Chapter 219

Geum Usin raised his hand.

“W-Wait!”

Crack!

In that instant, Geum Usin’s head snapped back.

He had been struck by Pyo Wol’s kick.

Geum Usin’s mind momentarily went blank.

He fell like a log.

“Unit Leader!”

“Damn it!”

Before the martial artists of the Ho Trading Company could even move, his body plummeted.

Thud!

“Keuk!”

A heavy thud and a stifled scream rang out at the same time.

Despite the pain that felt like his body was shattering, Geum Usin quickly got back up.

Although he had been hit by Pyo Wol’s unexpected blow, he too was an Expert who had learned Martial Arts at Shaolin. His reflexes were just as sharp.

The problem was that his opponent was Pyo Wol.

When he got up, Pyo Wol had appeared before his eyes like a ghost.

“Keuk!”

Geum Usin gritted his teeth and tried to unleash his Martial Arts. But before he could even move, a fiery pain shot through his shoulder.

A Ghostly Rain was already embedded deep in his shoulder.

“Kuaargh!”

Geum Usin screamed and rolled on the ground.

Another Ghostly Rain had already appeared in Pyo Wol’s hand.

He silently pressed the flying dagger to Geum Usin’s neck.

At the ghastly sensation of the blade on his neck, Geum Usin spoke urgently.

“W-Wait! I was wrong. I’ll give you back the horse, so please, forgive me.”

He forgot all about his dignity and begged.

With tears streaming down his face, there was no trace of the Ho Trading Company Unit Leader’s dignity to be found.

Screee!

Even though Geum Usin begged for forgiveness, the Ghostly Rain did not stop, digging into his neck.

“I’ll return the horse and give you a reward. Please, forgive me.”

Geum Usin went so far as to get on his knees and beg.

Only then did the Ghostly Rain digging into his neck stop. But it was too early to breathe a sigh of relief.

Pyo Wol’s Ghostly Rain was still held to his neck, ready to slit his throat at any moment.

Geum Usin hurriedly took out a pouch he had tucked in his clothes and offered it to Pyo Wol.

It was a Wallet containing one hundred Gold Taels.

It contained Geum Usin’s entire fortune, which he had painstakingly saved by pinching every penny. But no matter how precious the gold was, it was not worth more than his life.

“Please spare me, Great Hero! I was blinded by greed and coveted the Great Hero’s horse. Please, forgive me.”

He grabbed Pyo Wol’s trouser leg and pleaded.

Pyo Wol looked down at Geum Usin in silence.

Perhaps because this was the first time he had encountered such a type, he found it fascinating.

Most of the martial artists he had faced until now valued their pride and dignity more than their lives. They would rather die than bow their heads. But Geum Usin was the opposite.

His attitude was that as long as he could save his life, he didn’t care what happened to his dignity. That aspect of him felt rather refreshing.

Pyo Wol looked at the martial artists of the Ho Trading Company.

Perhaps because Pyo Wol had already taken down three of them, the martial artists of the Ho Trading Company didn’t even dare to attack.

Pyo Wol noticed that their organization was as cohesive as a pile of sand.

They showed not a shred of loyalty toward Geum Usin. They were merely connected by a financial relationship.

Pyo Wol withdrew the Ghostly Rain and said,

“If I ever see you again, I’ll take your head then.”

“Yes, yes! That will never happen.”

Geum Usin nodded so hard it seemed his head would break.

When Pyo Wol waved his hand, the Ghostly Rain daggers stuck in the bodies of the Ho Trading Company’s martial artists were automatically retrieved. At this sight, the martial artists of the Ho Trading Company were once again utterly astonished. It was a skill they could not have possibly imagined.

‘My god! Psychokinesis.’

‘Crazy bastard! He switched out the horse of a man like that?’

They thought it was a miracle that Geum Usin’s head was still attached to his neck.

A feeling of disgust arose for Geum Usin, who had switched out the horse of such an Expert without even checking his identity.

Some of them didn’t even hide their contemptuous expressions as they glared at Geum Usin.

Pyo Wol took the Wallet and walked over to his horse.

Snort!

Perhaps because they had been together for a few days, it seemed to recognize Pyo Wol.

The horse whinnied, welcoming Pyo Wol. Its reaction once again confirmed that Pyo Wol was its owner.

Pyo Wol mounted the horse.

Until then, Geum Usin and the martial artists of the Ho Trading Company just stared at Pyo Wol, unmoving as if they had turned to stone.

The fear that Pyo Wol might change his mind and attack was evident on their faces. But fortunately, Pyo Wol did not attack them further and rode his horse away from the scene.

