Mancheon Asks His Master (1)
The Sima family I was born into was filthy rich, but we had zero ties to the martial world, so I lived oblivious to the fact that I'd reincarnated into a wuxia world until I was old enough to start understanding the ways of the world. It was only recently that I realized this otherworldly place was straight-up Murim.
That said, if I was gonna reincarnate anyway, wouldn't it have been better to land in a fantasy world? Come on, dating an elf? Forget whether it's possible or not—aren't you curious what they even look like? Personally, ever since I was a kid, one of my top curiosities was what elf ears would taste like if you sucked on them.
Plus, the webnovels and comics I mainly enjoyed were almost all fantasy. Wuxia? The only stuff I'd seen was Kung Fu Hustle and Kung Fu Panda as a kid, Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin, and... recently? Well, is The Killer 567 on Netflix right before I died considered recent? Yeah, that was it. I never really got into wuxia, so I have no clue what martial arts exist or what I should even learn.
On top of that, I was born with a lame leg, so my options are limited anyway. Yeah, that's the real kicker. Not much I can do. No entertainment. Sure, using my past-life memories, I've whipped up games like yutnori, mahjong, cards, chess, and other board games to rope in the family, servants, and kids for a few rounds, but the skill gap's too wide, so the boredom never fades.
Honestly, wuxia or not, I'm dying of boredom here.
"Ah~ If this were a fantasy world, I'd be learning magic. Fireball! Chain Lightning!"
"Young master, enough nonsense. Get back to your studies, or Madam will scold you again."
As I tossed aside the boring scripture like always, stretched, and let out a big yawn, our house servant Jang Sambung tackled me.
Cheeky bastard.
"Whatever. Let's just chat. Young master's bored to death."
"What's a 'nogari'?"
"Just means shooting the breeze nicely. Don't sweat the details."
Despite the back-and-forth, Jang Sambung and I got along pretty well. Sure, there's an age gap, but as a reincarnator, I know way more than my apparent age suggests, and she knows all about the martial world stuff I don't, so we've bonded over random chats.
"Young master knows nothing about the martial world, so let me explain it again today."
She figured hanging out as the baby young master's playmate was easier than getting dragged off by the steward for work, so she cracked her neck and dove into her story bag.
"Picking up from last time, the martial world's forces are broadly divided into the Righteous Factions and the Evil Factions."
Righteous? Evil? What's that about? Like conservatives and liberals? Political differences?
Righteous Factions and Evil Factions. First time hearing those terms, my head tilted on its own.
"Jang Sam, what's a Righteous Faction? And an Evil Faction?"
"Righteous Faction uses the 'righteous' from 'right' (正), meaning upright martial forces. Evil Faction uses the 'evil' from 'devious' (邪), meaning wicked martial forces."
"Hmm~ Got it. So who decides if you're Righteous or Evil? Do they take a government certification exam or something?"
"How dare you! The law forbids government meddling in martial affairs! How could the authorities judge Righteous Factions?!"
I whacked Jang Sambung's head with my staff as she suddenly twisted her face and yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Ack?!"
"Don't scream like a lunatic outta nowhere. Hey, I'm the master's son, you're the servant. We're friends, but let's keep some decorum."
Jang Sambung's great and all, but she over-immerses whenever martial world talk comes up.
Anyway, shock therapy worked; she rubbed her bumped head and snapped back to reality.
"Ahem~ There are many factors dividing Righteous and Evil, but the big one is whether they're part of the Murim Alliance or not."
Murim Alliance~ Like the EU from my past life? But you're Righteous if you're in, Evil if not? Kinda weird criteria. Is it even a legit organization?
"The Murim Alliance is a coalition of Righteous groups, mainly consisting of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families' martial artists. The Nine Great Sects are..."
"Nah, skip that for now. Tell me more about the Evil side. Don't they have an organization like the Alliance? No alumni meetups? No company dinners?"
"Ah~ Young master, why do you think Evil uses 'devious' (邪)? Those guys don't know the meaning of cooperation. That's why no alliance forms. They all play solo."
Hmm~ So Righteous are like a hiking club bonding with like-minded folks, rah-rah style. Evil's either free-spirited individualists or, bluntly, extreme egoists with zero social skills? So the difference is just sociability? Sure, it's important, but labeling low-social-skill folks as 'evil' feels off. Everyone's got their personality...
"Evil Factions sound nice, but they're just bandits and pirates who hole up in the sticks, exploit peasants, and rob passing merchants. Real scumbags."
"Organized crime thugs!? Give me back my sympathy!!"
I thought Evil were the introverted outcasts bullied by scheming Righteous insiders (gloomy, shy, bookish, bad at talking, total knockout beauty if dolled up, virgin). Nope. Just straight-up bad guys.
