novelraw Chapter 114 : Is This What You Call an Honorable Fight
Chapter 114 : Is This What You Call an Honorable Fight
Chapter 114: Is This What You Call an Honorable Fight
The moment Jin Tae-gang’s massive body collapsed onto the dirt ground, complete silence took hold of the open clearing. The crackling sound of the burning torches felt grating as the surroundings grew unnaturally quiet.
The cheers and jeers that had been echoing just moments ago vanished as if they had been a lie, and hundreds of Chinese community members stood frozen with their mouths agape, unable to believe the scene before their eyes.
I looked down at the fallen Jin Tae-gang.
‘He didn’t pass out.’
I had struck the back of his neck precisely with the intention of knocking him unconscious, yet Jin Tae-gang had endured it.
He slammed his fist into the dirt in frustration and tried to push himself up, but he seemed unable to escape the shock of the final blow I had driven into him. He staggered and collapsed once more.
I crouched down in front of him and quietly looked into his eyes. What filled them was not just anger, but pure bewilderment beyond it.
“Can’t you understand why you lost?”
At my question, his pupils shook even more violently. The humiliation of having lost to someone far smaller than himself surfaced plainly on his face.
“It’s a difference in resolve. I can’t afford to lose here. For the goal I’ve set, I don’t have the luxury to hesitate over a fight like this.”
I leaned closer to his face and whispered in a voice only he could hear.
“I know your greed very well. You want Incheon, don’t you?”
Jin Tae-gang’s eyes flew wide open. Wariness rose in them, as if asking how I could possibly know that.
Gunsan and Incheon had been different in stature since birth. Incheon was the place where even more Chinese community members had taken root than in Seoul.
No matter how formidable Yang Sobo’s capital might be, Incheon could not be overwhelmed by sheer numbers alone.
“Wait. Once tonight passes, No Deok-su will become a toothless old tiger.”
Without waiting for his answer, I stood up. Then, turning my body, I unleashed a merciless spinning back kick toward his face.
With a dull thud, Jin Tae-gang’s massive body rolled sideways. At last, he completely lost consciousness.
I did not look down at the fallen Jin Tae-gang. Instead, I declared toward the leaders seated in the place of honor who had been watching everything.
“I will take the first victory.”
My low declaration echoed through the crackling sound of burning firewood.
Before surveying the gathering, I turned my gaze first to No Deok-su. His gaunt face had gone deathly pale, and the muscles in his jaw twitched as if convulsing.
Yet his eyes were fixed neither on Jin Tae-gang nor on me, but on Jin Jung-san, the man who had sent Jin Tae-gang out as the first contender. Resentment, anger, and even emptiness were all contained in his gaze.
Jin Jung-san was just as shocked. His eyes were still locked on the fallen Jin Tae-gang. He wore an expression that showed he had never even imagined his grandson might lose.
The other leaders merely swallowed dryly and observed the situation, not daring to react rashly.
Lastly, Yang Sobo. He simply looked at me with an intrigued gaze, as if he had expected my victory.
Jin Jung-san quickly recovered from his shock and rose from his seat.
“The first match goes to Baek Min-woo.”
His voice was quiet but powerful as it cut through the night’s stillness. Without sparing another glance at his defeated grandson, he turned to No Deok-su and spoke.
“Deok-su, the first match has gone to that boy. Who will you send out for the second?”
No Deok-su glared at Jin Jung-san with venomous eyes, then shifted his gaze toward where his subordinates were gathered.
Then he called out one man’s name.
“Lee Mun-chung. You go.”
“Yes, sir.”
A man who had been quietly standing among the Chinese community of Incheon stepped forward at No Deok-su’s command and entered the circle. He was different from Jin Tae-gang.
In his eyes, instead of unnecessary emotion, there swirled only a cold killing intent focused solely on crushing his opponent.
I lightly touched my side, where Jin Tae-gang had struck me earlier.
It seemed one of my ribs had cracked. Every time I moved, a throbbing pain sharply gnawed at my consciousness.
But that pain only sharpened my nerves further. I focused my eyes and examined the man before me.
‘What kind of style does he have?’
He was smaller in build than Jin Tae-gang, yet I could feel a hardness like compressed steel emanating from him.
“Lee Mun-chung.”
“Baek Min-woo.”
At his introduction, I calmly stated my own name. For a brief moment, we simply stared at each other in silence.
After glancing at Jin Tae-gang being carried away with assistance, Lee Mun-chung spoke first.
“To bring down Jin Tae-gang. Unexpected. But Jin Tae-gang relied only on brute strength. I am different from him.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lee Mun-chung moved first. His movements were nothing like Jin Tae-gang’s straightforward attacks.
Lowering his stance, he darted in and, like a snake targeting its prey, delivered fast, precise kicks toward my lower body.
I narrowly avoided the attack and retreated backward.
But Lee Mun-chung relentlessly pressed forward, sliding in as he threw a punch. His target was not my face, but the very side where Jin Tae-gang had struck me.
I reflexively lowered my arm to block his fist.
Thud!
With a dull sound, excruciating pain spread throughout my entire body.
“Kgh……!”
An unbearable groan escaped my lips. Lee Mun-chung already knew about my injury.
It had only been a fleeting graze, but it seemed he had identified my weakness from the very start. Lee Mun-chung persistently targeted that spot alone.
“Ho.”
A low murmur of admiration slipped from Lee Mun-chung’s mouth. He seemed surprised that I had blocked his attack. However, he gave me no opening and continued his assault.
Every one of his attacks was refined like something straight out of a textbook, and their ends relentlessly aimed for my injured side.
Gritting my teeth, I barely managed to block or deflect his attacks.
