Chapter 367
Chapter 367
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 367
Chapter Title: The Dirty Clothes Faction
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“I’ve never seen you disciples before.”
Namgung Un’s expression hardened slightly as a sharp gaze swept across his face.
‘It’s because of my eyes!’
He felt it too.
His eyes had not yet become those of a true beggar.
But he couldn't change his gaze on the spot, nor could he naturally mimic a beggar.
‘If I can’t overcome a crisis like this, wasn’t all my suffering until now for nothing?’
*Zing.*
Just then, a gentle stream of internal energy seeped into his armpit.
Bu Eun-seol, who was holding his shoulder, had secretly infused energy to tickle the pressure point there.
‘I see!’
Grasping Bu Eun-seol’s intent, Namgung Un suddenly opened his mouth and began to laugh.
“Hehehe!”
As he laughed like a madman, Haepung furrowed his brow.
“That man’s face is scary. Uhehehe.”
Namgung Un had once been an uncontrollable troublemaker in the Namgung family.
He was a character who could nonchalantly do things an ordinary person wouldn't dare. He was now displaying that disposition to its fullest.
“That man’s glare is giving me a stomachache.”
Then, Namgung Un casually pulled down his pants, exposed his rear, and squatted.
Bu Eun-seol quickly pulled his pants up and bowed his head.
“S-Sorry. He’s not well to begin with, and he was beaten quite severely.”
“Hmm.”
Noticing the food scraps stuck between Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un’s yellowed teeth, and the foul smell, Haepung nodded.
‘They are indeed disciples of our sect.’
But despite that, a lingering sense of unease remained.
Haepung’s gaze swept over Bu Eun-seol as he spoke in a low voice.
“Which branch are you from?”
“I-I don’t know.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s answer, a cold sweat ran down the spine of the grinning Namgung Un.
‘Brother Bu is making a mistake like this here?’
“You don’t know?”
As Haepung’s eyes glinted with a puzzled expression, Bu Eun-seol bowed his head and groveled.
“What would fellows like us know?”
He quickly continued.
“It’s just that an old beggar on the Bluestone Road of the West Gate in Fuzhou saw our condition and told us to join the Beggars’ Sect.”
At that, Haepung’s stiff expression relaxed.
“It seems Branch Leader Baek of the Fujian branch, who passed away recently, recommended your entry.”
In truth, it would have been stranger for a one-knot disciple dressed as a vagrant to state his origin and branch clearly.
Branch leaders in various regions had the authority to admit one-knot disciples.
Because they accepted disciples haphazardly, the management of one-knot disciples was effectively non-existent.
“Y-Yes, that’s right. I heard the old beggar’s surname was Baek.”
Bu Eun-seol said, bowing his head again.
“He said we wouldn’t get beaten for begging if we joined the Beggars’ Sect. He gave us these knots and told us to go to the headquarters.”
“I see.”
Haepung nodded with a look of pity.
It was said in jest that the Beggars’ Sect had over a hundred thousand disciples.
However, the saying “a hundred thousand disciples” wasn’t entirely baseless, as most adult beggars in the Central Plains were members of the Beggars’ Sect.
But most of them were just one-knot disciples like these two, who knew nothing and only went around begging.
The single benefit that drew them to the Beggars’ Sect was this:
Even with just one knot, the chances of being beaten while begging were significantly lower.
“Hehehe.”
Just then, the beaming Namgung Un once again met the eyes of the young girl next to Haepung.
She was very beautiful, but her gaze was arrogant.
“What are you looking at?”
As her gaze fell on Namgung Un, Bu Eun-seol doubled the internal energy he was pushing into the pressure point in his armpit.
Namgung Un began to laugh even more maniacally.
“Hehe. Uhehehe.”
“Ugh. He’s a complete idiot.”
She then turned to Haepung.
“Let’s go, Master. If we stay here any longer, I think I’ll go crazy too.”
“Wait.”
Haepung scanned Bu Eun-seol’s body sharply and spoke in a low voice.
“Your name?”
“It’s Eyeball, sir.”
“Heh.”
Haepung chuckled softly, then spoke to the middle-aged beggar standing behind him.
“In-guk. Promote these two to two-knot disciples and send them to the Gyuhwa Grotto. And for the time being, you will be in charge of teaching them the basics.”
Haepung looked at the middle-aged beggar and said quietly.
“This will be in place of your punishment. Do you understand?”
The middle-aged beggar called In-guk bowed his head.
“I understand.”
“Master.”
The beggar girl’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“You’re accepting those two as two-knot disciples?”
