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Chapter 4
If it’s Go Yukhyun…
He was the Jijuu of the Gukjagam, a fourth-rank official, and in twenty years, he would become a First-Rank Taesa.
Though it was called a First-Rank position and he was known as a Taesa—the teacher of the Crown Prince—the position itself was one that ordinary people would rarely, if ever, have the opportunity to even see. He was practically a being who lived above the clouds.
Now that Haegang knew the identity of the man who had spent his spare time keeping him company, he was more than a little surprised.
“I won’t refuse.”
Seeing Haegang accept the wooden tablet without any hesitation, Go Yukhyun’s smile deepened.
“Then… I shall see you again.”
He trailed off for a moment before saying those words and then entered the examination hall.
Go Yukhyun had to make quite an effort to swallow the words that had naturally risen to his lips.
He had almost blurted out, “Wait for good news.”
No matter how valuable a connection he had made, he could not openly say something like that to an examinee while serving as an examiner.
Since Haegang had finished the Hyangsi much earlier than everyone else, the area outside the examination grounds was still quiet.
Aside from a few parents hoping for their sons to pass the examination, the streets were practically deserted.
As Haegang walked down the main road toward home, the smell of dumplings drifting from somewhere suddenly tickled his nose and caught his steps.
Come to think of it, he had left home early that morning and had not eaten anything yet.
Grandmother really likes boiled dumplings.
His grandmother, who had lost many of her teeth, particularly liked boiled dumplings.
But their household could hardly afford to eat out, so it was something they rarely got to enjoy unless there was a special occasion.
Since his pockets had become considerably heavier thanks to the Baek family, Haegang stopped by a dumpling shop and bought a generous amount.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Yes. Sell plenty.”
He had done well on the examination, and the thought of having a pleasant meal with his grandmother made him quicken his pace.
Then—
“Hey. Are you the kid called Mun Haegang?”
A low voice.
And the man’s choice of words was anything but ordinary.
Haegang turned around with a distinctly unpleasant feeling.
A man with a dagger prominently hanging from his waist filled his field of vision.
A blue tattoo could be seen through the open front of his clothes.
And a long scar ran across the corner of his mouth.
Everything about him screamed that he was a member of the Black Path.
“That would be me.”
“Yeah. Thought so. I’ve seen you a few times while passing by, so your face isn’t unfamiliar.”
“What do you want?”
“We’ll talk about that later. For now, you’re coming with me.”
Even without knowing the details, even an idiot could tell that this was not a friendly invitation.
Only one?
There was only one man, but the fact that he had openly approached Haegang in the middle of a crowded main street suggested that he was no easy opponent.
Haegang had a strong feeling that this man would be much more difficult to deal with than the five thugs he had faced last time.
The scars scattered across his exposed arms and the well-developed muscles in his forearms alone gave him a completely different air from ordinary servants who did menial work.
He’s accustomed to fighting and blood.
If Haegang had possessed the skills he had before his death, he would not have even snorted at the thought of dealing with one Black Path thug like this.
But now, before he had even begun cultivating internal energy, this was a formidable opponent.
“Yes. If you have business with me, then I suppose I should come. Lead the way.”
“You’re quite obedient. Don’t even dream of trying to run away. Just follow me quietly.”
The man confidently turned his back, apparently certain that Haegang could not escape, and began walking.
Haegang followed.
As they moved away from the bustling main road filled with shops, the scenery quickly changed into a secluded alley.
“People like us, who have neither powerful connections nor wealth worth mentioning, need to know our place. We have to understand our limits and live within them.”
Once they entered the narrow alley, the man began speaking as though he were lecturing Haegang.
Baek Pungyeol?
If Haegang had to name the person who currently held the greatest grudge against him, there was only one obvious candidate.
Had he decided to use the Black Path because he could not get what he wanted through the authorities?
“It seems I must have offended someone important.”
“Heh heh. You know your stuff. Those high-ranking gentlemen asked me to break both your legs and keep you confined to your house for about half a year.”
The end of the dead-end alley was already coming into view.
Haegang quietly moved his fingers and eliminated Baek Pungyeol from his list of suspects.
If he were behind this, he would have ordered me killed and told him to retrieve the ledger.
Then the remaining suspects were…
Those idiots?
Other than the three idiots and Baek Pungyeol, Haegang could not remember ever having earned anyone else’s hatred.
