176. Rescue (1)
Rescue (1)
176. Rescue (1)
With Lee Eun-ha's permission, framed as a request, Murong Rin and Gyeong Su-yeon returned to their respective manors with light steps. After spending the whole night tending to Lee Eun-ha, who'd been running hot all day, I felt a kind of melancholy, as if I'd become a jobless bum whose only recent purpose was sex.
The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was truly right around the corner now. Other sects were no longer in a position to mingle idly, so there were no visitors at all. I heard that Ak Jung-young, who'd been tailing Cho-ryeong everywhere, had also left for the east street where the Shandong Yue Clan was staying.
"Senior Sister? Where are you going?"
After a light weight-training session, I was leisurely drinking tea when Lee Eun-ha, dressed to go out, caught my eye. Feeling a little bored, I asked where she was going. She said Master had ordered her to visit the Beggars' Sect manor and examine Jo Bok's injury. The Beggars' Sect, huh. I was bored anyway. Maybe I would follow her and tease Jo Bok.
The Beggars' Sect was, naturally, a collective of beggars. But the Beggars' Sect manor within the Martial Alliance was a magnificent and luxurious space that was by no means inferior to the manors of other wealthy sects.
"I am Lee Eun-ha of Yeongsan Sect. I've come to examine Heroine Jo Bok's injury."
When we announced ourselves to the beggar gatekeeper, he recognized us, greeted us warmly, and guided us to the sickroom where Jo Bok was staying.
"Puhahaha!! Quite a sight, aren't you?"
It wasn't a twenty-first-century-style splint, but Jo Bok had roughly cut bamboo and bound it to her calf with bandages. She glared at me with an indignant face and clenched her fist tightly.
"You came all this way just to mock me? Let me make this clear: it wasn't your little brat who won. It was me."
A face burning with fury. An enraged person like this was the perfect target for teasing.
"Oh, really? Senior Sister Cho is bouncing around full of energy right now. Ah! So you won the match but lost the fight? How humiliating. The great Jo Bok, hailed as the best under heaven, got her leg broken by a little girl not even fifteen?"
"Junior Brother!" Lee Eun-ha tried to stop me while I teased Jo Bok.
"I told you to wait and see, didn't I? You're nothing. I can tell by looking at your eyes. You may have gotten stronger through a fortuitous encounter, but your eyes aren't those of a martial artist. Just wait a few years. I'll show you what a true martial artist is."
Hmm. So that was how she got kicked in the rear by Cho-ryeong while talking about me like this in front of the beggars.
"A few years? But do you know this? In just a few years, Senior Sister Cho will also be far stronger than she is now. You've been called a prodigy too, but honestly, you weren't as strong as her when you were her age, were you?"
As I snickered and teased her, Jo Bok, as if she felt this was a factual point, threw a pillow at me. Naturally, I had no intention of letting it hit me.
"Junior Brother! I said stop it! Heroine Jo. Please show me your injury. I am insignificant, but I've learned a little about medicine."
Somehow, Lee Eun-ha was the youngest among my lovers, but she had a strangely older-sister-like quality. Jo Bok pouted, looking at Lee Eun-ha.
"What do you mean insignificant? With those watermelon-sized breasts. You're Medicine Immortal Lee Eun-ha, aren't you? I don't know medicine, but do you think a beggar lives her life without ever breaking a bone? If a bone's broken, what medicine can you do? It'll heal if I just eat well. My master said in his letter that Medicine Immortal's skills are amazing. Since you're here, could you make me something tasty instead of bitter medicine?"
"Something like that is easy. But while medicine can't rejoin a broken bone, it can prevent the wound from festering or bring down the swelling. I'll make you a medicine that isn't bitter, so please show me your injury quickly."
Unlike when she dealt with me, Jo Bok readily unwrapped her bandages and showed her leg.
"Wow. You're really shameless. How can you ask a guest who's visiting for the first time to cook for you?"
"Heng? A beggar who can't even beg should go out and die."
"Yeah. You're such a perfect beggar. But isn't this place a beggar's den too? Why did they build a beggar's den so magnificently?"
"Are you stupid too? Think about it. If a hundred thousand beggars beg just one coin each, that's ten taels of gold. Even if they only beg ten coins a year, that's a hundred taels of gold. Couldn't the Beggars' Sect build one manor with money gathered over hundreds of years?"
The Beggars' Sect was chinkery incarnate. Individually, they were just beggars, but when that many heads gathered, even their economy became a force that couldn't be ignored. China in my previous life had likewise exploited that principle to run thuggish rackets.
