I washed up thoroughly.
Wearing fresh attire, getting rest, and even having the opportunity to cultivate made me feel good.
It feels like I’ve been trapped as a beggar for the past 9 years and now I’ve finally broken free.
Now, even when I appear, people don’t cover their noses and when I walk out of the guesthouse, no one nags me.
I set a table in front of the Zaha guesthouse and bring out a bunch of books.
There were several martial arts books that I’ve obtained, so I have to organize them. First, I reviewed the White Lightning Ten Dantian Arts.
Strangely there is nothing to add or remove from this, so I copy it as it is. I don’t think it’s necessary to add much more to it because it’s already a completed martial arts.
First and foremost, a simple addition would be to encase the weapon itself in the lighting qi, but this would be inefficient as it would consume too much internal qi. The person who created this martial arts used it with bare hands. It was a martial arts for Palm Fist arts.
Due to the interconnectedness of these martial arts styles, they were deemed unsuitable for sects. It is more advantageous to concentrate on individual training. Creating a martial arts technique that can be executed by a single person seemed significant.
Rather than trying to get stronger, I memorize the technique over and over again. And in the midst of it Yeon Ja-seong1 comes next to me and says,
“Sect Leader, martial arts books?”
“Right. Is there any place in the guesthouse to keep them safe?”
To which he whispers.
“Well, we created a basement as an emergency evacuation site. Shouldn’t it be safe to store them there?”
“Yeah.”
I ask while looking at him,
“What? Interested in martial arts?”
Yeon Ja-seong replies with a worried look,
“Difficult? Will it take long?”
“I can teach you if you want. It will be painful. Instead, once you start, you will have to commit to it your entire life.”
“But what if we decide to quit halfway?”
I answer while writing,
“If you lack the determination, quitting in the middle is an option. If you have the will, you can continue too. Because your enemies are continuously getting stronger than you, once you dip your feet in, there’s no going back. You’ll live a comfortable life without it. Do you still feel the need to?”
“No.”
I notice he has a secret interest in the ways of Kangho, so I tell him,
“Then don’t step in. It isn’t a place where you can survive only by learning a little bit of martial arts. If you have a good reputation, you’ll have plenty of options, even outside of the Low-Down Sect.”
He nods.
“I understand. Ah, does Sect Leader have many enemies?”
I nod.
“I have dozens of them out there. Even just by walking I make enemies.”
Yeon Ja-seong gives me a thumbs up.
“I need to work.”
“Go.”
I let out a yawn while holding the brush. I never thought copying a book would take this long. Seeing that I am feeling drowsy despite sleeping so much feels odd. Perhaps if I did this for 3 days or so, I would become known as Zaha Teacher.
That was when Deuk-soo appears and places meat soup on the table.
“Do it while you eat.”
I look at him.
He seemed busy preparing food for the beggars. Had it not been for him, it would’ve been difficult for the Low-Down to build good relations with the Beggars Union. I can’t help but think how impressive his skills really were.
He played the role of the main benefactor to the Low-Down Sect’s alliance with the Beggars Union.
After eating to my heart’s content, I finish writing.
I transcribe the sword technique too.
Come to think of it, the Martial Supreme Sword is similar to what is taught in the Kangho.
I am curious about how different it would be from the Plum Blossom Sword technique that I was trying to polish up.
Surprisingly, the sword technique begins with the fundamentals of martial arts.
Since it is a technique for dealing with heavy weapons, the instructions on how to handle them were written in great detail. There are even instructions on how to overpower your opponents.
And despite knowing Baek Wei’s intentions, I am still shocked.
‘Why did he give it to me?’
I came to the conclusion that one cannot win solely with this martial arts. I see a part that describes in detail how to pierce through armor. This is a sword technique that sacrifices defense for pure offense. Sword Demon is able to hold a certain degree of invulnerability because of his sword, making this an ideal attack-based sword technique for him.
I don’t have the heart to read further, so I remember only the description of the sword and just simply look at the words as I finish writing.
I don’t have any disciples, but I’m still thinking about how to convey these teachings to them.
With this you can kill anyone.
No.
Observe it covertly.
No, not that either.
All of a sudden, it dawns on me that I had no knack for writing or teaching. While trying to decide how to write my first sentence, I get the feeling that my hair would go white by the time I’m done so I give up.
‘This doesn’t suit me.’
It feels more comfortable to explain things verbally. Furthermore, in the case of Zaha Arts, it is impossible to explain even if I excelled in communicating. It is because the martial arts itself is strange. I think that it would be right for Master Baek Wei to write the books by himself, be it any arts. After all, the role of becoming great warriors needs to be filled by disciples.
I quickly give up.
After putting down the brush, I get up and look ahead. Cha Sung-tae and other men from the Black Rabbit Union were approaching. Looking closer, I recognize the face of Chan Sung-tae but the others are unfamiliar. And upon closer observation, I can see that Cha Sung-tae is being dragged.
Once they come closer he says,
“Sect Leader, you are here.”
“Are you hurt?”
“I am fine.”
Looking at his face I think to myself,
‘Yahh, he must be lucky.’
I look at these unknown men thinking that since they didn’t kill the guy, I shouldn’t kill them either.
“Who beat my subordinate and brought him here? I am the Sect Leader.”