Once Pyo Wol had disappeared far into the distance, Geum Usin shakily got to his feet.

“Son of a bitch! I’ll let you go this time. You’ll take my head next time we meet? Don’t make me laugh. I’ll be the one taking your head then.”

He shouted at the top of his lungs in the direction Pyo Wol had disappeared. The martial artists of the Ho Trading Company looked at him with pathetic expressions.

‘And that’s our Unit Leader…’

‘Tsk, tsk!’

By a stroke of sheer luck, not a single person had died.

They knew full well that this wasn’t because the Ho Trading Company and Geum Usin had handled the situation well, but because Pyo Wol had no intention of killing them.

Just then, Geum Usin whipped his head around to look at them.

The martial artists of the Ho Trading Company quickly composed their expressions and avoided his gaze.

“If word of what happened today gets out? You’d better believe you’ll never be able to set foot in Henan again.”

At his threat, the martial artists of the Ho Trading Company quietly nodded.

Geum Usin muttered as he applied Hemostasis to his still-bleeding shoulder.

“Anyway, who the hell is that bastard? I’ve never heard any rumors of someone like that in Jianghu.”

A faint light of fear still lingered on his face.

＊＊＊

Mount Tianzhong had long been a famous mountain renowned for its spiritual power.

The Qi of Mount Tianzhong was so profound that it was called the center of the heavens. Perhaps for that reason, there had been an endless stream of people coveting Mount Tianzhong since ancient times.

Because of that, disputes had been incessant for a long time.

If one sect established itself, another sect would attack and seize its grounds, and if both sects declined from a long fight and vacated the spot, Bandits would move in, build a Mountain Keep, and run rampant.

Perhaps because the mountain’s Qi was so spiritual, any sect that managed to establish itself there prospered greatly. But the prosperity never lasted long, and a vicious cycle repeated itself with other sects coveting the spot.

Thus, the master of Mount Tianzhong changed countless times.

Each time, the nearby residents suffered indescribable pain. This was because those who became the masters of Mount Tianzhong extorted from or collected protection fees from the local residents.

Such a history repeated itself for hundreds of years.

It was only a few decades ago that the local residents finally found some stability.

A new master of Mount Tianzhong was born, driving out the previous incumbents.

It was the Jin Clan.

Despite driving out the existing power and becoming the new masters of Mount Tianzhong, the Jin Clan did not collect protection fees.

They insisted on legitimate income and did not use any particular force or intimidation against the nearby residents. Thanks to them, the residents’ lives became much more prosperous.

The residents praised the Jin Clan and prayed for their reign to last long.

All who had become masters of Mount Tianzhong had built large manors, but the Jin Clan was unique in that it was maintained as a clan village.

Much like the Tang Clan’s village in Chengdu, they formed a village composed only of people with the surname Jin and lived together.

The Jin Clan had no large pavilions or walls.

There was only a cozy village and people with the surname Jin.

The center of the Jin Clan was, without a doubt, the Setting Sun Divine Sword, Jin Wolmyeong.

He was one of the Eight Constellations and one of the most powerful figures in All Under Heaven.

It was because of him that the Jin Clan was able to put down deep roots in Mount Tianzhong.

In its heyday, as many as three hundred people lived in the Jin Clan. But recently, the family’s power had shrunk, and only about two hundred people remained.

The largest house in the Jin Clan was Jin Wolmyeong’s residence.

In Jin Wolmyeong’s residence, two men were facing each other.

One was a young man in his early twenties, and the other was a man in his mid-forties with a cold and stern impression.

The young man was looking at a piece of paper handed to him by the middle-aged man with a serious expression.

The young man’s name was Jin Si-woo.

He was Jin Wolmyeong’s second grandson and the prodigy currently leading the Jin Clan.

After staring at the paper for a long time, Jin Si-woo opened his mouth.

“So you’re saying this is the promissory note for the money my grandfather borrowed from the Golden Mountain Manor?”

“As you can see, Great Hero Jin’s signature is on it.”

The man with the cold impression replied.

Jin Si-woo frowned and looked at him.

The man’s name was Cha In-geol.

He held the position of King Yama Captain of the Golden Mountain Manor.

The King Yama Unit was an organization dedicated to the task of collecting the King Yama Debt lent out by the Golden Mountain Manor.

There was no one who didn’t know that the Golden Mountain Manor Lord, Geum Shinchung, lent out high-interest King Yama Debt to people in desperate situations and practically confiscated their entire fortunes. But he never imagined that the target would be the Jin Clan.

