Where Is That Beggar Bastard Now? (3)
Glug, glug, glug.
Wine filled the cup.
"Come on now. Have a nice, cold drink!"
Hong Dae-gwang set the wine bottle down after filling Chung Myung’s cup, wearing a smile so friendly it looked almost fake.
Chung Myung downed the liquor in one long swallow, his face a picture of pure dissatisfaction.
"That’s right! You can drink big and bold too! Hahahahaha!"
Hong Dae-gwang laughed uproariously while discreetly gauging Chung Myung’s mood. Then he shot a venomous look toward the corner.
I should’ve hung that beggar bastard upside down.
Hong Dae-gwang had staked everything on Mount Hua and the Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
Hadn’t he gambled by abandoning the Luoyang branch and moving to Huaum because he was certain Mount Hua would one day become a sect that ruled the world?
And yet that damned beggar had nearly ruined all of it.
When Hong Dae-gwang glared hard enough to split stone, Jongpal, kneeling in the corner, flinched. But Hong Dae-gwang paid him no mind and rained curses down in his head.
That crazy bastard.
There were plenty of people in the world worth looking down on. Why pick the Mount Hua Divine Dragon of all people?
Chung Myung was almost certainly destined to become the strongest martial artist in the world. His mere existence was enough to make people tremble, and Mount Hua itself, the sect he belonged to, was growing at a ridiculous pace.
And because of that one beggar, he had nearly turned Mount Hua—the future greatest sect under heaven—into an enemy.
Still, this was Hong Dae-gwang, so things had been handled at this level. If the branch leader had heard about it, Jongpal would already have been bound hand and foot and offered to Mount Hua as tribute.
"Hahaha. Mount Hua Divine Dragon. It was just an ignorant young beggar causing trouble, wasn’t it? So you should…"
"I was even younger than that."
"Damn it all!"
Hong Dae-gwang snatched the cup from his hand and hurled it at Jongpal. Jongpal flinched and ducked aside as the cup flew past.
"I’ve told you over and over at the branch level that you have to look before you stretch out your legs, or you’ll smash your own bowl! And yet you—"
Hong Dae-gwang’s rage was so intense he looked ready to roll his eyes back in his head. Jongpal hunched his shoulders as far as they could go.
No, seriously, what did I even do…?
Wasn’t it normal everywhere to bully a young beggar who was slacking off and not begging for handouts? Sure, he might have beaten the kid a little too hard that day…
No. Honestly, I don’t even remember it well.
The name Chosam rang a bell, and he vaguely remembered the face from before. But as for exactly who he’d been, Jongpal couldn’t recall. His hut had had more than five beggars around that age—how was he supposed to remember every last one?
But of all people, that one had been beaten senseless by Jongpal, and of all people, that one had become the Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
There was unlucky, and then there was this.
Even so, no matter how wronged he felt, he couldn’t say a word in protest.
Hong Dae-gwang, one of the 7-Knot Beggars and a candidate for Beggars’ Sect branch leader, was glaring at him like a feral dog watching a thief scale a wall.
Hong Dae-gwang ground his teeth while staring at him, then let out a long sigh. After that, he plastered on a broad smile again and looked at Chung Myung.
"Hahaha. Mount Hua Divine Dragon. A gentleman doesn’t dwell on the past, does he?"
"I’m a Taoist."
"…Taoists too."
"And when you hit me, I was a beggar."
"…"
Well, your status has been all over the place, hasn’t it.
The corners of Hong Dae-gwang’s eyes twitched.
"Th-then… if you think about it, weren’t we practically family?"
"Huh?"
"If he was in a beggar hut before, that means he was part of the Beggars’ Sect, and that makes us family, doesn’t it?"
Chung Myung gave him a sour look.
Of course, Hong Dae-gwang knew full well that logic was a stretch, so he averted his eyes.
"Ahem, ahem. In any case, it’s all in the past, and I’m sure that brat’s done plenty of reflecting today, so drink up and let it go."
"Hmmmmm."
Chung Myung shot Jongpal another dubious glance.
"If I’m being honest, I really feel like just crushing him right now."
At the low mutter, Jongpal jerked and lowered his eyes.
"When I left that hut, I swore I’d come back someday and wipe out every last beggar bastard."
This time Hong Dae-gwang flinched.
He knew just how strong, how persistent, how vicious, and how utterly merciless this bastard was, so the words sounded far too sincere.
Chung Myung casually turned his head and looked at Guchil, who was standing stiff as a statue.
"I’m letting him off because of this kid."
"Huh?"
"He helped me, after all. Thanks to him, I was able to make it all the way to Mount Hua."
