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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shrine
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“The smell here is terrible,” William remarked.
“Isn’t that how all places where beggars live smell, Sir?” Hajin replied.
Well, it’s not like those guys bathe every day.
With his brow furrowed at the awful stench reminiscent of the smell of the homeless at Seoul Station Line 1, William entered their territory.
Naturally, numerous gazes were fixed on William and Hajin.
The way they kept examining William’s body felt like he was going through immigration inspection.
Were they trying to figure out how to rob him?
But with Hajin beside him wearing the Haenam Sword Sect uniform, they were probably just trying to determine what kind of person William was.
William said to Hajin, who was looking around nervously:
“Junior Lin, do you know how to make contact with the Beggar Sect? I think I heard there’s a special method needed.”
“How did you…”
“Hye-ryeong told me.”
William felt a bit guilty about throwing Hye-ryeong under the bus, but it was better not to worry about minor things if they wanted to resolve the issue at hand smoothly.
“Let’s go straight there,” William said.
“Alright,” Hajin agreed.
They ignored the beggars’ stares and proceeded inward.
In this novel, that is, the original work, a special method was needed to make contact with the Beggar Sect.
“First, we need to find the Tobanok…” Hajin muttered, looking around for the resting place of the branch leader who oversaw the beggars in this town. But there was no way they could find the Tobanok in such a shallow area of the beggars territory.
“We need to go in deeper,” William stated.
Before doing that, these guys around them might call over the Beggar Sect beggars… but judging by how they were just subtly glancing at William and Hajin while pretending to mind their own business, it seemed they wouldn’t approach first.
Beggars tended to be lazy unless there was an urgent need, after all.
They silently continued to go deeper. Perhaps because the town was quite large, the beggar village was quite expansive, requiring them to walk for over two li.
“It seems to be well hidden. It looks like we’ll have to keep wandering around,” Hajin said.
“No, I think I’ve found it,” William replied.
“where?”
William pointed in a direction so Hajin could see the Tobanok he had spotted. Among the haphazardly built structures, there was a crudely made mud building partially hidden. Though difficult to distinguish at first glance, it was the only relatively clean place in this filthy slum.
It was likely where the branch leader stayed, so documents made of bamboo or paper would be stored there. They couldn’t let the documents get dirty, so the probability was high that they stored their documents there.
“You have a good eye, Sir. This Lin is impressed,” Hajin said admiringly.
“We’ll only know for sure if it’s really where the branch leader is once we go there, so let’s head over,” William replied.
William entered the inner area with Hajin, who was looking at him with eyes full of respect. The beggars’ gazes intensified. Until now they had been covertly glancing at them, but now they were openly staring.
Hajin cleared his throat uncomfortably, bothered by the stares, but beggars were one of the most shameless groups in the world.
The beggars paid no heed to his reaction and continued to glance at them.
“Junior Lin. This is the house,” William said.
“It’s certainly different from the surrounding houses,” Hajin agreed.
Though it looked similar from afar, it was a mud house with a noticeably cleaner surrounding area.
William folded his arms and looked at the screen hanging in place of a door.
The moment they pushed it aside without permission, the beggars might swarm them in droves.
There was no reason to antagonize the righteous Beggar Sect either, so it was wiser to enter using the proper method here.
“Junior Lin,” William prompted.
“Yes. One may stop for a short rest while passing by,” Hajin recited.
“But cannot dwell long in a temporary abode,” came the reply from behind the screen.
When Hajin spoke the phrase, a voice was heard from beyond the door. Then, with a flury of noises, a foul odor assaulted their noses.
Did they select Beggar Sect branch leaders based on smell? William held his breath as the screen was pushed aside and a beggar with flaring nostrils appeared.
“Who’re you?” the beggar asked.
“Ah, I am Lin Hajin, senior disciple of the Haenam Sword Sect,” Hajin introduced himself.
“Ah, the Wind-Cleaving Sword. I’m Wang Zheng. As you can see, I’m a third-rank disciple. But why have you come here?”
“Perhaps we could talk inside…” Hajin suggested.
