Chapter 246 : Sichuan (3)
Chapter 246: Sichuan (3)
There was a pavilion situated a short distance away from the Black Island Gang's headquarters.
Perched on its roof are Il-mok and his group, observing the drama unfold below.
"Damn."
Watching Peng Ji-gwang throw his tantrum and wreak havoc, Il-mok couldn't help but be impressed.
'Works like a charm.'
There really was nothing easier to manipulate than a guy who’d lost his mind over a girl.
But they weren't just watching for kicks. If the Black Island Gang really was connected to the Tang Family, there was a chance they might talk things out and end it peacefully.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"I am Mun Chang, Gang Leader of the Black Island Gang."
Right on cue, the voices of Peng Ji-gwang and the Black Island Gang Leader carried over from the distance. Il-mok pointed toward them with his hand as he spoke.
"Miss Jeong, I need you to aim for that retard Peng’s head. He's got shit skills and even shittier combat experience; go easy on him so you don’t accidentally kill him. Things could get complicated if he dies right now.”
"Ah, understood, Young Master."
Following Il-mok's instructions, Jeong Hyeon nocked an arrow and worked her internal energy from her dantian.
‘Young Master said the guy is so weak he might die from one hit.'
Just a tiny bit of power then.
She pulled back on her strength as much as possible and let the arrow fly.
WHOOOOSH!!
The small arrow she fired signaled the beginning of the battle.
"You cowardly bastards! How dare you!"
Watching the chaotic brawl break out at the manor, Il-mok suddenly missed his old life in the modern world.
'Man, I wish I had some popcorn.'
This was primo entertainment, after all.
***
Clang!
"Kugh."
Having barely deflected the arrow that came flying at him out of nowhere, Peng Ji-gwang's face twisted with rage as he roared and charged at the Black Island Gang thugs.
"You cowardly bastards dare!!"
Since Peng Ji-gwang was swinging his sword like he really wanted to kill them, the thugs couldn't exactly just roll over and die.
"Kill him!"
"This little shit!"
The reckless Peng Ji-gwang charged in like an idiot and got surrounded instantly. At this rate, he was going to get himself killed.
"Haah."
In the end, Hwangbo Yeon let out a sigh and sent a voice transmission.
—Taoist Un-baek, please protect Sehui.
When it came to protecting someone, Taoist Un-baek, who had mastered the Taiji Sword Art, was far superior to her. That's why she decided to leave her sister's protection in his hands.
—Don't worry, Miss Hwangbo. However, just in case, please avoid killing if possible.
—...The situation isn't ideal, but I'll do my best.
After coordinating with Un-baek, Hwangbo Yeon launched herself at the mob with explosive speed.
Boom!!
The ground exploded under her feet. She closed the distance instantly and threw her iron fist at the thugs surrounding Peng Ji-gwang.
Thwack!!
One thug's bones shattered instantly as he was sent flying into the distance.
With her entry into the fray, the chaotic melee truly began.
Following Hwangbo Yeon, Zhuge Eun-young and Mount Hua's Myeonghwan dove into the mass of Black Path’s thugs.
"Get those two in the back!"
Seeing Taoist Un-baek and the veiled woman hanging back, several thugs tried to target them in the hope of taking them hostage.
Of course, mere Black Path thugs had no chance of breaking through the Taiji Sword Art of the Wudang Sword Dragon Un-baek.
Watching his subordinates getting beaten down by the Orthodox Faction's rising stars, Black Island Gang Leader Mun Chang's face twisted into a scowl.
'Fucking hell, which moron shot that arrow...? Wait, an arrow? Since when do any of my guys know how to use a bow?'
Mun Chang belatedly realized something was going very wrong here, but it was meaningless now. With the chaos having escalated this far, what good would that realization do?
"Boss! Help me!!"
Just then, a familiar voice snapped the Gang Leader back to attention.
It was the Vice Gang Leader's voice.
Clang!
"Kugh…"
He looked over and saw the Vice Gang Leader barely blocking Hwangbo Yeon’s fists with his broadsword. That's what he got for getting distracted and yelling for help.
