"What?"

The Yin Hand Chamber's Master, Lee Ilpyeong, gripped the armrests of the chair he was sitting in and his eyes shot open.

"Okru-dang has been attacked."

"Okru-dang?"

"Yes. Jang Changsu, who was managing the place, and seven of the twelve warriors were taken down."

"Changsu? What happened to Changsu?"

"Well... his legs aside, he was whipped so many times... it seems a recovery will be impossible."

Bang!

Lee Ilpyeong didn't even wait to hear the rest and slammed his fist on the armrest.

The carved wood shattered with a crack and fell to the floor.

"That... crazy bastard!"

He knew who was responsible without even having to hear it.

The Tang Family's estate.

The one who was ambushed at night and immediately stormed the hunters' association the next day had now attacked Okru-dang, which belonged to the Yin Hand Chamber.

"This bastard is finally trying to take me on, is that it?"

A punk who leads nothing but a vagrant gang.

Trying to take on him, who controlled Ganyang...

"What are the damages to Okru-dang?"

Lee Ilpyeong gritted his teeth and asked, forcing himself to calm his anger.

"Well... other than our Chamber's warriors being injured..."

"What? There was no other damage?"

"That is correct."

"Then, you mean the punk didn't kick out the workers and occupy the place?"

"Yes. From what I've been reported..."

It was baffling.

If you hit a base, you're supposed to plunder its assets or establish a defensive line and prepare to prevent it from being taken back.

"They say he didn't touch anything. According to what we've found out, he just drank some alcohol and left..."

"...He drank alcohol and left?"

"Yes."

"Hah!"

The bafflement grew.

He was making an enemy of the Yin Hand Chamber just to drink some alcohol?

"Tell me in detail, in detail. How was Okru-dang attacked?"

"Well... there was an old man named Lee Ikhwan, who was once called a master brewer at the distillery, and he broke an alcohol jar."

"Just the key points!"

"A single man appeared to save that old man."

"One man? Not six?"

"Yes. A man named Tang Chunil... they said it was just one man."

"What? So you're telling me Jang Changsu and the men under him were taken down by a single punk?"

"Yes. They said he threw a stone..."

"A stooone?"

"That's right. They said it was fast, but its power was immense. Do you remember Chungro from Okru-dang? They say he was knocked out in a single blow. His nose was broken..."

"Wh-what is this?"

The more he heard, the more baffling it became.

Just one man.

How could that be?

And it wasn't even Tang Cheonyeong, but Tang Chunil, one of his subordinates?

Why the Tang surname?

Tang Cheonyeong was definitely an only son...

He couldn't understand what was going on at all.

"Chamber Master! Chamber Master!"

"...?"

Just as his bewilderment hadn't faded, a commotion rushed in from outside.

But the footsteps... there was more than one.

"What is it?"

"We're in big trouble!"

A full three men rushed in and prostrated themselves.

"Damn it all! We were in big trouble long ago. What the hell is it now!"

"Well... the gambling house has been hit."

"What?"

"They say a wench named Tang Sanghui came looking for the Patrol Hall Master's whereabouts."

"The Patrol Hall Master? And so?"

"When they said he wasn't there, this bitch... started spouting nonsense about revenge and suddenly drew twin blades and started slashing... several of our men are down."

"Sh-she started slashing?"

"Yes. One of them is hovering between life and death."

"This... this...! The hidden funds? What happened to the money the gambling house was hiding!"

"That bitch said it was for medical expenses... and took it all."

"You son of a biiitch!"

His suppressed anger exploded, and Lee Ilpyeong, his face beet red, shot up and began to smash the furniture around him indiscriminately.

"Heok, heok..."

After venting his anger like that for a while, Lee Ilpyeong asked another man.

"You, what about you?"

"I came to report that the escort agency was hit..."

"The escort agency? You mean the Cheolrip Escort Agency?"

"Yes."

"Was it one man there too?"

"That's right. A man named Tang Hwangsama appeared and..."

"And he was looking for the Patrol Hall Master?"

"Yes."

"So? That place was smashed up too?"

"That's right. They said he didn't touch the escorts, but beat up all the Chamber's warriors in the room and left."

