Chapter 79: Not That Big of a Sum, Right?
From early morning, the market streets of Yichang were bustling.
It was because a rumor had spread among the martial artists who had gathered to catch the Great Thief.
“Mad Rooster showed up in Yichang?”
The wanderers who heard the rumor showed interest.
For wanderers drifting across the world, the chance to see a martial artist as famous as Mad Rooster in person was rare.
On the other hand, the promising talents of the Orthodox Faction thought at least for today, they should keep their heads down.
It was because there were more than a few who had suffered misfortune after crossing paths with Mad Rooster.
Soon after, another rumor followed—that Mad Rooster had pointed to a certain inn, claiming that its cook and innkeeper’s assistant were the Great Thief.
What’s more, the one who had provided that information was none other than Rising Dragon of the Sima Clan.
Once such stories spread, even the Orthodox faction’s talents could no longer suppress their curiosity and headed toward Seong-un Inn.
Thus.
Around Seong-un Inn, martial artists of every kind gathered.
.
.
.
The beggars of the Beggars’ Union, including Elder Byeok, scoured every corner of Seong-un Inn with persistence.
Sima Hwi waited for the result of the search with a somewhat nervous heart.
‘Something went wrong.’
She had only wanted to play a trick on Seong-un Inn.
Yes, it was true she had harbored a bit of suspicion.
After all, it was suspicious for such skilled experts to suddenly appear as though they had fallen from the sky.
Even more so because the time when they had left the inn coincided so neatly with the period when the thief had been active.
But she had no decisive logic to connect suspicion to suspicion.
That was why she had merely tossed the matter to Mad Rooster, as if doing her a favor.
She had never expected that Mad Rooster would actually drag her here, much less reveal in front of everyone that she was the informant.
It was Sima Hwi’s mistake for underestimating Mad Rooster of the Beggars’ Union.
And she had certainly never expected all the martial artists of Yichang to gather here.
If Seong-un Inn’s innocence were to be proven, then Sima Hwi and herself would suffer utter disgrace.
Sima Hwi suddenly looked outside the inn.
Because of Elder Byeok’s authority, none dared to step inside and instead watched from outside.
At that moment, she spotted Namgung Rin.
Her beautiful face seemed to be telling her this:
‘Idiot.’
Of course, it might simply have been Sima Hwi’s own feelings.
Even so, she found it unbearable to look at Namgung Rin’s face and deliberately turned her head.
The investigation did not take long.
Seong-un Inn was not that big to begin with.
Still, the beggars of the Beggars’ Union seemed like experts in such matters, searching every possible spot.
They examined the kitchen and storerooms, and even tapped on the ceiling and floor with their hands.
Thanks to them, a small hidden storage space in the ceiling—something even Jin Seong-un himself hadn’t known about—was discovered.
When the removable board was lifted, there was indeed a space, but contrary to Sima Hwi’s expectations, it contained nothing more than a few red beans and a talisman.
Before Jin Seong-un had bought it, the inn had been famous as a haunted place, so it was likely traces left by a previous owner who had tried an exorcism.
Of course, beans and talismans could never deal with beings like the Sword Immortal or Blood Demon.
As the search continued, even Elder Byeok began to grow restless.
She pushed her subordinates harder, and eventually, she even stepped in herself.
Nothing was discovered inside the inn.
Later, in Seo Yu-gyeom’s quarters, a few swords and daggers were found, which caused a brief commotion…
“What. Why.”
“Hey! Isn’t this something no ordinary cook should be keeping in his quarters?”
“The world’s a rough place. Even in broad daylight, beggar bastards barge in and ransack other people’s rooms.”
“……”
“So beggars can walk around carrying swords, but cooks can’t? Does that make sense? What a joke.”
Seo Yu-gyeom hadn’t exactly been hiding his martial strength, and mere swords and daggers weren’t evidence of any wrongdoing, so the matter passed without issue.
Next was Jin Seong-un’s quarters.
Regrettably, the one who felt even more nervous than Sima Hwi or Elder Byeok was Jin Seong-un himself.
Though he showed not the slightest hint outwardly, inside he felt as though he were facing the greatest crisis of his life.
‘…I forgot.’
Inside his quarters was the closet leading to the Martial God Realm.
Being accused of being a thief was absurd, and since he had nothing to be guilty of, he had agreed to the investigation without hesitation.
