Bang Si-jeong thought.
‘Is he that much?’
Yeom Tak-gang had said it.
That if Bang Si-jeong had taken that fist, he would not have stirred for a month.
It was not an unacceptable claim.
Who would look down on a single fist of the Tiger Beggar?
That held true not only within the Beggar's Gang but across the whole murim of the Central Plains.
But.
‘The Elder engaged him in earnest?’
He had assumed Yeom Tak-gang must have restrained his strength.
However quick-tempered his nature, Yeom Tak-gang was an elder of the orthodox path respected by countless martial artists.
There was no way such a man would attack in earnest a Jeong I-shin who looked barely twenty. Not unless he had gone mad.
His extraordinary head reached a conclusion at once.
‘He is doing it to provoke me. Haa...... I already told him I would decide, even without this.’
It seemed Yeom Tak-gang's expectations of him remained undiminished.
It was not quite wandering, but Bang Si-jeong had certainly lost his way.
And if that Yeom Tak-gang would go this far for his sake......
‘Since it has come to this, I may as well do it properly......’
SLURRRP—
“Hm?”
Smack, smack! Slurp!
The sound of noodles being swallowed was remarkably refreshing. The bronze-skinned man beside him did not know how to stop his chopsticks.
“......You must have been very hungry.”
“Mm!”
The keep's building that they had entered after Jeong I-shin.
There, a startling feast had been waiting for them.
And the one enjoying that supper more than anyone was Nam Tae-gang.
SLURP!
‘He eats well. Come to think of it, because of this man...... no, no. It is not for me to blame others.’
Shaking his head, Bang Si-jeong asked,
“Young Palace Head Nam......”
“Address me comfortably.”
“Ahem. Master Nam, what were you doing in this place? You vanished suddenly and it caused no end of trouble.”
Nam Tae-gang, working his spoon without pause, flinched.
He too knew of the agreement between the Southern Barbarian Sun Palace and the Beggar's Gang.
Slipping onto a side road just before reaching Wuhan had been purely his own fault.
Nam Tae-gang spoke in a voice that shrank away, unbecoming of that enormous frame.
“I was just hungry, and I was trying to get a bite to eat......”
“Did you not take travel funds when you left the Palace?”
“I gave it all to starving children.”
“......”
Bang Si-jeong smacked his own forehead.
It was a dizzying reason, but he could not bring himself to blame Nam Tae-gang.
These were times with an unprecedented number of white-robed beggars.
Which meant there were many beggars.
Why were there many beggars?
Because living in the world was hard, of course.
Why was living in the world hard?
Because the country was a wreck.
It was a difficult story with nothing difficult about it.
It had already been decades since the imperial court's full strength was concentrated on the north.
It seemed to have forgotten entirely the work of tending to the people's livelihood.
In the meantime the country had festered as far as festering could go.
It was a wicked thing to say, but the signs of ruin could be felt.
‘That is why the Unorthodox Hegemon Heaven's schemes grow bolder by the day. It means they need not mind the court.’
Letting out a deep sigh, Bang Si-jeong gestured to Nam Tae-gang.
To go on with his meal.
And with that he asked casually,
“So...... did you get your meal here?”
“They only gave me one bowl.”
“You should have contacted the Beggar's Gang instead. It is a world overflowing with beggars.”
“I meant to...... but Brother Jeong came along.”
“Brother Jeong?”
Nam Tae-gang spoke without even taking his eyes off his plate.
“I have decided to take him as a younger brother.”
“......Is that a matter agreed upon with Master Jeong?”
The mood between the two of them did not seem especially affectionate.
Sure enough, Nam Tae-gang dodged the answer.
“......If you are not going to eat that, may I?”
“Ssh. Trying to take a beggar's food.”
Having defended his own bowl, Bang Si-jeong turned his gaze aside.
There...... was the young man in question.
Jeong I-shin, glued to Sir Deok-myeong's side.
‘Brother Jeong or whatever nonsense. It is not for me to say, being of the Beggar's Gang myself, but what in the world is that fellow?’
He had seen the corpse of the Ink Tiger Keep's Boss.
