In the end, Dong Bongsu decided not to kill them.
His mind could change again, but for now, he judged there was no need to kill them.
Do Pal-du and the ruffians, unaware that their lives had just gone to the brink of the netherworld and back, continued walking forward.
They led Dong Bongsu to the end of the alley, to a completely secluded spot.
Even in the past, it was a place people rarely visited.
In the current atmosphere, it was even less likely for anyone to come by.
Smack.
Once certain that no one was around, Do Pal-du abruptly slapped Dong Bongsu across the face.
The man's palm was large and broad, like the paw of a beast.
Unless one was a martial artist, there was no way to withstand a blow from such a palm.
A brisk sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out, and Dong Bongsu fell straight to the ground, his body sprawled out.
It was the customary beating that preceded the ruffians taking his money.
For these bottom-feeders, such violent acts were one of the simple pleasures of life, just as much as stealing and spending money.
For those at the bottom of society, tormenting and extorting those even lower was a ray of amusement in their stinking lives.
For the victims, it was an affair of bloody tears, but for human scum like them, violence?
It was the spice of life.
Thud, thwack.
Dong Bongsu silently endured the beating from Do Pal-du and the other ruffians.
But, as he lay face down on the ground, his eyes were glowing white.
Had Do Pal-du seen those eyes, he would have either pissed himself or never thought of extorting money from Dong Bongsu again.
Those were not the eyes of a human.
They were not even the bloodthirsty eyes of a predator at the top of the food chain, like a lion or a tiger.
They were simply nothing, eyes devoid of any emotion.
Anyone who wonders why emotionless eyes are frightening can only say so because they have never encountered them.
All living things have emotions.
They are especially sensitive to the emotion of pain.
However, Dong Bongsu looked like someone who couldn't feel emotions at all, especially pain.
Imagine eyes that show no flicker of emotion even while bleeding profusely.
Few could look into such eyes and remain unfazed.
Thud, thwack...
The ruffians' assault seemed as if it would never end.
Their kicking only stopped the moment a voice was heard.
"What do you think you're doing right now?"
It was a heavy voice.
Dong Bongsu, still on the ground, lifted his head and looked toward the source of the voice.
A robust man in his thirties, dressed in black, was standing there.
Seeing his sturdy build, he looked like just another ruffian at first glance.
"Bi-Big Bro Jangho!"
"I asked what you are doing."
But that was Dong Bongsu's misconception.
Jangho was, in fact, a member of the Black Snake Society, one of the three unorthodox factions that controlled Soaring Sun's back alleys.
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Although the ruffians lived as thugs, they were at the lowest rung of that world.
All ruffians had to pay taxes to the syndicates that moved in higher, darker, and more sinister circles.
The syndicates had learned basic martial arts like the Three Forces Sword Art, making them incomparably stronger than these back-alley ruffians.
Sometimes, the ruffians even had to take the fall for crimes committed by syndicate members and be dragged away by the authorities.
Although Jangho was merely one of the lowest-ranking members of the Black Snake Society, he was on a completely different level than Do Pal-du, the leader of the gang of ruffians.
No one in Soaring Sun would bat an eye if Jangho killed Do Pal-du.
The same went for Do Pal-du's own subordinates.
Dong Bongsu realized things were not going as expected.
But he still didn't feel the need to eliminate them.
He quietly spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and pushed himself up.
In that same position, he gripped Yeoro's dangling reins and carefully observed the situation.
"Ah, ah, well, this punk was being defiant, so as a warning..."
Jangho silently glanced at Dong Bongsu once, then looked at Yeoro.
A glint of light flashed in his eyes.
In contrast, Dong Bongsu's pupils sank.
He had read the flicker of greed in Jangho's eyes.
Step, step.
Jangho turned and slowly approached Do Pal-du.
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Do Pal-du cautiously backed away.
"B-Big Bro! Why, why are you...!"
Crack.
Jangho suddenly lunged at Do Pal-du, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back.
"Kuaaack!"
"Aren't you the one being defiant to me right now?"
Seeing Do Pal-du's arm bent bizarrely backward, it was clear he had been crippled.
He would probably have to live as a left-hander for the rest of his life.
With that, his position as the leader of the ruffians was over.
One of his subordinates, now cowering in the back, would likely become the new leader.
Of course, that was only if they survived today.
