"I didn't spend the past three years just fooling around.
The only thing I could do was train in martial arts, and because I had to grow stronger, I trained with grim determination.
I was only average in talent, so I couldn't quite reach the level of top-tier experts, but even so, I reached a level far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Even if only slightly, the martial experience I accumulated in my past life as a bodyguard helped me make faster progress.
'You… you son of a…!'
'Hey, you three. Say my name. Do that, and I'll let you off.'
Hearing my demand, they trembled as if unable to believe the reality in front of them.
It seemed they'd finally realized they were no match for me.
The more cowardly someone is, the more quickly they can sense a difference in strength.
'Aaaaagh!'
'Try to run, and I'll beat you even harder.'
As one of them screamed and tried to flee, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the ground in an instant.
There was no mercy in my hands.
His face hit the floor first, breaking his nose and sending a few teeth flying.
It all happened so fast, he must have immediately understood the overwhelming difference in power.
'Say it.'
The once-cruel rural bullies now looked pale as ghosts.
They glanced at each other nervously but kept their mouths shut for a long time.
It finally dawned on me that they didn't actually know my real name.
'I've held onto the trauma of being bullied by these bastards for nearly fifty years… and they didn't even know my name?'
Unbelievable.
To them, "Cow Dung" was just some convenient punching bag to mess with. Nothing more.
I felt something boiling up inside me and spoke through gritted teeth:
'Ha! This is great. Really great!'
'Wh-what the hell are you talking about?!'
'I almost felt sorry for you bastards—but nope! Definitely not!'
'What?!'
I smirked.
'Then die, you fuckers.'
Crack.
Splat.
Moments later, the men's necks snapped, and their ribcages collapsed, leaving them unable to breathe.
"Guh-ack!"
"Ugh!"
I kicked the heads of the unconscious men like they were iron balls—over and over—until they died.
Blood and brain matter burst out and began to spread across the floor.
It only took a few seconds to snuff out the lives of five or six people.
Finally, I smashed one last guy's skull with such force that I felt his soft bone give way under the impact.
"Ahahahaha!!"
After carrying out a vengeance I'd held onto for half a century, a strange mix of hollowness and extreme ecstasy surged up inside me.
My hands trembled from the sheer pleasure.
I did it!
I killed those sons of bitches!
"Revenge is meaningless?"
Bullshit.
That's just something said by people who've never actually done it.
I clenched my teeth hard.
My whole body was burning with bloodlust.
I wanted to tear those who tormented me apart, scatter their guts across the ground.
The memory came rushing back, clear as if it had happened yesterday:
Dragged to a corner and beaten with clubs for over an hour,
My pants stripped, strung up like a dog, humiliated and tortured…
Even though decades had passed, the hatred was still fresh.
Revenge is necessary.
I swore that this would be the guiding principle of my life from now on.
After calming down a bit, I started walking toward the village chief's house.
It must have been about five li (roughly 2 km) along a mountain path when I spotted the chief's private residence—a modest house at the edge of a tiny village.
I sensed very little human presence, which told me most people were away.
Creak.
As I pushed open the front door and stepped inside, I saw the chief's concubine, Madam Seo.
She was carrying water, and when she spotted me, her face lit up in shock.
Before she could scream, I closed the distance and struck a pressure point to silence her.
"...uh… uhh…"
Unable to speak, she flailed, trying to run away.
But I gently grabbed her arm, restrained her without hurting her, and seated her in front of the threshold.
Then I said coldly:
"You're a victim of the village chief, too, so I have no desire to harm you. But do not interfere with what I'm about to do.
If you try to stop me… your child's life…"
She had a three-year-old son.
After becoming the chief's concubine, she bore his child, but she was shunned by both his legal wife and legitimate children.
"If you understand, nod. I'll unblock your pressure point—but don't scream."
When Madam Seo nodded, I released her pressure point. She coughed a few times, then looked at me with frightened eyes and spoke:
"Baek Mongma… What terrifying thing are you doing? I heard you entered the martial world, but showing up like this without a word—it's not right."
A lecture? I replied flatly:
"You and I have no grudge. You didn't do anything kind to me while I was rotting away in the stable, but you didn't torment me either. If you stay quiet, you and your child won't be harmed. So relax."
