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Chapter 46. Twin Swords of the Wind and Clouds (21)
That little bitch Eun-Ah actually divided the group into classes, assigning a label to each member and acting accordingly.
Naturally, the highest-ranking member was the one and only Song Woo-Moon.
No matter who she was playing with, no matter where he was, if Woo-Moon called for her, she would run over and play cute.
Next were Sang-Woon, Jin-Jin, and Si-Hyeon.
The treatment they received was similar to that of Woo-Moon, the major difference being that Woo-Moon’s commands were given priority.
Next was Dae-Woong. If Dae-Woong didn’t interact with her first, she wouldn’t interact with him herself, living almost as if neither acknowledged each other’s existence.
As for Jo Mu-Jae, he was always separate from the group, so he was not part of the hierarchy.
Thus, who was the lowest class, the pariah of Eun-Ah’s hierarchy?
Of course, it was Gwang Ryeok-Gwi, Dok-Du, and Rat.
For example, when Eun-Ah lay on her stomach basking in the sunlight, if someone cast a shadow and blocked her light, she would first open her eyes and identify who it was.
If it was Woo-Moon, she would purr, jump up, and rub herself against his leg.
If it was Sang-Woon, Jin-Jin, or Si-Hyeon, she would act cute, though the degree depended on her mood. Sometimes she’d just close her eyes and do nothing.
If it was Dae-Woong? She would shake her head and walk over somewhere else to bask in the sunlight.
However, when the Dok-Gwang-Rat trio blocked out her sunlight...
Rawr!
A sharp, cat-like howl would tear through the air—what the tiger cub very optimistically felt was an intimidating roar.
She would glare at the three people with anger in her gaze as if to say, ‘Get out of the way!’
Then, even though the trio raged internally, they would quietly move out of the way, wary of the gazes of the others.
But, if that were all there was to her prejudice, they wouldn’t have been upset.
That was far from it, though. Whenever Eun-Ah passed by them as she went somewhere, if she thought they were in the way somehow, she would cry out to tell them to scram.
‘This little runt really dares!’
The trio couldn’t help but feel anger rising inside them.
After all, weren’t they people, too? How could they be treated like this by an animal?
Thus, they went out to take advantage of an opportunity—when Eun-Ah wandered off alone at night.
‘Now is the time!’
As a beast with great intelligence, Eun-Ah wouldn’t just relieve herself anywhere, making sure to stay far away from where her humans were camping or where other people were.
She would go off on her own, do her business, and come back.
Thus, when everyone was asleep, the trio seized the opportunity.
‘You damned brat. Let’s see how I teach you a lesson!’
Eun-Ah, who was skipping through the bushes with her small paws, sensed the trio following her from behind, and eventually she stopped and turned around.
She looked at the three of them and growled. Her fangs weren’t yet very sharp or large, but they glinted menacingly in the moonlight.
The silver tiger cub and the Dok-Ryeok-Rat trio who dominated their city’s underground stared back at each other as a chilly night breeze blew between them.
“You damned tiger!”
“You’re going to feel my wrath today!”
The trio shouted and rushed toward Eun-Ah, planning on grabbing the cub and teaching her a lesson.
However, all of a sudden, Eun-Ah’s figure suddenly turned blurry as she jumped up into the air. An instant later, she reappeared in front of Ryeok-Gwi’s eyes.
“You dare!” Ryeok-Gwi shouted, furious with the little tiger cub.
He tried to smack her down, but a sharp pain stopped him in his tracks.
“Ugh!”
Scratches suddenly appeared on his face as Eun-Ah proceeded to smack him with both front paws, turning Ryeok-Gwi’s face into what looked like a poor drawing of a fishnet.
“Y-you brat!”
Dok-Du swung a fist from behind to save Ryeok-Gwi, but as if she had eyes on the back of her head, Eun-Ah twisted mid-air and stepped on Dok-Du’s fist, using it as a springboard.
“Huh?”
She ran along his outstretched arm, leaping forward and biting into his cheek.
“AGHHHH! Someone save me!”
At the thought of being bitten by a tiger, Dok-Du let out an ugly scream and started flailing his arms.