Just as a beggar was about to step into Jin Seong-un’s quarters—
“Wait.”
Jin Seong-un stopped him.
Because Jin Seong-un had remained calm and silent until now, the eyes of Elder Byeok and the beggars suddenly gleamed.
“……”
An awkward silence passed.
The beggars exchanged glances.
Elder Byeok was already prepared to strike at any moment.
After carefully choosing his words, Jin Seong-un finally spoke.
“I’ll go in first.”
“So be it.”
Elder Byeok nodded, observing Jin Seong-un closely. A sharp instinct pierced her mind.
‘There’s something in this room!’
Jin Seong-un opened the door and stepped inside.
Elder Byeok and the Beggars’ Union, Seo Yu-gyeom, and the promising talents followed behind him.
Jin Seong-un’s room was starkly simple.
Furniture and all else consisted only of the bare minimum needed for daily living.
That had always been Jin Seong-un’s nature.
Disappointment flickered across the faces of the beggars.
“I’ll open the closet as well.”
One beggar moved toward the closet.
“…Go ahead.”
Jin Seong-un nodded.
A reaction so completely different from before.
Elder Byeok forced her lips, which threatened to curl upward, back down and said,
“Step aside. I will check it myself.”
She approached the closet.
Seo Yu-gyeom also looked at it with curiosity. That space appeared peculiar even in his eyes.
Before Elder Shin Mok had built him this room, it had simply been a storage shed left alone in the backyard.
Jin Seong-un had often warned not to open that shed carelessly.
And when the living quarters were built, that shed was turned into the closet inside Jin Seong-un’s room.
The strange result of Elder Shin Mok’s determination to build him a proper room and Jin Seong-un’s stubbornness about not wanting to discard the shed.
‘Just what in the world is inside there?’
Soon after, Elder Byeok voiced aloud the exact thought of puzzlement that Seo Yu-gyeom had just recalled.
“There seems to be something inside here, doesn’t there?”
“There is nothing. It’s merely a closet, like a storage shed, that I use when I want to quietly circulate qi.”
It was not a lie.
Because the Women’s Moon Heart Method continuously gathered and refined inner qi throughout the day, there had never been any need for him to circulate qi—except when he trained together with the Martial Gods.
Jin Seong-un stared at the closet for a moment, then suddenly recalled the words the Martial Gods had spoken during their first meeting.
The important thing is that you and we met as though by fate, and that we are beings who can help each other.
Especially the Divine Thief, who had emphasized fate several times.
He had said that what they called destiny, referred to as Heavenly Energy, was what connected Jin Seong-un and the Martial Gods.
That was why the Martial Gods had done their utmost to persuade Jin Seong-un from the very beginning. For only through Jin Seong-un could they exert any influence on the present world.
‘Then does that mean no one else can enter the Martial God Realm?’
But previous owners of the inn had certainly testified to the existence of ghosts.
Jin Seong-un pondered deeply for a while…
Honestly, he had no idea.
For in recent times, no one other than himself had ever opened that closet.
Jin Seong-un imagined two possibilities.
The first was Elder Byeok opening the door and the vast Martial God Realm spreading out before everyone.
‘…Does it matter?’
What could they possibly do about the Martial Gods?
It could even be a good thing.
If someone like the Food Butcher appeared again, he could simply introduce them to the Martial Gods.
On the other hand, what if nothing happened at all?
That would also be fine. He could finish the matter after receiving fifty taels of silver.
Meanwhile, Elder Byeok deliberately delayed, giving secret orders to her subordinates through voice transmission, assigning them to their positions.
If there truly was something inside that should not be revealed, there was the possibility that he might suddenly attempt to flee.
Though she was called Mad Rooster, she was still an Elder of the Beggars’ Union.
By the time her subordinates subtly shifted and completely blocked all escape routes—
Elder Byeok flung the closet door open with all her strength.
The investigation was concluded.
Elder Byeok and the Beggars’ Union members, Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom, Tang So-yeon, Baek Sang, and Baek Seol as well.
When they all came outside, Sima Hwi and the gathered martial artists looked at them with tense expressions.
“How did it turn out?”
Unable to hold back, Sima Hwi asked.
At once, Elder Byeok strode toward Sima Hwi.
Sima Hwi grew inwardly nervous.
