Rumors, Farewells, and Beggars
Back in the guest room, Uncheon shared the rumors spreading through the Central Plains.
Dokjeonhwa’s face twisted in disbelief for a moment before settling back into its usual guarded calm.
“They’re saying I’m the one who killed Yeo Ju-gae?”
“It makes sense they’d think so. The Beggars’ Sect doesn’t know exactly what happened, so the man who vanished from the scene is naturally the most likely suspect.”
“…….”
Dokjeonhwa had no retort.
“Putting a bounty on my head as a public enemy of the Murim means they’ve decided I did it.”
“Fortunately, no description of your appearance seems to have gotten out. If you change your look a little and move carefully, you shouldn’t be recognized.”
Dokjeonhwa nodded as he listened. Yet the thought of a bounty hanging over him left his heart far from easy.
Uncheon understood exactly how he felt. A dozen tangled thoughts must have been spinning through his mind.
“Cheer up. Nothing’s actually happened yet.”
Dokjeonhwa gave the young man a sidelong glance at the deliberately bright tone.
“Aren’t you worried, Young Master Uncheon? You still seem full of energy.”
“I am worried, but I’m forcing the energy for both our sakes. How’s the wound?”
Following Uncheon’s suggestion, Dokjeonhwa moved his body carefully. The injuries were healing with surprising speed.
His skill at treating wounds is excellent.
The damage he’d taken from the New Moon Killer no longer hurt so long as he didn’t push himself. At this rate he could circulate his energy and restore his inner force.
“Young Master Uncheon, I can circulate qi now. There’s no need for us to travel together any longer. You don’t have to feel responsible for me.”
“Yes. I think the same. Once everything’s settled, I’ll have to collect a meal from you. Until then, stay here—your inner force still isn’t fully recovered.”
“Hahaha. I’m not so crippled that I can’t move. Staying in one place seems more dangerous than keeping on the move.”
“True enough, but with a Murim bounty on your head, slipping past the Beggars’ Sect’s eyes won’t be easy.”
“No need to worry about that. I’m confident I can avoid their gaze.”
“If you’re that sure… then I suppose I can’t stop you.”
“I’ll leave before evening. Thank you for everything. I will repay this debt without fail.”
“Don’t get caught. Run well.”
“Haha, I like your cheerful nature, Young Master Uncheon. Just as you say, I’ll run well and stay free.”
Dokjeonhwa smiled and bowed deeply toward Uncheon.
When the first light of dawn was climbing over the mountain ridges, Uncheon sensed movement outside.
He’s really leaving.
Even after circulating his energy, Uncheon’s own disrupted inner force remained unstable. The wounds had improved greatly, yet they were far from fully healed. Still, Dokjeonhwa had moved quickly so that the young man who had saved him would not be dragged into further trouble.
Who is this Golden-Masked Man that he has to flee so urgently?
While Uncheon sank into thought, the presence outside vanished completely.
Morning arrived.
Uncheon stepped out onto the wooden veranda and looked down at the world below.
He’d better run well…
While he was still fretting over the man, the young waiter Ja-deung entered the guest room and held out a cup.
“This is omija steeped for nearly ten years. It’ll be good for you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Leaning against the railing, Uncheon accepted the cup and took a sip.
“Wow, that’s really good.”
“Right? The kitchen uncle made it. I sneak a little now and then.”
Ja-deung smiled brightly, clearly in high spirits. He had never spoken so comfortably with a martial artist before. Most Murim people treated a mere inn waiter with open contempt, but Uncheon was different. Two days earlier, after learning they were the same age, Uncheon had given his name and approached him without the slightest formality. In five years of working at the inn, no martial artist had ever offered friendship.
Ja-deung glanced toward the empty room.
“The other gentleman’s gone?”
“He left.”
“You didn’t go with him?”
He had assumed they were companions and would naturally travel together.
Uncheon answered as if it were nothing.
“Our paths just headed different ways.”
“I see. You leaving soon too?”
“Not sure. I need to get home, but something came up. I don’t think I can leave right away.”
“Where’s home?”
Uncheon turned and met Ja-deung’s eyes. During the few days at the inn he had already read the boy’s thoughts. Ja-deung knew nothing of martial arts, yet he threw himself completely into every task he was given—a good friend.
“Do you think of me as a friend, Ja-deung?”
“Of course. You?”
“I was the one who asked first. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”
“As long as you don’t do anything evil, I’ll call you friend till the day I die.”
“Haha! Thanks. My family name is Namgung.”
“……You mean the Namgung of the Namgung Family?”
“That’s right. Namgung Uncheon is my name.”
Ja-deung froze for a moment. Inns were the places that heard the Central Plains’ rumors first and heard them most often. Lately the name Namgung Uncheon had been on everyone’s lips.
Uncheon leaned against the railing, smiling.
“Th-the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance, Namgung Uncheon…?”
“You know of me.”
“H-how could I not…?”
Ja-deung could barely form words.
“What? Just talk to me the way a friend would.”
“Uh… is that really okay…?”
“Of course.”
Ja-deung blinked hard and stared at him. The young master of the Namgung Family, known as a martial prodigy of the Murim—such a person calling a lowly inn waiter his friend simply did not make sense.
