Chapter 77 : Chapter 77

Chapter 77. Reunion (2)

The person who had helped Dancheon Myeong, who had left his clan, to become Myeong-gae and firmly establish himself in the Beggar's Gang was undoubtedly Chwipung-gae.

Although Chwipung-gae, being a six-knot beggar, had long since graduated from being a three-knot branch master, he had become my branch master.

It didn't mean he had descended to three knots, but that he had looked after me and taught me many things like a branch master.

He had become a reliable pillar of support for the lone Myeong-gae, who had even turned his back on his own blood relatives, so perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to call Chwipung-gae Myeong-gae's parent.

He was the benefactor who had, for the first time, fully embraced the frail human named Dancheon Myeong, no, Myeong-gae.

Naturally, the one who taught me the basics of being a beggar was also Chwipung-gae.

It meant that he had taught me the essence of begging, which could be called the basics of being a beggar.

-Isn't begging just something you do?

I had left the clan.

Furthermore, I had decided to enter the Beggar's Gang and become a beggar.

Since I had already cast aside all my pride, there was no reason to think that begging was difficult.

-Hmm…….

That was, until I returned to the shack with an empty alms bowl, despite having walked around all day.

-Was it easy?

-…….

Reality was not so lenient, and my alms bowl had failed to capture the compassion of my comrades in Jianghu.

-You rascal, did you think begging was an easy task? In general, begging is…….

Chwipung-gae, who had said so, took his alms bowl and went out to the market for half a day.

-Did you see?

-Ohh…….

Unlike me, who had come up empty-handed all day, how could I not revere him who had filled his alms bowl with food in less than half a day?

To be honest, in those days, I was more amazed by Chwipung-gae's begging skills than by any flashy martial arts.

-Ahem. It is not a difficult thing.

I vividly remember kneeling before him as he swaggered.

As I said, Myeong-gae had long since thrown away luxuries like pride, so there was also the reason that the price of my knees was not high.

Thud.

-Me too…….

-What did you say? I can't hear you well.

-Me too, please teach me. Begging.

-Try calling me Master.

-Master.

-Ahem.

Anyway…….

Thanks to having been taught the veteran begging methods of the six-knot old beggar, Myeong-gae in his White-Robed Beggar days was able to avoid coming up empty-handed.

It meant that not only did I go hungry less often, but I was also able to avoid the disaster of having senior beggars' alms bowls strike my head.

Of course, I couldn't avoid them all.

If there were no failures in begging, wouldn't that be robbery, not begging?

Just raising the success rate dramatically was enough for Chwipung-gae's teachings to be rightfully called a favor.

The one who taught me how to handle information, which could be called the essence of the Beggar's Gang, was also Chwipung-gae.

-Information is…….

It was an unexpected side of the old beggar Chwipung-gae, whom I had thought was just ill-tempered, stubborn, and strong in martial arts.

-You rascal, haven't I told you countless times? Information that has lost its objectivity and consistency is nothing more than the idle talk of gossips. Bring me proper information, not such market rumors.

In fact, all my perspectives on viewing and handling information originated from Chwipung-gae.

Although I had refused to be taught his martial arts in the end, Chwipung-gae was my master. How could teaching and learning be limited to just martial arts?

It would be right to call him my life's master.

-Let's start by cultivating your discernment.

The one who had cultivated the objectivity of my discernment was also Chwipung-gae.

-Appraise the value of this.

-Mid-to-high.

-This one?

-High-to-high.

-This one?

-Hmm…… low-to-mid?

-……Your discernment is no different from a knothole.

-Was I wrong?

-All of them.

-Ahem.

A person couldn't be good at everything from the beginning.

-The most important thing in discernment is ultimately reading others.

I also learned from Chwipung-gae the method of discerning the other person's mental image through their eyes, which could be called the window to the soul.

Chwipung-gae glared at me and asked.

-What emotion is this?

-Anger.

Next, he asked with a sidelong glance.

-This one?

-Suspicion.

-Tsk.

-What's wrong?

-All wrong.

-Isn't it that the old man is bad at acting with his eyes?

-Sigh.

-That look just now, was it patheticness?

-Correct.

