Chapter 30. Hao Wen knows everything.

The one who saw this fight most objectively was Zhang Deshui.

The gray aura from Xiao Junping's sword extended like a gust of wind, which was astonishing.

The kitchen knife of the neighborhood junior, who was a waiter until recently, was even more mysterious.

The kitchen knife, which had been used to chop garlic and scallions, was now wrapped in a bright red sauce, tearing through the gust of wind as if dripping with blood.

In Zhang Deshui's eyes...

Was it because the kitchen knife won?

It was indeed a beautiful sight.

The last scene that Zhang Deshui, who did not practice martial arts, managed to see...

was Xiao Junping barely deflecting the strange southern knife with both hands.

The deafening sound that followed made Zhang Deshui drop the pot lid and cover his ears with both hands.

Shocked by the impact, Xiao Junping's body flew swiftly and crashed to the ground, rolling over.

"Wow..."

It was a scene that Zhang Deshui could not understand at all.

'This fight is amazing.'

If that was the end, Zhang Deshui wouldn't have been so surprised.

Surprisingly, Xiao Junping was still alive.

The inn's master, who used to be a waiter, charged like a bull and started beating up Xiao Junping, who had just gotten up.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud...

The fight between great martial artists suddenly degraded to a street brawl.

"That's a thorough beating."

Only then did Zhang Deshui realize something was wrong.

Zhang Deshui had developed a discerning eye.

The reason the once agile black-clad man was now being beaten one-sidedly was probably because he had internal injuries, as martial artists would say.

Meanwhile, the former waiter was mercilessly beating the black-clad man, muttering something to Xiao Junping, but it wasn't clear what he was saying.

'He's not in his right mind. What is he saying?'

Without realizing it, Zhang Deshui stepped forward and said,

"Oh, Zha Xia, stop beating him. You'll kill him."

He also had the intention of stopping him, thinking that the neighborhood junior might be in a frenzy.

However, it was not a normal or everyday scene for the owner of Chunyang Restaurant, who sells national soup, to step in to stop the fight between the former waiter and the black-clad man.

* * *

I grabbed Xiao Junping's hair and lifted it.

"You have a strong constitution."

Xiao Junping looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask, "What are you saying in this situation?"

I gripped his hair tightly and said,

"Black-clad man, snap out of it."

When I slapped him and he didn't respond, Zhang Deshui came closer and asked,

"Trying to kill him?"

I found Zhang Deshui's concern for the Black Cat Gang's expert, who would later be known as 'Three Hundred Jiazi,' very amusing.

Most people who work for a living are like this. They are far removed from the world of martial arts.

In fact, Xiao Junping is an excellent martial artist just for being able to resist the Yanyuxiang. However, he survived because I intentionally reduced the power I infused into the Yanyuxiang.

"Junping, are you ready to surrender now?"

Xiao Junping looked at me and smiled.

"Surrender? Do I look that pitiful?"

"You look very pitiful."

"How can I surrender to a waiter? Beat me more if you want."

I pinched his cheek and smiled.

'What a strange guy. Did he survive so long because he wasn't cowardly?'

I slapped his cheek hard with the hand that was pinching it.

With a thud, Xiao Junping's face hit the ground, and he finally fainted.

"You have a strong will. I like it."

Zhang Deshui watched the fainted man and asked me,

"You beat him up and now you like it?"

"He's not cowardly even after being beaten up. Sometimes, a man's true worth is only revealed after being beaten."

"You might kill him trying to find out his true worth. Anyway, how will you do business now? He seems to be a high-ranking official of the Black Cat Gang."

I looked at Zhang Deshui and said,

"I told you. The code of conduct. All this is..."

"Our master did it? If it could be resolved with words, I would be happy too."

At that moment, Chae Seongtae, who had heard about the fight, approached and asked,

"Our master, who is beating someone in broad daylight again?"

I stared at Chae Seongtae for a moment.

Is it because the neighborhood is small?

This guy always appeared like a ghost when the fight was over.

I asked,

"Do you know him?"

"No? Who is he? He looks quite tough. A black-clad man?"

"Allegedly the Golden Dragon Pavilion Master of the Black Cat Gang."

Chae Seongtae muttered,

"If he's the Golden Dragon, he must be a high-ranking official. But why did he come alone? His face is a mess."

I looked at the fainted man and speculated,

"He probably came on the order of the gang leader."

"Why?"

"He might be embarrassed if the Black Cat Gang's reputation is tarnished. Because I'm a waiter."

"Oh."

"And he probably wanted to gauge the strength of the people in Yiliang County."

Chae Seongtae, who seemed to have gained some weight recently, kicked Xiao Junping's body.

"He's still breathing. Should I kill him?"

I looked at Chae Seongtae.

For some reason, I didn't want to kill him when this guy suggested it.

Human fate is so mysterious.

And it felt strange to end the life of someone who would later be known as 'Three Hundred Jiazi' with my own hands.

It felt like killing a mythical turtle that had lived for hundreds of years. If he had lived so long in his previous life, he must have had a life worth living. After all, the lifespan of black-clad men is very short.

"Take him to an empty room in the brothel for a while."

"Ah, you're going to torture him to death?"

I hit Chae Seongtae's head for the first time in a while.

"Why does the master of Shengmen keep talking about killing?"

Chae Seongtae rubbed his head and said with a dazed look,

"Oh, Shengmen is like that? I understand now."

"Take him away. And get his sword."

"Yes."

