The Beggar Nuna's Shadow
“Are you acquainted with this beggar?”
Meanwhile, there was another person burning with rage besides the Black Spot Lord.
“These parasites that suck the blood of the common folk, creatures that should be hiding quietly under rocks so as not to be seen. How dare they put a bounty on my disciple? I should have eradicated them long ago and wiped out their seed.”
Blue flames erupted from Seomun Su-rin’s eyes. It was no mere metaphor. It was an actual surge of inner energy, flickering like fire because the color of the Setting Sun from the Juyang Sesimgyeong resembled flames.
It was her master’s fury upon hearing the circumstances. It burned even hotter because her disciple had done nothing wrong—not even the slightest bit.
Her disciple had stormed into the unorthodox factions to help a single innocent elder and tracked down the asang to rescue the people. One could scold her for being reckless and lacking caution in her conduct, but her heart was truly admirable. It was the very chivalry that would spread the name of a female martial artist far and wide. She was a disciple worthy of a hundred praises.
And yet, what? Ten thousand gwan in gold? Even if her disciple had cleverly hidden her name, it would eventually come to light.
Seomun Su-rin rose from her seat.
“It has been a while since I last saw Jo Hyeon-ryang’s face.”
Jo Hyeon-ryang was the Supreme Elder of the Black Dragon Clan, one of the Nine Great Clans, after the Jinju Eon Clan had fallen and its sole heir had defected. He was more famous by his title as the current Murim Alliance Lord.
This Murim Tournament was one she had originally intended not to attend. The one who should have shone there was her disciple, not Seomun Su-rin herself, so she had deliberately avoided it. Yet now—
Seomun Su-rin, deploying.
----
There was an important agenda at this Murim Tournament. One of the Ten Great Clans, the Jinju Eon Clan, had been eliminated, leaving a vacancy.
The Jinju Eon Clan had fallen—more precisely, it had been burned down from within by a defector.
Moyong Seong-ik, Lord of the Moyong Clan, muttered to himself.
“A-nyeong was not that kind of child.”
Eon Yeonyeong had originally been betrothed to the Moyong Clan while still in the womb. As a child, she had visited the cool lands of Yonyeong every summer for respite. The little Eon Yeonyeong Moyong Seong-ik remembered had been a frail, timid crybaby. After the Jinju Eon Clan abruptly broke off the engagement, he had never seen her again. He only occasionally heard rumors that she was doing well as a Murim Alliance patrol officer.
What on earth had happened to her?
Still, it was a chilling thought that the marriage talks had not fallen through. The fallen house could have been the Moyong Clan instead. Perhaps, after the broken engagement, the child had suffered something that filled her with resentment. She had been such a timid girl that she would tremble in fear at the sight of any wild animal or bird, even harmless creatures like martens or squirrels that ordinary girls would find cute. How such a child could harbor enough hatred to destroy an entire clan was beyond comprehension.
In any case, ever since hearing that news, he had become rather sensitive about his children’s marriages. That was why he could not help but react sharply to the report from the White Guard.
‘My lord, the young master has been spending time with a beggar lately. The rumors are so bizarre and terrible. What should we do? Is it only during the day? At night, the Green Guard does not even stop her, so they meet face to face every night as if they are about to become intimate. We must capture that wench—no, that woman immediately, flog her severely for her schemes, scold her harshly, and drive her away!’
However, the account written by the Green Guard in his own hand was completely contradictory.
“Though her conduct resembles that of a beggar, she appeared to be a wise woman whose words were reasonable and logical. She treats the young master like a younger brother, nothing more than friendly, and the young master likewise regards her as an elder sister. Any talk of romantic relations is a baseless slander. Furthermore, her martial arts are profound—at least late Peak realm or higher—so she has been instructing the young master at night, and he has shown remarkable progress recently.”
In truth, the White Guard was the one who was always looking for faults and could not stand it when he found none. The taciturn (because he was mute) and serious Green Guard, who had volunteered for the grueling night watch, was far more trustworthy.
But both testimonies ultimately pointed to the same beggar.
With the clan’s prestige at stake, how could the direct heir of the main bloodline associate with a beggar—a female beggar who was not even from the Beggar’s Union? Moreover, the Green Guard was unmarried, while the White Guard had two wives. The Green Guard knew nothing of relations between men and women, so he would not understand how a “nuna” could become a “nangja” and a “nangja” could become a “naeja.”
Moyong Seong-ik himself was not far removed from such matters—he had once had his son’s wet nurse stolen by his younger brother.
After some deliberation, Moyong Seong-ik decided to hear the story from the person involved. Of course, not from the beggar, but from his son.
“Jun-ah, I hear you have been spending time with an unusual friend lately?”
“Ah. You mean the beggar nuna?”
“Mm.”
Already, his words were stuck in his throat. A beggar was a beggar, and a nuna was a nuna—yet what in the world did “beggar nuna” even mean? How could the words “beggar” and “nuna” possibly go together? Especially coming from the mouth of the direct heir of the great Moyong Clan.
“I see. How did you come to know this acquaintance?”
“She is not an acquaintance, she is a friend!”
“Mm.”
Already they had reached the level of “friend.” Moyong Seong-ik’s expression grew even more serious.
“You see, Father, last time the White Guard said that all female beggars are dirty, um…”
“What is it?”
“The beggar nuna told me not to say bad words, because they are bad words. Especially in front of parents, one must be even more careful.”
“I will make a special exception this time. So?”
“That all female beggars are dirty whores……”
“That bastard White Guard……!”
Moyong Seong-ik’s veins bulged.
“See? It really was a bad word, wasn’t it……?”
“Yes. You must not speak such words carelessly. Not only in front of your father, but with anyone—if you utter them, you only damage your own dignity. You must never use such words.”
