Chapter 43. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (18)
“Then you do it too, you brat!”
“How am I supposed to beat you if we start comparing qi reserves?!”
“If you’re upset, then go reincarnate and start cultivating before me!”
“Cough, cough!”
One, two, three days... as time continued to pass, the group quickly made ground as they passed through Jiangxi Province and reached the border of Anhui Province.
Around noon, they reached a fairly large city called Anqing, where they stopped to rest their tired horses.
As everyone was resting for the first time after such long days of travel, Dae-Woong went to a tavern on his own, drinking without his family for the first time in a long time.
“Kyah! How amazing, really. This is why we drink! It’s so good!”
Dae-Woong was originally a talkative drinker.
When he was working at the inn, he wasn’t able to drink very often, but he genuinely loved alcohol, so much so that he would sometimes plan a day off just so he could drink all night long.
After having traveled all this way on horseback, covered in dust, all he had been able to think about was a drink.
Moreover, Sang-Woon had coincidentally given him a day off, saying that he would focus on teaching Si-Hyeon today. Thus, it was only natural that he would run all the way to a tavern that he had been eying since they had arrived in Anqing.
While he was enjoying himself, moaning and groaning in delight, a girl who looked to be about fourteen or fifteen came into the tavern with a bunch of flowers.
“Please buy some flowers. Mister, please buy some flowers.”
She was a flower girl, a common sight in any village.
Although there were very few children in the small town of Unhan, occasionally, there were children from other areas who came to the Song Family Inn, most of whom orphans or children from extremely poor families.
Dae-Woong, who had a soft heart, was heartbroken every time he saw such children.
When he had been an orphan, hadn’t he been treated with contempt and hatred from every angle, having to beg to survive?
The girl started circling through the tavern, starting at the table right next to the door while Dae-Woong was sitting at the one furthest from the entrance.
‘Dear, circle quickly and come over here. I won’t just buy one flower, but ten bouquets.’
At that moment, people roughly pushed through the door, disrupting Dae-Woong’s dream.
“She went in here, right?”
“Huh? She’s right over there, hyung-nim!”
It was a man with six scars impressed on his shiny bald head and a weasel-faced punk who looked like his subordinate. They walked toward the girl with threatening looks on their faces.
“W-who are you?”
“Huh? Who? So you’re telling me this bitch is doing business here without knowing who we are?”
“Kekekeke”
The girl trembled in fear as two parakho[ref]Parakho is a Korean word borrowed from Japanese that refers to a thug that comes from a well-off family who goes around bullying people for money using their status or power. The author, for some reason, specified them as parakhos in this instance, even though it seems they are just thugs.[ref] approached her in a threatening manner, cursing at her.
“W-why are you being like that? Please don’t be like this.”
At the girl’s pleas, the bald man suddenly smacked the table next to her with his fist.
“Kyaa!!”
“Oh dear!”
The girl screamed, while the middle-aged man who had been sitting at the table jumped up out of shock at being attacked for no reason, then proceeded to run away.
“Hey, bitch! If you want to do business in my neighborhood, you have to get permission from me first! Tsk, some uneducated bitch you are. How much did you even get?”
The bald man snatched the small purse that the girl was carrying in her trembling arms.
“Huh? What the hell is this? It ain’t even a single tael! Damn it, how’s this shit count for a protection fee? Huh??”
The bald man viciously grabbed the girl's arm.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s my first time here, I didn’t know. Please, forgive me.”
“Huh? What, you want forgiveness? Forgiveness??”
The bald man let out a yell so loud the veins in his head twitched as if they were about to burst.
The girl, horribly frightened, flinched at every word, while the people who were eating and drinking in the vicinity ran away one by one.
‘Those bastards!’
Dae-Woong had fought a lot when he was young and had a fiery personality.
It was only later, when he had a family to support and had become the owner of an inn, that he had simmered down, having no choice but to hold back his anger.
However, now, things were different.
His family members had all become martial arts experts who were stronger than him. Now, whenever he saw something unreasonable, there was no need for him to endure it and watch as someone suffered.
He had even drunk alcohol, and now, he seemed to have awakened the same personality as he had when he had been in his youth.
