novelraw Chapter 7 : Gold Coin (3)
Chapter 7 : Gold Coin (3)
Chapter 7: Gold Coin (3)
Boom!
The anti-tank rocket exploded, blasting away the nearest kidnapper—the leader.
“Kraaagh!”
Struck by the explosion from behind, the leader rolled across the floor like a man swept away by waves.
Starting with the rocket, the bullets inside the ammunition crate heated up and ignited like fireworks.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Aagh!”
“What!”
The other two masked kidnappers were also caught off guard by the sudden explosion and fell to the ground.
The shockwave from the rocket left their ears ringing.
Amid the chaos in the warehouse, the only one who kept his wits was Gyojin.
Using his small frame, he crawled across the floor and drew the pistol from the unconscious leader.
Then, without hesitation, he aimed at the leader’s foot.
Bang!
“……Kraaagh!”
The leader, who had been unconscious, woke up screaming as the bullet pierced through the top of his foot.
Sa Gyeom, who had fallen sideways along with the chair, shouted.
“Kid! Hurry! Come over here! Hurry!”
“Wait!”
Hearing the leader’s scream, the two fallen kidnappers sprang up in alarm.
Seeing Gyojin holding the pistol, they gritted their teeth.
“That bastard!”
“Grab him!”
The two charged at the same time.
But unfortunately for them, the ammunition crate exploded, and bullets rained down across one of their bodies.
Bang!
“Aagh!”
“Crazy bastard!”
Amid the continuous explosions, Gyojin, with his smaller build, had a much easier time moving.
He fired at the thigh of the kidnapper being hit by the bullet barrage.
Bang!
“Aaagh!”
The man collapsed, screaming as he was shot.
Only one remained.
The kidnapper who had pulled out Sa Gyeom’s fingernail with pliers.
Gyojin aimed at his leg and pulled the trigger twice more, but the kidnapper was faster.
Bang! Bang!
Moving his body, the kidnapper threw the pliers he was holding.
Thud—
Gyojin clutched his head and collapsed.
“Ugh!”
The pistol slipped from his hand and slid toward the kidnapper.
Picking it up, the kidnapper glared at his comrades who had been shot in the foot and thigh, then snarled.
“You damn brat! Did you think I’d go easy on you just because you’re a kid? As long as your mouth works, that’s enough!”
He aimed at Gyojin’s shoulder and fired.
At that moment, Sa Gyeom—still bound to the chair—charged forward in an awkward, hunched posture and slammed into the kidnapper who had torn out his fingernail.
“You bastard! It hurts like hell!”
“Huh?!”
Bang!
The bullet flew harmlessly through the air.
Knocked back by Sa Gyeom’s body slam, the kidnapper fell onto the burning ammunition crate.
“Aagh! Hot! Damn it!”
The kidnapper, enraged, scrambled to his feet and aimed at Sa Gyeom with a face twisted like a demon’s.
Gyojin and Sa Gyeom froze.
This time, there was no way to avoid the bullet.
“I’ll kill you!”
Click.
He pulled the trigger.
At that moment, a fragment of stone flew from somewhere and struck the kidnapper’s elbow.
His arm twisted sharply, and the bullet veered off into empty air.
Bang.
“Uh…!”
As the kidnapper faltered, a grenade buried within the ammunition crate ignited from the heat and scattered its steel pellets all at once.
Boom!
Sa Gyeom quickly turned and shielded Gyojin.
His clothes contained bulletproof fibers.
Unlike them, the kidnapper—standing right at the center of the blast—had dozens of steel pellets embedded into his back.
A pained groan escaped his mouth.
“Ughhh….”
Thud.
The last kidnapper collapsed limply.
Still bound to the chair, bent awkwardly at the waist, Sa Gyeom shouted loudly.
“You filthy bastard! Does that hurt? I hurt more! I hurt more than that! I hurt more!”
“Stop! Bullets are still flying around! Let’s get out first!”
As the ammunition crate continued popping bullets like popcorn, Sa Gyeom and Gyojin dragged the kidnappers outside.
“You bastards deserve this!”
Thud! Thud!
Fueled by the rage of his torn fingernail, Sa Gyeom beat them until they lost consciousness.
---
Cheon Bigang sat atop the warehouse roof, watching everything unfold.
He muttered the words Gyojin had said to the kidnapper leader just before throwing the bomb.
“Father and son live on through succession… is it.”
Hearing those words, Cheon Bigang recalled a conversation he had with his master long ago.
‘Master, if I were captured by an evil villain, what would you do? Would you come save your adorable disciple?’
‘Hmm? If you were captured by a bad man?’
‘Yes!’
‘Then of course I wouldn’t go.’
‘Hey, that’s a lie!’
