Chapter 296: Just Who Did You Lend Money To? |
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Ju Yang stopped in his tracks as he made his way back to the money exchange office.
His heart was pounding so hard that he thought it might explode.
The image of Geom Mugeuk’s eyes staring at him flashed in his mind, and he couldn’t shake the thought of the coin on the table gruesomely piercing through his palm.
One of the enforcers walking with him asked, “Are you not coming?”
“Go on ahead. And don’t you dare breathe a word about what happened today.”
“Yes, sir!”
Working at the money exchange office was his calling.
He thrived on the satisfaction of seeing people bowing their heads, begging to borrow money. There was no greater pleasure than sweet-talking them into doing what he wanted.
And what about watching them cry and plead because they couldn’t pay a few coins of interest? That was another source of comfort. He took solace in other people’s misfortune.
Controlling and manipulating the lives of others brought him immense happiness. 1
Yet, for the first time, his arrogant and high-handed way of life felt shaken. The fear of losing his livelihood was even more terrifying than the thought of his hand being pierced.
‘How am I supposed to handle this?’
He needed to resolve the situation before the head of the money exchange office, Red Jackal Jeokpae, caught wind of it. If Jeokpae found out... Ju Yang shook his head. Red Jackal was a man who always held others accountable for any losses.
If Geom Mugeuk pierced his hand, Jeokpae would pierce his neck. That was the kind of man he was. 2
Just then, Ju Yang made eye contact with some villagers passing by. Startled, they quickly bowed and hurried on their way. He could feel their fear in their hasty steps.
Was this his punishment for ruining other people’s lives through his misdeeds?
But Ju Yang wasn’t the type to reflect on his actions. If he were, he wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place. His thoughts were more practical.
‘I need to get rid of the interest.’
Thinking of the right person for the job, he sprang to his feet and started walking again, casting a sharper, more irritable gaze at the people he passed today.
* * *
The next day, Ju Yang did not come to collect the money.
“I told him I’d come find him if he didn’t show up.”
Geom Mugeuk headed straight to the money exchange office. However, another person was sitting in Ju Yang’s usual spot, lending money.
When Geom Mugeuk asked about Ju Yang’s whereabouts, they said he hadn’t come in because he was unwell.
Geom Mugeuk stepped outside to the training grounds and called out loudly.
“Ju Yang! I’ve come to pay the interest, so come out! Ju Yang! Master Ju! Great Hero Ju!” 3
Hearing the commotion, the enforcers of the money exchange office came out to watch. What? Someone came to pay interest? And it wasn’t a debtor trying to flee?
Since the founding of the money exchange office, nothing like this had ever happened, so the enforcers watched with curiosity and anticipation.
“Ju Yang! Come out here!”
Hearing the news, Ju Yang came rushing out of the building, flustered.
“You!”
In stark contrast to the cold reception of the previous day, Geom Mugeuk greeted him with a warm smile.
“You don’t look too sick to me.”
“What do you think you’re doing causing such a scene here?”
“I told you I’d come find you if you didn’t come.”
No matter how much Ju Yang had expected it, he hadn’t thought Geom Mugeuk would actually show up here and make such a ruckus. He looked around nervously. In a place dealing with such large sums of money, surely there must be at least one expert capable of killing him.
So the first thought that crossed Ju Yang’s mind was this: How skilled is he? What are his intentions? All of this aside, there was only one conclusion.
‘This guy is insane.’
Geom Mugeuk extended his hand to him.
“Here, take your interest.”
No sane person would act like this. 4
The enforcers watching started murmuring among themselves. Those who had been at the inn yesterday took a step back, tense, while others chuckled and found the spectacle amusing.
Then it happened.
“Is it him?”
A man with a deep, heavy voice emerged.
He was dragging a bloodied man with one hand.
As soon as he appeared, the enforcers all lowered their heads in greeting. He was none other than Jan Hak the Cruel Crane, the real enforcer of the money exchange office.
Jan Hak was the man who stepped in whenever there was trouble with martial artists. He was also the first person Ju Yang had gone to see after returning the day before.
You could explain what kind of person the Cruel Crane was with just one fact: everyone joked that his name was short for Jan Hak Mudo (Cruel and Merciless), and some even believed it to be true.
That’s how brutal Jan Hak was. Anyone who tried to report the money exchange office’s misdeeds or resist its control had brutally died at his hands.
“Yes, that’s him,” Ju Yang replied.
At his response, Jan Hak tossed the man he had been dragging forward.
