Chapter 40: Bait

After the meeting, Gangchan went to Gangcheol’s quarters and summoned Old Man Kang. Treating Gangcheol wasn’t something that could be done in just a day or two, but Old Man Kang’s case was different.

If the wrongly set bone was broken and reset properly, the problem could be resolved. However, it was clear that the process would bring considerable pain.

“Let’s begin the treatment today. Lie down here, bite down on this cloth, and endure.”

Old Man Kang hesitated.

“Is it really necessary?”

“If you feel no discomfort or pain, you don’t have to.”

After a brief moment of indecision, Old Man Kang finally lay down.

“No, let’s do it. Go ahead.”

Lately, he hadn’t been able to sleep well due to severe pain no matter what position he took. He had tried grumbling once, but the response he got was indifferent.

Resigned, Old Man Kang bit down on the cloth.

Gangchan quietly placed his hand on the old man’s calf and channeled his inner energy.

First, he gently wrapped the area around the poorly healed bone to minimize the pain as much as possible.

Then, he thinned his inner energy to its utmost and focused his strength.

Crack.

The sound of a bone breaking echoed through the room.

“Ugh…!”

Old Man Kang, with the cloth in his mouth, groaned in pain.

Gangchan moved swiftly, separating his inner energy.

One stream was used to set the broken bone straight, the other to gently soothe the fractured area.

After correcting the twisted muscle, he set a prepared wooden splint and wrapped it tightly with cloth to finish.

Old Man Kang, who had always suffered severe pain, found the treatment process less painful than expected.

He couldn’t help but feel uneasy, wondering if the treatment had been ineffective.

“Did it not work? I’m truly fine. I’m just grateful for all your efforts.”

Gangchan smiled.

“You endured well. It’s all done now. You won’t feel pain when you sleep anymore. But don’t overexert yourself for a few days while the bone heals.”

Gangcheol, who had been watching from the side, stared at Gangchan with wide, surprised eyes.

“It’s really done? Old Man Kang, you don’t hurt?”

Old Man Kang, hardly able to believe it, got up and tried walking cautiously.

“There’s truly no pain. I don’t know how to ever repay this kindness.”

His eyes welled up with tears, both in wonder and deep gratitude.

With a gentle smile, Gangchan said,

“Don’t get hurt anymore, and stay by my brother’s side for a long time. That’s enough for me.”

“Thank you, Chana.”

As Gangchan started to feel awkward with Gangcheol’s repeated thanks, a welcome voice came from outside.

“Master! Jangdal is here!”

Gangchan responded at once.

“Bring him to the office, and call all the squad members.”

He left Gangcheol and Old Man Kang with a final reminder, “You must rest for a while,” and exited the room.

Jangdal handed over the prepared documents to Gangchan.

“Here’s what you requested.”

Gangchan gave a brief reply and spread the materials out on the table so everyone could see.

Chilseongpa
Total members: about 60
Base: Baekseong (城)
Boss: Jang Daepung (grandson of Guihon Village’s chief)
Owner of Bokchunru.
Martial Arts: Great strength, some basic fist techniques. Third-rate level.
Current location: At Bokchunru in Guihon Village with 20 subordinates.
40 subordinates remain in Baekseong.

After skimming the document, Gangchan looked around at the Iljowon members.

“As I said before, if we don’t take care of this all at once, cleaning up after will take time. Everyone, think about your own approach.”

Gwak Sugi crossed his arms and muttered.

“The problem is how to lure the 40 left in Baekseong over here…”

Gangchan pondered for a moment.

Then he recalled something Old Man Kang had said when he first arrived.

“They said we’d have to wait three days.”

At that moment, Gangchan’s eyes sparkled.

“Everyone, think for a moment. I have something to confirm with Old Man Kang.”

He headed straight for his brother’s quarters.

“I have something to ask.”

As Gangchan approached, the tense Old Man Kang replied immediately.

“Ask anything.”