‘Hahaha! It’s not a lie. Bigang, a master and disciple must survive through succession. Succession means the justice engraved in the mind, the courage held in the heart, and the martial way that brings them to life.’
‘I don’t understand, it’s too hard.’
As the young Cheon Bigang tilted his head, his master laughed heartily and stroked his beard.
‘Bigang, a man dies for friendship and lives on through succession. If you cultivate justice and courage and realize the martial way, then no matter what malice you face, you will neither fear nor collapse.’
‘Master, is that how we live?’
‘Yes. That is how we live.’
A past he could no longer reach.
Cheon Bigang opened his eyes and returned from his thoughts.
“Fate, then.”
Having gathered his thoughts, he slung the unconscious sniper over his shoulder and jumped down from the roof.
It was just as Gyojin and Sa Gyeom had dragged all the kidnappers outside and were contacting the Hao Clan through a smartphone.
“Oh? Great-Grandmaster!”
Gyojin ran up energetically and whispered.
“……Earlier, when the kidnapper tried to shoot us, you were the one who stopped it, right?”
“What, disappointed I came late?”
“No. I didn’t even think you’d come. Still… thank you. It was really dangerous earlier.”
Phew.
Gyojin let out a deep sigh.
Unlike when he was fighting the kidnappers, he now looked innocent and carefree.
Cheon Bigang noticed a small bump on Gyojin’s head.
It was where he had been struck by the thrown pliers.
“How did you manage to get a bump on your head from a third-rate thug?”
“Ah! You can see it?”
“The bump isn’t the problem—your crushed dignity is. If my master saw this, he’d spit in anger. Saying his descendant is a weakling who gets hit by third-rate scum.”
“Ah… it’s not that bad…”
As Gyojin mumbled, Cheon Bigang cut him off.
“No excuses! From now on, harsh training begins so you won’t get hit again. Prepare yourself. I’ll make sure you shed plenty of tears.”
“……What?”
From now on?
Harsh training?
At Cheon Bigang’s declaration, Gyojin’s eyes widened.
No matter how he interpreted it, it meant only one thing.
Snapping to his senses, Gyojin immediately prostrated himself before Cheon Bigang.
“Master, please accept my bow.”
“Enough.”
---
After discussing with the Hao Clan, Gyojin decided how to handle the kidnappers.
They would hand them over to the police.
“To let those who attempted an ambush live.”
“Master! If we kill them, it’s a loss! And the pawned items and antiques they destroyed aren’t just a few! If we kill them, the losses will be huge! Just the damaged goods I saw earlier already exceed 10 million won!”
“…….”
According to Hao Clan information, the kidnappers were the lowest and most despicable type—freelancers who accepted contracts through the dark web or apps.
A perfect example of mayfly lives that rushed in without thinking as long as money was deposited.
As Cheon Bigang looked slightly displeased, Gyojin grinned.
“Master, don’t worry about anything. Leave this disciple to handle it. The Hao Clan and I will take care of everything quickly.”
“Evil people deserve to die.”
“I agree—as long as no bodies are left. But burying corpses in remote mountains or chopping people up isn’t something you should do, Master. Haha.”
It was a strange logic, but Cheon Bigang recalled that he had entrusted this matter to Gyojin.
“Very well. A promise is a promise.”
---
That night.
Sa Gyeom couldn’t fall asleep due to the pain of his torn fingernail.
“Damn it.”
Splash—
As he tried to wash his face, the bandaged finger got in the way, so he only splashed water roughly.
Grabbing his throbbing pinky finger, which hurt as if it had been crushed under a shoe, Sa Gyeom left his room.
His assigned room was 402.
With a sword at his waist, he went down to the first-floor lobby and arrived at the door leading to the back entrance of the pawnshop.
‘Today didn’t go well… The Black Tiger Sect won’t stay quiet. If this continues…’
He would die.
Sa Gyeom swallowed dryly.
After being attacked by the group of four freelancers, he realized that if the Black Tiger Sect launched a full-scale attack, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
‘The sniper was aiming at me, not that kid.’
In terms of usefulness, Sa Gyeom was worthless.
No matter how this conflict ended or who won, he would be crushed like a shrimp caught between whales.
‘Then maybe… it’d be wiser to kill that kid here, settle the grudge, and disappear…’
Shing.
He slightly drew the sword at his waist, and moonlight gleamed softly along the sharpened blade.
“Phew…”
Just as Sa Gyeom steadied his breath and was about to head toward the building where Gyojin was sleeping—
A voice called out from behind him.
“Looking for a nanny to sing you a lullaby?”
“……!”
Sa Gyeom flinched as if struck by lightning.
Startled, he turned around to see Cheon Bigang sitting at a table in the lobby.