"W-what are you planning to do? Don't tell me… the village chief…"
As her voice trembled, I cut her off coldly:
"Don't worry. I won't kill him. I just came back to the village to take care of something. Don't make things complicated—just sit tight."
"Where is the village chief now?"
"…He went to another village to collect tenant rent."
She seemed to understand the situation. Realizing that interfering would only bring harm to herself, she quickly chose to stay out of it.
"When will he be back?"
"In about an hour… around sunset."
Perfect timing. I nodded.
"What about his wife and Geum Man-jae?"
"The wife is in the main house… and Geum Man-jae is staying at the boarding school."
"Staying at school, my ass… This time of day, he's probably at Hongru, rolling around with some woman."
I was sure of it. Back when I lived like a servant, I'd been ordered to deliver food and spending money to Geum Man-jae at Hongru.
At the time, he was tangled up with a woman, reeking of lust and decadence.
Though I spoke with a cold sneer, Madam Seo's expression didn't change much.
Maybe she already knew that Geum Man-jae had become a degenerate—no longer studying, lost in wine and women.
Looking at her, I felt a hint of bitterness.
"She was the daughter of a poor but noble household, sold off like a commodity to become the chief's concubine.
She used to be known for her beauty and purity… But the world wears everyone down eventually."
Even now, she was so beautiful that it was hard to believe she was in her early to mid-thirties.
She was a woman who clearly did not belong with the village chief, that pot-bellied, hairy brute.
I no longer felt like saying anything more to her, so I simply got to the point:
"I'm going to seal your pressure point now and take care of my business. You won't be able to move. No matter what you hear outside, don't do anything.
If you stay quiet, you'll be fine."
Tap.
With a precise strike, I sealed her acupuncture point, paralyzing her.
Then I left her in a room.
She looked terrified—but I knew she had clearly understood what I said.
It was etched in my mind.
I walked into the inner quarters and headed straight to the village chief's main wife.
She was lounging lazily, playing string games with her fingers. When she saw me, her expression turned to shock, then rage.
"You little shit—Cow Dung! How dare you barge into my house like this!"
She had no grasp of the situation.
"Be quiet—unless you want to die."
"Wh-what did you say…?"
Thwack.
I threw the dagger I had concealed in my robe—it embedded itself into the pillar right beside her face.
She immediately shut her mouth.
She had realized from the killing intent radiating off me that this wasn't some bluff.
Her eyes darted around in fear. She seemed to sense instinctively that screaming would only lead to her death.
Trembling, she asked:
"Wh-what do you want? If it's money, I can give you as much as—"
"Shut up. I didn't come here to chit-chat with some spiteful old hag like you."
I growled, then continued coldly:
"Try any funny business, and today becomes the last day for your whole damn family."
"..."
I struck her pressure point and stuffed her into a corner.
Then I quickly subdued the house servants wandering about and shoved them into a room as well.
Since my internal energy wasn't strong enough to keep them sealed for long, they'd probably be able to move again in an hour or two.
Then I calmly sat down in the master bedroom and leaned against the wall.
Moments later, the man I'd been waiting for arrived—right on schedule.
The village chief, noticing something strange about the silent house, cautiously made his way toward the inner quarters.
When he opened the bedroom door, what he saw was me—leaning against the wall, a spear resting at my side, staring him down.
"...!!"
"Yo. Chief. Long time no see."
He looked like he might faint on the spot, his face twisted in sheer shock.
But after a moment, he managed to collect himself and stood in place, trying to act composed.
Then he said:
"So… you came back after all…"
"Yeah, I came back. Didn't you expect this might happen?"
The chief shut his mouth tightly, glancing around with uneasy, darting eyes.
I stared down the village chief and spoke:
"Why don't you sit down first? We've got some things to talk about."
"...Fine."
The chief hesitated, then slowly took a seat.
Even in this tense moment, he remained composed—just like the supreme leader of this rotten family and the tyrant of this backwater village should.
I studied him for a while, then began:
"You knew I held a grudge against this village and this family… and yet you still sent me out into the world.
If you've got anything to say for yourself, now's the time."
"…Yes. You're right. I knew this would happen… since three years ago."
The village chief let out a long, faint sigh before continuing:
"It really seems you've become a top-tier martial artist from Cheongryong Martial Academy… There was chaos in the lower village—was that your doing too?"
"Who knows? That's the first I've heard of it,"
I replied with a mocking smile.
