novelraw Chapter 25 : Hunter
Chapter 25 : Hunter
Five years later. Southeast of Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province.
The Wu River and the Xiaoqing River, which flowed into Poyang Lake, surrounded Muwu Village to the north and south.
Low mountains full of deep greenery were in the north, and to the east were wide farmlands, and to the south, wild mountains rose sporadically like the horns of an ox.
It looked like a good village for people to live in, with good scenery and abundant water.
Muwu Village, where about five hundred households were gathered, was one of the hundreds of villages near Poyang Lake.
A market was formed around the central main road of Muwu Village, and several shops and taverns caught the attention of passersby.
Moo~ Moo~.
Many cows were grazing and resting on the pasture near the village entrance. On one side, something like a large tomb was visible, and seeing that it was dark brown and had many insects, it seemed to be cow dung collected for use as compost.
The smell of earth and cow dung flowed out to the village entrance.
The young man in plain clothes standing at the entrance of the village looked around and then slowly walked into the village.
No matter where one went in the world, there were always unorthodox martial artists.
Muwu Village also had ruffians who used their strength gathered and dominated the streets. They called themselves the Blade Blood Gang and had a tattoo of a knife on their shoulders as the mark of the gang.
They collected protection money under the pretext of maintaining the village's security and walked around with their necks and shoulders stiff.
Beyond the alley behind the main road that cut through the central street of Muwu Village, there was a gambling den where many people came and went.
In front of the closed gambling den, two rough-looking stout men were sitting with their tops off.
They were members of the Blade Blood Gang who were in charge of watching the people coming and going to the gambling den. Most of the Blade Blood Gang, from the gang leader to the members, were gathered in this gambling den.
As the young man in plain clothes approached the front of the gambling den, the two stout men raised their hands and blocked the entrance.
The young man took out his money pouch and showed it. As they confirmed the money, the two stout men nodded, opened the door, and the young man in plain clothes entered the gambling den, which was full of a sour smell.
Even though it was broad daylight, the gambling den was full of many people. From those who gathered in groups of three and five to enjoy mahjong, one side was crowded with people enjoying cricket fights.
The young man in plain clothes sat in an empty chair, looked around the gambling den, and caught his breath for a moment.
His gaze went beyond the second floor of the gambling den.
He could see members of the Blade Blood Gang, men in silk clothes, and decorated courtesans coming and going up the stairs leading to the separate room on the second floor.
Passing through the back door of the gambling den and over the wall, several buildings were lined up in a spacious yard.
From the house with a wide roof in the center, the smell of blood flowed out.
"Keu-euk!"
The middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, who was sitting tied to a chair, let out a groan with a swollen face.
Next to him, three more were sitting in the same state, but they had all fainted and their heads were bowed low.
In front of him, a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties was sitting, and a dozen or so stout men were standing near the door.
The man in his prime, who was sitting in a chair, moved his hand towards the middle-aged man with a cold expression.
Slap!
As he slapped his cheek hard, the middle-aged man trembled his shoulders and raised his head. His lips were burst, and his nose was bleeding.
The man in his prime sneered and said.
"It seems you're looking down on us because we don't kill people. The promised date has already passed by fifteen days. If you borrow money, you have to pay it back."
"I'll definitely pay it back. Please give me more time. I'll pay it back within fifteen days."
Although the middle-aged man pleaded earnestly, the man in his prime shook his head. He had a face that had already decided something.
The money he had borrowed for gambling and the interest alone exceeded fifty nyang of silver. Since it was quite a large sum of money, he had to collect it somehow.
"If you don't have money, you have to pay with your body. Your wife is old and useless, so I'll take your two sons."
"What are you talking about? You can't do that!"
Slap!
The man who had slapped the cheek of the middle-aged man who was denying it shook his head.
"If you bring your two sons tomorrow, I'll forgive all the money you've borrowed until now. As a bonus, I'll give you ten nyang of silver. How about it?"
At the man's words, the middle-aged man thought for a moment and then nodded.
"I... I'll do it."
As the middle-aged man answered, the man smiled and said to the subordinates standing at the door.
"Take him away."
"Yes."
The two stout men answered, took the middle-aged man outside, and then came back in a short while later.
In the room, the three men were still sitting tied up.
Jin Chil, the young leader of the Blade Blood Gang who was looking at them, thought for a moment about what to do. The gang leader had said to throw them into Poyang Lake as fish food, but that would be useless.
To make money, it was better to sell them than to kill them.
"Lock these guys in the warehouse. When the slave traders come in a few days, I'll have to sell them."
The slave traders who were active in secret bought and sold people, and they were not people who could be easily met.
The reason Jin Chil knew them was because they had approached him separately a few years ago. When the Blade Blood Gang took control of Muwu Village, they had approached him.
"Understood."
With the answer, the stout men standing in the room took the three men to the warehouse.
It was then.
"Jin Chil, the young leader of the Blade Blood Gang. Original name, Shim Woon-tak."
Jin Chil was startled by the voice from above his head and raised his head.
"Huh?"
In Jin Chil's eyes, he saw a man hanging upside down from the ceiling like a bat. The moment their eyes met, the man fell down.
Rustle!
With a strange sound, a silver light briefly brushed past Jin Chil's eyes. Immediately after, a red blood line was drawn on Jin Chil's neck, and blood flowed down.
"Ah... Ugh... Ah..."
Jin Chil, who was opening his mouth, stood for a moment with his eyes wide open.
The last thought Jin Chil had was not the identity of the man who had appeared like a ghost.
'How did he know my name from ten years ago...'
Jin Chil died thinking of the name Shim Woon-tak until the very end.
Just then, the man in plain clothes who had fallen from the ceiling grabbed Jin Chil's head and looked at his face.
