Cheol Myungho, struck in the face by the club, flailed his straight sword wildly in his panic. But to Dan Woosung, it looked like a crude and sloppy sword technique. That's why the arm swinging the blade and his hair were both seized at the same time by Dan Woosung.
Unlike when he beat up the Twin Bo brothers, this time Dan Woosung immediately infused the thunder energy of the White Lightning Tenfold Technique into Cheol Myungho's body. The moment Cheol Myungho dropped the straight sword, he let out a strained scream.
"Gaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"
The gatekeeper waiting outside the iron door sighed and shook his head.
"Good grief, someone's gonna die in there. Can't he go easy?"
Of course, he thought Cheol Myungho was the one assaulting the First Young Master of the Eunha Merchant Group.
Cheol Myungho, body trembling violently, continued screaming.
"Gyaaaaahhh!"
With a hissing sound, smoke began to rise from Cheol Myungho's hair. He felt as if he were being engulfed in flames.
After retrieving the thunder energy, Dan Woosung grabbed Cheol Myungho's wrist and pinned his hand on the desk, palm up.
Cheol Myungho, his mind muddled from the thunder energy, convulsed on the spot.
Dan Woosung picked up a short club resting on the desk and brought Cheol Myungho back to his senses.
Thwack!
"Gah!"
As his left pinky finger was crushed under the club, Cheol Myungho was jolted into alertness by a pain entirely different from the thunder energy.
Dan Woosung spoke as if trying to start a conversation.
"Get a grip."
Even while groaning in pain, Cheol Myungho glared at Dan Woosung with murderous eyes. He wasn't called Poison Fox for nothing. Gasping for air, Cheol Myungho answered once the pain slightly subsided.
"I'm awake. So what?"
A truly defiant tone.
Dan Woosung, holding eye contact, nodded a few times, then brought the club down again. One by one, he shattered all five fingers, and then struck down on the back of the hand as well.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Cheol Myungho's left hand was left in tatters, utterly destroyed. Tears streamed from his eyes as he cried out,
"What the hell is wrong with you, you son of a bitch... Why the hell are you doing this!"
Dan Woosung wiped away Cheol Myungho's tears with the tip of the club and replied.
"Why are you acting like this is sudden? Between us... if someone hits, the other takes the beating. Wasn't that how we were? Now, where's the key?"
Cheol Myungho nodded as if he understood, then screamed back defiantly.
"Ah! That part's fair! But I still can't give you the key! Can't I give you something else instead?"
Only then did Dan Woosung release Cheol Myungho's ruined left hand and looked him in the eye.
"Then for now…"
"Yeah?"
"Give me your right hand."
At that, Cheol Myungho's expression hardened, and he clenched his teeth.
The two locked eyes.
As memories surged up, past events flashed before them.
Cheol Myungho nodded a few times. He had bullied and extorted Dan Woosung so much that it wasn't strange for the First Young Master to turn out this way.
Lifting his trembling left hand, Cheol Myungho spoke calmly.
"Buddy, how about we call it even at fifty thousand nyang. I need to make a living too. My left hand's ruined, so give me a break. Sure, I did hit you back then, but that was when we were kids. Hell, you're not even crippled or anything now, are you? You bastard, isn't this a bit much all of a sudden?"
Dan Woosung replied.
"Myungho, are you acting like this because you think I can't bring myself to kill someone?"
Their conversation was still within the bounds of "friends."
Cheol Myungho nodded.
"You know me well. I'm saying this because I don't think you'll actually kill me. You're a good guy. Do you know how frustratingly soft and gullible you used to be? Still, I'm glad you've become more of a man. Damn, kid. Congrats. You've grown up."
Then Cheol Myungho addressed the now-conscious Twin Bo brothers.
"Hey, show some respect. From now on, treat him like an older brother. Congratulate him too. He's changed."
Surprisingly, the Twin Bo brothers looked at Dan Woosung without much emotion and bowed their heads.
"Congratulations, older brother."
