Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Deaths Buried
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Axes and sickles grazed waists and shoulders, while Gwang-woo's fists and feet slammed into the black thugs' faces and sides.
Pfth!
The black thug whose head had burst open and the one with a hole punched through his gut tumbled across the floor.
Pfth! Thud! ...
A streak of light flashed by as a massive figure sliced through the pack of black thugs.
Kaboom! Boom! ...
The thugs sent flying by Gwang-woo's punches and kicks crashed into the walls before sliding limply to the ground.
Their faces were unrecognizable mush, and gaping holes in their chests gushed blood.
Kuhhh...
A faint groan leaked from the mouths of the sprawled black thugs.
But the groans soon faded, leaving the room in dead silence.
Gwang-woo stared down at the corpses in a daze for a moment before snapping back to his senses.
"Oh no, big trouble. Brother's probably waiting with his neck stretched out by now."
"Ah... that punk."
Gwang-woo had left home before lunch, and even though dusk had long settled in, he still wasn't back.
"How does this guy vanish into thin air every time he steps foot in the village?"
Irritated, I clenched my fist and waited for him to return.
Plip... plip...
Raindrops began falling onto my head as I sat on the porch waiting for Gwang-woo.
I ducked inside to escape the rain, then gritted my teeth at the presence I sensed outside the door.
'Gonna beat him half to death.'
Creeeak.
The door opened cautiously, and Gwang-woo poked his head in.
His eyes met mine where I sat on the main room floor. He flinched in surprise, then bowed his head deeply.
"Brother. Sorry. I'm really late."
"I know, so get in here quick. It's pouring."
I coaxed him inside with the gentlest voice I could muster.
But Gwang-woo wasn't that naive.
"You're gonna beat me once I'm in, right? I know all about it, brother."
Patience at its limit, I glared at him fiercely.
"Get in here now if you don't wanna die."
Gwang-woo slunk inside with a miserable look, then dropped to his knees in the yard and prostrated himself flat.
"Brother, forgive me. I killed some people."
I'd been gripping my fist tight, but his words startled me.
"What're you talking about? Killed people?"
"Guys you know too, brother. Those street punks who came by before. They tried to get me drunk and told me to kill you. I couldn't hold back and wiped them all out."
My heart sank cold.
I had a rough idea of what happened, but I wanted the full details.
"Explain from the beginning. Every detail, no embellishments..."
Gwang-woo started rambling through the rain about everything that had gone down.
"So, I stopped by the butcher for meat, and..."
After hearing his full story, I jumped to my feet.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
His cow-like eyes, full of confusion, looked up at me.
"If you leave the bodies like that, you'll be the prime suspect. Sure, martial artists wouldn't bat an eye at a few deaths, but when black thugs are involved, the authorities will investigate."
Truth be told, I wasn't certain the constables would even bother.
And whether those were martial artists or not didn't matter to me.
What did was the anxiety that this could draw unwanted attention to us.
"What're you waiting for? Get up."
Gwang-woo and I trudged into the village through the downpour.
The heavy rain had cleared the streets of people.
We slipped into a dim back alley and pushed open a door. A fishy stench of blood assaulted our noses.
The room was a wreck of sprawled corpses and splintered tables.
Haa...
I sighed, staring at the blood pooled thick on the floorboards.
Even after hauling off the bodies and scrubbing the blood, we'd have to rip up every plank to erase the stains.
"Gwang-woo. If any constables or folks come asking about these guys, deny everything. Say you just saw their faces briefly and split. Got it?"
"Sorry, brother."
Pitying his deflated look, I raised my voice a notch on purpose.
"Grab that hammer and axes from the wall."
Gwang-woo fetched the axes and hammer leaning against the wall and handed them over.
"What're you gonna do with these, brother?"
"Even with empty streets, hauling bodies out in trips risks someone spotting us. Too dangerous. Better to stage it like they killed each other in a brawl."
"Whoa... brother, you're amazing."
His suddenly cheery voice grated on me for some reason.
"Shut it."
I pressed the hammer against a corpse's chest and head.
"Brother, what're you doing?"
"Comparing the hole sizes to the hammer."
"Why compare them?"
Sigh...!
I used the hammer, axes, and fallen sickle to carve fresh wounds into the corpses.
"Brother... what the hell are you... doing?"
Gwang-woo, shocked, scooted far away.
"Just preparing for the worst. A sharp-eyed martial artist or constable might inspect the bodies and realize one person took them all out."
"How do you even know that stuff, brother?"
