Red Hare (6)

Catching her breath, Oh Jeong-hae called Man Gok in a cold voice.

“Captain Man.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Oh Jeong-hae pointed at the guard who had read the papers.

“Kill him.”

“Huh?”

The guards flinched in shock.

Oh Jeong-hae’s face twisted savagely.

“Are you disobeying orders?! What are you asking for?!”

Man Gok sighed and drew his sword.

The guard’s eyes went round.

“C-Captain!”

Thud!

Man Gok’s blade pierced the guard’s heart.

The air turned frigid at once. Killing a man just for seeing what was on the page? Hadn’t Jin-hyeon already laid bare most of Lee Ho-gon’s disgrace?

Oh Jeong-hae spoke calmly.

“The rest of you needn’t worry. He may have seen a name he shouldn’t have, so I had him killed. You are loyal men of Mighty Tiger. I won’t act rashly toward you.”

It was nonsense as comfort; confusion spread across the guards’ faces.

Jin-hyeon gave a low whistle.

“You kill everyone just for taking a peek?”

“Shut up! You think you’ll walk away fine?!”

“Nice policy. I’ve memorized every word written there, you know? Hey, sword-hands. Listen up. It says—”

Startled, Man Gok barked an order.

“All units, fall back to the outer compound! No one enters the inner compound until ordered!”

He couldn’t slaughter all the guards. If panic sparked a mutiny, neither he nor the madam would live.

Jin-hyeon looked at Man Gok in mild surprise.

“You sure about that?”

“Silence!”

Oh Jeong-hae snapped.

“Captain Man Gok! Seize him now! I’ll take responsibility for the Guild Master’s life!”

Man Gok glanced between Oh Jeong-hae and Lee Ho-gon and sighed again.

“Madam.”

“If the Guild Master dies, the guild is mine anyway! Is this really the stance you’ll take?”

After a beat of hesitation, Man Gok leveled his blade at Jin-hyeon.

Oh Jeong-hae let out a cheer.

“Good! Now seize—”

Just then, Lee Ho-gon’s eyes snapped open from his faint.

Man Gok startled. Even Oh Jeong-hae recoiled in surprise.

“…Man Gok.”

“G-Guild Master.”

Lee Ho-gon’s face contorted.

“You’ve spent far too many years just taking my money. Isn’t that right?”

Flustered, Man Gok spoke quickly.

“Guild Master! P-Please don’t misunderstand! I was only following the madam’s—”

“Madam? Who said she’s the madam?”

“Sir?!”

Lee Ho-gon fixed a murderous glare on Oh Jeong-hae.

That terrifying look made her shudder. He had never shown her such a glare like that before.

“I asked since when you began treating that wretch as madam!”

“?!”

“Cut off her limbs right now. Do it, and I’ll forgive your insolence in coming to kill me.”

Man Gok looked to Oh Jeong-hae.

Startled, Oh Jeong-hae hardened her expression.

“Silence! You heard the sins that madman committed, Captain! Do you think you’ll live if you killed me?”

Lee Ho-gon’s face twisted.

“Shut your mouth, you crazy bitch!”

“You shut up! You’re worse than a dog, committing unspeakable crimes and trying to dump them on my clan?! If not for the my family, you’d be haggling with gutter-rats on the outskirts, and you dare not know your master!”

“…Master?!”

Lee Ho-gon’s eyes went bloodshot.

“And you, in front of me, claim to be master?”

As if loath to trade words with him, Oh Jeong-hae shouted at Man Gok.

“Captain Man! Kill the Guild Master first, now! Or you’ll learn how fierce the Oh Clan can be.”

“Man Gok! Since when was that witless woman your master!”

“Kill him already!”

Man Gok looked helplessly between Lee Ho-gon and Oh Jeong-hae.

Jin-hyeon let out a soft whistle.

‘What a spectacle.’

They say watching a brawl beats watching a fire; even without fists flying, this was quite a show.

He knew Lee Ho-gon and Oh Jeong-hae were bound by a political marriage. More than half the unions in the world were, some even lived happily.

Hearing reports of how abysmal their relationship was, Jin-hyeon became certain: it was Oh Jeong-hae who had sent the request to the Black Society through the man named Kwak Pyeong.

‘Hmm.’