“These guys are all my subordinates anyway, so don’t worry about it,” Wang Zheng replied.
Well, that made sense. Being the Beggar Sect’s branch leader meant he was also the boss of this place. Hajin seemed to belatedly realize this and nodded before speaking:
“Do you know of the Hong Family Inn?”
“I know it well. Isn’t the owner a good person who often gives alms to beggars? Though he is in an unfortunate state now.”
A bitter smile crossed his face. It seemed the inn owner had quite a good reputation even among beggars.
“I’d like to get some information about him,” Hajin said.
“Hmm… Come in,” Wang Zheng replied.
They followed him into the building. The inside was relatively tidy compared to the surroundings. Of course, it was only comparatively decent – it was still a messy room that hadn’t been cleaned in a while, befitting a beggar’s den.
Wang Zheng walked to his desk with his hands behind his back, plopped down in the chair, and spoke while resting his chin on his hand:
“Why do you want to know about the Hong Family Inn?”
“Well…”
Hajin carefully explained everything they had seen and experienced so far. From the ruined state of the Hong Family Inn to the runaway eldest son using an assassination technique in a duel with his father. And his unknown whereabouts.
After hearing the whole story, the beggar scratched the side of his head and answered:
“What will you pay in exchange?”
Payment, huh.
William wondered how much the story of what exactly happened between the Hong Family Inn’s eldest son and owner would be worth.
While William was contemplating the value of the information they wanted, Hajin took out a money pouch from his chest.
Was he planning to pay with money?
“How much would be enough?” Hajin asked.
“What use does a beggar have for money? Information is better than money.”
Information, huh.
It would be better for William to take charge here.
Hajin wasn’t used to this kind of negotiation, so he might end up paying too high a price for the information they wanted.
William placed his hand on Hajin’s shoulder and stepped forward. Seeing William’s face under the bamboo hat, Wang Zheng’s eyes widened as he muttered:
“A Westerner…?”
“Is this your first time seeing a Westerner?” William asked.
“And you speak the Central Plains language?”
“Is it that surprising?”
“How could it not be surprising? It’s extremely rare for a Westerner knowledgeable in the Central Plains language to come this far inland.”
Well, it probably wasn’t easy to see Westerners in the Central Plains. Especially Europeans like William. William met his gaze and asked:
“The information about the Hong Family Inn shouldn’t be that expensive. How much information do you want in exchange? No, there’s something I should ask first.”
William paused briefly to assess the situation.
Whether because of his instincts as a beggar, or because he thought he might be able to get important information from William’s mouth, Wang Zheng’s eyes had sharpened.
It was time to roll the dice.
William spoke leisurely:
“Has a messenger from the Haenam Sword Sect arrived at the Wulin Alliance?”
“How would I know something like that?”
Was he pretending not to know and testing William, or did he really not know? William decided to push a bit further.
“The demon cult attacked the Haenam Sword Sect.”
“…That much information has already reached even our network, so this information is not new.”
Wang Zheng snorted as if to say, “Is that all you’re offering as payment?” William smiled slightly at his reaction and delivered a follow-up strike.
“What about the information that they used Lightning Bombs?”
William took out a Lightning Bomb from his chest and placed it on the desk. It was the one he had extinguished by spitting water on it. Wang Zheng picked up the Lightning Bomb with a startled expression, examined it closely, and exclaimed:
“The Lightning Bombs have returned?!”
“What else would this be if not conclusive evidence that lightening bombs have returned? The Haenam Sword Sect senior disciple beside me is also a witness, so the information should be trustworthy, right?”
“I heard they burned all the manufacturing methods and everything else related decades ago…!”
“Seeing as they were able to use lightening bombs, there must be manifacturing methods somewhere. Is this enough as payment for the information?”
“This is more than enough! Let’s see… I have information about the man known as the Iron Chivalrous Dao…”
Wang Zheng rummaged through the surprisingly neatly organized bookshelf in his beggar’s den and pulled out a book. The cover was elegantly inscribed with the words “Iron Chivalrous Dao”.
