Chapter 9

Ch. 9

The King of Fist Bids Farewell

While Dan Wooseong was holed up in his quarters, dedicating himself to the White Lightning Ten-Stage Art and Qi Cultivation, the ones disturbing Dan Wooseong were not the Laughing Immortal Sect nor Gu Yanghu, but rather his own formidable opponents—the Four Heavenly Kings of Ragamuffins.

News that the Great Young Master of the Galaxy Merchant Group had returned spread quickly. With so many people coming and going from the merchant group, rumors traveled just as fast.

The ragamuffins living in the upper district and the drunkards living in the lower district learned the news, and it also reached the Failed Scholar who frequently suffered from stomach troubles and the playboy who wandered here and there. Even the bastard who had extorted money from the Great Young Master and, not satisfied with that, had dragged him into gambling dens, was eagerly waiting for the return of his meal ticket.

Among them, the trio belonging to the "Women Live and Drink to Death" group rejoiced most purely.

These three were bastards named Sima Ge, Zhou Zi-liang, and Qiu Xiong. Adding Lee Jin-eon to them made the quartet of ragamuffins called "Women Live and Drink to Death." Others called them the quartet of ragamuffins, but among themselves they called themselves the Four Heavenly Kings of Women Live and Drink to Death.

The common trait of all four was that they were all people with nothing particular to do. Sima Ge went to find Zhou Zi-liang, the two called out Qiu Xiong, and then they rushed to the Galaxy Merchant Group.

Sima Ge had considerable talent in martial arts, but the problem was he only had talent—he was a failed candidate who kept failing the Murim Alliance entrance examinations.

Zhou Zi-liang had good eloquence and had studied for a long time, but every time he took an exam, his chronic diseases of diarrhea and stomach pain would flare up, resulting in poor grades—he was a Failed Scholar.

Qiu Xiong was the heir to the West Wind Escort Agency, so he spent money second only to Lee Jin-eon, but he didn't particularly do anything. His father had suffered much hardship, and since Qiu Xiong was a late-born only son, he still wasn't permitted to go on escort missions. He was a man receiving considerable overprotection.

Though they had more conscience than others, these friends also blatantly liked and envied the sect's Great Young Master's money.

The three arrived at the Galaxy Merchant Group shoulder to shoulder and called out the Great Young Master. It was already deep night with a bright moon floating in the sky.

...

When Dan Wooseong appeared at the main gate, the problematic trio spread their arms wide.

"My friend! You're alive."

"Wahahahaha."

The three who had rushed over surrounded Dan Wooseong in the center, grasped each other's hands, and sang while spinning around.

"Our meal ticket young master has come."

"Money's going to be thrown around. Thrown, thrown, money's going to be thrown around."

"The Great Young Master of the world's best Galaxy Merchant Group has arrived. You bastards, bring out the liquor. Sing songs. Take off your clothes!"

Even the usually composed Dan Wooseong found it so absurd that he laughed several times as if air was leaking from his lungs. These three were the guys he had gotten along with casually since the old days.

Still, they were definitely crazy bastards.

They were openly telling their friend to be their patron and using the term "meal ticket young master" directly. They were guys who hadn't escaped from the madness of their youth.

They might be important friends to Lee Jin-eon, but not to Dan Wooseong.

Dan Wooseong hadn't come out to catch up with friends, but to sever ties, whether temporarily or permanently.

Dan Wooseong looked around calmly at the friends who existed only in his memories and said:

"Let's go. To Silver Jade Pavilion..."

The three pointed toward Silver Jade Pavilion and chorused:

"Let's go drink liquooooor!"

Dan Wooseong planned to offer today's drink to the dead Great Young Master. Despite being dead, he was in a position where he couldn't even receive ancestral rites. The four who charged to Silver Jade Pavilion sat around a square table and made noise even before the liquor arrived.

Qiu Xiong, sitting next to him, felt around Dan Wooseong's body here and there and said:

"What? What's this inappropriate hardness? Did you return after just doing push-ups at home? Why is your body like this? Were you tortured by someone?"