At this unexpected bit of good news, Hong Dae-gwang brightened and looked at Guchil.
"So what’s your name?"
"Gu, gu, Guchil."
"Good. Guchil! Yes! You’ve done a truly great deed!"
And with that completely unexpected turn, Guchil felt as if his soul might fly out of his body.
Hong Dae-gwang was not someone he could even dream of meeting eyes with. He was so far above him that, in all his life, he’d never expected to exchange even a single word.
Even his own boss, Jongpal, had to lie flat before Hong Dae-gwang like a discarded coin stuck to the floor—so how much worse was it for him, just a lowly beggar?
And yet here he was, seated with Hong Dae-gwang, with Chosam—no, Chung Myung, the one called the greatest talent of this era—and even the Mount Hua Five Swords, who were now shaking the world, all at the same table. And he was being praised.
I feel like my heart’s going to stop.
He was so tense he no longer knew whether he was speaking through his mouth or his nose.
Hong Dae-gwang slapped Guchil on the back several times.
"I won’t forget what you did. You saved the Beggars’ Sect! You did!"
He meant it, at least in part.
Hong Dae-gwang might laugh off grudges from anyone in the world, but there was one person he absolutely never wanted to cross: Chung Myung.
Chung Myung looked at Guchil and smiled faintly.
"Eat. Eat."
"Huh?"
"You’re hungry, aren’t you? Eat."
Guchil looked around cautiously.
The Beggars’ Sect experts who had rushed over had apparently realized this was no longer their affair and were already sitting in small groups, eating. The people who had come with him were also in the corner, shoveling rice into their mouths with such speed that their hands were hard to even see.
Beggars never turned away food, no matter the situation.
But… Guchil couldn’t do that.
"…I think I might throw up."
"Why?"
"Well…"
Guchil stared at Chung Myung with dazed eyes.
Is this really the same Chosam I knew?
Even before he ran out of the hut, he’d seemed a little off in the head. Now he’d come back even more off his rocker.
Then Chung Myung picked up the wine bottle and personally poured a cup for Guchil.
"Hey, you."
"Yeah?"
Then he gave a small laugh and said in a cool, easy voice,
"Want to come to Mount Hua?"
"Huh, wha—?"
Guchil asked back, looking completely blank.
"Come visit Mount Hua?"
"No. I’m asking if you want to leave the Beggars’ Sect and enter Mount Hua."
"…"
At Chung Myung’s answer, Guchil froze with his eyes wide.
Is he really crazy?
How could he say something like that in front of Hong Dae-gwang?
Changing sects was a serious matter—one wrong step and it could spark a huge disaster.
Guchil stiffly turned his head to gauge Hong Dae-gwang’s reaction, and Chung Myung laughed again.
"No need to worry. The Beggars’ Sect isn’t going to make a fuss over one little beggar leaving, right?"
"Huh? Well, of course. In fact, it might even make us closer. Hahahahaha."
Hong Dae-gwang laughed heartily and nodded his head over and over.
Chung Myung nodded too and added,
"I’ve thought about it, and if you stay in the Beggars’ Sect, there isn’t much I can do to help you. So if you’re interested, come to Mount Hua. I’ll definitely turn you into a real expert."
The word expert burrowed into Guchil’s ears.
What an incredibly tempting offer.
But at that very moment, he saw it.
The Mount Hua disciples seated on Chung Myung’s left and right were sending him desperate looks.
Don’t come! Don’t come, you bastard!
This place is hell!
A beggar’s better. A beggar’s a hundred times better!
Is your skull tough?
Only after receiving those earnest stares did Guchil remember what Baek Cheon had said earlier.
—You damn bastard! Because of you! Huh? Because of you alone, there are already casualties at Mount Hua!
…
He didn’t know exactly how things worked, but he could confidently guess that Mount Hua wasn’t exactly a happy place.
Guchil hurriedly waved his hands.
"N-no. I think I’m going to stay with the Beggars’ Sect."
"Why?"
Chung Myung tilted his head as if he truly couldn’t understand.
"Do you like living as a beggar?"
"…It’s not that bad."
Guchil fumbled through his answer.
"B-being an expert would be nice too… but I have pride as a Beggars’ Sect disciple. Yes, pride. I want to live in the Beggars’ Sect and uphold righteousness."
Hong Dae-gwang, listening beside him, nodded with satisfaction.
"Hahaha. Mount Hua Divine Dragon, it looks like your friend prefers the Beggars’ Sect to Mount Hua. What a pity."
"I don’t get it. What’s so good about being a beggar?"
