Chapter 10
Chapter 10
10.My Outstanding Consideration
Jo Igyeol spoke as if he were about to reveal a secret.
"The Black Cat Clan Lord is a member of those called the Twelve Divine Generals. Few know exactly what rank he holds among the Twelve Divine Generals. Furthermore, it is said that above the Twelve Divine Generals, there is a crazy master who controls them."
Jo Igyeol was babbling about something I knew better.
Jo Igyeol thumped his chest.
"Touching me means you're stepping into a terrifying world you don't know..."
I plunged the Cloud Dragon Dagger into Jo Igyeol's hand, which was thumping his chest.
Thwack!
"Kkeuek...!"
The Cloud Dragon Dagger pierced through his hand and into his chest. In a nonchalant tone, I continued my last conversation with Jo Igyeol.
"You talk too much. You should be begging for your life, yet you're threatening me."
Even in that state, Jo Igyeol looked at me with disbelief.
As I pulled out the Cloud Dragon Dagger, Jo Igyeol face-planted into his own blood.
Thud...!
The blood that fell from the table splattered everywhere. It subtly informed the dead Jo Igyeol of the truth that would unfold.
"I was the one who was said to be the craziest in that terrifying world."
I said to Jo Igyeol's subordinates, who were digging in the ground,
"Moles, stop digging."
The subordinates, naturally thinking it was Jo Igyeol's order, stopped their movements and replied.
"Understood."
"Come in and clean this up."
As soon as the three men in Black Uniform entered, their expressions changed drastically.
"Heok..."
"Eot!"
It was natural for them to be surprised because it was Jo Igyeol's corpse, not the Shop Assistant's corpse, that awaited them.
I looked at the three and said,
"Why are you so surprised? He was wielding a sword, but he died like a moron."
As one of them tried to draw his sword, the man next to him stopped him, as if telling him not to. It was an appropriate restraint since Jo Igyeol's Martial arts skills were far superior to the three of them.
I said to the guy who was trying to draw his sword,
"Why did you stop drawing your sword, man? You should finish drawing it."
"No, it was a spontaneous, reflexive action."
"Are you stronger than Jo Igyeol?"
"No, I'm not."
"If you were stronger, Jo Igyeol would be digging in the ground. You bastard, why would you be digging? Get a grip."
"I will get a grip."
"Take off your masks. Let's see if there are any familiar faces."
When the three men took off their masks, their sweat-soaked faces were revealed. They were all unfamiliar faces, and they were all greenhorns who were not even twenty years old.
"I've never seen you in Ilyang Prefecture. Are you from the Black Cat Clan?"
"We're not from the Black Cat Clan. We all have different hometowns. We work at the Pear Blossom Tower."
"Is that so?"
The fact that I didn't know them meant that they were as good as dead.
"Is that so? You were just ordinary men working at the Pear Blossom Tower. Jo Igyeol ordered you to bury a corpse in the ground today, so you were digging like moles without any thoughts. Are you three going to die here, or are you going to bury the dead guy and then go back to your hometowns?"
One of them replied first.
"If you spare us, we'll go back to our hometowns."
"I have circumstances that prevent me from going back to my hometown, but I will never go to the Pear Blossom Tower again."
"If you spare me, I won't even go near it."
I nodded.
"Take care of the dead guy and disappear."
As I gestured for them to leave, one of the men asked a strange question.
"Excuse me, but who are you?"
I pondered the intention of the question for a moment.
"What are you talking about? Who am I?"
"Yes."
"I'm the Purple Glow Inn Shop Assistant."
"I don't think so."
He must have thought that the inn's Shop Assistant couldn't kill Jo Igyeol.
I told the guy who was talking nonsense to wipe the blood from the table and the floor, and I ordered the other two to move the corpse.
The young man found a rag himself, brought an empty bucket, and repeated the process of wiping the blood and wringing out the rag.
I asked the guy who was wringing out the blood from the rag,
"Where's the youngest Luzhu these days?"
"I haven't seen him lately."
"Do you know what the youngest Luzhu does?"
The guy who was mopping stopped and looked at me.
"Yes, I know."
"Recite it."
"He goes to quite distant places and kidnaps young or poor women. Should I say he supplies or trains the courtesans? He does that kind of work."
"He's quite the villain."
The man swallowed once and then said,
"Am I going to die too?"
"You'll die someday. If you meet a guy like me while living."
"Today?"
"Not today."
"Thank you. I will serve you as my older brother from now on."
"I don't take in a moron like you as my younger brother."
I was serious. To make him my younger brother, he had to have something outstanding, whether it was Martial arts or something else.
"I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"For being a moron."
I suddenly burst out laughing at this answer. It was because the guy's expression didn't change at all.
"Ah, it just burst out of nowhere."
I chuckled and said to the young man,
"If you're done cleaning, get out of here."
"By any chance, do you need someone to work in the kitchen? If I don't go to the Pear Blossom Tower, I'll have no way to make a living right away."
Making a living was always the biggest problem for these young people. I tilted my head and asked,
"Are you good at cooking?"
"Yes."
"Are you good at Chicken Head Noodles too?"
"Isn't Chicken Head Noodles the most basic of basics?"
"Hmm."
Suddenly, I became a guy who couldn't even do the basics. I did need a cook, but not now.
"I do need one, but not now. You're going to be caught by the Cho Family guys and die here."
"Why?"
I said in a serious tone and with a solemn expression,
"That's your destiny. You three conspired to bury Jo Igyeol in the ground."
