Chapter 114
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Past Sins and Future Worries
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I Rip frowned.
“You look familiar… I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
Ga Du-dal avoided I Rip’s gaze and mumbled an evasive reply.
“I don’t believe that’s possible…”
“No. I’ve definitely seen you. But where?”
After scrutinizing Ga Du-dal’s face for a moment, I Rip stroked his chin, deep in thought, then suddenly shouted as if struck by lightning.
“The Ghostly Shadow Demonic Son!”
“...!”
As Ga Du-dal stumbled back in shock, I Rip’s face twisted into a demonic scowl.
“To think I didn’t recognize the most wicked man under the heavens standing right in front of me!”
Ga Du-dal jumped.
“What are you talking about? I admit I’m a bad guy, but the most wicked? Not by a long shot. Just look at the two gentlemen right here…”
As Cho Ak-ryang’s and Beom Gye-wi’s gazes turned cold, Ga Du-dal hastily trailed off.
“No, you are far more vicious than them.”
At those words, Ga Du-dal wore an aggrieved expression.
“Still, I don’t kill people. And my thievery is child’s play compared to theirs.”
“Hmph!”
I Rip snorted coldly and pointed a finger at Ga Du-dal.
“The worst person in the world is the one who preys on poor beggars. What, was there nothing else to steal that you had to rob a beggar?”
“What? When have I ever stolen from beggars?”
Ga Du-dal asked back, a look of bewilderment on his face.
Seeing this, I Rip roared in fury.
“You don’t remember? Fifteen years ago! On Mount Huang! At that time…”
At his words, Hong Jeok-mun was startled.
“Ahem, Sect Leader. Please, calm yourself. It’s hardly something so significant that you need to announce it in public like this.”
As Hong Jeok-mun quickly stepped in to restrain him, I Rip belatedly came to his senses and fell silent.
He continued to glare at Ga Du-dal without a word.
‘Fifteen years ago? Mount Huang?’
Ga Du-dal tilted his head.
He had stolen so many things that it wasn’t uncommon for him to forget, just like now.
In any case, it was an awkward situation for Ga Du-dal.
The number of people he had to be wary of had just increased.
The original three were already a burden, but with two masters from the Beggar’s Sect joining their party, his freedom of movement had narrowed even further.
Not that he could voice his complaints.
The best course of action was to stay quiet and follow along, just as he had been doing.
It was then, as he anxiously darted his eyes around, that a group of people came into his view.
There were at least fifty of them.
‘Huh?’
Belatedly realizing they were dressed in the attire of the Qingcheng Sect, Ga Du-dal flinched and stepped back.
Someone pointed at Cho Ak-ryang and shouted.
“There’s the Blood Hand Honored One! The villain who murdered our Sect Leader is right there!”
*Shhh-shing.*
The moment the words were out, the Qingcheng disciples drew their swords in unison.
At the sight, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi let out dry laughs.
To think they would willingly seek death after being spared.
But neither of them was one to refuse an enemy.
“Well now! Look who it is!”
At that moment, I Rip quickly jumped between the two groups.
He then acted familiar with the middle-aged Taoist standing at the head of the Qingcheng disciples.
“Master Unjeong, is that you?”
At I Rip’s words, the middle-aged Taoist, called Master Unjeong, reluctantly bowed his head.
As an elder, his rank was lower than that of I Rip, the leader of the Beggar’s Sect.
“How great your sorrow must be, with one misfortune after another.”
I Rip began, approaching Master Unjeong.
“This beggar still cannot believe the sudden tragic news.”
At his words, Master Unjeong snorted coldly.
“Is that why you’re protecting those villains?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t play dumb! You are a disgrace to the Nine Factions! How could you interfere with our revenge for the sake of such villains!”
As soon as he finished, the Qingcheng disciples began shouting, each filled with rage.
“Traitor!”
“How could the Beggar’s Sect betray us!”
Hong Jeok-mun’s gaze turned cold.
Clenching his fists, he slowly stepped forward, his presence causing the Qingcheng disciples to flinch for a moment.
However, Hong Jeok-mun had no intention of striking.
How could he not understand their sorrow at losing their Sect Leader?
As silence fell, I Rip turned his gaze to the Qingcheng disciples and spoke.
“Yes, how could I not understand your anger toward the Blood Hand Honored One. But is revenge even plausible for you right now? More importantly…”
The faces of the Qingcheng disciples contorted. However, they couldn't help but show bewilderment at I Rip’s next words.
“Do you not realize that your actions are only further publicizing Qingcheng’s sins?”
“What do you mean by that? Sins?”
I Rip spoke to Master Unjeong.
“The Seven Masters of Qingcheng, the seven experts who once represented your sect. The fact that those so-called grandmasters, blinded by greed for a secret manual, ganged up on and killed an innocent martial artist.”
The Qingcheng disciples looked at each other with bewildered expressions.
It was the first they had ever heard of such a story.
Only Master Unjeong, who knew the truth, looked noticeably flustered.
“If you think about it, the Blood Hand Honored One was simply avenging his unjustly killed master. Yet the Qingcheng Sect hid its transgressions and instead tried to kill him using the power of the Nine Factions.”
As Master Unjeong stood speechless in his confusion, I Rip pressed on.
“A storm of blood swept through the martial world because of it. If the Seven Masters of Qingcheng hadn't been blinded by greed and committed such a vile act in the first place… No, if they had at least admitted their fault and atoned, the Qingcheng bloodbath would never have happened. The Blood Hand Honored One of today would not exist either.”
At some point, I Rip’s voice had become calm.
“In that sense, it was the Qingcheng Sect, it was you, who unleashed the monster known as the Blood Hand Honored One upon the world.”
I Rip cast a cold gaze upon the Qingcheng disciples, among whom a commotion was spreading.
