Chapter: 7
His face would be so badly mangled that it would be impossible to recognize it.
That had to be the case.
The pride of Yoo Su-cheon—whom even the strongest in Hangzhou found troublesome—had fallen to the ground.
His hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.
He couldn’t believe that some nobody, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, had reduced him to this state.
Yoo Su-cheon had never once been scarred on the face before, so the shock was immense.
Unable to accept reality, Yoo Su-cheon heard Dan Hyun-woo speak.
“From now on, answer my questions immediately. Make sure I don’t have to ask twice.”
For a moment, resistance and defiance flared up inside him, but Yoo Su-cheon nodded.
If he didn’t answer properly, his face would swell three times worse.
Damn it.
Yoo Su-cheon replied quickly.
“Understood.”
“…That’s all?”
“I understand!”
“Who is the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect?”
“Him.”
Without hesitation, his finger pointed at Jeon Ak-gwan.
The pride of being Hangzhou’s strongest no longer meant anything.
Dan Hyun-woo slowly turned his head and fixed his gaze on Jeon Ak-gwan.
Drip.
Blood was flowing from Jeon Ak-gwan’s abdomen, slashed by Yoo Su-cheon’s blade.
He clenched his lips tightly, enduring the pain with stubborn pride and resentment.
The pain was so severe that he couldn’t even pay attention to the fact that Yoo Su-cheon had betrayed him and sided completely with Dan Hyun-woo.
But from now on, he would have to care.
Dan Hyun-woo spoke to Gwak Dae-sam.
“Where is the leader’s room?”
“On the fifth floor.”
“Move the leader there. Take this guy with the swollen face too.”
“You mean Blood-Slaying Ghost Sword as well?”
“I won’t say it twice.”
When Gwak Dae-sam looked at Yoo Su-cheon, Yoo Su-cheon waved his hands in refusal.
Though he had plenty of selfish motives, he was still just a guest and didn’t want to get tangled up in this.
Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud.
Dan Hyun-woo’s icy gaze was already glaring as if it could kill.
Seeing that look, Gwak Dae-sam quickly moved to support Jeon Ak-gwan.
Heh. Better behave. Even Yoo Su-cheon, the Blood-Slaying Ghost Sword and strongest in Hangzhou, got turned into a mess.
Several sharp-eyed subordinates of the Nine Dragons Sect quickly joined Gwak Dae-sam to support Jeon Ak-gwan and Yoo Su-cheon.
Instead of clinging to the rotten rope that was the Nine Dragons Sect and Yoo Su-cheon, they swiftly grabbed onto a new rope—Dan Hyun-woo.
Once brought into the room, Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan were seated at the lower end.
Dan Hyun-woo sat in the seat of honor, looking down at Jeon Ak-gwan as he gasped for breath.
He didn’t care whether blood was flowing or not.
“How much money does the Dan Family owe the Nine Dragons Sect?”
“Y-you’re from the Dan Family?”
“…What? Everyone’s being awfully casual with their speech.”
“A-are you from the Dan Family?”
“You don’t need to know who I am. Just tell me how much the Dan Family owes the Nine Dragons Sect.”
Jeon Ak-gwan couldn’t open his mouth easily.
One thousand gold ingots.
It should have been easy to say, but the problem was that the principal was only ten gold ingots.
The interest alone was nine hundred and ninety gold ingots.
Ninety-nine times the principal.
If I tell the truth, my head might roll.
Before answering honestly, Jeon Ak-gwan racked his brain.
If he answered wrong, he would die by the hands of the monster who had toyed with Yoo Su-cheon like a child.
For an instant, his own death appeared vividly before his eyes.
“F-fifty gold ingots.”
“That’s not a small amount. How much was the principal?”
“T-ten gold ingots.”
“So forty gold ingots were interest?”
Dan Hyun-woo urged him on with eyes as cold as frost.
Jeon Ak-gwan’s heart froze solid under that gaze.
Did I get the amount wrong? Or did I miss something?
The chill that had settled over him refused to fade.
Why hadn’t he said he would only take back the principal?
When Dan Hyun-woo slowly stood up, Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan flinched.
There was no wasted movement in any of his actions.
Except this time.
Dan Hyun-woo headed toward a bare, empty wall.
