7. Jeomsoui's Rampage.
The three men sat across from me, spewing threats and mockery as if it were a natural duty.
"Our Jaha, it's the last drink, so hurry up and drink."
"Still, this brat is a man. He came boldly, drank, and even called for Chahyang like a real man. If I had known he was such a man, I would have half-killed him. I regret it."
"If you regret it, just beat him properly. Donggak has already made his hands useless. You won't feel wronged getting beaten today. Jaha, am I right?" Listening to their threats, I offered them a bottle of liquor.
"Are you going to drink?" However, the three did not reach for the cups.
They suspected I might have poisoned it.
Reluctantly, I drank alone.
One of them urged, "If you’ve drunk, let’s go."
"Come on, get up."
I continued to drink without replying.
Occasionally, I glanced at the faces of the men in front of me.
Silence is an effective way to set the mood.
Now, the three of them were also quiet.
It seemed they were starting to feel something was off.
It was not normal to drink calmly in front of someone as fearsome as Jeomsoui.
To them, my demeanor showed not a hint of fear.
However, there wasn’t much liquor left.
As I took the last drink, I grasped the sickle and said, "My hometown friends, am I that ridiculous?" I couldn’t help but feel that I had been such a trivial being in the past.
"You were a ridiculous fellow."
The three pulled out a slightly longer dagger meant for assassination.
"You’re making a big deal out of something that could end with a single hit."
"Brothers, since Donggak has ended up like that, it’s a justified response."
As I laughed like a madman, the three of them also smirked.
For a moment, the four of us laughed together like good drinking buddies.
"Hehehe."
Suddenly raising the sickle, the three were startled and presented their daggers.
At that moment, I infused my thumb with power and flicked it, causing the liquor table to flip.
Bang! Reflexively, three daggers embedded themselves into the liquor table.
Thud, thud, thud! As the blades pierced through the table, I pushed it away with my right foot and stood up.
Crash! When the three collided with the table and were pushed back, I swung the sickle, aiming for their lower bodies.
The feet of those who were carelessly reaching out squirmed like the head of a snake.
I thought of them as snake heads and swung the sickle.
After the Jaha Inn burned down, one of the jobs I took to survive was grave digging.
There, I spent my days cutting the lush grass around the graves with a sickle throughout the seasons.
I truly grew tired of wielding the sickle.
At one point, I even gained an unexpected understanding of its use.
The man who gained enlightenment about the sickle while cutting grass was probably only me in the martial world.
The sickle is fundamentally single-edged, closer to a knife than a sword.
Since the blade is reversed, care was needed when flicking it out.
Above all, all of this was engraved in my memory.
In summary, I am a master of the sickle.
I struck and sliced at the knees, insteps, ankles, calves, and toes of the squirming men like the body of a snake.
I also cut the arms of those who were sticking out from the table.
"You stepped on me with these useless limbs."
The screams of the three mixed together.
"Gaaah!" In an instant, chaos erupted.
At appropriate moments, I kicked the table, smashing their faces repeatedly.
With each kick, the sound of impact echoed three times.
It was an efficient and one-sided assault.
When a woman who had been speaking rudely opened the door, the three had completely lost their will to fight.
The room was a mess, covered in food and blood.
Holding the bloodied sickle, I said to the woman, "Auntie, bring me that useless third-grade Donggak."
The woman glared at me.
Pointing the sickle at her mouth, I said, "I usually don’t hit women, but you should think a bit more before opening that mouth. Bring the Donggak first, and also bring those fools who want to be useless again. And if you keep flapping that mouth, I’ll tear it apart with this."
It was my principle not to touch women who had not trained in martial arts unless there was a special reason.
This principle also included Chahyang and that rude woman.
However, threats were my hobby.
When the woman disappeared, I cleared the broken table and looked at the three men.
The sight of them covered in spilled food was quite satisfying.
I laughed and said, "Laugh, you bastards. Why aren’t you laughing in front of a ridiculous man?" They could no longer laugh, but I did.
