/
Yoo Cheolgwang licked his thick lips, which was similar to a catfish.
It was a habit of his when he saw something that intrigued him.
Yoo Cheolgwang’s eyes were fixed on Pyo-wol.
Black hair that hung down to his shoulders, white skin that was as flawless as a woman’s, and red lips like that of blood.
Pyo-wol looked nothing like how a man could possibly look like.
The moment he saw Pyo-wol, Yoo Cheolgwang felt a strong sexual desire.
Yoo Cheolgwang was famous in Haimen for his sodomy.
He felt a strong desire for men, and not women. The more beautiful the man was, the more he became aroused.
If he found a man he liked, he would take him by any means necessary. Many men who got humiliated by him all ended their lives.
However, Yoo Cheolgwang remained unscathed because of his special status.
Yoo Cheolgwang was the third son of Yoo Il-seok, the chairman of the Red Bandana Association.
Both Yoo Il-seok’s first and second sons held important positions in the Red Bandana Association, and Yoo Il-seok himself was still alive and well.
This made it so that no matter how vicious Yoo Cheolgwang was, no one could step forward to punish or chastise him. This consequently made So Yoo Cheolgwang act even more recklessly.
It wasn’t that long ago when Yoo Cheolgwang had heard of the news that a beautiful man had arrived in Haimen.
As soon as he heard the news, Yoo Cheolgwang led his men to search all the inns in Haimen, and soon enough, he found Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol was as beautiful as the rumors described him to be.
No, his beauty was actually even more than that.
He was more beautiful than any man or woman Yoo Cheolgwang had ever seen. He had never seen a man this beautiful.
Yoo Cheolgwang tried to suppress his breath that was getting faster and faster, every time he walked towards Pyo-wol,
“What’s your name?”
Yoo Cheolgwang asked for Pyo-wol’s name outright.
Pyo-wol looked up at him without saying a word.
Yoo Cheolgwang was incredibly tall that Pyo-wol had to lift his head up for quite some time.
Yoo Cheolgwang bared his yellowish teeth and asked again,
“What’s your name?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Damn it! If an elder asks you, you should answer. Don’t answer my question with another question.”
Yoo Cheolgwang narrowed his eyes.
But Pyo-wol only continued to stare back at him.
Just by looking at Yoo Cheolgwang’s bloodshot eyes, Pyo-wol could already tell what Yoo Cheolgwang was thinking.
It was ridiculous.
It wasn’t as if there weren’t people who harbored similar desires like Yoo Cheolgwang, but nonetheless, they all kept such desires a secret. They didn’t openly announce that they were into sodomy like this.
Even if the people living in Jianghu are more open-minded than the general public, it’s not as if everything is acceptable and tolerated.
Especially those who have risen to high positions in Jianghu, they are more often than not concerned about their reputation and are mindful of others’ opinions.
But Yoo Cheolgwang seems to have no intention of hiding his sexual identity at all.
Bang!
Yoo Cheolgwang slammed down his hand which was as big as a pot lid onto the table. His action caused the food on the table to splatter in all directions.
The food even got on Tarha and Yul Ayeon’s clothes. Their faces fell, but Yoo Cheolgwang didn’t even look at them.
Yoo Cheolgwang glared at Pyo-wol and said,
“You. Come with me.”
“……”
“I will not tolerate refusal.”
In an instant, Yoo Cheolgwang’s men surrounded the table where Pyo-wol was sitting.
They were all warriors who had been trained in martial arts by the Red Bandana Association. They were not simply laborers in charge of transporting goods at the harbor, but were strategically trained warriors.
Yoo Cheolgwang commanded some of the warriors like his own private army. This was something that should not have been possible, but there was no one in the Red Bandana Association who could stop Yoo Cheolgwang’s tyranny.
As a result, Yoo Cheolgwang became even more brazen and wild.
The moment he saw Pyo-wol’s appearance, he stopped thinking.
All that could register on his head was Pyo-wol’s face, and that he had to take Pyo-wol to a quiet place no matter what.
