Episode 226. Wake Me Up Later.
The Gaebang Bangju, who had been laughing for some time, spoke.
“It’s good to see the Munju after all. I was treated to good food, and we even brought up old stories after a long time.”
Nosin also spoke with a smile.
“Master, welcome.”
“Yes.”
I looked at the two of them and felt a strange sensation, yet I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what kind of feeling it was.
The Bangju spoke to me.
“Munju, since we’ve eaten, let’s take a walk.”
“Yes.”
I roughly moved the bowls to the kitchen, washed my hands, and left the Chunyang Banjeom. The Bangju looked around the surroundings and spoke.
“It’s a quiet neighborhood. You said Haomun is preparing a meal, but where?”
“This way.”
I headed toward the Jahageukjan. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know how far the inn’s construction had progressed. When I arrived near the Jahageukjan with the two of them, the Gaebang people were already sitting around waiting for the meal.
When the Bangju appeared, everyone stood up and chattered all at once in a clamor, mostly asking if he had eaten.
The Bangju nodded as he answered.
“The Munju treated me to some very delicious pork hock, so I settled for that.”
One of the Elders answered.
“Oh my, I’m jealous.”
It was my first time seeing the Gaebang’s experts gathered together as a group.
The atmosphere of the Gaebang was completely different from martial arts sects or powerful families, giving me an unfamiliar yet peculiar feeling. Everyone seemed to have bright personalities, and I felt that this was due in no small part to the influence of the Bangju and Nosin.
Suddenly, I stopped walking and looked at the temporary signboard of the Jahageukjan that I was seeing for the first time. The exterior construction was nearly complete, while it looked as though the interior construction had stopped mid-progress. Though it was a three-story building, its perimeter was wide, and quite a large space had been prepared for parking carriages or horses. In the back as well, a wall stretched out far behind the building, as if large and small warehouses were being constructed.
The Jahageukjan had become far larger than I had anticipated.
Nosin seemed to have discovered the signboard as well, pointing his finger as he spoke.
“Master, the inn’s name is Jahageukjan. I suppose the sunset view must be nice somewhere around here.”
The Bangju answered.
“Isn’t that the Munju’s name?”
To the Bangju’s words, I answered.
“That’s correct.”
For the first time, the Bangju praised the inn’s exterior.
“They’ve built the structure quite tastefully. The one in charge of the construction seems to be an expert. To think Haomun had such talent too.”
I kept silent because receiving praise felt awkward. At that moment, someone from the Gaebang crowd spoke loudly.
“Nosin, we’d like to greet the Munju as well, so please introduce us.”
Nosin nodded, then turned around and pointed at me.
“He is Haomunju Ijaha. Though young, he is the head of a sect leading Haomun, so don’t speak rudely to him like you do to me. You ill-mannered beggar bastards, got it?”
“Yes.”
“Speak nicely, nicely. You’re the one cursing and making a fuss.”
Nosin raised his right foot as if to kick the man beside him and answered.
“Oh, you rotten bastard… If we talk like we do back in the room, we’ll be looked down upon. If you don’t know manners, at least pretend. Don’t embarrass us.”
The middle-aged beggar who had been scolded by Nosin approached me and extended his hand.
“…I am called Chwigakja of the Gaebang. I am the Law Enforcement Elder.”
I was about to cup my fists when I looked at Chwigakja’s hand. It was an etiquette I had never seen before, so I was flustered, but I asked in a calm tone.
“Ah, do I just hold your hand?”
Chwigakja answered with a smile.
“Have you never exchanged greetings with a beggar before?”
“Never.”
“This is how we of the Gaebang greet each other, so remember it. Hold my hand.”
Even if it was a trick, there was no other way.
I looked around at the Gaebang Bangju, Nosin, and the other Gaebang beggars, then took Chwigakja’s hand.
Chwigakja tapped the back of my hand and spoke briefly.
“Munju, it’s a pleasure to meet you like this.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
The atmosphere was truly awkward, so I stood stiffly. Then, as if there were a next turn in line, a man approached and extended his hand as he spoke.
“Munju, I am Elder Danggae.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
It was a nickname combining taffy and beggar, so I was flustered, but I couldn’t show it. Elder Danggae met my eyes and grinned.
When on earth would the meal be ready?
I felt sweat starting to trickle from my forehead.
This time, another middle-aged beggar approached me.
“Haomunju, I am called Wonmyeonja.”