"Yes?"
"What are you going to do?"
"No..."
"Jo Ilseom is a very ruthless guy. He has no blood or tears. He'll probably find you even if you run away to the Demonic Sect's latrine."
Only then did the young man's face turn pale.
"We just dug the grave."
"Oh, that was actually your grave."
"Jo Igyeol didn't die because of us three."
"Does Martial World life look that easy? If the boss dies, and the subordinate doesn't do anything and buries the boss in the ground, that's grounds for immediate execution. Go quickly. If you don't want to die. Take your friends with you too."
"We're not friends. By the way, what are you going to do if those guys go to the Pear Blossom Tower and tell them?"
I pointed to the Weaponry placed on the table.
"What do you think that is?"
"A sword and a whip. There's also a blood-stained scythe."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know."
"It means the preparations for war are complete. You bastard."
Only then did the young man look at me like I was crazy.
"Anyway."
"Yes."
"If you three are also shaken by the thought of revenge and can't stay still, come with the Cho Family guys. Let's have our Fateful Gamble then. At that time, I'll show you the merciless true nature of the Martial World."
The aspiring cook replied,
"I decline that match. By the way, I'm late in introducing myself."
"Shut up and get out of here."
"Yes."
Despite being told to get out, the aspiring cook cleaned up the rag, put the cleaning tools back in their original place, and bowed in front of the inn.
"I'll make you a refreshing bowl of Chicken Head Noodles next time."
"Try to fix your ruined life."
"Ah, I understand. Then, rest in peace."
The aspiring cook started running towards the darkness.
.
.
.
After the guys who buried Jo Igyeol in the pit disappeared, the Purple Glow Inn became quiet again.
It would be perfect to eat Chicken Head Noodles on a night like this.
"Tsk..."
Suddenly, I looked at the darkness outside the inn and said,
"Are you a rat?"
A rat with an eyepatch on one eye walked out of the darkness and replied,
"What are you going to do now?"
I looked at Cha Seong-tae's eyepatch.
"You said your eye was fine, right?"
Cha Seong-tae pointed to his eyepatch.
"It's psychological warfare."
"Not just showing off?"
"It's part of the scheme. I reported that one eye was injured, then slipped away to where the doctors were and watched the situation. Otherwise, I would have been digging in the ground here too. I'm a guy who's quick-witted and useful like this. Do you understand?"
"Excellent."
"Thank you. I had no choice if I wanted to survive. By the way, what are you going to do now? Are you going to strike Cho Ilseom as is? Or are you going to wait here?"
"Did you deliver my message clearly?"
"What did you say? I misheard you."
"I think I said that if you come under me, I'll spare you, but Jo Igyeol came looking for me with a sword."
"That's what I'm saying."
"He even had his subordinates dig his own grave with great fanfare. The result is as you can see. Would Jo Ilseom be any different?"
"Isn't Jo Ilseom the most cunning? Look at how he leaves the dirty work to the youngest and the sword work to the second. He's the kind of guy who would feel uncomfortable and hide, then report to the Black Cat Clan. When it comes to cunning, he's the best in Ilyang Prefecture. It's not for nothing that he's living large by taking over three Houses of pleasure. Jo Ilseom is the most vicious in Ilyang Prefecture."
"Seong-tae."
"Yes."
I looked at the darkened street and said,
"Go buy some Sweet and Sour Ribs."
"Why?"
"I have alcohol, but I don't have any snacks."
"Suddenly? We were talking about Jo Ilseom..."
"Think of him as dead."
"He's still alive, isn't he?"
"Once he's out of my sight, he's a corpse. Would Jo Ilseom be any different? If I leave him like that, only Ilyang Prefecture will be devastated. I have to kill him."
He was a guy who made the youngest do human trafficking and the second do murder, so I was just going to kill him. In the long run, they were also guys who would hand over the entire Ilyang Prefecture to the Black Cat Clan.
Cha Seong-tae asked with a bewildered expression,
"By the way, you don't have any snacks at the inn? That's a funny inn. Give me money, I'll go and come back."
I shook my head.
"I don't."
Cha Seong-tae turned his head with a sullen expression and sighed briefly.
"What's in the Purple Glow Inn?"
"Nothing. I made bibimbap with the leftover side dishes and ate it."
"It used to be famous as a Chicken Head Noodles restaurant, but how did it fall so far? It fell pathetically. Sweet and Sour Ribs and what else?"
There was a bit of a thorn in his tone. Well, it must have been unpleasant for a guy who used to be the manager of the Plum Blossom Brothel to be running errands for the Shop Assistant.
I replied like this to respect Cha Seong-tae.
"Sweet and Sour Ribs are enough for me. Buy the rest with your favorite snacks. Buy plenty. So I can eat it tomorrow too."
Consideration, amazing.
"I'll buy plenty."
As soon as I saw Cha Seong-tae walking away grumbling, I said in a cold tone,
"Seong-tae."
"Yes."
"Are you walking? Are you going for a walk? Are you crawling? Are you going like a turtle?"
"Aish, c!"
Cha Seong-tae swallowed the curse inwardly and ran somewhere.
'That shibal bastard.'
Cha Seong-tae's face turned bright red. It was because he never thought he would be running errands for the Shop Assistant in his life.
I said to Cha Seong-tae, who was disappearing into the darkness,
"...Are you going on a hop, skip, and a jump?"
In the darkness, a half-curse of 'Aish, c' broke the silence.