The Invincible Commander – Chapter 5

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HwasanSect

[Translator: Chyluck]

[Proofreader: Chyluck]

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Chapter 5

Eungchil couldn’t answer.

A cold-blooded man who didn’t shed a tear even when his mother died, he was now bawling from the pain in his shoulder.

“You damn bastard! Let go of my hand!”

“Huh? Bastard? You hurt my wrist and now you’re insulting my parents and siblings too?”

“What the hell? How’s that insulting your family?”

The burly thug, fuming, looked baffled at Cheon Sinwoo’s sudden accusation.

Thugs were dumber than he thought.

Not many were educated.

No quick thinking, no silver tongue.

All they knew was how to get mad.

“Calling me a bastard means my father’s a dog, my mother’s a dog, my whole family’s dogs. Not just causing trouble, but stooping to blasphemy too.”

“Oh…”

The thug’s face lit up like he’d just had an epiphany.

On second thought, it wasn’t because he was a thug—he was just plain slow.

Then the guy next to him smacked his head.

“You idiot, what’re you thinking about?”

“Whoops!”

“Dumbass.”

The slightly sharper thug glared at Cheon Sinwoo.

“Hey, let him go. Unless you wanna die.”

“Pay my medical fees, and I will.”

“What the hell? You damn bastard!”

“Stop cursing. Keep it up, and you’ll line up with torn mouths all the way to the end of the road. Maybe a bit further?”

“Shut up, you bastard! Think you’re tough ‘cause you’re some wandering beggar? We’re on a different level!”

Never seen a loudmouth who was actually on a different level.

Most ended up with torn mouths, crying and begging for mercy.

The real ones swing fists before talking. Words are a waste of time.

“Medical fees.”

“Shut it, punk! You think you can mess with Jangseon of the Huangdu Gang?”

Jangseon, huh?

And a blade?

The angry thug was holding a small dagger.

“Hmm… pity.”

“What?”

“That blade’s too sharp.”

“What’re you babbling about, punk!”

Jangseon charged, swinging the dagger.

Not even worth dodging.

Cheon Sinwoo twisted slightly, snapping the thug’s wrist.

“Argh!”

The dagger was easily taken, and Jangseon’s mouth gaped as he screamed.

Slash!

A short arc.

Blood sprayed from his torn, mangled mouth.

“Aaagh!”

The weird sound came from his shredded lips, unable to close properly.

“Too sharp, as expected. Slices clean through… a duller blade would’ve hurt more.”

A casual remark.

But those watching were wide-eyed with shock.

The alley fell silent.

All eyes were on Cheon Sinwoo.

“Aaagh!”

Jangseon clutched his torn mouth, writhing on the ground, screaming.

Yet Cheon Sinwoo hadn’t moved an inch from where he gripped Eungchil’s shoulder.

Unbelievable.

The Huangdu Gang had sprouted like poison mushrooms in the back alleys.

Extorting protection fees was standard; resistance meant a beating.

At first, people reported them to the authorities.

A few got arrested, but then the whistleblowers met mysterious ends.

Followed by the culprits turning themselves in.

After that, things got worse.

“Taxes” went up, and their tyranny grew.

After a few rounds of this, merchants stopped resisting, only grumbling in secret.

But now, a miracle was unfolding.

Eungchil, the ruthless collector, was crying like a child. Jangseon, the terrifying one, was screaming like he was dying.

Thwack!

Cheon Sinwoo’s kick knocked Jangseon out cold.

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

The dimmest thug froze at the single word, standing rigid.

Useless despite his size.

He was a head taller, at least.

But even the dumb ones knew instinctively. The man before them was out of their league.

He hadn’t even seen how the dagger was taken or the mouth torn.

The guy looked like a beggar, but he was clearly on another level.

Was he from the Beggar’s Sect?

No, he said Seoga family, didn’t he?

All sorts of thoughts raced through his head.

“Hey, medical fees.”

Cheon Sinwoo squinted one eye, pointing with the dagger.

“What? Your wrist looks fine.”

“…”

Dumb, but quick to notice.

“Ugh, damn it, moving through the pain made it worse.”

Cheon Sinwoo dropped the dagger dramatically, wincing harder.

Ridiculous, but terrifying.

It was clearly intentional, but no one dared call it out.

They’d seen a mouth get torn right in front of them.

“Medical fees.”

He repeated it like it was the only phrase he knew.

“H-Here.”

The spooked thug opened the innkeeper’s cash box to grab money.

What did the amount matter?

Just hand over everything to get out of this.

“Hey!”

“Yes?”

“That’s your money?”

“…”

“You mess up and try to pay with someone else’s cash?”

At Cheon Sinwoo’s words, the thug hurriedly pulled out his own coin pouch and handed it over.

“It’s not much, not much. Won’t even cover a doctor’s visit, huh?”

“It’s all I’ve got…”

“You don’t know ‘ten spoons, one meal’?”

“Ten… what?”

Dumbass.

Learn something.

Even an illiterate like me knows it.

Ten spoons, one meal!

Damn it…

Not that he didn’t know, but explaining on the spot was tough.

“There’s a saying. Means if you’re short, you and those guys pool your money for my medical fees. That’s the gist.”

“Oh!”

Finally getting it, the thug rifled through Eungchil and Jangseon’s pockets, pulling out their pouches.

“Here you go.”

“Hmm, enough for a needle or two. Shame, but it’ll do.”

