Episode 102. I Checked That in My Previous Life.
There are many things I hate.
Chief among them is the tribute that those underworld bastards gobble up.
Probably because I’ve worked as a tavern hand before.
Clearing tables, picking up dropped side dishes, mopping, washing dishes, preparing food ingredients, cooking, and stacking up the money earned from selling it bit by bit. Repeat this for ten days straight, and you can prepare the tribute.
A structure where I do the work, and others earn the money.
Once you’re used to it, you can adapt well enough. But what really pisses people off is when this tribute suddenly increases. Then you have to repeat that routine for about fifteen days to prepare it.
When you feel your life slipping away emptily like that, you come to know the emotion called rage.
The source of my rage is essentially this tribute.
Honestly, the only way to resolve this is through martial arts.
In the end, the bastards who pocketed the tribute died plenty by my hands in my previous life, and it’s the same this time too.
Even if I wanted to solve it another way, there’s no viable solution.
I have no choice but to kill and kill again, gaining a fearsome reputation…….
A short while later, together with the underlings, I looked at the lodgings where the Unwol Brotherhood was staying.
Large and small houses were connected in a long line along the lakeshore. The guy guiding us pointed to the center.
“The place with five red lanterns hanging in the middle is the chief’s quarters.”
“Got it.”
There were many people outside, so those bastards were looking at me too. Someone from the Unwol Brotherhood side spoke.
“Why did you bring an escort?”
I sent the underlings away first.
“You lot go clean up the corpses. Stay if you want to die.”
The underlings hesitated for a moment, then turned around without saying a word. I walked along the stone path and addressed the guys standing outside.
“Let me meet your chief. Guide me.”
Laughter erupted here and there, followed by a simple retort.
“Fuck off.”
“Who was it? The bastard who told me to fuck off.”
The bastard who had been sitting in a chair, eating something skewered on a stick, spat.
“This escort bastard’s lost his mind.”
As I approached the bastard who spat, I heard the sound of swords being drawn here and there.
I looked at the grease smeared around the bastard’s mouth and asked.
“Is it good?”
“You from Byeokan Escort Agency or something? Lost your mind? You crazy bastard?”
I grabbed the bastard by his collar and lifted him with one hand.
“Kek.”
Just then, the door burst open from inside, and a scrawny man looked around.
“What’s going on?”
“He’s an escort from Byeokan Escort Agency, says he wants to meet the Chief.”
“An escort? Not the agency head or the chief escort, but an escort?”
I released the collar and then slapped the bastard eating skewers with the back of my hand, knocking him out.
I spoke to the scrawny bastard.
“I’m from Ilwi Dogang, so guide me.”
The moment I said Ilwi Dogang, the scrawny man’s expression changed completely.
“Our business is finished; what brings you here?”
“I have business, so guide me.”
“Please wait. I shall relay it.”
I looked around left and right, and only then did the underlings’ expressions grow somewhat docile. Shortly after, the door opened and the scrawny man spoke.
“Come in.”
* * *
I was guided through the guest hall and the back door to a place overlooking the lake. There was a dock-like area at the end of a bridge, with executives fishing here and there, and one man occupying the widest dock.
I walked across the bridge, passing the fishing executives. As I entered the dock, the bastard presumed to be the chief turned his head slightly.
“I am Byeok Saun. Sit here.”
There was a small chair beside Byeok Saun.
Since the bastard offered me a seat, I did not sit.
Meanwhile, a bastard who looked like some kind of catfish was sizing me up from head to toe. His lips were unusually thick, and he even grew a thin mustache, making him look like a catfish demon that had been dwelling in the lake for ages.
“You’re the chief? You look like a catfish.”
“……”
The bastard let out a short sigh with a bewildered expression, then stared fixedly at me.
“You’ve come here to die. What the hell. You’re not from Ilwi Dogang. The blade at your waist doesn’t suit an assassin, nor does it suit Byeokan Escort Agency. Where did you come from?”
Despite his appearance, he seemed perceptive, so I felt a bit relieved.
“I’m the one who leads Haomun. Ever heard of it?”
