Episode 31. Without Me? How Dare You?
“Answer.”
When I pressed him, Shao Junpyeong finally opened his mouth in a low, subdued voice.
“…Spare me.”
Apparently, he was a man who still knew shame; his face went bright red.
I asked,
“Why? You got an old mother at home? A cute daughter? Then of course I should spare you.”
“I do not.”
“No? That makes it harder. If you had a cute little girl, it’d be automatic.”
Shao almost said, What kind of bullshit is that, then swallowed it back down.
“There may possibly be one somewhere, but officially, no.”
“…Listen to this bastard playing word games.”
“My apologies.”
“You refuse to serve under me when I was about to treat you like a guest general, but you still want to live, is that it?”
Shrinking under his own embarrassment, he finally forced out,
“I am a man who keeps his word. If you spare me, I will never again lay a hand on anyone of the Hao Sect. I swear it. Not just the Hao Sect, but anyone related to the sect master—I will never use my strength against them. I swear it on my blade.”
I was already planning to recruit him later, so for now I intended to let him go.
The esteemed Master Sleeping Dragon personally demonstrated that even a man with a very upright heart can be made a subordinate if you capture and thrash him seven times.
The important part there is that he let him go each time.
Because at first, the other guy has no intention of serving under you.
It wasn’t the act of “seven captures and seven releases” itself that made the Sleeping Dragon great; it was that he could read hearts.
Honestly, I was also curious how this guy had managed to survive so long. I’m the sort of person who has to dig out anything I’m curious about.
“Go.”
Come back stronger, and that’d be even better. You’re going to be my subordinate anyway.
Fate requires timing, and the timing wasn’t quite right yet. He’s someone who’s survived a long time in the Black Path; we’d probably meet again before long.
Shao frowned slightly.
“Go where, exactly?”
“Get lost, you bastard.”
He blinked in surprise.
“I… may really just leave?”
Of course he was shocked. He’d been expecting to either be beaten to death or tortured to death. Black Path types always assume the worst-case scenario; that’s why their speech and behavior are so rough.
I waved him away again.
He couldn’t understand why he was being spared, so he had to ask,
“Why… are you letting me live?”
“Junpyeong, I’m the only Jianghu man left alive in Ilyang now. How do you think I got this far? I killed the slavers, buried the scum, and wiped out the bastards running the brothels. Fights like this are normal in the Jianghu. If you come back stronger, I’ll accept your challenge anytime. But…”
I glared at him.
“If I hear that you’ve been killing merchants or ordinary folk, I’ll mobilize a hundred thousand from the Hao Sect and hunt you down. Then I’ll tear your limbs off or bury you in the ground like I did the Golden Phoenix Hall Master.”
“A hundred… thousand…?”
“Why? That doesn’t sound right to you? Every merchant in the world—whether they know the Hao Sect or not—has me as their sect master. Because I decided it’s that way.”
“I will remember.”
He stood and opened the door, where Cha Seongtae poked his head in and asked,
“You’re letting him go?”
“Let him.”
“Mm… understood.”
At the door, Shao dipped his head slightly.
“Thank you for sparing me despite my defeat. I will keep my promise until the day I die.”
As he walked away, I muttered to myself,
“Yeah, you better. Lunatics are meant to fight other lunatics.”
As I was muttering, Cha Seongtae, who’d been unconsciously jiggling his leg by the door, stared at me.
I turned to him.
“Am I wrong?”
“You’re absolutely right, sir. Lunatics with lunatics.”
He pointed at me with his finger, then pointed at himself, and gave a little nod.
I felt vaguely offended.
“Don’t point at people, you little shit.”
“My apologies.”
“What exactly are you sorry for?”
“The pointing.”
I decided to teach him a Jianghu lesson.
“Seongtae, do you know why pointing at somebody is bad—not just in terms of manners?”
“Uh… is there some deeper meaning?”
I raised my index finger and aimed it at him, sending Flame Qi surging into it. The fingertip flushed red. Seongtae went pale and threw both hands up.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll be careful.”
“Don’t point your finger at anyone. You might end up a roasted corpse. Because some expert might mistake you for a master of Finger Arts. Got it?”
“I’ll remember.”
“Never provoke lunatics. What awaits you isn’t insults or a beating—it’s death. And, General Cha.”
“Yes, sect master.”
“How long’s it been since I put you in charge as General, and you haven’t brought me a single report?”
“Report… on what, exactly…?”
“Total slush fund, the original Zhao family assets, the amount invested in the Construction Branch, daily meal costs for Construction, miscellaneous expenses, cleaning costs, manpower status of the guys we took from the Black Cat Gang. Everything. Nicely summarized in writing. If it’s too much for you alone, finding someone good at this stuff is also your job as General.”
“…”
He just stood there at the door, stunned. With a dazed look, he said,
“If I get fired… you said it’s a death sentence, right? I kind of remember something like that.”
“Good memory.”
“Is there… anything besides death?”
“Let’s see… what could there be?”
I pointed a finger at him again.
“Getting fired. Getting pointed at. Pick one. I’m such a generous sect master, you see… I give my men choices.”
Cha clasped his fists and answered with a very solemn face,
“Sect master, I will compile and report everything. In return…”
“In return what?”
“Please set the General’s monthly pay as the highest in the Hao Sect. I can’t work like this otherwise.”
There he goes again. I clicked my tongue, then gave in.
“Fine. Do it.”
“Thank you.”
It wasn’t like I’d spent a single coin of my own anyway, so I didn’t really mind.
