A Friend Buys the Drinks
In an instant, a heavy silence settled over the table.
The man seated to the left narrowed his eyes dangerously and demanded, "……How did you know?"
"You should have asked what I was talking about, not how I knew."
"……"
Perhaps it was because the sun had set—the air was growing steadily colder.
While the men on either side rolled their eyes and exchanged nervous glances, the middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table suddenly burst into a hearty laugh.
"Hahaha! This fellow's no ordinary man. I like that he's got guts. Don't you agree?"
"Ah, yes, Big Brother!"
"Th-that's right."
The two men chimed in, nodding along with awkward smiles.
The middle-aged man raised a hand with an air of leisure and called for Seo Do-seok.
"Innkeeper, bring us wine. The most expensive you have."
"Ah, right away!"
Before long, Seo Do-seok returned with a bottle and cups.
Though no one had asked for a drink, he laid out the cups first and filled them to the brim.
"Have a drink. It's on me."
"……"
Jin Cheong-un was a little surprised.
Buying expensive wine for a total stranger. Were there really men like that among the Black Path?
He drained the cup in one go, and the middle-aged man chuckled.
"Look at him drink without a second thought. A real man indeed."
The man's companions tittered.
Jin Cheong-un gave a nod.
"Thank you, friend. With a face as ugly as yours, I figured you for a stingy sort, but you're quite the dashing, generous fellow yourself."
"……"
"But could you stop saying 'manly'? It's getting on my nerves."
"What?"
The moment the middle-aged man's face hardened, Jin Cheong-un played it off.
"You called me friend, so I thought a joke was in order. Why the long face? If it offended you, I'll apologize."
"Ah, it was a joke? You had me going for a moment there. Hahaha."
He laughed along—then his eyes blazed.
"You little bastard. You think this is a game?"
Thud!
A dagger buried itself in the table.
Watching from a distance, Seo Do-seok went white as a sheet and collapsed right where he stood.
"I am No Jang-bok, first of the Yichang Three Killers. You've heard my name, I'm sure? Now do you understand the situation?"
Never heard of you.
Still, staying quiet here might be the kind thing to do, for his friend's sake.
Clack.
Jin Cheong-un obediently set his cup down.
"So."
He wiped his mouth carelessly and tossed the words out.
"You planning to get revenge?"
No Jang-bok froze for an instant.
What is this?
He'd simply said it flatly, and yet somehow it sent a chill down his spine.
Then—
Crack!
At the strange sound, No Jang-bok's gaze snapped to the tabletop.
"……!!"
What met his eyes was a shattered wine cup. It had been perfectly intact when it was set down, yet at some point it had crumbled to pieces.
No Jang-bok whipped his head up and stared blankly at Jin Cheong-un.
A master……?
Nothing broke like that from brute force alone. It required internal energy—no, the kind of supreme mastery that wielded it as freely as breathing.
"When someone asks you a question, you ought to answer."
No Jang-bok's voice softened by degrees.
"R-revenge? Hardly. There's no need for that."
"Then what is it?"
No Jang-bok racked his brain desperately and stumbled on.
"Just hear me out. I hear you intend to settle down here…… Making an enemy of the main house over a single manor would only invite trouble on all fronts, no?"
"……"
"If this matter goes well, you'll be able to join the Yichang Martial Alliance with no effort at all. No need to fear any comeuppance…… and life here will be easier for you going forward."
A martial alliance? Such a thing exists?
Judging from his tone, they were either on par with the Black Tiger Gang, or their territories didn't overlap, so they'd chosen to cooperate.
Come to think of it, in any town, people in the same trade always did one of two things: fight or band together. This town had apparently opted to band together.
Good intel.
Jin Cheong-un nodded and spoke.
"Understood perfectly."
"Then……"
"But pass along my thanks—and my refusal—would you, friend?"
No Jang-bok's face twisted violently.
Jin Cheong-un drained his last cup, pushed back his chair, and rose.
"I'm done drinking. I'll be off."
No Jang-bok ground his teeth.
"Think you'll get away with it?"
"……"
"You may slip by once or twice, but in the end, you'll regret it."
Jin Cheong-un's eyes narrowed.
Then he rummaged through his robes and laid ten copper coins on the table, muttering under his breath.
"……For someone buying, you're awfully stingy."
You insane bastard, did you think that covered the drinks?
