Cho Seong-won looked at me through swollen eyes, his face full of bruises as if he had been beaten up.
They were eyes of regret.
On the other hand, Hong Gu-ga, leader of the Beggars Union, was looking at me with suspicious eyes. Hong Geol-gae stood behind him with a gloating expression as if telling me I was done for.
‘Phew.’
I didn’t know how he was caught. But since it was a situation where even his leader and supposed step-brother were visibly against him, the distance between them was clear.
Cho Seong-won mumbled something as he licked his lips.
Just one word.
‘Abandon.’
He was asking me to give up on him. I turned to the Wind Wave King, Hyuk Cheon-man, on my left.
I understood what this meant. As long as this man was here, everything would become a mess if I said something useless.
The Beggars Union leader then asked me again.
“Do you know this man?”
Hyuk Cheon-man was glaring at me as everyone watched.
Cho Seong-won’s eyes moved to the left and right, and I said,
“I know him.”
“…?”
Cho Seong-wan was clearly at a loss after hearing my words. I could hear his silent question as he wondered what I was doing.
Even the face of Hyuk Cheon-man became stiff, and he sighed.
“Sajae. Do you realize this person has devoted himself to the Blood Sect?”
“I know.”
Hearing this, Hong Heol-gae shouted.
“Warrior. There is no need to ask anymore. The fact that this man is involved with the rumors and is here right now…”
“Hong hyung.”
I stopped him before he could finish speaking. He frowned as I abandoned all pretext of politeness and told him.
“Act within your limits. There is a limit to what I can handle.”
“Limit? What kind of fucking trash are you to speak of this?!”
Was this his true face? I could now understand why Cho Seong-won hated him.
The way his words changed when he thought he had the advantage.
How ridiculous.
“You are using that mouth, not realizing you are just a beggar.”
“What? This Blood Sect bastard is talking…”
“Silence!’
Those with weak stability frowned at the voice loaded with internal qi. Everyone was shocked.
Hong Heol-gae was at a loss for words as the Beggars Union leader, Hong Gu-ga, stepped forward.
He spoke as he placed his batting stick on Cho Seong-won’s head.
“Look, Warrior So. This man went into the Blood Sect on his own feet and committed himself there. The fact that you know him means that you also have ties with Blood Sect. Is someone with such a connection trying to intimidate the room?”
As if he would kill him at any moment, he tapped his stick on Cho Seong-won’s head.
He was deliberately provoking me. And Cho Seong-won shook his head at this.
“There was no such thing as abandoning my people.”
My words made Cho Seong-won’s eyes widen.
Did he really think I would abandon him?
No matter how many lives I lived, I would never abandon him this easily. Hong Gu-ga then asked me.
“Hoh. You confess that you are related?”
He then turned to Hyuk Cheon-man because he would need his help to subdue me.
“Sir, hurry.”
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Aren’t you relieved to see the disciple who devoted himself to discovering the Blood Sect’s base turning out to be a traitor simply because he wanted to save that stupid grandson of yours and make him my follower?”
“What?”
The old man looked at me sharply.
Did he think I was going to make excuses here?
An attack was an attack.
All I needed to see whether my sudden revelation worked were the members of the Beggars Union beginning to frown and look around as they wondered about this situation.
“No. What are you saying now?”
“What am I saying, you ask? Aren’t I just speaking the truth? Cho Seong-won?”
Cho Seong-won, who was called suddenly, then said,
“Yes, yes.”
“Would you swear to the God of Heaven and Land that nothing is false with what I just said?”
Cho Seong-won smiled at this.
None of what was said had been a lie. Cho Seong-won then replied quickly.
“No. I swear on the Gods that everything is the truth.”
Whisper!
The entire place became a mess with just those words. Just a simple promise made upon heaven and earth was a serious matter.
This was because it was an oath similar to what those of the Beggars Union made.
“Huh….”
Even the elder and sect leader of the Southern Edge Sect, Do Wood, was simply watching this silently. He knew that intervening now would only complicate things.