“The night I first arrived, you said, ‘At least three days are needed’ as you let me in. Is that correct?”

Old Man Kang thought for a moment, then nodded.

“That’s right. Those bastards were tormenting the villagers so much we couldn’t endure anymore. So I tried to persuade the Master to go into the mountains. I said it would take at least three days to prepare for that.”

Hearing this, Gangchan became certain.

“Then those bastards will be coming tomorrow?”

Old Man Kang nodded.

“That’s likely.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

Gangchan immediately returned to the room where the Iljowon were gathered.

“One more thing. Some of them will come here tomorrow.”

Go Gu raised an eyebrow and asked,

“Are you sure?”

Gangchan smiled confidently.

“Most likely.”

After a moment of silence, Gwak Sugi (郭守己), who had been quietly thinking, spoke up.

“This is my idea.”

The Iljowon focused their attention on his words.

“When some of them come tomorrow, let’s rough them up and send them back. That way, they’ll definitely return with their boss. The problem is how to get all those remaining in Baekseong to come here as well. For that, we have to stick to the following points when we handle them tomorrow.”

Gwak Sugi counted off on his fingers as he explained.

“First, all ten of us except the Master will step up. Second, no martial arts allowed. Third, break the limbs of at least one or two. That way, they’ll think, ‘The forces here are too much for us to handle with our current numbers.’ And tomorrow, our youngest, Jomu (祖茂), will need to show some strength.”

His gaze naturally turned to Jomu.

“Mu, you can handle it, right?”

Jomu, with his massive frame over six feet tall and heavily muscled build, smiled confidently. Despite being twenty-eight, his fierce looks were enough to intimidate most people.

“Don’t worry, big brother. If that’s all, leave it to me. Haha!”

Gangchan pondered for a moment. It was a good plan.

“What does everyone think?”

The Iljowon nodded, eyes gleaming like children awaiting a fun prank.

The next day, shortly after lunch.

A knocking was heard at Cheongangmun’s main gate.

As soon as Old Man Kang opened the door, the number two of the Chilseongpa, Flatfish, barged in with his subordinates, pushing Old Man Kang aside.

“We came because you said you’d give us an answer today. Have you decided?”

Old Man Kang, struggling to keep his balance after being shoved, looked troubled.

“I was about to, but… those men arrived first, so I’m in a bind.”

Flatfish stared, baffled, at the men calmly seated inside the training yard.

‘Seriously, how much trouble can you make for yourself even when things are nearly done?’

Narrowing his eyes, Flatfish addressed the men.

“Where are you all from?”

Gwak Sugi chuckled as he looked at his brothers.

“Hey, isn’t Flatfish a type of fish? Guess fish live in the mountains these days too. Haha!”

“If you want to survive, you need to share the catch. If you try to hog everything, it’ll go badly.”

Flatfish’s face twisted at their blatant disregard.

Including his own subordinates, they numbered fifteen. They held the advantage in numbers, yet the others showed not a hint of nervousness. Not one among them was carrying a visible weapon.

Flatfish was certain.

‘These guys… they’re just like us.’

And one universal truth he’d learned in this world:

A martial artist never lets go of his weapon.

Which meant, none of these men were real martial artists.

He needed to go in hard from the start.

In this world, the weak are always ignored.

Flatfish spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t know if you’re just stray dogs that wandered in, but this place belongs to the Chilseongpa, the masters of Baekseong. Leave now, and we’ll let you go quietly.”

At that, Go Gu dusted off his backside as he stood up, feigning annoyance.

“Hey guys, Mr. Flatfish wants us to leave?”

Flatfish tried another round of subtle intimidation.

“What do you want?”

“What else? Just trying to get by together.”

Flatfish snorted.

“Heh, so you want to fight after all?”

“Doesn’t matter either way.”

As soon as those words ended, every Iljowon member stood up from their seats.

Na Myeong swiftly locked the main gate behind them. Flatfish gave orders to his men.

“If they want to die, kill them all!”

