Chapter 18

Ch. 18

King of Fist, Fighting in the Streets

Dan Wooseong headed home from near the Danhyang Pavilion, so he walked while taking in the night streets after a long time.

While the Golden Flower Pavilion was a high-class tavern, Yanghwa Street where the Danhyang Pavilion was located was far from a luxurious atmosphere. It was a place with relatively cheap prices and more crowded with people.

Therefore, those who frequented Yanghwa Street disliked those who played at the Golden Flower Pavilion. It was a trivial matter, but they thought there were differences in wealth and attire as well.

Men vomiting in alleys, those drinking at outdoor tables, and drunkards already staggering passed by Dan Wooseong.

Originally, this was a night street where one could only feel at ease if Sima Ge was definitely included among the Women Live and Drink to Death group.

Without Sima Ge, he often got involved in fights here.

The Failed Scholar also knew how to get angry when his friends were beaten, and the successor of the escort agency also fought frantically when fights broke out. Sometimes when fights got big, the Guard Brigade that was on watch at the Galaxy Merchant Group would come running to clean up the mess.

Memories played back with each step Dan Wooseong took.

One might ask what business the Great Young Master of the Galaxy Merchant Group had getting involved in brawls, but the Great Young Master was no different from other guys on the night streets and drinking tables. Therefore, there were quite a few cases where the Great Young Master picked fights first and then fought.

It wasn't for nothing that he was called a ragamuffin. The fights of immature youths had no particularly good reasons.

Therefore, as he walked the night streets alone for the first time in a while with a money pouch hanging from his shoulder, quite a few people recognized the Great Young Master of the Galaxy Merchant Group.

'That guy, it's been a while.'

'Haven't seen him for a long time, why is he walking around alone?'

Guys he had fought before, guys he had beaten before, guys he had tangled with several times were gathered around inns, streets, and taverns, staring at Dan Wooseong as he passed by.

Originally, human memory sometimes comes back only after seeing something, and Dan Wooseong was even more so.

Walking on Yanghwa Street reminded him of the dirty, low-level fights the Great Young Master had been involved in. He had been beaten up a lot, and sometimes while hitting back, he seemed to have relieved much of the resentment in his heart.

'Anyway, he really was a ragamuffin.'

However, the fights here had appropriate limits. They were fights that stopped at the level of beating up opponents, and didn't often escalate to blade fights.

Even the world of back alleys had its own laws in effect.

A man drinking near Yanghwa Inn recognized the Great Young Master, got up abruptly, approached, and deliberately bumped shoulders.

He was a ragamuffin of the vanguard type who would bump shoulders countless times on the street and then fight or pick quarrels without warning.

Dan Wooseong had no desire to avoid this 'nameless shoulder-bumper' he was meeting after a long time, so he bumped shoulders right back.

Thud.

The staggering man grabbed his shoulder and said.

"You ragamuffin, don't you watch where you're going? Did you decide to die today? Why didn't you dodge?"

Dan Wooseong approached the man and said.

"How could I dodge that. You crazy bastard."

The man stared at the Great Young Master.

'Why is his reaction like this?'

Dan Wooseong said.

"And just how many times do you bump shoulders on the street? Is this your hobby?"

"What?"

Before the man could say anything, Dan Wooseong swung his hand and slapped the man's cheek. With a thud sound, the man fell to the ground. The men who had been drinking together at Yanghwa Inn abruptly stood up.

"That bastard, why is he acting like that?"

Then one man raised his hand as if to watch more and restrained them.

"Let's watch a bit more."

Somehow this wasn't a situation they were used to seeing.

Since Sima Ge wasn't visible either, the Great Young Master never acted like this.

One man looked around to see if Sima Ge was nearby.

Meanwhile, Dan Wooseong grabbed the fallen man's shoulder with his right hand.

"Kyaaaaa...!"

When the man screamed while clutching his shoulder, Dan Wooseong slapped the man's cheek again. This time he rolled on the ground three or four times, then couldn't say anything and just held his cheek. His hand stung enough to feel like half his face was paralyzed.

Dan Wooseong approached the man and asked.

"I'm asking why you keep bumping shoulders. Is it fun?"

