Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

“Thank you.”

“However, from our side as well…”

“Yes?”

“We have principles.”

“Huh?”

When Wei Yan-ho tilted his head, Jang-il explained instead.

“Information fee.”

“Ah, information fee? How much?”

“Five nyang.”

“That’s not much.”

Wei Yan-ho pulled out five coins from his pocket and handed them over.

“……”

“What?”

“Even if you were to mock us, we couldn’t resist. But if we don’t receive the information fee, we cannot provide the information. Even if you killed us all over it, the Hao Sect’s principles wouldn’t budge.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jang-il poked Wei Yan-ho’s ribs.

“Five silver nyang!”

“Ehhh? What kind of information fee is that expensive!”

“There’s some first-class information included. That’s why the price is a bit high.”

“Five silver nyang? Wait a moment.”

Wei Yan-ho began pulling out all the coins he had stored in his pocket and counting them.

“…I don’t have enough?”

“I’m sorry, but if it’s not enough, we cannot provide the information.”

“Can’t you sell me just one silver nyang’s worth separately?”

“That’s difficult.”

“Then there’s no choice.”

Wei Yan-ho turned around without any regret.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go earn money.”

“Huh?”

“If I don’t have enough money, I have to earn it. Well, there’s no other way.”

“No, no! You can’t! You can’t!”

“What can’t I do? Then what should I do?”

“Keuheuheuk, so it comes to this in the end.”

Jang-il couldn’t control the tears flowing out.

In the end, Jang-il had all the money Wei Yan-ho had previously earned for him taken away, along with his hidden emergency funds, and even had to write an IOU to cover the remaining shortage.

‘My heart aches.’

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue while looking at Jang-il crying endlessly in the corner.

“Really such a sucker, a total sucker.”

That’s how Wei Yan-ho achieved his goal by even extracting the hidden emergency funds of the Kaifeng general branch.

Gui Nang-nang handed over the documents, and Wei Yan-ho examined the materials he received.

“Hmm, this is definitely thorough. It’s on a different level from the materials the beggars collected. It seems like you’re on a different tier as an information organization.”

“Hey, you wicked bastard! After extracting even the emergency funds hidden in my bones, is that what you have to say!”

“It’s the truth, though.”

Wei Yan-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“And I have one more request.”

“Please go ahead.”

“I’d like to send a letter. Is that possible from here?”

“It’s possible.”

“Then please send it to Guangdong. Is it expensive?”

“It’s more expensive than the courier services. However, for this matter, let’s substitute the fee with you answering a few questions for me.”

“Well, if you’ll do that, it’s good for me.”

Gui Nang-nang quietly asked.

“What is your name?”

“Wei Yan-ho.”

“Age?”

“Let’s see, I’m seventeen now.”

“What? You’re younger than me!”

Jang-il rushed forward as if feeling wronged.

Wei Yan-ho casually threw the rushing Jang-il to a corner and looked at Gui Nang-nang.

‘Seventeen.’

Gui Nang-nang wondered whether she should trust Wei Yan-ho’s answer — his claimed age didn’t match his appearance at all.

‘His martial prowess and appearance are definitely not seventeen.’

“Please tell me accurately.”

“It’s true, though?”

“Wei Yan-ho, Wei Yan-ho…”

After muttering the name Wei Yan-ho for a while, Gui Nang-nang’s eyes lit up.

“Guangdong. Wei Yan-ho. Could you possibly be Young Master Wei Yan-ho, the second son of the Guangdong Wei Family?”

“Huh? You know me?”

Gui Nang-nang nodded.

“I know you. How could I not know the second son of the Guangdong Wei Family? Moreover, the Guangdong Wei Family once commissioned us to find the young master, so I know even better.”

“Really? From home?”

At that moment, Jang-il shouted in surprise.

“Huh? Wei Yan-ho? The second son of the Guangdong Wei Family? Are you San-ho’s younger brother?”

“Huh? You know my older brother?”

Gui Nang-nang sighed.

“The second son of the Guangdong Wei Family, who was known to be dead, has returned. If you had returned just one year earlier, we could have received the commission fee. What a shame.”

“The family commissioned you?”

“Yes. They said they would give a hundred guan of gold if we found the young master.”

Jang-il nodded.

“Mmm, we received such a commission too.”

“A hundred guan of gold? Wow, our family is rich.”

