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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator:Bobt
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Yang Gweng, who had been stripped of the money and jade ornament he had, sat down comfortably in front of Jang Geon, who was slurping noodles despite looking like he would flee at any moment, and struck up a conversation.
“Jang, now is not the time for you to be eating noodles.”
Jang Geon ignored him and just kept eating the noodles. He sucked in a large mouthful, stuffing his cheeks full, in a way that didn’t look very appetizing at all. Yang Gweng swallowed his saliva and continued speaking.
“Well, Jang, I remember having meals and playing gambling games with you, so let me tell you, it would be best if we quickly left this inn.”
Jang Geon didn’t answer. Instead, he noisily slurped up the noodles, then picked up the bowl and gulped down the broth. After setting down the empty bowl and lightly burping, he finally looked at Yang Gweng and spoke briefly.
“Why?”
“…That fugitive from earlier?”
“Jin Yangseok?”
Yang Gweng scratched his chin.
“Even though you’re pretending not to remember, you clearly do. Anyway, that guy is a dangerous fellow.”
“The guy who got swindled by a trickster like you?”
At Jang Geon’s words, Yang Gweng let out a light cough.
“Hey, why do you keep calling me a trickster?”
“If you don’t like trickster, I can call you a thief instead.”
“Ehehe. Don’t you remember what I just said? I paid off all the bounties from the Martial Arts Alliance.”
“Does that make the victims disappear?”
Yang Gweng raised both hands in a shrug.
“Doesn’t part of that bounty go towards compensating those people? So it’s fine. Besides, I’ve never swindled poor civilians.”
“Are you Hong Gildong or something?”
“…Who’s Hong Gildong?”
As he brought the teacup to his lips, Jang Geon replied, “The leader of the Hwal Bin Tang outlaw group.”
“…The Hwal Bin Tang?”
“Would you understand if I explained it to you?”
Yang Gweng laughed dryly. “No, I wouldn’t. My education is a bit lacking.”
Jang Geon silently looked at Yang Gweng for a moment before opening his mouth. “So why is that guy dangerous?”
Yang Gweng picked up a teacup from the corner of the table and filled it with tea as he spoke. “That Jin Yangseok guy is nothing special. He hasn’t learned any martial arts, and he’s not particularly wealthy either. He’s not particularly smart from being well-educated. He’s just a fool, a fool.”
“That fool is dangerous?”
Yang Gweng took a sip of the hot tea. “The fool himself isn’t dangerous. The problem is that the fool has an older brother. And that brother is quite a formidable fighter.”
Upon hearing Yang Gweng’s words, Jang Geon chuckled and picked up his chopsticks again. “I’m decent at martial arts too.”
“Ah, I know that. In this Amju Valley, who doesn’t know your prowess with fists? Everyone said that your sword must be just for decoration before seeing you draw that blade.”
At those words, Jang Geon put down the chopsticks he was holding.
“Then what’s the problem, trickster? Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.”
“…Well, the skilled older brother is a problem, but the bigger issue is the faction that brother belongs to – the Sasang Faction.”
Jang Geon frowned. “They have a Martial Arts Alliance branch here? But how can there be a heretical faction?”
Yang Gweng chuckled slyly. “Curious?”
Jang Geon also chuckled, showing his tightly clenched left fist. Seeing the fist, Yang Gweng’s face paled slightly.
“Well, I’ll tell you, so please put that fist down… Of course, they’re not openly a heretical faction. They’re not just a bunch of wandering vagrants either. Apparently, their leader here has some connection to the local Martial Arts Alliance branch chief, so as long as they don’t cross certain lines, they’re left alone. And the fool’s brother, Jin Cheongseok, is their top fighter.”
“So you were swindling that guy’s younger brother?”
Yang Gweng shrugged again. “Like I said, they have to stay within limits too. What happened earlier was something that happened yesterday, and probably would have happened again tomorrow if you hadn’t shown up, Jang.”
“The Martial Arts Alliance seems to be functioning well.”
“It seems the locals here share that view. They were quick to open their mouths and complain to an outsider like me, suggesting they had a lot of pent-up grievances.”
