novelraw Chapter 5 : The Sect Leader and the Elixir (2)
Chapter 5 : The Sect Leader and the Elixir (2)
Chapter 5: The Sect Leader and the Elixir (2)
In this world, there is such a thing as "Will." A power that changes depending on the thoughts and mindset one holds while unfolding martial arts.
For example, the mental image of the Purple Mist Divine Art, known as the secret technique of the Mount Hua Sect, is a sunset sky; the mental image of my unique martial art, the Sun-Drenched Moonlight, was the moon and stars.
This Will is not a power applicable only to martial arts. If you beg with a lowly mindset, that task will become a tedious chore, but if you perceive begging as a pleasant way to connect with people, it could become happiness for someone.
The same applies when absorbing the energy of an elixir.
Is Baek Cheon a son of a bitch or not? In my view, he was. A God of Martial Arts who stripped the concept of daytime from the people for fifteen years.
Come to think of it, we were a mismatch from our very first meeting. We both took the night sky as our martial mental image, but I drew in the moon and stars while Baek Cheon’s had nothing within it.
‘This bastard dares to ruin the world? Fine, let’s see who wins, you or me.’
With that Will, I accepted the elixir and immediately recited the mnemonics of the Sun-Drenched Moonlight in my head.
It was to heighten my achievement while learning the divine art of the Sun-Drenched Moonlight with the help of the elixir's power.
My entire body, including my Lower Dantian, was cold enough for frost to form, yet only my head was burning hot. It throbbed as if it would burst at any moment, which was a natural result.
It was because I was attempting something close to impossible. Usually, a martial artist feels a deep sense of lethargy just by internalizing 70% of an elixir’s energy into their body.
However, what I was doing was hammering the entire energy of the elixir into my body while simultaneously learning a divine art. An impossible feat unless one possesses the Upper Dantian of a peerless master.
Whether my head burst from the inability to handle the overload or my body was torn to shreds from failing to coordinate the physical tuning, the result of death would have been the same either way. But who am I? The God of Beggars, ah, it feels like I’m spitting on my own face here.
Anyway, as I’ve said every time, I am the former greatest in the world. Although it might be a bit difficult, a task like this was nothing to me. At most, what could happen other than dying? Since what I was currently trying to do was not forcibly raising my realm, it was relatively easy.
I gently enveloped the energy of the elixir surging through my blood vessels and guided it to my Dantian. The energy of the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, which rebelled to avoid mixing with my own energy, was suppressed and forcibly blended by the energy of the Sun-Drenched Moonlight I had just generated.
However, damnably, things did not flow smoothly.
Snap.
“Kgh.”
With a burst of insane pain, my vision briefly flickered out. When I focused my blurred sight, my whole body ached as if I had been beaten. I had lost consciousness for an instant. To begin with, the Sun-Drenched Moonlight was a high-level martial art, and if learned while the body was not prepared, side effects naturally followed.
I had underestimated our Snow Ginseng too much. If it had accepted the energy between heaven and earth for a long period of a thousand years, that energy would naturally be enormous.
‘I never had the chance to consume elixirs when I was young.’
When I was a kid, I couldn't eat them because there were none, and when I was older and beating others up, I was already strong, so elixirs didn't hold much significance. It was common knowledge among common knowledge that the more Inner Qi one had, the less effective an elixir would be.
Since there was no control from me, I used the energy of my Dantian and the energy of the Sun-Drenched Moonlight to pin down the Snow Ginseng that was running rampant throughout my body. In that process, the impact of energy colliding against energy returned to me in full once again.
To Baek Hae, who was flustered and trying to rush toward me, I managed to raise my index finger.
‘Please, do not come.’
This was a problem others could not help with. Rather, it would be lucky if we didn't both die while he was trying to help.
The Sect Leader likely noticed that fact. He touched Baek Hae’s shoulder to stop him.
‘Then I suppose I must do what I have to do.’
The Sun-Drenched Moonlight is a divine art. However, it was also a bizarre martial art that no one in the world but me could learn. Yet, its power was certain. I had crushed the Ten-Stage Brocade of the Wudang Sect—one of the Nine Sect Alliance famous for its domineering palm techniques—head-on.
The Sun-Drenched Moonlight consists of six forms. Among them, I used the essence of the Forceful Sword Form to suppress the freezing energy of the Snow Ginseng.
‘Snow Ginseng, Snow Ginseng. I’ll even observe a three-year mourning period for you, so just be absorbed gracefully. Okay?’
How long had I been so pitifully coaxing the Snow Ginseng while continuing to pull the energy into my Dantian? The Lower Dantian below my navel stopped its wild thrashing.
Feeling the energies completely settled in my Dantian, I opened my eyes. The entire world shone with a pure white brilliance. It was a landscape from another world.
