Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

First impression?

Did I say first impression?

It was quite intense.

There will never be a more intense first impression than that.

Back when I was a little beggar, I once saw the Blood-Seeking Ghost, a famous murderer from north of the river.

After seeing that hideous figure completely covered in blood, I thought I’d never be startled by the sight of a person again, but the moment I saw that guy, such thoughts were immediately shattered.

What?

Martial arts?

It wasn’t that kind of thing.

No, I’m telling you it wasn’t.

It wasn’t that kind of surprise… Let’s see, how should I explain it?

It was awe toward an existence that mercilessly crushed my pride in a field where I thought I’d never fall behind anyone.

What do I mean?

Anyway, it’s hard to explain in words.

But it was truly incredibly intense.

Really intense, truly.

***

Jang-il was extremely bewildered right now.

‘Let’s see…’

When had he ever been this flustered before?

When he first saw the Blood-Seeking Ghost in the past?

‘No, that’s not it.’

Or when he learned that the beggar who had taken him in when he had nowhere to go was actually an elder of the Beggar’s Sect?

‘It seems a bit more severe than that.’

When he discovered that Jeong-chil, the fool who couldn’t even beg for food and was always being scolded and kicked around, was actually the lost only son of a high-ranking official?

‘Mm, this is definitely a greater shock than that.’

Jang-il looked at the person who had made him so bewildered.

A beggar.

It was difficult to express in any other way.

He was just a beggar.

The problem wasn’t that he was a beggar. No one would feel shocked at seeing a beggar.

Especially someone like Jang-il, who lived entangled with beggars every day, could confidently say there was no reason to feel shock at seeing another beggar.

The problem was that this absolutely impossible and impermissible thing was happening right now.

How had this come to pass?

The beggar now visible before Jang-il’s eyes was clearly different from the swarming masses of beggars he had seen countless times before.

Yes, different.

Anyone could see that this was no ordinary beggar. He was literally a true beggar. Jang-il had to feel even reverence at the sight of a beggar among beggars that he had never once imagined.

First, those clothes!

Beggars’ clothes are usually dirty and patched here and there, making them no different from rags. Beggars who can’t get proper clothes sometimes find sackcloth somewhere and roughly wrap it around themselves to walk around.

So beggar clothes were bound to be similar to each other.

Some people sense individuality in beggar clothes, but since that individuality has only results without purpose, beggar clothes don’t represent a person’s characteristics.

At least, that’s what Jang-il had thought until now.

But the beggar before his eyes was wearing clothes of a different dimension.

‘It’s as if he’s worn those clothes his entire life while wandering through all sorts of remote and treacherous places.’

The clothes worn by the beggar before him seemed to possess the dignity of an antique that transcended history and tradition.

Well, that was fine.

Clothes could be a bit dirtier and more worn.

He could compromise that those strange scraps of cloth, hovering at the subtle boundary between rags and clothing while maintaining the form and purpose of garments in an extremely ambiguous way, were a type of clothing that could exist in this world.

However, the hands and feet revealed between those rags were definitely ambiguous to call those of a beggar.

Was it like watching emaciated bones barely covered with skin move around?

If you sprinkled water on a mummy to make it swell a little, it would probably feel exactly like that.

If that mummy had been lying on the ground instead of standing, Jang-il would have called the children without a moment’s hesitation to remove the corpse.

The problem was that the corpse was now standing and looking at him.

“Hmm…”

Jang-il savored this fresh shock.

Moreover, the grime stuck to the mummy’s hands and feet appeared to not have touched water for at least several years, even by his standards as a beggar among beggars.

No matter how much beggars live without washing, as long as there are streams and rain falls, it’s impossible to live without touching water at all. And no matter how much of a beggar one is, there’s a basic desire for cleanliness, so they don’t go completely without washing.

But the beggar visible before his eyes was mercilessly shattering such common sense.

Moreover…

The face that peeked through the hair that had clearly not been washed for several years and hung down long was beyond emaciated—it was nearly skeletal.

‘Should I call this a supreme beggar, or should I call it a ghost?’

Jang-il was extremely bewildered.

Even to him, who held the position of branch head of a Beggar’s Sect subdivision, the being before his eyes was a true supreme beggar he had never seen before.

Even if you went to the main Beggar’s Sect headquarters, there wouldn’t be such a beggar-like beggar.

Having lived as a beggar and destined to live as a beggar, Jang-il thrilled at the feeling of his common sense about beggars being shattered. He felt the humiliation of having his pride and self-respect as a beggar completely crushed by someone who wasn’t even a Beggar’s Sect member, just a regular beggar.

While Jang-il was still not recovered from the shock, the strange beggar’s mouth slowly opened.

“Excuse me… is this the Beggar’s Sect?”

Jang-il unconsciously nodded his head.

Even as he did so, he trembled with a strange feeling.

The beggar visible before his eyes was difficult to guess the age of.

But to possess such dignity as a beggar would require vast years.

The strange thing was that the voice he heard was surprisingly quite thin and clear.

Judging by voice alone, barely of age?

But looking at his appearance, he seemed to be at least over fifty?

“Y-yes, but…”

Jang-il was newly saddened by his pride crumbling moment by moment.

