Chapter 10

10. Considerate Me

Joaek said as if he had a secret to reveal.

"The Black Cat Gang Leader is one of the Twelve Guardians. Few people know exactly where he ranks among the Twelve Guardians. Moreover, it's said that there's a crazy master above the Twelve Guardians who controls them."

Joaek was talking about something I knew better.

Joaek patted his chest.

"Touching me means you're stepping into a terrifying world you don't know..."

I plunged the Yunlong dagger into the hand of Joaek, who was patting his chest.

Thud!

"Ugh...!"

The Yunlong dagger pierced through his hand and into his chest. I continued the conversation with a calm tone.

"You talk too much. You should be begging for your life, not threatening me."

Joaek looked at me with disbelief.

When I pulled out the Yunlong dagger, Joaek's face was covered in his own blood.

Thud!

Blood splattered from the table where Joaek had fallen. I hinted at the truth to the dead Joaek.

"In that terrifying world, I was the one known as the maddest."

I said to Joaek's subordinates who were digging the ground.

"Hey, moles, stop digging."

The subordinates, thinking it was Joaek's order, stopped and replied.

"Yes, sir."

"Come in and clean this up."

As soon as three men in black entered, their expressions changed.

"Ah..."

"Hey!"

They were naturally surprised to see Joaek's body instead of the waiter's.

I looked at the three and said.

"Why are you so surprised? He was waving his sword around like a madman and ended up dying like a fool."

One of them tried to pull out the sword, but another man stopped him, thinking it was appropriate given Joaek's superior martial arts skills.

I said to the one who tried to pull out the sword.

"Why did you stop pulling out the sword? You should finish it."

"No, it was just a reflexive action."

"Are you stronger than Joaek?"

"No, I'm not."

"If you were stronger, Joaek would be the one digging the ground. Why were you digging? Get your act together."

"I will."

"Take off your masks. Let's see if I know any of you."

When the three took off their masks, their sweat-soaked faces were revealed. They were all young, inexperienced, and unknown to me.

"I've never seen you in Ilyang County. Are you from the Black Cat Gang?"

"We're not from the Black Cat Gang. We're from different hometowns. We work at Ewharou."

"Is that so?"

If I didn't know them, it meant they were about to die.

"Is that so? You were ordinary men working at Ewharou. Joaek ordered you to bury a body, and you, being ordinary men, dug the ground like moles. Will all three of you die here, or will you return to your hometowns after burying the body?"

One of them replied first.

"If you spare us, we'll go back to our hometowns."

"There are reasons we can't go back, but we won't return to Ewharou."

"I won't even step foot in Ewharou if you spare me."

I nodded.

"Clean up the body and get lost."

I gestured for them to leave, but one of the men asked an unexpected question.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

I pondered the intent of the question.

"What do you mean? Who am I?"

"Yes."

"I'm the waiter at Zihak Guesthouse."

"I don't think so."

The man thought the waiter couldn't have killed Joaek.

I told the man to clean the blood from the table and floor, and instructed the other two to move the body.

The young man found a mop and a bucket, and started cleaning the blood, wringing out the mop repeatedly.

I asked the man wringing out the mop.

"Where is the youngest Louzhu these days?"

"I haven't seen him recently."

"Do you know what the youngest Louzhu does?"

The man cleaning stopped and looked at me.

"Yes, I know."

"Tell me."

"He goes to distant places to kidnap young or poor women. He supplies or trains them to be courtesans."

"What a despicable villain."

The man swallowed and asked.

"Am I going to die too?"

"Eventually, you will. If you meet someone like me."

"Today?"

"Not today."

"Thank you. I'll respect you as my senior from now on."

"I don't take fools as my juniors."

I meant it. To be my junior, one must have outstanding skills in martial arts or something else.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being a fool."

I burst out laughing at this answer, as the man's expression didn't change at all.

"Ha, that was unexpected."

I chuckled and said to the young man.

"Once you're done cleaning, get lost."

"By any chance, do you need someone to work in the kitchen? If I don't go back to Ewharou, I'll have no means to survive."

For these young men, making a living was always the biggest problem. I tilted my head and asked.

"Can you cook well?"

"Yes."

"Can you make chicken noodle soup?"

"Isn't chicken noodle soup the basics of the basics?"

"Hmm."

Suddenly, I became the one who couldn't do the basics. I needed a skilled cook, but not right now.

"I do need one, but not now. You'll be caught and killed by the Zha gang if you stay here."

"Why?"

I said seriously and solemnly.

