The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 77 : Honor and Loyalty (4)

Martial artists who prefer fists and swords do not much like a war of words fought with the tongue. Man Bakja was also like that. Why use the tongue when you have a good fist? A martial artist should speak with their fists.

It was a statement that would have astonished Jang So-gil if he had heard it, but unfortunately, that was the thought of most martial artists. So when Jang So-gil approached, slowly loosening his tongue, Man Bakja's rebellious spirit flared up.

"Kk, kkeung..."

But Man Bakja only let out a groan and did not stop Jang So-gil. It was because there was a part that was bothering him.

Jang So-gil's words that Man Bakja was originally of a noble status. He couldn't stand it because he was so curious about how on earth he knew that fact. If he had sprinkled bait to make him have no choice but to listen to his words, he could only admire it as a truly exquisite choice of bait.

As if he knew all of Man Bakja's heart, Jang So-gil smiled slyly.

"It's bothering you, isn't it?"

"Keum... What is?"

"Ehei, you're pretending it's not, even though you're dying of curiosity about why I said you were of a noble origin, Man Bakja-nim."

Man Bakja's beard trembled.

Suppressing his anger, he asked back.

"So, how do you know me?"

"I have seen you before, Man Bakja-nim. Do you remember the rice arson incident that happened in Sichuan seven years ago?"

"I remember. It was a very terrible incident."

"When the harvest increased due to a good year, the price of rice began to fall. A powerful man in Sichuan, who was about to suffer a huge loss, burned a large amount of harvested rice to raise the price of rice. The price of rice not only rebounded but skyrocketed, and the common people who had no money to buy rice starved and became beggars."

The world was having an unprecedented good year, but there was no rice to eat. People were astonished. Regardless, the powerful man, who was a large landowner, continued to burn rice to see an even greater profit.

"In the midst of that, you came, Man Bakja-nim."

"Th-that's right. I was a little younger then."

Man Bakja's face turned red. It was understandable. His personality was fiery even now, but the Man Bakja of seven years ago was even more so.

Man Bakja, who had rushed over in one go after hearing the rumor, had kicked the main gate of the large mansion and split it in half as soon as he arrived, knocked down the escort warriors who were trying to stop him, and then grabbed the powerful man's hair and dragged him out.

And in the marketplace, as if to show off, he beat the powerful man like a dog, and then...

"He eventually burst his testicles, broke his limbs, and threw him into a cesspool to kill him."

"I-I was young then."

"No, Man Bakja-nim, you were plenty old even seven years ago. And even now, there's really nothing that has changed, is there?"

"Kk, kkeueueung..."

To think he would face his vigorous past in a place like this.

Man Bakja, sweating profusely, avoided his eyes.

"I was there too. So I watched the whole course of the incident."

"Is there anything to call a course..."

"Think about it. A martial artist, dragged a person who was not even a martial artist out of his own house and beat him to death in front of all the common people. This is a matter for the government to be dispatched. No matter how much of a beggar he is, no matter how much of a martial arts master he is, he cannot reign above the law. The constables who came in great alarm took you away, Man Bakja-nim. Up to here, it was a common-sense matter."

Since he had committed a crime, he was taken away. It was a natural thing.

But what happened after that was not natural.

"After being taken away by the constables, you came out of the government office in just three hours, Man Bakja-nim. And then you spat out phlegm and pissed on a wall."

"Heom, heomheom. I see. But how did you know that I was of a noble status? Isn't this just a reminiscence?"

Jang So-gil's eyes widened, and he retorted instead.

"Don't you know?"

"I-I don't know."

"That powerful man was the legitimate son of a prestigious family that had produced many high-ranking officials. A beggar who had beaten such a great powerful man to death walked out of the government office on his own two feet in just three hours after being caught. Is this a story that is even plausible if he is not of a noble status?"

"Ah..."

If such a thing had happened, it would be hard to think of him as an ordinary beggar. It made sense, more or less.

