Chapter 81 : Chapter 81

Chapter 81. The Beggar (3)

Jin Yuseong, Nam Geon, and a few members of the Beggar’s Gang grabbed jars and pots and headed upstream of the Chimju River.

Upon reaching the upstream area, Jin Yuseong examined the flowing water.

Although there were occasional floating debris and impurities, the river water was clear, unlike what he had seen downstream.

Approaching the stream, Jin Yuseong scooped up some water with his hands and took a sip.

So Honggae, Nam Geon, and the others who had come with him also followed his lead and drank a mouthful of water.

They looked at each other.

As expected, it was just ordinary water.

“Let’s start drawing water for now.”

So Honggae said as he began to scoop water with a pot first, and the others also filled their jars and pots as best as they could.

The items used for cooking the day before had all been prepared by the Beggar’s Gang.

True to their reputation of prioritizing the care of beggars, the Beggar’s Gang was well-equipped with various supplies, despite their beggar-like appearance.

After filling the jars and pots with water, they carried the much heavier loads on their backs and used their movement techniques to return to the beggar village.

No sooner had they brought the water than the beggars swarmed them all at once.

Even though it was upstream water, there were still some impurities, so they boiled the water first.

After setting aside one pot entirely for the patients, they began to distribute the water to the beggars.

While the Beggar’s Gang members and the group were boiling and distributing the water, Jin Yuseong headed downstream of the Chimju River.

He scooped a handful of the visibly dirty river water and drank it down before sitting in a cross-legged position.

The water reeked of rot even before it touched his lips.

It was enough to make one gag, but Jin Yuseong focused on the energy of the water as it passed his throat and headed towards his stomach.

‘There’s certainly no special energy that could be called poison.’

With that thought, Jin Yuseong used his internal energy to push out the energy flowing from the water.

No poison had been separately added, but the water itself was no different from poison.

It was literally rotten water.

Soon, a highly condensed, turbid energy flowed out from Jin Yuseong’s fingertips.

It was only because Jin Yuseong, who possessed over a Gapja of internal energy and had reached the state of a master, could expel it so easily.

It was the kind of water that would have made ordinary beggars sick with every mouthful.

No, even a martial artist would have undoubtedly fallen ill unless they had reached a certain level of mastery.

‘No matter how dirtily the beggars used it, how can there be such a huge difference with the upstream?’

While Jin Yuseong was tasting the downstream river water, the upstream water they had brought had already run out.

It was unavoidable as over a hundred beggars were waiting.

Jin Yuseong, Nam Geon, and the members of the Beggar’s Gang once again headed upstream to fetch more water.

And just as they were filling their jars and pots with water.

A group of people appeared and approached them. The middle-aged man leading the group shouted.

“What do you think you’re doing!!”

Jin Yuseong answered while filling a pot with water.

“Are you blind? We’re drawing water.”

At that, the man moved to block Jin Yuseong.

“What right do you have to take away the water used by the good people of Chimju!”

Jin Yuseong turned his head to look at the middle-aged man obstructing him.

“Does this Chimju River belong to you?”

“Hmph. It’s not mine. But it belongs to all the people of Chimju.”

The man said, then abruptly turned his head and shouted at So Honggae, who was filling a jar with water nearby.

“Does the Beggar’s Gang truly care for no one but beggars? Are you planning to kill all the innocent commoners to save the beggars!”

As if in response to the man’s words, the people who had gathered around started shouting.

“That’s right!”

“What crime have we committed that we have to be responsible for all the beggars who came from the next village!”

From young men to old folks and women, they were the common people living in Chimju.

After observing the situation for a moment, Jin Yuseong asked the middle-aged man.

“Are you, by any chance, the master of Choi Manor?”

“Hmph. That’s right. I am the Heaven-Piercing Spear of Enshrouded Delusion, Choi Cheol. Youngster, your way of speaking has been quite insolent from the start. What kind of brat are you?”

At Choi Cheol’s question, asked with a snort, some of the commoners behind him recognized Jin Yuseong and pointed at him.

“Isn’t, isn’t that the guy from yesterday?”

“No wonder he kept asking things! Turns out he was in league with the beggars!”

Jin Yuseong looked at Choi Cheol with an indifferent gaze, as if their shouts were of no concern to him.

“My surname is Jin, and my given name is Yuseong. I asked because there is something I wanted to tell you.”

“Something you wanted to tell me?”

“Don’t train so recklessly. You might fall into a Mental Demon and go mad.”

It was advice given with the knowledge that Choi Cheol would go mad in the future.

