By Zephyria I need to get out of here. (2)
And so, Seong Mu-yeon went out with Il-gwang. As he said, there were a lot of people on the streets. It seemed to be to watch the thrilling performances of street performers in the marketplace.
A woman was performing a dangerous stunt with a knife in her mouth.
“Wow!”
People cheered, and Seong Mu-yeon clapped as well.
Following that, a man ran across the flames as if it were his own living room.
Clang!
Gold coins flew. People who were impressed by the performance threw them. A boy, who seemed to be the child of the woman and man, went around collecting the coins.
“Thank you, thank you!”
Seong Mu-yeon poked Il-gwang in the side.
“Il-gwang! Give me some money if you have any.”
“Why do you need money?”
“Ah, just give it to me quickly.”
Il-gwang handed him a few silver coins. Seong Mu-yeon didn’t hesitate and tossed the silver coins into the yard.
“Y-Young master!”
“What.”
No sooner had he noticed Il-gwang’s flustered face than the surroundings fell silent. A deep silence settled in, devoid of cheers and laughter.
People began to look around for the person who threw the silver coins and soon discovered Seong Mu-yeon, dressed in fine clothes.
Hundreds of gazes converged. Seong Mu-yeon, covered in goosebumps, broke out in a cold sweat.
“…Il-gwang, did I do something wrong?”
“It was too much money to give as alms to a performance.”
Il-gwang said, holding his forehead.
Seong Mu-yeon was flustered.
‘No! How would I know if I’ve never spent money before!’
In martial arts stories, people casually throw out silver coins even when eating a bowl of noodles at an inn… Since waking up in this body, he had only lived within the Demonic Cult, so he didn’t know the cost of things.
“Haha! The Young master is so generous!”
“I’m jealous, so jealous! A silver coin for one performance! That’s a profitable business!”
Seong Mu-yeon, who had suddenly become an immature Young master showing off his wealth, let out a deep sigh.
“Oh, Young master. Thank you!”
The performing couple and their child also bowed deeply.
At that moment, Il-gwang whispered in a low voice in his ear.
“You must be careful, Young master. Some people are looking at you with unusual eyes.”
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon look around and notice a few people among the spectators who were staring intently at him. A deep greed flickered in their eyes.
“It would be best to leave this place.”
Il-gwang led Seong Mu-yeon to a less crowded area.
“If I had known you were going to give alms to the performance, I would have given you copper coins, but it was my mistake. It’s only natural that you don’t have a sense of gold coin since you grew up in the Cult your whole life.”
“…I see. I’ll have to be careful next time.”
They took a stroll through the long marketplace. It was already after sunset when they were returning to the inn.
One by one, the merchants were closing up shop and leaving, and the market street was deserted.
But then, a woman’s scream was heard from somewhere.
“Why, why are you doing this!”
Not far away, they found three people surrounded by several men. It was the family of performers who had received the silver coins earlier.
Some thugs who looked bad at a glance were surrounding them.
The woman’s husband was already lying on the ground, having been hit a few times, and the woman and child were trembling with fear.
“I saw you earned quite a bit earlier, didn’t you? Just hand over the money, and we’ll spare your lives.”
“Do you want to see your husband die?”
“Young master, let’s go.”
Il-gwang said in his usual voice, not at all concerned about the scene.
“They ended up like that because of me.”
Because he gave them the silver coins in front of everyone, they became the target of the bad guys.
Il-gwang shook his head.
“It’s not your fault, Young master. This kind of thing is common in the Central Plains. It is the law of nature that the weak are taken from by the strong.”
But Seong Mu-yeon couldn’t take his eyes off them. Before he remembered his past life, he would have thought so too.
In the Demonic Cult, they are taught that the strong are the law, based on the principle of the survival of the fittest.
However, Seong Mu-yeon had the memories of a modern person, a modern person with an average sense of morality.
Il-gwang frowned when he didn’t move.
“You’ve been acting strange lately, Young master. Why are you concerned about mere commoners? Stop wasting unnecessary emotions and let’s go back.”
Still, Seong Mu-yeon didn’t move.
“Seventh Young master.”
Il-gwang called him in a low voice. Seong Mu-yeon flinched and turned to look at him.
Judging by the fact that he was using the title he used in the Cult, it seemed that Il-gwang’s patience was slowly running out. Seong Mu-yeon was also a Young master of the Demonic Cult, so he served him for the time being, but basically, he ignored Seong Mu-yeon. Furthermore, his mission was to safely protect the person he was escorting. As the situation threatened his mission, a chilling aura began to emanate from him.
