Yi Gajang? The Third Young Master's Declaration
The leader of the Jang Gapae gang, known as Longlegs, wore a baffled expression, utterly clueless about what had just transpired. The space within a zhang radius was undoubtedly his domain, yet this boy had slipped right past him without him sensing a thing until he was already gone.
But that wasn't the only oddity. Here, in the midst of making an example out of the market merchants, the boy had strolled in casually and spouted some nonsense. What the hell was going on? Longlegs shot a glance at his men, but they looked just as puzzled. He scanned the surroundings—the merchants and passersby all wore the same stunned faces.
What the...? Is he just some lunatic?
Longlegs roughly pieced it together. While everyone was thrown into confusion by the sudden turn, the conversation between the boy and the jerky shop owner continued.
"Urgh... What nonsense... Kid, get out of the way! You'll get hurt."
"You sure you're okay? Need a hand? Looks like no one's else stepping up besides me."
A spark of hope flashed in Gu Sam's eyes, the jerky shop owner.
"Y-Yeah! Go tell the Dongbeonhoe about this right now. Let those guys know and get these bastards—!"
The boy snorted derisively.
"You're still not thinking straight. The Dongbeonhoe? You've been paying their dues faithfully, but they've never once protected you properly. What do you expect from trash like that?"
"Then what do you want me to do? How the hell are you gonna help me...?"
"Stop wasting money on these half-assed gangs and make a deal with me. We can properly protect merchants like you who are suffering."
The boy's words were still utterly out of left field. Even amid the dizzying pain, Gu Sam couldn't make sense of it.
"We? Who's 'we'?"
Longlegs and the Jang Gapae thugs listening in couldn't help but stir. Who the hell was this "we" the boy was talking about? He sure didn't seem like one of the Dongbeonhoe members, who hadn't shown up despite all this time.
With all the minor factions already swarming Dongjeong Lake, was yet another rival popping up?
No way...!
Come to think of it, the boy's clothes had an unusual air about them. Maybe he was one of those famous Gaebang beggars.
That would explain everything: the ragged appearance, the tattered clothes everywhere, the suspiciously calm demeanor.
But the boy's next words made everyone's eyes bulge in shock.
"Oh, right. Haven't introduced myself yet."
The boy stepped back and rose, hands on his hips, then bellowed to the crowd in a clear, ringing voice.
"I am Yi Jinpyeong, the third young master of the greatest under heaven, Yi Gajang!"
The market street teeming with crowds fell silent for a moment...
Then laughter erupted from here and there, growing rowdy.
"Damn, who the hell is this guy?"
"Had me excited for a sec..."
"Puhahaha! Greatest under heaven? My ass!"
"Wait, third young master... Isn't that the madman? Is that really him?"
"Kinda looks like it... But where are his brothers?"
"Who knows? Rumors say he's properly insane, alright!"
"Aigoo, no wonder his brothers said they'd never leave him alone. What if he gets seriously hurt acting like that!"
"Gotta raise kids with a good beating, I tell ya."
Yi Jinpyeong took in all the chatter around him, cherry-picking the insults and committing them to memory. He never forgot a debt.
A few who met his chilling gaze flinched and shut their mouths.
The Jang Gapae thugs showed no reaction yet, just watching their leader Longlegs.
Surprisingly, Longlegs stayed silent, observing... while the one hurling the biggest abuse was the jerky shop owner himself.
"You damn brat! Quit screwing around and get lost! I'm dying of pain here already!"
Even bleeding out on the ground, his voice boomed.
Yi Jinpyeong gazed down at him calmly, then shrugged at Longlegs.
"There you have it."
Incredibly, the boy turned away without hesitation.
He headed straight for the wrecked shelves.
"Guess I'll just take the meat then?"
"You rude little shit! Grabbing meat at a time like this?"
"You said you didn't need help, right? And you already paid, so no issue."
"You bastard... If you sneak even one extra piece, I'll chase you to the ends of hell!"
Their banter clashed absurdly with the dire situation. The crowd's laughter swelled louder.
Longlegs, gripping his sword and scanning about, sighed at the clouds high overhead.
He'd meant to clearly show what happened to those who resisted Jang Gapae, but why had things turned so ridiculous?
"What a messed-up neighborhood."
He stepped forward. His nerves on edge, he prodded the owner's gut with his sword tip.
"Krahk!"
Gazing at the man rolling on the ground, Longlegs spoke coldly.
"Choose. Pay up quietly, or die here."
