Chapter 42
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Mad Beggar's Reckoning
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“You bastard!”
“Kuh!”
Boom!
“You...! You filthy rat!”
“Cough!”
Ptooey!
The name was well-earned.
Dokgo Ga was every bit the monster his reputation promised.
Even after Gwang-il had rammed his fist deep enough to reach the man's wrist into his side, the beggar had immediately unleashed a blast of palm force for a counterattack.
'At this point in time, he's definitely a pain in the ass to tangle with.'
Ptooey!
Gwang-il's complexion wasn't much better as he spat out more bloody phlegm and put some distance between them, staggering back.
He'd barely dodged the direct hit with a desperate forward roll.
But Dokgo Ga had tensed the muscles around his punctured flank, delaying Gwang-il's withdrawal just enough for that majestic surge of qi to graze his back.
Not only had it inflicted a non-trivial internal injury, but it had also torn a massive gash across his back, snapping him wide awake.
'Still, I'm the one who came out way ahead.'
Gwang-il's injuries amounted to some internal damage and superficial wounds.
Meanwhile...
“Urk... bleeech!”
That damn old beggar was gushing blood from his side like a fountain—severe enough to call it a critical wound on its own.
“How... how dare a so-called upright orthodox sect disciple use something as lowly as naryeotagon on me...!”
“Heh heh heh! I'm sick to death of hearing that 'orthodox sect' crap from you lot.”
“What?!”
“And a beggar like you looking down on naryeotagon? That's even more laughable.”
Urgh!
The searing pain throbbing across his back was no small matter.
“For daring to try and butcher a Point Cang disciple right in front of our mountain gate. Are you prepared to pay for that grave sin?”
“Have you ever seen such an outrageous villain! You struck first at old Dokgo, and now you spout this shameless nonsense?!”
Even as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth, Dokgo Ga bellowed out his inner rage like thunder.
He knew full well such shouting would only worsen his injuries, yet he couldn't rein in his temper.
That infuriatingly consistent attitude dredged up old memories Gwang-il would rather forget.
'...Should I just kill him now?'
Part of him wanted to press the advantage and smash that repulsive skull to pieces.
But his position as a third-generation disciple of Point Cang, and the sect's tangled circumstances right now, kept holding him back.
'Killing that lunatic beggar isn't so hard anymore.'
If Dokgo Ga had been at full strength from the start, Gwang-il wouldn't have landed such a fatal blow so easily.
But now the tables were completely turned—mentally, physically, whatever.
Of course, against a guy like Dokgo Ga, he'd still need to brace for some extra damage.
'Is it worth taking that hit just to kill him now?'
Dokgo Ga's rotten temper was infamous enough that anything could happen.
The guy had made enemies everywhere in the Beggars' Sect without a single ally.
With Gwang-il's status as a third-generation disciple thrown in, this duel might even blow over with just Dokgo Ga looking like a fool.
But...
'The Sect Leader and Master won't let it slide...'
Especially his master, whose inflexible sense of justice outstripped even a dozen Gwang-jo's combined. A headache-inducing mess was inevitable.
In the worst case, with the great war looming, he might get his feet tied up inside the sect.
His master had always valued mental purity over martial prowess.
If Dokgo Ga had shown up at the main sect and Gwang-il killed him in the ensuing scuffle...
'No matter the cause and effect, it'll crimp my freedom down the line. Plain as day.'
“Cough! Kurgh... bleeech!”
In that fleeting instant, a whirlwind of thoughts raced through his mind at light speed.
As Dokgo Ga staggered and vomited another bowlful of blood, snapping Gwang-il from his reverie, he steeled his resolve.
'Not here in the sect, even if I kill him.'
The longer this dragged on, the wider the gap between them would grow anyway.
If they crossed paths again somewhere in the jianghu, he could kill the bastard quietly then.
So for today...
“I don't know what grudge this nameless Beggars' Sect senior has against a mere disciple of the jianghu, but...”
“...?”
“As a proud disciple of Point Cang, Gwang-il will show mercy and withdraw.”
“Wh-what?! What kind of demonic trick is this?!”
One moment he'd been slashing wildly with curt insults; now he'd punched a fist-sized hole in the guy's side and was politely cupping his hands.
“You wretch!”
Dokgo Ga, clutching his gushing flank with both hands, his chin beard soaked in blood, reeled from a dizzying shock.
He took it as mockery.
Gwang-il had anticipated that frenzied state of mind and casually flipped the beggar's guts inside out again.
All while sensing two presences rapidly approaching.
“The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace invades our territory in Dali just days ago, the Sichuan Tang Clan sneaks into our sect not long before that, and now a Beggars' Sect senior comes harassing us too.”
Pfft.
“Is the Beggars' Sect perhaps scheming something sinister alongside the Beast Palace and Tang Clan?”
“Wh-what?! You insolent cur, how dare you...!”
At the blatant provocation that could make anyone's eyes spin, Dokgo Ga roared and lunged forward, forgetting his grave injuries.
Or tried to.
“Stop!”
