SERIES: Returning to the Dark Moon
Chapter 5. The Sect Leader and the Elixir (2)
In this world, there is something called intent. A power that changes depending on the thoughts and mindset one has when performing martial arts.
For example, the mental image for the Divine Purple Mist Art, known as the ultimate art of the Mount Hua Sect, was a sunset-hued sky. For my own unique art, the Sun and Moon Heavenly Art, the mental image was the moon and stars.
This intent is not a power exclusive to martial arts. When begging, if you do it with a wretched mindset, it becomes a tedious chore. But if you see begging as a joyful way to connect with people, it could even be a source of happiness for some.
The same applies when absorbing the energy of an elixir.
Is Baek Cheon a son of a bitch, or not? In my eyes, he was. The God of War who stole the very concept of day from people for fifteen years.
Come to think of it, we were incompatible from our very first meeting. We both used the night sky as the mental image for our martial arts, but while I painted the stars and moon, Baek Cheon’s sky was empty.
‘This bastard dares to ruin the world? Fine, let’s see who wins, you or me.’
I accepted the elixir with that intent and immediately recited the oral formula for Sun and Moon Heavenly Art in my mind.
My goal was to use the elixir’s power to not only learn the divine art of Sun and Moon Heavenly Art but also to elevate its level of mastery at the same time.
My entire body, starting from my lower dantian, was cold enough to frost over, yet my head alone was burning. It throbbed as if it would burst at any moment, which was an expected outcome.
It was because I was attempting something close to impossible. Normally, a martial artist would feel a deep sense of exhaustion just from assimilating about seventy percent of an elixir’s energy into their body.
But what I was trying to do was cram all the elixir’s energy into my body and master a divine art on top of it. An impossible feat for anyone without the upper dantian of a peerless master.
Ordinarily, the result would have been death either way—either my head would have exploded from the overload, or my body would have been torn to shreds from failing to regulate itself. But who am I? The god of beggars… ah, that sounds like I’m spitting on my own face.
Anyway, as I’ve said time and again, I’m the former number one under heaven. It might be a little difficult, but a task like this was nothing to me. What’s the worst that could happen? I’d die? Besides, what I was trying to do now wasn't to forcibly raise my cultivation level, so it was relatively easy.
I gently enveloped the elixir’s energy as it surged through my meridians and guided it to my dantian. The energy of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng resisted, refusing to mix with my own, so I crushed it with the newly formed energy of Sun and Moon Heavenly Art and forced them to combine…
But damn it all, things didn't go smoothly.
*Crack*
“Ghk.”
My vision flickered out for a moment along with a maddening pain. When I refocused my blurry sight, my entire body ached as if it had been beaten. I had lost consciousness for an instant. Sun and Moon Heavenly Art was a supreme martial art, after all; attempting to learn it when my body wasn't ready was bound to have side effects.
I had underestimated our little ginseng. Having absorbed the energy of heaven and earth for a thousand long years, its power was naturally immense.
‘I should have tried an elixir when I was young.’
When I was a little brat, I couldn't afford elixirs. When I was older and beating up other guys, I was already so strong that elixirs didn't mean much. It was common sense that the more internal energy you had, the less effect an elixir would have.
With my control gone, the ginseng’s energy ran rampant throughout my body. I pinned it down with the energy from my dantian and the power of Sun and Moon Heavenly Art. In the process, the collision of the energies clashing against each other came back to me in full force.
Startled, Baek Hae rushed toward me, but I barely managed to lift my index finger.
‘Please, don’t come here.’
This wasn't a problem someone else could help with. In fact, it would be a blessing if they didn't both die in the attempt.
The Sect Leader must have realized this. He tapped Baek Hae on the shoulder, stopping him.
Then I suppose it’s time for me to do my part.
The Sun and Moon Heavenly Art is a divine art. But it was also a bizarre martial art that only I, in all the world, could master. Its power, however, was undeniable. I had once used it to shatter the Ten-Section Brocade of the Wudang Sect, a technique famous for its tyrannical palm strikes, in a head-on clash.
The Sun and Moon Heavenly Art is composed of six forms. Using the principles of the Strong Sword Form, I suppressed the ginseng’s chillingly cold energy.
‘Ginseng, my dear ginseng. I’ll even hold a three-year memorial for you, so just let yourself be absorbed quietly. Okay?’
How long had it been since I started coaxing the ginseng so earnestly while continuously pulling its energy into my dantian? The frantic chaos in my lower dantian, below my navel, finally ceased.
Feeling the energies completely settled in my dantian, I opened my eyes. The entire world was shining with a pure white radiance. It was like a scene from another world.
