CLS-Chapter 85

Chapter 85

“Yes?”

Contrary to the increasingly cold atmosphere, Wei Yan-ho answered calmly.

“Are you Wei Yan-ho?”

“Yes.”

“You’re really Wei Yan-ho?”

“Yes.”

Black Branch Leader Gwak Do-san looked at Wei Yan-ho with a dumbfounded expression, then turned his head to check the face of Black Bear Jwa-geol.

“That’s correct.”

“Correct?”

“Yes. That’s the expert who blocked my path.”

“……”

Gwak Do-san let out a deep sigh.

‘Jwa-geol has lost his mind too.’

He had expected the youth to be young since he was called a young expert, but he never imagined it would be a child with such downy soft hair. No, he couldn’t have.

Even so, the fact that Jwa-geol, who had supposedly made his way in the underworld, had been defeated by such a young brat and fled with his tail between his legs was not just absurd but utterly ridiculous.

“Isn’t he far too young!”

“That’s why I told you he was young.”

“Your mouth seems to be working fine, seeing as words are coming out.”

“Branch Leader, even though he looks like that, that bastard is…”

“Shut up!”

Jwa-geol hung his head low.

Watching this scene, Gwak Do-san clicked his tongue. He felt embarrassed that they had even sent people to investigate at Sacred Hand Hall because they were trembling over such a little brat.

And all they had learned was just his name.

“Do you know how much humiliation I suffered because of your report about that bastard? After you inflated your report talking about experts and whatnot, it turns out to be such a little brat!”

“Branch Leader, if you let your guard down…”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up!”

“Mmph.”

Jwa-geol gave up trying to convince Gwak Do-san any further.

In the underworld, Black Branch Leader Gwak Do-san was famous for having deep schemes.

‘The Branch Leader has grown old too.’

If it had been the Gwak Do-san of old, he would never have let his guard down no matter how young Wei Yan-ho looked. Once someone started putting on airs away from the field, their life as an underworld person was essentially over.

“Tsk tsk.”

Gwak Do-san clicked his tongue while looking at Jwa-geol’s dissatisfied expression.

‘To have such poor judgment of people.’

Just because someone was young didn’t mean they couldn’t be an expert. Having eaten by the sword for a long time in the treacherous Doshan Sword Forest, there was no way Gwak Do-san wouldn’t know that much.

But!

‘Those eyes, that posture!’

With eyes as lifeless as rotten pollack and a posture so drooped it looked like standing was a burden, couldn’t he tell what kind of person his opponent was?

A young expert should naturally have a fresh expression that you could feel instinctively, piercing eyes, and a posture that anyone could see was full of strength.

Having eaten underworld rice for nearly forty years, there was no way he couldn’t assess that much.

“Expert, my ass.”

Perhaps.

That youth might have transcended realms and reached a level where he wasn’t affected by posture or aura.

But considering his age, that would be impossible even if he had learned martial arts from inside his mother’s womb. Natural State meant that naturalness had reached its extreme, so that even while learning martial arts, one appeared like an ordinary person.

‘It doesn’t mean looking like an idiot while having learned martial arts!’

Gwak Do-san clicked his tongue and shouted at Wei Yan-ho.

“You’re saying you’re that Wei Yan-ho who interfered with Sacred Hand Hall’s affairs?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho’s answer was always concise.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

But strangely, people always confirmed Wei Yan-ho’s concise answers several times. It was truly unfortunate.

“You don’t think you can remain unharmed after interfering with Black Branch Hall’s business, do you?”

“Ah, wait a moment about that.”

“Huh?”

Just as Gwak Do-san was about to say something, Wei Yan-ho gestured to call Ha Dae-bung over and began whispering something in his ear.

Ha Dae-bung nodded and took out a rolled-up paper from his breast, handing it to Wei Yan-ho. When Ha Dae-bung gestured, a subordinate who had been watching from the side brought over ink, brush, and paper that had been prepared somehow and offered them to Wei Yan-ho.

Wei Yan-ho handed both items to Jin So-ah.

“Sign this.”

Jin So-ah looked at Wei Yan-ho with blank eyes.

“What? A signature?”

“Yes. Just sign it first. I’ll explain later.”

“Ah, understood.”

Jin So-ah signed at the bottom of the paper without understanding why.

Wei Yan-ho checked the signature, rolled up the paper, and tucked it into his breast, then looked at Gwak Do-san again and spoke.

“I was actually planning to visit you about that matter anyway, so this worked out well.”

“Huh?”

Gwak Do-san perked up his ears, wondering what Wei Yan-ho was talking about.

“How much exactly does Sacred Hand Hall owe?”

“Debt?”

“Yes. The debt.”

When Gwak Do-san nodded, a subordinate who had been watching from the side took out a ledger and spoke.

“Twenty nyang of gold and fifty nyang of silver.”

“Give it to them.”

At Wei Yan-ho’s words, when Ha Dae-bung gestured, his subordinates counted out the silver that had been piled up like a mountain and stacked it neatly next to Gwak Do-san.

“Wh-what is this?”

“It’s Sacred Hand Hall’s debt. As of today, all debts between Sacred Hand Hall and Black Branch Hall have been resolved. Please write up a debt clearance certificate and take the money.”

“Huh?”

Gwak Do-san looked at the tower of silver stacked beside him and gulped.

‘What is all this money?’

It was twenty nyang of gold, but he had never once thought he would actually be able to collect it. The twenty nyang of gold was meant to pressure Sacred Hand Hall, not money that could actually come from the already ruined Sacred Hand Hall.

But seeing money he had never hoped for piled up before his eyes, he wondered if this was a dream or reality.

