Episode 296: Who on earth did you lend money to?
Joo-yang, who was returning to the power plant, stopped walking.
My heart kept pounding so hard I thought it might burst.
The gaze of the swordsman looking at him came to mind, and the image of the coin on the table piercing his palm did not leave his mind.
One of the swordsmen who were walking back together asked.
“Aren’t you going?”
“Go first. Keep quiet about what happens today.”
“yes!”
Joo-yang sent the swordsmen away first and sat down on the roadside for a while. He was angry, his pride was hurt, and he was scared because he had never experienced anything like this before.
Working at the power plant was his calling.
I felt a great sense of pleasure from the sight of them bowing their heads to me and borrowing money. There was nothing more fun than trolling them with nice words.
How about crying and begging for money because you can’t pay a few pennies in interest? I felt relief from other people’s misfortune.
It was such a blissful experience to be able to control and influence someone’s life.
But for the first time, I felt a sense of crisis that was shaking the life I had been living without any care. What was scarier than the fear of having my hand pierced was the fear of not being able to do this job.
‘How do I deal with this?’
This must be resolved before the head of the Tongjeonso, Red Pei, hears about it. If Red Pei finds out… Joo Yang shook his head. Red Pei was a man who would always hold anyone responsible for any damage.
He may get his hands pierced by the swordsman, but he will get his neck pierced by the enemy. That’s the kind of person he is.
At that moment, his eyes met with those of the villagers who were passing by. They bowed their heads in surprise and greeted him, then quickened their pace. He could sense from his hurried pace that he was afraid of him.
Is this finally the punishment for the evil deeds that have ruined the lives of others?
But Joo-yang was not the kind of person who would reflect on such things. If he were that kind of person, he would not have experienced something like this in the first place. He was the kind of person who thought like this.
‘I have to pay the interest somehow.’
Thinking of the right person for the job, he got up from his seat and started walking, glaring at everyone he met with an unusually nervous look today.
* * *
The next day, Joo-yang didn’t come to collect the money.
“I said I would come looking for you if you didn’t come.”
The sword dance drama went straight to the power outlet. Today, someone else was there in Juyang’s place and was lending money.
When I asked where Joo-yang was, he said he was sick and not coming out.
The sword dance came out into the training ground and shouted.
“Master! Come out quickly, I have come to give you interest! Master! Master! Master!”
The commotion brought out the loan sharks to watch. They came to pay interest? A loan shark who is always running away?
Since the power plant was built and there had been no commotion like this, everyone watched in wonder.
“Juyang! Come out!”
When Joo-yang heard the news, he hurriedly came out of the building.
“you!”
Unlike yesterday when he had treated him coldly, Geommugeuk smiled happily at him.
“You said you were sick, but you’re fine.”
“Where is the fuss about?”
“Didn’t you say you’d come and find me if I didn’t come?”
No matter what, I didn’t know you’d come here and make a fuss like this. I knew someone would be here. This is a place that handles a lot of money. Isn’t there a master who can kill you?
So the first thought that came to Joo-yang’s mind was this. How much of a master is he? What is his intention? Leaving all these aside.
‘This guy is crazy.’
The sword dance reached out to him.
“Now, take your interest.”
Otherwise this wouldn’t be possible.
The swordsmen who were watching were in an uproar. Those who had been in the guest house yesterday stood back tensely, while others were laughing and enjoying the fun.
It was just then.
“Are you the author?”
A man with a deep voice appeared.
He was dragging a bloody man out with one hand.
When he appeared, the swordsmen all bowed their heads in greeting. He was the real swordsman of this Tongjeonso, Janghak (棧鶴).
Janghak is the person who steps in when there is a problem with the unmanned, and he was the first person that Juyang went to see when he returned yesterday.
This one fact explains what kind of person he is. Everyone joked that his name was an abbreviation for cruelty and inhumanity. Some people actually thought that was true.
That’s how cruel he was. Everyone who reported and opposed the evil deeds of the Tongjeonso was killed by the cruel man.
“Yes, I am the author.”
In response to Joo-yang’s reply, Jang-hak threw the person he had dragged out forward.
The man rolled around on the floor helplessly.
The swordsman approached him and examined him. He barely opened his eyes, his whole body covered in wounds.
“… … Please kill me.”
Those were his first words.
How much pain must you be in, not knowing who the other person is, for you to say that first?
On the other hand, the cruelty of the person who made the man like that was leisurely.
“At first, he was just as arrogant as you. He jumped over the wall and fell into the middle of the yard. He really was a hero.”
