Chapter 86 : Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Gratitude

The man who had finally achieved his revenge became a beggar again after two days.

It didn't mean he had squandered his fortune, but that he had returned to the Chwipung-gae I knew.

His steps bent into a perfect figure-eight, returning him to the complete form of a beggar, so I could tell that Chwipung-gae had finally shaken off the remnants of the Yin Blood Divine Demon.

“Care for a glass of cloudy rice wine?”

“Gladly.”

The man who had been lost in thought for two days, forgetting to eat or sleep, sought out cloudy rice wine as soon as he became a beggar again.

There was likely nothing better than alcohol to wash away the lingering dregs of sorrow, so it ought to be praised as the wisdom of an old man.

Slurp-

“Kyah-”

One of the reasons alcohol was good was that it filled the empty spaces in conversation.

The space was filled only with the sound of swallowing cloudy rice wine, without any particular conversation, yet there was no awkwardness.

With alcohol, that was enough.

Even without my clumsy words of comfort, the sour cloudy rice wine would soothe Chwipung-gae’s heart.

Slurp-

“Ugh.”

The occasional groans from Brother Chun-baek were an added bonus.

Although I was living the life of Dancheon Myeong, Myeong-gae also still remained within me.

For me, regression was not a disconnection but a continuation of life.

This also meant that the instincts of an information broker were still alive within me.

The kind of people known as information brokers were those who couldn't stand not knowing things they were curious about.

They were only satisfied when they dug it up.

That was also their calling.

Therefore, I wanted to ask Chwipung-gae.

How did he feel about having achieved his revenge?

What state was he in now?

Could he now shake off the remnants of the past and live a happy future?

In truth, the information broker's instinct might be an excuse, and it might just be because I was worried about his well-being.

“…”

But I couldn't ask.

It was because I was no longer Myeong-gae.

To me, Chwipung-gae was still Chwipung-gae, but I knew that to Chwipung-gae, I could not be Myeong-gae.

If I wanted to build a good relationship with Chwipung-gae from now on, I must not cross the line.

Only after building up time, perhaps even more time than Myeong-gae and Chwipung-gae had built, could Dancheon Myeong and Chwipung-gae become friends again.

Slurp-

“This is good.”

Chwipung-gae, who had swallowed several cups of cloudy rice wine in a row, said so. I didn't know if he meant the cloudy rice wine was good, or if the current situation was good.

“You look well.”

“Klkl. Indeed.”

I said so simply out of a wish for Chwipung-gae's happiness.

It wasn't empty words or a lie.

In fact, Chwipung-gae had a very relieved expression on his face.

Myeong-gae, who became a member of the Beggar’s Gang at the age of twenty, had been with Chwipung-gae until he was thirty. That was nearly ten years.

An expression I had never seen in the ten years I spent with him as Myeong-gae was now on Chwipung-gae's face.

If I had to describe it, it resembled the look of a free man who had broken the chains of obsession that had bound him.

Perhaps only now had Chwipung-gae been reborn as a true member of the Beggar’s Gang, who could be called a symbol of freedom.

Slurp-

“Ugh.”

Brother Chun-baek, who took a sip of cloudy rice wine in the corner, groaned again.

Brother Chun-baek liked Geomnamchun.

He knew the taste of alcohol and enjoyed its elegance, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a connoisseur. It was just that the sour cloudy rice wine didn't suit Brother Chun-baek.

Such a Brother Chun-baek had not been able to find Geomnamchun for over seven days and nights and had been drinking the sour cloudy rice wine that did not suit his palate.

It was probably out of consideration for me.

I knew that I couldn't just long for my Myeong-gae days, because it was a fact that as Dancheon Myeong, I could have such a Brother Chun-baek by my side.

“Let’s go.”

I said to Brother Chun-baek.

“Go where?”

He showed a questioning expression.

“We should go to a high-class tavern and drink Geomnamchun.”

Now that Chwipung-gae's revenge was over, I should take care of Brother Chun-baek who had been considerate of me all this time.

If Chwipung-gae was the benefactor to the Myeong-gae of my past life, then to the Dancheon Myeong of this life, Brother Chun-baek was a friend with whom I had shared everything.

