ROTMHS Special Spin-off - Chapter 11

Chapter 11. I Can’t Do This Anymore. Seriously. (1)

“Kweeeeeeek!”

A squeal like a pig being slaughtered rang out.

 “Good grief, he’s going to kill someone.”

“Oh dear, how pitiful.”

“He’s still a commoner. That’s too much.”

The Mount Hua Sect disciples watching the scene tossed out those words carelessly, without a trace of emotion.

“Rat bastards? Rat bastards? What kind of rat bastards go around looking for rat bastards!”

“P-please spare us!”

“Spare you? Hey, you punks. I’m a taoist—do you think I go around killing people? Do I look like some lunatic bastard who slaughters people whenever he feels like it?”

“N-no! Not at all! Absolutely not! Thank you for sparing us, Taoist-nim!”

“Who said I’d spare you? Who the hell told you to decide that on your own!”

“Aaaaargh!”

Cheong Myeong’s fist swung hard, snapping the jaws of the thugs sideways.

“Tsk tsk. That’s a bit excessive.”

“Then will you stop him?”

“Ahem. Sometimes, excess is necessary.”

Baek Cheon let out a loud cough and turned his gaze toward a distant mountain.

Of course, for a martial artist to lay hands on those who had not trained in martial arts was not right. But there were times when that boundary became ambiguous.

Armed ruffians. No, worse, chasing after a child who looked barely fifteen or sixteen? There was no need to weigh circumstances. Wouldn’t it be right to break something first and talk later?

Baek Cheon thought so, naturally. No—anyone would have thought the same.

But…

✿ ✿ ✿

“Huh?”

“Excuse me?”

“What did you say?”

“Eh?”

“U-uuuugh…”

The man’s face, swollen like a well-steamed bun, trembled as he wept sorrowfully.

“…..You’re saying you’re not robbers?”

“Robbers? No, we only came to collect money that was owed—”

“Eat this!”

“Kyaak!”

Cheong Myeong kicked the man hard.

“You barge into someone else’s house with a blade and say what? You bastard, do I look like a pushover to you?!”

“N-no, I did barge in, but—”

The man continued in a voice thick with injustice.

“I’m telling you, we really got ripped off.”

“….What?”

“It’s true! Really! That little brat living here took our money and ran! Uuugh…”

“Say something that makes sense, you bastard!”

Even after hearing the man’s desperate plea, Cheong Myeong turned toward the other lumps(?) behind him and roared.

“This bastard’s pulling a stunt, right? The one who confesses properly—I’ll send him back nicely.”

“….They’re already not in a ‘nice’ state, Cheong Myeong-ah.”

“No. Depending on how you look at it, they could be nice. Everything in this world is relative.”

“They’re round and cute.”

“S-sago….”

Yet despite Cheong Myeong’s threatening persuasion, the kneeling men behind gave the same answer.

“It’s… it’s true.”

“It really is.”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“….Huh?”

Cheong Myeong’s head tilted to the side. But it snapped back into place like a spring.

Crack.

“Aaaargh!”

Grabbing the head of the man in front, he twisted it left and right with his palm and shouted.

“You bastard, trying to deceive your elder? You’re loan sharks, aren’t you?”

[tl note: 어르신 , literally ‘elder’, often used sarcastically here to assert seniority.]

“Y-yes, we are.”

“I know exactly how you loan sharks drag people into ruin, and you think you can trick me? You think just because we’re taoists, we’re ignorant of how the world works, huh?”

“….He’s a bit too knowledgeable about the world.”

“I don’t know why. He lives in the mountains.”

The man clutched his swollen cheeks and opened his mouth as if pleading his case.

“Well… this is how it happened…”

✿ ✿ ✿

Cheong Myeong stared at him blankly.

“So… you lot are loan sharks—yeah, that part’s right. And the kid came, borrowed a small amount at first.”

“He paid the interest diligently.”

“And then he paid it back quickly?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And the next time he borrowed money, it was a larger sum.”

“….Yes.”

