Chapter 237
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Making the Beggars' Sect Beggar-Like Again (4)
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Meeting my gaze filled with utter bewilderment.
"Th-the innkeeper said that right now, among the clothes in stock, this was the only decent one available..."
Baek Liyeon stammered out her excuse.
"Ah, I see."
I tried my best to respond as nonchalantly as possible, but I had my doubts about whether it worked.
Before the awkwardness could thicken any further.
"Let's eat. You barely got a single spoonful down earlier."
"Yes..."
I guided the ravenous gaze of the Star of a Thousand Kills toward the food.
If it had been my usual junior, I would've shoved a bottle of liquor in her mouth instead of rice, letting it overflow messily.
...But even though it was definitely the same junior, something told me I couldn't do that to her.
Weird?
Wasn't I free of that kind of sexism?
Self-reflection complete.
"Liyeon. Your cup's empty."
"Ah, yes."
Fortunately, my junior poured me a drink just like always, true to her usual self.
And then.
"......"
"......"
We both froze at the same time, sensing something off.
This, well.
Once the clothes changed...
"Don't get any weird ideas...!"
"Sorry. Already did."
I couldn't bring myself to lie to my junior.
After that.
The meal continued in a somewhat quieter, more awkward atmosphere than usual.
The food was neatly prepared and delicious, and the liquor was top-shelf, going down smooth.
"If you have something to say, spit it out."
Baek Liyeon, who would normally stuff her face silently like pouring food into a bottomless pit, was poking at her meal delicately today—probably because of the outfit.
And she kept sneaking glances at me.
"Uh, um, well."
She buffered again, so.
I silently filled her cup to the brim.
Baek Liyeon pouted but followed the liquor etiquette I'd taught her, downing it in one refreshing gulp.
Hm.
Now that's more like my junior.
The moment my inner affinity recovered a bit.
"Doesn't... the outfit feel awkward?"
One line from Baek Liyeon's mouth shattered the affinity I'd just rebuilt.
Awkward?
If you'd spent your life in a flat-screen TV bound with chest wraps and suddenly got upgraded to full 3D specs, wouldn't it feel awkward?
...Of course, I couldn't say that out loud.
"It suits you well."
Thinking back to when she'd gone full Star of a Thousand Kills mode earlier, praising her was probably the right answer here.
"......"
Baek Liyeon buried her head again and poked at her food with her chopsticks.
Tears welled up inside me.
Where had my fun junior gone, the one who was so easy to tease?
In her place appeared a Star of a Thousand Kills-level landmine, ready to explode at a touch.
Still, Baek Liyeon was Baek Liyeon.
Her eating speed slowed a bit, but we thoroughly demolished the lavish spread on the table.
It was a pretty satisfying meal.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Indeed. Hope Senior enjoyed it as well."
Thanks to the magical lubricant of liquor doing its job, my junior was a little less stiff than before.
She even responded to my jokes with her usual 'Don't talk nonsense, Senior.'
So yeah, Liyeon was still Liyeon.
Or so I thought.
"This outfit just doesn't feel right at all. How do people even walk around in skirts instead of pants?"
"......"
I cleared my mind completely.
Then hurriedly shrugged off my robe-style overcoat and draped it over Baek Liyeon.
"Wh-why?"
She let out a dissatisfied whine at the sudden vintage fashion dump.
"Once you get back to the inn and look in the mirror, you'll understand this senior's profound intent."
"...?"
"Head back and rest first. I still have someone to meet."
"Yes."
Baek Liyeon tilted her head, then politely bowed to me before slowly descending the stairs.
"Haa..."
Only then could I let out the sigh I'd been holding back.
Someone to meet?
Obviously a lie.
The scene I'd just witnessed was too shocking.
I couldn't bring myself to stand up from my seat yet.
No, really, what the hell.
Does this even make sense?
Was there some perceptual distortion filter from those chest-binding wraps? Like my mask? If it was some kind of cursed item, at least that would explain it.
But the bindings were only around her chest.
How the hell did she hide those massive jars under her mourning clothes all this time?
Torment flooded my mind.
Having indulged too deeply in the liberation from bandages she'd worn her whole life.
"U-uuugh...!"
Baek Liyeon, realizing far too late that her back was fully exposed, was turning the blanket into an actual blanket.
Meanwhile, the suspicious atmosphere in the Beggars' Sect began to simmer down from the depths.
As that happened, anxiety started welling up in Vice Sect Leader Yeon Sa-gang's chest.
"What in the world...?"
Of course, he knew there might be some internal backlash within the Righteous Alliance.
But the bigger issue was.
- Splitting the Beggars' Sect in two... I oppose that.
- Isn't the risk too great?
- What future does a Beggars' Sect with halved intelligence capabilities even have?
