Chapter 296: Who on Earth Did You Lend Money To?

TL: FoodieMonster007

Jo Yang stopped in his tracks while returning to the moneylender.

His heart pounded so hard he thought it might burst. The image of Geom Mugeuk's stare and the coin piercing his palm replayed in his mind.

One of the swordsmen returning with Jo Yang asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"Go on ahead, and keep your mouths shut about what happened today."

"……"

Jo Yang sent the swordsmen away and sat by the roadside. He had never experienced anything like this. He felt angry, his pride was wounded, and he was scared.

Working as a moneylender was his calling. He felt the thrill of an absolute master when people bowed to borrow money. Coaxing them with sweet words was truly entertaining.

And seeing them cry and beg because they couldn't pay a few pennies of interest? He felt a sense of relief from their misfortune. This job of controlling and manipulating someone's life made him very happy.

But for the first time, a crisis shook his haughty life. More terrifying than his hand being pierced was the fear that he might not be able to do this job anymore.

How do I handle this?

He had to resolve this before it reached Cheokpae, the head of the moneylender. If Cheokpae found out… Jo Yang shook his head. Cheokpae was a man who always made someone take responsibility for losses.

Geom Mugeuk might pierce his hand, but Cheokpae would pierce his throat. That was the kind of man Cheokpae was.

Just then, Jo Yang made eye contact with some passing villagers. They flinched, bowed their heads, and quickened their pace. He could feel their fear in their hurried steps.

Was this finally punishment for the evil deeds he had committed while ruining other people's lives?

However, Jo Yang was not the type to reflect on his actions. If he were, he wouldn't be in this situation. He was the type to think this way instead.

I have to get rid of that guy, no matter what.

Thinking of the right person for the job, Jo Yang shot up from his seat. He started walking, casting an even more irritable glare than usual at the people he passed.

The next day, Jo Yang did not come to collect the money.

"I did say I'd come find you if you didn't show up."

Geom Mugeuk went straight to the moneylender. Someone else was in Jo Yang's spot today, lending out money.

When Geom Mugeuk asked where Jo Yang was, he was told the man was sick and hadn't come in.

Geom Mugeuk went out to the training ground and shouted.

"Jo Yang! I've come to give you the interest, so come on out! Jo Yang! Master Ju! Master Ju!"

The commotion brought the moneylender's swordsmen out to watch. He came to pay interest? A debtor who was always busy running away?

Since the moneylender's establishment, there had never been a commotion like this, so everyone watched with curiosity.

"Jo Yang! Come on out!"

Hearing the news, Jo Yang rushed out of the building.

"……"

Unlike yesterday's cold demeanor, Geom Mugeuk smiled warmly at him.

"I heard you were sick, but you look perfectly fine."

"What do you think this place is, causing such a disturbance?"

"Didn't I say I'd come find you if you didn't show up?"

Even so, Jo Yang never imagined he would come here and cause a scene. Who did he think was here? This was a place that handled large sums of money. Did he think there wasn't a single master who could kill him?

So, the first thought that entered Jo Yang's mind was this. Beyond how skilled he was, or what his intentions were.

This guy is insane.

Geom Mugeuk extended his hand to him.

"Here, take the interest."

Otherwise, this wouldn't be possible.

The watching swordsmen murmured among themselves. Those who had been at the inn yesterday took a tense step back, while the others snickered, excited by the spectacle.

It was at that very moment.

"Is that him?"

A man with a deep voice appeared. He dragged a blood-soaked man with one hand.

As he appeared, the swordsmen all bowed their heads. He was Janhak, the true swordsman of this moneylender.

Janhak was the one who stepped in when there were problems with martial artists. He was also the first person Jo Yang went to see after returning yesterday.

A single fact could explain what kind of person he was. Everyone joked that his name was short for Janhak-mudo, meaning cruel and inhuman. Some people actually believed it.

That was how cruel a man Janhak was. Everyone who exposed and resisted the moneylender's evil deeds had been killed by Janhak.

"Yes, that's him."

At Jo Yang's answer, Janhak threw the man he had been dragging forward. The man rolled limply on the ground.

Geom Mugeuk approached and examined him. His entire body was a wreck, but he barely managed to open his eyes.

"……Please kill me."

That was his first word. How severe must the pain be for him to say that, without even knowing who he was talking to.

On the other hand, Janhak, the one who had done this, was relaxed.

"At first, that bastard was as full of spirit as you are. He flew over that wall like he was soaring and landed in the middle of the courtyard. A real hero had arrived."