“He seems calm and quick-witted, doesn’t he? At that level, he should learn martial arts quite well.”
“Even that fool?”
“Well, he seems sturdy. He’ll be good at something.”
Then, Haepung looked at Bu Eun-seol and nodded.
“The martial arts of our sect can display great power even if one begins late. Once you learn them, you will no longer face such hardships.”
“Th-Thank you, sir.”
As Bu Eun-seol bowed his head, Haepung smiled and spoke to the beggar girl.
“Let us be on our way now.”
As Haepung led his group away, only the middle-aged beggar named In-guk remained.
“You two are lucky.”
In-guk nodded as he looked at Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un.
“Once you become two-knot disciples, you won’t have to beg anymore. The headquarters will provide you with meals.”
“Really?”
As Bu Eun-seol’s small eyes widened in surprise, In-guk chuckled.
“That’s right.”
He then looked around and said.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll send a disciple from the Gyuhwa Grotto to show you to your lodgings.”
As In-guk left with a smile, Namgung Un wore a look of astonishment.
「This is unexpected, isn’t it? The Beggars’ Sect is truly generous. To promote vagrants like us to official disciples.」
「It’s because we’re useful.」
「Pardon?」
Bu Eun-seol spoke with a sharp gaze.
「Isn’t the Beggars’ Sect sacrificing its disciples without hesitation to create internal energy cores? And the best subjects for that are nameless beggars with no official records.」
「Don’t tell me… they’re making us disciples to use us for those artificial cores?」
「The masked assailants who attacked before were all young men.」
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath and sent a telepathic message.
「They will need people who are meant to die anyway. Their scheme is to promote a large number of vagrant-like disciples to two-knot status to create those cores.」
A sigh escaped Namgung Un’s lips.
The Beggars’ Sect had revered righteousness for generations and had done much good for the martial world.
But now, swept up by a dark power, they were committing the heinous act of creating internal energy cores from human lives?
「It seems justice has vanished from the martial world. Of all places… for the Beggars’ Sect to be doing this.」
Bu Eun-seol said nothing.
There was never any justice in the martial world to begin with. Even he himself had not come here to establish justice.
The martial world, and the world at large, simply revolved around purpose.
The procedure to become a two-knot disciple of the Beggars’ Sect, eligible to learn martial arts, was surprisingly complex.
It required a recommendation from a branch leader-level figure, and the agreement of three out of five three-knot disciples who had observed the candidate for a month.
From ancient times, the Beggars’ Sect had revered righteousness. Therefore, character was prioritized over martial talent when selecting disciples.
Furthermore, since two-knot disciples could handle the sect’s information, frivolous and rash individuals had to be filtered out, in addition to assessing their character.
But Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un became two-knot disciples with remarkable ease.
After bowing at the sect’s ancestral shrine and swearing to uphold the ten inviolable rules of the Beggars’ Sect, the entire process was complete.
Currently, the Sect Leader was ill, and the sect was split into two factions.
Consequently, the procedure for becoming a disciple was shortened, as each side sought to add even a single person to their ranks.
Once all procedures were finished, Bu Eun-seol was given the name No Jung, and Namgung Un was given the name No Sam.
This was because nameless disciples who received names in the Beggars’ Sect took the surname of the current Sect Leader.
“They really do intend to use us once and throw us away.”
Namgung Un whispered with a sigh, looking at the two knots he had received at the ancestral shrine.
“Otherwise, why would they accept two-knot disciples, who are to be taught martial arts, in this manner?”
Just then, In-guk, who had assisted with the official disciple procedure, approached the two.
“Congratulations. From now on, you are two-knot disciples of this sect.”
Bu Eun-seol bowed his head, but Namgung Un just giggled.
Since Namgung Un couldn't properly feign being a beggar, it was far better to pretend to be a bit slow-witted.
“Now, wear these.”
In-guk handed them clothes.
These clothes were also dirty, but the fabric was of decent quality, and they didn't reek to the point of inducing nausea like the ones Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un were wearing.
There were patches here and there, but it seemed they were deliberately sewn on to signify membership in the Beggars’ Sect, rather than being from actual tears.
“What you must remember is that you are disciples of the Dirty Clothes Faction. Avoid associating with the Clean Clothes Faction disciples as much as possible.”
Bu Eun-seol looked puzzled.
In the past, the Beggars’ Sect had been divided into the Clean Clothes Faction, which advocated for expanding influence through wealth and information while wearing clean clothes, and the Dirty Clothes Faction, which insisted on wearing dirty clothes and upholding the true ways of a beggar.