But to Choi Cheol, it was completely out of the blue.

After frowning for a moment and glaring at Jin Yuseong, Choi Cheol replied.

“What nonsense is this all of a sudden? What does a young brat like you know to dare spout such nonsense to me?”

“Heed my words. If you go mad, you will die by my hand.”

“How, how dare this bastard!!”

Choi Cheol’s face turned red, but he did not draw his spear.

Instead, he turned his head and glared at So Honggae.

“Is this truly the will of the Beggar’s Gang? Now I see that the Beggar’s Gang has brought in a strange fellow to oppress our Choi Manor!!”

So Honggae squeezed his eyes shut then opened them, approaching Jin Yuseong with a sigh.

“Let’s stop and go back.”

***

When Jin Yuseong’s group and the Beggar’s Gang members returned to the beggar village, Dang Sopyeong, who was busy tending to the patients, asked.

“What happened with the water?”

“The residents blocked us, so we couldn’t draw any more.”

At So Honggae’s reply, Dang Sopyeong’s expression darkened.

At that moment, Jin Yuseong interjected in their conversation.

“The upstream water is a no-go, so I’ll fetch water from somewhere else. Is there a lake or stream nearby?”

“There’s a small lake about a shichen’s travel from here, but are you planning to go all the way there? Carrying those?”

So Honggae asked, pointing at the pots. Jin Yuseong calmly nodded.

“Isn’t it better this way? I’ll just think of it as training for my movement technique.”

“Then I shall go with you.”

Jin Yuseong nodded and called for Nam Geon.

So Honggae also called a few Beggar’s Gang members, and they once again carried buckets and pots, launching themselves into motion using their movement techniques.

A shichen’s distance on foot. But traveling with movement techniques, it was not that long of a distance.

Arriving at the lake, Jin Yuseong frowned slightly.

The water level was quite low for the size of the lake. As if there had been a drought.

“Was the poor harvest in this area due to a drought?”

Jin Yuseong asked, yet he felt a sense of unease.

The distance from Chimju to his hometown, Heavenly Sun Village, was about a fortnight on foot, and Mount Heng, where he had stayed for several months, was about a ten-day walk.

But in the past year or so, he had never felt a drought.

It would be a different story if it were a place far, far away. But for it to rain in Heavenly Sun Village and on Mount Heng, but not here, was somewhat strange.

At Jin Yuseong’s question, So Honggae shook his head.

“It wasn’t a drought. I heard it rained decently last year and this year as well.”

“Then why was there a poor harvest?”

“I heard from the beggars who used to be farmers that it seems the land’s ki has been exhausted.”

So Honggae continued.

Originally, the energy contained within the land was crucial for farming.

Sprouting life required a lot of energy, and as crops were grown, the land’s energy was naturally consumed.

When the land’s energy was depleted, farming had to be halted for a while until the energy was replenished.

For this reason, farmers would divide their land and grow crops alternately at regular intervals.

“They said they expected it to last a few more years, but... it seems the land’s energy was depleted faster than they thought.”

“I see.”

Nodding as if he understood, Jin Yuseong walked towards the lake.

Perhaps because it was a lake almost untouched by human hands.

The water level was not high, but it had a clearer color than the upstream of the Chimju River.

Jin Yuseong scooped a mouthful of the lake water.

He frowned faintly.

“Is there a problem?”

At So Honggae’s question, Jin Yuseong swallowed the water and replied.

“It’s not undrinkable, but it seems more turbid than the upstream of the Chimju River.”

Tilting his head, So Honggae also approached the lake and drank water scooped with his hands.

He furrowed his brow and muttered.

“It certainly is strange.”

But that was only for a moment. So Honggae chose to put out the most urgent fire first.

“Still, this should be drinkable if we boil it, so let’s get the water and go back for now.”

Jin Yuseong also decided to go back and sort out his thoughts.

They drew water in their jars and pots, then once again used their movement techniques to head from the lake to the beggar village.

Their steps became much heavier due to the doubled weight of the jars and pots.

Some Beggar’s Gang members eventually became exhausted and had to rest or fell behind midway.

“I, I am strong. I, I will carry it.”

“Give it to me. This is also training, after all.”

Nam Geon and Jin Yuseong also took turns carrying the pots and jars of the exhausted Beggar’s Gang members.

After boiling the water brought from the distant lake and distributing it to the beggars and patients, they headed to the mountains and fields again to search for ingredients for the starving beggars.

