In the gaze of Jo Hae-joong, who turned his head following Geom Woo-bin’s gesture, only the darkness in the corner of the basement that was glimmering in the lamplight came into sight.
“Whom do you want to-…”
He was left dumbfounded.
Someone appeared in the darkness.
The woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties looked like a ghost coming out from under a black veil.
“Wh-, who?”
“The person you said you wanted to see.”
As Yeon Geum-hong stepped forward Jo Hae-joong flinched away.
Although he is from the triad, the chance of him meeting a real master was extremely rare. A lot of talks being circulated about Moorim doesn’t mean the Moorims are familiar. There’ll be many more people who will die without meeting a Moorim person even once in their lifetime.
In particular, a Moorim master will be nothing but a new or strange person to the ordinary.
However, that kind of Moorim master showed up in front of Jo Hae-joong. He didn’t even check the force, but he could tell with just the ghost-like movement.
Jo Hae-joong was a human with a remarkable instinct for survival.
The biggest possibility to get out of this crisis is Geom Woo-bin.
The moment he realized it, he turned to take Geom Woo-bin as a hostage. But thankfully, Geom Woo-bin who was supposed to be seated on the chair was nowhere to be seen.
“Are you looking for me?”
Geom Woo-bin had already reached the entrance of the basement which was about five fields away.
“Priestess.”
“Yes, abolition.”
“Please tell me what happened later.”
“Now?”
Geom Woo-bin shrugged his shoulders and stepped up the stairs.
“Help yourself.”
As Geom Woo-bin disappeared from the basement Yeon Geum-hong put on a smile around her lips.
“This is quite… it’s exciting to have a toy in front of me after a long time.”
It was unable for Jo Hae-joong to understand this situation now.
Priestess of the abolition? A completely different form from the sketch he drew was unfolding in reality.
“Little kid.”
For that title, Jo Hae-joong answered ‘yes’ without his knowledge.
“You don’t wish to die gracefully by daring to kidnap our abolition, do you?”
The scissors Jo Hae-joong was carrying slipped through his fingers and got into Yeon Geum-hong’s hands.
“Psy- psychokinesis?”
“But still, you seem to be knowing a little about Moorim, I see.”
Jo Hae-joong lost strength in his legs and slumped to his knees.
“Please save me! I didn’t know you noblemen and committed a mistake!”
“If everyone prays to be forgiven, then there will no one in this world who will be punished. Since you said you will cut off abolition’s finger, I’ll have to start with cutting your finger first. You don’t need to choose as I’ll be cutting all ten fingers.”
The distance between Yeon Geum-hong and Jo Hae-joong got closer little by little.
Then, that day Yagwihoe disappeared from Hangzhou.
Cleanly.
“How cruel! You were the only one who had that kind of fun!”
Do Pyeong-su yelled fiercely, and if Seo Seok-san hadn’t left for Jiangxi, he would’ve caught Yeon Geum-hong by her collar.
Crack!
Jang Man-dok also expressed his anger by breaking the corner of the table.
“As the abolition was in a dangerous situation I had no choice. But, it’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of breaking the bones of those trashcans, so it’s just very…. phew!”
Do Pyeong-su and Jang Man-dok looked at Yeon Geum-hong who was wiping off her saliva, enviously.
“Damn, when will we ever feel a touch like that? Will such a day ever come? Well.”
Even in this good peace with Geom Woo-bin, they suddenly miss the fierceness of Moorim.
Although they didn’t want to be fierce against the gangsters, they envied Yeon Geum-hong for at least feeling the touch of it.
“Shall we do the Sanda (Chinese boxing) among ourselves?”
Yeon Geum-hong giggled at Do Pyeong-su’s question.
“Do you want the house to blow up?”
Their Sanda was not at all ordinary, and the moment they start using their strength this house will not be left.
“The tree tries to stay still, but the wind doesn’t allow it to be, I see.”
Do Pyeong-su looked puzzled at the words Yeon Geum-hong said standing up.
“What kind of meaningful nonsense is that?”
“Is this going to end in one go? Our remarkable liquor has no choice but to make enemies. The problem is that the enemy is too silly.”
“Yagwihoe disappeared?”
Go Won-sul answered musketeer Na Mun-tak’s question by bowing down.
In a single night, most of them died or became maimed and the rest of them escaped.
“Did they get attacked?”
“We’re currently in the process of investigating it.”
As they looked into it, it was caused by an attack somewhere.
‘Would it be a work of a different triad?’
Hangzhou for the triad was literally ‘The Goose That Lays Golden Eggs’.
So, the triads of each district were looking for an opportunity, but the Muyoung triad was so strong that they didn’t allow anyone to be next to them at least once for the past thirty years.
