‘A mere dog would find amusement in my claim of being a noble swordsman. That is not who I am.’
Looking at this old man, I held back on what I wanted to say. It’d probably be unwise to reveal my innermost thoughts to the man affiliated with the Three Disasters.
And No Shin says,
“Master, what of the Sect Leader?”
“What kind of man could kill so many people despite being weaker than the Cult Leader? It was unexpected news for me. If you aren’t a righteous swordsman, then I would think you are insane.”
“Right.”
My mouth opens as soon as I hear his words.
“I am not a righteous swordsman.”
I wait for him to speak back, but he just nods.
“Then let us agree to it.”
At that moment, the Beggar’s Union Leader and No Shin look at each other and smile.
“Hahaha.”
No Shin chuckles and slaps his knee.
“Hahaha… even the Sect Leader isn’t with a sane mind.”
Right then, the door to the guest house opens up and a man who looks like the elder of the Beggar’s Union speaks in a blunt tone.
“Leader, the food prepared by Low-Down Sect is done.”
The leader waves his hand.
“I understand. Go ahead and eat.”
“Yes.”
I think that No Shin and the leader make a good match. While a beggar can’t be classified as anything else but a beggar, because of their individual strengths, they have a different nature making them stand out from the others.
“Leader.”
“Hm?”
“How did you get so strong?”
To which the leader smiles.
“You are quite blunt.”
“Something like that.”
The guy has a smug expression as if he is enjoying this.
“Seems like meat is being cooked. Bring it now. Just by the smell I can tell that this isn’t made by an ordinary chef. What do you think?”
No Shin sniffs the air.
“Just the right amount of seasoning. Not too much.”
I went to the kitchen to see if there were any pork bones left and fortunately around 6 or 7 of them were left. Thinking it would be difficult to fool them with their keen sense of smell, I set down the pork bone soup for the two and then went into the kitchen to get some alcohol.
The Beggar’s Union Leader looks shocked.
“What is this?”
“Pork bone.”
“I know it is pork bone, does it not have a name?”
“Just pork bone. Does it really need a name? To put it bluntly, it can be called the pork bone of Ilyang County.”
No Shin nods.
“Right. Let us eat, master.”
While the two ate, I poured alcohol.
Overall, it was difficult to figure out how the Beggar’s Union Leader got so strong. While I am pondering my thoughts, he suddenly speaks while chewing on the pork bone.
“…Sect Leader, you are stranger than me. It isn’t much because you will be stronger when you get old like me.”
No Shin tears the meat off the bone as he says,
“It’s actually an amazing story. Very few people know. Please listen, Sect Leader. Pork ribs don’t taste this good usually. Master.”
I look at the two with my arms crossed. Somehow, I can’t help but think that if it wasn’t for the pork bone, I wouldn’t have gotten to hear the story at all.
Who would have thought that the pork bone would save Jang Deuk-soo and make a strong man like this old man speak to me.
If there was a food better in quality than a pill, it had to be this.
The Beggar’s Union Leader puts down the bone he sucked on, and then grabs another.
“Once upon a time, I fell in love with a coin. At that time, it was as if someone had hit me.”
No Shin interjects,
“Divine Demon’s jade chain is what hit you.”
“That one… my whole body ached, and it felt so cold. It was the first time I felt such coldness. At the brink of death, it was Elder Yong who helped me.”
The leader went on placing the pig bone in a bowl.
“Elder Yuk, Elder Hong and all eight of them would stick with me. In the end, because of that, everyone helped me cultivate and the disciples of the elders clung around. Sahyungs were around. After hearing the news, the warriors of the Beggars Union came and put their hands on my back. Everyone nearly died because of me. The elders put their hands on my back, and the others put their hands on the elders.”
No Shin nodded as if this was an incident he hadn’t experienced.
“I heard it was amazing.”
“I didn’t know because I wasn’t in the right state of mind, but I was told that a total of 38 warriors joined in.”
“Right.”
“The jade chain palm is known to have this terrible qi which I hadn’t experienced until that point, so my body was turning stiff. When it felt like I was about to run out of breath, I could feel this warmth. The Beggar’s Union warriors were channeling their qi into my veins to not let me freeze. I wasn’t sure how long this went on for. Eventually I came to my senses and was told to breathe. And at some point during this forced flow of qi, I ended up changing.”
The leader looks at me.
“Since then, the 38 warriors of the Beggars Union suffered internal injuries because of me. Maybe it is because they didn’t have enough time to recover, but at that time, I was just a county leader.”
It meant he was the head of the branch close to Ilyang County.
No Shin, who listened, chimes in,
“Speak of what happened later.”
Beggars Union Leader nods.
“Thanks to the elders and sahyungs, I had a strange experience and then my martial arts skills grew rapidly. Eventually, I reached a level where I could personally treat the internal injuries of those who helped me. I used to feel a great sense of joy whenever I healed their internal wounds. However, when I tried to help them, I realized something about how internal qi worked. In fact, after that, I couldn’t help but think that no one could rival me in this field. Of course, after meeting the Cult Leader and Heavenly Evil, my thoughts shattered.”
His story was shocking but the fact that his pride was broken is what shocks me. And he continues,
“Everyone has a story when they grow up so quickly.”
Intrigued, I ask,
“At the time, you were just a county leader. How did you end up battling someone as powerful as the Divine Demon?”
“You know Divine Demon? There is no way you would be familiar with such an old warrior.”
“I don’t know, but his title is quite known…”
He laughs out loud.
“Aren’t we all men who aren’t intimidated by the titles of our opponents?”