It was a nickname meaning a man with a round face, and his face was actually so very round and smooth, topped with a shining bald head, that for a moment I barely managed to hold back my laughter.
“Senior Wonmyeonja, pleased to meet you.”
I held this man’s hand as well. Suddenly, Wonmyeonja pointed his finger at me and spoke with a laugh.
“You, you’re quite good at holding back laughter. Usually it’s hard to hold back when people see my nickname and my face. Not bad, very not bad.”
I put on a serious expression, cupped my fists toward Wonmyeonja, and spoke.
“Not at all. I barely held it back.”
Wonmyeonja burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha.”
Wonmyeonja waved his hand this way and that as he turned away, and then another middle-aged beggar approached me.
In that instant, a chill ran down my spine.
Was I going to end up joining hands with every beggar here? Why did I have to go through this?
Who exactly was I, and where was this place?
My mind was growing hazy.
Nosin spoke.
“The Haomunju is going to suffer qi deviation. Go easy on him. Stop teasing him. Why are you all treating the Munju of a sect so carelessly?”
One of the Elders barked loudly.
“Shut up! You’re nagging even all the way out here?”
Despite Nosin’s warning, a middle-aged beggar approached with his hand extended. When I extended my hand, the man brushed his hair back with the hand he had extended and spoke.
“I don’t like holding hands with men.”
“Hahaha.”
Laughter burst out here and there, but as I looked around quietly, it gradually died down.
“It seems the Munju is angry.”
“See, I told you to go easy.”
It was an absurd rudeness, but they joked around so freely that a hollow laugh escaped me as well. The beggar who had been touching his unwashed hair of several days spoke to me.
“Sorry. It’s a joke we pull every time. Haomunju, I am Elder Yonggaecheon.”
“It’s the most impressive nickname I’ve heard in the martial world. Senior Yong.”
In other words, it was a sobriquet meaning a dragon had risen from a ditch. He had probably been born beneath a bridge over one.
Now that I looked at them, all their sobriquets were anything but ordinary.
A beggar who loved yeot, a round-faced man, drunken legs, a dragon from a ditch.
These, then, were the high elders of the Beggars’ Sect.
Since I did not know the Beggars’ Sect Leader’s sobriquet, I asked the beggars.
“By the way, what is the Sect Leader’s sobriquet?”
“Our Sect Leader has the sobriquet Divine Beggar, but he dislikes it, so we rarely call him by that title. He is simply the Sect Leader.”
Fortunately, I did not end up having to clasp every beggar’s hand. Some men offered me a fist-and-palm salute from here and there, while other beggars exchanged glances with me or smiled faintly.
Surrounded by beggars, I felt a strange sensation, and only belatedly did I begin to guess for myself why they had come to Ilyang County.
Had they come rushing here because they thought a great war between the orthodox and demonic factions had broken out after I killed members of the Demon Cult? Or had they come to protect Ilyang County, known as the Hao Clan’s base? Not a single one revealed what was in his heart, but as I clasped their hands and exchanged glances with them, I had the feeling that they had come prepared to risk their lives.
In particular, the air with which they treated me was remarkably dignified. Because every one of them was so dignified, I finally realized that they had come to help me.
I looked at Nosin.
“…….”
Nosin lightly patted my shoulder and spoke in an easy tone.
“We came to fight, so it’s a relief that we can simply eat without anything serious happening. Don’t concern yourself. Once we appoint a section head to take responsibility for this place, the Beggars’ Sect will be able to help quickly no matter what happens. No matter how I look at it, you’ve been marked by two of the Three Calamities. This much, at least, we should do.”
“Ah, have I been marked by Cheonak too?”
“Who can say, but wouldn’t that be the case?”
It seemed that the Beggars’ Sect Leader and all the elders had rushed here out of concern that war might break out.
As I looked at the beggars anew, my heart grew truly heavy. We had not even known one another to begin with, so how could something like this happen? For the moment, I could not fathom the heart of the Beggars’ Sect.
Suddenly feeling the strength somewhat leave my legs, I nodded, then sat down on the ground like the beggars.
The fact that I could at least treat them to a meal was a relief.
The Beggars’ Sect Leader and Nosin also sank down beside me and looked at the beggars without a word. Since it had suddenly grown too quiet, I had no choice but to speak.
“Brothers of the Beggars’ Sect, thank you for coming such a long way.”
Here and there, they answered my words in calm tones.
“Not at all……”
“We have heard a great deal about you as well, Sect Master.”