“Senior Brother, your eyes?”
It was Baek Hae. I slowly turned my stiff neck to look at him, and his pretty-boy face was also glowing with a lunar light.
‘The initiation into the martial art is complete.’
To others, my eyes would probably appear silver. It was a characteristic of those who had mastered the Sun and Moon Heavenly Art.
“Hah? Well, your talent is certainly on a monstrous level. If I had talent like that, I wouldn’t have become a beggar, I would’ve gone to the Wudang Sect… Ah, but I’m not a fan of Taoists.”
I smiled at the chuckling Sect Leader and then collapsed. My mind was blank. To hell with Elder Hwa and everything else, I just wanted to rest. My entire body was filled with exhaustion.
Had the aftershock from the clash between the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and my own energy reached this far? The three sides of the office, excluding the area where the Sect Leader stood, were covered in frost and ice.
*Hooo!*
Finally ceasing the circulation of the Sun and Moon Heavenly Art, I let my heavy eyelids fall and spoke to the Sect Leader without a word.
“How much time has passed?”
“About four hours. It’s obvious you overdid it, so why don’t you get some rest? A guy who never cared for martial arts, what got into you that you’re trying to take responsibility for the Beggars' Sect…?”
I was planning to rest anyway. The Sect Leader’s concern wasn't strange. Until just the day before yesterday, I had been nothing but a complete degenerate. He must have agonized dozens of times before readily handing me the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
The office was cool because of the ice shards the ginseng had left behind. Listening to the cool breeze and the voices of the two beggars, I fell asleep.
When I woke from my slumber, the evening glow was already fading in the distance. I had gone to bed early due to exhaustion. I slipped out of the office quietly so as not to wake the Sect Leader and headed outside.
According to the Beggars' Sect’s intelligence, Elder Hwa had used his disciple to move a slush fund.
For bottom-feeders like us, if we were to move money, where would we move it?
From a gisaeng house reeking of women’s perfume…
To a gambling den, of course.
Elder Hwa probably thought it was a brilliant move. I had declared I was done with gambling and had even shown him my changed self.
Besides, it’s not particularly strange for a beggar to frequent a gambling den. After earning money from begging and filling your stomach, where else would you go? To chase a fortune, obviously.
The nights in Beijing were dark, very dark. The more crowded the thoroughfare, the more lawlessness and corruption were bound to thrive.
In the day, when the sun rears its head, it is the world of light. At night, under the gaze of the moonlight, it is the world of shadow.
Of course, the Heavenly Palace knew all about this and turned a blind eye. If they couldn't perfectly control the sword-wielding men of the martial world, they would use the tools of gambling and women to keep them in check.
As I wandered down the street painted by the red sunset, a sign for the Golden Sword Merchants came into view. The very same merchant group involved in Elder Hwa’s corruption that I mentioned before.
‘I was out of gambling money anyway. Perfect. One point for Elder Hwa.’
Of course, I was going to the Golden Sword Merchants to handle the Beggars' Sect’s affairs, not because I missed gambling. Anyway, that’s the story.
…The slush fund Elder Hwa had hidden so carefully.
I’m on my way to meet you now.
The head of the Golden Sword Merchants, Seo Hyowon, stared at the man before him. A delicate facial structure, with eyes that revealed a unique arrogance. From his long experience leading the merchant group, he could tell this was a man he should not get involved with.
The Eight Knots dangling from his waist—he was a figure no one doing business in Beijing could fail to recognize.
‘Eight-Knot Beggar, Drunken Sword Wangcho.’
A name even more well-known than his title of the Heir of the Beggars' Sect was that of the undefeated gambler. Why had he come to see him?
Had his dealings with Elder Hwa already been exposed?
That was faster than expected. That incompetent Elder Hwa. How did he handle things to cause problems this quickly? He can't even resolve a simple request properly.
Forcing his stiff lips into a smile, Seo Hyowon asked Wangcho.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of the Heir’s visit to this humble establishment?”
I rested my chin on my hand and looked at the tea table between myself and Seo Hyowon. The strangely empty table irked me. One point deducted for Seo Hyowon.
“First, some liquor. A bottle of Jiannanchun, if you please.”
A conversation between men required liquor. With a short laugh, Seo Hyowon had a servant bring a bottle of liquor.
*Drip, drip.*
It was the sound of liquor falling into a round cup. I liked this sound. The clear, water-like sound brought a sense of peace to my mind and body.
The foolish merchant lord who had sworn a blood oath with Elder Hwa and I both drained the liquor from our cups. A tingling sensation grazed my tongue and slid down my throat. Whether he would still be able to smile after this drinking session was over, not even I knew.