The man collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
Geom Mugeuk quickly approached and looked over him. The man, his entire body battered, barely opened his eyes.
“...Kill me.”
Those were his first words.
How much pain had he endured to say those words without even knowing or caring who stood before him?
On the other hand, Jan Hak, the one responsible for the man’s condition, remained completely composed.
"At first, that bastard was just like you—full of bravado. He leaped over that wall as if he could fly and landed right in the middle of the courtyard. He really thought he was some kind of hero."
The enforcers watching burst into laughter.
"He stood there, delivering a long speech. Something about justice, something about righteousness. He treated us like we were nothing but money-grubbing scum. Couldn’t even tell who the real trash was." 5
At the word "trash," the man on the ground reacted.
"...I am the trash, I am the trash."
It was a phrase Jan Hak had forced into him. The man was half out of his mind from the brutal torture.
Geom Mugeuk examined the man’s body.
His dantian was shattered, and the tendons in all four of his limbs were severed. He would spend the rest of his life bedridden. Even the Demon Doctor wouldn’t be able to fix a body like this, not with sthis much damage. Jan Hak had done something no human should ever do.
While Geom Mugeuk was inspecting the man, the Cruel Crane silently approached him. He had already heard from Ju Yang about the incident with the coin the previous day. If what he had heard was true, then Geom Mugeuk was indeed a formidable martial artist.
Still, Jan Hak thought, if he could catch him off guard with a surprise attack, he could play with him for a while, just like he had with this man.
While Geom Mugeuk was kneeled and focused on the half-dead piece of trash, he was wide open.
’What a fool! What is honor or righteousness worth? I’ll fix that naive little head of his!’ 6
Just as Jan Hak was about to lunge and strike Geom Mugeuk with a powerful blow—
Piiing!
Thwack.
A sound like wind slicing through the air, followed by something piercing through flesh.
Boom!
Something slammed into the wall of the building behind them.
Craaaack.
The impact was so intense that deep cracks spread out from where it had struck, like a spider’s web.
When Ju Yang saw what was embedded in the wall, he recoiled in shock.
It was a coin.
Blood was dripping from the coin, running down the wall.
‘Blood? Why is there blood? No, it can’t be…’
Instinctively, Ju Yang turned to look at Jan Hak.
Jan Hak was still standing in the same spot. He touched his forehead, as if something itched. He seemed like he was trying to say something, mumbling incoherently. 7
Moments later, his body collapsed.
Thud!
Blood was pouring out his forehead.
The coin had pierced through Jan Hak’s forehead, passed through the back of his skull, and embedded itself into the wall.
Everyone was stunned by his sudden death.
How many times had they witnessed the Cruel Crane in action? How many martial artists had he mocked and killed?
And now he had died without even drawing his sword—struck down by a coin through his forehead. It was so surreal that it felt like he was playing a role in some elaborate performance orchestrated by the young man.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the man who had been tortured. He had endured everything with a single determination—to kill Jan Hak if he ever managed to escape.
“You might want to repay him with the same torture, but he’s not even worth that. Doing so would be treating him like a human, wouldn’t it?”
As always, Geom Mugeuk placed no value on the death of a villain. It was the only way to deal with endless evil—like moving a stone that blocked the path and continuing forward.
But for this man, Geom Mugeuk saw value. He didn’t know him, not even his name, but he understood the man through his actions.
“No one else crossed that wall for the sake of others. Not the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, not the Unorthodox Alliance, not even the Orthodox Alliance. Everyone either didn’t care or justified it as a necessary evil.”
Geom Mugeuk firmly grasped the man’s hand.
“You’ve lived a noble life. Because of you, many people will be freed from their suffering.” 8
A faint smile appeared on the man’s lips. With his eyes, he made one final plea—to be killed. Geom Mugeuk nodded and accepted his request, a sign of his respect.
“Farewell, great hero.”
Geom Mugeuk gently placed his hand on the man’s crown.
His touch brought no pain. The man passed away peacefully, his face calm and his eyes closed.
After laying him down gently, Geom Mugeuk slowly stood up.
The people who had been laughing moments ago now stood dead silent, holding their breaths.
It had seemed like he would explode in a rage and wipe them all out, but Geom Mugeuk remained calm. And that terrified Ju Yang even more. 9
Geom Mugeuk extended the remaining coin to Ju Yang.
“One more is left. Should I give it to you? Or will you come and take it?”
