Chapter 84: Chapter 84
Seongeum County was situated at the southernmost tip of Dongting Lake. Compared to Won-gang or Agyang, it was considered relatively quiet, yet its beautiful scenery drew poets and scholars in an endless stream.
With so many transient visitors, gambling houses targeting their money thrived. The profits from these establishments flowed directly into Seongeum’s underworld and the Haomun.
Given these circumstances, the Haomun and the underworld had no choice but to manage the gambling houses with particular care.
There were three gambling houses managed by the Haomun within Seongeum County, and the largest was located on a street called Mantong-ga.
Today, as always, the gambling house was packed with people. Their eyes were bloodshot and fixed upon the tables where the games unfolded.
They could think of nothing else, nor did they have the capacity to do so. Their entire attention was focused on the two dice rolling across the table.
It was the simplest yet most addictive form of gambling, dice. The two dice that had been tumbling across the table both came to rest showing the number six.
“Double six!”
The highest possible number on two dice. In that instant, joy and despair diverged among the crowd.
“Whaaaa!”
“Aaah!”
Unfortunately, those who cheered were few. Instead, those plunged into despair were far more numerous.
The man was one of them. Slit eyes, protruding lips with buckteeth, his appearance was reminiscent of a rat.
“Damn it!”
The man slammed both fists on the floor and bowed his head. His face was filled with bitter frustration.
Today, he had lost the last of his wealth. Now his pockets were empty, and he was reduced to worrying about where he would sleep tonight.
“That fellow, he came back again today?”
Do Sang-cheon, who managed the Mantong-ga gambling house, frowned.
The rat-faced man was named No Cheol. He claimed to have once been a member of a renowned bandit group. But among the drifters who found their way here, there was not a single one without a story, and each boasted of their former greatness.
At that moment, No Cheol’s eyes met Do Sang-cheon’s. A servile smile immediately spread across No Cheol’s face. He approached, rubbing his hands together.
“Heh heh! Brother.”
“Who are you calling brother?”
“Oh come now, why so cold between us?”
“What relationship do we have?”
“Why are you like this? Your little brother is hurt.”
“Were you ever my little brother?”
“Oh, Brother! Please help your little brother out just this once.”
No Cheol dropped to his knees before Do Sang-cheon.
“What is this?”
“Lend me some money, Brother! Please!”
“Hmph! How can I trust you?”
“Oh, come on! When have I ever failed to pay back money? Please, just this once.”
No Cheol clutched Do Sang-cheon’s ankle and pleaded. At the sight of No Cheol’s servile manner, Do Sang-cheon smiled.
Though No Cheol was just one of countless gamblers, his knife skills were still quite sharp. If he took him in now, there might come a time when he proved useful.
Do Sang-cheon gestured to a subordinate.
“Extend fifty taels of silver to this fellow.”
“Thank you, Brother! I will never forget this kindness.”
No Cheol bowed repeatedly to Do Sang-cheon.
“Enough. Go enjoy your gambling.”
“Thank you.”
“Heh heh!”
Do Sang-cheon smiled as he watched No Cheol run off without looking back.
No Cheol would never be able to repay the money, of course. Money that entered the gambling house never left.
The money that came in here circulated only within these walls. Money only left when the gambling house collapsed.
These were facts known to everyone under heaven, the only ones who did not know them were the gamblers themselves.
Do Sang-cheon could clearly see No Cheol’s fate.
“Come to think of it, why did headquarters ask me to report on such a fellow’s details?”
Do Sang-cheon tilted his head, unable to understand.
In his eyes, No Cheol was trash. Not just any trash, but the kind beyond redemption.
But his confusion was brief—Do Sang-cheon quickly lost interest in No Cheol. No Cheol would squander even the borrowed money and become his faithful lackey.
‘How I use him is my business. Heh heh!’
Do Sang-cheon was about to cross his arms in satisfaction when—
Boom!
Suddenly, the gambling house door flew open.
“Which damn fool is slamming the door like, “
Do Sang-cheon’s head snapped toward the entrance.
A cripple had appeared in his field of vision.
“Now even the crippled are coming here with money to gamble.”
Well, as long as they brought money, it didn’t matter if they were crippled. Even if their limbs had been severed, it made no difference, but at least a minimum of decorum should be maintained.
“What is that fellow?”
“I’ll check.”
A burly subordinate standing nearby scowled and approached the cripple. He grabbed the cripple by the shoulder.
“Who are you?”
The burly man was about to intimidate and lecture him when,
CRACK!