"Why doesn't the government clean up these Evil thugs? Just twiddling thumbs? Tax thieves."
"Evil's got masters too. They could be uprooted if serious, but it's like poking a hornet's nest, so they avoid it."
That serious? Public authority backs off because martial masters are that strong? Fantasy-wise, like swordmasters or 8th-circle archmages? Insanely powerful.
Suddenly, the home I'd felt safe in seemed anything but. What if some psycho Evil master goes on a rampage? Could we stop it? Imagining one blasting palm strikes in a huff, bursting guts and demolishing villages, my legs went weak.
Didn't realize it before. Wuxia world's terrifying.
Seeing my scared face, Jang Sambung patted my shoulder like "no worries" and said brightly,
"Young master, don't worry. That's why the Righteous exist."
"Oh yeah~ Knew I could count on the Righteous! Damn it~!!"
Makes sense. They slap "righteous" (正) on themselves without shame. Gotta be good guys. Probably do tons of volunteer work and have great manners.
"Righteous protect the weak by patrolling assigned territories, maintaining order, and teaming with merchants to curb Evil growth."
Assigned territories? Teaming with merchants? Felt off, so I asked,
"Uh... Jang Sam, what's the Righteous' main income?"
"Huh? Protection fees from territory merchants and rich folks, obviously."
"Th-that's included in taxes to the government, right? Like subcontracting security..."
"Nope~ Taxes separate, protection separate."
I straight-up whacked her head with my staff.
"Righteous are thugs too!? Where do you get off selling that crap!!"
...It was so absurd. Went for a walk to cool my head. Not like good yakuza defending from foreign mafia. Just thugs fighting over turf with their Righteous~ Evil~ bullshit.
Unbelievable. Almost jumped in like "Hey, martial arts exist, might as well learn some?" and become a thug myself.
I'll never become a thug. I swore it.
Past-life memory. I'd loved Wild Times Vol. 1 as a kid, so like Luffy yelling he'd be pirate king, I thrust my arms up in front of my parents—
"I'll work hard and become a thug like Kim Doo-han!!"
—and got beat senseless.
Ever since, thugs make my teeth chatter.
Chop~ Chop~. One step. One step. Glancing at my throbbing right leg with each.
This leg couldn't thug anyway... Even with perfect limbs, no way. I'm not dumb; study hard for an official post or learn the family business and live steadily. Dying as a sword-for-hire ain't life.
"Huh? Mancheon! Was just coming to get you."
Pondering my future, Unrok ran up grinning ear-to-ear.
"Jeomsun and Gapdol are doing cockfights! Gapdol's prepared big this time. Fed his chicken chili powder!"
"Damn... Animal rights folks would torch him. Sounds fun. Let's go."
Heh-heh—real animal UFC. How do people resist? No wonder it's illegal even in modern times.
"Mancheon, might've started already. Take the shortcut."
His shortcut's probably past Cheol-woong uncle's place. Huge dog there barks like hell every time. Hate going, but backing out now's lame, and sending him alone worries me. So, shortcut it is.
Why's my bad feeling always spot-on?
Enter the shortcut, and there's the dog. A massive unleashed hound.
Fucked.
Caged beast vs. loose one right in your face? Pressure's on another level. Air feels different.
"Grrr~ Rrrrowl!"
If it ignored us, great, but it's baring teeth, drooling, all interested.
Truly fucked. Side-glance: Unrok's legs shaking, ready to bawl.
...Crybaby wuss. Crying next to me would be annoying. Hate kids wailing.
"Hey, run fast and get adults."
"M-Mancheon, what about you?!"
"My leg's busted anyway; can't run. I'll buy time. Go get adults now."
Unrok eyed me and the hound, then it barked big—he burst into tears and bolted.
"Rrr~ Woof! Woof! Growl~ Bang bang!!"
Prey shows back and flees; dog charges, spraying spit. I aim my staff.
Think I'll toss my hard-earned second life for one brat? Agreed. But no choice.
Men are creatures who flex in front of women and kids. Sad beasts.
"Come on. I'll show you what happens when you mess with this human."
—But I got wrecked. Dog was faster and smarter than I thought. Snatched my staff before I could swing, then used jaws and body for a perfect takedown.
"Aaaah~ Help! I'll never flex again! Save me! Mom! Dad! Jang Sam!!"
Gonna die mauled by a dog... As that hit me, the sky darkened.
Dog dropped the staff, backed away scared.
"Kid, that's not how you swing a staff."
Kind voice from above. I craned up: a giant stood there.
Easily over 180cm, near or over 2m. First time seeing someone this huge in past or present life.
Frayed gray cloak on the old weirdo. I blurted in a daze,
"Wh-who are you?"
He smiled warmly, reassuring, and said softly,
"No one worth naming. Just a passing commoner."