Chapter 147
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: A Beggar Boy's Tale
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Cho Ak-ryang took Adu to a nearby inn.
The inn was quiet, as it was the time of day when the crowd began to thin.
Despite this, the attendant scowled when the young beggar entered.
“Show us to a corner table.”
Faced with Cho Ak-ryang's unapproachably sharp gaze, the attendant reluctantly led the two to a table behind a pillar, out of sight. However, when Cho Ak-ryang ordered food, the attendant's face brightened as if he had never scowled at all.
“Bring us roasted duck, steamed carp with herbs, and sliced beef. Oh, and noodles as well.”
They were quite expensive dishes, so the attendant's steps were light as he headed to the kitchen.
A short while later, when a few dishes arrived, Cho Ak-ryang wore a puzzled expression.
It was because of Adu, who was staring intently at the food on the table.
He swallowed hard but couldn't bring himself to pick up his chopsticks.
“Why aren't you eating?”
Adu looked startled at Cho Ak-ryang's question.
“Am I allowed to eat this?”
“Why? Do you have no appetite?”
“N-no. It's just...”
“...?”
“...I've never eaten at an inn like this before. And I didn't think you would buy me food.”
Seeing Adu's thoroughly intimidated state, Cho Ak-ryang gave him a look of pity.
“Eat. It will get cold.”
“Are you sure it's okay for me to eat?”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded silently.
Even after that, Adu sought confirmation several more times before cautiously picking up his chopsticks.
“Ah!”
Adu let out a surprised gasp as he put a piece of the steaming carp into his mouth.
But that was only for a moment.
He began to wolf down the food, grabbing whatever was in front of him.
Cho Ak-ryang, on the other hand, simply watched Adu with a gentle gaze.
Adu belatedly felt something was off and looked up, cautiously observing Cho Ak-ryang.
“Sir, why aren't you eating?”
“I ate not long ago, so I have no appetite. Don't mind me and eat.”
“Then, um...”
Adu, who had been hesitating and trailing off, spoke in a voice that was barely a whisper.
“Could I... take the leftovers with me?”
A look of confusion appeared in Cho Ak-ryang's eyes.
It was understandable, as Adu had eaten very little.
It wasn't as if he wasn't hungry, either.
One glance at his eyes darting toward the food on the table and the saliva pooling at the corner of his mouth was enough to tell he was still famished.
“Is it uncomfortable for you to eat here?”
“No, it's not that...”
Adu answered, his head bowed low.
“...It's for my younger siblings.”
“Siblings?”
Completely intimidated, Adu replied.
“Yes. I have five little ones.”
Cho Ak-ryang was slightly surprised by the unexpected answer.
“You mean you beg on the streets even though you have a family?”
Realizing that Cho Ak-ryang had misunderstood, Adu quickly replied.
“No. We don't have the same parents. We're all just beggars, and since I'm the oldest, we stick together.”
At those words, Cho Ak-ryang nodded with a peculiar expression.
The life of a beggar is harsh.
Those who managed to join the Beggar's Sect were considered lucky.
In this world, a wandering beggar with no protection and no one to rely on is treated as less than human.
This was especially true for a young beggar like Adu.
Moreover, with his disability, life must have been that much harder.
And yet, before filling his own starving stomach, he thought of others with whom he shared no blood.
His thoughtfulness was admirable, yet at the same time, heart-wrenching.
“Don't worry. I'll have food packed separately for those children. So eat before this gets cold.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Adu began to eat again.
A short while later.
It didn't take long for the large amount of food to disappear in the blink of an eye.
His stomach full and the knot in his heart somewhat loosened, Adu finally smiled shyly.
“How did you injure your leg?”
Adu's expression darkened.
“It was because of the errand you gave me last time.”
“...?”
“I wandered all over town trying to deliver the letter to someone named Neung So-mil. That's when I met that man.”
“That man?”
From Adu's description, Cho Ak-ryang recalled that he was Lee Gyu, the former vice-leader of the Shinso Faction.
“I'd once seen him entering a brothel with the man named Neung So-mil. I thought if I followed him, I might be able to meet Neung So-mil.”
As Adu described what happened next, his face had turned pale.
The man who had pushed him into the river while he was paralyzed.
Recalling his chilling laughter made his whole body tremble even now.
Feeling sorry for him, Cho Ak-ryang spoke without realizing it.
“He will never be able to torment you again.”
“Huh?”
“The bastard is dead.”
“!”
Adu stared at Cho Ak-ryang with wide, startled eyes.
He was belatedly realizing that Cho Ak-ryang was also a martial artist.
“I did not kill him. I was merely present when he died. So there is no need to fear me.”
Adu, who had been terrified, finally let out a sigh of relief at those words.
In truth, Cho Ak-ryang had played a large part in his death. After all, he was the one who had captured the man and brought him to Neung So-mil.
But there was no need to tell the full truth to a child who was already so frightened.
“Do you not resent me?”
“Of course I resent you.”
Cho Ak-ryang gave a bitter smile.
How could he not?
“But I should be grateful that I'm alive.”
Cho Ak-ryang suddenly became curious.
“But how did you survive? You wouldn't have been able to swim with your pressure points sealed.”
Recalling that moment, Adu squeezed his eyes shut.
“As I was swept away by the rapids and sank, I thought, 'This is how I die.'”
Then, by chance, he hit a rock that was jutting out from the riverbed like a reef.
“I saw a flash of white. And it hurt terribly.”