“If you don’t return now…”
But Seong Mu-yeon’s momentum did not subside.
“If I don’t return? What are you going to do?”
Seong Mu-yeon scoffed and turned his body. Then he ran straight into the heart of the incident.
“If you’re not going to help, just watch! I don’t need your help anyway!”
“Young master!”
Il-gwang’s annoyed shout was heard from behind, but he completely ignored it.
Seong Mu-yeon stood between the thugs and the three family members. The thugs, faced with the suddenly appearing nobleman, seemed surprised for a moment but soon twisted their lips into a sneer.
“Isn’t this the Young master from earlier? The rich, immature Young master.”
“It really is. Today is my lucky day. A rice cake has rolled in on its own.”
The thugs boasted and chuckled.
Seong Mu-yeon turned his back to them and helped the fallen man up.
“Are you alright? I’m sorry. Because of me.”
“Ah, no. What did you do wrong, Young master? Don’t stand here like this and take shelter… I’m afraid you’ll be harmed because of us.”
“What harm.”
Seong Mu-yeon smiled gently.
“What! Is this bastard ignoring us?!”
An angry shout was heard from behind. Seong Mu-yeon straightened his body and stood up straight towards them.
“Don’t be greedy and get lost. Then I’ll spare your lives.”
The thugs, who had been stunned for a moment by those words, soon burst into laughter.
“Spare our lives? Us? Haha! Hey guys, listen to what this guy is saying.”
“Do you have some hidden tricks up your sleeve? Even so, we have more numbers, so what are you going to do?”
“We’ll give it back to you. Young master, if you hand over everything you have, we’ll spare your lives. Hehe.”
Blatant mockery returned.
“Hmm? Now that I look at it, this Young master has white and delicate skin, so he’d fetch a good price even if we sold him in the back alleys?”
They were not wary of Seong Mu-yeon at all.
It was understandable. Due to a physical problem, he had not properly mastered martial arts. He had not even created a proper dantian, so on the outside, he looked no different from ordinary people. Moreover, his pale complexion and thin limbs made him look even weaker.
“Let’s see. I’ll have to touch it to know if his skin is as soft as it looks…”
One of the thugs approached with an obscene look on his face.
Seong Mu-yeon stared at him with sunken eyes. His face, which did not flinch or blink, was calm itself.
“How can a man’s skin be so soft…”
It was at that moment, just as the thug’s hand was about to touch Seong Mu-yeon’s cheek.
“Kuaaak!”
Suddenly, the man screamed in pain and stepped back.
“Why, what’s wrong!”
He was holding his arm, but the spot where his hand should have been was empty. His severed wrist lay nearby, rolling around with a pool of blood.
“W-What did you do! You bastard!”
The thugs shouted, but Seong Mu-yeon was standing still, just as before.
Seong Mu-yeon chuckled.
“I told you to get lost when I said I’d spare your lives.”
Thud!
A black shadow flew in behind him. Warriors with an ominous aura, wrapped in black cloth from head to toe, began to appear one after another.
“W-What… He was definitely alone!”
Seong Mu-yeon listlessly watched the black-clad warriors pressuring the men.
They were beings called the ‘Black Shadow Unit’. They hide in the shadows, so you can’t tell at all, but they appear when the person they are protecting is in danger.
Even if he was a neglected son, it would be a disgrace if the Cult Leader’s son was beaten up outside, so they were assigned to him.
The men were surrounded like rats in a trap. They seemed to have learned martial arts as well, but their level was so low that they didn’t even notice the Black Shadow Unit surrounding them.
There was no way that guys who lived by doing illegal things in the back alleys using martial arts they had learned somewhere could be their opponents.
“S-Save me… Kuaaaak!”
“Ugh!”
They didn’t even try to resist and lost their lives at the hands of the Black Shadow Unit. It was truly a massacre.
Seong Mu-yeon turned around and approached the trembling family.
“Are you alright?”
But for some reason, the three of them were pale and couldn’t even speak. They just hugged each other and trembled.
“What’s wrong?”
“U-Ugh… P-Please save us!”
“Pardon?”
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon check his appearance.
Because the thugs had been massacred right in front of him, he was covered in blood.
“Ah.”
He tried to wipe his face with his sleeve, but the blood smeared, making him look even more grotesque.
“Still, don’t worry. Now you’re safe… Where are you going! Hey!”
Seong Mu-yeon, who was shouting at the backs of the three family members who were running away, let out a long sigh.