Jang Deuk-soo, a man who is good at cooking, and Hong samae, a woman who is good at stealing.
A strange combination. A strange one but I generally think that people should be good at one thing at least, so I see this in a positive light.
In any case, the two wouldn’t starve to death.
“What a great combination.”
Deuk-soo hyung clears his throat and Hong Shin looks to the side. Before eating the pork bone, I toast to them.
“You two listen carefully.”
“Yes.”
“Please speak, great sahyung.”
I point to Deuk-soo.
“He is my hyung.”
To which she is startled and straightens her posture.
“Yes.”
I correct my words as she looks a bit too surprised.
“My neighborhood hyung.”
“Ah, yes.”
“But is still one of my hyungs.”
“Right.”
“When I was hungry, he would give me a lot of food without taking money from me. There are very few men who are this good.”
“True.”
“He didn’t practice martial arts because he was too busy studying cooking, so even if you get angry you cannot hit my hyung. If he had mastered martial arts, he would be stronger than samae. Then, why? To be a good cook is to understand the essence of ingredients so that one can select the right ones to combine them in a thoughtful manner. Even if you look at a seasoning that is neither too much nor too less, he is a man with self-control. Learning martial arts and being a good cook are two completely different things. And my hyung is a warrior to me. An expert. A truly wonderful man.”
Hong shin, who is staring at the table, replies with a puzzled look.
“Yes, great sahyung. I know what you mean. We are still…”
“Shut up.”
“Yes.”
And I turn to hyung.
“Hyung.”
“Yes.”
I formally introduce her to him.
“In the twelfth unit she is the only beauty to stand out, and her skills in light footwork are a lot more outstanding. It is hard to find a wife who has beauty, intelligence, and such excellent skills in stealing. When I saw him, I thought he would die as a bachelor after growing old so this is a miracle.”
“Right.”
“If you don’t want to be beaten by samae, make sure to respect her. And make a lot of delicious things. Even if the guests are prettier than her, do not pay attention to her with green onions and….”
Jang Deuk-soo says,
“Restrain yourself.”
“Should I?”
I laugh at Hong Shin who looks nervous. She seems to understand that I was making fun of her.
“Well, this is nice to see. Let us eat.”
“Yes.”
Jang Deuk-soo shakes his head and heads back to the kitchen.
“I will bring you noodles, wait.”
I say to Hong Shin while tearing the meat off the pork bone.
“Wow, this is what it means to be drowsy while eating.”
Hong Shin nods at the pork bone and I tear a piece of it, as I say,
“Samae, did you come to steal these?”
To which she replies,
“That will be a bit difficult. You taught me, but I cannot do it. It isn’t something I can perfect in just a day or two.”
I nod.
“There will be no one better than you in Ilyang County so if you see a strange person walking around, do beat them as you think is right. Or send word out to me directly. I will sort it out.”
“I understand.”
“Since this has happened, it would be better if you become the head of the Ilyang Low-Down Sect branch.”
“If there is anything I need to contact sahyung for, I will do it.”
After a while, Deuk-soo, also joins in and while we are eating noodles together, we hear the cheers of the beggars from outside.
I sigh.
“What beggars…”
After drinking the soup, I get up and look out. In an instant, something passes by at a lightning speed. Cheers poured in whenever the people of Beggars Union appeared. It was as if there was a fight between them.
“…”
Eventually Hong Shin and Deuk-soo get up to look out. Hong Shin says,
“I have never seen so many beggars.”
Deuk-soo hyung too seems shocked.
“I think they are here to see you. There is no other reason for the beggars to flock here.”
“Right. Deuk-soo hyung, close your business for today.”
“Yes.”
I tell the two of them,
“Talk to the people in the area and tell them to finish their work too. Because I have to treat the Beggars Union to a meal. After connecting the tables in front of the guesthouse, prepare side dishes and rice that can be portioned out. There might be some beggars who didn’t bring their own bowls of rice, so ask the other guesthouse to help out. Beggars Union and Low-Down Sect have met, so I should treat them to dinner.”
I look at Jang Deuk-soo.
“An owner can do that much right? The Plum Blossom Pavilion will take care of the other expenses.”
“I get it.”
“Hong samae, figure out the number of beggars here and help him out.”
“Yes, sahyung.”
As I send the two out, I watch the beggars in front of the restaurant. With this number of people, it seemed like an important person of the Beggars Union would come. Maybe No Shin is coming here.
I don’t understand why he would come here.
Since the beggars have come, I will have to serve at least one meal.
Those beggars didn’t pay me any mind. An extra would arrive occasionally and whenever their people joined they would cheer or clap. While I continued to watch, I heard the cheers from the beggars in the distance and soon an old man came with another behind him.
“Ah…”
I applaud them along with the Beggars Union. The only person who could be behind the old man had to be the leader of the Beggars Union so even I am shocked.
I doubted if this man was a member of the Three Disasters.
I couldn’t believe the words of Master Baek Wei, so I was skeptical to begin with. No Shin, who held no presence here, gets down from the back of the old man carrying him and smiles.
There were just old and young beggars around. After a while, the old man finds me and reaches his hand out, and the one who is supposedly the leader of the union walks up to me.
My eyes meet the eyes of the old man.
“Sect Leader, I am here to have a meal.”
I nod and answer.
“We are getting it done.”
To which No Shin waves his hand.
“It’s been a long time.”
“No Shin hyung, come over.”
Although we met in the canyon just once in the past, I was calling him hyung then too.
To which No Shin tells the old man Noin Jang,
“Head in, I will wait outside.”
“It is fine. Let us go in together.”
“Yes.”
After I sent the two into the empty guesthouse, I look at the shabby sign. I didn’t know the leader of the Beggars Union would appear here, the place I was eating at since I was a child.