"It's him."
The man muttered with an indifferent expression, then placed Jin Chil's head on the desk and began to look for a suitable box.
"Young Leader."
Creak!
Just then, three stout men opened the door and entered the room. They saw Jin Chil's head on the desk and their eyes widened.
The floor was soaked with blood.
Before they could even grasp what had happened, the man in plain clothes moved his hand.
A silver light flashed, and holes were pierced in the temples of the stout men who were standing side by side.
There wasn't even a scream.
The man in plain clothes, holding a sharp short sword in his hand, passed the stout men, found a wooden box containing a small wine jar, and picked it up.
Thump! Thump-thump!
The sound of the stout men, who were bleeding from their temples, falling echoed in the room.
The man, without even giving them a glance, put Jin Chil's head in the box, wrapped it in a cloth, and went outside.
* * *
Near Nanchang City, the capital of Jiangxi Province, where many people had lived since ancient times, there was a place under construction. It was the Nanchang branch of the Martial Alliance.
It had only been forty years since the Martial Alliance was created.
Although forty years had passed, the leader of the Martial Alliance had not changed, and its power was growing with each passing year.
A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, wearing a worn-out gray martial arts uniform, was walking into the Nanchang branch.
The man's hands were white, but his face had a short beard and a dark complexion, as if he hadn't washed for a few days.
His eyes were single-lidded with thick lines, and his eyebrows were thick, giving a strong impression.
Except for the fact that he hadn't washed, he had a handsome appearance.
In the young man's right hand, a large box wrapped in a cloth rattled and shook as he moved.
A thick smell of blood was flowing out from around the man.
The warriors of the branch who were guarding the main gate saw the man and blocked his front.
A man who appeared to be a team leader, in his late twenties, spread his broad shoulders and asked.
"What brings you here?"
"Bounty."
As the young man answered, holding up the box wrapped in a cloth, the team leader frowned. It was because the smell of blood was flowing out from it.
"A head?"
"That's right."
At the young man's answer, the team leader opened the way.
Since the team leader had seen the young man several times, he did not check his identity separately. It was a perfunctory question and answer.
One of the most famous hunters (bounty hunters) in Nanchang City at present was the young man he was seeing now.
The young man passed through the gate of the branch and entered the inner hall where the steward was staying with familiar steps.
Deep inside the inner hall, there was a desk, and there, a young member of the literary department was sitting in a chair, attending to his duties.
The young man entered the inner hall and looked at the wanted posters on the wall.
Many wanted posters with portraits drawn on them were on the wall. Among them, the name 'Shim Woon-tak' was also visible.
They were all criminals of Jiangxi Province with a bounty on their heads.
"You're here?"
At the voice from behind, the young man turned his head.
A middle-aged man with a fine physique, who appeared to be in his late forties, was coming in.
It was Jo Mal-sang, the steward of the Nanchang branch.
Although he looked old, he was still a bachelor, and when he saw the young man, he gestured and sat in a chair.
The young man approached him and placed the box wrapped in a cloth on the desk.
"Who is it?"
"Shim Woon-tak."
At the name Shim Woon-tak, Jo Mal-sang nodded, then untied the cloth and opened the box.
Inside the box was the head of Shim Woon-tak, covered in blood.
Jo Mal-sang, who took out the nameplate from inside the box and confirmed the name, closed the box again and placed it under his feet.
He took out a money pouch from his sleeve and placed it down. It was the bounty for Shim Woon-tak.
Shim Woon-tak was a fugitive who had kidnapped and raped a woman near the Yangtze River and then killed her.
He was a person for whom the government had requested a wanted notice from the Martial Alliance because they couldn't catch him, and his whereabouts had not been found for over a year.
But the young man had managed to find Shim Woon-tak and brought his head.
"Thirty nyang."
"Thank you."
The young man answered briefly and then turned his body. Since his business was over, he was about to go back. The steward caught him.
"Hey, Jin Sa-wol."
The young man, who heard the name Jin Sa-wol, stopped and turned his body. The steward offered him tea on the desk and spoke again.
"Have a cup of tea."
As the steward offered tea, Jin Sa-wol nodded with an indifferent expression.
Jin Sa-wol was looking out the window.
It had already been three years since he had come here. It had also been three years since he had been active as a hunter, and it had been three years since he had changed his name from Jin Sawoon to Jin Sa-wol to avoid the pursuit of the Demonic Cult.
The reason he had come to Nanchang and not another place was because there were fewer large martial arts sects compared to other regions.
The ruler of Nanchang was the Namgung family. Except for the Namgung family, there were no notable martial arts sects or martial arts families.
There were quite a few small and medium-sized gangs, but that was the same in other regions. The world was wide, and countless martial arts sects existed in the martial world.
"They say there are hundreds of bandits in Noryeon Mountain. They have plundered several nearby villages, and the government also sent a subjugation team, but the mountain is rugged, so it seems they just came back after suffering casualties. So our Nanchang branch has decided to subjugate them. What do you think?"
It was a proposal to go on a bandit subjugation together.
Jin Sa-wol was silent.
The steward spoke again.
"If you kill one bandit, it's ten nyang of silver."
Ten nyang of silver for the life of a bandit was quite expensive. If he killed just ten, he could earn a hundred nyang.
Although it was a very good proposal, Jin Sa-wol shook his head.
"I prefer to be alone."
As he refused, Steward Jo Mal-sang showed a disappointed expression and stroked his beard.
"We're leaving in fifteen days, so if you change your mind before then, come."
"Yes."
Jin Sa-wol answered, finished his tea, and then stood up. On his way out of the inner hall, he did not forget to take one of the wanted posters on the wall.
(End of Chapter)