novelraw Chapter 6 : Elder Un
Chapter 6 : Elder Un
Chapter 6: Elder Un
After leaving the Golden Sword Merchant Association, I headed toward the underground gambling house.
The gambling house located in the basement of the Cloud Blossom Pavilion was famous for being the largest in the area. Among people of the Jianghu, it was known as a branch of the Hao Clan.
Passing through the flamboyant first floor and descending the damp wooden stairs, I was greeted by two guards holding spears in front of a heavy iron door.
“Welcome, Successor.”
The two third-rate warriors of the Unorthodox Faction bowed their heads in greeting upon seeing me. After all, I was a regular.
‘What were their names… again?’
It had been so long that I couldn't particularly remember. Actually, what did it matter? These two were likely just bottom-level members of the Hao Clan, an information sect of the Unorthodox Faction.
“Hey, yeah. Good to see you. Beon Chil. It’s been a while.”
“Successor, my name is Jeon Ak.”
“Don’t talk back. If I say so, it is so. Just open the door.”
An old saying goes that love is an open door. These bastards must have liked me as their customer, seeing how they swung the iron door wide open.
I stepped through the gap.
As soon as I entered the gambling house, the terrible smell of medicine pierced my nose. It was a familiar scent to me. The wretched, damp stench unique to a gambling den.
‘This is how people live.’
After seeing only soft beggars, facing guys who truly had no future made me feel much more at ease.
“Brother Kim. Has some gambling god descended upon you today? How much money are you taking?”
“Hey, you know what? Compared to the money I’ve lost so far, this is a drop in the bucket! This dice game is a filial son, I tell you, a filial son.”
Men with sickles and hoes tucked into their waists like ordinary commoners sat at the tables, glancing at me as they spoke.
‘Hao Clan members.’
The Hao Clan. A sanctuary for those who worked at the lowest levels of society.
In a way, it could be said to be similar to the Beggar Sect. While possessing the temperament of the same information sect, more than half of its members were people of low birth.
The only difference was that the Beggar Sect had its own lines, while the Hao Clan had none.
I approached the Hao Clan members who were in the middle of a gambling round. I watched the dice rolling on the square table for a moment and naturally sat in a remaining chair.
Did they not expect me to sit here? The stunned Hao Clan members stared at me blankly until the bastard with the sickle at his waist cleared his throat and spoke.
“…It is Brother Kim’s turn. I have seven. I rolled two dice and got a seven? My luck is absolute shit today. What is the name of the newcomer?”
I looked at the Hao Clan member feigning innocence, gave a smirk, and toyed with the sword at my waist.
“Wang Cho. Just a worthless gambler.”
“Heh, truly a beggar-like name. You, why are you carrying a sword? How are we folks who live by farming supposed to go anywhere when we’re so scared of martial artists?”
I didn’t particularly respond to that. I merely watched the dice rolled by the man called Brother Kim.
The dice, having left the man’s rough fingers and rolled along, revealed two numbers. A 6 and a 4. It was a considerably high number.
However, I immediately realized the secret of his winning streak. He had operated inner Qi to roll the dice so the desired numbers would appear.
‘This bastard still hasn't regained his senses.’
The rules of the dice game were simple. Two dice were rolled, and the person with the higher total number won. That was why it was the most popular form of gambling.
“Ayy, I’ll actually be able to face my wife and children when I go home today! Ha, this is why I can’t leave this place.”
Smirking, the man gave me a look as if it were now my turn. I smiled back at him, gripped the dice in my palm, and threw them at the gambler’s face.
“Hwa Pyeong, you bastard. Did you think I wouldn't know if you changed your face with a human skin mask? The owner of a gambling house is personally stepping up to run a fraudulent game? What did I say I would do if you did that one more time?”
The man’s face stiffened visibly. Sweat did not break out. That was because he was wearing a mask modeled after another person’s face.
The owner of the gambling house and branch leader of the Hao Clan in Shenyang, Hwa Pyeong, hurriedly gulped down the liquor on the table as if feeling stifled.
He then stared intensely at the sword at my waist before opening his mouth after a long silence.