By now, he could no longer even smell the stench.
When Elder Byeok suddenly raised her hand right in front of him—
Sima Hwi flinched without realizing it.
Everyone assumed Elder Byeok would, of course, slap him.
Yet contrary to their expectations, Elder Byeok instead placed her hand gently on Sima Hwi’s shoulder.
In that instant, Sima Hwi’s complexion brightened.
Yes, so his suspicions had been correct!
Then Elder Byeok continued in a soft and subdued tone.
“Fifty taels is not that large a sum for you, is it?”
“…What?”
“You’re the eldest son of the Sima Clan, after all. For you, that should be pocket money, right?”
“……”
Elder Byeok gave an awkward smile.
The martial artists had already heard the terms of the wager. What Elder Byeok meant was clear.
The innocence of the cook and innkeeper’s assistant of Seong-un Inn.
Even though Mad Rooster and over a dozen Beggars’ Union members had searched thoroughly, they had found nothing suspicious.
In other words, it was Sima Hwi’s defeat.
Elder Byeok then scratched her head and spoke to Jin Seong-un.
“Haha, I am sorry for the needless misunderstanding. The promised reward will be delivered by this child. He is the eldest son of the Sima Clan, one of the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes, Rising Dragon himself—so you need not worry about him breaking his word.”
When Elder Byeok spoke proudly like that, Sima Hwi wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and disappear.
Regardless, Elder Byeok now laughed as if feeling completely relieved.
No matter how thoroughly they had searched, nothing unusual had been found.
And in the middle of it, Poison Phoenix had testified that this inn was guaranteed by none other than the Wudang Sect and the Tang Clan.
‘That should have been mentioned first.’
Even Elder Byeok could not ignore the guarantee of Wudang Sect and the Tang Clan.
Her gaze toward Jin Seong-un grew different.
Had he shown such connections from the beginning, things might have resolved much more easily.
But that brazen boy had not done so.
On the contrary, he acted as if he were carefully separating himself from those powerful factions.
That very point touched Elder Byeok’s heart. For these days, young people were quick to flaunt their backgrounds in everything they did.
“I made quite a fuss from the morning, how embarrassing. Hahaha, well then, since our business is done, we’ll be on our way…”
Just as she was about to leave with the same boldness she had entered—
“Mad Rooster, how shameless you are.”
Elder Byeok’s steps came to a sudden halt.
Immediately she turned, fire blazing from her eyes.
Because the voice had not been youthful, she assumed it was from some deranged wanderer.
In fact, since her body had been left unsatisfied, itching for action, this was a welcome opportunity.
But when Elder Byeok scanned the tightly packed crowd, her body froze stiff at one spot.
An elderly man with hair as white as snow was staring straight at her with eyes clearer and deeper than those of any young man.
“After all the trouble you’ve caused, now you would try to dump the responsibility on that child and flee?”
“…Senior White Cloud Sword.”
Elder Byeok, for once, became respectful.
White Cloud Sword Hyeon-un was a senior she found extremely difficult to deal with.
Not only was the age gap considerable, he was vastly stronger than her, and most of all, because of his notoriously stubborn nature, he would resort to violence against anyone—regardless of age or rank—if he disliked them.
Thus, among the few people Elder Byeok feared in the world, Hyeon-un was one.
Another two were the Poison Lord and Elder Shin Mok.
Encountering even one of them was rare, but never before had all three stood side by side, glaring at her.
Even Elder Byeok could not help but naturally speak in the most respectful tone.
“What brings you seniors here…?”
“Silence!!”
At once, Hyeon-un unleashed a lion’s roar imbued with inner qi. And almost simultaneously, Tang Tae-san’s fierce energy weighed heavily upon the surroundings.
‘How dare you treat my disciple this way!’
‘And the one who will become the Tang Clan’s son-in-law!’
Because they had acted almost as though by prior agreement—
Hyeon-un and Tang Tae-san widened their eyes, glaring at each other. For a moment, an awkward air settled.
Then suddenly, a competitive spirit flared in both of their eyes.
If they truly wished to claim Jin Seong-un as one of their own, then they felt compelled to display greater anger and greater action than the other.
Elder Byeok could not even begin to imagine what was happening.
But there was one thing she realized instinctively.
‘I’ve provoked something I never should have touched!’