Murim Vendetta #4: "What the Fuck?!"
Amto-bang's leader, Yeon Mi-pyeong, shouted in shock.
"The kids are all dead?!"
He'd sent five underlings to clean up the targets. Three, including O Su-man, to that Kim Geun-hyeop bastard, and the other two to his friend. But only O Su-man had come back.
His plan to brutally execute the targets, unite the gang members, tighten internal discipline, and absorb the surrounding small Black Path factions had gone completely to hell. With four of their own already dead, they were lucky if they didn’t end up getting wiped out first instead.
"And Hoesam—that fucker got split in half with one strike?!"
But the real problem was the terrifying possibility that the target was a master. Whatever the hell O Su-man had misunderstood, it felt like they'd fucked with a real expert. If a master showed up, getting wiped out would be child's play.
Yeon Mi-pyeong yelled at the trembling O Su-man.
"You fucking idiot! He's just a ronin, you said! You dared lie to me?!"
"N-no, sir!"
"What are you waiting for? Beat this fucker down!"
"Yes, sir!"
The other gang members immediately started pummeling O Su-man.
"Aaaargh!"
Brutal violence engulfed his entire body. In seconds, all his limbs and teeth were shattered.
"Fuck...!"
Yeon Mi-pyeong felt anxious. Should he run? But Amto-bang was everything he'd scraped together. Even if it was just a bunch of vermin, being the boss of something small was a hundred times better than being someone's disposable pawn.
Abandon it and flee?
"Fuck!"
He had planned to raid other Black Path factions, steadily expand the gang, and pull in profits far greater than what they had now. Giving up at this point? Not a chance. Yeon Mi-pyeong couldn’t abandon Amto-bang. Even for someone like him, rebuilding everything from scratch would be incredibly difficult.
"Hey! Send the boys out to gather intel!"
He needed to scout the enemy's strength. If they could take them out, great. If not, he could bail then—it wouldn't be too late.
"And tie this bastard up."
"Yes, sir!"
* * *
"First things first, we gotta find their hideout... Once we do, we can raid it, thin their numbers... Or pick off anyone who comes out, one by one."
"Ooh, Jae Mi-son, you sly fuck."
Who knew this guy was a brainiac? What's his INT stat?
"And spread rumors about the Nachal-sal... It'll crush their morale."
"Okay. That's my specialty."
"Huh? What?"
"Nothing."
Spreading my nickname to break their spirits? Solid plan. At our level, momentum wins half the fight. Our enemies are up against the Nachal-sal? If I were from Amto-bang, I'd be pissing myself already. Nothing easier to kill than a scared piss-pants.
"But Jae Mi-son, how the hell do we find Amto-bang's hideout?"
"Kuk kuk. Easy way."
"What way?"
What the fuck is it?!
"Simple. Find a Beggar's Sect disciple."
"A Beggar's Sect disciple?!"
The Beggar's Sect! That classic beggar gang from wuxia tales!
"Buying info from the Beggar's Sect?"
"Something like that... Gonna hunt one down now. Kuk kuk. Watch yourself."
"Watch myself?"
"Every last one in the Beggar's Sect is cursed human trash."
Beggar's Sect disciples are human trash?
"That bad?"
"Yeah... No wonder they're called an unorthodox sect."
"Beggars are that evil?"
"..."
Jae Mi-son just stared at me silently. Hey, my INT isn't low.
"Beggars and Beggar's Sect disciples are different... You dumbass."
"What's the difference?"
"Beggars beg. Disciples manage those beggars. Lazy fucks exploiting the weak ones. No way they're decent."
Ah, got it. Beggars are the street scum scraping by. Disciples are the mobsters pimping them out. Makes sense. Healthy bastards too lazy to work, leeching off cripples? That's not normal—straight vermin.
"They even break orphans' limbs to make 'em beg... And eat human flesh when hungry. Torturing low-performers goes without saying... Hell, they make 'em bigger cripples..."
"What the fuck."
Total pieces of shit.
"Jae Mi-son, can we trust those fucks?"
"Trash knows the streets. They gotta know about Amto-bang. Right price, deal's on."
"You're my Zhuge Liang."
This guy's a genius.
"Fine, I trust you, Jae Mi-son. Let's go find a Beggar's Sect disciple."
"Move carefully..."
"Yeah."
But damn, we stand out too much. Even disguised, our weapons and builds give us away. Swap arms and we lose combat power—no place to hide 'em anyway. Gotta carry openly.
Anyway, we went hunting those human-trash Beggar's Sect disciples. Not hard to find. City's got beggars clustered by some riverbank, always.
And sure enough, beggars everywhere.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Sunken-eyed beggars looked up at me. Like Jae Mi-son said, these weren't disciples—just real beggars. In this Ming Dynasty, beggars are the disabled who can't survive otherwise. All fucked up bodies—pitiful as hell.