"The moment I stepped back into this house, I wanted to kill every last one of you—slaughter the whole damn family, not leave even a hen alive.
Especially you, village chief. You, I wanted to tear limb from limb."
"Ugh…"
"…But I held back. I decided I'd talk to you first.
Because I want to know something.
You knew what would happen if I ever got out—so why did you let me go three years ago?"
Why had he sent me out, knowing I'd likely come back for revenge?
He wasn't an idiot. He had to have known what kind of monster he'd helped unleash.
And yet, he'd handed me travel money and personally sent me off to the Cheongryong Martial Academy.
It didn't make sense.
"Still… thank you for not spilling blood in my house."
"Forget that. Just answer me—what were you thinking?"
"I believed in you."
What the hell was he saying?
I looked him in the eye, confused. He was tense, and his voice trembled slightly as he continued:
"I'm sorry our family treated you so horribly.
But I've always felt guilt toward your parents…
I wanted to eventually set you free.
Making you live like a servant was my way of preparing you for independence—to make sure you could survive on your own."
I bared my teeth in a twisted grin.
The veins in my forearm, wrapped around my spear, bulged with rage.
"Ha… That's one hell of a story you're telling.
So having me live like a dog in the stable, shoveling cow shit, was all part of the plan, huh?"
"And this, too—sending me off to Cheongryong Martial Academy, only after trying to bury me somewhere useless?"
"T-that's… that's not what I…"
I spoke firmly:
"You never expected me to get accepted into the Cheongryong Martial Academy in the first place.
You probably figured I'd die a meaningless death somewhere, and that would be the end of it.
You never imagined I'd come back like this, did you?"
The village chief fumbled for words, lips trembling, before lowering his head.
"I'm sorry! I was selfish… I never thought I treated you that badly…"
"Spare me…"
"Please… I'm begging you… don't kill me…"
The chief must have finally decided to gamble with his pride—he laid his feelings bare.
And hearing those pathetic words only sent the rage inside me boiling over.
The moment he knelt and began begging, I truly felt the urge to bash his skull in right then and there.
But I held back.
If I killed him now, I'd be no different from him.
Suppressing my murderous intent, I said:
"Heh… If you hadn't taken me in, I probably would've starved to death somewhere as a homeless orphan, or ended up as a worthless beggar.
You did feed me, let me survive, and even sent me to Cheongryong Martial Academy.
I'll count that as a kind of debt, sure."
The chief looked up at me with anxious eyes.
I gave him a cold smile and continued:
"But that doesn't mean I'm letting the rest slide.
For all the material and emotional damage I've suffered… you're going to compensate me."
"What… What do you want?"
"Give me five hundred nyang of silver."
The chief's eyes flew wide open.
Five hundred nyang of silver!
That was more than half his total wealth.
Even though he was a high-earning village chief, in the end he was still just that—a rural village official, with limited means.
He stammered desperately:
"P-please… If I lose all my wealth, the whole village will starve.
I've been paying tributes to the Maehwa Escort Agency just to keep our economy running—please, that much at least…"
"Don't give me that crap. I'm talking about your personal stash."
The chief looked like he'd been struck by lightning.
"W-what?"
"I know there's a silver vault hidden somewhere in this house."
"N-no… There's no such thing—"
My spear moved in a flash, stopping right at the tip of the chief's nose.
Had it moved even a hair further, it would have split his forehead open, revealing his brains.
The Thunderbolt Eight-Form Spearmanship wasn't a perfect fit for my personality, but it was a top-tier spear technique, and I had long since reached mastery with it.
"Do you really want to die?"
"Ugh…!! H-how did you even find out?!"
"Obviously," I smirked.
"I heard it from your son—Geum Man-jae."
In my previous life, back when I worked in this house like a servant, there was a night when Geum Man-jae got drunk and started babbling nonsense.
He had once boasted that his father—the village chief—had amassed a fortune and hidden it away in a secret silver vault.
He even bragged that it held far more than several hundred nyang worth of silver.
At the time, I had been tempted to steal it and run, but only the chief knew the vault's exact location, so I had left empty-handed.
After a moment of silence, the chief slowly started to move, keeping me in sight as he turned his back and led me toward his private room.
Then, with cautious hands, he pressed a certain spot on the wall.
To my surprise, a clunking sound echoed, and a hidden door in the wall quietly opened.