‘This is dangerous if it continues.’
I deliberately avoided one of his swift kicks and staggered as if I had lost my balance, making it look as though my legs had given out due to the pain in my side.
My intentional opening. Lee Mun-chung, convinced he had seized victory, would not miss such a chance.
“It’s over!”
He charged in with fierce momentum, throwing his fist for the final blow. It was the very moment I had been waiting for.
I instantly corrected the center of my staggering body and spun as I stepped into his space.
His fist grazed my hair as it cut through empty air. Using the momentum of my rotation, I drove my elbow, carrying everything I had, into his exposed jaw.
Thud!
With a dull sound like bones shattering, Lee Mun-chung’s body flew backward like a sheet of paper. He rolled roughly across the ground and barely managed to drop to one knee, gasping for breath.
Dragging my heavy body, I slowly approached him.
Dazed from the blow to his jaw, he instinctively grabbed a handful of dirt and gravel from the ground and flung it straight at my face as I came closer.
“What…!”
Caught off guard, I reflexively turned my head and shut my eyes. My vision went black as the rough sensation of sand scraped across my face.
“Lee Mun-chung! Finish it!”
From the pavilion, No Deok-su’s urgent shout rang out. Along with the sound of rushing wind, I felt his final blow flying toward me.
Instead of my blinded eyes, I trusted the senses of my body, etched with sixty years of time. I read his faint killing intent and the flow of the air.
Lowering my body, I planted my hand on the ground. Then, rotating my body as it was, I kicked toward his face.
Thud!
With a dull impact, my foot struck his temple squarely. I hurriedly wiped the sand from my face and regained my vision. Lee Mun-chung lay sprawled on the ground, limbs outstretched, completely motionless.
Panting heavily, I barely supported my staggering body. Every bone in my body creaked, and the pain in my side had dulled to the point of numbness.
I shouted fiercely toward the elders seated in the place of honor.
“Didn’t you call this an honorable duel! Is this what you call an honorable fight!”
My anger-filled shout echoed through the clearing where sparks leapt into the air. Instead of cheers of victory, a chilling silence descended.
Hundreds of gazes now turned not toward the fallen Lee Mun-chung in the circle, but toward the place of honor.
The first to react was the elder Jin Jung-san. The hearty laughter he had shown before was nowhere to be found as he slammed his cane into the ground and shouted angrily.
“Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful! To throw dirt in an honor-staked duel! That thing isn’t a man, it’s worse than a dog!”
At his rebuke, the other elders clicked their tongues and joined in.
“So this is the so-called fist of Incheon, resorting to such petty tricks. He’s smearing the face of the entire Chinese community!”
“Tsk tsk, Deok-su. Only now do I see what kind of man you sent out. With such poor judgment of people, how do you expect to lead Incheon?”
The arrows of criticism instantly turned toward No Deok-su, who had sent Lee Mun-chung out. His gaunt face, once filled with rage, now burned red with uncontrollable humiliation.
Unable to offer any excuse, he could only tremble as his lips quivered.
“Lord No! How could this be!”
Jin Tae-gang, who had regained consciousness at some point, staggered forward and spat toward the fallen Lee Mun-chung.
“Do not lump me together with such a coward! Our honor has been dragged into the dirt because of that bastard!”
“That is correct. One who breaks the rules must pay the corresponding price. Was that not our way?”
Son Gye-san added coldly as he adjusted his glasses.
While everyone reproached and condemned No Deok-su, only Yang Sobo silently observed the situation.
He merely lifted his teacup and savored its aroma, as if all of this had nothing to do with him.
But I could tell. He was extremely satisfied.
Beside him, No Deok-su did not even spare a glance for his subordinate Lee Mun-chung. He simply clenched his lips tightly and turned away from everything unfolding.
Then, Yang Sobo, who had been silent, set his teacup down.
Tap.
The small sound quelled all the noise in the banquet hall. His gaze shifted to Lee Mun-chung lying on the ground.
“Bring him.”
A quiet yet undeniable command. At Yang Sobo’s call, Zhang Wei and Lee Cheong-ho moved.
They dragged the unconscious Lee Mun-chung like a piece of baggage and threw him down in front of the place of honor.
“Pour water on him and wake him.”
At Yang Sobo’s order, one of his subordinates quickly brought a bucket of cold water.
Cold water splashed once, twice, three times in succession. As it poured over his face, Lee Mun-chung coughed violently and barely regained consciousness.
With blurred vision, he looked around in confusion before finally fixing his gaze on his master, No Deok-su.
Yang Sobo rose from his seat and stood before the trembling Lee Mun-chung.
Surveying the hundreds of Chinese community members gathered in the clearing, he spoke in a firm voice.
“Our rules were written in blood. Those who betray trust, and those who defile honor, must pay the corresponding price. That is how we survived on this foreign land, and how we will continue to live. Even if I leave this land, this ironclad rule must be upheld.”
His gaze turned to the elder Jin Jung-san. Receiving it, Jin Jung-san nodded heavily, rose with the support of his cane, and shouted in a resolute voice.
“For breaking the rules, Lee Mun-chung is sentenced to finger punishment. Cut off his right index and middle fingers so that he may never again clench a cowardly fist!”
“No……!”
Only then did Lee Mun-chung grasp the situation and cry out in terror. But it was already too late.
Zhang Wei drew a dagger from his waist and strode forward. There was no emotion on his face.
“No! Sir! Lord No, please……!”
Lee Mun-chung’s desperate pleas scattered into the air. No Deok-su continued to avert his gaze.
Zhang Wei stomped on his right hand and, without hesitation, drove the dagger down.