Chapter 16….

Reassembling subordinates was no big deal.
There was no need for traitors.

Most of all, gold would never betray him.

So the choice had already been made.

His subordinates seemed deeply disappointed that their lord cherished gold rather than them.

Even after that, Jeok Wigang continued throwing money toward Hwang Geumman’s subordinates—but the only one who snatched everything at lightning speed was Hwang Geumman!

“Do you think I’d give up even a single coin, even if it kills me!”

He meant to say, Do you think things will go your way? but his true feelings slipped out without him realizing.

Hearing Hwang Geumman’s words, his subordinates were greatly disillusioned.

He was willing to risk his life not for them, but for gold.

No subordinate wanted to work for a master like that.
None wanted to die for him.

Instead, they felt like serving Jeok Wigang, who was at least trying to share wealth with them.

But Hwang Geumman, oblivious to their thoughts, focused entirely on grabbing the money Jeok Wigang was tossing.

“You damned bastard! Take off that cursed demon mask and talk to me like a man!”

“Nope. Did you ever listen to what other people had to say?”

“They were people who didn’t pay back my money! Why would I listen to them?!”

“You charged them unbelievable interest. That’s why they couldn’t pay.”

“The world is survival of the fittest. If you get swindled, it’s your fault!”

“Really? Then you were at fault when you gave me your vault, right?”

“Th-that’s…!”

Jeok Wigang took off the pack he had been carrying and pulled something out.

“What do you think this is?”

Hwang Geumman instinctively knew—it was an IOU.

“Y-you! You’re the one who raided my branch!”

“That’s right. So, what should I do with this IOU?”

“G-give it back!”

To Hwang Geumman, the IOU wasn’t just a piece of paper.

It was future capital.

“What should I do with it?”

“S-surely you’re not going to burn it?”

“Of course not. I need this to give these people back the money you extorted from them. I absolutely can’t burn it.”

“What?”

Hwang Geumman was shocked.

Jeok Wigang casually threw more treasure from the vault.

Whish.
Flash.

Again, Hwang Geumman snatched everything with unimaginable speed.
His eyes were bloodshot—so red that if tears fell, they might have come out as blood.

“Let your subordinates have a share. There’s plenty.”

“Shut up! My subordinates don’t want that.”

“Really? Well, I guess there’s no need to throw any more then.”

“What?”

Hwang Geumman turned around—and froze.

The place was empty.

Every single one of his many subordinates had disappeared.

“W-what?”

“What do you mean what? They were disappointed in you and left.”

“T-that’s impossible…”

His hopeless expression changed again.

“Subordinates can be gathered again just like that.”

He glared at Jeok Wigang.

“You should have prevented them from leaving.”

“What?”

“Now that no one will steal my gold if you hit me and the gold flies out… you can attack freely.”

Unbelievable.

That was the reason he had been hesitating until now?

Jeok Wigang lifted the gold and shook it.

“Even now?”

“Gold is gold even if it breaks.”

Flash—

Hwang Geumman charged in with murderous eyes.

Vmmm—

A fist filled with shimmering golden energy swung toward Jeok Wigang.

Crash!
Clatter—

Something ceramic shattered.

Hwang Geumman didn’t hear it.

All he cared about was gold, promissory notes, and IOUs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His relentless attacks continued.

Despite appearances, the money-obsessed man was surprisingly a martial artist at the peak of the Fire Realm, third tier.

A true expert.

But powerful martial arts were meaningless if they didn’t hit the target.

No matter how hard he attacked, he couldn’t touch Jeok Wigang.

“Huff! Huff!”

And because he had been moving at full strength trying to protect the gold Jeok Wigang tossed, his stamina quickly ran out.
Frustration brought him to the brink of tears.

Why did he have to meet such a damned demon?

His eyes caught the gold strewn everywhere.

Seeing his precious babies lying all over the floor broke his heart.

He absentmindedly reached down to pick up a piece—

Whooosh—

A wind blew.

All the gold on the floor rolled toward one place.

Behind Jeok Wigang, the gold neatly piled up.

“I told you. Why are you trying to touch what’s mine?”

“H-how is that yours, you f-f***er?!”

Losing his mind, Hwang Geumman rushed forward.

Thud—

A fist sank deep into his abdomen.

“Guh!”

Thud-thud-thud…

“Cough! Gah! K-kugh!”

He struggled to breathe yet still stubbornly lunged again.

“My money! Give me my money!”

“It’s not yours.”

“Screw you!! It’s mine!”

Whirr—swish—

His frenzied punches cut through the air.

