SERIES: Returning to the Dark Moon
Chapter 4. The Sect Leader and the Elixir (1)
After the fight with Elder Hwa.
Eung Sam and I, having slept sprawled out in the training yard, headed for the Sect Leader’s office. Even if I had gone there to train, causing such a ruckus and then casually swinging a sword around wasn't the proper way for a beggar to act.
‘The main headquarters is probably buzzing with talk about the fight between me and Elder Hwa.’
I could tell just by the way the other beggars furtively avoided me.
They were familiar glances, so I wasn't particularly offended. They were most likely all just thinking, ‘That guy’s caused trouble again.’
“So, where are we going now?”
It was Eung Sam. To think he’d ask, knowing full well I’d usually be loitering around a gambling den.
It seemed Eung Sam, too, had noticed that I had changed a little.
“First, we have to go to the Sect Leader. Elder Hwa claimed to have blinded the Sect Leader’s eyes and ears, but that’s not true at all. If he could do that, he’d be the Sect Leader himself.”
“Are you saying the Sect Leader knows everything?”
As Eung Sam spoke, I heard the sound of the wind from all directions and the soft rustle of footsteps on fallen leaves. It was the sound of beggars dashing about using their Lightfoot Technique.
There is no place in the world without a beggar. And the vast headquarters of the Beggars' Sect was where you’d find the most of them.
“Yeah. Even Elder Hwa’s corruption. He’s just letting it be because Elder Hwa hasn’t crossed the line yet.”
And that’s what led to this whole mess.
I respect the Sect Leader as my savior.
But as the head of the Beggars' Sect… well, I don’t think he’s a particularly good one. Overall, it was his neglect of Elder Hwa and that damn Grand Elder that brought the Beggars' Sect to this state.
No man is complete on his own. I, too, was beaten like a stray dog by the Guild Master when I tried to handle everything by myself.
In any case, I plan to save this pitiful Sect Leader, who tries to bear everything alone, in this life. And maybe get some elixirs and such while I’m at it.
*My, my. Yes. What was your name? You don’t have one? Hmm, I’m better off than you, then. I at least remember my name. Sorry. Don’t cry, that wasn’t funny, was it?*
A snowfield on a winter day, white snow in full bloom.
The image of the young Sect Leader reaching out to me amidst a dizzying flurry of snowflakes flickered in my old eyes.
*Creeak.* The door to the shabby office of the Sect Leader opened. I stopped Eung Sam, who was about to follow me in.
“Just go back and get some rest. No need to follow me in, right?”
“Yes, well… if you insist, I’ll be on my way.”
After confirming that Eung Sam, who had been cautiously observing me, had left, I took a step into the office.
I entered, uncharacteristically tense, into a space so large it was hard to believe it was a single room. The first thing that caught my eye was the sight of white document bundles scattered everywhere.
Next, I saw dozens of beggars sitting and murmuring to themselves. Immediately, voices echoed directly in my mind.
According to Yi Gyeolgae, Seonchil, Elder Hwa’s first disciple, has been spotted at the entrance of Heavenly Bloom Pavilion.
—Seems to be attempting to move Elder Hwa’s personal funds. A change of heart is suspected following his conversation with Hugae. Sect Leader, a decision is required.
It was a technique called Voice Transmission, used to secretly convey one’s voice to another. However, the Beggars' Sect’s version was different in that it created a shared space for Voice Transmission where multiple people could relay information.
In the distance, I could see the bed where the Sect Leader was lying. The moment I took a step forward, the murmuring beggars abruptly froze as if petrified.
The Sect Leader, rising with the help of a man in impossibly clean white robes for a beggar, saw me and waved his hand warmly.
“Ah, you’re here? What did Cho Sam say? Did he offer you the whole Beggars' Sect? Baek Hae, look at the murderous glint in that bastard’s eyes. Is he here to slit our throats?”
The Beggars' Sect Leader, Baek Yeon shin, then let out a rough cough. *Cough, cough.*
“Ahem, what kind of formless poison is this damn thing? It just won’t heal.”
I stared at the bloodstain on the front of the Sect Leader’s clothes.
“I’ll at least bow at your funeral, so don’t you worry.”