What should the terrified man answer? His head had been dizzy since he got slapped the first time.

Dan Wooseong squatted in front of the man and said.

"You're not even worth one punch, so why do you keep bothering people? If I see you bump shoulders one more time, I'll turn that shoulder to powder. Got it?"

Dan Wooseong grabbed the man's hair and said.

"Answer me."

Would a man like this have no pride?

He glared at Dan Wooseong with bulging eyes. No matter how he looked at it, he was even more angry because it was the Great Young Master of the Galaxy Merchant Group.

The man wouldn't listen to reason. But since he couldn't kill him, it was better to just hit him again. Since hitting with his fist would obviously kill him, Dan Wooseong placed his middle finger on his thumb and flicked once.

With a snap sound, the man jerked his head back and rolled on the ground.

"Keuak!"

Only then did Dan Wooseong realize that his insides had been boiling since earlier.

It was because of the courtesan Suran. It wasn't that Suran had done anything wrong, but her words about having nowhere to return to made Dan Wooseong's insides boil.

One man from the group that had been watching said this.

"Isn't it too much to beat him up just for bumping shoulders? You're strange today. Great Young Master."

Dan Wooseong looked at the man speaking reasonably and grinned. Seong Gi-chan, whom everyone called leader on Yanghwa Street lined with taverns and inns, was sitting on a chair. Men who served Seong Gi-chan as their leader were waiting on his left and right.

Seong Gi-chan said.

"Sima Ge doesn't seem to be around either, so why are you acting up? Didn't you see I was here? You're even walking around wearing martial clothes you never wore before. Are you perhaps training in martial arts?"

People burst into laughter at the question about training in martial arts. It was such an unsuitable thing to say about a merchant group's Great Young Master that they couldn't help but laugh.

The fact that the Great Young Master had changed was only known to the Galaxy Merchant Group and the Women Live and Drink to Death friends, but hadn't reached the ears of those hanging around on streets like this.

Dan Wooseong replied.

"I am training."

"Hahahaha..."

Dan Wooseong's tone was stiff, so it sounded like a forced reply from a nervous man. When the men enjoyed this, Dan Wooseong also smiled along.

He had been feeling slightly gloomy because of Suran, but seeing people living thoughtlessly on the night streets was making him feel better again.

Dan Wooseong was a man far from being a gentleman.

In that sense, this was an excellent place. Looking at the thick leather belt on Dan Wooseong's shoulder, someone asked.

"Is that money you've got rolled up there? It's not like you're bragging about having a lot of money. How annoying. Just leave that and go, and we'll let you leave with your body intact."

Dan Wooseong answered.

"Oh, this is money."

"How much is it?"

"Well."

Why was the atmosphere like this? It was casual like a conversation between friends. At times like this, Dan Wooseong blatantly abused his status as the ragamuffin Great Young Master.

Dan Wooseong didn't know well either, so he slightly opened one of the pouches attached to his belt and saw bundles of promissory notes packed tightly inside. Dan Wooseong was also surprised and said.

"Wow. This looks like it would easily exceed several thousand nyang."

"Galaxy Merchant Group is really amazing."

Actually, it was much more than that, but since there were several pouches attached, it was hard to grasp immediately by eyeballing it.

Seong Gi-chan kept tilting his head as if something was strange and asked.

"Where did you get it?"

"I took it."

"From whom?"

Dan Wooseong grinned and said.

"Why are you prying so much into other people's money? You stupid bastards, is it your money?"

The expressions of those who had been laughing warmly gradually hardened as if struck by pressure points.

Seong Gi-chan launched a counterattack.

"Ah, I got it. Finally the Great Young Master is planning to buy out the number one beauty of Golden Flower Pavilion with money and take her from Golden Flower Pavilion. If it's the number one beauty Ye Seol-ha, she'd be perfect as the inner mistress of Galaxy Merchant Group. When will you hold the wedding? You have to invite all of us. We should get to see Ye Seol-ha's face too. She acts so expensive, you know."

"Kuhahahaha..."

Whether the counterattack was appropriate, laughter bloomed again. Even Dan Wooseong laughed along because it was funny.

