Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 16

Ninth Dragon Chronicles (16)

“You bastards, no!”

The warriors of the Black Serpent Clan, who had come to find Danri Hyukjin, grabbed the injured man and threw him down into the dirt yard below.

Seeing this, Ha No, despite his own injuries, struggled to his feet and grabbed the leg of one of the Black Serpent Clan warriors.

“Is this old man crazy?”

The Black Serpent Clan warrior kicked Ha No in the face.

“Ugh!”

A sound of pain escaped Ha No’s mouth, but he didn’t release his grip on the warrior’s leg.

“No, you bastards! Our young master is not well…”

“Old man, who do you think you’re worrying about? Take care of yourself first.”

Once again, Ha No was kicked in the head, his skull hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Blood seeped out from the wound on his face.

“You bastards, what did our young master do to deserve this?”

Ha No disregarded his own pain and fought for Danri Hyukjin, but his aged body and illness made it impossible to overcome the situation.

Seeing another warrior assaulting Danri Hyukjin in the yard, he somehow found the strength to get up, stumble outside, push the Black Serpent Clan warrior away, and shield Danri Hyukjin with his own body.

“You bastards, aren’t you afraid of the heavens!”

As Ha No shouted, the Black Serpent Clan warriors burst into laughter.

“The heavens? We’re terrified! But old man, for you, *we* are more frightening than any god.”

One of the warriors approached, pulled Ha No away from Danri Hyukjin, and punched him in the face.

“Keoeok!”

Blood sprayed from his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

Another warrior slapped Danri Hyukjin’s cheek hard and demanded,

“Where is the clan leader’s money?”

“I don’t have it now, but I will prepare it soon,” Danri Hyukjin said, gritting his teeth to endure the pain.

*Jjaaaak!*

The sound of the slap echoed in the yard.

Blood flowed from Danri Hyukjin’s mouth, as if everything inside him had burst.

“He told me to get it *now*. If you don’t have the money, I’ll take your sister.”

“That’s a good idea. We can get a good price even if we sell her to the red-light district [brothel],” another added.

When Danri Hyukjin heard them mention his sister, he clenched his fists involuntarily.

“You bastards! Our young master… Keokeokeok, eoeok.”

The warrior next to Ha No stomped on the old man’s neck as he lay on the ground, silencing him.

“Be quiet if you don’t want to die.”

“Let our young master go! I will get the money, so our young… Keokeoeok!”

Danri Hyukjin’s eyes turned red as he watched Ha No suffer.

“Are you angry now?”

Seeing Danri Hyukjin’s reddened eyes, the warrior mercilessly slapped his cheek again.

“Keoeok!”

Along with red blood, several teeth shattered and spilled from Danri Hyukjin’s mouth.

“You bastard, you should be grateful for the clan leader’s grace in feeding you well all this time. Where did you get the nerve…”

Ha No, with a surge of desperate strength, grabbed the foot of the warrior who was stepping on his neck with both hands. Seeing his pathetic struggle, the Black Serpent Clan warrior slightly loosened his grip, and Ha No shook off the foot. He crawled to Danri Hyukjin and spread his arms protectively between him and the Black Serpent Clan warrior.

It was a desperate act to prevent further harm to Danri Hyukjin.

“Half an hour… No, give me an hour! Then I will get the money. So don’t harass our young master, just wait an hour, please!”

Whether Ha No’s plea moved them, or whether they simply found the spectacle amusing, the Black Serpent Clan warriors exchanged glances with sneers on their faces.

“Really? Then try to get it. But do you even know how much money it is?”

“How much is it?”

“Twenty gold coins.”

Ha No’s eyes widened at the mention of twenty gold coins.

“Giving two gold coins a month…”

“It’s up now. So it’s twenty gold coins.”

Danri Hyukjin clenched his fists, but there was nothing he could do.

“I understand. Just wait an hour. But you must not touch our young master.”

“Old man, I understand. So hurry up and get the money. Time is running out.”

Ha No, his body weakened by illness, left the house. He headed straight for the Nine Dragons Plaza.

“Is anyone there? I am Ha Cheongsu, a servant of the Danri family. If anyone is there, please tell the head of the plaza what I need!”

Ha No shouted with all his remaining strength in front of the Nine Dragons Plaza.

After a moment, a figure appeared beside him like a ghost: Hwa-rin.

Hwa-rin narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ha No. He was usually bedridden due to his chronic illness, but now he was a mess, as if he had been beaten.

“What’s going on?”

“Please tell the head of the plaza.”

“I am the head of the Nine Dragons Plaza, so tell me.”

“Ah… I need money. I need twenty gold coins.”

Seeing Ha No’s disheveled appearance and desperate plea for money, Hwa-rin immediately sensed that something had happened to Danri Hyukjin.

“I understand. Chief Manager Seo!”

When Hwa-rin called, the chief manager rushed out.

“Call a doctor to treat Ha No.”

“Understood.”

Hwa-rin’s figure disappeared like smoke.

“Is anyone there?”

The chief manager called out to the working family members again, and when some of them appeared, he quickly gave them instructions.

“You, go and bring a doctor. And you, carry this person on your back and move him to a room. And you, prepare warm water and cold water just in case.”

“Understood.”

Those who were assigned to each task moved quickly.

Meanwhile, Hwa-rin had already arrived at the house where the Danri family siblings lived and went inside.

“You…”

Danri Hyukjin, seeing Hwa-rin, glared fiercely with angry eyes. He was even angrier because he believed none of this would have happened if it hadn’t been for her.

“I heard it’s twenty gold coins.”