After barely finding some food, they had to head to the lake again for the depleted water supply, repeating this several times. It was only by evening that they could distribute the bare minimum of food and water needed for survival to the beggars.

After finishing the day's work, the Beggar’s Gang members were completely exhausted and collapsed.

Nam Geon, Baek Hyang, and Dang Sopyeong also showed clear signs of fatigue.

“Rest for a while.”

Saying so, Jin Yuseong, as if he wasn't tired at all, walked towards the downstream of the Chimju River.

He gazed intently at the dirty river water, organizing his thoughts.

The various pieces of information he had gathered over the past two days, yesterday and today, were jumbled in his head.

The master of Choi Manor, Choi Cheol, who was destined to fall to a Mental Demon.

The suddenly polluted downstream of the Chimju River.

The poor harvest despite there being no drought.

Although the three clues seemed completely unrelated, for some reason, Jin Yuseong felt they were connected.

“Could it be…?”

Suddenly, a possibility surfaced in his mind.

But it wasn't certain yet. He needed proof. Not proof to show others, but proof to convince himself.

So, how would he find that proof?

A method came to mind.

He didn't know if it would really work. But if he tried and it didn't, he could just find another way then.

He was used to failure, so there was no reason to be afraid.

Jin Yuseong drew the Restoring Name Sword, closed his eyes, and repeated deep breaths.

“Haaah. Whoo.”

He had to squeeze his concentration to its absolute limit.

He recalled the situations where he had been pushed to his limits.

The first thing that came to mind was his most recent fight.

That slave-like old man from the Sichuan Sword Clan. The fight with the First Killing of Sichuan, Jang Ik.

Instead of hastily opening his eyes and swinging his sword, Jin Yuseong continued to review the fight that had happened nearly a month ago.

Perhaps because he had reviewed it so many times, the blurry flow of the fight gradually became clearer.

Having successfully reconstructed the flow perfectly, Jin Yuseong’s eyes snapped open.

Countless trajectories were embroidered in the empty air.

But it was still not enough.

In the slowed flow of the world, Jin Yuseong chased those trajectories, continuously swinging the Restoring Name Sword.

“More! More! More!”

As usual. No, he trained even more tenaciously than usual.

Suddenly, he felt that this was not enough.

At the same time, the person who came to his mind was Hyeok Ilso.

Naturally, the trajectories visible to his eyes changed.

The image of Hyeok Ilso was clearly drawn in the air, and the trajectories of the sword he swung and the footwork he used were embroidered.

Jin Yuseong berated himself.

“You idiot!”

The trajectories he was seeing now were from their last fight.

A genius like him would have become much stronger since then.

New things began to appear in Jin Yuseong’s eyes.

To Hyeok Ilso’s left, the vanished First Killing of Sichuan, Jang Ik, reappeared. To Hyeok Ilso’s right, the Golden Guardian Unit Leader who had pushed Jin Yuseong to the brink of death took his place.

Soon, the illusions of the First Killing of Sichuan and the Golden Guardian Unit Leader merged with the illusion of Hyeok Ilso.

Before long, only the illusion of Hyeok Ilso remained.

The illusion of Hyeok Ilso charged towards Jin Yuseong, thrusting its sword.

It was a movement that was incomparable to the trajectories of the man drawn before.

Even though it was an illusion, cold sweat trickled down his spine.

Jin Yuseong smiled wryly.

“Of course.”

It has to be at least this much.

Jin Yuseong engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the evolved illusion of Hyeok Ilso.

Sweat poured from his entire body like a waterfall, and a sweet taste filled his mouth.

Though it was a duel with an illusion, he felt excruciating pain in the areas grazed by the man’s sword.

After continuing the extreme duel, brainwashing himself like this for a while.

Something new began to appear in Jin Yuseong’s eyes.

The flow of ki.

He could see the energy flowing through his arm.

The second eye had opened.

Jin Yuseong grinned.

This was what he had been waiting for.

But it was obvious that the eye would close again the moment he let his guard down, so Jin Yuseong focused his mind.

‘If I can see the ki flowing in a person’s body, I should be able to see the ki of nature as well.’

As he thought this, the illusion of Hyeok Ilso that had been attacking him vanished.

Instead, he saw something faintly flowing in the air.

It was like a skein of thread. A very thin and fine skein, hard to see without concentration.

Having confirmed that he could also see the ki of nature with this eye, Jin Yuseong quickly turned his head.

His gaze was directed at the downstream of the Chimju River.

Soon, a murderous smile appeared on Jin Yuseong’s lips.

“As I thought.”

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