Chapter 173: It’s a Coincidence. (2)

A cabin built to look somewhat impressive.

Since only the appearance was taken care of, the cold winter wind blew in through the gaps here and there.

Winter is a particularly hellish season for beggars.

So many beggars die from the cold.

As for Chu-ong, being a martial artist whose cultivation reached a certain level, he could endure by setting up a protective barrier, but…

The beggars below him wouldn’t be able to do that.

That’s why Chu-ong doesn’t like winter.

Because it’s a season where there’s nothing he can do.

“Wangcho….”

A Beggar’s Union member inside the cabin called out to Chu-ong.

“Why.”

“Is it okay if I don’t collect the token?”

Chu-ong looked at the wooden token on the table at the beggar’s words.

It was the token Chu-ong had just intended to give to Jin-ryong.

“Hmm.”

The token the beggar was talking about probably wasn’t that one.

The ‘One Beggar Token’ (Ilgeolpae) that Jin-ryong possessed.

He was asking if it was okay not to retrieve it.

“You crazy bastard, how could I possibly take that?”

“But… since you granted the favor, isn’t it right to take it?”

Normally, that would be the right thing to do.

While the wooden token Chu-ong was going to give wasn’t something with a strictly defined number of uses,

the Ilgeolpae Jin-ryong possessed was different.

It was an item that could obtain any information at the Beggar’s Union level.

Moreover, if there was no information, it was something that had to be obtained separately and provided.

It was an item given only to benefactors of the Gang Leader.

It was something that had to be handled as the top priority no matter what, and if necessary, could even make the Gang Leader move personally to handle it.

‘Why does Jin-ryong have that?’

How surprised was Chu-ong when Jin-ryong took out the Ilgeolpae from his pocket?

That wasn’t something a mere late-stage disciple could possess.

‘Is it a fake?’

That thought crossed his mind for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it.

Gu Clan was a prestigious family, highly regarded even if not on the level of the Four Great Families.

It wasn’t likely that a member of such a prestigious family would do something crazy like carrying a fake Ilgeolpae.

Of course, he should properly check if it was genuine or fake, but Chu-ong thought it wasn’t.

“Wangcho?”

“Kid, wait a minute, things are complicated enough as it is.”

To the urging voice, Chu-ong replied while scratching his head vigorously.

As the beggar said, the Ilgeolpae is for single use.

Once the favor is granted, its utility disappears, so it would be right to take it back, but…

‘That’s not something for me to decide.’

No matter how much the owner of the Ilgeolpae showed the token and made a request, retrieving it wasn’t his decision to make.

Jin-ryong likely knew that too, which is probably why he showed it to him.

“…Sssseup…”

Just as expected of Jin-ryong (眞龍 – True Dragon). Setting aside his martial prowess, he had a cunning, fox-like side.

Chu-ong, still scratching, asked the beggar behind him.

“…Do you remember what Jin-ryong asked for?”

To Chu-ong’s question, the beggar immediately replied.

“He asked you to look into Hwangbo Seon of the Hwangbo Family and Tu-ryong, right?”

The Hwangbo Family… that’s the family of Hwangbo Cheol-wi, who participated in the banquet for the first time this time.

Although he didn’t show outstanding performance for a member of a prestigious family, he was a late-stage disciple whose potential could be glimpsed.

‘But who is Hwangbo Seon?’

Seeing as it’s a name I’ve never heard before, it seems they aren’t a promising family member.

Why would Jin-ryong ask to look into someone like that?

‘As for Tu-ryong…’

Tu-ryong was the least known figure among those called the Dragon and the Phoenix.

He appeared only once.

He was a great figure who earned the name Tu-ryong just from that single appearance.

Not only did he never appear again at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering,

but with no other notable activities, he was a martial artist whose name was gradually fading.

Chu-ong had also tried to meet him several times, but…

‘…I really don’t want to recall that time.’

He sent the grim memories to the back of his mind.

Plus, he was someone even more formidable than Sword Phoenix.

First, Chu-ong thought about Jin-ryong, Gu Yangcheon, who had thrown this in as a request and disappeared.

‘I don’t know his intentions.’

No, maybe the problem is that I know them too well?

‘It seems like he wants to build a connection with me, though.’

The way he didn’t avoid the conversation despite looking incredibly annoyed and reluctant,

and the way he made a personal request while showing the Ilgeolpae, which he didn’t need to reveal,

it felt like he was testing me.

‘A late-stage disciple who seems to be less than half my age, no less.’

Chu-ong, being human, didn’t feel great about being tested, but…

Strangely, the existence known as Jin-ryong gave him the feeling that it was somehow okay.

A subtle pressure he hadn’t felt from other late-stage disciples.

