Chapter 47: The Mindset of Not Giving Even If You Have It

I changed out of my blood-stained clothes, washed my face, and then sat down with the squad leaders to start drinking.

After a few rounds, I had forgotten how many drinks I had had, when Dukgo, who had been drinking with a consistently stern expression, suddenly started laughing to himself.

I looked at Dukgo with bleary eyes.

"Have you lost your mind? Why are you suddenly laughing?"

The squad leaders also shook their heads, as if they didn't know either.

"I don't know."

"We've never seen him do this before."

I had just witnessed a strange scene.

Dukgo was a man who laughed awkwardly. It seemed like he was forcing out sounds, practicing how to laugh. His appearance was so bizarre that I swallowed my curses.

'Oh, you lunatic.'

After a few more bursts of laughter, Dukgo returned to his usual stern demeanor and continued drinking.

In the end, he didn't say a word about why he laughed or what he was thinking.

I didn't ask either.

If you want to laugh, just laugh. What's the big deal?

But Dukgo, perhaps feeling embarrassed, said this:

"I won."

"What?"

"When I was kidnapped and brought here as a child, I never thought a day like this would come."

I looked at the squad leaders and Dukgo.

"All the others who were captured with me are dead. Some sank with the ship, others were killed. My goal was just to survive. My wish was to live longer than the old men. If I got lucky and became stronger, I planned to kill them all with my own hands. It feels like something I should have done was taken from me, but in the end, I won."

If surviving means winning, then Dukgo's words are true.

Dukgo, who was drinking, asked me:

"What kind of force is Haowen? I've never heard of it."

I took a sip of alcohol and replied:

"There are guys who work in brothels, waiters, restaurant owners, blacksmiths, builders, and both idle and busy people."

"It's a mess."

"It is a mess."

A stupid squad leader interjected:

"We are a mess too."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"That's true."

Even I, who usually talk a lot, listened to the squad leaders' stories while drinking. Dukgo seemed to be a lonely squad leader, fitting his surname, Dukgo (獨孤). If the guys he killed on the ship were among the elders, it wouldn't have been too difficult to kill them. I didn't ask, though.

Because Dukgo is that kind of guy.

While drinking, I judged it was the right time and stood up.

"Drink moderately. The elders who lost their arms might have other plans."

Dukgo shook his head, as if it was impossible.

"Anyway, the strongest elders after the leader all lost their arms. Even if they bring more people, they can't change the tide."

You had a plan all along. That's why you went to mock the elder who lost his arm earlier.

"I'm leaving."

Dukgo stood up, ordered the drinking session to end, and said to the squad leaders:

"See me off."

There was no one to stop me now.

I looked around the compound and realized I needed to take a boat to return quickly.

Dukgo said he would see me off to the lower reaches of the Yilong River and got on the boat with me.

"…When things are settled, can I report to Yiliang County?"

"For now, go to the Black Cat Gang. If I'm not there, go to Yiliang County."

"Black Cat Gang?"

"I'm the leader of the Black Cat Gang."

"Twelve Disciples?"

"No, I'm pretending to be one of the Twelve Disciples."

Dukgo asked:

"Trying to kill the Great Temple?"

I nodded, and Dukgo showed interest.

"They're strong, they say."

"Probably."

"What if you die? What should we do? Can we just live in the open compound as you suggested earlier?"

"Do you think I'm going to die?"

Dukgo looked at me and replied dryly:

"Not really. If you have a favor, you should repay it, and if you have a grudge, you should repay it twofold. When you fight the Great Temple, call me if you need me."

"You're offering to help me?"

"Are you ignoring me?"

"You just being alive is a help. If you die, the Black Cat Gang will fall into chaos. Live your way, and I'll live mine."

A moment later, at the lower reaches of the Yilong River, I got off the boat, and Dukgo stayed.

Dukgo didn't even say a common farewell from the boat.

"Will things get better when we break down the walls?"

"Maybe not immediately."

"Is that so?"

"When I headed to the Great Qing, I saw many children. Those children will be better off than you."

Dukgo nodded and replied:

"Then it's fine."

Strangely, the leader of the force known as the Black Cat Gang was now Dukgo.

I looked at Dukgo's stern face and nodded.

"See you if you're still alive."

I walked for a while, then turned around because the back of my neck felt unusually hot. Dukgo, sitting on the bow of the boat with his arms crossed, was glaring at me.

'Surprised.'

Dukgo uncrossed his arms and waved his hand twice awkwardly. I had never seen anyone wave so awkwardly. As the boat started moving, Dukgo suddenly shouted:

"Jizha!"

"What?"

Dukgo's lips curled awkwardly upward.

"You can keep talking to me informally from now on. Take care."

As the boat moved away, Dukgo's figure quickly disappeared from the bow.

I moved toward the path leading to the Black Cat Gang from the mouth of the Yilong River and muttered:

"…Rude brat."

* * *

When I arrived near the Black Cat Gang, I sensed something was off. No matter how late it was, the screams of the trainees should have been heard.

'Someone must have come.'

I was about to climb the wall but stopped.

A skilled person might notice immediately.

I knocked on the gate like the first time I visited the Black Cat Gang. After a moment, a thud was heard, and a pair of eyes appeared in the rectangular space. The guy's eyes widened when he saw me, and he opened the gate without a word.

As I entered, a subordinate looked me up and down.

The leader, who had gone out in clean white clothes, now appeared in tattered clothes, which was surprising.

I asked in a low voice:

"Who came?"

"Jinhai came."

A member of the Twelve Disciples, the Golden Pig, had come.

