Chapter 403

“These bad guys really need to be cleaned up.”

Qing shows a remarkable increase in intelligence when it comes to taking out rotten scoundrels.

But hey, origins matter, right?

Qing is just a regular guy sleepin’ in modern times, living in a society without any life-or-death match or sworn enemies to deal with, where even scheming requires a bit of a backstory.

So Qing’s so-called schemes aren’t exactly groundbreaking.

“I still have three vials of poison left!”

Grandpa Snake, bless his heart, generously gifted me three vials of potent poison.

Pure goodwill, no threats or shady deals involved.

How sophisticated can Qing’s plans be, really?

He was planning to sneak around at night and sprinkle poison everywhere.

Since he wouldn’t throw his guests under the bus, Jin Gaju decided to tag along.

If there’s a sudden massacre at the Salwol Gate, everyone in Gwangju will think the Salwol Gate was behind it.

Jin Gaju thought it wasn’t a bad idea.

Once the rumors start flying, the Salwol Gate will hunker down and lay low, which is good for Jin Gajang, who desperately needs some time.

If luck is on his side and the poisonous snake actually inflicts serious damage, they might even be wiped out completely.

Or if he manages to take down the Sect Leader or close associates, there’s a high chance they’ll end up fighting amongst themselves and self-destruct, given the nature of Sapa.

But who would’ve guessed?

“The Gold Robbery Guild went under?”

Suddenly, in just one night, the Gold Robbery Guild has been wiped out.

“Details, give me the details.”

“I don’t know! I just saw flames rising in the dawn, and then the arsonists rushed in, but it was a complete graveyard and they ran back out. It’s said that a curse has been cast upon all of Gwangju, that we’ve been punished from above!”

“Hmm.”

Jin Gaju rubbed his chin.

Could that kid with the Cheonhwa-geom have done this? But how?

So, Jin Gaju headed to the Guest Hall.

Of course, even though Qing has set up independent operations in the shrine, he wasn’t staying at the Guest Hall since he’s busy preparing for the Jin Gajang restoration competition.

Qing, who was busy hanging signs in the queue, spotted Jin Gaju and scampered over with excitement.

“Ah, Gaju, you’re here?”

How can he smile so brightly?

Seeing him makes Jin Jagang genuinely pleased.

Thinking about it, my own kids don’t even welcome me like that. Raising kids is just a wasted effort when a stranger’s daughter greets her father with more joy.

If only Qing would do the same for me.

Today, too, Qing is collecting affection from the elder.

“Did you hear the news, Cheonhwa-geom? The Gold Robbery Guild is gone—oh, wait. You didn’t hear, did you?”

“Eh?”

Qing’s expression is extremely honest.

Jin Jagang was going to ask if Qing knew whether the downfall of the Gold Robbery Guild was Cheonhwa-geom’s work, but immediately figured it had nothing to do with this kid.

“The Gold Robbery Guild has been wiped out?”

“Sounds like there was a bloodbath last night. The manor is full of corpses, and outside beasts got wiped out except for the few that stayed outside.”

His voice was soft like a professor, but the content was horrifying.

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but it still bothers me.”

In the end, Jin Jagang also agreed it was a great demise.

The Gold Robbery Guild is a conglomerate of loan sharks.

These loan sharks, known as moneylenders in modern terms, were a pack of ruthless money-grubbing scoundrels in Gwangju getting together for business.

It’s not like these guys were known for treating people kindly, now armed with muscle, they probably caused hell everywhere.

But Qing just chuckles and says.

“Hey, it’s a pretty good thing. Those with grudges aren’t exactly victims, are they? If the scum clean themselves up, that’s a win for all of us. Don’t you think someone just messed with them while they were chaotically stumbling around?”

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All of Gwangju was buzzing with tales about Jin Gajang’s curse.

Didn’t the Civil Engineering Fairy mention something like that?

That Jin Gajang broke the curse he cast, thus the curse would return to its owner with a vengeance.

And just like that, the Gold Robbery Guild was decimated overnight.

A curse, indeed! It’s the curse hitting back!

With a grand betting scene already set in Gwangju, it was a moment where the fates of countless common people collided.

Nevertheless, both winners and losers shared a common thought.

Certainly, the Gold Robbery Guild deserved their fate.

And wow, that Civil Engineering Fairy is quite something.

Yet, there was one audacious kid who disagreed.

“No! It’s not a curse! It was all Hero’s doing!”

People, who’d been whispering, perked up, intrigued by this new perspective on the incident.

“Hero? What’s that supposed to mean?”

The kid, with a dazed expression, clasped her hands together, and soon enough, her little lips started sharing last night’s story.

In the Martial World, you always need to watch for passersby.

For instance, you could accidentally flip over a table in a brawl at the tavern and get smashed by an angry diner.

Or instead of catching your prey, you end up getting hunted down by them because that’s just how it goes.

But there’s no shortage of passersby.

Everyone knows the risks, yet if you go on being overly careful, all you’ll manage to do is take in fresh air while your habits go unnoticed.

So, even the Gold Robbery Guild warriors had to do their dirty work to make a living.

What’re they gonna eat if they just breathe and chill?

Hence, today, they were just going about collecting debts from malicious borrowers.

Though it’s quite the dubious line of work.

“Oh, no! That’s not possible!”

“What do you mean not possible? Were you planning on swindling from the Gold Robbery Guild?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes, please! My daughter, please!”

