Chapter 65

The walls of the back alleys varied in height and shape, creating a complex and chaotic pattern, much like the number of people in Shinsachon. Unlike the grand and majestic pavilions, this was the true face of the new city, which had grown over a hundred years without any urban planning.

Jang Geon stepped onto a low roof and crouched down, observing the scene below. In the narrow alley, two groups were facing each other, swords drawn, glaring at one another. Some of them were already bleeding, as if they had clashed once before.

The distinction between the two groups was clear: those blocking the way were unknown figures with yellow masks covering their faces, while the others were the Je family and the bandits who had traded for the map. One of the bandits was bleeding.

As Jang Geon crouched on the roof, one of the masked men stepped forward and spoke.

"Hand over the map and the bandits. Then we'll let you go."

"…Do you even know who you're threatening with your swords?"

In response to Je Woon-sung, who was at the forefront, the masked man replied indifferently.

"Je Sang-cheon of the Je family, his fiancée, and you, Je Woon-sung of the Blood Li Ying. It must be hard to take care of such a fool."

"Even knowing who we are, you're so confident. Aren't you afraid of the future?"

"Why should I be? Thanks to this mask, you don't even know my face. Besides, our Professor Gong is already in a precarious position as the heir of the family..."

"What?"

Je Sang-cheon, who was standing behind Je Woon-sung, stepped forward with a distorted face at the brief remark. A cold blue light flashed from the sword in his hand.

"Professor Gong, it's best if you don't step forward. If you want to save your life, that is. Or do you want to go back to the one you lost again?"

"You bastard!"

Je Sang-cheon immediately raised his sword to charge, but Je Woon-sung's arm blocked his path.

"…Move it!"

"Master, stay calm. Acting rashly will turn a winnable fight into a major loss."

Je Woon-sung kept his eyes on the masked man and applied more force to the arm blocking Je Sang-cheon. Je Sang-cheon, unable to push the arm away, glared at the masked man, fuming. The masked man smiled strangely, pleased that his provocation of Je Sang-cheon was easily thwarted.

"A winnable fight. Do you really think you can win against us?"

Je Woon-sung pushed Je Sang-cheon back and smirked.

"In such a narrow alley, there's a limit to how many can attack at once. At most, two or three. I've learned the family's martial arts and am not a bad fighter. Unless you're the Imperial Guard or the Martial Arts Alliance's strike team, I don't see why I would lose."

"…I see. I don't understand why you want to fight. Don't you know how they got that item? They killed a farmer and his entire family, who were living a simple life, and took it. We just want them to hand over the stolen item. I can't understand why you would use your family's honor, passed down for a thousand years, to protect these scum."

"Scum…?"

Je Woon-sung glanced back. The five bandits, led by a one-eyed man bleeding from the shoulder, looked at him with pitiful eyes, as if his words were not true. Je Woon-sung turned his gaze forward and took a step. The hilt of his sword, which had been hidden until now, suddenly appeared on his back.

"I don't know who you are or what grudge you have against them. But what's clear is that even if it's stolen, we've already paid for it, and you've insulted our family by drawing swords against us. No one can treat our family with such arrogance."

"…Are you really going to drink the penalty wine?"

A cold smile appeared on Je Woon-sung's lips.

"I don't know if you're at the level of penalty wine."

At his answer, the masked men subtly gripped their weapons, and Je Sang-cheon and Seom Ji-young also tightened their grips on their swords, standing on either side of Je Woon-sung. The atmosphere instantly turned hostile. The eyes of the eight or nine masked men and the Je family group sharply scrutinized each other.

It was unclear who first drew a sharp flash of steel. They moved almost simultaneously, and with that, crimson blood splattered the chaotic alley. After the first clash, the alley was filled with shouts, battle cries, screams, and the clashing of swords.

Jang Geon, watching from a distance, couldn't help but laugh.

"Those brats…"

What caught Jang Geon's attention was not Je Woon-sung's skill or the movements of the masked men, but the bandits who were quietly climbing over the side walls to escape while they fought.

Fortunately or unfortunately, their escape was quickly noticed by the masked men.

"Those guys are running away!"

Suddenly, all eyes focused on the one-eyed man who was the last to climb the wall. The one-eyed man, frozen for a moment under the gaze, grinned and disappeared over the wall. Everyone fighting was taken aback, and Je Woon-sung, feeling a mix of confusion and a sense of unease, turned to Je Sang-cheon.

"Master! Do you have the item?"

"Huh?"

Je Sang-cheon, with blood on his face and a dazed expression, fumbled through his clothes at the question. He suddenly stopped and broke out in a cold sweat. His face turned pale in an instant.

"It's… gone…"

"Damn it!"

Je Woon-sung, ignoring the masked man he was fighting, ran straight to the wall the bandits had escaped over. Je Sang-cheon and Seom Ji-young, their faces pale, quickly followed. The masked men, watching the Je family group with disdain, silently signaled to each other. The wounded masked men, who were bleeding from various cuts, nodded and scattered into the alleys.

Je Woon-sung and his group, running along the walls and roofs, shouted at the bandits they saw in the alleys to stop. But the bandits didn't stop, and the people in the alleys were startled and became more chaotic.

Jang Geon, watching this, shook his head and started moving in a slightly different direction.

Soon, he spotted a man slowly walking in the shadow of an eave. It was the one-eyed man who had separated from the other bandits.