Man Bakja blinked his eyes and asked back.

"No, then..."

Jang So-gil smiled refreshingly.

"That's right. There is no proper basis or evidence. I just took a guess."

"I thought there was something, but in the end, it was just a guess!"

As Man Bakja became enraged and his face turned red like a jujube, Jang So-gil grinned.

"How could that be? There are a few more reasons why I guessed your identity, Man Bakja-nim. Please listen calmly for a little longer."

"Kkeung... You insolent fellow. You're playing me like a fiddle."

"About you, Man Bakja-nim, it is known to the public like this. A master produced by the Beggars' Sect, a symbol of the Beggars' Sect, a mirror of the Beggars' Sect. But in fact, you became a member of the Beggars' Sect between the ages of twenty and thirty. It is said that your history before that is unknown. Come to think of it, you are not the foundation of the Beggars' Sect or anything, but a stone that has rolled in."

"Kkeueueung..."

"Now let's dig a little deeper from there. It is customary for the people of the Beggars' Sect not to be interested in the history of a new member. Because there are often some unavoidable circumstances. But since you are a great master, Man Bakja-nim, there are bound to be people who are wary. Even if he's a beggar, that person is somehow different, isn't he dangerous? There are those who are on edge, thinking like that. And there are also people who think, 'If this fellow has some weakness, I can use it.'"

Even if it was the Beggars' Sect, it was a place where people lived. Even if they were heroes, they were human.

Humans suspect humans. If a beggar who had grown up in the Beggars' Sect since he was young had become a master, it would be one thing, but if a master had suddenly rolled in from the outside, it was only natural to be suspicious. The beggars of the Beggars' Sect, who were sensitive to information, could not just stand by with their hands folded.

Man Bakja's expression crumpled bitterly.

"That's how it was."

"Po Chungryang was the latter. He dug for weaknesses to use them. Anyway, other people also secretly gathered information about you, Man Bakja-nim, whether for good or bad intentions. So everyone who knew, knew your hidden circumstances."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"The fact that you, Man Bakja-nim, were a criminal on the run for some grave crime at that time, before you suddenly appeared in the Beggars' Sect. The number of people in the Beggars' Sect who know this fact is at least ten."

Man Bakja's face distorted with all its might.

"You bastards who deserve to be dismembered. To investigate the background of your own family, you have no shame!"

"So the 'dog meat book', which only collects the shames of the Beggars' Sect, really exists."

"You even know about the dog meat book... Child, were you perhaps a person of the Beggars' Sect?"

"That's right. Until I was sixteen, I was a White-Robed Knot of the Beggars' Sect."

"I see. That's why you know the Beggars' Sect so well. But..."

Man Bakja frowned. The fellow named Jang So-gil deliberately stretched out what could be said simply.

Was it a simple habit, or was it intentional?

It was probably intentional. This was a long-winded speech to buy time.

"So what on earth is it that you want to say? Cut it short."

"Isn't it strange? A criminal who had run away appeared while killing a powerful man. He had newly added to his criminal record. He should have been arrested and either tortured or punished. But he was just let go. How many possible cases are there for this?"

This bastard has no intention of cutting his words short.

He continued to speak like flowing water without even taking a breath.

"At first, I thought that you, Man Bakja-nim, might be a descendant of a great prestigious family that far surpassed the family of the powerful man. Although you had committed a grave crime, perhaps the weight of that crime had lightened over time, or His Majesty the Emperor might have personally withdrawn the edict. I saw this as the most likely possibility. But."

"But."

"Seeing your reaction, Man Bakja-nim, this is not the right answer. Then let's continue to organize our thoughts. What's important in the story so far is this part. You, Man Bakja-nim, were a wanted criminal in your youth, and after that, for some reason, you showed an appearance of not being caught even if you committed a crime. What other possible cases are there for this?"

Jang So-gil counted on his fingers. One, two, three, four.