“Is that really okay?”

At my words, Brother Chun-baek's face lit up.

I shrugged at Brother Chun-baek, and my gaze turned to Chwipung-gae.

“Farewell.”

“I’ll come again.”

Thus, I bade farewell to Chwipung-gae.

“Geomnamchun is the best alcohol, after all.”

Brother Chun-baek nodded his head, as if agreeing with my words.

Now, I could be the complete Dancheon Myeong.

***

Chwipung-gae suddenly came to visit.

“Will you go with me?”

“Go where?”

“I’m going to Jangchun Valley.”

Jangchun Valley.

It was a completely unfamiliar place name, but it wasn't a word I was hearing for the first time.

-Do you remember Jangchun Valley?

Chwipung-gae had asked the Yin Blood Divine Demon so.

From my perspective, who already knew Chwipung-gae's secret, it wasn't difficult to deduce what Jangchun Valley meant.

It was probably the place where the man had settled down with his wife. In other words, it was the place where the graves of his wife and child were.

Chwipung-gae, who had stated his business abruptly, finally glanced at me furtively.

“Well, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

A small laugh escaped me at the timid remark of the always-confident old beggar.

It was because I had noticed that just as I was wary of Chwipung-gae because I was no longer Myeong-gae, Chwipung-gae was also wary of me, who was not Myeong-gae.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as my reply fell, Chwipung-gae quickly moved his feet.

“Keep up.”

“Don’t worry.”

Following Chwipung-gae, who led the way with the Eight Drunken Immortals Gait that suited his figure-eight walk so well, I crossed mountains and rivers, performing the Stepping on Clouds Gait.

It didn't take long.

It was because Jangchun Valley was also in Shaanxi. For masters who had awakened their Spirit and traversed the land with supreme movement techniques, even mountains and rivers were but small obstacles.

“Is this it?”

We arrived at a ruined village where only traces of human habitation remained. I could instinctively tell that this was Jangchun Valley.

“That’s right.”

Only when we arrived at a small burial mound on the outskirts of Jangchun Valley did Chwipung-gae stop his diligent performance of the Eight Drunken Immortals Gait.

The burial mound was overgrown with weeds, as if it hadn't been cared for in a long time.

“Could you give me a moment?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

I nodded at Chwipung-gae’s request.

With a staggering gait, quite different from the figure-eight walk of a member of the Beggar’s Gang or the upright stride of a martial artist, Chwipung-gae approached the burial mound.

What was contained in that walk was probably the emotion of apology.

Fumble, fumble.

Chwipung-gae carefully tidied up the area around the burial mound.

Thanks to his deft hands, it didn't take long for the burial mound to regain its neat appearance.

As if offering a greeting, Chwipung-gae placed his hand on the burial mound.

“I’ve finally come.”

Chwipung-gae, with a sorrowful look in his eyes…

“A lot has happened in the meantime.”

He began to speak slowly, as if telling a story to his close friend.

For quite a long time, I listened to Chwipung-gae’s monologue in silence.

I just wanted to do so.

“That person is my benefactor.”

As Chwipung-gae’s gaze turned to me, I bowed my head towards the burial mound in silence.

I thought it was a relief that the final step of Chwipung-gae’s path of revenge was not the death of the Yin Blood Divine Demon, but Jangchun Valley.

Chwipung-gae, who had been having a reunion at the burial mound for a while, took out a bottle of cloudy rice wine from his bosom and gulped it down.

As he deliberately didn't drive out the alcohol's poison, Chwipung-gae, who was flushed with liquor, opened his mouth as if he had made a big decision.

“I had a son.”

“I see.”

I had never heard about the child even during my Myeong-gae days, so my interest was naturally piqued.

But I replied as if I was indifferent.

It was a method I learned during my Beggar's Gang days, a way to listen to the pasts of beggars.

“He was five years old.”

It probably meant the age at which the child had died.

“Do you know how incomplete memory is? Memory is a very volatile thing. The face that you thought you could never forget, that you would never forget, gradually blurs. No matter how much I try to recall it, I can’t remember it clearly anymore.”

Chwipung-gae, having said that, stared at my face as if he were evaluating my appearance.

