Chapter 56
I Can’t Take It Anymore (2)
The inspector Wang Jeong-ha.
The moment he appeared, Akjin burst out laughing — a short, scoffing sound.
“Yo—! Brother Wang. What brings you here this time?!” he said, flicking a hand up as if greeting a neighborhood buddy, his tone dripping with contempt.
“I’ll handle everything, so move aside for a bit. Afterwards we’ll drop by Baekunru for a drink… got it?” he added.
“You scoundrel! Watch your tongue—!”
“You’re the inspector of Angang-hyeon! You’re no friend of his!”
The deputy inspector and the head enforcers shouted at each other.
But Akjin didn’t change his expression at all.
Ignoring the deputy inspector and the enforcers, he leaned toward Inspector Wang Jeong-ha and gave him a warning in a low voice.
“Don’t do anything you can’t take responsibility for, Brother Wang. You know how it is, right? No matter how much you act, in the end they’ll cut it off from above.”
He was talking about Ji-hyeon.
He was openly admitting ties with Ji-hyeon, the head of the region.
“Understood, Brother Wang? When it’s time to save face, don’t worry. I’ll see that you’re not left empty-handed.”
“What a rude bastard!”
“How dare you mock an inspector?!”
“…!”
The deputy inspector and the captains were heated and red-faced, but Inspector Wang Jeong-ha didn’t even seem to hear them. He only stared at one place.
‘No way…’
It was Kang Yong-woon.
‘A benefactor?’
Wang’s heart suddenly raced with gratitude when he recognized him, and he struggled to calm himself.
‘Oh no. He recognized me?!’
Kang Yong-woon quickly turned his head away, deliberately pretending not to know him.
If the leader of the Guidobang openly started talking about ties with Ji-hyeon and Wang acknowledged it, the inspector (Wang) might be suspected of impropriety. So Kang acted as if he didn’t know.
“What odd people,” Kang muttered and then went on the offensive toward Akjin.
“Whoever you say will ‘cut it off from above,’ I don’t know who that is, but I’ll act like I didn’t hear you. Now you, speak up.”
He began digging into the man’s wrongdoing.
“How did thirty nyang of coin become ten nyang of silver in just six months?” he demanded.
Flash — Inspector Wang Jeong-ha’s expression changed.
‘The benefactor is intentionally pretending not to know me.’
The reason was obvious.
Kang had purposely opened with not knowing who “above” was, hadn’t he?
Wang immediately shifted his gaze from Kang to Wang Jin, leader of the Guidobang.
Kang’s voice rang out, firm.
“Also, there are rumors that the masked men who secretly attacked the swordsman Seo — who had no grievances — were under your Guidobang’s command. Explain that. And there’s the matter of forcing Seo’s daughter, Seorin, to be sold. Explain that too.”
Heh.
Akjin smiled sourly.
“That brat’s got a big mouth. Toss out those impossible accusations without evidence.”
“Slander?!”
Kang’s incredulous reply hung in the air, and Akjin’s demeanour turned lethal.
“Ah! He’s soon to die anyway, so evidence must be meaningless, right?”
Inspector Wang Jeong-ha’s heart dropped.
‘Is he about to harm my benefactor?!’
Wang’s pulse raced. The conscience that had lain dormant suddenly stirred. He felt it pounding and pushing out through his chest.
‘This can’t be.’
He had to act.
‘Up until now, every time I’d nab those guys, I had to release them on Ji-hyeon’s orders…’
He had resigned himself and tried to live with that, but he could no longer stand it. If those vicious men harmed his benefactor, he couldn’t forgive himself.
‘I’ll stake everything on this.’
Even his bedridden wife had recovered. He no longer had to be bound by wages for medicine; he didn’t have to obey Ji-hyeon’s crooked orders just for pay.
“That’s what an investigation’s for!” Inspector Wang Jeong-ha declared, stepping forward with renewed resolve and inner strength.
“What did you say? An in-vesti-ga-tion?”
“Captains and head enforcers, hear me!”
Akjin’s eyes widened in astonishment, but Wang ignored him and issued his order to his subordinates.