Jang Geon broke his gaze from Yang Gweng and picked up his chopsticks. “Then stop blabbering and get lost before those locals show up.”
“…That might be a bit difficult.”
Just as Jang Geon wondered what he meant by that, he looked around the table where Yang Gweng had been sitting and understood the situation. The people who had been laughing and gambling with Yang Gweng were now glaring at him and Jang Geon with murderous intent, likely because Yang Gweng had provoked Jin YangSeok and used trickery.
Some of the locals also seemed scared and were quietly slipping out of the inn. As Jang Geon watched them leave while slurping up the remaining noodles, the innkeeper approached with a stern expression.
“Sir.”
Jang Geon looked up at the innkeeper, whose face wasn’t just stern but visibly trembling.
“I’ll refund the cost of the noodles and lodging. So please leave my inn.”
Seeing this, Yang Gweng laughed helplessly and said, “Well, in this situation, we should leave. Before those Sasang Faction guys show up. If they come, it’ll be hard for either you or me to stay safe, Jang.”
However, Jang Geon remained calm, retrieving every last strand of noodle and drinking the entire bowl of broth. After putting down the empty bowl and lightly burping, he spoke briefly, “I think we’ll be safe.”
“…Are you some legendary master, Jang? They say the Sasang Faction has around twenty guys. What are you planning to do?”
“If you were going to run, you should have just left instead of grabbing me and making all this noise. It’s too late now.”
As Yang Gweng and the innkeeper looked puzzled by those words, a low, gruff voice came from beyond the inn’s entrance.
“Yeah. It’s already too late to run away.”
It sounded like all the blood drained from Yang Gweng and the innkeeper’s faces. At the same time, the owner of that voice entered the inn. Just from a quick glance, the burly man seemed quite heavy, causing the wooden inn floor to creak noisily with each step.
After entering, the bulky man looked past the terrified innkeeper and Yang Gweng to Jang Geon. He silently observed Jang Geon calmly sipping tea for a moment, then turned and asked, “Are those the guys?”
“Y-Yes, sir. Those are the ones who swindled me out of my money using trickery, and when I protested, they broke my nose like this. Please, punish them severely.”
“…Your money?”
The man turned as Jin Yangseok, who had appeared behind him, let out an “Oh!” and quickly added, “Well, they swindled people’s money. My money, I mean, was just a part of that.”
The bulky man looked at Jin Yangseok, with his bandaged nose and stammering speech, with a pitying expression. Then he turned his gaze back to Yang Gweng and Jang Geon.
“All of you, get out.”
Jang Geon realized those words weren’t directed at him and Yang Gweng. The people who had remained in the inn hurriedly scurried out. Even the innkeeper followed suit but stopped next to the man, cautiously speaking up.
“B-But I just bought that new table not long ago…”
Without a word, the man just shot the innkeeper a menacing glare, causing him to quickly run out past the entrance.
Yang Gweng, looking uneasy, slowly stood up, intending to slip out with the others.
“Sit down, unless you want to get thrashed first.”
Upon hearing Jang Geon’s dry tone, he naturally sat back down and picked up his teacup, replying, “Hm? What do you mean, Jang? I’m just sitting here.”
Jang Geon, who had been locking eyes with the bulky man, didn’t respond but just chuckled lightly. Once all the other people had left the inn, about eight rough-looking men rushed in and surrounded Jang Geon and Yang Gweng in a semicircle at the far corner.
Then the man who had been glaring at Jang Geon slowly approached and spoke.
“Greetings, friends. I’m Jin Cheongseok. Albeit embarrassingly, I serve as this village’s problem solver. Not that there are many problems in this peaceful place – I’ve mostly been loafing around.”
He stopped in front of the table where Jang Geon and Yang Gweng were seated.
“But it seems a problem I need to solve has arisen today.”
Jang Geon didn’t respond, only looking at Jin Cheongseok with narrowed eyes as he drank his tea. Seeing this, Jin Cheongseok’s brow twitched, prompting Yang Gweng, who had been watching cautiously, to quickly stand up, press his palms together in a greeting gesture, and speak.