His lips trembled.
“W-when did you get there?”
“That’s not important. What matters is the knife in your hand.”
“N-no, this is….”
Swoosh.
Sweating coldly, Sa Gyeom hid the sword behind his back.
It looked as awkward and futile as a child trying to hide a mistake from his mother.
He was hardly worthy of being called a martial artist—both inside and out, he was pathetic.
Cheon Bigang spoke.
“I can see right through your thoughts. You were going to kill that child and run away. Planning to live quietly somewhere the Black Tiger Sect can’t reach.”
“N-no, that’s a misunderstanding—”
“Silence.”
Gasp.
At the low voice, Sa Gyeom shut his mouth.
He thought Cheon Bigang was angry—but the words that followed carried no such emotion.
Instead, they were filled with disappointment.
“I’ve seen countless people like you. Enough to be sick of them. Those who don’t even understand gratitude—something even beasts that walk on four legs know.”
“B-but I have a grudge with that child!”
“Interesting. With such a deep grudge, who was it that begged to be spared? And now that the situation has changed, you plan to stab the child who promised to take care of you while he sleeps? What a remarkable form of revenge.”
“…….”
Creak.
Cheon Bigang stood up.
At that movement, Sa Gyeom reflexively drew his sword.
Clang!
Now that Cheon Bigang had moved, there was no point in making excuses.
Sa Gyeom shouted.
“Yeah! This is how I’ve lived! My brothers died! And I survived alone—pathetically like this! However dirty or cowardly, I survived! That’s me—Scatter Blood Demon Sa Gyeom!”
“Pathetic.”
“If you’re going to kill me, then do it! I won’t die quietly—!”
As Sa Gyeom glared with bloodshot eyes, Cheon Bigang turned and began walking up the stairs.
Flustered, Sa Gyeom stammered.
“W-where are you going? Huh? Where are you going?”
“Do as you wish.”
“W-what?”
“I’m going back to my room. I’ll sleep. If nothing disturbs my ears, I’ll wake at sunrise, eat breakfast, and go to the Hao Clan.”
“What are you saying? You’re just going to leave that child alone?!”
“Fool.”
A blatant sneer appeared on Cheon Bigang’s face.
“Do you think that child would lie down and sleep without any preparation, with someone who tried to kill him right beside him?”
“……!”
A red alarm rang in Sa Gyeom’s mind.
It was true.
Even when kidnapped, Gyojin had used his surroundings to escape danger.
With sharper wit than Sa Gyeom, he had fought the kidnappers on equal footing.
There was no way such a child would be lying in bed defenseless.
The very first day they met, he had fired a shotgun without hesitation.
There was no telling what trap or horror awaited if he opened that door.
Imagining it sent chills down Sa Gyeom’s spine.
Seeing through his thoughts, Cheon Bigang sneered.
“A master teaches, and a disciple learns. A father and son are the same. Those who live through succession do not wait for help.”
His gaze pierced into Sa Gyeom’s soul.
“The only pitiful one wandering in place here is you. Sa Gyeom.”
“…….”
Thud.
Sa Gyeom dropped to his knees.
He realized that from this day on, he would never be able to recklessly enter Gyojin’s room.
Even an open door would be suspicious.
Cheon Bigang looked at him briefly from the stairs, then lost interest and returned to his room.
Lying on the bed, gazing at the moonlight streaming through the window, he muttered.
“Only the moonlight is unnecessarily beautiful.”
---
Black Tiger Sect office.
Upon hearing that the freelance contractors had been captured, Joo Giyoung, who had been looking over a map of Kowloon City’s harbor, grew irritated.
“What? They failed? I told them to kill a single brat—was that so hard?”
“It seems the hired men got greedy. According to the police, they were aiming for the emblem of the Kowloon Seven Swords.”
“And then?”
“The ammunition crate exploded, causing chaos. It appears Sa Gyeom subdued them at the scene.”
Hearing the report, Joo Giyoung was dumbfounded.
“…Unbelievable. And those freelancers—thinking of stealing the symbol of the Kowloon Seven Swords. Quite bold, aren’t they?”
“Perhaps they saw the case of Minor Consort Tongue Blade and intended to sell it to a major sect. In this city, it’s something that can’t easily be measured in money.”
“I see. Now that I think about it, that emblem could make a fine gift for President Oh, don’t you think?”
“Oh! As expected, a brilliant idea. Sect Leader, what are your plans this time?”
Rubbing his chin, Joo Giyoung smiled wickedly.
“Contact the Hao Clan. This time, we’ll do it cleanly. We’ll propose a martial duel.”
“Ah! Then I’ll bring someone I know. There’s one who has taken the serum.”