novelraw Chapter 106 : Chapter 106
Chapter 106 : Chapter 106
Chapter 106 - What is your identity
Half a year later.
The stream of the wave began at a tavern in Changsha, Hunan Province.
Crash!
“Oops!”
With a loud noise, a man rolled on the floor.
He was a man with an impressive long goat beard, but one of his cheeks was already swollen as if he had been punched.
From the opposite side of the noise, a voice like a beast’s growl was heard.
“How dare this bastard…….”
Thud, thud.
A young man with a sturdy physique slowly approached the goat-bearded man.
“You try to scam me?”
The place where the goat-bearded man rolled was a large tavern called ‘Clear River Pavilion’.
However, among those based in Changsha, there was no one who didn't know that this place was actually a gambling den for big spenders.
Crash!
A loud noise rang out again, and household items scattered on the floor flew into the air.
Perhaps angry to the tip of his head, the man was kicking every object his foot touched as he approached.
“Hiek……!”
A tavern and a gambling den.
A place where quarrels, big and small, never ceased.
Usually, in such cases, people around would intervene, telling them to calm down.
Because if the manager of this place appeared for no reason, the fun could be spoiled.
However, right now.
There was no one trying to stop the man causing the commotion.
Why?
Because the man’s impression was truly, utterly, unspeakably vicious.
‘How can a person’s face look so scary?’
‘Let’s stay still and not get robbed by talking to him for no reason.’
‘He’s going to kill someone today.’
‘He has guts. To try using sleight of hand on such a ferocious-looking man.’
Far from stopping the young man, people were stepping back hesitantly, clearing a path.
Some even gulped while looking at the sword at his waist.
“You bastard. When I was in Simao, my nickname was 'One-Ear Maker'. Do you know why? Because I cut off one ear of everyone who played tricks with their hands.”
“Hiiiik!”
The goat-bearded man flailed his legs while sitting on his buttocks.
He was also a figure who had rolled in gambling dens for over ten years.
He was the owner of a strong heart who wouldn't blink an eye at ordinary threats.
If someone else had said this, he might have snorted, telling them not to bluff.
However, the man in front of him was different.
The slant eyes soaring high into the sky, eyebrows that looked like they could cut like knives, and protruding cheekbones gave a chilling feeling just by looking at them.
‘This guy is real……!!’
Depending on his mood, he was a guy who could easily cut off a neck, not just an ear.
Because, he just looked like that……!!
The young man’s ferocious appearance had the power to turn any threat into truth.
Therefore, there was only one conclusion the goat-bearded man could reach.
“P-please spare me! I was wrong! Please, just spare my life! I beg you like this.”
Then, the young man scratched his chin with his finger.
“I didn't go as far as saying I’d kill you…….”
“I am just a person working here too; I really didn't want to use sleight of hand on you! This is true! So please, just spare my life!”
“No, look, I didn't say I’d kill you…….”
The man, who was looking down at the goat-bearded man with a dumbfounded face, suddenly flashed his eyes.
“You work here? Are you saying you weren't pulling a trick privately?”
“……!”
In fact, there was no need to be that honest.
But as the man with the face he feared would appear in his dreams approached while rolling his eyes, the goat-bearded man ended up blurting out words he didn't even have to say without realizing it.
“Th-that is so. I am a person hired by this Clear River Pavilion. When pushovers like you…… no, drifters come, I sit together and start gambling.”
“Ha.”
The man swallowed a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded, then looked around with piercing eyes.
“These guys are all in cahoots too, huh? Seeing how they feigned ignorance when there must have been guys who knew about it.”
The man’s words were true.
People who frequently gambled at the Clear River Pavilion didn't even go near the seats where the goat-bearded man appeared.
Because they knew well that he worked on pushovers and that the managers here looked after him.
‘Hiek……!’
No one dared to make eye contact with the nasty-looking man.
Most of the people who visited this gambling den were those unhealthy in body and mind.
It was an understandable reaction since even martial artists of Jianghu would flinch and step back upon seeing the man.
Before long, the young man approached right in front of the goat-bearded man.
“Since today is my first day in Changsha, I will show mercy. I’ll let you off with cutting off both index fingers and middle fingers.”
“…………?”
The goat-bearded man doubted his ears for a moment.
Usually, if someone says they'll let you off…… don't you receive less punishment?
Why impose a heavier punishment while pretending to be lenient?
Besides, if you take the thumb and middle finger from a technician, how is he supposed to make a living!
It was when the goat-bearded man lay flat on the floor again to apologize.
“Stop.”
A low and heavy voice was heard from one side.
The crowd who recognized that voice sighed respectively.
A sigh of relief that a sword fight happening right in front of their eyes would be prevented.
And another was a sigh of pity that the man would soon be dragged somewhere and die without a sound.
“L-Lord Huang!”
The goat-bearded man sprang up like a spring and hid behind Lord Huang.
Since the manager of this place had appeared, he felt he was alive now.
Slap!
“Ouch!”
However, the person called Lord Huang slapped the goat-bearded man’s cheek as soon as he approached.
Soon, a suppressed voice leaked from the person called Lord Huang.
“Did I not tell you to bet your neck every time you use a technique? It is fortunate that that guy picked a fight inside; if he had gone outside and spread rumors, you would have died by my sword, not his.”
“……I was wrong, my lord.”
Without even a thought to soothe his stinging cheek, the goat-bearded man lay flat on the floor.
It seemed this man was a guy with terrible skills and guts.
At that moment, the young man called Lord Huang.
“Hey.”
“?”
“Hand it over.”
