Chapter 7

7. The waiter was causing a commotion.

The three of them sat opposite me and spouted a string of threats and taunts.

"Zha, this is your last drink, so go ahead and drink it."

"Still, this guy is a man. He came here boldly, drank the wine, and even called for Cai Xiang. Wow, if I had known this guy was such a man, I would have beaten him half to death. I regret it now."

"You can beat him properly if you regret it. Dong Guo already made his hands crippled. It won’t be unjust for you to get beaten up today, Zha, right?"

After listening to the three men’s threats, I offered them the two jars of wine.

"Will you drink it?"

However, the three men did not offer me a cup. They suspected that I might have poisoned it.

With no choice, I drank the wine alone.

One of them urged me.

"If you’ve drunk it, let’s go."

"Come on, get up."

Without responding, I continued to drink the wine, occasionally looking at the faces of the men in front of me.

Silence is an effective way to set the mood.

Now, the three men were no longer saying much. They seemed to realize something was off.

It was impossible for a waiter to remain so calm in front of a terrifying person.

Even to them, my attitude showed no trace of fear.

However, there wasn’t much wine to begin with. After drinking the last cup, I grabbed the sickle and said,

"Friends from my hometown, am I that funny?"

Thinking about how insignificant I used to be, I found myself rather amusing.

"You were a funny guy, weren’t you?"

The three men pulled out their mid-length daggers, slightly longer than short swords.

"You’re making a big deal out of something that could have ended easily."

"Bosses, since Dong Guo ended up like this, it’s a justified response."

As I laughed like a madman, the three men’s lips curled up. For a moment, we laughed together like good drinking buddies.

"Hehehehehe."

When I suddenly raised the sickle, the three men, startled, extended their daggers.

At that moment, I infused my thumb with power and flicked it, flipping the table.

Bang!

Reactively, the three daggers were embedded in the table.

Thud, thud, thud!

As the daggers pierced through the table, I kicked it away and stood up.

Crash!

When the three men were pushed back by the table, I swung the sickle, aiming for their lower bodies.

The men’s legs, like snakes, wriggled as they tried to defend themselves. I thought of them as snake heads and swung the sickle.

* * *

After the Zha Guesthouse burned down, one of the things I did to earn a living was gravekeeping.

There, I spent my days cutting the overgrown grass around the graves with a sickle.

I had practiced cutting grass to the point of exhaustion.

At some point, I gained a sudden insight into the art of using a sickle.

Perhaps I was the only man in the martial world who gained such insight while cutting grass. A sickle, being a single-edged tool, is closer to a saber (刀) than a sword (劍). It requires careful handling when the blade is deflected. All of this was deeply ingrained in my memory.

In short, I am a master of the sickle.

* * *

I slashed and stabbed at the men’s knees, feet, ankles, calves, and toes, which wriggled like snake bodies. I also cut their arms that were sticking out from the table.

"You stepped on me with these crippled limbs."

The screams of the three men were mixed together.

"Kyaahhh!"

Chaos ensued.

In the midst of it, I kicked the table at appropriate moments, smashing their faces. Each kick produced a loud thud, three times in succession.

It was an efficient and one-sided beating.

When the woman who had been talking rudely opened the door, the three men had already completely lost their fighting spirit.

The room was a mess, covered in food and blood.

Holding the bloodied sickle, I said to the woman,

"Auntie, bring more of that third-grade Two Rivers Wine."

The woman glared at me.

Pointing the sickle at her mouth, I said,

"I don’t usually hit women, but you need to think before you speak. Bring the Two Rivers Wine and any other cripples. And if you keep talking, I’ll slit your mouth."

My principle is not to touch women who haven’t practiced martial arts unless there’s a special reason. This includes Cai Xiang and that rude woman.

But threatening them is my hobby.

As the woman disappeared, I cleared away the broken table and looked at the three men. The mess of spilled food looked satisfying.

I laughed and said,

"Laugh, you bastards. Why aren’t you laughing in front of a funny guy?"

The men couldn’t laugh, but I did.