“Oh dear, starting off with a kill order? I’m so scared~.”

But there wasn’t the slightest sign of tension.

In a flash, the clash between Chilseongpa and Cheongeomdae erupted.

As planned, the massive Jomu was the key to the fight.

He unleashed overwhelming strength, knocking down eight men by himself. One of them, with a broken leg, collapsed in a heap beneath the wall.

Flatfish and his subordinates, beaten unconscious by Na Myeong, knelt before Go Gu.

Go Gu, arms crossed, looked down on them with indifference.

“Go tell your boss. We’ve taken this place, so stay away.”

Flatfish gritted his teeth but couldn’t say a word.

“If you want to fight, bring everyone at once. Don’t bother coming in dribs and drabs.”

No sooner had Go Gu finished speaking than Flatfish gathered his wounded men and hurriedly left Cheongangmun without looking back.

Once the Chilseongpa were gone, Jomu glanced at Gwak Sugi and asked,

“Did I go too far?”

Gwak Sugi shrugged.

“Seemed about right to me. The rest is for them to decide.”

Gangchan, who had watched everything unfold from the office, quietly approached and gave his orders.

“Sawu (司羽) and Yedowi (余倒尉), head to Bokchunru immediately and keep watch on the Chilseongpa.”

The two immediately left to carry out their instructions.

Bokchunru’s backyard.

Fourteen men lined up before one man.

“So, another group moved into Cheongangmun?”

Jang Daepung looked over his battered subordinates with a look of disbelief.

“That’s right, boss. They weren’t ordinary men.”

“What were you doing all this time?”

The subordinates flinched, glancing at each other.

“They must have snuck in quietly at dawn or during the night.”

Jang Daepung sighed and asked,

“How many were there?”

“Roughly about ten.”

Jang Daepung’s face twisted.

“So fifteen of you got your asses kicked by ten guys?”

“Well… they suddenly ambushed us in the middle of a conversation…”

Thwack!

Before Flatfish could finish, he was kicked hard in the chest and sent sprawling to the floor.

“Useless worms. Even if it was an ambush, you had the numbers—how incompetent do you have to be to get beaten like this?”

Flatfish sprang to his feet and bowed his head.

“No excuses, sir.”

Jang Daepung gritted his teeth.

“Did they use martial arts?”

“Definitely not.”

“Weapons?”

“None, that’s for sure.”

Jang Daepung curled his lip and muttered.

“Really? Is that so… Then get ready. I’ll go myself.”

Flatfish hurriedly blocked his path, flustered.

“Boss, we trust your skills. But if we go alone, it could be dangerous.”

Jang Daepung fixed him with an icy stare.

“Why? You think I’m the same as you lot?”

Flatfish quickly waved his hands.

“Not at all, sir! But since they’ll be expecting us, wouldn’t it be best to finish this for good?”

Jang Daepung kept his expression hard as he glared at Flatfish.

“So what do you suggest?”

Flatfish cautiously continued.

“Let’s call everyone from Baekseong and finish this in one go.”

Jang Daepung narrowed his eyes, thinking.

Flatfish studied his face and delivered the final blow.

“If we’re taking Cheongangmun, shouldn’t we gather everyone for a big feast? Might as well call them all while we’re at it.”

Jang Daepung smirked and nodded.

“That’s not a bad idea. You really are clever—that’s why you have your position.”

Only then did Flatfish breathe a sigh of relief.

Jang Daepung’s confidence came from not having seen the Cheongangmun men himself.

If Jang Daepung rushed in carelessly and was defeated, the Chilseongpa would suffer an irrecoverable humiliation.

Flatfish quickly issued orders.

“Send word for everyone in Baekseong to come here as quickly as possible, no exceptions.”

“Yes, sir! Right away!”

A subordinate immediately set off toward Baekseong.

At that moment, on the roof of Bokchunru.

Two hidden figures rose quietly from the shadows and swiftly disappeared in the direction of Cheongangmun.