The Conspirators (2)
"Everything I'm about to tell you from here on out is a story I heard from my old master, Gu Ji-gae. Even when he took this one in, he was already teetering on the edge of old age... He was the last living soul who'd actually met the world's greatest, Yi Gyeol, face-to-face."
Gu Ji-gae. A name that meant nothing to Yi Gyeol's memories. With beggars of the Open Faction scattered across every corner of the world like dust in the wind, how could the world's greatest be expected to remember every last one of them?
"When I started this one off as a clueless pup, learning the ways of the world bit by bit under Master's wing, the Yi Family's fortunes had already faded a fair bit—they'd lost much of their shine. Still, plenty of folks paid their respects to Yi Gajang back then, and even more pitied the house as it slowly crumbled away. This one asked the old man about it too. Why'd they end up like that? Could a family really fall just because of some last words? But back then, Master just brushed it off with vague nonsense, nothing more. And mind you, this was a blabbermouth geezer who'd spin one question into ten or twenty tales on a normal day—so it was damn strange. He finally spilled the tale he'd been holding back right at the end... when death was knocking at his door."
The old beggar reminisced about another old beggar as he pressed on with his words. It was a tale from decades ago.
Henan Province, Kaifeng. A fine spring day, under a rickety old bridge.
A wrinkly old beggar and a fresh-faced young one sat there. The kid was huffing away at the fire, boiling dog meat, while the elder leaned his back against a rock with labored breaths, watching his disciple.
The old man nodded off, fighting sleep no more, and the young one let out a sharp yell.
"Master! If you're gonna go, at least have a bite of dog meat first!"
The startled geezer jerked awake, glancing around wildly. His eyes were clouded over with a milky film—he could barely see.
Realizing he was still among the living, the old beggar spat a curse.
"Damn fool... Weather's just too nice. Dozed off for a sec, that's all."
"Snap out of it! One more nap like that, and you're gone for good, far as I can tell."
The young beggar—No Gae, before he'd earned his fiery nickname of Old Dog—shoved a piece of half-raw meat into his master's mouth in a panic.
Gu Ji-gae, the old man with death breathing down his neck, chewed with what few teeth he had left and swallowed. A faint spark returned to his graying eyes.
The kid offered another piece. But instead of taking it, the elder just stared quietly at his disciple.
"No Gak, oh No Gak. You're a fine disciple, you are. Got the stuff to become Bangju someday, lead the Open Faction."
"Bangju, my ass. Quit yapping nonsense like a dog grazing grass and take some more meat."
"What's this? You, giving up dog meat?"
"I'll wait till it's cooked proper and tastier."
"You little shit. I pick up a dying stray, raise him... and this is the thanks."
"Ain't the time to be picky, Master. Eat up, get your strength back, and teach me one more thing."
"Teach what? Your wits are sharp as hell—I've been tapped out for ages. Just keep grinding from here on... that's all there is."
No Gak crammed another undercooked chunk into his master's mouth before he could ramble on. The old man gulped it down with effort. Two bites seemed to wear him out already. He waved the meat away, leaned back against the rock, and gazed at the vast sky.
"What a fine day. Sharing dog meat with my cherished disciple before I go... Even a worthless life like mine gets a decent send-off."
To refuse even his beloved dog meat after just two bites... Young No Gak knew his master's time was truly up.
He swallowed a sob and said, "Worthless? Everyone in the Central Plains looks up to you, Master. I'll boast to my dying day that I learned under you."
Gu Ji-gae grinned toothily.
"Look at this punk. The mangy mutt's finally grown some sense? Nice to hear, even if it's just lip service."
"Lip service? Everyone knows you spent your life shielding the weak, punishing the wicked—a righteous hero through and through."
"Hero... Hero, eh..."
Gu Ji-gae stared silently at the sky for a long stretch. No Gak half-worried he'd passed already. But his master's chest still rose and fell, slow and steady. Just lost in deep thought.
"No Gak. Got a story for you."
"I'm listening."
"You asked once why the Yi Family fell like that. You'd have noticed right off I wasn't myself back then."
"What's the point dredging up some other clan's dirt now? Skip it. Tell me good memories instead."
"No. Listen up. Best thing I ever did was take you as my Open Faction disciple. Worst regret? Tied to Yi Gajang. So for my sake, hear me out."