Jangho had no interest whatsoever in the fact that Do Pal-du was now crippled.
After firmly stepping on the head of Do Pal-du, who was writhing on the ground in agony, he approached Dong Bongsu again.
"That's a fine horse. What breed is it?"
Jangho said as he carefully stroked Yeoro's mane.
Dong Bongsu knew Jangho was asking him, but he didn't answer.
Wasn't he known as a mute? It wasn't that he couldn't answer, but the moment he did, he would have to kill everyone here.
To do that, he first needed to know his opponent for certain.
He had already figured out Do Pal-du and his gang of ruffians, so he was confident he could handle them without a problem...
The problem was Jangho, who stood before him exuding pressure.
Dong Bongsu had met him for the first time today.
Needless to say, he knew nothing about Jangho.
That was what made him hesitate.
"I asked what breed this horse is."
Jangho's voice grew heavier.
Dong Bongsu could read the killing intent hidden deep within his voice.
'Is he targeting me?'
Dong Bongsu was sure of it.
He didn't know the exact reason, but the man before him was trying to kill him.
Just as he thought, Jangho had appeared here with the intention of targeting Dong Bongsu from the start.
No, to be more precise, he was after Yeoro.
The Black Snake Society's leader, Bang Po-yeom, was a man who went crazy for fine horses.
He had long coveted Danri Cheonwoo's horse, Yeoro.
But he knew full well that if he messed with Yeoro, the Black Snake Society could be wiped from Soaring Sun.
However, is human greed so easily resolved just by suppressing it? For a long time, he had Jangho observe Yeoro, or more accurately, the stablehands who managed Yeoro.
Then recently, he heard that a mute idiot named So-sam had been put in charge of Yeoro.
He thought the time had finally come and ordered Jangho to steal Yeoro.
Jangho had been looking for the perfect opportunity to carry out Bang Po-yeom's command, and he believed that time was now.
If he killed So-sam, Do Pal-du, and his gang all in this spot and disposed of Do Pal-du's body, all the blame would fall on Do Pal-du.
Crack, creak.
Jangho lightly cracked the knuckles of both hands, slowly raising his killing intent.
Now, there was no choice.
'I have to fight.'
Feeling the killing intent slowly rising from Jangho's body, Dong Bongsu smiled inwardly.
And unlike before, he was now certain.
Certain that he could take down Jangho.
There's nothing more foolish than exuding thick killing intent in front of your prey.
Have you ever seen a lion or a tiger reveal their killing intent before a hunt is successful? Never.
A true hunter does not reveal their killing intent until they are biting into their prey's neck.
They must not reveal it.
If they stir up killing intent before the hunt and the prey escapes, they lack the qualifications of a hunter.
Much less...
He was no ordinary prey.
Jangho had misjudged his target.
Thud.
Placing a hand on one knee, Dong Bongsu slowly rose to his feet.
His head was still bowed toward the ground, a perfect picture of someone terrified.
"I don't ask three times."
Jangho said, grabbing Dong Bongsu's arm.
That was the moment.
"Then kill me. Why ask three times?"
It was a voice without inflection.
If a voice could have a pitch, this one would have every note at the same level.
Who could produce such a voice, unless they were a machine? It was likely impossible for anyone but Dong Bongsu.
Those were the first words Dong Bongsu had spoken to anyone since coming to Murim.
And it was so very him.
Not just the content of the words, but the result was, naturally, just as much him.
"Huh!? You can talk?"
Jangho was slightly startled that So-sam, whom he believed to be mute, had suddenly spoken.
It might not have seemed like much, but that small opening was all Dong Bongsu needed.
Dong Bongsu quickly raised his head.
Shunk.
Since when?
A knife was clamped between Dong Bongsu's upper and lower teeth.
"H-how..."
The blade completely pierced one side of Jangho's neck, burrowing into the flesh, and the sharp tip of the dagger protruded from the other side, gleaming bizarrely with blood.
Crack.
Dong Bongsu grabbed the neck of Jangho, who was trying to ask 'how,' and snapped it.
"I don't know either."
Even as he lost his life, Jangho seemed so curious about something, continuing to gurgle and spew bloody foam from his mouth.
His eyes seemed to ask how he could speak while holding a knife in his mouth.
The knife was already gone from Dong Bongsu's mouth.
It was already back in his inventory.
"It just happens, like this."