The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

In the end, there were two things Do Jibaek could do.

First, as a Three-Knot Beggar of the Beggars' Sect, he could shout loudly and mobilize all the Two-Knot Beggars, One-Knot Beggars, and his subordinate beggars to bury Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan. But the probability of this succeeding was very low. Jang So-gil himself was no big deal, but the man named Yang Gwan was a rising young master called the Fire Dragon. At the very least, he would need a master who had reached the level of a Three-Knot Beggar through martial arts alone to even try to face him. Unfortunately, there was no such master here.

Then the remaining method was the second one.

He had to wisely and cleverly discuss with Jang So-gil and give him all the money he had to give. If necessary, he had to prevent the matter of human trafficking and corpse selling from being known, even if it meant paying extra, mortgaging his future, and putting up collateral. It would be even better if he could also prevent the matter of embezzling public rice.

Do Jibaek made up his mind. There was only the second path. He finished preparing to grovel while rubbing his hands together slyly. Even if he was a Three-Knot Beggar, his essence was a beggar. It was basic to please others and grovel. He didn't have such an expensive pride that would be hurt by such a thing.

It was when Do Jibaek was about to step forward and rub his hands.

There was someone who cut through the wind and ran like a gale.

"Ch-Chungyeong-ah!"

"Sssss, if I just stab him!"

It was Oh Chungyeong. He ran towards So, holding the short knife he used to skin rats. It was a footwork called the Drunken Beggar's Step, which he had learned by watching a master of the Beggars' Sect. Like its name, the step of a drunken beggar, it was a strange martial art where one approached the opponent while staggering. But that itself was a footwork with a calculated sloppiness, so it had an excellent ability in assassinations in the marketplace. Above all, to Do Jibaek and Jang So-gil, who had not learned martial arts, even such a footwork was sufficiently threatening.

Oh Chungyeong ran and came within close range of Jang So-gil, aiming his short knife at his chest, but he couldn't even react. It was natural for his hair to stand on end, but Jang So-gil didn't even show it and narrowed his eyes.

The one who reacted greatly was Yang Gwan.

"How dare you!"

To aim for Jang So-gil's chest and rush in even when he was standing right next to him was a very laughable thing. But he couldn't just laugh it off. The footwork was clumsy, but the way he aimed for the heart was quite well-formed. Stabbing a person's heart with a short knife is difficult, and the training is also hard. But to be able to aim like this meant that the fellow had stabbed quite a few people.

There was no need to show mercy to a guy like this.

Yang Gwan, flaring up in anger, swung his spear, and with a thud-! the sound of flesh being crushed spread, and the short knife flew into the air. He had struck Oh Chungyeong's back of the hand with the back of his spear. The bones were broken and the flesh was crushed. The fingernails and blood that were pulled out from the impact scattered in all directions.

"Aaaargh! My hand!"

"Judging by your methods, you are clearly a villain."

"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you! I'll make you look the same!"

"May you find peace in the next life!"

Yang Gwan was about to spin his spear and strike Oh Chungyeong's neck with the spearhead. But a calm voice stopped him.

"Stop."

"Guild Master So?"

"It'll be troublesome if you kill him."

What could be troublesome?

Although he had a question, Yang Gwan stopped his spear without a word as he was told.

"I don't know what could be troublesome about killing a villain like this, but since you told me to stop, Guild Master So, I have no choice."

"You did well to hold back. Get him out of here."

"Alright."

With a loud thud-, he kicked Oh Chungyeong's butt without hesitation, and he flew five zhang. A tearing scream echoed. While the children who were eating couldn't help but sneer, Jang So-gil made a joke.

"Then can I assume that this is your choice? To kill and silence?"

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I had no such intention. This was all Oh Chungyeong's doing."

"But I almost got stabbed, so if it ends with a misunderstanding, the world would be an easy place to live. You tried to kill someone and failed, and you call it a misunderstanding. The world is a great place to live."

Do Jibaek held up his fingers.

"I'm not saying we should do it for free. I will compensate for the rudeness just now. How about fifty silver taels?"

"This person is looking down on me too much. 50? 50? 50?"

"...Then a hundred taels?"

Jang So-gil nodded his head greatly.