‘The fact that they weren’t bustling meant it wasn’t a group fight. Did they call in a triad or an expert from somewhere?’
However, it’s a publicly known fact that the Muyoung triad is under the protection of Hyeol Geom-mun, one of the ten Munpa triad members of Zhongyuan.
They couldn’t think of the great triad member who went to the extent of opposing the protection of Hyeol Geom-mun.
‘Could it be the Moorims?’
As they’re supernatural beings he completely erased them from his mind.
“Even if it takes time, investigate thoroughly.”
Footsteps of Geom Woo-bin that’s going to the Hangzhou town were weighty.
Not just because the weight of the iron he wore on his wrists and ankles increased to 6 and 9 kilograms.
“I thought selling delicious liquor would be enough.”
Because of that, there was a person who was harmed, and a person who died as well. He was able to understand by hearing all the circumstances from Yeon Geum-hong, but still, the bad feeling did not go away.
Someone blocked Geom Woo-bin, who was taking trudging steps forward by carrying the liquor that’s to be delivered on his back.
He was a bulky man in his early thirties, who had a long beard as rough as a weapon.
“You’re Geom Woo-bin who’s called Soju-seon, right?”
The nickname ‘Soju-seon’ didn’t suit Geom Woo-bin, who doesn’t even know the taste of liquor. But he replied as the name was right.
“So?”
“Today I’ll have to take some of that liquor with me.”
“This liquor belongs to the Wolha brothel. I have already made a promi-….”
The man moved even before he was done talking.
He tried to use a new technique while avoiding the man’s hand that was approaching fast, but the 9 kilograms of iron he was wearing on his feet slowed down his movement.
All of a sudden, the man’s hand fell behind Geom Woo-bin’s back and snatched the bag which he was carrying on his shoulder.
It was an unbelievable speed for Geom Woo-bin, whose steps were weighty.
“Come to Dongssi-doga and get the payment for the liquor.”
The man said those words and quickly moved away.
When Geom Woo-bin pulled out a needle the man had already left.
“Holy God!”
No one among the priests guarded Geom Woo-bin today.
This is because Geom Woo-bin firmly said not to protect him anymore.
“Pheww! I can’t believe this happened at a time like this.”
Although Geom Woo-bin is living with the blood-lions, he was ignorant about Moorim. So, he doesn’t even know where Dongssi-doga is.
“First of all, I need to fix this problem.”
Geom Woo-bin ran towards the Wolha brothel and apologized to Ha Seok-mun after explaining the whole story.
“In any case, I apologize for the delay in delivery due to my negligence.”
“Did that person seriously ask you to come to Dongssi-doga and get the payment?”
“That’s right.”
“How did he look like?”
“He was a bulky man who had a rough beard and big bright eyes. I also remember his fingers being unusually long.”
“Haha! Dong Ga-bong came directly to take away the liquor? There was nothing you could do about it, I see.”
“Is he someone you know?”
“You seem to not know about Dongssi-doga, I see. Then, do you know the five noble families?”
Though he was ignorant about Moorim, he knew about the five noble families as they have a strong reputation.
“Yes. I know.”
“That’s the five noble families of Moorim, how could you not go crazy? But still, except for them, Dongssi-doga was one of the clans that are considered to be among the best. Of course, they have the biggest Moorim power not only here in Hangzhou, but also in Zhejiang. Dong Ga-bong is the head of the family and also the youngest brother in the household.”
“Does that kind of a person rob liquor?”
“Yet, I got an order from the Dongssi-doga for Sagi wine but I couldn’t give because I didn’t have. This time, a person from the Moorim said that he’s going to visit the Dongssi-doga, so, it seemed like he needed Sagi wine for that. As long as the Dongssi-doga clan is involved there is nothing we can do about it this time, so let’s forget about it. Fortunately, they will not fail to make the payment.”
“Where is Dongssi-doga?”
“Why are you going there?”
“I have to go to get the payment.”
Of course, not for the payment but to get the liquor back.
Geom Woo-bin who loosened the iron balls he was wearing on his wrists and ankles, ran towards the Dongssi-doga showing off his Qinggong skills.
He has never practiced Qinggong without the iron balls, and it was the first time he knew that his body could be this light. So, he was able to arrive within an hour at Dongssi-doga which was situated outside Hangzhou.
A wide crest road was connected until Dongssi-doga which was situated a long way beyond the paddy that was spread poorly after the harvest was over.
Since his body is not fully grown yet, he pretty much ran out of breath as he ran restlessly for an hour. Geom Woo-bin who was walking while holding his breath stopped in front of the main gate of the Dongssi-doga.
As he swung opened the big, heavy gate, he saw several people moving busily.