As Chae Seongtae took the fainted Xiao Junping and his weapon away, Zhang Deshui picked up the kitchen knife that had fallen on the ground and examined it, saying in a surprised tone,

"Wow! Look at this."

Zhang Deshui showed me the kitchen knife and said,

"He was an incredible expert."

I looked at the bent kitchen knife and said,

"Not bad. I'll buy you a new one."

"It's fine. I can get it fixed at the blacksmith's. I'm not a stranger to Mr. Jin."

"Suit yourself."

Zhang Deshui said with a worried tone,

"Is Yiliang County going to fall now?"

"No way. The Black Cat Gang will fall. Let's focus on our own business."

"Agreed."

After parting ways with Zhang Deshui, I took a look around the construction site. To avoid bothering the workers, I watched Lian Zicheng, who was supervising the construction from a distance, and then headed to Plum Tower.

At this point, I was considering whether I should attack the Black Cat Gang first.

I don't want to harm those who have a livelihood.

Not all members of the Black Cat Gang are like Xiao Junping, who can calculate the cost of a meal.

* * *

I said to Chae Seongtae, who was watching Xiao Junping next to the bed,

"Wake him up."

"Yes."

Chae Seongtae kicked the bed and said,

"Get up. Is this your bedroom?"

Xiao Junping, who had fainted, slowly opened his eyes as if waking from sleep and then suddenly sat up, startled.

"Wow!"

Xiao Junping looked around with wide eyes and swallowed.

'Why am I still alive?'

I asked the still dazed man,

"Junping, where is the crazy monk these days?"

"I don't know. How would I know? Even the gang leader wouldn't know, so we wouldn't know."

Xiao Junping touched his face, which was swollen, while frowning.

"The Black Cat Gang leader?"

"He's in the main hall."

"What is he doing these days?"

"He's in training."

"Another ranking battle?"

Xiao Junping looked at me with an expression that said, "How do you know that?"

"Why? Is it strange that I know?"

"It's bound to be strange."

"Our Hao Wen knows everything except what we don't know."

Xiao Junping, still dazed, frowned at the incomprehensible words.

"What are you talking about?"

I felt a bit proud after saying that.

In fact, I knew because I had returned to the past, but I intended to attribute the information and knowledge I would know in the future to my affiliation with Hao Wen.

In that case, Hao Wen would also be the strongest information organization in the martial arts world.

Of course, it's because of my return to the past, but that's how it is.

Chae Seongtae also glared at Xiao Junping and repeated my words.

"Our Hao Wen knows everything."

I corrected Chae Seongtae's words.

"That's not true. We don't know what we don't know."

"Oh, is that so?"

"The important thing is the ability to quickly find out what we don't know."

"That's right."

Chae Seongtae suddenly pressed Xiao Junping.

"Got it? We are the ones who can find out what we don't know. In the end, there is nothing Hao Wen doesn't know. The strongest information organization, that is Hao Wen."

However, Xiao Junping still didn't know what kind of organization Hao Wen was. He looked at me and said,

"Indeed, you're not an ordinary person. You're a subordinate of the Hao Wen organization."

"Subordinate?"

"I heard you were a waiter."

Chae Seongtae hit Xiao Junping's head. With a thud, Xiao Junping fell back onto the bed, and Chae Seongtae said,

"Where did you get the nerve to call the master a waiter?"

Chae Seongtae looked at me and continued,

"Master, this guy has a knack for taking beatings."

I suddenly looked at Chae Seongtae and worried for a moment that he might become a sycophant in the future.

When Xiao Junping, with his naturally tough body, suddenly sat up, Chae Seongtae, startled, stepped back.

"Hey, you scared me."

Xiao Junping, who had a strong constitution, was not someone Chae Seongtae could handle alone. However, with me by his side, Chae Seongtae, who had a high probability of becoming a sycophant in the future, was not intimidated.

"What are you going to do by glaring at me? Do you want to die here?"

I said to Chae Seongtae,

"Go out for a while."

Chae Seongtae replied respectfully,

"Yes, master."

Xiao Junping looked me up and down and said,

"You're the master of Hao Wen? I heard you were a waiter."

I looked at Xiao Junping for a long time and said,

"Junping, stop the nonsense. Do you want to join me?"

I didn't expect an immediate positive answer as I asked the question.

Xiao Junping answered immediately.

"No. How can a wolf cub..."

I immediately cut him off, anticipating the rest of his sentence, "serve under a dog."

"Shut up. Before you tear your mouth."

"..."

For Xiao Junping, who had never heard of the mediocre organization called Hao Wen, it was a natural reaction. I glared at him for a while without saying anything, then asked in a cold, emotionless tone,

"Your face suggests a long life. Do you want me to end it here?"

I slowly approached Xiao Junping.

Xiao Junping couldn't speak. He felt that if he asked to be killed, he would be killed immediately.

I smiled and said,

"Answer properly. If you ask to be killed, I'll do it. What's a wolf cub? Are you trying to say you can't serve under a dog? Where did you hear that? I'll find out and kill them."

I felt that this was a phrase that stuck with me.

I don't know why.

I know a trick to recruit such a person as a subordinate.

It's a highly effective and historically proven method.

The classic way to recruit a disobedient subordinate is the example set by Mr. Zhuge Liang when he captured Meng Huo.

The so-called 'seven captures and seven releases.'

Beating him up, then releasing him, and then beating him up again.

My conclusion is that Xiao Junping has only been beaten up by me once so far.

I let the thoughts in my mind spill out.

"...This is why men should read Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

"..."

Xiao Junping, who couldn't understand the context of the conversation, was looking at me with a fearful expression for the first time.