"The misunderstanding is all cleared up."

"..."

"A hundred silver taels. Quickly."

"...Here you go."

Do Jibaek took out a promissory note from his bosom. Jang So-gil took the promissory note, grinned, and put it in his bosom.

"You carry a hundred-tael promissory note in your bosom. Aren't you afraid of the night road?"

A hundred silver taels was more than the annual food expenses of this Luoyang branch of the Beggars' Sect. Although it was a cheap food expense because they begged for about half of it as beggars, a large sum was still a large sum. The eyes of the children who were watching widened as if they would pop out. A hundred taels were exchanged with a single word. Jang So-gil's skill was surprising, but the sense of betrayal towards the Three-Knot Beggar who had been carrying such money in his bosom was even greater.

"He said he had no money... that pig, that son of a bitch."

"A hundred taels? Was there really such a thing as a hundred taels?"

"If only we had that money, sister Hyang..."

"Yulgeum wouldn't have starved to death."

Whispers of curses spread among the children. Their eyes were filled with venom, and they growled as if they would chew up Do Jibaek. Of course, to Do Jibaek, such young beggars were nothing, so they didn't even enter his eyes. In his eyes, only Jang So-gil and Yang Gwan were visible. Jang So-gil dusted off his hands and said.

"Then let's do the math now. I've done a light calculation, and it seems the income of the Luoyang branch of the Beggars' Sect for last year and this year is about four thousand taels."

"Ugh..."

Do Jibaek was startled. It was because it was almost correct.

"Unlike other sects, the Beggars' Sect has to pay one fen of tax to the Martial Alliance. So you have to pay forty taels, which is one fen of four thousand taels, as protection money."

"No, it was only forty taels?"

"Yes. Forty taels would feed a family for a year with a full stomach and a warm back, but anyway, if you say it's only, then it's only."

After all this commotion, only forty taels? Yang Gwan was so dumbfounded that he looked back and forth between Jang So-gil and Do Jibaek. Do Jibaek looked even more pathetic.

"There's a limit to being penny-wise and pound-foolish. You've been making all this fuss to save just forty taels?"

Sparks flew from Do Jibaek's eyes. The reason he was angry at Yang Gwan's words was because it was an absurd thing even when he thought about it himself. Forty taels, if only he had given that damn forty taels, that evil spirit wouldn't have come under the bridge! He was so frustrated and resentful that tears came out. But what could he do now that the water was spilled?

"U-ugh. The money. The money."

Do Jibaek trembled and looked for a promissory note. But no matter how much he searched, all Do Jibaek had was one hundred-tael promissory note. Since he had given that to Jang So-gil, all that came out when he was shaken was dust. Seeing that sight, Jang So-gil once again wore a sneer.

"I'll turn a blind eye to the matter of the relief rice because of the promissory note I just received. We're still fellow martial artists, even if we're rotten. I can't sell a martial artist to the authorities. Isn't that the sentiment of the martial world?"

"Th-thank you."

"But selling corpses and human trafficking crossed the line a little. The Censorate of the Martial Alliance will probably come."

The Censorate was a group directly under the Alliance Lord that punished those who violated the laws of the Alliance. If he were to be arrested by them, he would not die a peaceful death. Do Jibaek trembled and begged.

"Ugh! The Censorate, please spare me from that!"

"Then I will act as a mediator for you. I'll consider the hundred taels I just received as the fee. You don't have to give me anything extra."

"Thank you, thank you. I will not forget this grace!"

"But since there are clear victims, even if I let it slide, I can't treat them all as a wholesale deal. Beggar Do Jibaek will have to release his funds and compensate them for their damages. You'll have to give to the children, and you'll also have to buy back those who were sold, so you'll need a considerable amount of money. You'll need at least a thousand taels."

"But, but I don't have that much money. Even if I put it all together, it's only about three hundred taels."

"That can't be. I've done a rough calculation, and I thought two thousand taels would be in your possession."

"Gasp! How did you know that!"

It was not a difficult task for someone who was good with numbers.

By listening to the usual situation from the twenty children, calculating the funds that went into them, adding a few variables, and separately extracting and comparing the profits, he could find out how much money Do Jibaek had left. Numbers don't lie.