Gu Ji-gae gripped No Gak's hand tight. The kid couldn't refuse or pull away.
He had no clue why his dying master would fixate on Yi Gajang of all things, but he couldn't defy him anymore. No Gak nodded, and Gu Ji-gae spoke.
"Back when I was still a teen, full of fire and cocky as hell. Had reason to be—I was the unbeatable young genius of the Open Faction. But Bangju and the elders just shook their heads. 'Not enough. Nowhere near Yi Gajang's level. To surpass Yi Gyeol? Might take generations. Maybe never.'"
"Pissed me right off. Thought the old fogeys were defeatist bullshit artists. Me, getting stronger by the day, and those senior farts in their cushy seats whining like weaklings? Couldn't wrap my head around it. Finally figured I had to see for myself to believe it. The guy who'd crushed the Nine Great Sects and Open Faction alike. So one day, I snuck out of Kaifeng for Dongjeong Lake without telling the elders. Rumors swirled about challengers getting crippled or killed, but screw that. My head was full of proving myself and the Open Faction's greatness."
"Meeting Yi Gyeol wasn't easy, though. Yi Gajang was at its peak—folks flocked from everywhere to see him. A young beggar with no invite or appointment? Like plucking stars from the sky. So I went full beggar mode. Plunked my bowl at their crowded front gate and kowtowed. Servants begged, warriors threatened with blades—didn't budge. Even Yi Gyeol's kids came out one by one, mocking me. 'Think Daddy'll glance at a beggar brat like you? Leave by tomorrow or we drag you out—that's your only way to keep your neck.' But that very night... I met him."
"Deep into the night. Everything went dead quiet. Frogs, bugs—all silenced. In that utter stillness, my kowtowing body floated up light as a feather. Under the massive Yi Gajang plaque, a middle-aged man stood with hands behind his back. I knew instantly: Yi Gyeol, the world's greatest. Never met him, but that presence, that pressure—no one else fit. He smirked. 'Wanna fight me, huh? Plenty've challenged on a whim, but first time one's bowed headfirst before starting.' I shot back: 'Bowing to leap higher.' Then unleashed Anti-Dragon Eighteen Palms and charged him head-on."
No Gak gulped. His master had clashed with the legendary Yi Gyeol—and so recklessly? A secret no one knew, not even whispered.
Why hide it all these years?
"And? What happened?"
"What'd ya think? Got my ass handed to me, pure and simple."
Gu Ji-gae flashed his remaining teeth in a grin.
"Not even a real fight. Charged dozens of times, got flattened dozens of times. Fists, feet, fingertips—nothing touched him. Lucky me, though. Seniors said he never gave second or third chances. No idea why he did for me that night. But he didn't just smack me down. Watched my full-power Open Faction moves, critiqued 'em one by one, even suggested improvements. Shook me to the core. Every word cracked open my bottlenecks, my stuck points. Felt every bit of the despair those seniors knew."
"Folded completely to that overwhelming force. Body and soul. Back to kowtowing at Yi Gajang's gate. First time was to draw him out—now it was admitting total defeat. A chuckle echoed, then poof—he was gone. Dawn breaking. A servant poked his head out, puzzled, dropped a few taels of silver in my bowl. 'Master said give it for your travels. First time for me too.'"
"Headed straight back to Kaifeng. Never breathed a word about challenging the world's greatest, getting smashed over and over. Too embarrassing, not worth telling. Just used his pointers on Open Faction arts' flaws and trained like hell. Accepted I'd never top Yi Gyeol in my lifetime, but steady progress, passing insights to talents generation after generation... we'd rise in the jianghu again, like always."
"But weeks later... the world lost its shit. Yi Gyeol, world's greatest, gone at just mid-forties. No attack, no qi deviation, no illness. Sat atop his tower, gazing at the world... and just fell asleep. For me, who'd seen him bursting with health days earlier? Unbelievable."
"Elders called an emergency council. As next Bangju candidate, I sat in. Those bedridden old chickens? Ramrod straight, eyes gleaming."
Gu Ji-gae squeezed No Gak's hand harder.
"The old beggars all said it: Yi Gyeol's dead. The moment we've waited for is here..."