“And after that repeated a few times…”

“We naturally thought he’d pay it back again. It was a big sum, sure, but he’d always paid well before, so we figured he’d settle it quickly…”

“And then… that…”

“…..”

“He took the money and ran?”

The man slowly nodded, his face full of grievance.

“So you chased him all the way here?”

“Ugh, Taoist-nim…”

As if something burst inside him, the man began sobbing uncontrollably.

“No matter how much we’re just back-alley thugs, we’re not brainless fools. The law of the state is strict—do you think we’d dare run around brandishing blades in broad daylight? We’re not drifters either. We have to keep living here, make a living here.”

“….That’s true.”

“But what else could we do? What else! Uuugh… If we don’t get that money back, our superiors will beat us to death. And even if they don’t—if word gets out that we got tricked by some brat and lost this much money, we won’t be able to show our faces anywhere.”

Baek Cheon, who had been listening attentively, glanced sideways at his fellow disciples.

“Um… from the sound of it, something feels off.”

“If what they’re saying is true, haven’t they not really committed a crime? It feels like we hit them too much…”

“Waving blades around is still wrong.”

“We’re carrying swords too. That’s not very convincing.”

“….That’s true.”

Feeling an indescribable discomfort, Baek Cheon turned to Cheong Myeong.

“Cheong Myeong-ah, it seems like that child might also be at fault here.”

“Huh?”

Cheong Myeong tilted his head.

“Why? Didn’t he do well?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon and Cheong Myeong stared blankly at each other. After staring at Cheong Myeong for a while, Baek Cheon opened his mouth in confusion.

“If what these people said is true, that kid committed fraud.”

“Right.”

“So that’s wrong.”

“Why?”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘why’? He committed fraud.”

“If he scammed money from loan-sharking thugs, isn’t that a good thing?”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon fell silent, his mouth closing.

Somehow, while listening, he had felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Now that he thought about it, what that child had done was exactly like…

At that moment, Tang Soso stepped in to rescue the speechless Baek Cheon.

“N-no, that’s not right, Cheong Myeong sahyung. The child is in the wrong here.”

“Why?”

“You shouldn’t do things like that.”

“Why? They’re loan sharks.”

“But still, it’s not okay. Even if it’s money from terrible people, you can’t scam it!”

“So why not?”

“Because… uh. I mean. Uh… why? Huh? Why not?”

“Soso-ya, get a hold of yourself!”

“No, wait? You shouldn’t embezzle someone else’s money, right? But if that money was extorted from others in the first place, can you really call it embezzlement? If I extort it, that’s wrong—but if the money itself was already wrong to begin with, then…”

“Soso-ya!”

“Someone give her some cold water. She’s lost it.”

The Mount Hua Sect disciples quickly gathered around the spiraling Tang Soso.

“I told you not to have a long conversation with that bastard.”

“He’s the type of person who thinks it’s wrong for the unorthodox sect to even breathe, so he’s impossible to reason with.”

“Ah…”

Cheong Myeong, who had been listening, let out a dry cough.

“Ahem. To be honest, I do think I went a bit overboard.”

“R-right?”

“Beating the hell out of these bastards—that part’s fine—but this is too dangerous. You’ve got to discipline them properly.”

“…Something feels a bit off, but the conclusion’s the same, so let’s just go with it.”

“Sasuk, I feel like you just let something go.”

“Leave him. He’s just exhausted.”

Baek Cheon’s shoulders slumped.

At that moment, Cheong Myeong suddenly lifted his head.

“Anyway, then we should find that kid first.”

“Right. That makes sense. We can’t just take their word for it—we should meet the person involved and confirm it ourselves.”

“But how do we find him? He’s probably already run far away. If so, he won’t come back this way.”

“Hmm, that’s the problem.”

“If we just lay out some meat and alcohol, wouldn’t he come?”

“Is he you? You think he’ll come running just because there’s meat and alcohol laid out?”

“It might work, surprisingly, don’t you think?”

“Geol-ah, please get a hold of yourself. Does that even make sense?”

“Excuse me.”

“Anyway, it’d be better if we split up and search. We’ve seen his face.”