Instantly discerning an opponent’s status, age, and psychological state from momentary appearances alone was essential for beggars.

Only then could one avoid having their begging bowl smashed while begging.

Jang-il’s pride in having reached mastery in at least this field was instantly shattered and fell to the ground.

“I came because I have something to ask.”

“…What?”

Jang-il’s response came out irritably.

When people see an existence that falls outside their range of understanding, they naturally become wary.

“Well, there’s quite a lot…”

Jang-il looked the beggar before him up and down and snorted.

“Money?”

“Do I have to pay money?”

Now, now.

What kind of beggar doesn’t know how the world works!

Information has to be fast to be a beggar.

If information is slow, it wouldn’t be strange to be beaten to death as a beggar.

How many beggars had seen blood after going to houses that usually gave good food, not knowing there had been a death in the family, asking for food and getting their bowls completely smashed and their whole bodies bruised?

The Beggar’s Sect has a lot of information because beggars are that sensitive to information.

“Then is there anything free in this world? You want me to give out information without paying even a penny to beggar brats who can’t even eat and have to beg for food?”

“That certainly is problematic.”

“I’d like to do it for free since we’re in the same industry, but principles are principles here too.”

“Same industry?”

“Since we’re both beggars.”

The strange figure shook his head.

“I’m not a beggar.”

“…”

Jang-il became sad.

A perfect beggar that he had never seen once in his twenty years of life and never thought he could see was now denying that he was a beggar.

“A supreme beggar?”

“I’m not.”

“A Beggar King?”

“I’m telling you I’m not.”

Jang-il became angry.

“Anyone can see you’re a beggar, but you say you’re not a beggar!”

But the strange figure also became angry.

“Calling a perfectly normal person a beggar! How do I look like a beggar to you!”

Jang-il frowned at the beggar’s reaction.

This reaction was definitely strange somehow.

“…When was the last time you saw a mirror?”

“Five years ago?”

Jang-il nodded.

That made sense.

Judging from his appearance, he hadn’t been near a stream in five years. If he didn’t know what he looked like, he might claim he wasn’t a beggar.

But that wasn’t the truth.

Now was the time to inform this beggar of the truth.

“You’d better just admit it now. You’re clearly a perfect supreme beggar to anyone who sees you. Of course, it won’t be easy to admit that, but once you admit it, everything gets easier.”

“I’m telling you I’m not a beggar!”

“Ugh, anyway, if you don’t have money, I can’t give you information or anything, so go on.”

The strange figure seemed a bit flustered and hesitated before slowly opening his mouth.

“Isn’t there another way? I don’t have money…”

“Then go beg or something to earn money.”

“I’m not even a beggar, so why would I beg!”

“Beggars don’t beg because they’re beggars—once you beg, you’re already one. Looking at you, you seem like you haven’t even had gruel, so take this opportunity to learn some begging. I’m honestly saying this because I feel sorry for you. If you just put a basket in front of where you sit, you’d make a fortune with that face—why are you wasting that talent!”

“Never mind that, just teach me the method.”

“The method…”

Then, a brilliant idea occurred to Jang-il.

“…Want to do some work?”

“What kind of work?”

“Really easy and comfortable work. You just have to sit! No, you just have to lie down. If you do that for just two days, I’ll give you the information you want! But I can’t do anything difficult!”

The supreme beggar lightly nodded his head.

“Well, that much is fine.”

“Really?”

A smile crossed Jang-il’s lips.

The supreme beggar—no, Wei Yan-ho—was sad.

Extremely sad.

‘This isn’t right…’

Jang-il kept his word.

Wei Yan-ho really didn’t have to do anything.

He just had to sit appropriately, and if even that was bothersome, he could lie down and just roll around.

No, rather, if he slept, Jang-il was delighted.

Nevertheless, Wei Yan-ho became endlessly sad.

When he lay down, Jang-il would prostrate himself in front of him and wail.

“Wahhh! Father! Your son is incompetent!”

“…”

“It’s already been five days since you couldn’t even have gruel! Father! I’m sorry! Everyone passing by, please help! Our father!”

There was no need to shout loudly.

People who became interested seeing Jang-il crying in beggar’s clothes looked at Wei Yan-ho lying there and all wiped the moisture from their eyes while fumbling to pull out money from their purses and leave.

Wei Yan-ho’s appearance seemed to have something that people simply couldn’t pass by after seeing.

Not only tearful women, but even warriors who looked like they wouldn’t bleed a drop even if pricked with a needle tried to hide their twisting expressions while pulling out coins from their sleeves, throwing them down, and disappearing as if fleeing.

Some people even wailed loudly and ran home to specifically bring out money for charity.

In an instant, copper coins piled up like mountains in front of Jang-il and Wei Yan-ho.

Then Jang-il would collect the appropriately accumulated money, wait for some time to pass, and then cry again looking for his father, and once again coins piled up like mountains.

After repeating this several times, coins had piled up to the point where no more would fit in the bag they had brought.

It was a very successful begging session.

But Wei Yan-ho just stared blankly at the sky.

‘This isn’t right…’

Wei Yan-ho became endlessly sad.