Then the swordsmen who were watching burst into laughter.
“He stood there and started talking nonsense. He was talking about justice and negotiation. He was treating us like money grubbers and trash. He didn’t even know who the trash was.”
At that moment, the man reacted to the word trash.
“… … I am trash, I am trash.”
It was a word that cruelty had forced upon him. The man was half-mad from the brutal torture.
The swordsman examined his body.
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His danjeon was broken, and all of his limbs and veins were severed, so he had to spend the rest of his life lying down. His body could not recover even with the help of a demon. He had committed an act that a human should not commit.
As the swordsmanship was examining him, the cruelty approached him silently. I had already heard from Joo-yang yesterday what the opponent had done with the coin. If what I heard was true, it meant that he was quite a master.
I thought I’d take him down by surprise for now and play with him for a while.
When I’m defenseless and worrying about that dying piece of trash.
‘You idiot! What kind of affection and morality are you talking about? I’ll fix your mind!’
At the very moment when the cruelty was about to fly and strike the sword.
Phew!
puck.
Following the sound of a gust of wind and the sound of something being pierced.
Bam!
Something was stuck in the wall of the building behind.
Oh my god.
The impact was so great that the area around the object that was stuck cracked like a spider web.
Joo-yang, who saw what was stuck, was shocked.
What was stuck in the wall was a coin.
Blood flowed from the coin and ran down the wall.
‘Blood? Why blood? No way?’
Joo-yang looked at the cruelty reflexively.
The cruel man was still standing there. He was touching his forehead as if it was ticklish. He seemed to be trying to say something, but I couldn’t understand what he was mumbling.
Soon after, his body slowly collapsed.
thud!
Blood was already flowing from his dead forehead.
The coin pierced the brutal man’s forehead, pierced the back of his head, and then flew into the wall, where it lodged.
Everyone was shocked by his death.
How much cruelty have you seen so far? How many unmanned beings have he killed and tortured?
But, dying with a coin piercing through my forehead without even swinging my sword once? It felt unrealistic, like I was plotting with that young man.
The man who had been tortured to death by the brutality had tears in his eyes. He held on with the single-minded determination that he would kill the bastard if he ever escaped.
“I would like to repay him with the same torture, but it is not worth it. Wouldn’t that be treating him like a human being?”
As always, the sword dance drama did not attach any value to the death of the villain. That way, it could deal with endless villains. It was like pushing aside a stone blocking the path and walking again.
But I valued this man. I had never seen him before and didn’t even know his name, but I understood him through his actions.
“No one has climbed over that wall for the sake of others. Not the Cheonmasin Church, the Sadomasochists, or even the Jeongdo Church. They are all either uninterested, or have joined hands, or they say it is an inevitable evil.”
The swordsman held the man’s hand tightly.
“You have lived a wonderful life. Thanks to you, many people will be free from suffering.”
A faint smile appeared on the man’s lips. He made a final request with his eyes to kill him, and Geommugeuk accepted the request. It was a sign of respect for him.
“Please farewell, Grandmaster.”
The swordmaster touched his crown.
There was no pain in that touch. The man died with a peaceful face.
After laying him down, Geommugeuk got up from his seat.
All those who had been giggling until just a moment ago were now standing there holding their breath.
It seemed like he was going to sweep everything away with a rage like a storm, but Geommu-geuk was calm. That made Joo-yang even more scared.
Geommugeuk said to Juyang, handing him the remaining coins.
“There’s one more left. Should I give it to you? Do you want to come and get it?”
Joo-yang could tell that what the other person meant by giving was that one more coin would be stuck in the wall.
“No, I will take it.”
Joo-yang ran over and held out his hand. My heart pounded and I felt dizzy.
In a tense situation where everyone was watching, Geommugeuk slowly raised the coin.
This time, my own hands might get smashed… … .
But today too, the coin was placed lightly on his palm.
“… … What do you want?”
As if it was not something I should tell someone like you, Geommugeuk walked away with brisk steps, carrying the man’s corpse in his arms.
“You must come tomorrow to collect your interest.”
* * *
Joo-yang went straight to find the leader, Jeok-pae.
If you want to save your life, you have to go and report before the report comes up. If you don’t get hit first, the next hit will take your life.
The enemy did not reside in the power plant because they did not consider it safe, as so many people came and went there every day.
He lived in a manor built like a fortress in a remote place. He was guarded by many masters, and deep inside the inner garden was a palace for beautiful women. He was a man who knew how to spend the money he earned.
