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Clink.
“Heh heh heh.”
Clink. Clink.
“Uheh heh heh heh.”
“……”
A thick money pouch popped up over his head and then fell onto his hand. Every time it struck his palm with a heavy clink of coins, Chung Myung laughed uproariously.
The Mount Hua disciples watching the scene weren’t entirely at ease.
“Is this really all right, sasuk?”
“…All of a sudden.”
Baek Cheon smiled faintly. That smile even carried a hint of dizziness now.
“We’re too far along to get worked up over something like this now. Just let it be.”
Hae Yeon, upon hearing that, nodded as if impressed.
“An excellent posture for a devout Buddhist, alms-giver. I would even believe you’d soon attain enlightenment.”
“Still, I’m famously a hermit, so if you’re going to say something, call it ascension.”
“Either way, dying’s the same thing, isn’t it.”
Jo Gul’s mumble was neatly ignored.
“No, but can this just be brushed off like this?”
Tang Soso opened her mouth in disbelief, clearly unconvinced.
“If it were just swindling a beggar, fine, but this is effectively swindling the Beggars’ Union.”
Yoon Jong leaned over and whispered into Jo Gul’s ear.
“Gul, is it just me or does swindling a beggar sound much worse?”
“It doesn’t seem like an illusion, sahyung. It makes me shudder too.”
“Yikes! This isn’t something to joke about!”
“I wish this were a joke too…”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
No one to swindle, so they swindle a beggar—what kind of damnable thing is this?
“I’m not kidding; this could very well sour relations with the Beggars’ Union.”
“Eh, no way… It might get awkward with Branch Leader Hong, though.”
“Branch Leader Hong is also part of the Beggars’ Union! What’s more, Branch Leader Hong is even mentioned as a candidate for young beggar leader. He’s several times more important than Branch Leader!”
“Huh?”
At that, the Mount Hua disciples blinked.
“What, you didn’t know?”
“No, I knew, but suddenly…”
“Now that I think about it, he really is quite something.”
“That he could be young branch leader — it’s so incongruous.”
They tilted their heads and looked westward, toward Hwa-Um village. Everyone knew, but it’s rare to find someone so oblivious.
“So, I don’t think this should be like this. Return the money now.”
“…I want that too.”
“Then do it.”
“Soso.”
“Yes?”
“Can you do it?”
Baek Cheon signaled toward Chung Myung with his eyes. Seeing Chung Myung grinning with the money pouch in hand, Tang Soso’s shoulders slumped.
“…This should’ve been stopped before it came to this.”
“Look on the bright side. If you think about it, we’re not exactly close with the Nine Great Sects to begin with. Would things really get that much worse by butting heads with the Beggars’ Union?”
“That…is oddly comforting, sasuk.”
“Not at all.”
Tang Soso sighed and shook her head.
“So what are we going to do now?”
“What else.”
Chung Myung snorted and tossed the money pouch high into the air, catching it as it fell.
“Now that we’ve got the money…”
His eyes glittered.
“We’ll bring that damned bastard here.”
“Boss, is this okay?”
Seok Han-Bin’s face twisted slightly.
“I heard you were taken by the authorities. Everything all right?”
“Huh.”
Seok Han-Bin waved his hand dismissively and bit into a steamed bun held in his other hand. The hollow bun scratched his throat dryly, but he chewed it roughly as if to vent.
The children watching him fell silent.
“He seems upset.”
“Don’t show it. You’ll get your backside kicked.”
Among the dozen or so gathered, there were kids who looked twice Seok Han-Bin’s size, but none stepped forward; they all watched his cues.
“Ugh.”
Seok Han-Bin twisted his neck.
“The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Those damn Taoists!”
“Taoists? Boss, now you’re fighting Taoists too?”
“No, that’s not it! They started trouble first!”
“…I suppose.”
“Argh!”
Seok Han-Bin kicked the back of the kid he had been scolding.
“Aagh!”
“Knew he’d do that.”
“Always with the big mouth.”
Puffed up, Seok Han-Bin roughly splashed his dry face with his hands.
