Chapter 121: Shining Bald Head (2)
Chapter 120 – Shining Bald Head (2)
Left alone in the room Namgung Cheon had exited, Jang Won-sik let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
‘An ignorant brat who doesn’t know how scary the world is wants to take on the role of Young Patriarch? It seems even the Namgung Family Head can no longer distinguish right from wrong.’
Indeed, since his daughter had become involved with the Great Killing Star, who was notorious as the world’s greatest villain, it might be even stranger if he still remained in his right mind.
Just as Jang Won-sik clicked his tongue out loud, the door suddenly burst open, and Namgung Cheon walked in.
Feeling unnecessarily guilty, Jang Won-sik asked haltingly.
“W-what is it? Have you changed your mind?”
“It’s not that…”
“Speak.”
“Where do I have to go to meet those baldies?”
You left without even knowing that?!
After showing a dumbfounded expression for a moment, Jang Won-sik let out a short sigh and said.
“If you just barge into the manor, they certainly will not meet you. They won’t even spare you a glance. However, I heard that today is the collection day in the tavern street in the southern area of the Yixian market. If you go there, you will probably be able to meet the monks of the Mad Monk Association.”
“What do you mean ‘monks’ for things that are like back alley thugs? They are just baldies who couldn’t even become fake monks. Oh, maybe they aren’t even bald anymore?”
“Please do not let your guard down.”
“Understood. Well then.”
Namgung Cheon turned around and walked out again.
Did he really leave this time?
Craning his neck to look at the door, Jang Won-sik soon let out a sigh and shook his head.
“The Namgung Clan’s fortune has truly run out now.”
* * *
The Yixian Tavern, located in the southern part of the Yixian market.
At this time, when the sun was gradually setting, the tavern should have been bustling with an endless stream of customers.
Yet, the Yixian Tavern was quiet.
The proprietor let out a sigh and grumbled at the waiter, who was wiping the table over and over again.
“Stop that. What is the point of mopping when there are no customers?”
“Ayy, I am wiping precisely because there are no customers. If there were customers, I would be busy serving food.”
The proprietor chuckled at the waiter’s cheeky reply.
“Come here.”
“Yes, tell me.”
“Here, take this.”
The waiter quickly caught the pouch the proprietor tossed to him. Upon opening the pouch, he found that it was quite heavy with iron coins.
“Boss, isn’t this a bit too much?”
“It’s your severance pay, you rascal.”
“Severance pay?”
“I’m sorry. I no longer have the ability to hold out.”
“Boss…”
“You should also go and work in a better place. For someone of your caliber, there are plenty of taverns that would welcome you with open arms.”
“Boss, don’t be like that, why don’t we hold out just a bit longer?”
“Can you really say that after seeing this state of affairs?”
The proprietor pointed to the broken chairs and tables in a corner of the tavern.
They were the traces of the monks of the Mad Monk Association coming by just a few days ago and throwing a tantrum because they hadn’t paid the protection money.
The blue bruise around the waiter’s eye had also been formed at that time.
“Those damned bastards come by almost every single day to cause trouble, so how could business possibly go well?”
“Then what are you going to do, boss?”
“I’m going to pack everything up and leave. Maybe I’ll live by farming in some secluded place? If that doesn’t work out either, I guess I’ll just head into the mountains and become a bandit.”
Although he threw those words out as a joke, the proprietor’s expression was quite serious.
The waiter let out a sigh and placed the money pouch back onto the table.
“I won’t accept it.”
“What, you punk?”
“I’m telling you, I plan to inherit this tavern when you pass away, boss.”
“This rascal… are you performing a ritual for my death right now?”
“That’s not it.”
“No need. Take this and get lost.”
“I said I won’t take it.”
“This punk, seriously…!”
“Boss, don’t be like that, let’s hold out just a bit longer. You heard the news, right? This time, the winner of the Joint Conference is the Namgung Clan’s…”
“Namgung again! Namgung! How long has it been since the Namgung Clan was ruined, and you are still looking for them?”
“I’m telling you, trust my gut this time. It really seems like the Namgung Clan is going to rise again.”
“Quiet! I shudder at the very mention of the Namgung Clan now. Not only did they get involved with the Great Killing Star, but they are also the ones who sold out Yixian’s commercial rights to that Mad Monk Association! Have they looked for us even once over the past few years? I no longer believe in them!”
