Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Nangong Clan's Arrival
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Thud thud thud thud.
A carriage pulled by four horses with blinders raced down the official road, kicking up a storm of dust.
One particularly striking feature was the characters emblazoned on the flag fluttering in rhythm with the carriage's speed.
Azure Heaven
And there was only one group in all the land bold enough to fly that banner openly.
They were one of the pillars of the Righteous Murim, which divided the Central Plains into three domains, and they claimed dominion over Anhui Province.
The Nangong Clan.
Amidst it all, another flag bearing the character "Honored" fluttered beside the Azure Heaven banner, marking it unmistakably as the Great Cyclic Emperor's Carriage, reserved solely for the clan head.
“Ha! Ha!”
What business could such a noble carriage have in this modest little Anpyeong County?
What dire urgency drove the coachman to whip the horses into such a frenzy?
It all stemmed from a single letter.
* * *
“Do we really need to trouble you, Father, with coming along? I could have handled it alone just fine…”
Inside the carriage.
A handsome young man spoke to the middle-aged man gazing thoughtfully out the window, his face etched with concern.
He was Nangong Han-su, current head of the Nangong Clan and leader of one of the Five Great Families, along with his son and heir apparent, Nangong Seong.
“Your uncle is the one making the request. Since he’s asked so courteously, it’s only right that I go in person.”
“It’s obviously an attempt to revive that marriage proposal. Didn’t we already send the precious Azure Heaven Sword to convey our refusal? Even if he is Grandfather’s closest friend and sworn brother, how could he…”
“…”
“I hear he’s an utter slob, so fat he’s been bedridden for ages, and on top of that, his temperament is foul as they come.”
“…”
“It’s a match anyone with eyes would refuse outright…”
“Enough!”
Nangong Han-su barked sternly at his son’s repeated complaints.
“Father!”
“Enough, I said.”
“…”
Despite having spoken nothing but the truth, Nangong Seong puffed out his cheeks in frustration and turned his head toward the window.
“Hoo…”
A long sigh escaped Nangong Han-su’s lips.
It was insolence unbecoming in the presence of one’s father, but how could he blame the boy? His own feelings mirrored his son’s exactly…
The promise forged in drunken banter between his father—the Sword King Nangong Chang-seon—and Yu Seong-hwan.
Considering the Yu Clan Manor’s prestige and Yu Seong-hwan’s influence in the court, it wasn’t a bad political match by any means.
But the prospective groom was utterly deplorable.
What kind of girl was his own daughter, Nangong Hye, one of the parties in this arrangement?
In wisdom, she rivaled the Zhuge; in beauty, she was unrivaled in Anhui Province. Her martial prowess even surpassed most men, earning her a spot among the Five Phoenixes long ago.
Not that he was biased as her father—others said the same.
And that was hardly all.
Since turning sixteen after her coming-of-age ceremony, proposals had poured in from prestigious families, too numerous to even read them all.
For such a daughter to wed a wastrel whose future was as murky as a pig’s? It was enough to make anyone grimace.
Though his own father, Nangong Chang-seon, stubbornly insisted on honoring the promise, it was utter nonsense.
Moreover, “not bad” was putting it mildly for a political marriage—better matches than the Yu Clan Manor were a dime a dozen.
For the clan’s future, he had to reject it outright.
“Hey, Jeok Seong.”
“Yes, Clan Head.”
At Nangong Han-su’s call, the coachman—who had been relentlessly cracking his whip—responded immediately.
“Let’s head to the Beggars’ Sect branch in Anpyeong County first.”
“Understood.”
Without a word of protest, the coachman turned the horses—previously headed for Cheongam Mountain and the Yu Clan Manor—toward Anpyeong County.
“Father, what about the Beggars’ Sect?”
“We need to know.”
“Yes?”
“‘Know thyself and know thy enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles,’ as they say.”
“…?”