“The Iron Chivalrous Dao was a renowned expert even in Wuchang. But he retired from the martial arts world at quite a young age and opened an inn in Wuchang.
I don’t know the reason he retired, but most people thought he was settling down since he had gotten married… but it seems there was another reason other than that.”
“What do you mean by another reason?” Hajin asked.
“A successful martial artist, one at the peak of his prime no less, suddenly retiring from the martial arts world? This is absolutely not a normal occurrence.”
Only the sound of flipping pages filled the room. He opened the book to about the middle and pointed to the middle of the left page.
“Even back then, many people still questioned it. But he was such a devoted husband that people accepted the reason for his retirement. They were known to be an extremely loving couple.”
So he was a family man. Well, it’s not uncommon for people to change once they have a family, so quite a few people probably didn’t think it was strange.
“Well, there was no problem up to that point. But things started to get weird about 15 years after the eldest son was born.”
“Things got weird, you say.”
Had something happened between the Iron Chivalrous Dao and his eldest son?
“The eldest son started to go astray around the age of fifteen. He would drink and cause trouble, and hang out with local hooligans. Hong Mu-gang tried to discipline him strictly, but he simply wouldn’t listen.”
“Wasn’t he just going through a typical rebellious phase?” William asked.
“It was closer to… being a scoundrel. No, he was a scoundrel through and through. But here’s the strange part. He kept asking his father why he wouldn’t teach him martial arts. Then he suddenly disappeared one day.
His wife fell ill from the incident and eventually passed away. From then on,Hong Mu-gang and his second son ran the Hong Family Inn.
At least until that scoundrel returned after 5 years and challenged his father to a duel.”
“Five years is quite a long time, but isn’t it far too short to defeat an expert like the Iron Chivalrous Dao?” William pondered.
William’s realm had skyrocketed in just 2 years, like a rocket, but… he at least had talent that made the enemy leader reluctant to kill him.
And he had built up his combat experience in over 100 battles in a place where a single mistake meant death. For a scoundrel to grow strong enough in 5 years to defeat an expert?
Was this happening in a martial arts novel where such ridiculous things were possible?
Oh right, this was happening in a martial arts novel that he was now in.
“That’s right,” Wang Zheng agreed.
“Then how did he win?” William asked.
“We only know the result. The duel was held in secret between just the two of them.”
“Huh.”
So in the end, the dying Mu-gang held the key to unraveling this mystery.
“Do you know where that eldest son is now?” William inquired.
“He’s probably with some group called the Black Sand Sect.”
“An evil sect?”
“That’s right. Troublesome bunch.”
Mu-gang’s failed attempt at parenting had come back to bite him in the worst way possible. His son had even committed the ultimate filial impiety.
“Any other information?” William pressed.
“That’s all we have for now. It’s… not really appropriate to dig too deeply into family matters, right? It feels wrong to investigate the background of Mr. Hong, who was so generous with alms to beggars.”
“Junior Lin, let’s go. This information is sufficient,” William said.
“Come again if you need more information,” Wang Zheng offered.
“We’ve found a lead already, so I’m not sure if we’ll need to meet again,” William replied.
“What?”
William left without further reply, exiting the slum with Hajin. Once they were out, Hajin carefully asked William:
“What kind of lead did you find exactly?”
“The reason why Mu-gang didn’t pass on martial arts to his eldest son. That’s the key to this incident.”
“…Ah! I see!”
Hajin’s eyes lit up with admiration as he seemed to understand William’s meaning.
…Is this guy really fit to be a sect leader? William thought. He seems a bit slow on the uptake in these matters.
No, as long as he has good character and skills, it’s fine. Political acumen can be developed later.
The Haenam Sword Sect leader probably won’t have much occasion to leave the island anyway.
In any case, the secret to this incident likely lay with Mu-gang and the Seven Severance Dao he muttered about.
William pondered how to handle this situation as he headed towards the doctor’s place where Mu-gang was staying.
He needed to meet Ma-ryang, who would likely have evidence to support his theory.
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Thank for the chapter!!