-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Divine Debt Collector
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I came to watch and learn from your debt collection skills, Hyeong-nim. I also brought along a promising little worm from our branch."
The man with Gwang Hae-bong was Jang Baek-dong, who had trained with Do Tong-dal.
I remembered him because of the large mole above his left lip, big enough to block his nostril.
Jang Baek-dong bowed his head to Wang Chil.
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Jang Baek-dong."
Wang Chil looked at the mole below Jang Baek-dong's nostril and asked.
"You have any trouble breathing with that thing?"
"I-It's… fine."
Do Tong-dal clapped Jang Baek-dong on the shoulder.
"Doing well?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Gwang Hae-bong asked.
"Who are you?"
Wang Chil answered for Do Tong-dal.
"He's the promising new recruit who just joined."
"Oh! Is he the kid they said did an amazing job with the ledgers?"
The ledgers Do Tong-dal organized had become a hot topic at headquarters for their elegant script and precise calculations.
"He's talented in many ways."
"When you retire, Hyeong-nim, I'll have to take him with me. Even a man like you has to retire when he's only got one good hand left."
Gwang Hae-bong said to Do Tong-dal.
"It's better to come to our branch than stay in this Gwanghwaro garbage dump, right?"
"I'd rather not."
Gwang Hae-bong's face crumpled.
"What?"
"The only time the big boss will leave the Gwanghwaro office is when he's promoted to a higher position."
"This bastard, watch your damn mouth…!"
As Gwang Hae-bong raised his hand, Wang Chil stopped him.
"He's my man. Don't touch him."
"You two are quite the pair of lunatics. For your information, I brought a sharp axe. Kid, take it out."
Jang Baek-dong hesitated before drawing a handaxe from his belt. It was a single-bladed handaxe with a well-honed edge.
"Well then, shall we go collect a debt?"
A man from the Baekdong branch, who was guarding the old man's house, saw Gwang Hae-bong and bowed his head.
"The old geezer is inside, right?"
"Yes. He's in the yard twisting rope."
"As if that damn rope is worth a few pennies."
Opening the wooden gate that looked ready to fall off its hinges, they saw the old man sitting on the ground, twisting rope.
Short and scrawny, the old man looked as shabby as his ancient house.
This house, with its three rooms and roughly fifty pyeong of land, had been sold by the old man's wife six months ago before she ran off.
Unaware of this, the Baekdong branch had readily lent the old man the large sum of fifteen nyang.
The old man, his face covered in unhealed wounds, glanced at them as they entered.
"Here for the daily payment? I don't have any money."
A laugh escaped Gwang Hae-bong.
"Heh heh heh… I know. These are the new players who'll be dealing with you today, Old Man Geum."
Gwang Hae-bong gestured toward Do Tong-dal's group.
"These men claim they can definitely get the fifteen nyang from you. So, deal with them well. Of course, I know you don't have the money, but if you do happen to produce it, it would make me lose face, and I'd be very disappointed."
He was even overtly pressuring the man not to pay. From Gwang Hae-bong's perspective, even if he lost the fifteen nyang, he would gain the rights to the Celestial Pavilion held by the Gwanghwaro office, making it a profitable venture.
Wang Chil, who had some experience in debt collection due to his once-intimidating face, was about to step forward. But Do Tong-dal was faster.
"Sir, where did your son go?"
"My son? I don't know. He's been missing for a month."
Gwang Hae-bong chimed in.
"That bastard probably scrammed because he knew the fire would spread to him."
"They said he was a devoted son… I guess you can't trust rumors. But to let a debtor's son just run away like that. Isn't that a bit incompetent?"
Muttering to himself, Do Tong-dal looked around the house before walking toward the main hall.
"I hear you gambled away the family fortune. And they say you lost the money you borrowed at the Namseoro gambling den, too. You should have at least lost it in our territory."
Without stopping his rope-twisting, the old man retorted.
"Did you come to rub salt in the wound? Just start beating me like the others. Let this useless old life finally end."
"Hey now, how could I hit an elder? I'm not some son of a bitch."
Wang Chil mouthed the words 'son of a bitch' at Gwang Hae-bong. Having stepped up into the main hall, Do Tong-dal stopped in front of an altar.
Altars dedicated to Guan Yu were common in many homes. Do Tong-dal pulled a half-burnt incense stick from the incense burner.