“I-I’ll save you!” Rat said, swinging the wooden club he had picked up with all his might.
However, once again, Eun-Ah sensed the attack through her sensitive ears and jumped off Dok-Du’s face, dodging the blow.
“You crazy bastarrrrrrd!”
At the same time, Rat’s wooden club smacked Dok-Du square in the face.
“Agk! I-I’m sorry!”
Startled, Rat apologized to his comrade.
Eun-Ah landed on the ground after somersaulting through the air for a moment. She crouched down like a fuzzy spring, then bounced forward again.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
She flew through the air like a cannonball, striking Rat’s abdomen with her head.
‘How can this tiny ass rabbit bitch hit this hard?’ was Rat’s final thought before falling onto his back, drool dripping from his mouth.
After taking care of all three people in an instant, Eun-Ah shook her head as if to show off, walking confidently toward her destination.
On the way, she stepped on the club that Rat had attempted to use earlier.
Her tiny claws gripped the wood as Eun-Ah picked it up, opened her mouth wide, and bit down in one go.
Crack!
It was quite a sizable chunk of wood, yet Eun-Ah’s baby teeth not just bit into it, but crushed it into little chips.
“...”
It was only then that the Dok-Ryeok-Rat trio realized it—Eun-Ah had actually taken it easy on them. If she had been serious, the three of them would have had a hard time even staying alive.
Growl!
Eun-Ah roared for a long time as if to reaffirm her status, and with her head held high and her posture proud, she went over to the place where she did her business.
"Unbelievable...”
“Sniff, sniff. Ugh...”
The three devastated people had their last bit of pride shattered.
‘We may be thugs, but we were the rulers of Anqing!’
Their glorious past came to mind.
If they didn't like someone, they beat them up as much as they wanted, with or without reason. Who cared about the consequences?
If they needed money, all they had to do was ask a passerby, and with that money, they had fun, laughing and chatting to their hearts’ content while running throughout the city.
And now, these free and unrestrained people were being bullied by a baby animal.
Their glamorous past was no more.
That was their new lot in life.
The more they were faced with this new reality, the more their rage toward Woo-Moon grew.
‘That demon bastard!’
There was only one reason they were subjected to this torture—they had done the ultimate stupid mistake of messing with Woo-Moon’s family.
This was the beginning of a hell-like journey for the three brothers.
On the other hand, Woo-Moon and his family had a very pleasant trip thanks to the trio’s help.
* * *
A few days passed, and the Song family arrived in Hefei, Anhui Province, where the Iron Sword Baek Family was located.
In front of Hefei Castle, Woo-Moon called out to the Dok-Ryeok-Rat trio.
“You’ve worked hard throughout the journey here.”
“It was nothing! We are truly grateful to have met you, Lord Hero, who descended from the heavens, and are truly honored to have been able to serve you.”
“It was an honor to serve the Great Hero!”
Woo-Moon tilted his head after hearing what the three people had said.
“Huh? Why are you saying goodbye right now?”
“P-pardon?”
“We are going to go back to... right here. Hahaha.”
Woo-Moon’s fist flew toward Ryeok-Gwi, who was about to say that they were returning home.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
“It seems you haven’t come to your senses yet. Your rotten minds are a long way from being fixed, so you’re coming to the Baek Family with me.”
Dok-Du and Ryeok-Gwi could feel the light in their eyes getting dimmer.
‘How much longer are we going to have to spend with that devil?!’
Dok-Du quietly asked, “By the way, sir, what sort of people are your family? They’re called the Iron Sword Baek Family, correct?”
Woo-Moon thought to himself, ‘These guys will probably shit themselves if I tell them my grandpa is the Palm Martial Emperor, right?’
On one hand, it seemed like it would be fun.
On the other, it also seemed bothersome.
“Yeah. That’s all you need to know! Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
“Understood!”
“From now on, the back alley thugs never existed. Hmm... let’s do it this way. You are just roaming warriors and you got entangled with the Northern Fox Gang by accident. To return the favor of us saving you from certain death, you voluntarily became our servants. Understood?”
In Woo-Moon’s mind, if the Baek Family were to find out that these idiots had been random thugs, there was a chance they would find fault with them in one way or another.
“Understood!”