And there, the secret of Yoo Su-cheon and the Nine Dragons Sect lay hidden.
A secret vault was embedded in that wall.
Don’t panic. No one can find that.
His throat burned with tension, but he was confident it wouldn’t be discovered.
Yet when he saw Dan Hyun-woo casually extend his hand toward the wall, cracks formed in that confidence.
Click.
Dan Hyun-woo pressed a tiny seam in the wall.
As the hidden vault revealed itself, Dan Hyun-woo let out a faint chuckle.
That smile was so chilling that Jeon Ak-gwan and Yoo Su-cheon squeezed their eyes shut.
The ledger they believed would never be discovered was now in Dan Hyun-woo’s hands.
Who the hell is this man?! How does he know there’s a vault there?! No one ever found that!
For many years, while carrying out imperial orders, Dan Hyun-woo had searched the rooms of corrupt high officials countless times.
Finding a hidden vault like this was hardly difficult for him.
After selecting a few ledgers, Dan Hyun-woo flipped a page and smiled.
A smile like that of the Grim Reaper.
The deeper that smile grew, the more it felt as if holes were being punched through the hearts of Jeon Ak-gwan and Yoo Su-cheon.
When Dan Hyun-woo finished reading every single character and closed the ledger, their faces turned deathly pale.
“Not fifty gold ingots… but one thousand?”
Five copper coins bought a bowl of plain noodles.
One hundred copper coins made a day’s wage for a grown man—one silver coin.
Ten silver coins made one gold coin.
One gold coin was a month’s living expenses for an average household.
And it took one hundred gold coins to make a single gold ingot.
A gold ingot was literally a lump of gold.
The kind of wealth the Emperor had wanted to heap upon Dan Hyun-woo until he was buried beneath it.
And nine hundred and ninety of those had been charged as interest alone.
How could anyone not laugh?
In the end, Dan Hyun-woo laughed out loud.
A hollow laugh.
He finally understood why his father had collapsed.
Why Seo-hyeon was suffering while working at an inn.
Why his mother’s body had grown painfully thin.
The more he learned, the colder his heart became.
As cold as the frost in his eyes.
Interest so vicious it made even outrageous loan rates look cute by comparison.
Not compound interest, not even double-compound—an interest so monstrous it needed the character “compound” written a hundred times over.
They had lived while paying this.
At the thought, images of his father’s suffering filled his mind.
His chest tightened, and tears blurred his vision.
Dan Hyun-woo spoke to Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan, whose faces were as white as blank paper.
“Borrowed money should be repaid. But I think we need to recalculate.”
Jeon Ak-gwan nodded for now.
As long as he survived, he could scheme later.
Dan Hyun-woo began writing new documents right in front of him.
With each character that filled the white paper, Jeon Ak-gwan trembled inwardly.
A master of such martial prowess didn’t even need to repay the money.
Yet he was recalculating it.
What is he planning? In the martial world, the strong never return what they take from the weak.
Anxiety gnawed at him.
The moment Dan Hyun-woo handed him the completed document, that anxiety became reality.
“Ten thousand gold ingots—you’re saying I have to pay that?!”
Jeon Ak-gwan leapt up despite his bleeding body.
This man’s thinking defied all imagination.
Instead of repaying money, he was demanding more.
No matter how powerful his opponent was, Jeon Ak-gwan lost his composure and glared sharply at Dan Hyun-woo.
Dan Hyun-woo spoke with a sneer.
“There is national law. This is the price for overlooking the illegal interest you charged. Compensation for driving the Dan Family into ruin with excessive interest. Compensation for the Dan Family head falling ill and collapsing under your oppression. Compensation for the family members damaging their health while desperately repaying interest. Compensation for repeatedly threatening the young head of the Dan Family, and so on.”
Dan Hyun-woo read out the list of compensations one by one.
With each item, the amount of gold ingots increased.
And finally—
“Repair costs for the Dan Family’s front gate.”
Even the gate smashed by Gwak Dae-sam was included.
“Hahaha.”
Jeon Ak-gwan laughed as if he had lost his mind.
Just like Dan Hyun-woo had laughed earlier while reading the ledger.
They say when something is utterly absurd, laughter comes before anger.
But he quickly had to stop laughing.
Dan Hyun-woo spoke again, holding out the document.