"But I really don't have it!"

"Hmm, you wouldn't lie at this point, so you really don't have the money..."

"I'm sorry. I really don't have the money."

"Then did you perhaps make an investment?"

Do Jibaek flinched as if he had been hit right on the mark.

"...I bought some poems and paintings."

"Some?"

"...Quite a lot."

"Don't tell me it's worth two thousand taels?"

Do Jibaek avoided his gaze, looking around. He seemed to think that he had hidden his wealth in an elegant and sophisticated way.

"I hear the Beggars' Sect originally forbids such investments. Unless you're crazy..."

"Ugh, I was momentarily crazy and caused trouble. But if I sell the poems and paintings, two thousand taels will come out easily. In fact, it will be much more!"

"You're kidding me. Two thousand taels? You'd be lucky to get twenty taels!"

"N-no, I'm telling you!"

"Make some sense! Do you think it's enough to just dig a hole under a bridge and store the paintings?!"

Poems and paintings were items that sold for a very high price to enthusiasts, but there were many fakes, they were not easy to sell, and they were difficult to store. Above all, they were items whose prices fluctuated greatly depending on the trend.

Even a seasoned merchant would not handle poems and paintings well, but a beggar invested in poems and paintings?

It was an absurd thing to do. He was bound to fail. The paintings must have turned into scraps of paper. It was understandable that Jang So-gil was angry.

"Damn it. I was wondering why the whole branch was in this state, but it was because you went bankrupt from speculation and were trying to make up for that money!"

It was a sufficient reason to go bankrupt. Jang So-gil let out a sigh. It was different from what he had expected, but since he had blown it all away, there was nothing he could do.

"There's no choice. Hand over the three hundred taels and all the poems and paintings you've collected. They're probably in a state worse than dog shit, but if I sell them, I'll probably get forty taels. Tsk, I'll take care of the victims, the children, and those who were sold."

"If I hand it all over, will you really let it go?"

"Of course. A merchant's life is trust. I lie a lot, but I've never broken a promise in a deal. I swear on my father's name."

"Then that's good. Thank you. I really won't forget this grace."

Do Jibaek bowed his waist and expressed his gratitude.

So he did not see it.

The eyes of Jang So-gil, who was watching him, were like those watching a pig being dragged to the slaughterhouse, to be killed tomorrow.

* * *

Do Jibaek kept his promise. Not only did he pay the price, but he also let the twenty children go without a word. It was also natural that he sent the poems and paintings. At first glance, it seemed that everything was going well.

"Ha, I knew it."

Jang So-gil looked at the poems and paintings piled up in his house and let out a sigh.

The condition of all the poems and paintings was not good at all. It was because they had been stored under a bridge.

There was mold, hand stains, and some had been eaten by rats.

Since the condition was so bad, it was difficult to get a good price even if he sold them, and to restore them would be like the belly button being bigger than the belly. He couldn't invest a large sum of money in something that might be a fake, so it was a white elephant if there ever was one.

"Damn it. I've made a loss."

"What do you mean?"

"Anyway, this whole affair ends with sending forty silver taels to the Martial Alliance. The rest is all my private business. So I spent my golden time doing chores, but all I have in my hands is a mere hundred taels and miscellaneous paintings. The three hundred taels I received have to be used to buy back the children who were sold. At this rate, it's a loss."

"No, where's the loss? Didn't you earn a hundred taels?"

"Didn't I tell you? I spent my golden time. I spent my time and effort like this, but if all I have in my hands is a hundred taels, there's no bigger loss than this. According to my original plan, I was supposed to confirm his money, get him involved in various things, recover it all, and then fill up the two thousand taels to go to the martial library one more time, but all I have in my hands are these damn rotten paintings! At this rate, it's a deficit, a deficit, a huge deficit, isn't it!"

"To say that earning a hundred taels is no profit. The rich are always worse..."

But to make a job worth only forty taels this big was a talent if it was a talent.

Yang Gwan was impressed and leaned back in his chair. The soft feeling made him feel a little better, but he still had some complaints.

"But why are you letting those bastards live?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Do Jibaek and that swordsman."

"Ah, them."

Jang So-gil nodded his head and then grinned.

"Let them live? Who?”