“Haomun? First time hearing of it.”
“I’m looking for Ilwi Dogang.”
“If they could be found just by looking, would they be an assassin organization?”
“What’s their contact method?”
“The contact method is simple, but since they’re just lower-ranked bastards, they won’t know the main base. The reason it’s hard to find out even under torture is because the underlings don’t know either. It’s an organization connected only person-to-person. A structure where you can only talk to your immediate superior. In the end, to find the top of the organization, you’d have to repeatedly call them out and kill them one by one; could you do that? You look busy. Moreover, I guarantee that even if you try to find them that way, the connection will break off before you reach high enough. The commission is expensive and dealing with them is difficult too.”
Why was the explanation so kind?
He seemed to regard Haomun as the same kind of underworld organization.
Before I knew it, killing intent was felt from the executives on the bridge.
Byeok Saun asked me, who was standing still.
“Then is your business finished?”
I shook my head.
“Not yet.”
“Speak.”
“The commercial district here is quite lucrative.”
“It’s on the better side.”
“Do you collect tribute?”
“You should call it protection money.”
“Who are you protecting them from?”
“We protect them from someone. Even if it weren’t me, the underworld would spring up inevitably. I was born and raised here. It’s better that I handle it. While there are people who can live doing ordinary work, there are also many who cannot. If I collect money and invest personnel to protect the commercial rights, that costs me money too. I don’t think collecting tribute is all that strange. What does the young brother think?”
“Wow……”
It had been a while since I heard such a long speech.
It would have been simple to deal with him using martial arts, but I’m not someone who backs down from such words.
“You were doing a fine thing. Well, the bastards who died by my hands probably thought similarly. Just the methods were a bit different. As soon as I arrived, I almost got pickpocketed; when I caught them, they turned out to be guys who have to offer tribute to you.”
“Ah, did they now.”
“You probably mug escorts, outsiders, and travelers alike to gather tribute. To meet that tribute quota, the food tasted like chewing garbage and the tea like it was scooped from a ditch. You speak as if everything is justified, but it’s not like that at all. Sitting here fishing and acting like a sage…….”
Chief Byeok Saun answered with a snicker.
“I wonder how many great figures you’ve killed to be so confident.”
When I turned around, the executives who had been fishing were all standing up, blocking the entrance to the bridge as they watched me.
If I said I killed the Paegum Chief, he would shit himself, but I didn’t bother revealing it. Instead, I gave him one more chance to live.
“I didn’t come here to ask a favor. Catfish bastard, come to your senses. Disband the Brotherhood.”
Byeok Saun rose from his chair and suddenly barked toward the lake.
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
It seemed a sudden bout of madness had seized him. I had experienced all sorts of mad fits myself, so it wasn’t a particularly surprising sight.
Byeok Saun glared at me, putting on what he thought was a fearsome expression.
“What’s with this bastard. What’s your problem?”
The moment Byeok Saun grabbed a dagger that had dropped from inside his sleeve and slashed at my throat, I grabbed his wrist—and was utterly dumbfounded.
‘What the hell, this pathetic bastard.’
I combined internal energy and grip strength and crushed his wrist just like that. The sound of bones crunching into pieces rang out. The moment a scream erupted, I kicked him, sending him flying above the lake, and drew the Black Cat’s Fang.
I split Byeok Saun, who was suspended in midair, with blade qi, then sheathed the Black Cat’s Fang.
As Byeok Saun, split into two pieces, fell into the lake, twin pillars of water shot up like a pair of dragons (雙龍).
Hearing footsteps, I turned around to see Byeok Saun’s subordinates, who had drawn their blades, approaching in unison before stopping.
“……”
I spoke to the underlings.
“Are you crazy bastards…… trying to charge at me? Come at me.”
As I stood still, a brief silent standoff ensued. I already knew that the strength of the underworld varied wildly by region, but Byeok Saun’s skill wasn’t even on par with Cha Seongtae’s.
I’m just strong; it isn’t that Cha Seongtae is particularly weak.
While the underling grunts hesitated, I planted my ass in the chair Byeok Saun had sat in and grabbed the fishing rod.