“Right.”
“Divine Demon was much stronger than I was back then. What could I have done?”
“Look for an opportunity and then run.”
“What If the opponent had better footwork?”
I provided the best advice I could.
“Jump into a river.”
“What if they are skilled in that too?”
“Run into a forest.”
“And next?”
“Run till you starve till death.”
“Hahaha”
Both of them laugh out loud at the same time. And No Shin asks me,
“Sect Leader is slower than Master Baek Wei, what would you do if he chased you?”
“I have to hold out as long as I can and then run.”
I tell them both.
“I have the mindset of running away till the very end and then coming back, even if I need to take refuge in a dungeon.”
The leader nods.
“That is you. At that time, there were 38 of my elders around. After that, their qi merged with mine. In fact, it doesn’t seem like something that could ever happen twice. If I had to do it again, it would be impossible for me. It seems that the elders at that time had found this miraculous solution with momentary wit and determination to keep me alive. Although it wasn’t what I wanted, I became more skilled than other warriors because of this incident. After that, I trained for a long time and reached enlightenment in other areas. But in the end, I still couldn’t take down anyone important. A shame.”
I came to my senses at the word ‘shame’.
No matter how bizarre it is, I feel that he is a person of great nature. What man in the world can say that it was a shame that they could not kill the former Three Disasters? Well, we have one here.
I listen to him quietly as he says,
“Then, how did the two get stronger? How did a person like Heavenly Evil get created? Why is the Cult Leader so strong? Can I surpass those two? What do those two think of me? I searched for every possible answer and trained while taking care of my sect. Before I knew it, time had passed.”
Looking at the wrinkles on his face, I ask,
“Did you find an answer?”
To which he shakes his head.
“I couldn’t. That is what I am concerned about. Somehow, I think the Cult Leader found it. The same goes for the Heavenly Evil. Maybe he found it with his men. I have been nervous lately.”
It could be a sensitive question, but I ask honestly.
“Are you saying that considering the speed of development of their martial arts since the last fight, the two have gotten stronger?”
“One cannot know. But Kangho is a strange place. It doesn’t differentiate between good and evil. Only those who suffer fiercely are sometimes given a chance. If the Third Disaster other than me had lived a harsh life, they would have been stronger. I have been living my life in a relatively unassuming manner, but I have doubts about if this is how one should live.”
“Hmm.”
“I heard the name of a young man who was said to have been in a fight with leader Im, but later fought often with the unorthodox ones. A story of how one killed the Demonic Cult’s members. People who have suffered more than you lately are rare to appear. It means that you deserve to be strong, be it as an evil or as a righteous swordsman. Maybe this is the essence of Kangho. So, I came to see for myself what kind of man he actually is.”
The Beggar’s Union Leader laughs.
After listening to the story, No Shin looks at the bowl of the leader and says,
“Have more. Master.”
“Right.”
“May I speak to him privately?”
The leader nods and tears open more pig bones. And No Shin looks at me.
“Third Disaster says they fought two-on-one.”
I ask with a frown,
“No Shin hyung, what happened?”
To which he says,
“Heavenly Evil and master tried to kill the Cult Leader by joining hands.”
“What?”
“They failed. Afterwards, the two joined forces, but they failed, and the Cult Leader tried to kill them, and he failed too. They all hoped the fight would stop with one of them dying, but all of their attempts failed. And then the one-on-one against Heavenly Evil and Cult Leader ended in a draw. It wasn’t until only after the three were badly injured did they stop.”
I’ve never heard of such a messy fight in my entire life. In the end, doesn’t it mean that even if the two of three disasters joined together, they couldn’t kill a man? That means that three of them were the best warriors out there, and even with two, the attack strength wouldn’t be the same.
This means that the three could be considered as the Martial Arts Gods.
It was at that moment that the presence of the leader sparked a different form of interest.
It was fortunate that the members of the disasters were people like the Beggar’s Union Leader, but I sighed.
Because such a man was still worried about the two. And I look at him.
“Ah, leader.”
“Uh?”
“Nothing.”
Beggar’s Union Leader says,
“Speak. You have been honest all along, so no need to save your words.”
From the point of view as a junior I ask,
“… should I take this to mean that even if the other two join forces, they cannot be handled? This is what I wanted to ask.”
To which he nods right then,
“Right. Who the hell can handle two disasters at the same time? It is true that even if I had to try, it would be a burden. That is why I devoted myself to training. The Cult Leader and Heavenly Evil must be worried that I would join hands with either of them to take the other down. No matter how inhumane they are… wouldn’t it be the same when it comes to death? Maybe they hate the thought of defeat more than death itself.”
It was only then that I realized why they had not been exposed in Kangho.
It was as if these humans were concentrating on training with the sole thought to kill the other two.
And as he said, they do not differentiate between good and evil….
People crazier than them would be hard to find in Kangho.
I am stupid.
Deep in my heart, I held the aspiration to kill the Cult Leader, but when I think about it, the worst occurs…
It means that there may come a moment when we have to endure the joint attack of the Cult Leader and Heavenly Evil.
I open my mouth but then sigh. And No Shin says to leader,
“Are you a little taken aback when you see the Sect Leader’s expression?”
The Beggar’s Union Leader laughs out loud.
“Today was worthwhile because we threw our troubles at the young Sect Leader.”
As soon as he hears the words of leader, No Shin laughs while slapping his thigh.
In the end, I too, laughed out loud.
“Hahahaha….”
“Hahahaha”
“Hahahahaha….”
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