“Hey now, if you don’t bow a hundred times, I’ll come back as a ghost and haunt you.”
If only you would. Unable to laugh or cry, I turned my gaze to the side.
The man in the white robes, the one with the pretty-boy looks, Fifth-Knot Beggar Baek Hae, gave me an awkward smile as he wiped the blood the Sect Leader had coughed up. The series of movements was so natural it was clear he’d done it more than once or twice.
“A man at your station, with no regard for decorum… Aren’t you ashamed in front of your Senior Brother?”
“Why the nagging again? I’ll say it again, I’m the Sect Leader, you know?”
I smiled bitterly and looked at the old Sect Leader’s face. His eyes, tinged with a faint red from mastering the ultimate art known as the Crimson Martial Master’s Divine Flame Art, and his black hair that had not yet lost its color.
And the sword scars all over his face, starting from his eyes, proved the harsh life he had lived.
He was just as I remembered him. It felt different from when I faced Eung Sam. Was it because this was the starting point of the Grand Master known as the ‘Beggar God’?
*Tap.*
It was the sound of the Sect Leader tapping my head with the old, jade-colored staff that had been by his bedside. The Dog-Beating Staff, the sacred object symbolizing the leader of the Beggars' Sect.
As I lowered my head, my eyes met the Sect Leader’s, who was sitting on the bed, tilting his head slightly to look at me.
‘What did he see?’
Those who had reached the state known as the Profound Realm could discern falsehoods or even have slight premonitions of the future through the Upper Dantian at the crown of their head. The so-called peerless masters were those who had reached this Profound Realm.
This was different from the Lower Dantian, which stored internal energy built through a method called qi circulation, or the Middle Dantian near the heart.
The power of the Upper Dantian was, after all, related to mental battles and enlightenment.
Was a peerless master still a peerless master, even when poisoned? The Sect Leader’s eyes, as he looked at me, seemed to pierce through everything.
Poison is fatal to anyone. But to masters who had reached a certain level, poison was nothing more than an annoying juice.
…Does a poison that could do that to a master of the Sect Leader’s caliber even exist in the world?
And what about for those who stood at the very pinnacle of those masters?
I had no way of knowing who had poisoned the Sect Leader. The same went for Baek Hae, who was always by his side. He never said who did it, not even on his deathbed.
Seeing Elder Hwa sell out the Sect Leader, I had assumed it was the work of the Dark Sky Society. But having crossed swords with Baek Cheon for countless years, I knew better.
Baek Cheon, no. The Dark Sky Society does not use poison.
To think that the band of traitors who set the world on fire would act in a way more befitting of the so-called Righteous Factions. But this wasn't because they were good; it stemmed from Baek Cheon’s disposition as a pure martial artist.
Do I hate Baek Cheon? I don’t even know anymore. Fifteen years was that kind of time. A length of time that could turn even a sworn enemy you couldn’t live under the same sky with into a frenemy.
“You’re lost in thought. What does a beggar have to worry so much about? You should just live, battered by life as it flows.”
It was the Sect Leader’s voice. Come to think of it, this man talked a lot too. Realizing it after regressing, it seemed my own talkativeness was influenced by the Sect Leader.
*Didn’t you leave my side first by living just as life flowed?*
*If so, then I shall rightfully change that flow.*
They say people get sentimental with age, and it seems I’m no exception. I kept having thoughts I normally wouldn’t.
Seeing the Sect Leader smiling cheerfully as if nothing had happened, a surge of anger welled up inside me, and I asked him.
“Who did this to you? Not even the Sichuan Tang Clan, who vie for the top spot in the world for poisons, or even the Heaven of the Poisoned Heart, could inflict such a fatal wound on you.”
With that, the beggars who had been reporting the world’s affairs to the Sect Leader quietly slipped out of the office. They had realized it was a conversation they shouldn't overhear.
A beggar who lives by the bowl has an intuition second to none in the world.
The Sect Leader, who had been watching the departing beggars for a moment, finally met my eyes and smirked.
“Why the sudden question? Didn’t we agree not to talk about such heartbreaking stories between us?”
“Stop joking around. I’m serious right now. I need to know to decide what to do next.”
The Sect Leader seemed to ponder for a moment, looking up at the ceiling, before suddenly uttering a single word.