“Seeing you, the face of my son that I thought I had forgotten came back to me vividly. Ah, don’t misunderstand. No matter how much he was my son, his face wasn’t as handsome as yours.”

I chuckled at those words.

It was because it was the original Chwipung-gae, who always cried out for the objectivity and consistency of information.

“If you were a little less handsome, you might have resembled my son.”

No matter how nicely you put it, Chwipung-gae wasn’t a handsome man, so his son probably wasn't a strikingly handsome man either.

It would be quite different from my appearance, which wouldn't be an exaggeration to say had undergone a Body Reformation, at least in terms of looks, after consuming the Vermilion Fruit.

But what about Myeong-gae’s face?

In truth, it was a face that even I couldn't remember well now, but perhaps Myeong-gae's face was a spitting image of the son Chwipung-gae remembered. Such a thought came to mind.

“I just wanted to tell you that story.”

The story Chwipung-gae told, borrowing the courage of alcohol, was a story that would fit the word ‘just’ for Dancheon Myeong.

But for Myeong-gae, it might be a slightly different story.

-You punk, why do you keep refusing when I say I’ll pass down my martial arts to you?

It was because it reminded me of Chwipung-gae from my Myeong-gae days, who wanted to give me everything.

-You punk, is there a law that says a beggar can’t be happy? Live happily. Do you understand?

Perhaps to Chwipung-gae, Myeong-gae had been a son.

Just as to Myeong-gae, Chwipung-gae had been a father.

***

“What do you want from me?”

Chwipung-gae suddenly asked me this.

It was with a grim expression, as if he had made some sort of resolve.

-Nothing.

It would be right to answer this way.

The reason being, Myeong-gae had already received more than enough from Chwipung-gae.

Just because I had regressed, how could I forget the ocean-like grace he had bestowed upon me?

My helping Chwipung-gae to kill the Yin Blood Divine Demon and complete his revenge was not bestowing a favor, but repaying a debt of gratitude.

Originally, one cannot expect a reward for repaying a debt of gratitude. That was a matter of course.

Though my learning was short as I had set my sights on martial arts early on, I knew that a gentleman was defined by the presence or absence of a sense of shame.

In fact, there was no need to go as far as a gentleman.

Even a beggar had their own sense of shame, so Dancheon Myeong, who was not even Myeong-gae, should naturally have a sense of shame.

That would be right.

However…

“I have a favor to ask.”

In this life, I decided to abandon my sense of shame.

I could make an excuse to myself that the task I had to accomplish was so great that I didn't have the capacity to worry about shame as well.

It might be because I wanted to lean on the great tree that was Chwipung-gae once again.

“Speak.”

Chwipung-gae said.

I knew that although he was originally an ill-tempered and stubborn old beggar, he was a man of faith.

The man who was like the essence of the Righteous and Chivalrous Beggar's Gang was Chwipung-gae, so he would surely keep his word.

There was no reason to feel sorry.

It was because I, Dancheon Myeong, would surely repay the grace I received this time as well before I died.

“What do you desire from me?”

When I didn't readily open my mouth, Chwipung-gae urged me on, his curiosity piqued.

I saw the six knots messily tied around Chwipung-gae's waist. My wish was there.

“You’ll have to add another knot.”

“…?”

As if Chwipung-gae didn't understand, I quickly added my words.

“Chwipung-gae, please become an elder of the Beggar’s Gang.”

“…Why?”

As Chwipung-gae made a dumbfounded expression, a smile spread across my face.

Even though I was now Dancheon Myeong and not Myeong-gae, it seemed I enjoyed getting the better of him. The fact that such a thought came to me even in this situation, it seems that humans are truly complex beings.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know when you do.”

Hadn't they said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step?

This was the first step of the sixth stage of the Healing Sage’s Mind Cultivation Art, the path to find the secret treasure of the Beggar's Gang, the Emerald Rescue Pill.

That journey had now begun, so the beginning would be brought about by the Seven-Knot Elder Chwipung-gae.

“No, seven knots is a bit…”

I ignored Chwipung-gae’s faint sigh.

It was because Chwipung-gae, who had returned to being a seasoned beggar, was not naive enough for me to worry about.