The old man asked again with sharp eyes. “I asked what your purpose is.”
“Purpose, what purpose?” The man smirked and said, “For a beggar, begging is second to you, and instead you act like a prestigious sect, using your numbers to buy and sell information. The sight of it turned my stomach, so…” His words did not continue.
Shweek!
The old man, also known as Fine Hair Hall Master Jeong No-sam, struck like lightning, aiming for the man’s Celestial Chimney Point.
“Hmph.”
Scoffing, the man twisted his body, dodging the old man’s hand digging for his throat.
But that was a feint. As if waiting for him to dodge, the old man unleashed a dozen fist techniques at once.
Puk-puk-puk!
Eventually unable to dodge the pouring fists, the man was struck all over his body.
“Nothing special, are you!”
Jeong No-sam, who had been gleefully pummeling the man, suddenly wore a strange expression. Even though his fist techniques clearly hit the body, his hands felt nothing, as if he were striking a bundle of cotton.
“You…”
Only then did he realize that the man, while pretending to be hit, was skillfully redirecting the fist power, and his mouth gaped open.
“You should have been old and weak.”
Grinning, the man clenched his left fist tight.
Whoosh!
In that instant, with a strange sound as if sucking in the surrounding air, immense fist power poured out.
“Ugh.”
Jeong No-sam let out a bewildered sound, his eyes bulging. Not only was the fist technique the man unleashed fast as lightning, but the range of the fist power exceeded a staggering ten jang.
‘I can’t dodge this!’
But fortunately, the fist power grazed Jeong No-sam’s cheek and split a large garden rock standing next to him in half.
Rumble. Thud.
Jeong No-sam, frozen like ice, looked down at the split garden rock.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly without realizing it. If that fist power had been aimed at him, it would have been his head that was split.
“From now on, live honestly by begging. Don’t do useless things.”
The man grinned and turned his body.
Jeong No-sam only trembled, biting his lip without being able to say a word.
***
Staggering out, the man boarded a carriage waiting in front of Snow Fragrance Pavilion.
Clatter, clatter.
As the carriage departed, a divine light flashed in the eyes of the man lying comfortably.
Crack.
Simultaneously, his facial bone structure rippled like waves, and the shape of his eyes and nose began to change slowly. Then, a face like a heavenly god began to reveal itself. It was Bu Eunseol.
“Will it be alright? Young Master.”
Black Leopard, driving the horses from the coachman’s seat, spoke in a worried voice.
“That old man looked scared out of his wits; I fear he might mobilize the Beggar Sect experts right away.”
“A characteristic of those in intelligence organizations is that they always act after precisely identifying who their opponent is.”
“Since he’s the esteemed Fine Hair Hall Master who relays information to the Beggar Sect Headquarters…”
“That’s right.” Bu Eunseol, gazing out the window, wore a subtle smile. “He won’t act impulsively until he has accurate information about me.”
Bu Eunseol’s ultimate objective was a one-on-one duel with the Beggar King. However, the Beggar King rarely appeared in the martial world, and his movements were elusive, making him a formidable target to locate.
―If you cannot find him, make him come to find you.
If he shook the Beggar Sect publicly and humiliated them, the Beggar King would surely seek out Bu Eunseol.
As the first step, he had exposed the corruption of the Fine Hair Hall to the prefecture and humiliated them.
“But it is truly unexpected. To think the Beggar Sect is actually wealthy enough to be counted among the Orthodox sects.”
When Black Leopard let out a sound like a sigh, Bu Eunseol spoke calmly, “They say the Beggar Sect is incorruptible, but that is merely a facade created under the shadow of the Nine Great Sects and One Faction. In reality, they are as greedy as their numbers.” Staring out the window, Bu Eunseol’s eyes deepened and continued, ”And just revealing that appearance will allow us to identify forces dissatisfied with the Beggar Sect.”
Today’s event was only the beginning.
From now on, he would systematically dismantle the power of the Beggar Sect to draw out the Beggar King crouching somewhere.
After that day.
Not only Bu Eunseol and Black Leopard but also Hyeok So-jin, Myo Cheon-woo, and Yoo Woon-ryong roamed the prefecture, picking fights with key figures of the Beggar Sect.