“Stamp it with your blood.”
“Young Master! Ten thousand gold ingots—this is absurd!”
“The Dan Family repaid the fifty gold ingots it borrowed, and this is what remains. I’ve been quite generous.”
“No! We didn’t do anything unforgivable! If someone borrows money and can’t repay it, they should pay with their body—but we’ve tolerated them all this time!”
“Well said.”
“…What?”
“Then the Nine Dragons Sect will hand over all its land, estates, and buildings. And if that’s still not enough, you’ll pay the remainder with your body.”
“What? With our bodies…? You’re not saying we become slaves, are you?”
“I didn’t say you had to become slaves. But if you don’t have money to repay, that’s what you’ll have to do.”
“This makes no sense!”
“Does it make sense that you charged the Dan Family nine hundred and ninety gold ingots in interest?”
“……”
It was excessive.
Absurdly so.
But slaves? Me? Jeon Ak-gwan, who built the Nine Dragons Sect up to this point? Damn it, I’m going insane!
He was going insane, but couldn’t say it out loud.
The moment he did, he’d be minced meat.
If this continued, slavery was guaranteed.
Through ruthless means, the Nine Dragons Sect had amassed about five hundred gold ingots.
Selling all its land, estates, and buildings would yield maybe one thousand gold ingots.
How many years would he have to live as a slave to pay the rest?
There was no need to calculate.
A lifetime.
Jeon Ak-gwan stared at the document with bloodshot eyes.
Stamping it meant slavery.
Refusing meant being minced.
Why were there only two choices?
“Ghk!”
“……”
If he’d known the Dan Family had someone like this, he would never have touched them.
I’m completely screwed.
A nightmare.
Just as the Nine Dragons Sect was about to become the Nine Dragons Union—just as he stood on the verge of becoming one of Hangzhou’s absolute powers—every dream shattered.
All because of one monster.
This nightmare would never end.
Dan Hyun-woo spoke to Jeon Ak-gwan, who stood there blankly staring at the document.
“I clearly told you not to make me say it twice.”
His hand trembled violently.
Jeon Ak-gwan stamped the document with his blood.
To survive.
And to scheme for the future.
He still had something to rely on.
This humiliation would be repaid one day—he was certain of it.
Dan Hyun-woo tucked the blood-stamped document into his robe.
Then he handed over another sheet of paper.
Jeon Ak-gwan trembled, thinking, What pretext is he using now to increase the debt?
But the paper was pointed at Yoo Su-cheon.
Yoo Su-cheon, his face swollen, stared blankly at Dan Hyun-woo.
“What kind of document is this?”
He asked first, then cautiously read it.
Dan Hyun-woo’s icy gaze made it clear—read it or die.
When he finished reading, Yoo Su-cheon’s swollen eyes widened even more than before.
His hands trembled even harder than Jeon Ak-gwan’s had.
“W-why me?! What did I do to deserve paying ten thousand gold ingots?!”
What kind of insane document was this?
Jeon Ak-gwan was the one who caused everything.
Yoo Su-cheon knew Jeon Ak-gwan’s crimes, but he himself was just a guest visiting the Nine Dragons Sect.
“I think you’ve misunderstood something, Young Master. I have nothing to do with the Nine Dragons Sect.”
“I don’t misunderstand.”
“I’m only sworn brothers with the sect leader! I know nothing about the sect’s affairs! What he did to the Dan Family has nothing to do with me!”
“Can you swear to that?”
“Of course. I can swear on my life.”
Yoo Su-cheon spoke confidently.
Though his mouth was mangled from the beating, his pronunciation was clear at this moment.
But Dan Hyun-woo let out a faint, mocking smile and pointed at Yoo Su-cheon’s chest.
“The clothes you’re wearing.”
“…?!”
A twitch ran through his swollen eyes.
He had stepped into this mess because he coveted the Dan Family’s silk.
He had advised from the shadows—do this, do that.
And he knew very well the suffering the Dan Family had endured.
Did he figure all that out just because I’m wearing clothes made from the Dan Family’s silk?
In that instant, Yoo Su-cheon’s assessment of Dan Hyun-woo changed.
This man wasn’t just strong in martial arts.
Sharp mind to match his martial skill? Damn it.