“H-how should I write up the certificate?”

“Branch Leader!”

When Jwa-geol called out in shock, Gwak Do-san pushed him away with his pot-lid-sized hand and spoke with a smile covering his face.

“Do you have a form?”

“You can discuss that with this gentleman.”

“Of course.”

Ha Dae-bung took up ink, brush, and paper, wrote something on blank paper, then approached Gwak Do-san with the writing materials and paper.

“This is a document transferring Sacred Hand Hall’s debt rights to the young master. The moment you complete the document, Black Branch Hall will no longer be able to interfere with Sacred Hand Hall’s affairs.”

“I-is that so?”

He didn’t quite understand what it meant, but if that’s what it was, then so be it.

“Anyway, if I sign this, I can take this money, right?”

“That’s correct.”

Looking at Ha Dae-bung’s good-natured smile, he felt like he was being swindled somehow, but Gwak Do-san was fundamentally from the underworld.

What was the underworld?

Ruffians.

People who had never done proper work in their lives and had climbed to this position by collecting protection money through threats and extortion. If he hadn’t had greed for money, wouldn’t he have quit long ago?

‘Let’s take the money first.’

Money was good, after all.

Gwak Do-san signed the document Ha Dae-bung presented without hesitation. Ha Dae-bung checked the signature, smiled, and retrieved the document.

“With this, all financial relationships between Sacred Hand Hall and Black Branch Hall have been resolved.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

As Ha Dae-bung stepped back, Wei Yan-ho spoke again.

“So it’s finished, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were angry because I prevented you from collecting money from Sacred Hand Hall.”

“Th-that’s right.”

“Now that you’ve received it, isn’t it all finished?”

“I-I suppose?”

When Gwak Do-san found himself nodding without realizing it, Jwa-geol scurried over again to enlighten him.

“Pull yourself together, Branch Leader!”

“Huh?”

“You’re being played right now.”

“Huh?”

Gwak Do-san’s face trembled, and he stepped back and shouted.

“This young brat’s schemes are no joke!”

Wei Yan-ho sighed and turned his head to look at Ha Dae-bung with a question.

“What does that gentleman do?”

“…He’s Gwak Do-san, the Branch Leader of Black Branch Hall. In his prime, he was famous for being deep and rough, but…”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Gwak Do-san with pitying eyes.

Who could stop the passing years? His master had also been famous as a spirited man in his youth. But who could have guessed he would become such a cranky old man in his later years?

“Hmph, money is just money. Do you think you can resolve interfering with Black Branch Hall’s business with a few coins like this?”

“A few coins? How much money do you think this is?”

“It is quite a lot, isn’t it?”

“Of course.”

Just as they were starting to drift off topic again, Jwa-geol grabbed Gwak Do-san’s arm and pulled him.

“Branch Leader, please calm down!”

“Hey, I’m still a person with a conscience. I can’t just take twenty nyang of gold and wipe my mouth clean. I should at least say thank you.”

“That’s not the point!”

“I’m not some politician from the imperial palace. How can I act like nothing happened after receiving twenty nyang of gold? People get divine punishment for acting like that.”

“It was originally money you were supposed to receive!”

“That was money we could never collect anyway.”

Jwa-geol clutched his chest.

Why had this man, who was supposed to be the leader of an underworld faction, suddenly become so conscientious?

‘Or maybe he climbed this high because he was conscientious.’

Considering the underworld where blood, threats, and scheming ran rampant, it would be something to applaud and say “What a heartwarming person,” but unfortunately, the situation wasn’t very good.

Jwa-geol whispered quietly in Gwak Do-san’s ear.

“Didn’t that person order us to kill him?”

When “that person” was mentioned, Gwak Do-san’s body trembled.

“R-right.”

“But if we take the money and send them away like this, what will that person say?”

“Right, that’s a good point! But…”

“But?”

“Since this all started because of money, wouldn’t that person understand if we brought the money?”

“I-is that so?”

Jwa-geol also began to be tempted.

‘No, this isn’t right!’

Jwa-geol shook his head vigorously to dispel his idle thoughts and shouted.

“What that person wants isn’t money, it’s Sacred Hand Hall! If we take the money and send those bastards away, Sacred Hand Hall will come back to life. How do you plan to handle that?”

“Ah…”

“And don’t you see that? That thing over there?”

Looking where Jwa-geol pointed, he could see gold stacked up neatly.

“If we finish them off here, all of that becomes yours, Branch Leader.”

Gulp.

Seeing the gold visible in the open chest, he couldn’t help but swallow.

‘How much is all that worth?’

It was an unimaginable fortune.

“But you’re still going to leave?”

“Jwa-geol.”

“Yes, Branch Leader.”

“Do you know how to survive in the underworld?”

“I haven’t learned that much yet.”

“It’s simple. If someone messes with you, you follow them to the ends of hell and punish them. Only when your opponent can’t look down on you can you protect your territory and protect your people.”

“Very wise words.”

Of course, until just moments ago, they hadn’t been wise at all.

Having steeled his resolve, Gwak Do-san’s eyes turned coldly.

“Young brat, I acknowledge that the debt relationship between Sacred Hand Hall and us is finished. But I can’t just leave you alone after you interfered with Black Branch Hall’s business. If you want to resent someone, resent your own presumption for getting involved in that situation.”

Wei Yan-ho listened to Gwak Do-san’s words and tilted his head.

“So you’re saying you want to fight me?”

“Hehe, fight… This sort of thing is usually called punishment.”

“Punishment…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his cheek and chuckled.

“You’re going to regret this.”

Just like everyone else had.