Chapter 593
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 593
Chapter Title: Welcome
Old beggar Little Wind Beggar.
He wasn't particularly strong, but his lightness skill was swift.
That was why his nickname included "Wind."
But the reason it also had "Little" was that, while fast, it wasn't outstandingly so—not the kind of speed that would rank among the top in an entire province.
Thanks to that swift lightness skill, Little Wind Beggar had roamed the martial world as the Beggar Clan's messenger during the last great martial conference.
He had faced life-and-death crises and delivered urgent messages on time, contributing greatly to the Righteous Heaven Alliance's victory.
That was why he still clearly remembered the face of Deputy Leader Bang Sa-uk, who had led the frontline Beggar Clan disciples in countless battles against the Blood Cult and Demonic Cult.
Falling Dragon Cliff.
Little Wind Beggar had been there when Bang Sa-uk hurled himself off the cliff below Heavenly Summit Branch Gorge.
He had returned alive, then shot northward like an arrow from his own branch hall, reeking of blood.
His entire body had emanated a bloody stench.
"How in the world..."
Collapsing to the ground, Little Wind Beggar muttered in disbelief.
It had only been a fleeting moment, but the terrifying killing intent radiating from Bang Sa-uk had made his legs go weak.
He had nearly lost control and leaked his presence out of sheer fear.
If he hadn't honed his ability to suppress his presence while darting through battlefields as a messenger during the martial conference.
He surely would have.
"He should be dead for sure... No, how could his face..."
Incoherent words spilled from his mouth.
Bang Sa-uk had thrown himself off the cliff, and the battle had barely ended in the Righteous Heaven Alliance's victory.
It was thanks to the Hocheon Corps' fierce support at the very end.
And they hadn't recovered Bang Sa-uk's body.
Unbeknownst to himself, he had mastered the Demonic Arts in despair and hurled himself off in atonement, for the sake of his honor.
Even though he had been in the midst of transforming into a dark blood stiff corpse at the time.
Even if he had become one, falling into Falling Dragon Cliff would have surely killed him.
Yet here he was, appearing in the exact same form from back then, radiating that killing intent.
After several years had passed.
'Not a dark blood stiff corpse.'
He could assert this because he had seen them multiple times.
Bang Sa-uk was not a dark blood stiff corpse.
But.
'Not the deputy leader either.'
He wasn't the Deputy Leader Bang Sa-uk that he knew.
With a face full of confusion, Little Wind Beggar cautiously headed toward the branch hall and was horrified upon arrival.
Seeing the corpses of his subordinates, slaughtered by ruthless hands, he trembled from head to toe.
"A m-monster... no, a malevolent ghost... Bang Sa-uk..."
It was heartbreaking.
Utterly heartbreaking.
How could the Beggar Clan's righteous and talented deputy leader end up like this?
Little Wind Beggar hurriedly released a carrier pigeon.
Its destination was, of course, the Beggar Clan's main headquarters in Kaifeng.
Bang Sa-uk slowly made his way toward Kaifeng, when he spotted a pigeon hastily flying across the sky.
"Hm? That's fast."
He recognized it at a glance as one of the Beggar Clan's carrier pigeons.
Yet it was faster than he had expected.
He recalled how, just briefly when he left the branch hall, something had pricked at his senses.
It had been instantaneous and faint, so he had ignored it.
"Looks like it was a rat after all."
Calculating the position from back then and the time the pigeon was flying now, there had clearly been a Beggar Clan disciple hiding nearby.
"Doesn't matter. Heh."
He had seen countless Beggar Clan carrier pigeons flying off before.
The reason he let them go when he could have caught them was simple.
One way or another.
The Beggar Clan would be destroyed anyway.
By his own hand.
The reason?
Because the whispers demanded it.
Because his blood boiled for it.
Then, another carrier pigeon flew past.
This one was from headquarters to the branch hall.
It seemed they were finally warning the branch hall disciples to be careful.
"This should get even more interesting now. Hah."
Kaifeng.
Beggar Clan headquarters.
With carrier pigeons continuously arriving from the south, the atmosphere here was gravely tense.
It was only natural.
News kept coming that the branch halls along the line from Tianzhong Mountain to Kaifeng had been completely wiped out.
Vice Leader Iron Cane Beggar's face was darkly set.
"Just who the hell is targeting the Beggar Clan?"
A murmur laced with fury.
He couldn't even guess who the culprit might be.
There were no major sects along the route from Tianzhong Mountain to Kaifeng.
Moreover, the culprit knew the Beggar Clan extremely well.
Not a single branch hall had been spared; all had been massacred.
Disciples who had gone begging returned, witnessed the horror, and sent urgent pigeons that kept arriving.
"Urgent report!"
One elder appeared, clutching a message in haste.
News of yet another branch hall wiped out.
"Yangha Branch Hall? The news is late, I suppose."
It was the next branch hall in line along the mysterious assailant's path.
He had ordered them to evacuate and hide, but it seemed the assailant had been faster.
Iron Cane Beggar's scowl deepened.
"Wait, there's information on the assailant. Vice Leader."
Iron Cane Beggar jumped at the elder's urgent words.
"Qu-quickly, hand it over."
"But... the assailant is... it's... damn..."
The elder held out the message at his urging but couldn't bring himself to speak.
Ignoring the elder's reaction, Iron Cane Beggar checked the message.
"This can't be..."
His hand trembled.
He simply couldn't believe the identity of the assailant written there.
It was absurd.
"S-Sa-Sa-uk?"
Silence fell abruptly at Iron Cane Beggar's murmur.
Everyone gathered here were masters who could easily hear even his quiet mutter.