Joo Yang took a deep breath in front of Jeokpae’s residence and calmed his mind. Having worked under Jeokpae for the past ten years, he knew very well what kind of person he was. As far as he knew, he was the most selfish person. He treated other people’s lives like flies. That must be why he was able to make this business prosper.
The crazy guy who claimed to be the leader of the Demonic Cult turned out to be a master.
If you report this, the enemy will throw anything he can get his hands on at you. If he is eating an apple, a knife will fly at him. If he is painting, an inkstone will fly at him. He is the one who throws inkstones, not brushes.
Fortunately, the enemy was looking at the ledger and calculating on the abacus. He looks like a wild wolf, but he turns into a fox when it comes to calculating.
It was wise for him to keep his mouth shut when he was counting the money.
The sound of the abacus beads rolling stopped for a moment.
“There was an accident when a master intervened.”
The enemy was not shaken much. While working at the Tongjeonso, there were more than one or two instances where a martial arts master got involved. They somehow resolved everything and overcame the crisis.
“The young man borrowed ten nyang.”
“Ten nyang?”
The enemy raised his head and looked at Juyang with these eyes. He probably didn’t come to see me for a mere ten nyang problem.
“That killed the cruelty.”
Shhh. Boom!
The abacus flew and hit Juyang on the head. It happened to hit the corner of the abacus, and blood flowed down from his forehead.
“Didn’t I tell you to distinguish between those who would be problematic from the beginning?”
“sorry.”
“A guy who has been eating King Yeom’s food for so long can’t even process that properly.”
Joo-yang bowed his head, repeating his apology.
“What kind of guy is he?”
“He’s a crazy guy who claims to be the leader of a demonic cult.”
puck!
Something else flew in and hit Juyang in the face.
“How can a madman kill a cruel man?”
Joo-yang bowed his head deeply, apologizing again. But that doesn’t mean the leader of the Demonic Cult killed him, does it? He tried hard to swallow what he wanted to say.
“How can you take responsibility?”
“I will gladly accept the blame.”
“Are you sure he’s not a demonic cult member?”
“The investigator sent a message saying that he is not a mine. Even from my perspective, he is not mine.”
He gestured for Joo-yang to leave, as if he didn’t want to see the enemy. Since he’s been leading the Tongjeonso well without making any mistakes lately, it’ll probably end here.
The only enemy left spoke softly.
“You find out and handle it yourself.”
Then a short answer of “yes” was heard from behind the wall.
The red-faced man took out a new abacus from his desk drawer and started calculating again.
“What’s so wrong?”
When I keep a ledger, there are days when the calculations are particularly wrong. Wrong, wrong again. Today was that day.
* * *
The next day, Juyang ran to his residence again at the enemy’s call.
In the middle of the yard stood a red-faced man with a serious expression.
A corpse lay before him. It was his own man who had gone out on the orders of the enemy just yesterday.
Joo-yang knew very well how skilled he was. He was like a right-hand man that the enemy had spent a lot of money on, and he could easily deal with the level of brutality.
And then I also found out who killed him.
Two coins were placed on the corpse’s forehead.
It was as if the coin was saying:
-I paid the interest today.
Joo Yang’s heart sank. The fear he had felt until yesterday was not fear. Joo Yang felt a primal fear rising from the depths of his chest.
Joo-yang’s gaze never left the coin.
“What is this coin?”
Two coins that have now become the scariest things in the world.
“This is today’s interest.”
The enemy glared at Juyang fiercely.
“Who… … did you lend money to?”
Joo-yang had expected this kind of defeat. He was the type of person who always looked for someone to take responsibility when a problem arose.
You were the one who sent someone to kill him!
Joo-yang said, swallowing what he wanted to say.
“I’ll go and find out what he wants.”
“Can’t you see this? What he wants is our money. What business would a master like this have that’s different from ours?”
The Red Cross was a man who was convinced that those who opposed him were out to get his money. This scepticism turned out to be surprisingly accurate.
“He said he was a mine?”
“He bragged about being the leader of a demonic cult.”
“Are you sure it’s not?”
“Absolutely not.”
As things got to this point, Joo-yang began to think that the investigator’s report might have been wrong.
But I answered with the word ‘absolutely’ because it should have been absolutely not the case.
If so, the solution to the enemy’s defeat was set.
“The fake must be dealt with by the real.”
Because I spent so much money for a day like today.
“I have to show them how scary the true Demonic Cult is.”
