episode_0005

That was because he was, in fact, a beggar.

Living as a beggar in a beggarly Murim, his life naturally couldn’t be anything but beggarly.

Cheongun racked his brains.

What was the most efficient way to escape this beggarly situation?

It was money.

They say money can’t buy happiness?

So what. Money isn’t everything, but there’s nothing like it.

If you can’t buy it with money, can you buy happiness with poverty? It was a ridiculous premise to begin with.

So Cheongun painstakingly saved money.

When he was hungry, he set traps for rats or fished in the river.

No matter how much he grilled or boiled rat meat, the gamey smell stung his nose the entire time he chewed.

And that wasn’t all. The sharp-finned fish caught in the Yangtze River had many bones and tough flesh, making for a bad texture, and the yellow-finned fish, despite being a fish, reeked of ammonia like fermented skate.

The old ancestor’s saying that even dirt tastes good when you’re starving was all a lie.

When even that failed, he went out onto the streets to beg, but the Beggars’ Sect members would constantly assert their territory, making successful days countable on one hand.

He lived like that for about ten years.

At first, he thought about just dying then and there, and he would suddenly lament his beggarly plight, but humanity’s extremely developed survival instinct stubbornly forced a lazy man like Cheongun to survive.

Perhaps because he had lived as a complete pauper for such a long time?

Cheongun had already been stripped of the dignity and morals a modern person should uphold, leaving him with only opportunism and greed for the sake of survival.

So he thought.

Ah, this beggarly Murim.

When the time comes, I will surely make them pay for making me like this.

Jin Cheonwoo, having heard the explanation, looked at Cheongun with a reluctant expression.

“So, you’re saying I have to pay for that crime, and that means giving you the clothes I’m wearing?”

“Yes.”

Jin Cheonwoo was a man.

A master from the Demonic Faction, bearing the moniker Black Killing Sword.

Naturally, Jin Cheonwoo bristled at Cheongun’s demand.

“What the hell! What kind of beggarly nonsense is that? Why do I have to pay for that crime?!”

“What? Beggarly nonsense? Did you just call me a beggar? Are beggars easy to deal with? Want to try dying at a beggar’s hands?”

As Cheongun channeled his inner energy, Jin Cheonwoo quickly stripped, as if he hadn’t just spoken.

“…Please put it on.”

“The clothes are a bit big, aren’t they?”

“Because I am big.”

“While your inner energy is small.”

“……”

Cheongun accepted the short jacket Jin Cheonwoo offered.

It was a martial arts uniform with red embroidery.

Cheongun took off his rags and put on the short jacket.

Due to the difference in their sizes, the hem swept the floor, but he managed to tie it with a belt.

Finally, he was throwing off his rags!

Indeed, if a person wants to live like a human, they must adorn themselves from the outside.

Cheongun was in a good mood, having acquired free clothes.

On the other hand, Jin Cheonwoo, who had suddenly been robbed of his clothes, looked like death warmed over.

It was a custom-made martial arts uniform he had spent a lot of money on, but he had run into some bandit-like fellow and was suddenly robbed of all his money, clothes, and everything he owned.

All that remained was the ragged clothes, the beggar’s trademark, that Cheongun had been wearing.

‘Dog-like bastard. Just you wait.’

Jin Cheonwoo gnawed and swallowed the curses that had risen to his throat.

He couldn’t stay naked like this, so he grudgingly put on the rags Cheongun had worn.

Was it because he was wearing beggar’s clothes?

Although his life was saved, he felt like a beggar.

It was then.

“Great Hero.”

The four companions who had been facing off against Jin Cheonwoo in the corner slowly approached.

Perhaps because Cheongun’s intervention had saved their lives and their martial arts manual, their complexions were bright.

Among the four martial artists, the man in front bowed his head and expressed his gratitude to Cheongun.

“Thank you. We owe our lives to you.”

“That’s right. You do owe it to me.”

“Haha, I am Yu Cheongsan of Ilwoljang. May I ask for Great Hero’s name?”

“Cheongun.”

“Great Hero Cheong. And the young lady beside you?”

“She’s Namgung Yuli.”

“Ohh, I see a young lady from the Namgung family here!”

Now, they exchanged familiar clasped-hand salutes several times.

Cheongun quickly scanned them with his eyes.

Being from Ilwoljang meant they were from the Orthodox Faction.

Among them, they were from a martial arts family treated as quite prestigious.

That’s why they lit up at the two characters “Namgung.”

There’s truly no place with a stronger cartel than the Orthodox Faction.

“It is said that wind blows and clouds gather, and fate brings people together. Meeting Great Hero Cheong is a stroke of heavenly luck for us. This is clearly a destiny forged by heaven and earth, so we will not take this encounter with Great Hero Cheong lightly.”

Was his name Yu Cheongsan?

He smiled faintly and went on and on, elaborating at length and complexly on the phrase, ‘Thanks to you, we lived.’

“We are pressed for time, so we will take our leave now. It is said that there is no rough path for those who walk the Righteous Path, so we hope peace accompanies Great Hero Cheong’s footsteps.”