“Excuse me.”

“I don’t really remember his face.”

“Ahem. Excuse me.”

“What is it?”

Only then did the Mount Hua Sect disciples all turn their heads toward Hye Yeon. Receiving their attention, Hye Yeon let out a deep sigh.

“Well… I don’t think there’s any need to search.”

“Isn’t that him over there?”

“Huh?”

All their heads snapped toward where Hye Yeon was pointing.

But what entered their eyes was merely a line of men in identical uniforms hurrying along the road.

“They look like constables.”

[Constable. Pokwae. 포쾌(捕快). Government constables responsible for arrests and law enforcement in traditional settings.]

Since the house had no real walls to speak of, the constables passing by the road were clearly visible.

“Did you just see things, Monk?”

“N-no, that’s not it. Look closely. The one being dragged by those constables.”

“Huh? Being dragged—what do you—”

The moment he squinted and looked again, Baek Cheon’s eyes widened like lanterns.

Between two constables striding at the center, there was something… familiar… wrapped tightly in thick rope…

“Aaaaargh! I’m telling you, it’s unfair! Why are you arresting me!”

“Uh…”

“Uh?”

Hanging from a pole carried by the constables, a boy was dangling, bound tightly with rope. The Mount Hua Sect disciples stared at the sight in a daze.

“That looks like him.”

“Seeing him again like this is… oddly nice.”

“….Yeah. Guess we didn’t need to go searching after all.”

“What kind of city is this, exactly?”

“Spare me! A corrupt official is killing an innocent maaaaan!”

“Will you be quiet, you wretch! Do you want to be beaten with the rod?”

Watching the boy being dragged away while screaming at the top of his lungs, Baek Cheon belatedly rushed forward.

“W-wait! Just a moment! Please stop for a moment!”

“What is it?”

The constables became extremely wary of Baek Cheon approaching suddenly. A man far sturdier than an ordinary civilian, with a sword at his side—of course they would be tense.

“Step back! How dare you!”

Baek Cheon quickly cupped his fist in salute.

“My apologies for your hard work. I am Baek Cheon, a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect of Shaanxi.”

“Hmm. Mount Hua Sect… I think I’ve heard of it.”

At the tone that clearly suggested he hadn’t heard of it at all, a vein briefly bulged on Baek Cheon’s forehead. However, his anger quickly subsided in the presence of these holders of authority(?) figures known as constables. Composing himself, he spoke politely.

“I have no intention of obstructing official duties. However, no matter what wrongdoing was committed, to arrest such a young child like this merely for having a dispute with back-alley thugs seems somewhat excessive. I ask that you show leniency.”

Baek Cheon unconsciously bit his dry lips. He hadn’t committed any discourtesy, but facing constables as someone of the jianghu still made it impossible not to feel tense.

‘Did that work? No, probably not. If it comes down to it, I’ll just slip them some money under the table…!’ [note: bribe lmao]

Just as he was thinking he should get the boy out first and worry later, an incredulous voice reached his ears.

“Back-alley thugs? What are you talking about?”

“….Excuse me?”

One of the constables chuckled.

“This brat caused trouble with thugs as well?”

Baek Cheon blinked. Huh? That’s not the issue? Then…

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that’s not why we arrested him. This audacious little bastard swindled Lord Song’s money.”

[Song Dae-in. 송 대인(宋大人). Honorific ‘daein’ used for a person of high status or authority, not necessarily a formal noble title.]

“….What?”

“Really, there’s a limit to brazen insolence. To dare to deceive Lord Song, a prominent figure of Jinan. Ha ha.”

Baek Cheon stared blankly at the constable, then slowly turned his head.

Meeting his eyes, Cheong Myeong muttered with a hollow expression,

“Ah… even I think this is a bit much.”

“….”

This bastard.

He’s no ordinary one.

Next Chapter

✿ ✿ ✿

If anyone wants to donate to motivate me (I'll use the money to buy the RAWs from Naver Series too). Thank you so much!

- Buy Me a Coffee

- Patreon

- Trakteer (this one for Indonesian)