At that, the watching swordsmen burst into laughter.

"Standing there, that bastard went on a long speech. Something about justice, something about righteousness. He treated us like money-grubbing trash. Without even knowing who the real trash was."

Just then, the man reacted to the word 'trash'.

"……I'm trash, I'm trash."

Those were words Janhak had forcibly drilled into him. The man was half out of his mind from the harsh torture.

Geom Mugeuk examined his body. His qi center was shattered and the muscles and tendons in his limbs were all severed. He would have to spend the rest of his life bedridden. His body was beyond recovery, even by a divine physician. That bastard had committed an act no human should.

While Geom Mugeuk was examining him, Janhak approached silently. He had already heard from Jo Yang what his opponent had done with a coin yesterday. If it was true, the man was a considerable master.

He decided to subdue him with a surprise attack and play with him for a while instead of the other guy. While he was defenseless, distracted by that dying piece of trash.

You idiot! What's all this nonsense about compassion and morality? I'll fix that mindset of yours for good!

Just as Janhak launched himself forward to strike with his palm.

SHIIING!

THWACK.

A gust of wind sounded, followed by the sound of something being pierced.

THUD!

Something embedded itself in the wall of the building behind them.

CRACKLE.

The impact was so great that spiderweb-like cracks spread out from the object.

Jo Yang was startled when he saw what was stuck in the wall. It was a coin.

Blood trickled down from the coin, running down the wall.

Blood? Why is there blood? Could it be?

Jo Yang reflexively looked at Janhak.

Janhak still stood in the same spot. He touched his forehead as if it itched. He seemed to be trying to say something, but only an unintelligible mumble came out.

Soon after, his body slowly collapsed.

"……"

Blood flowed from the forehead of the already dead man.

The coin had pierced Janhak's forehead, passed through the back of his head, and then flown into the wall.

Everyone was horrified by his death. They had seen Janhak in action countless times. They knew how many martial artists he had killed and toyed with.

But to die with his forehead pierced by a coin, without even swinging his sword once? It felt so unreal, as if he were acting in collusion with the young man.

At Janhak's death, tears welled up in the tortured man's eyes. He had endured with the sole thought that if he ever escaped, he would kill that bastard.

"You may want to repay him with the same torture, but he's not even worth that. Wouldn't that be treating that bastard like a human?"

As always, Geom Mugeuk placed no value on the death of an evil man. It was the only way to deal with the endless stream of villains, like pushing aside a stone blocking the path.

However, he did place value on this man. He was a stranger whose name he didn't even know, but he understood the man through his actions.

"No one else came over that wall for the sake of others. Not the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, not the Evil Alliance, not even the Orthodox Alliance. They were all either uninterested, had joined hands with them, or would call them a necessary evil."

Geom Mugeuk tightly gripped the man's hand.

"You have lived a noble life. Thanks to you, many people will be freed from their suffering."

A faint smile formed on the man's lips. With his eyes, he made a final request to be killed, and Geom Mugeuk granted it. It was a sign of respect for him.

"Please, go in peace, Master."

Geom Mugeuk placed his hand on the crown of the man's head. There was no pain in his touch. The man passed away with a peaceful expression.

After laying him down, Geom Mugeuk rose to his feet.

The men who had been snickering just moments ago now stood with bated breath.

It seemed like he would erupt in a storm of rage and wipe them all out, but Geom Mugeuk was calm. That made him even more terrifying to Jo Yang.

Geom Mugeuk held out the remaining coin to Jo Yang.

"There's one more left. Should I give it to you? Or will you come and get it?"

Jo Yang knew that 'giving it to him' meant another coin would be embedded in the wall.

"No, sir. I'll take it."

Jo Yang ran forward and held out his hand. His heart pounded and he felt dizzy.

In the tense situation with everyone watching, Geom Mugeuk slowly placed the coin on his palm.

This time, my hand might really be shattered…

However, today too, the coin was placed lightly on his palm.

"……What is it that you want?"

As if to say it was none of his business, Geom Mugeuk lifted the man's corpse into his arms. He strode away and said, "Make sure you come to collect the interest tomorrow."

Jo Yang went straight to see the leader, Cheokpae.

To save his own life, he had to report it himself before the report went up the chain. If he didn't take the first beating, the later one would take his life.

Cheokpae did not reside at the moneylender. He didn't consider a place where countless people came and went every day to be safe.

He lived in a fortress-like manor in a secluded location. Layers of masters protected him, and deep within the inner court was a harem of beauties. He was a man who certainly knew how to spend the money he earned.