In the end, the waiter let out a sigh and closed his mouth.
Although he felt sorry for the proprietor who was suddenly losing his temper, it was not as if he couldn’t understand his true feelings.
Because in the past, it was actually the proprietor who believed in the Namgung Clan even more.
When everyone else said the Namgung Clan was finished, the proprietor of the Yixian Tavern was the only one who shouted that they would definitely return.
However, as his life became impoverished, that belief gradually faltered, and now his heart had completely turned away.
The sense of betrayal must have been greater as much as he had trusted them.
“Even so, I cannot accept this money.”
“What?”
“You took me in when I had nowhere to go, and now you’re throwing me out?”
“That’s why I put in a generous amount in my own way!”
“I said I don’t need it!”
“This frustrating fellow…!”
It was at that moment.
“What a truly frustrating punk. Why the hell are you acting crazy and turning down money? I mean, does money just overflow here? We are dying because we don’t have money.”
When the proprietor and the waiter turned around with pale expressions, they saw a middle-aged man with disheveled, long hair standing there wearing Buddhist monk robes.
Beside him stood a bald man, who was also wearing Buddhist monk robes, his slit eyes gleaming sharply like a weasel’s.
Both of them belonged to the Mad Monk Association; the man with the long hair was called Gwe-bul-ja, and the bald apostate monk was called Pa-gak.
Gwe-bul-ja walked between the stiffened proprietor and waiter, then plopped down at a nearby table.
“What are you doing? Proprietor, wine!”
“We have none.”
“What?”
“We haven’t been able to do business for days, so we aren’t earning money. Where would we get wine from?”
“Ha! Look at this. Just a moment ago, you guys were pushing the pouch back and forth, saying money was overflowing. What? No money? Hey, bring that over here.”
As Gwe-bul-ja pointed at the money pouch, the waiter clenched his hand tightly and took a step back.
“Uh-huh! Aren’t you coming over here? Didn’t you say you have no greed for money? Did your eyes suddenly turn inside out?”
“P-please don’t do this!”
“Look at this crazy bastard. Is a waiter lecturing a customer right now? What did I even do?”
“It’s because of you guys that business isn’t…!”
*Thud!*
Pa-gak, who had approached silently at some point, smacked the back of the waiter’s head.
As the waiter collapsed forward and dropped the money pouch, Pa-gak picked it up and threw it to Gwe-bul-ja.
“Let’s see. Look at this. These bastards are having a grand old time. The guys who held out claiming they didn’t even have money for donations are acting completely crazy. I guess this isn’t money? Proprietor?”
“R-return it.”
“Why should I return it?”
“That is the child’s severance pay. Because of you guys, business isn’t working out, so we are planning to close down now!”
“Hmm. I see. So this is severance pay. Hey, you. Come here.”
Watching their reactions, the waiter hesitantly approached.
“Do you want the money back?”
“Yes.”
“Ha! Look at this spirit. Fine, I will give it to you, so try and take it!”
In an instant, Gwe-bul-ja, who gripped the money pouch, thrust out his fist and punched the waiter’s face.
“Ack!”
As the waiter stumbled backward with a bloody nose, Gwe-bul-ja chased after him and swung the fist holding the money pouch again.
*Thwack!*
“Ugh!”
“Geez, why aren’t you receiving it? Look, I’m giving it to you. I told you to receive it!”
*Thwack! Thud! Thud!*
“Cough! S-stop…!”
“Why? Didn’t you say you’re taking the money? You bastards make a fuss about not having money for donations while having plenty of money to fill your own bellies, don’t you?”
*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*
It was truly a one-sided beating.
Although the waiter tried to defend himself in his own way, Gwe-bul-ja was someone who had trained in martial arts to a considerable level.
Unable to watch any longer, the proprietor stepped in and clung to him.
“Oh dear, please stop! That’s enough! You’re going to kill the boy at this rate!”
“Won’t you let go? I told you to let go.”
*Thud!*
“Whoops!”
The proprietor, who had fallen flat on his butt, stood up with an expression filled with resentment.
“Why are you really doing this? Just how ruined do we have to be for you to feel satisfied?”
“What? Proprietor, do you know why this place is ruined?”
“Of course it’s because you guys…!”
“It’s because you didn’t give donations, you idiots. If you want to receive the Buddha’s protection, you should donate! Do you want to fall into the abyss? You have to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land, don’t you? Ah, perhaps you want to be reborn in the Pure Land as soon as possible, which is why you are acting so crazy? Then should I send you to the Pure Land right now?”