“Bringing up that nonsense about ancestors and whatnot.”
“Ancestors?”
“There’s something like that.”
Seok Han-Bin flopped back down into his seat.
“Ancestors my foot, what bullshit.”
If they’d at least said ‘grandfather’ or something, he might’ve pretended to care. Even if he severed ties himself, it’s hard to forget where you came from.
But a great-grandfather? And a great-grandfather’s generation sibling?
“Who do they think they’re treating like a sucker?”
What madman would remember ties from a great-grandfather’s generation and use that to track someone down? They wouldn’t even do that in the Song era.
Seok Han-Bin knew: people sometimes extend goodwill without reason. But if the goodwill is excessive, there’s always a reason.
“Tch.”
Seok Han-Bin shook his head left and right.
“Whatever the reason, what’s it matter now? It’s none of my concern anymore.”
He was no longer a man of the Shandong Yu family. No—he had to erase that name completely.
Calming himself, Seok Han-Bin sighed unconsciously. One of the kids timidly asked.
“But boss, are you really okay?”
“What?”
“That… the loan sharks.”
“…”
Seok Han-Bin frowned and shut his mouth.
“You stiffed those guys out of their money, boss.”
“They say it was paid back.”
He hadn’t paid, but those Taoists supposedly paid Lord Song instead.
“It’s common knowledge that Lord Song backs the loan sharks, so money problems shouldn’t arise further.”
But that was a somewhat naïve thought. Seok Han-Bin wasn’t unaware of that.
“Will it really be okay? You know they won’t just back off because they got their money.”
Seok Han-Bin’s brow furrowed further.
Even if they were paid, the fact they were humiliated by Seok Han-Bin doesn’t vanish.
The outlaws value face. In some ways more than the Justice faction. In the outlaw world, once you’re looked down upon, that’s it.
The loan sharks are Black Fish Clan is an outlaw clan competing for dominance in Henan. Would such men fail to retaliate properly after being made fools by a kid like Seok Han-Bin? Any outlaw with an ounce of pride would try to poke at the Black Fish Clan—loan sharks knows that too.
“They’ll find a way to track me down and make me pay.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Ugh. I know. I know.”
Seok Han-Bin scratched his head frantically.
What good is knowing it?
Either way, it’s hard to avoid the loan sharks’s eyes in Henan. To escape their grasp, he’d have to leave Henan.
“I don’t have money.”
To be precise, he had no immediate plan.
Someone might ask why not flee the city now, since life is worth more than money?
“I’m doing this because my life matters.”
In this world, even an ordinary adult would struggle to survive outside the city. A child like Seok Han-Bin leaving Henan without escort?
He’d probably be peeled alive before reaching another town. That’s the world they live in now.
“Huh. Can’t be helped.”
“Huh? You found a way?”
“What are you going on about.”
Seok Han-Bin smirked.
“If lack of money’s the problem, then make money. When did I ever have money?”
“Y-you’re not planning another scam, are you?”
“Scam? I called it redistributing wealth. What’s wrong with poor folks sharing the money rich men hoard and let rot in their warehouses?”
“Uh, right.”
Aside from the fact that the ‘poor man’ is Seok Han-Bin himself, it’s not entirely wrong.
“But boss, why are you so broke? You made a lot before.”
At that, Seok Han-Bin flinched.
Though it looks like Seok Han-Bin’s main trade is fraud now, had he been a mere conman, he couldn’t have subjugated the kids of Henan under him.
“If only that damn flood hadn’t happened…”
Clear tears welled at the corners of Seok Han-Bin’s eyes.
If his business plan had succeeded, he’d be sitting pretty on a pile of money right now! Who could’ve known the Yellow River would flood then?
Floods were common near the Yellow River. They’d taken precautions, but this flood was beyond that—it’s not entirely Seok Han-Bin’s fault.
“Enough.”
Seok Han-Bin shook off his thoughts and his eyes brightened.
“This time I won’t fail. Just earn enough for travel so I can lay low somewhere for a few months, then come back.”
“…You will come back, right, boss?”
“What would I do if I left Henan? Of course I’ll come back.”