"I've figured out how you killed your game most times when you brought it home. Same with people."
Gwang-woo pondered for a bit, then nodded.
I rearranged the bodies to look like they'd died fighting each other.
Moving Mu Tae's corpse last, something odd dripped from around its neck.
A key on a leather cord.
I unclasped it from the neck and scanned the room, but no obvious lock for it.
Then something caught my eye.
A wardrobe-like cabinet in the corner.
Ugh...
I approached and flung it open. A nauseating stench hit me.
Sweat-soaked, filthy clothes piled inside.
I dragged them all out, revealing a heavy black iron chest on the floor.
I inserted the key into the small hole in the center. Click.
Ah...
"Impressive."
A quiet exclamation escaped me as I opened the chest.
"What is it, brother?"
Gwang-woo waddled over, staring blankly.
"Brother, what's this?"
No wonder he was shocked.
The chest brimmed with silver ingots—and several gold bars too.
I grabbed two gold bars for Gwang-woo and scattered some silver on the floor.
"Brother, what're you doing?"
"Perfect. Now it really looks like they fought over this chest and killed each other."
On the way home in the rain, Gwang-woo asked,
"Brother, don't you feel greedy?"
"I do. Bad enough I wanna turn back right now."
Why ask something so obvious?
"Then why not take more?"
"Gwang-woo, greed has limits. Two gold bars and some silver? That's my line."
He tilted his head, not getting it.
His confusion cracked me up.
Hahaha...
Thud! Thud!
"The most pathetic fool under heaven!"
The Great Heavenly Demon stomped my back with his foot, bellowing.
"You think it makes sense for a man starving for livelihood to walk away from treasure right in front of him?!"
Cough! Cough! ...
He'd trampled so hard, bloody foam bubbled from my mouth.
When could I smack that vicious mug of his, just once?
One good punch to that awful face, and I'd die content.
Nights were pure agony.
"Damn it... To throw off the constables and martial folk, I had no choice!"
Thud!
Furious, the Great Heavenly Demon kicked my side.
My body flew three zhang before slamming into the dirt.
Kuhhh...
"Idiot! You think anyone in this Huanin County has eyes sharp enough for that?"
"Can't say for... sure."
"Shut up! Go back at dawn and haul every ingot!"
Kekeke, kuhahaha!
Even in agony, his words struck me hilarious.
The Great Heavenly Demon who once dominated the martial world, raging over a single chest of silver.
"Why laugh?"
He still hadn't realized what he'd said.
I mocked him.
"The Great Heavenly Demon Hyeok Mu-gwang who ruled the jianghu, fuming over one chest of silver? How could I not laugh? When did you turn so petty?"
My words hit him like a thunderbolt.
His face went blank as he stared at me in shock.
Suddenly, his face flushed red, blue light pouring from his eyes.
I saw my death in that look.
Another painful end tonight.
"I'll tear you apart!"
Ju Eun-bo was Huanin County's top constable.
Quick-witted and good at kissing up, his superiors thought highly of him.
Today, as always, he wandered the village with a single sword at his waist.
Most constables patrolled with underlings, but Ju Eun-bo preferred going solo.
The reason? Deals with the Black Bear Gang.
He took their bribes and passed them up the chain.
Today, he half-assed his rounds before heading to their hideout.
"With the Seok Family easing off surveillance, the Black Bear Gang'll start moving soon."
That meant bribes to look the other way.
That's why he was heading there—to collect.
He paused in a dark alley, scanning around.
Good, no one passing by.
Creeeak.
The heavy wooden door opened, wafting out a foul smell.
Ugh.
"What the hell? This stench. You bastards can't even clean up?"
Stepping inside, Ju Eun-bo froze at the sight.
"What... what the hell happened here?"
The Black Bear Gang lay tangled in death.
Flies buzzed over the corpses, and the blackened blood on the floor suggested they'd been dead for days.
As he stood rigid, scattered silver ingots caught his eye.
Gulp...
Greed flared hot, drawing his feet to the wardrobe.
Inside, a chest full of silver—and one gold bar.
'These scum hoarded all this? Must've killed each other over it. What to do with it...?'
The gang's deaths were already out of his mind.
'Sneaking it out risks someone seeing. Better hide it somewhere secret and come back later.'
But nowhere in the room to stash it.
Once the deaths got out, constables and runners would comb the place.
Ju Eun-bo drew his sword and stabbed a corner floorboard.
Crunch.
Prying up a few planks, he hid one gold bar and some silver underneath.
He wanted it all, but that'd raise suspicions about the deaths.