"This... you, where are you from!"

"The money-lending house."

"The, the money-lending house too?"

"Yes."

"And what Tang showed up there to cause a ruckus?"

"They said his name was Tang Yongcheon."

"So? Were the warriors injured?"

"Not that..."

"If not, what? Did he steal the money from the house?"

"He just smashed it up."

"Just... smashed it up?"

"Yes. With an iron pestle, everything. Fortunately, no one was hurt..."

"Fortunately? Fortunate-ly! What's so fortunate about it! What!"

"..."

"Do you know how much money it took to build that money-lending house, you crazy bastards? It was at least a legal establishment! At least!"

Lee Ilpyeong couldn't calm his rage.

They just watched as the money-lending house was smashed?

These crazy bastards.

They should have stopped him.

They should have blocked him with their bodies, at least to prevent the building from collapsing!

Lee Ilpyeong gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached, and he collapsed into his chair.

You fucking... now even the chair is acting up.

What the hell is all this chaos?

The Yin Hand Chamber, which had dominated Ganyang, was plundered in a single day.

The distillery, the gambling house, the escort agency, and the money-lending house.

Four of the Yin Hand Chamber's businesses were all hit in an instant.

And all the attackers had the Tang surname.

It's not like the dead Tang Munseong had any hidden children...

And their objective was also clear.

The Patrol Hall Master, Andeukseong.

They were all said to be looking for him.

It probably started after they visited the hunters' association.

Andeukseong's name must have been behind the ambush.

Then they should have come to the Yin Hand Chamber.

Why were they searching through the subordinate businesses?

The culprit was obvious...

"Tang Cheonyeong, what the hell is this bastard thinking?"

Just as Lee Ilpyeong was trying to fathom Cheonyeong's unknowable intentions, the general manager next to him spoke with a serious expression.

"Excuse me, Chamber Master."

"What!"

"Shouldn't we send some warriors to the calligraphy and painting shop first?"

"Why the calligraphy and painting shop?"

"Well... didn't you say there were six of those Tang Family's estate punks?"

"So?"

"If four places have been attacked now... doesn't that mean there are still two left?"

"Two... twoo?!"

At that moment, Lee Ilpyeong's eyes shot open.

Two were left.

In other words, looking at the pattern of events, didn't that mean there were two more places to be attacked?

In that case?

"Don't tell me? He's going for the calligraphy and painting shop?"

"It would be best to prepare..."

At the general manager's words, Lee Ilpyeong shot to his feet.

The calligraphy and painting shop.

It was the core of the Yin Hand Chamber's business.

A sort of funding source. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Wasn't its job to manage the high-interest loans spread throughout Ganyang?

It was no exaggeration to say that all of the Yin Hand Chamber's assets were there.

Of course, there were not a few people guarding it.

But what if Tang Cheonyeong, from whom there was still no news, attacked the calligraphy and painting shop?

And what if there was a loss to the assets there?

"...G-General Manager."

"Yes."

"Call the men."

"Pardon?"

"Right now! Send them to the calligraphy and painting shop! Send every last one of them... no, I'll go. I'll go myself!"

His heart racing, Lee Ilpyeong ran out without even putting on his outer coat.

"Damn it all, what are you all doing! Issue a summons within the Chamber immediately! Tell the leadership and the warriors to all gather at the calligraphy and painting shop!"

"Yes!"

The general manager quickly gave the order and chased after Lee Ilpyeong.

* * *

Before the news of the Tang Family's simultaneous attacks reached the Yin Hand Chamber, in front of the calligraphy and painting shop's door.

"Keuk keuk, so this is the... nerve center of the Yin Hand Chamber?"

With the sun at his back, Cheonyeong's shadow stretched long, reaching the main gate of the calligraphy and painting shop.

"You bastards, you built it quite splendidly. For a business that sucks the lifeblood out of people struggling with high-interest loans."

The Tang Family's estate had been on the move since early morning.

Starting with his visit to the hunters' association, Cheonyeong had sent the four members of the Tang family, excluding Baekgang, to the businesses managed by the Yin Hand Chamber.

The objective was to find Andeukseong.