“Ah. The beggar nuna told me that too. She said using bad words is the same as shouting that you are a bad person, so it is better not to use them at all.”
“Mm.”
Moyong Seong-ik’s expression softened slightly. The Green Guard’s written account had said she appeared to be a wise woman whose words were reasonable and logical. As expected, the Green Guard was reliable.
“Mm. And? Have you learned anything else?”
“Ah. Also……”
Moyong Jun excitedly chattered away in front of his father, repeating all the gender equality lessons he had received from Cheong. Though Moyong Seong-ik felt they were somewhat biased in favor of women, they were sound teachings on proper conduct, speech, and mindset. Since a woman had taught them, it was natural they favored women, and even so, they were virtues that men ought to uphold anyway. There was no problem. It was simply that everyone knew them yet failed to practice them.
“What do you think, Father? Are they all correct? The nuna said that if I hear something I do not understand, I should not try to figure it out alone but ask an adult……”
“Excellent. Everything you said is correct.”
Moyong Seong-ik smiled broadly and opened his arms. The delighted Moyong Jun leapt into his father’s embrace.
But Moyong Seong-ik’s heart was not joyful. It felt as though a heavy boulder had been tied to it. When he heard that the beggar woman had offered to sell her chastity for gold, he felt as though he were plummeting from a thousand-foot cliff. Moreover, the phrase “if I hear something I do not understand” struck him deeply. Everyone had been excited about teaching martial arts to his youngest son, who had been born with the Cheonmu Jiche. Yet not a single person until now had taught him these basic principles of human decency that should be obvious. Moyong Seong-ik himself was no exception—he had assumed they were so natural that the boy would simply know them as he grew older. But thinking about it, how could a child learn them without being taught? Usually, a mother would step in to admonish her child, but… ah, my wife, why did you have to leave so soon……
He had looked down on her because she was a beggar woman, yet she had turned out to be his child’s benefactor! He had been taught to regard everyone he met as a teacher, yet he had acted this way simply because he was grown! He should immediately summon that woman and express his deep gratitude……
“……And also. Right! The beggar nuna asked me to marry her.”
“What? How dare she—then, what did you answer?”
“I said I do not like women whose faces are covered. You said so yourself, Father. That women cover their faces because it is horrifying for others to see……”
“Yes. I did say that. Whew. Well done. Well done indeed.”
Moyong Seong-ik felt immense gratitude for a teaching he could not even remember giving. Now he saw it clearly—she was not his child’s benefactor, but a schemer with a black heart! She had tried to seduce an innocent child so she could improve her own lot in life!
“Jun-ah, your father is saying this just in case, but marriage is a grave matter for the clan. You must never, ever decide it on your own. And that beggar woman is even more unacceptable. Absolutely not. Even if dirt enters this father’s eyes, it must not happen.”
“I already said I did not want to. So the beggar nuna also said that from now on, no matter what happens, she will never marry me either.”
“What! How dare a mere beggar speak such nonsense!”
Upon hearing that, he found himself angry all over again.
“Ah, Father?”
“Ahem. Never mind. Forget it. She said she would never marry you? Could you tell me more about that?”
After hearing the full story, it was rather ambiguous. He could not tell whether it was a cunning scheme or simply an elder sister teasing her younger brother. Such things required seeing the person’s eyes, gestures, and tone of voice to judge—secondhand accounts were useless. There was only one way to find out.
He would have to speak with her directly.
----
Paeng Daesan was having the worst time of his life.
Whenever he left the clan, women would swarm around him and cause nothing but trouble, so he had simply shut himself away and focused on training. He had even achieved a breakthrough into the late Peak realm. Yet Paeng Daesan did not stop training. Because—
Some time ago—
“Hey, little brother! I thought you looked at women like they were stones, but look at this, look at this. My, my, my.”
“What is it, nuna.”
“I saw it, you know? My, my, my. You sly little thing.”
Paeng Cho-ryo jabbed Paeng Daesan hard in the side. For reference, Paeng Cho-ryo had no concept of controlling her strength in her entire life, so it hurt a great deal. Along with the pain in his side and her blatantly annoying, drawling tone, Paeng Daesan’s voice dropped a notch.
“What exactly did you see?”
“Her. Cheong. She is pretty, is she not?”
Paeng Cho-ryo grinned slyly as she said this. Paeng Daesan was dumbfounded. Why was that name suddenly coming up?
“You mean Seomun Cheong Sojeo?”
“Yes. That Seomun Cheong. A friend, you say? A friend? A frieeeend? The Jade Qilin’s friend. A female friend. A woman friend. A lady friend.”
To Paeng Daesan, Paeng Cho-ryo was more than a sister and less than a mother. She had raised him by carrying him on her back. That was not a metaphor—it was a plain fact. Paeng Daesan suppressed his irritation out of that sense of gratitude.
“Nuna. I am genuinely annoyed right now. Could you please stop?”
“Hmm, but you really need to put in more effort. She is about to reach the Transcendent realm soon. Since she underwent Body Reconstruction, should we say she has already been there and back once? Hey! Where are you going?”
“……I am going to do wall-facing meditation. Do not misunderstand. If that woman reaches the Transcendent realm, I feel like I will genuinely get annoyed if I have to hear about it, so I am going.”
“I. See. Then. Work. Hard. My. Little. Brother.”
And the expression on Paeng Cho-ryo’s face at that moment had been so irritating that it made him want to kick away even the grace she had shown in raising him.
Then, disaster struck. Once the “inescapable companion” from the Hebei Paeng Clan came looking for him, there would be no escaping it. He had to get away before that happened, but he had been so absorbed in training that he had completely forgotten.