It was then.
“Hey, young man.”
Tarha suddenly intervened between Yoo Cheolgwang and Pyo-wol.
“What do you want?”
Yoo Cheolgwang glared at Tarha. Then Tarha spoke in a cold voice.
“What are you going to do about this?”
“What am I going to do about what? Huh?”
“You’ve splashed food all over me and my granddaughter’s clothes. What are you going to do about it?”
“What the hell! Are you out of your mind? Asking me what I’m going to do about that? How about you just suck it up, huh?!”
“You caused this mess, so it’s only right that you make it up for it.”
“Really! You really can’t read the mood, can you? Do you want to die, old man?”
“No, I want to live as long as I can.”
“Then shut up and stay out of this. Only then will you be able to live till you shit on the walls.”
“I don’t want to live until I shit on a wall. I’m content to live as long as I can get my wish. So I want you to pay for soiling my clothes.”
At Tarha’s words, Yoo Cheolgwang’s face twisted in anger.
He grew impatient with Tarha, who seemed to be unable to read the atmosphere and kept stumbling over his words.
“This damn old man is really going to die.”
In the end, Yoo Cheolgwang couldn’t reign in his anger and swung his fist at Tarha.
It was a fist so huge that it could make anyone shiver just by looking at it. Furthermore, it was so skillfully executed that with one good blow, the old man’s bones would break like a twig.
Tak!
But Yoo Cheolgwang’s fist stopped halfway.
Tarha’s wrinkled hand unbelievably stopped Yoo Cheolgwang’s fist in midair.
“W-What?”
Yoo Cheolgwang’s eyes widened, then Tarha clicked his tongue and said,
“How could you resort to violence out of the blue? Didn’t your parents teach you not to use your strength recklessly?”
“Did you just insult me?”
“I’m not insulting you. I’m criticizing your parents who didn’t teach you properly.”
“This old man—!”
Yoo Cheolgwang shouted and swung his other fist, which had not been caught. The only difference this time was that he infused his internal energy into the punch, making it harder than a rock.
The attack was powerful enough to shatter a skull in an instant if it hit properly. It was a cruel technique to use against an innocent old man.
At that moment, Pyo-wol didn’t miss the gleam in Tarha’s eye.
Tarha grabbed Yoo Cheolgwang’s incoming fist and rotated it to the right. At the same time, Tarha twisted Yoo Cheolgwang’s other hand, which he had already caught.
Crack!
“AHHH!”
Yoo Cheolgwang didn’t just scream, but howled in pain.
His cries were heart-wrenching that it made the bystanders in the inn shudder.
“Oh no! Master Yoo!”
“No way!”
The martial artists of the Red Bandana Association were stunned.
Yoo Cheolgwang’s arm had been twisted by Tarha’s seemingly playful move. It was not a simple twist of the arm, but rather a gruesome one.
His muscles were torn and shattered, and his bones snapped and popped out of his body.
It was truly a vicious technique.
Muscles and bones were pulverized. It was completely destroyed. No matter how many great masters came, it was impossible to restore Yoo Cheolgwang’s hand to its original state.
Only then did the martial artists of the Red Bandana Association realize that the old man in front of them was a terrifying master.
“Crap, this old dog!”
Overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, Yoo Cheolgwang went berserk and tried to attack Tarha.
“No, don’t!”
“Son of a bitch!”
The members of the Red Bandana Association rushed to stop Yoo Cheolgwang from attacking Tarha.
“Tch! I thought that was enough for you to understand.”
Thump!
Tarha clicked his tongue, then slammed his palm down on the table. This caused the plates, chopsticks and other utensils to fly up into the air.
Tadadada!
At an invisible speed, Tarha flicked the plates and chopsticks towards Yoo Cheolgwang and the members of the Red Bandana Society.
“HeuK!”
“Ugh!”
Scream after scream bursted out.
The rushing Red Bandana Association members had plates and chopsticks deeply stuck into their bodies. Fortunately, no one had lost their life, but they were all in critical condition.
