The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 177

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 177
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Ak-yang, nestled between the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake, stood as the vital nexus of commerce and trade. This was precisely why the Donghobang, once a mere handful of men, had risen to become a dominant faction commanding the region.
They had grown their influence by collecting tolls from the countless vessels passing through the Yangtze and Dongting Lake, and on the water itself, few forces could match their supremacy.
Countless ships anchored at the docks, loading and unloading cargo while merchants haggled over goods in bustling markets. Inns called out to travelers seeking lodging. Streets brimmed with porters and hired guards, their presence filling every restaurant and tavern. Such was the true spectacle of Ak-yang.
As the frenetic daylight faded and the crowded docks and markets grew quiet, another spectacle entirely began to unfold.
Light spilled from the countless taverns and restaurants positioned wherever the lake could be seen. The lakeside, brilliant as midday, had become one of Dongting Lake’s most renowned attractions.
Yet where the night streets burned bright, fierce battles erupted for dominion. While some establishments belonged to the Donghobang, they were too preoccupied managing the waters to concern themselves with land. Thus, every day brought clashes between the various Black Gangs factions vying for control.
Bodies were carried out from back alleys every few days without fail. No one bothered to inquire about the cause of death.
Even as the sun had only just begun to set, the alley carried an oppressive, gloomy atmosphere.
On this street where corpses had been removed just that morning, it was an unspoken rule never to meet another’s gaze. Stare too long, and a fist would come flying.
Yet every weary face bearing the burden of a hard life, every rough-looking man without exception, found their eyes drawn irresistibly to the figure dressed in white.
Beside the man in white stood another figure, his posture awkward and uncertain. The two made an incongruous pair.
The two men wound through the twisting alleyways until they came to a halt before a shabby three-story building.
Thump! Thump!
The man with the awkward posture rapped roughly on the door.
“Open up!”
A sound of movement came from within, and the door swung open.
A bald man scratched his belly as he opened the door, his expression vacant before quickly turning fierce.
“What’s this, Ju-pal? Where’d you pick up this pretty boy?”
Ju-pal, the man who had knocked, cried out in a trembling voice.
“G-go get the boss! Now!”
The bald man, still gripping the door, failed to notice the tremor in Ju-pal’s voice. Instead, he was busy appraising the man in white from head to toe, his eyes gradually filling with avarice.
Ju-pal suddenly bellowed.
“What are you doing! Get the boss, I said!”
“Are you insane? Ordering the boss around like that? If you’ve got something to say, say it yourself.”
“You bastard, stop wasting time and—”
Then the man in white, who had remained silent until now, spoke.
“I have a question. Is this the Black Dragon Gang?”
The bald man stood askew and answered.
“What if it is?”
“I heard the Black Dragon Gang disposed of several corpses today. Might I take a moment to verify this?”
“…Corpses?”
The bald man and Ju-pal exchanged glances. Ju-pal shot a warning look urging honesty, but somehow the bald man understood it differently and threw the door wide open.
“Not sure what you mean… well, come on in then.”
“…You damned idiot…”
As Ju-pal began to curse, his eyes met those of the man in white.
Ju-pal’s body went rigid, and he was practically dragged through the doorway.
When the man in white followed into the building, the door suddenly slammed shut behind him. The sound of a lock being fastened followed.
Simultaneously, men came rushing out from the railings of the second and third floors and from the corridor beside what appeared to be a dining hall. They emerged as if they had been watching and waiting all along.
It was enough to frighten most men, yet the man in white remained composed.
A stout-faced, broad-shouldered middle-aged man descended from the second floor at the head of the group, tilting his head in confusion.
“What’s this? Has this bastard lost his mind?”
“L-leader!”
Ju-pal cried out in protest, but the man in white spoke over him.
“Are you the Black Dragon Gang Leader?”
“Heh heh, the Black Dragon Gang Leader, you say? This fool doesn’t understand the situation, does he? I wondered who this bastard was, but it seems Ju-pal brought a madman here. That’s right. I’m the Black Dragon Gang Leader.”
Despite the mocking tone, the man in white remained unflustered.
“I heard that last night, a fight broke out on the Black Dragon Gang’s streets, and a corpse was disposed of. Could you verify this?”
The Black Dragon Gang Leader scratched his ear and turned to his subordinates with a question.
“Hey, did you all hear that? He’s looking for a corpse.”
At the Black Dragon Gang Leader’s words, his subordinates snickered and replied.
“A corpse? Was there one?”