And most important of all...
Didn’t she look the exact same as he had when he was younger, subjected to the same kind of abuse by the village good-for-nothings?!
As Dae-Woong’s fists clenched, Weasel Face spoke up.
“That’s why we’re telling you to pull out the money quickly! Huh? Oh, you mean, what if you don’t? Heh. Then, maybe, we’ll...”
It was at that moment, as Weasel Face stuttered for a second, not knowing what to say that might scare the girl—that something flew toward the arm of the bald man holding the girl.
“What? The hell is this?”
The bald man, who was unexpectedly quick, knocked away the flying object with his other arm. What clattered to the floor was a pair of chopsticks.
“Huh?”
Dae-Woong had been planning on piercing the bald man’s arm without the man noticing by throwing a pair of chopsticks.
“Why didn’t it work? Damn it.”
He had been trying to make a cool appearance...
The bald man, who had noticed that Dae-Woong had been the one to throw the chopsticks, found himself unable to curse when he stared at Dae-Woong’s incredible stature, far larger than he himself was, and was relegated to just shouting in anger.
“Old fart, are you planning to die?”
The moment the bald man spoke out, a spark flew into Dae-Woong’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, did you just call me old fart?”
“Yeah, I did. How about you just up and die, you old fart!”
The two people faced each other and shouted, almost as if to see who had the loudest voice, and both ran forward at the same time.
As the bald man’s fist came flying, Dae-Woong didn’t dodge and instead threw a fist out in return.
“Agh!”
As the two fists clashed, the bald man felt the shock of the blow, starting from the tips of his knuckles, traveling down his elbows, then his shoulders, and finally throughout his entire body. The force of the clash pushed him backward, and Dae-Woong followed up with another blow!
THUD!
“UGH!!”
The bald man, hit straight in the gut, let out a bitter scream and rolled around on the floor.
“You evil bastards!” Dae-Woong shouted, kicking the frightened weasel in the stomach.
As the two moaned and groaned on the floor, he huffed and walked over to the girl, who was shaking in the corner.
“Hmph. Here, take this.”
“P-pardon, sir?”
In Dae-Woong’s hand was part of the money he had left after selling the inn.
“W-why are you giving me this?” asked the girl.
“Just because. I don’t really need all this money. Because, well, I’ve met some good in-laws, haha. Don’t worry about thanking me. Just live a good and happy life.”
With this money, the girl would no longer have to work as a flower seller.
“Now, go quickly!”
After the girl left the tavern, Dae-Woong spat at the men fainted on the floor.
“Pooey! Stupid little thugs.”
As if on cue, Jin-Jin appeared at the tavern’s door.
“What’s going on, honey?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Haha, let’s go back.”
Jin-Jin looked over at her husband with a disapproving gaze. She handed the money for the food and drink to the restless owner of the tavern and headed to the inn in which they were staying alongside her husband.
The moment Dae-Woong disappeared from sight, the bald man opened his eyes.
“Hey, he’s gone. Stop pretending to be dead and get up!”
“Y-yes, hyung-nim!”
“That bastard. How dare he touch me in my town? Let’s see how this Dok-Du gives you a good beating!”
“B-but, how do you plan to do so? That bastard is quite strong.”
“Yeah, but he’s an idiot with muscle for brains! When you deal with dunces like him, you gotta use your head. Remember, that woman was his wife or something. We’ll look for an opportunity and grab her as a hostage!”
“Aha! I think they are just visitors. I’ll quickly follow them and find out what inn they are staying at, hyung-nim.”
“Okay, go quickly. I’ll go gather the boys.”
“Understood, hyung-nim!”
Dok-Du gathered his entire gang and hid in front of the inn where Dae-Woong’s family was staying.
He thought about asking another friend for help but then decided there wasn’t any need to do so, as Dae-Woong really only seemed like the typical strong dumbass.
“O-over there! They are coming out!” Dok-Du’s right-hand man, Rat, pointed forward.
Jin-Jin could be seen leaving the inn alone.
“Wow, now that we look at her properly, isn’t she really pretty? This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone so pretty, hyung-nim.”
Rat was in awe at Jin-Jin’s appearance.