"Congratulations on becoming crippled. You’ll need a long recovery. At least you’re not dead, right?" At my merciful words, the three men tightly shut their mouths.
I changed my tone, sounding like a madman, and spoke.
"Hey, you bastards, shouldn’t you beg for your lives if you want me to spare you? Do you want me to just kill you like this?" "Please spare us."
"Spare us."
"Let’s end it here. We had no intention of killing you."
I nodded.
"Oh, really?" Their words were so quick and precise that it felt like a choir.
I pulled out one of the daggers stuck in the table and held it in my left hand.
"You’ve mastered the art of talking, huh? More are coming."
This time, dozens of men were rushing in from the hallway.
They seemed to be all the martial artists that could be mobilized from the Gi-Ru.
Amidst the commotion, I heard the voice of Cha Seong-tae, who had welcomed me alone.
"Get out of the way!" In an instant, the hallway fell silent, and Cha Seong-tae appeared, surveying the room.
Cha Seong-tae had thin eyes, and when he smiled or frowned, his eyes would align straight, which was the case now.
With a look of disbelief, he said to me, "Jaha, you’re going to get killed like this."
"Get killed?" "Yeah, you idiot."
As I looked at Cha Seong-tae’s foolish eyes, I infused power into my left hand and threw the dagger.
Swish! Before Cha Seong-tae’s hand reached his face in surprise, the dagger I threw arrived first.
The handle of the dagger hit him squarely in the eye.
Thud! "Gaaah!" Cha Seong-tae groaned and fell backward.
I pointed the bloodied sickle at the men behind him and said, "An eye for an eye. Anyone else want to come?" Cha Seong-tae, who barely managed to get back on his feet, calmly issued orders despite the situation.
"Report to Lord Ru at the Ihwaru. The rest surround the Gi-Ru outside. Just block the exits."
Cha Seong-tae, with blood streaming from one eye, skillfully drew a straight sword from his waist.
Swish! I returned his earlier words.
"Seong-tae, think before you act. You’re going to get killed like this." "……."
"Why is the sharpest guy in Illyang-hyeon acting like this? Am I just lucky that your eye ended up like that? Or is it that these three are just unlucky to have spilled food? No, that’s not it. If you don’t want to die, think."
"Hmm."
While Cha Seong-tae stood there, unable to decide, I spoke to the men blocking the hallway.
"And, since Cha Seong-tae ended up like this, does it make sense for you to block me? Let’s do this. If you keep blocking, I’ll show you Cha Seong-tae dying first. I’m leaving."
However, this threat didn’t affect the subordinates but rather Cha Seong-tae.
The sharp-witted Cha Seong-tae spoke in a surprised tone to his subordinates.
"Everyone go down and wait below. Jaha, I think I need to meet Lord Ru. You came to apologize, right? Am I right? Or do you plan to just drink and leave? Let’s hear your answer."
I nodded at Cha Seong-tae.
"The Jo family should come."
"Then let’s call Lord Ru first. He’ll be here soon, so let’s wait together."
While Cha Seong-tae was speaking, he checked his palm, which was covered in blood.
I asked, "Are you blind?" Cha Seong-tae blinked and wiped the blood around his eye, replying, "I don’t think I’m blind. I can see."
"That’s a relief. Bring some liquor. Let’s drink while we wait for Lord Ru."
Cha Seong-tae called out to the trembling woman at the end of the hallway.
"Bring the liquor. No need for side dishes. I’ll move the room to the side. Jaha, let’s move the room. If you’re not going to kill those kids, let’s treat them. It’s a bit much to kill each other in the neighborhood, right?" When I turned around, the three men were already on the verge of fainting.
It was clear that Cha Seong-tae handled things differently than his subordinates.
Even while blood flowed from one eye, he organized the situation.
The eloquent woman who approached with quick steps politely pointed to the next room with both hands.
Since I had said I would tear her mouth if she spoke, she kept it shut until the end.
The survival instincts of those at the bottom of society have this intricate flavor.
I entered the empty room, placing the bright red sickle on the table and sat down.