“Beats me. First I’m hearing of it.”
“Why would he look for a dead man here?”
Their back-and-forth banter made it obvious to anyone watching that they knew about the corpse.
“If you want to find a corpse, dig through Dongting Lake. It’s probably been fish food for a while now.”
The man in white’s expression darkened slightly.
“My, my. Seems like you knew the person?”
“Don’t be sad. In death, he fed the fish and helped the world in his own way.”
Laughter erupted, and the gang members had already begun closing in around the man in white.
“….”
The man in white stared at the Black Dragon Gang Leader without expression.
It was merely a silent gaze. Yet somehow, it felt suffocating.
The Black Dragon Gang Leader sensed something amiss and swallowed hard.
Ju-pal, standing behind the man in white, spoke in a trembling voice.
“L-leader, please stop.”
The Black Dragon Gang Leader rolled his eyes and was about to speak when—
The Bald Man blocking the doorway spoke with irritation.
“What’s wrong with you, Ju-pal? You’ve been acting strange. Didn’t you bring him here to pull off a job together?”
“Shut your mouth, you fool.”
The Bald Man swaggered forward and reached toward the man in white’s shoulder.
“Tch, damn bastard. Hand over everything you’ve got and get lost. Then I’ll let you keep your life—aaaagh!”
Most didn’t even see what happened. When they came to their senses, the Bald Man was screaming, clutching a wrist bent at an unnatural angle.
The Black Dragon Gang Leader cried out in shock.
“Get him!”
“Uaaah—!”
The gang members surrounding them rushed forward as one.
“Stop! Everyone stop!”
Ju-pal’s voice was drowned out by the gang members’ shouts.
Without a sound, three more Black Dragon Gang members collapsed backward. The man in white who had cleared the front immediately rushed toward the Black Dragon Gang Leader on the stairs. The distance of over twenty paces was crossed in the blink of an eye.
The Black Dragon Gang Leader, as befitted his position, was no mere figurehead—he swiftly drew his weapon, a three-section staff, and wielded it with practiced force.
The three iron rods bent toward the man in white in a trajectory that defied prediction. It was an angle that seemed absolutely impossible to evade.
Yet the three-section staff never touched the man in white; it merely slid past him like water. And with a movement even more incomprehensible than the staff itself, the man in white’s hand seized the front section of the three-section staff the Black Dragon Gang Leader was gripping, and pulled.
“Hup!”
The Black Dragon Gang Leader’s eyes widened as he was dragged forward….
Crack.
His face slammed into the man in white’s knee.
With his head bent backward, the Black Dragon Gang Leader was hurled toward where his gang members had gathered.
“B-Boss!”
“Leader!”
Disarmed and beaten in a single exchange, the Black Dragon Gang Leader couldn’t regain his senses, blood streaming from both nostrils.
And his opponent hadn’t even drawn a weapon.
A supreme master.
An absolute gap in power that no amount of numbers could overcome.
All the Black Dragon Gang members stood frozen, their eyes darting helplessly as they witnessed the man in white’s martial prowess.
Ju-pal spoke with barely suppressed tears.
“I told you not to do it….”
The Scarred Man, whose eyes held much to say, asked carefully.
“Who are you, sir?”
“If you’re asking for my name, it is Baek Li-ui-gang.”
“Gasp!”
“What!”
Gasps erupted simultaneously among the Black Dragon Gang members.
There was no one in the underworld who didn’t know the name of the fourth son of the Baek Li Family Head, one of the Top Eleven Masters of the World, and the leader of the Baek Ho Dan of the Murim Alliance.
The Scarred Man cried out in alarm.
“No, ×Pal, why is Young Master Baek Li here…!”
“Did I not already say?”
“D-do you know where this is?”
“Ak-yang.”
….
The Scarred Man’s words caught in his throat at the calm reply.
“Y-you, no, if you act like this, Donghobang won’t just…!”
“It doesn’t matter.”
….
Then, suddenly, he swung the three-section staff he was holding backward.
Whack!
A man who had been sneaking up from behind collapsed without even managing to draw a breath.
Thud-thud-thud.
The unconscious man tumbled down the stairs.
The Scarred Man, who had been deliberately drawing attention, swallowed hard.
“I ask once more. Who collected the corpse?”
The Black Dragon Gang Leader’s gaze fixed upon a single point.
One of the Black Dragon Gang members, sensing those eyes that would sell him out without hesitation, stepped forward reluctantly.
“It was… me, sir.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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