“Now, I ask you this. Who was it that truly betrayed the Nine Factions?”
“Th-that’s not true!”
Master Unjeong belatedly stepped forward.
But he immediately fell silent at I Rip’s stern rebuke.
“Your Sect Leader learned the lost martial arts of the Maoshan Sect. Did you not see him use them yourselves? And he even handed out parts of those arts to his lay disciples like gifts. The Beggar’s Sect has already confirmed all the details. Are you still trying to cover the sky with the palm of your hand?”
“…”
Master Unjeong had nothing to say.
Above all, the fact that the Seven Masters of Qingcheng had stolen the Maoshan Sect’s secret manual was undeniable.
I Rip let out a sigh, as if genuinely pained.
“How has Qingcheng come to this… This beggar can only feel sorrow and lamentation.”
The Qingcheng disciples stared at the silent Master Unjeong with resentful eyes. They looked deeply shocked by the fact that the Qingcheng Sect, to which they had dedicated their entire lives, had such a sordid past.
Some bowed their heads in shame, while others trembled with a sense of betrayal.
There were even those who shed tears of indignation.
It was then that Cho Ak-ryang spoke up.
As the party directly involved in the grudge, he stepped forward himself to end the draining and meaningless standoff.
“Though you may have lost your justification, if you still wish for revenge, I am ready to accept it at any time.”
The Qingcheng disciples flinched at Cho Ak-ryang’s chilling gaze.
It might have been different when their fighting spirit was ablaze, but now their morale was utterly broken. In their cowed eyes, the resolute will to face death they’d had at the start was nowhere to be found.
I Rip’s roar exploded toward them.
“How long are you going to dither there! Choose! Will you draw your swords to bury the truth like the Seven Masters of Qingcheng of the past? Or will you honorably endure the disgrace?”
In the end, the Qingcheng disciples let their swords droop limply.
Gazing at the backs of the disciples as they turned away dejectedly, Beom Gye-wi licked his lips in disappointment.
He thought he would finally get some action, but that damned beggar king had ruined it.
*Craaack!*
A massive boulder standing a hundred feet away shattered into pieces and scattered.
It was the result of Beom Gye-wi swinging his fist, unwilling to waste the internal energy he had painstakingly raised. Still not satisfied, Beom Gye-wi glared at I Rip.
“I don’t like you.”
Sensing the killing intent, Hong Jeok-mun quickly moved to block the space between I Rip and Beom Gye-wi.
“Why did you have to butt in and spoil the fun?”
I Rip gave a slight smile at Beom Gye-wi’s resentful glare.
“For Physician Dan, of course.”
“What?”
“Think about why Physician Dan is creating the joint signature petition. When you should be praying for its success, is there any need to taint it by shedding unnecessary blood?”
At those words, Beom Gye-wi shut his mouth with a sullen expression.
“Thanks to our Beggar’s Sect informing all the other sects of the situation, we should be able to travel peacefully for a while.”
That was why the vicinity was quiet, despite the presence of Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi being known.
“Hmph! You really think that’s the only reason?”
Beom Gye-wi let out a derisive laugh.
“They aren’t the type to stand by for a reason like that. They’re not coming because they’re scared. They know that Brother Cho and I are moving together.”
I Rip smiled bitterly and nodded.
He wasn't wrong.
Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa on top of that.
How many sects would be willing to risk annihilation to fight them?
“In any case, now is the perfect opportunity.”
Namgung Baek had decided to step down as the Lord of the Martial Alliance.
The subjugation of the Ten Great Villains he had previously championed was also on hold.
The Martial Alliance was likely in the throes of a fierce power struggle over the next lordship, and the Nine Factions were just waiting for a chance to declare their withdrawal from the alliance.
‘If only he had signed the joint petition, there might have been hope…’
I Rip sighed as he looked in the direction the Qingcheng disciples had disappeared. He found Master Unjeong’s actions deeply regrettable.
With the death of the Sect Leader, who held the highest generational name ‘Qing’, the next in line were the elders of the ‘Yun’ generation, like the former Sect Leader.
As the junior martial brother of the former Sect Leader, Unsan, he was currently the most likely candidate for the next Sect Leader. Of course, I Rip could fully understand his position of having to resolve the situation somehow.
The death of the Sect Leader.
If he remained silent without demanding accountability, he would lose the support of the Qingcheng disciples.
He had undoubtedly come to him to quell their resentment and shift the blame for this disaster onto the already deceased Seven Masters of Qingcheng.
But this was a clear miscalculation on his part.
It was because of the Hengshan Sect.
Even now, they were engaged in backroom negotiations with numerous sects to oust the Qingcheng Sect and take its place among the Nine Factions.
If Master Unjeong had instead admitted to all their past wrongs on the spot and signed the joint petition as a form of apology, he could have used it as a justification to maintain their status within the Nine Factions.
But as things stood now, even that seemed difficult.
The plight of those who had once pursued the same path was truly pitiful and heartbreaking.
Then, something he had been thinking about for a while came to mind.
“By the way…”
I Rip broached the subject with Dan Ak-seon.
“Have you thought about what comes next, after you complete the petition and declare a ban on martial arts?”
“What comes next?”
At Dan Ak-seon’s question, I Rip gave him a look filled with concern.
“A fair number of people will probably flock to you. And most of them will be the types who have been chased around by the orthodox martial world. I’m worried whether you’ll be able to handle them all.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. The ladies and gentlemen will help me.”
At Dan Ak-seon’s answer, which held not a shred of doubt, the three of them wore satisfied expressions.
But I Rip shook his head.
“They are certainly trustworthy. But my worry lies elsewhere.”
I Rip pointed at Ga Du-dal.
“I’m just wondering if you really need to give a place by your side to such an awful human being.”