Watching this scene unfold, the Black Island Gang Leader fell into deep thought.
'Fist Phoenix and Wudang’s Sword Dragon. Plus three other young prodigies.'
He could tell who they were just by looking at their moves and their age.
'We've still got over thirty men who can fight.'
If he joined that battle, they'd actually have a decent chance of winning.
He could help the Vice Gang Leader subdue Hwangbo Yeon, or while the Vice Gang Leader bought time, he could capture one of the brats to use as a hostage.
"Attack!!"
Having made his decision, the Black Island Gang Leader roared and charged at the young warriors. Seeing their boss jump in, the rest of the gang got their courage back and roared.
"Waaaah!"
The Black Island Gang Leader rushed toward the Fist Phoenix that had been beating the Vice Gang Leader black and blue.
After exchanging several moves with the Fist Phoenix...
Boom!!
The Black Island Gang Leader blocked her fist wrapped in Fist Qi and got punted backward.
"Vice Gang Leader!!"
"I got her!!"
As if on cue, the Vice Gang Leader charged at Hwangbo Yeon once more.
Meanwhile, the Black Island Gang Leader used the momentum that had sent him flying backward to flee from the battlefield.
‘Hmph. There is nothing to gain even if we win, so why bother?'
Killing these chicks would only get him hunted by the entire community of Orthodox Faction for the rest of their lives. But he couldn't exactly just let these snot-nosed brats kill him either.
'I'll just tell the Tang Family that the Orthodox heroes crashed the party. They should understand.'
His best bet was to run to the Tang Family, report what happened, and get his antidote.
***
After spending quite some time reminiscing about popcorn while watching the Black Island Gang's battle...
"Hmm?"
Il-mok spotted the Black Island Gang Leader secretly slipping away from the rear and grinned.
"Actually, this is perfect."
He only used the Orthodox kids because he suspected the Tang Family was involved. But if the kids wiped everyone out, Il-mok wouldn't be able to get any answers.
But if the Gang Leader escaped on his own like this, it changed everything.
Pat!
Il-mok put on his mask and flew after him with his crew following his example.
He maintained some distance while the Black Island Gang Leader fled to a remote area, then sped up just as the man reached his destination.
Tap.
In a flash, Il-mok and his crew surrounded the Gang Leader. The man looked terrified.
"Who the hell are you?!"
The Black Island Gang Leader looked tense as a frightened wild animal, but then something seemed to dawn on him and his expression turned hollow.
"...I don't know where you're from, but this whole thing was orchestrated by you people, wasn't it?"
"Oh?"
Il-mok hummed, impressed by how fast the guy caught on.
"Then this should be quick. Why did you send people to Pingliang County?"
"...So you're from Pingliang County."
Il-mok didn't bother hiding that fact. He was planning to get rid of the guy after he got some answers anyway.
Perhaps sensing Il-mok's intention, the Black Island Gang Leader suddenly dropped to his knees. "You probably won't believe me, but I didn't want to send them. I never even wanted to be the boss of this gang!"
"Then who gave the order?"
The Gang Leader wore a conflicted expression as if agonizing over his answer before sighing like someone who had given up on everything.
"The Sichuan Tang Family."
He knew the Tang Family would kill him for revealing this information, but he’d be a dead man soon, so what does that matter?
He just felt bitter about the whole mess.
"Those sons of bitches poisoned me with Gu Poison and told me to rob the people of Guangyuan blind. They're garbage wearing the mask of righteousness!"
"...So that's how they were controlling the gangs."
Even Il-mok hadn't anticipated this.
He thought they planted spies or something. He didn't think they'd use poison to blackmail people into slavery.
'These motherfuckers are worse than even the Demonic Cult.’
The Demonic Cult, at the very least, controlled people with good old-fashioned brain—uh, religious education. They didn't go around force-feeding people poison and holding their lives hostage.
Since this seemed like information that might prove useful later, Il-mok filed it away in his mind and asked again. "So why did the Sichuan Tang Family order you to send people to Pingliang County?"