How miserable, no options but begging in this world. Sympathy hit; I grabbed a fistful of coins from my pouch. Maybe that could've been me. Hope they eat something good with it.
"Looking for a Beggar's Sect disciple."
Dumped the coins in their bowls as alms.
"..."
"..."
"..."
No response.
"I'm looking for a Beggar's Sect disciple, damn it?"
Maybe not enough? Added more coins—still silent.
"Jae Mi-son, what's up?"
"Not worth the coin... Take it back."
"Right."
Reached into the bowl to retrieve my money—that instant.
"Keeek!"
"My money! My money!"
"How dare you!"
The beggars freaked, hugging their bowls and lunging at me!
"Whoa, shit!"
Startled, I instinctively kicked out.
Thwack!
Too critical! Way too hard!
"Gek."
The headshot beggar slumped!
"Wha—what?!"
"Uwaaaah!"
"Boss! The boss!"
Seeing that, the rest went berserk, charging even harder.
Shocking, but kinda comical. Trying martial arts with fucked limbs? Grotesque as hell.
"Fuck! What the hell!"
Fight's on—no choice. I swung fists and kicks, mercilessly cracking down.
Thud!
Bam!
"Eeeek!"
"Aaaak!"
Beaten beggars tumbled. No chance against me at that skill.
"Why the fuck are you flipping out?!"
Beating the disabled stings the conscience. I'm human—feel bad. But hey, they swung first. Gotta collect.
"Anyway, you attacked outta nowhere, so this is mine now."
Swept up all the scattered begging bowls, reclaimed every coin.
Dunno the details, but they ignored me, then attacked—gotta get compensation. Starve? Shouldn't have fucked with me.
"Hic! Nooo!"
"Don't take it! Don't!"
"Uwaaaak!"
What do you want me to do, you fucks? Their bitching killed any pity.
"Crazy bastards. Hey, Jae Mi-son. Let's try somewhere else."
"Kuk kuk. Impressive acting. As expected from the madman I approve of."
"What?"
"Look over there. Beggar's Sect disciple incoming."
What bullshit—then I saw it.
"Hey, you."
A thug-looking prick waddled over.
"Why beat up poor beggars? No compassion?"
"You a Beggar's Sect disciple?"
"Only we protect beggars. Depending on your answer, you'll taste the Beggar's Sect's wrath."
Pretty bold. Jae Mi-son said they're all cursed trash, but this guy's got balls—reminds me of Song-ssi up front. Kinda like him.
I stopped Jae Mi-son from stepping up.
"Here's the deal. Gave alms while asking for a disciple—they ignored. Gave more—still ignored. Tried taking it back, they attacked. Gave 'em what they deserved."
"Don't know about that. Rule is: don't touch beggar bowls."
This fucker? Stole my money and I don't know the rule?
Chill first.
"...Not worth it, so took it back. Anyway, you're here now. Disciple. Wanna buy info."
"Info, huh."
The disciple grinned.
"What do you want?"
"Amto-bang's hideout. Location."
Jae Mi-son cut in.
“Ooh, Amto-bang’s base? So we’re digging into a Black Path gang, huh.”
"Sell or not—say it."
"Right price, sure."
Deal on?
"Price: that sword."
He pointed at my sword.
"What? My sword?"
Trading info for my Thunderclap Sword?
"Yeah. Give it, info's yours."
"Nah, pass. Bad deal."
Can't waste this treasure on nobodies. But hey, negotiation tactic—start high, haggle down.
"Let's haggle."
"No? Fine, sell your info to Amto-bang instead. Or cough up silver. My mouth's loose without heavy silver. Heh heh."
"What...?"
This fucker's threatening us?
Stab!
Before I could react.
"Uh, ugh...?"
Jae Mi-son plunged his I-sang Je-go deep into the disciple's gut. I instantly thrust my sword, decapitating him. Can't let Jae Mi-son get all the blood on his hands alone.
"Kik... Daring to threaten our lives."
"Urk, urgh..."
"Vendettas get paid on the spot. Filthy Beggar's Sect scum."
Yeah. Right call. This disciple tried selling our asses outta nowhere—deserved death. This ain't modern Earth. Threaten murder? No mercy. Enemies to the death—erase immediately.
"But Jae Mi-son, doesn't this kill the deal?"
I grabbed the severed head. Punk got cocky.
"Nah... Take the head, find another disciple. Trash like them are easy to handle. Show the head, judge right/wrong—they'll bow."
"For real? What if a Beggar's Sect master shows?"
"Kuk kuk, you idiot. Would a master run a beggar gang? If you were a master, would you hang with these vermin and beggars for fun...?"
"Hell no, fuck that. True."
Masters wouldn't slum it with beggar trash.
"Hey!"
I snapped at the beggars irritably.
"Bring another disciple, you fucking shits!"
"Hiiiik!"