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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Chapter 1: Evil Ties and Good Ties (3)
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Sima Geon was fourteen at the time.
The Eunseong Escort Agency, where he was working back then, was crossing Golden Well Mountain for an escort mission. It was none other than Beon Gak who had ambushed them, slaughtered all the escorts, and taken him—the youngest—and nine other porters captive. The one responsible for selling them at the slave market was also Beon Gak.
'That brother's name was... right, Won Sang. Ha Won Sang.'
Sima Geon recalled the young porter who had refused to be sold into slavery, tried to escape, and ended up having his throat slit right before his eyes, losing his life.
The shock of seeing the man who had been kinder to him than anyone else when he first became a porter—watching him die right there—had been beyond imagination.
The terror and shock from the blood spraying from the severed neck and soaking his entire body had haunted him with nightmares every night.
"It was... Beon Gak, right?"
At Sima Geon's question, Beon Gak's eyes narrowed thinly.
"How do you know me, you bastard?"
In that instant, a thick, sinister smile spread across Sima Geon's face.
"Looks like you don't remember. Well, I suppose that's understandable. Countless people have passed through the Golden Fox Bandit Lair. Besides, the bug that's crushed writhes in agony, but the one who stepped on it doesn't even know what it trod on. Still, it stings a little. I've been waiting so desperately for this day."
Beon Gak detected the horrific killing intent emanating from that smile, and his breath caught in his throat. He couldn't move a muscle, like prey before a natural predator.
'Damn it! If he passed through here, he must be one of the captives we sold off.'
He frantically searched his memories, but the face was completely unfamiliar.
Unconsciously, Beon Gak scanned his surroundings. Instinctively seeking an escape route.
A smile crept across Sima Geon's lips.
A streak of pure white flashed toward Beon Gak.
A sharp whistling sound followed, and at the same time, both of Beon Gak's ears were cleanly severed. They were cut so swiftly and sharply that blood only began to flow after some time had passed since they fell.
"Gaaahhh!"
In the moment he turned his head, Beon Gak had no idea what had happened to him. Only when he felt the blood trickling from his cheek down his neck did he let out a scream.
"Don't turn away on me. I wasn't finished talking."
Sima Geon, still in his original stance with the smile unchanged as if he hadn't moved a hand, glanced at the bandits watching warily and spoke.
"It's best if you all just stay put. If I kill you, it'll be painless, but if that guy over there makes a move, you'll suffer worse than death. He's not called the Diamond Yaksha for nothing."
The moniker Diamond Yaksha was a name in the demonic world as fearsome as Yama the King of Hell himself, though it was scarcely known in the Central Plains martial arts world.
But the bandits, at a loss, felt a terror as if the Diamond Yaksha had manifested upon seeing Cheol Woo nudging No Sa Mun's head and torso with his toe while grinning.
"Still don't remember, huh?"
"Th-that..."
Before Beon Gak could utter a word, his left arm flew off.
"Gaaak!"
With Beon Gak's scream, blood sprayed in all directions.
"If you want even a little less pain, you'd better remember. Well, since time has passed, I'll give you some hints. First: Eunseong Escort Agency."
Sima Geon tilted his head slightly, waiting for a response, but Beon Gak just hemmed and hawed, unable to reply.
'Damn my memory...'
There had been countless clashes with escort agencies. Just that morning, they had attacked an escort caravan and scored a decent haul.
As Beon Gak failed to answer, Sima Geon flicked a small pebble from between his fingers.
"Kwaak!"
Beon Gak screamed and lost his left eye.
"Next is your leg. Think hard. Here's another hint: twelve years ago."
As soon as Sima Geon finished speaking, he began folding his spread fingers one by one.
Beon Gak desperately racked his brains.
'Tw-twelve years ago, Eunseong Escort Agency. Wh-what happened back then?'
Twelve years ago was when the Golden Fox Bandit Lair had rapidly expanded its power. There had been that many conflicts and plunders.
Even narrowed down to Eunseong Escort Agency, he couldn't properly recall what had happened. He still vividly remembered the faces of the famous escort leader and a few escorts from that time, but he wasn't sure if they were from Eunseong. Above all, no matter how hard he tried, Sima Geon's face wasn't in his memory.
"C-could you be an escort from Eunseong Escort Agency..."
Sima Geon kicked him without even listening.
