Chapter 160
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Three Friends in Rags
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Dan Ak-seon was inwardly dumbfounded.
Just yesterday, the sixtieth birthday banquet of Lord Yeon had been held.
As it was a feast hosted by the wealthiest man in town, even the local beggars had gone there to ask for alms.
But unfortunately, they ran into Lord Yeon's son, Yeon Jeok-sim.
Without any warning, he started beating the beggars.
He said he would give them one silver coin for every blow they took.
"So you let him hit you? Just for some silver?"
Bang So-bang shook his head.
"Of course not. What good is money if your body is ruined? But when our boys adamantly refused, that bastard forced the silver into their hands and beat them for the amount he'd given them."
Dan Ak-seon was at a loss for words.
He couldn't believe he lived under the same sky as someone with such profound malice.
"So I went to return the money."
He had intended to secure a firm apology so that such a thing would never happen again.
"Well, honestly, I also wanted to get revenge for our boys."
Yeon Jeok-sim, knowing that Bang So-bang practiced martial arts, requested a duel.
Bang So-bang, thinking it was a good opportunity, accepted.
He planned to give him a sound thrashing.
But unexpectedly, Yeon Jeok-sim's martial arts were quite formidable.
Since childhood, he had been taking elixirs and inviting famous masters from the martial world to be his instructors, learning all sorts of ultimate techniques.
Bang So-bang let out a sigh.
"And this is how I ended up. That bastard's skills were pretty strong."
Even Bang So-bang, who prided himself on being quite strong for his age, couldn't handle his opponent's martial arts.
"Those elixirs are truly something else."
In terms of the subtlety and precision of his techniques, Bang So-bang had the upper hand. But it meant little in the face of an overwhelming difference in internal energy.
"It was a duel, but he was this ruthless?"
At Dan Ak-seon's question, Bang So-bang gave an awkward laugh.
"Well, to be honest, I went into it with the same intention. But what can you do? I lost because I wasn't skilled enough. Still, what he said at the end was humiliating."
"What did he say?"
"He told me to look before I leap. That if I was so upset, I should go find some elixirs and come back. Then he mocked me, saying a place like the Beggar's Sect, swarming with nothing but beggars, wouldn't have any elixirs..."
Recalling that moment, Bang So-bang bit his lip, a fresh wave of anger surging through him.
After calming himself for a moment, Bang So-bang spoke again.
"He blabbered on, saying any beggar who showed up again would end up like me. His smug face was so infuriating..."
At those words, a strange light flickered in Dan Ak-seon's eyes.
"Any beggar?"
What if it were I Rip or Hong Jeok-mun?
Sensing Dan Ak-seon's thoughts, Bang So-bang shook his head.
"I can't drag Master or the elders into this."
"Why?"
"Because, technically, it was a proper duel. Besides, there's my master's reputation to consider. How could I let him know about his foolish disciple's embarrassing defeat?"
Bang So-bang inwardly gritted his teeth.
No matter how many times he replayed it, he felt angry and wronged.
Seeing Bang So-bang like this, Dan Ak-seon and Un Jung-san felt both his anger and his pain.
Some time passed like that.
Suddenly, Dan Ak-seon spoke.
"So, a duel is all it takes?"
Lost in thought, Dan Ak-seon suddenly started taking off his clothes.
"What are you doing?"
Dan Ak-seon took his clothes and stepped outside the hut.
A moment later, he returned wearing someone else's rags.
He had swapped clothes with a beggar outside the hut.
"I asked what you're doing."
"I'm going to beg for alms."
Finally realizing Dan Ak-seon's intentions, Bang So-bang jumped up and tried to stop him.
"You don't have to do this because of me."
"How could I not?"
"What?"
"If you were me, would you pretend you didn't see and just let it go?"
Bang So-bang flinched at the anger in Dan Ak-seon's eyes.
Dan Ak-seon asked again.
"Could you really do that?"
"..."
"I can't. Anyone who hurts my friend will pay the price. No matter who it is..."
Before he could even finish, Un Jung-san also took off his Daoist robe.
"Hey! Why are you doing this too?"
Un Jung-san looked at the startled Bang So-bang as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I can't let Ak-seon go alone. We're friends."
"Haa... You crazy bastards."
Bang So-bang shook his head from side to side.
"Jung-san, there's something you've overlooked."
"...?"
"Did you forget that among Yeon Jeok-sim's instructors, the Iron Brocade Fist, Great Warrior Bang, is a lay disciple of Wudang?"
As Un Jung-san hesitated, Bang So-bang continued his warning.
"If the sect elders find out you went there and got into a brawl, you'll be in huge trouble."
"I don't care."
