A Total Mess
Having washed up cleanly, Yang Jeong changed into a neat blue martial uniform.
With his hair tied up neatly and a sword at his waist, he stepped out of his room.
He always cut a fine figure, but today it seemed as though his whole body, face included, was practically glowing.
"Off to your own wedding, are you?"
When Jiang Zhou needled him, Yang Jeong gave a faint smile.
"Well, with so many people watching, I do have to dress properly, don't I? Brother."
"Not so many people—so many women, you mean."
Yang Jeong smirked.
"What can I do if women cling to me because they like me?"
Jiang Zhou's face twisted slightly.
"You've got a mouth on you, so you think you can say any damn thing you please? Fix your behavior first, then talk, you brat."
"What's wrong with my behavior that you'd say such a thing, Brother? In any case, I'm off."
Yang Jeong set off at a leisurely pace.
He looked every bit the young master of a great house.
"Watch yourself. The Beggars' Sect Leader might be waiting for you inside the Murim Alliance."
At Jiang Zhou's words, Yang Jeong—who had been strolling along without a care—flinched in surprise.
"Oh, come on... surely he wouldn't do anything rotten with that many people watching. Don't worry, Brother."
As if he had never startled at all, he carried on with perfect composure and crossed the Stone Bridge.
Jiang Zhou watched him go with an uneasy look on his face.
Every time that fool makes a move, disaster follows...
Hee-hee-heeng.........
But that unease didn't last long.
A horse's whinny drifted out from the stable at the back of the estate.
"That damn beast again.........."
Clenching his fist, Jiang Zhou rushed over.
Arriving before the Murim Alliance, Yang Jeong announced himself in a clear, ringing voice.
"I have come in answer to the Alliance Leader's summons."
Unlike last time, the warriors guarding the main gate did not stop him.
"Please follow me."
No—in fact, a young warrior even went so far as to guide him inside.
So this is what a good reputation gets you.
Yang Jeong walked along after him in high spirits.
Any worry about his reputation had long since fled his mind.
Right now, all he wanted was to bask in it.
After walking a good while into the Murim Alliance's depths, a vast training ground came into view.
Countless warriors had already gathered there.
Men and women, young and old alike, all stared intently at his face.
"Good grief, how can a man be that handsome?"
"So that's the one all the village women were gossiping about."
Yang Jeong savored the women's gazes.
The young men, however, glared at him with anything but fond eyes.
"No matter how great his deeds were, how could they give a merit award to a punk like that..."
"Exactly. We're the ones who bled fighting the enemy."
Amid the warriors' murmuring, the Alliance Leader and the elder masters made their appearance.
Among the elders was Sin Pung-gae as well.
At once, the warriors bowed in unison.
"We greet the Alliance Leader......!"
"We greet the Alliance Leader......!"
Yang Jeong, caught up in the moment, bowed as well.
"We greet the Alliance Leader...."
Once the ceremony was over, the Alliance Leader looked out over the assembled warriors.
"Long ago, when the Blood Cult raised its rebellion, the martial world of jianghu stood against its enemies with righteousness and chivalry as its banner. Yet pressed back by the enemy's overwhelming numbers, the martial world found itself in mortal peril, like a candle flame before the wind. At that time, one hundred heroes rose boldly to meet the enemy in battle. And now, once more, the Blood Cult's horde..............."
The Alliance Leader's speech stretched on and on.
Why is this taking so long?
Yang Jeong was bored enough to yawn.
Just as he was waiting for the speech to finally end, the Alliance Leader at last closed his mouth.
When the speech concluded, Sin Pung-gae stepped forward.
"We shall now bestow honors upon the chivalrous heroes who rendered great service in this great war. Every hero present has earned merit, but those receiving awards today have rendered especially great service. Those whose names are called, please come forward. First, from the Shandong Ak Clan—Ak Hwan...!"
At the call of his name, Ak Hwan climbed the stage, spear in hand.
Yang Jeong watched the scene with indifferent eyes.
What, does the Murim Alliance have no one else? Why is that old codger handing out awards beside the Alliance Leader?
Looking closer, he saw a middle-aged man with a nasty expression standing behind Sin Pung-gae.