After examining Jo Bok's injury, Lee Eun-ha returned to our manor to prepare cooking and medicinal prescriptions. It seemed like she had some strange expectations on the way, but I'd rather die than get involved with a beggar wench.
"The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering is right around the corner and the elder isn't here yet?"
"My master? He'll probably come today. But you, did you really charge into Great Sun Association and smash it to pieces and come back?"
"Wow! There's actually a disciple who doesn't even believe a letter sent by her own master? Should I tell the elder about this later?"
Strangely, whenever I stood in front of Jo Bok, all my maturity disappeared. In front of the novice nun Suyeon, who was around the same age, I wanted to show a somewhat dignified older-brother image, but in front of this wench, I had nothing but the urge to tease her.
"Cut the crap. You think you're the only one with a master? My leg might be broken, but do you think the mouth I'd use to report to the Yeongsan Sect Leader got crushed too? But that kid. She really was amazing. To be honest, after hearing what you said earlier, I got a little scared. As for me, even when I saw someone stronger than me, I always thought I'd eventually beat them all in time. But honestly, when I think that that little brat will one day surpass me, it somehow frightens me. As soon as my injury heals, I'm going to the main branch and train seriously."
How many martial artists could so honestly voice their fear aloud like that? Seeing her acknowledge her opponent's talent even though it was a child she had won against, and not be cowed by it, I could somewhat understand why she wouldn't acknowledge me, a first-rate master, as a true martial artist.
"Sure. Work hard. Senior Sister Cho said she was looking forward to a rematch. The next generation of rising stars will probably be led by you and Senior Sister Cho. If you ever get bored, come visit Yeongsan. I'll feed you until your belly bursts. Senior Sister Lee here loves sharing food, you see."
As if my words were unexpected, Jo Bok stared at me with wide, round eyes. I had already given up on being a true martial artist by relying on sorcery, but once, I too had yearned for that kind of martial artist spirit. A new kind of strength that didn't exist in my past life. When I learned mysterious powers and martial arts, I too wanted to rightfully become the protagonist in this world. Just like when I met Son Yeong, who had come begging to the Baek Clan Estate, and my heart was stolen at a single glance. Perhaps even if it had been Jo Bok who had come back then, it wouldn't have been any different.
"That's unexpected. My master also said he's moving to the Liaodong branch this time. Should I follow him too?"
Drunken Beggar. He knew. He knew that once we returned, Lee Eun-ha would make an excellent fine rice wine according to the recipe from the Wine Immortal Scripture.
"Hmph. What's this? I heard Yeongsan Sect came into some money lately, and you came empty-handed?"
An old man who suddenly entered the sickroom and spouted such beggar-like words. A real old beggar who looked far older than Drunken Beggar had come in.
"Please don't be like that, Elder. I heard Yeongsan Sect is a sect similar to our Beggars' Sect. Was there another sect besides us that carries their food bowls around?"
"Huh? Really? Puhahaha! Then I have nothing to say. As senior beggars, we should be the ones to treat them. There's some leftover chicken from the Peng Clan the day before yesterday—shall I bring you that at least?"
A typical Beggars' Sect elder who laughed heartily.
"Even if Yeongsan doesn't have much to spare, we aren't so starved as to scrounge food from beggars."
"Hey. It's not beggar's food, it's chicken from the prestigious Peng Clan. Wouldn't it suit your palate?"
"I refuse. Even if it's a royal feast, once it passes through a beggar's hands, isn't it just beggar's food?"
"Keolkeolkeol. Is that so indeed? They call me Heroic Beggar. I'm a Beggars' Sect elder, but since I'm a personage stationed at the Alliance, I don't look like a beggar at all, do I?"
"No. You look like a real beggar."
"Kya! Even in this flashy, dazzling place, the dignity of the Beggars' Sect never fades."
Even at my somewhat rude remark, Heroic Beggar responded far more magnanimously than Drunken Beggar. It seemed this old man, being stationed at the Martial Alliance and dealing with all sorts of people, had naturally learned how to handle all kinds of unreasonable jerks, just like me from my past life in the customer service office.
"No matter how I look at you, you seem like a dullard, but they say you're a master on the level of Reverend Hyeon-gang? Truly, it's hard to believe. The problem is, it's true, isn't it? In the past, when I saw a master, I was simply envious, but now that I'm this age, seeing a young master like you really makes me ashamed. I'm really envious of that Drunken Beggar fellow or the Yeongsan Sect Leader. My own disciples are still a long way off."
