Gu Ak had turned thirty that year.
He was six years younger than Baek Muryang and twenty-two years older than Yanghwi.
In other words, he was hardly at an age where some little brat should be calling him Brother.
Yet Yanghwi, with an almost innocently shameless expression, used the same form of address again.
“Brother Gu! This younger brother greets you!”
“You impudent little runt. Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Yanghwi, soon to become the son of Baek Muryang, Peerless in Chivalry!”
“What?”
“And until one two-hour period ago, I was also a poor little beggar boy who’d been kidnapped by the Naheuk Sect—those bastards who committed deeds lower than dogs while flying the mighty Red Bridge Gang’s banner—and was about to be sold into slavery.”
Gu Ak’s brows twitched.
Yanghwi’s words could be interpreted in two ways.
First, the Naheuk Sect had deceived the Red Bridge Gang while committing atrocities behind its back.
Or second, men operating under the Red Bridge Gang’s banner had been committing crimes no righteous faction could possibly overlook.
“This Blood Axe has no taste for killing children, runt. But if you’re thinking of going on about witnesses or testimony, you’d better forget about walking away alive.”
“Why would I ever do anything that might harm you, Brother Gu? Hahaha.”
Yanghwi casually called him Brother Gu yet again and studied his reaction.
“Just looking at us, I must be thirty years older than you. What the hell is this ‘Brother’ nonsense?”
His reaction softened a little. He must have realized I’m not trying to threaten him.
Yanghwi brazenly replied,
“Do they not say that all who walk the same path within the Four Seas are brethren? Look at it that way, and we’re practically family.”
“If that’s your reasoning, wouldn’t Uncle be more appropriate than Brother?”
“If I called you Uncle, Brother Gu would become my father’s brother.”
“...”
For an instant, Gu Ak found himself thinking,
And somehow becoming brothers with a brat like you is supposed to be fine...?
Was this little bastard insane?
How could a child have so little fear?
“All right, you gutsy little runt. What is it you actually want to say?”
“It’s simple. I’d like to repay resentment with a favor.”
“You’re saying a runt like you can render our gang a favor great enough to cancel the grudge born today?”
“Exactly right, Brother Gu.”
Gu Ak snorted.
“If you can really do that, I’ll call you Brother.”
“Really? You do know that a true man does not go back on his word, don’t you?”
Yanghwi’s grin stretched wide.
Then he said just one thing.
“You’re looking for the Blue Snake Gang’s spy, aren’t you?”
In that instant, both Gu Ak and Buk Aksin went rigid.
“Runt. How do you know about that?”
The Blue Snake Gang was one of the Black Path factions currently engaged in the fiercest territorial struggle with the Red Bridge Gang.
“Until two two-hour periods ago, I was a poor beggar boy about to be sold into slavery. But until three days ago, I was wandering all over the place begging for food. Which means I’ve heard quite a lot here and there.”
“Get to the point, runt.”
“Of course. Hmm. Could you come a little closer to this younger brother?”
Gu Ak’s lips immediately twitched.
“I’ve indulged you long enough, runt. You’re getting too damn insolent. Who do you think you are, ordering me around?”
Yanghwi continued calmly.
“Then tell Brother Gu’s sworn younger brother to move far away. If you do, I’ll come to you.”
“What kind of bullshit are you trying now?”
“Hear me out first. If it sounds like bullshit afterward, you can take my life and I won’t complain.”
Gu Ak stared silently at Yanghwi’s face for a moment.
The boy had just told him he could kill him if he wished.
“You really have no fear at all, do you? Fine. Aksin, move back ten zhang.”
“Brother, is there really any reason to humor this little runt’s tricks?”
“Isn’t it amusing? The kid is wagering his life.”
“...”
With an unreadable expression, Buk Aksin slowly retreated.
“There. Come here, runt, and tell me what you know.”
Yanghwi scurried over and brought his lips close to Gu Ak’s ear.
“Whenever a fight breaks out, hasn’t the Blue Snake Gang been moving as if they already knew what the Red Bridge Gang intended to do? That’s why you’ve been trying so hard to uncover the spy. By the way, that tattoo on your upper arm looks impressive, Brother Gu.”
A stylish red palanquin had been tattooed near Gu Ak’s shoulder.
It marked him as a member of the Red Bridge Gang.
Black Path groups almost always branded their members with tattoos.
