Unrivaled Pig's Trotter Pow!
The first to strike was Jang Gapae's Long Legs.
No one could figure out what the hell this boy was thinking or why he'd crashed their little shindig. But one thing was crystal clear—this kid who called himself the third young master of Yi Gajang was a major threat.
Sure, all he had in his hand was a blunt pig's trotter bone, but Long Legs felt it in his gut anyway.
Quick and clean. Eliminate the threat fast.
He kicked off the ground, closing the distance in a flash. With a crisp twist of his torso, he thrust his sword tip straight out.
Shadows stretch to their utter limit.
A move that played to his strengths perfectly—those freakishly long arms and legs of his.
But the boy didn't react at all, even as the blade tip closed in on his face. At this rate, he'd be skewered in one go.
'Shit. Was I too hasty?'
Still not even of age. Sure, Yi Gajang was in ruins, but he was from a family with some name recognition. Killing him rashly could stir up a storm.
'Too late now!'
Everything about the kid pissed him off anyway. That glare, those moves, the weird way he was tapping a rhythm with that trotter bone.
Yeah. What did one more madman matter? And with all these eyes on them, now was the time to show off Jang Gapae's decisiveness and brutality.
But...
"Guhk?!"
Long Legs sucked in a sharp breath from sheer shock. The boy had stepped right toward him.
The razor-sharp thrust missed the kid by a hair's breadth—a single flower petal's gap, maybe. One fluid motion, and he'd slipped inside his guard.
That personal space no one could breach.
He tried to back off in a panic, but his lower body was locked stiff, refusing to budge.
'Acupoint strike?! When the hell?!'
Acupoint strikes. One of the best ways to subdue a foe. But nailing the exact point on a moving target? No easy feat unless there was a massive skill gap between you...
No time to gawk. No room for questions. In a do-or-die moment like this, unleash your best shot.
Flip the palm, spin the blade.
He flipped his palm lightning-fast. The extended longsword spun around into a reverse grip. Without hesitation, he stabbed down at the boy's back—but
The boy's body whirled around. Like he had eyes in the back of his head. Like he'd seen this coming a mile away.
The sword flowed with the boy's spin, dragging Long Legs off-balance and into the momentum. Before he knew it, he was flat on his back.
Blue sky overhead. And that smirking face looking down at him.
"...!!!"
Long Legs couldn't process it. How had the boy dismantled his trump card? Why had his own body betrayed him like that? As if the kid had him on a string.
A chill realization hit him. His spine prickled.
"That just now... Don't tell me! Pounmun Sect's Qi Capturing Body Drawing Art—"
"What the hell kinda nonsense is this guy spouting?"
The boy snorted.
"Say that again. What? Yi Gajang's done for?"
Thud thud thwack!Thud thud thwack!
The trotter bone danced a rhythm on his palm. No mere bone anymore. In the boy's hand, it was the deadliest bludgeon imaginable.
And those eyes. Gleaming with utter delight...
Hic!
Long Legs let out a massive hiccup. Perfectly on beat, somehow.
The trotter bone soared high into the air.
Hic!
The sky behind the boy looked vast and blue. But it was shrinking, blotted out by that monstrous bludgeon filling his vision.
Long Legs screamed without thinking.
"Hic! N-nooo!!"
The boy replied.
"Yes!"
Crack!
***
Long Legs' martial arts were decent enough. Sharp eyes, knew how to use those lanky limbs effectively. In most places, he'd be a solid player.
But through the eyes of former world's greatest, Yi Gyeol? Full of holes.
The trick was exploiting those holes...
Yi Jinpyeong wasn't Yi Gyeol. Frail body. Danjeon barely holding a scrap of inner energy. Horrible odds for a straight fight.
But there were plenty of ways to fight smart.
Sure, a more skilled foe wouldn't go down this easy. But against street thugs? Overkill wasn't needed.
Even a wrecked body could manage if you could move your feet and swing your arms.
Step into his range along the sword's trajectory. Tap the Fengshi acupoint with the trotter's sharp end.
No real power behind it, but enough to lock his legs for a moment.
'Oh ho...'