Qiu Xiong had noticed that Lee Jin-eon's body had changed from when they were walking over. Now he was pressing firmly on his friend's solid chest.

Sima Ge, who had already noticed the change, also examined Dan Wooseong as if curious.

'Look at this bastard. Did he really learn martial arts?'

Since he could feel qi, Sima Ge was the most flustered.

When the liquor arrived, Dan Wooseong personally took the bottle and poured liquor into four cups.

Even until this point, Dan Wooseong kept his mouth shut. It was meaningful silence. Only then did the three realize that the Great Young Master of the Galaxy Merchant Group had definitely changed, and they looked at each other's faces and blinked.

Failed Scholar Zhou Zi-liang asked:

"Are you really Jin-eon?"

Dan Wooseong replied while finally pouring liquor into his own cup:

"That bastard is dead."

Zhou Zi-liang nodded and replied:

"I see. That piece of trash bastard, good that he died. Let's drink a congratulatory toast."

The other two burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha..."

Dan Wooseong also grinned.

The four looked at each other briefly, then downed their liquor. Zhou Zi-liang, who emptied his cup cleanly first, said:

"This person really has changed. What happened? What occurred?"

Dan Wooseong nodded and took the bottle again.

"Something did."

Again Dan Wooseong silently poured liquor. With a trickling sound, the second cup was filled.

When Dan Wooseong raised his cup without saying anything, everyone raised their cups with increasingly stiff expressions. They definitely felt that the Great Young Master had truly changed.

Dan Wooseong, holding his cup, asked:

"I've changed, but what will you guys do?"

Though it wasn't much, it was strangely provocative words to his friends.

The three each replied:

"What do you mean what?"

"Don't know. Hey."

"If we changed easily, would we be us? Let's drink first."

The reason Dan Wooseong didn't speak at length was because with each drink, memories of drinking sessions the four had shared together kept flashing by.

When Dan Wooseong took the bottle again, Qiu Xiong, who was weakest with alcohol, grabbed his head and said:

"Let's rest a bit before drinking. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Dan Wooseong said:

"Women Live and Drink to Death. Just die, you bastard."

Qiu Xiong sighed.

"Ah, damn it... It really is Jin-eon. I had hoped otherwise."

Dan Wooseong poured liquor, and the four drank it again. Tonight's liquor was particularly strong. Swept up in the atmosphere, they drank repeatedly without snacks, so they could get drunk quickly. In the strange atmosphere, the ragamuffins of Women Live and Drink to Death who had drunk three cups simultaneously closed their mouths.

After a moment, Zhou Zi-liang spoke as if both happy and bitter:

"You really have changed. Congratulations. It's something to congratulate. I don't know what happened, but it's not bad."

Sima Ge asked:

"Who did you learn martial arts from? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like you learned alone."

Dan Wooseong looked at his friends and said:

"A connection was made."

Sima Ge nodded.

"So it's what they call a fortuitous encounter in the martial world. You also had such luck strike. How mysterious."

Since not revealing one's school was common, his friends didn't pry insistently. When the guy who had only sought alcohol and women every time appeared to have properly learned martial arts, the atmosphere became even stranger.

Qiu Xiong spoke as if disappointed:

"This suddenly feels like youth is over. It's already boring. Actually, I knew a day like this would come someday. Shit, it's over. You bastards... Didn't I suggest kidnapping this meal ticket bastard when he was going home? This ragamuffin has become mature and returned. The world's going crazy."

This time no one laughed. The three looked at each other's faces with bitter expressions.

All the answers were in Dan Wooseong's attitude.

It was clear he wouldn't associate with them in the future. When the friend they thought would mature latest changed first, they too were quite shocked.

Dan Wooseong smiled and asked:

"Are the elders healthy and well?"

The three were answering when they belatedly asked about the well-being of the sect leader who had supposedly collapsed recently.

Dan Wooseong replied:

"He'll get up soon. He's a healthy person..."

Sima Ge, who was relatively well-informed about martial world news, asked:

"I've been hearing talk about the Laughing Immortal Sect at drinking sessions. There's also talk that they decided to work together with your merchant group. It's an unsuitable rumor. What's this about?"