Betrayal, reform, and sudden changes of allegiance were all too common among the Black Path, so they simply branded the affiliation onto the person himself.
“Runt. I already told you to get to the point.”
Impatient bastard.
Yanghwi immediately continued.
“You know that every member of the Blue Snake Gang bears a blue snake tattoo. Check Buk Aksin’s body.”
Gu Ak’s already savage face twisted even further.
He seized Yanghwi by the collar.
“You’ve finally crossed the line. Are you accusing my sworn younger brother of being the spy?”
“Yes.”
“Then your life belongs to me now. I’ve already seen my brother’s body.”
“The last time must have been over a year ago. I’d guess it was when he first entered the gang and received his tattoo.”
Gu Ak scoffed.
“Wrong. We inspected the bodies of every gang member only a month ago. My brother even stepped forward first and stripped to prove his loyalty.”
Despite the rebuttal, Yanghwi remained perfectly calm.
“Is that so? I’m sure he lowered his trousers. But did Buk Aksin take off his undergarments too?”
“...”
Of course he didn’t. I knew even Buk Aksin wouldn’t strip that far, which is why I brought it up first.
Gu Ak fell silent, struck squarely where it hurt.
Yanghwi continued smoothly.
“The Blue Snake Gang needed assurance that its spies wouldn’t change sides, while the spies themselves wanted the mark placed somewhere no one would ever discover it. So they chose the groin. More precisely, deep on the inner thigh.”
It was not some obvious hiding place like the scalp that appeared in cheap rumors and pulp tales.
And yet it was also somewhere one man would virtually never show another.
A remarkably clever location.
“...How do you know that?”
Because in the future, one traitor sells out every last one of the other spies.
Naturally, he could hardly tell Gu Ak the truth.
“Who gets to see the inside of a man’s thigh? While begging around a brothel, I overheard someone talking about a man with a blue snake tattoo hidden high on his inner thigh.”
Yanghwi looked toward Buk Aksin and smiled openly.
“I knew what the blue snake meant, so I also made sure to find out who the man was. Seems he had enough nerve to serve as a spy, but not enough discipline to stay away from women.”
“...”
Gu Ak slowly walked toward Buk Aksin.
At the same time, he gestured to his men.
Suddenly surrounded, Buk Aksin shouted in alarm.
“Brother! I don’t know what that brat told you, but what is the meaning of this?”
“Aksin. Take off your clothes. Everything, including your undergarments.”
Buk Aksin’s body jolted as though struck by lightning.
“Brother! Do you mean to humiliate this younger brother?”
“It will only take a moment to check. If I’m wrong, I’ll kneel and apologize.”
“...”
After a brief silence, Buk Aksin made his choice.
He ran.
That bastard does make decisions fast.
At this point, whether the inspection happened privately or in front of everyone, he could no longer avoid it.
Buk Aksin had realized that escape was his only chance of survival.
Too bad Gu Ak is faster.
Before Buk Aksin could even break through the encirclement, the axe that had earned Gu Ak his epithet, Blood Axe, buried itself in his calf.
“AAAAARGH!”
Buk Aksin’s scream of agony was drowned out by Gu Ak’s roar.
“BUK AKSIN! YOU BASTARD! AFTER EVERYTHING I DID FOR YOU, YOU BETRAYED ME?!”
The axe ripped through Buk Aksin’s trousers.
Gu Ak was anything but gentle, and the blade tore open the flesh of Buk Aksin’s thigh as well, sending blood spraying.
But that did nothing to obscure the tattoo shaped like a blue snake.
“There really is a tattoo.”
“Brother! Brother! I was wrong! Please, let this younger brother explain—AAAAARGH!”
Several white fragments spilled from Buk Aksin’s mouth.
After sealing his mouth with an iron-hard fist, Gu Ak took further precautions.
So he isn’t killing him immediately. Makes sense. Now that he knows Aksin’s a spy, he’ll want to take him back and interrogate him.
Yanghwi was watching Gu Ak break Buk Aksin’s arms and legs, rendering him incapable of escape or resistance, when his vision abruptly went dark.
A callused palm covered his eyes.
It was Baek Muryang’s hand.
“This is too cruel a sight for a child.”
“...”
Yanghwi savored the warmth for a moment.
Then he took Baek Muryang’s hand in both of his and gently lowered it.
“I’m fine, Clan Head. Besides, there’s still more I need to say.”
With that, he stepped forward again.
