Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Damn it…… damn it!”

Curses spilled continuously from the mouth of Jang Sam-tae, who was sweeping. The moment he realized that it was impossible to run away even if he wanted to, he felt like Sun Wukong wearing the golden headband.

“Dammit, does he think he's Buddha or what?”

Even bullshit had to be within reason to be understood.

Of all things to compare him to, how could he compare him to Buddha? Dan Woo-hyun was an evil spirit. And he was not just any ordinary evil spirit, but a villain so vicious that he would not pale in comparison even to an Asura.

‘To extort the money I went through such trouble to make!’

And he did it while smiling brightly with a nonchalant expression.

He did not even seem to feel sorry.

He even ordered people around. He truly paid three taels of silver and worked him hard all day long. Of course, he had to admit that it was a lot of money for a servant.

But.

“The problem is that it was all my money in the first place!”

If it were not for Dan Woo-hyun and that little girl, he would be living in luxury and showing off by now. Therefore, Jang Sam-tae grew even angrier.

His rising resentment did not subside easily, and the words coming out of his mouth were by no means pleasant to hear.

He was so loud that even Hwa So-mi, who was playing in the yard, heard him.

“Huh?”

Hwa So-mi, who had been playing, stared blankly at Jang Sam-tae. Although a month had already passed, the two of them had not spoken a single word to each other yet.

This was true not only for Jang Sam-tae but also for Hwa So-mi.

Although Hwa So-mi and Jang Sam-tae were in the same space, they were no different from strangers.

Jang Sam-tae snorted and turned his head away.

“That guy went out hunting…… and I have to…….”

Go to the market street.

He abandoned any thoughts of escaping. This was because despite trying to run away several times over the past month, he had never succeeded even once.

Now, there was only one reason for him to enter Yueyang.

To buy the necessary items.

Although most of the ingredients were obtained from the mountains, fields, and Dongting Lake by Dan Woo-hyun or Hwa So-mi, things that could not be found there had to be purchased.

Things like rice, and spices to be used for seasoning.

“Sigh, what a miserable fate!”

Jang Sam-tae prepared stealthily while venting his complaints.

The road to the market street was quite far, so he had to prepare thoroughly. If he used the lightness art, he could reduce the time, but he did not want to shorten the time he spent away from this manor for no reason.

Thus, he left the manor and headed toward the market street. Since it was about one shichen away, he planned to take his time and return as leisurely as possible.

“…….”

While walking for a long time, Jang Sam-tae realized that something was strange. Along with a continuous rustling sound from behind, rough breathing could be heard.

As he was also a martial artist who had trained in internal energy, although he was not at Dan Woo-hyun's level, he was capable of sensing a presence.

Jang Sam-tae furrowed his brows and turned around.

Swoosh!

Just then, he saw a small figure quickly hide amongst the bushes. Jang Sam-tae sighed upon seeing this. In such an isolated place, if it was a small figure like that, only one person came to mind.

Pressing his head as if a headache was coming on, he approached the bushes.

Peeking slightly from above, he saw Hwa So-mi crouching and hiding.

“Why are you here?”

His tone of voice was crooked to the extreme.

Since the origin of this entire situation was none other than Hwa So-mi, there was no way Jang Sam-tae's attitude in treating the child would be good.

As he stared down at her, the child also glanced up to look at Jang Sam-tae. Then she smiled broadly.

“Don't smile. Don't follow me and go back inside quickly. If anything happens to you, my neck won't remain intact.”

However, Hwa So-mi did not seem to have any intention of going back. Without speaking, she slowly stood up and tightly grabbed the hem of Jang Sam-tae's clothes.

“I don't want to…… be alone.”

‘Where do you think you're acting spoiled? Seriously!’

He felt like shouting like this, but he held it back.

Because if even a small scratch appeared on her, he would soon become a corpse. Ultimately, Jang Sam-tae let out a sigh and shook his head side to side.

“Do you even know where I'm going?”

“……To the market street.”

“I can't take you to such a crowded place. If anything happens to you, that damn self-proclaimed Buddha guy won't let it slide.”

“So-mi will stay close to you.”

Although it seemed like Dan Woo-hyun, who had gone hunting, would return soon, the child did not seem likely to go back obediently. Sending her back like this was also out of the question.

This area was a passage where wild beasts frequently appeared.

Since the distance from the manor to this place was about two ke, it was also not feasible to send the child back alone.

Escorting her back would only increase his troublesome chores.

Ultimately, there was only one conclusion.

Letting out a long sigh, Jang Sam-tae opened his mouth.

“Stay right next to me!”

At that single phrase, Hwa So-mi smiled brightly.

“Yes!”

* * *

When he returned to the manor, no one was there.

Since he had sent Jang Sam-tae on an errand, Hwa So-mi should have been there, but only a chill hovered over the empty manor.

Sitting alone in the large manor, Dan Woo-hyun felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

“Was this place always this big…….”

Dan Woo-hyun let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

How could he call it big when he built it with his own hands?

The mere absence of just two people brought a thick wave of emptiness that he had not normally felt.

In the past, he considered being alone to be natural, but seeing how he now took being with someone for granted, it was simply fascinating.

After cleaning the captured game and putting it in the storage room, Dan Woo-hyun sat on the veranda and let out a long sigh.

“Come to think of it, the market street must be in a state of unrest right now…….”