“Wow, how did you know it was me again? But Successor, you got one thing wrong. This is the first time I’ve been caught cheating. Haha, since the Successor also made a mistake, let’s just quietly move past each other’s errors.”
Apparently, my interference regarding his fraudulent gambling happened further in the future than this.
I grabbed the wrist of the babbling Hwa Pyeong and applied pressure.
“A-Ack! Wait, why is a person so lacking in dignity? Wang Cho. Didn't I tell you that if you live like that, you have no choice but to live as a beggar for the rest of your life?”
I sighed and looked at the face of the bastard speaking informally. His real face, stained with all sorts of scars from when he removed the human skin mask, revealed a grin toward me.
From long ago, the Hao Clan and the Beggar Sect had many reasons to be involved as the same information sects. In the current world where there were no wars, there was no particular reason to fight each other.
Of course, Elder Hwa dealing with the Heart Poison Sky and the Heaven Killing Sect, who handled poisons and assassins, was a different matter.
At any rate, it meant this guy was a friend who had been with me since we were young.
‘Dammit.’
In my previous life, the fraudulent gambler’s beginning was meager, but his end was grand. He tried to scam none other than Baek Cheon, got caught, and after spewing all sorts of insults, his head was crushed and he died.
Not knowing my complicated feelings, the crazy gambler continued to mutter.
“Normally, if I set up a game with this friend next to me, at least one sucker is guaranteed to get caught. Ha, this is why we shouldn't let beggar bastards into the gambling house. They have no tact. No tact.”
“Branch leader, you should shut your mouth.”
“…Shall I?”
I, who almost struck Hwa Pyeong’s head for a moment, felt infinite gratitude toward the nameless Hao Clan member who appropriately cut off the flow.
It seemed this bastard’s hot temper would not be fixed even as he aged.
In any case, these two knew why I sought this place. That meant there was no need to explain in great detail.
“Hwa Pyeong, the money Elder Hwa stashed away. Where is it?”
At the main point brought up immediately, Hwa Pyeong gave a smirk, finished his drink, and spoke.
“I know that very well. I was almost dying of frustration because of that anyway, so this worked out well. Let’s go. For the record, I’m not going in, okay?”
Exactly who was in there for him to say that?
Giving a smirk, I followed him deeper into the underground gambling house.
Ah, this made bringing money from the Merchant Association meaningless. But it was also true that the more money, the better.
* * *
Having entered Hwa Pyeong’s room alone, I could not hide a hollow laugh. It was because an entirely unexpected figure was guarding Elder Hwa’s money.
“Hm? Oh, how long has it been? Successor. Is the Chief doing well? Hah, I haven't seen him because I’ve been busy with this and that lately. It would be a relief if that man isn't blubbering because I’m not there.”
A muscular giant sitting in a large wooden chair, wearing a twisted smile toward me. Naturally, he was a familiar figure.
Among the four Elders representing the military might of the Beggar Sect, the Dragon, Tiger, Wind, and Clouds.
“Elder Un, what are you doing here? Since when did Elder Un become a dog that cleans up after Elder Hwa?”
“Huh? Successor’s body. What did you do to it? This shouldn't be possible. You haven't reached the Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak, the Fusion Realm. My Upper Dantian judges you to be at the Transcendent Peak Realm, yet the aura I feel is actually closer to the Fusion Realm.”
We both only laid out what we wanted to say. It was because Elder Un was a man obsessed with martial arts. Just now, too. He accurately saw through the fact that I hadn't reached the realm of the Fusion Realm.
Originally, the condition for learning the Sun-Drenched Moonlight was achieving the realm of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak. The realm where three flower buds are manifested. The so-called Fusion Realm.
Since the three Dantians become unified, it was also called the Unification of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
‘Since I forced my entry with the help of the elixir’s energy, does he feel that I’ve achieved Fusion Realm?’
Elder Un, who kicked off his chair and stood up, stomped roughly. As the sound of the thud hit my ears, the giant, who had reached my vicinity in an instant, thrust out his fist.
I stumbled as if drunk and dodged his fist. Red blood flowed from my cheek, which was cut by the intense wind pressure. It stung slightly.
‘This crazy bastard, he threw that with full force. Why the sudden outburst?’