Although it was natural to be intimidated by Lord Huang’s sharp hand, the young man rather held out one hand and grinned.
“Hand it over?”
“If you get caught using a technique, you have to cut off something, anything. Isn't that the rule of this floor?”
The man’s words were actually reasonable.
Whether this was Changsha, Simao, or Luoyang, paying the price when caught using a technique was the rule of this floor.
“He got caught by me while playing with his hands, so hand him over. He is mine.”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, but you saw wrong.”
“I’m telling you I saw it myself?”
“You saw wrong.”
Crackle, it felt like sparks were flying between the gazes of the two men.
None of the crowd could easily raise their voices and were just watching with bated breath.
In fact, obscured by the young man’s overwhelming face, the person called Lord Huang was also not of an appearance to be intimidated anywhere.
Not only his rugged features, but the long scar stretching from the middle of his forehead to the bridge of his nose felt very dangerous.
“It seems there is a misunderstanding, so why don't we move locations and talk?”
Lord Huang proposed as if he would yield a step.
But the people gathered here knew well that it was a lie.
He did so only because he didn't want to cause a disturbance here; at the end of that ‘conversation’, a severed head always rolled around.
‘As expected, it’s wrong to just pass by…….’
The crowd looked at the young man with gazes half curious and half worried.
He was a man who seemed to have nothing to fear in the world, but they thought he would eventually follow Lord Huang’s words.
Because while the managers Lord Huang brought exceeded ten, the man appeared to be alone.
The most decisive factor was that they were members of a powerful force that dominated this Changsha area.
Ghost Face Gang.
There was no one living in Changsha who didn't know that name.
‘There were no people who returned alive and well after falling out of the Ghost Face Gang’s favor.’
‘It’s to the extent that even masters of the Orthodox Sects hush and step back…….’
‘Bad guys. To deceive people first and then threaten to cut off heads if they make a fuss.’
Even the Mount Heng Sect, famous under the heavens, did not easily draw swords here in Changsha.
That was how tremendous the ripple effect of the Ghost Face Gang was here in Changsha.
They controlled all sorts of illegal and shady affairs taking place in the Changsha area.
Escort agencies.
Gambling dens.
Brothels.
Usury.
And, contract killing.
Since it was a group that moved all those businesses like one body, no one dared to think of opposing them.
Only the escort agency, which could be called a legitimate business, had competitors; the rest of the businesses were effectively monopolized by the Ghost Face Gang.
Given the circumstances, it was unimaginable for an unidentified drifter man to oppose the Ghost Face Gang alone.
“I don’t want to?”
And this rugged man accomplished that difficult thing.
The man slowly sat on a nearby empty chair and grinned.
“Chairs and tables. Sweet liquor and snacks. Everything is here. Is there a place better for talking than here?”
Lord Huang was dumbfounded by that composed appearance.
‘What kind of bastard is this?’
Let’s say his appearance is what it is.
But even though a group of swordsmen wearing swords, including himself, were setting up a formation, his face looked overflowing with composure.
It wasn't simple bluffing; he was truly full of conviction.
That he wouldn't be defeated here.
“Listening to me will be beneficial for your well-being.”
He was so heated that his head felt hot, but Lord Huang exercised patience and proposed again.
Seeing as he looked like he didn't have much money, if property was damaged while cutting that guy’s throat here, it would be a big loss.
However, Lord Huang’s patience became a vain effort.
Because the young man slowly raised one middle finger.
“F*ck off.”
“!”
The surrounding people opened their mouths in surprise more than Lord Huang himself.
For the past few years, there had not been a single person who raised a middle finger to Lord Huang in this Clear River Pavilion.
‘He finally meets disaster due to youthful vigor……!’
‘It’s all over now.’
Around the time everyone was thinking similarly, Lord Huang bared his teeth and laughed.
“Hehehe.”
Uma also faced him and bared his white teeth.
“Hehehehe.”
“Hahahaha!”
“……?”
When did they exchange sharp dialogue? Now facing each other and laughing heartily.
However, Lord Huang and the young man intuitively knew.
That their conversation would end soon.
Slide.
Lord Huang slowly moved his right hand.
At that sight, Uma, laughing voraciously, spoke slyly.
“If you grab that, you die.”
“……!”
“It’s not a joke. If you grasp that, you die.”
Lord Huang snorted and moved his hand again, which had paused.
One should bluff within limits.
Even those who succeeded in gaining a knot from the Mount Heng Sect (First-Knot Beggars) usually ran away whimpering if he glared.
Not by the name of the Ghost Face Gang, but by his sword.
It was when Lord Huang finally grasped the sword handle.
Flash!
“?”
It was not a body, but like a streak of flash.
Something flashed in front of the eyes, and a shining sword blade was stretched out straight.
“Sword Aura……!”
Sword Aura.
A brilliantly shining blue Sword Aura was brightly illuminating the inside of the tavern.
But what surprised the crowd was not the Sword Aura.
Because between the Sword Aura and the Sword Aura, a man’s neck was pierced.
“Gurgle…….”
The owner of the neck was none other than Lord Huang.
Without even realizing what had happened, Lord Huang met such a futile death.
The man’s words that he would die if he grasped the sword were realized immediately.
“!!!!!!!”
The heads of the people moved left and right like a pendulum.
The pierced neck of Lord Huang.
And the face of the man smiling as if it were ridiculous.
For them, it was a spectacle they couldn't believe even while seeing it.
“You! What is your identity! Where are you from!”
A voice containing astonishment flew into the man’s ears.
The young man bared his teeth again and laughed.
“My name is Uma. A swordsman of the Diancang Sect.”