Makgae, who had left the vagrant village with his fists clenched, swallowed his anger all day and headed to the newly established market street at the east gate in the evening.

"Damn it..."

He had nowhere else to go.

He would be treated as the youngest wherever he went, and there was no way he, who had been the leader of a group, could endure such poor treatment.

Grind.

"That Cheonyeong son of a bitch."

A desire for revenge burned in his heart.

On the day he was defeated by Cheonyeong, Makgae couldn't sleep.

Then he woke up at dawn when everyone was asleep.

He even thought about really killing him.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Because of fear.

What if he wakes up?

After hesitating several times, he ended up quietly leaving the gang.

The next day, he saw the guys who had woken up earlier than usual calling Cheonyeong their leader, kneeling down, and clinging to him, crying.

Damn bastards...

How could the world be like that?

Who was it that they had survived without being eaten by other gangs all this time...

It was all possible because he was there.

Not even knowing that, they stuck to Cheonyeong's side without a single act of rebellion.

He watched the next day, and the day after that.

The sight of them running towards the mountain...

What the hell were they doing, going to the mountain without even begging?

He was curious, but he couldn't bring himself to follow.

For fear of being caught by Cheonyeong and getting beaten again.

He couldn't shake off the fear.

The children who returned in the evening were exhausted.

They fell asleep without even thinking about eating, wondering what they were doing in the mountains.

And at some point, the children were genuinely following Cheonyeong.

Like a close friend, not a leader.

It was a completely different sight from when he was there.

What is it?

Why?

How did he suddenly gain such power?

Could he have used some kind of trick?

Then he suddenly felt sorry for his situation. It was all because of that bastard, so he got a piece of metal with the intention of just killing him, and sharpened it all day.

But he saw the scene of Hwangsam being stomped on.

He felt as if he was the one being stomped on, and his fear of him grew more than his thought of killing him.

His nose, which hadn't healed from being hit by him, still throbbed.

His sharp nose was the only thing he had going for him...

Just you wait, I'll definitely get my revenge.

But his own strength is not enough.

He had watched for several days, but he didn't feel confident that he could beat Cheonyeong. Also, even if he did win, it seemed unlikely that the children would take his side now.

That was the reason he came to the east gate.

To ask for help from the Dongmun gang, Ucheol...

No matter how great Cheonyeong is, he can't beat Ucheol, who is at the top of the vagrant gangs.

He's just a kid, no matter how good he is.

How could he beat the Ucheol gang, which is made up of adults?

He had been embezzling the money the children had begged for and paying it as tribute, so he wouldn't be coldly cast aside.

If he just gets his position as leader back, he'll promise to pay even more tribute in the future...

"Huh? You... are you Makgae?"

As he entered the vagrant village outside the east gate, one of the Ucheol gang members tilted his head at the sight of Makgae.

"Brother Wangdeok, how have you been?"

"Oh, it is Makgae. But... your face?"

"It just happened..."

"It just happened?"

"More importantly, where is Brother Ucheol?"

"Why the big brother? It's not tribute day yet."

"I have something to tell him."

"Hmm, follow me."

"Yes."

Wangdeok, who he knew from before, took Makgae deep into the vagrant village.

"Big brother."

"What is it?"

"Makgae is here."

Ucheol, who was drinking cheap white liquor with his companions by the bonfire, tilted his head at the sight of Makgae next to Wangdeok.

"Makgae?"

He must have found the sight of him with a bandage wrapped around his face strange.

"Brother!"

Makgae, who ran in front of Ucheol, prostrated himself and bowed.

"You... what happened to your face?"

"Brother, sob."

Did his sorrow well up?

At those words, which were neither comfort nor pity, Makgae shed tears.

"You bastard, why are you crying?"

"Sob sob."

"Stop it and come sit here."

"...Yes. Brother."

Makgae, who wiped his tears with his sleeve, approached and sat where Ucheol had gestured.

The tears stung the wound under the bandage, but Makgae couldn't grimace.

"It looks like something happened. Why? Did you get beaten by another gang?"

"It wasn't another gang."

"What?"

"I... lost my position as leader to a guy under me."

"You lost your position as leader?"

"Yes, brother. To some beggar-like bastard... I just."

Makgae said, holding back his surging tears.

"Hmm... that's strange. Was there a guy in your gang stronger than you?"

"That's..."

Makgae poured out the past events like a torrent of resentment.

Ucheol, who was listening to that resentful voice, frowned.

"Hmm, this is troublesome."

"Right? That guy probably has no intention of paying tribute. He's a reckless fool who doesn't know his place."

"Hmm..."

At Makgae's plea, which he saw as an opportunity, Ucheol frowned.

"Brother! Please help me. If you just help me, I'll pay double the tribute."

Ucheol looked down at Makgae, who was bowing his head to the ground.

The Makgae gang was made up of children under the age of thirteen who had flowed in from all over.

To Ucheol, they were chicks in a chicken coop.

The tribute Makgae paid every month?

That kind of petty cash wasn't the problem.

It was intentional. To send the children of that age who came here under Makgae's management.

But someone other than Makgae became the leader?

That could happen.

But there would be no one more suitable than the stupid Makgae.

For the stability of the business Ucheol was secretly running, Makgae had to be the leader.

"Troublesome, very troublesome."

At Ucheol's words, a spark of hope ignited in the eyes of the prostrated Makgae.

"Right, he's a very troublesome guy. Brother, please help me."

It wasn't because of the begging Makgae.

For the sake of the customer who always wanted a child under the age of thirteen... and for his own sake.

"Alright, I'll help you."