"Baek-dong, did I ever tell you I have supernatural powers?"
Startled by the sudden use of his name, Jang Baek-dong jumped.
'Why is this bastard talking to me like this?'
They had barely exchanged a few words during their ten days at the training facility.
"Uh… did you?"
"Your sister who ran away two years ago will be back soon, so don't worry too much."
Jang Baek-dong was dumbfounded.
"How did you know my sister ran away? I never told you that."
"I told you. I have supernatural powers."
Gwang Hae-bong said.
"Supernatural powers, my ass! He must have heard it from someone."
Jang Baek-dong nodded in agreement with Gwang Hae-bong. Logically, that made more sense.
Do Tong-dal grinned at Gwang Hae-bong.
"Why do you think I suddenly brought up my powers… sir?"
"Because you're a lunatic?"
"You'll see in due time… sir."
Do Tong-dal held the incense stick with both hands and paced the main hall.
"Let's see… I feel like there's something important here somewhere…"
The gray eyes of the old man, who had lost his will to live, began to waver with anxiety. The hand holding the incense stick began to tremble violently.
"Here, it's here! Good heavens! Using a god of fortune for your own selfish greed! You deserve divine punishment!"
Suddenly, Do Tong-dal began smashing the altar to pieces. Gwang Hae-bong stared at him, dumbfounded.
"That guy's a certified madman."
To anyone watching, he looked insane.
"Stop it! What do you think you're doing!"
As the old man tried to rush forward, Wang Chil grabbed him.
"Stay still!"
He didn't know what was going on, but he figured Do Tong-dal must have a good reason for acting this way.
*Creeeak—!*
Do Tong-dal lifted a section of the floorboards beneath the shattered altar, revealing a set of stairs leading down.
Do Tong-dal grinned at the old man.
"It seems the god of fortune guided me well. Now, what could our dear Old Man Geum have hidden in this secret place?"
"There's nothing! You bastard! There's nothing in there!"
Struggling, the old man couldn't break free from Wang Chil's grip.
"Since there's nothing, I can take a look, right?"
Do Tong-dal went down into the cellar alone, but two people came out.
Dragged out by the scruff of his neck was the old man's son, Geum Sang-jin.
Gwang Hae-bong was shocked.
"Huh? Why is the guy who supposedly ran away a month ago coming out of there?"
Geum Sang-jin trembled, calling out to his father repeatedly.
"It's all right, Sang-jin. Don't worry. The laws of the land are strict; they won't be able to harm us."
Do Tong-dal sneered.
"Old Man Geum, you've wasted your years. Haven't you heard the saying, 'the fist is mightier than the law'? In this case, should I say the axe is mightier than the law? Baek-dong."
When Do Tong-dal held out his hand, the quick-witted Jang Baek-dong promptly handed over the handaxe. For that, he earned a smack on the back of the head from Gwang Hae-bong.
"It would be best if you gave us the fifteen nyang now…"
The old man, catching Do Tong-dal's gaze, shouted.
"You bastards! I told you I don't have any money! Do you not fear the laws of the land!"
"The moment you borrowed our money, we became your country and your law. It seems you haven't realized that yet. If you break the law, you must be punished, and in the country ruled by the Red Tiger Society, we have a system of collective responsibility."
Do Tong-dal grabbed Geum Sang-jin's right wrist and pinned it to the ground.
"Spread your fingers if you don't want to lose your wrist."
At Do Tong-dal's whisper, Geum Sang-jin's trembling fingers splayed open. Without any further warning, Do Tong-dal's handaxe fell.
"Aaargh—!"
The pain of his pinky finger being severed made Geum Sang-jin scream as if he were coughing up his heart.
With his small frame, Geum Sang-jin was no match for Do Tong-dal's brutish strength and could only tremble on the spot.
"This is just the beginning; you can't act like you're dying already. Next is the thumb. Without a pinky, it's just inconvenient to pick your nose, but without a thumb, it'll be hard to even jerk off. Too bad. But it's okay, it's okay. After I cut off all your fingers and toes, I'll cut off your dick, too."
As the handaxe rose, the old man's shout was heard.
"I'll give it to you! The money! I said I'll give you the money!"
