
“Ah, this is a little sudden, but I’d like to ask something.”
“What is it?”
“The person who introduced me to you—who exactly was it?”
Really, I could already guess the answer, but I wanted to hear it confirmed.
“The Byeokun Merchant Group supplies goods to many places. Among them is the Hebei Paeng Clan.”
“Just as I thought.”
Exactly as expected.
I could also guess roughly who had spoken about my whereabouts, and with what intention.
“W-we’re here.”
Byeok Unseong’s trembling voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
When I lifted my head, a grand gate and the immense manor beyond it seized my attention.
“Oh...”
Since becoming Paeng Yeohun, this was the first time I’d come to a mansion of this scale, and my heart stirred despite myself.
“Then let’s go in. I don’t know what you’ve prepared, but please, don’t hesitate.”
“Of course. Trust me.”
If the real Byeok Ungang had indeed been replaced by Chuhongeom wearing an inhuman mask, then hesitation would mean defeat.
From here on, both Byeok Unseong and I were walking a razor-thin line together.
“Young master, the family head has been waiting.”
The massive gate opened, and the servant who appeared bowed deeply toward Byeok Unseong.
“I’ll be there shortly. Tell them I’m bringing a guest.”
“A guest?”
The servant raised his head, and the moment he realized there was an uninvited guest standing there, he failed to keep his expression in check.
I saw that, you brat.
It had only lasted an instant, but he hadn’t escaped my eyes.
“Then how should I explain to the family head who this guest is?”
“Hmm.”
He was an uninvited guest, yes—but he was the young master’s guest all the same, so he needed to be treated accordingly.
That said, such treatment came at a cost, and the family head would need to be informed of the guest’s identity.
So the servant’s question was perfectly reasonable.
But when Byeok Unseong actually faced it, he shut his mouth like a mute with honey in it.
Looks like he didn’t expect that.
Introducing me as a friend was awkward, to say the least. We were friends, sure, but only with some creative interpretation.
And if he told the truth and said I was Paeng Yeohun, my name was far too notorious for that to be a clean solution.
In other words, he was trapped no matter what he said.
“Young master?”
As the silence stretched on, suspicion began to gather in the servant’s gaze.
And naturally, the direction of that suspicion was aimed at me.
So if I wanted to clear the doubt from my head, I had to provide the right answer.
“Uh...”
The moment Byeok Unseong cautiously opened his mouth—
Ding!
[Young master?]
[Tell a lie: some nameless nobody of a martial artist]
[Reveal the truth (10): Paeng Yeohun of the Hebei Paeng Clan.]
What the hell?
An extremely awkward set of choices appeared before my eyes.
Rattle, rattle.
Before I could even react, the dice had already begun to roll.
[11]
[Reveal the truth (10): Paeng Yeohun of the Hebei Paeng Clan.]
My mouth moved on its own again.
“Paeng Yeohun of the Hebei Paeng Clan.”