Chapter 60: Beggar (1)

“Here, this is the entrusted delivery.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Sewoon handed a small case to the Shopkeeper of Cheoneun Bank.

Cheoneun Bank, headquartered here in Kaifeng, was the foremost bank in Henan, rumored to be the place where all funds north of the Yangtze flowed.

As the Shopkeeper checked the stack of banknotes inside the case, a bright smile spread across his face.

“The condition is perfect. You must have suffered greatly bringing this all the way from Sichuan, Head Escort.”

“Not at all. The thought of forming ties between Cheoneun Bank and the Tang Clan brought joy to the task.”

“Haha, I’m truly grateful to hear you say that.”

As soon as Sewoon had received the summons from the Murim Alliance to report to the main headquarters, he had rushed straight to the Tang Clan Escort Agency.

There, he made a decision on the spot—to personally take charge of Cheoneun Bank’s risky escort delivery, which had been under heavy preparations, and departed for Kaifeng that very day.

Then, the Shopkeeper scratched the back of his head as he spoke.

“Ah, but I must apologize. I hadn’t expected you to arrive this early, and thus we weren’t properly prepared to welcome you.”

“Not at all, we simply came sooner than expected. I’m already grateful enough that you received us at this late hour.”

The Shopkeeper sincerely felt sorry toward Sewoon.

It was customary to greet an escort party with proper grandeur upon arrival, yet they had failed to do so.

Still, there was another reason for their fluster.

Sewoon had arrived four whole days earlier than the estimated time of arrival.

“But how did you manage to get here so quickly?”

“Let me just say that the Tang Clan Escort Agency has its own secret shortcut. If you choose to trade with us instead of the Sunlight Escort Agency in the future, you’ll experience this speed every time.”

“!!”

Without blinking an eye, Sewoon gilded his own reputation.

The Shopkeeper’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him.

Outwardly, he was nothing more than a youth in his early twenties.

But having run Cheoneun Bank and met countless kinds of people, the Shopkeeper recognized it instantly.

‘This one is the real deal.’

Sewoon was a peerless prodigy destined to spread his name beyond Sichuan and across all of the Central Plains.

And the reason the Shopkeeper had raised Cheoneun Bank to its current heights was because, whenever he encountered such prodigies at a crossroads in life, he had never let them slip away.

“Haha, your tongue truly has a way of enchanting people. Very well. At dawn, I shall instruct the General Manager to assign all future escort dealings with Sichuan solely to the Tang Clan Escort Agency.”

“Thank you. You will never be disappointed.”

Sewoon clasped his hands in greeting.

Thus, the Sichuan escort business of Cheoneun Bank no longer belonged to Sunlight Escort Agency, the so-called head of Sichuan escorts, but was now under the Tang Clan Escort Agency.

And once this fact spread across the murim, Sunlight Escort Agency would even lose the right to call itself Sichuan’s leading escort house.

“Head Escort—no, Young Lord, you are far more talented than the rumors suggest.”

“You flatter me.”

“Phew, my own son, who is of the same age, is still drowning himself in wine and women…”

“Ugh.”

The Shopkeeper could not continue his rant.

It was because of the groans of pain coming from behind Sewoon.

Only then did he recall the companions who had accompanied Sewoon.

A man and woman collapsed on the floor caught his eyes.

Tang Serin was pale-faced and trying to catch her breath, while Yeo Seon was half-delirious, letting out pained groans.

Unlike the neat and composed Sewoon, the two looked no different from beggars.

Just what had happened during the escort journey?

When the Shopkeeper looked at Sewoon questioningly,

“…They both happen to be prone to severe motion sickness.”

“Ah, I see.”

Sewoon scratched his chin awkwardly.

Gulp, gulp.

“Ahhh.”

“Phew.”

After downing bowls of steaming broth, Tang Serin and Yeo Seon finally looked alive again.

Having finished the transaction, the three left Cheoneun Bank and headed to a nearby inn.

“Please, eat slowly, Elder Sister, or you’ll upset your stomach.”

“I’ll order more, so eat plenty.”

Sewoon tended to the two with a worried look.

But instead of gratitude, both wore looks of disbelief and bewilderment.

‘…How is he so perfectly fine?’

‘…How could he remain so completely fine?’

The reason they had been able to shorten the escort journey by four days was none other than the path they had taken.

From Sichuan to Kaifeng, they had crossed an utterly insane route.

Perilous mountain paths that rose like sheer cliffs, countless ledges where a single misstep meant plummeting thousands of feet to one’s death.

And whenever they found even the slightest semblance of a proper road, they had to sleep on horseback while still in motion.

It had been a grueling march that reminded them of the pursuit of the Poison Demon, where Hayeong of the Mount Emei Sect and Cheong Yeon had nearly collapsed from exhaustion over ten days.

Yet the one who had led them at the very front, guiding them through everything, was standing here now looking utterly unscathed.

‘…As if he were some Supreme Peak Master martial artist.’

They were simply dumbfounded.

But their bewilderment was soon drowned out by the return of hunger and thirst.

Once their renewed feasting finally ended, Yeo Seon asked Sewoon about their next plans.

“We’ve arrived far earlier than the Murim Alliance’s summons required. What do you plan to do now?”

“Sewoon, wouldn’t it be best to go to the Alliance tomorrow?”

“No, Elder Sister. I intend to head to the Murim Alliance slowly.”

“Mm? Why is that?”

“Well, the journey has been harsh, and this is my first time in Henan. I thought it would be good to spend a few days resting and exploring the surroundings.”

At his reply, Tang Serin’s face turned thoughtful.

“…To my ears, that sounds like you’re planning to stir up more trouble.”

“Come on, when have I ever caused trouble?”

“??”

Countless incidents flashed through both their minds, but they held back their words.