But Jin Cheong-un was already walking away, waving a hand.
"We're friends now, so I'll let today slide. Nice meeting you. See you around."
The eyes of the Yichang Three Killers bored into Jin Cheong-un's back as he strode out.
CRASH!
"That bastard dares to mock me?"
No Jang-bok slammed his fist on the table and roared.
"Big Brother, is he really a master of that caliber?"
"Why did you let him go? If the three of us had taken him on—"
No Jang-bok exploded.
"You idiots! Could any of you do this?"
He pointed at the wine cup, shattered into fragments.
The Second and Third Killers broke out in cold sweat.
"S-so are we just letting him go?"
"Are you insane? What am I supposed to tell the Little Gang Lord?"
Still fuming, No Jang-bok forced his anger back down and spoke.
"Enough. Him being a master was unexpected, but the Little Gang Lord's orders were to shadow him quietly, staying out of sight until the deed was done anyway."
"B-but he did say to bring him in eventually."
"You thick-headed fool! We just call in more men, don't we!"
"……"
"Second, go gather the underlings. Even against a master, numbers win out."
"……"
"Third, keep shadowing him. It's about time the plan moved…… Hold on, what are you staring at?"
No Jang-bok furrowed his brow.
The Second and Third Killers weren't paying him the slightest attention; they were staring blankly at something behind him.
"What now?"
When he turned, No Jang-bok couldn't trust his eyes.
At the inn's entrance, the innkeeper was speaking with none other than—
"Sir, you'll need to step outside for a moment."
"N-now, hold on—"
"Step outside. Unless you want to die."
"……What's with the sudden cursing?"
Seo Do-seok was shoved out the door.
Then No Jang-bok's eyes met with the newcomer's.
"I'm back, friend."
No Jang-bok squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
It was no illusion. Jin Cheong-un, who had left the inn mere moments ago, stood right there.
What kind of lunatic leaves, then turns around and comes back?
Before long, Jin Cheong-un slowly closed the inn's door behind him.
Screeeech!
The sound of the closing door rolled through the room like thunder.
Next, he picked up the utensil jar on the table, drew out a single chopstick, and began flinging them through the air.
Thip. Thip. Thwick.
Every lantern and candle clinging to the inn's pillars and walls went dark, one by one.
In an instant, the inn was swallowed by blackness.
Only the streetlights leaked in through the gaps around the doorframe.
"I figured this would happen, so I was listening in from outside. But honestly—to think you'd stab a friend in the back."
A dim inn.
Jin Cheong-un's voice flowed out, smooth and unhurried.
"……"
Cold sweat poured down No Jang-bok's face as he swallowed dryly.
Having silently gripped the table without betraying anything, he shouted.
"ATTACK!"
CRASH!
The moment the table flipped over, the Second and Third Killers lunged at Jin Cheong-un.
No—they tried to lunge.
BAM!
The Second Killer went flying. In precisely the opposite direction of his charge, as though he'd been hit by a runaway carriage.
Crack! Thud!
The Third Killer didn't even get knocked back.
His eyes simply rolled up, and he slid gently to the floor.
"Wh-what the—!"
No Jang-bok's jaw dropped of its own accord.
He hadn't seen when they'd moved.
He couldn't even tell what they'd been struck by.
He was this strong?
Then, from within the darkness, Jin Cheong-un turned his head.
Eyes.
Only the blurry outline of his body was visible in the gloom—but a single pair of eyes glowed a piercing, luminous blue.
Whoosh!
With a faint rush of wind, the glinting eyes vanished.
"……!"
The instant No Jang-bok spun around—
BOOM!
With a scream of tearing air, his consciousness went dark.
Geum Tae-bang, Chief Bailiff of Yinghua Village, thanked the heavens for one more uneventful day and retired early to bed.
And no sooner had his head touched the pillow than he had to spring bolt upright.
"H-he came again? That man came again?"
"Th-that's right, sir."
"Wh-who is it this time?"
"The Yichang Three Killers……"
Geum Tae-bang staggered.
The Y-Yichang Three Killers.
Weren't they the famous enforcers who acted as the Black Tiger Gang's strike squad?
"Ugh."
Clutching the back of his neck, Geum Tae-bang swayed on his feet.
"Th-then just placate them and send them on their way! Tell them I'm already in bed for the night!"
