Chapter 21. The Beggars of the Beggars’ Sect are Curious

The next day, the rumor spread quickly.

The marketplaces of northern Anhui were overflowing with rumors.

Not only martial artists, but also those who had one foot in the martial world, and even ordinary people, were all chattering about the flaws of the reputable families and sects, so there were few who did not know the related stories.

“Did you hear the rumor?”

“You must have heard it too. A rumor is just a rumor. It was so absurd that it wasn’t even worth thinking about.”

Most dismissed it as nonsense.

But even so, suspicion was bound to arise.

“No, there’s something.”

“Are you saying you suspect the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun?”

“Of course not.”

“Then?”

“Hmph, this person doesn’t think. Even if the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun are innocent, everyone is chattering, saying there’s no smoke without fire. In this situation, the place that stands to gain is the real core of the conspiracy.”

“Now that I hear it, it sounds plausible. This, this, the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun are going to be quite angry.”

“Is it just those two? The Cheonhwa Library, which has been keeping its distance from the martial world, has also been called out of the blue, so they must be boiling with anger.”

Through the rumor, the Cheonhwa Library became the weak one, and the burden of explaining or revealing the source of the conspiracy fell on the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun.

“Wait, but isn’t the solution simple?”

“Huh?”

“The head of the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun Sect Leader can just visit the Cheonhwa Library and clear up the misunderstanding. And they can also see the face of that chief steward.”

“Oho, that sounds plausible. And if the reputable families in the vicinity join in from a neutral perspective, the picture would be even better. And then they can resolve to take down the Black Group or whatever it is together.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Some talked about solutions, and others, as if watching a fire, secretly hoped that things would get bigger.

That night, in the marketplace.

“Nom, nom, chomp, chomp.”

At the entrance of an alley, a middle-aged beggar was sprawled on the street, tearing at a chicken leg, and the young beggar next to him was gulping down his saliva.

The young beggar, unable to bear it any longer, finally opened his mouth.

“Senior brother, how does it taste?”

“It’s the worst. I never thought I’d eat chicken that tastes like such garbage in my life. It’s a first for me.”

“Th-then throw it to me.”

The young beggar’s mouth hung open.

The middle-aged beggar shook his head with a solemn expression.

“Ahem, how could I, a branch leader of the Beggars’ Sect, do such a heinous thing? The difficult and hard work should be done by me, the branch leader.”

Nom, nom, chomp, chomp.

The young beggar’s face contorted.

“You son of a bitch.”

The middle-aged beggar’s eyes widened.

“What did you say? Did you just curse at me?”

“Me? What did I say?”

“You said ‘son of a bitch’!”

“Senior brother, you know me. I always say ‘fucking bastard’ when I curse, I never say ‘son of a bitch’.”

“Uh…”

The middle-aged beggar nodded his head, saying, “That’s right, that’s right,” and continued.

“That’s right. I was mistaken. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s alright.”

“But junior brother, I strangely become violent when I’m sorry. I don’t know why. You know, that feeling of wanting to beat up anyone you see. That feeling of wanting to grab them and crush them with your feet.”

“Ugh-aaahk!”

The middle-aged beggar, with the chicken leg in his mouth, stomped on him, and the young beggar rolled around, screaming that he was dying.

Just then, a gust of wind blew, and the young beggar escaped from the crisis. A gust of wind blew, and dust swirled, and when the blur cleared, a small, young beggar was giggling.

The middle-aged beggar greeted him, sucking on the bone.

“Oho, our cute youngest has come.”

“Branch Leader senior brother, do you know what I saw?”

The young beggar’s eyes sparkled.

“Hurry up and tell me. Don’t make me go see King Yama out of curiosity.”

The middle-aged beggar urged him, and the young beggar, who had gotten up at some point, also perked up his ears next to him.

“The ones who were spreading the rumor went into the Cheonhwa Library.”

“What?”

“Why?”

The two of them had their eyes wide open.

The young beggar giggled.