Chung Myung frowned in bafflement, and the disciples around him each tossed in their own opinions.
"I kind of get it?"
"Me too."
"A beggar’s better."
Chung Myung gave them a sullen look. They all immediately looked away and pretended not to notice.
"How about this?"
Unable to watch any longer, Hong Dae-gwang stepped in to sort things out.
"The Mount Hua Divine Dragon feels indebted to Guchil, right?"
"Yes."
"And he wants to help him, but the distance is long and the fact that he belongs to the Beggars’ Sect makes that difficult. So he wants to bring him to Mount Hua?"
"Exactly."
"Then there’s no real problem. I’ll take this lad to the Huaum branch."
Hong Dae-gwang broke into a hearty laugh.
"Then you can keep an eye on him whenever you like, and the matter’s solved, isn’t it? No need for him to be a Mount Hua disciple or anything."
"Hmmmmm."
"If you want, I could even take this kid in as my disciple."
"…"
Listening quietly, Chung Myung made a soft sound and tilted his head.
Hong Dae-gwang, reading that tilt as
What’s the point of becoming your disciple?
—quickly changed tack.
"T-then it’d also be easier for you to call him to Mount Hua, wouldn’t it?"
"Ah, that’s true."
That bastard actually thought that?
If Hong Dae-gwang hadn’t recovered in time, he would have been utterly humiliated in front of a crowd of beggars.
He hurriedly smoothed things over with a laugh.
"Hahahahaha. Yes! Then let’s do that."
Hong Dae-gwang once again patted Guchil’s shoulder kindly.
Meanwhile, Guchil was so stunned he could hardly think straight.
He thought he’d met an old friend, and now his boss had been beaten down, and now he was going to the Huaum branch.
For someone who had only just been an ordinary Second-Knot Beggar in Wuhan until moments ago, it was an earth-shattering change.
"I-is that really okay?"
"Of course. When I think about the contribution you made, this is nothing."
"T-thank you…"
Just then, Chung Myung frowned.
"What are you talking about? This can’t be a reward. If you call it a contribution, then you’d better give him an actual reward too."
"…R-right."
"Don’t just wipe your mouth and call it even—at least feed the kid some proper meat."
"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure this brat never wants to see meat in his life again."
Hong Dae-gwang smiled in satisfaction.
Still, thanks to this kid, things worked out at least somewhat better.
The Beggars’ Sect was watching Mount Hua very closely right now.
Those who dealt in information were always sensitive to shifts in the balance of power. That was because information existed, first and foremost, to help one read the flow of the world faster than anyone else.
From the intelligence they’d gathered, Mount Hua’s sudden rise was clearly not going to end as a mere burst of luck.
If only a few disciples were stronger than expected, that might be a fluke. But every single disciple of Mount Hua growing stronger was a change no one could afford to ignore.
Mount Hua is going to become a sect that shakes the martial world to its core.
It would be wise to maintain good relations with such a force no matter what.
And if Mount Hua’s core, the Mount Hua Divine Dragon, seemed to care about Guchil, then keeping the two of them connected would bring great benefit to the Beggars’ Sect as well.
When he thought of it that way, what was the problem with slaughtering a few cattle?
But Chung Myung wasn’t done speaking.
"And also."
"Hm?"
"Please bring that one too."
"…That one?"
"That one."
The person Chung Myung indicated with his chin was Jongpal.
Jongpal, who had been starting to feel a little relieved that things were wrapping up nicely, immediately cowered again.
Hong Dae-gwang asked,
"…Why him?"
"Ah, don’t worry. After beating him up that badly, would I really beat him again?"
Huh.
You totally would.
Hong Dae-gwang looked at him with deep mistrust, but Chung Myung simply shrugged.
"I just want to see him often, that’s all. He looks like he’s got some rank, and from now on he seems like the type who’ll handle work quickly and cleanly. He doesn’t seem like he’d complain much either."
"…"
"So. Please, please bring him too. Please!"
Seeing the gleaming light in Chung Myung’s eyes, Hong Dae-gwang smiled with satisfaction.
I absolutely must never make an enemy of this guy.
It was almost impressive, the way a person could be this relentless.
"Then after the tournament, you’re both coming to Huaum, right?"
"…I suppose?"
Chung Myung smiled pleasantly and looked at Guchil.
"Let’s meet often."
"Y-yeah."
"And also."
His head tilted crookedly to one side.
"Let’s meet often, Boss too."
"…"
"Often."
"…"
Before Guchil, a road wide and smooth unfolded.
And at the same time, before Jongpal, the moment a road straight into hell opened up.