-Che.

Well, it was a rather enjoyable time.

Having been taught directly by the genuine six-knot beggar, the fact that I had reached three knots quickly was also partly thanks to him.

Furthermore, I was well aware that the favors he had bestowed upon me were not limited to just teaching.

-This is a handwritten copy of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art.

-Thank you.

-Ahem, it is high grade information.

The one who had obtained the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art for me while swaggering about his authority after becoming a seven-knot elder was also Chwipung-gae.

-Learn martial arts from me.

-I'm sorry, elder.

-……Hmph. If you don't want to, then don't.

The one who had tried to pass on his martial arts, which could be called his everything, was also Chwipung-gae, and the one who had not forced his thoughts on me despite my unknown stubbornness was also Chwipung-gae, and…….

-I will go to the Secret Pavilion. I will crush my body and bones to be of help to the righteous Murim.

-You rascal, that place is a death zone. Why do you insist on throwing yourself into a pit of fire?

-I will go.

-……Do as you please.

The one who had used his influence so that I, who was merely a three-knot beggar, could become a member of the Secret Pavilion was also Chwipung-gae.

Looking back on my Myeong-gae days, Chwipung-gae was everywhere.

It meant that Myeong-gae could become a complete member of the Beggar's Gang because of Chwipung-gae's goodwill and favors.

Thanks to Chwipung-gae, I was able to make all the arrangements before my regression, so it would be right to say that half of the achievements I had made now were thanks to Chwipung-gae.

Chwipung-gae was my colleague, my benefactor, and my father.

“Ahem.”

The seven-knot elder Chwipung-gae, who had formed in my mind's eye, disappeared, and the image of the six-knot old beggar Chwipung-gae clearing his throat formed in my sight.

“So. Why has a direct descendant of a prestigious clan come to find me? The Divine Dragon of Dancheon, who is currently all the rage?”

Chwipung-gae asked, scratching the back of his neck with the demeanor of a veteran beggar.

He looked exactly as I remembered.

However, it felt quite strange that Chwipung-gae was calling me ‘Divine Dragon of Dancheon’ instead of ‘you rascal’.

Since I had not chosen the life of Myeong-gae myself, my relationship with him would not be able to be like it was in my past life.

Although that was a bit regrettable, I would have to accept it.

After all, it was the path I had chosen for myself.

I knew Chwipung-gae well.

He disliked empty formalities.

He liked upright and truthful people.

To put it directly, he preferred someone who would argue about right and wrong to his face over someone who would flatter him with dissimulation.

Originally, among the beggars of the Beggar's Gang, there were many whose insides and outsides were the same, and Chwipung-gae was the pinnacle of that.

In fact, hadn't my experience with Chwipung-gae been the reason why I could treat my father, Dancheon Gang, comfortably in the early days of my regression?

“I need your help.”

It meant that being honest was the best policy in front of Chwipung-gae.

It also meant that there was absolutely no need for flashy rhetoric.

“Help?”

Chwipung-gae showed interest in my direct way of speaking.

“That's right. I need help.”

I was sorry to Chwipung-gae, but I would have to receive his help in this life as well.

The reason was that the help of Chwipung-gae, who would become a seven-knot elder, was essential to get close to the Beggar's Gang's divine object, the Emerald Rescue Pill.

“Oh my. Would a decrepit old beggar like me be of any use?”

My eyes met with Chwipung-gae, who said so.

If what he had taught me was right, what was forming in Chwipung-gae's mind right now was curiosity and pleasure.

“In return.”

Of course, there would be a different point from my last life.

“I will grant your wish.”

I would not just receive from Chwipung-gae like in my last life.

The reason was that unlike the lone Myeong-gae, Dancheon Myeong, the second son of the Dancheon Sword Clan, had a lot.

I now had the power to grant his wish.

Myeong-gae, who had found it burdensome to just receive, had returned here as Dancheon Myeong, who could give.

“Do you know what my wish is?”

Uncharacteristically, Chwipung-gae feigned ignorance.

I knew that it meant he was currently wary of me.

In fact, if Chwipung-gae had not known my guaranteed identity, the words I was saying would have been perfect to be treated as a swindler.

