Chapter 46. The Wind Begins to Blow (1)
“Keuuurk!”
He belched enormously, as if his very soul were slipping out of his mouth.
“Whoa, I'm stuffed! I ate so much I thought I might actually die.”
Yeon Jipyeong worked his mouth like a crucian carp.
“Aren't you glad you didn't keel over?”
“Hm? Uh-hahaha! Young master, you've gravely underestimated me. A beggar's stomach transcends that of mere mortals by leaps and bounds. This is nothing compared to my youth, when I could down twelve catties of pork without batting an eye.”
Yeon Jipyeong weighed around a hundred catties. Gadeuksang had just scarfed down more than ten percent of the boy's body weight.
Yeon Jipyeong shuddered. It was rare to get chills just from watching someone eat.
Yeon Hojeong pointed at the rice bowl with his finger.
“Three grains left.”
“That's just a show of sincerity.”
“Clean it up.”
Gadeuksang smacked his lips.
“You're a tough one.”
He scooped up even those last grains, savoring each one despite being stuffed to the gills. It was oddly mesmerizing.
“Tea as well?”
“What tea for a beggar? Booze, maybe.”
“It's the middle of the day.”
“Does drinking care about day or night? You've got peculiar tastes.”
Yeon Hojeong chuckled despite himself.
Gadeuksang grinned slyly.
“Come to think of it, you held your liquor pretty well yourself, young master.”
Yeon Jipyeong waved him off in exasperation.
“You have no idea how much I suffered the next day. It's great while drinking, but the aftermath...”
“Um-hahaha! Mastering the hangover is the true path of the Way of Liquor. You've only just taken your first step.”
“I-is that so?”
Yeon Hojeong cut in curtly.
“Don't teach the kid weird stuff.”
“Weird? How's this weird? You're hurting my feelings.”
“Enough.”
Yeon Hojeong turned to Yeon Jipyeong.
“Tell them outside to bring some liquor. And clear out for a bit.”
“Of course!”
Yeon Jipyeong was quick on the uptake. He'd sensed from the moment Gadeuksang arrived that the man had business with his brother.
Now the guest room held just the two of them.
Gadeuksang scanned the room exaggeratedly.
“The family vibe here's pretty frosty, huh?”
“It's always been stiff. No fun.”
“Well, the Yeon family's brutal house laws are infamous enough.”
“That famous, huh?”
“Among beggars, yeah. Other families might not know.”
It was knowledge unique to the Beggar Sect. They dominated the White Path's intelligence network, so it was no surprise.
“Something bad happen lately? Even for you guys, this feels extreme.”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Nothing, and the mood's still like this? Folks were bending over backward just passing by you.”
“The main house folk have manners second to none in the Central Plains.”
“Their faces screamed fear. Thought a ghost had wandered in.”
“As you see, I'm a bit less than human.”
Gadeuksang burst out laughing.
“I get it. Line of work makes me poke around.”
“Understood.”
Moments later, the drinks arrived.
Gadeuksang truly was a monster. Before the liquor was even poured, he was sampling the side dishes—as if he hadn't just claimed to be full.
Yeon Hojeong picked up a bottle.
“Have a drink.”
“Eh? Why pour into a cup? Just give me that.”
“......”
Gadeuksang grabbed the bottle like a canteen and swigged away.
“Kya! Fine stuff! Better than Ye-ahong, even. Ooh, burns all the way down!”
“It's strong. Sip slow.”
“Will do. Plenty to talk about.”
Yeon Hojeong's eyes gleamed.
Gadeuksang met those abyss-deep eyes and thought,
This guy's something else...
Different.
As Huigae, he'd met countless people—enough to fill a lifetime. Many were titans who swayed the martial world.
Oddly, Yeon Hojeong's gaze rivaled those giants'. Not from temperament or martial prowess, but the man himself was profound.
Truly unfathomable.
Gadeuksang had quietly investigated him. But there was nothing noteworthy.
Yeon Hojeong's past life held no highlights. Raised strictly by a stern father, the eldest son despaired at his brother's talent and went astray. A common tale.
No rumors of secret ties to shadowy groups or planted scandals. He seemed to have dropped from the sky.
The change was too abrupt.
“Something on my face?”
“Hm? Oh, no! Just thinking you're handsome.”
“Boring.”
“Boring? Those soulful eyes could melt a thousand maidens' guards.”
“To business.”
“Heh, right.”
Gadeuksang clasped his hands on the table.
“First request first.”
“Go on.”
“The outer regions are a power vacuum right now. Nothing notable. So Roe Eum Sa in the west is easing its seclusion, but no threat to the Central Plains.”
Yeon Hojeong's eyes deepened.
“Nothing else? No evil cults stirring up the populace?”
“Evil cults? Like the old demonic sects?”
“Anything.”
“No signs. If anything, it's too quiet—suspiciously so. Makes sense So Roe Eum Sa's freaks are peeking out now.”
Yeon Hojeong nodded.
Not yet, then.
The Beggar Sect's eyes weren't limited to the Central Plains. Gadeuksang would've caught even a whiff.