Whatever the cause, he didn’t care. Only the moment mattered.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes shifted to the great gate dividing inner and outer compounds.

Amazingly, the nearly seventy guards truly fell back to the outer compound and shut the gate.

A dry laugh escaped him.

‘How did it get this chaotic?’

He’d stirred the pot, but hadn’t expected a mess this bizarre.

Then—

“Man Gok! Kill the guild master and I’ll pay you a hundred nyang in gold! I’ll make you a retainer of the Oh Clan’s main house! Kill him now!”

“Shut your mouth! Whose money is that hundred nyang?!”

“Once you die, that money will become mine too”

Behind the two trading vicious curses—with Man Gok between them looking sick—

Thoom!

The gate to the inner compound swung open again, and three experts appeared.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes flashed, and color returned to Lee Ho-gon’s face.

“The Three Guests!”

They were, by Dam Jun-sik’s measure, first-rate experts currently employed by the Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild.

Oh Jeong-hae’s face went pale. Man Gok’s expression turned strange.

The Three Guests were masters Lee Ho-gon had hired personally. With them present, the fight would tip sharply his way.

Lee Ho-gon shouted,

“Thre—!”

Whack!

A knifehand to the nape made him bite his tongue and faint.

As Man Gok turned toward Lee Ho-gon—

‘Tch!’

Swiish!

Man Gok swung on instinct.

Instinctive though it was, long-honed patterns flowed through it; the blade traced a faint curve straight for Jin-hyeon’s clavicle.

Slaash!

The sword carved the air.

Ducking under as he evaded, Jin-hyeon drove a punch at the top of Man Gok’s foot.

Crack!

“Ghk!”

With his instep broken and stance ruined, Man Gok swung again.

Whooom!

Stepping with the Moon-Shadow Divine Steps, Jin-hyeon slipped behind him, seized the outstretched forearm, and crushed the elbow down.

Crack!

Even with his arm broken, Man Gok responded well, turning and swinging a fist at Jin-hyeon’s face.

Releasing his arm, Jin-hyeon ducked and drew a dagger from his chest.

The punch cut empty air, and Jin-hyeon’s left hand clamped onto Man Gok’s throat.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He jabbed the solar plexus, chest, an eye like lightning and then shoved Man Gok aside.

Man Gok twitched a few times where he fell, and then went limp. His life snuffed out.

“!”

Oh Jeong-hae gaped at Man Gok’s death.

In a blink, Jin-hyeon seized her by the hair and dragged her before Lee Ho-gon. Strands tore under his grip, and she screamed, but he showed no mercy.

Tak!

Beside the fainted Lee Ho-gon, Jin-hyeon pressed a dagger to the fallen Oh Jeong-hae’s neck and faced the three experts.

Startled by the sudden fight, the three guests had rushed to the mid-courtyard and hastily slowed their pace.

“…”

A strange stillness spread.

It had all happened in a heartbeat.

With her scalp throbbing and the blade cold at her throat, Oh Jeong-hae felt death’s chill.

Maybe that’s why she shrieked hoarsely at the three masters.

“You lunatics! Why are you only coming now! Off whoring and gambling again?!”

The three guests couldn’t easily open their mouths.

Oh Jeong-hae was utterly taken aback.

Their behavior wasn’t new. Bought loyalty was only worth so much. One of them was even wanted by the Alliance of Heavenly Will. They were never the sort to sit in the guild twenty-four hours a day.

The eldest of the three, the Guest One, spoke.

“Are the Guild Master and the madam unharmed?”

Oh Jeong-hae barked back.

“Does this look unharmed to you?!”

The Guest One frowned.

He wanted to snap, “Who are you to shout at me?” but as a hired hand, he held his tongue.

Picking his ear, Jin-hyeon said,

“Hey, Lady Oh.”

“Y-You let me go at once. When this gets out, my family won’t—!”

“I guess you two really are a pair?”

“What?”

“Your husband said the same thing—then I snapped his shin, smashed his hand, and gave his eye a pop.”

“?!”

“Want me to make you match?”

Oh Jeong-hae clamped her mouth shut.

Jin-hyeon smiled.

“Quicker study than your husband.”

He looked the three masters over.

‘Hmmm.’

A frown creased his brow.