The first person to answer was Dok-Du, while the other two were too busy memorizing what Woo-Moon had said to respond.
“Hey, Dok-Du. Repeat what I just said.”
“Pardon? Oh, yes, well.... We... we... um-Agk! Aghh!!”
Woo-Moon kicked Dok-Du, making him roll on the ground.
“Hey, you idiot! How stupid are you that you can’t even memorize that short thing? If you’re really that stupid, at least put in as much effort as the idiots next to you! What, do you think that answering blindly is all you have to do?”
“I-I apologize!”
“All of you are idiots, but you’re the stupidest among the three of you. Watch it, okay?”
“Understood!”
“All three of you better memorize it properly. If you make even a single mistake inside those walls, I’m going to beat you so hard your mothers won’t even be able to recognize you. Do you understand?”
“We will... we will engrave it with our feet!”
Woo-Moon then kicked Rat this time.
“If you don’t know what the actual saying is, then shut the fuck up! If you try something like that within the walls, I’ll kill you, seriously!”
“I-I won’t do it again!”
“Now, let’s go. And get rid of that frown and just smile. I said, smile.”
The trio forced themselves to smile as soon as the Song family entered Hefei Castle.
“Wow!”
Woo-Moon was unable to hide his wonder.
Hefei was a proper city, incomparable to a village like Unhan.
Passing through the wide market streets of Hefei, Dae-Woong and Woo-Moon continued to burst out in admiration, looking exactly like the backcountry hillbillies they were.
Meanwhile, Jin-Jin had a somewhat dark expression.
‘When I go back, those witches will still be there.’
At that time, Sang-Woon motioned for the carriage to stop in front of a large inn. Compared to the Deungpyeong Inn, run by Dae-Woon in Unhan, it was over twice as large.
Sang-Woon exited the carriage and gestured to Woo-Moon, Si-Hyeon, and Mu-Jae as they entered the inn.
“Si-Hyeon, please stay here for now.”
“Understood, Grandfather.”
Si-Hyeon, in truth, was more comfortable here. For some reason, she didn't exactly feel comfortable moving with the Baek Family...She was only the Palm Martial Emperor’s disciple, not a member of the Baek Family.
“Woo-Moon, even when I’m not around, you have to come by here often and take care of your junior sister, understood?”
“Okay, Grandfather,” Woo-Moon answered indifferently.
Si-Hyeon and Mu-Jae went up to their room as Sang-Woon and Woo-Moon got back into the carriage.
After a while, the carriage stopped in front of a massive manor with an enormous plaque on the front gate.
Iron Sword Baek Family.
Although the actual title was “manor,” it could just as well be called a castle, as it appeared large enough to accommodate ten thousand people and more if needed.
As a warrior family grew, it would become a great family, and as a great family grew, it would eventually become a reputable family.
Finally, the most reputed among these families were given the title Ancient Family and bestowed a family crest.
As an Ancient Family grew older, the number of blood relatives alone became enormous.
Moreover, as its size increased, the number of servants, warriors, and other attendants would also inevitably increase.
That was why the Iron Sword Baek Family, which reigned as the leader of an entire region, had a manor the size of a castle.
Beneath the plaque was the majestic stone statue of a warrior holding a sword.
As they reached the gate, one of the two warriors guarding the front of the gate came running forward.
“Halt! May I ask what has brought you to the Iron Sword Baek Family?”
“Hm...”
Sang-Woon made a low noise and winked over at Woo-Moon.
‘Are you serious...’
Woo-Moon then got off the carriage and greeted the gatekeeper.
“Hello, my name is Song Woo-Moon.”
‘Song...Woo-Moon...?’
It was the first time the gatekeeper had heard this name. Nevertheless, he saluted in kind before responding, “My name is Yong Hwa-Pyeong of the Iron Sword Baek Family. What business did you come here for?”
At that moment, the front door suddenly opened, and a richly decorated carriage came out.
Unfortunately, the main gate wasn’t large enough for two carriages to pass through at the same time. The emerging carriage was thus unable to go any further and had to stop before the carriage that the Song family was riding.
“The hell is this?”
Following a woman’s annoyed cry, someone from within the carriage stuck their head out.
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