The blood they shed was splattered all over the floor.
“Hng!”
Yoo Cheolgwang could barely contain himself at the horrific scene before him.
Before he knew it, a hellish scene unfolded before his eyes.
He grabbed his twisted arm and asked,
“W-Who are you?”
“Tch! You should have asked that a long time ago.”
“D, Do you know who I am? Do you know who you’ve touched?”
At Yoo Cheolgwang’s threatening remarks, Tarha smiled contemptuously.
“I’ve got to give you credit for screaming at the top of your lungs, child. But while that attitude may be intimidating to some, it’s not exactly threatening to others. I may not care about your sexual desires, but you should at least not drag and harm unrelated people into it. That is called having manners.”
“Shut up! Do you think I’m going to leave you alone? I will—!”
“You’re not going to leave us alone?”
In an instant, Tarha’s pupils sank deeply.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Yoo Cheolgwang felt an indescribable terror.
“Ugh!”
His massive body trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Tarha asked again,
“You’re really not going to leave us alone?”
“I, I—”
“What are you going to do?”
“I—””
Suddenly, a gurgling sound came out of Yoo Cheolgwang’s mouth.
His complexion turned as pale as a sheet of paper, and his eyes rolled back, showing only the whites.
Tarha had inflicted serious internal injuries on his opponent with his aura alone.
Thud!
In the end, Yoo Cheolgwang fell to his knees and coughed up blood.
It was dark, black blood.
Yoo Cheolgwang looked up at Tarha, shaking all over.
His eyes were completely bloodshot.
Although Yoo Cheolgwang had lived his life recklessly without knowing how scary the world could be, he could still sense that the old man in front of him was a truly frightening master..
“Get out of here!”
Tarha’s cold words made Yoo Cheolgwang leave the inn without a word. His whale-like body swayed back and forth like a drunken man, looking precarious.
The injured Red Bandana Association martial artists soon followed right behind him.
“……”
Silence filled the inn.
The faces of the customers who had been staying in the first-floor restaurant were filled with a faint sense of fear.
Most of the customers were people who made their living by trading beyond the Central Plains.
As a result, they had seen and heard a lot of things, which included meeting many martial arts masters. But none of them showed a skill as formidable and terrifying as the old man in front of them.
That was why the people in the inn warily looked at Tarha. However, Tarha, who was the center of all the attention, only looked at Pyo-wol with a nonchalant expression.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know about anything else, but I couldn’t bear to see my granddaughter’s clothes get dirty.”
“You said you came to collect a debt, right?”
“That’s right!”
“Then it’s going to be noisy around here.”
“It could, but I prefer to settle matters quietly. By the way, I think you’ve gone out of your way.”
Tarha studied Pyo-wol’s face carefully.
His hand showed a clear sign of aggression.
Tarha’s martial arts were destructive, always resulting in terrible consequences.
In Tarha’s hometown in the Western Region, the people there called him a living god and was a subject of fear.
Pyo-wol, however, had no change in his expression even after witnessing Tarha’s martial arts.
Whether it was due to his skill in hiding his expression, or his bravado, it was clear that he did not falter at the sight of Tarha’s martial arts.
Tarha knew that there were only two reasons for this.
Either Pyo-wol knew nothing about the ways of the world or he was confident in his own skills.
Pyo-wol did not seem like the former. Therefore, the only possibility left was the latter.
The handsome man before him was undoubtedly a skilled martial artist who was confident in his own abilities.
The problem was that Tarha could not even begin to imagine the extent of Pyo-wol’s martial arts skills at all.
A master of Tarha’s caliber should have been able to see through his opponent’s level like the back of his hand, but against Pyo-wol, Tarha could see none of that.
Either he was a higher level than Tarja, or he had learned a martial art that specialized in concealing his level.
Tarha thought that the latter was also the case with Pyo-wol.
He thought it was impossible for someone at Pyo-wol’s age to learn martial arts at a higher level than himself.
‘A martial art that can deceive my eyes…’