My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 74
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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74.
Namgung Bongseong turned his gaze to Namgung Cheolsang, who had brought the report.
“Did they really testify like this?”
“I couldn’t believe it either, so I read it twice.”
“You’re saying Seol Podoo killed six Dangju and then even killed Bang-ju Won Baeguk. And we’re supposed to believe this.”
“Two people are saying the same thing, so we have no choice but to believe it.”
“Seol Podoo was evenly matched with you, Cheolsang?”
“That’s how it seemed when I fought him.”
“Could you kill six Oryongbang Dangju plus Won Baeguk?”
“Six Dangju might be possible somehow, but Won Baeguk is…”
It was widely known in Murim that Won Baeguk’s martial arts rivaled those of the Odaesega family heads.
And Namgung Cheolsang’s martial arts were far inferior compared to his older brother Namgung Bongseong.
“If this report is true, then Seol Podoo was going easy on you back then…”
“There was no sign of that.”
“If you couldn’t even notice it, just how skilled must Seol Podoo be?”
Namgung Cheolsang shook his head.
“Not even twenty years old yet his martial arts rival those of Odaesega family heads. It gives me chills.”
“What’s truly frightening is the future rather than the present. If he’s this strong now, how powerful will Seol Podoo become in ten or twenty years? I’m really curious about his master.”
“Fortunately, such a Seol Podoo isn’t our enemy.”
“That’s true for now, but Murim is a living thing. Murim is a place where no one knows how things might change tomorrow. Of course, Seol Podoo doesn’t seem likely to become an enemy, but it’s better to be certain.”
The person who came to both their minds was Namgung Hyemin.
“We need to secure him before Seol Podoo makes his mark in Murim.”
***
“Ahhh—!”
With a long scream, Market Street erupted into chaos.
“Get away! Get away, I said!”
A gaunt Middle-aged Man with a pale complexion was swinging a short sword at passersby.
As people scattered in all directions, street stalls toppled over, and vegetables and meat being sold scattered across the ground.
Seol Mujin, who was patrolling with constable Oh Cheongun, ran toward where the commotion was happening.
The Middle-aged Man had climbed on top of a woman who had tripped over a street stall and was about to stab her with his short sword.
Seol Mujin kicked a radish rolling on the ground.
The radish flew faster than an arrow and struck the Middle-aged Man’s head.
“Ugh!”
With a short cry, the Middle-aged Man collapsed with a thud.
“Seol Podoo!”
“It’s Seol Podoo!”
Welcoming calls erupted from here and there.
Oh Cheongun, who ran ahead first, checked on the woman’s condition first.
After confirming she wasn’t seriously hurt, Oh Cheongun turned over the fallen Middle-aged Man.
“This bastard seems to be on opium.”
At those words, Seol Mujin’s brow furrowed.
Opium was an item Seol Mujin had banned two years ago.
So now there wasn’t a single place among Jinan’s underworld that dealt with opium.
Opium was an item that was nearly impossible to supply without the underworld’s involvement.
So opium incidents inevitably involved the underworld.
Seol Mujin said to Oh Cheongun.
“Escort that bastard to the Government Office first.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m craving some opium.”
“What?”
Seol Mujin left the surprised Oh Cheongun behind and headed toward Heukbong Guild.
Heukbong Guild’s Gang Leader Hwang Dalsik made a dismayed expression looking at the brick-like opium and silver coins piled on his desk.
“Hy… Hyung, what is this?”
Hwang Dalsik’s maternal cousin Wang Buseok said casually while counting silver coins.
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
“That’s why I’m asking. I told you opium and human trafficking are off limits!”
Wang Buseok’s hands counting silver coins stopped abruptly.
“Hey, our little brother has grown up a lot. Now he’s even raising his voice at his hyung.”
“Don’t I look like I should raise my voice? This is a matter of our Heukbong Guild’s survival!”
“Our Heukbong Guild?”
Wang Buseok looked at the two middle-aged men sitting in chairs, trimming their nails with short swords.
“Do you guys also think Heukbong Guild is our Heukbong Guild?”
“How would we know your family tree? I came here to make some money with Guksu, not to learn about your lineage.”
“Tsk! After seven years in prison, the family tree got all messed up like a dog’s.”