But as I've said many times, I know how to deal with Chwipung-gae.

There was only one way to win over this veteran, quick-witted information dealer.

“I know your wish.”

It was to cut the half-hearted probing and get straight to the point.

“Ho.”

As expected.

Chwipung-gae had the exact same look and expression that I had anticipated.

***

In fact, if you think about it calmly, it's a strange thing.

The identity of Myeong-gae, who had just entered the Beggar's Gang and had not even obtained a knot, was a White-Robed Beggar.

To put it simply, a low-ranking member.

The reason was that no matter what life a beggar had lived before, every beggar started again from the bottom.

On the other hand, the identity of Chwipung-gae, who already had six knots tied to his waist, was a Law Beggar.

A six-knot beggar who was above a three-knot branch master, a four-knot law protector, and a five-knot hall master was called a Law Beggar.

It was a high position that could normally serve as the person in charge of the Beggar's Gang in one province.

Even in a group of only beggars, if the number of people they commanded exceeded ten thousand, prestige would arise, so a Law Beggar was a position that was not lacking to be called a person of renown.

In any case, it could be said that it was strange for Chwipung-gae, who resided in such a high place, to meet with me every day and take care of me.

In the Beggar's Gang of one hundred thousand members, nine knots were only allowed to one person, the gang leader.

Eight knots were also only allowed to one person, the future successor who would be responsible for the future of the Beggar's Gang.

These two were extremely rare exceptions, so they were usually excluded when discussing positions in the Beggar's Gang.

Therefore, most of the one hundred thousand members set their goal as a seven-knot beggar. It meant that the pinnacle that beggars could reach with their own strength was seven knots.

If one reached even the position of a five-knot hall master, they would be praised as having a successful life for a beggar, so a seven-knot elder, whose number was less than twenty among the one hundred thousand members, was indeed a high position.

It was not wrong, as being an elder of the Beggar's Gang, one of the Nine Sects One Gang, also meant standing shoulder to shoulder with the elders of the prestigious Nine Sects that ruled Jianghu.

How could it not be a success to start as a beggar and rise to a supreme position where one could stand shoulder to shoulder with the elders of a prestigious great sect?

When Myeong-gae was twenty-two, there was a strange fact that I came to know only after receiving two knots.

The six-knot old beggar Chwipung-gae was not ascending to the position of a seven-knot elder even though he could at any time.

Curiosity about Chwipung-gae, who was refusing the seven-knot knot that was the dream of all beggars, was inevitable, so I had asked him casually once.

-An elder is not free, is he?

Chwipung-gae had only replied like this.

I could only think that perhaps it was related to the fact that the six-knot beggar Chwipung-gae was guarding the entrance of the Beggar's Gang headquarters every day.

There was no one who was a beggar from birth.

There shouldn't be.

The reason was that for a member of the Beggar's Gang, the path of a beggar had to be a path of choice, not of fate.

-If a beggar's life is decided from birth, wouldn't that be a sad thing?

It was said to be the reason why the Beggar's Gang did not accept female members.

The reason was that if the father was a beggar and the mother was also a beggar, the child's life would be fixed as a beggar.

Although marriage was not forbidden for the beggars of the Beggar's Gang, it was also the reason why they had established the rule of matrilineal succession as long as they did not leave the Beggar's Gang.

All the beggars of the Beggar's Gang had chosen to become beggars themselves.

If you looked at this from a slightly different perspective, it meant that there was no beggar in the Beggar's Gang who did not have a story.

Even I, for one, was a beggar with a story, from a prestigious family.

A good thing about the Beggar's Gang was that no one asked about one's past before becoming a beggar.

Chwipung-gae, who took care of me, had never once asked me why I had left the Dancheon Clan, so I also could not ask in detail why Chwipung-gae did not ascend to seven knots.

It was because of my conviction that the reason Chwipung-gae insisted on six knots was connected to Chwipung-gae's life before he became a beggar.

Although I shouldn't pry into Chwipung-gae's past, I was curious about his past.

I didn't know if it was fortunate or unfortunate, but I came to know the secret that Chwipung-gae had.

It was thanks to an incident that would happen a little later than that time.

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