“Until now, you’ve only been following behind us, and you’ve never threatened us directly.”
At the woman’s continued words, a delighted smile rose to the corners of the Deputy Society Leader’s and his underlings’ mouths.
“Miss, thank you for understanding.”
The Deputy Society Leader thought that although this mysterious young woman possessed terrifying martial arts and spoke with a murderous edge, her heart was remarkably innocent.
‘Right. She’s young, so she must be lacking in martial-world experience.’
With a triumphant smile to himself, the Deputy Society Leader politely asked the woman, who was standing at ease on the branch.
“Miss, then may we withdraw now?”
“I’ll allow you to withdraw. But before that, Deputy Society Leader, there’s one thing you need to do.”
At the woman’s words that she would permit them to withdraw, the Deputy Society Leader spoke at once, as if pouncing.
“Tell me what you want, Miss.”
For the Deputy Society Leader, he had to hurry and leave this place before Hu Gae and the Dark Cavern Taoist caught on and came running.
In particular, he absolutely did not want to run into Hu Gae of the Beggar Clan.
The Deputy Society Leader knew all too well what would happen the moment their identities were exposed to Hu Gae.
‘Come to think of it, it’s a blessing beyond measure that we caught the eye of this woman who doesn’t know how the martial world works.’
As the Deputy Society Leader, frantic inside, pleaded with his eyes, the mysterious young woman said,
“Deputy Society Leader, I’m telling you to apologize for the insolent way you toyed with me.”
The Deputy Society Leader recalled how he’d heard that the woman’s beauty was extraordinary and had bragged that he’d marked her as his. Without even imagining she would be such a terrifying witch(?), he’d run his mouth.
In any case, if it meant saving his life, what was an apology? Could he not do it a hundred times?
‘Just like I thought—innocent.’
The Deputy Society Leader immediately clasped his hands.
“I failed to recognize Miss and acted rashly. I apologize.”
At the Deputy Society Leader’s clasped-hands salute, the woman on the branch spoke in a frosty voice.
“Clenching two fists without any sincerity and apologizing with words alone can’t be called a true apology. At the very least, you have to show the sincerity of bowing at the waist three times.”
Three bows were a rite of gratitude for the grace of saving one’s life.
In other words, bowing three times to the other party carried the shameful meaning of humiliating submission—begging for your life.
‘Grrr...!’
The Deputy Society Leader felt a thousand flames of rage surge inside, but he couldn’t dare show it to the witch(?) who had displayed a Peak Realm’s might.
‘You scheming bitch—today’s humiliation, I’ll repay it for certain.’
The Deputy Society Leader bent his waist once toward the woman standing on the branch.
GRIND!
As he ground his teeth inside, the woman’s voice came.
“Deputy Society Leader, you have to say your apology while you’re in that posture.”
With his waist bent, the Deputy Society Leader squeezed his eyes shut.
‘Until I tear you to pieces and kill you, I won’t live as a man.’
“Miss, I’m sorry for acting rashly.”
Since his dignity was already crushed anyway, the Deputy Society Leader didn’t hesitate—he straightened up and then immediately bent his waist again.
“Again, I apologize.”
Self-loathing came crashing in, but with one last bow remaining, he forced himself to endure and bent at the waist once more.
“Truly, I apologize.”
After finishing all three bows, the Deputy Society Leader lifted his head in misery.
“Then we will be on our way now. Uh...?”
The mysterious young woman who had been on the branch was already gone.
‘Hah! When did she disappear again?’
It truly was a lightness art like a ghost’s. There hadn’t been a sound, not even the slightest trace.
—WHOOOOOSH!
Just then, with the howl of a fierce gust, a booming voice rang out.
“Where do you bastards think you’re going?”
A beggar with an eight-knotted cord tied around his waist burst into the clearing.
“H-Heok! Hu Gae!”
And then, a rugged young man in gray martial robes dropped down from midair.
—FLAAARE!
Only after seeing Hu Gae and the Dark Cavern Taoist arrive did the Deputy Society Leader realize that his mind had been completely stolen by the mysterious young woman.
‘Then... her making me bow three times was because of that...!’
As the Deputy Society Leader’s insides collapsed, Hu Gae’s booming voice rang out again.
“Sister Jin, you had a rough time with these vicious bastards. So—are you hurt anywhere?”
“...?”
Following Hu Gae’s gaze, the Deputy Society Leader discovered the mysterious young woman standing down in the open space beside the main road.
‘H-Heok! When did she get down there...?’
“These people had just drawn their swords, and it was about to get troublesome, but it’s a blessing beyond measure that the Sub-Branch Master arrived at just the right time.”
“...?”
The Deputy Society Leader was dumbfounded at the woman’s demure reply. Her earlier murderous air was nowhere to be found.
‘Did she turn into a different person while she was coming down from the branch?’
And above all, the content of what she said was absurd.
The ones who had been in trouble were them, weren’t they?
They’d drawn their swords because they had no choice.
Even so, her words fit the situation perfectly.
Because everyone—including the Deputy Society Leader himself—was holding a drawn sword.
With the witch(?)’s words combined with this situation, what kind of fury it would ignite in Hu Gae—the “dog butcher of villains”—was obvious without asking.
“You fucking dog bastards!”
—CRAAACK!
“K-KRAAAH!”
The Deputy Society Leader watched one underling get smashed by Hu Gae’s Tagu Staff and go flying through the air.
And that was the beginning.
—WHIP! CRAAACK!
“Guhh—!”
A sharp wind-splitting impact, dull blows, and screams rang out in a relentless cascade across the open space beside the main road.
“If any bastard shows his back, I’ll smash his skull into pieces!”