Suddenly, out of curiosity, I looked at the beggars waiting, and they were all either talking or playing. I went ahead and ask the two,
“Did you have a meal yet?”
Noin Jang says,
“Some water. This guy has been running for some time. He must be tired.”
After removing the empty dishes, I go into the kitchen and bring out a kettle. Pouring the water, I tell them.
“You have come a long way. For what?”
To which No Shin says,
“I heard from a disciple that you fought against the Demonic Cult a while back. I came out of curiosity.”
“Yes.”
After a glass of water, I look at the two and say,
“I received a letter from Alliance Leader, so I’ve heard your name before.”
“Right. I am Low-Down Sect Leader, Lee Zaha.”
Noin Jang smiles as he says,
“Nice to meet you. I am the Beggar’s Union Leader. I am trying to place a county level branch near Ilyang County, is that alright?”
“Of course. How do I help?”
“I feel uncomfortable just asking. The grave keepers will learn to perform funerals and burials. Sometimes when you see off the dead, they will be taken care of. If that happens, they will not die of starvation.”
“I understand.”
The Beggars Union Leader tells No Shin.
“I consulted with the Sect Leader, so it should be better.”
“Yes, leader.”
No Shin. If he is a master, there is a high chance of him being part of the Three Disasters. But it was a bit ambiguous since he called Noin Jang leader. Furthermore, the conversation was as if the Beggar’s Union Leader had no presence.
On the other hand, if there was no presence, then it meant his skills were a lot higher than mine.
So, he has skills that can’t be compared to a normal Beggars Union. It wasn’t so strange. If one of the Three Disasters was the Beggar’s Union Leader, then there would be no more than 10 warriors in Kangho who could measure up to this person’s skills.
All my life, I thought that I was the opposite to the Demonic Cult. However, the reality was that this man was taking the position opposite to the Demonic Cult Leader.
There was no authority, no weight, no pushing atmosphere, and no ambition. It was just a group of old beggars.
The leader reached out.
“Sect Leader, you cannot sleep?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
I entrusted my wrist to someone other than Moyong Baek. The Beggar’s Union Leader looks around, fiddling with my hands, instead of exhausting it.
“It hasn’t been long since you learned martial arts. It isn’t like you have been training for long.”
“Yes.”
No Shin helps.
“My words were right? It is the first time I have seen a warrior be this strong in such a short period of time.
The Beggar’s Union Leader nods as well.
“It is shocking. And the Sect you belong to?”
“None.”
He looks shocked.
“None?”
I nod.
“I can’t explain my situation since I haven’t even revealed this to Master Baek Wei who is currently investigating me.”
“Ah, Master Baek Wei. Did you meet recently?”
“Yes.”
“Then you heard about me?”
“I gave information and asked questions cause I was curious about it.”
The leader laughs.
“And how was it? I would remember him saying I was a member of the Three Disasters. Seeing me in person, does it look like trustworthy information?”
I honestly say,
“I never thought he was the one to lie. But even though I am looking at you myself, I don’t know how you survived by fighting against the other two.”
“In what manner?”
“I have seen the Cult Leader in person, and he is very strong.”
“He is strong.”
No Shin looks at me and says,
“Our Master is just as strong. The world just doesn’t know of it yet.”
No Shin confirmed that this man is a part of the Three Disasters. And he was right in front of me.
I smile.
How is my life even unfolding right now?
If there is someone in the Three Disasters who wanted to kill me, I too, in this position, am not lucky enough to come out alive.
“As Master Baek Wei said, you are the last of the Three Disasters.”
The leader nods.
“That isn’t my nickname though. It is simply a word that just spread from the mouths of those who witnessed the fights.”
While he is in front of me, I decide to ask a question.
“What kind of person is Heavenly Evil?”
And he speaks without delay.
“I know he is a person on the side of Baek Wei. I don’t think he was particularly close to him. I understand he holds a lineage similar to Baek Wei who was in charge of obtaining the pill of the emperor.”
“So, you mean those who were ordered to get the pill of immortality?”
“Yes. There were orders, money organized for the troops, and a lot of pills were collected, but didn’t work out every time. This time I want to cross the sea. It didn’t produce any results but there was constant ridicule to the family of the emperor as the pills continued to get stolen. Still, he believed that there was a pill for immortality, so he was talented in speech or martial arts.”
“Hmm.”
“What do you think of him then?”
“He was the youngest of the three. The one created. He learned most of the martial arts that were known in the world. Learned a lot that wasn’t known. When put together, No Shin found his own and researched it along with Baek Wei’s words… well, he was like that. He must have been the best warrior in the world created by those under Master Baek Wei, but he was blocked by the Cult Leader. So, it must have been quite shocking.”
“Cult Leader?”
To which he laughs.
“No. Think about it. Heavenly Evil was younger than us. He couldn’t win. Master Baek Wei will make the next Heavenly Evil. If my training and the training of Cult Leader doesn’t catch up with him, then at the next meeting of the Three Disasters, the best in the world will be above Heavenly Evil. There are many students who lose their minds during the process so I cannot be sure on what will happen.”
I listen quietly and nod my head. After a moment of silence, he says,
“The Cult Leader must have abandoned the idea of becoming strong in a normal manner.”
I lower my tone before saying,
“Who in the world knows what you have told me till now?”
To which he says,
“There are about 10 people, but one who knows the most clearly is leader Im. After all, you heard it now.”
“Is there any other reason why you are revealing all of this to me?”
Beggars Union stares at me.
“Is there anything? It is always a pleasure to chat with young righteous swordsmen. There aren’t many such in the world.”
My face burns as I listen to his words.
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