Yu Cheongsan, who had been diligently wagging his eloquent tongue, finally rose from his seat.

The other three did the same.

Perhaps truly pressed for time, they were preparing to leave the inn as quickly as possible.

It was then.

“Hold on.”

“Yes, Great Hero Cheong.”

“The settlement isn’t finished yet.”

“Settlement, you mean?”

Then Cheongun nodded, as if asking what a silly question that was.

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? You’re alive because of me.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, if I hadn’t been here, what would have happened to all of you?”

“…We would have clashed blades with the Black Path rogues.”

“And you would have died.”

…That was true.

It was correct to assume that, without Cheongun’s help, they would effectively have had no way to survive.

“Would you have simply lost your lives? Your martial arts manual would have been taken, and you would have met your deaths after being humiliated by those Black Path rogues. Wouldn’t the young hero’s honor, along with Ilwoljang’s honor, naturally have been shattered?”

“Hmm, that…”

…This was also true.

Yu Cheongsan blinked blankly.

Seeing his expression, Cheongun clicked his tongue.

“But you received a favor as high as the heavens, and what? You’re saying you’ll just shut your mouths and leave because you’re pressed for time? Seriously? How am I supposed to take this?”

Yu Cheongsan was flustered by Cheongun’s sharp criticism.

“Is there something else you want?”

Cheongun smiled with satisfaction.

Why ask something so obvious?

Of course, there’s something I want.

Do you think I would have saved you all for no reason?

It’s true that I was simply annoyed by the interruption to my meal.

But I didn’t step in out of a fit of pique.

I drew a bigger picture for my comfortable future!

That is—

“Money.”

“Huh?”

“How much do you have?”

“……”

The more money, the better.

The more there is, the better it is.

****

Cheongseongsan.

Justice Alliance, Sichuan Province Branch.

Namgung Hwi, the branch leader, rushed out barefoot upon hearing the news of Namgung Yuli’s return.

Namgung Hwi was both the young master of the Namgung family and Namgung Yuli’s kin.

After discovering signs that the Black Forest Gate had contacted the Demonic Cult, he had sent her as a spy, but with her trail completely vanishing for several days, his insides had been burning black with anxiety.

And now.

His younger sister, whom he thought he might never see again, appeared before his eyes.

“Yul-ah!”

“Hwi Orabeoni!”

The tall, handsome man rushed out and immediately embraced her.

Embraced in her older brother’s arms, she relaxed and finally burst into the tears she had held back.

‘Such a fuss.’

Cheongun swallowed a sigh and watched them.

The emotional reunion was brief; Hwi soon discovered Cheongun standing idly behind them.

“By the way, who is that boy?”

“He is my savior.”

“Your savior? Who? That boy?”

“Yes. If Great Hero Cheong hadn’t intervened, I would have certainly died.”

Yuli was not a child who spoke carelessly.

Her stepping forward like this to announce a life-saving grace meant that she had truly received crucial help in a life-or-death crisis.

Namgung Hwi soothed his surprised heart and listened to her story.

At first, a plausible explanation followed.

But the further the story went, the stranger the details that emerged.

“A fishing… line…?”

Namgung Hwi’s voice trailed off.

That ragged boy had supposedly unleashed materialized killing intent, then imbued a fishing line with sword energy, skewering five assassins with a single strike.

If her words were truly factual, then the boy named Cheongun had surpassed the realm of Sword Qi Harm, where one harms people with sword energy, reaching the level of an absolute master who wields sword arts with a fishing line.

…Does that even make sense?

According to Yuli, that boy’s level was at least transcendent.

But based on his appearance, isn’t he just an ordinary boy?

“There should be five assassin corpses buried near the Yangtze River in Mount Emei.”

Namgung Hwi frowned and sighed.

It was too absurd to simply believe, yet there was evidence remaining to not dismiss it as a lie.

But whatever his level, a benefactor was a benefactor.

It was proper to postpone judging the veracity of the story for later.

Everything could be postponed until after verifying the buried assassin corpses, as Yuli said.

Namgung Hwi swallowed a sigh and approached Cheongun, who had been quietly observing the situation.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Namgung Hwi.”

“I am Cheongun.”

Cheongun greeted him with an uncharacteristically kind smile.

He couldn’t help but do so.

Because soon, Cheongun would become a gold ingot owner.

One gold ingot? That’s 50 taels of gold.

50 taels of gold? That’s 10,000 taels of silver.

He had only run for this moment.

He had engaged in a big dispute with whatever the Black Forest Gate was, and had even suddenly faced a life threat while eating at the inn.

All those moments of hardship (?) flashed past like a film.

And finally.

He would finally be able to escape his beggarly status.

Finally, he could prepare a decent home for himself.

Because he was rich now.

Because he was a gold ingot owner.

The protagonist of a life reversal, that was Cheongun.

As Cheongun was lost in his delusion, Namgung Hwi’s mouth opened.

Namgung Hwi was sweating profusely, and then, facing Cheongun who was waiting for him, he finally managed to open his lips.

His answer was.

“…That, I think it might be difficult right now.”