"Congratulations on your crippled legs. You’ll need a long recovery. Where’s the mercy in not killing you?"

The waiter’s merciful words made the three men clench their mouths.

I changed my tone to sound like a madman.

"Hey, you bastards, you need to beg for your lives if you want me to spare you. Do you want me to kill you like this?"

"Please spare us."

"Please let us live."

"Let’s end it here. We didn’t intend to kill you."

I nodded.

"Ah, really?"

The men’s words were so quick and precise, it was like watching a choir.

I pulled one of the daggers from the table and held it in my left hand.

"You’ve learned to speak in unison. Here they come again."

This time, dozens of people were rushing down the corridor. It seemed all the martial artists the brothel could muster were coming. In the commotion, I heard the voice of Chae Sung-tae, who had been the only one to treat me kindly.

"Move!"

The corridor suddenly quieted, and Chae Sung-tae appeared, surveying the room.

Chae Sung-tae, a man with narrow eyes that became straight lines when he smiled or frowned, now had that look.

With a bewildered expression, Chae Sung-tae said to me,

"Zha, you’re going to get yourself killed."

"Killed?"

"Yeah, man."

Looking at Chae Sung-tae’s ugly eyes, I infused my left hand with power and threw the dagger.

Whizz!

Before Chae Sung-tae’s hand could reach his face, the dagger hit him first. The handle of the dagger struck his eye precisely.

Smack!

"Ugh!"

Chae Sung-tae groaned and fell backward.

Holding the bloodied sickle, I said to the men behind me,

"An eye for an eye. Anyone else want to try?"

Chae Sung-tae, who had just managed to stand up, calmly gave orders.

"Report to the Lou Zhu in Yi Hua Lou. The rest, surround the brothel outside. Just prevent him from leaving."

Chae Sung-tae, with one eye bleeding profusely, pulled out his straight sword from his waist with a smooth motion.

Swish!

I repeated my earlier words to the sword-wielding Chae Sung-tae.

"Sung-tae, think before you act. You’re going to get yourself killed."

"..."

"Why is the smartest guy in Yiliang County acting like this? Did I just get lucky and hit your eye? No, that’s not it. Did these three guys get unlucky and spill the food? No, that’s not it either. If you don’t want to die, think."

"Hmm."

While Chae Sung-tae stood there, unable to move, I said to the men blocking the corridor,

"Besides, if Chae Sung-tae ended up like this in one move, do you really think you can stop me from leaving? Here’s what we’ll do. If you keep blocking the corridor, I’ll show you Chae Sung-tae’s death first. Let’s go."

But this threat worked on Chae Sung-tae, not his subordinates.

The quick-witted Chae Sung-tae, in a surprised tone, ordered his subordinates,

"Everyone, go down and wait below. Zha, you need to meet the Lou Zhu. Didn’t you come here to apologize? Right? Or do you just want to drink and leave? Let’s hear your answer."

I nodded at Chae Sung-tae.

"Zhuo needs to come."

"Then I’ll call the Lou Zhu. He’ll be here soon, so let’s wait together."

While speaking, Chae Sung-tae checked his palm, which was covered in blood.

I asked,

"Are you blind?"

Chae Sung-tae blinked and wiped the blood around his eye, replying,

"I don’t think I’m blind. I can still see."

"Good. Bring some wine. Let’s drink while we wait for the Lou Zhu."

Chae Sung-tae called to the trembling woman at the end of the corridor,

"Bring the wine. No snacks. We’ll move to the next room. Zha, let’s move to the next room. If you’re not going to kill those guys, let’s treat their injuries. Killing each other isn’t right, right?"

When I turned around, the three men were already on the verge of fainting.

Chae Sung-tae clearly handled the situation differently from his subordinates.

Even with blood streaming from one eye, he managed to assess the situation.

The talkative woman, approaching with quick steps, pointed to the next room with both hands.

She had kept her mouth shut, as I had threatened to slit it.

The survival skills of the underclass are finely honed.

I entered the empty room, placed the blood-red sickle on the table, and sat down.