But that was in the early days of the sect. Since when had it split into the Clean Clothes and Dirty Clothes Factions again?
“You’ll find out soon enough, but our Sect Leader is bedridden. So we must elect the next Sect Leader… but the sect has split into two factions.”
“Is that so?”
As Bu Eun-seol played along, In-guk nodded.
“We of the Dirty Clothes Faction intend to elect the Vice-Sect Leader, Elder Hae, as the Grand Sect Leader, and his disciple, So-hwa, as the new Sect Leader. However, the Elder of the Long Staff, Elder Mak, is gathering forces and aiming for the position of Sect Leader.”
Hearing the story, Bu Eun-seol couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.
‘He’s even worse than the Beggar King.’
The Beggar King had at least maintained his position as a Grand Elder.
But Haepung was taking it a step further, using the bizarre title of Grand Sect Leader to rule the Beggars’ Sect through his disciple.
‘He probably couldn’t become the Sect Leader himself because he collaborated with a follower of the demonic path.’
Haepung had cooperated in the fight between Bu Eun-seol and the Beggar King.
He did so to find the Beggars’ Sect’s sacred artifact, the Green Jade Gourd, and because he was confident the Beggar King would naturally strike down Bu Eun-seol.
But when the Beggar King was killed by Bu Eun-seol instead, he was branded a traitor who had collaborated with a demonic practitioner to kill a symbolic figure of the sect.
“I’ve said too much.”
In-guk said, looking at Namgung Un, who was staring blankly.
“Since you’ve become two-knot disciples, you can now stay at the Gyuhwa Grotto. And come to the bamboo forest in the north before nine in the morning tomorrow. I will teach you the basics of my martial arts there.”
In-guk led Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un to a large building.
It was the Gyuhwa Grotto, where newly joined two-knot disciples lived and ate together.
As expected, despite being a decent and clean building, it was named a ‘grotto’.
“Rest well, then.”
After In-guk left, Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un stood staring blankly at the Gyuhwa Grotto.
“Looks like some newcomers from the Dirty Clothes Faction.”
Just then, a group of beggars in clean clothes approached, snorting derisively.
They seemed to be from the Clean Clothes Faction.
“Why don’t you just sleep on the streets here too? If you want to be beggars so badly, why bother learning martial arts?”
They seemed to dislike Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un and were deliberately picking a fight.
“Heh, hehe.”
When Namgung Un giggled foolishly, one of the beggars suddenly threw a punch.
“Are my words amusing to you?”
*Thwack!*
One of the enraged beggars kicked Namgung Un hard in the stomach.
“Heh, hehe.”
When the fallen Namgung Un continued to giggle foolishly, the Clean Clothes Faction members finally realized he was a bit slow-witted and scoffed.
“Hmph, the Dirty Clothes Faction has really hit rock bottom. Now they’re even accepting half-wits as two-knot disciples.”
Their fun spoiled, they disappeared somewhere.
“The Beggars’ Sect is truly doomed.”
Namgung Un dusted off his clothes and sighed.
At a time when disciples of the same sect should be uniting, they were instead at each other’s throats, tearing one another down.
“I don’t understand why they’re fighting amongst themselves over the position of Sect Leader.”
As Namgung Un wore a look of incomprehension, Bu Eun-seol smirked.
“Through its information network, the Beggars’ Sect is quite involved in various underworld businesses and the interests of the back alleys. Therefore, its leader enjoys far greater power and luxury than the leaders of other sects.”
Bu Eun-seol looked around and said.
“Moreover, the status of ‘King of Beggars’ allows one to act without hesitation. If one so desires, one can indulge in all sorts of pleasures without worrying about the judgment of others.”
“But didn’t the Beggars’ Sect clean up its act a long time ago? I don’t understand how it came to this.”
Namgung Un was genuinely ashamed.
He had always prided himself on the belief that the Orthodox Faction walked the righteous path. The Beggars’ Sect, in particular, was a representative sect that practiced accumulating virtue and performing good deeds, was it not?
But the current Beggars’ Sect was not only severely divided but also as corrupt as a sect from the Unorthodox Faction.
“The Beggars’ Sect was already irredeemably corrupt, starting from the time of the previous Sect Leader, Sang Gwan-un.”
Bu Eun-seol stated firmly.
“On the pretext of having too many disciples, the Beggars’ Sect concentrated power in a single Sect Leader. This has the advantage of creating strong unity around the leader, but it also has the disadvantage that if the person at the top becomes corrupt, there is no way to purify the sect.”