―You must reveal their personal information and humiliate them in a place with many people.
Bu Eunseol set principles even for picking fights.
The targets were the intelligence combat squads of the Beggar Sect who did not operate publicly or the leaders of the intelligence organization. And their corruption had to be exposed in front of many people without fail.
―So the Beggar Sect was rotten too…
The Beggar Sect was known for having no greed and being plain in conduct. But when Bu Eunseol’s group exposed their corruption that had not been revealed externally, the reputation of the Beggar Sect fell to the ground.
Silence flowed inside Pear Blossom Manor.
Bu Eunseol, having stirred up the Kaifeng area, was now secluded in a pavilion with Hyeok So-jin, Myo Cheon-woo, and Yoo Woon-ryong, not stepping out.
“What on earth is the Squad Captain doing?”
When they did not come out for several days, stuck in the pavilion, Won Se-mun, feeling frustrated, asked Black Leopard.
“Not just the Deputy Squad Captain, but why are those gentlemen also with him?”
“They are researching martial arts moves.”
“Martial arts moves?”
Black Leopard answered in a low voice, “Haven’t the three of them been picking fights with Beggar Sect experts and fighting them just like the Young Master until now? So they are researching the Beggar Sect’s martial arts together.”
Bu Eunseol had picked fights with Beggar Sect experts one by one to see through their martial arts moves. He even deliberately got hit if there was a move he didn’t know well.
As a result, although not the true core martial arts of the Beggar Sect, they managed to decipher a substantial portion of its various martial arts moves and variations externally. Currently, they are collaborating with Hyeok So-jin, Myo Cheon-woo, and Yoo Woon-ryong, who had previously fought against the experts of the Beggar Sect, to further research these martial arts.
“Is that… possible?”
“Yes.”
Black Leopard spoke with a proud face.
“The Young Master can even grasp martial arts to some extent just by observing the wounds on a corpse.”
“Wounds… Ah, that’s right.”
Only then did Won Se-mun recall the memory of Bu Eunseol teaching the members not only the blade arts of the Streaked Demonic Sect but also the sword techniques of the Zhongnan Sect and Mount Hua Sect in the past.
“I thought he was knowledgeable in Orthodox martial arts… turns out he figured it out on the spot.”
“Black Leopard.”
At that moment, with a click, the door opened and Hyeok So-jin popped his head out.
“The Squad Captain says for you to come in too.”
***
Candles were brightly lit inside the secret room of the pavilion, and large papers were stacked in layers on the table.
On the paper placed on top, strange shapes and lines were drawn straight, and Bu Eunseol, Hyeok So-jin, Yoo Woon-ryong, and Myo Cheon-woo were looking at it with serious expressions.
Entering inside, Black Leopard stood carefully to one side so as not to break their concentration.
“The martial arts of the Beggar Sect are too disorderly,” Myo Cheon-woo, looking at the lines and shapes, clicked his tongue.
They were all martial arts of the Beggar Sect that Bu Eunseol had figured out by fighting Beggar Sect experts or looking at corpses.
The martial arts of the Beggar Sect were as diverse as their numbers, with various techniques mixed together.
Bu Eunseol had deeply researched the martial arts of the Beggar Sect, excluding the two great supreme arts of Dog Beating and Dragon Subduing, while wandering the martial world for a long time.
“Anyway, it is truly amazing. To steal so many martial arts of the Beggar Sect in such a short time.”
“I did not steal them, I merely looked at the traces left behind.”
Spirit Communion of the Empty Mind.
Using Spirit Communion of the Empty Mind, the extreme sense of the Way of the Beast, one could examine all traces that could never be seen with the eyes.
“Hmm.”
After examining for more than a gak, Myo Cheon-woo’s eyes became blurry. Fatigue rushed in after examining the complex changes in moves of the Beggar Sect martial arts for a long time.
Rustle, rustle.
At that moment, Bu Eunseol lifted a brush and densely filled the paper with shapes and lines. He had drawn the changes in moves of the Hundred Knots Palm and Heart-Crushing Dagger, which Beggar Sect disciples learned the most.