The men push him forward and say,
“Sect Leader, the Jae Cheon2 Sect Leader is calling. If you aren’t busy, come with us. Of course, even if you are busy you need to come.”
“Why would he call me?”
When the man who spoke points his finger at me, another man takes something out from a chest and then lifts the cloth. Somehow, I can’t help but think I’ve been in a situation like this before, but well, everything that happens in Kangho is similar. Here lies the strong and weak. Anyway, the guy shows something.
“Who is this?”
“Leader, Won Ga-sung.”
“What? A pity.”
Only then did I see the face of the man, the head of the Jae Cheon, whom I saved at the guesthouse.
I ask the warriors.
“Why did you kill him when I sent him back alive?”
The guy ignores my question and says what he wants.
“According to him, the Sect Leader claimed that if a war were to occur between us, he would personally eliminate 8% of the alliance… correct? Upon learning this, our leader instructed us to contact the Sect Leader before a real war broke out.”
“Talk?”
“Right. The lord said that he could kill all of Low-Down Sect alone. Would you want that? Threats, even when expressed, should be done so with restraint.”
I touched my mouth.
“The problem is my mouth.”
“Right.”
“If the leader calls, I will move. But this subordinate of mine needs to run now. But do you know who hit my subordinate?”
To which the man I am talking to smiles and says,
“It is me.”
“Ah.”
I smile and walk, then appear in front of the man. I slap him on the cheek, kick him in the shin, and grab his head with both hands as I push lighting qi into him.
And then, the man let out the most peculiar scream.
“Kuaaaak!”
In an instant, I can smell burnt hair and the man passes out.
I retract my hand thinking he was about to die, and I look at my palm to see that I tore off some of his hair. Perhaps using this technique wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
The guys who came drew their swords and surrounded me. As I brush the hair off my hand, I tell them,
“… let’s go. You carry him, he isn’t dead yet. Ah and Sung-tae.”
He looks at me.
“Uh?”
“Were you looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“You did well. You did well this time. If someone wants me, tell them I went to Jae Cheon Alliance. And put away the books over there.”
He looks at the desk with a lot of thought.
“I understand.”
I was about to move with the warriors of the alliance but Won Myun-ja senior blocks my path.
“Stop.”
I tell him,
“Senior Full Moon, I want to go there.”
To which he asks,
“Why there? Talk to No Shin and go there with him. Or I will come.”
I look at him.
‘Should I?’
Actually, if I borrow the power of the Beggars Union leader, even he wouldn’t be able to approach me recklessly. Surely, he must have already known that I was acquainted with Im So-baek. However, I have no intention of resolving this with the power of others. It’s against my principles.
And he continues.
“…I am only going to talk about why my subordinates got beaten, so I will head alone. Instead, tell the son of the Mong family where I am going. If there is a problem, he will support you. If you are still worried, let the Murim Alliance Leader know where I am. Then nothing will happen right?”
To which he tries to dissuade me, but he holds himself back.
“Ah, is that so? Then I will inform them as soon as possible.”
“Senior, thank you. Ilyang County is nothing.”
He smiles.
“It is nothing.”
“I understand.”
Well, it was about time that I visited this place. It is because it didn’t turn into an unorthodox sect yet. Perhaps he and his men have better skills than me. In the past life, after a bit of time passed, due to the timing, Leader Im ends up fighting him and they choose to switch sides which causes a mess. And the Demonic Cult engages in the local fight, which just creates more chaos. It’s not a bad idea to visit them before all that happens.
I always intended to visit the alliance like a diplomat.
While putting my shoulder close to the warrior next to me, I say,
“Your name?”
“Neung Gon.”
“You are a captain too?”
“No, a lieutenant.”
“Lieutenant? I see, right. As of yet, I don’t have any opinion of your leader. And Won Ga-sung attacked me and failed, but I still spared him. I don’t know why you are angry. Were you angry your man was sent back alive? Then it is a strange thing. I will return to the alliance with you and ask why he killed his own men. Let’s go.”
“…”
I look around and see the guys unable to close their mouths and I ask,
“Isn’t it a bit far?”
Someone says,
“It is far.”
“Exactly. Let’s continue without any breaks. I’ll go buy something delightful. How about embarking on a food adventure, hmm? And no need to attempt to harm me, as you all lack the skill. I am someone not to be trifled with, but I don’t kill people without good reason. Ah!”
“What is it?”
I groan which makes them look at me and I look at them as I say,
“Wait. I didn’t bring my bag. I have a lot of money there and I didn’t bring it. I will be back soon.”
“You don’t have to. What money….”
“Shut up and wait.”
In an instant I unleash foot work to the guest house and after finding my bag near a beggar, I join the people again.
“Let’s go.”
They seemed to have noticed how swift I was that they spoke even less then. Actually, I am slower than Master Baek Wei, so patting them on the shoulder I say,
“Everyone’s so quiet. Let us grow closer as we move.”
No one answers. Maybe they didn’t want to be close to me. Neither the Low-Down Sect nor the Jae Cheon Alliance were interested in me. Bored, I ask them,
“Anyone who likes footwork here? None?”
“….”
“It’s okay if you don’t.”
My conclusion is that Master Baek Wei grew insane because he talked to himself for too long, and now I seem to understand.
Editor’s Notes
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