“Kuh, those country bumpkins in Sichuan sure know how to make good liquor. Don’t you think, Merchant Lord?”
“…Heir, that liquor is made in Henan, not Sichuan.”
Hmm, but Jiannanchun is a famous liquor from the Sichuan region.
“Ah, is that so? Those guys should stick to making the wine of Du Kang. The bastards, there’s such a thing as business ethics. If they make it this delicious, what are the folks in Sichuan supposed to eat? Merchant Lord, I really hate meddlers who muddy the waters like that. I hope you’ll keep that in mind.”
For a moment, Seo Hyowon’s face visibly stiffened before rapidly changing back to a smile. He grinned shamelessly as if nothing had happened, but he looked quite desperate.
“Sometimes, such meddlers change the world.”
“What’s important is whether it’s the right direction. And I, for one, hope our Merchant Lord is heading in the right direction.”
“What is it you want?”
I glanced at Seo Hyowon's fierce expression for a moment, then let out a smirk. Beating around the bush was never my style. Still, wasn't this coming on a bit strong?
“Give me the money you were going to give Elder Hwa. And stay out of the Beggars' Sect's affairs. As of today, the Golden Sword Merchant Guild will sever all ties with the Beggars' Sect. Got it?”
*Whoosh!*
Seo Hyowon's golden robes fluttered as a formidable aura erupted from him, pressing down on me. An era where even the master of a merchant guild learns martial arts to ensure his own safety.
“Do you know who you're trying to threaten?”
Too lazy to pour the liquor into a cup, I just drank straight from the bottle. I immediately slammed my hand on the table, dissipating his energy, and said,
“Seo Hyowon, are my words that hard to understand? Do you really need me to get my hands dirty before you'll listen? Elder Hwa used the Beggars' Sect to take on private contracts for money, and your guild hired him to kill competitors from other guilds. Am I wrong?”
Who gave them the right to stain the hands of beggars with blood? Killing good people for money doesn't make you a beggar of the Beggars' Sect—it makes you a butcher.
This is also why I intend to deal with Elder Hwa. Using the Beggars' Sect for personal gain? I'm the kind of man who would wring the Sect Leader's neck if he did something like that. This is a separate matter, regardless of him being my benefactor.
Gritting his teeth, Seo Hyowon shot up from his seat. A blue wave of energy billowed from beneath his golden robes, sweeping through the room.
“Surely you understand what it means to demand we sever ties with the Beggars' Sect in this Beijing, don't you? It's the same as making an enemy of Shaolin in Henan, or turning our backs on the Zhongnan and Mount Hua Sects in Shaanxi. If what you desire, Heir, is for everyone in our guild to starve to death▲, then I will, of course, do as you say.”
The guild will starve to death? Has he still not come to his senses, making these half-assed threats?
But the Golden Sword Merchant Guild is one of the top ten guilds in Beijing. It wouldn't go under that easily. Besides, the Beggars' Sect also relied on the Golden Sword Merchant Guild for money and supplies.
My goal isn't to completely exclude the Golden Sword Merchant Guild. It's merely to put a leash on a beast blinded by greed.
“Then do it.”
Seo Hyowon froze on the spot. He must not have expected such a reaction. After all, on the surface, I probably looked like nothing more than a brat.
I smirked and gazed at the moonlight pouring through the window. Seo Hyowon's pleading gaze fell upon me, but I ignored it and spoke.
“I've always liked the moon. What I liked more was money. But there are things a person can't give up, and lines they must never cross. Did you think I didn't know about Elder Hwa?”
Seo Hyowon only met my eyes, not daring to speak. I could practically hear the gears turning in his head, as befitting the master of a massive merchant guild. In the ensuing silence, the quick-witted Seo Hyowon blinked and asked.
“What is it you want?”
Quick on the uptake, as expected. I grinned, poured the wine into my mouth, and mumbled.
“Let's agree on three things. One, stop your dealings with Elder Hwa. Two, give me the money he entrusted to you. And three, the most important one: when I ask for help, you come running like a dog. You understand, unless you're a flatfish?”
A moment of silence hung in the air. The third condition must have been the greatest burden for Seo Hyowon. But soon, the master of the Golden Sword Merchant Guild gave a silent nod.
I smirked, took the money from Seo Hyowon, and stood up. Just as I was about to leave, Seo Hyowon asked me,
“You weren't like this before, Heir. What changed you?”
Was the change so great that even Seo Hyowon could see it?
After a moment's hesitation, I smiled—not at him, but, to be precise, at Baek Cheon, the one behind Elder Hwa.
“The night sky is so gloomy. Aren't you tired of it?”
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