Quick reaction. No hesitation flipping to reverse grip and stabbing—even at risk to himself. Battle-hardened, no doubt. Probably his lifelong ace.
'Jang Gapae might actually have some talent in their ranks?'
So what? Wasting it shaking down innocent merchants.
Idiots like these needed the stick. A truth Yi Gyeol learned wandering Jianghu himself.
Spin with the incoming stab's flow. Borrow his force, pull and push lightly.
Simple. Every motion had an axis and vector; Jinpyeong just read them perfectly.
Maddening for the victim, no doubt. Explains the nonsense as he hit the dirt.
"No way! Pounmun Sect's Qi Capturing Body Drawing Art—"
Pounmun who? Never heard of it. Whatever.
Hoist the trotter high. Shadow falls over Long Legs' face. His hiccuping panic? Chef's kiss.
Thud thud thwack!Thud thud thwack!
Blood sprays. Jinpyeong dances to the beat.
"B-brother!"
"B-block him!"
"Kill him!"
The rest of the gang finally arrives.
"Too late! Way too late!"
Should've rushed together for any shot. Not that it'd change a thing.
The wind can't be grasped or fathomed.
No thug pack could block his path.
Blades whirling fiercely around him, he strolled calmly through the market, swinging his blood-dripping trotter this way and that.
Soon enough...
The Jang Gapae thugs lay lined up on the market floor. Like fish on display at an auction house.
Towering in the midst was the scrawny boy in ragged clothes: Yi Jinpyeong.
"H-how... how is this...!"
Gawking crowds. Dead silence in the market.
Mouths agape. Even seeing it with their own eyes, they couldn't believe it.
Yi Gajang—utterly ruined. Its third young master, known for crippling madness. He'd crushed the terror of the market, Jang Gapae's crew, in a blink.
As the crowd gaped...
Yi Jinpyeong dropped his one-liner.
"Victory for justice. Victory for the trotter, too."
One Jang Gapae thug still clung to consciousness amid the pile. The first one he'd shelf-kicked. The one who'd called Yi Gajang ruined, a "no-family."
Bloody nose, missing teeth, he spat a clichéd villain line straight out of a trashy wuxia tale.
"Urgh... Y-you think you'll touch Jang Gapae and walk away? Know who's backing us?"
Weak threat, barely a whisper. Like he hoped no one heard.
But Jinpyeong caught every word.
Whip!
He spun around, strode over. The thug slammed his eyes shut, faking a faint.
"You little shit. It's you, right? The one yapping about no-family earlier."
Thug squeezes eyes tighter. Jinpyeong chuckles softly, strokes his hair with his free hand. Like petting a cute pup.
"Jang Gapae, huh? Don't know your boss, but tell the whole crew to come when you report back. Anytime."
Voice soft as a dinner invite.
"You heard that, right? You know where Yi Gajang is? You can find us?"
No faking it now. Eyes still shut, the thug nods meekly.
Jinpyeong grins.
Smashes the trotter down.
Thud!Thud thud!Thud thud thwack!
He straightens up. Boy drenched in red. All from others. Eerie sight.
Crowd steps back as one...
The boy surveys the hushed market and declares:
Remember this. Touch anyone under Yi Gajang's protection, and this is what happens.
***
Once the dust settled, merchants and onlookers kept their distance from Jinpyeong. No approaching, no chit-chat. Just sneaky dispersal, eyes darting.
Unexpected. He'd figured after flattening the thugs and dropping cool lines, they'd all flock to join Yi Gajang's banner.
Glanced at his blood-soaked trotter.
Hm. Overdid it after so long without a real scrap?
Tap. Tap.
Shook Gu Sam the jerky vendor awake.
"Gah!"
Gu Sam jolted up, limbs shaking, eyes wide in confusion.
"Wh-what the hell happened? Did some righteous hero...?! Wait, did Dongbeonhoe finally send help?!"
...Clueless as ever.
Jinpyeong swung the bloody trotter every which way to prove the "hero" was him.
Gu Sam's eyes bulged.
Grabbed his wrist, yelling.
"You little bastard! Where'd you get that trotter? Stole it while I was getting beat, huh? Knew it!"
"......"
Jinpyeong sighed deeply.
Maybe he should've just left the guy alone.