Though he spoke calmly, Wei Yan-ho had to grip his tingling nose.

His family had been looking for him all this time. And they had put up such a huge sum as a hundred guan of gold.

‘They couldn’t have prepared that much money easily.’

He could sense how desperate they must have been.

If he could follow his heart, he would want to return home right away.

If it weren’t for Baek Muhan’s Internal Core embedded in his body, Wei Yan-ho would have headed straight home without a second thought.

“Is the letter going to the Guangdong Wei Family?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll arrange that for you. Will you write it now?”

“Please do so.”

When paper, brush, and ink were prepared, Wei Yan-ho wrote a letter to send home and handed it to Gui Nang-nang.

“Here it is.”

“It will take at least ten days for the letter to reach Guangdong.”

“That’s fine. I’ve waited five years, so what’s ten days?”

“And I apologize for the misunderstanding. No matter how I looked, you appeared to be from the Beggar’s Sect…”

“After rotting in the mountains for five years… I’m originally quite soft and gentle, you know.”

“And this…”

She pulled out a red cloth from inside her robes and held it out.

“What is this?”

“It’s a sign that you’re a Hao Sect premium customer. If you tie it where you’re staying, our agents will find you.”

“Is this because I paid a lot of money?”

“That’s not it. Please think of it as given with our apologies.”

“Is it free?”

“That’s not it either.”

Wei Yan-ho looked dejected.

“Then it’s not particularly meaningful.”

“It will be more useful than you think. We don’t give it out easily.”

Gui Nang-nang smiled.

A seventeen-year-old with the ability to subdue Gong-mu and Sa-geom in a single day?

She could guarantee there was no such person in the current Central Plains.

You’d have to go back at least a generation to find someone with similar abilities.

In the martial world where martial prowess was most important, someone with strength that didn’t match their age was an extremely important existence.

It wouldn’t be bad to create this connection.

“If you insist, I’ll waive the information fee for the next one time only.”

“Really?”

“I’m doing this specially. We don’t want what happened here to distance the relationship between the Hao Sect and you.”

“Nothing really happened, though. Right?”

At Wei Yan-ho’s words, Jang-il gritted his teeth.

“I even had to write an IOU and became completely broke!”

“Well, that’s a common occurrence. Because you’re a sucker.”

“I’m not!”

“Well, since everything’s settled, I’ll be going.”

“Safe travels.”

After Wei Yan-ho and Jang-il left, Gui Nang-nang spoke up.

“Gong-mu.”

“Yes, leader.”

“Send word to headquarters immediately. The second son of the Guangdong Wei Family has returned as a master.”

“Yes.”

Gui Nang-nang fell into thought while listening to Gong-mu’s voice.

Right now, this fact was information known only to the Hao Sect and the Beggar’s Sect.

It would have been better if the Beggar’s Sect didn’t know either, but it was still valuable information nonetheless.

‘I need to utilize this.’

Information has value when it’s scarce.

‘Moreover…’

It wasn’t just the simple fact that he had returned as a master that was important.

While facing Wei Yan-ho, Gui Nang-nang had tasted an unimaginable level of fear.

If that were possible through martial prowess alone, Gui Nang-nang, who regularly met Hao Sect leaders and influential figures of the martial world, wouldn’t have experienced it for the first time.

‘There’s something there.’

Wei Yan-ho had some kind of secret.

Finding that out was what Gui Nang-nang needed to do from now on.

‘I’m going to be busy.’

Having left the Hao Sect, Jang-il wiped away his tears.

“My money…”

“Money comes and goes. And a beggar shouldn’t be obsessed with money. You should be faithful to your true calling.”

“Keueung.”

Jang-il wanted to beat this hateful bastard to death right away.

But what could he do when he lacked the strength?

“Now you’ve got all the information, right?”

“Mmm…”

“Then there’s no more business, right?”

“Well… there’s a bit of a problem.”

“What now!”

“Hmm, I need to go quite far…”

“So?”

“I don’t have travel money.”

“……”

“Can’t I earn some money here before I go?”

Tears flowed from Jang-il’s eyes once again.

After Wei Yan-ho once again extracted provisions and other things from Jang-il, he packed his belongings.

Though he wanted to stay a bit longer, with the thought that he needed to finish the tasks his master had left him as quickly as possible to return home, he restrained his laziness by his own will for what was practically the first time in his life.

That’s how great Wei Yan-ho’s longing for home was.