“Isn’t it interesting?”

“It’s interesting. This.”

“Fuck, this is the best.”

At the young beggar’s curse, the branch leader stopped laughing and glared at him.

“Why have you been cursing since a while ago? Our Beggars’ Sect, which reveres righteousness, has bad breath, but should we put a rag in our mouths and spit out dirty words? Don’t ever curse in front of me again. Got it, you son of a bitch? I’ll kill you. Really!”

The story was secondary, and he was about to beat his junior brother to death.

The youngest beggar intervened and stopped him, and only then did he calm down.

A little while later, as if nothing had happened, the three beggars put their heads together and whispered.

“What kind of place is the Cheonhwa Library? It’s a family of geniuses, but the people are all gentle. They’re like trees or grass. But to spread a rumor like this?”

“Hehe, they’re scared.”

At the branch leader’s words, the young beggar grinned.

The young beggar’s eyes also sparkled.

“It means the rumor is true. Poof, poof.”

“That’s right. Seomun and Cheongwol, don’t do anything foolish anymore. If even a small problem arises in the Cheonhwa Library, you guys will be the first to be suspected.”

“Kyaa, that’s so like the Cheonhwa Library. A scholar, a scholar, indeed.”

The three beggars giggled at the same time.

The branch leader rubbed his hands in anticipation.

“If this goes well, we might catch a big fish.”

“The Seomun Family?”

“You idiot, where else would it be? Do you think it’s ‘kwalkwalkwal’?”

“There’s no evidence, no evidence.”

“The Cheonhwa Library will do something. Their Eldest Young Master has also completely changed since I saw him before. Anyway, I’m on the Cheonhwa Library’s side!”

“Me too!”

“One more vote here!”

The young beggar also raised his hand.

***

The quarters of the Eldest Young Master of the Cheonhwa Library.

In the afternoon, Yun and Bumong were busy venting their anger in front of their eldest brother.

“Brother, on this occasion, we must reveal the true face of the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun to the world and bring down the hammer on them.”

“That’s right. We can’t just let those who pretend to be righteous and noble, but are rotten to the core, go. We must bring down heavenly punishment!”

Hugong had taken follow-up measures after spreading the rumor.

He had moved quickly to recover the assets that the chief steward had embezzled, and he had already received a report on the results.

The recovery process was relatively smooth.

If the chief steward had entrusted it to the Seomun Family or the Cheongwolmun, it would have been a headache to recover, but fortunately, because it was stored in the Daeryukjeonjang, it was resolved without difficulty.

Although the Daeryukjeonjang had insisted that they could only hand it over if the chief steward came in person, they didn’t complain when the person in charge of the Daeryukjeonjang was summoned to the Cheonhwa Library and confronted with the chief steward.

But not everything was recovered.

The whereabouts of three formation books, two scrolls of paintings, and a blue and white porcelain were unknown. The formation books were the Hwagongwangjeongjin, the Palhwangdoyosujinbeop, and the Yukyang-guryongjinbeop.

Of course, these formations were in Hugong’s memory, and Yun and Bumong had also memorized them, so they could be transcribed again without a single word missing. But that was that, and recovery was recovery.

Also, the two scrolls of paintings, the ‘Beauty’ and the ‘Hwangsan Art’, and the blue and white porcelain were priceless.

So the two younger brothers were expressing their anger as if they had been robbed.

Hugong wasn’t particularly interested in paintings or porcelain, but apart from that, he had no intention of letting it go generously. It was still unsettling to just leave it at that and focus on recovering his martial arts.

He had a plan in mind, but for now, he matched the anger of his young brothers, who had appeared in his later years, and panted, flaring his nostrils.

“Of course! Those dirty and ugly bastards. Let’s completely destroy them on this occasion! Now, let’s each give our opinions on how to crush them.”

“…”

“…”

Bumong and Yun, who had seemed like they would go and kill them right away, just clenched their lips and panted.