What if I had died?
“As expected of the Drunken Eight Immortals Steps. It is certainly problematic. But it is insufficient to say you have overcome the wall. Please show me a little more.”
“I’m coming again,” his heavy voice carried on the wind as his brutal palms reached out to grab my head.
‘Seizing Art. Whose head are you trying to crush?’
I immediately drew the sword at my waist and at the same time pulled out pure white Sword Qi, cutting Elder Un’s palm.
Only then did Elder Un flinch and retreat. Something was strange. Retreating already? Why?
However, if the other side retreated first, it was actually a relief. My breath was heavy because I had operated my inner Qi too hurriedly, so I caught my breath and asked him.
“Your movements are too sluggish. Why? Do your disciples starve you because you're eccentric? My, the Beggar Sect has truly gone to ruin. No, if they are ostracizing you for conspiring with Elder Hwa, they deserve an award instead.”
“Hah? If you're going to act like this, why did you bother being polite earlier? The hand that has been pressing down on me just now… No, anyway, are you saying it wasn't the Successor's doing? I see.”
What?
I looked at Elder Un, who even began to sweat, and tilted my head.
“…Are you suffering from Qi deviation? You’re talking nonsense. Well, even I would feel that way. To think your disciples wouldn't give their master food. Those ungrateful bastards, since their master is Elder Hwa’s dog, the term ‘son of a bitch’ would be popping in their minds. Elder Un, bark for me. Woof! Woof!”
“…It seems an Inner Demon has come to Successor instead. I am only cooperating with Elder Hwa out of necessity. It is a relationship bound by a promise made in our youth.”
With those words, Elder Un began to lay out a long, rambling story. I think he started with his parents, but it was such a boring and common tale that I just stood there and dozed off.
However, it was something I didn't know in my previous life. Originally, Elder Hwa had not brought Elder Un into this. What was the relationship between the two? It was certain that a complicated story was intertwined.
‘But so what?’
Was it something I needed to know? Regardless of what Elder Hwa was like in the past, it wasn't particularly my business. Even the son of a farmer who unfairly lost his parents was currently setting the world on fire, so what of it?
Where among the people of the Jianghu was there anyone without a story?
I reached out my hand toward him while putting my sword back at my waist.
“Elder Un, give me the ledger Elder Hwa possesses. No matter the cause, Elder Hwa has crossed the line. Hasn't he? Turning a member of the Beggar Sect into an assassin of the Heaven Killing Sect? That cannot be allowed.”
“How did you know? No, exactly what is behind the Successor…?”
“Hm?”
“No. Do not mind me.”
Elder Un clenched his fist for a moment as if he would fight me, but then let out a deep sigh, opened the safe, and obediently handed over the ledger. His thick fingers were trembling so much it was almost pitiful.
Had some disease developed? The moment I failed to understand him repeating nonsensical actions was brief.
“Go.”
“Hm?”
“I said go.”
Staring at him as he shouted irritably, I finally left Elder Un’s room. A lingering feeling of discomfort remained in my heart.
Why did an expert like him become like that?
Since I had achieved my primary goal, my heart was at ease, but my mind kept racing like a rolling stone.
* * *
Elder Un, who was sitting blankly in the room Wang Cho had left, suddenly emitted the clear light in his eyes unique to Orthodox Martial Arts. It was because the giant palm that had been continuously pressing him down was withdrawn.
An eternal sense of oppression, as if Sakyamuni had pressed down on the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and imprisoned him in the Five Elements Mountain.
Just before Wang Cho left the room. Within the Successor's shadow, there was an old monk wearing a bamboo hat, placing his index finger to his lips as if saying ‘shh’ toward him.
— Hey, enough. Withdraw your fist. Before I embed prayer beads into your skull.
Along with that, a faint, ancient laughter echoed. It was a power impossible to resist. Elder Un felt like he wanted to bow his head and kneel right then and there.
“Whew…”
Only after a long time had passed did Elder Un finally manage to lift his head.
The question of who it could have been kept circling in his mind until his miraculous power of the Upper Dantian spat out a single conclusion he had never imagined.
Teacher of Heaven and Men.
It was a very faded and ancient name.