Ju Yang knew what Geom Mugeuk meant—that if he didn’t come to take it, another coin would end up embedded in the wall.
“No, I’ll take it.”
Ju Yang rushed forward and held out his hand. His heart was pounding, and he felt dizzy.
In this tense moment, with everyone watching, Geom Mugeuk slowly placed the coin in his hand.
This time, it felt as though his hand might actually be crushed...
But once again, the coin was lightly placed on his palm.
“…What is it that you want?” Ju Yang asked, his voice trembling.
Without even sparing him a glance, as if speaking to someone beneath his concern, Geom Mugeuk delicately picked up the body of the dead man and walked away.
“Come to collect the interest tomorrow.”
* * *
Ju Yang immediately went to see Jeokpae, the head of the money exchange office.
To save his life, he had to make his report before the news reached Red Jackal through someone else. If he didn’t take the first blow, the one that came later would surely take his life.
Jeokpae didn’t reside at the money exchange office. He didn’t consider a place with so many people coming and going every day to be safe.
He lived in a remote manor, built like a fortress. Martial arts experts guarded him in layers, and deep inside the inner quarters lay a harem filled with beautiful women. Jeokpae was a man who knew how to spend the money he made.
Outside Jeokpae’s residence, Ju Yang took a deep breath, calming his nerves. After working for Red Jackal for over a decade, he knew exactly what kind of person his boss was. Jeokpae was, without a doubt, the most selfish person he had ever met. He treated human lives as though they were as insignificant as flies. It was precisely this ruthless attitude that had allowed the business to flourish.
A madman claiming to be the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult turned out to be a formidable martial artist.
Reporting this would mean Jeokpae would grab the nearest object and hurl it at him. If he was peeling an apple, a knife would come flying his way. If he was painting, an inkstone would be thrown. He was the type to throw the inkstone, not the brush.
Luckily, Jeokpae was busy looking over his ledger, sliding the abacus beads back and forth. Though he had the appearance of a savage wolf, when it came to money, he turned into a cunning fox.
It was wise to keep one’s mouth shut while Jeokpae was counting money.
The sound of the abacus beads stopped momentarily.
"A master got involved, and there was an incident."
Red Jackal didn’t seem particularly perturbed. How many times had martial arts masters interfered with the money exchange office’s business? He had always found a way to deal with it and overcome the crises.
“A young man borrowed ten nyang.”
“Ten nyang?”
Jeokpae lifted his head, giving Ju Yang a look as if to say, You didn’t come here just for a measly ten-nyang problem, did you?
“Because of that incident, Jan Hak is dead.”
Swiish! Thud!
The abacus flew across the room, hitting Ju Yang squarely on the head. It struck him on the corner, causing blood to trickle down from his forehead.
“Haven’t I told you to identify the troublesome ones from the start?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’ve been eating Underworld Debt’s meals for so long, and yet you can’t even handle a situation like this properly.”
Ju Yang kept his head bowed, repeating his apologies.
“So, who was it?”
“A madman claiming to be the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
Thud!
Something else came flying at Ju Yang, hitting him in the face.
“How could a madman kill Jan Hak?”
Ju Yang lowered his head even further, apologizing again. But it wasn’t really the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who killed him, right? He swallowed the words he wanted to say.
“How are you going to take responsibility?”
“I’ll accept any punishment you see fit.”
“You’re sure he’s not one of the cult members?”
“The investigator sent word confirming he’s not. I also don’t believe he’s a demon.” 10
Red Jackal waved his hand dismissively at Ju Yang, signaling for him to leave, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of him any longer. It seemed that, because Ju Yang had been running the money exchange office without incident recently, the matter would end here.
Once Ju Yang had left, Jeokpae muttered quietly to himself, “You go and check this out personally.”
A brief response came from behind the wall, “Yes, sir.”
Jeokpae then pulled a new abacus from his desk drawer and resumed his calculations.
“Why doesn’t this add up?”
There were always days when the numbers just wouldn’t align. You calculate, and then you make mistakes, over and over again. Today was one of those days.
* * *
The next day, Ju Yang was summoned back to Jeokpae’s residence.
In the middle of the courtyard, Jeokpae stood with a grim expression on his face.
Lying in front of him was a corpse. The deceased was none other than the subordinate who had gone out on Red Jackal’s orders the day before. 11
Ju Yang knew just how skilled this man had been. He was Jeokpae’s right-hand man, someone capable of handling a person like Jan Hak with ease, and Jeokpae had spent a great deal of money to secure his loyalty.