The man had died having spilled an enormous amount of blood, yet the only visible external wound was a burn mark spreading out in ripples from the solar plexus.
Elder Yeom had said it was an advanced internal heavy-hand method he had never seen before.
And as expected, the man was not the Boss of the Ink Tiger Keep that the Beggar's Gang had on record.
Even granting that Boss replacement was frequent by the nature of the Green Forest, it usually reached the Beggar's Gang's information network.
By the bandits' testimony he seemed to be about a first-rate on the verge of the peak.
It was a question why such a man had come to the Ink Tiger Keep, and Jeong I-shin, who had beaten such a man to death in one stroke, was a question as well.
‘He is not of the unorthodox and heretical. Had he been, Sir Deok-myeong's hand would have burst his skull.’
In the end, the question circled back to its starting point.
What in the world was that fellow?
‘The state of him is a proper beggar. Is he truly some other Elder's hidden disciple? And yet what he does is again......’
“Monk, please have this.”
“Mm, yes.”
“And this as well. Ah, wipe your hands with this...... here is water.”
“Th-Thank you. You eat as well.”
“Yes! How about this? I think it would be good to taste them together.”
He was moving like a man who had spent his whole life waiting on someone.
Thanks to that, Deok-myeong had not shifted an inch from the moment he sat down.
Jeong I-shin was his hands and his feet.
The fellows at the Wuhan main branch who fancied themselves flatterers were no comparison.
‘That is not fawning to begin with. It is simply ingrained in him. He is waiting on the man with his whole sincere strength.’
And as Jeong I-shin's identity sank deeper into fog.
THUD!
Yeom Tak-gang struck the table.
The warm atmosphere froze in an instant.
Sighing inwardly, Bang Si-jeong quietly set down the spoon he had been about to lift.
‘He held out a long time.’
***
Jeong I-shin was happy.
Proper food was welcome, but that was not all of it.
After the four old men had all departed, there had always been a gloom in Jeong I-shin's heart.
It was a shadow in a region the Sinew-Transforming Marrow-Cleansing Scripture could not tend.
Too ambiguous for its function to activate, too unpleasant to simply leave be.
Yet since meeting Deok-myeong, that shadow seemed to be clearing little by little.
‘The scent is exactly the same!’
The smell of old wood, or the incense steeped into monastic robes.
The things he had always felt from Gongheon.
That energy, remembered by Jeong I-shin as ‘the scent of Shaolin,’ flowed out of Deok-myeong in exactly the same way.
He was an elder of Shaolin beyond any doubt.
‘To meet one this quickly! The old man Tang's code of conduct truly......!’
He had never imagined that setting out to fleece bandits would go so well.
It was while Jeong I-shin was delighting in this.
THUD!
The ill-tempered old man struck the table.
Only, the food on the table did not so much as stir, so he had evidently controlled his strength.
Yeom Tak-gang glared at Jeong I-shin.
“You devious......! I was nearly bewitched by the food.”
“Ah, shall I bring more of the stir-fried vegetables?”
“Yes, and is there no more mea...... that is not it! Sit down this instant!”
When Jeong I-shin obediently took a seat, Yeom Tak-gang pointed a finger back and forth between them.
“Boy, our conversation is not finished.”
“I have passed the age of being called a boy, but to your eyes, Elder, it must make no difference. If there is something you wish to know, please say it. I will report without addition or omission.”
“......”
Hm? Why does he speak so well?
His diction was excessively polished for his appearance.
Was he a fellow with some ink in him?
Bang Si-jeong poked Yeom Tak-gang's leg as the man sat there blankly.
“Ah! R-Right! I have learned that you did not thrash the Sun Palace's Young Palace Head. It was an agreed contest, they say.”
At that, Nam Tae-gang snapped his head up and said,
“I was not beaten like a dog. It was fairly evenly matched——”
“But that fact does not prove your identity.”
Cutting Nam Tae-gang's words clean off, Yeom Tak-gang spoke again.
“A fellow like you, new to the jianghu? Pal-deok would laugh.”