"I already told them that, but……"
The bailiff replied with a pained look on his face.
"He pointed out that men with 'Killer' appended to their name surely can't be without a bounty, and demanded to know where it was."
"What? A bounty?"
Why, you little—!
Geum Tae-bang finally kicked open his door, fire in his eyes.
A jianghu man? Fine. Let's see some mettle!
He might be a rural bailiff now, but there was a time when he'd made his name in the imperial service.
Geum Tae-bang resolved to show the jianghu man what happened to those who stirred up trouble in his village.
SLAM!
Kicking through the government office doors, Geum Tae-bang bellowed.
"You insolent wretch—!"
His dignified voice rang out clear and commanding through the hall.
But his imposing entrance lasted only a moment. The instant he glimpsed something piled up (?) on the office floor, Geum Tae-bang froze solid.
Squirm. Squirm.
The Yichang Three Killers lay in a tangled heap, twitching weakly—quite literally a pile of blood and meat.
And standing beside them was Jin Cheong-un.
"……You insolent wretch?"
Blood drenched his fists and the hem of his robes as he tilted his head.
Cold sweat rained down him. At last, Geum Tae-bang walked—naturally, very naturally—toward the Yichang Three Killers.
"You—you villains, how dare you—!"
Only then did Jin Cheong-un sigh quietly and mutter.
"And here I thought you were talking to me."
"……"
Geum Tae-bang wanted to cry.
He simply wanted to weep, without end.
"Master Jin, working so late into the night…… you've toiled hard, I see."
"Think nothing of it. As a resident of Yinghua Village, one must do one's part for public order."
"……My deepest thanks."
"By the way, that bailiff of yours said there's no bounty for these men. Is that true?"
When Jin Cheong-un's expression turned serious, Geum Tae-bang switched gears at lightning speed.
"—which is the principle, of course!"
"……?"
"But principle is merely principle! You've devoted yourself to the safety of Yinghua Village, so I—personally—w-would like to offer you some…… a-a token of appreciation! Yes, a token of appreciation!"
Geum Tae-bang fumbled a money pouch full of silver out of his robes.
"Truly, Chief Geum, you are a paragon of incorruptible virtue, a rarity in this age."
Jin Cheong-un snatched the pouch without a word of protest.
"……"
Geum Tae-bang let a few tears fall at last.
The bailiff responsible for the county's public safety, getting shaken down—a spectacle of utter helplessness.
"Ah, and I have one more favor to ask."
"……A favor?"
It's not over?
Right, just strip me to the bone, why don't you. Hehehe.
"I suspect the Black Tiger Gang may act rashly soon."
Geum Tae-bang's eyes went wide as saucers.
"A-act rashly? What do you mean?"
Wait a moment—come to think of it, they lost Song Un-chan, and now the Yichang Three Killers too?
This doesn't bode well at all.
"If you could step up your patrols and keep an eye on the Jeong siblings at the Jeong Manor, I'd be grateful."
"Wh-what exactly is happening right now?"
"It'll be over soon. Nothing to concern yourself with. Well then."
Jin Cheong-un trudged out of the office.
After standing there dazed for a moment, Geum Tae-bang finally exploded.
"Honestly, why does that man always say his piece and just walk off!"
Jin Cheong-un made his way down the road at a leisurely pace.
Darkness was slowly settling over the street, and his expression was darkening along with it.
I should head straight for the Black Tiger Gang.
Sending blade-men within a single day of the last attack.
The General Manager seemed to understand the situation, so is that Little Gang Lord simply a lunatic?
Another sigh escaped him, unbidden.
How had things come to this?
He'd retired precisely so he wouldn't have to run around busybody-style anymore, yet somehow he seemed busier than his days in the Martial Alliance.
I need to settle this quickly and get back to focusing on the academy.
Just then—
Murmur, murmur!
A crowd had gathered, chattering amongst themselves, and then they all went sprinting off toward somewhere.
Shouts that might have been screams reached his ears.
"……Fire! FIRE!!"
Now that he looked, something was burning somewhere.
Without thinking, Jin Cheong-un followed the onlookers.
But the road felt oddly familiar.
This way was……
Toward my house?
A moment later.
Jin Cheong-un stared blankly ahead.
FWOOSH!
The Jeong Manor was burning.
He'd gone to see the fire—and it was his own home.