Dan Wooseong walked up to stand in front of Seong Gi-chan. Being called a leader on the night streets was divided into cases of having an overwhelmingly large build, having a well-balanced solid physique, or being a stubborn fighter like Cheol Myeongho, but Seong Gi-chan had a slender build and was just good at fighting.

Seong Gi-chan stood up and made eye contact with Dan Wooseong.

Dan Wooseong said.

"Gi-chan, let's fight today. I was feeling gloomy too... I won't use inner qi."

Seong Gi-chan made his mouth round, then stuck out his cheek.

"Oh... Hit me here once. Just hit me once. Then I'll start."

Seong Gi-chan kindly pointed to his cheek with his finger as if telling him to hit quickly. Meanwhile, people gathered around Dan Wooseong, planning to gang up on him even if the Great Young Master hit just once.

Dan Wooseong smiled contentedly.

Had he ever seen such wonderful friends? These were all good connections and good friends that the ragamuffin Great Young Master had made.

"Alright. I'll hit just once."

Dan Wooseong rolled his shoulder once, then said in a tone without inflection.

"Here I go."

Then a bang sound was heard, and Seong Gi-chan rolled backward, smashing tables and chairs. With a crash, the dishes on the table broke, alcohol flowed on the floor, and shouts erupted from here and there. Seong Gi-chan, who took one hit, seemed to have fainted and couldn't get up from the ground.

"Hey, you son of a bitch!"

When the two men closest rushed at him, Dan Wooseong struck out and spread both arms. The two men's necks caught on Dan Wooseong's forearms, spun around in the air one and a half times, then fell to the ground.

Men holding chairs with both hands rushed from here and there, and someone picked up a table and threw it. When cracking and thudding sounds were heard, one man shot into the air clutching his jaw, and someone rolled on the ground after being kicked.

Dan Wooseong grabbed the belt slung over his shoulder and swung it backward at someone rushing from behind.

Paaang! Thud!

"Keuak!"

When the one who got hit in the face by the thick leather pouch backed away, Dan Wooseong grabbed the belt with both hands and utilized it like nunchucks, swinging it diagonally, around his waist, behind his shoulder, and catching it with his left hand while looking around.

He deliberately didn't use even a bit of inner qi.

Since they had their own rules, Dan Wooseong also intended to keep his own line. When ragamuffins clashed with ragamuffins, the gloomy emotions due to Suran flew away as if washed clean.

Dan Wooseong said.

"Come at me. You ragamuffins..."

His inner thoughts were like this.

'Come at me. You other Lee Jin-eons stuck in the past...'

Dan Wooseong sent one man flying with a side kick and thrust his left hand into the abdomen of an approaching man. When the breathless man was about to suffocate, Dan Wooseong patted his back to clear his breathing. When breath returned with a gasp sound, Dan Wooseong pushed the man's cheek to make him fall.

A short while later, Dan Wooseong, who had turned the front of Yanghwa Inn into a mess, swept his gaze over dozens of men groaning on the ground.

The Yanghwa Inn server, who came out late after washing dishcloths, sat on a chair some distance away and sighed.

At this time, Dan Wooseong approached the server, took out a promissory note from his belt and handed it over, and the surprised server received the money with both hands.

"For the chairs and tables. Use the remainder to buy the beaten guys a drink each."

"Ah, yes."

Dan Wooseong said as if telling him to check the promissory note.

"Is it not enough?"

"No? There will be plenty left."

Dan Wooseong nodded and left the mess.

"If there's leftover, you have a drink too."

The server cheerfully waved the promissory note in his hand and replied.

"Yes, Great Young Master. I'll use it well."

Dan Wooseong, who was walking away with his back turned, asked the server.

"Is Gi-chan dead?"

The server glanced toward Seong Gi-chan and said as if not to worry.

"...He's breathing! Please go safely!"

The server looked around the fallen men once, then smoothly tucked the promissory note the Great Young Master gave him into his trouser hem.

Fortunately, there were no witnesses.

The server said in a voice that sounded somewhat heated.

"Damn it, they always fight right in front of our store. Are we supposed to do business or not? Tsk!"

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