With the sound of breaking bone, Beon Gak's left leg twisted grotesquely.
The kick didn't end there.
Sima Geon stomped repeatedly until Beon Gak's ankle and knee bones were pulverized into dust.
Beon Gak passed out several times from the pain, but each time, Sima Geon struck pressure points to force him to feel every bit of agony fully.
"Last one. Do you remember the name Ha Won Sang?"
It was the name of the porter Beon Gak had beheaded as an example just for attempting to escape.
Beon Gak still didn't remember.
Sima Geon let out a hollow laugh, as if he'd expected as much. To Beon Gak, Ha Won Sang was just one among the countless people—no, vermin—he had killed.
"I figured you wouldn't. You're the perpetrator, after all. But to the victim, it's an incredibly unjust matter."
Sima Geon reached out toward Beon Gak.
Beon Gak, deprived of an arm, an eye, and a leg, twisted away in horror, but it was futile.
Gripping the back of Beon Gak's neck, Sima Geon whispered.
"Twelve years ago, as a porter for Eunseong Escort Agency on an escort mission, I was ambushed by you lot and taken captive. You sold me at the slave market. Thanks to that, I've finally made it back home. After a full twelve years."
Sima Geon began striking Beon Gak's pressure points.
Beon Gak shuddered in dread, but there was no escape.
"My name is Sima Geon. The porter from Eunseong Escort Agency whom you sold into slavery. Don't forget it, even in death."
Moments later, Beon Gak's body began to contort.
"Gaaahhhhaaa!"
An indescribable scream erupted from his mouth.
His face, distorted hideously in pain, flushed red as if aflame, and the bulging veins looked ready to burst at any moment.
That was just the beginning.
A pain like every joint in his body was grinding and snapping apart sent Beon Gak rolling madly across the ground. His remaining limbs twisted unnaturally, losing all semblance of a human form.
Sima Geon, who had unleashed the bone-splitting tendon-twisting technique on Beon Gak's body, watched him with impassive eyes.
This was the revenge he had waited twelve years for.
The moment he had longed for even more than reuniting with the family he dreamed of every night—yet it brought no sense of triumph.
Even as Beon Gak, who had plunged him into hell, writhed in torment, it only filled him with bitterness and irritation.
"Cheol Woo."
"Yes, Boss."
"Don't leave a single one alive."
"Leave it to me."
Cheol Woo cracked his knuckles and asked,
"What about this one?"
He pointed at No Sa Mun wriggling at his feet.
Whether due to the strong drug or some measure Cheol Woo had taken, he still didn't seem to feel the full pain.
"I have no intention of letting him go easy."
"Got it."
At Sima Geon's response, Cheol Woo kicked No Sa Mun's body.
The flying torso tumbled over thirty feet before crashing. Whatever it hit, a scream burst from No Sa Mun's mouth—a wail so excruciating it made Beon Gak's cries seem tame—though he'd been silent until then.
Sima Geon glanced at No Sa Mun briefly before heading deeper into the bandit lair to capture the bandit chief.
As if in encouragement, screams echoed from all directions at once.
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"Open it."
At the curt command, Yuk Geum tremblingly unlocked the door leading underground. An unbearable stench assaulted their noses.
"Urk! What the hell is that smell..."
Cheol Woo turned his head and dry-heaved.
"Lead the way."
Yuk Geum, shuddering at every word from Sima Geon, stepped forward, nearly soiling himself.
The moment he'd heard the bandit chief had fled the lair, Sima Geon had flown into a rage, turning No Yang—hanging right there—into a slab of meat in a butcher's shop. And Yuk Geum, standing right beside him, had been forced to experience the bone-splitting tendon-twisting technique himself just to verify if it was true.
Though brief, it was a horrific ordeal he'd rather die than endure again, so Yuk Geum was desperate.
Holding a torch, Yuk Geum descended the stairs, lighting the wall lamps as he went.
The pitch-black underground space gradually brightened, revealing prisons made of iron bars.
There were exactly three cells, two of them packed full. Over ten people crammed into spaces less than three feet wide on each side.
"P-please, spare us."
"Mercy, please let us live."
Those in the nearest cell pressed their faces against the cold bars, clamoring desperately. But the people in the rear cell showed no reaction.
Their eyes held no spark of life, their expressions numb to a horrifying degree. The face of those who had abandoned all will, even accepting death meekly.