A moment later, Chae Sung-tae, who had wiped the blood with a cloth, sat opposite me and sighed deeply.

"Did you get some kind of lucky break? What’s going on? Suddenly, all hell broke loose."

As soon as Chae Sung-tae finished speaking, a young woman’s voice came from outside.

"I’m bringing the wine."

"Come in."

Seeing the wine, I laughed bitterly. It was Two Rivers Wine, but the seal was different from the one given to me. It was clearly a higher-grade Two Rivers Wine.

"Is this the first-grade Two Rivers Wine?"

Chae Sung-tae nodded.

"Ah, the third-grade was gone? Sorry. For ordinary people, the wine needs to be good to make a profit. This is the real first-grade Two Rivers Wine. Let me pour you a cup."

"Am I an ordinary person?"

"Right now, you’re not. Sorry."

I took the first-grade Two Rivers Wine from Chae Sung-tae, broke the seal, and sniffed it while glaring at him.

"If there’s poison, I’ll stuff it all up your nose."

Chae Sung-tae, touching his nose unconsciously, replied,

"I’m going to drink it too. Surely you didn’t poison it. Madam Sun, no poison, right?"

Madam Sun, who had been waiting in the corridor, shook her head at Chae Sung-tae.

'No.'

When Madam Sun mouthed the word, Chae Sung-tae, puzzled, asked,

"Are you mute? Why aren’t you speaking? No poison?"

Madam Sun ran her finger across her lips, signaling that she couldn’t speak.

"I said I’d slit your mouth if you spoke."

Chae Sung-tae nodded and said to Madam Sun,

"Then keep your mouth shut. If you don’t want your pretty mouth to be slit."

Madam Sun bowed to Chae Sung-tae and me and disappeared back into the corridor, but she was still waiting there.

It was unclear when the Lou Zhu would arrive, even to Chae Sung-tae.

"Madam Sun’s words have a bit of a sting."

Chae Sung-tae, who had been thinking about something, said to Madam Sun,

"Madam Sun, go and call Cai Xiang. Tell her to serve the wine."

The sound of Madam Sun’s footsteps echoed in the corridor.

This time, Chae Sung-tae poured the Two Rivers Wine into a cup and asked,

"Let me have a cup first. I’m a bit shaken."

"Go ahead."

After watching Chae Sung-tae drink, I followed. As the wine went down, Chae Sung-tae seemed to regain his composure and asked,

"Did you always fight this well? I’ve never heard such rumors."

"I just held back a few times because my grandfather told me not to fight."

"Such lies won’t work. Anyway, I apologize for what happened earlier. My subordinates humiliated you, so I understand why you’re acting this way."

"Thanks. Bastard. You understand. You’re quite understanding."

I snorted.

Chae Sung-tae was stalling for time with all sorts of small talk.

I rolled up my sleeve and said,

"But thinking about it, I’m still angry. Sung-tae, you bastard. Is this how you apologize? Maybe I need to teach you a lesson to change your tone."

As I suddenly grabbed the sickle again, Chae Sung-tae, startled, knelt down.

"I’m sorry. I sincerely apologize. I even knelt, which I’ve never done in my life. I’m really sorry."

Chae Sung-tae’s change in attitude was as swift and precise as the moves of a top martial artist.

As Chae Sung-tae knelt and bowed his head,

Cai Xiang had arrived at the door. Seeing Chae Sung-tae kneeling, her pupils dilated in shock.

"…!"

Chae Sung-tae turned his head and said to Cai Xiang with a stern look,

"Serve the wine. And I’ve told you to manage your expressions. Relax your eyes."

Cai Xiang, with a stiff expression, naturally moved to Chae Sung-tae’s side, and he said in a strained voice,

"Are you crazy? Sit over there. Who said you’re serving my wine? Get a grip."

Cai Xiang’s face turned pale.

I looked at Cai Xiang, who was sitting pale beside me, and said,

"Oh, you’re here?"

There are two types of people.

Those who hold grudges and those who don’t.

In my case…