Is he making fun of me?
No other reason came to mind, and he had no idea how to react.
Suddenly Uncheon stretched out his right arm and threw it over Ja-deung’s shoulders.
“Does friendship need a reason? Don’t think useless thoughts. Right?”
How did he know what I was thinking?
It felt good, yet somehow wrong at the same time. Sweat beading on his forehead, Ja-deung finally managed to ask,
“Um… what’s the problem you’re worried about?”
“Someone was trying to capture the man who came with me, so I saved him.”
“…….”
“But that someone knows who I am.”
“Is he strong?”
“Yeah. Much stronger than me.”
Ja-deung grasped the situation at once.
“So he’s waiting on the road to Mount Hwangshan.”
“Probably. The one he really needs is the older man, but since he knows I helped, he might already be lying in wait for me.”
Ja-deung swallowed and asked carefully,
“Uncheon… who was the man with you that people are chasing?”
“Sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you—I’m afraid you might get dragged into danger. You understand, right?”
“Ahh… it’s okay. I get it.”
Come to think of it, they had been bleeding when they first arrived at the inn. He had dismissed it as normal for martial artists, but the situation had clearly been far more dangerous than he realized.
Worry crept into Ja-deung’s voice.
“But don’t you still have to go to Mount Hwangshan? You said you can’t beat him. If you run into him…”
“It’s risky, but right now that direction seems even riskier for me.”
Uncheon smiled and lightly patted Ja-deung’s shoulder.
“Besides, they do call me the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance.”
The words eased Ja-deung a little.
While they talked, the darkness deepened and red lanterns began to light around the inn. Ja-deung asked,
“What about dinner? Want me to bring it up here?”
“No. I’m alone—I’ll go downstairs and eat in the common room.”
“All right.”
Uncheon went down with Ja-deung and took a seat at an empty table. Ja-deung stepped closer.
“I’ll bring the food. Just wait.”
“Thanks.”
Uncheon sat and let his ears drink in the voices around him. Listening to travelers was the best way to learn what new trouble had stirred in the Central Plains.
The biggest topic right now is Cheonhwangdo, is it? Hmm… maybe that’s a small mercy…
The greatest concern of the present Murim was not the six great families who had caused the Baekcheon Blood Sect Incident, but solely the matter of Cheonhwangdo. Everyone was feverishly guessing which of the six families had secretly taken the Cheonhwangdo Map that vanished from the Baekcheon Sect. Rumors even claimed that four separate pieces of the map were needed to find the island’s treasures.
Amazing how even that detail has spread…
Someone had once said the Murim was cold-blooded; Uncheon was beginning to understand what they meant.
Just then Ja-deung returned, both hands steadying a tray piled high with food.
“Please eat well, guest.”
“This seems like too much…”
“Eat plenty and grow strong so you can become the greatest under heaven for your friend’s sake.”
“Puhaha. Yes, I’ll do just that.”
Uncheon laughed and began to eat what Ja-deung had set down.
About half a ke later—
Thud-thud-thud!
A dozen beggars burst into the inn.
The Beggars’ Sect?
Uncheon’s eyes caught the knotted ropes dangling from their waists.
Why would members of the Beggars’ Sect show up here?
Their sudden appearance left him with a distinctly bad feeling.
Don’t tell me…
Meanwhile Ja-deung stepped forward to greet them.
How long has it been since these guys last washed?
A foul stench immediately filled the entire common room. Quick-witted as always, Ja-deung realized at once that these were no ordinary beggars. He also knew that of all Murim people, members of the Beggars’ Sect were the hardest to deal with.
“Um… what business brings you here?”
“Kwahaha! Look at this dazed fool. What business do people have at an inn? Bring us wine, now!”
Ja-deung tried not to show it, but his face tightened of its own accord. Even if they were Beggars’ Sect, free food and drink was clearly what they intended.
Suddenly a large beggar seized Ja-deung by the throat with one hand and yanked him close.
“Didn’t you hear what Senior Yu just said?”
“Aack…!”
A beggar with two paired gourds hanging at his right hip frowned slightly and intervened.
“Now, now, Myeong-guk. No need to threaten a child. People will mistake us for evil sect scum. Let him go.”
“Yes, sir…”
The large beggar Myeong-guk released Ja-deung’s collar. The group’s leader, Senior Yu, spoke gently to the boy.
“Listen, lad. We won’t eat much—just go fetch some wine.”
He was openly announcing they would dine without paying.
Damn beggars… You don’t avoid dung because you’re scared of it—you avoid it because it’s filthy.
Ja-deung turned away. Giving them wine was not the problem; the way they demanded it as if it were already theirs made his blood boil. Still, he could not bring himself to ask for money first.
“Hurry it up! We’re busy men and we hate waiting!”
Head bowed, Ja-deung hurried toward the kitchen.
As if they left wine on deposit!
At that moment one of the beggars saw the boy’s sour expression and casually thrust his staff between Ja-deung’s legs as he passed.
“Wha—whaa…!!”
Crash!
Ja-deung tripped and sprawled on the floor.