“God of Heaven and Earth? Huh!”
Hong Gu-ga snorted at this. He then looked at me and said.
“Come to think of this, this old man heard something interesting in the past. Were you not rumored to have been kidnapped by the Blood Sect in the past?”
It wasn’t strange for a sect dealing with information to know this. Still, it was strange that the Beggars Union didn’t know things that the Lower District Sect already knew.
Perhaps he was a bit shocked since Hyuk Cheon-man then asked me a question.
“Sajae. Is that true?”
I was about to answer, but Hong Gu-ga answered first.
“It is true, Warrior Hyuk. The man will lie about it. Afraid that his identity will be exposed. They tried to somehow get out of such situations by spreading lies!”
I looked at him as he appealed, using every chance he had. Certainly, just like Cho Seong-won said, this old man was also a raccoon.
Did he think I would give up this easily?
“Sahyung. Do you believe me?”
“It isn’t that I don’t believe you. But what does it mean that you were kidnapped by the Blood Sect?”
“I was kidnapped by the Blood Sect, but teacher saved me.”
Hearing this, Hong Gu-ga chuckled and said,
“Now that you mention it, I have suspicions about that too. How can we know if he is the true successor to a man who disappeared over 20 years ago or if he is simply benefitting from his death?”
This old man was so annoying.
It might sound as if he was just spitting out nonsense, but he had a seed of truth. Hyuk Cheon-man’s expression showed that it was a valid question.
Hong Gu-ga smiled, but I then replied.
“Teacher once spoke about sahyung.”
“About me?”
“I heard that 30 years ago, when he was staying at a guesthouse in Yunnan province, you came to him and asked to make him a stew?”
Hearing this, Hyuk Cheon-man’s eyes changed. On the other hand, Hong Gu-ga’s face became stiff as I continued.
“He said that you had come all the way from a northern province and liked your unfaltering fighting spirit, which didn’t weaken after 15 days of training.”
“… he said that?”
Hearing this, his eyes became wet. Looking at Hong Gu-ga, it was clear the man was now embarrassed.
This was something that only the concerned parties would be able to tell me.
“Ah! Since everyone is saying such things, I need to clear up a misunderstanding. I was not the only one saved by teacher. He also saved Cho Seong-won and several more of our friends. The Song twins in the cabin also received his help.”
“Are you speaking the truth?”
Do Wook, the elder of the Southern Edge sect, then asked.
“Why would I lie to my seniors?”
Hearing this, Do Wook pointed to Cho Seong-won and asked Hong Gu-ga.
“Leader Hong. Is it true that he really committed himself to the Blood Sect?”
“Huh… elder. Do you not believe me?”
I laughed at his words.
“How would you know if he committed himself to the Blood Sect?”
At my remarks, Hong Geol-gae replied,
“Do you see our Beggars Union as fools? If we make up our minds, there is nothing that we cannot do.”
The man seemed anxious, considering he was interfering and threatening us like this.
I then gave him a good excuse.
“Ahhh. So you let the person who will be the next successor to the sect be kidnapped by the Blood Sect?”
“Who kidnapped who? He went there on his own feet!”
Hong Geol-gae angrily replied to my sarcasm, after which I continued.
“That is odd. How do you know so clearly that he threw himself in? Ahh. Right, Cho Seong-won, didn’t you say someone asked you to infiltrate the Blood Sect to discover something?”
At those words, Hong Geol-gae snorted.
I looked at the Beggars Union leader. How could he have thought to make this idiot a successor?
A man wearing seven straps walked forward from among the Beggars Union.
“Who was it?”
Wearing seven straps indicated that he was an elder. As the situation was now in Cho Seong-won’s favor, he then shouted.
“Bu Cheong, a beggar in charge of the Hunan Branch.”
“Bu Cheong?”
“Yes! Ask him, and you will find out if anyone asked me to discover anything!”
However, Cho Seong-won’s expression was odd.