“These people have cheated on the state-mandated interest rate and profited unjustly. Arrest them immediately and bring them to trial!”
“Yes—!”
At Wang’s command, a dozen captains and enforcers drew their swords at once.
They had been waiting for this moment.
Whenever had a chance like this not been desired?
“From now on, anyone who resists will be handled according to state law! Submit and be taken in!”
“Try it, you bastards. We’ll show you what we can do!”
The humiliation they’d suffered built into a terrifying resolve.
“Uh… this is….”
“Master of the Guidobang?”
“What should we do?!”
The Guidobang fighters were flustered. The inspector and captains, whom they’d considered easy marks, now advanced boldly with swords drawn. And when the inspector invoked the law, resistance seemed pointless.
‘This damn kid—really?!’ Akjin’s face crumpled.
‘How dare an inspector insult me in front of my men?!’ he thought, furious.
He could not tolerate this.
‘I’ll show them who truly runs Angang-hyeon.’
As for cleaning up afterward? That could wait until it was time to pay their usual bribes. This time, they could pay enough to shock them.
“Trample them! I’ll take care of the aftermath!” Akjin barked.
At his command, the Guidobang fighters, who had been hesitating, regained their momentum and seized their blades.
“Ho ho ho. Brother Wang, watch yourself!”
“You’re asking us to submit? Do we still look like street thugs to you? Huh?!”
“You think we call you ‘Brother Wang’ and actually see you as our elder?!”
They surged forward, fierce.
But their bravado didn’t last long.
“Strike them all!”
“Haaah!”
As the captains and enforcers attacked in unison, the gap in skill became clear in an instant.
Clang. Thud. Slash. Shing.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Screams rose from all around.
These were not trained martial artists but second- or third-rate thugs; they were no match.
“How dare you order an attack on a state official carrying out the law?! I’ll arrest you and show the severity of the law!” Inspector Wang Jeong-ha charged at Akjin.
His sword emitted a blue gleam — he was already showing a masterful level of sword qi.
Kang Yong-woon read the situation swiftly.
‘This man’s internal skill is comparable to the leader of the Guidobang. He ordered the attack, but he wouldn’t recklessly try to kill a government officer…’
In the meantime, Kang would reduce the enemy numbers.
Swish—! Kang sprang to help Wang Jeong-ha.
“Submit quietly!” he shouted.
Whoosh. Thud—!
He struck first at the leader of the assault with a leather-clad knuckle-blow.
“Ugh—!”
Like wind, his strike flowed in, mixing a heavy pressing force with a piercing punch.
Thwack. Slash.
“Ugh!”
In a single breath he scattered two attackers and then steadily took down Akjin’s subordinates.
On the roof of Baekunru, which overlooked the Continental Plain.
“Damn it all!” Eun-ryeong could not hide her dismay.
The whole Guidobang was collapsing because of one rookie.
“What on earth are those officials doing all of a sudden?!” she fumed.
“I—I don’t know either…,” Baek-ryeong trailed off at Eun-ryeong’s anger.
Even he hadn’t expected Inspector Wang Jeong-ha and his captains to act so ruthlessly.
“You idiots! They’re all dying, all of them,” Eun-ryeong sighed.
Literally — the Guidobang men who weren’t real martial artists were no match for the deputy inspector and captains.
Crash. Creak. Sweep.
Thud. Slash. Shing.
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
Gurgle.
Helpless screams filled the air as men fell.
Their formations disintegrated. Some retreated shaking, others fled stealthily.
Akjin was no exception.
“Kuh. Hah. Huff—!” he recoiled, letting out short cries as he fell backward.
Although they had taught a few inner techniques to their men, lacked true skill.
“Argh.”
“Gah.”
Even Akjin’s personal guard were faring no better — in fact, worse. A greenhorn was holding them off alone, cutting only the meridians and fulfilling precise strikes, even though he wasn’t wearing an official uniform.
“Damn it. We’re leaving.” Eun-ryeong turned away without mercy.
“You’re giving up the Guidobang?” Baek-ryeong asked, surprised.