"No, Elder. Senior Brother Wang will definitely be among the Eight Dragons this time. But isn't Murong Su a foul? The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering is supposed to be up to age twenty-five, but he's twenty-six now, isn't he?"
"What can we do about the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering being delayed? Even if it had been held last year, that friend would have won anyway. Nothing would have changed."
No, that wasn't true. Because the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering was delayed, Duanmu Hwang was able to participate. Come to think of it, did even they, the greatest intelligence organization in the martial world, not know about Duanmu Hwang?
"Elder, do you also think Great Hero Murong will win?"
"Probably so. Only heaven knows the outcome, but this time, there are no talents for the Eight Dragons. The Four Phoenixes side might have unfolded interestingly, but since our Bok and that dog bitch can't even participate, there'll be hardly anything worth watching."
Even though he seemed refined, he still called Myo Hong-seon a dog bitch.
"Are you fond of gambling? Shall we bet on who wins? I'll bet on Murong Su. If I win, when you invite that Drunken Beggar fellow over later, call me along too."
Heroic Beggar spoke, smacking his lips as if he'd heard news about the Wine Immortal Sect too.
"Then I'll bet on the Duanmu Clan. If I win, please share information about meteorite iron with me."
"Huh? Duanmu Hwang? You're a good man! You're betting on a losing hand for this old beggar's sake on purpose?"
Huh? He knew about Duanmu Hwang? But what was with this reaction?
"You'll know in five days anyway, but he's considerably strong. He's a martial artist on the verge of the first-rate realm. He probably can't even be classified as a rising star anymore."
"What nonsense are you talking about? On the verge of the first-rate realm, you say? Being on the verge of first-rate and standing at the very peak of second-rate may sound similar, but they are completely different. Does that alone mean he has transcended the rising stars? Are you mocking me? I have seen countless prodigies, including our Bok, but besides you, I have never seen a true master who genuinely transcended the rising stars."
Heroic Beggar spoke decisively. No way. Could that be? When Duanmu Hwang could fully manifest Sword Threads?
"Well, I suppose so. You're also a friend who got stronger through a fortuitous encounter, so you must be overestimating the power of luck. Does having strong internal energy automatically make someone a strong martial artist? If so, then the Medicine Immortal who just left would be the winner of the Four Phoenixes Tournament."
"Senior Sister Lee and Duanmu Hwang are different. His internal energy is outstanding, but his eye power is also exceptional."
The dynamic vision that captured the Moonlit Divine Sword, and internal strength even greater than Lee Eun-ha's. If a person like that wasn't strong, then who could be called strong?
"Eye power? Sure. That's important too. The Duanmu Clan must have been shocked. For the sickly eldest young master of the clan to recover his muscles and bones while having built up such immense internal energy, I understand why they kept it secret. But you see, that was the worst possible move. Isn't he a novice who's only been walking on his own two feet for a mere three years? Has he even had a proper sparring match? At best, he would have only sparred with Duanmu martial artists whose martial arts he already knows inside out."
Come to think of it, that was true. Internal energy was important, but it wasn't absolute. Moon Immortal had personally shown me the proof of that, that day. When Flame Emperor trained me, what he poured the most time and sincerity into wasn't qi circulation and breath regulation. It was simply the grueling sparring with the Four Heroes. The biggest reason even a dullard like me could climb up to this point was clearly the share of experience.
"Moreover, hmm... This might be rude to you, but though he may have gained that power after over a decade of suffering, suffering and effort are unrelated. If we think of it from the standpoint of all the young martial artists gathered here, his power is no different from luck. Power easily gained cannot be expected to develop. Well, though in your case, it was luck so immense that you have no need for further development."
Heroic Beggar subtly gauged my reaction while offering the old master's view. Hearing those words, Jo Bok expressed intense agreement.
His words were only half right. It was true. Getting stronger through luck alone definitely had its limits. Even after I gained my own luck, I hadn't just been loafing around, but had been forced into effort to a sickening degree. Flame Emperor made me strong faster than anyone else, but his extreme training methods were never comfortable.
Both Murong Rin and I had been mistaken. She was clever, so she'd probably made that mistake because of the special precedent called me. Truly, even in this regard, the experience of a veteran master could never be ignored.
Damn it. It looked like I'd have to invite one more beggar elder when we returned to Yeongsan Sect.