“Don’t we need to learn about the man himself first to reject the proposal properly? The Yu Clan Manor won’t carelessly reveal their young master’s flaws. Besides, with the Patriarch’s benevolence spreading across all of Anpyeong, even asking others won’t yield an objective view. But the Beggars’ Sect? They’ll spill every dirty detail without holding back.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Nangong Seong grasp his father’s intent, nodding eagerly with delight.
Father was seeking an excuse to refuse the marriage—and he was determined to find one.
“As expected of you, Father.”
At his son’s admiration, Nangong Han-su smiled faintly and nodded.
* * *
“What? Where are they? Does this make any sense?”
Yu Hyun’s dumbfounded voice leaked out as he endlessly prowled Anpyeong County’s back alleys.
They should be here.
What was a back alley, anyway?
A dingy hideout. A hotbed of all things illicit. A gathering spot for those who fit such squalor.
Yet… this place was too clean. Impossibly clean.
It was small in scale, sure, but otherwise no different from the main road.
Above all, not a single beggar—the kind who should be sprawled on mats, idling away the days and mooching off passersby—could be seen.
Why? How? What the hell for?
He’d scoured these alleys top to bottom, yet hadn’t spotted so much as a stray mutt without an owner, let alone a beggar? That didn’t add up!
Ugh, had they all gotten too fat and comfy?
In a place this prosperous, there should be plenty to scrounge. They ought to dispatch extra hands to boost their haul…
Should he check some rundown roadside shrine on the outskirts?
But first.
“Hey, you there.”
“Huh? Oh, Young Master! What brings you to these parts?”
At Yu Hyun’s call, the man sweeping the storefront bowed deeply, then widened his eyes in surprise.
“Huh? And walking, no less?”
“…”
Enough with that already. It’s getting old.
“Whatever. Anyway, how come there’s not a single beggar in this alley?”
“Pardon?”
“The beggars didn’t all move out, so why isn’t there even one in sight?”
“…”
The man stared at him with a blank look, as if wondering what nonsense this was.
“…You’re joking, right?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, looking for beggars in Anpyeong County…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Why play dumb when you know?”
“…”
I don’t know…
“Ah! Are you here on an inspection?”
“Huh?”
As the man spouted gibberish, Yu Hyun tilted his head in confusion.
You’re the one beating your own drum here. Inspection out of nowhere?
“…What?”
“As expected of the Yu Clan Manor’s heir. I wondered why you’d come to the back alleys you never visit—checking up on the struggling folk, eh?”
“…No, it’s not like that.”
“But don’t worry. There’s none. I haven’t seen a beggar in over a decade myself.”
“…”
“It’s all thanks to the Patriarch. He rounded up every vagrant and beggar, built them homes, gave them land to farm… Other places might be different, but in Anpyeong, there’s no room for vagrants or beggars. Even if one rolled in from elsewhere, the Patriarch would nab ’em and set ’em straight on the spot.”
“…”
Yu Hyun was speechless at the man thumping his own chest in pride.
Had he wandered into some other world…?
He’d lived long enough, but hearing beggars had gone extinct?
No wonder everyone’s eyes lit up the moment they saw him, eager to shove something his way.
The Patriarch had tackled poverty so thoroughly even the emperor couldn’t match it…
“…”
Hold on. No beggars means no Beggars’ Sect branch in Anpyeong either, right?
Damn it all!
How was he supposed to learn anything like this?
As Yu Hyun’s face twisted in frustration, the man shrank back, gauging his mood.
“Young Master, something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Nothing at all.”
“…”
“Sigh, keep up the good work.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Yu Hyun left the baffled man behind and kept walking.
“Clear waters hold no fish,” they say—had good governance wiped out even the beggars? Was he supposed to be happy or baffled?
No beggars meant he couldn’t conjure them up…
Eh, whatever. He’d be leaving for Anhui soon anyway; he could look on the way.
Having given up far quicker than the time he’d invested in searching, Yu Hyun was just stepping out of the back alleys onto the main road when—
Thud thud thud thud.
“Whoa, mercy!”
A single carriage barreled through the crowded main road at breakneck speed.