Gwe-bul-ja rolled up his sleeves and smirked.
He looked just like Yama.
The proprietor took on a bleak expression and muttered hollowly.
“This place is already the abyss.”
“What did you say?”
As Gwe-bul-ja raised his eyebrows sharply, the proprietor shouted as if driven to madness.
“I said this place is already the abyss! Yixian became the abyss the moment you guys showed up! You guys are the ones who…!”
*Thud!*
“Gah!”
“Do you truly intend to bear the wrath of the Buddha!”
At the sound bellowed with a Lion’s Roar, the proprietor and the waiter covered their ears at the same time and stumbled.
Gwe-bul-ja strode over and grabbed the proprietor by the hair.
“Proprietor, listen carefully. You have until tomorrow. If you don’t donate by tomorrow, I will set this place on fire so you can’t even sell it. Think carefully. This is all to save poor sentient beings like you. Underst…!”
“Please stop it already! You wicked bastards! What kind of monks are you? You are like Yakshas!”
In an instant, Gwe-bul-ja and Pa-gak narrowed their eyes and looked back.
The waiter, who had stood up at some point, was glaring at them with an expression full of resentment, his shoulders trembling.
“The Namgung Clan will shatter all of you soon! You must have heard the rumor that the young master of the Namgung Clan won the Joint Conference this time?”
“Namgung who?”
“The Namgung Clan! When the Namgung Clan rises again, you guys will…”
“Pfft, puhahaha! Look at this crazy bastard. No, really, why are you bringing up the ruined Namgung Clan from who knows when? Excuse me, did you dream while you were knocked out just now?”
“You guys are the ones dreaming. Yixian has been under the jurisdiction of the Namgung Clan for generations. Do you think they will let you guys run wild forever? Soon, the Namgung Clan will shatter all of you!”
“Sigh… damn it. To think I’d be treated like this by some insignificant waiter now. This won’t do. I was planning to leave quietly today, but I must bestow the Buddha’s teachings upon these pitiful sentient beings.”
Pa-gak smirked at Gwe-bul-ja’s words.
As if he had known it would turn out this way in the end.
Gwe-bul-ja muttered as he strode toward the main door.
“First, it looks bad for others to see, so let’s shut the door. Remember, waiter. Manners. Maketh. Man.”
It was just when he was about to close the tavern door.
*Thud!*
*Swoooosh, crash!*
Didn’t Gwe-bul-ja, who was sent flying like a cannonball, smash right through tables and chairs before tumbling messily onto the floor?
Pa-gak narrowed his small eyes even further, while the proprietor and the waiter stared at the entrance with their eyes wide open as if they would tear.
Finally, through the gap of the open door, a man with his back to the light entered with an annoyed expression and muttered.
“No, why the hell are you blocking the door? Seriously.”
The young man, who spat out harsh words like a back-alley thug, walked straight in and sat down at a table.
It was Namgung Cheon.
The two men who followed behind him were Son U-gon and Cha Mu-jin.
“Proprietor, a bottle of Shaoxing wine.”
“Um…”
As the proprietor spoke in an anxious manner, Namgung Cheon glanced at him and spoke again.
“You don’t have Shaoxing wine?”
“Yes?”
“Bring out a bottle of Shaoxing wine and some flatcakes.”
“Ah…”
The proprietor briefly turned his brain.
The young man had blown Gwe-bul-ja away in a single blow. Furthermore, enough time had passed for him to fully assess the atmosphere inside.
Yet, ordering so casually meant…
Having finished his calculations, the proprietor bowed his waist.
“Understood. I will bring it out shortly.”
While the proprietor quickly went into the kitchen, Gwe-bul-ja stood up with a groan, and Pa-gak slowly approached Namgung Cheon.
He clasped his hands in salute and asked.
“Which master might you be, and where do you come from?”
“I came from the Namgung Clan, you son of a bitch.”
“…!”
In that instant, the proprietor, who was coming out with the Shaoxing wine, froze mid-step.
Not only him, but Gwe-bul-ja and the waiter also flinched.
‘From the Namgung Clan…!’
Namgung Cheon frowned and continued speaking.
“Your head is shining too brightly and it’s glaring, so would you mind moving out of the way?”
“…!”
“Before I smash it to pieces?”