“Ha, haha. It seems there has been some misunderstanding here. Nice to meet you. I’m Yang Gweng. I came to this village a few days ago, and in that short time, I’ve heard the stories about your noble spirit more than once or twice, Sir Jin. A noble man of the martial world in these troubled times? I really wanted to meet you. And now that I have this opportunity, isn’t this just fate? Ah, and this is Sir Jang Geon over here. He hasn’t been in the village long either…”
However, Yang Gweng’s words were cut off by Jin Cheongseok suddenly pointing his index finger at him. As Yang Gweng was caught off guard by the abrupt gesture, Jin Cheongseok opened his mouth.
“Trickster.”
“Huh? T-Trickster?”
That finger then moved to point at Jang Geon instead.
“Scoundrel.”
Jin Cheongseok lowered his hand and arrogantly spoke while gripping his waist with both hands.
“You suddenly appear in this peaceful village, preying on and swindling the poor civilians. When my younger brother protested, you responded with violence and broke his nose. You’re no ordinary ruffians. As one who upholds the code, I cannot simply overlook this matter. I will have to arrest you both and take you to the Martial Arts Alliance branch. I advise against resisting, as that will only lead you to harm.”
His tone of delivering judgment and arrogant manner left Yang Gweng at a loss for words, his brow furrowed as his mouth opened and closed wordlessly. The ruffians surrounding them drew thick cudgels from their waists and started closing in as Jin Cheongseok finished speaking.
Seeing this, Yang Gweng’s face drained of color, and he inadvertently muttered a curse under his breath, “This damn…”
“But at least they’re not outright trying to kill us, it seems.”
At Jang Geon’s calm remark, the approaching ruffians halted, unconsciously looking to Jin Cheongseok, whose expression soured at their hesitation as he glared at Jang Geon.
“How could I kill someone in a crowded inn during broad daylight?”
“Is surrounding and ganging up on us okay, then?”
Jin Cheongseok took a step closer to the table where Jang Geon was seated.
“It’s for the purpose of apprehending troublemakers disrupting the village peace. All fellows of the martial world will understand.”
“What martial world fellows are here besides your gang of thugs? You’ve got an overinflated sense of self-importance.”
Lowering his voice at Jang Geon’s mocking tone, Jin Cheongseok took another step forward. “This brat really wants to get beaten up, constantly mouthing off like that. If you don’t watch your tongue, I might just cripple that trap of yours before handing you over to the Alliance.”
Jang Geon merely chuckled at the menacing words. “You’re not going to let me go unscathed?”
“After what you did to my younger brother’s face, and in my own village? At the very least, I’ll make you a cripple missing an arm or leg. Or if you’d prefer, I can leave you with just that thing between your legs.”
Jin Cheongseok’s crude final remark made the surrounding thugs snicker and fondle their cudgels against their thighs. Seeing this, Yang Gweng unconsciously clasped his hands together and shrank back.
However, Jang Geon simply looked at Jin Cheongseok, the snickering thugs, and the sniggering Jin Yangseok with a pitying expression before speaking.
“Don’t stories in martial arts novels usually have the villain be cautious in situations like this, wondering if this guy might actually be some formidable master or wandering expert?”
Jin Cheongseok’s face hardened upon hearing Jang Geon’s words. “What? A master? Are you claiming to be a master?”
Jang Geon replied with a blank look. “No, I’m not.”
“…What the hell, you crazy bastard? Are you joking around? Impersonating a master because you want to get beat up?”
In that instant, without any preparatory motion, Jang Geon launched himself from his seated position, using his hands on the table for leverage as he vaulted over it to deliver a kick straight to Jin Cheongseok’s face.
The force of that single kick was so great that the bulky, large-framed Jin Cheongseok was sent flying out the inn entrance, crashing to the ground. His eyes were rolling back, and his teeth – both upper and lower – were shattered, blood gushing from his mouth grotesquely. The thugs inside and Yang Gweng stared dumbfounded between the fallen Jin Cheongseok and Jang Geon.
Having landed nimbly from the recoil of that kick, Jang Geon met their gazes with a cold, sharp look and spoke.
“So, no legendary masters or wandering experts around?”
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