Outside Plum Blossom House, Shao Junpyeong stood with a sour look on his face, glancing around.
What came to mind was the Black Cat Gang leader’s order.
[Your opponent is a busboy. If you fail, take your own life.]
Shao muttered,
“Yeah, no. I’m not planning to die. Why should I?”
His life belonged to his parents, not the gang leader.
Before he knew it, dusk was falling, and he was hungry again. As he walked aimlessly, he found himself outside Chunyang Noodle House, staring at Jang Deuksu standing out front.
Deuksu flinched like he’d seen a ghost.
“Ah, you’re… still alive.”
He smacked his own mouth right after saying it.
Remembering the Hao Sect master’s words, Shao replied carefully,
“The interview just ended, that’s all. Anyway, think I could get a bowl of noodles before I go?”
He really had nowhere to go. He was hungry, and the places where he’d been beaten were throbbing.
Deuksu looked him over, then gave an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry, but we’re out of noodles.”
“Hm.”
Shao sighed, then on a hunch, took a silver ingot from his sleeve and tossed it to Deuksu. Deuksu caught it in both hands, staring in shock, and Shao said,
“I’ll pay in advance.”
Deuksu glanced around, then whispered,
“Please, come in, sir.”
One thought crossed his mind.
Business is always done at the risk of your life.
As he ate his noodles, Shao said,
“…Thought I was dead for sure, but he let me live.”
“Is that so?”
Deuksu looked at him without much expression.
Curious, Shao asked,
“You lived here long, shopkeep? That guy—he wasn’t really a busboy, was he?”
“He was, back then. I’m sure of it.”
“Hmm. Where’d he learn his martial arts, then? His level’s no joke…”
While washing bowls, Deuksu replied,
“Good question. We don’t actually know either. One day he just started acting like a different person. He ran the inn into the ground after his grandfather died, then suddenly started training hard. We just assume it’s from that.”
“He mentioned some group called the Hao Sect. You know anything about that?”
“Yes. I’m Hao Sect too.”
Shao tilted his head.
“With a name like ‘sect’, I thought it’d be full of experts.”
“Not at all. Most are like me—ordinary. Working folk, mostly.”
“So that’s what he meant when he said he was the only Jianghu man here.”
When he finished his noodles, Shao just sat there, sighing over and over without leaving his seat.
It made Deuksu uncomfortable.
Could you just… leave?
Sensing his thoughts, Shao asked for understanding.
“Sorry. I’ve got some thinking to do. Do you mind if I stay a bit?”
“Go ahead.”
Deuksu had taken a whole silver ingot for a single bowl of noodles; he didn’t have the conscience to kick the man out.
“Want me to make you something else? You paid way too much.”
“Oh? If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
“Anything’s fine.”
Deuksu couldn’t resist nitpicking.
“There’s no such thing as ‘anything’.”
Shao stared at him, and Deuksu bowed his head slightly.
“Just a joke. I’ll whip something up.”
He headed into the kitchen and started boiling fresh broth.
While he worked, Shao chewed over his failure and thought of the subordinates he’d left behind at the Black Cat Gang.
If he went back, the gang leader would kill him.
But vanishing somewhere without even saying goodbye to his men—that didn’t feel like something a man should do either. No wonder he was lost in thought.
Shao muttered to himself,
“Living’s no easy thing.”
He thought it was just a mutter, but Deuksu answered from the kitchen,
“Same for everybody. You know anyone it’s easy for?”
“Even you, shopkeep?”
“Me, I just earn each day’s food each day. As long as there’s nobody demanding tribute, I can call that ‘manageable’. That’s what the Hao Sect master wants, apparently. That’s why he made the Hao Sect.”
“Just that…?”
Deuksu poked his head out from the kitchen and said,
“He said it himself: ‘The Hao Sect is the guardian of ordinary working folk’… or something like that.”
When he disappeared back into the kitchen, Shao crossed his arms and fell deeper into thought.
He thought of the Hao Sect master, and one thought came to mind.
So he’s not completely insane…
Deuksu tossed whole pork leg bones into a pot and boiled them. It was a simple dish—just adding broth from his soup stock to bring out flavor.
A little later, he came out with three big pork bones in a bowl for Shao, and another three in his own.
“Please, eat.”
Staring at the boiled pork bones, Shao said,
“What’s this? Pig bones?”
Deuksu tore off a chunk with his teeth and replied,
“You think it needs a fancy name? They’re just pork bones. Tastes good, though.”
Despite just having eaten noodles, Shao swallowed hungrily and reached for his chopsticks.
Deuksu stopped him.
“You eat these with your hands.”
“If my hands get greasy, it’s annoying when I have to grab my sword.”
“The only expert in this town is Lee Jaha. You’ve already lost to him. Use your hands.”
“True… I did lose.”
“Exactly.”
Shao grabbed a bone with both hands just like Deuksu and took a bite, then paused, crossing his arms like he had to say something.
“This is… wow, this is…”
“How is it?”
“This is really good. Never had anything like it.”
Deuksu grinned.
“That’s good to hear. Makes the job worth it.”
Shao swallowed and grabbed another bone, just about to bring it to his mouth when the door to Chunyang Noodle House creaked open.
Creak…!
Pork bone in hand, Shao looked up and locked eyes with the Hao Sect master standing in the doorway.
“…!”
I stared at the pork bones in front of them, my expression twisting in irritation.
“You bastards… without me. You dare eat pork bones…?”
Hearing that, Shao quietly put down the pork bone he hadn’t yet taken a bite of.