“Elder Dokgo Ga!”
“?!”
If not for the angry shouts from figures leaping over the ruined woods...
Thud! Thud!
“What in the world is this disaster?!”
“Dokgo Ga! What are you doing here? Have you forgotten the Leader's order to stay confined at headquarters?!”
“Y-you...!”
Two men, one old and one young.
Both in faded but impeccably maintained white robes, stood blocking Dokgo Ga's path with eyes blazing like fire.
“Explain yourself, Elder Dokgo Ga. Why are you in Point Cang, and why have you turned their mountain gate into this mess?”
“Speak true. Your actions have all but stained the Beggars' Sect with an unforgivable sin against Point Cang!”
The young man grilled Dokgo Ga with icy severity evoking a midwinter gale, while the old beggar beside him barked accusations without restraint.
Gwang-il's heart raced with a strange thrill upon recognizing the young man's face.
Because...
'What are the odds...!'
After the bitter foe that was Dokgo Ga came a precious tie from his past life—one of the few.
A faint hope he'd barely dared entertain had come true spectacularly.
“And what the hell is with that pathetic state of yours? How far into the mud do you plan to drag the sect's face before you're satisfied?!”
Despite the young man's furious expression, his voice remained coldly even, subtly lifting the corners of Gwang-il's stoic mouth.
“Your words go too far, Hu Ga! How can you hound a fellow sect brother like this without hearing the full story?!”
Cough!
Unlike Gwang-il, who smiled inwardly at reuniting early with his old friend from another life...
“Th-that bastard! Look at him! That demon's beaten a Beggars' Sect elder like me to this state and has the gall to smirk!”
Spotting Gwang-il grinning behind Hu Ga, Dokgo Ga was consumed by rage that made his vision blur.
“He attacked me first when I came to Point Cang! And with some vicious sword art I'd never seen—not Sun-Piercing Sword—pouring it out on me...!”
“Me? Ha...! You're the one who came at me first, senior, saying you'd beat my bad habits out of me.”
“Wh-what?! You lying sack of—how dare you spin tales like...!”
Dokgo Ga advanced with bloodshot eyes at Gwang-il's exasperated sigh and lamenting retort, smile wiped clean.
He was determined to kill the bastard even if it meant bleeding out.
But unfortunately for him, no one here was in the mood to indulge his fury...
“That's enough empty warnings, Elder Dokgo Ga. As Hu Ga, I say: don't tarnish the sect's honor any further.”
“Hu Ga! How can you not believe me?! That bastard struck first...!”
“Are you saying a Point Cang disciple preemptively attacked a Beggars' Sect elder right at their mountain gate?”
“...!”
“I'd pretend to believe you if it sounded plausible. This excuse is even weaker than the Danli incident last time.”
“Excuse?! You call this an excuuuuse?!”
“How the hell did you fall this far? You used to act with a righteous heart...”
“Hu... huff! Haaaah!”
Under Hu Ga's pitying gaze—like looking at a madman—Dokgo Ga began heaving ragged breaths flecked with foam.
Any more words, and he'd lose his mind completely.
Gwang-il seized the moment, driving in a final unseen nail with a transmission.
[At your age, with your mediocre skills, you still strut around waving the Beggars' Sect name?]
[Stay out of my sight in the jianghu from now on, beggar. Next time, no mercy or luck like today.]
“Y-you! You... how...!”
“Huga, was it? My apologies, but with the senior's fierce assault leaving our sect in ruins, you'll need to explain on his behalf.”
Right after hammering the nail into Dokgo Ga's heart via transmission, Gwang-il smoothly addressed his old friend to create some space.
His outward poise was so natural that neither Hu Ga nor the other elder sensed anything amiss.
“Hoo. Of course. That's only right.”
Hu Ga's shoulders slumped, his eyes filling with deep weariness.
Already burdened by regret and guilt over the scene, he couldn't even think to suspect Gwang-il.
“You wretch!”
“Enough already! Do you really need to be executed on the spot to calm down?!”
“That's not... it isn't...!”
“Shut it!”
“Y-you...! Urk! Bleeech!”
“Hah! This just keeps getting worse!”
Meanwhile, utterly incensed by Gwang-il's brazenness, Dokgo Ga vomited twice as much blood as before—a veritable waterfall, complete with fingernail-sized chunks.
His rage and injustice had aggravated his wounds to the brink of death.
'Perfect. Better this way.'
Gwang-il smirked inwardly in satisfaction as Hu Ga's voice, laced with sorrow and apology, reached his ear cautiously.
“I'm truly sorry. There's no excuse for this, so I'll go straight to your Sect Leader and apologize in person.”
The earlier chill had vanished; now he bowed deeply with sincere words.
'...You've changed not a bit.'
Gwang-il gazed at his old friend's crown with newfound sentiment, but only briefly.
“Come inside for now. You two don't seem like assailants—you're guests of Point Cang.”
“......Hah!”
With a barbed remark securing psychological high ground, Gwang-il led the guests through the wrecked thicket into Point Cang's grounds.