The signature at the end of the promissory note was definitely his grandfather, Jin Wolmyeong’s. However, as far as he knew, Jin Wolmyeong had never borrowed money from the Golden Mountain Manor. He wasn’t in a desperate enough situation to borrow money, nor was he financially strapped.

So for the Golden Mountain Manor to suddenly visit with a promissory note signed by his grandfather, he couldn’t help but be bewildered.

“When did my grandfather borrow money from the Golden Mountain Manor?”

“I believe he borrowed it at the end of last year. At that time, our Manor Lord gave him ten thousand Nyang of gold.”

“Ten thousand Nyang… That’s hard to believe.”

“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. The promissory note is genuine. If you really want, you can have an expert determine if it’s a forgery.”

Jin Si-woo glared at the calmly responding Cha In-geol with fearsome eyes.

Although he was said to be slightly inferior to his older brother, Jin Geum-woo, who was renowned as a prodigy of All Under Heaven, he too was a prodigy with a great reputation in Jianghu.

At a young age, he boasted such outstanding talent that he had achieved a full seventy percent of his grandfather Jin Wolmyeong’s Sword Art. But martial arts proficiency and negotiation skills were two different things.

Cha In-geol, the King Yama Captain of the Golden Mountain Manor, was a man who had mastered the art of collecting borrowed money and interest.

He was not intimidated no matter how high his opponent’s martial arts were, nor did he make concessions just because they were a prestigious Noble Family.

Cha In-geol’s notoriety for collecting money by any means necessary was widespread in Henan.

Jin Si-woo was also one of the people who did not think favorably of Cha In-geol. But since they had no reason to clash, they had passed each other by as if one were a chicken and the other a cow. But now that Cha In-geol had come to him with a promissory note, he was utterly confused.

The grandfather he knew was not someone who would ever borrow money from a place like the Golden Mountain Manor. And a whopping ten thousand Nyang at that.

It was an enormous sum that the Jin Clan’s finances could never repay right now.

Cha In-geol calmly met Jin Si-woo’s fearsome gaze and said,

“As stated on the promissory note, the repayment date is the end of next month. I am requesting that you repay the ten thousand Gold Taels and the seven thousand Nyang in interest by then. I stopped by today to tell you that.”

“Hmph!”

“And just in case you were wondering, there will be no postponement of the repayment date.”

“And if we can’t repay it by then?”

“Hmph! Our clan has never once failed to collect the money it has lent.”

“Are you threatening the Jin Clan right now?”

“How could I dare to threaten the Jin Clan?”

Cha In-geol smiled slyly.

Although he said he wasn’t threatening him, his expression clearly looked down on Jin Si-woo.

He got up from his seat and said,

“Don’t underestimate the power of this piece of paper. Our clan’s power can’t do anything to the Jin Clan, but if we give it to someone else, there are a few places that would find it useful. For example, a place like the Snow Blade Sword Manor. It would be quite a sight to see what happens if this promissory note falls into their hands.”

At Cha In-geol’s threat, Jin Si-woo’s expression hardened.

The Snow Blade Sword Manor was the power that had been the master of Mount Tianzhong before the Jin Clan.

They were driven out of Mount Tianzhong by the Jin Clan and were forgotten from people’s memories.

The heart of Jianghu was a cruel thing, and it was not so generous as to spare a glance for the defeated.

It was a few years ago that the Snow Blade Sword Manor, which had been erased from public interest, began to be mentioned again.

Perhaps because they had been sharpening their knives for the decades they were forgotten, they had almost recovered their former strength and reappeared in Henan.

Naturally, they coveted their old grounds on Mount Tianzhong where the Jin Clan had settled, and they were clashing with the Jin Clan in various places.

It was as clear as day what would happen if the promissory note fell into the hands of such a Snow Blade Sword Manor.

“Remember. The end of next month. If you don’t repay the seventeen thousand Nyang by then, this promissory note will be handed over to the Snow Blade Sword Manor. You know better than anyone what will happen then.”

Cha In-geol smirked and went outside.

Left alone, Jin Si-woo’s shoulders trembled with humiliation.

The very ones who didn’t dare to even open their mouths when the Jin Clan was doing well were now baring their teeth and sneering.

“To think the great Jin Clan has come to this.”

Jin Si-woo left the room and walked toward a separate building in the back.

As he opened the door to the detached building, a pungent medicinal scent wafted out.

Despite the strong medicinal smell that was almost suffocating, Jin Si-woo didn’t even frown as he looked inside the room.

There, an old man, as shriveled as a Mummy, lay with Silver Needles stuck all over his body.

He was none other than the spiritual pillar of the Jin Clan and one of the Eight Constellations, Jin Wolmyeong.