Only after taking three pouches did Cheon Sinwoo release Eungchil’s shoulder.

“Urgh…”

Eungchil clutched his arm, unable to stand.

It wouldn’t move.

That made him even angrier.

“You damn bastard!”

“…”

“You picked the wrong guy today! Know who I am? I’m Eungchil of the Huangdu Gang!”

“Hm.”

Cheon Sinwoo stared at the shouting Eungchil, picking his ear.

Barking dogs don’t bite.

But the guy struck a strange pose.

Knees bent, hands curled like bird claws…

“Take this! Flying Eagle Claw!”

Eungchil leaped back, then soared forward boldly.

Arms spread like a bird’s wings.

Flying, eagle.

He knew those characters.

Probably a technique mimicking an eagle snatching prey.

How’d a thug learn something like that?

That Flying Eagle… whatever.

“Hah!”

A sharp hand shot out.

Dodge.

Next, the hair.

Grabbed tight, then—

Pull.

Boom!

Eungchil didn’t even scream, planted face-first into the ground.

Hit wrong, and the tongue could get bitten off. The impact jars from head to spine.

Broken or not.

Eungchil’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, out cold.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Take them and get lost. Before I kill you all.”

“Yes, Great Hero!”

The beggar, the bastard, was now a great hero.

The thug hoisted Eungchil and Jangseon over his shoulders.

Strong guy.

But—

“Hey!”

“Yes?”

“Why’re you taking the cash box? That yours?”

“N-No, I just…”

“Put it back. Touch someone else’s stuff, and I’ll cut your hands off.”

“Yes!”

The thug dropped the cash box and fled with the two.

The alley was dead silent.

Until the thug, dragging his groaning comrades, disappeared around the corner.

Then the innkeeper snapped out of it and turned to Cheon Sinwoo.

“G-Great Hero! Thank you!”

“…”

“You saved a poor man like me by teaching those thugs a lesson!”

“Who saved who?”

“Huh?”

“Came to eat, got my wrist hurt, so I took medical fees. Who saved anyone?”

“…”

“Damn it, lost my appetite. Off to get treated.”

Brushing off the innkeeper coldly, Cheon Sinwoo walked away with the three pouches.

The merchants watched his back.

When he was gone—

“Didn’t he say Seoga family?”

“Yeah, said he’s their stray dog.”

“What was his name?”

“Didn’t say, I think?”

The onlookers gathered in twos and threes, curious about Cheon Sinwoo’s identity.

“He’s a hell of a fighter, right?”

“Yeah. Just whack, boom, thump! and those two were down.”

“Wait, the Seoga family had someone like that? Isn’t it just the lady and the young master?”

“Who knows? Anyone know how the Seoga family’s doing these days?”

No one answered.

The Seoga family had long faded from people’s attention.

“I know! I know!”

It was the carpenter.

“Said he’s their servant.”

“Servant?”

“Yeah, came by earlier about fixing tiles. No wonder he seemed clueless about the world.”

“Clueless?”

“You know high-level martial artists. All they do is train, so they don’t care about money.”

“Oh…”

“So, the Seoga family’s back? Like before?”

“Well, not quite. The way he talked… he just took medical fees.”

“True.”

“No idea what’s going on.”

Some cautiously suggested the Seoga family’s return, but it didn’t gain traction.

Then—

“Think the Huangdu Gang will let this slide?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, come on. Even when people reported them before, they never let things go.”

“Oh?”

“Saw Jangseon’s mouth all torn up, and Eungchil looked like his spine was done…”

The merchants’ eyes lit up, sharing the same thought.

They all turned toward where Cheon Sinwoo had gone.

He was out of sight.

From experience, the Huangdu Gang wouldn’t let their people getting hurt slide.

“Trouble’s coming for the Seoga family.”

“Hmm, but we’ll be fine, right?”

“Huh?”

“What if they raise taxes or cause more trouble?”

A chill ran through the merchants.

The worry was already setting in.

“Ugh, my head hurts.”

Heading back to the Seoga manor, Cheon Sinwoo clutched his forehead, wincing.

It was hot.

Using his brain, which he rarely did, felt like it was boiling.

When was the last time he’d schemed or plotted?

If he hit a trap, he broke it. If he got caught in a formation, he smashed through with force. Surrounded by fighters? Send them to the underworld one by one.

But he’d gone through the trouble of thinking for Sohyang and Chang.

Look at him.

He’d changed.

Didn’t kill anyone.

A few taps, and he’d gotten results that benefited everyone.

The deed was done.

He’d thrown the bait; now he just had to wait for the fish to bite.

Talk about the Seoga family was probably already spreading.

Having lived as a thug, he knew how this worked.

He could vividly picture what’d happen next.

The thugs had only a few options.

First, attack the guy who hurt their people.

Second, harass the merchants even harder.

That world thrived on not losing face.

He wouldn’t step in.

He’d protect the Seoga family.

The merchants? Let them suffer or not.

If the old master was so upright and virtuous, they’d have helped him plenty.

Yet they ignored Sohyang.

Let them struggle—it wouldn’t compare to the twelve years Sohyang and Chang endured.

So, Huangdu Gang, huh?

Go ahead and show your crazy tyranny.

People crave hope when they’re in despair.

They know the Seoga family’s here—think they’ll stay quiet?

And the greater the despair, the more precious the hope.

When merchants come begging in droves?

“Sohyang’s too kind to turn them away.”

This laid the foundation for his life as their servant.