Feeling that from a mere infant-like boy made his pride crumble, but…

conversely, it evoked a different emotion from confirming his true nature a bit more.

‘Besides, where is my pride left anyway?’

Chu-ong chuckled slightly at the self-deprecation that flashed through his mind.

What pride could a beggar clinging to the ground, begging for a living, possibly have?

As long as he could survive by leeching off others, that was enough.

‘If you think about it that way, the name Jin-ryong suits him perfectly.’

Even though he seemed to dislike it himself.

Chu-ong calmly organized his thoughts and reached a conclusion.

“Bang-chu-ya.”

“Yes, Wangcho.”

“Regarding the token Jin-ryong had, I’ll handle it, so just keep your mouth shut.”

“Yes? You mean don’t report it to the Branch Manager?”

“I’ll handle it, so just shut up. If you report it, I’ll be the one doing it anyway.”

“Wangcho… last time you were severely reprimanded for reporting late about Shin-seong and Jin-ryong, remember?”

“…Do you want to get reprimanded too?”

“I’ll shut up.”

Branch Manager, my ass.

If I were to report something of this caliber, I’d need to go see the Gang Leader, not the Branch Manager.

Because it would be faster to ask that person even if I had to find him.

‘Finding him is the problem, though.’

He’s an old man who’s probably drinking on the streets, but if you try to find him, he’s the hardest person to find in the world.

-My disciple.

-Yes.

-Hic, Life is a rope.

-What? A rope?

-Yeah, a rope. If you just ride it well… Hic, life becomes easier, you see.

The guy who used to drink behind the scenes after sending his young disciple out to beg.

He was the former Alliance Leader, one of the Three Heavenly Lords, the man called the ‘ear’ of Geom-cheon, but he had a damnably unlucky fate.

“Wangcho, then how should we handle the request?”

“What do you mean ‘how’? If we agreed to do it, we have to do it.”

“…For free?”

Wangcho grabbed the token on the table and threw it to the beggar.

“Use that, roughly.”

“…R-roughly?”

“If you think there’s no other way, just put it under my name.”

“Wangcho, if you count only the ones under Wangcho’s name, you could create a martial arts academy filled with people from Hanam… Kkwaaak!”

“You bastard, just do as you’re told! Why are you talking so much!”

The beggar shouted, rubbing the lump on his head.

“If I do as you say, Wangcho, you’ll die, you know!?”

The beggar knew.

That this guy would never work properly.

‘He gives away all the money he receives to the beggars in the neighborhood, and what? He says he’ll become the Gang Leader?’

That’s ridiculous. How could he sit in a higher position giving everything away like that.

“I’ll handle it. This is the last time, I’m telling you.”

“What do you mean ‘handle it’ every time.”

“Ah, come on! I really mean it’s the last time.”

Chu-ong, grumbling, kicked the beggar out.

He knew that beggar cared about him, but who was worrying about whom?

‘If you’re a beggar, worry about surviving the day, not me.’

Unnecessary worries are unwelcome. If you harbor such damn affection, your vision gets clouded.

Beggars shouldn’t trust each other.

That’s how you live even one more day.

Chu-ong sat quietly, took a breath, and recalled Gu Yangcheon’s parting words.

-See you next time.

Last time, he had extended his hand, but this time, Jin-ryong extended his first.

‘Isn’t it dirty?’

The boy who didn’t frown even when holding stained hands sometimes.

Gave Chu-ong a peculiar feeling.

Just holding hands, what was so special about it?

He must have met countless people from prestigious families who put on such airs.

‘Shit.’

Chu-ong kept replaying what the boy’s gaze towards him meant.

What did he hold within those fierce eyes as he looked at Chu-ong?

What exactly does Jin-ryong want from him?

“Even getting old, I know nothing. That’s why you can’t be a beggar, you damn kid.”

Chu-ong finished his thoughts and stood up.

He didn’t reach a conclusion.

If he had been good at that, he wouldn’t be in this state.

“Ugh, this fucking life.”

Chu-ong sprang up and kicked the door open, heading out.

He should report the information about this martial arts tournament upwards, but…

He decided to leave that to them…

‘The Branch Manager will probably throw a fit again, but…’

If he’s unhappy, let him fire me. I’ve been stuck here for years.

Regardless of his master’s words, he had to find his own way to survive.

If things continued like this, he felt he’d end up with nothing.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Wangcho.”

“Pass a message to the Branch Manager.”

“What should I say?”

“Tell him I’m going to Seo-an for a bit.”

“Yes?”

Chu-ong threw out the message casually and then leaped straight into the air.

The direction was west from Hanam.

The destination was Seo-an Bigak, where Tu-ryong Bi Ui-jin resided.

---

“I wonder if the job will go well.”