That was why they were all at a loss for words.
Because of the name that had slipped from Iron Cane Beggar's lips.
"N-No way."
"Insane..."
A faint murmur broke the silence.
All expressions of disbelief.
"It's from Little Wind Beggar."
Silence returned at Iron Cane Beggar's follow-up.
They all knew who Little Wind Beggar was.
The fast but not mighty one.
The veteran of many battlefields who had served as a messenger, crossing countless fronts during the last war.
That was Little Wind Beggar.
He wouldn't mistake Bang Sa-uk.
"It's Sa-uk, but not Sa-uk," Iron Cane Beggar said with a hollow expression, setting down the message.
"Not turned into a dark blood stiff corpse, but not Sa-uk either. An evil spirit leaking killing intent and bloodlust appeared..."
"..."
"How could this..."
"Hoo."
Heartbreak swiftly filled the space.
Iron Cane Beggar muttered in a devastated voice.
"Where the hell has that clan leader gone at a time like this? Tch."
Resentment toward someone leaked out.
Blue Bamboo Divine Beggar, the Beggar Clan leader residing in the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
He was the target.
Blue Bamboo Divine Beggar had vanished from the alliance some time ago.
He had left word that he had something to investigate and then disappeared.
This left Vice Leader Iron Cane Beggar even busier, and now this happened.
"Send word to all branch halls to flee far away and hide. Gather all our forces here. The path they're taking makes the target obvious. I don't know the reason, but."
The assembled elders and protectors nodded at his words.
The branch halls being massacred straight from Tianzhong Mountain toward Kaifeng.
It declared clearly.
My target is the Beggar Clan headquarters.
Morning broke.
The two children headed to the backyard for their morning meditation.
There, Pavilion Keeper Gwan Po was just rising after finishing his own meditation to start the morning chores.
"Work hard."
Spotting the children, Pavilion Keeper Gwan Po smiled faintly as he passed by.
Ha-bin and Ha-jun bowed politely toward Pavilion Keeper Gwan Po.
He had seemed like a scary uncle at first, but now he felt reliable.
That sentiment had begun that day.
The day after he had been subdued in an instant by that terrifying man.
Just as they were about to begin meditating.
A pitch-black crow landed on the inn's roof from the sky.
It was unusual, so they tilted their heads, but the two children soon immersed themselves in meditation.
At that moment.
Ha Mu-baek appeared at the branch.
"Good work, White Crow."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, the crow whipped its head around and stuck out its leg.
Ha Mu-baek wore an exasperated expression at its behavior, but this was typical for it.
Except toward Han Seol-bing.
On his way to Mount Hua, he had sent a message to the alliance and a brief situation report to the Fierce Dragon Corps.
And White Crow had come to Shangnam with news from the Fierce Dragon Corps.
The contents were nothing special.
All clear, in summary.
Since White Crow was here, he had sent a message to his master.
Its return now meant it brought the reply.
Ha Mu-baek removed the message from White Crow's leg band.
"Tch. Gonna get fleas."
After reading it all, Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue.
Taking a disciple was entirely up to Ha Mu-baek's will, and upon doing so, he was to inherit the Infinite Sect's sect leader position.
It was a sect with only his master, Ha Mu-baek, and Ha Seol-ran as members.
Still, he couldn't ignore the weight of the sect leader title.
"Well, whatever."
Ha Mu-baek gazed at the two children meditating in the backyard from under the eaves.
He had already decided in his heart yesterday, but his master's message today sealed it firmly.
With the decision made, there was no reason to delay.
When the children finished meditating and opened their eyes.
Ha Mu-baek stood before them.
"G-Gasp."
"M-Master, greetings."
Startled, the two children hurriedly bowed politely.
"Yes."
Nodding and accepting their bows, Ha Mu-baek continued.
"Do you know of the Nine Discipleship Rites?"
The children blinked in surprise at his question.
"Of course not."
Ha Mu-baek asked and answered himself.
Gong Ha-bin and Gong Ha-jun couldn't process the meaning behind his question.
"The Nine Discipleship Rites are the nine etiquettes a disciple must observe upon taking a master."
He then carefully explained each of the nine rites.
On a distant day long ago.
The exact explanation that Supreme Commander Wei Ji-gun had given to a thirteen-year-old beggar boy holding a young girl in his arms.
He recited it slowly and calmly, just as it had been.
Ha Mu-baek suddenly recalled that day.
He still remembered it vividly.
His master's voice, tone, expression, even the small gestures during the explanation.
And Ha Mu-baek's own voice, tone, expression, even his small gestures, were becoming just like his master's that day.
Because that day was the most important in Ha Mu-baek's life.
The day a great light had shone into his dark, hellish existence.
Ha Mu-baek hoped this day would be the same for these children.
Gong Ha-jun and Gong Ha-bin clearly understood what Ha Mu-baek's explanation meant.
Joy lit up their faces.
How could it not?
Though they called Ha Mu-baek "master," he had never called them his disciples.
It had been their own term.
Yet now he spoke of the Nine Discipleship Rites.
Completing them meant they would become his true disciples.
Truly serving Ha Mu-baek as their master.
The moment they had longed for was finally here.
"Understood?"
At Ha Mu-baek's question, the two children nodded vigorously.
"Yes."
"Yes!"
"Then let's begin."
Ha Mu-baek stood with hands clasped behind his back in an appropriate spot.
The two children, facing him directly, slowly performed the nine rites with utmost courtesy.
The bows to formally accept him as their master.
"I welcome you as my disciples—as disciples of the Infinite Sect."
At Ha Mu-baek's calm words, radiant smiles bloomed on the two children's faces.
Tears streamed from their eyes.