A moment later, Cha Seong-tae, who had wiped the blood with a cloth, sat across from me and let out a long sigh.
"Did you gain some kind of fortune? What’s all this chaos suddenly? It’s a mess out of nowhere."
As soon as Cha Seong-tae finished speaking, a youthful woman’s voice came from outside.
"Bringing in the liquor."
"Come in."
I chuckled at the liquor being brought in.
The Donggak was indeed Donggak, but the one given to me was in a completely different sealed state.
In short, it was a more luxurious Donggak.
"Is this perhaps first-grade Donggak?" Cha Seong-tae nodded.
"Oh, did the third-grade go out? Oh dear, I’m sorry. For the riffraff, the liquor has to be like that to make a profit. This is the real first-grade Donggak. I’ll pour a glass."
"Am I riffraff?" "Not right now. I’m sorry."
I snatched the first-grade Donggak from Cha Seong-tae’s hand.
After tearing open the seal, I stuck my nose in and glared at Cha Seong-tae.
"If there’s poison, I’ll shove it all up your nostrils."
Cha Seong-tae unconsciously touched his nose and replied, "I’m going to drink too, so you think I’d poison it? Lady Son, no poison, right?" Lady Son, who had been waiting in the hallway, peeked in and shook her head at Cha Seong-tae. 'No.' When Lady Son mouthed the words, Cha Seong-tae asked in confusion, "Have you gone mute? Why aren’t you speaking? Is there no poison?" Then Lady Son drew her finger across her mouth, signaling that she couldn’t speak.
"I said I’d tear that mouth if you spoke."
Cha Seong-tae nodded and said to Lady Son, "Then keep your mouth shut. If you don’t want that pretty mouth torn."
Lady Son bowed her head towards Cha Seong-tae and me before disappearing back into the hallway.
However, she was still waiting in the hallway.
Cha Seong-tae had no idea when Lord Ru would arrive.
"Lady Son has a bit of a sharp tongue."
While thinking about something, Cha Seong-tae said to Lady Son, "Go and bring Chahyang. Tell her to serve the liquor."
The sound of Lady Son’s footsteps echoed from the hallway.
This time, Cha Seong-tae poured Donggak into a cup and asked, "I’ll drink first. I’m a bit out of it."
"Drink."
After watching Cha Seong-tae drink, I took a sip myself.
Once the liquor went down, Cha Seong-tae seemed to regain his senses and asked, "Were you always this good at fighting? I’ve never heard such rumors."
"My grandfather told me not to fight, so I held back a few times."
"That kind of lie won’t work. First of all, I’ll apologize for what happened earlier. I understand why you acted this way since my subordinates humiliated you."
"Thank you, you bastard. You understand. You’re quite the understanding fellow."
I scoffed.
Cha Seong-tae was stalling for time with all sorts of chatter.
As I rolled up my sleeves, I said, "But thinking about it, it makes me angry. Seong-tae, you bastard. Is this how someone apologizes? Should I break a few more bones to change your tone?" Suddenly grabbing the sickle again, Cha Seong-tae was startled and knelt.
"I’m sorry. I sincerely apologize. I’ve never knelt in my life until now. I’m really sorry."
Cha Seong-tae’s change in attitude was as swift and precise as witnessing the transformation of top-tier masters.
When Cha Seong-tae bowed his head while kneeling, Chahyang arrived at the door.
As soon as she saw Cha Seong-tae kneeling, her pupils trembled. "……!" Cha Seong-tae turned his head and said to Chahyang with a fierce gaze, "Serve the liquor. And I told you to manage your expressions. Relax your eyes."
Chahyang, with a stiff expression, naturally moved to Cha Seong-tae’s side, and he said in a strained voice, "Are you crazy? Sit over there. Who said you could serve my liquor? Get your act together."
Chahyang’s expression turned pale.
I looked at Chahyang, who sat beside me with a pale face, and said, "Oh, you’re here?" There are two types of people.
Those who hold grudges and those who don’t.
In my case……