“For now, since Cheoneun Bank has provided us with lodging, let’s spend tomorrow as a free day.”

“Hmm, that might be good.”

“Yeo Seon, you should also spend the day for yourself. Since you’ve returned to Kaifeng, you might want to visit your old friends from the Strategy Division.”

“…Ah, well… uh… no, that’s fine.”

“…?”

Before being assigned to the Tang Clan, Yeo Seon had worked in the Strategy Division.

But his reluctant reaction hinted at some personal matter unknown even to Sewoon.

“Anyway, then. Elder Sister, please return to the lodging and rest well. Yeo Seon, since you know the roads here, I leave her in your care.”

“Yes!”

“Hmm? Sewoon, where are you planning to go?”

“The moon is bright and the breeze is cool tonight…”

At Tang Serin’s question, Sewoon gave a faint smile.

“I thought I would go and give alms to a beggar.”

Beggar?

The two tilted their heads in puzzlement.

Leaving the inn, Sewoon headed straight for his destination.

Walking along the brightly lit streets of Kaifeng, the so-called city that never sleeps, a dark shadow hung over Sewoon’s expression—one he never revealed before his Elder Sister and Yeo Seon.

‘…So, I’ve finally come back here.’

Sewoon sank into deep thoughts.

In the distance stood the front gates of the Murim Alliance.

It was there, before his regression, that Sewoon had met his final death.

“Sir, if you haven’t eaten yet, please come to our inn! Our chef’s skills are second to none!”

“Hey there, come have a drink with us before you go.”

“Oh my! You’re handsome, oppa. Want to spend the night with me?”

Many voices laughed and called out to Sewoon as he quietly walked down the road.

It was a peaceful scene…

-Aaagh!

-Save me!

But in Sewoon’s eyes, the sight of the streets and the people around him overlapped with another image—Kaifeng trampled underfoot by the Blood Cult, filled with corpses and blood.

Yet, he did not remain lost in those thoughts for long.

‘…Focus. Now isn’t the time to be trapped in the past.’

He had no leisure to dwell on what was gone, when he was busy reshaping the present.

‘History is shifting bit by bit. I don’t know which events will come sooner this time.’

Ever since the incident with the Poison Demon, Sewoon had acted with utmost caution, mindful of how reality was gradually diverging from his memories.

Most of the great events he remembered had occurred, but some had happened earlier than expected, or with different victims.

That meant…

‘I can’t rely only on the memories from before regression.’

He had to prepare thoroughly for the major incidents he knew would occur, while also staying ready to respond calmly to any unforeseen changes.

And the reason he was out here tonight was exactly for that preparation.

There were two matters Sewoon needed to stop swiftly.

‘The Luoyang Blood Massacre.’

Half a year from now, in Henan’s Luoyang, a horrific tragedy would take place. Hidden in secrecy, it would be the first great massacre stirred up in the murim by the Blood Cult.

It would be the spark that plunged the once-peaceful murim into chaos.

His goal was to prevent that bloodshed.

The second was to stop the foolish schemes of the Murim Alliance’s Elder Faction.

‘If I remember right, about a month and a half from now those old fools proposed replacing the Alliance Leader.’

Though long ago, that event had been so shocking in the murim that it was unforgettable.

Eight sects within the Murim Alliance joined hands in an attempt to drive the Sword Emperor out of the Alliance Leader’s seat.

That chaos, caused by the Elder Faction, had dragged on for more than half a year.

Because the three neutral sects—Shaolin, Mount Hua, and the Beggars’ Sect—refused to cast their votes until the end, Namgung Myeong had nearly become the next Alliance Leader.

But the outbreak of the Luoyang Blood Massacre had caused everything to collapse into nothingness.

And the reason the massacre’s damage had been so disastrous was precisely because of the Murim Alliance’s internal strife.

‘Let’s resolve things one step at a time.’

By the time his turbulent thoughts settled into clarity—

Step.

Sewoon had already arrived at his destination.

It was a small, shabby bridge where few people passed.

‘There he is.’

As he walked closer, Sewoon’s eyes lit up upon spotting someone.

“Please, spare a coin. I haven’t eaten anything all day.”

“Ugh, get off me, you filthy wretch!”

“Argh!”

An old beggar sat in the middle of the bridge, clutching at the trousers of passing pedestrians.

The pedestrians frowned and avoided him, but Sewoon walked straight toward him.

“Please, sir, spare a coin.”

Grab!

As expected, the old beggar seized Sewoon’s trousers.

Sewoon, without pulling away, took something from his robe and placed it before the beggar.

It was a bottle of Bamboo Leaf Green wine he had bought at the inn.

The old beggar looked between the wine bottle and Sewoon before speaking.

“Ah, sir, I’d rather have a coin than wine right now.”

Though he bowed repeatedly in embarrassment as he spoke—

Swoosh.

Sewoon calmly leaned closer and whispered into his ear.

“衣以廢爲好. Clothes are better when worn and tattered.”

“…!”

Whoosh!

The instant he heard those words, the old beggar’s qi changed completely.

His once-cloudy eyes burned with sharp clarity, and solid, vigorous qi overflowed from him.

Their gazes met in the air.

After staring at Sewoon with complex emotions, the old beggar finally gave his reply.

“…人以新爲好. People are better when renewed.”

Originally, the phrase went: 衣以新爲好 人以舊爲好.

“Clothes are best when new, people are best when old.”

But here, with a single altered character each, it had become a wholly different code phrase.

Snap!

Suddenly, the old beggar leapt to his feet.

“Follow me.”

Clutching the Bamboo Leaf Green wine in one hand, the beggar strode off at a brisk pace.

And as Sewoon followed behind, he noticed the six-fold knot tied at the man’s waist.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.