“Puhahaha!!”
“Keh-keh-keh, where’s your head at while you’re walking?”
It did not hurt. But they were laughing at the sight of him fallen, as though it were the funniest thing in the world.
He could not leap up and shout. Challenging martial artists was the same as saying he was ready to die.
Just as Ja-deung rose with a stiff face, pretending nothing had happened—
“The righteous chivalry built by countless great heroes of past generations is about to be dragged through the mud by a few worthless beggars.”
Not a single person in the inn failed to hear Uncheon’s voice. In that instant the common room fell so silent that even breathing seemed too loud. Tension spread outward like cold mist.
Whoosh!
Myeong-guk spun toward the voice and roared,
“Who the hell just ran his mouth? Get out here right now!”
He scanned the room quickly until his eyes locked with the young man sitting at a table. A youth in plain white robes. A sword hung at his waist, yet the inner force radiating from him felt utterly ordinary.
“Was that you who just spoke?”
“Me? Do I look like someone who would say something so magnificent?”
Uncheon met the man’s gaze squarely and smiled.
Myeong-guk studied him from head to toe again. The corner of Uncheon’s mouth twitched ever so slightly.
He can’t sense my true inner force, so he’s underestimating me. Oh? He’s about to attack without even checking who I am? I’ve heard the Beggars’ Sect is aggressive, but this one’s a reckless puppy who doesn’t look before he leaps.
Myeong-guk’s body swayed as if drunk, then suddenly charged at Uncheon.
Taaaat!!
Drunken Heaven-Earth Step.
It was a dazzling Beggars’ Sect footwork, but Uncheon had already known the man intended a surprise first strike.
Whoosh.
Instead of retreating, Uncheon leaned forward and closed his hand around the hilt of the Blue Silver Sword. He drove one foot hard into the floor and drew the blade in a single flashing motion.
Huk!
Myeong-guk’s vision exploded with light. No one in the inn had expected the white-robed youth to draw a sword in that narrow space. The razor edge of the Blue Silver Sword stopped exactly against Myeong-guk’s throat.
That’s Blue Shadow Body Qi.
Senior Yu, still seated, recognized the blue-tinged movement technique flowing from Uncheon’s body. He regarded the young man calmly.
“Are you of the Namgung Family?”
“I am.”
They had collided with someone they never expected. Senior Yu frowned as he looked at Uncheon, who still held the Blue Silver Sword—qi still humming along the edge—at Myeong-guk’s neck.
“Listen, friend. We both belong to the orthodox path. I would be grateful if you released him.”
“For fellow members of the orthodox path, he charged as if he meant to kill me.”
“That was… because you insulted our sect, was it not? He had no choice but to move.”
“When did I insult the Beggars’ Sect?”
“Just now, did you not?”
“I think you misunderstood. I was speaking to the person who did wrong, not to the Beggars’ Sect.”
“…….”
Senior Yu kept frowning at Uncheon.
“You have no intention of releasing him?”
“Look at his face. He’s cursing me inside and itching to kill me the moment he gets free. Would you simply let that go if you were me?”
Sweat began pouring down Myeong-guk’s entire body. Uncheon stood right in front of him, sword at his throat, eyes blazing.
How the hell does this bastard know what I’m thinking? I need an opening…
But Uncheon read that thought as well.
Will things go the way you hope?
Uncheon pressed the Blue Silver Sword a fraction deeper—deep enough that Myeong-guk could not even breathe.
A thin line of blood welled where the edge kissed skin.
“My apologies. I saw you watching for my reaction and slowly trying to slip free, so my hand accidentally tightened.”
“…….”
Myeong-guk’s body went ice-cold. The young man opposite him was still smiling.
This bastard… that was no accident. He did it on purpose.
If they simply stood by, something terrible would happen. Senior Yu spoke urgently.
“Young Master Namgung. I will take responsibility and make certain he does not act again.”
“Eating and drinking without paying is one thing… but you should never look down on someone just because they seem weak. Isn’t the Beggars’ Sect the place that values chivalry above all else?”
“I am sorry. We were shortsighted.”
“You’re apologizing to the wrong person.”
Senior Yu turned to Ja-deung, who still stood frozen nearby.
“Lad, I am sorry.”
“Ah… yes. It’s all right.”
Only then did Uncheon lower the Blue Silver Sword.
“Haaah…”
Myeong-guk carefully backed away while still watching Uncheon.
Senior Yu clasped his fists in formal greeting.
“I am Yu Gong-gae of the Beggars’ Sect.”
“I am Namgung Uncheon. I am curious what business the Beggars’ Sect has here.”
“We were merely passing through. But you… are you the Blue Stream Sword Fragrance?”
“The world has given me an undeserved title.”
Uncheon walked calmly between them toward the stairs leading to the guest rooms.
“Eat quietly and leave. And no matter that you are martial artists of the Beggars’ Sect, dining without paying still seems wrong. If you have no money, go beg for it.”
“…….”
“I’ll cover this meal. Just make sure nothing like this happens again.”
Senior Yu stared blankly after the vanished Uncheon, then let out a short laugh.
Looks like a real odd one has been born into the Namgung Family.