Even the Azure Heaven Society members were subtly changing their tune.
Why were they reacting so lukewarmly?
There was a saying about momentum on a tiger's back—why couldn't they unite and push forward?
Of course, Yeon Sa-gang knew well about the misfortunes piling up on the Azure Heaven Society: the Sima Family wiped out, the Nangong Family defecting from the alliance, and more.
But wasn't seizing opportunity in crisis the essence of a do-or-die gamble?
Someone impersonating a Beggars' Sect disciple to threaten people everywhere, the Blood Cult jamming death lists into acupuncture points to control information flow.
Yeon Sa-gang hadn't even known about the rampant distribution of Solitude's antidote.
He simply couldn't grasp the full picture of the current situation.
When the Dragon Head Branch Leader was bedridden, the Jade Warehouse Document—right in his grasp—had vanished like bubbles.
No.
Not too late yet.
After the branch leader's funeral.
Today was the first public assembly.
If he could successfully tie up the hot topic of North and South Beggars' Sects that he'd already thrown out there.
He might not become the father of all Beggars' Sect, but he, Yeon Sa-gang himself—not some mere vice leader—could ascend to a position above ten thousand.
Yes.
That would be enough.
Yeon Sa-gang had definitely thought that way.
"I have a dream. That one day, in the lofty pavilions of this Beggars' Sect, brothers from Righteous and Evil Factions alike will sit together at the table of brotherhood, without distinction."
Who the hell was this random demagogue beggar that dropped from the sky?! With a nickname like Boastful Beggar, no less?
"This is our hope. This is the conviction I take back to Xi'an. With this conviction, we can carve through mountains of despair to find our nest of hope!"
"Hope!"
"Hope for the Beggars' Sect!"
"A world where beggars can eat and live well!"
Why were they all tuning into this hollow, soulless demagoguery and cheering like that?!
Even the elders lined up beside him were nodding along, mulling it over.
This couldn't happen.
This wasn't allowed.
He should have been the one leading the mood.
He should have been the one reshaping the board.
Why had the rear disciples given that low-rank disciple a chance just to hear him out, and why had the elders tolerated it?
The aftermath of that Boastful Beggar's monologue speech blew on for quite a while.
But.
That was the end.
Yeon Sa-gang stepped forward.
"I heard the gentleman's fine speech. For the Beggars' Sect's words to flow so freely, the sect led by the rear leader is indeed something else. However... to this front disciple, it feels like nothing but an empty ideal."
Now it was time to seize the momentum back.
If I could, I'd beat the vice leader and everyone else black and blue right from my seat and call it a day.
But how could an outsider interfere in another sect's affairs?
Even the righteous Boastful Beggar had his limits.
If only that Unhak bastard—who'd sucked his master dry down to the bone and couldn't even grasp the Harmony Realm—had been a bit more competent, none of this would've happened.
Tsk.
Why didn't my masters ever go all out for me?
Though I did drain Seol dry in other ways.
"As the new Dragon Head Branch Leader, I cannot accept this."
"Does he even qualify to be the Jade Warehouse Document's owner?"
"Prove it."
While I reminisced about those fiery memories up north.
A Branch Leader vs. Vice Leader matchup had already formed.
"Who do you think will win?"
Baek Liyeon, whom I'd dragged here in beggar disguise out of boredom, sparkled with excitement as she asked.
True to the Star of a Thousand Kills, she loved watching fights.
"You think the beggar punk's gonna lose?"
Of course, in terms of realm, he was a bit behind.
Vice Leader: early Harmony Realm.
Beggar: mid Peak? Late Peak? Around there.
He hadn't fully crossed the wall.
Still, I didn't think Unhak would lose.
If the golden spoon of the beggar world, wrapped in Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms and all sorts of branch leader-exclusive high-end skills.
"Ooh!"
"Rear leader wins!"
"Not rear leader—Dragon Head Branch Leader...!"
"How can someone so young wield the branch leader's arts at such a profound level?!"
He might not match this body, regrettably.
But definitely in the ranks of once-in-a-generation geniuses.
No way a guy who'd mastered the quintessence of Beggars' Sect martial arts couldn't dismantle the vice leader's techniques.
"...Why?"
"Worried you'll go feral watching the fight again."
"......"
Watching my prediction play out perfectly, I leisurely stroked Baek Liyeon's round head as Unhak gradually gained the upper hand.
Would this normalize the Beggars' Sect too?
"Uh, huh?"
"What?"
Baek Liyeon suddenly made a weird noise.
I asked, but before I could hear the answer.
"Ah, shit."
I was already rushing toward Unhak.
That petty bastard.
A vice leader, no less.
Feeding drugs to a Peak scrub against a Harmony Realm expert?