"I must have heard you say you'll pay a hundred times. Words are useless. The money needs to appear before my eyes. Oh dear, this axe is so heavy, it feels like it's about to fall."
The handaxe dropped abruptly, then stopped.
"Wait! Just wait a moment!"
The old man ran into a room and came out with a leather pouch.
"Here's the money!"
The pouch the old man threw landed in front of Do Tong-dal with a clink.
"Hyeong-nim."
At Do Tong-dal's call, Wang Chil quickly checked the contents of the pouch.
"That's right. Fifteen silver nyang."
When Do Tong-dal released his wrist, Geum Sang-jin clutched his hand and collapsed to the side.
"You're worse than beasts!"
As the old man hugged his son, Do Tong-dal spoke.
"Then what should we call the old man who made us act worse than beasts?"
"Good use," Do Tong-dal said as he returned the handaxe and turned to Wang Chil.
"The Celestial Pavilion is completely ours now, right?"
"Heh heh heh… of course. We even have this document."
As Wang Chil spread the document open, Do Tong-dal said.
"Hyeong-nim, you're holding it upside down."
"I… am? Well, who cares. Besides you, almost everyone here is illiterate anyway. Heh heh heh…"
"Th-This is invalid!"
Gwang Hae-bong bellowed. He repeated the words, "This is invalid! Invalid!" five times in a row.
Wang Chil asked.
"This wasn't just a verbal promise. We have a document with your thumbprint on it. Are you really going to deny it?"
"It was a foul! A foul!"
"What foul?"
Gwang Hae-bong hemmed and hawed before raising his voice.
"You used supernatural powers! You're not supposed to use things like that!"
"What kind of fresh bullshit is that? Pick something believable to argue about!"
Realizing his own argument was absurd, Gwang Hae-bong tried a different excuse.
"You… you used my axe! Pay me a usage fee!"
The level of bullshit was neck and neck.
"How old are you?"
"Thir… ty."
"You son of a bitch! You're all grown up! If you're an adult, act like one! Or go back to sucking on your mother's teat!"
With nothing left to say, Gwang Hae-bong's face turned red as he spat words through his teeth.
"Do you really think you can properly supply liquor and women to the Celestial Pavilion? And what about the Sea Wolf Society, which has been eyeing it greedily? Hyeong-nim, excessive greed beyond your capabilities will only bring disaster. I'll turn a blind eye, so let's just pretend this never happened."
Wang Chil let out a long sigh.
"I'm usually a guy who likes to live a long, quiet life, but this time, I think I'll go for something big and bold. Get your hands off the Celestial Pavilion, you son of a bitch."
"So you refuse a friendly drink, choosing a cup of punishment instead."
"Buy me a drink before you spout that kind of nonsense."
Gwang Hae-bong's gaze shifted to Do Tong-dal.
"You bastard, you're on my shit list now…"
Do Tong-dal cut him off.
"Oh? There's a ghost on your left shoulder…"
"Hiiiek!"
Startled, Gwang Hae-bong brushed off his shoulder and sidestepped away.
"Ah! It was just a fly."
"You… you bastard, just you wait!"
As Gwang Hae-bong left through the gate, Wang Chil called after him with a lame joke, "If you've got the strength, then lift it and see," and chuckled.
Seeing the father and son still clinging to each other, Wang Chil ordered one of his men to call for a physician.
"Clean this up and take your time. Tong-dal and I will head back first."
After leaving the residential alley and reaching the main road, Wang Chil called out to Do Tong-dal.
"Tong-dal, do you really have… those supernatural powers?"
"Sir?"
"If not, how did you know the old man's son was hiding in a secret cellar?"
"When I walked on it, I could tell there was an empty space under the floor of the main hall."
Of course, that was a lie.
"Huh? You could feel that?"
"Yes. That's when I got a hunch. It was strange that the old man's son, who was known to be so devoted, would abandon his father and run away."
"So why was he hiding in the cellar?"
"If he stayed with his father, he'd get a thrashing from the Baekdong branch, and he probably didn't have a chance to escape with the money."
"So the son hid while the father held out, claiming he had no money?"
"They were probably waiting for a chance to bolt together. Fifteen silver nyang is more than enough to start a new life somewhere else."
In Do Tong-dal's past life, that was exactly what had happened.
"So you don't have supernatural powers, then?"