Wang Buseok placed his hand on Hwang Dalsik’s shoulder.
“Dalsik, Heukbong Guild isn’t ours, it’s mine. My property that I temporarily entrusted to you seven years ago.”
Hwang Dalsik could only grit his teeth and couldn’t say no.
While Wang Buseok was imprisoned for seven years on murder charges, he had overcome three life-threatening crises and doubled the size of Heukbong Guild.
And now he’s saying Heukbong Guild is his?
Still, the reason Hwang Dalsik had to keep his mouth shut was because he would definitely die if he upset Wang Buseok.
Wang Buseok was the strongest thug in Jinan’s underworld until seven years ago.
There was no thug who could face Wang Buseok one-on-one.
One such strong and fierce Wang Buseok was already overwhelming, but he had brought even scarier guys with him.
They were people he met in prison, and they claimed to be Martial Artists.
It was extremely rare for Martial Artists to be imprisoned, so if they had served time, it meant either they had committed tremendous crimes or had crawled in themselves to hide from other Martial Artists.
Still, he had to say this.
“Seol Podoo has banned opium.”
“Ugh! That damn Seol Podoo, Seol Podoo.”
Smack!
Hwang Dalsik’s head turned and he slumped to the floor.
He had only been slapped once, but the world was spinning and his mouth was bleeding.
“Are underworld thugs cowering before just one constable? Did all the underworld thugs become women during the seven years I was away?”
Hwang Dalsik thought.
‘Damn it, I wish Seol Podoo would come and sweep them all away.’
But then Seol Mujin appeared.
The figure of Seol Mujin climbing the stairs without making a sound gradually grew larger.
Now that Seol Mujin actually appeared, he felt scared.
It was instinctive fear.
To Jinan’s underworld, Seol Mujin was that kind of existence.
“Se, Seol Podoo!”
The gazes of Wang Buseok and the two men turned toward the stairs.
Meanwhile, Seol Mujin’s gaze was fixed on the opium placed on the desk.
His brow furrowed slightly.
There was no way such an expression would appear if he was in a good mood.
Hwang Dalsik crawled on his knees toward Seol Mujin.
“Seol Podoo! I, I didn’t distribute the opium!”
“This is the Heukbong Guild and you’re the gang leader, but it’s not your doing?”
Hwang Dalsik pointed at Wang Buseok and the two men with trembling hands.
“It, it was those bastards’ doing!”
“Who are they?”
“He was the Heukbong Guild leader until seven years ago, but when he went to prison, I became the gang leader! I really tried to stop them, saying opium and human trafficking were wrong, but that cousin of mine was blinded by money… I’m truly innocent! Look! I even bled from trying to stop the opium business!”
When he opened his mouth wide with his finger, blood dripped down.
He resented that only this much was flowing.
“My teeth seem to be loose too…”
Wang Buseok interrupted Hwang Dalsik’s words.
“Seol Podoo, Seol Podoo – I thought you’d look like a demon, but you’re quite a handsome young master?”
As Wang Buseok slowly approached, Hwang Dalsik, not knowing what to do, hid behind Seol Mujin with a ‘whatever happens, happens’ mentality.
Wang Buseok, standing in front of Seol Mujin, poked Seol Mujin’s chest with his index finger.
“They say when there’s no tiger on the mountain, the fox acts as king, but if the one acting as king is a podoo, that’s ridiculous.”
“Laugh.”
“What?”
“You should go to the afterlife laughing.”
“You bastard, what are you saying… Aaaah!”
Crack!
Seol Mujin grabbed Wang Buseok’s index finger and bent it upward, breaking it.
As Wang Buseok knelt in pain, the two men who had been trimming their nails lunged toward Seol Mujin.
“This bastard wants to die!”
Seol Mujin grabbed Wang Buseok’s ear and slammed him down.
Bang!
Wang Buseok’s head, hitting the floor, cracked like a ripe watermelon.
Seol Mujin dodged the short sword by only turning his head to the left, then reached out to grab the man’s ear.
Then he threw him toward the other man who was coming in succession.
Whoosh—! The flying man’s head crashed into the other man’s face.
Thud!
“Aaaah!”
Two screams sounded like one as the two colliding heads were smashed to pieces together.