As I said this, holding food generously in both hands,

Gu-jeol-yeop next to me naturally took my luggage and asked.

“What job are you referring to?”

If you ask what job, it was naturally the one commissioned to Chu-ong.

‘I’m not particularly expecting much, but…’

It’s different if it were a formal request to the Beggar’s Union.

Since it was a personal request made to Chu-ong, it didn’t matter if it failed.

It wasn’t a particularly important request anyway.

‘Seeing as he didn’t take the token, maybe it’s fine.’

Honestly, even if he had taken it, there wouldn’t have been a major problem.

It was indeed valuable, but it wasn’t something to nitpick about or view strangely.

As I walked on indifferently, perhaps finding the silence uncomfortable, Gu-jeol-yeop asked me something else.

“…Regarding that matter, Young Master.”

“Why.”

“Even though we are a righteous sect, shouldn’t we report such things separately to our families…?”

At Gu-jeol-yeop’s words, I stopped walking and looked at him.

Gu-jeol-yeop flinched when our eyes met.

“What do you mean?”

“Even though we are a righteous sect, shouldn’t we report such things separately to our families…?”

“I don’t have to do it.”

“What?”

“You’re going to do it.”

Gu-jeol-yeop’s eyes widened at my nonchalant words.

“You weren’t going to?”

“No… it’s just.”

“I don’t want to drag this out with obvious talk, so feel free to just say everything bluntly.”

Gu-jeol-yeop reacted as if he hadn’t expected me to speak so openly, but…

In reality, Mu-yeon, Gu-jeol-yeop, and most others attached to me…

were the eyes and ears of their respective families.

The only one I can truly trust is Wi Seol-ah, I suppose.

The only slight difference is that Gu-jeol-yeop is more of Elder Il’s man than his family’s.

“It’s fine to tell your grandfather everything.”

“…”

“Because even if he knows, nothing much will change.”

I looked at Gu-jeol-yeop, who had shut his mouth tightly, and started walking again.

He had a decent disposition and decent talent, so I felt like keeping him by my side and nurturing him, but…

Gu-jeol-yeop was, after all, Elder Il’s man.

I didn’t hold any particular high expectations.

If I were to wish for anything, it would be that that fox-like old man wouldn’t cross the line?

Elder Il is like a moth drawn to a flame.

Knowing he would eventually burn himself out unable to resist, it was a futile thought.

If I were to concede a little more, it would be the wish that he wouldn’t go too far, as I didn’t want to be the one to burn him myself.

Of course, looking at it, this doesn’t seem likely to happen either.

‘…For now, this is enough regarding the Beggar’s Union too.’

I intended to keep things brief regarding the Beggar’s Union, specifically Chu-ong.

In my past life, he wasn’t someone with whom I had a long connection, so there was no need to form a deep bond.

It would be good if a proper connection was formed.

If not, it doesn’t matter.

Honestly, we’ve already met, and depending on Chu-ong’s situation, but…

I could tell he was showing some interest in this matter.

Finally, I bought a few skewers, tossed them to Gu-jeol-yeop, and said while looking at Mu-yeon.

“Mu-yeon.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“I seem to have some business to attend to.”

Mu-yeon nodded at my words.

The fact that he didn’t even ask what business it was showed he was still the same.

Seeing that, I smiled and said to Mu-yeon and Gu-jeol-yeop.

“Then, go tell these guys something.”

“Yes?”

As soon as I finished speaking, I gathered heat into my body and kicked off the ground, sprinting away.

Quickly, so that both of them, especially Mu-yeon, couldn’t follow.

Mu-yeon momentarily tried to raise his internal energy and follow, but…

Seeing my speed, he froze with a dumbfounded expression.

This was also the reason I slipped away from the others, intending to meet Chu-ong.

I’ll probably get lectured heavily when I get back.

‘…Ugh.’

But I had no other way.

It was awkward for Mu-yeon to come along, and if I said I was going alone, he was the type who would absolutely never let me go alone.

‘It would be easier if I could just tell him to stay because he’s weaker than me.’

It felt somewhat reluctant to say to Mu-yeon what I could easily say to Gu-jeol-yeop.

Because I knew he was swinging his sword relentlessly.

‘I’m sorry, but I’ll be back soon, so I hope they’ll be a little lenient.’

It wouldn’t take long.

Since it was just past noon now.

I should be able to return before sunset.

That’s what I thought then.

“…Why are you here?”

If only there wasn’t a woman looking at me as if she expected this, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Shaolin Temple.

A beautiful woman from whom a subtle chill emanated.

Snow Phoenix Moyong Hi-ah looked at me, wearing an alluring smile, and said.

“What a coincidence. Meeting everyone here.”

“…”

Anyone could see it wasn’t a coincidence.