According to the strategy guide, it was unclear whether Jinhai became a glutton because of his name or if he was named Jinhai because he was a glutton.

His strength was between the seventh and eighth levels.

He was known to have become a disciple of the Great Temple due to his natural strength and physical condition, but the wall supervisor added that Jinhai's family was wealthy, which is why he became a disciple.

The family was believed to be a merchant house.

In other words, Jinhai was the son of a wealthy family who contributed the most money to the Great Temple.

At least his interest was solely in eating, so there were no reports of him causing trouble like Huang O, Luksul, or Bajia.

The strategy guide was compiled from the perspective of the wall supervisor but had a certain objectivity, as I knew some of this information.

I crossed the outer and inner courtyards and entered the main hall, where I was surprised.

A long table in the main hall was set with a sumptuous feast.

A man with a golden pig mask loosely placed on his head was eating.

He looked like an actor taking a break after a mask-changing performance or like Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West.

Thinking I was a servant of the Black Cat Gang, Jinhai said while chewing:

"Give me some water."

Serving water was a waiter's specialty, so I immediately replied:

"Yes."

As I approached with the teapot at the end of the table, Jinhai, who was eating, covered his nose.

"What's this fishy smell? Put the water down there."

"Yes."

"Move away. Ah, it's a foul smell. What do you do?"

This was a moment when a good answer was needed, and I knew the right answer as a waiter.

"I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's an incredibly unpleasant smell. Move away."

I took a step back.

"Senior Miao, do you know where Senior Miao is?"

"Yes, I don't know."

The answer that he had gone to heaven was on the tip of my tongue.

For a moment, Jinhai put down his chopsticks and covered his nose with his hand. A stuffy sound came out.

"Do the servants here not wash themselves? That's why you're a servant."

'If you're busy, you might not be able to wash, you bastard.'

Jinhai waved his hand as if telling me to go away.

"Go inside and wash yourself. Tell the others to serve me. Where are they all?"

"That's what I'm wondering. Where could they have gone? It's dinner time, so they're probably gathered in the kitchen, eating leftovers and cold rice."

That's what I usually did.

When I talked too much as a servant, Jinhai looked surprised.

"Damn…"

"Then I'll go wash."

"There's no need to come back. Don't show your face to me again."

Jinhai, with enough food to feed ten people, kept eating without stopping.

I went straight to the private bathroom, washed my body, and then went to a room with clothes neatly displayed, where I changed into clean clothes.

I had a rough idea why the subordinates had disappeared.

With a few of the leaders, including Xiaojunping, they could probably handle Jinhai. However, since I was absent and Jinhai was a disciple of the Great Temple, they seemed to have just prepared the food and stayed out of the way.

I was curious about Jinhai's purpose for visiting, so I put on the Black Cat Gang leader's mask, took the Black Cat doll, and went to the main hall.

Jinhai, after making a gulping sound, looked at me.

"Senior Miao, it's been a while."

What was the relationship between the Black Cat and Jinhai? Jinhai didn't seem to fear the Black Cat at all.

I pointed at the food and said briefly:

"Eat comfortably."

There was no need to ask why he came, as he seemed to be a talkative person. Jinhai, with food in his mouth, kept talking.

"The cooks here are good. Every time I come, I feast."

I thought about moving the cooks to the Zhahe Guesthouse and placing them under Zhang Deshui, as the guesthouse was large and needed more help.

Jinhai drank water, making a bubbling sound in his mouth before swallowing.

"Have you fought Senior Baiyou yet? Our merchant house recently obtained a medicinal herb from the Western Regions."

"What is it?"

"It's not just that. If Master hears about it, he'll just take it. You still have a match with Senior Baiyou, so I came to ask if you're interested in buying it at a reasonable price."

"What is it?"

"I bought a large amount of Baiyancao (White Flame Grass), and among them, there were a few roots of Baiyancao that were a hundred years old. I had an expert appraise them, and they seem to be three or four hundred years old."

The word 'expert' that Jinhai mentioned caught my attention more than the medicinal herb.

"Who is the expert?"

"There's a smart guy in our neighborhood."

"Who is the expert?"

"Why are you interested in a doctor when you're not interested in the medicinal herb?"

"How do I know if the guy who appraised it is a quack?"

"Business isn't new to me. Why are you being so unpleasant? If you have doubts, don't buy it. There are many people who want to buy it. I came to ask you first because I thought you needed it the most."

"How much?"

In response to my question, Jinhai pulled the mask from his head and put it on his face.

Jinhai smiled from inside the mask and answered:

"The price of just the three hundred-year-old Baiyancao is sky-high. Given our past transactions, let's settle it with fifty gold ingots. I'll also throw in ten boxes of regular Baiyancao. Feed it to your subordinates too."

"Bring it."

Jinhai stood up and replied:

"Good decision. It's a bit embarrassing to say, but if you refused, I was going to offer it to Senior Baiyou. I'll try to delay the match, so make sure to take it and fight."

Jinhai suddenly made a boxing gesture with his hands and made a huffing sound.

"Prepare your qi and get ready."

"Go."

As the son of a merchant, Jinhai was quite skilled at talking. After he left, I looked at the table. It felt like a pig had trampled all over it.

Anyway, I had no money.

I really didn't.

Even if I had, I didn't.

I wasn't part of the Open Gang, but when it came to paying, I was a beggar under a bridge.

I closed my eyes for a moment and erased the wealth of Yiliang County and the Black Cat Gang from my mind.

A waiter is originally a beggar.

The mindset of not giving even if you have it.

Peace settled in my heart.