“Can you do it?”
At Bu Eunseol’s question, Myo Cheon-woo nodded seriously.
“About seventy percent.”
Myo Cheon-woo was a master of fist and palm arts who had deeply mastered the Destroying Blade Palm. He intended to perfectly transmit the palm and hand techniques of the Beggar Sect identified by Bu Eunseol to the Deathly Shadow Squad.
“You must raise it to over eighty percent. So that anyone looking would think it a trace left by an expert of the Beggar Sect.”
Bu Eunseol, who possessed the extraordinary ability to comprehend martial arts through wounds and traces, had successfully subdued the Streaked Demonic Sect. Driven by this newfound power, he aimed to incite the Beggar Sect.
“Black Leopard.”
Only then did Bu Eunseol call Black Leopard standing on one side.
“Yes. Young Master.”
“This is the movement art of the Beggar Sect, Swallow Double Fly.”
This time, Bu Eunseol drew a movement art manual and handed it to Black Leopard.
“It will be difficult alone. Call Bangs and research it together, then pass it on to the Second Team members.”
Bangs was a nickname referring to the Second Team Leader Wi Cheon-gyeong.
“Understood.”
Black Leopard accepted the manual carefully.
And Bu Eunseol handed the manuals of the Scorpion Tail Stick and Dragon River Long Staff to Hyeok So-jin and Yoo Woon-ryong.
“Teach the Third Team members. So that no one doubts it is the trace of a Beggar Sect expert.”
“Understood.”
As Hyeok So-jin accepted the manual, Yoo Woon-ryong hesitated and asked, “Bu Eunseol.”
“Speak.”
“How on earth do you obtain such ability?” Yoo Woon-ryong shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it at all. “Even if you say it’s just changes in moves… how can you grasp the martial arts of each sect at once?”
“…”
“If all experts of the Wolf Fang Pavilion had such ability, the number one under the heavens would have come from the Wolf Fang Pavilion.”
“It is not a secret method of our Pavilion. Though I can see more details thanks to the martial arts secrets of our Pavilion.” Bu Eunseol spoke calmly, “It was simply because I was a mortician.”
Yoo Woon-ryong couldn’t comprehend that single word. However, he could faintly grasp Bu Eunseol’s eyes. That such an ability wasn’t simply a result of his profession as a mortician. Instead, he had achieved it through relentless bone-carving effort and tenacity that could melt iron.
‘Well, that guy is the type who would have done something even while slicing meat.’
Just as Yoo Woon-ryong shook his head, Bu Eunseol spoke in a solemn voice.
“From now on, you must lead the Deathly Shadow Squad and provoke the Black Path Gangs (also known as thug organizations) who are dissatisfied with the Beggar Sect.”
He spoke to the group looking at him with a solemn expression.
“Originally, the Beggar Sect is a sect that grew with the support of the common people. If those common people turn their backs, they will collapse uncontrollably.”
After exposing the corruption of the Beggar Sect and humiliating them, he could find forces hostile to the Beggar Sect. They were the Black Gang forces dominating the back alleys.
The Beggar Sect, wandering around begging, had close ties with the lower classes. They had been secretly involved in the interests of the Black Gang forces.
“Soon, the Beggar Sect will come to find us on their own.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, all the members present nodded vigorously.
From now on, the battle to draw out the Beggar King would unfold.
***
A month later, the back alleys of Kaifeng began to stir.
The Beggar Sect had exceptionally suppressed the influence of Black Path Gangs where good merchants gathered. Especially in Kaifeng, since the Headquarters of the Beggar Sect was there, their interference with the Black Path Gangs was even more severe.
But this time, as if determined, the Beggar Sect had struck all the Black Gang organizations hiding in various places as if to root them out completely.
―What is the meaning of this?
The Black Gang forces active in Kaifeng resisted the Beggar Sect’s attacks fiercely.
―What on earth did we do wrong?
―Our Sect intends to deal with the parasites sucking the blood of the common people!