He captured Jang Baek-san, the tiger whose notorious reputation resounded throughout Hunan. He had even captured the one who possessed the greatest influence among the black market merchants hidden in the shadows.

From the perspective of the commoners, an environment where they could live in slightly more peace was created, but those who followed them were grinding their teeth and searching everywhere.

In order to take revenge.

They would surely also try to find Jang Sam-tae, who brought the problematic items from the Prince's Manor.

Ordinarily, he would not have cared, but seeing that So-mi was not in the manor, it seemed clear that she had followed Jang Sam-tae.

If so, he had to go before trouble broke out.

Standing up from his seat, Dan Woo-hyun took a leisurely step forward.

Swoosh!

In an instant, Dan Woo-hyun's figure disappeared.

* * *

Entering the market street, Jang Sam-tae realized that something was strange. A place that should definitely be peaceful seemed to have an air of tension lingering imperceptibly.

Moreover, figures emitting a murderous aura stood blankly here and there in the alleys, as if they were looking for someone.

‘Surely…… it can't be?’

Although Jang Sam-tae felt a sense of anxiety, he soon brushed the thought away.

Of course, there was one thing that weighed on his conscience.

The matter of that black market merchant, who was a big hand in the Central Plains, being captured.

But, hadn't that black market merchant already been beheaded?

Since he was caught trading goods from the Prince's Manor, it was a natural outcome.

‘Huh?’

Then what about himself, who had sold off the goods from the Prince's Manor?

From the perspective of the black market merchant, Jang Sam-tae was the culprit of this entire situation, so it made sense for his subordinates to harbor a grudge.

Halting in his tracks, he carefully turned his head.

He saw sharp gazes focusing on him from all directions.

Startled, Jang Sam-tae hastily turned his head to the side.

“Huh?!”

The child who should have been there was gone.

Hwa So-mi, who had been right next to him until just before he became lost in thought, was nowhere to be seen.

The moment he widened his eyes, a man appeared from the direction of the alley.

With one hand, he was covering Hwa So-mi's mouth, and with the other hand, he held a knife aimed at her neck.

“Hey, you crazy bastard!”

Jang Sam-tae shouted loudly.

However, the man smirked without paying any attention. Then, dragging Hwa So-mi, he executed the lightness art and fled. Although it was a situation where the trap was glaringly obvious, he could not afford not to go.

It was Hwa So-mi, of all people.

Even if he left her alone, Dan Woo-hyun would rescue her on his own, but if that happened, Jang Sam-tae himself would not be able to preserve his life either.

“Damn it! What a godforsaken life!”

How could not a single thing go right like this!

Just thinking about it made his teeth grind.

“I'm the idiot for bringing her along in the first place!”

Jang Sam-tae quickly threw his body forward. He was second to none when it came to the lightness art. Even if there was a trap, all he had to do was catch up and reclaim Hwa So-mi before then.

Jumping high in an instant, he pursued the fellow.

The fleeing guy soon drew closer.

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Put the kid down!”

“Hmph!”

Jang Sam-tae ground his teeth while looking at the opponent who snorted.

He wanted to swing his fists right away, but the situation was not very good. A fairly large number of brawny men had pursued Jang Sam-tae from behind, appearing out of nowhere.

Soon, Jang Sam-tae ended up surrounded from the front and back.

Eventually, when he stopped at a deserted, empty lot, a group of figures appeared in a crowd. They blocked all directions and drew their swords.

“You're Jang Sam-tae, right?”

“Why ask when you already know?”

“The thief who handed over the stolen goods to the Chief Merchant a month ago……”

“Yes, that's right, that's me!”

Jang Sam-tae was cautious.

As they held Hwa So-mi, he had to reclaim the child before doing anything rash.

He was not even afraid of getting beaten. Of course, dying was scary, but it was a hundred, a thousand times better than watching that young child die before his eyes.

“You bastards! Having nothing better to do than kidnap a little child.”

“For the sake of avenging the Chief Merchant, we can do even worse than this.”

“You lunatics, you are touching a child you should never touch right now.”

“Hmph, you committed a crime far greater than that, Jang Sam-tae.”

“Cut the crap!”

Jang Sam-tae drew a dagger from his breast.

Although stealing was what he was best at, when considered carefully, he possessed considerable martial skill.

This meant he would never be defeated easily.

Perhaps the only problem was that the guys in front of him were stronger.

Counting them, there seemed to be easily twenty people.

Of course, he had no intention of fighting them.

Swoosh!

Jang Sam-tae threw the dagger toward the man holding Hwa So-mi. Since he had confidence in his hidden weapon technique in his own way, the thrown dagger seemed poised to pierce the man's forehead immediately.

“Where do you think you're aiming!”

Clang!

The man holding the sword deflected it all too easily.

Jang Sam-tae did not miss that exact moment and dashed forward. Exerting his lightness art to its absolute limit, he closed the distance in an instant and managed to grab Hwa So-mi.

Now, all he had to do was hold her and run away.

“Crazy bastard!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

However, not everything went as planned. Under the impact of being struck in the flank, he let out a harsh gasp.

Even so, he held onto Hwa So-mi and pulled her into his embrace.

Having fallen over, he rolled on the ground.

Thump, thump, thump!

In the meantime, the man's kicks did not cease.

From the pain battering his entire body, his mind felt completely dazed.

Yet he clenched his teeth and endured.

While thinking that he would protect this child no matter what.