As the smell of the food reeked until outside, it seemed that the status of the guests coming from Moorim was quite high.
Among the four warriors who were guarding the gate, the young warrior who had a mole in his cheek asked.
“Hey, kid. What brought you here?”
“I came looking for the liquor.”
“Liquor?”
“The person named Dong Ga-bong who lives here stole my liquor.”
“Master Dong Ga-bong stole liquor? What does that suppose to mean?”
“Please call master Dong. Then, you will understand.”
A guard came out with his eyes raised high.
“Where do you think this is, to come and make a fool out of someone! Get lost!”
The guard tried to shove away Geom Woo-bin by the shoulder, but Geom Woo-bin slightly avoided it, so he lost balance and collapsed floundering.
“You son of a bitch!”
The guard, whose face turned red upon the giggles of his associates rushed back. However, he couldn’t catch Geom Woo-bin as he only missed his target every time.
“What’s with this fuss on an important day!”
As the guy with a long beard up to his adam’s apple yelled out loud, the guards bowed down simultaneously.
“He wants to meet the master.”
“Did you not ask why is he here!”
“It-, it is, that kid came and said that the master stole liq-….”
“Dong Ga-bong stole liquor?”
Dong Baek-jae who questioned, rested his gaze on Geom Woo-bin.
“Is it true that your liquor was robbed by Dong Ga-bong?”
“Yes. He snatched away the liquor I was supposed to deliver.”
Dong Baek-jae had a hunch about what would’ve happened.
‘This fellow did something silly again.’
Dong Baek-jae sighed deeply and made a gesture.
“First of all, let’s go in and talk.”
On the day the Moorim guests find out about this, it is an embarrassment. Geom Woo-bin went inside the Dongssi-doga following Dong Baek-jae.
“It seems like you’re the Soju-seon Geom Woo-bin who sells the Sagi wine.”
The rumor about the Sagi wine had spread so much that it even got into the ears of Dong Baek-jae who doesn’t enjoy liquor.
“Yes.”
“My younger brother seems to have somehow made a mistake, so I’ll pay for it right away.”
“I don’t want the money, but I came to get back my liquor.”
“You’re anyways going to sell it, so if you sell it to us-….”
“It is the liquor which is already set to be delivered. And, I don’t want to sell it to a place that extorts liquor.”
As for the saying, ‘fools rush in where angels fear to tread’, Geom Woo-bin doesn’t seem to know what kind of a place Dongssi-doga is, because he is still young.
“I’ll pay you generously.”
As there are several heavy drinkers among the guests who are coming from Moorim, Sagi wine was needed to please them. So, that’s why Dong Ga-bong did such an unreasonable thing.
“I said I don’t need the money. Please return my liquor.”
“Haha! He’s quite a tough fellow. The liquor has already been opened. So, choose whether to get paid or get kicked out like this.”
There was no more time to waste against the kid.
“Dong Baek-jae, what are you doing here?”
Dong Baek-jae hastily turned around at the voice he heard. He saw Dong Seong-bang, the head of the household coming walking with Dong Chang-min, the deputy head of the household.
Dong Chang-min, who’s fifteen years old this year, greeted Dong Baek-jae politely.
“Uncle, you’re working hard a lot.”
“Working hard? Whatever. But master, what brought you all the way here?”
“What do you mean master? It’s not even an official position. But, who’s that kid?”
Dong Baek-jae explained the circumstances of that occasion.
“So, he has come here looking for the liquor the youngest brought. He’s refusing the money I said I’m giving.”
“Don’t mind it and just go in. I’ll solve this problem.”
“If it’s you who’s getting ready to greet the guests, then you should go. Let me see…. as we need the liquor there is no way of giving it back, how much do you want?”
The will of the Dongssi-doga clan was obstinate and Geom Woo-bin wasn’t the kind of an opponent who can be taken away by force. However, he did not want to borrow the blood lion’s power.
If the blood-lion interferes, the Dongssi-doga clan will be disappeared as of today.
It’s disgraceful, but it isn’t that much of a sin to commit.
“If you’re going to solve it with money, please make a payment that’s ten times more than the price of the liquor.”
“Ten times? Why ten times?”
“I couldn’t keep my credibility as a dealer. So, of course, I have to pay a compensation of tenfolds to the Wolha brothel.”
“Hmm. You’ve got a great heart. So, how much is it?”
“The price of the liquor is three hundred and sixty silver taels.”
“Huh? That expensive? No matter how much of a tenfold it is, isn’t three hundred and sixty silver taels too much for a liquor?”
“The original price is three hundred and sixty silver taels and the tenfold of it is three thousand and six hundred silver taels.”
Dong Seong-bang’s face stiffened.