“To think that damned dunce’s wife is so pretty! The world really is so unfair. Damn it, now I’m even more pissed off.”
As the two people argued, one of the henchmen they had hastily summoned spoke up.
“Hehe! Isn’t that a good thing? All we have to do is bury that bastard, and then we’ll be free to lick up that beautiful... aghk!!”
In the middle of talking, the henchman suddenly fell backward with his nose crushed by Dok-Du’s headbutt. Dok-Du raised a hand to wipe the blood from his forehead before glaring at the other henchmen.
“The hell is with this bastard? Where the hell did you dredge up this trash?”
Dok-Du and Rat had been born as orphans and grew up together, wandering around the rough streets and doing what they had to do to get by. However, even street thugs had their bottom line, and there were two things they would never do.
Murder and rape.
They lived according to the teachings of their master, No-Mun—a person who had helped them since youth and whose commandments they were holding dear until now.
Knowing this, the other henchmen were frightened by what had just happened and quickly made excuses.
“H-hyung-nim. Haha... We didn’t know this guy was this crazy, either. Please forgive us.”
“I’m gonna beat this idiot into a vegetable when we’re done here.”
It was only then that Dok-Du let go of his anger and quietly followed Jin-Jin with Rat.
Jin-Jin, who had been heading to a crowded market to buy clothes, suddenly changed direction and entered a dark alley.
“Oh ho! As expected, even heaven is helping us, hyung-nim. Now’s the perfect time to get her!”
“Really !”
When Dok-Du saw that she had entered the alley, he led his gang of about a dozen people and ran forward.
“Ma’am, please excuse us, but we have some things to discuss with your husband and—”
Before he could finish his sentence, something white flashed before his eyes.
“Ugh!”
Dok-Du was forced to take a step back as blood sprayed from his nose.
Jin-Jin, who had been waiting for them in the dark alley, stiffly lowered the foot that had just crushed Dok-Du’s nose and looked at them coldly.
“W-what the hell? Boys! Let’s go!”
Although the henchmen had just seen Dok-Du get hit and bleeding, they assumed that it had been because Dok-Du had been careless. However, there was a reason why there was a saying that floated around the gangho: be careful of children, women, and the elderly.
Dok-Du’s gang realized that all too late.
They weren’t even able to see how her feet moved. With every flutter of her skirt, someone in Dok-Du’s gang screamed as he was sent flying.
“What the hell is with you all, bothering people like this?”
With her last word, Jin-Jin kicked Dok-Du in the most forbidden of places.
“AGHHHHHHHH!”
With a terrible scream, Dok-Du fell down, foaming at the mouth.
Jin-Jin frowned slightly and dusted her clothes here and there. A moment later, Woo-Moon suddenly appeared.
“Have you bought the clothes yet?”
Although he had been inside the inn, Woo-Moon had realized that Dok-Du’s gang had been lurking around the inn. Naturally, he knew that they were following Jin-Jin, but he wasn’t worried at all on account of how weak they all seemed. Not that they were complete weaklings, but when facing Jin-Jin, who was quickly regaining her martial skills, they were worlds apart.
“No, I’m about to go buy them now. Why did you come out?”
“I just came out to get some air.”
“I see. Well, I’ll be out shopping for a bit, so take care, alright?”
“Okay, mother.”
After Jin-Jin left, Woo-Moon clicked his tongue softly as he looked at Dok-Du and his gang.
“Tsk, tsk. You idiots.”
After he left, Rat, whose leg was swollen from being kicked, crawled toward Dok-Du.
“H-hyung-nim? Are you okay?”
“D-d-d-d-don’t m-make me talk...’’
He was in so much pain that he felt he might be better off dying. Moreover, there was also the huge worry about what to do if his little something malfunctioned after being kicked by a proper martial artist.
Dok-Du groaned on the ground for a long time before his underlings finally managed to get him back on his feet.
“W-what the hell is with those people? How did a crazy ass man like that guy find a crazy ass wife just like him?!”
“That’s what I’m saying. Where did people like them even come from?”
“This won’t fly. We gotta change our plans. How about we look for that boy who just came out of that inn? How is it?”