When Hwa-rin spoke, the Black Serpent Clan warriors exchanged glances.

“That old man is more resourceful than I thought.”

Hwa-rin took out gold coins from her pocket and counted out twenty.

“But who are you to demand gold coins from Danri Hyukjin?”

“You don’t need to know that. Just give me the money and get out.”

Hwa-rin smiled and nodded at the Black Serpent Clan warrior’s words.

“Then take it.”

With a flick of her finger, one of the gold coins flew like an arrow and struck the forehead of the warrior who had just spoken.

He died instantly, not knowing what had happened. His colleagues stared in stunned silence.

“Heot!”

In that moment of surprise, as he turned his head after seeing the gold coin embedded in his comrade’s forehead, he saw something sparkling flying towards him. The two remaining warriors tried to react, but it was too late. The projectiles pierced their foreheads.

Danri Hyukjin, witnessing Hwa-rin’s instantaneous killing of three Black Serpent Clan warriors, felt the anger he had harbored vanish without a trace, replaced by overwhelming fear.

“Who are these people?”

“They are warriors of the Black Serpent Clan,” Danri Hyukjin answered Hwa-rin’s question.

“Black Serpent Clan?”

“Yes. The Black Serpent Clan is a heretical sect that is active in Sanyang County.”

“But why are they asking you for money?”

“That’s because I am operating under their protection.”

Hwa-rin, having roughly grasped the situation, asked again,

“Is that protection fee twenty gold coins?”

“It’s two gold coins. But suddenly they tried to raise it to twenty coins…”

Looking at Danri Hyukjin, who was bowing his head with a pathetic expression, she asked,

“What are you going to do in the future? If they find out that these people are dead, the Black Serpent Clan will not leave you and your sister alone.”

“That’s…”

Danri Hyukjin looked at her as if to say, ‘Didn’t you kill them?’ but he couldn’t bring himself to utter those words.

“Do you think the Black Serpent Clan can do anything to me? They will probably test the waters to some extent. And if they judge that they are not their opponent, then what?”

If that happened, the Black Serpent Clan would retaliate against him and his sister.

“Please save me!”

Danri Hyukjin prostrated himself before Hwa-rin.

“I’m okay. Just my sister, please save just my sister.”

A sneer appeared on Hwa-rin’s lips at Danri Hyukjin’s request.

“Did you not expect this much when you were acting like a gangster? Since gangsters have nothing to do with the Murim [martial arts world], did you think you could just live by extorting the people?”

“I was foolish. I went around without distinguishing between right and wrong due to youthful blood. So please, I beg you! Please save my sister.”

“Then why don’t you leave Sanyang County with your sister and run away?”

Danri Hyukjin bit his lip and spoke in a low voice.

“There is someone I have to wait for in Sanyang County.”

“Who?”

“I have to wait for my brother. There is no promise of when he will return, but I have to wait for my brother here.”

The words that he had to wait for Danri Hyukwang pained Hwa-rin’s heart.

After looking down at Danri Hyukjin, who was kneeling and begging, for a long time, she opened her mouth.

“Then let’s make a promise.”

“What…”

“You will work as a kitchen assistant in my inn.”

“Yes?”

“Why, don’t you want to do it?”

“No, it’s not that! I will do it! If you just save me, I will do anything.”

He spoke quickly, fearing that Hwa-rin would change her mind.

“Good. Then we have made a promise.”

“I have! I have clearly done it.”

“Then get up and lead the way.”

“Yes?”

“Shouldn’t we go to the Black Serpent Clan, explain the whole story, and get confirmation from them?”

“Ah… I understand. I will lead the way now.”

Danri Hyukjin, who had witnessed Hwa-rin’s formidable martial arts, became a docile sheep and did as Hwa-rin wanted.

* * *

The destruction of the Black Serpent Clan spread through Sanyang County like wildfire. In one night, the head of the Black Serpent Clan, Im Chung, was beheaded, and his subordinates all died with iron coins embedded in their foreheads.

If a martial artist could kill people by throwing objects like Red Leaf Flying Flowers [a legendary assassin technique], it would only be possible for a master of the highest level who could freely control their internal energy [qi], so Sanyang County was abuzz with rumors.

“Then who took all the wealth of the Black Serpent Clan?”

“I don’t know that. What is clear is that the land deeds, house deeds, and documents of the businesses operated by the Black Serpent Clan have all disappeared.”

“Then it must be the person who destroyed the Black Serpent Clan who took it.”

“That’s right. But there is no one who can say anything about it.”

“The Black Serpent Clan is said to be a third-rate sect, but it still operates quite a few businesses in Sanyang County.”

“That’s right. There are a few businesses that operate illegally, such as inns, brothels, loan businesses, and gambling houses, but they are still sects that make quite a lot of profit.”

People had a lot to say about the businesses operated by the Black Serpent Clan.

It was expected that the businesses operated by the Black Serpent Clan would be closed for the time being, but they operated as usual, and they also hired new escort warriors to protect the businesses and ensure that customers were not inconvenienced.

“Who is the owner? You guys know since you work there, right?”

“I don’t know. Only the manager knows. And they said that employees who mention the owner will be kicked out, so don’t ask.”

“Isn’t it good to be kicked out? Didn’t you always say that your monthly salary is low?”

“After the owner changed this time, our monthly salary has increased a lot. We get a little more than other inns, so there is no reason to leave, is there?”

“Ah, is that so?”

“So please don’t ask any more questions. It will be the same for other businesses.”

“I understand. Bring me the food I enjoy eating.”

“Please wait a moment.”