"I don't know the exact reason. They just said people were flocking to Pingliang County recently, so it was a good opportunity to make big money."
Whether it was to survive by spilling information or out of anger toward the Sichuan Tang Family, the Black Island Gang Leader frowned as if recalling something and added more.
"Now that I think about it, it was a bit strange. Those bastards are too busy keeping Emei and Qingcheng in check, yet somehow they had information about Pingliang County. I have no idea how they even knew about a remote place like Pingliang in Gansu."
Hearing that, a certain name popped into Il-mok's head.
'The Hao Clan must have leaked the info to the Tang Family.'
Their objective was obvious.
'They wanted to kill with a borrowed knife.'
They'd planned to make him clash with the Black Island Gang, then create enmity with the Sichuan Tang Family, who backed them.
'Good thing I used those Orthodox kids.'
Thank god for that.
He really dodged a bullet there. Thanks to that love-struck idiot Peng Ji-gwang playing his part, everything worked out perfectly.
Il-mok thought about how to handle the Hao Clan for a second, then looked down at the kneeling Gang Leader.
"So, you're saying you only did all this because of the Tang Family's poison?"
"...I know it's hard to believe, but yes."
"Then do you want to repent and live a good life from now on?"
"If it weren't for the poison, I wouldn't be doing this shit."
"Since you get antidotes from the Tang Family, you must have a time limit. How long until the poison acts up again?"
"About two weeks."
"Then, do you want to make a bet?"
"???"
While the Black Island Gang Leader looked puzzled, Il-mok turned his head and gave instructions to Ouyang Mun and Ju Seo-yeon.
"I'll write you a letter. You two will take this man to Physician Seo in Pingliang County."
"U-us?"
"Why is it always us...?"
They looked like the most aggrieved people in the world, but then they saw Jin Hayeon glaring at them and shut up instantly. She looked like she was ready to kill them for questioning Il-mok's orders.
Seeing that the two had been subdued, Il-mok turned his head back to the Gang Leader.
"There's a skilled physician in Pingliang County. Would you like to try getting treatment from him?"
He conveniently left out the part about the doctor being completely insane.
"Oh, and by the way, your only other option is to die right here. You're smart, so you probably figured this out, but I can't let you go back to the Tang Family."
Faced with that "offer," the Gang Leader bowed his head.
"I'm grateful you're giving me a chance to repent."
***
Il-mok wrote a letter and handed it to Ouyang Mun, who dragged the Gang Leader off to Pingliang with Ju Seo-yeon.
Watching them go, Dam Bin asked, "Do you truly believe that man will atone and repent?"
She'd asked on behalf of the group. The others' reactions were similarly dubious. Well, everyone except Seon-ah.
As members of the Heavenly Demon Cult, they believed in punishing evil, so they didn't like the idea of letting a bad guy off the hook.
"First of all, he committed those acts because he was poisoned and trying to survive. That's a circumstance worth considering, don't you think so? Besides, the Maitreya Luminous Cult is short on manpower right now, and he looks like he could be useful."
The guy was clearly smart and quick on his feet.
"Oh, but that doesn't mean I've completely forgiven him. He still has to pay for what he did."
Poison or not, the fact that he tried to set up a gambling ring meant he'd probably ruined plenty of innocent lives.
"I wrote it in the letter to Physician Seo. He's free to experiment as much as he wants while removing the poison as long as he doesn't die or end up crippled. Also, I told him not to cure him completely. We need an insurance policy in case he betrays us."
"But if he only follows us because of the poison, that's not real repentance."
Jin Hayeon asked from a principled standpoint. As expected of a fanatic, it was a very on-brand question.
Il-mok shrugged as if it were no big deal.
"I told Physician Seo not to tell him the poison is still there."
"......"
"If he truly converts and repents, he'll stay with us, and we'll keep treating him, so the poison will never trigger. So it doesn't matter, right?"
"......"
His crew stared at him, speechless.
"As expected, Big Brother is always so thorough. I'll make sure to follow your example."
Well, everyone except Seon-ah.