“I was shocked to see you’re even younger than I’d heard.”
“With what sort of courage did you beat those Demon Cultists to death?”
“Exactly.”
I watched a few of the beggars laugh, then laughed as well. I had no idea what sort of atmosphere this was, but it looked to me as though the beggars of the Beggars’ Sect were standing guard for me.
The Beggars’ Sect Leader said to me,
“Sect Master, do you know what kind of people become beggars?”
“I do not.”
“To start with, they are those without homes. Whether they lost their property or had it taken from them. There are those whose entire families were suddenly struck by disaster, causing them to turn their backs on the world. Among the old elders, there was also a man branded as being from a traitor’s household, leaving him with no proper way to live. There are those who hate working, and there are men who became beggars by throwing everything away while carrying the wound of losing a spouse. We are beggars with no homes.”
I met the Beggars’ Sect Leader’s eyes.
The head of lives at the bottom, different yet similar to the Hao Clan, was looking at me. As if the Sect Leader knew that as well, he said while looking at me,
“Since the founding of the Beggars’ Sect, you are the first person to openly step forward and declare you would protect the lives of those at the bottom. I will look after the Hao Clan from time to time, together with the beggars, so from now on, Sect Master, do as you wish.”
“Yes.”
“If I fight the Three Calamities next time, I have little intention of fighting two against one. Whether Alliance Leader Im helps me or the other Emperors help me, I intend to fight two against two. Matters that occur in the jianghu must be borne together by seniors and juniors. If we are defeated by the Three Calamities then, young Sect Master, do not forget the Beggars’ Sect and help us. I ask this of you. I have no desire to join hands with the unorthodox and heretical again and fight. Those two are peculiar men, and because they did not regard me as an expert of the orthodox path, I am still alive like this. Next time, however, the outcome should be decided between the unorthodox heretics and the orthodox path. That is my wish as well.”
As soon as I formed a spiritual alliance with the Beggars’ Sect, I made my promise with a composed expression.
“I will. Before then, I will train further as well.”
I meant that if it became a two-on-two fight, I would take one of the spots, but the Beggars’ Sect Leader did not seem to be considering that at all, for he gave no particular reply.
Judging by his reaction.
It seemed my skills were still far from sufficient.
If so, in my previous life, when I ran wild while being called the Mad Demon, the Cult Leader must have considered me insignificant, and the greatest experts of the orthodox path must have tolerated me to some extent. If that had not been the case, I would have died either at the hands of the unorthodox heretics or at the hands of the orthodox experts.
From a short distance away, I heard Deuksu hyung and Hongsin’s voices.
“Come this way and eat!”
The Beggars’ Sect Leader, Nosin, and I watched the beggars go off to eat. If one were to compare wounds of the heart, the Beggars’ Sect was not inferior to the Hao Clan. Perhaps there were also beggars among them who simply liked the Beggars’ Sect and stayed with it for that reason.
Lost in thought, whenever I happened to look at the Beggars’ Sect Leader sitting nearby, I was still reminded that this man was an expert counted among the Three Calamities.
Who would have thought the fact that he still had no presence could be this astonishing?
Suddenly, the Beggars’ Sect Leader lay down at an angle on his side, pillowed his head on one arm, and closed his eyes as he said,
“Wake me later.”
Nosin answered,
“Yes, Master.”
Yet Nosin himself, after answering that he would wake him later, also lay down on the ground and said to the beggars who had not gone to eat,
“Wake me later.”
The beggars answered,
“Yes.”
I raised my head and glared until my eyes met Junior Sister Hong’s, who was serving food. The moment Junior Sister Hong’s eyes met mine, her eyes went round.
I said to Junior Sister Hong,
“Wake me later.”
Junior Sister Hong nodded and answered,
“Yes, Eldest Senior Brother.”
Together with the commander-in-chief of the beggars and the commander-in-chief’s disciple, I lay down on the bare ground, pillowed my head on both arms, and closed my eyes.
Beggars’ Sect, Sect Leader, Nosin, pork backbone, rice, Demon Cult, White-Clad Scholar, Deuksu hyung, bare ground, beggars, Im Sobaek, and the Cult Leader came to mind, but I was too sleepy to continue thinking.
Come to think of it, I had spent the past several days running busily across great distances. When I considered it, before that, I had fought the Demon Cult.
My body was heavy, my heart was heavy, and I did not want to think.
So after giving up on sleep, I chose to pass out.
Thinking that there were beggars beside me made my heart peaceful.