He glanced back, then pulled out a small scroll from his clothes. It was the map he had just traded for. The one-eyed man was grinning to himself, as if thinking about something.

Jang Geon silently landed on the wall next to him and matched his pace. He then spoke to the grinning man.

"Hey."

The one-eyed man jumped in surprise and clung to the opposite wall. Seeing Jang Geon crouching on the wall, he asked, bewildered.

"W-Who are you?"

Jang Geon nodded toward his hand.

"The one with business there."

The one-eyed man rolled his single eye and suddenly started to run. The bandit had clearly trained hard in martial arts, as he ran quite fast. But Jang Geon, still crouching, watched him for a moment, then pulled something from his clothes and threw it.

"Ugh!"

The long, thin object flew in a straight line and pierced the one-eyed man's thigh. It was a long needle Jang Geon had obtained from a Dark Dragon member earlier.

The one-eyed man, with the long needle piercing his thigh, screamed in pain and rolled on the ground. Jang Geon, not wanting him to attract attention by screaming, immediately jumped down from the wall and approached him. He then lightly kicked the man's stomach.

"Choke!"

The one-eyed man, suddenly unable to breathe, gasped and trembled. Jang Geon, who had no intention of sparing the bandit, grabbed him by the collar, stood him up, and slapped him. Broken teeth and blood splattered the dark alley wall.

"S-Spare me… please…"

Jang Geon didn't answer. He just picked up the map that had fallen to the ground and dusted off the dirt. When he unfolded the scroll, he saw complex drawings and symbols. He realized they were a kind of code, probably from the Li family, descendants of Li Shimin.

"How did you plan to use this again?"

"…At the black market, they… roughly translated it for me…"

Jang Geon smirked.

"You ate the Je family's money and tried to take this treasure too?"

The one-eyed man, with a toothless grin, said humbly.

"Haha… It wasn't like that from the start… The master was just so careless… What will happen to me now?"

"Who knows. You're a bandit, right?"

"Haha. What else?"

"This map was obtained by attacking and killing a farming family."

The one-eyed man looked up at Jang Geon. Seeing the calm, unwavering eyes, he could guess what kind of person Jang Geon was. He sighed, as if accepting his fate, and bowed. Suddenly, he pulled out a hidden dagger from his sleeve and tried to slash.

But the dagger and his hand were stopped by Jang Geon before they could even extend. The one-eyed man, his attack thwarted, tried to continue, but Jang Geon's fist struck his face like lightning.

The punch made his jaw snap to the side with a small thud. The man's single eye glazed over, and he slumped to the ground. Blood trickled from his eyes, nose, and ears.

Jang Geon, looking down at the dead bandit, rolled the map and put it in his clothes. He listened for a moment and heard footsteps on the roof. He put on his hood and left the alley.

As he disappeared at the alley entrance, Je Woon-sung appeared above. He quickly descended into the alley upon seeing the fallen one-eyed bandit.

"Damn…"

The one-eyed bandit was dead, and the map was nowhere to be found. Je Woon-sung muttered a curse and continued searching the bandit's body. He found a thick envelope and pulled it out. It contained the small promissory note that Je Sang-cheon had given him.

"…The map is gone, but the money is still here…"

Je Woon-sung, with a strange expression, tapped the envelope against his palm. Je Sang-cheon and Seom Ji-young, a beat behind, ran into the alley.

* * *

"Damn, where did he go…"

Yang Hong was running through the alleys of Shinsachon. He had lost Jang Geon in the chaos a while ago and had only found signs of the fight, not Jang Geon.

"Damn, who were those guys? They're not from the Imperial Guard, and definitely not the Dark Dragon. Could they be from the Demon Palace? But there were no signs of those creepy guys entering Shinsachon… Damn, maybe I should look into the Martial Arts Alliance's secret agents…"

Frowning, he walked the alley, muttering to himself, but his legs moved confidently, as if he knew the alleys well.

Suddenly, he stopped. He sensed something and looked around the alley, but it was empty and cool in the shade.

"…What is it?"

"It's me, of course."

Yang Hong screamed and rolled on the ground. Jang Geon was crouching on the wall. Yang Hong, leaning against the opposite wall, shouted.

"Damn! Make some noise when you move! You scared me! Why do you always have to scare me like this…"

Jang Geon smirked. Despite his fear, Yang Hong still held a dagger in his hand. After listening to his complaints for a while, Jang Geon pulled out a scroll.

Yang Hong, who had been cursing, changed his expression when he saw it.

"…That?"

Jang Geon tossed the scroll to Yang Hong. Yang Hong, fumbling with the dagger, quickly caught it and unfolded it to check the contents.

"Can you understand it?"

"Um, the Li family has been gone for a long time… I can only understand it roughly."

Jang Geon asked.

"You don't know? You're from the Dark Dragon, right?"

"…Just because I'm from the Dark Dragon, does that mean I have to be an expert in codes?"

Thinking about the special agents, Jang Geon shook his head and asked again.

"What are you going to do now?"

Yang Hong, rolling the scroll, smiled at Jang Geon on the wall.

"Find someone who can decipher it."

Jang Geon nodded and stepped into the alley, hitting Yang Hong's head.

"Ow! What?"

"Give it back."

"…"

Yang Hong, unable to say anything, reluctantly handed the map back to Jang Geon. Jang Geon, taking it, nodded for Yang Hong to lead the way. Yang Hong sighed and started walking out of the alley.