Those three had been provoking him aggressively at the examination that morning.
It seemed they had something to rely on after all.
I went easy on them because of their background, and they hired a Black Path thug?
Once again, Haegang was reminded of an important lesson.
When using violence, one must never hold back halfway.
If you intended to go easy, it was better not to retaliate at all.
And if you chose to strike, you could not afford to let sentiment restrain your hand.
If you handled violence clumsily, you inevitably ended up facing situations like this.
Stop.
They finally reached the dead end, and the man stopped walking.
Then he turned around.
His eyes gleamed ominously.
—Splatter!
Haegang threw an entire tray of hot boiled dumplings directly into the man’s face.
“Urgh!”
As steaming dumplings and scalding water flew toward his face, the man reflexively raised one arm to shield his eyes.
He groaned from the hot water splashed across his face.
But the moment he managed to protect his eyes, he had effectively lost the opening exchange.
The man was not particularly large, but his well-developed chest muscles visible through his open clothes and the powerful forearms he had displayed made the difference in strength between him and Haegang obvious.
Even a street thug who had experienced a few fights in the back alleys knew that grappling with someone larger and stronger than yourself was disadvantageous.
Haegang, who had made a living in the martial world in his previous life, obviously knew this better than anyone.
Yet he charged straight at the man.
“You little bastard!”
—Bam!
The instant Haegang rushed toward him, the Black Path thug kicked him squarely in the chest.
A shock that rattled his internal organs spread throughout his body, followed by rapidly intensifying pain.
Even then, Haegang grabbed onto the man’s leg and clung to it.
Squeeze!
“Ugh! You little bastard!”
The Black Path thug’s anger surged as the vicious child clung to his leg like a dog and bit into his thigh.
He had indeed let his guard down.
From the moment he had approached Haegang on the main road, the boy’s somewhat frightened expression and obedient attitude had caused him to underestimate him.
He had never imagined that a brat who had only just begun shedding his childish appearance could possibly harm him.
But the sudden attack, like that of a mad dog, filled him with as much bewilderment as rage.
—Thud! Thud! Bam!
He slammed both fists into the boy’s back as the child clung to his leg like a cicada stuck to an old tree, biting into his thigh.
When he felt the strength leave the boy’s limbs, the Black Path thug violently shook his leg free.
—Crash!
The boy rolled across the ground and was thrown against the wall of the narrow alley.
The moment he threw Haegang off, the man looked down at his thigh.
Dark-red blood was already pouring down his leg, soaking his trousers.
“I don’t care about the job anymore. I’ll kill you.”
He had never imagined that he would be made to bleed by a mere youngster.
His anger had already overwhelmed his reason.
He reached toward his waist.
Just as his fingers were fumbling around—
“What? Looking for this?”
The Black Path thug’s eyes widened.
Haegang had staggered back to his feet.
And in his hand was a gleaming blade.
The moment the man saw the dagger that had been hanging from his own waist now in the boy’s hand, a cold chill ran down his spine.
Haegang casually wiped the blood streaming from his nose with his arm.
For a fleeting moment, the little boy holding his own dagger looked like a grim reaper.
Was that merely an illusion?
The Black Path thug shook his head, desperately trying to drive away the ominous thought.
“Hngh!”
He blew his nose, which had been making breathing uncomfortable.
A thick clot of blood shot from his nose and landed on the ground.
“Whoo.”
After taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, the confusion in his mind seemed to settle somewhat.
With this, Haegang had passed the first hurdle.
There had been only one reason he had clung to the man despite knowing how disadvantageous his position was.
The dagger hanging from the man’s waist.
If Haegang was already overwhelmingly disadvantaged and the man also possessed a blade, he would have had absolutely no chance of winning.
But now it’s different.
With bare fists, unless one had properly entered the world of martial arts, a child could never defeat an adult.
But with a knife, things changed.
His inferior strength and smaller frame no longer mattered in the face of such a short blade.
“Why? Now that you’ve taken this away from me, do you think I’m easy prey? Have you ever actually stabbed someone with that thing? Do you even know how to swing it—”
After recovering from his momentary shock, the Black Path thug’s face showed a mocking smile and a relaxed expression.
But it was obvious that the confidence was nothing more than bravado.
His breathing had become subtly faster.
His stance had widened.
His knees were slightly bent.