The stench wafting from those two cells filled the underground. Seeing the prisons caked in filth, Cheol Woo instinctively struck Yuk Geum.
Yuk Geum's body flew like a broken kite, slamming into the bars of the filthiest cell and tumbling over.
As Yuk Geum cried out, Cheol Woo spat yellowish phlegm and bellowed,
"Try faking pain again. I'll make you lick the floor clean with your tongue."
Yuk Geum, whimpering, clamped his mouth shut in terror.
"Everyone, come out."
Sima Geon said as he opened the cell doors.
No one stepped out.
They'd begged for their lives when the doors were locked, but now that they were open, they were all cautious.
"I heard people from Sanghwa Escort Agency are imprisoned here. I think I met someone briefly at Yunryong Inn last night—does anyone remember?"
Sima Geon asked, recalling what he'd heard on the way. He'd learned before arriving that the Sanghwa Escort Agency members he'd met at the inn the previous night had been attacked by bandits that morning and gone missing.
"I-I remember. Yes, I've definitely seen you."
The youngest-looking youth's gaze wasn't on Sima Geon but on Cheol Woo. It had been a mere passing glance, but the man's impression was so strong it was unforgettable.
"From Sanghwa Escort Agency?"
At Sima Geon's question, the youth nodded.
"Yes. I'm Jeong Ok, working as a porter."
Even calling him a youth, he looked not yet twenty, with a boyish face. Sima Geon briefly saw his younger self in the boy's appearance.
"Nice to meet you. Come on out."
As Jeong Ok exited without hesitation, the others followed suit, rushing out.
But those in the rear cell stayed put.
"What are you lot doing still in there?"
Cheol Woo shouted at the people who hadn't budged despite the open doors. They sat motionless, unresponsive.
Cheol Woo noticed several glances directed at Yuk Geum, filled with fear. He strode over without hesitation.
Yuk Geum, holding his breath and watching, trembled violently.
"Boss."
Cheol Woo looked back, and Sima Geon nodded without delay.
"If it's because of this vermin, don't worry about a thing."
Cheol Woo's foot crushed Yuk Geum's shoulder.
"Pl-please..."
Yuk Geum clasped his hands and begged desperately, but to no avail.
"This is the last living bandit in the Golden Fox Bandit Lair. And he'll be dead soon too."
As the words ended, bones cracked, and Yuk Geum's body under his foot was gruesomely pulverized. His breath cut off in an instant, but his scream in that fleeting moment echoed through the underground prison for a long while.
"Now there's no one left to threaten you. So come out already. How long are you gonna stay in this dump? It's filthy, ain't it?"
Even after snuffing out Yuk Geum's life, seeing the people still hesitant, Cheol Woo bellowed.
"I-is it really okay?"
Someone asked, face pale with fear.
"Ah, for real! Even after seeing..."
As Cheol Woo raised his voice again, Sima Geon cut him off.
"They can't help but be afraid. Watching comrades or kin die right in front of them leaves no other choice."
Gesturing Cheol Woo back, Sima Geon entered the cell and supported the man who had just spoken.
"Let's go. As that guy said, not a single Golden Fox bandit left to threaten you remains."
"R-really?"
The man asked incredulously.
"Yes. Believe it."
Sima Geon reassured him with the brightest smile he could muster and beckoned to those who had exited first.
"Don't just stand there gawking—come help support them. They've been locked up so long, their bodies are in bad shape."
At Sima Geon's words, Jeong Ok moved first. But no help was needed. Convinced by Sima Geon's sincere expression and tone, they finally rose and began exiting the cells one by one.
"Th-thank you."
"Thank you so much. Truly."
Those emerging shed tears of gratitude, bowing repeatedly to Sima Geon and Cheol Woo.
"Save the thanks for later. First, let's get out of here."
All the prisoners were out.
Not just those long deprived of sunlight, but even those brought that morning struggled to open their eyes.
It wasn't just the sunlight; it seemed fear that opening their eyes might reveal it all as a dream.
"Ah!"
A gasp of感動 escaped someone.
That sparked it—an outburst of every emotion.
Cheers of joy rang out as they embraced, shedding hot tears.
Sima Geon watched them with a relieved expression.
"Ugh, what the hell—why's the sun so damn bright!"
Cheol Woo scratched the back of his head, pretending nonchalance.
A rather charming smile bloomed on his fierce face.