"That's your fate. You three conspired to bury Joaek."

"What?"

"What will you do now?"

"No, we just dug a grave."

"Ah, that grave was actually for you."

"Joaek didn't kill us three."

"Does the life of a martial artist seem so easy to you? If the leader dies and the subordinates do nothing but bury him, they'll be executed on the spot. Get out of here. Take your friends with you if you don't want to die."

"They're not my friends. What if they go to Ewharou and report us?"

I pointed to the weapons on the table.

"What do you think these are?"

"Swords and whips. There's a blood-stained sickle too."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"It means the war preparations are complete. Understand?"

The young man finally looked at me as if I were a madman.

"Anyway."

"Yes."

"If you can't sit still because you're swayed by the desire for revenge, come with the Zha gang. We'll have our decisive battle then. I'll show you the true face of the merciless martial world."

The aspiring cook replied.

"I'll pass on that battle. By the way, senior, I should introduce myself."

"Shut up and get lost."

"Yes."

Despite being told to leave, the aspiring cook tidied up the mop, put the cleaning tools back in place, and bowed at the entrance of the guesthouse.

"I'll make a delicious chicken noodle soup for you next time."

"Fix your messed-up life first."

"Ah, I see. Then, have a good rest."

The aspiring cook started running into the darkness.

.

.

.

After the men who buried Joaek disappeared, Zihak Guesthouse became quiet again.

It would be perfect to eat chicken noodle soup on such a night.

"Ah..."

I suddenly looked outside and said.

"Rat?"

* * *

A rat with an eye patch on one eye walked out of the darkness and replied.

"What do you plan to do now?"

I looked at Chae Sung-tae's eye patch.

"Your eye is fine, right?"

Chae Sung-tae pointed to his eye patch.

"It's a psychological tactic."

"Not just for show?"

"Part of a strategy. I reported that I was injured in one eye and escaped to a place with a doctor to observe the situation. If I hadn't, I would have been digging the ground here too. I'm quick-witted and useful. You understand, right?"

"Excellent."

"Thank you. To survive, I had no choice. What do you plan to do next? Will you attack Jao Yisland directly, or wait here?"

"Did I make myself clear?"

"What did you say? I didn't hear it clearly."

"I said I would spare you if you joined me, but Joaek came with a sword."

"Exactly."

"I made my subordinates dig their own graves. As you can see, the result is this. Would Jao Yisland be any different?"

"Jao Yisland is the most devious. He leaves the dirty work to the youngest and the killing to the second. He's the type who feels uncomfortable, hides, reports to the Black Cat Gang, and is still devious. He's the most devious in Ilyang County. He didn't become the owner of three brothels for nothing. Jao Yisland is the most despicable in Ilyang County."

"Sung-tae."

"Yes."

I looked at the dark street and said.

"Go buy some chicken feet."

"Why?"

"I have alcohol, but no snacks."

"All of a sudden? While talking about Jao Yisland..."

"Consider him dead."

"He's still alive."

"Once he's on my bad side, he's a corpse. Is Jao Yisland any different? If we leave him, Ilyang County will suffer. I need to kill him."

He makes the youngest do human trafficking and the second do murder. In the long run, he'll hand over all of Ilyang County to the Black Cat Gang.

Chae Sung-tae asked with a puzzled look.

"By the way, no snacks in the guesthouse? What a joke. I'll be back, so give me money."

I shook my head.

"I don't have any."

Chae Sung-tae turned his head with a displeased look and sighed.

"What do you have at Zihak Guesthouse?"

"Nothing. I ate the leftovers as bibimbap."

"Didn't you used to be famous for chicken noodle soup? How did you fall so low? You fell disgracefully. What else besides chicken feet?"

His tone was a bit sharp. After all, it must have been unpleasant for a former manager of Meihuarou to run errands for a waiter.

To show respect, I replied.

"Chicken feet are enough. Buy the snacks you like. Buy plenty. If there's any left, we can eat them tomorrow."

Consideration, what a hassle.

"I'll buy plenty."

As soon as I saw Chae Sung-tae grumbling and walking away, I said in a cold tone.

"Sung-tae."

"What?"

"Are you walking? Strolling? Crawling? Moving like a turtle?"

"Damn it!"

Chae Sung-tae swallowed his curse and ran off somewhere.

'You damn bastard.'

Chae Sung-tae's face turned red. He never expected to run errands for a waiter in his life.

I said to Chae Sung-tae, who was disappearing into the darkness.

"Are you going on all fours?"

The half-curse "Damn it" broke the silence from the darkness.