Every part of his posture proved that his nerves were focused entirely on the dagger in the boy’s hand.
“Who knows? What do you think?”
Gulp.
Haegang showed neither fear nor excitement, nor even the slightest tremor.
His excessive calmness made the Black Path thug unconsciously swallow.
“…”
There was something strangely familiar about the way the boy fought.
There was also a viciousness completely unbecoming of a scholar who had merely studied at a village school.
Haegang was utterly different from the boy he had heard about.
Most importantly, the man’s eyes immediately recognized it from Haegang’s stance.
The boy knew how to use a blade.
Haegang held the dagger in a reverse grip.
His body was lowered.
His center of gravity shifted lightly between his front and rear legs.
It was completely different from the common stance of a beginner who simply pointed a knife at his opponent while freezing both legs in place.
His movements made it difficult to gauge the distance between them.
Furthermore, the reverse grip indicated that he intended to use slashing attacks rather than thrusts, likely to prevent his opponent from taking the blade away.
There was no doubt.
He knows how to use a knife.
Who would have thought that a man who had spent years surviving in the back alleys of the Black Path would one day find himself tense against a boy so much younger than himself?
—Tap tap!
He hurriedly stepped backward, increasing the distance between himself and Haegang.
—Tap tap.
But Haegang had already been watching his movements.
He quickly moved his feet and followed, completely blocking the only route of escape.
The distance between them was a little more than two bo.
It neither increased nor decreased.
—Thud.
The Black Path thug continued retreating step by step.
Then the wall of the dead end touched his back.
It felt unbearably cold.
“…”
Even now, he wanted to end this.
He wanted to apologize, reveal the identity of his employer, tell Haegang everything, and walk away.
But he could not get a single word out.
The boy holding the knife looked far too serious.
And he could feel the incredible concentration in those eyes, watching his every movement without missing even an inch.
It felt as though one wrong word would make the boy pounce like a beast stalking its prey.
The man clenched his teeth and tightened both fists.
Then—
—Tap tap!
Haegang, who had been slowly closing the distance, suddenly charged toward the Black Path thug.
“Die!”
The moment the man felt the boy had entered perfect striking distance, he thrust his fist toward Haegang’s face with all his strength.
His fist cut through empty air.
Dark-red droplets of blood suddenly sprayed before his eyes.
—Slash!
Only then did the sound reach his ears.
A cold sensation spread through his forearm.
Pain followed.
Swish. Slash.
The second punch he threw in succession also missed the boy completely.
This time, he felt a cold sensation in the leg that the boy had bitten earlier.
Stagger.
Before the pain, his vision shook.
His leg would not properly support his weight.
?!
What…?
He strained his eyes and searched for the boy, who had approached almost crouched against the ground.
By then, Haegang had already retreated slightly farther away than their original distance and was calmly watching him.
Only then did the man look down at his legs.
His foot and the area behind his knee were bleeding heavily from deep cuts.
The tendons had been severed.
More frightening than the fact that he had become crippled in an instant was the realization that the boy he had looked down on had precisely cut his tendons.
“You brought a knife to a knife fight. If you’ve lived your life in the Black Path, you must have been prepared for something like this, right?”
The man barely managed to rise again, his leg trembling.
Haegang once again began slowly closing the distance.
His center of gravity continued shifting between front and back without a hint of carelessness.
“Just spare my life…”
Before the sentence could even be completed, Haegang shook his head.
The boy knew.
And the man knew as well.
If both of them walked away alive, the man’s companions would certainly seek revenge against the boy.
“I’ll leave for my hometown. I’ll never set foot in Piljeol again…”
“You know very well that won’t work. The resolve you forged when you entered this world was always going to be tested someday. It just happened sooner than you expected, and unfortunately for you, the opponent happened to be me.”
Haegang’s eyes remained terrifyingly indifferent.
He continued approaching, shifting his center of gravity back and forth, without the slightest trace of hesitation.
The man could not possibly imagine that the person before him was a young boy about to commit murder.
Fear swept over him as though he had encountered a murderous fiend.
When the distance between them narrowed until they were almost within arm’s reach, the man steeled himself for death and squeezed his eyes shut.
Then—
He heard the presence of people entering the narrow alley.
—Is this the right way?
—The owner of the dumpling shop definitely said that he came this way with a man.
At the unfamiliar men’s voices, Haegang’s movement halted just as he was about to swing the dagger.