Impressive.
The determination not to yield despite the pain.

This wasn’t something a beating would fix.

Most people recoil when hurt.
Hwang Geumman didn’t.

Thud—

“Ghk!”

Even when a normal person would have fainted, he crawled back up.

Jeok Wigang glanced at the vault.

Most of the money inside was clearly earned through unjust means.

He needed to subdue this man, return the money to the victims, then figure out the rest.

Thud—

“Keuk!”

Plop—

Hwang Geumman collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

Jeok Wigang shook his head.

A few days later.

Hwang Geumman regained consciousness.

Jolt—!

He shot up immediately and looked around.

Thankfully, it was his room.

A dream?

He sighed in relief, stood up slowly, and turned toward the vault—

His hands and feet began trembling.

“Th-this wasn’t a dream?”

The vault was completely empty.

Plop.

He fell to the ground and stared blankly.

Then he shook his head violently, crawled inside the vault, and looked around.

It had been emptied and even cleaned.
Pristine—no dust at all.

Drip—

Tears fell.

He had worked so hard to collect all that.

A fleeting dream, after all.

What had he struggled so desperately for?

Creak—

While he was dazed, the door opened.

A demon mask stood there.

“You… you!”

“You awake now?”

Hwang Geumman glared.

“W-where is all my treasure?”

“I gave it back to the people who shed tears because of you. Oh! Don’t worry— I distributed it under your name.”

“What?”

“When I told them you realized your wrongs and repented, everyone was grateful to you.”

“They… thanked me? Me?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t lie. No one has ever thanked me in my entire life.”

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, go outside. There are people everywhere ready to thank you.”

That was strange.

A man obsessed with wealth showing such a reaction?
He only meant to taunt him, but got something unexpected.

“They really thanked me?”

What was that look?

Jeok Wigang hurried after him.
Hwang Geumman might demand his money back and hurt someone.

The moment they stepped outside, someone saw Hwang Geumman and bowed deeply.

“Great sir! Thank you! Thanks to you, laughter has returned to my home. Since you said you’d become a better person, I’ll gladly help you. Call me anytime!”

Others approached.

“Great sir! Thank you!”

Hwang Geumman’s blank expression slowly brightened.

Hearing their thanks, he smiled with pure happiness.

“You okay?”

“Y-you heard that? They called me ‘great sir’! And they said thank you! Thank you!”

“So?”

“What do you mean ‘so’?! They called me great! Great! I always wanted to hear that! And thank you! Another thing I always wanted to hear! Can you see it? Their sincerity?”

“Yeah, I can.”

“Hahahahaha!”

Overjoyed, Hwang Geumman moved to a busier place.

Even more people gathered to thank him.

“Hahaha! Come on now, it was nothing!”

“No, no! I was the one in the wrong. Sorry for all the trouble I caused!”

“Oh my, please, think nothing of it!”

He responded to each greeting and happily accepted the small gifts people offered.

Jeok Wigang watched him, baffled at first, then quietly chuckled.

The transformation was extreme.

But perhaps this was the life Hwang Geumman truly wanted.

Something had gone wrong in his past.

Watching him feel joy over things that weren’t money, Jeok Wigang simply observed in silence.

After receiving thanks everywhere he went, Hwang Geumman returned home and stared at the empty vault.

“Why? Regretting it already?”

“No. That vault looks fuller than it ever has.”

“What?”

“I was poor from childhood.”

Of course. People who obsess over money tended to come from such backgrounds.

“There was someone I admired back then. Thanks to him, my family survived. Everyone called him a ‘great sir’ and praised him. I admired him too. He always received people’s gratitude. So I thought—when I grow up, I’ll become someone like that.”

“And?”

“To become like him, I worked desperately and saved money. Then I helped those in need. But do you know what was funny?”

“What?”

“No one ever thanked me. I didn’t even expect to be called ‘great sir.’ I was of low birth, after all. But instead of being grateful, the people I helped felt offended. They were ashamed to receive help from someone beneath them.”

“I see.”

“One day, my mother fell gravely ill. I ran to fetch a physician I had helped before. Naturally, I thought he’d help me. But he just said his clinic hours were over and told me to come back tomorrow. My mother was dying…”

Hwang Geumman sighed.

“She passed away that day. And I vowed never to help anyone again. Money gives dignity. So I clung to it even more.”

He looked at Jeok Wigang.

“But… even as the vault filled, this emptiness wouldn’t disappear. I thought it was because I didn’t have enough money. So I tried to earn even more. But today, I realized why I was empty.”

“I was chasing gratitude, not gold.”