A situation where blade-wielding men were glaring at me from behind.
I spoke while looking at the fishing rod.
“You guys…… find a way to live while I’m letting you.”
The catfish’s subordinates behind me fell into distress. However, unless they were idiots, they had witnessed the difference in skill between Byeok Saun and me with their own two eyes, so they wouldn’t be able to act rashly.
Regardless of what these bastards were thinking, I continued what I was saying.
“Byeok Saun has probably become fish feed, but let’s say he’s still alive. I have work to commission, so make contact with Ilwi Dogang and bring them here.”
There was no answer.
“Who the hell am I talking to right now.”
I stood up again and looked at the brothers of the Unwol Brotherhood.
“You guys……”
Honestly, I’m not at an age where I can call these bastards “you guys.” But ever since I became a Mad Demon, I’ve almost never used honorifics with anyone. I’d only hesitate about whether to use polite speech if I met a man on the level of a Sword Demon.
“If you resent Byeok Saun’s death, feel free to take revenge anytime. For those who have no intention of revenge, I’ll give you two tasks. First, make contact with Ilwi Dogang and bring them to me. Second, if you discover Namcheonryeon forces advancing north, inform me.”
One bastard asked me.
“But who are you?”
“The bastard who killed your chief.”
One must be a bit more lenient with subordinates. I passed on one more piece of information so they could come to their senses.
“For your reference, the Paegum Chief died by my hands too. So actually, it would be an act of madness for you to attempt revenge.”
Only then did the faces and atmosphere of the underlings enter my eyes.
Catfish’s friend, a flatfish, a small-eyed toad, and a guy with long limbs like a water strider.
These bastards looked the strongest among them.
After a lengthy staring contest with me, the water strider among the lakeside brothers answered.
“We will find out and inform you.”
“What’s the name of the bastard who looks like a water strider.”
“I am U Cheoljin.”
“Are you the number two?”
“Yes.”
“Once I leave, you’re the top dog, so cooperate if you don’t want to die.”
U Cheoljin nodded his head slightly.
“Yes.”
Without giving detailed orders, I turned around and grabbed the fishing rod again. I had come to Jeongpyeong Lake unexpectedly and killed one underling and one boss, but I had no regrets. In my old Mad Demon days, I would have beaten twenty or thirty people to death before sorting things out, so the fact that I stopped at just two made me think I’ve really grown a lot.
People are bound to change.
Following the lake’s surface, I raised my gaze and saw that before I knew it, the moon was faintly floating in the darkening sky. It seemed the sun had left work early, and the moon had started work early.
Looking at the lake, the moon, and the seeping sunset, I suddenly felt lonely for the first time in a while.
Originally, I’m a man grown numb to loneliness. When family leaves your side early, it can’t be helped.
That doesn’t mean I’m not lonely at all.
Because I’m a bastard who flip-flops like this.
Honestly, meeting a woman is an incredibly difficult thing for me too.
I wanted to meet a normal beauty in my previous life as well, but…….
The fear of starting a family has been buried deep in my heart, both in my previous life and now.
To borrow the words of my few friends from my previous life, my standards are high too.
First of all, my standards are high in that she has to be pretty in my eyes.
And she has to be strong in martial arts too, so it’s nearly an impossible condition.
There are female martial artists in the murim who are beautiful and strong, but…….
There’s no reason they would like me.
I checked that in my previous life.
Suddenly feeling the fishing rod twitch, I pulled it, and…….
Perhaps I had applied excessive force, for a black catfish came flying toward my face, its mouth gaping. I slapped the catfish square on the cheek and sent it flying back into the lake.
“Fuck, you startled me.”
You can’t kill a catfish twice in one day.
A man gradually growing kinder—that is me.
Suddenly, I tried reciting a phrase the Mad Monk used to mutter often during the period when he slaughtered martial artists mercilessly.
Namu Amitabha.
Asura balbalta.
I am the envoy of the Great Sun Tathagata (大日如來).
The descendant of the Immovable Wisdom King (後人).
Die.
.
.
.
I looked at the lake water and smirked.
“Die.”