"What?"
"I've already been in trouble once."
Un Jung-san turned his head toward Dan Ak-seon.
"If Ak-seon hadn't come, I'd still be in a small room, carrying out the punishment of wall-gazing."
"...!"
A look of surprise appeared on Bang So-bang's face.
The Wudang Sect's wall-gazing punishment was notoriously harsh.
Not only was food forbidden, but even water was withheld, and one had to sit in the same position, staring at a wall for days on end.
The truth was, Un Jung-san had planned to challenge Yeon Jeok-sim to a duel to avenge Bang So-bang. Before that, he had sought permission from the sect elders.
However, the elders had firmly stated that since it was a formal duel, it was not their place to interfere.
Still unable to give up, he had secretly climbed over the wall.
But he was caught by the sect elders waiting outside and sent straight to the small room.
"If Ak-seon hadn't come to visit, I wouldn't have even been able to come here."
Because of Dan Ak-seon's fame, they couldn't refuse and let Un Jung-san go. Though, they hadn't planned on punishing him for long anyway.
"Haa... What am I going to do with you two?"
Bang So-bang sighed deeply, looking back and forth between Dan Ak-seon and Un Jung-san.
But even as he spoke, his eyes were brimming with tears.
He was that moved by the sincerity of his friends, who were willing to throw themselves into danger for his sake.
Bang So-bang removed his splint and struggled to his feet.
"Aigoo, this is killing me."
"Why are you getting up?"
To Un Jung-san's question, Bang So-bang grinned.
"You think that saying about following a friend to Gangnam is just for show?"
It was a saying that meant you would follow a friend anywhere.
"Will you be okay?"
Bang So-bang replied playfully to Dan Ak-seon's worried gaze.
"Of course I'm not okay. But what can I do? I guess it's my fate for having the wrong friends."
A moment later, three young beggars left the hut and headed somewhere.
Watching them from a distance, Han Seol-hwa was so inwardly appalled that she couldn't speak for a while.
For a moment, she just stood there.
"Why does Physician Dan have to dress like a beggar?"
Han Seol-hwa muttered, as if she couldn't believe the scene she had just witnessed.
If she had to name the type of person she despised most in the world, it would undoubtedly be beggars.
With her pathologically clean nature, beggars were beings she could neither tolerate nor accept.
But now, Dan Ak-seon, whom she cherished more than anyone, was walking around in smelly rags.
Han Seol-hwa shuddered at the horrific sight she had never even imagined.
Seeing her, Beom Gye-wi wore a troubled expression.
"Brother Cho, should we go stop them?"
"Can you handle the consequences?"
"What do you mean?"
"If Physician Dan finds out we've been secretly watching him, he'll definitely be upset, don't you think?"
"Hah! We can't have that."
There was no need to choose between Dan Ak-seon and Han Seol-hwa.
From the start, the two could not even be placed on the same scale.
"Still, we can't just stand by and watch. Not because of the witch, but because we don't know when or where those strange bastards will pop out. They're definitely targeting Physician Dan, too."
"Isn't that why we're escorting him?"
Cho Ak-ryang's eyes suddenly took on a distant look.
"Kids their age are supposed to grow up playing like that. Getting a little dirt on them, breathing in some dust..."
"True, we had times like that too."
Cho Ak-ryang frowned.
"Why bring us into it? Let's just leave the past in the past. It's not something to be proud of."
"Huh? They're using lightness techniques."
With those words, Beom Gye-wi shot forward.
Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa also began to follow quietly.
A short while later, Dan Ak-seon and his friends arrived at Cheongsim Manor, the estate of Lord Yeon.
The sixtieth birthday banquet was yesterday, but from the boisterous sounds coming from over the wall, it seemed the party was still in full swing.
"Ready?"
At Dan Ak-seon's words, Un Jung-san and Bang So-bang exchanged glances and then nodded with determined faces.
"Then, shall we begin?"
With that, Dan Ak-seon flopped down on the ground in front of Cheongsim Manor's main gate.
Not to be outdone, Un Jung-san and Bang So-bang immediately did the same.
And then, as if they had practiced beforehand, they shouted in loud voices, one after another.
"Spare a coin!"
"Show mercy to a pitiful beggar and may your descendants enjoy blessings for generations to come!"
"A single coin will save you from misfortune!"
The three resounding voices drew the attention of everyone coming and going inside the manor toward the main gate.
Even in the midst of it, Bang So-bang chided Dan Ak-seon.
"Hey, what kind of beggar is so confident?"
"Huh? Is this not how you do it?"
"You have to look as pitiful as possible. Make your eyes more servile! Yes, that's it!"