“Who is Pal-deok?”
“A dog we keep at the Wuhan main branch.”
“Ah, I see.”
In the end it meant: reveal your identity.
Jeong I-shin nodded brightly and slipped a hand into his robes.
A wooden tablet with a rough texture awaited his choice.
Should he take out the keepsake Gongheon had left, or not?
‘All right.’
Having decided, Jeong I-shin slowly drew out his hand.
Except for Nam Tae-gang, who had his head buried in his rice bowl, everyone's gaze followed its arc.
And what was set upon Jeong I-shin's palm was.
SQUEAK—
“......A rat?”
“Hoh. A flying squirrel.”
It was a grey-white flying squirrel.
“Wh...... What is this? A damn rat comes out of your robes?”
“It's not a damn rat, it's a flying squirrel.”
“......The flying squirrel's name is Flying Squirrel?”
“Yes. Here, you have a spoonful too. This? This? You're filthy picky. Help yourself.”
When Jeong I-shin set down his hand, the flying squirrel vanished like an arrow.
What was this? Was he being mocked?
It was as Yeom Tak-gang's expression turned strange.
“In truth I can tell you my identity right now. There is nothing shameful about it. If anything, I am proud of it.”
“Oh? Then stop dragging it out and at once......”
“But only if Monk Deok-myeong permits it.”
“What?”
Deok-myeong, who had been watching Jeong I-shin with quiet eyes, sank into a low hum.
“Hmm......”
He did not look flustered.
As though he had expected it to some degree, he carefully took hold of Jeong I-shin's wrist.
Understanding his meaning, Jeong I-shin roused the Sinew-Transforming Marrow-Cleansing Scripture.
His internal injury had flared again from the clash with Yeom Tak-gang, but merely rousing the energy was nothing.
DONG—
The Scripture's true qi flowed toward Deok-myeong.
“Mmmmm!!”
For an instant Deok-myeong's eyes drooped low.
The corners of his mouth came loose and twitched without restraint.
“Heuhhh.”
“Monk?”
“Heheh......”
“......Monk?”
“Sssp! R-Right. Where was I?”
“You have not said anything yet.”
“......”
Everyone's gaze toward him grew slightly colder.
Blinking, Deok-myeong soon wore a benevolent smile.
The energy still swimming through his insides had loosened his heart on its own.
The beggars' sullen looks felt to him like the shining eyes of young Buddhist disciples begging to be taught.
It was all thanks to the energy that had come over from Jeong I-shin.
‘How can there be such auspicious energy in this world!’
His heart was already as full as dry earth soaked by a welcome rain.
It felt as though merely keeping it beside him would bring blessings and good fortune.
It was an energy those who had honed themselves with Buddhist dharma martial arts could not dare to defy.
‘It is certain. There is no doubt.’
Another man might not know, but he could be sure.
For Deok-myeong was the head of the Bodhidharma Hall, which together with the Scripture Storage Pavilion governed the whole of Shaolin's martial learning theory.
Jeong I-shin's true qi...... was an energy the Bodhidharma Hall Head Deok-myeong could not fail to know.
‘This is surely the Marrow-Cleansing Scripture's......!’
And with that, he finally understood the reason he had needed to come here.
“I am sorry, Senior Tiger Beggar. It seems I can say no more. This may spread into an internal matter of our Shaolin......”
“What!?”
“However, I shall vouch for Benefactor Jeong's standing on my name...... no, on the name of Shaolin.”
“Nnngh......”
Deok-myeong's attitude turned firm in an instant.
But with a benevolent heart he added his reason.
“Of course, if it ended there it would be hard for you to accept.”
“Well, that is so, but......”
“In place of Benefactor Jeong's identity, I shall tell you why I came here.”
“Oh?”
Deok-myeong spoke in a serene voice, as though preaching.
“It is the Great Grandmaster's command.”
“......”
“......”
Without so much as a syllable, an abrupt silence descended.
Only Nam Tae-gang, who had no interest in the conversation, glanced around and swallowed his noodles.
Slurp.
Slurp, slurrrp.