“Senior, your eyes?”
It was Baek Hae’s voice. Turning my stiff neck slowly to look at him, his gigolo-like face also shone with moonlight.
‘The initiation into the martial art has been perfectly achieved.’
To others, my eyes likely appeared silver. It was the characteristic of one who had refined the Sun-Drenched Moonlight.
“Huh? Truly, your talent alone is at a bizarre level. If I had talent like that, I wouldn't be a beggar, I'd be at Wudang… ah actually, I don't really like Taoists.”
Smiling toward the Sect Leader who let out a hollow laugh, I ended up slumping down. My head was dazed. I just wanted to rest, regardless of Elder Hwa or anything else. My entire body was filled with a sense of lethargy.
Had the aftermath of the collision between the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng and my energy splashed this far? Three sides of the office, excluding the area where the Sect Leader was, were filled with frost and ice.
Whoosh!
Finally ceasing the operation of the Sun-Drenched Moonlight, I pressed down my heavy eyelids and asked the Sect Leader.
“How much time has passed?”
“About four hours. You look like you overdid it, why don't you rest? I wonder what got into a bastard who had no interest in martial arts that you’re now trying to take responsibility for the Beggar Sect……”
I intended to rest even without being told anyway. The Sect Leader’s worry was not strange. Until the day before yesterday, I was likely nothing more than a rascal. Handing over the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng so readily must have involved dozens of agonizing thoughts.
The Sect Leader’s room was chilly due to the ice fragments left behind by the Snow Ginseng. Listening to the cool breeze and the voices of the two beggars, I fell asleep.
* * *
When I woke up, the sunset was already slipping away to the other side. Leaving the office quietly so as not to wake the Sect Leader, who had gone to bed early due to his health, I stepped outside the headquarters.
According to the Beggar Sect's information, Elder Hwa had used his disciple to move a slush fund.
Where would people of the bottom-tier life like us move it, even if we tried?
A slush fund that had been in the gisaeng houses smelling of women’s powder.
‘He likely moved it to a gambling den.’
From Elder Hwa’s perspective, he would probably think of it as a mysterious masterstroke. I had said I was washing my hands of gambling, and I had even shown my changed self personally.
Furthermore, a beggar frequenting a gambling den is not particularly strange. Where else would one go after earning money by begging and filling their stomach? Naturally, one goes to seek a windfall.
The night in Beijing was dark as dark could be. The more crowded a bustling area, the more illegalities and corruption were bound to thrive.
During the day when the sun reveals its head, it is the sunny side. At night when the moonlight looks down, it is the shady side.
Of course, the Imperial Family knew everything and turned a blind eye. It was a tactic to keep the sword-wielding martial artists in check with the means of gambling and women if they could not be perfectly controlled.
As I walked absentmindedly along the street where the red sunset had fallen, I saw a plaque for the Golden Sword Merchant Association. The association where Elder Hwa’s corruption, which I mentioned earlier, resided.
‘It’s a good thing since I didn't have gambling funds. One point to Elder Hwa.’
Of course, I was going to the Golden Sword Merchant Association not because I missed gambling, but to handle the business of the Beggar Sect. Anyway, that’s how it is.
…The slush fund Elder Hwa had hidden away so tightly.
Here I come, now.
* * *
Seo Hyowon, the leader of the Golden Sword Merchant Association, stared at the man before him. A jawline that was delicate and eyes that displayed a characteristic arrogance. Judging by his long experience leading the association, this was a face one should not associate with.
Eight knots dangled from his waist. He was a figure anyone doing business in Beijing could not help but know.
‘The Eight-Knot Beggar, Drunken Sword Wang Cho.’
A name better known than his position as the Successor of the Beggar Sect was the undefeated gambler. For what reason did he seek him out?
‘Has the exchange of money with Elder Hwa already been caught?’
It was faster than expected. Incompetent Elder Hwa. How does he handle business that problems arise already? He can't even handle a request properly.
Barely moving his stiff lips to create a smiling face, Seo Hyowon asked Wang Cho.
“For what business has the Successor come to this humble association?”
I rested my chin on my hand and looked at the tea table where I sat opposite Seo Hyowon. The strangely empty table made me feel displeased. One point deducted from Seo Hyowon.
“First, alcohol. I’ll ask for one bottle of Jiannanchun.”
Alcohol was essential for a man’s conversation. With a "Hah," Seo Hyowon laughed and had a servant bring a bottle.
Trickle.
It was the sound of liquor falling into a round cup. I liked this sound. Because the sound of clear water gave me a sense of mental stability.