"Congrats, older brother. You've become stronger."
Dan Woosung looked at them and said,
"Myungbo, Jinbo."
"Yes, older brother."
"When I form a sworn brotherhood, it's for life. You okay with that?"
The Twin Bo brothers stared quietly at Dan Woosung, then glanced at Cheol Myungho as if seeking permission. When Cheol Myungho gave a nod, they made their pledge to Dan Woosung.
"Yes, from now on, we'll serve you as our elder brother."
Dan Woosung smiled in response.
"Then it's settled. You two, wait outside."
Cheol Myungho sensed something was going wrong, but he couldn't stop Dan Woosung's command. The Twin Bo brothers stood and silently walked out.
Only then did Dan Woosung turn to Cheol Myungho with a strange expression.
Cheol Myungho glanced at the iron door the twins had exited, then looked back at Dan Woosung's face. Finally, he understood Dan Woosung's intention.
Cheol Myungho cursed at him.
"You fucking bastard!"
Honestly, even if he lost all the money in this damned gambling den, he could rebuild everything as long as he had the Twin Bo brothers. Only now did he realize that the First Young Master hadn't come for the money, but to take the Twin Bo brothers. His mental slaves, more precious than gold.
Dan Woosung spoke.
"Myungho, you used those naive guys like tools. A man shouldn't do that. I'll teach and raise them properly from now on."
With the Fist King guiding them, the Twin Bo brothers could become dozens, even hundreds of times stronger than they were now. They could be placed in the guard division, or serve as personal bodyguards. Either way, it was a far better life than doing evil under Cheol Myungho.
Cheol Myungho asked in a cold tone.
"...What the hell are you doing? Just take the money. You crazy bastard. Just kill me already. My hand's ruined, and without the Twin Bo brothers, I'll get beaten to death wherever I go."
Dan Woosung replied as if to resume where they left off.
"What's with the whining from Poison Fox? That's your problem. Now give me your right hand."
Cheol Myungho, jaw clenched, blinked slowly. His demeanor clearly said: even if he died, he wouldn't give up his right hand. So Dan Woosung picked up the club and began beating him again.
He had completely misjudged the man.
Dan Woosung crushed Cheol Myungho's shoulder, side, wrist, and right hand, then stood and shoved the desk aside roughly with his left hand.
Grabbing Cheol Myungho by the collar, Dan Woosung slammed him to the ground.
Cheol Myungho screamed.
"...Just kill me!"
Dan Woosung paused mid-swing and looked down at him.
"Kill you?"
Cheol Myungho, eyes burning with fury, shouted back.
"Kill me, you son of a bitch!"
Dan Woosung nodded.
"Alright. You've suffered enough."
He grabbed Cheol Myungho by the hair and brought the club down.
Thwack! As Cheol Myungho's forehead split open, Dan Woosung raised the club again in the same motion.
Having been struck in the head, Cheol Myungho now truly believed Dan Woosung meant to kill him. And indeed, Dan Woosung intended to beat him to death right then and there.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
As Cheol Myungho mumbled something mid-beating, Dan Woosung responded.
"I can't hear you..."
Just before losing consciousness, his face covered in blood, Cheol Myungho spoke.
"The key, Myeongbo has it…"
Dan Woosung leaned in close to his ear and asked,
"…Did you say you want me to kill you?"
"No, I said spare me."
Dan Woosung tossed the club aside, then stared into Cheol Myungho's eyes and said,
"Myungho, is that really the tone of someone asking to be spared?"
Cheol Myungho replied,
"What, you want me to use honorifics between friends, you bastard?"
How far was the distance between the word "friend" as used by the lifelong scumbags, and how Cheol Myungho used it? It was something even Dan Woosung couldn't answer. At Cheol Myungho's unwavering defiance, Dan Woosung laughed like a gust of air had entered his lungs.
As Dan Woosung laughed, Cheol Myungho, dyed in blood, also bared his teeth and laughed, as if to show he was the ultimate product of life at rock bottom.