Carrying no weapon at all, he looked to be one of the Alliance's strategists or perhaps the Chief Manager.
"I'll hold onto your spear for a moment."
When Sin Pung-gae extended his hand, Ak Hwan handed over the spear he was carrying.
"Young hero Ak Hwan fought at the very front of the line against our enemies."
Sin Pung-gae handed the Alliance Leader a different spear.
Even at a glance, it looked extraordinarily precious.
"Thank you."
Ak Hwan bowed deeply as he accepted it.
The moment he descended from the stage, another warrior's name was called.
"Hahu Gyeong of Henan Yangcheon.......!"
At the call, a middle-aged warrior climbed the stage.
He was given a book—some kind of martial arts manual, it seemed.
When are they going to call my name?
Yang Jeong watched the spectacle in a complete daze.
One warrior received a sword, another a saber.
Some received a golden toad, others a silver turtle inlaid with jade.
And still, Yang Jeong's name went uncalled.
"Yang Jeong........!"
At last, Sin Pung-gae's mouth finally spat out his name.
Yang Jeong strode forward, shoulders squared, and mounted the stage.
"Young hero Yang Jeong is not a warrior of the Murim Alliance, yet he has the merit of having saved our rising talents............."
The moment Sin Pung-gae finished speaking, Baek Mun-do looked at him with pained eyes.
Why...................?
Just as doubt began to cloud Yang Jeong's face, Sin Pung-gae opened his mouth again.
"As his reward, we shall bestow this upon young hero Yang Jeong."
The old beggar picked up the Dragon-Headed Staff set aside at one end and held it out.
In that instant, Yang Jeong's gaze wavered.
Damn it all............
His brother's fears had come true.
The moment he accepted that Dragon-Headed Staff, he would be locked in as the Beggars' Sect successor.
As Sin Pung-gae extended the staff, the warriors began to murmur as well.
That object was the sacred treasure of the Beggars' Sect Leader.
Why on earth would he award it to a young man?
Baek Ha-young in particular clenched her fists until her whole body trembled.
No, young hero Yang. Don't.
"Take it."
Sin Pung-gae's face was brimming with a triumphant smile.
Run all you like, boy—you're still in the palm of my hand.
"I... I only rendered the smallest of services. So please, retract the reward."
Yang Jeong forced himself to stay calm.
But Sin Pung-gae was hardly the type to release a fish caught in his net.
"That's precisely why I'm merely lending it to you."
"I'm... I'm quite all right. Please retract it."
Cold sweat poured down Yang Jeong's back.
What on earth was he supposed to do now?
Just then, Baek Mun-do's lips moved without a sound.
Run.
He was unmistakably saying exactly that.
Yang Jeong read it perfectly.
Ah, the hell with it.
Certainly there were many watching—but if he didn't flee now, he was about to become a beggar, no two ways about it.
PAANG!........!
Tearing through the air, Yang Jeong shot off the stage with a burst of lightness skill.
Startled, Sin Pung-gae's eyes went wide as saucers.
No—how could anyone bolt in the middle of a ceremony like this?
"He dares refuse the Alliance Leader's own reward......! Seize that wretch......!"
Sin Pung-gae roared at the top of his lungs.
The warriors, belatedly grasping the situation, began to give chase after Yang Jeong.
"Catch him.........!"
"Apprehend that insolent dog........!"
But Yang Jeong's form was already vanishing between the great halls.
Whiiiish.........
Sin Pung-gae lost no time in launching himself after him.
When the warriors had all gone, what remained at the site were Baek Mun-do and Baek Won-young, along with Ja-seol and Baek Ha-young.
Tsk....
Baek Mun-do gazed in the direction Yang Jeong had vanished, clicked his tongue, and descended from the stage.
Baek Won-young, who had been staring wide-eyed after him, spoke up.
"Why did you do that, Father?"
"Do what?"
Haha.......
Baek Won-young couldn't help but laugh.
His father's lips had moved, plain as day.
"In any case, what extraordinary lightness skill. I never dreamed young hero Yang's was that fast."
He couldn't contain his admiration.
Would an arrow loosed from a bowstring travel any faster?