The meaning behind it was to single out and mess up only the Yin Hand Chamber's warriors.

Having been attacked in various places at once, they would be losing their minds by now.

Wasn't he worried, sending them one by one?

Not at a~ll!

So what if they were alone?

It had been a full four years.

Weren't they kids he had trained every day until their mouths tasted of metal?

Giving up?

He didn't even tolerate such a thing.

Whenever they were tired and exhausted, he generously applied the rod, filled with love.

As a result, they were kids who had become tenaciously strong.

For them, wasn't training survival itself?

If you give up... you die.

If you slack off... you die.

Through such brainwashing, they were kids who had been hardened like iron beaten on an anvil.

They had developed a basic physical strength far superior to others, and had learned basic fist and foot techniques, lightness skill, and even the internal art of an assassin that could generate several times the power with a short breath.

Of course, the highlight was the hidden weapon technique.

Although it was just a small stone, they had the accuracy to hit a pinecone from twenty paces away.

Was that all?

The arm and finger strength they had trained by climbing cliffs every day doubled its power.

Even a wild boar with its tough hide would be finished in one shot.

To exaggerate a little, an egg in their hands could pierce a rock.

Moreover, they even knew how to imbue it with internal energy...

The Yin Hand Chamber guarding each location?

Not a chance.

It was a sect created by a gathering of back-alley ruffians who only swaggered around in Ganyang.

In the first place, the reason Lee Ilpyeong was able to establish the Yin Hand Chamber wasn't because of his outstanding martial arts skill, was it?

Conspiracy and trickery.

What kind of amazing people would gather under a guy who succeeded with such things?

No, no Unorthodox Faction member would place someone stronger than themselves under them.

That's just how it is.

What kind of people were the Unorthodox Faction?

They were the kind of people who, upon gaining power, would stab their own big brother in the back to take the leader's position.

So there was no way there was someone stronger than the Chamber Master.

"By now, everyone should be done with their raids."

Cheonyeong slowly walked towards the calligraphy and painting shop.

"Huh? What are you, you punk?"

The Yin Hand Chamber warriors guarding the main gate of the shop frowned at Cheonyeong's approach and tried to stop him.

"Hoo..."

But Cheonyeong did not stop.

With each step, he breathed and slowly drew up his Samyang True Energy.

A refreshing feeling spread through his four limbs and hundred vessels, and energy gathered in his taut muscles.

"Is this bastard deaf? I asked who you are!"

A warrior from the main gate strode over and blocked Cheonyeong's path.

Teok!

A light step.

Cheonyeong's figure, which had disappeared from in front of the warrior's eyes, appeared before the main gate.

Phantom Mirage Step.

It was one of the footwork techniques he had learned during his assassin days.

"Huh?"

The warrior wore a bewildered expression.

He was definitely right in front of him...

Unable to contain his bewilderment, he rubbed his eyes and then blinked as he saw Cheonyeong, who was now behind him.

"You..."

The flustered warrior just stared blankly, not even thinking to grab him.

It's no wonder he's surprised.

Have you ever seen such a sublime footwork technique?

Smirking, Cheonyeong looked at the main gate of the calligraphy and painting shop.

Three steps forward.

With one step, he gathered his internal energy and imbued it into his fist.

With the second step, he pulled his fist to his waist.

And three.

Stepping forward forcefully, he closed the distance and extended his fist at the maximum possible speed.

Kung!

The ground he stepped on caved in, and the moment his weight was fully applied, Cheonyeong's fist shot out like a flash of light.

Kwaaaaaang!

The thick door exploded entirely, and the wall where the door had been hung vibrated minutely.

"Huh? Uh, uh?"

As the remnants of the main gate scattered in all directions, the Yin Hand Chamber warrior who had tried to stop Cheonyeong collapsed to the ground.

It was a familiar sight.

But today was different.

Didn't some monster stand tall there, smiling at him?

To the warrior who had fallen on his butt, his mouth agape, Cheonyeong said.

"What are you doing? It's a raid. Don't just play around, ring the alarm bell or something. Or just scream."

Cheonyeong smiled ever so brightly and walked confidently into the calligraphy and painting shop.

The Tang Family's Departure from the World