Yu Hyun scowled at the sight of people scattering in panic.
“What the hell? That’s dangerous. Nearly hurt someone!”
Lucky no one was injured, but who the hell charges like a maniac through a packed street…?
“Huh?”
As Yu Hyun glared at the receding carriage, a glint flashed in his eyes.
“That flag…”
If he wasn’t mistaken, it was the Nangong Clan’s Azure Heaven banner… And “Honored”?
“The clan head? Why’s the clan head here?”
It was baffling.
Why would the Nangong Clan—no, their clan head’s carriage—show up in Anpyeong County?
“Oh, right. That marriage proposal was from the Nangong Clan, wasn’t it?”
Recalling what Guard Huang had told him on his first day back, Yu Hyun tilted his head again.
“They sent the Azure Heaven Sword to refuse it already, so why come now? Other business?”
Staring curiously at the distant halted carriage, he suddenly snapped his fingers.
“Oh, perfect timing. Might as well make nice while I’m at it.”
It was a golden opportunity for him, planning to head to Anhui.
The Nangong Clan’s standing there was no less than the Yu Clan Manor’s here in Anpyeong.
And inside that carriage wasn’t just anyone—the clan head himself. Sucking up could yield sweet rewards.
Refused the marriage? Anyone would.
Who’d take a wastrel, let alone one so obese he could barely breathe?
And it reminded him of someone dear.
One of the six eccentric masters who’d taught him.
If that was the clan head’s carriage, maybe he’d come along? He’d be around thirty now…
Lost in thought, Yu Hyun’s steps carried him to where the carriage had stopped.
“…What the hell is this?”
His eyes bulged at the sign on the towering three-story building before him.
Beggars’ Sect Anpyeong Branch
So this swanky place was the beggars’ den—the ones who supposedly made the heavens their roof, dodged dew with the sky as ceiling, and treated the world as their home?
“…No wonder I couldn’t find it.”
Yu Hyun clucked his tongue in disbelief.
“Nothing in this damn town is normal.”
Or rather, it was so bizarre it defied comprehension.
“Well… at least I found the Beggars’ Sect. Small mercies?”
Shaking his head with a wry chuckle, he moved to step inside—when—
“Hey, tubby. How ’bout you stop right there?”
“…”
A long staff barred his path.
Looking up, it was the Nangong Clan coachman who’d whipped the horses like a madman earlier.
And what?
Hey, tubby?
Had this bastard learned manners shoving righteousness up his ass? Insulting a stranger’s looks on sight?
Yu Hyun itched to beat him half to death, but he summoned otherworldly patience and held back.
Coachman garb or not, the aura marked him as a Nangong Clan warrior.
He’d come to build ties with the clan—why brawl with one of their own?
Seemed the guy had trained only in martial arts, skimping on etiquette. He’d endure three times, at least.
Who knew? Might spare a life.
“Ah, seems there’s a misunderstanding. I’m—”
“Don’t care who you are.”
“…”
“The honored guest is inside. Come back later if you’ve business.”
Tap, tap tap.
The coachman swung the staff, prodding Yu Hyun’s chest as if to say back off.
This prick was really pissing him off…
You just cut me off? Hit me?
Annoyed as hell, but he’d bear it one more time.
He wasn’t the utter wastrel Jin Wi-gang right now—he was the polite Yu Hyun.
Truth be told, he understood the coachman’s behavior.
Carriage empty meant the clan head was inside now.
Likely didn’t want to let some unknown near his master.
Forcing a smile, Yu Hyun grabbed the staff.
“I get why, but could you move this?”
“I said step aside, but your fat’s clogged your ears?”
Whoosh! Smack!
The coachman twisted his wrist, and the staff whipped across Yu Hyun’s cheek in an instant.
“Scram, pig. Ignore the warning, and next time you might really get hurt.”
“…”
Clutching his stinging cheek, Yu Hyun stared blankly, lost in thought.
Get hurt…
Yeah, already did.
From now on, you’ll be shitting blood.