“Well, I’m going.”

“…Please go, just go.”

“If you keep saying that, I won’t leave?”

“Please leave.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going. Well, see you again.”

“I won’t see you! I won’t! I’ll never see you again even if I die!”

“Really? Then there’s no choice.”

Wei Yan-ho left the hut.

At the same time, all the beggars of the Kaifeng branch shouted hurrah.

“He’s gone!”

“He left!”

“Keuheuheuk! To think I’d live to see someone who fleeces beggars!”

“The worst ordeal of my beggar life has passed!”

“Buddha! Please watch over that scoundrel’s path ahead and ensure he never returns this way again!”

Wei Yan-ho set out on the road receiving such a grand send-off.

And watching Wei Yan-ho’s retreating figure, Jang-il fell into thought.

“The second son of the Wei Family…”

The Kaifeng branch of the Beggar’s Sect.

The branch located right in front of the main headquarters.

Since it was Kaifeng where the main headquarters was located, the branch had almost nothing to do.

It was a branch in name only; the actual role of the Kaifeng branch was separate.

Training future leaders to lead the Beggar’s Sect and nurturing them.

Therefore, the position of Kaifeng branch head was traditionally held by the Beggar’s Sect’s Little Beggar.

The next Beggar’s Sect leader, Little Beggar Jang-il smiled while watching Wei Yan-ho’s retreating figure.

“San-ho, it’s a bit different from what that friend used to say, but he’s definitely a unique guy. San-ho would be pleased if he knew.”

Jang-il went back into the hut to write a letter to send to Wei San-ho.

While doing so, he glanced back at Wei Yan-ho one last time.

“He is unique, but I don’t want to meet him again. Well, there probably won’t be any occasion to meet anyway.”

Wei Yan-ho walked slowly with his pack on his back.

“Is this the beginning?”

He had obtained information about the places his master had mentioned.

Now he had also decided where to head.

Though he might have to travel far, his real journey was just beginning.

“I need to finish quickly and go home. I want to see Mother, Father, and Su-ryeon too. My older brother? My brother… hmm, will he hit me?”

Wei Yan-ho walked along the road whistling.

Normally, it should have taken ten days to reach the first destination.

However…

Neither Wei Yan-ho nor Jang-il knew.

That the speed at which an ordinary person moved and the speed at which Wei Yan-ho moved were on different dimensions.

Wei Yan-ho, who thought ten days’ worth of provisions would be enough, realized when they ran out that he hadn’t even reached a tenth of his destination.

Since he kept walking for two shijin and then sleeping for twelve, there was no way his provisions would last.

Thus, when Wei Yan-ho arrived at his first destination clutching his hungry stomach, a full month had already passed since his departure.

***

“Back then, I really thought I’d never meet him again.”

Guangqushen shuddered as if chills ran down his spine.

“No, I shouldn’t have met him. I should have cut all ties with that guy then. I shouldn’t have done stupid things like contacting that San-ho guy!”

The Historian fell into doubt while looking at Guangqushen’s appearance.

No matter what, Guangqushen was someone who had served as the leader of the massive sect called the Beggar’s Sect, and even now was someone called a legend of the martial world.

No matter how great Wei Yan-ho was said to be, how could he shake Guangqushen to this extent?

“Well… except for his slightly unique personality, he doesn’t seem to have any particular problems?”

At that moment, Guangqushen rushed at The Historian like lightning and grabbed him by the collar.

“You think so?”

“Keulleok! Keulleok! Why are you…”

Guangqushen let go and sighed deeply.

“Actually, I thought so too.”

“Pardon?”

“I thought he was an interesting guy, even if he was unique and strange. Back then, that is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I should have cut all ties then. If I had, I wouldn’t have experienced such terrible things later. Among people who got involved with Wei Yan-ho, not a single person had a good experience! Not one!”

“……”

Guangqushen continued with a trembling voice.

“Just take that place. Yes, the first place that guy went.”

“Where did he go?”

“Where do you think?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“The place least suited for that guy. A hall of learning where books live and breathe.”

“Don’t tell me?”

“That’s right, the Scholarly World. That quiet, peaceful hall of learning was thrown into chaos the moment that guy appeared.”

“……”

“What’s certain is that guy brings disaster with him wherever he goes. Even though it’s not intentional, accidents never cease in places where that guy passes through. I should have known that back then.”