"Ah! So begging has its own techniques."
"Not just techniques, they're life-saving ultimate skills. Our livelihoods depend on this one skill."
Dan Ak-seon suddenly whispered to Un Jung-san, curious.
"But why do you say 'accumulate good deeds'?"
"`Accumulating good deeds` means to build up virtuous acts. It's also one of the training methods in Daoism, which I follow."
All religions tend to incorporate worldly ethics.
In Daoism, accumulating good deeds, or virtuous karma, is particularly important.
This is because it's believed that if your good deeds are insufficient, or if you commit even a single evil act, all other religious practices and training become null and void.
Conversely, there was a widespread belief that by accumulating good deeds, one could avoid sudden disasters even without undergoing other religious practices or training.
"When you get down to it, the Daoist ideal is immortality and eternal youth—basically, to live a long and healthy life."
Practices like abstaining from grains and subsisting on raw foods like pine needles, jujubes, and chestnuts; consuming medicinal herbs and elixirs; controlling one's breath; and guiding one's true energy.
Even more advanced practices, like introspection and sitting in oblivion, all presuppose the accumulation of good deeds.
Dan Ak-seon, still prostrate, was impressed by Un Jung-san's explanation.
"To think that even simple begging holds so much meaning."
"For all that, we look pretty pathetic, don't we?"
At Bang So-bang's words, the three of them snickered.
They had clearly come for revenge, but their current situation was just funny and amusing.
"Spare a coin!"
"The beggar from yesterday didn't die and came back again!"
"The good have arrived, and those who come accumulate virtue!"
This was a twist on the saying, 'The good do not come, and those who come are not good.'
Bang So-bang was impressed by Un Jung-san's clever twist.
"Oh! I guess all that Daoist training paid off, huh?"
Un Jung-san retorted.
"And you're not even earning your meals."
"What?"
"You're the one who eats begged food every day, but Ak-seon looks more like a beggar than you do."
"Keuk."
"Keuk-keuk."
As they lay prostrate, snickering and laughing, someone appeared at the gate.
"What's with the nerve on these ones?"
At the chilly voice, Dan Ak-seon lifted his head.
A group of men, presumably guards, were looking down at them with complicated expressions.
"Didn't I say I'd break your ankles if you came back?"
One of the guards put on a deliberately menacing expression.
"Get lost. This time, you might actually die."
It was then.
"Why are you chasing away our precious guests?"
At the voice coming from behind them, the guards respectfully bowed their heads.
Yeon Jeok-sim, the young master of the estate, had appeared.
Spotting Bang So-bang, Yeon Jeok-sim curled his lips into a nasty smile.
"To think you're already moving around, how impressive. Then again, I was quite merciful yesterday."
Dan Ak-seon raised his eyes to look at Yeon Jeok-sim's face.
A boy who, despite being their age, seemed a full head taller.
In contrast to his handsome features, his eyes were cloudy and dull.
"Is that him?"
"Yeah."
Bang So-bang nodded in response to Dan Ak-seon's question.
Just then, Yeon Jeok-sim took something from his robes and dangled it in front of Dan Ak-seon's eyes.
"You want alms? Then how about this?"
*Jingle.*
Yeon Jeok-sim smiled, shaking a pouch full of silver coins.
He looked pleased, as if a new toy had walked right up to him.
"If you follow me, I'll give you all of this. You're beggars, so of course you won't refuse, right?"
Meeting the cruelly glittering eyes behind the friendly smile, Dan Ak-seon rose to his feet with a grin.
"For that much money, of course we'll follow."
"Good."
Yeon Jeok-sim nodded with a satisfied expression and began to walk ahead.
The manor's guards also followed behind him with solemn expressions.
Dan Ak-seon, Un Jung-san, and Bang So-bang exchanged glances and slowly nodded.
And they walked side by side to the place Yeon Jeok-sim led them.
The place they arrived at was a secluded clearing in the woods behind the manor.
At a signal from Yeon Jeok-sim, the guards blocked their escape route.
*Clang.*
Yeon Jeok-sim tossed the money pouch filled with silver in front of Dan Ak-seon's group.
"As it happens, I've been short on dueling partners lately."
Yeon Jeok-sim's cold eyes turned to Bang So-bang.
"Someone of your level would be more than enough."
Seeing Bang So-bang trembling with clenched fists, Yeon Jeok-sim gave a confident look.
"These are the terms of the duel. One quarter-hour. If each of you can last just one quarter-hour, the money is yours. However, once the duel begins, it cannot be stopped."
"I agree."
Dan Ak-seon, stepping forward first, gripped the Silent Dragon and smiled brightly.
"Those are conditions I quite like."