Bu Eun-seol avoided Namgung Un’s gaze and looked at the distant sky.
“The Eight Great Families are the same. They have enjoyed prosperity until now because they have chosen excellent leaders…”
He paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and then continued.
“If an inadequate person becomes the family head, it will collapse uncontrollably. If you think about the future, it might be worth considering various other methods.”
Afterward, Bu Eun-seol explained in detail the responsibilities of a leader.
And if one couldn’t handle them, how one should lead the organization.
All for the sake of Namgung Un, who would one day become the head of the Namgung family.
“Even though it’s been a while since we met, you are still teaching me, Brother Bu.”
Realizing Bu Eun-seol’s consideration, Namgung Un wiped his nose.
“I thought I had grown quite a bit. It seems I still have a long way to go.”
Bu Eun-seol nodded and changed the subject.
“From now on, we must roam the headquarters to find where they are creating the artificial internal energy cores, or find the ailing No Bong. We must find conclusive evidence to catch the higher-ups connected to the Beggars’ Sect.”
“Understood.”
Namgung Un’s eyes shone with determination.
From now on, they had to search the interior of the Beggars’ Sect for evidence related to the energy cores.
The Beggars’ Sect headquarters was so vast that the buildings were scattered far apart.
Moreover, since it was a den of beggars, there wasn't much to steal.
Except for the places that managed information or contained books, there wasn't even a single common guard posted.
Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un spent the entire night roaming the Beggars’ Sect headquarters, observing their surroundings and tracking information about the artificial energy cores.
“This is the pride of our sect’s footwork, the Drunken Eight Immortals Footwork.”
And around three in the morning, they learned the basics of the Beggars’ Sect’s martial arts from In-guk.
He was originally the head of the Myriad Sceneries Hall, Haepung’s direct intelligence unit. But recently, he had made several mistakes, lost Haepung’s trust, and was on the verge of being demoted.
And Haepung had substituted his punishment by having him, a man of hall master rank, teach two two-knot disciples.
Knowing this well, In-guk patiently taught Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un the basics of the Beggars’ Sect’s martial arts without any complaint.
“If you master just this, you won’t have to worry about being beaten to death while begging.”
Usually, when a sect accepts a disciple, the first thing they teach is an internal energy cultivation method.
This is because the internal energy method must be the foundation to learn other martial arts smoothly.
But the first thing the Beggars’ Sect taught its disciples was footwork.
Although two-knot disciples didn't need to beg, they were taught footwork first so they could at least avoid beatings.
“Hmm.”
In-guk, who had been teaching diligently for a while, let out a sigh.
The skinny one was quite smart but lacked physical strength.
The one who giggled foolishly couldn’t even properly understand a third of what was said.
‘Well, what can I do? This is my job.’
But In-guk didn’t give up and diligently tried to teach the two.
‘After seeing only vicious people every day, seeing some truly beggar-like beggars is actually a relief.’
He had been struggling greatly with the changing atmosphere in the Beggars’ Sect recently.
Begging was the duty of beggars, yet they were divided and at each other’s throats.
Even the Vice-Sect Leader he served, Haepung, and the Elder of the Long Staff, Elder Mak, were at odds, training disciples separately.
No matter how he thought about it, this atmosphere did not suit the Beggars’ Sect.
‘How nice it would be to live without a care in the world like them.’
In-guk smiled as he watched Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un move slowly, as if drunk.
He felt that living so simply and calmly was the true way of a beggar.
“That’s enough.”
After watching for a long time, In-guk spoke to the two.
It was clear that even after a year of teaching, they wouldn't properly master the Drunken Eight Immortals Footwork. In that case, it would be better to teach martial arts for a short time and instead feed them well, which they would appreciate more.
“That’s enough. Go and eat, and come back again tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
“Hehe.”
Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un clasped their hands and bowed to In-guk, then went to get a lump of cold rice distributed by the headquarters.
“Those country bumpkins from Fujian sure do wander around a lot.”
Occasionally, beggars from the Clean Clothes Faction would pick fights or harass them, but Bu Eun-seol and Namgung Un endured it silently.
And as always, they loitered around the headquarters here and there.
With their two-knot ties and perfect beggar appearance, no one in the headquarters suspected them.
If they saw an empty spot in the shade of a tree, they would sit there and take a nap.
One person was so thin he looked pitifully weak, and the other laughed at all hours.
There was no one in this world who would think these two were the successor of the Demonic Cult and the direct heir of the Namgung family.