“The Invincible One.”
“Pardon?”
“That’s what the bastard’s title was. The Invincible Man. What an arrogant name, isn’t it? But he was a damned monk strong enough to deserve it.”
I briefly tried to recall a martial artist with the title ‘The Invincible One.’ No name came to mind. The most likely suspect would have been Baek Cheon, but he wasn't a monk, and his title was the Emperor of the Chaotic Heavens.
Then who?
The renowned Buddhist sects in the martial world were, of course, the Shaolin Temple and the Mount Emei Sect of the Nine Great Sects and One Union. But in the entire history of those two sects, there was no martial artist called ‘The Invincible One.’
“So this is why you wouldn’t say.”
Because no one would have believed him. He would have been lucky not to be dismissed as a senile old man.
“Can a peerless master go senile?”
This was a separate issue from demonic possession, so I pondered it for a moment before realizing it was a useless thought and quickly erased it from my mind.
Something was continuously changing from before my regression. The change was too fast. It had only been a day.
“Or perhaps I’m only now beginning to face a side of the martial world I never knew.”
The conversation between me and the Sect Leader ended there. For a while, only a desolate silence enveloped the three of us. Come to think of it, I wasn’t a good successor. It was a relief if I just didn’t cause trouble.
The sound of a sigh made me turn my head to see Baek Hae. He was looking at me, clicking his tongue impertinently.
“Honestly, both the Sect Leader and Senior Brother are so indirect. Senior Brother, didn’t you come here because you needed an elixir, even before you fought with Elder Hwa?”
I quietly nodded. No matter how much I thought I could take on Elder Hwa with my current skills, it was honestly a gamble. Elder Hwa was, at his core, a martial artist, so he must have continued to build his internal energy. Enduring those years of training was not easier than for others.
The prestigious sects usually tell their disciples that internal energy isn't everything, but I think that's complete bullshit. After all, even the greatest master in the world could lose to me right now if they had no internal energy.
And yet, the old geezers of the Nine Great Sects who say such things are probably stuffing their faces with all sorts of elixirs and spiritual pills. The true power of a prestigious sect, as always, comes from immense wealth and elixirs.
The Sect Leader and Baek Hae's eyes met for a moment, and they nodded simultaneously. At the same time, Baek Hae rummaged through the scattered documents and found an old wooden box, handing it to me.
Don't tell me they just leave an elixir lying around like that? These crazy beggar bastards… Even a low-grade elixir would be quite expensive. Are they rolling in money? No, if they were, they wouldn't be beggars.
With these thoughts, I carefully opened the old wooden box. A chilling cold energy flowed from my hands into my lower dantian. It was fucking cold.
A pure white snow ginseng with a yellowish hue was reflected in my pupils. Judging by its radiant glow, it was a Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, hailed as a peerless elixir. A legendary elixir of the ages that you couldn't buy even if you had the money. How did these beggar bastards get this?
I stared blankly between the Sect Leader and Baek Hae. Could these guys have had the money to buy a Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng
“Did you crazy bastards resort to stealing?”
“Stealing? What are you talking about? Save that kind of talk for the Iron Blade Association, who call themselves righteous thieves. This was a gift, but it was an elixir that didn't suit the Sect Leader's body, so we stored it away.”
It was true that for an elixir like the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, one's body had to be able to accept its cold energy. It would be problematic for someone poisoned like the Sect Leader to consume it. Your constitution had to be compatible in the first place.
“It doesn't matter for you, Senior Brother. You have a Heavenly Martial Body. You're a hybrid who can absorb any kind of energy. Furthermore, you're probably the only person in the world with a body like that.”
“What's with that tone?”
Was Baek Hae always like this? I thought he used to listen to me well. Did the Sect Leader spoil him?
In any case, I immediately sat in the lotus position and shoved the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng into my mouth. A bitter taste tingled on my tongue. As they say, first things first. Beating up Elder Hwa would begin with taking a crunchy bite of this ginseng.
They say bitter medicine is good for the body. Why do I have to live my life doing things like this? I vented my anger toward Baek Cheon in my heart as I happily munched on the ginseng.
“Baek Cheon, you son of a bitch!”
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