Eun-ryeong shot him a piercing look, as if to say what a stupid question that was.
“Have you forgotten? We were the ones who raised the man who ran the little gambling den in Angang-hyeon and made him the leader of the Guidobang. Same for the nearby Sunyang and Pyeongri districts. We’ve taken over them all.”
“Oh—!” Baek-ryeong’s eyes widened as he finally understood.
Eun-ryeong continued, speaking like someone spitting out a plan.
“We groomed that loser, Akjin, from a small gambling ring into the Guidobang leader. Since things have gone sour here, we’ll abandon these fools and raise new men. We can recruit a few from Sunyang and Pyeongri.”
“Of course,” Baek-ryeong agreed.
Eun-ryeong clenched her fist.
“Our cult shouldn’t be exposed yet. We can’t be openly hostile to the authorities now.”
That was the prudent course. The noble one they awaited had yet to establish power. Until that day, patience and restraint were necessary.
“And even if we arrest those Guidobang lads, it’s pointless. You know why, right?” she said, referring to Ji-hyeon, the head of Angang-hyeon.
“Of course, Lady Eun-ryeong,” Baek-ryeong replied with a sly smile.
Eun-ryeong twisted around and concluded with orders.
“We’ll stay in Sunyang for a while and come back once things calm down. We’ve already cleared out the surrounding area using that stupid Akjin, so no one will take it while we’re gone.”
“Yes, understood.”
Before leaving, Eun-ryeong left one last instruction.
“Find out who that brat is — the one fighting alongside Inspector Wang without even wearing an official uniform. His martial arts are irritatingly familiar. He seems connected to Shaolin, the Wudang, or the Qibang.”
Her eyes were oddly reflective for a moment.
That was that.
Like predatory birds, Eun-ryeong, Baek-ryeong and Hoe-ryeong rose and vanished into the distance.
The Angang-hyeon magistrate’s office was thrown into chaos.
The Inspection Office inside had been filled with Guidobang men.
Wu Ryang, the military commander overseeing Angang-hyeon’s troops, was alarmed. He rushed to Wang Jeong-ha and snapped at him.
“What in the world is going on?!” he demanded.
“Doing what, you ask? Mind your tongue, Commander Wu!” Inspector Wang Jeong-ha shot back without backing down.
Wu Ryang and Wang held the same rank — seventh grade — so there was no reason for Wang to show deference.
“These are lawless brutes. They dared to look down on the officials appointed by the Emperor and even raised blades to injure them! Want me to spell it out?!” Wang demanded.
Wu Ryang was left speechless.
To defy the law, insult officials, and — on top of that — point a blade at an officer?! This was beyond what he could handle alone.
‘That damned bastard! What drove him to such insanity?!’ he thought.
Slowly, Wu Ryang stepped back, trying to preempt any story Akjin might blurt about bribes paid to him.
“Ha ha. I didn’t know it had come to that….”
He tried to talk his way out.
“They sometimes spread nonsense about bribes and such….”
“Rumors of bribes?!” Wang Jeong-ha shot back incredulously.
But Wu Ryang hardened his face and denied everything.
“Rumors? If they’re just rumors, then do you expect me to believe the lies of those men who pointed a blade at an official?!” he said.
Don’t even think of bringing that up.
Wang glared at him as if to warn: if he brought up that angle, Wang would use every connection he had to crush him.
“Ha ha ha. No need to worry—! I’m not the sort to be shaken by such nonsense, Inspector Wang,” Wu Ryang said, laughing hollowly.
“Very well,” Wang replied with a grim laugh.
But as soon as Wu Ryang turned away, Wang’s eyes burned.
‘I don’t intend to forgive the man who took bribes from Akjin.’ he thought.
‘Do you know? I’ve already drawn my sword.’
He would not live like this anymore.
‘My wife’s illness was healed.’
Although his faith was as fragile as a single straw hut, he was done being chained to his pay.
At that instant, when Inspector Wang Jeong-ha’s resolve hardened,
“Wang! Inspector—!” a harsh voice like coughing up blood called out.
It was Mun In-ryeong, the governor of Angang-hyeon.