A thunderous sound rang out, and the burly man was embedded in the wall. His chest was caved in, and his neck was bent at an unnatural angle. There was no need to check, his death was certain.
In that instant, the air inside the gambling house turned frigid.
The murmur of voices vanished. Everyone held their breath.
The cripple spoke.
“Who’s in charge?”
“What the, who is this fellow?”
Do Sang-cheon rose from his seat with an annoyed expression. Before he knew it, the warriors guarding the gambling house had gathered around him.
They were all hardened men from the bottom of society who knew no fear. Do Sang-cheon trusted them.
“You crippled bastard comes to a gambling house and should at least gamble quietly. What’s with the attitude? Get this fellow on his knees before me.”
“Yes!”
The subordinates answered and advanced toward the cripple.
The cripple turned his head and looked at Do Sang-cheon. The moment their eyes met, Do Sang-cheon felt every hair on his body stand on end.
A dizzying sense of isolation and fear crashed over him like a tsunami, as though he had been thrown naked into a cage with a wild beast.
He hesitated, unsure how to react to this unfamiliar emotion he had never experienced before. And that brief hesitation became a catastrophe for his subordinates.
Boom! Boom!
Successive explosions erupted, and the subordinates were sent flying in all directions like cannonballs.
“Uwaaah!”
“Huck!”
The gamblers who watched men being blown away and crashing through tables were horrified. These were no longer living men.
Heads crushed, chests caved in—they died with their eyes wide open, as though they had not even realized death had come.
Not a single one died cleanly. Their corpses were mangled beyond recognition, as though struck and crushed by enormous boulders.
Their grotesque state silenced everyone.
The one who had sown death throughout the gambling house was Dam Ho.
Dam Ho beckoned Do Sang-cheon with a flick of his finger. Do Sang-cheon’s body went rigid the moment Dam Ho pointed at him.
He instinctively realized that Dam Ho was a master far beyond his ability to measure. Like a frog frozen before a serpent, he found himself unable to move simply from meeting Dam Ho’s gaze.
‘Should I run?’
The opponent was a cripple. If he put his mind to it, he could surely escape. But Do Sang-cheon quickly shook his head.
He was the one responsible for managing the gambling house. Others might escape, but if the man in charge fled, the Haomun would not let it slide.
Do Sang-cheon walked toward Dam Ho with his head bowed, like an ox being led to slaughter.
When he arrived before Dam Ho, he mustered what little courage he had.
“Where are you from, sir?”
“The Black Tiger Band.”
“Pardon?”
Dam Ho’s unexpected answer made Do Sang-cheon raise his head. In that instant, their eyes met.
‘Huck!’
Dam Ho’s eyes, devoid of any human emotion whatsoever, forced Do Sang-cheon to hastily lower his head.
‘That is no human.’
Do Sang-cheon had experienced every kind of person in this gambling house, a place where only the dregs of humanity gathered. But he had never once encountered eyes like Dam Ho’s.
Merely looking at those eyes made his knees buckle and his will to fight crumble. This was a first.
Dam Ho spoke again.
“Where is the former member of the Black Tiger Band?”
“Ah!”
Only then did Do Sang-cheon recall the order that had come down from the Agyang branch not long ago. To investigate the whereabouts of bandits who had operated in Shaanxi Province. And Do Sang-cheon had reported that a former bandit from that region was present here.
“Oh— are you from the Agyang branch? If you had said so earlier—”
“Where is he?”
The lifeless, emotionless voice made Do Sang-cheon shudder once more.
His gaze involuntarily turned to where No Cheol sat. Dam Ho’s gaze followed.
In that instant, No Cheol flinched.
Though he had squandered his days in gambling, he still retained enough awareness to read a situation.
‘A master beyond my ability to handle.’
He had not even seen how the four men had died. Their movements had been beyond the range of his perception.
“Heh heh!”
No Cheol unconsciously offered a servile smile.
In that instant, the corner of Dam Ho’s mouth twitched upward ever so slightly. It was merely a faint distortion of his facial muscles, but No Cheol recognized it as Dam Ho smiling.
Dam Ho’s twisted lips finally parted.
“It has been a while.”
“D-do you know me?”
“Oh, I know you well. I have never forgotten your face for even a single moment.”
“What?”
A look of confusion appeared on No Cheol’s face. But the perceptive man quickly realized that Dam Ho harbored no goodwill toward him.
‘I’ve racked up grievances in more than a few places.’