The Beggar Sect’s experts launched a merciless attack on the Black Gang forces. It’s true that Black Gang forces are always present in commercial districts. However, the Black Gang was unhappy with the Beggar Sect meddling in underworld affairs, yet they dared not challenge the formidable martial sect.
They always bowed and scraped appropriately, but now they were trying to root them out completely?
―These beggar bastards!
The Black Path Gangs resisted fiercely but could not handle the experts of the Beggar Sect possessing outstanding martial arts. Eventually, the Black Gang forces active in Kaifeng had no choice but to cease activities and scatter. But some time later, a strange rumor was heard in Kaifeng.
The merchants associated with the Beggar Sect were exposed.
While maintaining their livelihoods, they passed on rumors and information heard here and there to the Beggar Sect. Thanks to cooperating with the Beggar Sect and lining up with them, they were receiving various benefits.
―So it was those bastards!
The Black Gang, whose dissatisfaction had festered, gathered and began threatening the inn servants, porters, and Low-Ranking Sect disciples who provided information to the Beggar Sect. No matter how powerful the Beggar Sect, they couldn’t control every underworld incident. As the information forces maintaining Kaifeng crumbled, the Beggar Sect Headquarters naturally saw a sharp decline in incoming information.
***
Underground secret room of the Beggar Sect Headquarters.
There, the leaders of the Eight Paths controlling the information of the Beggar Sect and the Deputy Sect Leader of the Beggar Sect, Hae Pung, stood with stiff faces.
As the Sect Leader No Bong ran out of energy and became senile, Deputy Sect Leader Hae Pung was taking charge of most of the sect’s affairs.
“Everything that has happened so far was the doing of a combat squad called the Deathly Shadow Squad dispatched from the Demonic Palace.”
“Deathly Shadow Squad?”
“That is correct.” Jeong Sam, the leader of the Small Beggar Path, spoke in a grave tone. “They claim it’s a newly formed Third-Grade Combat Squad of the Demonic Palace,” he said. “It’s rumored that they acquired an entire abandoned manor on the outskirts of the prefecture and transformed it into their base.”
“Hmm.”
“And they provoked the Black Gang forces dissatisfied with our Sect and instigated a fight.”
Hae Pung shook his head. “I cannot understand. Then who were the experts who attacked the Black Path Gangs?”
It was said that the experts who attacked the Black Gang forces at that time all used the martial arts of the Beggar Sect. Because of that, the Black Gang forces harbored a grudge and were roaming the back alleys, disrupting the Beggar Sect’s information network.
“That has not been revealed exactly, but it seems it is not unrelated to the Demonic Palace.”
Jeong Sam took a deep breath and said, “Perhaps the Demonic Palace trained people who could mimic the martial arts of our Sect in advance.”
Hae Pung shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it. “Is that possible? That would mean the Demonic Palace planned this long ago and trained experts specialized in our Sect’s martial arts… doesn’t that make no sense?”
As he shook his head, Yi Sim-hwa, the Dog Beggar Squad Captain standing on one side, spoke, “It is possible.”
“What?”
“That… in the Martial Righteous Alliance too… wasn’t there an expert with the ability to mimic martial arts seen once?”
“Hmm.”
Hae Pung narrowed his eyes.
The Martial Righteous Alliance had long whispered about a mysterious expert who was not only proficient in Demonic Path martial arts but also possessed an extraordinary ability to dismantle martial arts. The truth was unveiled when it was revealed that the Masters of Great Righteousness had actually learned martial arts from him. However, his identity remained unknown as he always wore a mask and concealed his true status.
“Then, could that also be the doing of the Deathly Shadow Squad Captain?”
Hae Pung shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. “How can you compare that enigmatic expert to a mere Third-Grade Combat Squad Captain of the Demonic Palace?” He paused, lost in thought, before speaking firmly. “There’s nothing to ponder. Squad Captain Yi, lead the Dog Beggar Squad to Pear Blossom Manor.” A solemn and sharp light flashed in Hae Pung’s eyes. “And eliminate them without leaving a single one. So that the Demonic Palace never repeats such foolishness.”
As Deputy Sect Leader Hae Pung’s strict order fell, Yi Sim-hwa gathered his hands deeply.
“Understood.”