“On to the second.”
“Good. Second was Moyong Woo's location?”
“Yes.”
“As I said, not hard to pinpoint him.”
“Tell me.”
“One question first.”
Gadeuksang's eyes sparkled.
“Why's the Yeon heir hunting the Moyong patriarch's baby brother?”
Moyong Woo. Half-brother to Moyong Gun, head of the Moyong clan. A wide age gap between them.
Moyong Gun neared fifty; Moyong Woo was just twenty-nine—exactly ten years Yeon Hojeong's senior.
“Later.”
“Hm. 'Later' means I'll find out anyway?”
“Likely.”
Gadeuksang eyed Yeon Hojeong sharply.
Can't read him.
His face was impassive. Nothing to glean.
At that age?
Eyes, lip twitches, gestures, posture—plenty of tells. But Yeon Hojeong offered none.
“Fine.”
Gadeuksang pulled a letter from his rags. Pristine despite his beggar garb.
“Here.”
Yeon Hojeong unfolded it. His eyes lit up.
Zhejiang Province
“Zhejiang Province?”
“Right next to Jiangsu. Neighboring turf.”
“Maritime trade.”
“Yep. He runs the Moyong clan's Zhejiang branch, handling sea trade. Get this: it accounts for a full tenth of the clan's entire funds.”
A tenth of a behemoth like the Moyong clan's wealth? Impressive acumen.
Earning that solo with ordinary commerce? Impossible.
“I was shocked investigating him. The clan hushed it up, but he's no ordinary man. Martial talent rivals Patriarch Moyong Gun, and his virtue and character make him heir material.”
Of course.
Yeon Hojeong recalled Moyong Woo's final night. Bowing to the Black Path's lord, entrusting his brother.
Cast out as a threat, yet he fretted for his kin. A giant who stayed humble amid overflowing talent.
...Just like us.
It mirrored Yeon Hojeong and Yeon Jipyeong.
With talent himself, he'd have cast Jipyeong aside ruthlessly. Moyong Gun mirrored him there.
That's why I need Moyong Woo. To stop them, no one else will do.
Yeon Hojeong knew his limits. He'd become Black Emperor because the Black Path was raw violence.
The White Path was different.
I'll be shadow and shield, spear and strategist. Never the sovereign myself. Couldn't if I tried.
Gadeuksang sighed.
“Moyong Gun's terrifying. Few cast out blood for power.”
Was he?
Yeon Hojeong had seen men slaughter parents, siblings—even their own children—for the throne. Moyong Gun was tame by comparison.
“Anyway, first two requests done.”
“Appreciate it.”
“No trouble. Learned new things myself. Now, the third...”
Gadeuksang's face grew serious.
“Might not tell you, but one question.”
“......”
“How'd you know?”
“Know what?”
“That the supreme clan, Guju Ming Clan, is secretly raising Dead Swords no one knows about.”
Instantly, Yeon Hojeong's eyes blazed with killing intent.
It's true.
After clashing with Myeong Horim, he'd pegged the attackers' arts as Guju Ming Clan style.
Not conclusive proof. Someone could've stolen and twisted them.
But Gadeuksang's words sealed it.
The beasts are the Ming Clan.
Brrrrr.
The table trembled faintly. Azure energy rippled from Yeon Hojeong's body—Bi-ra Jin-gyeol beyond compare.
Laced with killing intent, the room's temperature plummeted.
You dare killed my father, buried my brothers, torched the Yeon estate?!
His father's sighing face gazing heavenward surfaced.
His brother's beaming trust.
And—
Blood-soaked, his father charging foes like a storm.
His brother's back, spine snapped by a masked fiend.
Fwoooosh!
The surging energy ignited like flames. The room turned hellish.
Gadeuksang paled.
“Young master Yeon!”
“Grind.”
“Young master Yeon! Hey, you bastard! My heart's gonna burst!!”
Startled, Yeon Hojeong reined in his aura.
Hwooooong.
The world-shaking malice vanished in a blink.
Gadeuksang clutched his chest. His heart pounded wildly.
“Who you killing? Man! Control that properly! Lucky it's me—anyone weaker would've puked blood!”
No exaggeration. Yeon Hojeong's spirit force was the Black Emperor's. Peak masters' killing intent was lethal in itself.
“Sorry. Showed an ugly side.”
“How'm I supposed to talk scared shitless? You freak everyone out?”
Gadeuksang peered out the window. Passersby looked serene. The intent hadn't leaked.
“Whew, like rooming with a beast. Nearly pissed myself. Did I?”
“My shame.”
“Whatever! Be careful next time!”
“Got it.”
Gadeuksang caught his breath.
“Still, worth that rage? The Guju Ming Clan training secret forces? Big clans raise hidden troops all the time.”
“What they do with that force is the issue.”
“Do?”
“Huigae.”
“Yeah?”
“One more favor.”
“......Damn, pay up then. What?”
Yeon Hojeong spoke coldly.
“This request might clash with justice.”
When war drums beat, the law falls silent.
Yeon Hojeong sensed it was time to shed law and rules.