“Brother Gu.”
Gu Ak, who was still venting his rage on Buk Aksin despite already breaking all four of his limbs, turned his head.
“Young brother.”
The way he addressed Yanghwi had changed from runt to young brother.
“I believe this should be enough of a favor to cancel the grudge over wiping out a bunch of third-rate rabble. What do you think?”
“...I admit it. I owe you a debt, young brother.”
For a moment, Yanghwi nearly slipped back into the habits of his wandering days and announced that he would call Gu Ak his younger brother from now on.
But making that joke right now really would have been the sort of thing only a man with his guts hanging outside his body would dare.
Still, I should definitely use it someday.
“Then let me ask again. The favor and the grudge have canceled each other out. Does that mean there is now no debt of gratitude or resentment between the Red Bridge Gang and our family?”
“As the son of the Red Bridge Gang Leader and commander of the Red Tiger Unit, I swear it. The grudge is settled.”
The members of Baek Family Manor, who had been unable to hide their anxiety until now, finally looked relieved.
Even Baek Muryang, maintaining the dignity befitting a Clan Head, could not entirely conceal the slight brightening of his expression.
But Yanghwi had no intention of stopping there.
“Then we’ll have to redo the accounting.”
“Accounting? What else is left to settle, young brother?”
“The favor and the grudge canceled each other out. But one grudge remains.”
Yanghwi gestured toward the shattered gate.
“This one belongs to Baek Family Manor.”
“How do you intend for Brother Gu to repay it?”
As stated before, the main gate of a manor symbolized the dignity and prestige of the family within.
The Red Bridge Gang had smashed that gate apart and even barged into the household without permission.
In truth, that offense could be considered far worse than wiping out a band of third-rate rabble.
If we’re judging purely by the weight of the grievance, ours is far greater. It would hardly be excessive to demand a fight to the death right here.
They had probably acted without worrying about the consequences because they believed justification was on their side.
Now, however, the situation had changed.
“I assume you know that our Clan Head, like Brother Gu, also has a sworn younger brother.”
Baek Muryang’s sworn younger brother was a direct descendant of a mighty great clan.
Compared to someone like Buk Aksin, he was an incomparably more formidable connection to have.
As Yanghwi recalled the man he had met in his previous life, Baek Muryang looked puzzled.
“Hwi, how did you know I have a sworn younger brother?”
“When you spend your life with the roadside and open fields for a bedroom, you hear a great many things. I also know that the two of you are close enough that he would roll up his sleeves and come running the moment he heard what happened today.”
Yanghwi replied politely, then turned back toward Gu Ak, whose expression had become grave.
Apparently, Gu Ak also knew who Baek Muryang’s sworn younger brother was.
So he knew, but assumed the man wouldn’t be able to interfere because the justification was on his side.
“Indeed. The favor and the grudge have canceled each other, which means only one grudge remains. What do you want, young brother?”
“Our Clan Head is not one to fuss over trifles. I’m sure he would laugh this off generously if you merely provided enough money to repair the gate.”
Money to repair the gate.
Understanding the implication behind those words, Gu Ak clicked his tongue.
“Young brother... you’re remarkably shrewd for your age.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Gu Ak sighed and looked over his subordinates.
“All of you. Take out your coin purses and put them on the ground.”
He set down his own heavy purse as well.
He even stripped Buk Aksin of his.
Then Gu Ak gave Baek Muryang a formal martial salute.
“Peerless in Chivalry. I apologize for the discourtesy we committed. As a gesture of apology, we will leave every coin we have as payment for repairing your gate.”
If word of today’s events spread, what sort of rumor would circulate?
Most likely, people would say that the Red Bridge Gang smashed down the Baek Family’s gate, only to be stripped of every coin they had and forced to retreat in compensation.
The family’s reputation won’t be dragged through the dirt like it was in my previous life.
Yanghwi smiled with satisfaction.
He had turned what happened in his previous life completely on its head.
“With this, it seems all debts of gratitude and resentment between our gang and the Baek Family have been settled. We’ll take our leave. Everyone, follow me.”
Gu Ak and the Red Bridge Gang withdrew like a receding tide.
The moment they were gone, Yanghwi turned toward the steward and grinned.
“Allow me to introduce myself once more.”
“I am Baek Yanghwi of the Baek Family.”
“...”
Silence filled the courtyard.
Not a single member of the household could bring themselves to object.