And Ju Yang also knew exactly who had killed him.
There were two coins placed prominently on the man’s forehead.
The coins seemed to whisper:
—Today’s interest has been paid.
Ju Yang’s heart sank. What he had felt yesterday wasn’t fear at all compared to this. Now, from the depths of his being, he felt a primal terror rising.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the coins.
“What are these coins?”
The two coins had now become the most terrifying things in the world.
“Today’s interest,” Ju Yang answered.
Jeokpae glared at Ju Yang, his gaze as cold as ice.
“You... just who did you lend money to?”
Ju Yang had expected this reaction from Jeokpae. Whenever there was trouble, Red Jackal always looked for someone to pin the blame on.
Fuck, you were the one who sent someone to kill him!
But Ju Yang swallowed the words he so desperately wanted to say, and instead replied, “I’ll go and find out what he wants.”
“Look at this and tell me you don’t know. What he wants is our money. What other business would a martial arts expert like him have with us?”
Jeokpae was always convinced that anyone who opposed him was after his money. And more often than not, he was right.
“He said he was the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, didn’t he?”
“He was bluffing.”
“And you’re sure he’s not?”
“Absolutely sure.”
At this point, Ju Yang started to seriously wonder if the investigator’s report might not have been wrong.
But he still replied with utmost certainty, ‘Absolutely sure’. Because it had to be true.
If not, he would die twice.
With that settled, Jeokpae knew exactly what to do.
“If he’s a fake, then we’ll let the real ones handle him.”
That’s why he had spent so much money, preparing for a day like today.
“Let’s show him just how terrifying the real Heavenly Demon Divine Cult can be.” 12
1 : Annoying, but understandable. Very few people who control a money lending business use it to help people. Reminds me of a story, I’ll leave it below.*
2 : He sure will try, but I don’t think he’ll even survive Mugeuk first strike ^^
3 : Lol, at this rate, in a few seconds he’ll begin dancing too XDXDXD He really have no shame XDXDXD
4 : You need to abandon common sense to do great things in this world. Shame is but a limiter, social conventions won’t stop the emergence of Hwa Moogi.
5 : Well, you are. But that’s the problem with following your convictions without enough strength to back it up. F for the poor guy.
6 : Well it’s worth a lot more than your useless life. *Fact*
7 : Yeeess, the coin scene from X-men First Class !!! That was a powerful moment.
8 : Giving meaning to his end. Running in head first without backup or strength was foolish, but it was noble and done with good intentions. Good luck in your next life, say hi to old man Heavens for us.
9 : Fear the wrath of the smiling ones.
10 : I mean, it’s hard to believe it, but they could have at least checked with a portrait or something.
11 : That was fast, he didn’t even have time to show his face or tell his name. Now he will be forgotten, like all those he has killed over the years.
12 : Bait swallowed.
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*It’s about a hill region suffering from drought, plagued with bandits, where the only healthy greenery was the property of the typical selfish Governor who didn’t care about the peasants.
Mercenaries were regularly sent to cull the bandits, then were left for months without pay or rations, pushing them to become new bandits.
An infernal cycle.
One day came a Mercenary Captain, always victorious in battle, possessing the full loyalty of his men and capable of reading and simple arithmetics.
The Usurer offered him a deal : he would pay them when the Governor would leave them to die, and in exchange they would escort cows to this place.
In fact, the main reason for the drought is not because there is no rain, but because the earth can’t retain the water. Sheeps ate all the grass, and contrary to cows, they rip off the roots.
By only bringing cows, digging channels and planting orange trees, the Usurer managed to stop the drought that lasted 2 full decades.
Of course, the Governor used the excuse that the Mercenary demolished part of his domain to dock off the pay they never got (while it was, in fact, renovations to the stable that served as their barracks) and tried to arrest the Usurer, but the latter, warned by the peasants thankful for his actions managed to flee.
The Mercenaries were immediately sent to another war but the peasants, knowing who had saved them, gathered to offer their farewells, some even crying. Considering the wariness they had shown them at first, it was a touching moment.
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#Great, the discord server got deleted now. Can’t even have a single day break. 15k people gone, reduced to atoms. My check up list, noooo….. Siiiigh, Hwa Moogi sent his mysterious organization after us to eliminate all traces, how ruthless !!! Send us 20 octazillions $ to make up the difference !!! Whoooooaaaa, the power of money is empowering us !!! It’s, it’s over 9k !!!!!!