In many ways, he truly was an extraordinary Poison Fox.
Finally, Cheol Myungho softened his tone a bit and begged for his life.
"Spare me, will you? This Poison Fox concedes."
Dan Woosung looked toward the door and called out,
"Twin Bo, open the door."
Clank—as the door opened, the Twin Bo brothers and a startled gatekeeper stepped inside. The gatekeeper mumbled as he looked at blood-soaked Cheol Myungho.
"What in the world happened here, Elder brother…"
Dan Woosung looked to the Twin Bo brothers and said,
"Cheol Myungho admits defeat. Hear it from him directly."
Yuk Myeongbo, for once looking genuinely flustered, asked Cheol Myungho,
"Elder brother, did you lose?"
Yuk Jinbo echoed the same question.
"Did you really lose?"
Even after watching him get beaten to a pulp, they still had to confirm it with Cheol Myungho himself.
That's just how much of a Poison Fox he was, and those two were truly his mental slaves.
Cheol Myungho looked at the Twin Bo brothers, whom he had used like dogs. He once believed only he could control these two, but somehow, that no longer felt true. Somehow, a part of him felt that they would be better off under the far stronger First Young Master.
Cheol Myungho sighed, then answered the question from the Twin Bo brothers.
"Yeah, I lost. From now on, serve Jin-Eon as your Elder brother."
His eyes welled up with tears. He felt more humiliated than if he had been robbed of all his money.
Yuk Myeongbo and Yuk Jinbo looked at each other, then answered Cheol Myungho.
"Yes, understood."
"Thanks for everything until now."
Their tone was cold and emotionless, and Cheol Myungho looked at them in shock.
Dan Woosung spoke to the Twin Bo brothers.
"Bring everything out of the safe and pile it on the desk. And you."
Dan Woosung turned to the fat gatekeeper. The fat man flinched and responded.
"Yes?"
"Carry Myungho and take him to a physician."
"I don't have any money, though?"
"The stuff on the floor isn't money?"
Grunting under his heavy frame as he picked up the cash, the fat man got to work. Dan Woosung added,
"Lose some weight, you bastard."
"Yes, sir."
Cheol Myungho, staggering to his feet, leaned against the wall and said to Dan Woosung,
"What do you mean, 'carry me'? I can walk. But hey, aren't you giving me any severance pay?"
A statement worthy of the world's number one Poison Fox—no exaggeration.
Asked with a completely straight face, Dan Woosung replied.
"Get lost, you bastard. As if Poison Fox only hid money in this one place. Go see the physician, and then shut this place down. If I come back and see it still running, I'll burn it down."
"You cold-hearted son of a bitch, what happened to you?"
Cheol Myungho sighed, then let the gatekeeper support him as he stumbled out. He remained Poison Fox to the end. Even after being humiliated like that, he didn't seem pathetic. That, too, was a kind of talent.
With arms folded, Dan Woosung looked at the Twin Bo brothers. Without saying a word, one of them opened the safe while the other righted the overturned desk and started tidying the room. They were the type who simply did what they were told, without complaint. Then, as if exchanging a silent signal, the two looked at each other and simultaneously stopped moving, turning to face Dan Woosung.
Yuk Myeongbo and Yuk Jinbo spoke in unison.
"Elder brother."
Dan Woosung replied.
"What is it?"
Yuk Myeongbo said,
"Thank you for sparing Myungho."
Yuk Jinbo echoed,
"Thank you for sparing him."
Dan Woosung stared at them, surprised, then slowly nodded.
These weren't slaves, nor were they serving Cheol Myungho out of fear. They were simply men, firm and heavy like solid iron.
Even these two had expressions. With subtle shifts like tiny ripples, they looked into Dan Woosung's eyes for a moment, then silently resumed their work.
Dan Woosung figured that was probably their version of a smile.
Even for a man known as the Fist King, understanding another person's heart wasn't easy.
It was harder than mastering martial arts.