“Hmph. Didn’t I already give you enough time? There’s really nothing bad about it. You can’t pay back the debt, so I’m just helping you find a way to pay it back. Isn’t this old man’s kindness introducing you to all sorts of wonderful careers?”

“I’d rather—ughh.”

The woman was brutally kicked and tumbled to the ground.

“Mom!”

A little girl rushed to her mother, but she was already being held down, just flailing her arms helplessly.

“Let go, let go! You scumbag!”

The Gold Robbery Guild warrior spat.

“An old hag like you, what do you expect? You think an old woman selling herself is gonna earn any coins? How many times do you plan on spreading your legs just to pay interest? Seriously, what’s this fuss about a daughter being so great, anyway? You were all sweet and humble when you borrowed, now you throw a fit when it’s time to pay back. Am I the bad guy here? Am I?”

The disdainful shout from the Gold Robbery Guild warrior was less of a question and more of a loud proclamation.

Nevertheless, an unsuspecting response came flying in.

“Seems like you’re the bad guy after all. Hey, what’s a woman’s worth to you while you’re laying waste to her right in front of her?”

The Gold Robbery Guild warrior turned to find the voice’s owner.

Was he in his mid-twenties? A smooth-faced young man wearing an eye patch that sort of made him look like a one-eyed young man.

The Gold Robbery Guild warrior flinched and hunched his shoulders, scrutinizing the young man’s appearance from head to toe.

Clearly unarmed, his hands didn’t even look like they had seen a drop of water, and his clothing didn’t show any signs of affiliation.

The warrior’s shoulders straightened again.

“What’s going on? Can’t you just stay out of other people’s business? Why, you here to repay in their stead?”

“Wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Oh, I see. That’d be 100 Gold Coins. You planning to pay up right now?”

Then the passing young man glanced down at the collapsed woman.

“How much did she originally borrow?”

“10 Silver Coins! 10 Silver Coins! And they wanted 40 Gold Coins from us!”

The girl, whose arms were still held, yelled fiercely.

“Well, if you squeeze her dry, you’d end up needing to collect 100 Gold Coins. If they get just 40, wouldn’t that mean a loss of 60 Gold Coins for us? You need to pay the price.”

“Oh ho, that’s some miracle math you got there.”

With that, the young man flashed a charming smile. If it weren’t for the eye patch, he could have moved someone to tears with that grin.

“You lend out 10 Silver Coins and expect to get back 100 Gold Coins? Did I hear that right? How many times the cost is that? 10 Silvers to 1 Gold? So, uh, isn’t that just plain thuggery?”

“What? Thug? You think you can come here and insult the Gold Robbery Guild and just walk away unscathed?”

“I appreciate it. Thank you. I really mean it.”

That was a rather unexpected comment.

Unless the one-eyed young man was nuts, he wouldn’t just up and thank someone out of nowhere.

However, unease bubbled up as the scoundrel exuded confidence.

“What? What’s so grateful?”

“For living as a villain.”

“What do you mean, ugh.”

As the Gold Robbery Guild warrior tried to reason with the contextless comment, he gasped in alarm.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure came up behind him and gripped his face in a powerful grasp.

Simultaneously, pain jabbed into his shoulders, and he felt his strength drain away, leaving him limp.

Now he recalled the invisible wisdom of the martial world: always watch out for passersby!

“S-S-S-Save me, Great Hero!”

“Well then, hey there, little kid. You think the loan shark doesn’t collect interest? How much interest have you paid back? You’ve probably covered the principal and then some by now.”

As soon as he was freed, the little girl who had clung to her mother burst out indignantly.

“Yeah! Altogether, it’s more than 1 Gold Coin!”

“Man, aren’t you a piece of work? You want him to die, huh? If you want, I could do that.”

The girl’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Clinging tightly to her wailing mother, blue poison ignited in the child’s eyes.

“Dog! Kill him! Kill him dead!”

“You’re just using informal speech, aren’t you?”

The young man seized the Gold Robbery Guild warrior by the neck and effortlessly hoisted him up.

“Kuhh, bloody hell,”

If Qing had seen this, he would’ve advised to hold tight so it wouldn’t sound like mere wheezing or something!

Though, no ordinary person could speak up amidst the intimidation of a master’s presence.

So the one-eyed young man turned to the crowd.

“What do you think? Is this guy deserving of death? Is he nothing but useless trash in this world?”

Desperately struggling in mid-air, the warrior shot desperate glances around, but—

“Kill him! That bastard has betrayed too many people!”

“This punk showed his true colors from the start! He’s a punk who ruined lives and broke apart families! He even let his parents die of rage!”

In the end, grudges return through grudges.

The eyes of the Gold Robbery Guild warrior were stained with despair.

If I had only known this would happen, I could’ve lived a good life instead.

But regrets when death creeps in are still just regrets, not true reflection.

The one-eyed young man looked genuinely satisfied.

And the next morning, the Gold Robbery Guild was no more.

The girl’s claims left people feeling indifferent.

“So, that one-eyed young man brought down the Gold Robbery Guild? As if he’s some master of reverse flow and return to youth? I’ve never heard of such rumors about a one-eyed young master.”

Then the girl bursting out.

“What do you mean one-eyed!? That’s disrespectful to the Hero! It’s not about being one-eyed! It’s about our Hero! Can’t you get that!?”

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