The idiotic merchant leader who had formed a sworn brotherhood with Elder Hwa and I drained the liquor poured into our cups. A stinging sensation brushed my tongue and went down my throat. Whether he would be able to smile or not after this drinking session was something even I did not know.
“Phew, those Sichuan hicks really know how to make alcohol. Don't you agree, Merchant Leader?”
“…Successor, that is a liquor made in Henan, not Sichuan.”
Hmm, Jiannanchun is a famous liquor from the Sichuan region.
“Ah, is that so? They should just stick to making Dukang liquor, those bastards. They have no business ethics. If they make it this delicious, what are the Sichuan folks supposed to live on? Merchant Leader, I really hate loaches that muddy the waters like this. I’d like you to keep that in mind.”
For a moment, Seo Hyowon’s face stiffened noticeably before quickly changing back to a smiling face. He smiled shamelessly as if nothing had happened, but it looked quite desperate.
“Sometimes those loaches change the world.”
“Whether that’s the right direction is what’s important. And I hope our Merchant Leader moves in the right direction……”
“What is it that you want.”
I stared at Seo Hyowon’s face, which had turned fierce, for a moment and then smirked. To begin with, speaking in circles was not my style. Still, was this not a bit of a sudden acceleration?
“Give me the money you were going to give to Elder Hwa. And stop involving yourself in the business of the Beggar Sect. As of today, the Golden Sword Merchant Association severs all ties with the Beggar Sect. Do you understand?”
Whoosh!
Seo Hyowon’s golden robes fluttered as a formidable aura flowed from him to pressure me. It was an era where even the owner of a merchant association learned martial arts to seek his own safety.
“To whom do you think you are trying to issue a threat.”
Too lazy to pour the liquor into a cup, I just drank straight from the bottle. I immediately slammed the table to disperse his aura.
“Seo Hyowon, do you find my words hard to understand? Do you really intend to listen only after I take action? Elder Hwa used the Beggar Sect to accept private commissions and earn money, and your association commissioned Elder Hwa to kill competitors from other companies. Am I wrong?”
By whose heart do you stain the hands of beggars with blood? A beggar who accepts money to kill a good person is nothing but a butcher, not a member of the Beggar Sect.
This is also why I intend to discipline Elder Hwa. Using the Beggar Sect for private gain? I am a man who would twist the neck of even the Sect Leader if he did such a thing. This was a separate matter regardless of him being my benefactor.
Gritting his teeth, Seo Hyowon abruptly rose from his seat. A blue wave of energy rippled between his golden robes and swept through the room.
“Do you know the meaning of the words to sever ties with the Beggar Sect in this Beijing? It is the same as turning against Shaolin in Henan, and turning your back on the Zhongnan and Mount Hua Sects in Shaanxi. If what the Successor wants is for everyone in our association to starve to death, I shall naturally do so.”
The association starving to death? Is he still not coming to his senses and issuing a threat that isn't quite a threat?
But the Golden Sword Merchant Association is one of the top ten companies in Beijing. It means they won't be ruined easily in the first place. Furthermore, the Beggar Sect also relied on the Golden Sword Merchant Association for money or supplies.
My goal was not to completely exclude the Golden Sword Merchant Association. It was only to put a leash on a beast obsessed with money.
“Then do so?”
Seo Hyowon’s movement immediately froze. He must not have expected this kind of reaction at all. To his eyes, I was likely nothing more than a greenhorn.
Smirking, I looked at the moonlight falling on the window. Seo Hyowon’s pitiful gaze reached me, but I lightly ignored it and spoke.
“I’ve liked the moon since long ago. What I liked more than that was money. Still, for a person, there are things one cannot give up, and there are lines one must not cross. Did you think I wouldn't know about Elder Hwa?”
Seo Hyowon only locked eyes with me and did not open his mouth. Befitting the owner of a massive association, the sound of his brain working reached here. In the following silence, the quick-witted Seo Hyowon blinked and asked.
“What do you want?”
He is indeed quick to understand. Smirking, I drained the Jiannanchun and mumbled.
“Let us agree on three things. Stop trading with Elder Hwa. Give me the money he entrusted to you. Most importantly, when I ask for help, you must run to me like a dog. Unless you’re a flatfish, you should’ve understood, yes?”
A moment of silence lingered. The third clause likely came as the greatest burden to Seo Hyowon. Yet, the Golden Sword Merchant Leader soon nodded silently.
Smirking, I soon received the money from Seo Hyowon and rose from my seat. The moment I was about to leave, Seo Hyowon asked me.
“The Successor was not like this before. What made you change?”
Was it a change so great that it was visible even to Seo Hyowon’s eyes?
After hesitating for a moment, I, to him,
Specifically, I smiled at Baek Cheon, who was behind Elder Hwa, and not him.
“Isn't the night sky somber and boring?”