Seol Mujin had simply disposed of Wang Buseok and the two men like that.
“Oh right! I should have asked those guys’ names to write the incident report.”
Seol Mujin asked Hwang Dalsik, who was still kneeling.
“Do you know those guys’ names?”
Hwang Dalsik shook his head.
“Then I’ll have to put them down as unknown identities.”
Seol Mujin said as he turned around.
“Dispose of the opium and you know what to do with the silver coins, right?”
“Of course!”
Even if he didn’t know, he had to say he did.
“I’ll come out of the government office today. You know how to testify, right?”
“Of course!”
Even if he didn’t know, he had to say he did.
“Do well.”
Even after the sound of Seol Mujin’s footsteps going down the stairs completely disappeared, Hwang Dalsik remained kneeling for a long time.
“I’m alive, right? Hehehe… I survived. I survived Seol Podoo! Uhahahaha!”
***
“What? What did you say?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
Yeon Seobi snatched the brush from Hwa Seonhwa, who was painting orchids.
“You want me to take charge of Yeonji-ru?”
“There’s no one who knows how to run Yeonji-ru as well as you do.”
“Then what about Master Ruju?”
“What would people think if the magistrate’s wife ran a pleasure house?”
“Is there anyone in Jinan who doesn’t know you own a pleasure house, ma’am?”
“There would be many?”
“But everyone who should know, knows.”
“Former position and current position are different.”
“Still, quitting the pleasure house you devoted your youth to… that’s a bit much.”
“Enough. I want to live comfortably as the magistrate’s wife now too.”
“Hiing—!”
“Stop! Being a pleasure house owner is good. You should be dancing with joy.”
“I just want to live like this with you forever, ma’am! Give the pleasure house to someone else and take me with you!”
“Inseok-ah, take it when I’m offering. Don’t regret it later.”
Then a voice was heard from outside.
“Master Ruju, someone came looking for Seol Podoo!”
“Someone with outdated information. It’s been a while since Mujin-i left here.”
Yeon Seobi quickly said.
“I’ll go out and see.”
“No. If it’s Mujin-i’s guest, I should go see.”
“It might not be a guest.”
Indeed, if someone had business with Seol Mujin, it was more often an enemy than a guest.
“That’s why I should go see.”
As the western mountains turned red and darkness slowly crept in, Yeonji-ru was busy preparing for business.
The gisaengs moving with quick steps greeted Hwa Seonhwa as they passed by.
“Yes, work hard. Seonhwa, you should drink less. Hwayeong, I heard you caught a cold, are you okay?”
While asking after the gisaengs and workers, Hwa Seonhwa’s steps had reached the main gate.
There were four men.
A young man who appeared to be in his late twenties, an elderly man, and two middle-aged men.
Hwa Yeonshim, who had appeared at some point, came to Hwa Seonhwa’s side.
It was reassuring to have Hwa Seonhwa there.
Hwa Seonhwa approached the four men and bowed her head lightly.
“I’m the person in charge of Yeonji-ru. You came looking for Mujin-i?”
A middle-aged man stepped forward.
From long experience, she could sense that the young man was the middle-aged man’s master.
“We were going to the government office but the timing was awkward, so we came here. Could you call Seol Podoo?”
The casual way he spoke down to her showed he was used to ordering people around.
That made her curious about the young man’s identity.
Who could that person be to have such a middle-aged man as his subordinate?
Hwa Seonhwa’s answer came without delay.
“I’ll send someone to his house. Who should I say came to see him?”
She naturally asked about their identity, but the middle-aged man didn’t satisfy Hwa Seonhwa’s curiosity.
“Seol Podoo will know when he comes to see.”
Suddenly the young man walked toward the pleasure house.
“The alcohol Seol Podoo gifted before was quite delicious. It was called Seolbaekju, right? Let’s have a cup of Seolbaekju first.”
Hwa Seonhwa instructed the gisaeng Hwahyang to prepare the third floor Lotus Room.
Hwa Seonhwa’s intuition told her that the young man was of no ordinary noble status.
“Seobi-ya. You’ll have to go to Mujin-i’s house.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Hwa Yeonshim whispered to Hwa Seonhwa.
“They are not ordinary people.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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