After being knocked around a few more times, he found he could move his stiff body again.
“My whole body ached as if it were being crushed. That's when I saw a log floating by.”
Adu clung to the log with all his might.
His body was in agony, and his fingernails were torn and hanging loose, but he couldn't let go of the log, his only lifeline.
He floated like that for a long time until he reached a confluence where the current slowed, and he managed to drag himself ashore.
“I didn't know the way, so I followed the river back upstream.”
“Weren't you afraid?”
Thinking of Lee Gyu, Adu's face crumpled as if he were about to burst into tears.
“But I had no choice.”
“Why is that?”
“Because if I'm not there, my siblings will starve to death.”
Cho Ak-ryang was struck anew by how remarkable the boy before him was.
Overcoming the fear of death was no easy feat. To say nothing of returning to a place where he might have died.
And yet, Adu had thrown himself into danger solely for the sake of others.
“I am sorry.”
Adu was taken aback by Cho Ak-ryang's apology.
No one had ever apologized to him before.
Moreover, Cho Ak-ryang seemed like an extraordinary person at first glance.
It was hard to pinpoint why, but his presence, emanating from his gaze and aura, was immense.
“You suffered because of me.”
Adu gave an awkward laugh at Cho Ak-ryang's continued words.
“It's not your fault.”
Adu forced himself to act as if everything was fine and continued speaking.
“It's okay. Thanks to you, my siblings will get to eat delicious food.”
“Are you saying a mere meal is more important than your leg?”
“My leg is already hurt and can't be fixed, but my siblings are hungry right now.”
No matter how mature he tried to seem, a child was still a child.
His appearance was all the more pitiful and poignant.
“And through all that, you kept the silver without spending it.”
“I may have nothing, but I'm not without a conscience.”
Cho Ak-ryang glanced at Adu's leg.
“Have you seen a physician?”
“A physician who was passing by took a quick look at it once.”
“What did he say?”
Adu shook his head with a bitter expression.
“He said there was no chance of recovery.”
After pondering something for a moment, Cho Ak-ryang cast a gentle gaze at Adu.
“I know a physician. Would you like to go see him?”
“Huh? But...”
“He is an exceptionally skilled physician. If even that child can't do it, then there is no one in the world who can fix your leg.”
“A child?”
“Yes. Physician Dan...”
As he spoke, Cho Ak-ryang suddenly felt a strange sensation.
*'Come to think of it...'*
Since when had he become so concerned with the well-being of a mere beggar boy?
They had only met a few times.
*'I see.'*
Realizing the reason, Cho Ak-ryang gave a wry smile.
It was because of Dan Ak-seon.
The ruthless martial world, where every day was like walking on thin ice.
The humanity he had lost while walking through that forest of swords and mountains of blades had begun to reawaken while spending time with Dan Ak-seon.
Above all, the fact that Adu was around Dan Ak-seon's age was the biggest reason.
“Let's go together.”
“But...”
Cho Ak-ryang smiled reassuringly at the hesitating, trailing Adu.
“I'll have someone deliver the food to your siblings.”
“Thank you!”
With a finally brightened face, Adu followed Cho Ak-ryang.
* * *
“Hmm...”
Examining Adu's condition, Dan Ak-seon furrowed his brow, lost in thought.
He remained like that for a moment.
“This is going to be difficult.”
Cho Ak-ryang looked surprised at Dan Ak-seon's words.
He found it hard to accept that there was a treatment impossible for the great Dan Ak-seon.
“Is his condition that bad?”
Dan Ak-seon gave a bitter smile at Cho Ak-ryang's question.
“The bone didn't set properly; it's been too long since it healed in a severely misaligned state. In the process, the muscles have also shifted from their original positions.”
At Dan Ak-seon's words, Adu's face, which had been holding a sliver of hope, fell.
Seeing this, Dan Ak-seon's expression filled with pity.
Cho Ak-ryang felt the same.
“Is there really no way?”
“It's not that there's no way at all, but...”
Dan Ak-seon trailed off and shook his head once more.
“It's very dangerous and difficult, so I wouldn't recommend it.”
At those words, Cho Ak-ryang's face lit up.
“What kind of method is it?”
Dan Ak-seon hesitated for a moment before suddenly mentioning a name.
“Do you happen to know someone named Yeom Suk?”
Beom Gye-wi, who was sitting nearby, chimed in knowingly.
“Yeom Suk? You mean Yeom Suk of the Heaven-Shaking Fist?”
“That's right. He said he went by that title.”
Beom Gye-wi grinned and stepped forward.
He looked pleased to finally have a chance to show off his knowledge.
“Of course I know him. He was once known as one of the Four Great Fists of the Central Plains. I heard he vanished after being defeated by Beop-ryo of Shaolin, right? That's why there are only Three Great Fists now.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded.
“I don't know the full story, but...”
Dan Ak-seon glanced at Adu, hesitated for a moment, then continued.
“His condition was similar. He came to see my parents not for his leg, but to treat his arm.”
Cho Ak-ryang looked slightly surprised at that.
Although he had never crossed hands with him, he was well aware of the fist master's reputation.
It felt strange to hear the story of this man, who had suddenly vanished at some point, coming from Dan Ak-seon's lips.
Dan Ak-seon sighed.
“In his case, too, a lot of time had passed without proper treatment.”
As Dan Ak-seon continued, looks of astonishment appeared on the faces of Cho Ak-ryang and everyone else in the room.