"Kill me! Try it! You think I'll give you bastards a single coin?!"
Gu Sam, down to pure defiance now. Blood-soaked from head to toe, he refused to yield.
Was it because the mood had already soured? The murmurs from the onlookers grew.
"Quiet down! Anyone wanna catch a blade instead?"
The Jang Gapae thugs menacingly swung their swords at the crowd, but the atmosphere didn't settle.
Tricky. You had to crush their spirits from the start, or the rats would crawl out—that was alley logic.
Longlegs made up his mind. He twisted his lips into a sinister grin.
To plant Jang Gapae firmly in Dongjeong Lake, some bloodshed was inevitable.
"Fine. If that's your wish."
Stab!
Deeper and more lethal than before, the blade plunged in. The owner's scream was on another level.
"Kraaaah!"
A death-rattle wail. Silence fell over the chaotic market again, replaced by a chilling tension sensing the imminent tragedy.
Longlegs savored the mood.
Wheeze. Wheeze.
To the owner struggling even to breathe, he said,
"Your own fault. You had plenty of chances. Right?"
His raised sword tip and murderous glare left no doubt.
Gu Sam's face drained pale. He hadn't thought they'd actually kill him over protection fees.
Frantically looking around, he cried out,
"H-Help! Someone, please—!"
"Too late!"
Longlegs's sword, thrust skyward, finally swung down toward Gu Sam's chest.
But in that instant—
The fifteen-year-old Yi Jinpyeong.
His figure plunged deep into the warrior Longlegs's range.
Thrusting his thumb straight, he targeted the elbow of the sword-swinging arm.
But Longlegs wasn't oblivious. He'd been wary of the boy since he first brushed past.
Springing back nimbly, Longlegs whirled his sword in all directions.
Sharp slashes filled the air, ripping winds howling.
But the boy had already leaped out of his range.
Now crouched by Gu Sam again, Yi Jinpyeong pressed his ear to the man's mouth, pretending to listen.
With a serious nod, he said,
"Yeah... What? Ha... Thought so. Good thinking!"
Longlegs saw it clearly: Gu Sam, who'd seemed doomed, had rolled his eyes back and passed out.
Yet Yi Jinpyeong acted like he'd really heard something, brazenly addressing the crowd.
"Whew... What now? This guy's saying he'll sign the contract with me."
Longlegs straightened his sword, lips pressed tight. Seeing his ominous expression, the Jang Gapae thugs raised their blades and encircled Yi Jinpyeong.
Glinting steel everywhere. Murderous intent thick in the air.
But the scrawny boy showed no tension.
"What're you babbling about?"
"What else? Gu Sam's jerky shop is now under Yi Gajang protection."
Longlegs muttered,
"Yi Gajang? You mean that Yi Gajang?"
Jang Gapae hadn't been in the area long. This was their first encounter with a Yi family member.
One of his underlings replied,
"From the chatter around, probably."
"Weird. Heard they were a has-been family now."
"Ruined, sure. Called Mugujang—no house left to loot—for years now. Look at the kid's rags. Total beggar."
"Fool. Don't let appearances fool you."
Yi Jinpyeong overheard. "Mugujang" made his blood boil again.
Nice thoughts... Nice thoughts... Wait!
Wasn't he already geared up to cut loose?
Why force nice thoughts?
"Bullying honest merchants on borrowed power... As a member of Yi Gajang upholding justice, I can't stand by."
Not that the guy who'd ignored the owner until he passed out had room to say it.
But still, among all these people, he was the only one facing down these thugs.
He rummaged in his bosom, where only duck meat should be— but slyly hidden was a pig trotter (front leg).
Pulling out the club-like trotter, Yi Jinpyeong menacingly swung it through the air—whoosh, whoosh.
The weight felt good.
"This'll do."
The baffled Jang Gapae thugs. "This'll do"? What the hell was he planning with that bone?
Their feeble imaginations couldn't foresee their near future.
Thud thud smack! Thud thud smack!
Yi Jinpyeong tapped the trotter against his palm, setting a rhythm.
"Come at me, all of you. One by one or all at once, whatever. But you, Longlegs who swung that sword wild, and the one who said Yi Gajang was done—you'd better not expect to walk away easy."
Longlegs spat a low curse.
Madman. A real one.
But he could feel it. The scrawny kid's movements weren't ordinary.
Especially that rhythm. It oddly disrupted his breathing...
The boy met his eyes and grinned.
And the next moment—