His eyes were unsure, and he clicked his tongue as he looked at the Beggars Union leader.
Why was this…
“Bu Cheong died of a disease a few months ago.”
‘…!?’
Hearing these words, Cho Seong-won opened his mouth as if the sky had collapsed.
Ha! I now understood why the old man seemed so unconcerned.
He knew that no one would be able to say anything on behalf of Cho Seong-won.
“That is unfortunate. As said, there is no one to prove his innocence.”
How ridiculous. Wasn’t this man once his disciple?
Was he this adamant in holding the position for his grandson?
“Isn’t there anything else that you can use to prove his innocence?”
“No, Warrior So. From what you said, if you all managed to escape from the Blood Sect with the help of the South Heavenly Swordsman, shouldn’t he have returned to the Beggars Union? Yet this one didn’t come back. Instead, he moved with you while wearing a human skin mask. He had nothing to do with the Blood Sect, so why was he trying to hide as if he had committed a crime? Am I wrong? Warrior Hyuk?”
He was trying to appeal to the Wind Wave King until the very end. The Wind Wave King stayed silent, however.
Hong Gu-ga held out his hand, placed it on his Cho Seong-won’s shoulders, and said,
“Things will continue to be hard for you. If you understand, then just join this. If Warrior So has no ties with the Blood Sect, then do not interfere anymore.”
Was this old man really doing this?
Fine. Let us see who wins.
“This isn’t the Beggars Union…”
At that moment.
“… you are too much.”
Cho Seong-won.
His voice was full of anger. In response, Hong Gu-ga said,
“Since the charges haven’t been cleared yet, shut your mouth….”
“Did you want to pass the Beggars Union to your own grandson that much?”
“What are you saying?”
“The only reason I tried to even enter the Blood Sect was to gain your acknowledgment. I simply found my own way since you chose to not pass on the Eighteen Forms of Dragon Subduing to me.”
Hearing this, all of the members of the Beggars Union focused on him. Their expressions had changed.
It was said that only those with the rights would be allowed to learn it. Yet it was strange that they did not think of this until now.
Being conscious of the shift in emotions, Hong Gu-ga said.
“Nonsense! It isn’t because he is my grandson, but he is simply far superior to you! He is qualified to be the successor.”
The gap was now exposed, and I went in for my attack.
“What makes him so great?”
Hong Gu-ga frowned at my questions.
“It isn’t because he is my grandson, but simply because his martial arts is better. Cho Seong-won, this brat hadn’t even learned it properly. Can you not tell by just how he looks?”
Cho Seong-won shouted in reply.
“How can I learn something when you won’t even teach me?”
“Hah! This boy is trying to cause more confusion with his lies. You should just keep your mouth shut.”
The man tried to urgently seal Cho Seong-won’s blood points.
“Please stop.”
“I told you not to interfere. This is a Beggars Union matter.”
Hong Gu-ga ignored my words and tried to do it again.
“I said that he is my person!”
I extended my sword blade to him, and, at that moment, something slashed through the air toward Hong Gu-ga.
This forced him to urgently block it with his batting stick.
Chang!
With that, he was pushed back by three paces as he looked at me with trembling eyes in surprise.
“Throwing sword energy with your bare hands, you must have really closed the wall.”
Elder Do Wook clicked his tongue as everyone around us looked at me in surprise.
It seemed that they were dumbfounded at the extent of my hidden skills. Hong Gu-ga then said.
“Are you planning to go against us all! No matter how skilled your martial arts is, you cannot go against all of us!”
Phew.
I think I understand it now. Some situations could be resolved with words, and some could not.
I then sneered at him.
“There is nothing I cannot do.”
“What?”
I stretched my hand behind me, puzzling everyone as they wondered what I was doing.
A sound came from the cabin.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
All of their eyes turned toward the sound. At that moment, the silver blade of Iron Sword flew to me from the cabin.
‘…!!’
Everyone on the deck could not keep their mouths shut at the sight of Iron Sword flying through the air before landing in my hand.