Only after a long stretch of time did Yeom Tak-gang stammer out a word.
“That...... the Elder's?”
“Yes, Senior.”
“......I understand. Hah, this is truly...... I am sorry for making a fuss, Deok-myeong.”
“Not at all. I am only grateful that you understand.”
“Ha ha......”
Yeom Tak-gang, who had been sitting with his back ramrod straight, slumped all at once.
Then he snatched the bottle from the table and threw an arm over Bang Si-jeong's shoulder.
“Ha ha. Hah. So, is the Elder...... in good health?”
“Yes, unchanged as ever.”
“A blessing for the murim. Ha ha......”
***
Once the storm of a meal ended, a simple tea service was brought in.
Jeong I-shin ordered people about as though he really were the master of the Ink Tiger Keep. Everyone followed his words faithfully.
Yet Jeong I-shin himself was not present at this gathering.
It was because of the masterpiece of a conversation after the meal.
‘But why is our Benefactor Jeong in such a state?’
‘Yes?’
Deok-myeong's question, directed at a Jeong I-shin who had somehow become ‘ours.’
‘What is wrong with my state......?’
Jeong I-shin, puzzled, had leapt out of his seat the instant he saw the mirror the man named Hwang Gong-mang brought.
Bang Si-jeong had been as startled as when ‘the Elder’ was mentioned.
‘So he went about like that without even knowing his own state?’
Was the fellow not practically born to become the Dragon Head Boss?
However little a member of the Beggar's Gang cared for grooming, they were not that bad.
‘......No, this is not the important part.’
Setting aside the idle thought, Bang Si-jeong began assembling information.
Deok-myeong had said it was the Great Grandmaster's command.
Shaolin, the origin of orthodox-lineage martial learning.
The Great Grandmaster of the Bodhidharma Hall Head, an Elder of that Shaolin, was of a generational standing one could not dare to guess at.
It was not for nothing that Yeom Tak-gang called him ‘the Elder.’ Nor was he the only one to call him so.
That Elder was the foremost person of the Central Plains, revered beyond orthodox and unorthodox alike.
That Yeom Tak-gang's chattering mouth had clamped shut as though glued was, if anything, only natural.
Needless to say, their curiosity had grown deeper still.
‘That Sir Deok-myeong moved on that Elder's command. And the object of it is......’
By the circumstances, there was only one.
That born beggar just now opening the door and coming in...... hm?
“Ahaha...... I am sorry, Elder. I showed you a sight not fit to be seen. I have been on rather a long journey, so I did not realize my appearance was that dreadful.”
“Master, please wait a moment. Your hair is not fully dried.”
Hair hanging long and heavy with moisture.
It was different from before, when he had been covered head to toe in something between dirt and dust.
The woman who had brought out the meal was clinging behind him, tidying Jeong I-shin's hair.
Something surged up inside him.
‘......Why?’
All that had happened was that a face had been revealed.
All that had happened was a change into an ordinary martial arts uniform.
That was surely all...... so why.
“What are you! Give Brother Jeong back!”
Nam Tae-gang, swallowing refreshments beside him, sprang up and shouted.
He looked angrier than when he had said he was beaten by Jeong I-shin.
Bang Si-jeong understood the indignation on that face.
‘To think he was not one of our kind!’
He too was angry enough to forget, for a moment, the Elder of Shaolin.
Whether or not he knew their hearts, Jeong I-shin approached with a bright smile.
“D-Don't come!”
“What are you going on about? Finish what you were eating.”
Having sat Nam Tae-gang back down, Jeong I-shin drew something from his robes.
It was a hairpin.
“This is a very precious item to me. Would you happen to know how one fixes hair with it......”
That question, directed at Deok-myeong, scattered into emptiness.
“I-I am sorry......”
“Ha ha. Amitabha......”
What caught Jeong I-shin's eye when he hastily turned his head was equally grim.
Men with hair so tangled it was doubtful they ever washed it.
The chilly gazes of two beggars and a wild man.
“No need.”
“......”
“Give Brother Jeong back this instant......!”
An inexplicable hostility filled the room.