Their eyes darted around busily, and it seemed like they were looking for a way, but their faces were getting darker and darker.

It was natural.

Unless they were fools, the more they thought about it, the more it seemed like they would be the ones to be destroyed. Not to mention the head of the Seomun Family or the Cheongwolmun Sect Leader, how many masters would there be in the two sects?

With a hopeless expression, Yun slapped his knee.

Bumong’s eyes widened.

“Brother, you’ve come up with a good idea!”

“No, my knee was suddenly itchy.”

“Then you could have just scratched it. Eldest brother is here, and you’re fishing in the middle of this?”

“It was really itchy. You don’t have any ideas either, do you?”

“No, I’ve come up with a brilliant idea.”

“What is it?”

“Report it to the Martial Alliance.”

Hugong, who was listening, was momentarily dazed.

‘Hmph… amazing.’

He hadn’t thought of that.

“Isn’t that what the Martial Alliance is for?”

Bumong was triumphant.

Yun’s eyes also sparkled, as if it sounded plausible.

“Oho, there was the Martial Alliance. But junior brother, didn’t they say that fat Strongest Under Heaven, Hugong or whatever, died?”

Hugong’s face briefly turned pale.

Regardless, the two younger brothers were busy talking excitedly.

“What does it matter if that fat guy is gone? The Martial Alliance must be full of peerless masters.”

“But will the report work? Birds of a feather flock together, so won’t the influence of the Seomun Family or the Cheongwolmun be greater than our words? Their connections must be amazing too.”

“Hmm, that’s definitely a problem. The rotten orthodox faction is more difficult to deal with than the openly evil groups. What do you think, eldest brother… no, eldest brother, why is your face so dark?”

Hugong, who had been pale, flared up.

“What’s wrong with my face! I’m just pathetic because of what you guys are saying! How can you only think of getting help from others instead of thinking of solving it yourselves? At this rate, you’ll just become prey again!”

He couldn’t say that the word ‘fat’ was quite unpleasant, so Hugong just attached any words and reprimanded them. Of course, it wasn’t completely random words.

He continued to speak to the two younger brothers, who were looking down with sullen faces.

“I will step in myself. Let’s start by attacking the Cheongwolmun first. Tell me what you know about the Cheongwolmun…”

Dong! Dong! Dong!

At the loud sound of the bell, Hugong stopped talking.

This bell sound was a warning that an external enemy had appeared. Three times meant it was not a danger, but a call for attention.

“Could it be that the Seomun Family and the Cheongwolmun have attacked?”

“E-eldest brother. What do we do now?”

Yun and Bumong’s faces turned pale.

Hugong narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

‘No way. In broad daylight like this?’

Soon, Songhwa came in and delivered the news.

“Young master, the Cheongwolmun Sect Leader has come to visit.”

“The Cheongwolmun?”

“Yes, he says he has something to tell you and is asking to open the entrance.”

“How many people?”

“He is only accompanied by his daughter.”

“Only his daughter?”

“Yes, only. It’s Young Lady Ban Gyoin, whom you’ve seen before, young master.”

Not only Hugong but also Yun and Bumong tilted their heads.

Wasn’t coming with his daughter to eliminate any room for misunderstanding? That he just wanted to have a peaceful conversation.

“Hmm, we’ll know when we go.”

As Hugong stood up, the two younger brothers followed.

***

In front of a cliff halfway up the mountain.

The Cheongwolmun Sect Leader and his daughter, Ban Gyoin, were standing in front of the cliff.

All they could see in front of them was a sky overflowing with clouds, and under their feet was a dizzying precipice.

As she watched a flock of birds fly across the sky in a large arrow formation, Ban Gyoin frowned.

“Father, could it be that we’ve come to the wrong place? No matter how you look at it, this is a cliff.”

“This is the entrance to the Cheonhwa Library. It’s just that an illusionary formation is spread out. This cliff, the sky, and those clouds flowing over there are all illusions.”

The Cheonhwa Library Sect Leader answered in a low voice.