Just as Seok Han-Bin was about to move again.
“So you were here.”
“Huh?”
A strange voice suddenly sounded, and Seok Han-Bin turned his head. His face froze.
“Seok Han-Bin. Is that you?”
A chill ran down his spine and goosebumps rose all over him.
The figure standing across the dim alleyway.
He wore a black bamboo hat so his face wasn’t clear, but that didn’t matter. His appearance and the aura he gave off were enough to tell how dangerous he was.
Seok Han-Bin clenched his teeth.
“…Did the loan sharks send you?”
“I don’t know.”
At first it sounded like a strange reply, but Seok Han-Bin immediately grasped the hidden meaning.
For an assassin, the one who commissions and the one who executes are often different. So it’s not odd that the killer wouldn’t know who hired him.
Even without that, it was clear this man wasn’t the type to weigh his options before acting.
“Damn it. I should’ve moved faster.”
He hadn’t expected the evil sect people to strike so fast. He assumed Lord Song’s acceptance of the money would buy them a few days—that was the mistake.
The sudden appearance of Taoists invoking the Shandong Yu family name left him flustered and unable to decide quickly.
“Who are you to dare come at the boss…”
“Don’t interfere!”
Seok Han-Bin cried out in alarm. The kids who had tried to step between him and the man hesitated.
“Even if you swarm him you won’t win. Run for now. Don’t look back!”
“Boss.”
“Go, you brats! I’m not going to die!”
“How are you going to do it alone…?”
“Go! If you don’t want to die by my hand!”
“Ah, fine.”
They were already half cowed by the assassin’s presence. As Seok Han-Bin stepped forward, the frightened kids hesitated a moment and then bolted.
Seok Han-Bin glanced at those fleeing past him, then picked up a stick lying on the ground. It wouldn’t change much to hold it, but it was better than nothing.
“Aren’t you running?”
“…Don’t talk nonsense.”
If he fled recklessly and crossed paths with the kids, the innocent could die. He didn’t want to look like someone who bungled things when the target was in front of him.
He had to buy enough time for them to run far enough to avoid being dragged into this. Somehow.
“Hey.”
The assassin lifted his head slightly and looked at Seok Han-Bin.
“How much were you paid?”
“…”
“I don’t think they paid that much to take out some kid who hasn’t even learned martial skills. I’ll give you five times as much from my side. How about it?”
The assassin’s mouth beneath his hat twisted slightly.
“Not a bad offer. But it’s not money that’d end up in my hands anyway.”
“You could take it and claim you failed, and that’d be the end of it.”
“Hmm.”
The assassin carelessly drew his sword.
“Enough jokes. I’m somewhat busy.”
Seok Han-Bin gripped the stick.
“I won’t die like this.”
He knew he stood no chance against a martial artist, but he could still find a way to escape. As long as he didn’t give up…
Swoosh.
At that moment, the assassin rushed at Seok Han-Bin.
“Eh…”
And at the same time, Seok Han-Bin realized.
That the assassin before him was on a completely different level than the outlaws he’d seen so far.
In a single breath, as if cutting through time, the assassin appeared before him. Seok Han-Bin understood his fate.
The assassin’s sword thrust toward Seok Han-Bin’s neck at a speed beyond reaction. A flash of intense despair passed through Seok Han-Bin’s eyes.
“Damn it…”
And then Seok Han-Bin saw.
Something that appeared before the assassin’s face as he prepared to slice the throat…
“White?”
Kraaaang!
A small white something slammed hard into the assassin’s face.
“Kerh-hk!”
The assassin let out an indescribable scream and spun away, ricocheting wildly.
Thud!
Even then, not exhausted, he tumbled across the ground and finally came to a stop face-down.
“……”
Seok Han-Bin stared blankly at the sight, then slowly lowered his gaze.
Tsk.
A marten, clicking its tongue like a person, sat with its forepaws on its flanks, looking at Seok Han-Bin as if he were pathetic.
Seok Han-Bin, staring at it, looked up at the sky and muttered sadly.
“…This is driving me mad, really.”
It was an unabashedly honest feeling.
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