Jo Yang took a deep breath in front of Cheokpae's residence to calm his mind. Having worked under Cheokpae for a decade, he knew very well what kind of person he was. He was the most selfish person Jo Yang knew. He treated others' lives as if they were flies. Perhaps that was why he was able to make this business prosper.

The madman claiming to be the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult turned out to be a master.

If he made this report, Cheokpae would throw whatever was at hand at him. If he was peeling an apple, a fruit knife would come flying. If he was painting, an inkstone would come flying. He was the type to throw the inkstone, not the brush.

Fortunately, Cheokpae was looking at a ledger and flicking an abacus. He looked like a violent wolf, but when it came to calculations, he became a fox.

It was wise to keep one's mouth shut when he was calculating money.

The sound of the abacus beads stopped for a moment.

"There was an incident involving a master."

Cheokpae was not particularly agitated. In the moneylender business, murim masters had interfered many times. They had always resolved it somehow and overcome the crisis.

"A young man borrowed ten taels."

"Ten taels?"

Cheokpae looked up at Jo Yang with a gaze that said, 'You surely didn't come to me over a problem worth a mere ten taels'.

"Janhak died because of it."

SWISH. THWACK!

An abacus flew and struck Jo Yang's head. Unluckily, he was hit by the corner, and blood trickled down his forehead.

"Didn't I tell you to properly distinguish the ones who would cause trouble from the start?"

"I'm sorry."

"A guy who's been eating the rice of King Yama Loan for so long can't even handle one thing properly."

Repeating his apologies, Jo Yang bowed his head.

"What kind of man is he?"

"He's a madman who claims to be the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

THWACK!

Something else flew and struck Jo Yang in the face.

"How can a madman kill Janhak?"

Jo Yang apologized again and bowed his head deeply. But it's not like the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult killed him, is it? He forced himself to swallow the words.

"How will you take responsibility?"

"I will humbly accept any reprimand."

"Are you sure he's not one of the Demonic Cult bastards?"

"The investigator sent word that he isn't. From what I've seen, he's not a demonic practitioner either."

Cheokpae gestured for Jo Yang to leave, as if he couldn't stand the sight of him. It probably ended at this because he had been leading the moneylender well lately without any mistakes.

Left alone, Cheokpae said softly, "You investigate and handle it yourself."

Then, a short reply of 'Yes' was heard from behind the wall.

Cheokpae took a new abacus from his desk drawer and started calculating again.

"Why isn't this adding up?"

When working on the ledgers, there are days when the calculations just don't add up. Wrong again and again. Today was one of those days.

The next day, Cheokpae summoned Jo Yang, who rushed to his residence again.

Cheokpae stood in the middle of the courtyard with a grave expression. A corpse lay in front of him. It was his subordinate, who had left yesterday under Cheokpae's orders.

Jo Yang knew very well how skilled he was. He was a right-hand man that Cheokpae had spent a fortune on, someone who could easily handle the likes of Janhak.

And he also knew who had killed him.

Two coins were placed on the corpse's forehead.

It was as if the coins were saying, 'Today's interest has been paid.'

Jo Yang's heart sank. The fear he had felt until yesterday was nothing. Jo Yang felt a primal terror rising from deep within his chest.

Jo Yang's gaze was fixed on the coins.

"What are these coins?"

The two coins had now become the most terrifying things in the world.

"It's today's interest."

Cheokpae glared fiercely at Jo Yang.

"You…… who on earth did you lend money to?"

Jo Yang had expected Cheokpae to react this way. He was a man who always looked for someone to blame when a problem arose.

You're the one who sent a man to kill him!

Swallowing the words he wanted to say yet again, Jo Yang said, "I'll go and find out what that bastard wants."

"Can't you tell just by looking at this? What that bastard wants is our money. What other business would a master like that have with us?"

Cheokpae was a man convinced that those who opposed him were after his money. This assumption was surprisingly often correct.

"You said that bastard claimed to be a demonic practitioner?"

"He was bluffing, saying he was the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult."

"Are you sure he's not?"

"Absolutely not."

As things reached this point, Jo Yang began to think that the investigator's report might have been wrong. However, he answered with the word 'absolutely'. Because it absolutely had to be untrue.

In that case, Cheokpae's solution was already decided.

"The fake should be handled by the real one."

After all, he had spent so much money for a day just like this.

"We'll have to show him just how terrifying the real Demonic Cult is."