At Chwi Dugae’s roar, the Deputy Society Leader and his underlings’ legs went numb, and not one of them could turn and run.
What’s more, the Dark Cavern Taoist was standing a step back, watching—so they couldn’t even muster the nerve.
A moment later, the Deputy Society Leader and his underlings—beaten into pulp by the Tagu Staff—were kneeling before Chwi Dugae.
“Now, I’m going to ask.”
—SWIIISH!
Chwi Dugae swung the Tagu Staff once through the air and continued.
“The moment you hesitate to answer, you’ll never walk on your own two feet again. Understand?”
The Deputy Society Leader immediately bowed his head.
“Sub-Branch Master, ask anything.”
He had taken an enormous beating, but none of his joints were broken yet.
Even after being hit head-on by blows carrying such powerful wind pressure.
That meant Chwi Dugae had freely controlled his inner power at the instant of each strike—proof that Hu Gae’s realm was truly terrifying.
And for them, that also meant there was still a sliver of hope.
If there was even a thread of hope to live, it was only human nature to cling to it—so what was there to hesitate about?
“Who are you?”
The Deputy Society Leader squeezed his eyes shut and answered.
“I am Cho Hee-tak, Deputy Society Leader of the Red Wolf Society, the Poison Heart of Lone Night.”
“The Red Wolf Society?”
Chwi Dugae asked back, eyes wide.
“That Red Wolf Society that’s been running wild lately around Hyeongeum County and the surrounding area?”
“...Yes.”
Chwi Dugae’s brow knotted hard.
“You... human trash!”
As Chwi Dugae’s Tagu Staff flashed up, Kwak Yeon asked,
“Brother, what kind of people are they, for you to react like that?”
“They’re dog-shit... no, worse than dogs. I’ve heard they extort commoners, pull armed-robbery stunts whenever they feel like it, and do contract killing and human trafficking like it’s a meal.”
Kwak Yeon’s expression turned icy.
Now he understood why Old Master Gu had been trembling in such terror.
“Especially the more vile thing about these bastards is... they hang the corpses of the people they kill up in the marketplace. And if someone takes them down or even touches them, they always take revenge.”
Deputy Society Leader Cho Hee-tak hurriedly said,
“Sub-Branch Master, to be honest, those cases are extremely rare. And frankly, that kind of thing is only because the Society Leader orders it, so we have no choice—”
—KWA-BOOM!
Chwi Dugae’s Tagu Staff slammed down beside Cho Hee-tak.
The Tagu Staff he’d struck with this time carried such monstrous force that the ground caved in.
“Sub-Branch Master, please—just spare my life... just my life. Then I’ll never do evil again, and I’ll live properly.”
Looking at the Deputy Society Leader and his underlings smashing their heads to the ground, Chwi Dugae twisted his face into a grimace.
“Damn it. I should’ve known what you were before I beat you...”
It was regret that he hadn’t been able to beat them to death because he’d held back with the Tagu Staff.
Kwak Yeon asked,
“Brother, if people like this are running wild, why does the government let it happen? And there should be martial sects in Hyeongeum County and nearby as well.”
“That’s because these bastards, unlike other martial societies, wander around with no base. Red Wolf—its name says it all. They’re the ones who went all the way to the bottom among wild drifters and roving outlaws, and gathered together. Hoo!”
Chwi Dugae let out a breath of rage and continued.
“Even the black path doesn’t treat these bastards like people. Like contract-killing organizations, they’re poisonous mushrooms that grew in the shadow of the martial world.”
Kwak Yeon thought that “poisonous mushrooms that grew in the shadow of the martial world” fit the Red Wolf Society perfectly.
A cluster of people who didn’t care what they did as long as it brought money overlapped with the image of a mass of poisonous mushrooms.
“Anyway, it’s unbelievable. That a thing like the Red Wolf Society would dare target the Dark Cavern Taoist and jump in.”
“Well, is that surprising? They say that with one million taels of Geumja, even a dead ghost crawls out of its grave.”
“Ha, Kwak, are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem? If you fart often, you end up shitting—if even trash like this is swarming around, it means the dangers ahead are piled up layer after layer.”
“Brother, that expression is a bit much. Miss Jin is listening too.”
“Ahem...”
As Chwi Dugae grew embarrassed, Kwak Yeon spoke calmly.
“Wasn’t that something we resolved ourselves to? There’s no need to worry in advance. Let’s deal with what’s in front of us first.”
Kwak Yeon stepped forward in front of Deputy Society Leader Cho Hee-tak and asked,
“How many of you Red Wolf Society people have come out for this job?”
At Kwak Yeon’s polite question, Cho Hee-tak, the Poison Heart of Lone Night, felt his chest turn even colder than when facing Hu Gae. And the terrifying rumor-term that followed the Dark Cavern Taoist’s name—“kills as he pleases with every step”—would not leave his mind.
“Our Red Wolf Society has no base to begin with, so we always move together. Of course, for this job as well, all of us came out.”
“That’s welcome news.”
“...?”
“Then the rest of your people are with the Society Leader, yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Then tell me now what move the Society Leader has prepared.”
“We don’t know that much. Truly. The Society Leader told us only to follow behind and watch whether you were going properly along that route...”
“I see. And of course you told that route to Old Master Gu as well.”
“That’s right. I told Old Master Gu that he must steer the carriage along that route... and I threatened him.”
Kwak Yeon nodded and turned away, and Deputy Society Leader Cho Hee-tak hurriedly called out to him.
“E-Excuse me, Dark Cavern Taoist.”
“...?”
“We will use this chance to completely wipe away our past and live a new life. We’ll accept any punishment without complaint—so please, I beg you, spare this miserable life.”
Kwak Yeon said in a cold voice,
“That isn’t something I can decide.”