"Yes? Really?"

At Ucheol's words, Makgae shot his head up.

"Of course I have to help. This is a matter of the system."

"..."

"If you become a leader, you should naturally visit the adults and greet them."

"Of course! Of course. He's a very ill-mannered guy."

"I can't just leave him be."

However, he couldn't step in himself.

His involvement in the vagrant village's hierarchy battle would not look good in the eyes of other gangs. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

There are strict rules on the streets.

If a rumor spread that he became the leader with Ucheol's backing... the Bukmun gang, which was competing with him, would not stand by.

So, he had no choice but to send a proxy.

Ucheol, who had made his decision, looked at Wangdeok.

"Wangdeok."

"Yes, brother."

"Who's near the Makgae gang?"

"...Cheongseo is there."

"Cheongseo?"

"Yes. He has about ten people with him... he's unusually vicious."

"Good. A guy like that."

"Shall I send him?"

"Should we disturb the vagrants' sleeping quarters?"

"Then I'll send him in the morning."

"Hmm. That Cheonyeong guy, an arm should be enough."

"I understand."

Ucheol, who had given the order to Wangdeok, looked at Makgae and said.

"Makgae."

"Yes, brother."

"You know what you have to do, right?"

"Yes?"

"If the Cheongseo gang attacks your former gang and breaks the new leader's arm..."

Makgae, who inferred the answer from Ucheol's words, nodded with a sinister smile.

Negotiation.

If Cheonyeong is broken and useless, Makgae will step in, negotiate with Cheongseo, and regain his position as leader.

Since Ucheol would have already laid the groundwork...

"I understand. Brother."

"I don't know anything about it."

"Of course."

"Good. Then... have a drink and go. Your stomach must have been very upset after losing your position as leader."

"Thank you. Brother! I will never forget your grace."

"Well, you should. If you forget grace, you're a son of a bitch."

Ucheol smiled, revealing his yellow teeth, and filled the cup Makgae received with both hands with liquor.

* * *

The vagrant village before sunrise.

"What? Diarrhea?"

"Yeah. That Baekgang kid, I warned him so many times not to eat too much..."

At the words of Yongcheon, who was scratching his head, Cheonyeong grimaced as he looked at Baekgang lying on the straw mat.

He had been going in and out of the straw mat all night.

He must have eaten too much grass the day before.

"What should we do?"

"What do you mean, what should we do? If he's sick, he should rest. It's not like he's faking it."

"Right?"

"Haa, what can we do? I'll have to go to the mountain and dig up some plantain to feed him."

"I'll look for that."

"Alright."

Cheonyeong nodded and looked at the children who were preparing to run.

"You guys keep this in mind too, even good medicine can become poison if you take too much. Just eat enough to soothe your hunger."

"...That's true, but the training is so tough, I'm hungry."

"Enduring hunger is also training."

"Uh huh."

At Cheonyeong's firm words, the children answered dejectedly.

Haa, you carefree bastards.

I can't help it.

They've been eating only grass for several days already.

Cheonyeong, who had been training as an assassin for a long time, could endure with just a moderate amount of grass and his mental strength, but the children were different.

Even if it was begging, it's hard to replace the grains they had been eating with grass.

A person is not a cow...

I guess I'll just watch the kids' training today and catch a few rabbits to grease their stomachs.

The training must be hard, but they're following along admirably.

"Baekgang."

"Yeah, captain..."

As Cheonyeong called, Baekgang tried to get up, lifting the straw mat.

His hands were trembling so much from how much he had pooped...

"It's okay, don't get up. Lie down."

"But..."

"I said it's okay."

"Uh huh."

"You can endure it alone, right?"

"Yeah."

"You have an upset stomach, so you can't eat even if there's food, but just endure it for a little while. I'll get some medicinal herbs to cure your upset stomach."

"I will. I'm sorry, captain. I don't want to miss training either..."

Was it because he saw Hwangsam getting beaten for waking up late the day before?

His eyes were full of fear.

Do you really think I would... beat up a patient?

Pat pat.

Cheonyeong patted Baekgang's body as if to comfort him, and got up.

"Well, then shall we go?"

"Yeah!"

"Keep this in mind! You know what happens if you're last, right?"

"Yeah!"

At Cheonyeong's words, the children answered energetically.

The daily run.

The last place gets double the horse stance time.

The eyes of the children who had experienced the pain of their limbs feeling like they would fall off shone with enthusiasm.

"Run!"

"Yaaaaaaay!"

With a shout, the children began to run towards the mountain with all their might.

It hadn't been long, but was it because they had learned the breathing method?

They run quite well.

The training was worth it.

Cheonyeong, who was looking at Baekgang with pity, took a deep breath and took his stance in the direction the children had gone.

"Well, then shall I go too!"

Thump!

With a powerful stomp of his foot, the thirteen-year-old Cheonyeong's body shot forward, and in an instant, he overtook the children who had gone ahead.

"Damn it! Why is he so fast?"

"Chase him! We don't know what he'll do next!"

The running children's mouths dropped open at the sight of Cheonyeong passing them in an instant, and they put in more effort not to fall behind.

Do you think you can catch up to me?

Me, who has already started to have the Samyang true ki firmly established in my dantian, and has even learned lightness skill?

You guys, no matter how much I use only thirty percent of my strength to match your pace, it's impossible...

"Aaaaaaaargh!"

Yongcheon is doing the impossible.

His face is red, and his veins are bulging as he closely follows behind.

This bastard is faster than a dog.

How long has it been since he started training, to catch up to me who is using internal energy with just the strength of his body.

(End of Chapter)