‘All show, no substance.’

They looked like weapons with only the shape right.

They’d trained, sure—but their joints were rusted. A twisted pelvis, a slight hunch of the shoulders—signs they hadn’t practiced in a long time.

If it were Seol Hong-baek, not three but five or six of them wouldn’t trouble him. That was how laughable their level was.

‘Then how about me?’

Jin-hyeon spoke.

“Which of you is the youngest?”

Having cast aside their names, they called themselves Guest One, Two, and Three.

Guest Three scowled and said,

“And who are you?”

Looking down at Oh Jeong-hae, Jin-hyeon said,

“Send that bastard to gather everyone—from the outer yard to the inner—right here. Your son, Lee Yong-do, included.”

“…What?”

Jin-hyeon took hold of the little finger on her left hand.

Oh Jeong-hae’s face blanched.

“Guest Three! You—yes, you! Do exactly as this gentleman says, now!”

Guest Three’s face flushed red.

“Hey, madam!”

“You little shit! Move, now!”

Hot breath snorted from Guest Three’s nose.

Then Guest One spoke in a sour tone.

“Youngest. Go.”

“What, Brother? Why are you siding with them?”

“Idiot, don’t you see the Guild Master? If either of those two dies here, you think we’ll see the rest of our fee?”

Apparently, Lee Ho-gon hadn’t even paid their upfront fee in full.

Guest Three spat after glaring at each of them, then headed for the outer compound.

Second Guest smacked his lips.

“What a mess in the dead of night. By the way, who are you?”

Jin-hyeon rested his chin in silence.

Second Guest’s eyes darkened.

“This young brat’s got no manners.”

Crack!

“Aaagh!”

Oh Jeong-hae screamed.

Jin-hyeon widened his eyes.

“Oh? Did it break? Sorry, Lady Oh. Someone rubbed me wrong and my hand clenched.”

“Heu heuk!”

It was her first time feeling the pain of a dislocation. Cold sweat beaded and tears gathered in her eyes.

But the blood-stained dagger at her throat kept her from even struggling.

Oh Jeong-hae shot a deadly glare at the Guest One and Two..

“Shut your mouths!”

Guest One sighed with his head lowered; Guest Two turned away as if he couldn’t bear to look.

Just then—

Tok!

The tension in Oh Jeong-hae’s neck slackened.

When the Guest One looked up, the dagger was already flying.

Thunk!

“Urk!”

The blade buried itself in Guest One’s shoulder.

As he reeled, the startled Guest Two turned toward Jin-hyeon.

Jin-hyeon had already dipped low and swept his ankle.

Whump!

The blow was so brutal that even as he fell, the pain in his ankle forced his mouth wide.

Jin-hyeon kicked Guest Two in the groin with all his might.

Crunch!

“Gyaaaah!!”

With a hideous scream, Guest Two’s eyes rolled back.

“You little—!”

Flustered, Guest One swung his right fist.

It was a fast, springy fist style. Had he kept it up over the years, it would’ve been hard to block or even evade.

Whoosh!

Sidestepping, Jin-hyeon seized and twisted his wrist. This was one of the Eight Wastes Alliance Leader basic techniques, Serpent-Shark Hand.

Crack!

“Heuk!”

Guest One panicked at his broken wrist.

Jin-hyeon latched onto Guest One’s outstretched arm, spun like a top, and slipped around to his rear.

Crack! Crrrack! Snap!

Elbow, shoulder, then neck—each broke in turn, and Guest One’s body crumpled.

Jin-hyeon yanked the dagger from Guest One’s shoulder, drove it into the Second Guest’s heart, then slit his throat.

Two masters died in an instant.

Wiping blood from his face, Jin-hyeon clicked his tongue.

“What the hell are these clowns…”

Not only in his days as the Leader of the Eight Waste Alliance, but even since his return, he had never seen men so fatally careless.

Even rusty, if they’d shown their base skill, they could’ve held thirty exchanges. Had Lee Ho-gon seen their end, he might have fainted again.

“Let’s see.”

Sitting between Lee Ho-gon and Oh Jeong-hae, Jin-hyeon looked up at the sky.

“It’s about time it started.”

The Mighty Tiger Merchant Guild’s hell was only just beginning.