"Perhaps you were really of a very noble bloodline. Not just a descendant of a prestigious family, but perhaps a great bloodline with the blood of the Yellow Dragon flowing through it, which I dare not even mention. Then even if you have a record of committing a crime and running away, how could a local constable dare to lay a hand on you?"

"Eheo..."

"Well, a case like this is one in a hundred, if that. The possibility is very low. Moreover, seeing your reaction, Man Bakja-nim... you are 'related' to such a noble bloodline, but you yourself are not of a noble bloodline. Then the possibility remains that you are a person of a very great family that served a noble bloodline. As rumored, the probability that you were a person of the Zhuge Clan who served as an astronomer of the imperial family rises a little more."

"Stop. Stop it."

"Now, then, why did such a person become a wanted man? Let's continue to go over the possibilities..."

"I said stop!"

Listening to it, the story went on without end.

Man Bakja hurriedly composed his mind, which was about to be scattered by Jang So-gil's long-winded speech, and frowned.

"Listening to it, it seems that none of it is an important story."

He had been momentarily captivated by his story because he was curious about how he knew about him, but that was not an important matter. There was no reason why he had to listen to Jang So-gil's story right now.

Whatever Man Bakja's identity was, what did it matter?

He had come to handle a matter that a woman had requested, to repay the grace he had received from her. In short, he had received a request for a return of favor. There was no reason for anything else to be involved in this situation.

There was not a bit of substance in Jang So-gil's long story.

How did he know Man Bakja's past? He just had a few guesses and took a shot.

It was a story that could have been shortened to just two sentences.

"Ugly Dragon-!"

"My ears aren't blocked, you punk!"

'Wajangchang', Lee Dongpyeong and Yang Gwan were fighting, entangled, breaking the wall of the post station.

Yes, he should have done that too. He should have fought long ago, subdued this child, and moved on to take care of the aftermath.

Man Bakja, blaming himself for having listened to the story as if possessed by a ghost, even for a short while, clenched his fist and took a starting posture. His right arm was forward, and his left leg was slightly bent. A posture of attack that could rush in at any time. It was the starting posture of the first move of the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms, the 'Dragon Subduing with Regret', which could be said to be the essence of the art.

Now, all that was left was to fight. Jang So-gil licked his lips and then unfolded his arms.

"That's right. You've finally noticed. The long story so far was a story that didn't matter at all."

"Yes, then let's fight now. As your senior, I will yield three moves to you."

"There's no need for that."

"What?"

Was he so confident in his martial arts?

At the statement that went beyond confidence to arrogance, Man Bakja did not hide his anger.

"You arrogant fellow. Do you dare to think you can match me!!"

"No. Not at all."

"..."

A sigh came out. The more he spoke, the more he felt like he was being rolled up in something.

Yes, since when did a martial artist speak with their tongue? They speak with their fists.

Man Bakja shut his mouth firmly and raised his internal energy.

Then, as if to correct the misunderstanding, Jang So-gil gave a slight eye-smile and waved his hands.

"How could I, in my wildest dreams, dare to match the great Man Bakja-nim of the world?"

"..."

"But Man Bakja-nim, aren't you curious why I've been babbling on about such useless things until now?"

"I'm not curious. It must be a trivial time-wasting tactic."

"That's right. It's a trivial time-wasting tactic. Then for what would I have been wasting time?"

I shouldn't waste any more time talking to this fellow.

Man Bakja thought so and glared at Jang So-gil fiercely.

It was then.

An unimaginable explosion was heard, and the heavens and the earth shook.

Through it, Jang So-gil let out a low sneer.

"I was wasting time because I had something to count on."

"This sound, don't tell me!"

"Yes. As you know, it's him."

Regardless of whether it was the orthodox or the unorthodox, if there was a big commotion, that fellow would come.

Curious, playful, and the number one in the world in terms of being eccentric.

A strange old man whose inner thoughts no one could guess!

"Kehahahat-!"

The Explosion Demon had appeared.

(End of Chapter)