In terms of lightness skill alone, few in all the jianghu could stand against him.
"I was a little surprised myself."
Baek Mun-do, too, seemed genuinely startled beneath his composure.
But Baek Ha-young was worried about something other than Yang Jeong's lightness skill.
"What if young hero Yang gets caught, Father?"
"Then he'll become the Beggars' Sect successor, whether he likes it or not."
Why was the Murim Alliance so vast, and why were its paths so endlessly winding?
Worse still, the towering halls rose up everywhere he turned, and he couldn't even catch sight of the Alliance's entrance anymore.
Whiiiish........
Rounding another hall at a dead sprint, Yang Jeong spotted warriors rushing toward him from the opposite direction.
"There he is.......!"
"Catch him....!"
Glancing back, he saw Sin Pung-gae closing in from behind.
"Do not harm him under any circumstances..........! Capture him unharmed........!"
Blocked on all sides, Yang Jeong felt the world go dark before his eyes.
Uh... uh, what do I do?
In his panic, Yang Jeong looked up at the towering hall above him.
"Damn it.........."
PAANG!.......Whiiiish........
Like the wind itself, Yang Jeong shot up along the hall's wall.
The pursuing warriors stood gaping at the sight, mouths hanging open.
"What are you all standing around for..........!"
But the moment Sin Pung-gae sprang skyward, they too burst upward and began scaling the wall of the hall.
Reaching the rooftop, Yang Jeong scanned his surroundings in every direction.
Down below, the warriors were surrounding the building.
Really... this is bad.
Even if he tried leaping to the hall across the way, the distance was cutting it far too close.
Whiiiish......
Yang Jeong backed up a few steps, then sprinted forward and hurled himself skyward with all his might.
"Over there..............!"
"He leapt clear over the hall........!"
Down on the ground, the Murim Alliance warriors were in an uproar.
Sin Pung-gae, belatedly reaching the rooftop, stared across at the opposite hall.
Whiiiish........
Yang Jeong was already soaring toward another rooftop.
"That... that insufferable brat."
Sin Pung-gae hesitated for a moment, then immediately set his lightness skill in motion.
Whiiiish.......
His form, too, barely managed to alight on the rooftop across the way.
So this old man's turned into a common rooftop thief, has he.
From the rooftops, the Murim Alliance's outer wall was clearly visible.
Tap..
With a light push off the tiles, Yang Jeong sprinted toward the outer wall.
Sin Pung-gae pursued him from behind while Murim Alliance warriors closed in from either side.
Whiiiish......
After racing around the winding paths, the wall finally came into view.
Yang Jeong launched himself upward without slowing.
Tap.
Whiiiish......
With nothing more than a single light kick off the wall, his form was already descending on the other side.
The warriors atop the wall lunged at him as well.
But he was already soaring clear over the wall, vanishing into the distance.
"I made it. I made it...!"
Overjoyed, Yang Jeong shouted himself hoarse.
But he couldn't let his guard down yet.
Whiiiish....
Running with grass brushing beneath his feet, he spotted the forest where the inn stood and veered toward it at once.
Only after slipping into the woods and vaulting over the estate's wall did a sigh of relief finally escape him.
Phew.............
I nearly became a beggar back there.
"Brother..........! Brother..........! Brother.......!"
Yang Jeong hollered at the top of his lungs.
Jiang Zhou came running, his face twisted in fury.
"What's with all the damn racket...........!"
Heaving... panting....
Having bellowed his tirade, Jiang Zhou eyed the young man gulping down ragged breaths and asked:
"You ignore a perfectly good road and climb over my wall? What are you, a thief?"
"Well, you see, Brother. The Beggars' Sect Leader was chasi—"
Whiiiish.......
Before Yang Jeong could even finish his answer, Jiang Zhou—his expression gone grave—launched himself into motion.
"This is my land. Leave at once."
The moment he alighted atop the wall, Jiang Zhou spat the words out coldly.
Sin Pung-gae, who had been chasing Yang Jeong, brought his lightness skill to an abrupt halt.
Gazing up at the figure on the wall with trembling eyes, he soon steeled his resolve.
If not this time, I shall never make that boy my successor.