Dan Wooseong nodded.

"Well, there was some talk. What it's about is obvious."

Zhou Zi-liang replied as if it was obvious without looking:

"It must be money. Those thieves anyway, worse than us."

Sima Ge spoke as if to let him know:

"I also heard they're going to establish a branch here. With your Galaxy Merchant Group and many large businesses, there's an atmosphere of deliberately advancing. Actually, it's strange that martial world sects haven't established themselves here until now. Just collecting tribute here would be quite profitable."

Dan Wooseong grinned. This was new information. Perhaps because they were drinking buddies, they were well-informed about what happened in nearby taverns and inns.

Dan Wooseong asked with some hope:

"Does Guard Brigade Leader Gu Yanghu also frequent taverns by any chance?"

Zhou Zi-liang nodded.

"Gu Yanghu frequents them constantly. Just how much monthly salary does he receive from your merchant group? He goes in and out of Golden Flower Pavilion like it's his own room. Didn't he embezzle public funds or something?"

Dan Wooseong crossed his arms and replied:

"So that bastard calling himself Guard Brigade Leader, instead of staying put when father collapsed, was actually going in and out of taverns. The Vice Leader was already guarding... He lives quite comfortably. I'll have to see that bastard soon too."

Sima Ge said:

"Deal with Gu Yanghu carefully. It's not that Gu Yanghu is scary, but the Gu Family behind him is the problem."

"Got it."

Even the hopeless ragamuffins had their own loyalty.

Qiu Xiong looked at the empty cup with a completely dejected expression.

"Ah shit, I thought it was a congratulatory drink for a ragamuffin's return, but it was a farewell drink. Let's drink and get up. This Qiu Xiong has lost his taste for alcohol today."

Each of the three wondered what they had been doing. Rather than their friend returning, they felt their friend had gone far away and were becoming dejected. Sima Ge, who wasn't giving even a word of reply to Qiu Xiong's tedious chatter, looked at Dan Wooseong and asked:

"How will you live now?"

Dan Wooseong replied:

"There's a debt to repay related to my school. I plan to keep preparing while looking after the merchant group. I have no interest in anything other than becoming strong."

Sima Ge nodded, then this time he took the bottle himself and filled the empty cups with liquor while saying:

"You made such a resolution yet still came out to see us. Anyway, thank you. If you need help from us ragamuffins anytime, contact us. Someday we'll have to pay for drinks too. Let's drink just one more and get up."

Even though they were ending the drinking session here, no one said anything. A turning point in life had come, and youth felt like it was becoming distant as if it had become a memory.

The four raised their filled cups, made eye contact, and quietly downed their liquor. The drinking session truly ended with this.

After a moment, the three who came outside stood awkwardly for a while. Dan Wooseong, who alone was going in a different direction, headed toward the Galaxy Merchant Group first, then looked back at the three.

The three each waved with awkward expressions.

"Go."

"Take care of yourself."

"Train hard. Don't get beaten up anywhere."

Dan Wooseong nodded and replied:

"Friends, this is farewell."

Sima Ge, who watched blankly until his friend disappeared, muttered:

"He didn't come home, but departed for the martial world."

Qiu Xiong still looked at the brilliant night street and spoke as if lamenting:

"I'm fucking lonely tonight. Let's go, us too."

Then Failed Scholar Zhou Zi-liang looked at one tavern and replied:

"Where? There? Golden Flower Pavilion? The three of us?"

Qiu Xiong hit the back of the Failed Scholar's head and said:

"Go home! You bastard. Go study. You Failed Scholar bastard."

Zhou Zi-liang rubbed the back of his head and replied calmly:

"Hey, how many times have I told you. I'm not bad at studying. I'm just bad at taking exams."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No. It's not."

...

Dan Wooseong walked the night streets alone, and as soon as he arrived at a familiar street, he turned into an alley. He was heading not to his house, but to a place that had made him pour out countless amounts of money. It was a place he considered much worse than alcohol and taverns.

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