While with the Black Tiger Band, he had feared nothing. All manner of atrocities, robbery, and assault had been routine.
He had killed countless people, and made even more weep blood.
Dam Ho began walking toward No Cheol.
Scrape! Thud! Scrape! Thud!
Dam Ho’s distinctive footsteps echoed like music through the gambling house.
Every time Dam Ho’s foot fell, the people inside flinched, as though his footsteps were crushing their hearts.
No Cheol was no different.
No Cheol hastily waved his hands.
“I do not know who the great hero is.”
“It’s alright.”
“Wh-what do you mean, it’s alright?”
“You will remember everything soon enough. So it’s alright.”
Dam Ho’s voice was low and rough, as though phlegm filled his throat. Yet somehow, it was perfectly clear to the ear.
No Cheol gritted his teeth.
He was now certain that Dam Ho harbored ill feelings toward him. He could not simply sit and wait to be struck.
“Damn it!”
No Cheol cursed and lunged toward the window.
No matter how strong his opponent’s martial arts, the man was a cripple. If he could escape this place, he was confident he could get away. Despite everything, he was quite confident in his lightness skill.
But No Cheol quickly realized how futile his expectations were.
Just before reaching the window, a pale figure blocked his path. It did not take long to realize it was Dam Ho.
CRACK!
A single blow from Dam Ho’s fist sent No Cheol crashing to the floor. Every bone in his body jolted as though struck by a giant hammer.
“Kuh-kuh!”
No Cheol gasped. The pain was so intense he could barely breathe. His entire body felt as though it were being disassembled.
Dam Ho knelt on one knee and looked down at No Cheol.
“Don’t worry. Humans don’t die from that much.”
“You, you have to tell me what I did wrong…”
“You still don’t know?”
Dam Ho whispered. In that instant, No Cheol shuddered violently.
It was not just No Cheol. Do Sang-cheon and everyone in the gambling house could barely breathe, overwhelmed by an ominous sensation.
They were so dominated by Dam Ho’s presence that they dared not even think of fleeing the gambling house.
No Cheol’s pupils trembled. No matter how hard he searched his memory, he could not recall ever having a grudge with a man like the one before him.
He would never have forgotten someone with such terrifying eyes.
If he was still alive…
In that instant, No Cheol recalled something.
A boy with chilling eyes from so long ago that the memory had nearly faded.
A boy who, despite not even knowing martial arts, had bitten through a companion’s throat, the most vicious of the vicious. Because of him, the Black Tiger Band’s thirty-seven members had become thirty-six. The incident had caused an uproar, and No Cheol had carried the memory for a long time.
“Y-you are?”
“You seem to remember.”
“How, how?”
“I told you. You would remember on your own.”
“How did you survive? How?”
“How I survived is not what matters. What matters is what happens to you.”
“What?”
As No Cheol’s face contorted with confusion, Dam Ho seized his little finger.
Crack!
“Kraaah!”
In that instant, No Cheol’s little finger crumbled like a biscuit. The bone shattered, the muscle mangled.
Then came the ring finger. The bone crushed, the muscle compressed, in that moment, a pain beyond anything he had experienced before tore through No Cheol’s entire body.
“Kraaah!”
No Cheol screamed in agony. Dam Ho watched him with what appeared to be amusement.
“Does it hurt?”
“Y-you madman! Are you… are you even human? How can a human…”
No Cheol glared at Dam Ho with bloodshot eyes.
“You did the same thing. You toyed with my father, my mother, the villagers, and killed them slowly. Like toys.”
“I— I…”
“I’m going to crush your fingers one by one. Then your wrists, your arms, your toes, your shins, your thighs. Your spine comes next, and your shoulder blades last. You will stay alive as long as possible and feel every last bit of the pain as your body turns to powder.”
“You, you’re cruel! Just kill me…”
Crack!
In his extreme agony, No Cheol tried to bite his tongue to end his life. But Dam Ho was faster, he dislocated No Cheol’s jaw first.
“I told you. You won’t die that easily.”
Dam Ho crushed No Cheol’s middle finger.
The people inside the gambling house learned for the first time that human muscle and bone could be so easily destroyed.
“Ugh!”
In the end, several who could bear it no longer began to vomit.
Before their very eyes, a man was being taken apart. No—dismembered. And they were forced to watch with clear minds.
‘A… a demon.’
‘This man is not human.’
Unbearable terror consumed their very souls.
No Cheol mumbled something. Everyone understood that he was begging for death.
But no one moved. Not a single soul…
Crack!
Another finger crumbled.
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